NOW UPDATED:
SWL/DX/MEDIA PROGRAMShttp://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html
WORLD OF RADIO SCHEDULEhttp://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
ALAN ROE`s HITLIST OF SW STATIONShttp://www.w4uvh.net/hitlist.htm
** BURMA [non]. 13870, Sept 4 at 1318, Burmese with good signal, and same heard 2.5 seconds later on 9335. 13870 is R Free Asia via TINIAN, 250 kW at 279 degrees, and exactly the same on 9335, but they are deliberately desynchronized to even out power consumption spikes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. 16100, Sept 4 at 1324, CNR1 jammer in talk, fair with flutter; no others found above or below in OOB areas (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDIA. 11670, Sept 4 at 1114, nice to hear the AIR IS, since we are deprived of it before some English broadcasts, as below. 1115 opening Thai. This is 500 kW due east from Bengaluru but fair signal even here, off the side and transpolar to boot.
13710, Sept 4 at 1320, open carrier already on, fair with flutter; just before 1323 continuous music starts but not the AIR IS. 9690 not yet heard or on. 10 seconds before 1330, announcement in unID language, presumably Tibetan as fed to other frequencies, and 1330 cut to opening GOS in English, stand by for news, but she`s no Paul Harvey (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** IRAN. 13785, Sept 4 at 1424, IRIB Arabic service, south from Kamalabad toward UAE, good with flutter, but modulation is rather lo-fi, degrading music especially (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 590, Sept 4 at 1145 UT, Spanish looping N/S, with 6:45 time, temp 22 C and converted to F, then call-in from woman listener complaining about some problem on her street. All clues point to XEFD in Reynosa, Tamaulipas on the border, likely on 5 kW day power by now.
As long as I can awaken before sunrise, now post-1200 UT, the SRS Mexicans are back in season --- one on practically every frequency in the 500s, 600s and some 700s, with the lowest and easternmost ones fading out first, like XEFD (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 610, Sept 4 at 1147 UT, weather forecast for next few days, CDT time, finally mentioning Sabinas in an ad, so XEBX in Coahuila (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 850, Sept 4 at 1157 UT, Mexican choral NA, 1158 into rock music in English, KOA talk easily nulled. I assume it`s the usual XEM, Milenio Radio in Chihuahua, Chihuahua (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 900, Sept 4 at 1200 UT, rock music in Spanish, 1202 ID as Hits FM 95.3 and mixed-choir Mexican NA; 1204 segué to Chihuahua anthem. Therefore it must be XEDT in Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, but IRCA Log of last year and Cantú show FM on 98.3, so I must have mis-heard; there is no Chihuahuan listed on 95.3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 920, Sept 4 at 1205 UT, choral Mexican NA is playing, but soon fading out. Assuming it`s circa 6 am local, likely but not positively, that narrows it down to the two stations in the four states on UT -6: XEQD in Chihuahua, and XECQ in Culiacán, of which XEQD is more likely (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 980, Sept 4 at 1208 UT, world newscast in Spanish with YL anchor, several clips in English from NATO/Wales, Cameron, Biden, voiced-over in Spanish; westish, but combating KMBZ and losing out by 1210. Likely the Antena Radio newscast from IMER station XEFQ in Cananea, Sonora, which really gets out for 1 kW, as heard several times before. I should have checked for // to 1570 XERF (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA [and non]. 1520, Sept 4 at 1214 UT, on KOKC I am astounded to hear as guest on `Mitchell in the Morning`, Matt Silverstein, the Democratic opponent to diminutive elderly pilot and Senator James Inhofe, making the point that Inhofe has been on the government payroll for 50 years, plenty long, but wants to stay on it. Inhofe has refused to debate Matt at five proposed town hall locations around the state. But nothing about him on today`s podcast info, instead some other guest amid the 3-hour show. See http://www.mattforoklahoma.com/
At 1215 UT the signal breaks briefly, and weakens a bit. This is official September sunrise for KOKC, when it goes from circle tangent toward the WNW to non-direxional day pattern. Then I am also hearing some CCI with a slow SAH, likely remnant of the CRI relay for Houston. But is KOKC still on reduced power STA? Latest letter in KOKC`s Correspondence Folder, http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=49393
dated May 20, 2014 includes:
``This is in reference to the request filed May 14, 2014, on behalf of Tyler Media L.L.C.. ("TML"). TML requests special temporary authority ("STA") to operate station KOKC(AM) with reduced power.' In support of the request, TML states that since late January of this year, the KOKC(AM) Nautel NX5O transmitter has blown 41 RF modules. Changes were made, however RF modules continued to fail and after a series of SWR trips, both Nautel and Jack Sellmeyer, P.E. advised KOKC(AM) to run 20 kW until the source of the SWR trips could be determined.
