** ALBANIA. R. Tirana Oct 29 for the 2100 English broadcast: at 2105, nothing audible on 9895, and the SAH with Farda on 7520; things improved considerably by 2122, when 9895 was audible poorly in the clear; but now it is in music fill until 2126:30 closing and theme to 2128*. 7520 had also improved to RT slightly on top of Farda. Once Tirana was off at 2128, Farda from Sri Lanka was clearly audible by itself. Checking the Albanian sesquihour from 2130, 7435 was poorly audible at 2135.
The next Albanian sesquihour, from 0000 for North America, is hit by heavy Cuban jamming on 6110 when checked at 0055 Oct 30, and presumably for the entire hour, but jamming off at 0100 clearing Tirana. Nothing is scheduled worth jamming on 6110 now, so suspect it is Radio República whose schedule is never published anywhere. More under CUBA [non]. If this keeps up, Tirana will need to move, tnx a lot, Arnie!
Also checked 7425 for R. Tirana, Albanian at 0000-0130 // 6110. 7425 was poor, and seemed to have some weak co-channel QRM after 0100. Nothing else scheduled now, but CRI English southward from Kashgar is at 0000-0100, so perhaps running over? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** AUSTRALIA. The dangers of dipping in and out of domestic radio relays: On R. Australia, 9580 and 9590, Friday Oct 30 at 1259 they were plugging what would be on in the following hour after the news: Book Reading, and Sound Quality. 1300 into ABC (not RA) newscast. What about R. Australia`s own programming, Asia-Pacific at 1305, and World Football Weekly at 1330? as at
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/universal.htm
I neglected to recheck at 1305, but at 1355 the frequencies were in a sports discussion on referees, so the ABC previews were misguided, or rather totally wrong as far as shortwave was concerned (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake Oct 30 at 1247, fair on 8400 and 9000, poor on 10210 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. RHC missing from 6010, Oct 30 at 0559, allowing Colombia/Mexico [q.v.] to be heard. Probably an anomaly rather than a deliberate B-09 change, but time will tell. RHC usually waits a couple weeks after season change dates to see how things pan out, before making its own changes, since as an outlaw nation, Cuba refuses to participate in HFCC itself. However, since public HFCC is already available, frequency manager Arnie Coro might not wait much longer. Other 49m frequencies were nominal at 0602 check, Spanish on 6000, 6120; English on 6060, 6140 (Glenn Hauer, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [non]. Looking for Radio República, Oct 30 at 0055, do not find it or jamming on 6160, as I previously suspected, just CBC vs CBC. Instead there was very heavy DentroCuban noise jamming on 6110 (ruining Radio Tirana Albanian to NAm from 0000, which was entitled to think this was a clear frequency in B-09), but jamming went off at 0100 clearing frequency for Tirana. See ALBANIA
So the jamming could be there because Radio República is now using 6110 until 0100; OR the DCJC is totally confused and still jamming a frequency used in A-09 for VOA Spanish (NOT Martí) but at the earlier hour of 2300-2400 (but meanwhile Cuba has gone off DST, not USA). Cuba jams VOA Spanish out of spite, even tho it is for Latin America in general, not just Cuba. This merits American retaliation jamming of RHC in English, but that will never happen as the USA does NOT jam, nice guys finishing last in the international radio wars.
VOA`s 23-24 Spanish broadcast is currently scheduled on 5890, 5940 and 9885, likely jammed but have not checked. This and/or the morning broadcasts may or may not make a time change when Wáshington resumes standard time Nov 1. They have done so previously for the convenience of Washingtonians, not listeners abroad. See also USA re Creole 15390.
Meanwhile, 9545, the A-09 Radio República frequency starting at 2300, is still jammed not only in the evening but much later, so is RR really still there? Need to check right at 2300 to see if it`s audible before buried by jamming. After 6110 jamming off at 0100, I searched the 49m band for another unexpectedly jammed channel but did not find one. Jamming still audible on 9545 at 0142 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ECUADOR [non]. 12025, Oct 29 at 2107, VTC vamping with its fill music loop, still the same at 2123 and 2139 chex, off before 2148. This is the ``HCJB Arabic`` broadcast at 2100-2145 via Sackville, 250 kW at 73 degrees, which is really from some other ministry and includes a portion in a north African dialect, and which in the A-seasons is on same frequency and time via UK site instead.
