venerdì 29 novembre 2013

Glenn Hauser logs November 28-29, 2013

** CHINA [and non]. 9940, Thu Nov 28 at 1356 and earlier, notice that a Chinese language station has QRM from two carriers on lo side, approx. 9938 and 9939 until the victim goes off at 1358:55*. Aoki shows KTWR Guam northwestward at 1330-1400 in Cantonese on weekdays, Hui on weekends (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. 9355 and 9455, Nov 28 at 2027, Firedrake on both, fair with flutter, both against R. Free Asia, Mandarin via Saipan, neither audible here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA [non]. 7285, Nov 28 at 2031, fair signal from CRI with weather, then `Mediascan` segment of `China Drive`, item about lunar landing plans. Must be too soon for live airing in BJ at 4:30 am, or does drive time start really, really early? This is via ALBANIA toward W Europe but also USward.

Absolutely no QRhaM even tho this is a favorite AM frequency for North American hams. Thanksgiving afternoon must be an ideal time for escaping QRhaM, mostly recovering from turkey dinners or engrossed in stupid ballgames. Our hams also tend to congregate below 7200 avoiding the extra-regional broadcasters unless the lower hundred get too crowded (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. 5025, Nov 28 at 2039, R. Rebelde is already poorly audible, barely two hours after local mean noon. I should try to find how early it can be detected, maybe even across noon this time of year, as surely it can be closer to Cuba than our 2.1 megameters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. 6100, Nov 28 just as I tune in, music from RHC English cuts off the air at 0700*, and 6125 is not on. Apparently RHC has moved here, following Wolfgang Büschel`s advice to get off 6125 at 0500-0700, since it is now colliding with Spain until 0600. Need to check earlier next time.

So what`s happening to the other English frequencies? 6165 has just switched to Spanish in a today-in-history segment until cut off at 0701*. Typical slopperation. 6060 is already off. 6000 cuts to dead air amid music. 5040 is still on at 0701 with carrier.

13860, Nov 28 at 2012, the lysdexic slopperators at RadioCuba do it again --- putting the European service on 13860 by mistake, now in French with good signal and nothing on 13680.

11910-11970, Nov 28 at 2018, approximate range of pulse jamming bleed from 11930 against R. Martí, not symmetrical with more to the hi side than the lo. Tune up your jammers, Arnie.

11880, Nov 28 after 2100 and again before 2200, both RHC hours are still in French rather than the second in Portuguese (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. 7554, Nov 28 until 2029*, slow CW ending with AR AR AR SK, and I think preceding that were cut numbers, i.e. 10 letters replacing 5-digit spy number groups. First noticed as QRM to 7550 INDIA, q.v.

A new November issue of the ENIGMA newsletter is now available at
http://www.brogers.dsl.pipex.com/enigma2000/newsletters/CEN.pdf

Searching the 86-page PDF on 7554 gets a hit right on page 2:
``On 29/9 HM01 was heard on 7554 kHz at 2000z and 8135 kHz at 2300z. These should have both been M08a transmissions.`` And more about 7554 on pages 8, 27, 28 and in the schedule grid on page 84 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, Nov 28 at 2011, English preacher about Paul, fair signal, enough to tell it has some hum, i.e. R. Africa.

Remember that from December 1 if your hear R. Africa at 20-23 on 15190 it`s via WRMI Okeechobee. It will be interesting to check whether EqG keeps running the 15190 transmitter at other times, or even doesn`t get it turned off after 2000, QRMing itself (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GERMANY [non]. 9800, Nov 28 at 2023, heavy CCI from two stations about equal level: English is DW via RWANDA, and HFCC says the other is VOA Korean via PHILIPPINES. Both are aimed more or less USward beyond their intended targets (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** INDIA. 13640, Nov 28 at 2015, AIR going from drumming to classical vocal music, good signal with flutter. 2021 announcement in French. This is the half-sesquihour from 1945, 500 kW, 300 degrees from Bengaluru.

11670, Nov 28 at 2021, AIR music with very good signal; and // poor 7550 at 2028. 11670 is Bengaluru, 7550 Delhi-Khampur during Hindi hour also starting at 1945 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ISRAEL. 6885, Nov 29 at 0105, Galei Zahal with music, good signal, best yet, but got to keep tuning on, like to 6935 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** JAPAN. 6055, Thursday Nov 28 at 1320, R. Nikkei 1 is in French with words and phrases, long pauses, for a leçon; poor signal, and also on 3925, 9595. By 1405 it`s jazz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 6185-, Nov 28 at 2034, this early in the afternoon I can detect a carrier here, maybe just barely modulated at 2034, and suspect XEPPM which is off-frequency slightly to the lo side. Nominally on air only at 00-06 UT, but suspect carrier left on much longer (altho not usually more than a semihour after 0600). Someone in México DF could surely tell if I am correct about Radio Educación carrier in the daytime. HFCC shows what else it might be: CRI Arabic southward from Albania; Aoki shows nothing else either (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NORTH AMERICA. 6935-USB, Nov 29 at 0106, VG signal from pirate with music, enough that I can turn the RF gain all the way down. YL song is ``Beat of a Heart`` per lyrix and 0109 announcement, by Scandal
[Patti Smyth; here`s a version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agbJXp42DuM
on YouTube]. And ID in passing as Blue Ocean Radio, also prompting synthetic YL to ID. Wait a minute, this was acknowledging a request *from* B.O.R., another pirate. It was widely heard with good signal and IDed itself really as WDDR – Drunken DJ Radio, per
http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,14108.0.html
Recorded a bit of this 0108-0110:
http://www.w4uvh.net/WDDR6935.rm
where you will only hear Blue Ocean Radio mentioned. It seems the exact frequency was between the 40 Hz steps on the DX-398 BFO as the music never sounded quite right (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 89.5-WBFM, Nov 28 circa 1800 UT (midday), drove by the locale of last few years` `singing Xmas trees`, oil well lot at the NE corner of West Oak and Oakwood in western Enid --- and see they are set up temporarily again, secured by sandbags; as well as open carrier dead air again on 89.5 MHz. Has a Part 15 range of only a few blox on the caradio. Don`t know yet if they are back in business for another month after dark. I wonder what the row of houses across the street think of all the flashing lights, if not the music only on FM.

