** AUSTRIA. 17610, AWR Afar service via Moosbrunn at 1430-1500 continues to be a regular here, far from the target; Nov 24 at 1448 with heavy quick echo which I can only assume was longpath/shortpath simultaneously. It`s aimed 145 degrees, which is close to oppositewards, so a lot of signal is pushed the far way round, while plenty of the 300 kW signal also reaches us off the back (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BRAZIL. Looking for R. Cultura, São Paulo, reported active on 9615 after 1500 a week ago by Richard Bianchino, NV: Nov 24 at 1355 no trace of a carrier, nor at 1455 when 9610 has big splashy signal from RCI in Chinese. Skeds indicate 9615 itself is free of major broadcasters at 14-16, but there could be even more opportune windows without the adjacencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RNA vs XEPPM: see MEXICO [and non]
** CANADA. Something strange on 11232.0, Nov 24 at 1509: seems like a repeater, with intermittent 2-way conversations on AM, carrier stays on in between. Sounds like US military net, discussing GPS devices. One side IDed as ``radar maintenance``, and the other sounded like ``Century`` something.
Short transmissions in lingo, always asking how copy? Copy. 1514 something about clearing RAM, PPI screen. One of them has background noise as if in a craft. From the FRG-7 I switch to the DX-398 and find the voices are on USB only, so what really must be happening is that another transmitter is running open carrier zero-beat, to assist demodulation??
At 1519 interrupted for an unrelated contact, Atlas 341 calling Trenton Military which said to change (not `QSY`) to 9007, so now we know it`s Canadian, not American, I beg your pardon. No tell-tale Canadian accents had been detected.
1519-1525+ more contacts between ``Century Art(?)`` and ``radar maintenance``, the latter being weaker, with instruxions on jumping antenna modules, or something like that. Probably a training exercise (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. 7650-7700, OTH radar pulsing, presumed from here, Nov 24 at 1411; no broadcasters harmed in this range. I know this is rather boring, but feel this stuff should be documented; yet I admit there are a lot more instances I don`t bother to log (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake Nov 24 at 1412: fair on 8400, nothing on 9000 or 10210 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. Yet another instance of rapid clix above a DentroCuban Jamming Command frequency, which I believe to be jammer spurs: Nov 24 at 1416 on 13882, i.e. 62 kHz above Martí jamming on 13820, and this one interferes with RHC leapfrog spur on 13880, i.e. 13680 over 13780, DentroCubans vs DentroCubans!
Others have been about 52 kHz apart, which seems to be a favorite offset in Cuba, also for the two dozen spurs generated by the 11760 transmitter, now in its twenty-first day of not doing so, i.e. almost as long as the period they were doing so thru Nov 3.
BTW, the DentroCubans are celebrating Thanksgiving Nov 26-29 with war games in anticipation of the next US invasion, per press reports via Yimber Gaviría; might make for some interesting utility if not spy and broadcast DX listening (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDIA. AIR blobcheck Nov 24 at 1333: very poor reception today on both 9425 and 9470, weak plus adjacent QRM, but listening on two receivers finally decided they were // but offset by a few Hindi words. In any event, modulation seemed normal, and no blob instead from 9470 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9525.9, checking VOI Nov 24 whether they are still excursing Tuesdays to Banjarmasin? Just as I tuned in at 1344, ``Welcome to another show from RRI Banjarmasin``, then YL talk seemingly about royal succession 1251 years ago (or was it in year 1251?). Fair modulation but still requires extreme concentration to try to follow.