But now there is no feed getting thru to Sackville (or rather not even to London VTC master control), hence the music and total waste of resources. Perhaps the Christian crusaders have paid for the time anyway, so out it goes, programming or not. At 2202, 12025 was back on, now with DW German via Rwanda (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDIA. AIR Aligarh blobcheck Oct 30: not audible, not even a carrier on 9470 at 1323, tho Bengaluru was fairly good on 9425. Nor could I find a distorted blob shifted elsewhere between 9300 and 9500, so suspect it was off the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO [and non]. 6010, lacking Habana for a change, audiblized R. Mil, Oct 30 at 0559, and 0603 with jingle ID (not the 4-note whistle of yore mimicking a car horn denoting ``es-ra-dio-Mil`` --- do they ever use that any more?), but low het mixing with praise music, presumably the reduced signal from La Voz de tu Conciencia, COLOMBIA.
6185, R. Educación at 0602 Oct 30 with XE music, no co-channel from Vatican audible, probably due to depressed propagation from Europe, or possibly it was off; supposed to run until 0620 now as heard previous nights mixing with XEPPM.
Here`s the SW program schedule, latest one available as of September,
http://www.radioeducacion.edu.mx/onda_corta_septiembre.pdf ---
times local when they were UT -5, but now applicable as UT -6. This covers only 18-24 local = 00-06 UT when SW programming is separate from MW 1060 and from this you`d never know they stay on 6185 another six hours duplicating 1060.
The MW program grid is here, but with contradictory dates and hardly any detail after midnight! What`s with that?
http://www.radioeducacion.edu.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1319&Itemid=254
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NETHERLANDS [non]. RNW`s Dutch via Tinang is no longer at 1300 on 9650, despite Sackville taking that hour off so it would have been in the clear. Instead heard Dutch, which means it can`t be direct from Holland, on 9670 at 1253 Oct 30, closing with satellite transmission info, 1256 national anthem, 1257 cut to English show in progress about Hebrew school, but cut off the air at 1258*. So now instead of a full two-sesquiminute secret English broadcast there is only one uniminute! This 9670 transmission in the clear is from 1230, supposedly ending at 1257, 250 kW, 267 degrees via TINIAN (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PHILIPPINES. 9520, Oct 30 at 1345 with cute children`s songs in Sinhala (or so they seemed to me), good reception from RVA, 250 kW, 280 degrees from Palauig-Zambales, at 1330-1357, much better quality for music than VOI on 9525.9 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** POLAND [non]. V. of Indonesia forces us not to listen to its English hour at 1300, by failing to apply adequate modulation to the carrier on 9525.9, so what else is there? Polish Radio, now with good signal and modulation via, of all places, Austria at 13-14 on 11675. Listened a while on Friday Oct 30, from 1302 with news; 1320-1322 Slawek Szefs with a press roundup; 1324 other features, Business Week, arts talk, 1340 something about boxing (as in battering other humans, not preparing gifts). At some point they mentioned that Poland is among the 15 richest countries, congrats! But that means more responsibility for foreign aid. We were also noticing one or two quick chirps, two or three times a minute, not clear if on the audio feed or some kind of QRM. Transmission ended in music two or three minutes before 1400, tho supposedly scheduled all the way until 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SERBIA [non]. Now it`s certain that International Radio Serbia not only is still on the air, but using its A-09 instead of B-09 frequency for North America at 01-02: Oct 30 at 0102, still zilch on 6190, but Serbian on 9675, mentioning Beograd, Srbske, etc. Fairly good signal making it this date, unlike previously. At 0142 YL in English, sounds rather like bleary-eyed OL, tho surely not broadcasting live at 2:42 am local. Furthermore, there is some very weak co-channel QRM, possibly Brasil which does not appear in HFCC, but seems zero-beat, unlikely for them, so more likely an ubiquitous CNR1 Beijing outlet (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SOUTH AFRICA. 11640 in English, African-accented preacher obsessed with Jesus Christ, Oct 30 at 0612. Good reception and not surprising since this is TWR via Meyerton at 0600-0645, 500 kW, 320 degrees, as once used for the Radio RSA North American service. What a comedown (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN. RTI`s Japanese service on 9735 is usually OK, sometimes puts audible spurs on 9730 and 9740 as I have occasionally noted, but Oct 30 at 1357 just as I tuned in, found very distorted and splattering signal with music ruining BBC on 9740. Fortunately RTI went off at 1357:30.
