** ALBANIA [and non]. Checked the R. Tirana webcast for the first time in a long time, UT Sunday Dec 6 at 0130-0145, and it was running, but no audio from the scheduled English broadcast.
http://radiotirana.funkhaus.info:8000/listen.pls
Again checked stream and also SW Monday night = early UT Tuesday Dec 8. Apparently what`s on the stream does not necessarily match what is on the air. Is it planned this way? Is there a specific different schedule for the webcasts?
At 0236 UT I brought up the stream early, I thought, and the English broadcast was already in progress, soon going from news to press review. 0242 wrapping up. Modulation quality fine, and the theme music sounds of good quality, but the interval signal after it sounds like a worn-out recording even on the webcast. The label on the winamp player shows 0245-0300 even tho it is not yet 0245!
Then when it is really 0245, the English broadcast starts over on the stream. I then check 6130, but cannot hear Radio Tirana. European conditions are quite poor tonight.
0320 I check the stream again but now there is no connexion ``service unavailable``. At 0345, when the SW broadcast is in progress again, the stream is still unavailable. I check 6150 and can barely hear the RT announcer, and there is a fast subaudible heterodyne indicating another weak signal on the frequency. Again, conditions from Europe are very poor tonight, with the usually big signal from Spain on 6055 quite poor.
What could the other station on 6150 be? The possibilities I can find are Perm, Yakutsk and Bayrak, Cyprus. Under these poor European conditions probably Yakutsk would be most likely. I hope that when conditions from Europe improve, Radio Tirana will have no trouble surpassing it as was the case earlier in the season (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. 5075, Dec 8 at 1402, something in Chinese vs perpetual ute beeper. Has to be the only station in the world on this frequency, V. of Pujiang, Shanghai, at 1130-1600 per Aoki (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. CMRH (the callsign which RHC never announces, discussed in DXLDs 8-074, 9-012, 9-075), Dec 8 at 0643 with 6140 in English this time instead of Spanish.
5960, RHC English audible weakly aside REE/CR 5965, Dec 8 at 0650. This is leapfrog of two powerful fundamentals, 6060 over 6010. There could be another in the opposite direxion on 6110, which at this hour is no longer on the air as a fundamental, but not heard there aside CRI/Sackville 6115.
At 0706, after nominal closedown time, 6140 and 6060 still on the air in English.
At 1420, 11760 with Voces de la Revolución, hoary old Fidel speech from 1989y about imperialismo yanqui, phone ringing in background, that presumably dating from 2009y. // 11730 and 11800 and could not hear phone, but inconclusive as much weaker signals there.
At 1426, leafrog on 13880 = 13680 over 13780, hitting S9+5, a respectable signal in its own right, e.g. stronger than PMS on WWCR 13845. The fundamentals were S9+20.
At 1432, the other leapfrog on 13710 atop AIR GOS. Much weaker than 13880, but enough to be very damaging. This is 13770 over CRI relay on 13740, but only RHC Spanish audible on 13710 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EGYPT. As I was monitoring Equatorial Guinea on 6250 and Polisario was opening on 6297, I noticed that Cairo was still running on 6290 past nominal 0700*, Dec 8, until it cut off at 0705*. As usual, strong signal in Arabic, but badly distorted (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 6250.0, RNGE, Dec 8 at 0653 choral/hilife music, 0700 announcement, more music, weakening vs. ute QRM as sun is well up there in UT+1 zone and SR time varies little near the Equator. Presumed, as never well enough to be certain this was in Spanish. Seems quite irregular, but not usually audible this late after sign-on varying around 0530 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GERMANY [non]. DW in German on 6075, Dec 8 at 0644 good but with a very quick echo/reverb due to two sites not exactly synchronized; needs tweaking. Registered as both Sines, PORTUGAL, 250 kW, 40 degrees, and Woofferton, UK, 300 kW, 114 degrees between 0600 and 0743, except weekends when Sines stays on until 0755 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MAURITANIA. 4845, ORTM is back on after a brief absence, Dec 8 at 0646 in Arabic; fair signal but very weak modulation. Since this is so unreliable, we wonder if the vast outback regions of this country are without national radio service when it is off? And now it also has DRM from Alaska to contend with (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO [and non]. 6185, XEPPM lucked out with a few more minutes than usual of non-interference from Brasília, still in the clear at 0643 Dec 8 with guitar music, but by next check 0652 RNA was on and blowing it away (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 6010, R. Mil, Dec 8 at 1352, a time when it is reliably QRM-free, with ``Escuela Enfoque`` discussion attributed to Estéreo Cien y Radio Mil, altho at first I thought they said Radio México. Poor but clear signal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN [and non]. In regular chex for the 8GAL CW marker at 1400 on 6074, I have been noticing the absence of the Chinese radio war starting on 6075 at that hour as had previously been the case. Closing timesignal from Russia would overlap two seconds apart with opening timesignal from Taiwan and/or CNR1 jamming, but again Dec 8, neither of the latter audible at all, nor 8GAL. Aoki still lists from 1400, RTI with a 4-hour jammed service to the mainland in Chinese. Is it off or just not propagating? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Dec 8 at 1434 UT I came upon a fire-and-brimstone preacher on 15550-USB, which has been an area rather vacant of signals this season, strangely enough. No carrier, pure USB. What could this be, WBCQ here instead of 15420 which clashes later with BBC? Typical sermon about resurrexion, etc., occasional murmers of assent from audience. Worx himself up into a lather periodically. 1445 suggests to start tithing with a quarter or a nickel tonight, then build up. 1450 becomes stronger needing attenuation to avoid pumping. 1451 some brief audio dropouts. 1455 fades a bit, start recording in case ID is coming up.
