giovedì 17 gennaio 2013

Glenn Hauser logs January 16-17, 2013

** AUSTRALIA. After 0700 UT Jan 17, finding R. Australia all over the place, initially with Oz news, on 9475 at 0701; then at 0708 I compare 12080 and 11945 again: the two are slightly out of synch, but so close I have a hard time deciding which one is the echo: finally: 12080, a split second behind 11945, so good evidence it is really Brandon following satellite feed from Shepparton (or Melbourne, if nearby Shep has a microwave/landline feed). This time 12080 registers S9+18 and 11945 S9+20, despite 11945 allegedly running ten times the power of 12080. Now 15240 is also on unlike last night; 13630 is best, and also heard on 7410 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BRAZIL. 11780, Jan 16 at 2153, 2217 and Jan 17 at 0027 chex, RNA/RNB is nominal in AM without wideband noise. But at next check, 0432 Jan 17, heavy noise surrounding 11780 which is still audible, out to plus/minus 50 kHz or so. Not the same as the wideband noise of previous nights, but RNB still has big problems affecting its unfortunate neighbors.

Robert Lafore, location unknown, had reported earlier on Jan 16: ``Likewise a great signal from 11780 at 2207, the noise started for a moment, pretty much covering RNA. When I hear the noise start, RNA's carrier remains steady here. Several more pulses of noise at 2208 and 2209. It slowly builds, then abruptly off.``

Was this like what Robert was hearing at 2207-2209, and was anyone else hearing it in the meantime? I asked the dxldyg. Steve Luce, Houston TX, replied:

``I'm hearing much the same thing here in Houston at a 0500 check Jan 17. Noise is heaviest +/- 20 kHz either side of 11780, with the upper side the loudest. Weak noise extends down to 11710 and up to 11860. RNA signal is there, but covered by the noise. At an earlier check at 0130, the RNA signal was strong and clean, no sign of any noise.``

Earlier on Jan 16, Flávio PY2ZX Archangelo in Brasil told us, ``I made a phone call yesterday to EBC, the federal government company that coordinates several radio and TV stations, including RNA. I´m not sure if the problem is fully corrected, but now the technical sector for sure have the feedback. EBC is studying buying new SW transmitters, including capability for digital upgrade [sic] for DRM modes.``

By my next check at 0614 Jan 17, 11780 had been put out of its (and our) misery, off the air, while 6180 continued normally. May I suggest that they keep it off the air unless they can prevent the additional noise radiation (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. 11880, Jan 16 at 2153, RHC supposed to be Portuguese but instead silence, dead air; ho hum, another SNAFU at this amateurish operation, which has never really got its act together in 52 years. Recheck at 2217, now it`s modulating, in English. The 21-23 transmission is allegedly aimed at Africa, and I understand it`s poorly heard in Europe, too far offbeam, but it`s always a bigsig here off the back.

9810, Jan 17 at 0617, RHC fair signal still going in Spanish instead of closing at 0600. No other lingerers found, as Spanish is supposed to be totally off SW after that hour.

Checking out leapfrog mixing products involving the overkill four English transmitters, 6010, 6060, 6125 and 6165, Jan 17 at 0622, which I confirmed all synchronized so from same site: poor but readable between fades on 6270 (6060 over 6165); also audible on 6205 (6125 over 6165). Could not be sure of one on 6320 which would be 6010 over 6165, and also have to watch out for receiver-produced overloads, which disappear with attenuation unlike 6270 and 6205.

17730, Jan 17 at 1347 is today`s missing frequency, but very good signal on 17580 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** EGYPT. 9905, Jan 17 at 0616, R. Cairo is unusually holding up over night path, good signal but Arabic distorted as always (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** JAPAN. 6055, Thursday Jan 17 at 1335, R. Nikkei in English --- OM speaker for a minute about Japan`s relations with China. Then interrupted by YL in Japanese, and another OM starts reading a text about how PM Abe should visit China like Nixon did. She takes this apart, keeps interrupting to explain the English words and phrases (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 610, Jan 17 at 0639 UT, music and soon ID as ``La Primera``, which means it`s XEBX, Sabinas, Coahuila, 500 watts at night, as IRCA, WRTH and Cantú all agree is the only such Mexislogan on 610 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 720, Jan 17 at 1444 UT, Spanish talk fades in mixing with ``Jew`s harp``, see UNIDENTIFIED. KSAH San Antonio? But it`s not sports talk. 1447 ``El Extremo 720`` and timecheck sure sounds like 8:47 = CST, not 7:47 = MST. Mexican federal PSAs, 1448 ``regresamos, 7-20 Extremo``, into music, ``Quizás3`` on piano. This slogan applies to XEJCC Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, 1/1 kW per IRCA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 1050, Jan 17 at 1413, Spanish from N/S assumed to be XEG until the DJ mentions Kansas a couple times! Could there be an SS up there I haven`t noticed? But then mentions Nuevo Laredo, plays a canción from 1991/92y, CST TCs, more music, 1421 ``La Ranchera 10-50``, clincher being SEP PSA from the Mexican federal government, so it really is XEG Monterrey NL in broad sunlight (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 4170, Jan 17 at 1330, weak third harmonic of local KCRC 1390 which is always there and to be ignored, but now I notice that audio from only other local, KGWA 960 is mixing with it, strange (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** RUSSIA [and non]. 9840, Jan 17 at 0615, Russian with flutter, so here`s a R. Rossii broadcast which still exists, but had not heard for a few months. Spring must be on the way with propagation picking up! Or rather solar flux of 137 as of Jan 16 per WWV, which has nothing to do with earthly hemispheric seasons; K index at 06 was 3. HFCC shows this at 04-07, 250 kW, 260 degrees from a Moskva site.

