** BRAZIL. Much of it currently on DST, they imagine that 2012 arrives at 0200 UT instead of 0300 or 0400, so I check out RNA 11780 at 0158 UT January 1: good signal with upbeat song, 0159:30 to legal ID for 980 kHz with 300 kW from EBC, but no mention of SW which has slightly greater reach, no timesignal, standard opening of ``Aló Brasil`` show ``nesta madrugada de domingo``, ``novo dia, novo programa`` and finally: ``feliz ano novo``. And now it`s time for the New York Philharmonic on PBS` NYE (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GREECE. 9420, Dec 31 at 2259 noticed VOG back on this frequency after more than a week`s silence, with Greek music, but I already missed their midnight at 2200. Still on at 0011 check Jan 1 with Greek talk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RWANDA. 6055, Dec 31 at 2251, lively music and French talk, mentioning Rwanda; fair signal until totally blocked by *2259 REE IS before its French service. Tnx to tip from Brian Alexander who heard RRR`s extended broadcast on Xmas Eve and said they also do it on NYE. Local midnight was already at 2200 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN. REE can be depended upon for a good time on New Year`s Eve. (No more competition from DW in the UT+1 zone for our attention.) I pick the strong CR relay on 15125 for the Jahrwechsel at 2300 UT, tuning in at 2259 to hear bells, 2300 twelve strikes of some big clock, ``Feliz 2012`` and cut immediately to IS and sign-off! At least they kept it on a few minutes longer than usual for the big moment, before the CR transmitters take their usual break, so then it`s back to Noblejas:
9535 as usual is the best signal here after 2300, and I wind up listening to it for two hours straight (also on weaker 9620, 6125, and poor 11680). At 2301 a novelty song is playing, which turns out to be the first of many; harmonies are sorta Sephardic, tho this is hardly Jewish New Year. 2304, ``Bienvenidos a 2012 en Radio Nacional, Radio Exterior, Radio Cinco y Radio Tres`` as the four networks are combining for this special dance party of music from the 30s to the 50s. I noted most of the details for the first hour. The two M hosts spoke very rapidly and I couldn`t catch all the titles. Much of the music was American, with Nueva York mentioned often:
``Boola, boola, boola`` sorta English lyrix, by Orquesta de Swing. 2307, ``Swing, swing, swing, swing; sing, sing, sing, sing``. 2310 acknowledged their first cablegrama de 2012; were encouraging listener input, dedications. Then something by Louis Prima from 1951y. Messages in from Boston, Nueva York, París, mentioned 78 rpm and some of their records sounded that old altho not scratchy. A mambo by Tito Puente. 2317 mentioned that show lasts until las 2 de la madrugada = 0100 UT; 4-network ID again; song from 1947y. 2321 Conga de NY, also 1947? 2323 QSL an e-mail from Belén, Nuevo Méjico. 2328 ``Cannonball Yodel`` from Manhattan, 1953y, a train engineer yodeling about going thru a tunnel, no, not the Wabash. 2332, really funny if somewhat sexist novelty song about women who ``Talk, talk, talk``; 2335, bluegrass on banjo; 2337 segué to promo for a show on R. 3, ``de ocho a nueve, no se mueve``. 2338, ``Ain`t Nobody Here But Us Chickens``, etc., etc.
RNE has an impressive library of old American tunes. They also played some more from Latin America.
2355 crosses to RNE in the Canarias where another midnight is imminent, playing greetings from individuals in each(?) of the seven islands. Jan 1, 2012 at 0000 full toll of twelve with each counted off upward, one by one; 0002 back to music. 0005, 9535 cuts off air so I quickly check the alternates as above, but by the time I get back to 9535 it has resumed. I also checked English on 6055, but nothing special there, probably playing back something from last year. On 9535 at 0015 mentioned they had got 5 mil mensajes, and more great music bits until 0100. Don`t need no stinkin` Internet to enjoy all this direct on my SW radio! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [non?]. 15715, Dec 31 at 2218 something is here on this normally vacant frequency, and I do mean vacant: nothing ever listed on it in any of the B-11 schedules: Africanish music, good signal with flutter, then French announcements, 2221 discussion mentioning Dakar and Sénégal several times, mixing with more music. 2236 finally ID in passing as ``BBC Afrique, programme spécial pour 2012``. Signal degrading, but still heard past 2300, 2318, even 0006 Jan 1. The flutter is typical of Ascension on 19m, likely site (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1597 monitoring. 9955, Sat Dec 31 at 1830, my internal noise sources are off, so I try to hear me on WRMI: yes, can just barely make out the WOR theme. I assume it`s better in the Caribbean and Latin America. WRMI is currently on the air between 15 and 23 UT only on Sats & Suns. Repeats Sunday at same time, plus 1630. Other airings: UT Sunday 0500 on WTWW 5755; UT Monday 0330v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 10000, Dec 31, 2011y at 2359, I didn`t even try to find an audible BBC frequency, amid my bihour with Spain, but on #2 receiver cannot miss the official start of UT 2012y, precisely pipped by WWV at 0000:00 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ZAMBIA. 