You won`t find RTI entries in HFCC, since the ChiCom force Taiwan not to participate, meanwhile themselves being the world`s premier jammer hardly in line with the spirit of HFCC cooperation; but Aoki shows this in A-09 as 13-14 via Tainan, 250 kW, 45 degrees toward Tokyo and thus also USward, likely the same in B-09 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** THAILAND. R. Thailand, English to SE Asia on 9720, fairly good with flutter, Oct 30 at 1249, W&M with Thai accent in world news (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. The VOA Music Mix strip at 21-22 UT is now on Greenville 15580, meaning excellent reception back in the central USA, such as Thursday Oct 29 during the Top 20 Countdown at 2130 pausing for news headlines.
Signal was equivalent to Greenville 15390 closing Creole at that hour, soon to be shifted one UT hour later despite no DST/ST timechange in Haiti. See also CUBA [non] about VOA timeshifts.
Program title confirmed here:
http://author.voanews.com/english/Entertainment/musicmix-schedule-thursday.cfm
except these schedules claim Top 20 Countdown and its siblings are all one hour later at 2200 UT! Are they confused about timezones, DST, or are they really an hour later on the satellite feed? Anyhow, there`s a different genre each day during this hour, whenever it is:
Sunday, Fusion
Monday, American Gold
Tuesday, Roots & Branches
Wednesday, Classic Rock
Thursday, Top 20 Countdown
Friday, Country Hits
Saturday, Ray MacDonald Show (who occupies many other hours on other days).
VOA uses 15580 from many different sites in English during the day, Botswana, Meyerton, São Tomé, Dhabayya, Iranawila and only at 21-22 from Greenville. The previous hour 20-21 on 15580 which contains Music Time in Africa Sat/Sun is currently via Sri Lanka, not much use in NAm. For that we must make do with Botswana 13710 or probably best on Bonaire 11975 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. The 0100 UT Friday broadcast of WORLD OF RADIO 1484 on WRMI, with good signal on 9955 Oct 30, since WRMI has been using the NW antenna on UT Fridays unlike most other nights. Should be the same from November at 0200 instead.
9955 still very good S9+20 at next check 0606 with rock music during a Wire Light show on the NW antenna. In fact, I would have to rate it as SSOB ``strongest signal on band``, better than WYFR 9680/9715!
WRMI sked effective Nov 1 shows a great many DX program repeat times, with WORLD OF RADIO at: Wed 0800, 1630; Thu 0630, 1300; Fri 0200, 1230, 1530; Sat 0900, 1430, 2000; Sun 0900, 1615, 2000; Mon 0600; Tue 1200, 1630 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
The next Albanian sesquihour, from 0000 for North America, is hit by heavy Cuban jamming on 6110 when checked at 0055 Oct 30, and presumably for the entire hour, but jamming off at 0100 clearing Tirana. Nothing is scheduled worth jamming on 6110 now, so suspect it is Radio República whose schedule is never published anywhere. More under CUBA [non]. If this keeps up, Tirana will need to move, tnx a lot, Arnie!
Also checked 7425 for R. Tirana, Albanian at 0000-0130 // 6110. 7425 was poor, and seemed to have some weak co-channel QRM after 0100. Nothing else scheduled now, but CRI English southward from Kashgar is at 0000-0100, so perhaps running over? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** AUSTRALIA. The dangers of dipping in and out of domestic radio relays: On R. Australia, 9580 and 9590, Friday Oct 30 at 1259 they were plugging what would be on in the following hour after the news: Book Reading, and Sound Quality. 1300 into ABC (not RA) newscast. What about R. Australia`s own programming, Asia-Pacific at 1305, and World Football Weekly at 1330? as at
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/universal.htm
I neglected to recheck at 1305, but at 1355 the frequencies were in a sports discussion on referees, so the ABC previews were misguided, or rather totally wrong as far as shortwave was concerned (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake Oct 30 at 1247, fair on 8400 and 9000, poor on 10210 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. RHC missing from 6010, Oct 30 at 0559, allowing Colombia/Mexico [q.v.] to be heard. Probably an anomaly rather than a deliberate B-09 change, but time will tell. RHC usually waits a couple weeks after season change dates to see how things pan out, before making its own changes, since as an outlaw nation, Cuba refuses to participate in HFCC itself. However, since public HFCC is already available, frequency manager Arnie Coro might not wait much longer. Other 49m frequencies were nominal at 0602 check, Spanish on 6000, 6120; English on 6060, 6140 (Glenn Hauer, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [non]. Looking for Radio República, Oct 30 at 0055, do not find it or jamming on 6160, as I previously suspected, just CBC vs CBC. Instead there was very heavy DentroCuban noise jamming on 6110 (ruining Radio Tirana Albanian to NAm from 0000, which was entitled to think this was a clear frequency in B-09), but jamming went off at 0100 clearing frequency for Tirana. See ALBANIA
So the jamming could be there because Radio República is now using 6110 until 0100; OR the DCJC is totally confused and still jamming a frequency used in A-09 for VOA Spanish (NOT Martí) but at the earlier hour of 2300-2400 (but meanwhile Cuba has gone off DST, not USA). Cuba jams VOA Spanish out of spite, even tho it is for Latin America in general, not just Cuba. This merits American retaliation jamming of RHC in English, but that will never happen as the USA does NOT jam, nice guys finishing last in the international radio wars.
