** CHINA. OTH radar pulses, presumed from here, Jan 23 at 1337, 5350-5390 QRMing ham radio on 5373 (see USA); also 5775-5825, but this time shifted far enough up not to QRM AFN GUAM 5765-USB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake Jan 23 at 1349: JBA on 8400, NAAA [not audible at all] on 9000, 10210, 11300 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 6140, RHC in English audible but much weaker than // 6060, 6010 at 0655 Jan 23. Some 24 hours earlier, 6140 was off. But at 0656, 6140 cut to dead air while English continued on the other two.
This week I chose RHC for musical entertainment on Saturday morning, ``Cancionero Iberoamericano``, on 15120, Jan 23 in progress at 1438 as Tony Gómez was presenting a frenetic song in English about family planning. Turned out to be a Barbados segment, followed by a much quieter tune, ``Beautiful Barbados``. 1446 on to Trinidad & Tobago for a funny calypso song with tambores metálicos (esteel drums); 1448 time for a bit of something from Aruba, where most people speak four languages, and the main one, Papiamentu, is a combo of six. Before news summary, filled with a promo for Habana`s Malecón (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [non]. 6030, tuning by R. Martí at 0653 UT Sat Jan 23, sufficiently above DentroCuban Jamming Command to tell they were talking about Tico Valdés. Suspect another airing of ``Arte Latino`` apolitical show. They may be running these evergreen episodes over and over (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9526-, VOI good signal and fair modulation with music during English hour, Jan 23 around 1335 check; but off the air at next check 1410 when the Malay hour has been appearing sporadically (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** LAOS [non]. Checking WHRI 11785, Sat Jan 23: on the air at 1357 with gospel huxter in English, 1359 to open carrier and off during the hour Hmong Lao Radio used to emanate. 1519 recheck, back on with choppy Hmong talk, badly edited? for the 1500-1530 semihour of Hmong World Christian Radio (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [non]. BBCWS publicity said they would start their own Creole-language service Sat Jan 23 and thence daily carried on six FM stations in Haiti at 1410-1430, and `` It will also be available on shortwave.``. WTFK??? Forced us to hunt, so we did so between 1405 and 1425 Jan 23, scanning all broadcast bands twice between 5 and 18 MHz (even -22 MHz just in case), and not a trace of it. No suspicious unID signals anywhere even with music which could be this.
We can confidently say that if BBC Krèyol is really on SW, it`s not at the same time as on FM. Same press referred to the existing 12-13 transmission via WHRI 9410 and GUF 11860, which has been converted from all-Spanish to Spanish and English, but did not say that the Creole service would be inserted into that, unmonitored today. Seems unlikely, as that would be some two hours earlier than the FM relay.
Alokesh Gupta found out additional info about BBC Creole: It`s produced in Miami and presented by Carline Faustin and Simone Degraff, who host a Creole language program on Miami's public radio, WLRN, but produced and edited by several BBC personnel. Plans to maintain it at least until Sunday 7 Feb. The FM affiliates are those of Radio France Internationale, thru which the pre-recorded program is routed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Re: Haven`t heard WTWW testing the last few days on 9480 or 5755, so I asked George McClintock how things are going. He says a long test period is scheduled for Saturday Jan 23, times here changed to UT:
1600-1900 9480
1900-2200 9475
2200-2400 9480
0000-0400 5755 [UT Sunday]
``All this assumes that we have no problems. This will be a test to see how the transmitter and other equipment hold up with extended transmission time.`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST 10-03)
And it`s on and running! Huge steady S9+25 signal here with classic rock `n` roll music at 1608 Jan 23. Frequent IDs by Ted Randall, asking for reports to tedrandall @ tedrandall.com Stayed on except for a brief transmitter break at 1656. And cut off again abruptly at 1726, stayed off until resuming at 1737. The shift to 9475 at 19-22 is because YFR is using 9480 during those two sesquihours via Nauen. Good music, but I suspect that will not be its main format once WTWW is in regular service (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 7490, WWCR-3, Sat Jan 23 at 1346 with gospel music, hyper DJ inviting participation by singing groups; not laid-back Rock the Universe with Rich Adcock. Jan 1 online program schedule no longer shows RTU at all on WWCR, but Sat 13-14 is Inspirations Across America, and 1400-1430 Country Crossroads. Nevertheless, at 1412 check it was the piano lady with her Musical Memories, consistently filling that semihour instead (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. Despite previous info from Media Network that the Bonaire relay of Lavwadlamerik on 6135 at 1230-1330 would be expanded from M-F to daily, nothing there at 1325 check Sat Jan 23, nor on // 9505 Greenville ex-9660 as heard the day before. At least we think the latter be Greenville; if Krèyol service demands exceed capacity there, more ad-hoc relays via other sites might ensue. Absence of the morning broadcast matches press claims of 9.5 total hours on weekends, 10.5 on weekdays, as we had calculated in previous post constructing full overt and covert schedule.
