** ALBANIA [and non]. 13640, R. Tirana check vs All India Radio co-channel QRM, Monday April 5: At 1926 only AIR clashing with the other Arabic station on 13640.
At 2000 all I hear is AIR until *2001.5 RT carrier cuts on the air late and applied audio at 2001.6 as the 2-minute opening full-English schedule announcement is about to conclude. RT on top but QRM audible under, about the same as last previous English service on Saturday. Since RT is not fully modulated, it cannot afford any such QRM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ANTARCTICA. 15476, LRA36, no carrier April 5 at 1307, 1356 chex. How about another contact with the station for an update on its plans? Apparently this is a very low priority at Base Esperanza (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake April 5:
8400, very good at 1228
10300, good at 1248; gone at 1310 audiblizing SOH: see TAIWAN
10970, good at 1248
11500, poor at 1249
12240, very poor at 1251, not // the lower ones
13130, poor at 1253; almost // to 10970 but a few sex out of synch --- I think --- this FD music begins to sound all the same after years of 60-minute repetitions. No others found up to 17 MHz by 1300, but:
15430, FD poor with flutter at 1356-1400* when none of the previous frequencies are refound in quick chex. A few sex after this goes off, at *1400:15 to 1401:10* a stronger open carrier appears on 15430. The target at 1330-1400 was V. of Tibet, via Babcock, UAE.
15670, CNR1 jamming April 5 at 1308 // stronger 15115, the latter with victim also audible. 15670 is RFA Tibetan via Tajikistan; 15115 is VOA Mandarin via Thailand (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [and non]. Further monitoring of RHC`s new schedule effective April 4:
17560 *is* the frequency in use to Europe, not 17550, and not 17650. However, they *should* be on 17650 during the first hour at least, since 17560, as I predicted, collides with VOA French to Africa, good signal here. So both are in French at 1930-2000! Then RHC Arabic at 2000.
April 4 at 1927 tune-in, open carrier on 17560 over VOA French, and also ACI from WYFR 17555 in French! At *1929:45 an additional carrier makes a SAH on 17560, as VOA is transitioning from São Tomé to Bonaire site, the Yankee Doodle Dandy sign-off from Pinheira colliding with VOA programming now continuing via Bonaire!
Obviously (?) quite aside from the new RHC problem, VOA should DCI (drop carrier immediately) from ST since the same programming continues from another site (and it`s absurd and unnecessary to change sites in the middle of a program, just to show they can do it, but stepping all over themselves as happens in many other cases due to lack of internal coördination).
Meanwhile, still unmodulated carrier from Cuba, until finally at 1932.3, RHC French modulation is JIP with Journal Parlé, and now it`s the signal atop VOA. (How quaint that term, ``spoken newspaper`` for radio newscast. Turnabout, a newspaper might then be called a ``printed broadcast``.)
By 1940 the two are about equal level here, awful collision. VOA is due east from Bonaire for Africa, while RHC is presumably NEward for Europe, but bound to be colliding thruout Eurafrica too. The collision ends circa 2030 when VOA is finished with 17560.
Next check at 2245, RHC is loud and clear on 17560, as it should also be Sundays for `En Contacto`, if the earlier collision has not been corrected, and it is not likely to be as Arnie Coro does not like to admit he has made a mistake, witness the HCJB 6050 collision which he has prolonged.
Once again Coro proves his incompetence as frequency manager, since VOA French at 1930 has been there since A-11 began, no secret if he had turned on a radio in the past week, or consulted HFCC public listings, even tho he refuses to participate for fear of having to negotiate with Americans (that doesn`t stop the ChiCom).
9620: in previous report I mentioned that the RHC schedule shows them staying on 9770 at 23-04 to ``Rio de Janeiro`` (not including any Portuguese, however). Ha ha! RHC *is* on 9620, not checked until 0332 UT April 5, when it`s atop REE direct. Spain has been on this frequency for decades. Poor REE listeners in SAm must be pulling their hair out, as Cuba`s status even among comsymps is self-destructing.
The problem is: we have two different contradictory skeds from RHC, one on the website, and another sent out to DX editors, so all we can do is *monitor* to find out what they are *really* doing.
13670, NF for RHC also confirmed at 0332 April, poor signal // 6060 and 9620, not 9770. 13670 scheduled 21-04.
