** ARGENTINA. 15344.7, approx. frequency for R. Nacional with sports coverage, Feb 12 at 2248, VP with fading; checked this for comparison after hearing 15190 Brazil [q.v.] and they were about the same. Could not uncover anything on 13363 tnx to bubble jamming from a cable DTV box. Later in the next hour 15344.7 had improved a bit (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** AUSTRALIA. 15525, Feb 12 at 2352, fair signal with violin/piano music, quite like that on NHK 17605 (see JAPAN [non]) but not //. 2356 Chinese announcement. Uplooked later, 15525 is HCJB Australia, 100 kW, 340 degrees, HFCC registered as 2200-2230 English, 2230-2430 Chinese, except Japanese 2230-2300 Sat & Sun [meaning UT Fri & Sat??]. So HCJB gives NHK some competition in the Sunday-mornings-are-for-classical-music tradition (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BRAZIL. 15190, R. Africa apparently off Feb 12 at 2245, leaving channel to R. Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte, with announcement in Brazilian, but very poor and fading; then played a version of ``Elephant Walk`` including some vocal. By 2354 signal was better peaking S9+10, and guess what, ``Elephant Walk`` again – program theme, or commercial? Then played rock song in English ``Yellow River`` = Rio Amarelo (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [and non]. 5954.2, Feb 13 at 0005, R. República has enough signal for its Spanish via COSTA RICA to be readable vs noise from the DentroCuban Jamming Command; even could make out some audio on the 5936+ spur hetting 5940 as WWCR 5935 was not yet on; match on 5972 overwhelmed by REE 5970 in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GERMANY [non]. 11605, Sat Feb 12 at 2255 I am pleased to hear some orchestral classical music; 2259 a fast SAH hits from the next station, and before 2300 all we hear from this one is some audience applause, no announcement, DW jingle and then open carrier despite the other station trying to start.
Kudos to DW as another rare SW station not afraid to play classical music, even on its Indonesian service, 22-23, 250 kW, 85 degrees via Madagascar.
Its weaker 11605 successor ought to have a much better signal here, being Guiana French, 250 kW USward at 318 degrees for VOR in Spanish at 23-24, then switching due south for Portuguese (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GUINEA. 7125, RTG still missing the evening of Feb 12, checked at 2303. Will logs of last few days prove to have been its last gasp? Or first signs of a sporadic revival? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** JAPAN [non]. 17605, NHK`s western classical music Sunday-morning ghetto continues relayed via BONAIRE, 270 kW, 170 degrees but quite good here nowhere near that azimuth, UT Sat Feb 12 at 2342 with final movement of Chaikofsky`s Violin Concerto until 2348, Japanese announcement, and a violin/piano piece. Something similar on 15525: see AUSTRALIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MALI. 15505, Feb 12 at 2250, weak signal in Chinese, figured it was China as some W Pacific signals were audible on band, such as VG KSDA 15320, but 15505 is really an unusual half-hour Chinese broadcast at 2230 of CRI via Bamako, HFCC and Aoki agree, 100 kW at 85 degrees. Aoki refers to CRI relays as Bamako II, distinct from Bamako I = Mali`s own service on 5995, 7286 (?) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NETHERLANDS [non]. 15280, Feb 12 at 2251, spirited discussion in Indonesian, VG signal but with squeal, and audio feed is at lofi bitrate with artifacts. This is RNW at 2200-2257, 100 kW, 225 degrees via IBB SAIPAN, where by the way there are issues about the rent IBB is paying on the land for the transmitters; see DXLD 11-06, NMI (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DGIEST)
** NORTH AMERICA. 6930-USB, one pirate active this evening Feb 12: at 2304 comedy bit, ``prick up your ears and listen to this``, calypso song. 2309 parody dog food ad ``Pussy-Lickins`` with five dead cats in each bag, from WPUP, ``right here on 43 meters, my name is Dr. Puppy ---; this puppy has to QRT now``, mentioned Yoder, Belfast maildrop, United States of Puppies; ``WPUP Shortwave Worldwide,`` but kept going with ``Puppy Love `` song; 2313 barking and howling, and yet another song.
