giovedì 26 gennaio 2017

Glenn Hauser logs January 25-26, 2017


** ANGUILLA. 11775, Jan 25 at 2135 check, Caribbean Beacon is still off day frequency. Could be that they are running night frequency 6090 in daytime too? No, not audible there and it should be by now if on. At 2200 neither is on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** AUSTRALIA. 4835, Jan 26 at 1251, VL8A detectable in slop from 4840 WWCR, but fair in the clear after 1300. Also the other VL8s with JBA carriers on 2325, 2485. 

Radio Australia had been missing from its day frequencies earlier UT Jan 26, says Ron Howard, and Brian Powell, Sydney, replied, ``Nothing heard here in Australia, on Australia Day (January 26) 0549 UT. Staff at Shepp must be taking a day off like the majority of us!`` Or some irregular maintenance outages. 

9580, Jan 26 at 1254, 9580 is back on strong as usual, JBA carrier on 12065, and can`t be sure 12085 is on, but there is an off-frequency carrier nearby. At 1356, `Conversation` is concluding, with Fidler promoting podcasting of his program, but not shortwave! Plus music fill, 1400 ABC News (not Radio Australia news) starting with a private plane crash off Perth during the celebrations, fireworx canceled. 

[and non] Now I`m getting some splatter from CRI via CUBA 9570, which doesn`t cut off until 1402*, while another transmitter has already been on 15700 with dead air. 1405, `All in the Mind` about how the mind can help heal the body. Countdown to oblivion continues (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** AUSTRIA. 6155, Jan 26 at 0718, Ö1 is still on in Austro-German, S8-S9 but tough copy. I thought it ended at 0715, but I see in HFCC it`s 0600-0720, the only ORF/ORS legacy SW broadcast from Moosbrunn (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CANADA. 6754-USB, Jan 26 at 0720, CHR Trenton Military with ``no report received`` from Toronto, Bagotville, Trenton(!), Ottawa. 0721 UT time as ``0-6-2-0 zulu``, and NRRs for Calgary, Cold Lake, Winnipeg, Edmonton. Hey, someone, kick the computer controller.

15034, Jan 26 at 1439, CHR is finally funxional again, after at least 5 straight days of ``no report received`` whenever checked: recent conditions at Prestwick, altimeter always in hektopascals (which we would call barometric pressure in millibars). 

BUT, on to Terminal Forecasts for Shannon, Prestwick, Keflavik, Lajes, all ``no report received``. So CHR is managing to broadcast Aviation Weather reports but not Terminal Forecasts. 

At 1441, still wrong current timecheck as ``1-3-4-0 zulu``, and weather for Shearwater, Greenwood, Gander, Halifax from 1400z or ``special`` later readings like 1438, 1427. Repeated. 1445, again NRRs for terminals from Halifax to Shearwater. 1446 ID, mis-time as 1345z, and Aviation Weather for the first quartet mentioned above. 

So where is Bagotville (the T is pronounced)? Near Saguenay, Québec, which is at the northern edge of developed QC, a 100K+ city west of Rimouski and north of Quebec City. At 1502 recheck, no signal. So apparently the transmissions are not meant to be continuous, unless this is another foulup. Unlike NY Radio & Gander, the Trenton frequencies are not time-shared with another station. As for the ``no report received`` defaults, it`s not unusual for them to appear here and there, rather than everywhere (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. 6105, Jan 26 at 1337, Firedragon music atop algo during a slow passage; 1353 back to heavy percussion. Aoki shows RTI at 10-14 in Chinese languages is *jammed except for Hakka at 1230-1300, an oversight or a political statement?

6045, Jan 26 at 1338 Chinese mix of CNR1 jamming and VOA via Thailand at 12-14 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. 5025, Jan 26 at 0553, R. Rebelde is still/again off (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** KOREA NORTH [non]. 6145, Thu Jan 26 at 1341, Sea Breeze in weekly English, usual urgent YL, sounders. At 1354 mentions Radio Free Asia, 1355 Sea Breeze ID; from JSR Yamata, JAPAN (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 580, Jan 26 at 1302 UT, Spanish vs WIBW in English, temps in F and C; discussing exchange rates differing little between bancos and casas de cambio, and the puente; this-day-in-history; 7:05 TC at 1305; 878- phone number, US toll-free apparently. So it`s obviously XEMU Piedras Negras, Coahuila on the border. Fortunately, no wasteful wall will prevent signals penetrating from our good neighbor to the south. Also hearing many of the other usual pre-sunrise N/W Mexicans up to 870 XETAR (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TAIWAN [non]. 11580, Jan 26 at 0100, WRMI is JBA carrier, so can`t tell whether the PCJ Radio International special for Chinese New Year is airing as publicized. Normally 6855 would be // during this hour, and it has a gospel huxter, presumably `Sounding the Alarm` as scheduled.

Walt Salmaniw in BC replied about 11580, ``Just barely audible here, Glenn, so I checked the half dozen or so remote Perseus receivers in North America and found one in Rochester, NY. Fair signal, and clearly a huxter . . . at 0124 UT 26 Jan 2017``

Then Gilles Letourneau in Québec replied, ``Hello Glenn, I did receive today the Near Years Special from PCJ around 2200 UT [Wed] on 11580 and I did receive it last night [UT Wed] around 0100 UT 11580. Was pretty good up here in Montreal``

The WRMI schedule just shows `Media Network Plus` but we know these hours can also be occupied by other PCJRI produxions. Wed 2200, MN+ is scheduled on 5950, but UT Wed at 0100 on 11580 is a scheduled MN+ time anyway. So Gilles heard it 24 hours earlier than publicized for the special.