Here`s what it was like last year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsITj79AwCE
This video could use a few more views. I bet it`s exactly the same routine this year. Unfortunately the music pickup must have been too far from a caradio speaker. I wonder if anyone has seen the identical setup anywhere else? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** PERU [and non]. 5980, Nov 29 at 0057, CCI between VOA Tibetan Sri Lanka, and R. Chaski. VOA off at 0058:46* uncovering music from Chaski, very poor but better than usual and can make out Spanish words; no sign of the ChiCom jammer tonight. 0100:25, usual sounder introducing devotional, probably the anti-evolution Creation Moment nonsense, until cut off abruptly at 0103:32.5*, which is 11.5 seconds later than 48 hours ago (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ROMANIA. 7430, Nov 28 at 2030, fair-good signal with silly ballgame in Romanian, so it must be RRI: yet HFCC shows this hour in French from Galbeni, with Romanian at 19-20. Maybe this pre-empted the French service? First things, first.

7235, Nov 28 at 2032, RRI fair en castellano, also no QRhaM. Aoki can remove the x from this Tiganeshti frequency indicating it`s ``off the air``. Both are in Ivo Ivanov`s schedule just issued, with 7430 in Romanian, not French (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TURKEY. 5980, Nov 28 at 2035, Turkish music and announcements, poor signal but SSOB this early at 2:35 pm CST; it`s 250 kW, 310 degrees to Europe, also USward from Emirler in Turkish at 17-22 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [non]. 15620, Nov 28 at 2008, sounds like gospel music at first, but announcement clarifies it`s VOA French to Africa; per Aoki, this semi-hour only via São Tomé, 100 kW at 88 degrees. Suffers awful QRM from WEWN 15610 spur (see U S A). 15620 is heavily used by IBB, per HFCC; more VOA French at 1830-1900 daily is via Greenville. At other times, Sri Lanka in Somali, Botswana in Somali, Lampertheim in Adygey, Issoudun in Somali, Vatican in Somali. And also registered for CRI, Pakistan, FEBC Philippines (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 15618, Nov 28 at 2008, WEWN squealing squishy spur from 15610 English is making awful mess of 15620 victim, which during this semihour is VOA French via São Tomé [see USA [non]]. There`s a match on the lo side circa 15609 but nothing to beat against at the moment.

Now all three WEWN transmitters are squealing with spurs; the Spanish ones on 13830 at 2013, and on 12050 at 2016 have closer squeals peaking around plus and minus 4 kHz from each, and thus with normal reception bandwidth are audible when tuned to center frequency, while 15610`s are far enough away that 15610 itself sounds OK.

Next check at 0051 Nov 29, 11870 Spanish is squealing with the plus/minus 4 kHz spurpeaks; and 11520 English has the plus/minus 8 kHz spurs.

It seems no one else ever notes this, and Mother Angelica certainly doesn`t care, if she even know they are doing it. Other stations should give them a wide berth. We hearby dub WEWN, We Emit Wobbly Nasties or Radio Católica Chillida (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1697 monitoring: confirmed on WTWW-1, 9475, Thursday November 28 starting at 2201:36, excellent signal.

Next: UT Friday 0428v on WWRB 5050-USB and 3195-AM; UT Saturday 0300v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB; Saturday 0730 & 1530 on Hamburger Lokalradio 7265-CUSB;

Saturday 1600 on WRMI 9955, for the last time, via Hialeah with special QSL (see previous report); UT Sunday 0030 on WTWW-2 5085; Sunday 0501 on WTWW-1 5830 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ZANZIBAR. 11735, Nov 28 at 2020, ZBC fair with flutter, typical Ungujan vocal music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Atlantic MW carrier search, Nov 29 at 0115-0120 UT: as usual start with 1521 and there it is, no doubt Saudi. Then stepping downward thru entire band: 1503, 1215, 909, 882, 693. Also thru longwave broadcast band with no results (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 6900-SSB, Nov 28 at 1324 I pay a little more attention than usual to a Spanish language net which I assumed was from México. Biggest signal seems to be Armando in San Antonio (Tejas, presumably); other localities mentioned include Oaxaca and Atlanta. They are greeting each other with Acción-de-Gracias wishes, another clue this is mostly North of the border. Some of them QSY to ``9-10`` (6910), and use jargon like ``QTH``. Apparently this is the de facto 43-meter citizen`s band with a lot more reliable range than 11-m (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

This report dispatched at 0258 UT November 29