** AUSTRALIA [and non]. 12085 & 12065, Feb 1 after 1800, JBA carriers here,
as all three RA frequencies are useless here at midday, along with 9580. The
same can be said of all three frequencies starting at 2100, when 17840 is
audible but only fair and fades after dark, while 15415 and 15240 are poor, not
aimed at us, and likely to be above the night MUF.
After 1800 Feb 1,
can`t hear Ascension`s Dandal Kura either on 12065 nor any carrier on 12055
which is also in the WEWN 12050 splash zone (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** BRAZIL. 11745 & 11815, Feb 2 at 0647, crackling spurs from
11780.1v RNA/RNB remain audible, barely (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** CHINA. 9155, Feb 2 at 1528, CNR1 jammer, fair with flutter.
Then a quick cursory tuneup OOB from 10 to 16 MHz finds no more propagating
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 5040, Feb 2 at 0627, now
this RHC frequency is in wrong language, Spanish instead of English. Not unusual
to find one on late with Spanish or in wrong language somewhere. English remains
on: 6000 undermodulated, 6060 absent!, 6100 & 6165 very good, still
overkill.
11950, Feb 2 at 1426, RHC is OFF. Maybe finally realized this
was supposed to quit at 1400 instead of 1500 as had been customary (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** FRANCE. 24950-USB, Feb 2 at 1425,
F5BBD is calling CQ 12 in English, Daniel from northern France a few km from the
Belgian border, making quick pro-forma US contacts such as with N9ETB; says
running 300 watts. QRZ.com shows:
F5BBD
DANIEL TAQUET
LE PRESBYTERE -
LAVAQUERESSE
F-02450 BOUE
France
Little else making it on 12m, let
alone 15, least of all K1N Navassa
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** GUYANA. Hi Glenn, I have the Voice of Guyana on the air at,
don't laugh, 400 watts. 3.290 MHz is the freq. I am going to repair a few more
amplifiers and get them up to about a kilowatt for now. Have to reconfigure the
combiner though. The antenna is in rough shape, but surprisingly being heard
well down into interior Guyana, which is the main purpose. (On a portable no
less!!) I'll keep you posted on how it's going. It's 80 degrees and very
"tropical" here now. Best Regards (Jamie Labadia, visiting Guyana, 0147 UT Feb
2, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Checking around 0300 UT Feb 2, I do have a JBA
carrier on 3290- via the DX-398 but not the PL-880 - could be it. Slightly on
the lo side; much weaker than 3320 S Africa, 3330 Canada. Will it be on
all-night?
After local noise sources diminish, Feb 2 at 0629 I try
again, and now a very poor signal on 3290- in English sounds like BBCWS, but not
// or not synchro with 9460.
Meanwhile after I post this news ASAP on the
DXLDyg, reports come in: Brandon Jordan in TN had it at 0333 on 3289.973, 0359
switching to BBC overnight feed just like they used to do. Bruce Portzer in
Seattle also had a carrier around 0500. Daniel Wyllyans in Brasil was already
hearing it as an unID. Forwarded these reports to Jamie and he replies at 1127
UT Feb 2:
``Yes, That's us!! That was a repeat of the Sunday afternoon
program. Made for great listening while working on the amplifiers --- Nat King
Cole, Glenn Miller, Woody Herman. Thanks to all of the great DXers out there. I
will be working on the transmitter until just after local sundown, then leave it
on the air until the next morning. Glenn, thank you very much for this great
resource. Surprised more engineers aren't using it as their "remote S meter"!!
