** ANTARCTICA. Looking for LRA-36, 15476, on new schedule of M/W/F 12-15 UT: Monday April 19 at 1313 there is a carrier on 15476 (not 15475), vs much stronger Russian on 15480 --- or rather Belarussian, as listed Poland 74 degrees via Woofferton UK at 1300-1430.
Kept on straining to hear 15476+, a smidgin on the hi side, which seems to be AM/DSB rather than RC/USB, but too weak to be positive, especially with all the QRM. Also suffers from intermittent utefarts preceded by 3 beeps centered about 15470.
By 1319 fades up a bit and at this level there should be modulation audible, but the latter does not start showing until 1322, when I can detect some music. Generous FRG-7 S-meter fluxuates S3 to peaks at S9. Nothing but music heard to 1332 as 15480 QRM weakens somewhat. By 1343, LRA36 is peaking to S9+5 but not much help and soon lost to increasing local noise level.
It`s time anyway to turn my attention to the OKC bombing sesquidecade memorial service on four local TV channels, covered much more briefly on all the national news networks. Hasta miércoles y viernes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** AUSTRALIA. 6676-USB, VOLMET from *1230 April 19, first noted as ACI to Honolulu 6679; included Townsville, Adelaide, each with `QNH` barometric readings in millibars (I think).
Per http://www.dxinfocentre.com/volmet.htm this is AXQ-429 from Brisbane, and on 6676 the half-hourly rotation is Brisbane, Calcutta, Bangkok, Karachi, Singapore, Bombay, or if you prefer, Brisbane, Kolkata, Krung Thep, Karachi, Jurong, Mumbai. Hmmm, does Brisbane have an alternate Aboriginal name? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA [and non]. Firedrake April 19: at 1247, nothing on 8400, but good on 9365, where nothing is known to be scheduled, so must be latest landing spot for a Sound of Hope jam-magnet, itself inaudible.
9845, Voice of America singing ID jingle made it thru CNR1 jamming at 1250 April 19, back to Chinese. VOA is via Saipan during this hour only, then Tinang.
Firedrake alone, at 1307 fair on 13970, at 1308 good on 13500, at 1309 fair on 14970 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [and non]. RHC anomalies April 19: at 0515, no signal on 5970, so impossible to tell whether it would have been in Spanish or English. This allowed NHK 5975 to arrive unimpeded, English via Rampisham to Europe, and also no ACI to REE/Costa Rica 5965, tho plenty of CCI.
At 0516, RHC English 6010 was playing hard rock music, splattering to 6000 and 6020, the latter bothering CRI English via Sackville: Commies vs Commies!
Spain 6055 was also playing hard rock music, overpowering RHC on 6060, but Spain soon had Spanish announcement (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ETHIOPIA [non]. Tnx to tip from Ivo Ivanov, Radio Xoriyo Ogadenia heard on new frequency at new time, April 19 at 1435 poor-fair in presumed Somali talk, 1441 a bit of HOA music, soon back to talk, and fading down some. Frequency is in the clear. This is 300 kW, 160 degrees from PRIDNESTROVYE, Mondays and Fridays only since April 16 at 1430-1500, replacing M & F 1815-1845 on 7425 via Armenia, which of course had no chance of reaching deep NAm, and apparently did not work that well to Ogaden either (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** HAWAII. 6679-USB, April 19 at *1225 following New Zealand, VOLMET for Alaskan airports including Cold Bay, Anchorage, King Salmon. If robotic, very well done and sounds human. One might have thought it was from Anchorage, but 1230 ID as Honolulu Radio, and continued. Per DX Info Centre, call is KVM70, and schedule is 25 and 55 minutes past each hour. Next up is JIA Tokyo at :10 and :40 so Honolulu can run up to 15 minutes each. It has a lot of territory to cover (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** IRAN. Just as I tuned in 11695, April 19 at 1302, heard ``irib.ir`` pronounced with English letters, and back into S Asian language, Qur`an with long pauses. What are we going to do when they start pronouncing URLs only in Persian or Urdu?
Per Aoki, 11695 is VIRI Urdu service at 1300-1427, 500 kW, 118 degrees from Kamalabad. Soon found // on 11805, but there mixed with Chinese, CNR1 vs VOA Thailand. IRIB on 11805 is 500 kW, but 178 degrees from Kamalabad. I should think the China radio war would cause a bit of QRM in Pakistan too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA SOUTH. 7275, April 19 at 1158 found KBS IS and IDs in Korean and English, 1200 opening Korean program. Per Aoki this is 250 kW non-direxional at 08-11 and 12-14 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. 3912, April 19 at 1210, solo singing briefly holding its own against SSB QRhaM, i.e. V. of the People, clandestine from South to North; no jamming audible as usually the case.
