domenica 14 febbraio 2010

Glenn Hauser logs February 14, 2010

** AUSTRALIA. 15400, Feb 14 at 1429 tune-in, just in time to catch sign-off in English by HCJB Global Voice, Australia, saying they would resume at 2200 UT on 15525. Good S9+5 signal, carrier still on at 1432. It was actually in Chinese up to sign-off.

Then checked 15340 at 1433 and there was S Asian singing over big het from Morocco 15341. Sat & Sun 1430-1445 language on schedule is Chhattisghari.

Website
http://www.hcjb.org.au/ is headed with this: ``Broadcast alert 11th Feb 2010 -- As of tonight our broadcast to South East Asia resumed.``

WRTH 2010 says they have one 100 kW transmitter at Kununurra, but they obviously have two, and more probably to come from Pifo (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BRAZIL. 5045, instead of the usual unannounced, automated? music for long stretches, R. Cultura do Pará had apparent live coverage of the beginning of Carnaval, ``do início ao fim``, Feb 14 at 0606 UT with IDs in passing, phone numbers, crowd sounds, maybe broadcasting from the street? There is lite but not annoying reverb on the announcer`s mike. Note this was 3+ am in Belém.

Since carnaval is the most important festival of the year in Brasil (who needs Chinese New Year or Valentine`s Day?), I would not be surprised if other Brazilian stations go into overdrive during it, possibly audiblizing normally staid or silent transmitters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. Firedrake traditional music-only jamming Feb 14 at 1450: very good on 8400, nothing on 9000, 10210 or 11300 or vicinities. Not found on 40 meters either (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA [and non]. Cut numbers on 5930.0, Feb 14 at 0613, new frequency? These code letter versions of spy numbers on A2 are normally heard below 5900, e.g. 5898. Very strong and bleeding into adjacent frequencies, vs WWCR/DGS on 5935, RFI on 5925. Ending at 0631 with AR x 3 and SK x 1 but carrier stays on a while. It`s surprisingly difficult to find this frequency mentioned in ENIGMA and other numbers references.

13880 lacking the RHC leapfrog, Feb 14 at 1444 as I started to tune down the 13 MHz band, so one of its components must be missing: yes, 13780 OK, but absent from 13680 allowing R. Farda via Wertachtal, GERMANY to arrive unimpeded (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** FRANCE [and non]. 15605 in Russian, Feb 14 at 1420, first assumed VOR but it`s really RFI at 1400-1430, caught my attention since it had RTTY QRM slightly to one side, which also continued later (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CUBA [and non]

** HAWAII. 6501-USB, distorted high seas marine weather by masculine robot voice, Feb 14 at 0634, pause, and 0635 closing as ``US Coast Guard master communications station, Pacific, out``. Presumably this means NMO Honolulu rather than NMC Point Reyes CA, both of which use this frequency as well as NMN Chesapeake, but NMO weather starts at 0600 per schedule included in my last report (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MADAGASCAR [non]. R. Mada still colliding with Miraya FM for Sudan on 15670: Sunday Feb 14 at 1529 with usual SAH of about 3 Hz, double audio from 1530 while 15680 et al. remain vacant (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SUDAN [non]. 15670, Miraya FM via IRRS via SLOVAKIA, Feb 14 at 1439 interview with both participants speaking heavily-accented English, about languages, 1443, what constitutes a free and fair elexion. Good signal declining somewhat in following hour, and collision from 1530 with Radio Mada; see MADAGASCAR (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TIBET [non]. 11500, at 1507 Feb 14, Chinese conversation with laughing, or so I thought, but listed as R. Free Asia in Tibetan, via Kuwait during this hour only. Do they mix in the language of the imperialists/colonialists? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 9410 back to WHRI programming, Feb 14 at quick 1236 check, well atop China, when a gospel huxter was mentioning ``hot slippery pneumatic sex`` or something like that (trying to read my scribbled notes, pretty sure of pneumatic, anyway), presumably in disapproval, but secretly relishing the thought, ex-BBCWS Connexion Haïti in Creole, which allegedly has now ended. Need to check on a weekday to be sure, when BBC should be back to Spanish only during this hour. So could DXing with Cumbre possibly be back on SW at 1200 Sat or Sun? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. Relatively quiet conditions Feb 14 at 0556 allowed a weak S9+5 signal to be audible on 4050 with country music. Faded a bit at 0600 sharp when inserted ID including ``KWM-`` and right back to more of same music. I.e. KWMO, Washington MO, 3 x 1350 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [and non]. 6000, aimed due south, WYFR is rather weak here, but Harold Camping at 0614 Feb 14 had big variable het on him not noted before. Wild guess: R. Guaíba, Brasil, with extended or reactivated schedule for Carnaval; see also BRAZIL (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [non]. 15580, via SOUTH AFRICA, VOA interview with a guest about the situation in Venezuela, notably Chávez` increasing control of the media, Feb 14 at 1420-1430. Outroed as On the Line. I wanted to recommend this show to others, but website
http://www1.voanews.com/english/programs/tv/64969652.html
does not (yet?) include it. The ``latest show`` tho dated Feb 12 is about something else. On the Line is really a talking-heads TV show, audio track of which gets to be on SW.

BTW, as VOA spins its TV logo, half the time it looks like NOV from the back side, not a good idea. Eliminating the cross bar from Capital A to make it look like a lambda is also a nonsensical graphic device and only exacerbates problems like this. Why should we call it VOLambda? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** VENEZUELA [non]. And I do mean non! After a few weeks of regular Sunday appearances, no Aló, Presidente to be heard at 1735 UT check Feb 14, via Cuba, absent from 17750, 13750, 13680, 12010, while the other frequency 11690 was on but // regular RHC 11730, etc. El Hugazo has started butting into Venezuelan radio and TV whenever he feels like it, even in the middle of the night, so maybe there will be fewer Sunday marathons (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** VIETNAM [non]. 13865, something in Vietnamese, Feb 14 at 1445, weak and fluttery, music. It`s R. Free Asia via SRI LANKA during this hour only (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###