Jamie``
He said he planned to put V of Guyana on a higher frequency for
better domestic coverage. 5950 used to be the daytime channel on the originally
10-kW transmitter, and it might be OK in the daytime now with possible het from
Bolivia on 5952+, but at night there would be clashes from Germany, Iran,
Ethiopia; and R. Pio XII until it closes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** INDIA. 9380, Feb 2 at 1402, open carrier/dead air, fair with
flutter and still at 1410. Presumed AIR Aligarh where National Channel is
supposed to start (including modulation) at 1320 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** INDONESIA. 9526-, Feb 2 at 1404, Voice of Indonesia, JBA
carrier on BFO but hardly strong enough even to make a 4+ kHz het with the China
Radio War on 9530. It`s been detectable every morning for a long time, but never
any more than that, so I have not bothered to log it. For the record, I do
today. At 1525 its presence is revealed by the <1 9525.0.="" a="" atsunori="" cri="" east="" english="" het="" href="http://rri.jpn.org/" ishida="" it="" kashgar="" khz="" makes="" on="" turkistan="" via="" with="">http://rri.jpn.org
logged it on the air every day
since November 20 but with some partial lapses and ``often poor modulation or no
modulation``. So the Voice of Indonesia has been reliably on air, but totally
useless (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA NORTH. 9850, Feb
2 at 1407, strident distorted talk in Korean, poor signal, obviously VOK,
audible once Havana quits circa 1400. Its entire span 11-14 collides with VOK on
238 degree beam, Commies vs Commies (Glenn Hauser, OK,M DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** NAVASSA. K1N ham DX-pedition had been reported by Dick Pache
to the DXLD yg as on the air, 7023 CW, Feb 2 at 0121, so I hunt for it on 80 and
40m phone around 0630 Feb 2, but no pileups, nor any on 20m around 1420. 17, 15
and 12m are hardly open yet. Then Feb 2 at 1750, I check the website for latest
info and nominal frequencies,
but the
FREQUENCIES and BAND PLAN pages show nothing specific! Confirmed anyway that
some of the ops had arrived and were on the air late Feb 1. Navassa is between
Jamaica and Haiti (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NEW ZEALAND.
9700, Feb 2 at 1409, RNZI on wrong frequency again! Nothing on 5950, but great
for us. VG signal with late-nite story show, 1430 about Sir Fred Hoyle, still
good at 1525 with music.
But wait! It`s no longer wrong as a revised
schedule has been posted:
tho
as always without saying so by changing the effective date!
``26 Oct 2014
[sic] - 28 Mar 2015 [sic]
UTC kHz Target
Days
0251-0400 17675 DRM Vanuatu Mon-Fri
0459-0759 11725
AM Pacific Daily
0651-0758 11690 DRM Tonga
Mon-Fri
0759-1058 9765 AM Pacific Daily
1059-1258 13840
AM NW Pacific, PNG, Timor Daily
1300-1550 9700 AM
Pacific Daily
1551-1650 9700 AM 9780 DRM Cook Islands, Samoa, Niue,
Tonga Daily
1651-1745 9700 AM 9780 DRM Cooks, Samoa, Niue, Tonga,
Daily
1746-1850 11725 AM 9780 DRM Cooks, Samoa, Niue, Tonga,
Daily
1851-2050 11725 AM 15720 DRM Samoa, Niue, Tonga, Daily
2051-2150
11725 AM 17675 DRM Solomon Islands AM Daily, DRM Sun-Fri
2151-0458 15720
AM Pacific Daily
2255-0200 17675 DRM Pacific Sun-Thu``
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 800, Feb 2 at
0030 UT, tuning by KQCV OKC, weather spot from KOCO-TV meteorologist ``for the
Bott network`` is obviously a day or two old judging from the forecast temps! I
suspect their religious views are just as wrong (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. I fear I have done an injustice to 1360 KDJW
Amarillo and 1420 KULY Ulysses KS, concluding that they are off-frequency due to
daytime hets against KPHN 1360 and KTJS 1420. In past weeks, hearing only a
daytime het on 1360, I had no reason to assume it was something local, but it so
happens that the 1420- het is an almost perfect match in pitch to the 1360+ het,
suggesting that they originate halfway between, from a station on 1390 putting
out matching spurs almost 30 kHz away!
Such as our strongest local
signal, KCRC Enid. Spurs are very weak by comparison and no modulation audible
on them, but they are quite steady, and as I drive around, somewhat stronger in
northern Enid closer to KCRC site than in southern Enid.
