domenica 31 ottobre 2010

Glenn Hauser logs October 30-31, 2010

** AUSTRALIA [and non]. RA has new QRM problems for B-10: Oct 31 at 1256, only 9580 is audible, while 9590 is covered by Chinese music, and 9560 has CRI in Chinese via Sackville // 9570 via Cuba. I can`t even tell if RA is still using 9590, altho it is on the schedule. At 1301, it and 9560 become audible // 9580. 9590 until 1300 is scheduled for CRI Russian aimed northwest.

5995 at 1358 had mix of YFR theme and Waltzing Matilda. We now have Brandon 10 kW at 12-14 in DRM, but Shep 100 kW AM about to take over until 1800 at 30 degrees; while YFR is Petropavlovsk/Kamchatsky, RUSSIA at 11-15, 250 kW, 244 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BONAIRE. 6195, NHK World Radio Japón, Oct 31 at 0516 in Spanish, ex-6080. The 0500 RNW Dutch relay via Bonaire on 6165 is gone, moved one hour later to 0600. This means that there is no longer a possibility of a leapfrog mixing product on 6250 confusing Spanish for Equatorial Guinea since 6195 is the only Bonaire frequency on the air during this hour. See also CHAD.

From RN`s B-10 online schedule I have extracted all the 6 MHz-band Bonaire entries, to facilitate future computation of leapfrog mixing products --- whenever the times overlap, those could appear, most obviously if they fall above 6200 or below 5900:

2359   0027   6145   180  RNW   Nld   1234567   sAMn/CAR
2359   0157   6165   210  RNW   Spa   1234567   cAM/sAMnw
0059   0127   6190   341  RNW   Nld   1234567   nAMe
0159   0357   6165   305  RNW   Spa   1234567   MEX/cAM
0229   0250   6040   341  VAT   Fra   1234567   nAMe
0259   0327   6100   335  RNW   Nld   1234567   nAMc
0329   0357   6195   210  RNW   Nld   1234567   sAMnw
0359   0427   6165   305  RNW   Nld   1234567   MexECarSUSA
0400   0430   6195   210  NHK   Spa   1234567   sAMnw
0500   0530   6195   290  NHK   Spa   1234567   MEX
0559   0627   6165   320  RNW   Nld   1234567   nAMw

0929   1000   6020   110  RNW   Nld    234567   SUR
1000   1030   6195   210  NHK   Spa   1234567   sAMn
1000   1200   5905   180  DWL   Ger   1234567   CAR
1059   1127   6165   320  RNW   Spa   1234567   CAR/Florida
1129   1157   6165   210  RNW   Spa   1234567   Colombia
1159   1227   6165   180  RNW   Spa   1234567   Venezuela

If I have a spare moment, I might go ahead and compute all the possible leapfrog times and frequencies from this. The same thing could be done with Sackville on 49m (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BRAZIL [and non]. 6185, XEPPM Spanish in the clear, Oct 31 at 0517, no RNA here, but still active on F-G 11780 at 0535 check, this overnight schedule funxioning UT Sundays only. Brazilians have also been reporting 6185 missing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BRAZIL. 28545-USB, Oct 30 at 2135, ham contester kept giving own callsign every few sex, but awful modulation caused by misadjusted vox. Sounded like call was whisky five golf, W5G, but unseems an American. Then could hear another fonetik before the W, garbled with first syllable cut off; was it alfa? No hit at QRZ.com. Going up the alfabet, I bet it`s papa:

PW5G
SPECIAL CONTEST CALL SIGN (op: PP5WG - WALTER) Qsl only direct via PP5VB
Mr. Vantuil Barbosa - PP5VB
Caixa Postal: 13 - IMBITUBA/SC - CEP: 88.780-000,
Brazil

Especially since 10m was open from Brasil, lots of signals 28.3-28.5 MHz, next one being at 2142 on 28434+, ZW5B:
ZW5B
ARAUCARIA DX GROUP
QSL MANAGER K3IRV,
Brazil

I had tried 12m first and found no activity, so was surprised at all the stuff on 10; however, GUF on 21690 was inbooming, OSOB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHAD. 6165, Oct 31 at 0518 weak signal in French, presumed RNT as usual, audiblized only when Bonaire is off, and in B-10 there is now a sesquihour break between 0427 and 0559 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. Firedrake Oct 31: none found 8-18 MHz, 1305-1318 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA [and non]. RHC anomalies Oct 31: at 0514, English on 5970, 6060 and 6150 but not on 6010, where XEOI can be heard clearly with pop music in Spanish.

