martedì 30 aprile 2013

Glenn Hauser logs April 28-29, 2013

** BANGLADESH. 15505, April 29 at *1356 approx., BB carrier with tone, 1358 IS, poor with flutter, timesignal ending at 1359:39, opening Urdu (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. Firedrake April 29 before 1300:
13795, poor at 1336 with CCI, continues to be the only one left. All the other former FD frequencies heard are occupied by CNR1 jamming:

12230, fair at 1234
13130, poor at 1238 with CCI
13830, poor at 1234
13850, poor-fair at 1234
13920, fair-good at 1234
14700, poor at 1240
15800, fair at 1242, not synch
16360, poor at 1245
17080, fair at 1249
17170, very poor at 1249
17300, poor at 1249; none in the 18s
That`s a total of 11 transmitters at once

Before 1400 April 29:
11500, poor at 1341
13830, fair at 1348; echo apart from 14700
13970, good at 1348
14700, fair at 1347
14980, very poor at 1347
15970, poor at 1343
16360, very poor at 1344
16920, fair at 1344
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. 11752, 11768, etc., April 29 at 1342, despite sufficient east Asian propagation today, the 8-kHz spur field from 11760 CNR1 jammer is inaudible, as it has been since last heard April 22, so apparently repaired again and/or moved elsewhere (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** IRAN. 13785, April 29 at 1237, Arabic modulation is distorted and suppressed compared to carrier level, worthy of Cairo, but instead per Aoki & EiBi, it`s IRIB, 0530-1427, 500 kW, 178 degrees from Kamalabad. Atop a weak Chinese? signal, nonesuch scheduled. 1348 recheck, Arabic music and talk, modulation much better now but overshadowed by Habana 13780 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** KUWAIT. 15540, Sunday April 28 at 2050, R. Kuwait English pauses for token news headlines; these had been missing on several recent chex; better than nothing, as I am seldom listening for the somewhat longer but still insufficient newscast at 1830.

17550, April 28 at 2303, R. Kuwait in Arabic akhbar (or is news = akbar; never can remember which), good signal with flutter on strange service to us from 2 am there, possibly propagating only in lighter/warmer months. In fact, it`s the second SSOB after Habana 17705 and nothing else of any significance on 16m (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MALI. 15505, April 28 at 2233, open carrier/dead air with flutter, as I am checking 15500 for Cumbre, where there is zilch. What`s this? O yes, HFCC reminds us that CRI Bamako relay is scheduled during this semihour only, in Chinese. So apparently it still exists, totally pointlessly (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 660, UT Monday April 29, I tune in even earlier at 0450 UT to hear Spanish preacher finishing with Monterrey address, 0451 ID for Radio ABC, XEFZ in Monterrey and into choral multiverse NA. Mixing with others and they overtake by 0456, but this virtually confirms it`s the station which had been broadcasting a big hum after the NA finished around 0500, but which is no longer heard (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 6185, April 29 at 0514, XEPPM, R. Educación is still not only on the air with carrier, but modulating it with news in Spanish; suspect it`s the relay of RFI which normally is suppressed from their SW transmitter after 0500, only on MW 1060; first heard report about eradicating malaria and its mosquitoes in Africa including Burkina Faso; next report from ``aquí en París``.

And it`s still/again on at 1222 when I awaken, Spanish talk and singing, story-telling? making fast SAH with Chinese; which one will fade out first? Hope it`s a new expanded all-night schedule like they used to do, but may have just forgotten to turn off the SW.

6010, meanwhile, is Mil-less at 1222, just CRI English JBA. However, Julián Santiago in the DF told me April 27: ``efectivamente XEOI está fuera del aire debido a una avería en el transmisor, misma que, el Ing. Rodríguez está reparando. Esperemos que pronto vuelva al aire`` --- transmitter breakdown which the engineer is repairing, and we hope will be back on air shortly (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** PERU. 5980, April 29 at 0053, R. Chaski carrier audible in hash with BFO; by 0103 can make out some talk before cutoff at 0104:41*. A pleasant 75 degrees on the porch with DX-398, but we have another cold snap coming. Yesterday`s reported timing was incorrect; should have been 0104:36.5*, as I forgot to add the 23-second correxion factor to my watch reading (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SARAWAK [non]. 17840, April 29 at 1246, surprised to find a new signal here, and promptly IDed in passing as Radio Free Sarawak during otherwise YL talk in presumed Iban, fairly sufficient signal, from where? Kashgar is in well on 16m, 17560, 17630, 17650, so could be as far as central Asia, unlikely Taiwan. Listened continuously and at 1252 OM speech to enthusiastic crowd inserting some English words, democracy, television control, Malaysia, ``you are disqualified as a democratic country``; 1254 dramatic music bit and other announcements, cut off the air in mid-sentence at 1258:20* without any further clews. They are still clueless in the studio that they should wrap it up by 1258.

Presumably now on here from 11 to 13, which could be a problem for BBC French via Ascension as scheduled in Aoki 1200-1230, before I intuned; or not: since that is not in EiBi or HFCC.

