domenica 20 giugno 2010

Glenn Hauser logs June 19-20, 2010

** CHINA. Firedrake June 20: quite a harvest, after a few days of slim pickins:
 9000, fair at 1238, gone at 1327. This one not heard in a longtime
11100, good at 1245, fair-good at 1327 at 1347
13100, fair at 1250, 1324 and 1345
14700, good at 1251, 1323, 1345
14970, very good at 1251, gone at 1323
15140, fair at 1252, gone after 1330
15850, very good at 1253, poor at 1321. Unusual channel; presumably because Sound of Hope decided to use it today. Not in Aoki
16100, good at 1255, fair at 1321, good at 1343
None higher found up to 20 MHz by 1256 or later
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. Alan Pennington points out that contrary to what I said on WOR 1517, he heard DXers Unlimited on UT Monday June 14 at 0314 and 0414, each lasting only 9 minutes, instead of previous repeats on UT Sundays. The RHC English program schedule now shows it on Sundays. (And Arnie also said last week he would still be after news headlines on the half hours; really?)

On June 19, to confirm DXUL is no longer on Saturday, I tuned in at 2029 for the first English broadcast at 2030 on 11760, but it was already underway ending news; announcer said ``more news headlines on the half hour`` --- but this WAS the half-hour. On to stamps show, and at 2044-2049 Breakthru, Arnie talking about Cuba producing its own potato seeds for short winter planting season. 2049, ``last news headlines for June 19``; 2054 ``ending today`s broadcast`` then music fill ``Llegó la música cubana`` until hourtop when went into French instead of another semihour of English.

The full schedule presented in Spanish
http://www.radiohc.cu/espanol/c_frecuencia/frecuencias.htm
has been changed to show English on 11760 at 20-21 instead of 2030-2130. French had been at 2000-2030 and 2130-2200, but now it`s a full hour straight at 21-22, according to this. Is it 60 different minutes or half an hour repeated? If the former, that could be why English has been shifted. I have not sifted thru the entire language schedule to detect any other changes without notice.

I wanted to see if the English webpage
http://www.radiohc.cu/ingles/index.htm
had caught up with this, but instead of it we see the Spanish homepage without the grafix. And still the same at 1500 UT. The French page
http://www.radiohc.cu/frances/c_frecuencia/frecuencias.htm
still shows the 2000/2130 split. The Portuguese page with that language`s sked is even more outdated, still claiming to be on long-abandoned 11800.

9112, in bandscan for Firedrake, encountered huge S9+22 signal from RHC in Spanish, June 20 at 1235, ending ``Así es mi Tierra``, starting ``Cuba Campesina`` music show I always enjoy. At 1336 the DX program ``En Contacto`` was underway, first RHC self-congratulating itself on some award involving a classic RCA mike, then Pedro Sedano`s monthly, apparently on third Sunday, DX report including items about Star Radio and Radio Fly; 1347 Rubén Guillermo Margenet with ``efemérides`` summary of radio-related anniversaries including something to do with Marconi, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

But what`s RHC doing on 9112? Wires crossed and put RHC audio on one of the out-of-band spy numbers frequencies which are just as powerful, 250 kW-range, as many intentional RHC frequencies? Maybe, but 9112 not found in quick search of UDXF forum and ENIGMA.

At outset, 9112 was // and synchro with 9600, 6110, 6150, 6180, and at 1245 found to be an echo apart from // 12030. The most obviously missing scheduled frequency: 11760, so perhaps somehow that transmitter wound up on 9112, hardly a case of finger-slipping on the keypad. At 1323 when 11760 was still missing, found 9112 to be: // and synchro 13680, 13780, 13880, 15360 during mailbag, and // but an echo apart from 12030, 11730, 15380. At 1340, also // and synchro 15120. 1352, 9112 still on. Not checked again until 1535 when as expected 9112 was off, perhaps never to be heard again (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** FRANCE. 9805, June 20 at 0611 good with Hausa music, resembling HOA music, from RFI, 170 degrees from Issoudun (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** INDONESIA. 9525.9, VOI back to good strength plus good modulation, June 20 at 1330 with ID, P O Box 1157, Jakarta, or english @ voi.co.id and then segment with frequent musical interludes about dragon fruit, a cure-all (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** KUWAIT [and non]. 13m barely open from REE SPAIN, June 20 at 1351 on 21570 in clear, and weaker // 21540 with SAH of about 6 Hz from the numbskulls at Radio Kuwait who have started colliding with REE until 1500 despite scads of open channels on this band (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** LIBERIA. 4025-, presumed Star Radio carrier again strong enough to be detectable above noise level, June 20 at 0607, and as usual slightly lower compared to Rebelde on 5025 on the FRG-7 by tuning down exactly 1 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NIGERIA [non]. 15120, VON is scheduled in English at 05-06, and I have heard it previously but now it`s blocked by the China radio war. June 20 at 0548 I am hearing heavy CCI between two stations in Chinese, but if VON is there, it is buried. The two are R Free Asia via TINIAN, and of course CNR1 jamming. This is likely to be a problem in other worldparts too. Will VON ever wake up and start coördinating frequencies, introduce flexiblity where needed, or doggedly stick to the same ones they have always used? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SPAIN. 15110, REE at 2210 Saturday June 19, program ID as Mundofonías, as I suspected, amid cuts from album called ``Russian Gypsy [sic] Music``; then some Grappelli-like fiddling. Very enjoyable on usual super signal direct from Noblejas (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also KUWAIT

** SYRIA. 12085, R. Damascus, June 19 at 2116 with the whine louder than the modulation, which also seems to be cutting on only at peaks, music, 2124 talk, unreadable to even be sure it was scheduled English during this hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###