giovedì 28 marzo 2013

Glenn Hauser logs March 28, 2013

** ANTARCTICA. 15476, March 28 at 1320 check, for the record, still no trace of LRA36! Whatever became of their plans to reactivate this fall/winter season with a refurbished transmitter?? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BANGLADESH. 15105, March 28 at 1249, JBA signal but with that Bangladesh-Betar hum, so the 1230 English broadcast is starting to propagate this far west; while the 1400 Urdu service on 15505 has been coming thru well, but not today: 1358 very poor with tone, 1358.6 going to IS, 1400 timesignal 3.5 seconds slow (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BOLIVIA. 6135-, March 28 at 0107, grammar lesson about the word ``trabajar`` (to work) presented entirely in Spanish, i.e. Radio Santa Cruz. Still the biggest signal out of Bolivia. Has lucked out in B-12 with no major broadcaster CCI, and A-13 looks good too, with nothing scheduled anywhere on 6135 between 23 and 03 (not counting minor Brasilian and Korean transmitters) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CANADA [and non]. 990, March 28 at 0536 UT I am observing the collision between CBW Winnipeg and XET Monterrey (which is not supposed to happen with XET beaming exclusively southward at night). They take turns dominating, and in between there is a huge SAH of about 6 Hz. Initially, XET is so strong it is even splatter-QRMing 1000 KTOK OKC unless side-tuned upward.

At 0609, CBW is atop with `The World` also afternoons on public radio in the USA, about fracking causing earthquakes in Oklahoma! Next story about bee die-out loses to XET, announcer saying this is his show number 18,280 since 1963y. His speech is rather slurred; must be a bit tired by now or maybe it`s just the late hour. Assuming that`s 50 years` worth, the number works out just right for 365 shows a year! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** COSTA RICA. 9600-9660, March 28 at 0104, extent of the audible spread of REE DRM noise centered on 9630, again belying DRM Consortium claims that this very flawed mode occupies only 10 kHz of bandwidth. This bihour is a major reason why DRM should never have been allowed inside the standard AM SWBC bands, and should still be moved out to fixed utility bands. In this case silly Spain even interferes with itself on 9620-AM direct (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. 5073, March 28 at 0106, approx. center of Cuban-type pulse jamming, a stray? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** JAPAN [non]. 15190, March 28 at 1242, NHK World Radio Japan IS loop with IDs in Japanese and English, good signal, but off at next check 1248. Doomed GUIANA FRENCH relay left transmitter on beyond 1230 end of English which will air only two more days before oblivion, like the only other surviving N American broadcast, 0500 on 11740. It sounded so lonely (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 700, March 28 at 1202 UT, mentions ``red de Radio Red``, i.e. per Cantú:
700 XEDKR Radio Red AM Guadalajara, Jal. 10,000 150
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 750, March 28 at 1201 UT, XE NA, 1202 unfamiliar state anthem, 1204 full ID for La Huasteca, XHTI y XETI, sub-slogan ``la gigante``, i.e. per Cantú:
750 XETI La Huasteca + FM 90.5 Tempoal, Ver. 10,000 250
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 780, March 28 at 1205 UT, with KSPI Stillwater OK nulled (deeply tnx to groundwave), YL plugging website, can`t copy it, but no problem since then she says ``Buenos días, Coahuila,`` temp in Monclova, so it is per Cantú:
780 XEWGR Exa FM + FM 101.1 Monclova, Coah. 10,000 250
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 830, March 28 at 1159 UT, partial singing ID for ``Piedras Negras, Coahuila, la cien punto nueve FM``. So obviously XEIK, common border station here, altho Cantú does not yet show it on any FM dupe:
830 XEIK La Norteñita Piedras Negras, Coah. 5,000 D
But IRCA does, as XHIK 100.9 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO [and non]. 990, March 28 at 0536 UT I am observing the collision between CBW Winnipeg and XET Monterrey (which is not supposed to happen with XET beaming exclusively southward at night). They take turns dominating, and in between there is a huge SAH of about 6 Hz. Initially, XET is so strong it is even splatter-QRMing 1000 KTOK OKC unless side-tuned upward.