17695, Dec 31 at 1940, CVC 1Africa VG signal, better than CVC Chile 17680, but lots of IADs making a salvation story unlistenable; not that their thinly-disguised monomania is ever listenable. Then a longer period of dead air. I see that Jorge Freitas in Brasil independently noted the same problem after change to 13590, Dec 31 at 2016-2021, ``Transmission with constant cuts in the modulation``. God`ll get `em (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GREECE. 9420, Dec 31 at 2259 noticed VOG back on this frequency after more than a week`s silence, with Greek music, but I already missed their midnight at 2200. Still on at 0011 check Jan 1 with Greek talk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RWANDA. 6055, Dec 31 at 2251, lively music and French talk, mentioning Rwanda; fair signal until totally blocked by *2259 REE IS before its French service. Tnx to tip from Brian Alexander who heard RRR`s extended broadcast on Xmas Eve and said they also do it on NYE. Local midnight was already at 2200 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN. REE can be depended upon for a good time on New Year`s Eve. (No more competition from DW in the UT+1 zone for our attention.) I pick the strong CR relay on 15125 for the Jahrwechsel at 2300 UT, tuning in at 2259 to hear bells, 2300 twelve strikes of some big clock, ``Feliz 2012`` and cut immediately to IS and sign-off! At least they kept it on a few minutes longer than usual for the big moment, before the CR transmitters take their usual break, so then it`s back to Noblejas:
9535 as usual is the best signal here after 2300, and I wind up listening to it for two hours straight (also on weaker 9620, 6125, and poor 11680). At 2301 a novelty song is playing, which turns out to be the first of many; harmonies are sorta Sephardic, tho this is hardly Jewish New Year. 2304, ``Bienvenidos a 2012 en Radio Nacional, Radio Exterior, Radio Cinco y Radio Tres`` as the four networks are combining for this special dance party of music from the 30s to the 50s. I noted most of the details for the first hour. The two M hosts spoke very rapidly and I couldn`t catch all the titles. Much of the music was American, with Nueva York mentioned often:
``Boola, boola, boola`` sorta English lyrix, by Orquesta de Swing. 2307, ``Swing, swing, swing, swing; sing, sing, sing, sing``. 2310 acknowledged their first cablegrama de 2012; were encouraging listener input, dedications. Then something by Louis Prima from 1951y. Messages in from Boston, Nueva York, París, mentioned 78 rpm and some of their records sounded that old altho not scratchy. A mambo by Tito Puente. 2317 mentioned that show lasts until las 2 de la madrugada = 0100 UT; 4-network ID again; song from 1947y. 2321 Conga de NY, also 1947? 2323 QSL an e-mail from Belén, Nuevo Méjico. 2328 ``Cannonball Yodel`` from Manhattan, 1953y, a train engineer yodeling about going thru a tunnel, no, not the Wabash. 2332, really funny if somewhat sexist novelty song about women who ``Talk, talk, talk``; 2335, bluegrass on banjo; 2337 segué to promo for a show on R. 3, ``de ocho a nueve, no se mueve``. 2338, ``Ain`t Nobody Here But Us Chickens``, etc., etc.
RNE has an impressive library of old American tunes. They also played some more from Latin America.
2355 crosses to RNE in the Canarias where another midnight is imminent, playing greetings from individuals in each(?) of the seven islands. Jan 1, 2012 at 0000 full toll of twelve with each counted off upward, one by one; 0002 back to music. 0005, 9535 cuts off air so I quickly check the alternates as above, but by the time I get back to 9535 it has resumed. I also checked English on 6055, but nothing special there, probably playing back something from last year. On 9535 at 0015 mentioned they had got 5 mil mensajes, and more great music bits until 0100. Don`t need no stinkin` Internet to enjoy all this direct on my SW radio! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [non?]. 15715, Dec 31 at 2218 something is here on this normally vacant frequency, and I do mean vacant: nothing ever listed on it in any of the B-11 schedules: Africanish music, good signal with flutter, then French announcements, 2221 discussion mentioning Dakar and Sénégal several times, mixing with more music. 2236 finally ID in passing as ``BBC Afrique, programme spécial pour 2012``. Signal degrading, but still heard past 2300, 2318, even 0006 Jan 1. The flutter is typical of Ascension on 19m, likely site (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1597 monitoring. 9955, Sat Dec 31 at 1830, my internal noise sources are off, so I try to hear me on WRMI: yes, can just barely make out the WOR theme. I assume it`s better in the Caribbean and Latin America. WRMI is currently on the air between 15 and 23 UT only on Sats & Suns. Repeats Sunday at same time, plus 1630. Other airings: UT Sunday 0500 on WTWW 5755; UT Monday 0330v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 10000, Dec 31, 2011y at 2359, I didn`t even try to find an audible BBC frequency, amid my bihour with Spain, but on #2 receiver cannot miss the official start of UT 2012y, precisely pipped by WWV at 0000:00 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ZAMBIA. 17695, Dec 31 at 1940, CVC 1Africa VG signal, better than CVC Chile 17680, but lots of IADs making a salvation story unlistenable; not that their thinly-disguised monomania is ever listenable. Then a longer period of dead air. I see that Jorge Freitas in Brasil independently noted the same problem after change to 13590, Dec 31 at 2016-2021, ``Transmission with constant cuts in the modulation``. God`ll get `em (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
