** CHINA. Firedrake June 1: conditions improved somewhat over last few days, and a few audible again:
8400, poor at 1329; lots of atmosferix = T-storm noise, from as close as south-central Kansas, making lower frequencies useless.
10420, fair at 1335; at 1356 not // 12800
12800, fair at 1342 – the odd one out, not // others
13300, fair at 1345, not // 12800
None others found up to 18 MHz. Only the strongest/nearest signals were making it above 11 MHz, hardly anything on 15 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** COSTA RICA. 15170, REE Cariari still malfunxioning, with continuous crackle mixed with program modulation, June 1 at 1352, and the crackle audible out to plus and minus 40 kHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. Another day, another anomaly at RHC: June 1 at 0603 I find 6010 in Spanish instead of English, also Spanish on 6120, 6150. Other music on 5970 // 5040 // 6060: at 0605 re-opening ``second hour`` of English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** LIBERIA. 4025.0, Star Radio, presumed, very weak signal but totally clear frequency, no QRM, June 1 at 0613, talking seems undermodulated with meter peaking at S9+10, as I try to read it between staticrashes. 0615 to music slightly better modulated; 0618 some yelling but not loud enough to hear here or determine language. By 0640 I thought it was gone, but BFO revealed carrier still there, tho no mod audible.
As weak as it was, much stronger than KWMO 4050, with only a trace of a carrier now; and infinitely stronger than the still-absent Radio Verdad, Guatemala, 4052.5.
I am not aware of any other reports of Star Radio yet from North America or Europe, tho there have been from Brasil in the evening by Jorge Freitas and Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, who also found it undermodulated.
The question is, what hours is 4025 on the air? This was close to morning fade-out time, so the earlier they sign on, the better. People should sit on 4025 waiting for it from 0500 or earlier. Today`s sunrise at Monrovia was 0627 UT, and at only 6+ degrees north, it varies little, only 11 minutes later on December 1: http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/monrovia.html
The answer from their own website http://www.starradio.org.lr/ ---
``STAR radio is broadcasting on 104 FM & 4.025 MHz (mega-hertz) Short Wave in the 75-meter Band. For now test transmission on the Short Wave runs from 5 to 9 in the morning and 6-9 in the evening. Call us on 077577142, 077018797 or 06857000. FM frequency 104 in Monrovia and affiliated community radio stations throughout Liberia.``
Liberia = UT, so that`s 0500-0900 and 1800-2100 on 4025.
Jamie Labadia told us his transmitter is 2.5 kW, but adjustable anywhere below that level; ``the antenna is a "Bow-Tie" dipole, fed with Open-Wire Line, and a Link-Coupled Antenna Tuning Unit. Antenna height is approximately 50 feet. It was to be oriented broadside East / West.``
On WORLD OF RADIO 1514 I remarked that this is the first time Star Radio has SW broadcast direct from Liberia after having used Ascension/UK relays. Mauno Ritola and Kai Ludwig point out that this is not correct:
Mauno Ritola: ``Actually they were on 3400 and 5880 kHz from Liberia from 1997 until 2000 when Charles Taylor ordered them to stop broadcasting.``
Kai Ludwig: ``I think they already operated an own shortwave transmitter in the past, in the pre-2000 years if memory serves right. Then Charles Taylor banned them, and they returned in 2005 with FM plus the Ascension relay.`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MAURITANIA [and non]. After hearing Liberia on 4025, checked 4845 at 0616 to see how other W Africans were doing; ORTM about as well as could be expected, chanting marred by WWCR 4840. Also, French on 4960, i.e. VOA São Tomé, 100 kW at 30 degrees, which is not unusual and don`t bother to log (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
8400, poor at 1329; lots of atmosferix = T-storm noise, from as close as south-central Kansas, making lower frequencies useless.
10420, fair at 1335; at 1356 not // 12800
12800, fair at 1342 – the odd one out, not // others
13300, fair at 1345, not // 12800
None others found up to 18 MHz. Only the strongest/nearest signals were making it above 11 MHz, hardly anything on 15 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** COSTA RICA. 15170, REE Cariari still malfunxioning, with continuous crackle mixed with program modulation, June 1 at 1352, and the crackle audible out to plus and minus 40 kHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. Another day, another anomaly at RHC: June 1 at 0603 I find 6010 in Spanish instead of English, also Spanish on 6120, 6150. Other music on 5970 // 5040 // 6060: at 0605 re-opening ``second hour`` of English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** LIBERIA. 4025.0, Star Radio, presumed, very weak signal but totally clear frequency, no QRM, June 1 at 0613, talking seems undermodulated with meter peaking at S9+10, as I try to read it between staticrashes. 0615 to music slightly better modulated; 0618 some yelling but not loud enough to hear here or determine language. By 0640 I thought it was gone, but BFO revealed carrier still there, tho no mod audible.
As weak as it was, much stronger than KWMO 4050, with only a trace of a carrier now; and infinitely stronger than the still-absent Radio Verdad, Guatemala, 4052.5.
I am not aware of any other reports of Star Radio yet from North America or Europe, tho there have been from Brasil in the evening by Jorge Freitas and Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, who also found it undermodulated.
The question is, what hours is 4025 on the air? This was close to morning fade-out time, so the earlier they sign on, the better. People should sit on 4025 waiting for it from 0500 or earlier. Today`s sunrise at Monrovia was 0627 UT, and at only 6+ degrees north, it varies little, only 11 minutes later on December 1: http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/monrovia.html
The answer from their own website http://www.starradio.org.lr/ ---
``STAR radio is broadcasting on 104 FM & 4.025 MHz (mega-hertz) Short Wave in the 75-meter Band. For now test transmission on the Short Wave runs from 5 to 9 in the morning and 6-9 in the evening. Call us on 077577142, 077018797 or 06857000. FM frequency 104 in Monrovia and affiliated community radio stations throughout Liberia.``
Liberia = UT, so that`s 0500-0900 and 1800-2100 on 4025.
Jamie Labadia told us his transmitter is 2.5 kW, but adjustable anywhere below that level; ``the antenna is a "Bow-Tie" dipole, fed with Open-Wire Line, and a Link-Coupled Antenna Tuning Unit. Antenna height is approximately 50 feet. It was to be oriented broadside East / West.``
On WORLD OF RADIO 1514 I remarked that this is the first time Star Radio has SW broadcast direct from Liberia after having used Ascension/UK relays. Mauno Ritola and Kai Ludwig point out that this is not correct:
Mauno Ritola: ``Actually they were on 3400 and 5880 kHz from Liberia from 1997 until 2000 when Charles Taylor ordered them to stop broadcasting.``
Kai Ludwig: ``I think they already operated an own shortwave transmitter in the past, in the pre-2000 years if memory serves right. Then Charles Taylor banned them, and they returned in 2005 with FM plus the Ascension relay.`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MAURITANIA [and non]. After hearing Liberia on 4025, checked 4845 at 0616 to see how other W Africans were doing; ORTM about as well as could be expected, chanting marred by WWCR 4840. Also, French on 4960, i.e. VOA São Tomé, 100 kW at 30 degrees, which is not unusual and don`t bother to log (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
