July 2008 ABDX Journal
Vol 3. Issue 7
Editors Corner:
ABDX membership has reached a new record at 187 members! Your editor is now in Tennessee and
STILL looking for work.
TV and FM DX has been pretty good. Soon AM, LF and HF DX will be in full swing as
you read this in the hot month of August. September is just around the corner and MW
DX starts to pick up.
We enjoy seeing our members who have made it to the “Hall of Fame” for those of us
with faces for radio! It has been a very long time since we have had new additions to the
Rogues Gallery. If you are a member and want to be in the Rogues Gallery, send your pix
to webmaster@americanbroadcastdx.com. We would love to see you in the gallery.
Only submissions from ABDX members will be accepted unless the editor decides the information is so
important that it should be added. This will probably be very rare, Should you receive this and you are
not a member, go to this URL and tell us a little about yourself and we will consider you for
membership.
We have a CME for August after a hiatus last month.
ABDX presents the August CME suggested by Allen Willie!
The object of this CME is to log as many capital cities of states, provinces and nations on any
band as long as its broadcast and not point to point radio, amateur or military not meant for
general consumption. VOLMET and Marine WX broadcasts are ok. WX band broadcasts are
ok. HF and LF broadcasts are ok and not only ok but DESIRABLE.
Lets see what you all make of this capital idea of Allen's and send in some logs. Let's make the
ABDX Journal fatter than the Tokyo phone book!
This is the site to join ABDX.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ABDX/
To join ABDX by mail here’s where to send the mail:
ABDX-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
The ABDX website URL is:
www.abdx.org
The ABDX CME Journal is available to all at no cost. Please pass it around to your DXing friends and
also post it on other lists as well. We want as many as possible to see the Journal so we can grow the DX
hobby. Please do your part to keep our hobby viable.
You can get your copy of the journal at www.abdx.org
Kevin Redding, Phil Rafuse, Powell Way, Mike Richard, Jay Heyl and Martin Foltz the ABDX crew.
The Broadcast Band
Ira Elbert New III – Watkinsville, GA
Sony ICF 2010 or as listed
IEN-GA Ira Elbert New, III, Watkinsville - 2003 Isuzu Rodeo In-Dash Audio System 4340
1590 WRJS GA Swainsboro - 07/13/08 1848 - Braves Baseball mixed with Southern Gospel
music. Decent signal with fades. "AM 1590, Rejoice. WRJS".
1590 WCSL NC Cherryville - 07/13/08 1850 - Southern Gospel music rising over Braves
Baseball, and a weather forecast. Good signal with fades. "Your Home for Southern Gospel,
1590, WCSL", and ""WCSL Weather Center in Cherryville".
IEN-GA Ira Elbert New, III, Watkinsville - SANGEAN ATS 909 & SELECT-A-TENNA
1590 WLBN KY Lebanon - 07/13/08 2343 - Weather forecast into Oldies. Weak, but steady
signal above the late night static. "AM 1590, WLBN".
IEN-GA Ira Elbert New, III, Watkinsville - 2003 Isuzu Rodeo In-Dash Audio System 4340
1200 WJES SC Saluda - 07/13/08 1945 - Oldies. Good signal with occasional fades. "AM
1450, AM 1200".
1450 WCRS SC Greenwood - 07/13/08 1913 - Oldies. Good signal with occasional fades. "AM
1450, AM 1200".
Martin Foltz – Mission Viejo, CA
12-655
Any XE logs with slogans would be appreciated. Remember, 8-20 is ocho
viente and 820 is ocho cientos viente.
540 XESURF Tijuana, slogans "News Talk 12-60 and 5-40" and "AM 12-60 and 5-40", English
talk //KGIL-1260.
690 XEWW Rosarito, slogan heard is always "W Radio, La Voz del Pueblo"
730 XEEBC Ensenada, slogan "La Co Madre" reported in December.
790 XESU Mexicali, slogan heard was "7-90 AM y 105.9 FM" on 6/20/08.
820 XEABCA Mexicali, slogans heard "Radio ABC", "Radio Frontera", "8-20" and "Canal 820"
on 6/21/08.
