lunedì 31 maggio 2010

Glenn Hauser logs May 30-31, 2010

** CANADA. Analog channel 2, May 31 at 0157 UT had peak for a few minutes during movie/drama, speaking Spanish at the moment, requiring English subtitles, seems set in Colombia. But bug in lower right says GLOBAL, so it`s the Canadian network.

I had aimed the antenna northward after seeing gobs of 6m sporadic-E activity on DX Sherlock, mostly east-west along the US/Canadian border, so I was just getting a leftover. Faded by 0200 if there was any ID, but W9WI shows the full-power Globals on 2 within range are: CICT Calgary AB, CKND-2 Minnedosa MB, CIII-2 Bancroft ON.

Checking program listings for Global, must have been the two-hour movie, ``The Summit`` which aired at 9-11 pm EDT, 8-10 pm CDT, and 9-11 pm MDT. That rules out Calgary, but I was getting the middle of it from MB or ON. CKND-2 MB is most likely (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. Firedrake May 31: nothing found during extremely poor conditions from East Asia, during these bandscans:
1258-1300, 8-11 MHz
1305-1307, 11-15 MHz
1307-1309, 15-18 MHz

Geophysical Alert Message #
Solar-terrestrial indices for 30 May follow.
Solar flux 73 and mid-latitude A-index 12.
The mid-latitude K-index at 1200 UTC on 31 May was 3 (23 nT).
No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours.
No space weather storms are expected for the next 24 hours (SWPC)
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** COSTA RICA. REE Cariari relay, 15170, still with crackle May 31 at 1307 as was opening ``Españoles en la Mar``; rather lite by comparison with previous occasions and only spreading plus/minus 50 kHz. Still (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. For several weeks, José Bueno, who distributes advance publicity reminders each week about Spanish-language DX programs to various non-English DX lists, has said this about En Contacto on RHC, besides the Sunday 1335 and UT Monday 0135 airings (also ignoring repeats after 0500 we have often run across, not on published schedules).

``DOMINGO 21:42 UTC: Ignoramos si se eliminó esta emisión
11.770 kHz para Europa
13.770 kHz para Buenos Aires
11.800 kHz para América Central
13.790 kHz para Río de Janeiro``

So I check it out Sunday May 30: tune-in 15370 at 2126 just as RHC announces it is starting an 18-minute show, ``El Mundo de la Filatelia``. Sure enough, rechecked at 2144 and there was ``En Contacto`` starting with birthday greetings, later homage spoken by a Costa Rican to some defunct Cuban radio announcer, Marcel Villar?

But the frequencies José lists are all out of date! And so are they for the other airings. At 2144, 13770 has been replaced by 15380; 11800 by 12030; 13790 by 5040(?), and 11770 replaced by 15370.

Plus spurs! At the moment the first-order big ones are on 15333.5 vs RCI on 15330, and on 15406.5, i.e. plus and minus 36.5 kHz from 15370. Could also hear much weaker second-order ones, at least the whine, on 15297 and 15443.

However, axual monitoring during the 2144 repeat of ``En Contacto``, found 15380 absent, 5040 inaudible, but both presumably on the air normally. It was audible and confirmed // on 12030, 11730 and 9660, all an echo apart from 15370 via the other transmitter site.

It lasted only 14 minutes, ending at 2158 in time for a musical show, probably ``Cuba Campesina``, which is one of RHC`s best programs, definitely airing earlier Sundays at 1233 on all the morning frequencies.

The trouble with RHC`s online program schedule at
http://www.radiohc.cu/espanol/c_programacion/programacion.htm
is that the daily 21-23 block is simply ``Revista Iberoamericana``, even tho we know that it contains numerous specific programs which elsewhen in the day merit their own title entries!

6110 was no doubt also on during the DX program, but not confirmed until after it was over at 2159, just barely audible with the music show and unlike the others, synchronized with 15370, so from its same site.

The DentroCuban Jamming Command is SNAFU as usual: UT Monday May 31 at 0042 it`s grinding away on 11970 and 9885, despite the fact that VOA Spanish on weekends ends at 2400.

9570, CRI relay via CUBA, May 31 around 1315, unmodulated, so refund check no doubt on the way to the ChiCom. This did not prevent it from making the usual hash on R. Australia 9560 and 9580, so who needs CRI?