5040, the squealing RHC transmitter is here, Oct 31 at 0538 in Spanish, 0538 introducing deportes segment of Revista Informativa de la Tarde playback in the madrugada.

Oct 31 is a great day for DentroCubans wishing to hear Radio Martí without jamming --- because of the B-10 changes, and Cuba just going back to EST a week before Wáshington, the jammers are confused and miss a lot. Reactivated 5745 RM at 1235, no jamming, discussing socialismo // 5980 stronger but jammed; 6030 nothing but jamming, since RM now scheduled there only at 00-12. At 1245 I find RM also on 7405 without jamming. That is now scheduled from Greenville, which still exists, at 22-24, 03-07, 12-14. At 1309, 11930 had RM clear with no jamming. At 1351, jamming had caught up with 7405, but not 5745, still audible tho weak here.

Altho R. Libertad is currently scheduled on WRMI 9955, every day at 12-13 UT, there was no jamming Oct 31 at 1249 in Spanish discussion of Cuba. Apparently the DCJC was also confused by the local time switch Habana vis-à-vis Miami one week apart. Heavy wall of noise on 9965, however, vs always-inaudible R. República 9965.5. At 1307, there was equal jamming on 9955 and 9965 alto WRMI`s Sunday 13-14 program is Living the Bible, per the Oct 20 schedule update.

At 1312 Oct 31, RHC not yet on 13750, but 13780 and 13680. 13750 was on at 1433 with RHC programming // 13680 and 13780, all VG. Previously, the 13680 transmitter would go off so 13750 could go on, Sundays only prior to Aló, Presidente. The 13740 CRI relay was also on, i.e. four powerful Cuban transmitters infesting a 100-kHz span on 22m. See VENEZUELA [non]

After finding Amigos de la Onda Corta shifted one hour later, see SPAIN, I check RHC again to see if it is again conflicting with RHC`s En Contacto --- no! At 1345 instead on 11760 et al., we hear Cuba Campesina, the country music show, at the moment plugging its RHC fiftieth anniversary contest.

RHC is running programming one hour late! At the studio they are going by the local EST clock rather than the UT clock, as RHC nominally keeps its programming on UT, not local time. Will the DX program also appear one hour late? Yes, there it is starting at 1434.6 on the three 13 MHz channels, 15120, much weaker 15360 and I think mixed with QRM on 15380. I expect that by next Sunday RHC will have reset its clox so CC is back at 1230 Sundays and EC is back at 1335, so it will conflict with Spain`s DX program for the rest of the winter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GERMANY [non]. 3995, Oct 31 at 0523, DW German again here for morning broadcast in B-10 via Skelton UK at 05-08, 250 kW, 106 degrees, and, it`s not DRM! // 6075 but slightly behind it. 6075 is scheduled from three sites at once during this hour: Woofferton, Skelton, and Sines, Portugal, but not enough to scuttle the motorboat from Pet/Kam; see RUSSIA.

DW also back on 13m, 21780, Oct 31 at 1356 in German discussing cannabis; on weaker 21550 at 1356 with musical riff, mentioning Nigeria, in Hausa?