850 XEZF Mexicali, slogans heard "ZF 8-50 AM" and "ZF La Mas Picuda on 6/21/08.
860 XEMO Tijuana, complete slogan is "La Poderosa 860 AM, La Estacion de los Grandes"
940 XEMMM Mexicali, slogans heard "Oldies 9-40" in English, "9-40 AM Oldies" and "9-40
Oldies" on 6/21/08. Some slogans are sung.
1030 XESDD Tijuana, listening right now and slogan is "La Tremenda 10-30 AM".
1470 XERCN Tijuana is "Radio Hispana 14-70, La Voz de las Californias", no tilde in Hispana.
Announced 10 KW, Uniradio, 7/16/08.
1700 XEPE Tijuana is "San Diego's 1700" or "The new San Diego 1700 AM" English talk.
Tonight in the car driving home after my Wednesday running club.
1999 4-Runner Car Radio:
1400 KAZGt Scottsdale AZ 7/23/08 7:30 PM PDT heard oldies and the slogan 14-40 Arizona
Gold. Mostly dominant for about 10 minutes. I'll have to try for this tomorrow night from home.
Phil Rafuse – Stratford, PEI
Drake R8 and LFE M601C or As Listed
7/1
For the last 2 hours or so, the TAs have been hopping in - I set the Icom R71A to its Ginsu
knife setting to keep the domestics spaced every 10 KHz out of the way. Antenna is the LF
Engineering M-601C with added ground system.
585 RNE 1 Madrid
603 France Info Lyon
639 RNE 1 A Coruna
648 BBC
675 Netherlands religious
684 RNE 1 Sevila
693 BBC
738 RNE 1 Barcelona
756 Germany
765 Option Musique Switzerland
774 RNE 1 various locations - synchros I presume
792 France Info Limoges
837 France Info Nancy
855 RNE 1 various
864 France Bleu Paris
909 BBC
945 France Bleu Toulose
1089 Talksport
1134 Croatia
1206 France Info Bordeaux
1215 Virgin Radio
1242 France Info Marseille
1377 France Info Lille
1395 Radio London in Netherlands
1422 Germany
There were others, but I wasn't sure what they were. Not bad for right in town and using an
active antenna.
7/8
1100 Radio Globo Sao Paulo Brazil - with what sounds like a live broadcast of a soccer game very fast talk [Supermouth would be proud] and frequent mentions of Sao Paulo, with
occassional reference to radio Globo. Not new for me, but its been about two, maybe three,
years since I've got a clear ID for them.
555 ZIZ St. Kitts - coming in like it was winter!
670 Cuba - been a while since it was this strong
710 Cuba solidly in the background of WOR
750 YVKS and CBC in NL duking it out - YVKS winning right now
770 WABC trashed - like there was a hole in the ionosphere or like
they were running 1KW
7/9
1220 KHz Radio Globo Rio de Janeiro Brazil - Excited talked, loads of
reverb.
Also, Radio Globo 1100 KHz from Sao Paulo at 10:25 p.m. ADT - same
gear as below. 1100 KHz is stronger than 1220, but even 1220 is
pretty strong at times.
Heard on a Drake R8 fed by the LF Engineering M-601C:
720 KHZ Simiutaq Greenland at 11:15 p.m. ADT Nice and strong, no sign
of WGN.
7/10
Fired up the Icom R71A - catching the two Radio Globo outlets I've snagged last night and the
night before - 1100 Sao Paulo and 1220 Rio de Janeiro throughout the evening. Several times
I picked them up on a Sangean PR-D5 with just its built in ferrite bar antenna.
Just now - 10:40 p.m. ADT, I'm listening to Egypt on 864 KHz on the R71A. Not exactly my
kind of programming, but I enjoy DXing from afar on MW.
Another nice surprise - a few minutes ago I picked up CHU on 14670 KHz. I don't believe I've
ever caught CHU on 14670 before. The Drake R8 just got hiss on 14670, but the Icom R71A
provided nice clear time pips and the English/French computer announcers.
Tonight the UK TAs seem to be doing well. Radio Farda has now succumbed to CFAV and
CKDO splatter. But Virgin 1215 and Talksport 1089 are hammering in on the R-390A. Set it at
1090, and its an almost perfect WBAL. Drop 1 KC, and its an almost perfect Talksport on
1089. The slice'em dice'em nature of the 2KC mechanical filter.
But, some of the other TAs are not doing so well. Switzerland 765 is barely audible.
Netherlands on 675 just enough to hear the classical style religious music [I sure miss Arrow
Classic Rock].