At this point I tuned away to Turkey, but back at 2321, sounded like same announcer with a new identity, suggesting we ``hang garter belts, panties, and other unmentionables outside your DX window for my unholiness to silently collect``. 2326, ``Happy Valentine`s Day``; ``here I come in with my longue tongue ... 43 meters … I`m coming down on you, can you handle me, baby?``. 2332 ``Voice of the Runaway Maharishi, Valentine`s Day Special``; QSL instruxions with 3 units of postage to Providence RI or Wellsville NY maildrops, and you may include ``delicious-smelling panty-hose`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 640, WWLS has some serious transmitter problem. Again today Feb 12 at 2111 UT, splattering badly, on caradio I now think it reaches up to 670; hard to be sure whether splatter on 680 is coming from it or KGGF-690, both with ESPN Radio tho out of synch. Listening on 650, I can hear some distorted modulation as well as IBOC-like noise, so maybe it`s a mixture with the IBOC portion out of order. Furthermore, like yesterday there is crackling on 640 itself. Is anybody paying attention at the studio? That should be obvious on the off-air monitor, if any (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PORTUGAL [and non]. With only a sesquimonth to go in the B-10 season, RDPI has done nothing to resolve the 12040 collision with Cuba they were informed about early on. Feb 12 at 2253, RDPI sports is atop, but it`s messy with RHC Spanish cochannel, a SAH apart; RDPI has much weaker // 11960; and at 2319 also came across // RDPI on 7285 which is scheduled for this hour only, aimed northeast across Europe.
Of its own volition, RHC doesn`t start 12040 until 2200 now, but there will be a collision when extraordinary emissions of silly Lusitanian ballgames extend past 2200. Meanwhile RHC is also on 12010 in the clear but with some hum self-inflicted (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RUSSIA [and non]. 7220, Feb 13 at 0009 in Russian with motorboating, not too severe yet, but there should not be any --- listed as Golos Rossii, 500 kW, 295 degrees via Pridnestrovye for Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, NW South America. Some QRhaM, which becomes less and less likely toward the upper edge, tho entitled to go right up to 7299. So I compared with VOR in English up the band:
7290, also via Pridnestrovye, was best, being 300 kW at 310 degrees for USA; // 7250 a lot weaker, despite being 500 kW, 315 degrees for same CIRAF zones, via ``Armavir``. At 0010, W&M were discussing arms limitations and suspicions about NATO. They were trying to sound spontaneous but I think it was scripted. Both had rather heavy Russian accents, as VOR seems to be making less effort to employ announcers with North American or British accents. Their best ones have died (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TURKEY. Contrary to HFCC, WRTH and DX Mix News, V. of Turkey English to NAm is still on 5960, Feb 12 at 2304 JBA; 2315 with VOT jingle, English ID, `DX Corner` theme, but too poor to try to copy; while imaginary frequency 7335 is occupied on Saturdays by huge WHRI signal predicating in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [non]. 15360, Feb 12 at 2357 poor signal with Bow Bells, so BBCWS is warming up for two-hour relay via THAILAND, 250 kW, 25 degrees, also USward. 2359:30 quick ID with website bbc.co.uk, less Lilliburlero than we used to hear, timesignal, 0000 Feb 13 midnight GMT timecheck, news headlines for a minute before the real news. This would have been a good bet for full strike of Big Ben on New Year`s Eve, propagation permitting (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1110, cf. yesterday`s report of nothing but KFAB Omaha audible here in daytime; is KVTT The Metroplex really on with 50 kW? It does have a null almost usward, and from another location on the west edge of Enid, and thus a little closer to its 320 degree minor lobe, I am hearing a barely audible SAH between KFAB and something else, Feb 12 at 2115 UT, clocked at 36 per minute = 0.6 Hz. Has anyone else measured the separation between these two stations? Such info is hard to come by, even on the MW Offset listing. BTW, at this time, 1440 Spanish from The Metroplex was in well, i.e. skywave at the higher end of the band already working, as KTNO does not make it here on groundwave (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
