** CHINA. Firedrake Jan 31: after finding 5 frequencies 24 hours earlier, I look again at 2327-2330:
8400, good, but very heavy flutter
10300, slightly stronger, also very heavy flutter
No sign of it anywhere else up to 18 MHz, including the three frequencies heard yesterday, 13960, 14950, 15900. But the CNR1 jammer on 15550 was again audible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA [non]. 13650, CRI in Portuguese via CUBA, Jan 31 at 2314, VG signal but very undermodulated, distorted; also with BFO one can tell the carrier is slightly unstable. Disco-beat song about ``Internationale``, then announcement in Brazilian, at 2316 into `Panorama Económico``.
During brief fades of 13650 at 2318, I can hear an echo, apparently 38 megameters by longpath, obscured without the fades by direct off-the-back path of the 135 degree beam toward Brasil. Just before this, during CRI talk segment, I could hear some very weak music underneath 13650, not even enough to make a SAH, no doubt R. Japan in Thai, 300 kW, 235 degrees from Yamata, also arriving here direct off its back.
Much stronger and clearer signal from Cuba`s relay of Venezuela on 13680. If the ChiCom only knew what crappy equipment their Cuban clients are using for CRI relays: others on 5990, 13740, 15120 are also inferior to the excellent modulation RHC manages to achieve on some, but hardly all, of its own frequencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CZECHIA [and non]. Stations cutting their own throat by closing down SW rarely give us the specifix we need to monitor the very last broadcast, like what time by UT? If the QRT date is January 31, does that mean turned off at 2300 UT = midnight local? How about the repeats well into the next UT day which ordinarily air to the Americas?
I know I can hear Radio Prague`s SW finale program on their preferred medium of the web, anyway, so I am not monitoring before 2300 UT Jan 31, but at 2310 there is no signal on 5930, when French used to air, nor at 2330 for English, so it`s already gone.
Alokesh Gupta points us to 17-minute audio access and full transcript:http://www.radio.cz/en/section/special/ending-an-era-radio-prague-signs-off-on-shortwave
Guess what? WRMI is never mentioned as continuing to broadcast R. Prague on SW; that would ruin the moment, detract from the not-really-finale! R. Prague has used other relays before, like Sackville and Ascension, which always got full respect, so why is WRMI any different? Even before now, it was almost as if they did not really want listeners to know about it!
Anyhow, Jeff White has assured us that RP has agreed for WRMI to continue with R. Prague (from WRN), on 9955 in English daily at 0700-0730, M-F at 1000-1030, and Sat/Sun at 1930-2000. Also in Spanish at various other times, and apparently the French weekdays at 1430-1500 too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NORTH AMERICA. 6930-USB, Jan 31 at 2226, novelty songs past 2230; 2235 YL ID over pumping music, something about ``still be a signal, Weak Radio``. 2243 same ID over music; until fully warmed up, the FRG-7 BFO drifts gradually, and when the unexpected IDs come on, I miss the first part trying to adjust BFO for proper pitch, not so obvious on the strange music. How about a bit of reduced carrier to help us zero? 2249 ID now spelled out, W-E-A-K; 2255 another same over music, and at 2259. A bit after 2300, hard rock segués to rap. Still there at 2310 when I use this to hit 1000 kHz below for R. Prague, which has already QRT its own SW forever; see CZECHIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 1000, KTOK, OKC, Jan 31 at 2139-2149 UT, I have never enjoyed the Sean Hannity Show so much! Because KTOK was broadcasting dead air for at least ten minutes while I dozed. This was not in the middle of the night but the middle of the day. Rejoined abruptly at 2149 without so much as ``Due to technical difficulties, our regular programming has been interrupted, but we now rejoin it in progress``. No station makes such courtesy announcements any more, for it would admit that someone is finally paying attention to their own output! Way to go, Clear Channel (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 1610, Enid NWS relay via WQCL720, Great Salt Plains State Park, once again audible on caradio in western Enid, but mixed with the roaring noise I had been hearing by itself, Jan 31 around 2030 UT. Plus a slow pulsing, apparently SAH between two different transmitters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. Update on Enid`s unlicensed FM stations, checked Jan 31 at 2150 UT:
97.7, Part 15 ``WECS`` at Emmanuel Christian School, usual loop by kids with range of a few blox, for the week of Jan 31-Feb 4. This one runs a couple minutes, much longer than usual, which is a pity, since these particular kids are extremely inarticulate and have no business behind even a play microphone. Furthermore, audio recording has a problem with its own noise interference rising and falling, at times overriding the voices.