9310, VOA English at 1521 Jan 23 via Tinang, PHILIPPINES westward, on the threat of invasive Asian carp to lake Michigan, how to keep them out with barriers? On the Environment Report, ending all too soon at 1523 for silly sports segment. Here`s one of many stories, more about the carp:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/21/asian-carp-michigan-rep-i_n_432255.html
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. 5373, Jan 23 at 1337, SSB traffic bothered by OTH radar spanning 5350-5390, presumably CHINA, q.v. Also bothered by ute beeping from 5368 area. 5373 is one of the five discrete frequencies constituting the ``60 meter hamband`` in the USA [would you believe 55 meters?], as ARRL reminds us at
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/06/03/1/
``The FCC has granted amateurs 5332, 5348, 5368, 5373 and 5405 kHz``
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 5900, Jan 23 at 1343 with big hum and no intelligible modulation. B-09 registrations show Tashkent, UZBEKISTAN site during this semihour with Vatican relay, but 5900 keeps switching sites with relays of various stations: 0930 Irkutsk, 1200 Pet/Kam, 1300 Novosibirsk, 1330 Tashkent, 1400 Samara. This might have been the latter warming up before 1400 start of VOR Urdu (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
** CHINA. Firedrake Jan 23 at 1349: JBA on 8400, NAAA [not audible at all] on 9000, 10210, 11300 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 6140, RHC in English audible but much weaker than // 6060, 6010 at 0655 Jan 23. Some 24 hours earlier, 6140 was off. But at 0656, 6140 cut to dead air while English continued on the other two.
This week I chose RHC for musical entertainment on Saturday morning, ``Cancionero Iberoamericano``, on 15120, Jan 23 in progress at 1438 as Tony Gómez was presenting a frenetic song in English about family planning. Turned out to be a Barbados segment, followed by a much quieter tune, ``Beautiful Barbados``. 1446 on to Trinidad & Tobago for a funny calypso song with tambores metálicos (esteel drums); 1448 time for a bit of something from Aruba, where most people speak four languages, and the main one, Papiamentu, is a combo of six. Before news summary, filled with a promo for Habana`s Malecón (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [non]. 6030, tuning by R. Martí at 0653 UT Sat Jan 23, sufficiently above DentroCuban Jamming Command to tell they were talking about Tico Valdés. Suspect another airing of ``Arte Latino`` apolitical show. They may be running these evergreen episodes over and over (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9526-, VOI good signal and fair modulation with music during English hour, Jan 23 around 1335 check; but off the air at next check 1410 when the Malay hour has been appearing sporadically (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** LAOS [non]. Checking WHRI 11785, Sat Jan 23: on the air at 1357 with gospel huxter in English, 1359 to open carrier and off during the hour Hmong Lao Radio used to emanate. 1519 recheck, back on with choppy Hmong talk, badly edited? for the 1500-1530 semihour of Hmong World Christian Radio (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [non]. BBCWS publicity said they would start their own Creole-language service Sat Jan 23 and thence daily carried on six FM stations in Haiti at 1410-1430, and `` It will also be available on shortwave.``. WTFK??? Forced us to hunt, so we did so between 1405 and 1425 Jan 23, scanning all broadcast bands twice between 5 and 18 MHz (even -22 MHz just in case), and not a trace of it. No suspicious unID signals anywhere even with music which could be this.