Eventually the station discovered that that SWR trips were being caused by a failing capacitor in tower 2. It has now been determined that both the tower 1 and tower 3 antenna tuning units, as well as tower 2, will require modification prior to conversion to the MoM pattern, therefore KOKC(AM) requests an STA to operate at a reduced power of 20 kilowatts. The station proposes to still operate nondirectionally during the daytime hours and directional at night.``
This was granted but expires on November 16, 2014 [Oklahoma statehood day in 1907y]. (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1737 monitoring: confirmed on WRMI, 9955, Thursday Sept 4 at 1230. Like R. Prague relay in previous semihour, combating Chinese service of France via TAIWAN which is also making a SAH from a slightly different frequency.
I had also checked at 1106, and at that time Franco-Chinese was way atop SAH, presumably WRMI not really propagating yet. However, at 1123 there was a LAH so did Taiwan temporarily shift further off-frequency or was there another transmitter, such as jamming imposed? I don`t think RFI had been jammed by the ChiCom before, but they`re getting more and more paranoid about foreign info penetrating, e.g. R. Japan in Chinese now being jammed. In the hour before sunrise here, other WRMI frequencies higher not making it either: 11825 at 1118, CCCCCCI instead; and Cuba also inaudible on 11760/11860/12010.
Back to WOR: remember to check the new airing, on 11580, Thursday at 2330. This is aimed NE toward Europe so in North America best reception will be up the east coast. Likewise Friday at 2130 on 15770, while simulcast on 7570 toward the northwest. Jeff White says they are working on a way not to delay episodes on the non-9955 channels, and:
Jeff White explains on Sept 4 the absence of 5950 lately: ``Glenn:
We have a problem with transmitter #1 which will probably be off the air for the next few days until a part arrives. Meantime, we have placed most of that programming on transmitter #14, which has altered the normal schedule on 14. That should be back to normal shortly.`` That is, #14, currently scheduled only for 5950 at 23-02, is substituting for the 22-06 UT programming of #1 on 7730 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 7555, Sept 4 at 1121, WEWN Spanish Rosary with heavy QRM from a TADIL-A bonker, never noted right on this frequency before but not usually listening at this hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Pacific MW carrier search, Sept 4 at 1150-1155 UT before sunrise here at 1205 today: just barely audible carrier on 774 kHz from the NW at 1150, and another on 1053 kHz at 1153. I am quite sure 774 is the prime TP signal we get, but rarely with audio, JOIB, NHK2, 500 kW from Sapporo, Japan. And 1053 likely the megawatt North Korean if not the South Korean jammer of unknown potency. Nothing yet from the other big-guns (or big`uns) from Japan on 693, 747, 828.
BTW, the tropical SW bands below 6 MHz were useless this morning, with storm noise, evidently from northern Illinois area, but no such problem on MW, where that area has already faded out beyond skywave propagation. OTOH, FE signals were good on 6-12 MHz.
I did step up to the top of the MW band with my usual technique which I will reëxplain once for this season: using only the DX-398 handheld with internal ferrite antenna, set on 9 kHz, but the zeroing is slightly off so if there is a carrier I hear a het with the BFO. Alternating between LSB and USB depending on which is further from 10-kHz North American QRM. Even with a very weak signal I can usually get a bearing from the NW in the case of east Asian sources. Unfortunately, a VCR is often putting out some hash at various unwanted MW spots. When I do a trans-Atlantic MW bandscan in the evenings, it`s normally from another location further from household QRM. If a TP or TA carrier is only 1 kHz from 10-kHz steps, it may be audible as a het without this procedure, e.g. Saudi 1521 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 8836-USB, Sept 4 at 1249, colloquial Spanish 2-way, whistling, references to putas, quick cambios --- this is in aeronautical band, above 8815 where the marine band ends perhttp://www.smeter.net/spectrum/aviation.php
Same type of crap we find all over the SW spectrum, on fixed and even broadcast band intruders (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
This report despatched at 1752 UT September 4
SWL/DX/MEDIA PROGRAMShttp://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html
WORLD OF RADIO SCHEDULEhttp://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
ALAN ROE`s HITLIST OF SW STATIONShttp://www.w4uvh.net/hitlist.htm
** BURMA [non]. 13870, Sept 4 at 1318, Burmese with good signal, and same heard 2.5 seconds later on 9335. 13870 is R Free Asia via TINIAN, 250 kW at 279 degrees, and exactly the same on 9335, but they are deliberately desynchronized to even out power consumption spikes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. 16100, Sept 4 at 1324, CNR1 jammer in talk, fair with flutter; no others found above or below in OOB areas (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDIA. 11670, Sept 4 at 1114, nice to hear the AIR IS, since we are deprived of it before some English broadcasts, as below. 1115 opening Thai. This is 500 kW due east from Bengaluru but fair signal even here, off the side and transpolar to boot.
