** AUSTRALIA. 9580, Tue May 10 at 1231, RA goes from `The World`, ABC TV News
soundtrack, to `Australia Wide`, billed as a weekly program. Well, there is no
such title on the RA program roster, so is it a TV show too? `The World` is
scheduled to last a full hour from 1200, and appears to do so at next check May
12 as `The World` is outroduced at 1257 after a quick worldwide weather summary.
Maybe `Wide` is merely a sub-segment of `The World`?? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. 11910, May 11 at 1330, I`m checking again for
the anomalous CRI English programming, compared to 11900, but this time 11900 is
not audible. 11910 is very poor and unseems // 9570 via Cuba.
11910, May
12 at 1335, now I can hear both this and 11900, altho 11910 is very poor; 11900
is running 3 seconds ahead of Cuba 9570.
Peter W. Hanson in south Florida
reminds us on the DXLD yg: ``Hi Glenn, that 11910 frequency has always been
different from the rest of the CRI frequencies at 1300 UT. If I remember
correctly that used to be the REE relay on CRI. It broadcasts the Beijing Hour
now instead of what`s on 1008. Otherwise everything I've been able to monitor so
far on the rest of the CRI frequencies have played what is on the 1008 schedule
provided by Alan Roe``
Ah, yes, when the REE relays were canceled a
sesquiyear ago, 11910 stayed on the air and was immediately filled by CRI
programming, which evidently still hasn`t been integrated into their full
regular schedule. So now the only SW chance to hear the once-pervasive `Beijing
Hour` show? (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1825, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
**
CHINA. 16300, May 12 at 1244, Chinese talk at S5-S8, // 11825 but not synchro,
i.e. CNR1 jammer. For the first time in a long time, from 1235 I`ve done a
complete bandscan from 10000 kHz up, looking for these way out-of-banders, and
this is the first and only one I encounter. Aoki has 16300 as one of countless
jammed Sound of Hope frequencies from Taiwan, which could be on anytime between
22 and 16 UT. Remember the good ole days of Firedragons all over the place?
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 6100, May 10 at 0540,
RHC English is missing from this frequency, normally the strongest for us, while
remaining on 6165, 6060, 6000, 5040; sufficiently redundant.
6000, May 12
at 0630, RHC English is distorted during music on this frequency, but OK on //
6060, 6100 reactivated and 6165.
19070, May 12 at 1248, JBA carrier, 2 x
9535 harmonic from RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO.
1570, May 12 at 1208 UT, Mexican newscast, no doubt XERF with IMER`s `Antena
Radio`. I am logging this deliberately so I will have *something* to report in
the `Mostly Mexican` category this week, unlike last week. Trouble is, I am
rarely awake (if I can help it) as early as 1100 UT for SRS this time of year
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NIGERIA. 7254.934, May 12 at
0625 check, VON is on again at S8 but JBM in presumed Hausa (Glenn Hauser, OK,
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA [and non]. 1520, May 12 at 1210 UT,
country music equaling level of KOKC OKC, usual crummy STA rather than 50 kW,
i.e. KYND Cypress TX still making do with no ChiCom to relay, and producing SAH
of 32/minute or 0.53 Hz, just before KYND starts to fade down (Glenn Hauser, OK,
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SRI LANKA. 17720, May 12 at 1339, poor signal in
SW Asian language. HFCC shows it`s DW in Dari (Prs) via Trincomalee, 250 kW at
335 degrees at 1330-1400, plus 1400-1430 in Pashto. So 16m is showing a little
more life than usual (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A
[non]. 11965, fair May 12 at 1230, last few notes of `Yankee Doodle Dandy` as
VOA is signing off from somewhere: it`s Tinang, PHILIPPINES, after a semihour of
Burmese due west (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 12105,
May 10 at 2010, S9+20 dead air from WTWW-3, instead of Bibling Worldwide.
