** ANTARCTICA. 15476, no sign of LRA36 Friday Sept 9 from first check at 1248; left BFO on 15475 past 1305 to hear it come on but never did; nor in periodic chex until gave up at 1409.
False alarm at 1350: I had turned the FRG-7 volume up so I could hear it at the breakfast table in case the BFO detected a carrier, and I heard a tone: but it was coming only from the refrigerator, which struggles to maintain zero-F in its freezer, unlike Base Esperanza.
I might have specified the Sept 8 log as ``presumed``. With its unique off-frequency, and characteristic barely-audible signal, such a presumption was certainly warranted; only other possibilities would be an imposter, or a spur, neither of which had occurred in the past bimonth. Now what?
However, propagation in general was pitiful today, so it might have been on but not making it here. WWV reported at 1500, K = 5!:
``Solar-terrestrial indices for 08 September follow.
Solar flux 110 and mid-latitude A-index 5.
The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 09 September was 5 (78 nT).
Space weather for the past 24 hours has been moderate.
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level occurred.
Radio blackouts reaching the R2 level occurred.
Space weather for the next 24 hours is predicted to be minor.
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level are expected.
Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level are expected.``
Ron Howard in CA said on Sept 8: ``Hi Glenn, Well done! Normally I check every day too, but today I was so wrapped up with all the new changes I found, I didn`t have a chance to check, so it's great you
persevered.`` OTOH, on the next day: ``15476 not heard Sept 9 during checks from 1417 to 1430, usually my best time to hear them if they are broadcasting. Decent propagation, so believe I would have heard them if on`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CANADA. 9625, Sept 9 at 0540, CBCNQ transmitter still on with tonetest, more than a semi-hour past sign-off; why? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Poor propagation Sept 9; see WWV report under ANTARCTICA, so Firedrake search not starting until after 1300 found only:
16980, very good with flutter at 1328; none in 18s, 17s, 14s
15525, very poor at 1356 with flutter, also noise jamming
15430, very poor at 1307 vs 15432 het
15280, poor at 1327, also noise jamming
13920, poor at 1330; none in the 12s
11500, fair at 1332; none in the 10s, 7s
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [and non]. 15360, RHC not only collides with TWR Swaziland after 1400, but something else making a fast SAH at 1354 Sept 9: Aoki and HFCC show it must be R. Liberty in Kazakh, northwestward from THAILAND at 13-14 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EGYPT. 17625, Sept 8 at 1941, something here unlike usually when I tune around this time: undermodulated, muffled M&W in Arabic; 1946 after a pause, R. Cairo news theme (but be careful, some other ME stations use similar music; but news on a quarter-hour is a hallmark of Cairo), and talk, which after a minute or two I realize is in English! with very heavy accent; mentions ``former leader of Libya, Muammur (sp?) Q`Daffy (sp?)``; 1950 mid-ID ``this news comes to you from ---`` but couldn`t make out the last word. 1955:55* cuts off the air amid continuing talk. Now suspect it was also heavily-accented English when I first intuned rather than unaccented Arabic.
What`s going on? 17625 is suspiciously Saudi, in Arabic any day until 1355, but nothing listed anywhere at this hour. Cairo does have an English broadcast, to W Africa at 1900-2030 supposedly on 15270 as I found later in EiBi, not checked now. Perhaps at 1955 the operators at Abu Zabaal discovered they were on the wrong frequency and went back to 15270, HFCC listed 250 kW at 250 degrees. Or 17625 was a deliberate test: hard to imagine how ERTU could be there by accident as they don`t schedule it at any other time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** FRANCE. 7295, Sept 9 at 0531, did not tune in early enough today to tell whether NHK relay was on again here by mistake until 0530, but Algeria Qur`aning so evidently back to normal, // 9535 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** FRANCE [non]. 17690, Sept 9 at 1358, chanson, must be RFI Spanish service via GUIANA FRENCH, turned on before 1400 producing such a prélude. What a pity that RFI abolished its great IS, which we haven`t heard in many years, but now resounds in my mind. It was sort of a variation on ``La Marseillaise`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GABON. 9580, Sept 9 at 0543, Africa Numéro Un ID in passing during news(?) in French, back to only fair signal compared to inboomer yesterday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GUINEA. 7125, no signal at 0531 Sept 9, but slept instead of checking later (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ITALY [non]. 15610, Sept 9 at 1305, IRRS via ROMANIA, very poor with Brother Scare, no KQED; also BS later in hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MAURITANIA. 7245, no signal at 0531 Sept 9, but slept instead of checking later. (I don`t expect such non-logs to be republished, but I think it is significant to keep track of when stations are not heard when they might have been, part of the big pixure.) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. Sept 9 I slept an hour later than usual, assuaging my deprivation, and also missing sunrise DX around 1200; tsk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PHILIPPINES. 12150, Friday Sept 9 at 1403, surprised to hear VOA Yankee Doodle Dandy at this odd hour, signing off late? Ended at 1403:30, carrier stayed on. At 1407 I realize that it`s still on and now modulating in English. So it was a late sign-on, not -off. Scheduled via Tinang: 14-15 M-F, 13-14 Sat & Sun, and 12-13 daily (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SAUDI ARABIA [and non]. 21505, Sept 9 at 1400, timesignal about a bisecond late, fanfare, Arabic. Best among some other signals on 13m, 21470 BBC Cyprus, 21540 Kuwait, 21610 Spain, 21630 BBC Portugal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN. 9725, Sept 9 at 1318, Chinese YL with 8 tonal syllables between pauses, presumed Star-Star numbers station; poor here but RTI Japanese service much better on 9735.