12020, another NF for RHC, confirmed at 0437 // 12040 and 11760. 12020 is scheduled 21-05.
9550, NF, or rather reactivated as used in past years, April 5 at 1229 with Amalia reporting on jaguares, atop CRI in Vietnamese, Commies vs Commies! 9550 now scheduled 11-13 to ``Chicago``.
13680, April 5 at 1255 not yet on, but 13780 has open carrier, 1256 cutting on modulation; no finesse or formal sign-ons here!
12000, lite pulse jamming against nothing, April 5 at 0533. That`s because VOA Spanish is now using it at totally different hours, 23-24, plus Tue-Sat 00-01, when no doubt there is a wall of noise. 12000 was once an RHC frequency too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9526-, VOI, Tuesday April 5 at 1314 VG signal but with IADs during another `Exotic Indonesia` co-produxion with RRI Banjarmasin. News that 35 Indonesian soldiers were not among those killed in a Kinshasa, Congo plane crash. News items alternated from Banj and Jak.
1323 `Today in History` about civil disobedience and Gandhi, Howard Hughes, and Tiananmen Square. 1327 `Commentary`. Until 1334 `Focus` on Indonesian embassy funxions being transferred from Tripoli to Tunis. 1335 feature docu from Banj, about the State Islamic Institute, 1 km from RRI studios, the only one on Kalimantan island. Part I on its history and establishment; evidently Indonesia is a theocracy if this is state-sponsored. No, thank you.
Since unusually I have a computer on for another reason, I bring up the corresponding webcast at 1344 via http://www.en.voi.co.id The greeting, mixed with gamelan, says ``...the world service of Radio Republik Indonesia, the Voice of Indonesia, the sound of dignity, dignifying the ultimate noble of human being [sic]``. I see the website has a ``dignity forum`` where one might learn why they are so obsessed with this angle.
I was wondering if the streaming would also suffer from IADs: fortunately it does not, but the audio quality, especially from Banjarmasin, is degraded, with HF hash in the background. At 1352 they wrap up with one song each from Banj and Jak.
This runs over until 1402 ID in English; still listening to webcast instead of 9526-, it remains in English instead of switching to Indonesian on SW, with brief newscast until 1405 a song about California girls, 1410 live DJ in English saying the next news will be on the hour; amid more pop music, some of it in Indonesian, he inserts at 1416 weather reports for different Indo cities, generally raining and temps 24-33 C; then for SEAs and otherworldly cities, even New York, Europe, and more Indorock (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NIGERIA. 15120, April 5 at 0528, poor signal with unstable carrier, must be VON. Need to catch it at 0500 for news before fading down some nights (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN. 9650, the third and final broadcast of Emisión Sefarad from REE is confirmed here, UT Tuesdays 0415-0445, not on alternate 9690. VG signal to NAm, from 0438 with music until sign-off. Sorry I missed most of it, as this was their 25th anniversary (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN. 10300, April 5 at 1310, Chinese talk, very poor, presumed Sound of Hope, and NO Firedrake to block it. Previous days FD cut on around this minute, but today still absent at 1330 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9955, surprised to hear the WWCR guys, Jerry and Brady on WRMI frequency, and with lite jamming which WWCR never gets, April 5 at 0520, discussing the NASB Survey, which is about to close. This must have been during `Viva Miami` as scheduled 0515 UT Tuesdays (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9330-CUSB, WBCQ again on later than scheduled with Radio 2:11, April 5 at 0524 with prayer requests to 877-942-4253. Who needs intercession by strangers?? If I want to contact God, I`ll do it myself. But then He is apparently subject to democratic influence, toting up the votes. Of course certain strangers believe they are more ept at getting thru, which is anti-democratic (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 13570, WINB is back on April 4 at 1934 with YL gospel huxter, wobble. Also April 5 at 1254 with OM gospel huxter, constantly wobbling carrier; but at next check 1359, it`s gone. Apparently the 24/7 schedule has been curtailed, so on and off and on and off, rather than breakdown (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 14275, 1257 April 5, AM broadcast mentioning tsunami and Japan emergency, calling for traffic re; distorted modulation, 1258 ID as International Amateur Radio Network, so FCC has still not managed to close down Glenn Baxter`s K1MAN in Maine despite numerous violations and litigation (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [non]. 17560 at 1930 April 4, VOA French collides with itself as site-switch overlaps, now also blocked by CUBA: q.v. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
At 2000 all I hear is AIR until *2001.5 RT carrier cuts on the air late and applied audio at 2001.6 as the 2-minute opening full-English schedule announcement is about to conclude. RT on top but QRM audible under, about the same as last previous English service on Saturday. Since RT is not fully modulated, it cannot afford any such QRM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ANTARCTICA. 15476, LRA36, no carrier April 5 at 1307, 1356 chex. How about another contact with the station for an update on its plans? Apparently this is a very low priority at Base Esperanza (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake April 5:
8400, very good at 1228
10300, good at 1248; gone at 1310 audiblizing SOH: see TAIWAN
10970, good at 1248
11500, poor at 1249
12240, very poor at 1251, not // the lower ones
13130, poor at 1253; almost // to 10970 but a few sex out of synch --- I think --- this FD music begins to sound all the same after years of 60-minute repetitions. No others found up to 17 MHz by 1300, but:
15430, FD poor with flutter at 1356-1400* when none of the previous frequencies are refound in quick chex. A few sex after this goes off, at *1400:15 to 1401:10* a stronger open carrier appears on 15430. The target at 1330-1400 was V. of Tibet, via Babcock, UAE.