BTW, lacking any B-12 info from REE, HFCC still lists old B11 info right next to RR: 00-04, 100 kW, 110 degrees from Cariari on 9840, a frequency which AFAIK they have never really used (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TUNISIA. 7335, Jan 17 at 0621, IWT is back on with Arabic music and talk, having been absent 24 hours earlier; also for a few more minutes // on 7275. 0717 recheck, 7335 still on and in (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TURKEY. 9820, Jan 17 at 0617, TRT Turkish talk matching always stronger // 9700, and with bad het from always off-frequency Brazilian on low side of 9820 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [non]. 9705, Jan 17 at 1354, English lesson, subject bowling (with SFX) and how the expression ``put your best foot forward`` is not to be taken literally. This is VOA Cantonese via SAIPAN at 13-15; no jamming audible, but a SAH maybe signifies it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1652 monitoring: ready just in time for first broadcast on WRMI 9955, UT Thursday January 17 at 0430. Barely confirmable on 9955, under wall-of-noise jamming; tnx a lot, Arnie! Easily confirmable on webcast. Remaining 9955 airings: Sat 0900, 1600, 1830, Sun 0900, 1630, Mon 0530, Tue 1200.

Elsewhere: Thu 2200 on WTWW 9479; UT Fri 0430v on WWRB 3195 and maybe 5050; UT Sat 0230v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB; Sat & Wed 0630 & 1630 on HLR 7265-CUSB; UT Sun 0500 on WTWW 5830. Also on WRN via SiriusXM 120, Sat 1830 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 5935, 5890, 4840, 3215, Jan 17 at 0627, WWCR is missing from all four frequencies! Power failure, or urgent transmitter work, like to get rid of spurs, which requires retuning the traps? That`ll be the day. What a welcome respite from crap like Alex Jones on 4840. I can`t believe all the national attention this gun-nut has enjoyed since yelling at Piers Morgan on CNN. His rants were certainly nothing new to SWLs, part of the tremendous disservice WWCR renders to humanity. Next check at 1344, 7490 is on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 660, Jan 17 at 1452 UT, KSKY Dallas is hard to null, but with KKOB inbooming on 770 more than an hour after sunrise, it`s time to look for KTNN Window Rock AZ --- yes, there it is with Burger King ad mentioning half a dozen towns where that exists in Navajoland. And it`s immediately! Followed by a McDonalds ad also mentioning its locations. Convenient juxtaposition for the comparative eater, but I doubt either of these fierce competitors would approve of such adjacency. KSKY makes SAH of 52/minute = 0.87 Hz with KTNN. Then news in English of AZ such as marijuana bust in Bagdad, and then of NM. Seems the cast is sponsored by the latter eatery, featuring a 300-calorie breakfast. At 1457 has switched to Navajo language, and 1508 still audible with Navajo chanting. KTNN official sunrise in January is 1430 UT; February, 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 720, Jan 17 at 1456 UT, talk in English, 1458 call-in re guns, to 257-KDWN and then full ID as ``Newstalk 720, KDWN``, meanwhile mixing with UNID ``Jews-harp`` music, 1500 the 7 o`clock news. Nice to hear KDWN Las Vegas NV again, now on legal 50 kW day pattern starting at 1445 in January; 1430 in February (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 880, Jan 17 at 1435 UT, *still* open carrier/dead air E/W with SAH in null of N/S KRVN NE, no doubt KLRG Arkansas, more 50+ kWh wasted. Do they know about this in Clearwater? Seems like its OC is still barely there at 1503, SAH mixing with religion in English, presumably KHAC AZ/NM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 920, Jan 17 at 1433 UT, announcer refers to
http://slapstupidpeople.com That URL doesn`t work, so maybe meant http://slapstupid.com/ Then promo/ad for upcoming comedy night at Eagles in Lamar, so KLMR in Colorado. Apparently Eagles Lodge is a hotel rather than a fraternal organization (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 930, Jan 17 at 1423 UT with WKY carefully nulled, an interview in English about highway projects with someone representing ``O-Dot`` --- I could swear that`s mentioned several times, and if I were not certain WKY was still in Spanish as ``La Indomable``, I would have assumed it was about the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
``Our state`` is in the Midwest, center of a 500-mile radius. But finally referred to Missouri instead of Oklahoma, so must be KWOC Poplar Bluff, close to a right angle from WKY. 1432 fades back in mentioning ``our state`s sales tax`` is only 4.2%. (The MO state rate is really 4.225% not including additional local taxes.)

