martedì 27 ottobre 2009

Glenn Hauser logs Octtober 27, 2009

** ALBANIA. Further observations of R. Tirana B-09 to North America:

6110 in Albanian at 0104 UT Oct 27: Fair signal but muffled audio, talk into music. There is lite interference from presumed Cuban jamming residual clix centered about 6108. This would continue to be heard thru the evening, but not much of a problem. Nothing audible on 7425 in the noisy inside environment, but could be heard weakly outside in the yard on DX-398 portable, where all the subsequent chex were made:

7425 at 0138 in English, poor reception; while 6110 was still open along with 6105-6115 so could be used instead with better propagation.

7425 at 0250 in English, again poor, and 6110 still available.

6150 at 0330 in English, good signal, no adjacent interference but possibly something very weak underneath on 6150. Nothing significant listed, but Aoki reminds us of Bayrak, Brasil, and surely too early for Yakutsk.

6100 at 0430 in English, good, about the same as 6150 an hour earlier. No interference here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. Firedrake Oct 27 at 1329: best on 8400, weaker on 9000 and weaker still on 10210 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA [non]. CRI made its usual B-season switch from 9650 to 15230 for English via Sackville at 13-14, leaving a one-hour gap on 9650 between KBS English and KBS Korean, but Oct 27 at 1333 there was nothing else to be heard on 9650. However, on a good day one ought to be able to catch Radio Sonder Grense from RSA, now scheduled 07-18 with 100 kW, 275 degrees from Meyerton (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CROATIA [and non]. As soon as Bonaire quit 6165 at 0631* Oct 27 a much weaker signal was uncovered, Slavic-sounding, so presumably Deanovec, 100 kW at 320 degrees toward W Europe and consequently also NAm, which also starts at 0600. Plus a rumbling SAH, Chad? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA [and non]. RHC Oct 27: at 0602, 6140 in English this date, some hum, and phone JBA ringing in background on this frequency only, not so on // 6000 or 6060. 6140 now suffering splash from 6145 which is RFI in Hausa via Issoudun, 170 degrees but quite strong here way outside Hausa-land. Meanwhile RHC in Spanish on distorted 6120 and Camping-mixed 6000.

RHC 15120 at 1351 had an audible het on the lo side of about 200 Hz. Looks like the only possibility is BSKSA`s Bengali service, unless it`s yet another Cuban defect.

The 11760 spurs are still going Oct 27. At 1352 centered approximately 11707.5 and 11812.5, further away from fundamental than usual, 52.5 kHz. This time 11760 had a weak whine audible underneath otherwise good modulation, the same pitch making the multiple spurs detectable, as low as roughly 11235 and as high as 12185, not measured.

Listened to 11760 at 1402 as Despertar con Cuba was closing until tomorrow at ``6 am``, then at 1404 current almost-correct EST timecheck as 9:03 ``en todo el territorio nacional``. Well, duh, a small but untiny country like Cuba would never have more than one timezone in effect! No frequency listing at this hour, into a couple minutes of news, and Voces de la Revolución, Fidel at a fever-pitch from antaño (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** INDIA. Good thing I said ``apparently`` the Aligarh blob had been fixed as of Oct 26, since it was back Oct 27! At 1326 centred about 9472, extreme distortion spreading 9465-9480 // but not synchronized Bengaluru 9425. However, next tuneby at 1329 found the blob replaced by normal weak properly modulated AM signal on 9470. Perhaps the engineers started up the defective transmitter by mistake as usual at 1318, then switched to the good one a dekaminute later. So that is still progress (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** INDONESIA. VOI, 9525.9, Oct 27 at 1331, very undermodulated in W&M conversation, and soon could be recognized the voice of the guy from Banjarmasin as usual Tuesdays for Exotic Indonesia. Useless to try to get anything out of it.