Recheck at 1457 when CRI comes on 9525.0, but only producing a very weak het today from Kashgar, East Turkistan, and could still listen to the end of the Malay hour on VOI, music from which ran thru hourtop, 1502 restarting English, and just barely got a ``sound of dignity`` slogan out before cut off the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ISRAEL. As I was outchecking the WEWN spur on 13845 instead of WWCR, Nov 24 at *1446 continuous tonetest started on 13850, presumably Kol Israel`s Persian service from 1500, with 250 kW to burn an additional quarter-hour. BTW, Kol is not an acronym or an initialism, but simply the Hebrew word for Voice, so should not be in all-caps (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO [and non]. 6185, XEPPM check Nov 24 vs RNA Brasil: at 0630, XE in the clear with Spanish announcement and soft guitar music, but quite undermodulated. Confusingly, at *0649 guitar music became loud as RNA cut on the air, coincidentally playing similar music, then Portuguese announcement // 11780 also on by then. This time RHC 11760 not strong enough to desensitize up to 11780, tho plenty signal on 11760 itself (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PORTUGAL [and non]. RDPI really screwed up: with big signals on two unscheduled frequencies, 9455 and 9855, first heard on the latter Nov 24 at 0613 giving full schedule for this hour, but only SW frequency mentioned was 7345, normally on the air 06-07 only, to Europe, but nothing there now; plus all those satellite channels, which do we really need to hear about on SW?
9855 was blocking one of only three VOR English to North America frequencies, the one via Vladivostok, with a SAH of approx. 215/minute, while the Russians themselves were blocking another (see RUSSIA and previous reports), 9840.
RDPI programming mostly music, then at 0621 found // 9455 fortuitously not colliding with anything. But 9455 transmitter was putting out a noisy spur on 9430 interfering with CVC Zambia which is now scheduled there from 04 to 07 instead of just one hour previously. At 0627 the FRG-7 metered 9455 at S9+25 and 9855 at only S9+20.
Recheck at 0659, still nothing on 7345 as per their announcement they were moving from there to 9815, where nothing heard either after 0700, while 9455 and 9855 continued, the latter now clear of VOR which had just closed.
Now, when is RDPI REALLY supposed to be on those two frequencies?
9455 is registered as 00-03 Tue-Sat to NAm, also 17-20 M-F, 17-21 Sat/Sun to Europe. And 9855, 00-03 Tue-Sat for Mexico down to western Brasil and northern Bolivia.
So a theory: the transmitter op fell asleep and failed to turn them off at 0300, oops! Or can we blame the automation if no human was really present? In that case, we blame a human somewhere in charge of the automation. Let`s hope this was a singular event.
Was also listening to RDPI on 15690, Nov 24 when it suddenly dumped off the air at 1442, and not back in next couple minutes. This one eastward is supposed to run 14-16 weekdays (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RUSSIA. Poor VOR, or rather poor would-be English listeners in North America, favored with only three weak direct frequencies instead of one strong French Guiana relay like the Latin Americans get, until 0700*. As previously noted, 9840 collides with R. Rossii in Russian, this time making a SAH of about 105/minute at 0613 Nov 24, but even worse, 9855 was totally blocked by PORTUGAL [q.v.] which was running slightly overtime past 0700 instead of ceasing at scheduled 0300*. Also VOR listed from Pet/Kam until 0700 is 12030, which may or may not be propagating.
6075 check Nov 24 until 1400* for 8GAL CW marker on 6074: nothing from that, but did note that R. Rossii, Petropavlovsk/Kamchatskiy transmitter has been cleaned up, no longer a big rumbler, but with BFO on, still slightly unstable carrier. Jazz right up to timesignal; they never say good-night, or anything, at sign-off (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SAUDI ARABIA. 11785, buzz Nov 24 at 1415. Still can`t detect any Arabic mixing, and this time no Chinese audible underneath either. At 1450, 13m was barely open and could hear Qur`an very poorly on 21460, a carrier on 21640, the other Riyadh frequencies, but no signal on 21505 which used to be the big buzzer until 1500. As I have previously outpointed, BSKSA did use 11785 in the B-08 season but it is yet to appear on any B-09 schedules (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9355, WYFR in Italian, Nov 24 at 0625, again with Harold Camping in English audible underneath. While I am convinced the previous 3-day run of this I monitored was produced at Okeechobee, this time it was produced at Enid, i.e. receiver overload from the very strong WYFR English frequency 9680. Unlike previously, I could get rid of it by attenuating or detuning the preselector. Just an example of how a seemingly same fluke can happen for totally different reasons (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Eleven days after being sentenced to 175 years in prison for child sexual abuse, ``Tony Alámo`` is still welcome to ``evangelize`` on WINB, 9265, Nov 24 at 1340. Perhaps he has an ironclad contract for airtime? More likely WINB doesn`t give a damn what creeps they put on the air, much less serving the public interest in any way whatsoever.