Aoki lists 9735 as 250 kW at 45 degrees, and 9725 as only 10 kW, non-direxional, daily for a semihour at 0500, 0600, 1200, 1300, ``XingXing guangbo diantai 3`` for the first two and ``XingXing guangbo diantai 4`` for the last two from site Kuanyin with ``Random numbers`` --- well, they aren`t really random if they have coded significance! They could be random if this is just an exercise in deception (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1581 monitoring: confirmed after 2100 UT Thursday Sept 8, VG on 9479 WTWW; audible without jamming on 9955 WRMI; the 2130 broadcast on 7415 WBCQ also barely audible at 2155, and earlier confirmed on webcast. After 0330 UT Friday, confirmed on 5051 WWRB, still no change to 3195. 0508 UT Friday, sufficient reception on 9955 WRMI, over jamming if any. 1430 UT Friday Sept 9 confirmed on WRMI webcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 9568 approx., het against CRI via Habana 9570, Sept 9 at 1316, and no het near 9560 R. Australia, so I continue to suspect ETHIOPIA has varied further than usual. Can anyone who can hear it better confirm? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
False alarm at 1350: I had turned the FRG-7 volume up so I could hear it at the breakfast table in case the BFO detected a carrier, and I heard a tone: but it was coming only from the refrigerator, which struggles to maintain zero-F in its freezer, unlike Base Esperanza.
I might have specified the Sept 8 log as ``presumed``. With its unique off-frequency, and characteristic barely-audible signal, such a presumption was certainly warranted; only other possibilities would be an imposter, or a spur, neither of which had occurred in the past bimonth. Now what?
However, propagation in general was pitiful today, so it might have been on but not making it here. WWV reported at 1500, K = 5!:
``Solar-terrestrial indices for 08 September follow.
Solar flux 110 and mid-latitude A-index 5.
The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 09 September was 5 (78 nT).
Space weather for the past 24 hours has been moderate.
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level occurred.
Radio blackouts reaching the R2 level occurred.
Space weather for the next 24 hours is predicted to be minor.
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level are expected.
Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level are expected.``
Ron Howard in CA said on Sept 8: ``Hi Glenn, Well done! Normally I check every day too, but today I was so wrapped up with all the new changes I found, I didn`t have a chance to check, so it's great you
persevered.`` OTOH, on the next day: ``15476 not heard Sept 9 during checks from 1417 to 1430, usually my best time to hear them if they are broadcasting. Decent propagation, so believe I would have heard them if on`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CANADA. 9625, Sept 9 at 0540, CBCNQ transmitter still on with tonetest, more than a semi-hour past sign-off; why? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Poor propagation Sept 9; see WWV report under ANTARCTICA, so Firedrake search not starting until after 1300 found only:
16980, very good with flutter at 1328; none in 18s, 17s, 14s
15525, very poor at 1356 with flutter, also noise jamming
15430, very poor at 1307 vs 15432 het
15280, poor at 1327, also noise jamming
13920, poor at 1330; none in the 12s
11500, fair at 1332; none in the 10s, 7s
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [and non]. 15360, RHC not only collides with TWR Swaziland after 1400, but something else making a fast SAH at 1354 Sept 9: Aoki and HFCC show it must be R. Liberty in Kazakh, northwestward from THAILAND at 13-14 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EGYPT. 17625, Sept 8 at 1941, something here unlike usually when I tune around this time: undermodulated, muffled M&W in Arabic; 1946 after a pause, R. Cairo news theme (but be careful, some other ME stations use similar music; but news on a quarter-hour is a hallmark of Cairo), and talk, which after a minute or two I realize is in English! with very heavy accent; mentions ``former leader of Libya, Muammur (sp?) Q`Daffy (sp?)``; 1950 mid-ID ``this news comes to you from ---`` but couldn`t make out the last word. 1955:55* cuts off the air amid continuing talk. Now suspect it was also heavily-accented English when I first intuned rather than unaccented Arabic.