13710, Sept 4 at 1320, open carrier already on, fair with flutter; just before 1323 continuous music starts but not the AIR IS. 9690 not yet heard or on. 10 seconds before 1330, announcement in unID language, presumably Tibetan as fed to other frequencies, and 1330 cut to opening GOS in English, stand by for news, but she`s no Paul Harvey (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** IRAN. 13785, Sept 4 at 1424, IRIB Arabic service, south from Kamalabad toward UAE, good with flutter, but modulation is rather lo-fi, degrading music especially (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 590, Sept 4 at 1145 UT, Spanish looping N/S, with 6:45 time, temp 22 C and converted to F, then call-in from woman listener complaining about some problem on her street. All clues point to XEFD in Reynosa, Tamaulipas on the border, likely on 5 kW day power by now.
As long as I can awaken before sunrise, now post-1200 UT, the SRS Mexicans are back in season --- one on practically every frequency in the 500s, 600s and some 700s, with the lowest and easternmost ones fading out first, like XEFD (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 610, Sept 4 at 1147 UT, weather forecast for next few days, CDT time, finally mentioning Sabinas in an ad, so XEBX in Coahuila (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 850, Sept 4 at 1157 UT, Mexican choral NA, 1158 into rock music in English, KOA talk easily nulled. I assume it`s the usual XEM, Milenio Radio in Chihuahua, Chihuahua (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 900, Sept 4 at 1200 UT, rock music in Spanish, 1202 ID as Hits FM 95.3 and mixed-choir Mexican NA; 1204 segué to Chihuahua anthem. Therefore it must be XEDT in Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, but IRCA Log of last year and Cantú show FM on 98.3, so I must have mis-heard; there is no Chihuahuan listed on 95.3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 920, Sept 4 at 1205 UT, choral Mexican NA is playing, but soon fading out. Assuming it`s circa 6 am local, likely but not positively, that narrows it down to the two stations in the four states on UT -6: XEQD in Chihuahua, and XECQ in Culiacán, of which XEQD is more likely (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 980, Sept 4 at 1208 UT, world newscast in Spanish with YL anchor, several clips in English from NATO/Wales, Cameron, Biden, voiced-over in Spanish; westish, but combating KMBZ and losing out by 1210. Likely the Antena Radio newscast from IMER station XEFQ in Cananea, Sonora, which really gets out for 1 kW, as heard several times before. I should have checked for // to 1570 XERF (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA [and non]. 1520, Sept 4 at 1214 UT, on KOKC I am astounded to hear as guest on `Mitchell in the Morning`, Matt Silverstein, the Democratic opponent to diminutive elderly pilot and Senator James Inhofe, making the point that Inhofe has been on the government payroll for 50 years, plenty long, but wants to stay on it. Inhofe has refused to debate Matt at five proposed town hall locations around the state. But nothing about him on today`s podcast info, instead some other guest amid the 3-hour show. See http://www.mattforoklahoma.com/
At 1215 UT the signal breaks briefly, and weakens a bit. This is official September sunrise for KOKC, when it goes from circle tangent toward the WNW to non-direxional day pattern. Then I am also hearing some CCI with a slow SAH, likely remnant of the CRI relay for Houston. But is KOKC still on reduced power STA? Latest letter in KOKC`s Correspondence Folder, http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=49393
dated May 20, 2014 includes:
``This is in reference to the request filed May 14, 2014, on behalf of Tyler Media L.L.C.. ("TML"). TML requests special temporary authority ("STA") to operate station KOKC(AM) with reduced power.' In support of the request, TML states that since late January of this year, the KOKC(AM) Nautel NX5O transmitter has blown 41 RF modules. Changes were made, however RF modules continued to fail and after a series of SWR trips, both Nautel and Jack Sellmeyer, P.E. advised KOKC(AM) to run 20 kW until the source of the SWR trips could be determined.