At the moment he was rambling, ``didn`t go to the beach and get a corn dog today,`` which would seem slightly off-topic, to Amens from a YL apparently named Susan --- one of his victims? No telling how old this recording is. She then read mail from an alleged fan in London who wanted a CD of something Alamo said to listen to over and over. Then quoting Mark IV:20, interrupted for annotations by Bernie LaZar Hoffmann.
O, Susan must be his long-embalmed wife, Susan Lipowitz, as in the incredible long story here,
http://www.tonyalamonews.com/3027/112109-remember-the-alamo-tony-alamo.php
who died in 1982, so a fairly old show, unless another Susan has come along since.
It`s not all over yet; various associates are facing charges, and the above story says: ``Alamo must return to court on January 13, 2010, for a hearing to determine whether five women who testified about sexual abuse will be paid up to US$2.7 million in restitution." (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. One WWCR transmitter was down on Nov 23, and another one on Nov 24: nothing from PMS/DGS audible on 13845 around 1430 tho 15825 was propagating, and 7490, 9980 inblasting as usual. At 1445 switched on BFO and confirmed that WEWN 13835 spur now had 13845 to itself (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [non]. VOA on 7575 per latest schedules is supposed to switch from Tinian to Thailand at 1400, but remain in English. I think this has truly been the case on recent occasions, but not Nov 24: at 1410, good S9+18 signal on 1410, but in Chinese – didn`t sound like Mandarin, tho, so probably Cantonese. Same at 1451 recheck. Per the VOA A-Z language schedule, Cantonese is at 13-15, but the only 7 MHz frequency is 7390, while Mandarin is supposed to be on 7525. A mixup in program feeds, or deliberate site/language-switching to confuse the ChiCom jammers, not to mention the would-be listeners? Too, signal level now makes Tinian or Tinang site more likely than Thailand (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
** BRAZIL. Looking for R. Cultura, São Paulo, reported active on 9615 after 1500 a week ago by Richard Bianchino, NV: Nov 24 at 1355 no trace of a carrier, nor at 1455 when 9610 has big splashy signal from RCI in Chinese. Skeds indicate 9615 itself is free of major broadcasters at 14-16, but there could be even more opportune windows without the adjacencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RNA vs XEPPM: see MEXICO [and non]
** CANADA. Something strange on 11232.0, Nov 24 at 1509: seems like a repeater, with intermittent 2-way conversations on AM, carrier stays on in between. Sounds like US military net, discussing GPS devices. One side IDed as ``radar maintenance``, and the other sounded like ``Century`` something.
Short transmissions in lingo, always asking how copy? Copy. 1514 something about clearing RAM, PPI screen. One of them has background noise as if in a craft. From the FRG-7 I switch to the DX-398 and find the voices are on USB only, so what really must be happening is that another transmitter is running open carrier zero-beat, to assist demodulation??
At 1519 interrupted for an unrelated contact, Atlas 341 calling Trenton Military which said to change (not `QSY`) to 9007, so now we know it`s Canadian, not American, I beg your pardon. No tell-tale Canadian accents had been detected.
1519-1525+ more contacts between ``Century Art(?)`` and ``radar maintenance``, the latter being weaker, with instruxions on jumping antenna modules, or something like that. Probably a training exercise (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. 7650-7700, OTH radar pulsing, presumed from here, Nov 24 at 1411; no broadcasters harmed in this range. I know this is rather boring, but feel this stuff should be documented; yet I admit there are a lot more instances I don`t bother to log (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake Nov 24 at 1412: fair on 8400, nothing on 9000 or 10210 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. Yet another instance of rapid clix above a DentroCuban Jamming Command frequency, which I believe to be jammer spurs: Nov 24 at 1416 on 13882, i.e. 62 kHz above Martí jamming on 13820, and this one interferes with RHC leapfrog spur on 13880, i.e. 13680 over 13780, DentroCubans vs DentroCubans!
