Glenn Hauser logs Dec 31, 2010-Jan 1, 2011

** ARGENTINA. 11710.8, approx., January 1, 2011 at 0023 UT, RAE heavily fluttered as usual, poor signal, but sounds like Portuguese with a Porteño accent. We fully expect to keep hearing RAE this year following its reprieve, but only wish it could attain reception worthy of it. Brazilian and Chilean signals rated no more powerful do a consistently much better job. General Pacheco needs upgrading --- or relaying (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** COSTA RICA. I happened to notice in HFCC that REE is shown in DRM on 3350 at 0000-0200 for B-10, same time as when we know it is in DRM on 9625-9630-9635. Really? Never noticed it, and still hear no change in the noise level as I tune across 3350 around 0001 and 0108 UT January 1. Perhaps is considered an alternative, or ¿is REE installing a second DRM transmitter in Cariari de Pococí? If activated, it would be the first invasion into 90m of this additional noise source (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. 11670, Dec 31 at 2219 has RNV relay in Spanish, unlike yesterday when it was RHC Kichwa(?). Meanwhile, nothing on 15370 yet, but at 2244 that has RHC French, distorted, unlike yesterday when it was Kriyol. RHC always keeps us guessing how they will FU next.

Here`s another in the long string of failures by the DentroCuban Jamming Command: 9490, noise grinding away at 0010 UT January 1, despite the R. República relay via Sackville having been suspended weeks ago (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NEW ZEALAND. 15720, UT Friday December 31 at 2245, I hear the recognizable voice of Garrison Keillor telling a story. Must be Prairie Home Companion, via RNZI, finally getting shortwave exposure by this very roundabout method. Is it on the RNZI schedule grid? Of course not! Only ``RNZ National`` meaning domestic service relay, and on the RNZI schedule page you have to click on ``Radio NZ Domestic Services`` http://www.radionz.co.nz/ then go to the correct network, National, find the schedule, convert times and days from UT +13, to find what RNZI is really broadcasting on SW. That would be Saturday at 11:45 am local, yes: ``11:04 Garrison Keillor's Radio Show, Highlights from the award-winning show - A Prairie Home Companion (PHP)`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** PHILIPPINES. 9730, Dec 31 at 2252, fair signal with ``Jesus Saves`` IS, alternating with ``This is FEBC Radio, broadcasting from Manila, Philippines``, in English. A headstart on the 2300-2330 Hmong broadcast, 100 kW, 293 degrees from Bocaue, in White Hmong M-F, Blue Hmong Sat-Sun, meaning local or UT days? They also have Black Hmong at another time. Are the Hmong color-coded by their traditional dress, dental discoloration or what? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** RUSSIA. I missed being at the SW dials when it was Midnight in Moscow, but listening to VOR later, UT January 1, 2011 at 0005, 6240 via Pridnestrovye and a second later on 7250 via `Krasonodar`, YL was talking about end-of-year holidays, calendar, when Xmas is celebrated, etc.; and at 0024 replayed full strike of Kremlin chimes, marred however by mixing them with disco-beat music, demonstrating how decadent post-Soviet Russia has become (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SLOVAKIA [non]. 6040, now a gaping hole in the band at 0101 UT January 1, where R. Slovakia International used to be in English. They didn`t even keep it going another sesquihour when the final Dec 31 program would normally have repeated to North America.

However, WRMI immediately takes up the slack, relaying RSI in English at 0130 from the WRN NAm feed, as heard when webcast checked at 0140. 9955 was heavily jammed before 0100 during the R. Libertad hour UT Tue-Sat, but I think it abated after 0100. WRMI has a revised program schedule via
http://www.wrmi.net/pb/wp_d12a1732/wp_d12a1732.html
now dated Dec 30. It does show Radio Eslovaquia Internacional 7 days a week at 0330 UT (following R. Praga at 0300), but still shows other programs at 0130 UT Tue-Sat = 8:30 pm local when RSI is really being aired in English, as announced in a press release several days ago. Others have observed that RSI itself has said nothing about the WRMI relay (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SPAIN. Before the arrival of 2011y in western Europe, I gave myself the conventional choice of listening to DW or REE. Could not find a decent signal from DW in German, and besides I understand Spanish better, so also based on previous years` satisfaxion, I seek REE.

