** ARGENTINA. RAE is back! Main transmitter used on 15345v and 11711v had been off the air since late October, but Jan 23 at 0016 I noticed a het on 11710 with Chinese station. Could also be variable North Korea, but worth further checking. At 0055, there was the RAE IS and now measured on 11709.4, so still off-frequency but to the other side. By 0102 it was too weak to confirm language, presumably Japanese as previously scheduled, and still hetting weak 11710 signal. The Chinese on 11710.0 is per Aoki: CNR1, Beijing 572 site, 100 kW, 285 degrees.
However, this sounds like the same old GE transmitter which RAE could never get to stay on frequency, not a brand-new replacement which is supposedly on order. So they managed to get it going again. Next check at 0215 found English from RAE in the clear after China goes off at listed 0130; like the other foreign languages, this English 02-03 broadcast is UT Tue-Sat only, finally French at 03-04; meanwhile, look for 15345v reactivated also. Per WRTH 2010, B-09 weekend schedule of RNA relays is Sat 2000-0230 UT Sun on 15345; and Sun 1800-0300 UT Mon on 11710v (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
However, this sounds like the same old GE transmitter which RAE could never get to stay on frequency, not a brand-new replacement which is supposedly on order. So they managed to get it going again. Next check at 0215 found English from RAE in the clear after China goes off at listed 0130; like the other foreign languages, this English 02-03 broadcast is UT Tue-Sat only, finally French at 03-04; meanwhile, look for 15345v reactivated also. Per WRTH 2010, B-09 weekend schedule of RNA relays is Sat 2000-0230 UT Sun on 15345; and Sun 1800-0300 UT Mon on 11710v (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ARGENTINA. At 0312 UT Jan 23, the RAE 11709.4 signal was better in music, presumably within French service, but a het once again. Now the only other thing scheduled is CRI in Russian due west via Urumqi, East Turkistan (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BRAZIL. 10000, Observatório Nacional, Jan 22 at 2313 with UT -2 timechex in Brazilian every dekasecond with one pip, and with three pips at minutetop, mixing with WWVH and WWV, including their weather segments between minutely time announcements. Poor-fair signal but glad to have any at all if it`s still only 1 kW or less. Must have been during a fade-down of superpower WWCR 9980, which came back up at 2320 overloading 10000, disaudiblizing the timesignallers (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GREECE. 9420, VOG reactivated, poor Jan 22 at 2311 check with Greek music // better 7475 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN [and non]. 11605, bad het between Brazilian Portuguese and unID including music, Jan 23 at 0011. Brazilian is VOR via GUIANA FRENCH, and the only other thing scheduled is RFA in Vietnamese via Tanshui, TAIWAN, per Aoki --- another notoriously off-frequency relay from this country, like Tainan as listed which which can`t make it to 9955.0 or 11550.0 either (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BRAZIL. 10000, Observatório Nacional, Jan 22 at 2313 with UT -2 timechex in Brazilian every dekasecond with one pip, and with three pips at minutetop, mixing with WWVH and WWV, including their weather segments between minutely time announcements. Poor-fair signal but glad to have any at all if it`s still only 1 kW or less. Must have been during a fade-down of superpower WWCR 9980, which came back up at 2320 overloading 10000, disaudiblizing the timesignallers (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GREECE. 9420, VOG reactivated, poor Jan 22 at 2311 check with Greek music // better 7475 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN [and non]. 11605, bad het between Brazilian Portuguese and unID including music, Jan 23 at 0011. Brazilian is VOR via GUIANA FRENCH, and the only other thing scheduled is RFA in Vietnamese via Tanshui, TAIWAN, per Aoki --- another notoriously off-frequency relay from this country, like Tainan as listed which which can`t make it to 9955.0 or 11550.0 either (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [non]. A BBC press release Jan 22 says they are starting a daily Creole-language service from Jan 23, at 1410-1430 UT carried on several FM stations in Haiti and ``also on shortwave``, but do they bother to give the SW frequency? Of course not! We must hunt for it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Discovered another unpublicized frequency for VOA`s Creole service, filling in the gap between scheduled 2200-2300 and 0100-0200 transmissions: 7590. It may have been on for days, but I have not been bandscanning much in this bihour. First heard Jan 22 at 2321 with Creole talk on phone, 2334 phone number and ID as Lavwadlamerik (as they spell it in Kreyòl, which forces French to be more fonetik). 2359 recheck, VOA ID and off at 2359:30 so I quickly scanned 7 and 6 MHz bands for another channel. By 0006 I came back to 7590 and found it on again, so they faked me out. Must have had a transmitter and/or antenna change to make at 0000, then resuming. 7590 still going at 0052, but vacant after 0100 when the non-secret service is underway on 7465 and much weaker 5960.
