** CHINA. Firedrake Sept 30 at 1244: poor with flutter on 8400; very much better to good level on 9000 also with some flutter. At 1254, just barely audible on 10210, and nowhere higher (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 5025, R. Rebelde, at 1223-1225 Sept 30 report during Haciendo Radio show about Radio Cuba improving Rebelde coverage in the mountains of Guantánamo province, presumably more FM and also TV relay transmitters; sounded like Arnie Coro but apparently not.
This reminds us that Radio Cuba is in charge of all transmitter operation, no doubt including the unmentionable jammers, spy number stations, and those used by Radio Habana Cuba, a separate agency, probably explaining the incredibly poor communication between the two and RHC`s inability to express its own schedule accurately either in announcements or on website. But then, it`s all owned by Castro & Castro, so what`s the difference? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CZECHIA [and non]. 13580, R. Praga in Spanish mentioning something about Cuba to be on this semihour, Sept 30 at 1404, but with QRM from Cuba itself, the 13780/13680 leapfrog landing on 13580, which however is always much stronger on the upper leap, 13880 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ECUADOR. Barely remembered to tune in 9745 at 0503 UT Sept 30, hearing last couple notes of national anthem, OC and off. This might have been HCJB`s final broadcast on this frequency, or could come 24 hours later, when I plan to be monitoring and taping.
The final morning broadcast on 11960 is surely today Sept 30, so I intune that too late at 1256 to hear the tail of a speech with a heavy gringo accent in an echoey room, probably the boss in Manantiales de Colorado, about how HCJB Global is moving into New Media; 1258 the congregation started singing HCJB`s favorite hymn, but nothing stands in the way of automation, cut off a few sex for beam change, and faded out in time for ID at 1259:30, this one giving http://www.radiohcjb.org ``desde el centro del mundo``, 3+1 timesignal for 1300 TUC = 8 am.
On this special occasion I monitored evey quarter hour and taped the variety of automated IDs, all giving correct frequencies 11690 and 11960.
1300 show as usual, Cruzada con Luis Palau, sermon on second of three bad things affecting LAm men: machismo, the first being alcoolismo. I am pleased to hear machismo pronounced correctly as ignorant English-adopters tend to make it a hard k.
Says men should emulate NSJC and not cheat on their wives --- but, but, JC was allegedly a batchelor, and whatever sex life he had was not well reported, except for the nasty rumors about Mary Magdalene.
1329:30 ID plugged Ecuador as ``el tercer exportador en el mundo de flores``, [maybe, but this table as of 1995 http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/ctflower/139e1.htm#table5
shows Ecuador in 5th place with a mere 2.7% of the world market in cut flowers, while Netherlands had more than 50%]
1359:30 ID, quotation from Moody about having the Bible in your heart rather than your head or your pocket.
1400 show Gracia a Vosotros from a Grace Community Church, somewhere.
1429:30 ID faded out the BGEA address before it could finish; about 124 species of hummingbirds in Ecuador, ``el país de los picaflores``. Interesting how the SS focus on the birds` beaksticking into flowers, rather than their sound.
1430 show, Ciudad Médica.
1444:30 ID, quotation from Albert Einstein.
1445 show, Siempre Amigas, for women, yet uses the masculine group plural in further comments.
1459:30 ID, outro theme cut off early, back on a few sex, and then plugs Ecuador as the greatest provider of cacao, which is also its oldest product [maybe, but this table as of 2001-2002 http://www.cacaoweb.net/countries.html
shows Ecuador`s produxion is in seventh place]
Timecheck 10 am = 15 TUC, timesignal and off. Forever. The sound of silence; or rather band noise.
BTW, if VozAndes had been set up in Colombia, it might have got the callsign HJCB, leading to less cumbersome slogans in Spanish and English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** FRANCE [and non?]. 7265, RFI again with heavy echo at 0506 Sept 30 and whenever checked a few more times during the hour. Longpath not an option at this hour over dayside, and nearby European signals, 7250 Vatican and 7240 Portugal at 0537 had no such echo either.