Also after dark
against the pileups on 1360 and 1420. At 0048 UT Feb 2 we drive right by the
KCRC site to see if the hets peak. Well, no, but then the huge RF from 1390
itself really desensitizes the caradio for tens of kHz around it. There are
1390s in all adjacent states, but hard to believe any of them could be
responsible for the steady spurs day and night. If KCRC ever cut its 24h
carrier(s), we could know for certain.
BTW, it was hard to see KCRC at
night on East Willow, since the three towers in a row have *no* lighting. I was
wondering whether this is legit, so asked Doug Smith about the rules:
``I
went by 1390 KCRC tonight, and noticed the tower lights were not on (or no
lights?). They have three towers in a row. Seems FCC AM Query has all the info
except how high they are, which ought to have a bearing on whether they must be
lit. What do you think?``
``A
good guess is actually present on that FCC page. This is going to format poorly
so I'm really just going to have to refer you back to the link. All three towers
show an "electrical height" of 91 degrees.
360 degrees is one wavelength.
One wavelength is the speed of transmission divided by the frequency. For all
intents and purposes, the "speed of transmission" is the speed of light, and the
units work out if you assume the speed of light is 300,000. Divide it by the
frequency in kilohertz.
So one wavelength at 1390 is 300,000/1390 = 216m.
91 degrees is 216m*(91/360) = 54.6m.
Now, that's the *electrical* height.
Usually, electrical and physical heights are the same. Sometimes, they aren't.
For example, if there's an FM station on one of the towers and they decide to
electrically
isolate the top of the tower - so that it's not part of the AM
array. Of course it's not unusual for the tower to be built atop a concrete pier
(to keep swamp water from shorting it to ground) so the physical height may be a
bit higher for that reason.
(electrical heights near 90 degrees tend to
concentrate power along the horizon, which is of course where stations would
like it to be. Such heights are pretty common. Indeed, I note all four of
KGWA-960's towers are 90 degrees in electrical height. Which, if you do the
math, works out to 78.1m.) Anyway:
Under FCC regulation 17.7, only towers
of at least 61m (200') must be registered with the FCC (that registration is in
turn forwarded to the FAA). I can't find a rule that specifically says so but my
understanding is that towers of less than 61m do not require lighting, unless
they're near an airport. And because KGWA's towers *are* more than 61m in
height, they *do* require lighting.
Interestingly, if you look at KCRC's
towers on Google Street View, there appears to be a light beacon atop the center
tower. Although it's hard to tell whether that's what it really is. I don't see
it on either end tower. I can't tell with KGWA; their towers are too far from
the road & there are trees in the way. == Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN
EM66`` Thanks, Doug! (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PAPUA
NEW GUINEA. 7325-, Feb 2 at 1411, JBA carrier, slightly on lo side compared to
9325 KTWR should it be accurate. Heavy ute QRM further on the lo side. This is
during the CRI break, a window for 1 kW Wantok Radio Light if possibly back on
after inactivity (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SUDAN [and
non]. 15550, Feb 2 at 1535, WJHR USB has escaped the big VATICAN signal of R.
Dabanga since it QSYed to 15555 (except for some splash), but now there`s
continuous tone jamming centered on 15550 also with a carrier but not enough to
completely modulate WJHR as if AM. The Sudanese jammers still haven`t caught on
that Dabanga has moved up 5! Which we first observed Jan 26. The tone is approx.