1501 preacher abruptly interrupted for hymn, which leads into ID as ``WJHR Radio International, Milton, Florida`` and asking for reports to wjhr @ usa.com 1502 resume same preacher in progress. Sounds like they have the rough produxion values of a WWRB. 1506 some music, 1510 more of preacher. Still going at 1520. And still audible vs local computer noise at 1600. Still detectable at 1715, but much weaker.
This is the brand-new SW station which has been in the making for some time, but we had seen no registration at all for this or any frequency from them. Now we know. And just what we need! A clip of the 1501 ID has been posted on the DXLD yg.
No reply yet to my e-mail report as of 1725 UT, also requesting info on what power they are running, antenna direxionality, other frequencies if any and schedule, whether this is their first day and if anyone else has reported to them yet.
But here`s what the FCC has on WJHR:
http://www.fcc.gov/ib/sand/neg/hf_web/WJHR.txt
50 kW, emission 4K50R3A, Cubex/quad antenna with 16.24 dB gain at 5 degrees azimuth, 64 degrees beamwidth and 11 degrees elevation
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [non]. 13645, Dec 8 at 1428, US gospel huxter closing with address in Massachusetts, open carrier till off at 1430*. Per Aoki, it`s some Pan American Broadcasting client via Nauen, GERMANY, which uses 13645 at 1415-1439 Mon-Sat, expanded on Sundays to 1400-1445 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 6297, LV de la RASD, Dec 8 at 0703 playing anthem, brief announcement and into chanting which is presumably Qur`anic devotional, tho not like a regular recitation heard from stations closer to Mecca (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
http://radiotirana.funkhaus.info:8000/listen.pls
Again checked stream and also SW Monday night = early UT Tuesday Dec 8. Apparently what`s on the stream does not necessarily match what is on the air. Is it planned this way? Is there a specific different schedule for the webcasts?
At 0236 UT I brought up the stream early, I thought, and the English broadcast was already in progress, soon going from news to press review. 0242 wrapping up. Modulation quality fine, and the theme music sounds of good quality, but the interval signal after it sounds like a worn-out recording even on the webcast. The label on the winamp player shows 0245-0300 even tho it is not yet 0245!
Then when it is really 0245, the English broadcast starts over on the stream. I then check 6130, but cannot hear Radio Tirana. European conditions are quite poor tonight.
0320 I check the stream again but now there is no connexion ``service unavailable``. At 0345, when the SW broadcast is in progress again, the stream is still unavailable. I check 6150 and can barely hear the RT announcer, and there is a fast subaudible heterodyne indicating another weak signal on the frequency. Again, conditions from Europe are very poor tonight, with the usually big signal from Spain on 6055 quite poor.
What could the other station on 6150 be? The possibilities I can find are Perm, Yakutsk and Bayrak, Cyprus. Under these poor European conditions probably Yakutsk would be most likely. I hope that when conditions from Europe improve, Radio Tirana will have no trouble surpassing it as was the case earlier in the season (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. 5075, Dec 8 at 1402, something in Chinese vs perpetual ute beeper. Has to be the only station in the world on this frequency, V. of Pujiang, Shanghai, at 1130-1600 per Aoki (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. CMRH (the callsign which RHC never announces, discussed in DXLDs 8-074, 9-012, 9-075), Dec 8 at 0643 with 6140 in English this time instead of Spanish.
5960, RHC English audible weakly aside REE/CR 5965, Dec 8 at 0650. This is leapfrog of two powerful fundamentals, 6060 over 6010. There could be another in the opposite direxion on 6110, which at this hour is no longer on the air as a fundamental, but not heard there aside CRI/Sackville 6115.
At 0706, after nominal closedown time, 6140 and 6060 still on the air in English.
At 1420, 11760 with Voces de la Revolución, hoary old Fidel speech from 1989y about imperialismo yanqui, phone ringing in background, that presumably dating from 2009y. // 11730 and 11800 and could not hear phone, but inconclusive as much weaker signals there.
