** ANTARCTICA. 15476, LRA36 still absent, June 22 at 1246, 1311, 1350 chex (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake June 22. Not checked before 1300 today.
16980, good with flutter at 1349
15970, fair at 1352
15900, good with flutter at 1352
15555, JBA at 1313, het on lo side; no others until 1320 with 10300. I may have been bandscanning ahead of the cut-on times in the interim
15515, poor with flutter at 1351, ex-15555
14700, JBA at 1352
13920, fair at 1353
13130, very poor at 1353
11500, fair at 1356
10300, fair at 1320; poor at 1357
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 17560, June 21 at 1937 tune-in, open carrier, 1938 RHC opening French service with theme, 33 degrees, news, apparently starting late (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. Lots more sporadic-E analog TV DX, Spanish from the south, June 21, UT:
2315 on 2, soccer
2315 on 4, novela from net-13, fade-in strong briefly and then gone
2318 on 3, fútbol // 2
2321 on 3, novela? including nun in habit, upper-right bug a large 3 in a circle, below it time 18:21, temp 39. XHP?
2322 on 3, mix with fútbol briefly sno-free. Teams in UL are MEX vs CGO. CGO? Chilpancingo? Camargo? Seems unlikely.
2335 on 5, fútbol, showing up on all channels at one time or another, but I don`t see any network bug on them in any corners?
2338 on 4, net-13
2340 on 4, net 2 Star-60 bug UR in novela
2341 on 6, fútbol // 3, still no net bug
2347 on 3, fútbol now snow-free; I have not been listening to the boring audio commentary, but turn up the sound now and learn that CGO = CONGO, but which one? Apparently this game is playing in Morelia, of all places, FIFA sponsored, but not exactly World Cup.
2348 on 3, VIVO bug in lower right on the fútbol, and something unreadable below the VIVO (=live). Partly off-screen on overscanned TV
2348 on 5, same with audio running about a second behind 3, and very different audio quality
UT June 22:
0019 on 4, weather girl with temps around México, including McAllen
0019 on 4, CCI to above with Azteca-13 novela
0046 on 5, novela from net-4; fútbol on 2, 3, 4, 6
0121 on 4, net-5 novela // 3
0140 I finally check FM for Spanish, but all I hear is 92.7, mentions Chihuahua, and Radio Fiesta, but signal seems too steady for Es; maybe it`s Wichita. Bad ACI from KOMA 92.5. Cantú list does not have any Chihuahuan on 92.7 nor a Radio Fiesta anywhere. Yes, never mind, it`s KANR Wichita confirmed at http://www.fiesta927.com/index.htm
Es Opening lingered at low level mostly ch 2 mix for another hour or two. TV not turned on again until:
1444 on 2, Spanish mix, also on 4. 2 has talk show with net-7 bug in LR
1452 on 2, above mixes with net-5 toons, // 3 in the clear
1500 on 2, net 7 bug in UR, 27 degrees, 10:00 clock
1505 on 5, YL cooking show, strange script bug in LR, Vida in largest type, show name after a smaller word; then the same bug at same time also in UL, plus 10:05 clock
1521 on 6, infomercial? Large phone number at bottom starting with 81
1534 on 2-6, all channels full of CCI. I must switch to FM soon!
1539 on 6, net-2 bug UR, clock LR, CCI
1539 on 6, CCI and then snow-free net-5 toon
1543 on 93.1, interview, M in studio with advice to W on phone. RDS tries to lock but will not. Because of local translator on 93.3 and CCI on 93.1, I axually hear this one best on the DX-398, battery power, whip antenna only, by side-tuning to 92.95 or 93.05. At 1600, one of the CCI stations IDs as 93.1, Colonia Rodríguez, Matamoros. Therefore per Cantú:
93.1 XHAAA La Caliente Reynosa-Matamoros, Tamps. 50,000
1545 on 96.5, two talk shows in Spanish mixing
1547 on 97.7, romantic music
1548 on 105.9, RDS immediately displays MEGA 1059; Spanish talk mentions San Antonio, or is it Juan Antonio? Cantú list IDs this as:
105.9 XHNA Mega 105.9 Matamoros, Tamps. 4,950
1557 recheck, still/again in with RDS displaying, ads and PSA from gobierno federal
1550 on 96.5, ads mentioning Plaza Mocambo, and Electrónica González at 5 de mayo 1437, both of which google directly to Veracruz, i.e.
