** ANTARCTICA. 15476, nothing yet from LRA36, Feb 21 at 1455. Expected to be back on the air by Feb 25 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. Further chex for RHC anomalies Sunday Feb 20:
15370, at 2226 open carrier; 2231 cut on RHC IS and opening Esperanto as scheduled, even tho it was missing from the earlier time of 1500 on 11760 which stayed in Spanish. Radío Havano Kubo announced nominal Espo. Sunday sked: 1500 to N/C/SAm on 11760; 0700 [always out of order] to San Francisco, Usono on 6010; new 2230 to S America on 15370. Usual opening themesong, and listened a bit longer in case they mentioned current date, but did not hear it. 15370 was as usual overmodulated and distorted.
Meanwhile, what is happening with RHC Spanish? I had missed the 1435 first airing of the DX program `En Contaco`, so expected it around 2240, best on 11770, but instead there was `Formalmente Informal`, with Ernesto Lecuona himself playing his great songs on piano, `Malagueña`, `Andalucía`, `Siempre en mi Corazón`, interspersed with brief interviews about Teatro Estudio, on its fiftieth anniversary (ergo program from 2008 since it was founded in 1958), narrated by Orlando Castellanos. It`s not clear what connexion Lecuona had with the theatre, if any. And what`s this doing on Sunday? FMIF is normally a M-F show at 1531 UT, maybe repeated weekday evenings.
Still no DX program at 2306 when RHC went onto `news` about the Castro Bros. being named delegates to a Commie-con in April, congrats! Recheck at 2343, `El Mundo de la Filatelia` is opening with mailbag items from stamp-exchangers.
FINALLY, at 2354 `En Contacto` starts, more than an hour late. After birthdays, Pedro Sedano`s monthly DX report on behalf of Spain`s AER; 2358 began a collaboration from Rubén Guillermo Margenet of Argentina, but the best frequency I was still listening to, 11770, cut him off abruptly at 2400 as it is scheduled to do.
UT Feb 21, found EC continuing on 12040, 12010, 9820, but at 0001:30, 9820 also cut off. Then checked 5040, and that was opening RHC English as scheduled. Spanish did continue also on 6140, 15230, and at 0006 9770 was on. Some of these were an echo apart from each other.
By then, Arnaldo Coro Antich was starting a propagation report on the recent abrupt increase in solar activity. Had not heard him for months within the Spanish DX program, and his outro was ``para esta revista informativa``, his usual sign-off for unDX spots within the news magazine shows, so this probably also appeared elsewhen, here as a bonus perhaps without his knowledge or intentional participation. `En Contacto` ended at 0008. When will it be on next Sunday? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GERMANY. Tnx to a reminder from Wolfgang Büschel, monitored the once-a-year broadcast of Radio Öömrang to North America, Feb 21 at 1607-1700* on 15215, 500 kW via Wertachtal. All in Frisian, to promote that dialect. VG signal, all talk, mostly by YL. Once can recognize occasional German words. I wonder what percentage native speakers of Dutch or High German can understand. Read much more about it from last year in DXLDs 9-086, 10-07, 10-08 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** LIBYA. 21695, V. of Africa with normal programming in English, Feb 21 at 1546, still the bored announcer referring to the `Great Jamahiriyah``, ``unity of Africa has been achieved``. Yeah, right.
If the revolution succeeds, uninterrupted broadcasting in English is not likely to be a priority, but this is the transmission we can understand, as long as it lasts, 14-16 on 21695 and 17725.
Tarek Zeidan in Denmark heard one of the powerful MW frequencies, El Beida 1125, IDing as ``Radio Free Libya from the Green Mountain`` at 2245 UT Feb 20. What`s that in Arabic? And asking the rest of Libyan cities to join the revolution, but the other MW frequencies were still with pro-Ghaddafi songs.
The other high-power at least 100 kW MW channels in various cities are: 648, 675, 828, 1053, 1251, 1449. I wonder what the double-dagger next to some of them in WRTH 2011 means? Should be interesting listening this evening in Eurafrica. 1251 and 648 are supposed to carry a different version of V. of Africa than on SW, including irregular English news segments.
This fast-breaking news is being reported by experienced MW, SW and satellite monitors in the DXLD yahoogroup (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. Of the Big Three commercial DTV stations in OKC, I`ve noticed that only KWTV-39 IDs as `KWTV-DT`, visually including on its lower-right bugs with a white 9 on a red background, alternating with News9.com.
This is confirmed at FCC TV Query: KWTV-DT is the official call, while the others are KOCO-TV and KFOR-TV even tho they are just as Digital as KWTV is. Perhaps it was 39`s choice to keep the -DT since TV is already part of their four-letter callsign. At least that will reduce ignorant broadcast media references to it as ``KWTV-TV``, which happened frequently in the analog era!
While looking at the FCC info about these I see that:
KWTV-DT on 39 has a direxinal antenna with full 100% power only headed due south, and reduced power of 81% at 320 degrees, which is not too far from Enid`s direxion, where we also get reduced power; why? Is there something else on ch 39 that must be protected out here? Not that I know of.