Others have been about 52 kHz apart, which seems to be a favorite offset in Cuba, also for the two dozen spurs generated by the 11760 transmitter, now in its twenty-first day of not doing so, i.e. almost as long as the period they were doing so thru Nov 3.
BTW, the DentroCubans are celebrating Thanksgiving Nov 26-29 with war games in anticipation of the next US invasion, per press reports via Yimber Gaviría; might make for some interesting utility if not spy and broadcast DX listening (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDIA. AIR blobcheck Nov 24 at 1333: very poor reception today on both 9425 and 9470, weak plus adjacent QRM, but listening on two receivers finally decided they were // but offset by a few Hindi words. In any event, modulation seemed normal, and no blob instead from 9470 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9525.9, checking VOI Nov 24 whether they are still excursing Tuesdays to Banjarmasin? Just as I tuned in at 1344, ``Welcome to another show from RRI Banjarmasin``, then YL talk seemingly about royal succession 1251 years ago (or was it in year 1251?). Fair modulation but still requires extreme concentration to try to follow.
Recheck at 1457 when CRI comes on 9525.0, but only producing a very weak het today from Kashgar, East Turkistan, and could still listen to the end of the Malay hour on VOI, music from which ran thru hourtop, 1502 restarting English, and just barely got a ``sound of dignity`` slogan out before cut off the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ISRAEL. As I was outchecking the WEWN spur on 13845 instead of WWCR, Nov 24 at *1446 continuous tonetest started on 13850, presumably Kol Israel`s Persian service from 1500, with 250 kW to burn an additional quarter-hour. BTW, Kol is not an acronym or an initialism, but simply the Hebrew word for Voice, so should not be in all-caps (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO [and non]. 6185, XEPPM check Nov 24 vs RNA Brasil: at 0630, XE in the clear with Spanish announcement and soft guitar music, but quite undermodulated. Confusingly, at *0649 guitar music became loud as RNA cut on the air, coincidentally playing similar music, then Portuguese announcement // 11780 also on by then. This time RHC 11760 not strong enough to desensitize up to 11780, tho plenty signal on 11760 itself (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PORTUGAL [and non]. RDPI really screwed up: with big signals on two unscheduled frequencies, 9455 and 9855, first heard on the latter Nov 24 at 0613 giving full schedule for this hour, but only SW frequency mentioned was 7345, normally on the air 06-07 only, to Europe, but nothing there now; plus all those satellite channels, which do we really need to hear about on SW?
9855 was blocking one of only three VOR English to North America frequencies, the one via Vladivostok, with a SAH of approx. 215/minute, while the Russians themselves were blocking another (see RUSSIA and previous reports), 9840.
RDPI programming mostly music, then at 0621 found // 9455 fortuitously not colliding with anything. But 9455 transmitter was putting out a noisy spur on 9430 interfering with CVC Zambia which is now scheduled there from 04 to 07 instead of just one hour previously. At 0627 the FRG-7 metered 9455 at S9+25 and 9855 at only S9+20.
Recheck at 0659, still nothing on 7345 as per their announcement they were moving from there to 9815, where nothing heard either after 0700, while 9455 and 9855 continued, the latter now clear of VOR which had just closed.
Now, when is RDPI REALLY supposed to be on those two frequencies?
9455 is registered as 00-03 Tue-Sat to NAm, also 17-20 M-F, 17-21 Sat/Sun to Europe. And 9855, 00-03 Tue-Sat for Mexico down to western Brasil and northern Bolivia.
So a theory: the transmitter op fell asleep and failed to turn them off at 0300, oops! Or can we blame the automation if no human was really present? In that case, we blame a human somewhere in charge of the automation. Let`s hope this was a singular event.