What`s going on? 17625 is suspiciously Saudi, in Arabic any day until 1355, but nothing listed anywhere at this hour. Cairo does have an English broadcast, to W Africa at 1900-2030 supposedly on 15270 as I found later in EiBi, not checked now. Perhaps at 1955 the operators at Abu Zabaal discovered they were on the wrong frequency and went back to 15270, HFCC listed 250 kW at 250 degrees. Or 17625 was a deliberate test: hard to imagine how ERTU could be there by accident as they don`t schedule it at any other time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** FRANCE. 7295, Sept 9 at 0531, did not tune in early enough today to tell whether NHK relay was on again here by mistake until 0530, but Algeria Qur`aning so evidently back to normal, // 9535 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** FRANCE [non]. 17690, Sept 9 at 1358, chanson, must be RFI Spanish service via GUIANA FRENCH, turned on before 1400 producing such a prélude. What a pity that RFI abolished its great IS, which we haven`t heard in many years, but now resounds in my mind. It was sort of a variation on ``La Marseillaise`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GABON. 9580, Sept 9 at 0543, Africa Numéro Un ID in passing during news(?) in French, back to only fair signal compared to inboomer yesterday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GUINEA. 7125, no signal at 0531 Sept 9, but slept instead of checking later (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ITALY [non]. 15610, Sept 9 at 1305, IRRS via ROMANIA, very poor with Brother Scare, no KQED; also BS later in hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MAURITANIA. 7245, no signal at 0531 Sept 9, but slept instead of checking later. (I don`t expect such non-logs to be republished, but I think it is significant to keep track of when stations are not heard when they might have been, part of the big pixure.) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. Sept 9 I slept an hour later than usual, assuaging my deprivation, and also missing sunrise DX around 1200; tsk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PHILIPPINES. 12150, Friday Sept 9 at 1403, surprised to hear VOA Yankee Doodle Dandy at this odd hour, signing off late? Ended at 1403:30, carrier stayed on. At 1407 I realize that it`s still on and now modulating in English. So it was a late sign-on, not -off. Scheduled via Tinang: 14-15 M-F, 13-14 Sat & Sun, and 12-13 daily (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SAUDI ARABIA [and non]. 21505, Sept 9 at 1400, timesignal about a bisecond late, fanfare, Arabic. Best among some other signals on 13m, 21470 BBC Cyprus, 21540 Kuwait, 21610 Spain, 21630 BBC Portugal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN. 9725, Sept 9 at 1318, Chinese YL with 8 tonal syllables between pauses, presumed Star-Star numbers station; poor here but RTI Japanese service much better on 9735.
Aoki lists 9735 as 250 kW at 45 degrees, and 9725 as only 10 kW, non-direxional, daily for a semihour at 0500, 0600, 1200, 1300, ``XingXing guangbo diantai 3`` for the first two and ``XingXing guangbo diantai 4`` for the last two from site Kuanyin with ``Random numbers`` --- well, they aren`t really random if they have coded significance! They could be random if this is just an exercise in deception (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1581 monitoring: confirmed after 2100 UT Thursday Sept 8, VG on 9479 WTWW; audible without jamming on 9955 WRMI; the 2130 broadcast on 7415 WBCQ also barely audible at 2155, and earlier confirmed on webcast. After 0330 UT Friday, confirmed on 5051 WWRB, still no change to 3195. 0508 UT Friday, sufficient reception on 9955 WRMI, over jamming if any. 1430 UT Friday Sept 9 confirmed on WRMI webcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 9568 approx., het against CRI via Habana 9570, Sept 9 at 1316, and no het near 9560 R. Australia, so I continue to suspect ETHIOPIA has varied further than usual. Can anyone who can hear it better confirm? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