99.9, GCN pirate, dead air only, and has been so all afternoon (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TURKEY. 5960, VOT English to NAm still here, Monday Jan 31 at 2303, poor in English news, ACI from DentroCuban Jamming Command on 5955. Listed frequency 7335 has no WHRI or VOT today, but something very weak, presumably CNR2 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [and non]. We always try to catch BBC World News, the 2100 GMT edition on weekdays, delayed one sesquihour on OETA OKLA DTV subchannel to 2230. Main anchor Mike Embley always introduces it as ``also for PBS viewers in America`` (which America??), but they keep fiddling with the format. In the first place, there are far too many teasers, repetitive headlines and condescending ``stay with us, if you can`` remarx, instead of one semihour of hard world news. Is that too much to ask? Some expert must have concluded most viewers won`t keep tuned otherwise. His bio:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/bbc_world/mikeembley.shtml
Don`t blame the anchor for all that`s wrong with it, but today Jan 31 it`s a new low, as the second half has no news, just a string of promos for other BBC World programmes we have no chance of seeing via OKLA, weather grafix, website promos, etc., etc.
Were they having a problem in the studio, or is this a permanent change? This show always has gaffes, miscues, dead air, upcuts, etc., hardly what you would expect from a professional worldwide operation. And with so much breaking news these days, delaying it a sesquihour hardly does justice to the news, but that`s OKLA`s fault --- or maybe not if that`s the only edition they have an opportunity to air, and there is certainly more of an audience for news at 4:30 pm local than 3 o`clock (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
8400, good, but very heavy flutter
10300, slightly stronger, also very heavy flutter
No sign of it anywhere else up to 18 MHz, including the three frequencies heard yesterday, 13960, 14950, 15900. But the CNR1 jammer on 15550 was again audible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA [non]. 13650, CRI in Portuguese via CUBA, Jan 31 at 2314, VG signal but very undermodulated, distorted; also with BFO one can tell the carrier is slightly unstable. Disco-beat song about ``Internationale``, then announcement in Brazilian, at 2316 into `Panorama Económico``.
During brief fades of 13650 at 2318, I can hear an echo, apparently 38 megameters by longpath, obscured without the fades by direct off-the-back path of the 135 degree beam toward Brasil. Just before this, during CRI talk segment, I could hear some very weak music underneath 13650, not even enough to make a SAH, no doubt R. Japan in Thai, 300 kW, 235 degrees from Yamata, also arriving here direct off its back.
Much stronger and clearer signal from Cuba`s relay of Venezuela on 13680. If the ChiCom only knew what crappy equipment their Cuban clients are using for CRI relays: others on 5990, 13740, 15120 are also inferior to the excellent modulation RHC manages to achieve on some, but hardly all, of its own frequencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CZECHIA [and non]. Stations cutting their own throat by closing down SW rarely give us the specifix we need to monitor the very last broadcast, like what time by UT? If the QRT date is January 31, does that mean turned off at 2300 UT = midnight local? How about the repeats well into the next UT day which ordinarily air to the Americas?
I know I can hear Radio Prague`s SW finale program on their preferred medium of the web, anyway, so I am not monitoring before 2300 UT Jan 31, but at 2310 there is no signal on 5930, when French used to air, nor at 2330 for English, so it`s already gone.
