** ARGENTINA [non]. 9455 // 9955, Jan 31 at 1252, it seems that another RAE relay via WRMI is MIA: Portuguese at 12-13 M-F. Instead I am hearing praise music by YL in English, ``We will join the angels when they sing``; 1254 cut incomplete to another song by same. I think the RAE hours do run a bit short, like 55 minutes, so there could be some fill afterwards, but unlikely this early. Need to check what happen at 1200, a time I am rarely awake. Only tnx to the lunar eclipse am I up by now today.
BTW, the just published WRTH Updater includes incorrect info for RAE/WRMI, including overlooking 9455 for this, if and when it exist: currently whatever is on 9955 between 12 and 15 is duplicated on 9455 (and also same pair at some other times as I have pointed out weeks ago). (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BAHRAIN [non]. 9745, Jan 31 at 1411, S Asian music, from TWR India via ARMENIA; not a hint of R. Bahrain, nor anywhen for me, supposedly on here 24h in CUSB. If you have only one SW frequency and one transmitter, better make it a good clear one. Too many stations have no clue about frequency management for their own benefit (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BONAIRE [and non]. 800, Feb 1 at 0001 UT, I am looking for PJB via its new 450 kW transmitter at the hour it is supposed to switch beams toward Cuba. As always KQCV OKC dominates on groundwave, but when I null it, I again hear CKLW ``AM 800`` with C&F temps, EST timecheck in news. Slow SAH. But when I am avoiding CKLW, not nulling KQCV I am also getting a third station with choral hymn, but seems English, and definitely English follows.
PJB was previously running English until 0030, but the WRTH Update shows until 0000. ID is now supposed to be ``Que Brille 800 AM Bonaire``, but I`ve seen no reports yet of anyone axually hearing that; why not keep the well-established name Radio Transmundial? They may well have been testing the 450 kW during the biweek before official inauguration evening of Jan 30. Nigel Pimblett in Dunmore, Alberta reported to IRCA earlier that UT day Jan 30: ``Good signal with "Radio Trans Mundial" ID at 0200 UT, so am guessing they're on with 450 kW power now.``
Jon Pearkins, IRCA DX Monitor via ARC said, ``The latest report on TWR’s web site, dated January 17th, indicates that the 9 person launch team was doing final testing last week. TWR web site graphics show a four tower array and a Figure 8 directional pattern with lobes NNW and SSE. The one to the North is directly at Florida and Cuba``
I assume NNW and North are rough approximations. On my globe I check out the real bearings more accurately: if it`s really NNW, 337.5 degrees, that would miss Cuba, to the east and hit North America at South Carolina, across to Wisconsin, Saskatchewan, northern Alberta, Yukon, northern Alaska. If they really are aiming at Cuba, a better azimuth would be about 320 degrees, right between Santiago and La Habana up the the length of the Antille, and this would also carry on thru LA, TX, just missing OK`s SW corner, but close enough to us. 315 would be exactly NW. Habana is about 1300 miles from Bonaire, which is a bit much for regular single-hop coverage, thus the brute force to compensate. Stgo. is only 800.
Schedule here
http://www.twrbonaire.com/broadcast_schedule/
shows English to Caribbean until 0030, then Spanish to the ``North``. I don`t find anything on that website about antenna details.
FCC AM Query contains data as far away as Bonaire, where it`s listed at PJB3, but very old info when they were still 500 kW ND. Now the question is, whether part of the time for the Caribbean they still operate ND, just reversing the direxional during the hours in Portuguese for Brasil.
I`m not really hot to hear PJB, as it wasn`t that hard with 100 kW, more interested in how much more damage it may cause now to North American stations.
Replying to my previous report, I also got this Jan 30 from my successor as WTFDA Statistics editor: ``Hi Glenn, Would you believe a couple (Dave & Shirley Smith - long time friends from Syracuse NY years) are staying overnight at our house here in Moncks Corner SC. They just came back from Bonaire where Dave and others helped with the final electrical touches of TWR Bonaire upgrades - I'll give him a copy of your email report - Fred Nordquist`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CANADA
** CANADA. 800, Jan 31 at 0638 UT, string of promos with non-IDs only as ``AM 800``, duh, we already know the frequency! One has a 519-area code, which chex for Windsor, i.e. CKLW, and back to C2CAM. Not hard to get this past KQCV OKC at right angle, really looking for the new 450 kW from PJB Bonaire. Supposed to be on the NNW beam toward Cuba and Florida at 0000-0300 only (Glenn Hauser, oK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 15579, 15510, 15440, 15301, 15232, 15165, 15096, 15029, 14961, Jan 31 at 1402, approx. centers of RHC-FM spurblobs out of 15370-AM, which has just signed on. Before then 19mb was clean but not much propagating yet. 14-16 is the schedule for this mess, today about 68-69 kHz intervals, the closer ones demodulating OK in FM always with the F# tone (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENNG DIGEST)
** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1915 monitoring: confirmed Wednesday January 31 at 1056 toward the end of the 1030 on WRMI 9455, and it`s VG, S9+10.. This is before sunrise; yet 9455 is often JBA just after sunset. Also confirmed Wed Jan 31 at 2200 on WBCQ 7489.963v, fair. Yet when checked circa 2115 it was on the plus side, about 7490.06. Frequency wavers slightly as I try to measure it to the Hz. Also confirmed but poorly, UT Thu Feb 1 at 0030 on WBCQ 9329.95v-CUSB. Next:
Thu 2230.5 WRMI 5850 to NW
Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW
Sat 1531 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW
Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 2300 WRMI 7780 to NE
Sun 0200 WRMI 7780 to NE
Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
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 #1915?]
Full WOR schedule via all media, podcast access:
http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9395 // 7780, Wed Jan 31 at 1357, WRMI ID by Biermann, and starting VOA News relay. I have a sense of foreboding, and sure enough, it`s cut off for a repeat of the BB ID at 1359.5, 1400 rejoining `The Power Hour` replay from yesterday afternoon. To point out the obvious? You should not start a VOA newscast unless you can stay with it for the full 5 minutes; and I hope VOA would be uncomfortable associating with the wackos at TPH, if they knew about it. TPH had been running earlier in the 13+ hour in a tuneby; scheduled 13-15 M-F.
The original live broadcast of TPH is still not getting on the WRMI air completely. Jan 31 at 2115, 7780 // 9395 are in Oldies instead of TPH, which may have started briefly at 2100. I find the program so off-putting that I just can`t listen continually to hear when it dump off, if at the same time each day per automation? Would-be live callers are out of luck. Has anyone complained to the program?
9455, meanwhile, Wed Jan 31 at 2115 starts `Viva Miami`, Jeff y Thaïs in Spanish recorded at a resort outside Kuala Lumpur in Malasia following last week`s HFCC. Not sure if this is the same ep I heard earlier referring to a Hawaii visit on the way back; and reception now is poor, so hope to catch one of the dozens of further repeats (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also ARGENTINA [non]
UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Atlantic JBA MW carrier search, 0636-0647 UT January 31: 549, 585, 612, 639, 666, 684 [despite WSCR IBOC], 693, 729, 747, 774*, 783, 801, 837, [no 846 not even Kiritimati], 855, 873, 882, 909, 936, 999, 1044(2 beating), 1053, 1089, 1098, 1116, 1125, 1215, 1269, 1305(2 beating), 1341, 1521, 1539 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
This report dispatched at 0135 UT February 1