Eventually the station discovered that that SWR trips were being caused by a failing capacitor in tower 2. It has now been determined that both the tower 1 and tower 3 antenna tuning units, as well as tower 2, will require modification prior to conversion to the MoM pattern, therefore KOKC(AM) requests an STA to operate at a reduced power of 20 kilowatts. The station proposes to still operate nondirectionally during the daytime hours and directional at night.``
This was granted but expires on November 16, 2014 [Oklahoma statehood day in 1907y]. (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1737 monitoring: confirmed on WRMI, 9955, Thursday Sept 4 at 1230. Like R. Prague relay in previous semihour, combating Chinese service of France via TAIWAN which is also making a SAH from a slightly different frequency.
I had also checked at 1106, and at that time Franco-Chinese was way atop SAH, presumably WRMI not really propagating yet. However, at 1123 there was a LAH so did Taiwan temporarily shift further off-frequency or was there another transmitter, such as jamming imposed? I don`t think RFI had been jammed by the ChiCom before, but they`re getting more and more paranoid about foreign info penetrating, e.g. R. Japan in Chinese now being jammed. In the hour before sunrise here, other WRMI frequencies higher not making it either: 11825 at 1118, CCCCCCI instead; and Cuba also inaudible on 11760/11860/12010.
Back to WOR: remember to check the new airing, on 11580, Thursday at 2330. This is aimed NE toward Europe so in North America best reception will be up the east coast. Likewise Friday at 2130 on 15770, while simulcast on 7570 toward the northwest. Jeff White says they are working on a way not to delay episodes on the non-9955 channels, and:
Jeff White explains on Sept 4 the absence of 5950 lately: ``Glenn:
We have a problem with transmitter #1 which will probably be off the air for the next few days until a part arrives. Meantime, we have placed most of that programming on transmitter #14, which has altered the normal schedule on 14. That should be back to normal shortly.`` That is, #14, currently scheduled only for 5950 at 23-02, is substituting for the 22-06 UT programming of #1 on 7730 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 7555, Sept 4 at 1121, WEWN Spanish Rosary with heavy QRM from a TADIL-A bonker, never noted right on this frequency before but not usually listening at this hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Pacific MW carrier search, Sept 4 at 1150-1155 UT before sunrise here at 1205 today: just barely audible carrier on 774 kHz from the NW at 1150, and another on 1053 kHz at 1153. I am quite sure 774 is the prime TP signal we get, but rarely with audio, JOIB, NHK2, 500 kW from Sapporo, Japan. And 1053 likely the megawatt North Korean if not the South Korean jammer of unknown potency. Nothing yet from the other big-guns (or big`uns) from Japan on 693, 747, 828.
BTW, the tropical SW bands below 6 MHz were useless this morning, with storm noise, evidently from northern Illinois area, but no such problem on MW, where that area has already faded out beyond skywave propagation. OTOH, FE signals were good on 6-12 MHz.
I did step up to the top of the MW band with my usual technique which I will reëxplain once for this season: using only the DX-398 handheld with internal ferrite antenna, set on 9 kHz, but the zeroing is slightly off so if there is a carrier I hear a het with the BFO. Alternating between LSB and USB depending on which is further from 10-kHz North American QRM. Even with a very weak signal I can usually get a bearing from the NW in the case of east Asian sources. Unfortunately, a VCR is often putting out some hash at various unwanted MW spots. When I do a trans-Atlantic MW bandscan in the evenings, it`s normally from another location further from household QRM. If a TP or TA carrier is only 1 kHz from 10-kHz steps, it may be audible as a het without this procedure, e.g. Saudi 1521 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 8836-USB, Sept 4 at 1249, colloquial Spanish 2-way, whistling, references to putas, quick cambios --- this is in aeronautical band, above 8815 where the marine band ends perhttp://www.smeter.net/spectrum/aviation.php
Same type of crap we find all over the SW spectrum, on fixed and even broadcast band intruders (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
This report despatched at 1752 UT September 4
