** ARGENTINA [non]. Re RAE German relay never appearing yet at new time and frequency supposed to start January 8, via WRMI of 1900 on 9395, Kai Ludwig replies,
``You seem to be the only one who takes notice of this at all. So far I have not seen a single question/comment from German-speaking countries. Which, I fear, says a lot``.
Today Jan 20 is Saturday, so RAE would not be on anyway, but the transmission is still running, confirmed direct at 1910, poor with music. So I check UTwente to find how this is getting into Europe:
At 1920-1930, 9395 is a JBA carrier! Yet 9390 bears Thailand in English news with a good readable signal. Algo VP also on 9400. How about the other WRMIs? 9455 brings us Firedragon jamming of RFA instead, which also QRMs it in North America. Even 11530, R. Herwa International at 1930 is JBA. 7780, the only one of these aimed toward Europe, has JBA music, presumably Oldies service. It`s hardly surprising that German on 9395, on a 355-degree beam to the NNW from Florida, 49 degrees off from the 44-degree European antennas, is not making it to Europe, and thus its absence would not be much noticed there. I expect all this also apply to Italian at 2000 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** AUSTRIA. 5930, Jan 21 at 0147, M&W conversing in unknown language, poor S4-S6 but audible since ``skip is long`` weakening 5935 WWCR. HFCC shows it`s BBC in prs = Dari via Moosbrunn, 300 kW at 95 degrees. Full span is 0030-0230, alternating with pus = Pashto; from 1 Feb to add another hour 0230-0330 in fas = Farsi from Moosbrunn in UZBekistan! Oops (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA [non]. 6175, Jan 20 at 2245, pop song, indeterminate language or ethnicity, good // weaker 7260. HFCC shows CRI Portuguese, 6175 Albania and 7260 Urumqi, East Turkistan (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 5040, Jan 20 at 0747, RHC English is still on, rather than stopping at 0700 an hour earlier than the sixies, all with weaker modulation, in descending order: 6060, 6100, 6000, 6165, but this time even the least of these overkills is sufficient, but why listen to it when you have all the better ones? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 15508, 15439, 15302, 15233, 15166, 15097, 15031, 14892, Jan 20 at 1538, quick check of RHC-FM spurs finds them around these spots about 69 kHz apart, accompanied by the constant F# tone above mid-C.
As to what causes them, ``There must be a technical explanation about how they arise. The 65-70 kHz typical intervals remind me of FM subcarrier frequencies, maybe not filtered out of their STLs?``
Kai Ludwig says, ``Has anyone outside the USA ever run such subcarrier services? But even if so, and even in Cuba: It can safely be ruled out that they feed a baseband signal for FM transmission to their shortwave facilities.
In fact these 65...70 kHz are very likely the switching frequency of the PDM/PSM modulator. A pretty common source of such spurious signals. Kai``. There you go, Arnie, fix it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [non]. 7435, Jan 20 at 0734, R. Martí is still running here // stronger 7355 and weaker 6030, but NOT on 5980, which used to take over from 7435 at 0700; mistake, or change? Latest HFCC of Jan 17 still shows OCB Spanish at 07-13 on 5980, and neither 7 MHz after 0700. Now opens up 5980 for the WWCR mixing products, q.v. It seems the jammers already know this.