The Saudis are doing well on 1521 as always.
Glenn Hauser – Enid, OK
DX398
** OKLAHOMA. WQCL720, the TIS at Great Salt Plains State Park, NW of Enid on 1610 kHz
is still running a loop including info about the selenite crystal digging area as if it were open to
the public this summer, despite the fact that it is still closed to the public until at least 2009,
following the uncovering of toxic vials in 2007. Loop also cuts to relay of Enid`s NWS 162.475
MHz station every few minutes, but virtually unintelligible as not tuned in properly. We were in
the area July 5, 2008 on an aquarian expedition to the artesian spring nearby.
The lady at Park HQ was unaware of the selenite problem with the TIS, as she hasn`t listened
to it in ages and thinx the feds are responsible for it, anyway, i.e. the adjacent National Wildlife
Refuge. Yet there are signs all over the park telling people to tune to 1610. Unwary selenitehunters have a right to be upset about such absolutely wrong info being propagated. And
collapsible shovels for the purpose are still on sale for $9 near the front door of the visitor
center. See our previous items about this in DXLDs 7-050, 6-142, 6-140, 6-104
Rick Barton – Middle of Arizona
Drake R-8
MW with Panasonic RF-2200
1260 - XESA Culiacan, Sinaloa, MEX Very strong at 1200 ; 1208 w/ local spots,for
"Sinaloa" and "Culiacan". (Barton,AZ)
1330 - KGAK Gallup, NM 1339 with ID by M. into Tom-tomming and indigenous chanting,
but w/ unmistakeable "country road - take me home". John Denver meets the pow-wow.....?
mixing of English and native lang reminds me of "Taglish" heard on radio in the Philippines. All
heard 1300-1400 with loopstick null of co-channel KJLL , Tucson.
1020 - KCKN Roswell ,
NM 2045 w/ ID and nto "David Carrell" show. Hasn't been coming up of freq. as of late.
(Barton-AZ)
1140 - XEMR Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, MEX Dodgers baseball from
KSFN
0315 suddenly drops out to local spots, refrernces to "Monterrey". (Barton - AZ)
1320 KFNZ Salt Lake CIty , UT 0400 with ID and arena football p-by-p . (Barton-AZ)
1140 - CHRB High River, Alberta, EH! 11:20 Heard with clear rx for a few minutes with ID by
M and slogan "Southern Alberta's Cummunity Radio" , then faded into rumble. Somewhat of a
"regular" in Winter, havent heard now for several months, but intermittently alone or mixing
with unid. Mexican station this morning.(7/29 Barton-AZ)
Kevin Redding – Adamsville, TN
Receiver and Antenna as listed
Heard on a Grundig YB400PE and Q-Stick:
740 CHWO Toronto, ON 7/2 2315 playing a Burt Bacharach song.
750 WSB Atlanta, GA 7/2 2316 with ad for Neil Boortz.
760 WJR Detroit, MI 7/2 2317 and Dr. Laura
780 WBBM Chicago, IL 7/2 2317 with traffic report.
820 WBAP Ft. Worth, TX 7/2 2320 and ad for The Snoring Center.
870 WWL New Orleans, LA 7/2 2321 talking about local police and stopping a politician and
letting them off a DWI.
890 WLS Chicago, IL 7/2 2323 ad for WLS's wine program.
920 WMOK Metropolis, IL 7/3 2353 playing C&W "This Ain't My First Rodeo".
Heard on an Eton E-1 and RS Loop 7/5:
1290 WBTG Sheffield, AL 1333 playing NOS.
1340 WSBM Florence, AL 1342 Fox Sports Radio "The Ref".
1350 WKCU Corinth, MS 1347 running a stopset.
1370 WDXE Lawrenceburg, TN 1349 playing bluegrass.
1380 WNLA Indianola, MS 1351 playing gospel.
1390 WTJS Jackson, TN 1352 talking about Brett Favre.
1400 WJZH Clarkeville, TN 1353 playing a Marty Robbins song.
1410 WCMT Martin, TN 1408 with a talk show o/u WZZA.
1410 WZZA Tuscumbia, AL 1408 with gospel MX o/u WCMT.
1430 WPLN Nashville, TN 1412 with NPR programming.
1430 KHBM Monticello, AR 1415 playing Floyd Cramer then "You Belong to Me".
1450 WLAY Tuscumbia, AL 1420 with ID 1450 and 92.3
1460 WJAK Jackson, TN 1426 urban oldies.
1480 WBBP Memphis, TN 1427 with black gospel music.
1490 WDXL Lexington, TN 1429 bluegrass gospel music.
1510 WLAC Nashville, TN 1431 BoH ID and WX.
1540 KBOA Kennett, MO 1433 with ID and into NOS.
1550 WLOR Huntsville, AL 1435 with Alabama ads.
1550 WKIQ Parsons, TN 1436 playing bluegrass music.
1590 WVNA Tuscumbia, AL 1538 with Glenn Beck.
1600 WMQM Lakeland, TN 1448 with fire and brimstone preaching.
AM Logs heard on a Sony ICF-2010 and Q-stick:
790 WMC Memphis, TN 7/8 2345 C&W Hank Jr. "Whiskey Bent and Hell
Bound." Weak.
790 Radio Reloj Cuba 7/9 0010 with woman SS and RR morse code and
time pips.
Heard in a red 2006 Saturn Vue:
1590 WLBN Lebanon, KY 7/19 2100 in a messy soup and was not heard at
all until the only thing that popped up at ToH was their ID. Can't
beat that for a reverse Murphy.
Heard on a Superadio II nekkid:
540 WKFN Clarksdale, TN 7/19 1300 with ESPN Radio – Thanks to Glenn Hauser for the help.
Heard on a Eton E-10 and Q-Stick:
1620 WNRP Gulf Breeze, FL 7/20 1945 with Ft. Worth Cats playing the
Pensacola Pelicans of the American Association.
Heard on the porch with a Grundig S350DL nekkid:
710 WTPR Paris, TN 7/21 1148 playing the Bee Gees and "Night Fever".
730 WUMP Madison, AL 7/21 1215 with Jim Rome.
Grundig E-1 on whip;
1640 WTNI Biloxi, AL 7/21 1915 SS ads for Biloxi.
1530 WCKY Cincinnati, OH 1917 ESPN sports AFL football
1300 WMQM Lakeland,TN 1925 SS playing a cumbia
1260 WDKN Dickson, TN 1926 playing c&w
1220 WDYT Kings Mountain, NC 1929 The O'Reilly Factor
1070 WDIA Memphis, TN 1932 with urban contemporary
810 WCKA Jacksonville, AL 1935 still on high power with severe WX bulletin
720 WVCC Hogansville, GA 1938 with ID - The Voice
s350dl
1700 KKLF Richardson, TX 1954 Ranger and Cowboys news
1690 WVON chicago, il 1956 with oldies walk a mile in my shoes cbs news
1680 KRJO Monroe, LA 2007 strong with gospel
1670 WVVM Dry Branch, GA 2010 with SS baladas
1660 KXTR KC, KS 2010 violin concerto
1640 UNID 2013 SS guy requesting a Vicente Fernandez song, gets turned down by SS
woman announcer and she plays banda instead. I can only think of the station in Sandy, UT
but there probably is another.
1630 KCJJ Iowa City, IA 2018 baseball game one team is the Bobcats other is Roughriders.
1630 WRDW Augusta, GA 2020 with baseball weak
Heard in a 2004 gold Saturn Ion while going to pay AG&N feed store in Adamsville, TN for
replacement of the lawn mower blade I twisted into a pretzel on my orange 2008 Husqvarna
lawn tractor after running over a stump hidden in tall grass... :(
1470 WNAU New Albany, MS 7/30 1029 playing oldies and running an ad for the station with
ID and location in it. I've been chasing this for about 4 days. At least I got a new station out of it
while getting my pockets picked at the Husky shop. BTW the mower runs fine.
Heard on a GE 7-2882A Digital Superadio nekkid:
620 WJDX Jackson, MS 7/30 2048 with Braves baseball. The Braves suck this year so as
usual they were really getting spanked by the Cardinals 8 - 3.
Heard on a GE Superadio II:
1300 WNQM Nashville, TN 7/31 1045 with super wacked out ultra extreme mega screwball tin
helmet wearing conspiracy theorist show masquerading as religion. Kinda reminiscent of some
of the stuff on WWCR. Weak and fluttery for day skywave.