15670, CNR1 jamming April 5 at 1308 // stronger 15115, the latter with victim also audible. 15670 is RFA Tibetan via Tajikistan; 15115 is VOA Mandarin via Thailand (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [and non]. Further monitoring of RHC`s new schedule effective April 4:
17560 *is* the frequency in use to Europe, not 17550, and not 17650. However, they *should* be on 17650 during the first hour at least, since 17560, as I predicted, collides with VOA French to Africa, good signal here. So both are in French at 1930-2000! Then RHC Arabic at 2000.
April 4 at 1927 tune-in, open carrier on 17560 over VOA French, and also ACI from WYFR 17555 in French! At *1929:45 an additional carrier makes a SAH on 17560, as VOA is transitioning from São Tomé to Bonaire site, the Yankee Doodle Dandy sign-off from Pinheira colliding with VOA programming now continuing via Bonaire!
Obviously (?) quite aside from the new RHC problem, VOA should DCI (drop carrier immediately) from ST since the same programming continues from another site (and it`s absurd and unnecessary to change sites in the middle of a program, just to show they can do it, but stepping all over themselves as happens in many other cases due to lack of internal coördination).
Meanwhile, still unmodulated carrier from Cuba, until finally at 1932.3, RHC French modulation is JIP with Journal Parlé, and now it`s the signal atop VOA. (How quaint that term, ``spoken newspaper`` for radio newscast. Turnabout, a newspaper might then be called a ``printed broadcast``.)
By 1940 the two are about equal level here, awful collision. VOA is due east from Bonaire for Africa, while RHC is presumably NEward for Europe, but bound to be colliding thruout Eurafrica too. The collision ends circa 2030 when VOA is finished with 17560.
Next check at 2245, RHC is loud and clear on 17560, as it should also be Sundays for `En Contacto`, if the earlier collision has not been corrected, and it is not likely to be as Arnie Coro does not like to admit he has made a mistake, witness the HCJB 6050 collision which he has prolonged.
Once again Coro proves his incompetence as frequency manager, since VOA French at 1930 has been there since A-11 began, no secret if he had turned on a radio in the past week, or consulted HFCC public listings, even tho he refuses to participate for fear of having to negotiate with Americans (that doesn`t stop the ChiCom).
9620: in previous report I mentioned that the RHC schedule shows them staying on 9770 at 23-04 to ``Rio de Janeiro`` (not including any Portuguese, however). Ha ha! RHC *is* on 9620, not checked until 0332 UT April 5, when it`s atop REE direct. Spain has been on this frequency for decades. Poor REE listeners in SAm must be pulling their hair out, as Cuba`s status even among comsymps is self-destructing.
The problem is: we have two different contradictory skeds from RHC, one on the website, and another sent out to DX editors, so all we can do is *monitor* to find out what they are *really* doing.
13670, NF for RHC also confirmed at 0332 April, poor signal // 6060 and 9620, not 9770. 13670 scheduled 21-04.
12020, another NF for RHC, confirmed at 0437 // 12040 and 11760. 12020 is scheduled 21-05.