6055 at 2256 UT is in IS prior to French broadcast, which I don`t expect to be live, as there is an earlier one to Europe. So on to:

9620 good and 9535 VG in Spanish I reach just in time at 2300 to hear full strike of some reloj, then ``¡Feliz año, dos mil once!`` And right into a novelty song. Turns out most of this hour is novelty music in English, tho announced in Castilian, initially on a `monster` theme - is this All Souls` Eve, or NYE?

At 2307, ``I`m a Monster, Rock `n` Roll``; 2312, ``Mommy`s Little Baby Loves Shortenin` Bread``; 2315 ``Steel Guitar Rag``; 2325 break for a song in Spanish, a Mexican corrido; 2326 yodeling song ``Tea for Texas, Tea for Tennessee`` (or is that just T?); 2332 more yodeling, not first-class, in ``I Want to be a Cowboy`s Sweetheart``.

2338 announcement break mentioned this is coming from Radio Tres, the `cultural` domestic RNE network, à la BBC Radio 3. As I recall, last year after NYE midnite they also had a fun music hour. Music kept going past 2345 when the token Catalan and Galician newscasts would have aired on an ordinary occasion. Recheck at 0012 January 1, 2011, now it`s a flamenco music show. See also COSTA RICA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. As usual near Solstice, MW skywave sets in before midafternoon. Dec 30 I was getting KOA 850 already at 2045 UT, and lots of others.

Dec 31 at 2113 UT a quick bandscan on the caradio finds 1550 dominated by ``Branson Radio Live, 1550``, mentions 2009, so another two-year-old recording? Then ad for Titanic Museum. This is really KLFJ Springfield MO, which in daytime is 5 kW non-direxional. It`s completely devoted to promoting Branson, a tourist trap I am proud to say I have never visited despite relative proximity and a number of trips thru Springfield (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. The far-too-seldom updated WINB program schedule at http://www.winb.com/schedule.htm as of Dec 5, 2010 is already outdated: Friday Dec 31 at 2256 on 9265 instead of Overcomer at ``5-7 pm`` I am hearing Xmas music // but not synchronized to WBCQ 9330-CUSB, i.e. it must be the Good Friends Radio Network at an additional time on WINB. 2349 they are still // with preacher, 9265 running ahead of 9330 by a few sex (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 9370v, UT Saturday January 1 at 0106, Arabic from WTJC, undermodulated and somewhat muffled. Shall we try again to match this to WTJC`s program schedule, at http://www.fbnradio.com/weekday.htm --- That would be Friday 8 pm, EST --- nope, not there, only stuff in English the livelong day. Nothing but English on Saturday either. On Sunday same except for a couple of Spanish shows. FBN does link to its Chinese website, which I have trouble reading, but seems only about streaming audio, not SW programming. Yet Arabic is nothing new on WTJC SW, occasionally encountered, as well as Chinese despite absence from published schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [and non]. Couldn`t find a decent signal from BBC approaching 2400 UT Dec 31 = 0000 UT Jan 1, so settled for WWV 5000, which I would have had playing anyway simultaneously. Announcer was nonchalant as usual, no hint of celebration in his voice, as it became zero hours, zero minutes, Coordinated Universal Time. No leap second this year, of course, making it even more conventional. WWV will rebecome just as essential six hours later here in the UT-6 zone S. But see RUSSIA, SPAIN (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 7430, rapid pulsing centered here January 1 at 0032, atop some broadcaster. The pulses are quite different from the DentroCuban Jamming Command; estimated about 10 per second, very regular, and extending to 7435 and 7425 but no further unlike wider-band OTH radars. Only thing scheduled now on 7430 is V. of Russia in Russian via ARMENIA, 305 degrees to Europe, Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. Could be the Gavar transmitter is simply defective and this is not jamming. If heard before 0030 it could have been Myanmar jamming VOA Burmese via Sri Lanka on 7430. Now it also bothers R. Tirana on 7435 in Albanian // clear 6130 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###