Yes, 21550 is via Sines, PORTUGAL in Hausa at 13-14, 145 degrees, following French at 12-13, 170 degrees. 21780 is via Rampisham UK, 12-14 at 85 degrees, following Sri Lanka at 09-10 English at 60 degrees, 10—12 German at 90 degrees, neither of which I expect to get here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GUATEMALA. 4052.4, as reconfirmed below 4052.5, R. Verdad, Oct 31 at 0521, emphatic preacher in English, steady S9+20 but modulation a bit muffled. We prefer the music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** INDONESIA. 9526-, VOI at 1302 Oct 31, still in the clear B-10 without a co-channel 9525 clash during English hour, altho today a bit weak vs adjacent QRM. Better with music at 1348 check, still marred by IADs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** IRAN [and non]. 15550, Oct 31 at 1312 Persian music, poor modulation. IRIB`s lengthy Arabic service is now here at 0530-1630, 500 kW, 295 degrees via Sirjan. This could be a bit of a problem for WJHR claiming 5 kW on USB from 1400. Did not check at that time, but could barely detect its SSB scratch, clear of QRM at 1705 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** KOREA NORTH. 2850, KCBS with choral music, S9+13 Oct 31 at 1244; nothing much else making it from Asia/Pacific vs noise level on 120, 90, 75 or 60 meters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** KURDISTAN [non]. 11530, V. of Mesopotamia still here in B-10 via UKRAINE, but WYFR is back to QRM it, Oct 31 at 1308 Portuguese mixing with Kurdish music. WYFR B-10 on 11530: 0500-0745, 1200-1345 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO [and non]. 6185, XEPPM Spanish in the clear, Oct 31 at 0517, no RNA Brasília here, but still active on F-G 11780 at 0535 check, this overnight schedule funxioning UT Sundays only. Brazilians have also been reporting 6185 missing. Now the main problem is Vatican on 6185 at 0300-0620, presumably source of fast SAH against XEPPM at 0516 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 1670, the talking houses in Enid have disappeared, as driving around west Enid Oct 30 around 2010-2030 UT the frequency is clear; yay (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ROMANIA. Not only do we get German well from TURKEY, q.v., but also from here, aimed USwards beyond Germany, Oct 31 at 1323 on 15460, VG with mailbag from someone in Chemnitz, still going at 1337, scheduled 1300-1356 // 11970, both Tiganeshti (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** RUSSIA. As expected, the motorboating Petropavlovsk/Kamchatsky R. Rossii transmitter on 5930 in A-10 has made its shift to 6075 for B-10, and audible as early as 0515 Oct 31, QRM to Deutsche Welle in German.

Still there on 6075 at next check 1227, the motorboating louder than the Russian modulation, ditto at 1352 over music. At 1400 timesignal six sex late, and motorboating carrier continued until 1401:20* while no 8GAL CW marker on 6074 was yet detectable (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SAIPAN. 9715, Oct 31 at 1305 sounds like a S Asian language, distorted modulation, cuts off and on. The IBB Saipan transmitter is scheduled during this hour, but not sure which service; nothing on the VOA schedule. It has repeatedly had problems like this in previous seasons (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 3185, Oct 31 at 1242, Brother Scare manages to modulate WWRB today unlike yesterday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SPAIN [and non]. For B-10, REE has resumed using 15125 via Costa Rica, despite being squeezed between colingual Cuba 15120 and WYFR 15130, Oct 31 at 1313, and // 15170 CR. Missed checking at 1230 Sunday whether Amigos de la Onda Corta was still on then, but no problem --- there it was an hour later, Sunday at 1340 on 13720 direct // 17595, 15585, also CR 15170, 15125, 9765. At 1348 with propagation predixions for November for each band in each hemisphere. So the 1330 rescheduling makes AOC conflict again with En Contacto? Not this week: see CUBA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SWEDEN [non]. 6010, (pen)ultimate SW broadcast from R. Sweden, Oct 31 at 0128 nondescript fill music, but not VTC loop, 0130 IS and opening English by George Wood. Shortened week in review was first, so the rest could be the finale: from 0141:25 interview with boss about rationale for closing down SW and MW --- they are no longer important nor cost-effective.

0147 starts George Wood`s 10-minute 7-decade retrospective of R. Sweden on SW, including The Saturday Show and Sweden Calling DXers, the two most popular. Re-enactment of SCDX #1 opening item from 1948y. George took over from founder Arne Skoog in 1978; in 1994 SCDX was the first audio program from Europe to be available on internet. Starting Monday (what about Sunday?), R. Sweden will be available only on FM in Sweden, internet elsewhere, satellite somewhere.