** AUSTRALIA. 15525, Feb 12 at 2352, fair signal with violin/piano music, quite like that on NHK 17605 (see JAPAN [non]) but not //. 2356 Chinese announcement. Uplooked later, 15525 is HCJB Australia, 100 kW, 340 degrees, HFCC registered as 2200-2230 English, 2230-2430 Chinese, except Japanese 2230-2300 Sat & Sun [meaning UT Fri & Sat??]. So HCJB gives NHK some competition in the Sunday-mornings-are-for-classical-music tradition (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BRAZIL. 15190, R. Africa apparently off Feb 12 at 2245, leaving channel to R. Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte, with announcement in Brazilian, but very poor and fading; then played a version of ``Elephant Walk`` including some vocal. By 2354 signal was better peaking S9+10, and guess what, ``Elephant Walk`` again – program theme, or commercial? Then played rock song in English ``Yellow River`` = Rio Amarelo (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [and non]. 5954.2, Feb 13 at 0005, R. República has enough signal for its Spanish via COSTA RICA to be readable vs noise from the DentroCuban Jamming Command; even could make out some audio on the 5936+ spur hetting 5940 as WWCR 5935 was not yet on; match on 5972 overwhelmed by REE 5970 in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GERMANY [non]. 11605, Sat Feb 12 at 2255 I am pleased to hear some orchestral classical music; 2259 a fast SAH hits from the next station, and before 2300 all we hear from this one is some audience applause, no announcement, DW jingle and then open carrier despite the other station trying to start.
Kudos to DW as another rare SW station not afraid to play classical music, even on its Indonesian service, 22-23, 250 kW, 85 degrees via Madagascar.
Its weaker 11605 successor ought to have a much better signal here, being Guiana French, 250 kW USward at 318 degrees for VOR in Spanish at 23-24, then switching due south for Portuguese (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GUINEA. 7125, RTG still missing the evening of Feb 12, checked at 2303. Will logs of last few days prove to have been its last gasp? Or first signs of a sporadic revival? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** JAPAN [non]. 17605, NHK`s western classical music Sunday-morning ghetto continues relayed via BONAIRE, 270 kW, 170 degrees but quite good here nowhere near that azimuth, UT Sat Feb 12 at 2342 with final movement of Chaikofsky`s Violin Concerto until 2348, Japanese announcement, and a violin/piano piece. Something similar on 15525: see AUSTRALIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MALI. 15505, Feb 12 at 2250, weak signal in Chinese, figured it was China as some W Pacific signals were audible on band, such as VG KSDA 15320, but 15505 is really an unusual half-hour Chinese broadcast at 2230 of CRI via Bamako, HFCC and Aoki agree, 100 kW at 85 degrees. Aoki refers to CRI relays as Bamako II, distinct from Bamako I = Mali`s own service on 5995, 7286 (?) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NETHERLANDS [non]. 15280, Feb 12 at 2251, spirited discussion in Indonesian, VG signal but with squeal, and audio feed is at lofi bitrate with artifacts. This is RNW at 2200-2257, 100 kW, 225 degrees via IBB SAIPAN, where by the way there are issues about the rent IBB is paying on the land for the transmitters; see DXLD 11-06, NMI (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DGIEST)
** NORTH AMERICA. 6930-USB, one pirate active this evening Feb 12: at 2304 comedy bit, ``prick up your ears and listen to this``, calypso song. 2309 parody dog food ad ``Pussy-Lickins`` with five dead cats in each bag, from WPUP, ``right here on 43 meters, my name is Dr. Puppy ---; this puppy has to QRT now``, mentioned Yoder, Belfast maildrop, United States of Puppies; ``WPUP Shortwave Worldwide,`` but kept going with ``Puppy Love `` song; 2313 barking and howling, and yet another song.