96.5 XHRN Ke buena Veracruz, Ver. 39,330 per Cantú
1551 PSA for Secretaría de Salud, 1552 Máquinas Rio Blanco --- this also Googles to Veracruz, besides Argentina. 1553 ``Ke Buena 96.5`` ID
1554 on 97.7, phone conversation with a business plugging phone number several times, 809-67-92. This checks for San Luís Potosí. Also CCI on 97.7; 1558 the SLP station is playing `Tubular Bells` with birthday greetings from live DJ. 1602 ad for Zoriana department store chain. 1603 Banco Oro Fansa(?) ad. No, Google shows it`s Banco de Ahorro Famsa, with offices all over the country, so no help there. But at 1604, mentions San Luís Potosí in ID, so:
97.7 XHSNP La Caliente San Luis Potosi, S.L.P. 50,000, per Cantú.
1602 on 96.5, one of the CCI, $tereo with norteña music mentions Linares. Probably this as no other 96.5 listed in vicinity:
96.5 XHARR Conexión FM Dr. Arroyo, N.L. 25,000
1605 on 92.7, something Spanish, fades out, but RDS display is stuck on UE HA --- partial, perhaps a music rather than station ID.
This huge opening continues during following hour but I have more to do than stay with it. At 1638, ch 2-6 still full of co-channel QRM. At 1650 on 6, a mention of Aguascalientes surfaces in the audio.
At 1707, the 6m Es map http://www.vhfdx.info/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&Map=NA
shows only four Mexican hams making contacts.
1730 on 6, amid the QRM, graphic 6 TV presenta, probably XHCGA Aguascalientes, similar logo on Oglethorpe`s site. And hardly any originating 6`s (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SAO TOME. 4960, June 22 at 0520, weak signal vs noise with something talking, 0542 just a carrier left. No doubt the VOA relay, 100 kW, 30 degrees in French at 0530-0630 M-F only. Today`s sunrise there was at 0531 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TURKEY [and non]. 15450, VOT, which was inaudible to very poor the past two days, back in force June 22 at 1247, S9+22 VG signal, better than Bulgaria 15700, and much better than Greece 15630. The Wednesday feature `Letterbox` was starting, with no shortage of mail to acknowledge, none from any names I recognized in the DX hobby, and little from North America, but from places such as Japan and Greek Cyprus. SW appears to be alive and well in this case. 1304 started program over by mistake, then cut to Question of the Month, and then Turkish pop music fill for the rest of the hour. I switched to Qur`an from Sa`udi on 17615/17625 for more placid breakfast serenade, as we never hear Qur`an from secular Turkey, tsk2 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [and non]. Special annual BBCWS service to the British Antarctic Survey, June 21: as expected, inaudible here on 5950, 7295, 7360, and a JBA carrier on 9850.
However, an AM ham in Los Lunas, New Mexico had a fine signal calling CQ on about 7293.5, K3IAN. (Los Lunas is a strange name, deriving from the prominent Luna family in the 1700s. In proper Spanish, the collective ``the Lunas`` would lack the S, just ``Los Luna`` --- only if they were all female would it be Las Luna. The gringo ham, transplanted from Pennsylvania or so, pronounced it more like Las Lunas, S of Albuquerque. Not to be confused with the other town of Luna, from the same family, next to Arizona and hit by wildfires.)
``The BBC has already posted a recording of the half-hour broadcast at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/2011/06/110620_antarctic_midwinter_broadcast_2011.shtml
(Chris Greenway, UK, 1712 UT June 21, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD)``
So I listened to that later --- yes, mostly greetings from family to the 40-some people at the Antarctic station, plus from a few celebrities. Like last year, some music bits were mostly in background, no time to play them completely, starting with the mandatory ``Here Comes the Sun`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 11954.5, intruding Spanish 2-way SSB weak at 1356 June 22, as also heard 25 hours earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. The mystery 1000 Hz tone tests (or open carriers) were really hopping around June 22, as I tried to track them in time order:
1346 first found TT on 17750. Keeps going but at *1357:30 SAH of 3.2 Hz starts from another carrier. Tone goes off at 1359:49* just in time for VOA Kurdish to open on the other (via Wertachtal). Then I start hunting for the tone elsewhere:
1401 on 17800, YFR theme and open S Asian language, listed Sindhi via Wertachtal, but *1401:49 tone test cuts on over YFR with SAH; shortly goes to OC and back off.
1403 on 17750, VOA Kurdish again has SAH from the carrier until its 1403:35* but no tone.
1404 on 17630, open carrier atop presumed CRI Mali. Still OC at 1406, 1410, no tones heard. This may not be related to the others.
1406 on 18900, strong OC but went right off as soon as I tuned in.