Tim Hall – Chula Vista, CA
Toyota Prius Car Radio
7/3
Last weekend I drove to Stockton and back. CalTrans had activated several long-silent HAR
stations to remind people of the new hands-free cell phone law that was about to go into
effect.
Here is what I noted along I-5:
530 WNWZ660 Castaic Lake Off the air; signs still up.
530 WPFK507 San Joaquin
On the air w/CalTrans cell phone announcement (female
announcer, got out well).
530 WPFK507 South Dos Palos On the air w/CalTrans cell phone announcement (female
announcer, got out poorly).
530 WPKN315 Tehachapi
On the air with city/emergency info.
1230 HAR
Anaheim (area) New larger sign on I-5 N near Angels stadium, but there has
seemingly never been a station here.
1610 WNXK966 Buttonwillow On the air w/CalTrans cell phone announcement (female
announcer, got out well).
1610 WNDQ665 Descanso
Still off the air; was probably lost in the 2003 fire, or possibly
the 2007 fire.
1610 WPNT814 Frazier Park Seems to have been replaced by WPVQ736.
1610 WPVQ736 Grapevine
On the air w/CalTrans cell phone announcement (female
announcer, got out well).
1610 WPET708 Gorman
Not on the air. Signs noted several miles south of listed
location.
1610 WPET708 Lebec
Seems to have been replaced by WPVQ736.
1610 KNEC996 Lost Hills
On the air (using these old calls) w/CalTrans cell phone
announcement (female announcer, got out poorly).
1610 WNXK966 Old River
On the air w/CalTrans cell phone announcement (male
announcer, got out well).
1610 WPFT815 San Joaquin Co. On the air w/CalTrans cell phone announcement.
1610 WPET708 Santa Clarita Not on the air.
1610 KNEC996 Saugus
Not on the air.
1610 KNEC996 Valencia
Not on the air. Signs still up on I-5.
Also noted a station on 1610 at Dodger stadium with parking information, advising people to
tune to KABC to hear the game.
Harry Helms – Corpus Christi, TX
Eton E-5
7/16
I discovered my local KCTA-1030 was finally off last night as they're supposed to be. The
channel was dominated from about 10:00 to 10:35 pm Central by XEQR, Radio Formula in
Mexico City with its "serious talk" format and by XEYC, Radio Formula, in Ciudad Juarez,
Chihuahua, with Spanish pop music and phone calls; both stations took turns dominating the
frequency. There was a third station way under those two with Spanish vocals which I
assumed was previously logged XEPAV, "La Pacosita," in Tampico, Tamaulipas. But at 10:30,
I heard the station give a call letter ID as "Equis, Ay, blah, blah, Emmay." The only station
listed here with M as the final letter in its call is XEMPM, Las Mochis, Sinaloa. While possible,
that seems like a bit of a stretch (and, no, I was not consuming any of Sinaloa's major exports
to the United States when I heard the call ID). Has there been a XE call change on 1030 I've
missed?
7/17
I spent some time today at Windward Beach on Windward Drive in Corpus Christi----this is
near the Holiday Inn resort, for those of you familiar with La Ciudad de Selena. This beach is
on the Gulf of Mexico instead of Corpus Christi Bay. While not a DXpedition, I took along my
Eton E5 and spent a few minutes scanning the AM band.
Signal levels were noticeably better than at my home along Oso Bay. For example, WWL-870
seemed as loud as KCTA-1030. I also noted some new signals, such as WLNO-1060 with
religion at a fair level. It is only a "flutter" at my home.
I noted signals on 690 and 880, which are vacant in daytime at my home. Both signals puzzle
me.
The 690 signal was at a fair level and was in Spanish. Format was pop music but I heard one
English song ("Dancing in the Moonlight" by King Harvest). The only thing resembling an ID I
heard was "Mega Radio" several times. Neither the Callarman nor the Cantu XE lists show a
station with that slogan on 690, so either a new slogan or a domestic along the Gulf coast
somewhere. Any ideas?
On 880, I heard a XE at a fair to poor level with the slogans "La Em-may" and "la mas musica
nortena." Per both Callarman and Cantu, this is likely XEEM in Rio Verde, San Luis Potosi.
However, that would be quite a haul over what is mainly a land path and I wonder if there is
another, less distant XE on this channel also using "la M" slogan. Again, I'd appreciate any
suggestions.
At any rate, my suspicions that CC will be a great place for sea path DX seem to be confirmed.