At 0609, CBW is atop with `The World` also on public radio in the USA, about fracking causing earthquakes in Oklahoma! Next story about bee die-out loses to XET, announcer saying this is his show number 18,280 since 1963y. His speech is rather slurred; must be a bit tired by now or maybe it`s just the late hour. Assuming that`s 50 years` worth, the number works out just right for 365 shows a year! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 1030, March 28 at 0603 UT, ``La Ke Buena`` slogan, romantic music; seems NE/SW but of the dozen 1030s in Cantú, two are allegedly daytimers and the only Ke Buena is:
1030 XELJ Ke buena + FM 105.7 León, Gto. 20,000 2,000

IRCA Mexican log agrees XELJ is the only Ke Buena on 1030, but shows it as 5/1 kW at 13-01 UT, and transmitter at Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco. WRTH 2013 also shows it must be XELJ but agrees with Cantú on the power, with IRCA on the site.

Could be a US station? No such slogan in NRC AM Log, but there is a SS in Memphis TN, 50/1/10 kW, WGSF, Radio Abiente [should be Ambiente = means background, great name for a station? Or more positively, environment] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NIGERIA. 15120, March 28 at 0552, gangnam-like music, fair signal from VON so it`s both on and propagating tonight, but with some hum, and the carrier is wobbly; then English announcement about the Nigerian music scene. If it`s got gangnam, it`s dispensable. Bring back traditional music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** PERU [and non]. 5980, March 28 at 0056, lite pulse jamming but tonight R. Chaski has enough signal to be recognizable as Spanish; streetlite fires on at 0056:50, 8 minutes after sunset here. 0059, Spanish is almost readable vs jamming, maybe only one unit funxioning, but 5990 CRI via CUBA and its splash again runs late past 0100 as `Beyond Beijing` is futilely opening in English, off before 0101 so I can then clearly hear the usual R. Chaski sounder and time the cutoff at 0101:53.5* which is another 5 sex later than last night (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ROMANIA. 17530, March 28 at 1250, great Romanian folk music, outro as the `Skylark` show, one of my all-time favorites, already over at 1253 for a 2-minute `Cooking Show` with a recipe which you`d better be taping if you want to copy the details; 1255 into sign-off routine with all the satellite parameters, ``good-bye`` and a few IS interations before going off. 17530 was the SSOB except for Cuba, // weaker 17765.

As usual with the A-seasons, in three more days RRI will be depriving deep North America of this morning hour in English, since it`s really for closer Europe, and like everything will be moving one UT hour earlier for the summer duration, at 11-12 on 17510 & 15210 USward, 15430 & 17670 elseward. Later on maybe we can still get some of it, if awake before 12.

Then there`s too long a gap until the next English hour at 17, on 9535 & 11740, also USward but on bands too low in the summer for us (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SOUTH AFRICA. 3320, March 28 at 0104, poor-fair signal in almost-Dutch Afrikaans, ergo R. Sonder Grense, helpfully running all-night (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 15590, March 28 at 1245, VOA Spanish plugging `Música Country` show, 1246 back to morning news magazine `Buenos Días, América`. NO Cuban jamming audible, nor on stronger // 13750, weaker 9885. For some reason Cuba seems to concentrate its jamming on VOA`s evening broadcasts (and 12000 jamming can be heard at many other hours against nothing); and/or still confused by the abrupt one-hour-earlier timeshift VOA inexplicably imposes only on its Spanish service when DST starts in Wáshington, for local convenience?

VOA Spanish SW broadcasts are endangered! Bombshell press release from March 26 says ``cross-border`` broadcasts to Latin America will be curtailed, among many others. The non-specific wording:

``The transmission reductions allow VOA to comply with budget cuts required by sequestration and to avoid furloughs of staff members.

When the new broadcast schedule goes into effect on March 31st, cross-border shortwave and medium wave broadcasts to Albania, Georgia, Iran and Latin America will be curtailed, along with English language broadcasts to the Middle East and Afghanistan.