VOA`s 23-24 Spanish broadcast is currently scheduled on 5890, 5940 and 9885, likely jammed but have not checked. This and/or the morning broadcasts may or may not make a time change when Wáshington resumes standard time Nov 1. They have done so previously for the convenience of Washingtonians, not listeners abroad. See also USA re Creole 15390.
Meanwhile, 9545, the A-09 Radio República frequency starting at 2300, is still jammed not only in the evening but much later, so is RR really still there? Need to check right at 2300 to see if it`s audible before buried by jamming. After 6110 jamming off at 0100, I searched the 49m band for another unexpectedly jammed channel but did not find one. Jamming still audible on 9545 at 0142 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ECUADOR [non]. 12025, Oct 29 at 2107, VTC vamping with its fill music loop, still the same at 2123 and 2139 chex, off before 2148. This is the ``HCJB Arabic`` broadcast at 2100-2145 via Sackville, 250 kW at 73 degrees, which is really from some other ministry and includes a portion in a north African dialect, and which in the A-seasons is on same frequency and time via UK site instead.
But now there is no feed getting thru to Sackville (or rather not even to London VTC master control), hence the music and total waste of resources. Perhaps the Christian crusaders have paid for the time anyway, so out it goes, programming or not. At 2202, 12025 was back on, now with DW German via Rwanda (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDIA. AIR Aligarh blobcheck Oct 30: not audible, not even a carrier on 9470 at 1323, tho Bengaluru was fairly good on 9425. Nor could I find a distorted blob shifted elsewhere between 9300 and 9500, so suspect it was off the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO [and non]. 6010, lacking Habana for a change, audiblized R. Mil, Oct 30 at 0559, and 0603 with jingle ID (not the 4-note whistle of yore mimicking a car horn denoting ``es-ra-dio-Mil`` --- do they ever use that any more?), but low het mixing with praise music, presumably the reduced signal from La Voz de tu Conciencia, COLOMBIA.
6185, R. Educación at 0602 Oct 30 with XE music, no co-channel from Vatican audible, probably due to depressed propagation from Europe, or possibly it was off; supposed to run until 0620 now as heard previous nights mixing with XEPPM.
Here`s the SW program schedule, latest one available as of September,
http://www.radioeducacion.edu.mx/onda_corta_septiembre.pdf ---
times local when they were UT -5, but now applicable as UT -6. This covers only 18-24 local = 00-06 UT when SW programming is separate from MW 1060 and from this you`d never know they stay on 6185 another six hours duplicating 1060.
The MW program grid is here, but with contradictory dates and hardly any detail after midnight! What`s with that?