11520 with lite DCJC pulses against nothing, May 31 at 1801. Nothing known on this frequency which could be a deliberate target of Cuban jamming, unless it`s the never-confirmed Central American relay of R. República, ex-11600.

Or spurious? Has same pulse rate as on 11930 against R. Martí, axually audible in sideband around 11920 rather than the wall of noise on 11930 itself. Seems synchronized too, but not positive it`s exactly so. Also some much slower-rate residual pulse jamming on 11845, despite R. Martí being finished with that frequency by this hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** EGYPT. 9915, R. Cairo at 0047 May 31, incredibly distorted, but from intonation I can tell it is Spanish as scheduled to start at 0045 to South America. Compared to this, Arabic on 9305 to North America is crystal clear. On its own merits, 9305 is also unusable. I checked the 9915 carrier with BFO and it was stable, so the problem is strictly with the modulation applied to it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** INDONESIA. 9526-, VOI in English, May 31 at 1315, very poor like most E Asian signals today (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** JAPAN [non]. 11945, poor signal May 31 at 1825 with YL singing slow Asian song, at first seemed Vietnamese, during fades losing out to DCJC jamming bleedover from 11930; but 1828 brief announcement in Japanese, another song, 1831 another announcement by YL definitely in Japanese.

Was not expecting to hear NHK due to poor propagation from Asia. Also poor propagation from Europe, but this is the Issoudun, FRANCE relay of NHKWNRJ, at 17-19, 500 kW at 155 degrees, i.e. directly off the back = 335 degrees toward western N America (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. It doesn`t take much to knock off Enid`s own TV station, KXOK, especially on a weekend, more especially on a holiday weekend, when obviously no one is around to take care of it. Shortly after a brief T-storm moved thru, KXOK analog 32 was just black screen and silent audio, but still on the air around 0200 UT May 31. Remained the same at several subsequent chex including 1445 UT the next morning, when its DTV 31 was also on but black. By next check 1730, they were finally back with programming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 13660, May 30 at 2132, S9+22 with country music, a VG signal I haven`t noticed before, probably in use Sundays only per WHRI`s hopscotch scheduling; then intro as ``Apostolic Witness Life Radio Broadcast`` from Memphis TN, by the Associations of the Lord Jesus Christ, so tune-out; recheck 2159 it`s already off (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. Checking WORLD OF RADIO on WWCR: Sunday May 30 at 2330, VG on 9980, but the repeat UT Monday at 0330 on 5890 was gone; instead at 0356 check it was Scriptures for America Worldwide, which had been scheduled to end at 0300.

Possibly an emergency addition, since WTWW 5755 was off the air (not on daytime`s 9479 or alternate 5080 either). I had noticed 5755 on as usual at 0007 May 31, having just changed from 9479. WTWW was still missing at 1255 when no 9479, but SFAW was on WWCR 9980. Then at 1301 I found WTWW still on night frequency 5755 // 9980 with IRN-USA slanted Radio News amid SFAW, and still 5755 at 1420. By next check 1738, 9479 had resumed.

As to whether no WOR UT Sunday 0330 on WWCR-4 5890 is a permanent change, perhaps that will be revealed when WWCR updates its schedule soon for June, at
http://www.wwcr.com/program-guides/WWCR_Program_Guide.pdf
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 12015 is currently the daytime VOA Greenville frequency in English, which we should enjoy while we can. VG S9+18 signal May 31 at 1744 during international news block, so strong that the RTTY with which it clashes on 12015 was hardly audible! But why doesn`t the poor RTTY station complain or at least move? Why would IBB pick a frequency already occupied this way?

1757 USG editorial about ``Feed the Future``, 1800 on to ``Africa News Tonight`` with no break or reduxion in signal. GB is currently scheduled daily 17-19, 250 kW, 91 degrees plus a huge lobe off the back OKward. Based on a still outdated Aoki listing, someone had assumed that after 1800, 12015 was still coming from São Tomé. After 1830 music was mixed in with talk items (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 9740, BBCWS Singapore in English, May 31 at 1256 blocked by noise, jamming? Not the Cuban type, and not the sound of sporadic spurs we once had from Taiwan 9735 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###