At this point I tuned away to Turkey, but back at 2321, sounded like same announcer with a new identity, suggesting we ``hang garter belts, panties, and other unmentionables outside your DX window for my unholiness to silently collect``. 2326, ``Happy Valentine`s Day``; ``here I come in with my longue tongue ... 43 meters … I`m coming down on you, can you handle me, baby?``. 2332 ``Voice of the Runaway Maharishi, Valentine`s Day Special``; QSL instruxions with 3 units of postage to Providence RI or Wellsville NY maildrops, and you may include ``delicious-smelling panty-hose`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 640, WWLS has some serious transmitter problem. Again today Feb 12 at 2111 UT, splattering badly, on caradio I now think it reaches up to 670; hard to be sure whether splatter on 680 is coming from it or KGGF-690, both with ESPN Radio tho out of synch. Listening on 650, I can hear some distorted modulation as well as IBOC-like noise, so maybe it`s a mixture with the IBOC portion out of order. Furthermore, like yesterday there is crackling on 640 itself. Is anybody paying attention at the studio? That should be obvious on the off-air monitor, if any (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PORTUGAL [and non]. With only a sesquimonth to go in the B-10 season, RDPI has done nothing to resolve the 12040 collision with Cuba they were informed about early on. Feb 12 at 2253, RDPI sports is atop, but it`s messy with RHC Spanish cochannel, a SAH apart; RDPI has much weaker // 11960; and at 2319 also came across // RDPI on 7285 which is scheduled for this hour only, aimed northeast across Europe.
Of its own volition, RHC doesn`t start 12040 until 2200 now, but there will be a collision when extraordinary emissions of silly Lusitanian ballgames extend past 2200. Meanwhile RHC is also on 12010 in the clear but with some hum self-inflicted (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RUSSIA [and non]. 7220, Feb 13 at 0009 in Russian with motorboating, not too severe yet, but there should not be any --- listed as Golos Rossii, 500 kW, 295 degrees via Pridnestrovye for Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, NW South America. Some QRhaM, which becomes less and less likely toward the upper edge, tho entitled to go right up to 7299. So I compared with VOR in English up the band:
7290, also via Pridnestrovye, was best, being 300 kW at 310 degrees for USA; // 7250 a lot weaker, despite being 500 kW, 315 degrees for same CIRAF zones, via ``Armavir``. At 0010, W&M were discussing arms limitations and suspicions about NATO. They were trying to sound spontaneous but I think it was scripted. Both had rather heavy Russian accents, as VOR seems to be making less effort to employ announcers with North American or British accents. Their best ones have died (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TURKEY. Contrary to HFCC, WRTH and DX Mix News, V. of Turkey English to NAm is still on 5960, Feb 12 at 2304 JBA; 2315 with VOT jingle, English ID, `DX Corner` theme, but too poor to try to copy; while imaginary frequency 7335 is occupied on Saturdays by huge WHRI signal predicating in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [non]. 15360, Feb 12 at 2357 poor signal with Bow Bells, so BBCWS is warming up for two-hour relay via THAILAND, 250 kW, 25 degrees, also USward. 2359:30 quick ID with website bbc.co.uk, less Lilliburlero than we used to hear, timesignal, 0000 Feb 13 midnight GMT timecheck, news headlines for a minute before the real news. This would have been a good bet for full strike of Big Ben on New Year`s Eve, propagation permitting (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1110, cf. yesterday`s report of nothing but KFAB Omaha audible here in daytime; is KVTT The Metroplex really on with 50 kW? It does have a null almost usward, and from another location on the west edge of Enid, and thus a little closer to its 320 degree minor lobe, I am hearing a barely audible SAH between KFAB and something else, Feb 12 at 2115 UT, clocked at 36 per minute = 0.6 Hz. Has anyone else measured the separation between these two stations? Such info is hard to come by, even on the MW Offset listing. BTW, at this time, 1440 Spanish from The Metroplex was in well, i.e. skywave at the higher end of the band already working, as KTNO does not make it here on groundwave (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