5085, May 11 at 0611, dead air from WTWW-2, instead of `Midnight [sic]
in the Desert` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A [and
non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1824 monitoring: confirmed Tuesday May 10 at 2330 on WBCQ,
9329.965-CUSB, fair. Also confirmed Wednesday May 11 during the 1315.5 broadcast
on WRMI 9955, fair. Also confirmed May 11 at 2100 on WBCQ webcast (again
preceded by a partial `WBC` ID courtesy of the automation), also heard poorly on
7490- at 2125 check.
WORLD OF RADIO 1825 monitoring: ready for first
airings Thu May 12:
Thu 1130 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Thu 2100 WRMI 13695 to
NW
Thu 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSE
Fri 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE
Fri
2130.5 WRMI 13695 to NW
Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 0630 HLR
6190-CUSB to SW
Sat 0700 Unique Radio 3210 NSW low-power
Sat 1400
Unique Radio 3210 NSW low-power
Sat 1430 HLR 7265-CUSB to SW
Sat 1930v
WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sun 0310v WA0RCR
1860-AM ND
Sun 0830 Unique Radio 3210 NSW low-power
Sun 2330 WBCQ
9330v-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW
Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area
51 to WSW
Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to
WSW
Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE
Tue 2330
WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Wed 1315.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v
to WSW
Wed 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** U S A. 11580, May 12 at 1332, no World Music but a gospel
huxter speaking slowly, with a SAH, not BS, not // 11825 WRMI, so is 11580 WRMI
or something else? At 1344, WRMI ID, and `Viva Miami`, when I discover that
unexpectedly 11580 is now // 9955. At 1420 recheck they are still // but with
World Music. `Bible Commentary` is the Thu 1330 program scheduled on 9955. (KTWR
is also on 11580 until 1330 except Saturdays until 1345, but in Vietnamese, then
switches to 11585 daily per HFCC)(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** U S A. 17775, May 12 at 1421, KVOH with emphatic preacher in
Spanish, good modulation this time and already S9+10 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 15825 & 13845, May 10 at 1248, VG signals
from the two highest WWCR frequencies at one megameter, so I know from these
useful only as pilots that there is sporadic E DX in play, still so after 1400.
DXmap shows MUF across North America of 93 MHz.
But first, there is also
tropo enhancement across OK and neighboring states. The Tulsa and Wichita
markets are certainly up, among others, checking from 1435 UT, providing at
least `bad` DTV signals on all these channels, besides the usual `local` OKC
ones: 51, 49, 48, 46, 45, 42, 36, 35, 31, 30, 28, 26, 22, 21, 20, 18, 14, 12,
11, 10, 8. Definitely 42, 35, 28 and 20 are Tulsa/Okmulgee/Muskogee stations,
decoding, so better than bad. Furthermore these OKC channels are also `bad`,
i.e. disrupted by DX QRM: 50, 33, 27, and maybe 7.
51 is particularly
interesting, where I haven`t seen anything since KSBI OKC moved to RF 23. And
anything on a channel so high as 51 is not long for this world of FCC auxions.
Could be LP in Tulsa, KXAP-LD, 15 kW with Estrella. Or it could be from The
Metroplex, KHFD-LD Dallas, judging from what I`m soon getting on FM.
At
1452 UT May 10, I move from the TV sets to the south-facing porch with the
DX-398 and PL-880, to see if I can pull any Es FM DX. But almost all the
channels are blocked by the enhanced OK/KS signals --- except the one I start
on, 87.75 MHz! Weak but steady so tropo, not Es, I am hearing a `radio` station
in Spanish, including ads, AC 214 phone number for a Chinese buffet, i.e.