WRMI`s own schedules show all these regular times for MN+:
Wed 0100 11580
Wed 2200  5950
Thu 0700  5850 7730 [as heard but shows as `Fri 0700``], also 6855
Thu 2000 11580
Fri 2300  9955 [NOT at 2200! in winter]
Some of these may also be on unpublicized // 6855.

The PCJ website does not show all these times:

``PCJ Radio International twice weekly North American broadcasts
Catch PCJ Radio International twice weekly to North America.
Wednesday - 0100UTC on 11580khz
Friday - 2200UTC on 9955khz

PCJ Radio International will present a special program for Chinese New Years Eve for the Year of the Rooster. Extra MV/FM and shortwave frequencies have been added

North America
0100 - 0200 UTC
Frequency: 11580 kHz
Date: January 26, 2017

0100 - 0200 UTC
Frequency 7570 kHz
Date: January 27, 2017``

So was it already on 7570 at 0100 UT Thu Jan 26? Did not check. Or does the date for that really mean UT Fri Jan 27? Maybe the dates on the website are NAm time, despite the times being UT. That could mean the 0100 airing on 11580 is still coming UT Jan 27, and the 7570 at 0100 will be UT Jan 28. UT dates/days/times MUST always match lest there be confusion like this. And is the CNY special supposed to occupy all the ``non-special`` MN+ times as well?

5850 // 6855 // 7730, UT Thu Jan 26 at 0700, there it is! The Chinese NY special, with Keith Perron about the traits of rooster-people, and explaining the dozen animals correlating with humans in a 12-year cycle; along with SFX and light-hearted music. Do Chinese really believe this nonsense, or just consider it a fun tradition? 6855 as always much weaker than the others (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

** TURKEY. 12035.028, Thu Jan 26 at 1343, VOT ending news in English, on to `The Middle East through Turkey`s Window`, commentary about Syria and PKK, always denounced as Terrorists. 1350 on to next segment `Turkey and Eurasia`, analyzing public diplomacy activities of TRT and other agencies in Kazakhstan. Both these attributed to someone in a department of international relations, at a university? Fair signal with some hum. Does anyone have a current schedule of VOT programs in English, in any form? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1861 monitoring: confirmed Wed Jan 25 at 2200 on WBCQ 7490, fair-good. 

WORLD OF RADIO 1862 monitoring: confirmed Thursday January 26 at 1245, the first airing at 1230 on WRMI 9955; S9+10 with a trace of jamming; also on // 6855 at S9 but sounds much weaker vs noise (could it be DRM from Kodiak 6850??) and 6855 is fading down. Next:

Thu 2130   WRMI 11580 to NE
Fri 0030   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Fri 2230   WRMI 11580 to NE, 6855 to WNW, 5950 to S [NEW]
Sat 0030   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 0730   HLR 6190-CUSB to SW
Sat 1530   HLR 7265-CUSB to SW
Sat 2030v  WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sat 2330   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sun 0410v  WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sun 1130   HLR 9485-CUSB to SW
Mon 0030   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0400v  WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW
Mon 0430   WRMI 9955 to SSE
Tue 0030   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Tue 0030   WRMI 7730 to WNW
Tue 1200   WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW
Tue 2130   WRMI 15770 to NE
Tue 2300   WRMI 9955 to SSE
Wed 0030   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Wed 1030   WRMI 5850 to NW, 6855 to WNW
Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW
Wed 2200   WBCQ 7490v to WSW
Thu 0030   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1680, Jan 26 at 1317 UT, W&M in chat show, ``The Morning Scramble at 99.7 My-FM``, i.e. via its AM appendage, KRJO Monroe LA, so format is not just AC music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 2520, Jan 26 at 1252 UT, S7 open carrier, presumably the WOCO Oconto WI second harmonic from 1260 which others continue to report, so I wonder if they are just warming up for a sign-on? 1259-1301+ UT maybe a trace of modulation, much less than the carrier level ought to provide, so I`ve yet to get a definite ID on it. Much stronger than a JBA carrier from the other active US harmonic on 2960. 2520 carrier still audible at 1325 UT, S7 = the noise level. I never hear 2520 in the evening, so maybe they really cut from 1000 to 29 watts (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 1160, Jan 26 at 1314 UT open carrier almost zero-beat over KSL, but hard to DF, apparently a daytimer about to start: 1315 UT no sign-on, no ID, just bringing up a gospel huxter in progress in English. So is it KVCE Highland Park (The Metroplex) TX, which is 35/1 kW U4, not a daytimer? FCC AM Query shows its day and night sites are quite far apart, so one could be interfering with the other during overlap, but the correct LSR time for KVCE in Jan is 1330 UT, not 1315 UT until Feb. 

Other possibility is WYLL Chicago IL (né WJJD), 50/50 kW U2, where the Jan LSR is indeed 1315 UT. Despite the power, day pattern is tight to the north and night pattern is circular to the SE. It too has separate day and night sites. We should not be getting so much from it; nor from KVCE, with day pattern to the ESE, and night pattern to the SE (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

This report despatched at 1335 UT January 26