*** AUSTRALIA. 5995, March 21 at 1345, R. Australia, Brandon, is still in AM rather than DRM, // much stronger Shepparton YL on 6020. Nigel Holmes of RA Transmission explains: ``the DRM content server at Brandon failed last night so running AM in lieu until we get spares. I'm not sure why there is no ABC [except relays] schedule in the A12 ITU site. ILG does our co-ordination and Bernd has been very good in past years.``
Well, the R. Australia schedules in HFCC B11 show the FMO as ABC, not BFM, and in fact there are no BFM listings at all by that name in HFCC, tho Bernd Friedewald does go to HFCC meetings (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake March 21:
15605, poor with flutter March 21 at 1407, also running-water ute QRM, and in the sideband of WEWN. Still nothing in Aoki to account for jamming on 15605 (or alternate 15615), but all three major targets are now employing frequency-jumping to avoid jamming: Sound of Hope, Voice of Tibet, and even Radio Free Asia.
17570, March 21 at 1409, FD fair over CCI, V. of Tibet via MADAGASCAR
No Firedrakes at all found around 1430 March 21 from 11 to 18 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** COSTA RICA. 11815.0, March 21 at 1428 check, REE relay is not off-frequency today, no het with NHK (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LSITENING DIGEST)
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, March 20 did not get around to checking for R. Africa until 2030, finding no signal. If active, seems they have been signing off just before this time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9680, March 21 at 1357, after nice Indonesian music atop Chinese radio war, RRI jingle. Then at 1359 I check VOI on 9526- blasted by another Chinese radio war on 9530: I can barely make out ``Over the Rainbow`` being sung on VOI, language uncertain. The ACI vanishes after timesignal at 1400, no more QRM to VOI but it`s just barely modulated as they are presumably going from English to Indonesian (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KUWAIT [and non]. 21540, March 21 at 1415, 13m is back in business with good signal from R. Kuwait atop Spain, Arabic talk and music but Spain gains a bit as RK goes into Qur`an recitation at 1421, vespers on a Wednesday evening? Shortly I switch to the insensitive DX-390 on the breakfast table with reelout inside antenna, while I consume the first homegrown asparagus omelet of the season. There, RK is still strong enough for easy listening, and weaker Spain is negligible.
It`s a beautifully melodic rendition, appreciated pro-arte with no religious baggage understandable, keeps going until 1459-1501 flute music, then YL announcement, more brief Qur`an, 1504 OM talking, and cut off the air at 1504:43* as the YL starts to reply. Before 1500 on the full FRG-7 with outside longwire, BSKSA was also audible weaker on 21505 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1440, March 21 around 1330 UT, strong dominant signal in Spanish ending one gospel huxter, bilingual prayer, IDs in Spanish and English as Radio Luz, University Park, KTNO, on to another preacher. Not unusual post-sunrise reception from this 50 kW daytime powerhouse (not R. Vida as in NRC AM Log), but this is:
On the DX-398 handheld, KTNO is peaking E/W rather than N/S. I keep rotating it and find the null about 90 degrees off. Is it because I have the headphones plugged in? The AC adapter plugged in? Too close to metal objects such as the FRG-7 and other equipment? Or to inside random wire antennas? No, I unplug phones and AC and walk around the house but I am still getting the same skewed DF on this frequency. If I didn`t know better I would think I was getting a station from the east or west.
Why and how could this happen? Has the ferrite bar slipped 90 degrees inside the radio? I haven`t dropped it and it doesn`t rattle! And other DFing is correct, such as WKY 930 reliable groundwave from OKC, which is weak enough to produce a sharp null in the right direxion. This anomaly makes other DFing questionable; perhaps it`s frequency-dependent in the 1440 area only.