Signal was very good at outset but with slight splatter from 10 kHz above or below, and very slight co-channel from XEOI. Semi-minute transmitter break at 0159-0159:30 during which R. Mil ID made it thru, then resuming in Swedish on 268 instead of 240 degrees, and slightly weaker here. Presumably repeated English at 0230-0259* for the final final time. I taped the whole 0130 broadcast for posterity.

Having been unable to get R. Sweden/Sackville off 6010 for years, I`m sure XEOI is shedding no tears --- O no: in B-10, Iran`s Spanish service is scheduled on 6010 at 0030-0330, 259 degrees from Kamalabad toward South America. That should have been on already, as a few hours earlier, Iran was also blocking Sweden`s finale to Europe on 6065, a new B-10 frequency for Arabic. Or Iran could be on 6110 alternate to 6010, per Wolfgang Büschel, where it just might collide with Habana (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TAIWAN [non]. 6875, RTI now here via WYFR, Oct 31 at 0520 VG in English discussion of Confucianism in Taiwan. For B-10, 5950 in A-10 has been swapped with WYFR programming at 03-05 and 05-06 for RTI`s English broadcasts; why? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** THAILAND. 9720, Oct 31 at 1251, R. Thailand good but heavy flutter on new B-10 frequency in English, tuned in just as news was breaking for lengthy ads: an Italian restaurant, Rossi`s Trattoria and Wine Bar, including La Cucina della Mamma, at 6-9 pm, for ``100 baht plus plus`` (meaning sales plus VAT, I assume); 1254 for Dept. of Export and Promotion.

The B-10 R. Thailand English schedule is:
0000-0030 13745 C&ENAm  6 degrees
0030-0100 13745 W&CNAm 30 degrees
0200-0230 15275 C&ENAm  6 degrees
0530-0600 11730 Eu
1230-1300  9720 SEAs/Au
1400-1430  9725 SEAs/Au
1900-2000  7570 Eu
2030-2045  9535 Eu
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TURKEY. 15350, Turkish pop music, Oct 31 at 1315, some ACI from YFR 15355. TRT Turkish to Europe, and consequently NAm beyond, is now scheduled on 15350 at 07-14, 11815 at 14-17, 5980 at 17-22, 9700 at 05-07. Similar Turkish music but not // on stronger 17755 at 1319, but that`s the German service as per closing announcement at 1321, also aimed USwards by geocoincidence (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 7415, again this Saturday night, WBCQ on the air much later than scheduled, UT Sunday Oct 31 at 0526, Ted Randall with an additional QSO program interviewing someone on phone about studio equipment at a college radio station, and he`s also a ham. Mentioned once, sounded like ``Gringo College``, but surely something else. By this hour, signal was only fair with fades (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 3160, WPJK Orangeburg SC harmonic 2 x 1580, still barely audible at 1242 Oct 31, more than an hour after sign-on, and a few minutes before sunrise here, music and DJ. From Nov 1, daytimer sign-on cannot be until 1200 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. Too busy checking out new B-10 SW frequencies the morning of Oct 31, to spend much time on MW, but at 1332 UT, 940 was in well, as ``Newstalk 940, The Voice of Amarillo, KIXZ`` plus clip of Reagan`s quip about bombing Russia, ha ha (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENINIG DIGEST)

** VENEZUELA [non]. Aló, Presidente via CUBA check Sunday Oct 31 at 1707 as El Hugazo was bloviating:
17750, VG signal but very undermodulated and distorted
13750, VG signal and good modulation
13680, VG signal, unlike usually, but undermodulated and hum
12010, good signal but undermodulated
11690, fair signal vs RTTY, undermodulated with hum like 13680
See also CUBA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 640, WWLS IBOC was off during a stupid ballgame, Saturday Oct 30 at 2011 UT, so on caradio I sought uncovered signals on 650 and 630. On 650 I could make out some music at first, but by next check 2029 only a SAH. I have previously pulled KGAB Wyoming in daytime, the next possibility being KIKK Pasadena TX, and after that WSM Nashville. Something could also be heard on 630, likely KHOW Colorado, but still IBOC there from the other side, KMIK 620 TX (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###