1406 on 18960, TT, then OC until 1407*
1407 on 19020, OC and TT back to OC to 1408*
1408 on 19000, OC and TT, back to OC, 1408:50-1409* TT again
1411 on 11620, poor with TT and off
1412 on 11980, poor with TT; 1415 JBA, 1427 either off or fadeout
Would someone please check the IBB RMS files for clues as to who was transmitting from where on any of these frequencies? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
** CHINA. Firedrake June 22. Not checked before 1300 today.
16980, good with flutter at 1349
15970, fair at 1352
15900, good with flutter at 1352
15555, JBA at 1313, het on lo side; no others until 1320 with 10300. I may have been bandscanning ahead of the cut-on times in the interim
15515, poor with flutter at 1351, ex-15555
14700, JBA at 1352
13920, fair at 1353
13130, very poor at 1353
11500, fair at 1356
10300, fair at 1320; poor at 1357
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 17560, June 21 at 1937 tune-in, open carrier, 1938 RHC opening French service with theme, 33 degrees, news, apparently starting late (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. Lots more sporadic-E analog TV DX, Spanish from the south, June 21, UT:
2315 on 2, soccer
2315 on 4, novela from net-13, fade-in strong briefly and then gone
2318 on 3, fútbol // 2
2321 on 3, novela? including nun in habit, upper-right bug a large 3 in a circle, below it time 18:21, temp 39. XHP?
2322 on 3, mix with fútbol briefly sno-free. Teams in UL are MEX vs CGO. CGO? Chilpancingo? Camargo? Seems unlikely.
2335 on 5, fútbol, showing up on all channels at one time or another, but I don`t see any network bug on them in any corners?
2338 on 4, net-13
2340 on 4, net 2 Star-60 bug UR in novela
2341 on 6, fútbol // 3, still no net bug
2347 on 3, fútbol now snow-free; I have not been listening to the boring audio commentary, but turn up the sound now and learn that CGO = CONGO, but which one? Apparently this game is playing in Morelia, of all places, FIFA sponsored, but not exactly World Cup.
2348 on 3, VIVO bug in lower right on the fútbol, and something unreadable below the VIVO (=live). Partly off-screen on overscanned TV
2348 on 5, same with audio running about a second behind 3, and very different audio quality
UT June 22:
0019 on 4, weather girl with temps around México, including McAllen
0019 on 4, CCI to above with Azteca-13 novela
0046 on 5, novela from net-4; fútbol on 2, 3, 4, 6
0121 on 4, net-5 novela // 3
0140 I finally check FM for Spanish, but all I hear is 92.7, mentions Chihuahua, and Radio Fiesta, but signal seems too steady for Es; maybe it`s Wichita. Bad ACI from KOMA 92.5. Cantú list does not have any Chihuahuan on 92.7 nor a Radio Fiesta anywhere. Yes, never mind, it`s KANR Wichita confirmed at http://www.fiesta927.com/index.htm
Es Opening lingered at low level mostly ch 2 mix for another hour or two. TV not turned on again until:
1444 on 2, Spanish mix, also on 4. 2 has talk show with net-7 bug in LR
1452 on 2, above mixes with net-5 toons, // 3 in the clear
1500 on 2, net 7 bug in UR, 27 degrees, 10:00 clock
1505 on 5, YL cooking show, strange script bug in LR, Vida in largest type, show name after a smaller word; then the same bug at same time also in UL, plus 10:05 clock
1521 on 6, infomercial? Large phone number at bottom starting with 81
1534 on 2-6, all channels full of CCI. I must switch to FM soon!
1539 on 6, net-2 bug UR, clock LR, CCI
1539 on 6, CCI and then snow-free net-5 toon
1543 on 93.1, interview, M in studio with advice to W on phone. RDS tries to lock but will not. Because of local translator on 93.3 and CCI on 93.1, I axually hear this one best on the DX-398, battery power, whip antenna only, by side-tuning to 92.95 or 93.05. At 1600, one of the CCI stations IDs as 93.1, Colonia Rodríguez, Matamoros. Therefore per Cantú:
93.1 XHAAA La Caliente Reynosa-Matamoros, Tamps. 50,000
1545 on 96.5, two talk shows in Spanish mixing
1547 on 97.7, romantic music
1548 on 105.9, RDS immediately displays MEGA 1059; Spanish talk mentions San Antonio, or is it Juan Antonio? Cantú list IDs this as:
105.9 XHNA Mega 105.9 Matamoros, Tamps. 4,950
1557 recheck, still/again in with RDS displaying, ads and PSA from gobierno federal
1550 on 96.5, ads mentioning Plaza Mocambo, and Electrónica González at 5 de mayo 1437, both of which google directly to Veracruz, i.e.