1 kHz, manifesting as weak carriers on 15549 and 15551, presumably until 1630 or
so (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 3995-LSB, approx.,
Feb 2 at 0640, a ham net for admirers of Kevin Alfred Strom, American Dissident
Voices --- remember him? Used to have own white-racist SW broadcasts, who is
``trying to save the white race – and the human race``. How nice of him to have
broadened his coverage. Ham laments the odds are against him as 99.9% of species
have allegedly perished over time. Mentions ``Liberty Net``, and gives call as
N2IRJ (or was it N2RJ? Both are valid calls so I won`t guess which is
responsible for this, but one`s surname if more foreign-looking than the other,
shudder) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 14902-USB, Feb
2 at 1529, YL NCS of a Tri-Blade net, i.e. Civil Air Patrol, calling various
regions and her transmitter beeps every time she stops, like a CBer; mostly very
poor signals. See my previous log of Dec 12 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1758 monitoring: confirmed Sunday Feb 1
at 2300 on WRMI 11580, good; also confirmed UT Monday Feb 2 at 0401 on webcast
of Area 51, and also on 5110v-AM WBCQ at 0427, poor. Next:
Mon 2201 on Global
24 via WRMI 9395
Tue 1200 on WRMI 9955
Wed 0401 on Global 24 via WRMI
9395
Wed 0730 & 1530 on Hamburger Lokalradio 7265-CUSB
Wed 1415 on
WRMI 9955
Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7490v
Wed 2201 on Global 24 via WRMI
9395
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9395, Feb 2 at
0256, Global 24 via WRMI is playing its favorite Bach fill music. `Dialogos
Media` is now scheduled at 02-03 UT Mondays, so ended early or not at all? G24
website says about it:
Dialogos
Radio is a non-profit, non-commercial weekly radio program featuring the best in
Greek music and culture, plus interviews with some of the biggest Greek and
international newsmakers, as part of the Dialogos Interview Series. Our
interviews have featured internationally-renowned scholars, bestselling authors,
Greek politicians and political representatives, esteemed economists, major
Greek musicians and bands, historians, world-renowned athletes, actors and
comedians, culinary experts, and many others as well. Through our broadcasts,
interviews, and weekly commentaries, we offer a fresh and alternative
perspective on politics and economics in Greece today, plus a positive
presentation at the wealth and diversity of modern Greek culture, music,
traditions, and more. Visit us online at
9395,
Monday Feb 2 at 1459 on Global 24, the `Lake Air` music hour is upwrapping,
mentions ``Quality Radio Produxions``, which is also source of some other G24
shows. No link on G24 grid, but I find it:
``From
the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York comes Lake Air. The program derives
its name from that of an FM radio station in the area whose official call
letters were WLKA. In the late 80s and early 90s, Lake Air offered its listeners
a unique mix of Contemporary Jazz, New Age, and Acoustic music. I absolutely
loved this station back then, and I do my best to recreate that sound for a new
generation. Each week, I feature classic tracks from artists and albums that
defined these genres, along with contemporary instrumentalists and singer /
songwriters. Take an hour out of your busy schedule to enjoy this unique music
mix. It's the sound of Lake Air.`` [who is ``I``?] Affiliate list does not
include Global 24. Sounds good but as usual I have been sidetracked at 1430 by
the more exotic Kurdish concert and better signal on 9400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 15550, WJHR gets jammed: see SUDAN [and
non]
** U S A. After two good sessions of midday MW skywave DX on Jan 31
and Feb 1, I try for another on Feb 2: at 1827 UT, 5 minutes before local mean
noon, pilot WGN 720 Chicago is audible, but much weaker now; also 670 has a SAH
presumably WSCR Chicago vs KLTT Denver. But nothing much else is making it on
the frequencies previously logged. By 1838 UT, parked in the powerless kite
field, WGN has become JBA. Something has changed, more than the sun being a
smidgin higher at zenith.
Doug Smith, TN, replied at 0508 UT Feb 2:
``Conditions simply change from time to time -- I think there is some amount of
skywave even at high noon this time of year. Apparently there is some aurora
tonight as 50 MHz propagation is being reported across northern Canada --
conditions were particularly good at the top end of the shortwave spectrum, with
LOUD signals from Japan on 28 MHz (but unfortunately little activity). I had
WSCR again around 1 pm CT in Clarksville``
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** U S A. 1530, Feb 2 at 0038 UT on caradio, a silly ballgame has
almost reached halftime in Spanish, local break on Univisión América, so
presumed KGBT Harlingen TX, 50/10 kW U2, despite a nite pattern with SW and SE
wings and a deep null to the north. Very few English versions are to be heard
across the band, but WOAI 1200 San Antonio has it; cost must be astronomical
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
This report despatched at 1924 UT
February 2