BTW, generally, 7355 is stronger and clearer of jamming than its // on the same band, be it 7365, 7375 or 7435; not clear why, off here to the side of the beams toward Cuba, which means the comparison may be entirely different down there (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ITALY [non]. See USA: WRMI
** NETHERLANDS [non]. 6150, UT Sun Jan 21 at 0148, The Mighty KBC via GERMANY, Kraig Krist`s Forgotten Song is something from 1968 by the 1910 Fruit Company. Loud and clear (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NORTH AMERICA. 6940-USB, Jan 21 at 0134, rap music S9+15, 0138 robotic ID as Clever Name Radio over music; again at 0140 and off. Several scattered logs:
https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,39943.0.html
and it was back on a couple hours later in another thread. At first it was adjacent to 2-way Brazuguese on 6935-LSB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [non]. As I write this report, I am trying to enjoy first episode of new season of Blue Planet II on BBC America cable network. I must say it is among the *worst* insofar as jarring interruptions every 5 minutes or so for a bunch of commercials. And to think, BBC was once the paragon of non-commercial broadcasting. Must be why this episode is allotted a sesquihour instead of one hour. Or rather 10 extra minutes of ads crammed in, as it totals 1:10 plus 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes stuff. Adding insult to injury, inserted amid the adstrings are stay-tuned bitsies of what`s coming up, trying to fool us into unmuting early. Yet the program video in between the ads is breathtaking, the stereo music track, and the Attenborough narration first-rate. If only BBC had more self-respect (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1913 monitoring: Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, reports: ``GERMANY, Reception of World of Radio via HLR on 6190 CUSB,
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/reception-of-world-of-radio-via-hlr-on_20.html
Jan 20: 0730-0800 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg CEu English, good signal``
I confirmed via UTwente SDR, Saturday January 20 at 1550, the 1531 on HLR 6190-USB GERMANY, but I am barely audible beneath the two Chinese stations; unusable.
Alan Gale in England reports: ``Hi Glenn, HLR on 6190 was a reasonable signal up to around 1515 UT today, though with another station just audible underneath it, but then conditions changed, and during your
programme at 1530 the other station was dominating, though I could
tell you were there. Hopefully things will improve in the next few weeks as the days start to lengthen, and the QRM arrives here a bit later. It's back to 7780 at 2300 UT again tonight then, that has been
reasonable here in the UK since WRMI switched its programmes to that frequency. Alan``
I confirmed Saturday January 20 before 1730 on all three WRN feeds, but not exactly synchronized. See and hear via
http://babcock.media/world-radio-network/how-to-listen/
which also lists a number of WRN radio affiliates in USA, but not necessarily with us at this time, more likely overnight than 1700 UT; or 0230 UT Mondays.
WOR 1913 also confirmed Sat Jan 20 at 2230 on WBCQ, 9330.005v-CUSB, following the IS & The Planet ID loop at 2228, S9+10. Nice to have such a good signal now, since every other day of the week it`s normally inaudible by WOR time 2430.
Also confirmed Sat Jan 20 at 2300 on WRMI 7780, only fair. Also confirmed UT Sun Jan 21 at 0200 on WRMI 7780, S9-S7 but not much modulation punch; and some scratchy SSB ACI, which I find on 7777.00-USB, very poor, 2-way in Spanish; just as I am talking about Antarctica on 7775-USB!
Also confirmed, UT Sun Jan 21 at 0433 on WA0RCR, 1860-AM, MO, fair signal about 8 minutes into show which must have started circa 0425. Next:
Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW
Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 9455 to WNW
Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW
Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1914?]
Full WOR schedule via all media, podcast access:
http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9395, Sat Jan 20 at 0905, my brief awakening discovers AWR Wavescan at yet another secret WRMI airtime, feature about Jammu, so which episode is it? 9455 meanwhile is music fill, but presumably would be RAE Japanese on weekdays, still yet to be absolutely confirmed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also ARGENTINA
** U S A. 9455, Sat Jan 20 at 2150, WRMI with operatic tenor, old recording with distortion, Italian announcement, so that`s `Startrek Italy` as sked at 2145-2200. After 2200 on 9455, `Dub Politico` guy is saying he`s at 2100 on 7780 ex-11580, which may be so but now he`s on 9455 // 9955; while 7780 // 9395 are in Oldies, replacing M-F `The Power Hour`. At 2222 on 9395 Bob Bierman announces that he is on 9455; NOT.