I`ll give VOA one more chance to display its full Creole schedule at http://author.voanews.com/english/about/frequenciesAtoZ_c.cfm
Checking at 0145 UT Jan 23:
NO, still no 7590 shown, and nothing in the 1930-2200 UT period either when we have been hearing them on 15390, then 13725. Kai Ludwig suggests the unpublicized transmissions could really be feeders to the Commando Solo relays on AM and FM over Haiti, tho you`d think C.S. could get satellite feeds. Maybe SW input is more convenient, not having to keep satellite dish aimed from circling aircraft.
This means we need to search for further secret SW transmissions possibly filling the rest of the 24 hours, 0200-1230 and 1330-1730.
A VOA press release of Jan 22 says VOA Creole ``has expanded its broadcasting to 10.5 hours on weekdays and 9.5 hours on weekends`` without any details. The known SW transmissions of 1230-1330, 1730-0200 add up to 9.5! But now there is even more past 0200:
At 0215, 7590 is back on, but 7465 is still on too, rather than closing at 0200. 5960 no longer available, with NHK via Sackville. So how long will those two stay on? Until 0300 would add up to 10.5 hours. I certainly have not heard them previously when I scan after 0600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, 0238 UT Jan 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Discovered another unpublicized frequency for VOA`s Creole service, filling in the gap between scheduled 2200-2300 and 0100-0200 transmissions: 7590. It may have been on for days, but I have not been bandscanning much in this bihour. First heard Jan 22 at 2321 with Creole talk on phone, 2334 phone number and ID as Lavwadlamerik (as they spell it in Kreyòl, which forces French to be more fonetik). 2359 recheck, VOA ID and off at 2359:30 so I quickly scanned 7 and 6 MHz bands for another channel. By 0006 I came back to 7590 and found it on again, so they faked me out. Must have had a transmitter and/or antenna change to make at 0000, then resuming. 7590 still going at 0052, but vacant after 0100 when the non-secret service is underway on 7465 and much weaker 5960.
I`ll give VOA one more chance to display its full Creole schedule at http://author.voanews.com/english/about/frequenciesAtoZ_c.cfm
Checking at 0145 UT Jan 23:
NO, still no 7590 shown, and nothing in the 1930-2200 UT period either when we have been hearing them on 15390, then 13725. Kai Ludwig suggests the unpublicized transmissions could really be feeders to the Commando Solo relays on AM and FM over Haiti, tho you`d think C.S. could get satellite feeds. Maybe SW input is more convenient, not having to keep satellite dish aimed from circling aircraft.
This means we need to search for further secret SW transmissions possibly filling the rest of the 24 hours, 0200-1230 and 1330-1730.
A VOA press release of Jan 22 says VOA Creole ``has expanded its broadcasting to 10.5 hours on weekdays and 9.5 hours on weekends`` without any details. The known SW transmissions of 1230-1330, 1730-0200 add up to 9.5! But now there is even more past 0200:
At 0215, 7590 is back on, but 7465 is still on too, rather than closing at 0200. 5960 no longer available, with NHK via Sackville. So how long will those two stay on? Until 0300 would add up to 10.5 hours. I certainly have not heard them previously when I scan after 0600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, 0238 UT Jan 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. VOA Creole: Recheck at 0312 Jan 23, 7465 and 7590 are indeed off, and did not search for further frequencies.
So summarizing, the full known schedule of Lavwadlamerik, combining overt transmissions on schedule and covert ones as monitored:
1230-1330 6135-Bonaire, 9505
[above M-F only? Would account for one hour less on weekends]
1730-1930 15390, 17565
1930-2100 15390
2102-2200 13725
2200-2300 15390, 13725, 11905
[overt schedule no longer shows 15390 at 2200; not checked Jan 22]
2300-0100 7590
0100-0200 5960, 7465
0200-0300 7465, 7590
The overt schedule at all times day and night also shows 1180 ex-Radio Martí, Marathon, but is it also in use for any of the covert times? Cannot monitor it from here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 6501-USB with marine weather for Caribbean, at least partly originating in Miami, by masculine robot voice, Jan 22 at 2324, but distorted/overmodulated and splattering; soon found // 8502-USB which was in better shape. Both are USCG frequencies, but not certain which station(s) involved at this hour, maybe New Orleans (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 25+ hours after 1440 was dominated by KTNO, Spanish from The Metroplex, tried again on caradio Jan 22 at 2200 UT and immediately heard ID for WGEM in Quincy IL. Now there`s a heritage call which has managed to survive; I think I picked up their TV channel 10 in the 1960s long before I heard the AM. But it`s no full service radio, now just another ESPN affiliate per NRC AM Log listing. By 2206 Spanish music from KTNO was atop.
Also 24 hours after 1220 was dominated by KZEE, Hot Pepper 1220, one of The Metroplex ethnic stations, Jan 22 at 2200 on the caradio I could barely make out its South Asian music in the pileup (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
