** ANTARCTICA. 15476, Thu Dec 29 at 1435 check, still nothing from LRA36 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CANADA [non]. 9635, Dec 29 at 1506, ``The Link`` introducing Lynn Desjardins with a report about North Korea (but I assume she remains in Montreal), fair signal but heavy flutter, so RCI, having abandoned its North American audience, may still be heard here, i.e. 500 kW, 252 degrees from Xi`an, as RCI remains in bed (embedded?) with the ChiCom. Much better signal than nearby Sackville 9625 with CBCNQ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 5883, Dec 29 at 0652 tune-in, a few words of Spanish, including ``inflamante``, then back to open carrier. This is an erstwhile spy-numbers frequency, and I`ll bet the Spanish came from the RHC program feed which is nowhere else on SW at this hour.
12134, Dec 29 at 1427, cut numbers in CW, likely another Cuban spy transmission, not very strong, but way over AFN on 12133.5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EGYPT. 13580, Dec 29 at 1518, open carrier with flutter, then maybe a trace of just-barely-modulation in R. Cairo`s Albanian service, no doubt causing great frustration among the Tiranans if not the Qahirans (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA NORTH. 9665, Dec 29 at 1508, while RCI via Xi`an on 9635 was reporting about NK, the real deal could be heard here, still hyper-emotional about something or other. No pulsing noise jamming mix audible unlike continuously on the VOK external frequencies, at this hour English on 9335 and 11710 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA NORTH [non]. 5985, Thursday Dec 29 at 1358, Shiokaze ID in Japanese; pause, and 1400 Shiokaze ID in Chinese with piano, poor signal via JSR Tokyo/Yamata. Per S. Hasegawa, we should not expect English on Friday to resume before January 6 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MAURITANIA. 7245, Dec 29 at 0639, IGIM is on with chanting; poor signal while adjacent 7250 Vatican was stronger but disturbed by CME, fluttery (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN [non]. 7220, Dec 29 at 1358, amid QRhaM, REE IS, a regular feature of Kunming site to introduce the CRI Nepali service. Are they scratching their heads in Kathmandu? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN [non]. Further checks for the missing Spanish broadcasts of RTI via WYFR and Guiana French: Dec 29 at 0247, not audible on 9355, but that was RTI English when last we heard it; 11995 via GUF, which was open carrier one night, and absent the next, is poorly audible this time, and modulated to boot, but can`t tell what language and what station. The 0600 Spanish broadcast via WYFR on 6875, which was off the air night before, is back and still in German. When we tuned in at 0642 Dec 29, they were playing a rock song in English, modulation rather distorted, outroed in German as `Musik aus Taiwan`, by a group called B-A-D. Tnx to Wolfgang Büschel who confirmed that as of Dec 28, RTI is still really in Spanish at 20-21 on 3965 via Issoudun, France (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1597 monitoring: while 9955 was nothing but jamming as usual, checked WRMI webcast after 0430 UT Thursday Dec 29, and there was WOR 1596, instead of `Noticiero` from Radio Martí as on latest WRMI schedule grid updated Dec 13. It seems WRMI programming is in flux, so maybe some more of the canceled WOR times are still there.
SW airings should be:
WTWW: Thursday 2200 9479, UT Sunday 0500 5755
WBCQ: Thursday 2230 7490; maybe UT Monday 0330 5110v-CUSB Area 51
WWRB: UT Friday 0430v 3195 (no longer on 5050)
WRMI 9955: Friday 0600, Sat 0900, 1600, 1830, Sun 0900, 1630, 1830
HLR: Tuesday 1030 5980
Full schedule at http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 6215-USB, Dec 29 at 0703, notice about a sailing vessel missing since Dec 17, from ``US Coast Guard Point Reyes, out`` at 0704*. 6215 is a distress frequency too, fortunately mostly avoided by broadcasters, not including YFR via Taiwan at 22-24. Where is Point Reyes in California, anyway? Just NW of San Francisco, up the coast beyond Bolinas in the National Seashore. Rand McNally via State Farm says Point Reyes Station has a population of 818 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** VATICAN. 13765, Dec 29 at 1518 open carrier, then, vying with EGYPT 13580, very weak modulation seemingly in a S Asian language, as VR is supposed to be in Malayalam at 1510-1530 per EiBi. But I`m afraid Cairo is still more unmodulated (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** VIETNAM [and non]. 9990, Dec 29 at 1357, oscillating tone jammer against nothing, and Aoki, EiBi show nothing on 9990 between 1330 and 1500, but HFCC has IBB Vietnamese via Saipan at 14-15, so that explains it; by 1405 the presumed target barely detectable vs continuing jamming.