96.5 XHRN Ke buena Veracruz, Ver. 39,330 per Cantú
1551 PSA for Secretaría de Salud, 1552 Máquinas Rio Blanco --- this also Googles to Veracruz, besides Argentina. 1553 ``Ke Buena 96.5`` ID
1554 on 97.7, phone conversation with a business plugging phone number several times, 809-67-92. This checks for San Luís Potosí. Also CCI on 97.7; 1558 the SLP station is playing `Tubular Bells` with birthday greetings from live DJ. 1602 ad for Zoriana department store chain. 1603 Banco Oro Fansa(?) ad. No, Google shows it`s Banco de Ahorro Famsa, with offices all over the country, so no help there. But at 1604, mentions San Luís Potosí in ID, so:
97.7 XHSNP La Caliente San Luis Potosi, S.L.P. 50,000, per Cantú.
1602 on 96.5, one of the CCI, $tereo with norteña music mentions Linares. Probably this as no other 96.5 listed in vicinity:
96.5 XHARR Conexión FM Dr. Arroyo, N.L. 25,000
1605 on 92.7, something Spanish, fades out, but RDS display is stuck on UE HA --- partial, perhaps a music rather than station ID.
This huge opening continues during following hour but I have more to do than stay with it. At 1638, ch 2-6 still full of co-channel QRM. At 1650 on 6, a mention of Aguascalientes surfaces in the audio.
At 1707, the 6m Es map http://www.vhfdx.info/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&Map=NA
shows only four Mexican hams making contacts.
1730 on 6, amid the QRM, graphic 6 TV presenta, probably XHCGA Aguascalientes, similar logo on Oglethorpe`s site. And hardly any originating 6`s (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SAO TOME. 4960, June 22 at 0520, weak signal vs noise with something talking, 0542 just a carrier left. No doubt the VOA relay, 100 kW, 30 degrees in French at 0530-0630 M-F only. Today`s sunrise there was at 0531 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TURKEY [and non]. 15450, VOT, which was inaudible to very poor the past two days, back in force June 22 at 1247, S9+22 VG signal, better than Bulgaria 15700, and much better than Greece 15630. The Wednesday feature `Letterbox` was starting, with no shortage of mail to acknowledge, none from any names I recognized in the DX hobby, and little from North America, but from places such as Japan and Greek Cyprus. SW appears to be alive and well in this case. 1304 started program over by mistake, then cut to Question of the Month, and then Turkish pop music fill for the rest of the hour. I switched to Qur`an from Sa`udi on 17615/17625 for more placid breakfast serenade, as we never hear Qur`an from secular Turkey, tsk2 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [and non]. Special annual BBCWS service to the British Antarctic Survey, June 21: as expected, inaudible here on 5950, 7295, 7360, and a JBA carrier on 9850.
However, an AM ham in Los Lunas, New Mexico had a fine signal calling CQ on about 7293.5, K3IAN. (Los Lunas is a strange name, deriving from the prominent Luna family in the 1700s. In proper Spanish, the collective ``the Lunas`` would lack the S, just ``Los Luna`` --- only if they were all female would it be Las Luna. The gringo ham, transplanted from Pennsylvania or so, pronounced it more like Las Lunas, S of Albuquerque. Not to be confused with the other town of Luna, from the same family, next to Arizona and hit by wildfires.)
``The BBC has already posted a recording of the half-hour broadcast at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/2011/06/110620_antarctic_midwinter_broadcast_2011.shtml
(Chris Greenway, UK, 1712 UT June 21, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD)``
So I listened to that later --- yes, mostly greetings from family to the 40-some people at the Antarctic station, plus from a few celebrities. Like last year, some music bits were mostly in background, no time to play them completely, starting with the mandatory ``Here Comes the Sun`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 11954.5, intruding Spanish 2-way SSB weak at 1356 June 22, as also heard 25 hours earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. The mystery 1000 Hz tone tests (or open carriers) were really hopping around June 22, as I tried to track them in time order:
1346 first found TT on 17750. Keeps going but at *1357:30 SAH of 3.2 Hz starts from another carrier. Tone goes off at 1359:49* just in time for VOA Kurdish to open on the other (via Wertachtal). Then I start hunting for the tone elsewhere:
1401 on 17800, YFR theme and open S Asian language, listed Sindhi via Wertachtal, but *1401:49 tone test cuts on over YFR with SAH; shortly goes to OC and back off.
1403 on 17750, VOA Kurdish again has SAH from the carrier until its 1403:35* but no tone.
1404 on 17630, open carrier atop presumed CRI Mali. Still OC at 1406, 1410, no tones heard. This may not be related to the others.
1406 on 18900, strong OC but went right off as soon as I tuned in.
1406 on 18960, TT, then OC until 1407*
1407 on 19020, OC and TT back to OC to 1408*
1408 on 19000, OC and TT, back to OC, 1408:50-1409* TT again
1411 on 11620, poor with TT and off
1412 on 11980, poor with TT; 1415 JBA, 1427 either off or fadeout
Would someone please check the IBB RMS files for clues as to who was transmitting from where on any of these frequencies? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###