At 1426, leafrog on 13880 = 13680 over 13780, hitting S9+5, a respectable signal in its own right, e.g. stronger than PMS on WWCR 13845. The fundamentals were S9+20.
At 1432, the other leapfrog on 13710 atop AIR GOS. Much weaker than 13880, but enough to be very damaging. This is 13770 over CRI relay on 13740, but only RHC Spanish audible on 13710 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EGYPT. As I was monitoring Equatorial Guinea on 6250 and Polisario was opening on 6297, I noticed that Cairo was still running on 6290 past nominal 0700*, Dec 8, until it cut off at 0705*. As usual, strong signal in Arabic, but badly distorted (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 6250.0, RNGE, Dec 8 at 0653 choral/hilife music, 0700 announcement, more music, weakening vs. ute QRM as sun is well up there in UT+1 zone and SR time varies little near the Equator. Presumed, as never well enough to be certain this was in Spanish. Seems quite irregular, but not usually audible this late after sign-on varying around 0530 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GERMANY [non]. DW in German on 6075, Dec 8 at 0644 good but with a very quick echo/reverb due to two sites not exactly synchronized; needs tweaking. Registered as both Sines, PORTUGAL, 250 kW, 40 degrees, and Woofferton, UK, 300 kW, 114 degrees between 0600 and 0743, except weekends when Sines stays on until 0755 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MAURITANIA. 4845, ORTM is back on after a brief absence, Dec 8 at 0646 in Arabic; fair signal but very weak modulation. Since this is so unreliable, we wonder if the vast outback regions of this country are without national radio service when it is off? And now it also has DRM from Alaska to contend with (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO [and non]. 6185, XEPPM lucked out with a few more minutes than usual of non-interference from Brasília, still in the clear at 0643 Dec 8 with guitar music, but by next check 0652 RNA was on and blowing it away (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 6010, R. Mil, Dec 8 at 1352, a time when it is reliably QRM-free, with ``Escuela Enfoque`` discussion attributed to Estéreo Cien y Radio Mil, altho at first I thought they said Radio México. Poor but clear signal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN [and non]. In regular chex for the 8GAL CW marker at 1400 on 6074, I have been noticing the absence of the Chinese radio war starting on 6075 at that hour as had previously been the case. Closing timesignal from Russia would overlap two seconds apart with opening timesignal from Taiwan and/or CNR1 jamming, but again Dec 8, neither of the latter audible at all, nor 8GAL. Aoki still lists from 1400, RTI with a 4-hour jammed service to the mainland in Chinese. Is it off or just not propagating? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Dec 8 at 1434 UT I came upon a fire-and-brimstone preacher on 15550-USB, which has been an area rather vacant of signals this season, strangely enough. No carrier, pure USB. What could this be, WBCQ here instead of 15420 which clashes later with BBC? Typical sermon about resurrexion, etc., occasional murmers of assent from audience. Worx himself up into a lather periodically. 1445 suggests to start tithing with a quarter or a nickel tonight, then build up. 1450 becomes stronger needing attenuation to avoid pumping. 1451 some brief audio dropouts. 1455 fades a bit, start recording in case ID is coming up.
1501 preacher abruptly interrupted for hymn, which leads into ID as ``WJHR Radio International, Milton, Florida`` and asking for reports to wjhr @ usa.com 1502 resume same preacher in progress. Sounds like they have the rough produxion values of a WWRB. 1506 some music, 1510 more of preacher. Still going at 1520. And still audible vs local computer noise at 1600. Still detectable at 1715, but much weaker.
This is the brand-new SW station which has been in the making for some time, but we had seen no registration at all for this or any frequency from them. Now we know. And just what we need! A clip of the 1501 ID has been posted on the DXLD yg.
No reply yet to my e-mail report as of 1725 UT, also requesting info on what power they are running, antenna direxionality, other frequencies if any and schedule, whether this is their first day and if anyone else has reported to them yet.
But here`s what the FCC has on WJHR:
http://www.fcc.gov/ib/sand/neg/hf_web/WJHR.txt
50 kW, emission 4K50R3A, Cubex/quad antenna with 16.24 dB gain at 5 degrees azimuth, 64 degrees beamwidth and 11 degrees elevation
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [non]. 13645, Dec 8 at 1428, US gospel huxter closing with address in Massachusetts, open carrier till off at 1430*. Per Aoki, it`s some Pan American Broadcasting client via Nauen, GERMANY, which uses 13645 at 1415-1439 Mon-Sat, expanded on Sundays to 1400-1445 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 6297, LV de la RASD, Dec 8 at 0703 playing anthem, brief announcement and into chanting which is presumably Qur`anic devotional, tho not like a regular recitation heard from stations closer to Mecca (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