We can confidently say that if BBC Krèyol is really on SW, it`s not at the same time as on FM. Same press referred to the existing 12-13 transmission via WHRI 9410 and GUF 11860, which has been converted from all-Spanish to Spanish and English, but did not say that the Creole service would be inserted into that, unmonitored today. Seems unlikely, as that would be some two hours earlier than the FM relay.
Alokesh Gupta found out additional info about BBC Creole: It`s produced in Miami and presented by Carline Faustin and Simone Degraff, who host a Creole language program on Miami's public radio, WLRN, but produced and edited by several BBC personnel. Plans to maintain it at least until Sunday 7 Feb. The FM affiliates are those of Radio France Internationale, thru which the pre-recorded program is routed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Re: Haven`t heard WTWW testing the last few days on 9480 or 5755, so I asked George McClintock how things are going. He says a long test period is scheduled for Saturday Jan 23, times here changed to UT:
1600-1900 9480
1900-2200 9475
2200-2400 9480
0000-0400 5755 [UT Sunday]
``All this assumes that we have no problems. This will be a test to see how the transmitter and other equipment hold up with extended transmission time.`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST 10-03)
And it`s on and running! Huge steady S9+25 signal here with classic rock `n` roll music at 1608 Jan 23. Frequent IDs by Ted Randall, asking for reports to tedrandall @ tedrandall.com Stayed on except for a brief transmitter break at 1656. And cut off again abruptly at 1726, stayed off until resuming at 1737. The shift to 9475 at 19-22 is because YFR is using 9480 during those two sesquihours via Nauen. Good music, but I suspect that will not be its main format once WTWW is in regular service (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 7490, WWCR-3, Sat Jan 23 at 1346 with gospel music, hyper DJ inviting participation by singing groups; not laid-back Rock the Universe with Rich Adcock. Jan 1 online program schedule no longer shows RTU at all on WWCR, but Sat 13-14 is Inspirations Across America, and 1400-1430 Country Crossroads. Nevertheless, at 1412 check it was the piano lady with her Musical Memories, consistently filling that semihour instead (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. Despite previous info from Media Network that the Bonaire relay of Lavwadlamerik on 6135 at 1230-1330 would be expanded from M-F to daily, nothing there at 1325 check Sat Jan 23, nor on // 9505 Greenville ex-9660 as heard the day before. At least we think the latter be Greenville; if Krèyol service demands exceed capacity there, more ad-hoc relays via other sites might ensue. Absence of the morning broadcast matches press claims of 9.5 total hours on weekends, 10.5 on weekdays, as we had calculated in previous post constructing full overt and covert schedule.
9310, VOA English at 1521 Jan 23 via Tinang, PHILIPPINES westward, on the threat of invasive Asian carp to lake Michigan, how to keep them out with barriers? On the Environment Report, ending all too soon at 1523 for silly sports segment. Here`s one of many stories, more about the carp:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/21/asian-carp-michigan-rep-i_n_432255.html
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. 5373, Jan 23 at 1337, SSB traffic bothered by OTH radar spanning 5350-5390, presumably CHINA, q.v. Also bothered by ute beeping from 5368 area. 5373 is one of the five discrete frequencies constituting the ``60 meter hamband`` in the USA [would you believe 55 meters?], as ARRL reminds us at
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/06/03/1/
``The FCC has granted amateurs 5332, 5348, 5368, 5373 and 5405 kHz``
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 5900, Jan 23 at 1343 with big hum and no intelligible modulation. B-09 registrations show Tashkent, UZBEKISTAN site during this semihour with Vatican relay, but 5900 keeps switching sites with relays of various stations: 0930 Irkutsk, 1200 Pet/Kam, 1300 Novosibirsk, 1330 Tashkent, 1400 Samara. This might have been the latter warming up before 1400 start of VOR Urdu (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