VOA will continue to provide audiences in these regions with up-to-date news and information through a host of other platforms, including radio and TV affiliate stations, direct-to-home satellite, web streaming, mobile sites and social media.

The new broadcast schedule calls for reductions in some shortwave and medium wave radio broadcasts in Cantonese, Dari/Pashto, English to Africa, Khmer, Kurdish, Mandarin, Portuguese, Urdu and Vietnamese. Direct radio broadcasts to all of these regions will continue.``

The latest A-13 HFCC of March 28 still shows all the VOA Spanish broadcasts as originally planned thru Oct 27, but may really last only two more days, all Greenville:
Daily   1200-1300 on 9885, 13750, 15590
Mon-Fri 2330-0100 Tue-Sat on 5890, 9885, 12000

Greenville is losing 20 hours of programming, but not yet clear just what. VOA Spanish amounts to 14.5 hours per week (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1662: completed in time for first airing on WRMI 9955, UT Thursday March 28 at 0330; unconfirmed. Next:

Thursday 2100 on WTWW 9479; UT Friday 0330v on WWRB 3195 (and maybe 5050); UT Saturday 0130v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB; Saturday 0630 & 1430 on HLR 7265-CUSB; Saturday 1500 on WRMI 9955; Saturday 1730 on WRN via SiriusXM 120; Saturday 2330 [NEW] on WTWW 9930; UT Sunday 0400 on WTWW 5830 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. Re my reception of KSEY DX test, this e-mail received March 28 from the arranger and provider of the test material: ``Glenn, Based upon the details of your report for March 24, 2013 I can hereby confirm your reception of KSEY AM 1230 Seymour, TX at the times mentioned in your report. Thank you for taking the time to listen and file a reception report! Paul Walker``

I was hoping for an e-QSL card; available by p-mail only? Paul replies again: ``There's no e-qsl design. But a paper QSL is bring designed for mailed reports`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1340, March 28 at 1217 UT, atop the graveyard, ``Sportsradio 13-40, the band(?)`` Not sure of last word, plugs website, facebook, twitter. Loops ENE/WSW so not my groundwaver KGHM OKC. 1219 mentions Texas Tech. Aha, it`s really ``The Fan`` as in KKAM Lubbock TX, vide
http://1340thefan.com/ Distance between cities, if not transmitter/receiver sites, but close: 479 km = 298 miles. I don`t suppose that is a GY record (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. Encouraged by neighbor Richard Allen`s recent reports, I look for TP carriers March 28 before 1223 UT sunrise in Enid, finding these very weakies:
 774 at 1207 (surely Japan, but no 747 or 828)
 702 at 1208 (probably Australia)
 882 at 1209 (North Korea?)
1314 at 1210 (nothing over 50 kW in Japan, China)
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 1060, March 28 at 0601 UT, Mexican music, no fast SAH so I am hoping it`s something other than 10 kW daytime gospel cheater KIJN Farwell TX on the NM border, which is off-frequency and usually heard with the fast SAH if there is any competition. Then the fast SAH comes and goes. Maybe KIJN is just peaking so strong as to overcome any SAH-producer (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 1410, March 28 at 0602 UT, gospel huxter in Spanish with perceptible gringo accent atop the QRM for a moment, and seems NE/SW. IRCA Mexican Log has no 1410 station with a specifically religious format; the NRC AM Log for the USA points to KHCH Huntsville TX, Radio Amistad, but it was silent as of last April, and that`s at a right angle from the Houston market. Current status? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 1520, March 28 at 1214 UT, KOKC with heavy SAH of 32/minute = 0.53 Hz, but absolutely no other audio than KOKC with `America`s Morning News`. Some station not modulating, warming up for sign-on? Still there by 1230 during KOKC local news headlines. I also suspected KOKC self-QRM by running backup transmitter, but the SAH seemed to peak in its null (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 4775, March 28 at 0058 definitely two carriers here with BFO, one surely R. Tarma, Perú; R. Congonhas, Brasil, has not been confirmed active lately, leaving one other possibility, AIR Imphal, India. Same situation as my Feb 9 log (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)