It would be most helpful if WRMI could put up individual block schedules like 9955, for each frequency for every hour of every day that they are on air, rather than having to try to match up which ones are // which other ones at any particular time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 5850, UT Sunday January 21 at 0130, WRMI starts `IBC Radio`, DX program from Italy, with some logs out of DX Fanzine. VG signal, and not on the schedule at http://www.tinyurl.com/WRMIfqs
0158 I hear radiogram beeps on weak 9395 same as 5850, so add it too.
The program grids below the frequency grids have not been updated, still showing 11580 here and there but no 5850 at all at this hour. According to it, `IBC Radio` should be UT Sat 0130 on 5950 & ``11580``; and ALSO UT Sat 0130 on 9395 & 9455. I am adding times DX programs are *really* heard, also `Wavescan`, q.v., to DX/SWL/MEDIA programs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 5129.8v, Jan 21 at 0139, WBCQ a JBA carrier; 0205 a little better, S3-S5 music. John Carver, IN, says he could not hear Area 51 at all tonight due to an ill (solar) wind (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 5845, Jan 20 at 0745, Brother Scare can be heard mixing with Dead Gene Scott, thanks to the WWCR leapfrog mixing product of 5935 over 5890 another 45 kHz beyond. It`s weaker than the reverse leap on 5980, now uncovered by Martí staying on 7435, at least tonight. But no jamming to cope with on 5845, and no WRMI from 5850 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9475, Jan 20 at 2158, WTWW-1 is S9 to S9+20 of dead air. At 2200 a trace of crackle, as if modulation spikes are trying to break through; wiggle that patchcord! By 2232 it`s modulating but somewhat suptorted.
5085, UT Sun Jan 21 at 0204, no show, no signal from WTWW-2 for `Theatre Organ in the Ozarx` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 7505v, Jan 21 at 0206, no signal from WRNO; continues quite sporadic, altho maybe propped out tonight, or late coming on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 3215, 3195, 3185, UT Sun Jan 21 at 0136 and later, no activity from WWRB. After 0200, WWCR is on 3215 with `Martha Garvin`.
Kai Ludwig at 0109 UT Jan 21: ``Take a look at http://www.wwrb.org --- So allegedly he now goes on air only for six hours each on Saturdays and Sundays, UT Sat/Sun and Sun/Mon 2300-0200 on 3215 and 0200-0500 on 3185.
Next thing to check would of course be if this residual schedule is being implemented at all. Right now here in Europe traces of Russian (?) talk on very unclean carriers pop up and disappear again between 3214 and 3216 kHz. But there is no trace of a carrier on 3215 exactly`` NO, nothing yet (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1710, Jan 21 at 0207 UT, slow beat strumming music. Hard to get a fix on it, but seems about NW/SE, pointing to Bâton Rouge pirate Retén lo que Tienes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** VATICAN [non]. 7305, Jan 21 at 0155, Vatican News in Spanish via Greenville, pope speaking from Puerto Maldonado, Perú, and I fear he is going to get chopped off again at 0200; but just before then after 0159, YL host attempts to close, ``Termina así nuestro informativo, gra---`` before she is cut off. So it is supposed to be just a quarter hour now, violating Separation of Church and State, if they can only shave a few more seconds off it. Pope is on a big apologia tour of Latin America, and you`d think this would be the time to amplify rather than curtail SW broadcasts about it. But then, who brought about media reorganization? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 4886.50-USB, Jan 21 at 0143, 2-way in Spanish vs CODAR, a sesquikHz above 4885 Brazilians, but they get ACI from this unless LSB tuned (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also WORLD OF RADIO monitoring for another one of these on 7777.00-USB
UNIDENTIFIED. Re 6900-LSB: Later, I should have searched on ``Operacion Conejo``: it has something to do with Bugs Bunny cartoons, and a charity for children with cancer, e.g.
https://www.diariodelsur.com.mx/local/piden-colaborar-con-operacion-conejo-en-tapachula
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
This report dispatched, once, at 0554 UT January 21