Possibly a relay site erroneously or even deliberately is running same frequency as Issoudun, but echo level always seems same rather than independently fading so more likely both the signals are coming out of Issoudun, double audio input or double transmitter output, yet unsynchronized. Is anybody paying attention at the site or at Paris HQ? If it`s out of Issoudun, the echo should be audible everywhere (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDIA. 9425, AIR National Channel, Bengaluru, Sept 30 at 1350, big but fluttery signal with loud but distorted Hindi talk, even worse than WWRB 9385 or WTJC 9370 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. After a sesquiweek or two of undermodulation, VOI finally jacked it up on Sept 30. Does this require major transmitter repairs or is it must a matter of paying attention to the audio input/output level? 9525.9 at 1336 starting Music Corner, fair signal too, but soft rock songs from the 90s(?), hardly Indonesian. We want gamelans, even in rock music! 1341 outro by YL still uncopyable and hummy. 1351 going from one song to another about friendship. 1356:30 managed to get out www address before CRI 9525.0 carrier/het oncut. If there was anything about the latest Sumatera earthquake, must have been in the first semihour, since it was entertainment business as usual in the second (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ISRAEL. The wandering Jew, Galei Tsahal, on 15783.9 with music at 1410 Sept 30 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** JAPAN [non]. 16m was hopping pretty well, so checked usually dead 13m, Sept 30 at 1416 and pleasantly found NHKWRJ in English introducing Easy Japanese lesson 50; fair and steady readable signal, less than one second ahead of 13630 via Ramipisham UK, and only an echo apart from 11705 via Sackville, CANADA [and no echo there from Yamata direct lately]. 21560 is Issoudun, FRANCE at 152 degrees; only other signal on 13m was a weak trace of Spain on 21570 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NETHERLANDS [non]. I was expecting to hear RNW on usual 9345, but now it`s on 9350, Sept 30 at 1253 in Dutch with ``economic nieuws``, good signal. This is via IBB TINIAN, NMI, 250 kW, at 1230-1257 only, aimed 267 degrees to CIRAF 49 = Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, where there are no doubt oodles of Dutchmen, since Amsterdam is tame compared to Bangkok (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SAUDI ARABIA. 17895, poor and fluttery but abuzzous Qur`an, Sept 30 at 1413, i.e. BSKSA Riyadh HQS, scheduled 12-15 at 295 degrees. Someone reported this on 17900, but I doubt it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TURKEY. 15450, VOT fairly good as reception improves autumnally, Sept 30 at 1315 wrapping up Letterbox, mostly music fill afterwards, but 1324 cut off closing IS before even one iteration could play.
It`s the end of September, and it dawns on me that I haven`t heard anything about a VOT essay contest this year. Normally it runs in the spring/summer and winners are already touring Turkey by September. Was there none this year? Nothing found on website, but here is an outdated program schedule where there used to be none at all!
http://www.trt-world.com/trtinternational/Generic/SayfaTasarimiGoster.aspx?TaslakKodu=4e127f36-756b-4a65-b6bf-47443fdeddc6&dil=en
I am also having trouble getting a live stream from VOT any more. Is it gone? (Glenn Hauser, OK, Sept 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WRMI 9955 continues switching to NW antenna UT Wed & Fri at 0000-0800. Good signal at 0038 Sept 30 check with English religionist, but plenty of jamming also audible.
On schedule as of last week later UT Wed: 0052 Viva Miami, 0100 Studio DX in Italian, 0130 World [Mexican] Baseball Today, 0145 Acontecer Venezolano, 0200 Wire Light infomercial stuff, 0400 R. Prague, 0430 R. Praga, 0500 Wire Light, 0700 WORLD OF RADIO (from last week), 0730 Frecuencia al Día.
However, gone here by next check 0140, and no revival in further chex to 0530 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 13950-13970, OTH radar pulses, presumed, Sept 30 at 1310 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