KOCO-TV 7 is licensed with 47 kW at 370 meters AAT.
But has a CP modification for 65.7 kW at 451 m.
And an application for 101 kW back down at 370 meters
So they want to increase power to what it was when in analog on channel 5, which of course is not equivalent to what you need on channel 7 analog, much less what you need for equivalent DTV coverage, but bound to be an improvement over 47 kW. Which power and height they are currently using is anyone`s guess.
Licensed pattern plot shows max power at 30-40 degrees, a big null toward the SW reducing power to 25%. That was to protect KSWO-TV in Lawton while it was still on channel 7 analog during The Transition, but now it`s on 11, so that should no longer be necessary.
The 65.7 kW CP mod is also non-direxional; but the app for 101 kW has the same direxional null toward Lawton which is no longer necessary, so perhaps the `final` version will be the 65.7 kW one. Fortunately, Enid is getting about 96% of the signal as long as it`s direxional.
KOCO-TV also has a Grant for KOCO-DR on channel 7, ``Service Designation: DR. Petition for rulemaking to add or modify a digital allotment -- see Docket for details``, whatever that means. The docket is not linked from this Query search page.
KFOR-TV 27 has no CPs or APPs for changes, just LIC as 790 kW, non-direxional at 489 meters AAT (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PHILIPPINES. 9310, IBB Tinang is still signing-on the `wrong` station. Feb 21 at 1554 tone, 1555 open carrier, 1558 `Voice of America, signing on``, Yankee Doodle Dandy, repeats ``Voice of America, signing on`` and more YDD. At 1600 no intro in English of language to follow, but a few words sound Russian, then join in progress some Central Asian language with Russian influence. It`s Tatar-Bashkir, ergo from R. Liberty, not VOA!! 1600-1700, 250 kW, 332 degrees per Aoki (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. 13600, Feb 21 at 1603, good signal from VOA with news in English, but Dave DeForest wraps it up by 1605 referring us to voanews.com for more news, while SW goes into English Teaching and Special English hour. Is there really more demand or need for this on SW than for news??? This is São Tomé, 100 kW, 126 degrees, 13600 currently used this hour only by IBB. See also PHILIPPINES.
BTW, there`s a new website to Save VOA Shortwave, containing a petition to Congress: http://www.voashortwave.org
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 11715, KJES, was not heard over the weekend, but it`s back Monday Feb 21 at 1558 with singing in English, guitar accompaniment, undermodulated but S9+22 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 15250, Feb 21 at 1551-1552* open carrier. Probably WYFR which is scheduled for German from 1600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
** CUBA. Further chex for RHC anomalies Sunday Feb 20:
15370, at 2226 open carrier; 2231 cut on RHC IS and opening Esperanto as scheduled, even tho it was missing from the earlier time of 1500 on 11760 which stayed in Spanish. Radío Havano Kubo announced nominal Espo. Sunday sked: 1500 to N/C/SAm on 11760; 0700 [always out of order] to San Francisco, Usono on 6010; new 2230 to S America on 15370. Usual opening themesong, and listened a bit longer in case they mentioned current date, but did not hear it. 15370 was as usual overmodulated and distorted.
Meanwhile, what is happening with RHC Spanish? I had missed the 1435 first airing of the DX program `En Contaco`, so expected it around 2240, best on 11770, but instead there was `Formalmente Informal`, with Ernesto Lecuona himself playing his great songs on piano, `Malagueña`, `Andalucía`, `Siempre en mi Corazón`, interspersed with brief interviews about Teatro Estudio, on its fiftieth anniversary (ergo program from 2008 since it was founded in 1958), narrated by Orlando Castellanos. It`s not clear what connexion Lecuona had with the theatre, if any. And what`s this doing on Sunday? FMIF is normally a M-F show at 1531 UT, maybe repeated weekday evenings.
Still no DX program at 2306 when RHC went onto `news` about the Castro Bros. being named delegates to a Commie-con in April, congrats! Recheck at 2343, `El Mundo de la Filatelia` is opening with mailbag items from stamp-exchangers.
FINALLY, at 2354 `En Contacto` starts, more than an hour late. After birthdays, Pedro Sedano`s monthly DX report on behalf of Spain`s AER; 2358 began a collaboration from Rubén Guillermo Margenet of Argentina, but the best frequency I was still listening to, 11770, cut him off abruptly at 2400 as it is scheduled to do.
UT Feb 21, found EC continuing on 12040, 12010, 9820, but at 0001:30, 9820 also cut off. Then checked 5040, and that was opening RHC English as scheduled. Spanish did continue also on 6140, 15230, and at 0006 9770 was on. Some of these were an echo apart from each other.