Was also listening to RDPI on 15690, Nov 24 when it suddenly dumped off the air at 1442, and not back in next couple minutes. This one eastward is supposed to run 14-16 weekdays (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RUSSIA. Poor VOR, or rather poor would-be English listeners in North America, favored with only three weak direct frequencies instead of one strong French Guiana relay like the Latin Americans get, until 0700*. As previously noted, 9840 collides with R. Rossii in Russian, this time making a SAH of about 105/minute at 0613 Nov 24, but even worse, 9855 was totally blocked by PORTUGAL [q.v.] which was running slightly overtime past 0700 instead of ceasing at scheduled 0300*. Also VOR listed from Pet/Kam until 0700 is 12030, which may or may not be propagating.
6075 check Nov 24 until 1400* for 8GAL CW marker on 6074: nothing from that, but did note that R. Rossii, Petropavlovsk/Kamchatskiy transmitter has been cleaned up, no longer a big rumbler, but with BFO on, still slightly unstable carrier. Jazz right up to timesignal; they never say good-night, or anything, at sign-off (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SAUDI ARABIA. 11785, buzz Nov 24 at 1415. Still can`t detect any Arabic mixing, and this time no Chinese audible underneath either. At 1450, 13m was barely open and could hear Qur`an very poorly on 21460, a carrier on 21640, the other Riyadh frequencies, but no signal on 21505 which used to be the big buzzer until 1500. As I have previously outpointed, BSKSA did use 11785 in the B-08 season but it is yet to appear on any B-09 schedules (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9355, WYFR in Italian, Nov 24 at 0625, again with Harold Camping in English audible underneath. While I am convinced the previous 3-day run of this I monitored was produced at Okeechobee, this time it was produced at Enid, i.e. receiver overload from the very strong WYFR English frequency 9680. Unlike previously, I could get rid of it by attenuating or detuning the preselector. Just an example of how a seemingly same fluke can happen for totally different reasons (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Eleven days after being sentenced to 175 years in prison for child sexual abuse, ``Tony Alámo`` is still welcome to ``evangelize`` on WINB, 9265, Nov 24 at 1340. Perhaps he has an ironclad contract for airtime? More likely WINB doesn`t give a damn what creeps they put on the air, much less serving the public interest in any way whatsoever.
At the moment he was rambling, ``didn`t go to the beach and get a corn dog today,`` which would seem slightly off-topic, to Amens from a YL apparently named Susan --- one of his victims? No telling how old this recording is. She then read mail from an alleged fan in London who wanted a CD of something Alamo said to listen to over and over. Then quoting Mark IV:20, interrupted for annotations by Bernie LaZar Hoffmann.
O, Susan must be his long-embalmed wife, Susan Lipowitz, as in the incredible long story here,
http://www.tonyalamonews.com/3027/112109-remember-the-alamo-tony-alamo.php
who died in 1982, so a fairly old show, unless another Susan has come along since.
It`s not all over yet; various associates are facing charges, and the above story says: ``Alamo must return to court on January 13, 2010, for a hearing to determine whether five women who testified about sexual abuse will be paid up to US$2.7 million in restitution." (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. One WWCR transmitter was down on Nov 23, and another one on Nov 24: nothing from PMS/DGS audible on 13845 around 1430 tho 15825 was propagating, and 7490, 9980 inblasting as usual. At 1445 switched on BFO and confirmed that WEWN 13835 spur now had 13845 to itself (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [non]. VOA on 7575 per latest schedules is supposed to switch from Tinian to Thailand at 1400, but remain in English. I think this has truly been the case on recent occasions, but not Nov 24: at 1410, good S9+18 signal on 1410, but in Chinese – didn`t sound like Mandarin, tho, so probably Cantonese. Same at 1451 recheck. Per the VOA A-Z language schedule, Cantonese is at 13-15, but the only 7 MHz frequency is 7390, while Mandarin is supposed to be on 7525. A mixup in program feeds, or deliberate site/language-switching to confuse the ChiCom jammers, not to mention the would-be listeners? Too, signal level now makes Tinian or Tinang site more likely than Thailand (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
