** ANTARCTICA. 15476, May 16 tune-in at 1230 and LRA36 is already on with prélude, S7 to S9+10 peaks. I figured I had time for a quick Firedrake scan, see CHINA. Retune at 1238 just in time for ``Soy Feliz`` theme and XYL bidding us buenos días, mentioning bicentenario of something, phone numbers, one ending in 0054. By 1250 with music has built to S9+18, so not too distracting from the Endeavour launch at 1255. Still music only past 1300, 1314. By 1415 music has declined to only S8-S9+8, somewhat weaker than the Slavic on 15480 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake May 16:
16100, JBA at 1234
14700, very poor at 1235
13920, fair at 1235 with heavy ute QRM
13850, poor at 1235
12980, fair at 1235
12240, fair with flutter at 1235, only open carrier
11500, fair with het, CCI
Next group post 1300:
16100, poor at 1344
15970, fair at 1344
15430, fair at 1345
14900, good at 1345
13920, good at 1346 now over the ute
11500, fair at 1422 now atop the QRM
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 11760, I meant to check earlier for RHC as listed by WRTH Update for Sundays only after 1530, but nothing there at 1720 May 15. Probably was a stray line from a previous schedule that did not get deleted.
13880 had been on a few minutes before, produced by 13680 leaping over 13780, but May 16 at 1347, RHC is absent from 13680, breakdown? Next check at 1420, it`s back (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** IRAN. 15530, May 16 at 0527 nice ME music, prélude if not IS, 0530 three notes, Spanish ID as Voz de la República Islámica de Irán, choral anthem, 0531+ into Qur`an, the qantor introduced by name. Fair signal with heavy flutter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** JAPAN. 9595, surprised to hear Japanese pop music Monday May 16 at 1410, as R. Nikkei used to sign off earlier, but Aoki now shows it until 1500 M-F, -1130 Sat, -1230 Sun (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MOROCCO. 15345+, RTM, May 15 at 2059 Arabic music and talk at S9+20, but modulation not up to par; 2059.5 to open carrier, and off at 2100.0* precisely, so certainly no doubt about sign-off time now, and hour earlier due to DST. May have uncovered an extremely weak signal on 15345-, which would be Argentina.
However, May 16 at 1416 it`s still on 15341, so did not switch to 15345 at nominal 1400 during DST; hardly any het from HCJB audible today (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 1430, on a Sunday drive slightly NW of Enid, had sufficient reception of KALV Alva, despite its near-null, to tell at 2130 UT May 15 that they are still IDing as ``AM Stereo 14-30, KALV, Alva``.
As in DXLD 11-19, ``F.C.C. FINES: MM&K of Alva, Inc. Licensee of KALV(AM) Alva, Oklahoma Fined $7,000, for failing to timely file a license renewal application for the Station, and for continuing to operate the Station after its license expired (IRCA DX Monitor April 22 via DXLD)``. There was also something fishy about their FM (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN [and non]. 15385, Monday May 16 at 1424 open carrier, 1424:46, only one iteration of IS before 1425 beginning weekly Emisión Sefarad, fair signal, no frequency schedule given at outset. Later on it sounded like plain old Castilian to me.
But more interesting was 11880 via Costa Rica // 15595 direct, `África Hoy`, playing HOA music from Eritrea, concluding at 1428 by asking listeners to tell them by what platform they listen, to africahoy @ rtve.es. I vote for onda corta! Also gave lengthy physical postal address once which I could not copy completely, not that I am ever going to use it. Anyway, it`s on page 474 of WRTH 2011; evidently they have abandoned the 6-digit apartado; box rent too expensive? These two followed with the weekday quadrilingual news headlines, Portuguese first, Justin Coe in English at 1435-1437.5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 15795, at 1720 May 15, has a hymn playing, OM soloist with piano, so now WWRB test on new frequency is underway. Only fair signal, but better than very poor one from 15825 WWCR. Helps to be a bit further away and/or the rhombic antenna lobe is more favorable. In the next 3 hours some others reported it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 15825, May 16 at 1316, WWCR is inbooming at S9+25 such that the squeal accompanying #1 is audible along with `Inspirations Across America` with commercials, tnx to sporadic-E boost, but by 1345 it`s sunk back to very poor level, while 15610 WEWN with Mo. Angelica is now getting a boost to S9+25, another 1-megameter signal from a different direxion. But no Es on VHF yet by 1620 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 860, MW bandscan on Sunday May 15 at 2148 found dead air on this frequency, normally KKOW Pittsburg KS. On caradio it was hard to tell whether carrier was also off, but I think it was on. By 2202 recheck they were making up for the silence by running double audio! Local commercials, plus CBS News and its commercials, ``20/20 Weather on KKOW . . . Classic Country, 860 AM``. Geez, doesn`t anyone monitor their own station? Even worse foulups have previously been caught more than once from the other big 10 kW signal in the area, KGGF 690 Coffeyville (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** VENEZUELA [non]. Yet another Sunday without El Hugazo, May 15. I did not even check the SW frequencies via CUBA before consulting the website which made another excuse due to some other preëmptive event. If and when he ever come back, `Aló, Presidente` never starts at 1400, as still claimed on the RHC schedule, and consequently in the WRTH Update, but always after 1530, and then may run well past 1800 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 55.25 MHz, after some Mexican Es TV DX earlier May 15 at 1438-1452+, the MUF poked hi enough again to channel 2 video, briefly around 1726 UT for a silly ballgame; at first I thought it might be béisbol, but a brief clearer look showed it to be fútbol; with CCI.