Alokesh Gupta points us to 17-minute audio access and full transcript:http://www.radio.cz/en/section/special/ending-an-era-radio-prague-signs-off-on-shortwave
Guess what? WRMI is never mentioned as continuing to broadcast R. Prague on SW; that would ruin the moment, detract from the not-really-finale! R. Prague has used other relays before, like Sackville and Ascension, which always got full respect, so why is WRMI any different? Even before now, it was almost as if they did not really want listeners to know about it!
Anyhow, Jeff White has assured us that RP has agreed for WRMI to continue with R. Prague (from WRN), on 9955 in English daily at 0700-0730, M-F at 1000-1030, and Sat/Sun at 1930-2000. Also in Spanish at various other times, and apparently the French weekdays at 1430-1500 too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NORTH AMERICA. 6930-USB, Jan 31 at 2226, novelty songs past 2230; 2235 YL ID over pumping music, something about ``still be a signal, Weak Radio``. 2243 same ID over music; until fully warmed up, the FRG-7 BFO drifts gradually, and when the unexpected IDs come on, I miss the first part trying to adjust BFO for proper pitch, not so obvious on the strange music. How about a bit of reduced carrier to help us zero? 2249 ID now spelled out, W-E-A-K; 2255 another same over music, and at 2259. A bit after 2300, hard rock segués to rap. Still there at 2310 when I use this to hit 1000 kHz below for R. Prague, which has already QRT its own SW forever; see CZECHIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 1000, KTOK, OKC, Jan 31 at 2139-2149 UT, I have never enjoyed the Sean Hannity Show so much! Because KTOK was broadcasting dead air for at least ten minutes while I dozed. This was not in the middle of the night but the middle of the day. Rejoined abruptly at 2149 without so much as ``Due to technical difficulties, our regular programming has been interrupted, but we now rejoin it in progress``. No station makes such courtesy announcements any more, for it would admit that someone is finally paying attention to their own output! Way to go, Clear Channel (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 1610, Enid NWS relay via WQCL720, Great Salt Plains State Park, once again audible on caradio in western Enid, but mixed with the roaring noise I had been hearing by itself, Jan 31 around 2030 UT. Plus a slow pulsing, apparently SAH between two different transmitters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. Update on Enid`s unlicensed FM stations, checked Jan 31 at 2150 UT:
97.7, Part 15 ``WECS`` at Emmanuel Christian School, usual loop by kids with range of a few blox, for the week of Jan 31-Feb 4. This one runs a couple minutes, much longer than usual, which is a pity, since these particular kids are extremely inarticulate and have no business behind even a play microphone. Furthermore, audio recording has a problem with its own noise interference rising and falling, at times overriding the voices.
99.9, GCN pirate, dead air only, and has been so all afternoon (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TURKEY. 5960, VOT English to NAm still here, Monday Jan 31 at 2303, poor in English news, ACI from DentroCuban Jamming Command on 5955. Listed frequency 7335 has no WHRI or VOT today, but something very weak, presumably CNR2 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [and non]. We always try to catch BBC World News, the 2100 GMT edition on weekdays, delayed one sesquihour on OETA OKLA DTV subchannel to 2230. Main anchor Mike Embley always introduces it as ``also for PBS viewers in America`` (which America??), but they keep fiddling with the format. In the first place, there are far too many teasers, repetitive headlines and condescending ``stay with us, if you can`` remarx, instead of one semihour of hard world news. Is that too much to ask? Some expert must have concluded most viewers won`t keep tuned otherwise. His bio:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/bbc_world/mikeembley.shtml
Don`t blame the anchor for all that`s wrong with it, but today Jan 31 it`s a new low, as the second half has no news, just a string of promos for other BBC World programmes we have no chance of seeing via OKLA, weather grafix, website promos, etc., etc.
Were they having a problem in the studio, or is this a permanent change? This show always has gaffes, miscues, dead air, upcuts, etc., hardly what you would expect from a professional worldwide operation. And with so much breaking news these days, delaying it a sesquihour hardly does justice to the news, but that`s OKLA`s fault --- or maybe not if that`s the only edition they have an opportunity to air, and there is certainly more of an audience for news at 4:30 pm local than 3 o`clock (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
