domenica 4 aprile 2010

Glenn Hauser logs April 2-3, 2010

** CUBA. Radio Habana keeps us going with more and more anomalies: April 3 at 0615 I notice that English is still running on 6000, normally quitting at 0500, and also English on 6010, 6060 and 6140. Spanish on 6120 and 5040; nothing on 6150. 6000 also has a het on the hi side, but less interference than 6010 which is atop MEXICO [q.v.] and probably Colombia. However a minute or two later, RHC English no longer heard on 6000, tho there is still the het between somethings (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** INDONESIA [and non]. 4750, not much making it on 60 meters as late as 1310 April 3 except this heavy collision between RRI Makassar and CNR which is listed as 50 kW due west from Xining, CHINA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** LAOS [non]. 11785, WHRI with Hmong World Christian Radio, Saturday April 3 at 1313, but sermon instead of the rustic music we crave. WHRI signal is not at usual super-level, but instead suffering severe co-channel QRM from the VOA/ChiCom radio war, mainly CNR1 echo-jamming. It has really been foolish ever to schedule these on same frequency. At 1315 the HWCR audio builds up temporarily and I can tell it is very jumpy, badly edited or with computer problems; 1317 a bit of English included, ``the devil shall die``, but back to heavy collision at 1323, and finally at 1328 some Hmong hmusic fill, 1330 over to Call to Worship show in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MADAGASCAR [non]. Another try to hear Radio Mada International, Saturday April 3, via PRIDNESTROVYE. Could not tune in until 1545, but then heard nothing but Greece on 15630, which had a stronger signal than neighbors: 15640-DRM, 15650-Lampertheim, 15660-Meyerton, 15670-Wertachtal. Yet WRN confirms R. Mada was really on 15630, and they have not complained about any Grecian interference in target. Saturdays and Sundays 1530-1600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 6010, checking RHC`s ever-changing language/frequency lineup, see CUBA, April 3 at 0618 could detect Mexican national anthem, underneath from Radio Mil, way past the legally required 0600 = local midnight time. Anyway, once DST is underway from April 4, it`s supposed to play at 0500 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NETHERLANDS [non]. 11835, Radio Netherlands poorly audible in English news at 1405 April 3, under skirts of much stronger WYFR 11830. The only frequencies left in A-10 for this 14-16 English broadcast to South Asia are this and 15745, both via MADAGASCAR, the latter inaudible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DGIEST)

** PORTUGAL. 15560, RDPI, Saturday April 3 at 1358, VG signal with funny novelty song to the tune of ``Reveille`` running past 1400, then weather for Açores and Madeira, news in joint service from Antena Um e RDPI. Title of the program at 1309-1400 UT this date per http://tv.rtp.pt/EPG/radio/epg-dia.php?canal=5&ac=d&sem=e
was ``Europa/África`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SPAIN [non]. REE`s Spanish DX program Amigos de la Onda Corta has not made a one-hour-earlier DST change this A-season, but still at 0605 UT Saturdays as in B-season, followed by Correo del Oyente mailbag at 0630. Now we can only get it on 5965 via COSTA RICA, unless Spain direct propagate on 11895, 12035 aimed eastward, not tonight.

Fortunately, the Vaticollision on 5965 was not a problem altho supposedly still on the air at this hour in A-season, due to poor propagation from Europe and/or earlier sunrise fading it out.

Amigos had host Antonio Buitrago with some DX news at 0613. The only other scheduled broadcast of it is Sunday 1230 on numerous frequencies, 21610 21570 21540 15585 15170-CR 13720 11910-China 11815-CR 9765-CR, so it no longer competes as it did thruout B-09 season with RHC`s Spanish DX program at 1335. But there is NO other airing of the mailbag on the REE A-10 grid (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** THAILAND. 9575, HSK9 R. Thailand in English via Udorn at 132 degrees, weak but clear, April 3 at 1410 with CRI and R. Australia out of the way from adjacents (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TURKEY. Checking whether VOT has really shifted its programming so a new day starts on the 22 UT broadcast the day before, it and the 03 UT repeat carrying the new day rather than the previous day`s programs, as Seref Isler claimed on last week`s DX Corner:

NO: UT Sat April 3 on live webcast, but also on 5975 if that had been more convenient to monitor, at 0312 I heard ``Turkish Album``, a talk about the disappearing art of inlaying mother-of-pearl, with some music breaks but that`s not what Album refers to; at 0331 ``Household Environmentalist``, Seref with greenish tips. These are both `Friday` programs, as per the current printed schedule folder (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** UGANDA [non]. A reminder that the new Ugandan clandestine Radio Y'Abaganda (Ababaka), is imminent for weekly broadcast Sat 1700-1800 via France 15410. Details in latest DXLD 10-13. Should be audible in North America tho propagation is not so hot today. Of particular
interest will be whether any of it is in English (Glenn Hauser, 1621 UT April 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)

