** CHINA. Firedrake Oct 8 circa 1130 and 1352: poor on both 8400, 9000. Oct 9 at 1329 during drumming passage, JBA on 9000 but very poor on 8400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. Another day, another anomaly to report at RHC. Oct 8 at 0547, 6140 was off the air, so impossible to tell whether it would have been in English or Spanish. 6120 was on in Spanish as well as 6000, whilst 6060 and 6010 were in English.
11760 now with light squeal degrading it, Oct 9 at 1343, Entre Cubanos program, fascinating interview with 82-year-old former Cubana de Aviación pilot, José Antonio de C. Domínguez, who flew hundreds of times each to México, Miami, New York and Madrid, starting with DC3s, both pre- and post-revolution (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDIA. AIR Aligarh extremely distorted blob from 9470 transmitter, still going Oct 8 at 1353 check covering 9480-9500, but at least just far enough away not to bother Radio Australia 9475 this time.
But it`s fixed! Oct 9 at 1319, normally modulated on 9470 very much like Bengaluru on // 9425, just a reverb apart. Both signals rather weak today with flutter; 9870 as usual better with VBS. Let`s hope 9470 transmitter will STAY fixed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 4750, RRI Makassar, nice S9+10 signal, no co-channel this time, 1315 Oct 9, Indonesian music and talk; best SW broadcast signal below 5 MHz. I should take time to pause and listen for content, but I am drawn to bandscan as much as possible upon upwaking.
VOI, 9525.9, Oct 9 at 1324 with ID, URL, three frequencies, two of which are always imaginary and none of which is ``9525.9`` or even 9526; modulation this time at fair level, but nowhere near what it should be on an S9+20 signal. 1325 starting Indonesian Wonders about some restaurant dish, sounding like babarji; but too much accent and flutter noise to follow content, anyway accompanied by nice flutish music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. I was starting to get bits of Spanish conversation again from RASA Mérida, XEQM, 6104.8, Oct 9 at 0558, but blocked from *0559:30 by BBC Ascension in French, which thinx it owns 6105.0 for a semihour; XEQM still succeeded in hetting it. Then at 1337 XEQM also poking thru the ACI and CCI with some Spanish, but I was distracted by classical music on 6045, meaning XEXQ was back? Unfortunately, not; see RUSSIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NEW ZEALAND. 6170, RNZI, Friday Oct 9 at 1329 announcing a road closure due to weather, DST timecheck for 2:30, and into program of award-winning Maori traditional music. English-speaking announcer throws in Maori phrases as if we were bilingual on this RNZ domestic program relayed, but nice and exotic from an overseas standpoint.
This show featured cuts from the album ``Ancient Maori Music``, including ``Creation of the World``, ``Call of the Whales``. At 1336 program was referred to as ``your morning music fix``. Schedule grid shows it as Waiata. Found the program page including those on the playlist and already the content of next week`s show starting Oct 11: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/waiata But it shows the wrong time, Saturday 4:30 am, so is the Sunday time wrong too?
Which raises the question, why doesn`t RNZI broadcast specifically in Maori-only during certain hours? Or maybe it does? But then, any modern Maori and probably most of the old-timers also speak Enzedenglish.
The 24/7 program grid at http://www.rnzi.com/pages/schedules.php has the word Maori nowhere on it, tho it does specify French, Hindi, Niuean, Samoan, Tongan!
Altho EiBi`s comprehensive language list at http://www.susi-und-strolch.de/eibi/readme.txt includes COK for Cook Islands Maori, and MAO for NZ Maori, those abbrs appear nowhere in the entire schedule at http://www.eibispace.de/dx/bc-a09.txt
RNZI leavens its English with Maori program titles such as Tagata o te Moana but apparently the show is actually in English? It`s UT Sat at 1308-1330, Sun 1308-1400, 1815-1900. Others, suspected to be Maori, but are they Maori-only? M-F 1735-1740 Waatea News; UT Sat 1708-1800 Te Ahi Kaa.
The redesigned website also no longer shows the Maori name of RNZI which used to be prominently displayed, and I can`t remember how it went. Fortunately, WRTH 2009 quotes the Maori ID on page 451: ``Te reo irirangi o Aotearoa, o te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa``. But it shows no specific times for any languages but English.
From Oct 25, RNZI will be on 7440-AM instead of 6170 for the 1330 programs (and DRM still taking a break). On Oct 9, I was not hearing any het from DZRM 6170.4 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RUSSIA. Indians may have been saved from the horrible Aligarh blob covering 20 kHz or more as of Oct 9 (see INDIA), but now they are plied with DRM noise falling neatly between the two AIR National Channels 9425 and restored 9470: i.e., 9440-9445-9450, the VOR service via Irkutsk also roaring lightly into the opposite worldside, OK, Oct 9 at 1328. I suspect the frequency band was originally chosen so Indians tuning between AIR and AIR could not help but notice the noise. But how many DRM receivers of any kind can possibly be funxioning there to resolve the noise, otherwise sheerly annoying? Doesn`t matter; VOR has bought into the DRM myth, as have the authorities in India.
6045 with classical music at 1337 Oct 9, especially after just hearing a bit of Mexico on 6104.8, made me suspect XEXQ San Luís Potosí had finally reactivated --- until I heard a Chinese tonal announcement one minute later. Therefore, VOR as scheduled via Vladivostok. One must search for SLP before that starts at 1300 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN. REE, 11680, Oct 9 at 0547, surprised to find here as scheduled only at 2300-0200. Noblejas probably forgot to change to correct frequency when firing up transmitter again! Perhaps should have been on 11895 or 12035, often audible here, but I did not think to check for them. Now 11680 is badly QRMed by RNZI DRM 11670-11675-11680. No doubt about ID as REE was announcing its address in Castilian (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Squeal is building up again on the WWCR-2 transmitter. Oct 8 at 1130 I tuned in 5935 during one of the pregnant pauses by PMS, and heard nothing but squealing, which does not need any intentional modulation to set it off (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. OTH radar pulsing presumed at 1346 Oct 8, covering 6530-6580, neatly bookended by the Juche jamming noise against S Korean clandestine V of the People on 6518 and 6600. Lots more OTHR audible at: 6430-6480, 6965-7040 oops extending into hamband, NB intruder watchers; 7345-7360, 7660-7710, 6790-6830, 6890-6940 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