By then, Arnaldo Coro Antich was starting a propagation report on the recent abrupt increase in solar activity. Had not heard him for months within the Spanish DX program, and his outro was ``para esta revista informativa``, his usual sign-off for unDX spots within the news magazine shows, so this probably also appeared elsewhen, here as a bonus perhaps without his knowledge or intentional participation. `En Contacto` ended at 0008. When will it be on next Sunday? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GERMANY. Tnx to a reminder from Wolfgang Büschel, monitored the once-a-year broadcast of Radio Öömrang to North America, Feb 21 at 1607-1700* on 15215, 500 kW via Wertachtal. All in Frisian, to promote that dialect. VG signal, all talk, mostly by YL. Once can recognize occasional German words. I wonder what percentage native speakers of Dutch or High German can understand. Read much more about it from last year in DXLDs 9-086, 10-07, 10-08 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** LIBYA. 21695, V. of Africa with normal programming in English, Feb 21 at 1546, still the bored announcer referring to the `Great Jamahiriyah``, ``unity of Africa has been achieved``. Yeah, right.
If the revolution succeeds, uninterrupted broadcasting in English is not likely to be a priority, but this is the transmission we can understand, as long as it lasts, 14-16 on 21695 and 17725.
Tarek Zeidan in Denmark heard one of the powerful MW frequencies, El Beida 1125, IDing as ``Radio Free Libya from the Green Mountain`` at 2245 UT Feb 20. What`s that in Arabic? And asking the rest of Libyan cities to join the revolution, but the other MW frequencies were still with pro-Ghaddafi songs.
The other high-power at least 100 kW MW channels in various cities are: 648, 675, 828, 1053, 1251, 1449. I wonder what the double-dagger next to some of them in WRTH 2011 means? Should be interesting listening this evening in Eurafrica. 1251 and 648 are supposed to carry a different version of V. of Africa than on SW, including irregular English news segments.
This fast-breaking news is being reported by experienced MW, SW and satellite monitors in the DXLD yahoogroup (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. Of the Big Three commercial DTV stations in OKC, I`ve noticed that only KWTV-39 IDs as `KWTV-DT`, visually including on its lower-right bugs with a white 9 on a red background, alternating with News9.com.
This is confirmed at FCC TV Query: KWTV-DT is the official call, while the others are KOCO-TV and KFOR-TV even tho they are just as Digital as KWTV is. Perhaps it was 39`s choice to keep the -DT since TV is already part of their four-letter callsign. At least that will reduce ignorant broadcast media references to it as ``KWTV-TV``, which happened frequently in the analog era!
While looking at the FCC info about these I see that:
KWTV-DT on 39 has a direxinal antenna with full 100% power only headed due south, and reduced power of 81% at 320 degrees, which is not too far from Enid`s direxion, where we also get reduced power; why? Is there something else on ch 39 that must be protected out here? Not that I know of.
KOCO-TV 7 is licensed with 47 kW at 370 meters AAT.
But has a CP modification for 65.7 kW at 451 m.
And an application for 101 kW back down at 370 meters
So they want to increase power to what it was when in analog on channel 5, which of course is not equivalent to what you need on channel 7 analog, much less what you need for equivalent DTV coverage, but bound to be an improvement over 47 kW. Which power and height they are currently using is anyone`s guess.
Licensed pattern plot shows max power at 30-40 degrees, a big null toward the SW reducing power to 25%. That was to protect KSWO-TV in Lawton while it was still on channel 7 analog during The Transition, but now it`s on 11, so that should no longer be necessary.
The 65.7 kW CP mod is also non-direxional; but the app for 101 kW has the same direxional null toward Lawton which is no longer necessary, so perhaps the `final` version will be the 65.7 kW one. Fortunately, Enid is getting about 96% of the signal as long as it`s direxional.
KOCO-TV also has a Grant for KOCO-DR on channel 7, ``Service Designation: DR. Petition for rulemaking to add or modify a digital allotment -- see Docket for details``, whatever that means. The docket is not linked from this Query search page.
KFOR-TV 27 has no CPs or APPs for changes, just LIC as 790 kW, non-direxional at 489 meters AAT (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PHILIPPINES. 9310, IBB Tinang is still signing-on the `wrong` station. Feb 21 at 1554 tone, 1555 open carrier, 1558 `Voice of America, signing on``, Yankee Doodle Dandy, repeats ``Voice of America, signing on`` and more YDD. At 1600 no intro in English of language to follow, but a few words sound Russian, then join in progress some Central Asian language with Russian influence. It`s Tatar-Bashkir, ergo from R. Liberty, not VOA!! 1600-1700, 250 kW, 332 degrees per Aoki (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. 13600, Feb 21 at 1603, good signal from VOA with news in English, but Dave DeForest wraps it up by 1605 referring us to voanews.com for more news, while SW goes into English Teaching and Special English hour. Is there really more demand or need for this on SW than for news??? This is São Tomé, 100 kW, 126 degrees, 13600 currently used this hour only by IBB. See also PHILIPPINES.
BTW, there`s a new website to Save VOA Shortwave, containing a petition to Congress: http://www.voashortwave.org
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 11715, KJES, was not heard over the weekend, but it`s back Monday Feb 21 at 1558 with singing in English, guitar accompaniment, undermodulated but S9+22 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 15250, Feb 21 at 1551-1552* open carrier. Probably WYFR which is scheduled for German from 1600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###