** CHINA. 7435 // weaker and SSB QRhaMed 7220, Jan 29 at 1358, Radio Exterior de España interval signal is still being played by the confused ChiCom before CRI`s Nepali broadcast; both via Kunming site, but SARFT master control in Beijing is to blame (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. Circa 1510 Jan 29, RHC fails to transmit a galaxy of spurs surrounding 11760 today, unlike yesterday; what`s wrong? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EAST TURKISTAN. 4850, Jan 29 at 0057 weak signal with some program modulation vs hi local noise level. Must be PBS Xinjiang, Kazakh service, 100 kW, ND from Urumqi as per Aoki, at 2340-0325; nothing else scheduled. BTW, following my recent remark, I see that Aoki has corrected all the spellings from ``Urumqui``! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also ETHIOPIA
** ETHIOPIA [and non]. 9565.6v, Jan 29 at 1512, big het no doubt caused by the always-off-frequency Ethiopia. It`s making a pitch on my keyboard primarily at E5 = 659 Hz, but shifting irregularly a semitone higher to about F5 = 698 Hz. Approached another way by counting the clix at 40-Hz steps above 9565 on the DX-398, I get 13 = only 0.52 kHz, so possibly the other weaker station it is hetting is slightly below 9565? Unlikely, as it must be CRI Chinese via Kashgar, only other thing scheduled. And before 1600 it`s not R. Ethiopia, but the clandestine service for Eritrea, V. of Democratic Alliance, until 1530 in Tigrinya Tue/Thu/Sat, other days Arabic per WRTH (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GUIANA FRENCH [and non]. Suspicious open carrier, which I am tentatively pinning on Montsinéry due to previous behavior, e.g. on 11995, leaving transmitter on air long after end of scheduled broadcasts:
11740, Jan 29 at 0612, fast SAH upon weak station in French, which is ROMANIA, not what one might guess from old schedules, Vatican which now does not start here until 0700 (altho we know how unreliable they are too). 11740 is of course, the NHK GUF relay in English to NAm at 0500-0530 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MALI. 5995, Jan 29 at 0610, open carrier, S9+18, seems too strong for MALI, which does start around 0600 typically with very low modulation. But nothing else is scheduled. Considering the civil war in Mali, it`s fortunate that the government radio station stays on the air at all, but some modulation would be helpful. REE Costa Rica had previously in A-12 been on here by mistake, but tonight it`s on proper 5965 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PERU. 5980, Jan 29 at 0052 I start monitoring for the new R. Chaski, Cuzco. Good sign: there is CCI from two stations, but also splat from CRI Habana 5990 which is about to finish. At 0059 I am hearing both music and a Chinese announcement. Chi station timesignal ends at 0100* and off the air, still hearing instrumental music, maybe with a religious tinge? Muffled announcement follows. I have a pretty good ear for Spanish, but I could not recognize it as such, so Quechua? After another bit of music like a fanfare, more talk and now I definitely pick out a few Spanish words. This cuts off the air abruptly at 0104:50*. So altho I have not heard an ID, I am now positive it is R. Chaski. The Chinese station would be CNR1 jammer of VOA Tibetan via Sri Lanka. And no Cuban pulse jamming audible now, despite R. Martí in the madrugada.
News about R. Chaski from other sources: Thomas Nilsson in Sweden heard it January 23 during an earlier window at 22-23 UT and contacted the station. Reply came from one Bruce Maddux, so it would appear English is fine. He said they had begun in November after many years off the air, and Thomas was the first international listener to contact them. (We all have been remiss in not finding it before PFA did!) Station says schedule is 05-10 & 17-20 local time, rather than -22 as PFA first reported. 20 local = 01 UT, so this closure and the previous one I heard UT Jan 26 a few minutes after 01 fit that schedule. Thomas` recording of it a few days later:http://www.thomasn.sverige.net/5980-130126-2259z-Radio_Chaski.mp3
This was on exactly 5980.018. Seemed zero-beat with the ChiCom jammer to me, no SAH noticed.
Rafael Rodríguez in Colombia says it rebroadcasts the signal of Red Radio Integridad, matching the webcast at http://redradiointegridad.com
so expect to hear that ID as well as R. Chaski.
BTW, Pedro F. Arrunátegui in Lima has more Peruvian news for us: R. Ondas del Sur Oriente, Quillabamba just moved Jan 28 from 5120 to 4835.03, heard at 2310-2422 // Radio Felicidad 1110 in Lima, romantic music, but with local programming starting at 00 UT. His clip of it has been posted to the DXLD yg.
Not sure what the evening schedule is, when I never heard it on 5120, but last February, Dave Valko found the transmitter on long before modulation started in the mornings, 1104 one day, 1041 the next.
