martedì 15 gennaio 2013

Glenn Hauser logs January 14, 2013

** BRAZIL. 11780, Jan 14 at 0629, still no RNB audible but the wideband noise is still QRMing the entire 25m band, audible roughly 11.4-12.0 MHz, especially noticeable under weakish signals from NZ on 11725, WEWN on 11870. So continued much later than previous night, maybe all-night. But by 1400 UT recheck, 25m is clear of it again, altho RNB is typically inaudible at this daypart.

Brazilian DXers on the radioescutas group have shown no interest at all in this matter, but Jorge Freitas, in the DXLDyg has been monitoring it via various remote receivers and thinks my suspicion that the Brasília 11780 transmitter is responsible has merit. Others still hear that normally at other times of day. I am even wondering if it is a DRM test gone horribly wrong.

Don Moman in Alberta reports: ``Overnight Jan 14th monitoring (using Camstudio to do a screen grab every 60 seconds) showed our wide band noise went off abruptly around 0649:30. It then came back on, but over a period of minutes starting at 0712. At 1010 one could start to see some gaps starting to show in the noise spectrum and it continued to shrink until I couldn't see it any more around 1035. I do not believe this was a propagation based fade, considering the strength and steadiness of their signal all night up to that point. The band was still quite full of signals. I saw no other wide band noise activity since then. 73 Don VE6JY`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** EGYPT. 13580, Jan 14 at 1507, R. Cairo in Albanian, QRMing itself, such that the music sounds off-pitch, as well as the distorted talk. Signal strength is sufficient on this 300-degree beam from Abu Zabaal, also favoring North America (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GUAM. 5765-USB, Jan 14 at 1337, this is an on-day for AFN, with NBC Today show segment on celebrities flashing back at papparazzi; wideband OTH radar pulsing QRM probably from China (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 730, Jan 14 at 1410 UT, Mexican music and ``Ke Buena`` ID before succumbing totally to 740 KRMG Tulsa 50 kW splash. So XEHB, Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, surely also running 50 kW, has held up longer than most lowbanders, a semihour past sunrise here (Glenn hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 1120, Jan 14 at 1354 UT, NO signal from KEOR Sperry/Catoosa with its never-announced or IDed Mexican music; just KMOX. Bruce Winkelman within Tulsa had first noticed it absent on Jan 13. Still off Jan 14 at 1822 UT approaching local mean noon.

2 kW daytimer KEOR had been active almost every day and often illegally at night for almost 3 months since first re-noticed October 18 as in DXLD 12-43, yet never reported by anyone except Bruce and me, as I search thru both NRC eDX News and IRCA Soft DX Monitors.

We may not have heard the last of it yet, with its CP for 10 kW day, 7 kW critical hours, tho you`d think broadcasting for 3 months with nary an ID, and even at night might get it into a wee bit of trouble with the FCC. But who`s complaining?

At AM Query I see KEOR is owned by ``La Zeta 95.7``. Googling on that leads to Bentonville etc., NW Arkansas, KSEC. Yet FCC also shows that on Nov 21, 2012, sale was ``consummated`` to Rafft Corp., in Rogers TX (NOT AR) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U K [non]. 11890, Jan 14 at 1434, BBCWS with quite sufficient signal during `Outlook`, interviewing first a radio station manager in Gao, eastern Mali, about how he is coping with the Islamist invasion, Sharia law imposed, power only in the evenings, etc., closing only with his incomprehensible name, not the name of the station, or godforbid, the frequency. His replies in French were voiced-over very articulately.

Next interview with a British yachting couple who had been held hostage for two years in Somalia, finally released thanks to ransom donors who wanted to remain anonymous. No translation.

Third interview with Suzanne (?), an Afghan rapper who is boldly bucking persecution of women, also voiced over professionally.