Dallas, another AC 817 phone, i.e. Fort Worth. Also a Bible verse, some gospel
music, and at 1458 UT, ID as ``Aliento 87.7``, mentions ``la oveja perdida``
(lost sheep) and refers to May 10 being Dia de la Madre in some countries (not a
Sunday! Is it always May 10 there or always on a Tuesday??) 1459 UT ID with call
letters but missed them, just ``transmitiendo desde Dallas``, ad for Mueblería
Canales, gospel rock. 1508 UT canción ``Traigo mi Perfume``, another Aliento
87.7 ID in passing.
This is obviously one of those ``Franken-FMs``, a
low-power TV station pretending to be a radio station at the bottom of the FM
dial, necessitating lying about the real frequency, which is analog TV channel 6
audio. I don`t notice any ch 6 video to go with it, tho my TV and my FM DXing
are in separate locations.
Consulting W9WI.com later, the one in Dallas
is KZFW-LP, 3000 watts, programming E:Fn which means English: something,
financial? So that`s wrong. Offset is minus, meaning frequency is really 87.74
MHz. Both my receivers, which are merely using their rod antennas at near ground
level, agree it`s not really on 87.70, but hard to differentiate 87.74 from
87.75. The DX-398 is definitely more sensitive for this than the PL-880, despite
a bad antenna connexion degrading the DX-398 on HF.
Searching on the
slogan I easily find their website, http://www.alientofm.com The name
translates as breath, spirit, or encouragement, obviously an evangelical
buzzword.
There is also another station vying to capture the frequency,
in English, at 1511 UT starting to gain as Aliento is gradually fading. Must be
another tropo Franken-FM. By 1536 UT, Aliento is gone and I am still getting a
bit of the other one, but too weak to copy. Seems to be talk by a man,
occasional woman. A cursory check of lower FM frequencies does not find a match,
in case it`s local overload.
W9WI.com shows another ch 6 LP in nearby
Arlington TX, KBFW-LP, licensed for 3 kW and CP for 300 watts. Arlington is
awfully close to Dallas, between it and Fort Worth, so could both really be on
the air? But as above, Aliento has advertiser in FTW too.
I ask Doug
Smith of W9WI.com about this and he replies, ``The 300-watt CP is for conversion
to digital. The KBFW coordinates are a fair distance from KZFW so yes, I think
they can coexist. The FCC is far less optimistic about the coverage area of a TV
station than most of us DXers are :)``
I also check the WTFDA FM
Database, and it does list KZFW as a radio station, but not KBFW:
KZFW-LP
87.7 DALLAS TX None 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 32-35-09 96-58-05 Spanish Aliento 87.7
Religion
3.0 means kW ERP horizontal [not 300 watts as I misspeak on WOR
1825] with no vertical, really? and the other zeroes indicate unknown antenna
heights.
There are some others elsewhere in TX, beyond the known DX
opening area. WTFDA DB has three other Texans on 87.7, not including Arlington,
but San Antonio, Lubbock and Amarillo. And none in OK, KS or AR, tho there are a
total of 27 around the US. Amarillo is also Spanish, Lubbock is rock, so that
leaves maybe San Antonio, which is Christian, but only 500 watts (Glenn Hauser,
Enid OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1825, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 88.1,
May 11 at 1731 UT for a few minutes, bits of classical music, as I am checking
for sporadic-E DX once the DXmap MUF across America reaches 75 MHz. No classical
on 88.1 around here from OK stations (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 7345, May 12 at 1221, very poor carrier, so is it
Myanmar or Russia`s reactivated SW station? Evidently, R. Sakha stays on until
1400 on weekdays, per Mauno Ritola, until 1200 weekends. Ron Howard, California,
reported May 11: ``At 1225 both R. Sakha and Thazin Radio about equal and mixing
together on 7345, with // 7295 JBA with no QRM``
Wondering about the
current SR/SS times in Yakutsk, I finally find it in gaisma.com spelt with a J,
unlike other Russian transliterations:
*2133-1204*
UT as of today at latitude 62 north, equivalent to Faroe Islands or Gakona,
Alaska (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
This report despatched at
1835 UT May 12
