** BULGARIA. 15700, R. Bulgaria, Dec 5 at 1450 theme from ``Mission: Impossible`` and then spent at least four minutes reciting long list of kGz, apparently their entire schedule in Bulgarian. Ironic, as I recall that pseudo-Bulgarian (along with pseudo-Turkish) were among the languages appearing on M:I signage (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CANADA. 800, Dec 5 at 1338 UT, in KQCV OKC null, ``CKLW AM 800`` dominating way over XEROK despite west-of-terminator advantage, promo for the ``only open-line talk show in Windsor-Essex``, on weekday mornings; local weather now on Sunday Morning Live, mixing F and C, happy birthdays (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** COSTA RICA. R. Reloj: see CUBA [and non]; ELCOR: see USA [and non] WWCR
** CUBA [and non]. 11760, 13750, 13780, 15120 et al., RHC, ``En Contacto`` DX program, Dec 5 at 1441 with Manolo reading a ``collaboration`` from Haníbal Hurtado in Costa Rica about Radio Reloj, claiming that it is still on SW 4832 and 6006, which have axually been off the air for many years. Obviously neither of them knows this! Slightly out of touch.
I thought they might have been quoting from RRCR`s webpage historia, http://www.radioreloj.co.cr/contenidoInicio.aspx
and it does mention starting 6006 in 1952, and 4832 circa 1960; but does not admit when and that SW was abandoned. BTW, the callsign TIHB stood for Hermanos Barahona, their Sistema Radiofónico [not an error: Sistema is one of those Greek-root words in Spanish which are masculine despite ending in -a].
Went on to talk about Cuba`s Radio Reloj. Program again ended earlier than before at 1448 instead of 1450, in order to include a 2-minute clip of Fidel set to music before 1450 ``En Compañía del Doctor`` medicine show.
Still seeking the expected secret mid-day repeat of En Contacto: not around 1715 or 1745 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also VENEZUELA [non]
** FRANCE. 6145, Dec 5 at 0610, African drumming and singing, 0612 announcement in Hausa; RFI, 0600-0630, 500 kW, 170 degrees from Issoudun. F-G but some splash from RHC 6150 even tho it`s undermodulated (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GUAM. 5765-USB, AFN unheard Dec 5 at 1310, nor 24 hours earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9526-, VOI, Dec 5 at 1433 majestic film music accompanying Suara Indonesia ID, plus slogan in English ``Sound of Dignity``, totally marred by IADs. This has been going on for months. How can they allow that to happen? The fix might require just a simple adjustment somewhere in the program feed chain, or alternate routing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. As I tuned by 940 with WKY 930 OKC nulled, heard something in Spanish, ID as XEEJ, Dec 5 at 1342. Or so I thought: closest match is XEYJ, Sabinas, Coahuila. No doubt about the jota, but the e could have been a ye (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NIGERIA [non]. The WRMI website as of Dec 4 shows:
Relay Transmissions via Germany for B10 Season:
Freq Start End Zones Power Azimuth Days
7350 0530-0600 46 100 180 23456
9840 1930-2000 46 100 180 23456
17485 1400-1430 46 100 180 2 4 6
These are something new. Jeff White tells me it`s a commercial, not clandestine service in Hausa to Nigeria, officially starting Dec 6, but who can identify it? 180 degrees from Wertachtal. I wonder if it`s one which existed previously, relaying a local FM station, whose name I can`t remember. Is it coincidental that 7350 was chosen, recently occupied by R. Nigeria, Abuja? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ROMANIA [and non]. 17540, Dec 5 at 1451, S. Bend address, so what else but WHRI? *1457.5 OC and RRI IS overlaps for a semiminute, WHRI QSY announcement to 15680 and off 1458*, then RRI clear, 1500 into Arabic with strange Romanian accent. Both of them are targeting CIRAF 37 = Iberia and NW Africa (how did those two regions in different continents wind up in the same CIRAF?) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9565, Dec 5 at 1429, VOA giving MW and SW frequencies, then talking about Baluchistan. It`s the Deewa Radio service in Pashto, 250 kW, 90 degrees via Wertachtal, GERMANY (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. As tipped by Gilles Letourneau in Montréal, who has been listening to WORLD OF RADIO on SW since the 1980s, we were missing from WWCR, UT Sunday Dec 5 at 0330 on 4840, and so was the entire ``DX Block`` during that hour after ``Ask WWCR`` at 0245, preacher instead.