Cut off the air at 1459:30*, having been 25 degrees from SINGAPORE, at 13-15, carrying on well to North America despite BBC`s best efforts to prevent Americans from listening on SW. A few sex later, before 1500, a weaker R. Svoboda comes on 11890, i.e. Belarussian from Woofferton UK (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1651 monitoring: confirmed on WRMI 9955, UT Monday Jan 14 at 0537, roughly equal to the Cuban pulse jamming level, each fading up and down independently, just as I am freely talking about RHC being an integral part of the DGI spy agency. Next: Tuesday 1200, Thursday 0430 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 3195, Jan 14 at 0637, buzzy open carrier, suspected WWRB on the air past usual 0500*; other WWRB 3185 and WWCR 3215 were normal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 15630-15680, Jan 14 at 1342, peaking around 15650, modulation spur spikes matching 15825 WWCR where signal is stronger than usual; sporadic-E enhanced? 1344 series of promos for WWCR shows on other frequencies. Weaker spikes also audible circa 16000, i.e. plus and minus 175 kHz or so from fundamental. Could be these are always radiated, but audiblized only when fundamental surges to a certain strength. Spikes around 15650 still audible at 1513. WWCR still hasn`t figured out how to suppress its spurs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 770, Jan 14 at 0647 UT, `Red Eye Radio` program ID, so must be WABC NYC, the only 770 on their affiliate list
http://www.redeyeradioshow.com/article.asp?id=2531095
I was at first suspecting this weak talk signal in English would be KKOB or KKOB, but not with that show. Been ages since I`ve heard WABC out here more than 2 megameters away (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 930, Jan 14 at 0642 UT, `Coast to Coast` recognized, same speaker and subject as on 860, 850, 840, etc., etc., in WKY OKC null. Searching C2C website affiliate list at
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/stations
gets only one hit on 930, KSDN in Aberdeen SD, whose 1 kW night pattern is mainly toward the northeast, http://transition.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/105214-3689.pdf
with very little southward, from close to due north from here; new one, anyway, presumed (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also UNIDENTIFIED 900

** U S A. 1020, Jan 14 at 1358 UT, sunrise surge from KMMQ Portsmouth NE, clear with semi-local KOKP Perry OK carefully nulled. Spanish restaurán ad, slogan as ``La Nueva 10-20 AM, La estación de La Raza`` (which in Chicano thinking must not be considered racist). So still have not heard the alleged ``Ke Padre`` slogan as in NRC AM Log 2012-2013. Then live DJ with TC, ``un minuto para las ocho de la mañana``, and phoning Celina (sp?) in El Salvador, playing a bit of Mañanitas for her, telling her it`s ``Radio K en Omaha, Nebraska`` llamando, but no sign of a legal ID even as announcing in passing ``8 en punto``; 1402 it`s fading, losing out to KOKP. KMMQ`s official January sunrise for 50 kW day power is 1345 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1200, Jan 14 at 1424 UT, gospel huxtress in English looping N/S, but not something WOAI San Antonio would be carrying. No sign of anything else except weak Spanish, i.e. WRTO Chicago. WOAI had been in a total fade, but soon came back. So the religion must have been KFNW in West Fargo ND, which in January may start 50 kW day facilities at 1415 UT, mostly to the north, but some to the south:
http://transition.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/1316214-107837.pdf
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1250, Jan 14 at 1428 UT, Capital One ad in English, associated with sports, 1430 ``Sports Leader, ESPN``, no Spanish at first, which usually dominates from La Equis, KYYS Kansas City. So presumed KZDC San Antonio TX, the most likely ESPN outlet anywhere around here, 5 kW non-direxional days, and seems N/S, tho KBTC in Houston (how do they pronounce it?), south-central Missouri is also ESPN (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 960, UT Monday Jan 15 during another KGWA Fox-hole of dead air, I make out some harmonica/blues music at 0604 UT which based on unusual format I suspect is from WABG in Greenwood, Mississippi, but have never been able to catch any ID from (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 15901-SSB, Jan 14 at 1347, 2-way in colloquial Spanish, mentioned coordinates 95-57 and 23-55, which is off the coast of Tamaulipas in the Gulf, also at 1350 mentioned ``pescas``, i.e. fishing. I wonder if these higher-frequency never-IDing Spanish communicators, legal or not, are using them for short-range contacts with other vessels, or with faraway HQs? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)