Pop/jazz music ran a bit past 1659 from previous 15410 occupant, DW English scheduled via Rampisham. Then much weaker signal at 1700, really too weak and I am not even sure it was modulated. Carrier break for less than a minute at 1702, and afterwards still can`t copy anything. Should be better further east. Next check at 1740, signal no better than before, very weak and fadey, but definitely modulated now with spirited discussion in presumed Luganda (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U K [non]. 9585, something in Burmese discussion, April 3 at 1411 and stronger than Thailand on 9575. It`s BBC via Singapore at 1345-1430. Strangely enough, NHKWNRJ is scheduled during exactly the same half-sesquihour in Hindi via Uzbekistan, so there ought to be a big collision in Asia, but only Burmese heard here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO confirmed back on 15825 for the rest of the midyear, Fridays on WWCR, weak at 2050; must have started at 2029 or even 2028, as by 2057 was already over and filling time with promos such as for DGS via Anguilla 11775.

5890 // 5935, WWCR 4 and 2 now both carrying University Network, April 3 at 0611. This would seem to be overkill by Dead Gene Scott, but confirmed in new online pdf program schedules at 05-11 on 5890 and 00-12 on 5935.

The April WWCR schedule continues to pretend that ``Country Crossroads`` is on 7490 Saturdays at 1300-1330, but instead April 3 at 1302 we are again hearing ``Musical Memories`` with Martha Garvin singing hymns at her piano.

WORLD OF RADIO, confirmed without looping Saturday April 3 at 1629-1658 on 12160 as monitored on webcast, now the WWCR-2 stream instead of WWCR-3 for this frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. WRMI 9955, Saturday April 3 at 1306 in AWR Wavescan, Jeff White reading story about RCA Manila; fair with no jamming. I hope that was still true for WORLD OF RADIO at 1330.

BTW, Jeff tells me that WRMI has a new Cuban exile program UT Tue-Sat 0100-0200, La Voz del Consejo por la Libertad de Cuba, successor to La Voz de la Fundación. This knox off some other DX program repeats, but not affecting WORLD OF RADIO (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. I can now confirm that the only time when there was even faint hope of DXing With Cumbre axually being aired on shortwave as in the imaginary WHRI online schedule, Saturday at 1200 on 9410, is a bust. Not even on the air then checked at 1220 April 3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also LAOS [non]

** U S A. 9479, WTWW, April 3: quite a weak signal at first check 1313, but in solid by 1339 with no hets audible. George McClintock thinx it may be more advantageous to use 9481 next week at 12-24, unless he can tweak the harmonic filter in the meantime for adequate suppression of the sixteenth harmonic and go back to 9480 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [non]. 7575, VOA in Press Conference USA, Saturday April 3 at 1245, guest Jeremy Rifkin, author of ``The Empathic Civilization``, about what the future may hold and the necessity for more worldwide empathy to avoid doom.

Seemed undermodulated, but every so often the audio would surge up, so what was really happening: surges heard when an open carrier atop this signal would briefly fade. Finished by 1256, then jazz music and promo for Jazz America in following hour to be on 7.575, 9.51 and 9.76 MHz.

At 1300 VOA switches 7575 from THAILAND to Tinang, PHILIPPINES site (the latter only on weekends), so Tinang was on the air with OC much earlier than 1300; should have been tuning up on some other frequency as IBB frequently does but not in this case.

Furthermore, after Thailand went off, the OC remained on 7575 until VOA news modulation finally cut on at 1301:25, at better level than before and no more surging since the undersignal offwent.

9945, April 3 at 1407 playing new version of ``We Are the World``. This hour is VOA Indonesian via Tinang, but the A-Z schedule fails to color-code it as Fri-Sat-Sun only, and consequently also the VOA schedule in DXLD 10-13 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 9660, sounds like DRM noise, April 3 at 1349, mixing with an AM signal. Maybe the DRM is Brandon, AUSTRALIA, which in the past has had DRM on 9660, but not on current schedules at this or any times unlike its other frequency 5995. The AM is probably CVC in Hindi via UZBEKISTAN (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 15106, the het is there again, April 3 at 1403 vs 15105, presumed BBC Hausa via Ascension. Noel Green says it`s not Pakistan, so still a mystery; possibly a spur from some other 19m frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###