Surely in January, WTWW will blow all this away on 9990, starting up #2 transmitter, which is awaiting further spur-suppression work by Continental. George McClintock tells me to expect another test transmission in a couple of weeks (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CANADA [non]. 9635, Dec 29 at 1506, ``The Link`` introducing Lynn Desjardins with a report about North Korea (but I assume she remains in Montreal), fair signal but heavy flutter, so RCI, having abandoned its North American audience, may still be heard here, i.e. 500 kW, 252 degrees from Xi`an, as RCI remains in bed (embedded?) with the ChiCom. Much better signal than nearby Sackville 9625 with CBCNQ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 5883, Dec 29 at 0652 tune-in, a few words of Spanish, including ``inflamante``, then back to open carrier. This is an erstwhile spy-numbers frequency, and I`ll bet the Spanish came from the RHC program feed which is nowhere else on SW at this hour.
12134, Dec 29 at 1427, cut numbers in CW, likely another Cuban spy transmission, not very strong, but way over AFN on 12133.5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EGYPT. 13580, Dec 29 at 1518, open carrier with flutter, then maybe a trace of just-barely-modulation in R. Cairo`s Albanian service, no doubt causing great frustration among the Tiranans if not the Qahirans (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA NORTH. 9665, Dec 29 at 1508, while RCI via Xi`an on 9635 was reporting about NK, the real deal could be heard here, still hyper-emotional about something or other. No pulsing noise jamming mix audible unlike continuously on the VOK external frequencies, at this hour English on 9335 and 11710 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA NORTH [non]. 5985, Thursday Dec 29 at 1358, Shiokaze ID in Japanese; pause, and 1400 Shiokaze ID in Chinese with piano, poor signal via JSR Tokyo/Yamata. Per S. Hasegawa, we should not expect English on Friday to resume before January 6 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MAURITANIA. 7245, Dec 29 at 0639, IGIM is on with chanting; poor signal while adjacent 7250 Vatican was stronger but disturbed by CME, fluttery (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN [non]. 7220, Dec 29 at 1358, amid QRhaM, REE IS, a regular feature of Kunming site to introduce the CRI Nepali service. Are they scratching their heads in Kathmandu? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN [non]. Further checks for the missing Spanish broadcasts of RTI via WYFR and Guiana French: Dec 29 at 0247, not audible on 9355, but that was RTI English when last we heard it; 11995 via GUF, which was open carrier one night, and absent the next, is poorly audible this time, and modulated to boot, but can`t tell what language and what station. The 0600 Spanish broadcast via WYFR on 6875, which was off the air night before, is back and still in German. When we tuned in at 0642 Dec 29, they were playing a rock song in English, modulation rather distorted, outroed in German as `Musik aus Taiwan`, by a group called B-A-D. Tnx to Wolfgang Büschel who confirmed that as of Dec 28, RTI is still really in Spanish at 20-21 on 3965 via Issoudun, France (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1597 monitoring: while 9955 was nothing but jamming as usual, checked WRMI webcast after 0430 UT Thursday Dec 29, and there was WOR 1596, instead of `Noticiero` from Radio Martí as on latest WRMI schedule grid updated Dec 13. It seems WRMI programming is in flux, so maybe some more of the canceled WOR times are still there.
SW airings should be:
WTWW: Thursday 2200 9479, UT Sunday 0500 5755
WBCQ: Thursday 2230 7490; maybe UT Monday 0330 5110v-CUSB Area 51
WWRB: UT Friday 0430v 3195 (no longer on 5050)
WRMI 9955: Friday 0600, Sat 0900, 1600, 1830, Sun 0900, 1630, 1830
HLR: Tuesday 1030 5980
Full schedule at http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 6215-USB, Dec 29 at 0703, notice about a sailing vessel missing since Dec 17, from ``US Coast Guard Point Reyes, out`` at 0704*. 6215 is a distress frequency too, fortunately mostly avoided by broadcasters, not including YFR via Taiwan at 22-24. Where is Point Reyes in California, anyway? Just NW of San Francisco, up the coast beyond Bolinas in the National Seashore. Rand McNally via State Farm says Point Reyes Station has a population of 818 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** VATICAN. 13765, Dec 29 at 1518 open carrier, then, vying with EGYPT 13580, very weak modulation seemingly in a S Asian language, as VR is supposed to be in Malayalam at 1510-1530 per EiBi. But I`m afraid Cairo is still more unmodulated (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** VIETNAM [and non]. 9990, Dec 29 at 1357, oscillating tone jammer against nothing, and Aoki, EiBi show nothing on 9990 between 1330 and 1500, but HFCC has IBB Vietnamese via Saipan at 14-15, so that explains it; by 1405 the presumed target barely detectable vs continuing jamming.
Surely in January, WTWW will blow all this away on 9990, starting up #2 transmitter, which is awaiting further spur-suppression work by Continental. George McClintock tells me to expect another test transmission in a couple of weeks (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