Presumably ex-15420/15430 where it had been this month, unchecked today. However, today`s Aoki has replaced those with:

15460 Radio Free Sarawak 1100-1300 1234567 Iban 250 45 Trincomalee CLN 08108E 0844N RFS a13 Apr. 28 [i.e. effective yesterday]. HFCC and EiBi do not show that 15460. I certainly did not notice it today either when tuning around. As usual, own website is wrong,
http://radiofreesarawak.org/ still showing long-gone 11600 in the title line, and 15430 at the top of the page (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SAUDI ARABIA. 15500, after my first log yesterday of this new frequency for BSKSA in Arabic from 1248 past 1400, several DXLD yg members were hearing it in English after 1600 almost until 2100: those are hours when BSKSA has long provided English on a domestic service, but refused to put it on even one SW transmitter. As we suspected, must have been test of possible new transmitter as several are being installed, since absent next day April 29 at 1245, 1344, 1400 and 1626 chex. We can only hope such a 5-hour English service on SW will eventually be permanentized (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SPAIN [non]. 5995, April 29 at 0520, REE COSTA RICA relay is again on wrong frequency after 0400 instead of vacant 5965. Seems this happens about once a week (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1666 monitoring: WTWW-2, 9930, Sunday April 28 at 2329, oh, oh, double audio, a Ted Randall `QSO` show playback mixed equally with ``Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport``, some fill music which frequently shows up on the WTWW playlist. No WOR at 2330, but mixture continues with other music; finally after canned ID, WOR 1666 starts at 2337, but is useless with the double audio feed thruout; also cuts off by 0001 April 29, and then 5085 exhibits the same mixture; this is also happening on the webcast. Once WOR finishes at 0006, only single audio.

I wasn`t able to reach anyone at WTWW in time to fix it, but later learned that Ted is in the hospital, and the computer decided to play two programs at once. Get well, Ted! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. April 28, checked the latest WHR online program schedule by searching on ``Marie Lamb`` as program host, to bring up all the alleged times for `DXing with Cumbre` (which are constantly changing), and noticed that it supposedly airs every half hour on one frequency or another between 2100 and 2330 Sundays! So I decided to check them all out:
2100 on 17540 – NOT ON AIR
2130 on 17510 – confirmed, but it`s last week`s show #750 from April 18. Marie is too busy at WAER/WCNY to do anything herself, just turns it over to some downunderite and Chris Lobdell; apparently none produced this week, as she has not announced a 751 on the DWC yg
2200 on 15180 AND 11775 – NOT ON AIR
2230 on 15500 T8WH – inaudible; but KSDA 15320 is not either for AWRWS
2300 on 17510 NOT ON AIR
That is typically what happens. Are all those imaginary frequencies on the WHR program schedule designed to fool paying clients? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 7506.4, April 29 at 0057, WRNO open carrier is on with VG signal, but still dead air at 0106 check. Congratulations, anyway on what sounds like a nice clean signal as long as it is unmodulated (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 690, UT Monday April 29 at 0500, KGGF Coffeyville KS sign-off, 0500.5 taps start(s) (is that singular or plural? One never hears of a single tap), to be followed by dead air all night tho unchecked. Don`t know what programming preceded it on a Sunday night, but on weeknights it`ll be back to JimBo unless they turn him off early (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 960, April 29 at 0500-0505 UT, KGWA Fox-hole, now occupied mostly by weak echoing ABC News, i.e. presumed KMA IA and KGKL TX on proper night parameters. No sign of USA-IRN news or WABG MS; was that a fluke? (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1080, April 29 at 0524 UT, some music making slow SAH with KRLD nulled as much as possible, and ``AM 10-80`` ID. Meanwhile I have to listen to `Texas Overnight with Charlie Jones` lamenting that some major TX newspapers are losing circulation not because of the web, but because they are ``too much like NPR``, i.e. too liberal for him. What bilge. KRLD is trying to out-right the `Redeye` competition on WBAP. Let CBS never be accused of liberalism!

Back to the unID: close to a right angle from Dallas, I suspect KGVY Green Valley AZ, (Tucson market with a webcam on Mt Lemmon) nostalgia, except it`s a 1 kW daytimer. I also had a tentative log of it before sunrise at 1223 UT September 23, 2011 as in DXLD 11-39. Website
http://www.kgvy1080.com/ says streaming is under construxion, so cannot check whether ``AM 1080`` is a typical non-ID for them, as it could be for any 1080. Note: we already know it is in AM and on 1080! What we need are call letters or something else unique, duh (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 9544.5-USB, April 29 at 0108, some weak 2-way intruder in Spanish. Picked a good spot with no broadcaster on 9545 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 12097-12098, Monday April 29 at 1228, extremely distorted FMy Asian language, not // CNR1 jammer on 11825; not KSDA which is OK far enough away on 12105 (and WTWW not on yet); also atop a very weak carrier on 12095, but prime suspect is FEBC Bocaue, PHILIPPINES, nominal 12095, scheduled in Iu Mien daily until 1230, and Achang at 1230-1245 except Thursdays. Aoki shows:
MIE   Mien / Iu Mien: S China (0.5m), Vietnam (0.3m)
ACH   Achang / Ngac'ang: Myanmar, South China (30,000)
Unfortunately I did not note whether this went off at 1245; next check at 1303 it was gone. If not, it would have to be a spur/mistune from further afield (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)