** CUBA. 6100, April 18 at 1130, checking RHC which allegedly airs `Mesa Redonda` during this bihour on this frequency only, per its latest schedules, besides the live hour at 23-24 UT on 6000 & 11950 (4? or 5 days a week?). NO, 6100 same as mainstream RHC Spanish on // 6060. But this is a Big Day in Cuba, as the Commies are ``electing`` their next dictator, and apparently various local races. Results to be notified tomorrow. Also stuff about the Playa Girón anniversary --- they just can`t get over it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 13700, April 18 at 1318 check; and April 19 at 1333, No spur constellations across the 22 m band from RHC; what`s right? There`s always another day (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 530, April 18 circa 1830 UT and 2025 UT chex, ``K-530-AM``, Vance AFB, is still on but dead air instead of mostly irrelevant PSA loops; still same at 1552 UT check April 19 (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RWANDA [non]. As heard on NPR Morning Edition via KOSU, 1351 UT April 19: Science [sic] --- RWANDAN RECONCILIATION THROUGH RADIO SOAP OPERA --- Shankar Vedantam
In the ruins of the recently-ended Rwandan civil war, a team of radio performers attempted to unite Hutus and Tutsis through a soap opera.
The idea behind "Musekeweya," or "New Dawn," is to do the opposite of what the government's notorious "hate radio" did 20 years earlier.
Stephanie Aglietti/AFP/Getty Images [caption; link to 6:57 audio]:
https://www.npr.org/2018/04/19/603844651/rwandan-reconciliation-through-radio-soap-opera
(Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN. 15390, April 18 at 2023, REE distorted as usual, but no signal on 15520 which if on would be clear. Duh: if you`re going to turn one transmitter off, it should be the bad one! What about 16m? 17855 for North America is about S9, sufficient but not the bigsig it could have been. Nothing on 17715, so that one probably off too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U A E. 17745, April 19 at 1409, JBA carrier here, at least compensating for nothing on 17775 from KVOH. HFCC shows it`s BBC Somali, 250 kW, 225 degrees via DHA at 1400-1500 since March 31 (not 25), while on Saturdays expands to 1130-1600; silly ballgames? Also daily 1100-1130 on 5 degrees less azimuth of 220, why? UAE site means it`s probably off-frequency, so I should have measured it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K. Dear Babcock: Heard your 15640 kHz test transmission today April 19
Tune-in at 1340 UT with bits of various music, including steel drums, the Babcock Theme and periodic ``You are listening to a test transmission``. Occasionally also gives this email address. Keeps looping past 1408, but off at next check 1427.
It`s a steady S9, very light fading. Only equivalent signal on 19m band is Cuba 15230. Is this Woofferton? Nothing else from European area anything like it. Saudi is audible weakly on 15380. Or is it Ascension?
Do these test loop announcements ever emanate from any site but Woofferton? It would be helpful if the announcements also mentioned where they are coming from.
I also wonder about the antenna azimuth. If WOF, does it still have one suitable for North America? We`re all set for the BBCWS to resume . . .
I hope this has been useful, and will appreciate an answer to my questions, or even a QSL.
Receiver: Icom R75. Antenna: 100-foot E-W longwire
Glenn Hauser
P O Box 1684
Enid OK 73702
USA (to transmissiontest@gmail.com via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Received this reply in 10 minutes! ---
Hi Glenn, Well, we have all the 250 degree to 305 degree antennas on all the bands still in place at WOF so the BBC have only got to ask; but they seem to be internet and FM mad these days for grade A countries rather than as they would say crackly old HF!
You really need trump/Putin and Rocket Man to get going to stoke up the HF again.
VoV were the last to use those bearings after Sackville closed.
Martin 2E1EKX who made the loop deliberately did not mention WOF as the solo, only source as we generate more interest that way!
Thanks for your IRS checks to the Voice that bought us most of the WOF infrastructure over the last 60 years!
Below is a copy and paste of the standard info / QSL we send to the reporters.
Vy 73
Dave Porter G4OYX
30 years at WOF!
follows >>>
Hello, Thank you for your report and I confirm the details are correct. These transmissions were to fault-find on a 250/300 kW sender at the UK HF transmitter station at Woofferton.
These duration of these tests can be variable as the engineers can sometimes need a long time to establish a fault or they may interrupt the test, make an adjustment and resume. This is particularly so if the fault is of an intermittent nature.
Babcock, Woofferton is the only remaining UK HF sender broadcast station and also is the only one with this transmission test audio and email address.
The audio is contained in a file play-out system and incorporates non-copyright music and voice announcements from one of the engineers, Martin 2E1EKX at the transmitter site.
Thanks for your interest.
73
Dave G4OYX,
(Retired) Senior Transmitter Engineer Woofferton 1982-2012.
Check out the video presentation of Woofferton on
https://www.youtube.com/user/wooffertonuk
There is also the history of WOF on
http://www.bbceng.info/Technical%20Reviews/technical_reviews.htm
(via DXLD)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1926 monitoring: confirmed Wednesday April 18 at 2100 on WRMI 9955 (following IS & ID loop from 2057; also pulse jamming is building up: tnx a lot, Arnie!); and at same time on WBCQ 7490.09v: S8-S9, while 9955 is more like S9 with less band noise. Also confirmed Wed Apr 18 at 2330 on WBCQ 9329.667v-CUSB, good S9/S9+10. Next:
Thu 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 0629 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW [suspended until April 28]
Sat 1431 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW [suspended until April 28]
Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sat 2130 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 2300 WRMI 7780 to NE [not last week; canceled?]
Sun 0200 WRMI 7780 to NE
Sun 0310v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW [suspended until April 29]
Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0130 WRMI 5850 to NW, 5950 to S, 7780 to NE [NEW]
Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW
Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW
Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1927?]
Tue 2130 WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1927?]
Full WOR sked on all outlets, podcast access:
http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 5129.8, April 18 at 1141, WBCQ has resumed Brother Scare, despite rock music instead as of 0000 UT April 18, likewise 9330v, which so far is JBA.
[and non]. 9329.663v-CUSB, April 18 at 1320, now WBCQ is audible with reactivated BS, more modulation on USB but also some on LSB with slightly reduced carrier. And also a het from 9330.0: TWR-India via ARMENIA is now registered: 1300-1450, 300 kW, 100 degrees in various languages, but may not be using the entire span every day (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 5950, April 18 at 2338, Fámily Radio remnant in Spanish via WRMI this hour only --- and again, that subaudible heterodyne of regular fading from another transmitter a few Hz away from WRMI. What can it be?? Still nothing else known on 5950 at this time. It goes on past 0000 as previously noted, but not there later all-night when WRMI is still secretly running Oldies on 5950. WYFR/WRMI did not double up two transmitters & antennas on one frequency before, but maybe experimenting with that now? If so, they need to zero-beat them; or not, since it would be less obvious to the monitor (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1130, April 18 circa 1830 UT and 2025 UT chex, KLEY Wellington KS is still in total SNAFU with the carrier/modulation cut-ons and separate continuous fast noise bursts. Ditto at 1552 UT check April 19. I must get a recording of this for everyone to hear (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 6116.58-USB approx., April 19 at 0610, INTRUDERS, 2-way in tonal language, maybe Chinese; no broadcasters around at this time tho Japan & Congo should be on 6115-AM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
This report despatched at 1649 UT April 19