http://www.radioeducacion.edu.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1319&Itemid=254
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NETHERLANDS [non]. RNW`s Dutch via Tinang is no longer at 1300 on 9650, despite Sackville taking that hour off so it would have been in the clear. Instead heard Dutch, which means it can`t be direct from Holland, on 9670 at 1253 Oct 30, closing with satellite transmission info, 1256 national anthem, 1257 cut to English show in progress about Hebrew school, but cut off the air at 1258*. So now instead of a full two-sesquiminute secret English broadcast there is only one uniminute! This 9670 transmission in the clear is from 1230, supposedly ending at 1257, 250 kW, 267 degrees via TINIAN (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PHILIPPINES. 9520, Oct 30 at 1345 with cute children`s songs in Sinhala (or so they seemed to me), good reception from RVA, 250 kW, 280 degrees from Palauig-Zambales, at 1330-1357, much better quality for music than VOI on 9525.9 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** POLAND [non]. V. of Indonesia forces us not to listen to its English hour at 1300, by failing to apply adequate modulation to the carrier on 9525.9, so what else is there? Polish Radio, now with good signal and modulation via, of all places, Austria at 13-14 on 11675. Listened a while on Friday Oct 30, from 1302 with news; 1320-1322 Slawek Szefs with a press roundup; 1324 other features, Business Week, arts talk, 1340 something about boxing (as in battering other humans, not preparing gifts). At some point they mentioned that Poland is among the 15 richest countries, congrats! But that means more responsibility for foreign aid. We were also noticing one or two quick chirps, two or three times a minute, not clear if on the audio feed or some kind of QRM. Transmission ended in music two or three minutes before 1400, tho supposedly scheduled all the way until 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SERBIA [non]. Now it`s certain that International Radio Serbia not only is still on the air, but using its A-09 instead of B-09 frequency for North America at 01-02: Oct 30 at 0102, still zilch on 6190, but Serbian on 9675, mentioning Beograd, Srbske, etc. Fairly good signal making it this date, unlike previously. At 0142 YL in English, sounds rather like bleary-eyed OL, tho surely not broadcasting live at 2:42 am local. Furthermore, there is some very weak co-channel QRM, possibly Brasil which does not appear in HFCC, but seems zero-beat, unlikely for them, so more likely an ubiquitous CNR1 Beijing outlet (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SOUTH AFRICA. 11640 in English, African-accented preacher obsessed with Jesus Christ, Oct 30 at 0612. Good reception and not surprising since this is TWR via Meyerton at 0600-0645, 500 kW, 320 degrees, as once used for the Radio RSA North American service. What a comedown (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN. RTI`s Japanese service on 9735 is usually OK, sometimes puts audible spurs on 9730 and 9740 as I have occasionally noted, but Oct 30 at 1357 just as I tuned in, found very distorted and splattering signal with music ruining BBC on 9740. Fortunately RTI went off at 1357:30.
You won`t find RTI entries in HFCC, since the ChiCom force Taiwan not to participate, meanwhile themselves being the world`s premier jammer hardly in line with the spirit of HFCC cooperation; but Aoki shows this in A-09 as 13-14 via Tainan, 250 kW, 45 degrees toward Tokyo and thus also USward, likely the same in B-09 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** THAILAND. R. Thailand, English to SE Asia on 9720, fairly good with flutter, Oct 30 at 1249, W&M with Thai accent in world news (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. The VOA Music Mix strip at 21-22 UT is now on Greenville 15580, meaning excellent reception back in the central USA, such as Thursday Oct 29 during the Top 20 Countdown at 2130 pausing for news headlines.
Signal was equivalent to Greenville 15390 closing Creole at that hour, soon to be shifted one UT hour later despite no DST/ST timechange in Haiti. See also CUBA [non] about VOA timeshifts.
Program title confirmed here:
http://author.voanews.com/english/Entertainment/musicmix-schedule-thursday.cfm
except these schedules claim Top 20 Countdown and its siblings are all one hour later at 2200 UT! Are they confused about timezones, DST, or are they really an hour later on the satellite feed? Anyhow, there`s a different genre each day during this hour, whenever it is:
Sunday, Fusion
Monday, American Gold
Tuesday, Roots & Branches
Wednesday, Classic Rock
Thursday, Top 20 Countdown
Friday, Country Hits
Saturday, Ray MacDonald Show (who occupies many other hours on other days).
VOA uses 15580 from many different sites in English during the day, Botswana, Meyerton, São Tomé, Dhabayya, Iranawila and only at 21-22 from Greenville. The previous hour 20-21 on 15580 which contains Music Time in Africa Sat/Sun is currently via Sri Lanka, not much use in NAm. For that we must make do with Botswana 13710 or probably best on Bonaire 11975 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. The 0100 UT Friday broadcast of WORLD OF RADIO 1484 on WRMI, with good signal on 9955 Oct 30, since WRMI has been using the NW antenna on UT Fridays unlike most other nights. Should be the same from November at 0200 instead.
9955 still very good S9+20 at next check 0606 with rock music during a Wire Light show on the NW antenna. In fact, I would have to rate it as SSOB ``strongest signal on band``, better than WYFR 9680/9715!
WRMI sked effective Nov 1 shows a great many DX program repeat times, with WORLD OF RADIO at: Wed 0800, 1630; Thu 0630, 1300; Fri 0200, 1230, 1530; Sat 0900, 1430, 2000; Sun 0900, 1615, 2000; Mon 0600; Tue 1200, 1630 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
