RHC Esperanto service, weekly on Sundays at 1500-1530 on 11760, monitored Jan 11 at 1527, with what sounded like a long-path echo, audible periodically as the main signal faded a bit. Trouble is, propagation was crummy and nothing much incoming on 25m from the other worldside. I also noticed that 11760 had a SAH of 100 beats per minute, = 1.67 Hz, but no other audio to account for it. Could RHC be running TWO transmitters with the same program here?
BINGO. The stronger one cut off at 1529 before the program outro finished, uncovering the much weaker one which continued RHC announcements, into Spanish with frequency list including 9600 which quits at 1300 UT. I think this was the automatic replay of the morning service starting at 1100, but it too cut off at 1533*
So if you hear an echo on an RHC frequency, this may explain it rather than long/short path, as they have two or three transmitter sites and we already know there are different delays in getting the program feed to them, which is normally obvious by comparing two different frequencies on two receivers.
We are grateful to Arnie Coro for never discussing such interesting details of his own station, even when queried, ceding to us the thrill of discovery. As an outlaw nation, Cuba does not even tell HFCC what it is doing, but Aoki lists this transmission as of B-07 on a 20-degree beam, only.
Many RHC broadcasts as listed on http://www.radiohc.cu/espanol/frecuencia/frecuencias-espanol.htm which one can never depend on being currently accurate, whatever the effective dates at the top, are for North, Central and South America on a single frequency, including this one and the 1930 repeat. We had assumed they were either non-direxional or using bi-direxional antennas, but in this case it`s two separate transmitters and two separate antennas.
So the same deal may apply to many other transmissions, including our previous log of 9550, Dec 19 at 2306 in English which had the same echo during fades, so we assumed that was long/shortpath. Of course, depending on circumstances, the latter could really be the case, and/or two unsynchronized co-channel transmitters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also VENEZUELA [non]
** VENEZUELA [non]. ``Aló, Presidente`` is finally back after hiatus of about two sesquimonths. Have been checking listed frequencies for this almost every Sunday morning; as reported Jan 4, 13750 was on until 1810* but with RHC repeat programming. This Sunday, Jan 11 at 1525 found 11875 on the air with RHC (I think) programming as warm-up, which is standard procedure, and // 13750 with strongest signal.
At 1545 overheard Hugo Chávez Frías himself mention that this was A,P number 324, then conversing with audience, extolling socialism as solution to all problems and saying the North American empire is itching to get rid of him by any means possible.
Then looked for other frequencies: nothing on 11670 or 11680 and did not notice it on 11690 either, aside RTTY, altho I had forgotten that is now the listed channel; something on 17750 but very weak and unseemed //, maybe out of synch, as nothing else is scheduled there. At 1606 also found // 13680 but very poor, much weaker than 13750 and under skirts of Sackville 13675. Recheck 13750 at 1658, still running. Recheck at 1728, 13750 was still on with someone other than HCF speaking about Venezuelan matters, but the other frequencies had vanished.
In the past, A,P via Cuba had been heard beyond 1800, even 1900 UT and RHC sked does not show any concluding time. Except for the RNV daily relay at 1900, plenty of transmitters remain available until RHC`s own programming revs up at 2000. From press reports, I gather that originally on Venezuelan TV, A,P often goes on for many more hours beyond that, at the whim of the would-be president-for-life (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WWCR-1, 3215, absent UT Sunday Jan 11 at 0717 check, while the other frequencies, 5070, 5890, 5935 were inbooming. I hope they got it back on by 0730 in time for WORLD OF RADIO. Next check for that transmitter, at 1658 found 15825 weakly audible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