RRI, 9680, good modulation unlike the VOI transmitter down the hall at Cimanggis, Oct 27 at 1335 talking over music rather than CCI as first seemed; 1336 song called Rosita. Aoki continues to show this closing at 1300, but consistently heard some two hours further; and apparently the Chinese radio war no longer wages on 9680 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** INTERNATIONAL. Quick check of 13m Oct 27 at 1424 shows it still getting that October MUF-bumpup, with 8 signals audible, the usual ones on 21460, 21505, 21540, 21560, 21570, 21610, 21640, 21695, with 21470 the only absentee (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** IRAN [non]. R. Farda, Oct 27: on 15690 at 1342, ID in passing, telephone SFX, echoing // 15410. 15690 is now scheduled all the way from 0230 to 1400 via Sri Lanka, except for one hour at 12-13 via Biblis; why? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** KOREA NORTH [non]. Tuned in 5985 barely in time to hear a couple notes of piano music until 1430* Oct 27. Good signal, so Shiokaze should have been easy listening from 1400, tho not likely in English on a Tuesday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO [and non]. Radio Educación`s co-channel QRM problems on 6185: Oct 27 at 0250 check I find a rippling fast subaudible heterodyne already, which must be from Vatican, not scheduled to start programming until 0310 in Armenian. Next check at 0603, XEPPM talking rather than playing anthem as 24 hours earlier so it must have been closer to 0600 this date; but co-channel QRM still from Vatican now in Scandinavian language // 7335 mixed with Tunisia. VR finally finishes 6185 around 0620 and then I could enjoy XEPPM`s eclectic music in the clear. At 0631 it involved voice as instrument plus synthesizer, perhaps by Philip Glass with a dose of minimalism.

At next check 0710, however, XEPPM blown away by Brasília, which must be signing on an hour earlier due to DST there. XEPPM is such an excellent station that it deserves a worldwide clear frequency! Tell that to the Mexican authorities or XEPPM itself who have no concept of the need for active frequency management and the ability to shift as needed. Last year, some Mexican SW frequencies finally got recognized by HFCC, but that did no good, and they have probably been deleted now (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NETHERLANDS [non]. 49 meters used to be clear of most of the big relay signals after 0530, but irrelevant DST shift in Europe has led RN via Bonaire to move its Dutch transmission one UT hour later even tho NAm remains on DST! 6165 now *0559 Oct 27 with IS for only one minute mixed with Dutch IDs, then sign-on mentioning this and several frequencies for parts of Europe, blowing away CBC on 6160 [see NEWFOUNDLAND]. VG signal strength but lots of selective fading and consequent heavy distortion. Also noted timesignal at 0630 and *then* national anthem until 0631* This is aimed 320 degrees for WNAm. And the transmission is axually registered until 0631, but supposedly ends four minutes earlier on Sundays only (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NEWFOUNDLAND. CBC Radio 1 has canceled CBC Overnight, the service it has carried for several years consisting of `SW` stations from abroad put together for them by WRN. Now Radio Canada Immigration gets its big break, The Link carried on CBC`s domestic network, even if it is the middle of the night. And consequently relayed back on SW by CKZN, noted Oct 27 at 0557 as Marc Montgomery was upwrapping its first hour urging listeners to stay tuned for second hour. Usual fast rippling SAH from CKZU, as the two CBC SW stations on 6160 cannot match their frequencies accurately.

The old schedule here http://www.cbc.ca/overnight/schedule.html has still not been updated. Andy Reid points out the daily CBC sked http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/daily/2009/10/27/cbc_radio_one/
which shows The Link at 2-4 am local, and the rest mostly BBCWS now. To avoid further confusion, in the case of CKZN, `local` time means Atlantic, not Newfoundland as CBC scheduling is simultaneous, not one semihour offset. However, poetic justice at *0559 when RN Bonaire cuts on 6165 and blows away 6160. More about that under NETHERLANDS [non] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NEW ZEALAND [and non]. RNZI, stuck on 6170, continues to confront co-channel QRM in B-09: Oct 27 at 1320, Dateline Pacific with considerable interference from Khabarovsk, and SAH of about 4 Hz; however, no het from DZRM 6170.4 audible today. Meanwhile the other RNZI transmitter is idle, taking a DRM break but could be run elsewhere as a clear AM channel (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** PORTUGAL. RDPI on new 7345, Oct 27 at 0613 giving detailed satellite, FM, DRM tuning info as they do periodically during the day, then ID as ``RDP Internacional, Rádio Portugal, rádio pública, rádio para todos``. That about covers it. This is ex-7240 in A-09, which in turn is now occupied by DW English via – Portugal. 7345 is now scheduled M-F only at 06-07, 45 degrees, but good here off the side (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SERBIA [non]. IRS is supposedly scheduled in B-09, for NAm: on 6190, 0100 in Serbian, 0130-0200 English, except with Serbian occupying the entire hour on UT Sundays. No more second English broadcast. Except I have heard nothing on 6190 checked UT Oct 25, 26 and 27. But on 27 I was hearing something Slavic on 9675 after 0100, and since nothing else is scheduled there now in B-09, I suspect IRS have been slow to make the frequency change. More chex needed, especially for English at 0130 on 9675 or 6190.