930, by 1429 UT Jan 17, KWOC is losing out to something else in the WKY null, ad for Southwest Exteriors, phone 828-something, which leads directly to San Antonio TX, so KLUP again; and 1431 San Antonio mentioned (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1030, Jan 17 at 1417 UT, lengthy traffic report for ``the metro``, mentioning I-35, I-635 and 435, and finally ``the Kansas side``, so it has to be KCWJ Blue Springs MO (Kansas City market), supposedly religious. 3.6 Hz SAH from another one, definitely religious, probably still KCTA Corpus Christi TX.

I had quickly ruled out DFW, since it`s ``The Metroplex`` and tho there is an incomplete ring around Dallas, I-635, there is no 435. Likewise could be Minneapolis-St Paul, except all the rings there end in -94. I decry such crutches as ``the metro`` instead of mentioning a city`s real name. Oklahoma City is also ``the metro``, a 50% saving in syllables every time it`s uttered by lazy broadcasters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1070, Jan 17 at 1409 UT, usual fast SAH in almost-null of off-frequency KLIO Wichita, but this time it`s not KNX: ``Hello, you`re on DIA``, Bobby taking quick phone calls, also mentioning full call WDIA. He and they all sound like they are black. Topix all over the place. Bobby is defeatist about ever stemming violence, so why try? This is the 50/5 kW Memphis TN I don`t often hear. Day pattern has major lobe to the south, but a minor lobe to the west:
http://transition.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/646-6856.pdf
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1260, Jan 17 at 1404 UT, ads in Spanish, so KDFC Boone IA is the usual suspect, quickly confirmed by area code 515 mentions for Maestro Sebastián and others (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** UZBEKISTAN [and non]. 7505, Jan 17 at 1345, S Asian language giving address ending in @twr.in and then childish song/hymn, fair signal. HFCC shows TWR, 100 kW, 131 degrees via Tashkent, 1315-1615 to CIRAF 41 = S Asia. For the exact language we have to look elsewhere: EiBi shows it`s merely Hindi, altho the start and stop times vary by day of week.

BTW, don`t you believe WRNO claims that they broadcast 24 hours on ``7505``. Registered, so available for 22-16 UT, but still only on at 02-05 on 7506.4, beyond legal FCC frequency tolerance (Glenn hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** VATICAN [and non]. 7249, Jan 17 at 0629, carrier is hetting 7250 bells from Vatican Radio, presumably American ham protesting this broadcast intrusion (but sanxioned as it`s not aiming at us), off and back on during VR opening the mass (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 720, Jan 17 at 1441 UT, continuous ``Jew`s harp`` twanging, goes on and on past 1447 as I am DXing XEJCC and again at 1456 mixing with KDWN; see MEXICO and USA. Can`t imagine WGN doing this. Surely not some local device, sounds just like intentional amplitude modulation from somestation. Only other 720 around here is KSAH Universal City TX. Possibly they were out of order? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 930, Jan 17 at 1429, as KWOC MO is giving way to KLUP TX [see logs under USA], I hear what sounds like ``KRDZ``. Except that`s 1440 in Wray CO. I know of no relationship between that and KRKY Granby CO, the nearest 930 in the state, which I have heard before, different ownerships. On 930 itself, no similar/fuzzy calls to KRDZ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 2660, Jan 17 at 1318, JBA carrier, and bits of music. Before QRT a sextahour earlier, I had tuned to this to remind me to check it first thing in the morning for likely 1330 harmonic I had previously detected when concentrating on 2910 third harmonic of XEVT. Really need to monitor 2660 deeper into the night, but likely further north and/or west than XEVT since that fades out a semihour earlier despite much stronger signal. Could well be US of American rather than US of Mexican. Also, comparing to 1660 signals, 2660 is very slightly on the hi side (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED [and non]. 5760.5-SSB, Jan 17 at 1334, intermittent Spanish 2-way I notice on the side of AFN Guam, active today 5765-USB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)