3480, the usual KNDF clandestine from North to South, was missing, as was any jamming upon it. Trace of the VOK 3560 feeder (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NEW ZEALAND. 6679-USB, April 19 at 1224 with VOLMET for NZ, sounds like a human instead of a robot, concluding with Auckland ID until 1225* and immediately followed by Honolulu; see HAWAII. DX Info Centre says callsign is ZKAK, scheduled at 20 and 50 minutes past each hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3905.0, weak AM talk at 1214 April 19, presumed Radio New Ireland, SSB QRhaM, barely audible compared to Korea 3912, and much stronger Nikkei 3925 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, tuned in 1202 April 19 just in time to hear a bit of music, sounds like anthem, then open carrier from 1203 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** THAILAND [and non]. 7575, VOA World News Now, April 19 at 1245 dumped off the air twice during Earth & Sky segment, causing most of this brief feature to be lost. Otherwise reception was sufficient. Latest info on the needlessly complex IBB transmitter usage on this frequency, subject to change without notice:
12-13 daily Thailand 30 degrees, USward
13-14 Sat/Sun Tinang 21 degrees, USward
14-15 M-F Thailand 268 degrees
15-16 daily Thailand 268 degrees
22-23 M-F Tinang [or UT Sun-Thu??] 270 degrees
23-24 daily Tinang 270 degrees
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9330-CUSB, WBCQ on the air for another Area 51 test on extra frequency, Sunday April 18 at 2135 during International Radio Report from CKUT, which I had started listening to on webcast. Nothing audible on 5110, and 7415 too deep in local noise level to hear presumed simultaneous Marion`s Attic.
If only I could get a reliable 9330 time for WORLD OF RADIO, as 7415 Tue/Wed/Thu at 1900-1930 has limited range in spring/summer daytime (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 7170, April 19 at 1235, DRM-like noise centred here, but not quite 10 kHz wide. Surely no broadcaster would dare, so maybe a ham experimenting with DRM-like mode? Might also have been Ethiopian jamming in radio war with Eritrea, except no broadcast signals found on 7110, 7165, 7175 or 7185, and a bit early for long-path (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 11500, again with open carrier, good signal but fluttery, 1253 April 19; 1259 some intermittent tones, 1300 still OC with occasional chirps probably from adjacent ute. 1305, still open carrier. Per Aoki, V. of Russia via TAJIKISTAN, is scheduled 1200 English, 1300 Hindi, 1400-1500 English, apparently failing to apply modulation. Sound of Hope and Firedrake also appear on 11500 but no sign of that today, unless it was instead a FD transmitter in OC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
Kept on straining to hear 15476+, a smidgin on the hi side, which seems to be AM/DSB rather than RC/USB, but too weak to be positive, especially with all the QRM. Also suffers from intermittent utefarts preceded by 3 beeps centered about 15470.
By 1319 fades up a bit and at this level there should be modulation audible, but the latter does not start showing until 1322, when I can detect some music. Generous FRG-7 S-meter fluxuates S3 to peaks at S9. Nothing but music heard to 1332 as 15480 QRM weakens somewhat. By 1343, LRA36 is peaking to S9+5 but not much help and soon lost to increasing local noise level.
It`s time anyway to turn my attention to the OKC bombing sesquidecade memorial service on four local TV channels, covered much more briefly on all the national news networks. Hasta miércoles y viernes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** AUSTRALIA. 6676-USB, VOLMET from *1230 April 19, first noted as ACI to Honolulu 6679; included Townsville, Adelaide, each with `QNH` barometric readings in millibars (I think).
Per http://www.dxinfocentre.com/volmet.htm this is AXQ-429 from Brisbane, and on 6676 the half-hourly rotation is Brisbane, Calcutta, Bangkok, Karachi, Singapore, Bombay, or if you prefer, Brisbane, Kolkata, Krung Thep, Karachi, Jurong, Mumbai. Hmmm, does Brisbane have an alternate Aboriginal name? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA [and non]. Firedrake April 19: at 1247, nothing on 8400, but good on 9365, where nothing is known to be scheduled, so must be latest landing spot for a Sound of Hope jam-magnet, itself inaudible.
9845, Voice of America singing ID jingle made it thru CNR1 jamming at 1250 April 19, back to Chinese. VOA is via Saipan during this hour only, then Tinang.
Firedrake alone, at 1307 fair on 13970, at 1308 good on 13500, at 1309 fair on 14970 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [and non]. RHC anomalies April 19: at 0515, no signal on 5970, so impossible to tell whether it would have been in Spanish or English. This allowed NHK 5975 to arrive unimpeded, English via Rampisham to Europe, and also no ACI to REE/Costa Rica 5965, tho plenty of CCI.
At 0516, RHC English 6010 was playing hard rock music, splattering to 6000 and 6020, the latter bothering CRI English via Sackville: Commies vs Commies!