BTW, on the B-09 schedule found by Kai Ludwig at
http://glassrbije.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=30&Itemid=123
`S Amerika` means NORTH America. There has been speculation that IRS is not really active on SW at all, following a change of management and very uncertain funding (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SPAIN [non]. Confirming the co-official token language segment still exists on REE tho timeshifted post-DST to M-F 1340-1355 on numerous frequencies: Oct 27 at 1349 on 15170 via Costa Rica, concluding Galician segment with strong Castilian accent, sea-chanty theme, 1350 into Basque segment which of course after the intro in Euzkadi, is really safely in Castilian so it can easily be monitored to prevent anything pro-ETA being conveyed. First is Catalan at 1340. Meanwhile, 15170 had music co-channel underneath about 4 Hz away. Yes, RRI is again colliding at 13-15, 290 degrees from Galbeni in Romanian (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TUNISIA [and non]. Never mind my recent schedule for RTT that 7335 would not start until 0700. Oct 27 it`s already going at 0611, news in Arabic mixing with Scandinavian talk from Vatican // 6185 which is also in collision, with Mexico. Did Vatican too expect Tunisia not to start 7335 until 0700? Unlikely, as Vatican does its own thing and allows several collisions to go on season after season. It`s up to other stations to get out of the way, if they care. RTT is // clear 7275, at least. Could the confusion be due to a delayed DST shift? No, timeanddate.com says no DST in Tunisia this year (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TURKEY [and non]. VOT on new 6040 via Sackville, Oct 27 at new hour-later time 0433, in correct language, English, sufficient altho not super signal, but much better than // 6020 direct from Turkey buried against the het from Perú`s perpetually off-frequency Radio Victoria. Any station voluntarily broadcasting on 6020.0 during the Peruvian night is incredibly foolish, yet Turkey is not the only one; a string of them still do, blithely ignorant of the het driving away listeners:

CRI via Albania at 00-04, Turkey at 04-05, VOA French from Greenville to Africa at 0530-0630, RRI at 0630-0700 in English DRM, Australia 0900-1100, RNW Bonaire 0930-1000 in Dutch. They all could chip in and buy Victoria a new correctly cut crystal for a pittance, but that might not be welcomed from its clashers who would keep doing so, merely without the het.

What about VOT`s English at 1330? Oct 27 at 1347, RFI in French was atop 15300 with a fast SAH, but VOT clear on 12035 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U K [and non]. BBCWS now quite good on 15575, with interview about paying taxes (or not) in Ireland, Oct 27 at 1343. 15575 during this hour only is 90 degrees from Skelton, while at 07-13 it`s 97 degrees from Cyprus (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. WRMI, 9955, often inaudible in the nightmiddle due to dipping MUF, was quite audible Oct 27 at 0622 with R. Prague relay in English, VG but mixed with DentroCuban jamming pulses. WRMI on NW antenna this time? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. KVOH already on the 17775 air at the early hour of 1421 Oct 27, VG S9+20 with praise hymn in Spanish. Supposedly authorized only from 1500, but previously heard as early as 1445. The sun had barely risen in LA at 1409, so a quick MUF buildup, likely facilitated by HF sporadic E not reaching VHF.

KVOH continues to be FCC-registered for another frequency, 9975 at 01-08 and 13-15, and once in a while someone claims to have heard it in the evening, but I am not convinced it is ever really using 9975. Definite IDs required (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [non]. 9670 good with country song in Burmese, Oct 27 at 1334, then mentioning BBC, VOA and Australia, into distorted woman-on-the-street interview. Scheduled as VOA Burmese via Tinian at 1330-1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** VATICAN. VR collisions: see MEXICO, TUNISIA

UNIDENTIFIED. 11785 at 1433 Oct 27 with buzz very much like the Saudi sound on 21505, later 15435, but no likely suspects listed; atop CRI in Chinese via East Turkistan. BTW, Hmong Lao Radio on WHRI 11785 is expected to shift one UT hour later Nov 1 to 14-15 Sun & Sat (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 15465-15470-15475, DRM noise at 1346 Oct 27. Is any DRM scheduled here or on any nearby frequency in the B-09 schedule at
http://www.drm-dx.de/ ? Of course not (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 15775 the center of a whiny, mushy signal with fades, so not local, Oct 27 at 1341; rather like somebody`s spur but no matches nearby or clues (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###