Chances are 99% it was from México, antenna SSE, but to maintain my interest I will hope it was from further afield. The past two summers without US analog blockage, I have never managed to ID any TVDX beyond Mexico or possibly Cuba. Meanwhile the TV stays parked on snowy channel 2 much of the time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
** CHINA. Firedrake May 16:
16100, JBA at 1234
14700, very poor at 1235
13920, fair at 1235 with heavy ute QRM
13850, poor at 1235
12980, fair at 1235
12240, fair with flutter at 1235, only open carrier
11500, fair with het, CCI
Next group post 1300:
16100, poor at 1344
15970, fair at 1344
15430, fair at 1345
14900, good at 1345
13920, good at 1346 now over the ute
11500, fair at 1422 now atop the QRM
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 11760, I meant to check earlier for RHC as listed by WRTH Update for Sundays only after 1530, but nothing there at 1720 May 15. Probably was a stray line from a previous schedule that did not get deleted.
13880 had been on a few minutes before, produced by 13680 leaping over 13780, but May 16 at 1347, RHC is absent from 13680, breakdown? Next check at 1420, it`s back (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** IRAN. 15530, May 16 at 0527 nice ME music, prélude if not IS, 0530 three notes, Spanish ID as Voz de la República Islámica de Irán, choral anthem, 0531+ into Qur`an, the qantor introduced by name. Fair signal with heavy flutter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** JAPAN. 9595, surprised to hear Japanese pop music Monday May 16 at 1410, as R. Nikkei used to sign off earlier, but Aoki now shows it until 1500 M-F, -1130 Sat, -1230 Sun (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MOROCCO. 15345+, RTM, May 15 at 2059 Arabic music and talk at S9+20, but modulation not up to par; 2059.5 to open carrier, and off at 2100.0* precisely, so certainly no doubt about sign-off time now, and hour earlier due to DST. May have uncovered an extremely weak signal on 15345-, which would be Argentina.
However, May 16 at 1416 it`s still on 15341, so did not switch to 15345 at nominal 1400 during DST; hardly any het from HCJB audible today (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 1430, on a Sunday drive slightly NW of Enid, had sufficient reception of KALV Alva, despite its near-null, to tell at 2130 UT May 15 that they are still IDing as ``AM Stereo 14-30, KALV, Alva``.
As in DXLD 11-19, ``F.C.C. FINES: MM&K of Alva, Inc. Licensee of KALV(AM) Alva, Oklahoma Fined $7,000, for failing to timely file a license renewal application for the Station, and for continuing to operate the Station after its license expired (IRCA DX Monitor April 22 via DXLD)``. There was also something fishy about their FM (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN [and non]. 15385, Monday May 16 at 1424 open carrier, 1424:46, only one iteration of IS before 1425 beginning weekly Emisión Sefarad, fair signal, no frequency schedule given at outset. Later on it sounded like plain old Castilian to me.
But more interesting was 11880 via Costa Rica // 15595 direct, `África Hoy`, playing HOA music from Eritrea, concluding at 1428 by asking listeners to tell them by what platform they listen, to africahoy @ rtve.es. I vote for onda corta! Also gave lengthy physical postal address once which I could not copy completely, not that I am ever going to use it. Anyway, it`s on page 474 of WRTH 2011; evidently they have abandoned the 6-digit apartado; box rent too expensive? These two followed with the weekday quadrilingual news headlines, Portuguese first, Justin Coe in English at 1435-1437.5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 15795, at 1720 May 15, has a hymn playing, OM soloist with piano, so now WWRB test on new frequency is underway. Only fair signal, but better than very poor one from 15825 WWCR. Helps to be a bit further away and/or the rhombic antenna lobe is more favorable. In the next 3 hours some others reported it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 15825, May 16 at 1316, WWCR is inbooming at S9+25 such that the squeal accompanying #1 is audible along with `Inspirations Across America` with commercials, tnx to sporadic-E boost, but by 1345 it`s sunk back to very poor level, while 15610 WEWN with Mo. Angelica is now getting a boost to S9+25, another 1-megameter signal from a different direxion. But no Es on VHF yet by 1620 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 860, MW bandscan on Sunday May 15 at 2148 found dead air on this frequency, normally KKOW Pittsburg KS. On caradio it was hard to tell whether carrier was also off, but I think it was on. By 2202 recheck they were making up for the silence by running double audio! Local commercials, plus CBS News and its commercials, ``20/20 Weather on KKOW . . . Classic Country, 860 AM``. Geez, doesn`t anyone monitor their own station? Even worse foulups have previously been caught more than once from the other big 10 kW signal in the area, KGGF 690 Coffeyville (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** VENEZUELA [non]. Yet another Sunday without El Hugazo, May 15. I did not even check the SW frequencies via CUBA before consulting the website which made another excuse due to some other preëmptive event. If and when he ever come back, `Aló, Presidente` never starts at 1400, as still claimed on the RHC schedule, and consequently in the WRTH Update, but always after 1530, and then may run well past 1800 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 55.25 MHz, after some Mexican Es TV DX earlier May 15 at 1438-1452+, the MUF poked hi enough again to channel 2 video, briefly around 1726 UT for a silly ballgame; at first I thought it might be béisbol, but a brief clearer look showed it to be fútbol; with CCI.
Chances are 99% it was from México, antenna SSE, but to maintain my interest I will hope it was from further afield. The past two summers without US analog blockage, I have never managed to ID any TVDX beyond Mexico or possibly Cuba. Meanwhile the TV stays parked on snowy channel 2 much of the time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