The updated December online program guide still shows the other DX programs and WOR at all its previously scheduled times. Maybe they had a make-good for a paid program, and the easiest way to do it was to replace the DX block this week (only, we hope).
We also note that the transmitter schedule currently displayed shows WWCR-2 changing from 7490 to 12160 at 1600, an hour earlier than before at 1700 --- despite on Dec 4 staying on 7490 at least until 1730 putting that airing of WORLD OF RADIO on the `wrong` frequency. Dec 5 at 1638, we do find that 12160 is already on instead of 7490.
Back to 0345 UT Dec 5: I checked all the WWCR frequencies. Only 3215 was inbooming; 4840 was getting quite weak with plummeting winter night MUFs, but certainly not World of Radio. 5890 Brother Scare was inaudible, while leftover pulse jamming from Cuba against VOA was still very evident, despite VOA having finished with 5890 at 0100. 5935 was JBA with DGS gospel music, and het, no doubt from the R. República 5954.1v spur, matched by another ELCOR het of a different pitch from COSTA RICA vs 5975 which is VOA Somali via Lampertheim during that semihour only (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** VENEZUELA [non]. Yet another no-show by El Hugazo, as his special frequencies via CUBA, 17750, 15370, 13680 and 11690 were all carrying regular RHC programming // 11760, 11730, with ``Formalmente Informal``, at 1639 Sunday Dec 5. Show website http://www.alopresidente.gob.ve/ has a streamer at the top admitting that ``hoy 5 de diciembre no se realiza el programa``. ``Anterior`` program was #367 with video linx and other info, but hard to find its date which must have been several weeks ago by now (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 873, fair carrier looping NW/SE, Dec 5 at 1326 UT, but gone at 1328, amid complete MW bandscan on 9 kHz steps, only other TPs being very weak 774 and 747. If not some local artifact, 873 is most likely JOGB NHK-2, Kumamoto, 500 kW, tho there are several other hi-powered Asians: China, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Korea North (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
** CANADA. 800, Dec 5 at 1338 UT, in KQCV OKC null, ``CKLW AM 800`` dominating way over XEROK despite west-of-terminator advantage, promo for the ``only open-line talk show in Windsor-Essex``, on weekday mornings; local weather now on Sunday Morning Live, mixing F and C, happy birthdays (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** COSTA RICA. R. Reloj: see CUBA [and non]; ELCOR: see USA [and non] WWCR
** CUBA [and non]. 11760, 13750, 13780, 15120 et al., RHC, ``En Contacto`` DX program, Dec 5 at 1441 with Manolo reading a ``collaboration`` from Haníbal Hurtado in Costa Rica about Radio Reloj, claiming that it is still on SW 4832 and 6006, which have axually been off the air for many years. Obviously neither of them knows this! Slightly out of touch.
I thought they might have been quoting from RRCR`s webpage historia, http://www.radioreloj.co.cr/contenidoInicio.aspx
and it does mention starting 6006 in 1952, and 4832 circa 1960; but does not admit when and that SW was abandoned. BTW, the callsign TIHB stood for Hermanos Barahona, their Sistema Radiofónico [not an error: Sistema is one of those Greek-root words in Spanish which are masculine despite ending in -a].
Went on to talk about Cuba`s Radio Reloj. Program again ended earlier than before at 1448 instead of 1450, in order to include a 2-minute clip of Fidel set to music before 1450 ``En Compañía del Doctor`` medicine show.