9550, NF, or rather reactivated as used in past years, April 5 at 1229 with Amalia reporting on jaguares, atop CRI in Vietnamese, Commies vs Commies! 9550 now scheduled 11-13 to ``Chicago``.
13680, April 5 at 1255 not yet on, but 13780 has open carrier, 1256 cutting on modulation; no finesse or formal sign-ons here!
12000, lite pulse jamming against nothing, April 5 at 0533. That`s because VOA Spanish is now using it at totally different hours, 23-24, plus Tue-Sat 00-01, when no doubt there is a wall of noise. 12000 was once an RHC frequency too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9526-, VOI, Tuesday April 5 at 1314 VG signal but with IADs during another `Exotic Indonesia` co-produxion with RRI Banjarmasin. News that 35 Indonesian soldiers were not among those killed in a Kinshasa, Congo plane crash. News items alternated from Banj and Jak.
1323 `Today in History` about civil disobedience and Gandhi, Howard Hughes, and Tiananmen Square. 1327 `Commentary`. Until 1334 `Focus` on Indonesian embassy funxions being transferred from Tripoli to Tunis. 1335 feature docu from Banj, about the State Islamic Institute, 1 km from RRI studios, the only one on Kalimantan island. Part I on its history and establishment; evidently Indonesia is a theocracy if this is state-sponsored. No, thank you.
Since unusually I have a computer on for another reason, I bring up the corresponding webcast at 1344 via http://www.en.voi.co.id The greeting, mixed with gamelan, says ``...the world service of Radio Republik Indonesia, the Voice of Indonesia, the sound of dignity, dignifying the ultimate noble of human being [sic]``. I see the website has a ``dignity forum`` where one might learn why they are so obsessed with this angle.
I was wondering if the streaming would also suffer from IADs: fortunately it does not, but the audio quality, especially from Banjarmasin, is degraded, with HF hash in the background. At 1352 they wrap up with one song each from Banj and Jak.
This runs over until 1402 ID in English; still listening to webcast instead of 9526-, it remains in English instead of switching to Indonesian on SW, with brief newscast until 1405 a song about California girls, 1410 live DJ in English saying the next news will be on the hour; amid more pop music, some of it in Indonesian, he inserts at 1416 weather reports for different Indo cities, generally raining and temps 24-33 C; then for SEAs and otherworldly cities, even New York, Europe, and more Indorock (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NIGERIA. 15120, April 5 at 0528, poor signal with unstable carrier, must be VON. Need to catch it at 0500 for news before fading down some nights (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN. 9650, the third and final broadcast of Emisión Sefarad from REE is confirmed here, UT Tuesdays 0415-0445, not on alternate 9690. VG signal to NAm, from 0438 with music until sign-off. Sorry I missed most of it, as this was their 25th anniversary (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN. 10300, April 5 at 1310, Chinese talk, very poor, presumed Sound of Hope, and NO Firedrake to block it. Previous days FD cut on around this minute, but today still absent at 1330 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9955, surprised to hear the WWCR guys, Jerry and Brady on WRMI frequency, and with lite jamming which WWCR never gets, April 5 at 0520, discussing the NASB Survey, which is about to close. This must have been during `Viva Miami` as scheduled 0515 UT Tuesdays (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9330-CUSB, WBCQ again on later than scheduled with Radio 2:11, April 5 at 0524 with prayer requests to 877-942-4253. Who needs intercession by strangers?? If I want to contact God, I`ll do it myself. But then He is apparently subject to democratic influence, toting up the votes. Of course certain strangers believe they are more ept at getting thru, which is anti-democratic (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 13570, WINB is back on April 4 at 1934 with YL gospel huxter, wobble. Also April 5 at 1254 with OM gospel huxter, constantly wobbling carrier; but at next check 1359, it`s gone. Apparently the 24/7 schedule has been curtailed, so on and off and on and off, rather than breakdown (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 14275, 1257 April 5, AM broadcast mentioning tsunami and Japan emergency, calling for traffic re; distorted modulation, 1258 ID as International Amateur Radio Network, so FCC has still not managed to close down Glenn Baxter`s K1MAN in Maine despite numerous violations and litigation (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [non]. 17560 at 1930 April 4, VOA French collides with itself as site-switch overlaps, now also blocked by CUBA: q.v. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