Spain 6055 was also playing hard rock music, overpowering RHC on 6060, but Spain soon had Spanish announcement (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ETHIOPIA [non]. Tnx to tip from Ivo Ivanov, Radio Xoriyo Ogadenia heard on new frequency at new time, April 19 at 1435 poor-fair in presumed Somali talk, 1441 a bit of HOA music, soon back to talk, and fading down some. Frequency is in the clear. This is 300 kW, 160 degrees from PRIDNESTROVYE, Mondays and Fridays only since April 16 at 1430-1500, replacing M & F 1815-1845 on 7425 via Armenia, which of course had no chance of reaching deep NAm, and apparently did not work that well to Ogaden either (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** HAWAII. 6679-USB, April 19 at *1225 following New Zealand, VOLMET for Alaskan airports including Cold Bay, Anchorage, King Salmon. If robotic, very well done and sounds human. One might have thought it was from Anchorage, but 1230 ID as Honolulu Radio, and continued. Per DX Info Centre, call is KVM70, and schedule is 25 and 55 minutes past each hour. Next up is JIA Tokyo at :10 and :40 so Honolulu can run up to 15 minutes each. It has a lot of territory to cover (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** IRAN. Just as I tuned in 11695, April 19 at 1302, heard ``irib.ir`` pronounced with English letters, and back into S Asian language, Qur`an with long pauses. What are we going to do when they start pronouncing URLs only in Persian or Urdu?
Per Aoki, 11695 is VIRI Urdu service at 1300-1427, 500 kW, 118 degrees from Kamalabad. Soon found // on 11805, but there mixed with Chinese, CNR1 vs VOA Thailand. IRIB on 11805 is 500 kW, but 178 degrees from Kamalabad. I should think the China radio war would cause a bit of QRM in Pakistan too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA SOUTH. 7275, April 19 at 1158 found KBS IS and IDs in Korean and English, 1200 opening Korean program. Per Aoki this is 250 kW non-direxional at 08-11 and 12-14 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. 3912, April 19 at 1210, solo singing briefly holding its own against SSB QRhaM, i.e. V. of the People, clandestine from South to North; no jamming audible as usually the case.
3480, the usual KNDF clandestine from North to South, was missing, as was any jamming upon it. Trace of the VOK 3560 feeder (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NEW ZEALAND. 6679-USB, April 19 at 1224 with VOLMET for NZ, sounds like a human instead of a robot, concluding with Auckland ID until 1225* and immediately followed by Honolulu; see HAWAII. DX Info Centre says callsign is ZKAK, scheduled at 20 and 50 minutes past each hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3905.0, weak AM talk at 1214 April 19, presumed Radio New Ireland, SSB QRhaM, barely audible compared to Korea 3912, and much stronger Nikkei 3925 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, tuned in 1202 April 19 just in time to hear a bit of music, sounds like anthem, then open carrier from 1203 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** THAILAND [and non]. 7575, VOA World News Now, April 19 at 1245 dumped off the air twice during Earth & Sky segment, causing most of this brief feature to be lost. Otherwise reception was sufficient. Latest info on the needlessly complex IBB transmitter usage on this frequency, subject to change without notice:
12-13 daily Thailand 30 degrees, USward
13-14 Sat/Sun Tinang 21 degrees, USward
14-15 M-F Thailand 268 degrees
15-16 daily Thailand 268 degrees
22-23 M-F Tinang [or UT Sun-Thu??] 270 degrees
23-24 daily Tinang 270 degrees
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9330-CUSB, WBCQ on the air for another Area 51 test on extra frequency, Sunday April 18 at 2135 during International Radio Report from CKUT, which I had started listening to on webcast. Nothing audible on 5110, and 7415 too deep in local noise level to hear presumed simultaneous Marion`s Attic.
If only I could get a reliable 9330 time for WORLD OF RADIO, as 7415 Tue/Wed/Thu at 1900-1930 has limited range in spring/summer daytime (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 7170, April 19 at 1235, DRM-like noise centred here, but not quite 10 kHz wide. Surely no broadcaster would dare, so maybe a ham experimenting with DRM-like mode? Might also have been Ethiopian jamming in radio war with Eritrea, except no broadcast signals found on 7110, 7165, 7175 or 7185, and a bit early for long-path (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 11500, again with open carrier, good signal but fluttery, 1253 April 19; 1259 some intermittent tones, 1300 still OC with occasional chirps probably from adjacent ute. 1305, still open carrier. Per Aoki, V. of Russia via TAJIKISTAN, is scheduled 1200 English, 1300 Hindi, 1400-1500 English, apparently failing to apply modulation. Sound of Hope and Firedrake also appear on 11500 but no sign of that today, unless it was instead a FD transmitter in OC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