Still seeking the expected secret mid-day repeat of En Contacto: not around 1715 or 1745 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also VENEZUELA [non]
** FRANCE. 6145, Dec 5 at 0610, African drumming and singing, 0612 announcement in Hausa; RFI, 0600-0630, 500 kW, 170 degrees from Issoudun. F-G but some splash from RHC 6150 even tho it`s undermodulated (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GUAM. 5765-USB, AFN unheard Dec 5 at 1310, nor 24 hours earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9526-, VOI, Dec 5 at 1433 majestic film music accompanying Suara Indonesia ID, plus slogan in English ``Sound of Dignity``, totally marred by IADs. This has been going on for months. How can they allow that to happen? The fix might require just a simple adjustment somewhere in the program feed chain, or alternate routing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. As I tuned by 940 with WKY 930 OKC nulled, heard something in Spanish, ID as XEEJ, Dec 5 at 1342. Or so I thought: closest match is XEYJ, Sabinas, Coahuila. No doubt about the jota, but the e could have been a ye (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NIGERIA [non]. The WRMI website as of Dec 4 shows:
Relay Transmissions via Germany for B10 Season:
Freq Start End Zones Power Azimuth Days
7350 0530-0600 46 100 180 23456
9840 1930-2000 46 100 180 23456
17485 1400-1430 46 100 180 2 4 6
These are something new. Jeff White tells me it`s a commercial, not clandestine service in Hausa to Nigeria, officially starting Dec 6, but who can identify it? 180 degrees from Wertachtal. I wonder if it`s one which existed previously, relaying a local FM station, whose name I can`t remember. Is it coincidental that 7350 was chosen, recently occupied by R. Nigeria, Abuja? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ROMANIA [and non]. 17540, Dec 5 at 1451, S. Bend address, so what else but WHRI? *1457.5 OC and RRI IS overlaps for a semiminute, WHRI QSY announcement to 15680 and off 1458*, then RRI clear, 1500 into Arabic with strange Romanian accent. Both of them are targeting CIRAF 37 = Iberia and NW Africa (how did those two regions in different continents wind up in the same CIRAF?) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9565, Dec 5 at 1429, VOA giving MW and SW frequencies, then talking about Baluchistan. It`s the Deewa Radio service in Pashto, 250 kW, 90 degrees via Wertachtal, GERMANY (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. As tipped by Gilles Letourneau in Montréal, who has been listening to WORLD OF RADIO on SW since the 1980s, we were missing from WWCR, UT Sunday Dec 5 at 0330 on 4840, and so was the entire ``DX Block`` during that hour after ``Ask WWCR`` at 0245, preacher instead.
The updated December online program guide still shows the other DX programs and WOR at all its previously scheduled times. Maybe they had a make-good for a paid program, and the easiest way to do it was to replace the DX block this week (only, we hope).
We also note that the transmitter schedule currently displayed shows WWCR-2 changing from 7490 to 12160 at 1600, an hour earlier than before at 1700 --- despite on Dec 4 staying on 7490 at least until 1730 putting that airing of WORLD OF RADIO on the `wrong` frequency. Dec 5 at 1638, we do find that 12160 is already on instead of 7490.
Back to 0345 UT Dec 5: I checked all the WWCR frequencies. Only 3215 was inbooming; 4840 was getting quite weak with plummeting winter night MUFs, but certainly not World of Radio. 5890 Brother Scare was inaudible, while leftover pulse jamming from Cuba against VOA was still very evident, despite VOA having finished with 5890 at 0100. 5935 was JBA with DGS gospel music, and het, no doubt from the R. República 5954.1v spur, matched by another ELCOR het of a different pitch from COSTA RICA vs 5975 which is VOA Somali via Lampertheim during that semihour only (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** VENEZUELA [non]. Yet another no-show by El Hugazo, as his special frequencies via CUBA, 17750, 15370, 13680 and 11690 were all carrying regular RHC programming // 11760, 11730, with ``Formalmente Informal``, at 1639 Sunday Dec 5. Show website http://www.alopresidente.gob.ve/ has a streamer at the top admitting that ``hoy 5 de diciembre no se realiza el programa``. ``Anterior`` program was #367 with video linx and other info, but hard to find its date which must have been several weeks ago by now (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 873, fair carrier looping NW/SE, Dec 5 at 1326 UT, but gone at 1328, amid complete MW bandscan on 9 kHz steps, only other TPs being very weak 774 and 747. If not some local artifact, 873 is most likely JOGB NHK-2, Kumamoto, 500 kW, tho there are several other hi-powered Asians: China, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Korea North (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