I wonder if the QSY also signifies it has become duly licensed and thus eligible for an in-band frequency. WRTH 2013 showed *no* callsign on 1 kW 5120, and a schedule of 10-03. I guess previous Peruvian on 4835, and still in Aoki, of course, R. Marañón, is long gone. Quillabamba will now collide with Sikkim in the mornings and/or VL8A as long as it keeps on 60m instead of 120m; and WWCR 4840 ACI on the air from 01 to 13 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SAUDI ARABIA. 15435, Jan 29 at 1507, the Buzzing Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is back! Nothing but a big buzz; at least it`s not spreading to other frequencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. Circa 1510 Jan 29, RHC fails to transmit a galaxy of spurs surrounding 11760 today, unlike yesterday; what`s wrong? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EAST TURKISTAN. 4850, Jan 29 at 0057 weak signal with some program modulation vs hi local noise level. Must be PBS Xinjiang, Kazakh service, 100 kW, ND from Urumqi as per Aoki, at 2340-0325; nothing else scheduled. BTW, following my recent remark, I see that Aoki has corrected all the spellings from ``Urumqui``! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also ETHIOPIA
** ETHIOPIA [and non]. 9565.6v, Jan 29 at 1512, big het no doubt caused by the always-off-frequency Ethiopia. It`s making a pitch on my keyboard primarily at E5 = 659 Hz, but shifting irregularly a semitone higher to about F5 = 698 Hz. Approached another way by counting the clix at 40-Hz steps above 9565 on the DX-398, I get 13 = only 0.52 kHz, so possibly the other weaker station it is hetting is slightly below 9565? Unlikely, as it must be CRI Chinese via Kashgar, only other thing scheduled. And before 1600 it`s not R. Ethiopia, but the clandestine service for Eritrea, V. of Democratic Alliance, until 1530 in Tigrinya Tue/Thu/Sat, other days Arabic per WRTH (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GUIANA FRENCH [and non]. Suspicious open carrier, which I am tentatively pinning on Montsinéry due to previous behavior, e.g. on 11995, leaving transmitter on air long after end of scheduled broadcasts:
11740, Jan 29 at 0612, fast SAH upon weak station in French, which is ROMANIA, not what one might guess from old schedules, Vatican which now does not start here until 0700 (altho we know how unreliable they are too). 11740 is of course, the NHK GUF relay in English to NAm at 0500-0530 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MALI. 5995, Jan 29 at 0610, open carrier, S9+18, seems too strong for MALI, which does start around 0600 typically with very low modulation. But nothing else is scheduled. Considering the civil war in Mali, it`s fortunate that the government radio station stays on the air at all, but some modulation would be helpful. REE Costa Rica had previously in A-12 been on here by mistake, but tonight it`s on proper 5965 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PERU. 5980, Jan 29 at 0052 I start monitoring for the new R. Chaski, Cuzco. Good sign: there is CCI from two stations, but also splat from CRI Habana 5990 which is about to finish. At 0059 I am hearing both music and a Chinese announcement. Chi station timesignal ends at 0100* and off the air, still hearing instrumental music, maybe with a religious tinge? Muffled announcement follows. I have a pretty good ear for Spanish, but I could not recognize it as such, so Quechua? After another bit of music like a fanfare, more talk and now I definitely pick out a few Spanish words. This cuts off the air abruptly at 0104:50*. So altho I have not heard an ID, I am now positive it is R. Chaski. The Chinese station would be CNR1 jammer of VOA Tibetan via Sri Lanka. And no Cuban pulse jamming audible now, despite R. Martí in the madrugada.
News about R. Chaski from other sources: Thomas Nilsson in Sweden heard it January 23 during an earlier window at 22-23 UT and contacted the station. Reply came from one Bruce Maddux, so it would appear English is fine. He said they had begun in November after many years off the air, and Thomas was the first international listener to contact them. (We all have been remiss in not finding it before PFA did!) Station says schedule is 05-10 & 17-20 local time, rather than -22 as PFA first reported. 20 local = 01 UT, so this closure and the previous one I heard UT Jan 26 a few minutes after 01 fit that schedule. Thomas` recording of it a few days later:http://www.thomasn.sverige.net/5980-130126-2259z-Radio_Chaski.mp3
This was on exactly 5980.018. Seemed zero-beat with the ChiCom jammer to me, no SAH noticed.
Rafael Rodríguez in Colombia says it rebroadcasts the signal of Red Radio Integridad, matching the webcast at http://redradiointegridad.com
so expect to hear that ID as well as R. Chaski.
BTW, Pedro F. Arrunátegui in Lima has more Peruvian news for us: R. Ondas del Sur Oriente, Quillabamba just moved Jan 28 from 5120 to 4835.03, heard at 2310-2422 // Radio Felicidad 1110 in Lima, romantic music, but with local programming starting at 00 UT. His clip of it has been posted to the DXLD yg.
Not sure what the evening schedule is, when I never heard it on 5120, but last February, Dave Valko found the transmitter on long before modulation started in the mornings, 1104 one day, 1041 the next.
I wonder if the QSY also signifies it has become duly licensed and thus eligible for an in-band frequency. WRTH 2013 showed *no* callsign on 1 kW 5120, and a schedule of 10-03. I guess previous Peruvian on 4835, and still in Aoki, of course, R. Marañón, is long gone. Quillabamba will now collide with Sikkim in the mornings and/or VL8A as long as it keeps on 60m instead of 120m; and WWCR 4840 ACI on the air from 01 to 13 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SAUDI ARABIA. 15435, Jan 29 at 1507, the Buzzing Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is back! Nothing but a big buzz; at least it`s not spreading to other frequencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