Then I tune up to 1460 at 1333 UT March 21, where I am getting something in English, i.e. skywave an hour after sunrise, and not yet my closest KZUE El Reno OK groundwave which is Spanish. It`s ``Trade Fair`` (Fare?), listener call-ins with stuff to sell, typical small-town show still existing here and there on AM radio. No calls from businesses or professional services will be accepted, and caller #1 is a hangup. This too ``loops`` E/W, but the phone numbers are in AC 817 and 683, i.e. Fort Worth, from KCLE, COL Cleburne TX which are south from here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1510, March 21 at 0538 UT, for the third night around this time, KCKK Littleton CO is dominating frequency as ``Mile High Sports``, contrary to its NNE/SSW figure-8 direxional requirement, out of whack (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Well, the R. Australia schedules in HFCC B11 show the FMO as ABC, not BFM, and in fact there are no BFM listings at all by that name in HFCC, tho Bernd Friedewald does go to HFCC meetings (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. Firedrake March 21:
15605, poor with flutter March 21 at 1407, also running-water ute QRM, and in the sideband of WEWN. Still nothing in Aoki to account for jamming on 15605 (or alternate 15615), but all three major targets are now employing frequency-jumping to avoid jamming: Sound of Hope, Voice of Tibet, and even Radio Free Asia.
17570, March 21 at 1409, FD fair over CCI, V. of Tibet via MADAGASCAR
No Firedrakes at all found around 1430 March 21 from 11 to 18 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** COSTA RICA. 11815.0, March 21 at 1428 check, REE relay is not off-frequency today, no het with NHK (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LSITENING DIGEST)
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, March 20 did not get around to checking for R. Africa until 2030, finding no signal. If active, seems they have been signing off just before this time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9680, March 21 at 1357, after nice Indonesian music atop Chinese radio war, RRI jingle. Then at 1359 I check VOI on 9526- blasted by another Chinese radio war on 9530: I can barely make out ``Over the Rainbow`` being sung on VOI, language uncertain. The ACI vanishes after timesignal at 1400, no more QRM to VOI but it`s just barely modulated as they are presumably going from English to Indonesian (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KUWAIT [and non]. 21540, March 21 at 1415, 13m is back in business with good signal from R. Kuwait atop Spain, Arabic talk and music but Spain gains a bit as RK goes into Qur`an recitation at 1421, vespers on a Wednesday evening? Shortly I switch to the insensitive DX-390 on the breakfast table with reelout inside antenna, while I consume the first homegrown asparagus omelet of the season. There, RK is still strong enough for easy listening, and weaker Spain is negligible.
It`s a beautifully melodic rendition, appreciated pro-arte with no religious baggage understandable, keeps going until 1459-1501 flute music, then YL announcement, more brief Qur`an, 1504 OM talking, and cut off the air at 1504:43* as the YL starts to reply. Before 1500 on the full FRG-7 with outside longwire, BSKSA was also audible weaker on 21505 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1440, March 21 around 1330 UT, strong dominant signal in Spanish ending one gospel huxter, bilingual prayer, IDs in Spanish and English as Radio Luz, University Park, KTNO, on to another preacher. Not unusual post-sunrise reception from this 50 kW daytime powerhouse (not R. Vida as in NRC AM Log), but this is:
On the DX-398 handheld, KTNO is peaking E/W rather than N/S. I keep rotating it and find the null about 90 degrees off. Is it because I have the headphones plugged in? The AC adapter plugged in? Too close to metal objects such as the FRG-7 and other equipment? Or to inside random wire antennas? No, I unplug phones and AC and walk around the house but I am still getting the same skewed DF on this frequency. If I didn`t know better I would think I was getting a station from the east or west.
Why and how could this happen? Has the ferrite bar slipped 90 degrees inside the radio? I haven`t dropped it and it doesn`t rattle! And other DFing is correct, such as WKY 930 reliable groundwave from OKC, which is weak enough to produce a sharp null in the right direxion. This anomaly makes other DFing questionable; perhaps it`s frequency-dependent in the 1440 area only.
Then I tune up to 1460 at 1333 UT March 21, where I am getting something in English, i.e. skywave an hour after sunrise, and not yet my closest KZUE El Reno OK groundwave which is Spanish. It`s ``Trade Fair`` (Fare?), listener call-ins with stuff to sell, typical small-town show still existing here and there on AM radio. No calls from businesses or professional services will be accepted, and caller #1 is a hangup. This too ``loops`` E/W, but the phone numbers are in AC 817 and 683, i.e. Fort Worth, from KCLE, COL Cleburne TX which are south from here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1510, March 21 at 0538 UT, for the third night around this time, KCKK Littleton CO is dominating frequency as ``Mile High Sports``, contrary to its NNE/SSW figure-8 direxional requirement, out of whack (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