I can't wait for the crowds to disappear after Labor Day so I can lay out some wire along the
shore!
570 CUBA Radio Reloj dominated this channel last night (July 19). I tuned across at 10:59 pm
Central to hear a woman giving upcoming local times for various cities in Central and South
America, including those in their expected reception area (like San Juan, PR and Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic) and those well outside it (like Santiago, Chile and Montevideo,
Uruguay). At 11:00 pm, there was the minute tone, "RR" in Morse code, and the woman
started talking about "los ninos cubanos." I don't know if Radio Reloj always does this before
the hour, but it was interesting to hear.
640 CUBA/MEXICO Radio Progreso and XENQ, "La Ennay Koo," Tulancingo, Hidalgo, were
battling it out on this channel around 10:30-10:50 pm last night. Swinging the loop around let
me select between (to use some DX bulletin cliches) "typical Cuban music" and "typical
Mexican music." XENQ also had ads for Banco de Mexico, etc.
650 MEXICO Switched on the radio at 6:29 am Central this morning (July 20) in time to catch a
beautiful full ID at 6:30 for XETNT, Los Mochis, Sinaloa----included full call sign, transmitter
power, street address, phone number, boasted of 24 hour operation, etc. Very loud signal, and
I wonder if this is when they switch to day power? ID was followed by ranchera music and a DJ
who was shouting "eeyah! eeyah!" over the song. However, the sunrise terminator caused the
XETNT to fade into the mush by 6:40 am.
7/23
Listening from the northern fringes of Dolly, I note KVNS-1700 Brownsville is currently off the
air, leaving KKLF-1700 relaying KTCK-1310 with sports. By contrast, XESFT-780, Matamoros----just across the Rio Grande/Bravo (take your pick) from Brownsville----is in well here with
their usual music programming and "la tree-play tay" IDs; listening to them, you'd have no idea
a category 2 hurricane was on their doorstep!
Locally, KKTX-1360 is doing a good job with storm coverage. Corpus Christi Mayor Henry
Garrett has been in the studio today and was hilarious earlier this morning recounting his
interview on CNN ("The producer told me 'here are the things I want you to mention', and I told
him, I'm here in Corpus, you're in New York, and I don't need you to tell me what I should
say"). KROB-1510 in Robstown is a Tejano station and they've been providing coverage in
English, Spanish, and "Spanglish"----it's been a hoot to listen to! Also, KTSA-550 in San
Antonio has reporters in both Brownsville and Corpus doing live reports. Otherwise, however,
everyone in the affected area seems to be sticking to their usual satellite-fed/syndicated
programming, like KCTA-1030.
Some of the best coverage has been via the W5BCH repeater on 147.10. It was gripping to
listen a little over an hour ago when we had a tornado outbreak, including one on the bay that
was heading for downtown Corpus. All "roped out" before hitting land, fortunately.
So far, it's been like a strong cold front here with a lot of rain and some lightning, but conditions
should deteriorate later this afternoon. But I've broken out my hurricane preparedness kit---consisting of several bags of nacho chips, two cans of Cheez-Whiz aerosol cheese, two 12packs of Diet Dr. Pepper, and a stack of Spiderman comics I haven't read----and I'm ready to
ride out the storm.
From this morning, July 24, and all times Central:
1690 WMLB, Atlanta, Georgia, very nice at 5:35 am tune-in with some 1930s jazz----the kind
you heard on the soundtracks of RKO movies from that era----then ID of "you're listening to the
voice of the arts" and followed by Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street." Very strong signal at first,
but rapidly faded as the sun rose over Atlanta and was barely audible at 5:45 tune out.
1700 XEPE, Tecate, Baja California del Norte, nice with KKLF nulled and KVNS still off. First
noted at 5:25 am with back-to back ads for Bob Baker Chevrolet and Sycuan Casino, a little bit
of talk, then ID at 5:29 am as "Seventeen hundred, the talk of San Diego" followed by Mexican
Tourism Board spot read by woman, back into talk show with "Axel's Theme" from "Beverly
Hills Cop" as bumper music; show had male host. Good to hear a station from where I lived for
over a decade, and also to be able to hear AM stations from both coasts in the same listening
session, just like the good old days!
1700 WEUP, Huntsville, Alabama, assumed one with black gospel chorus at 5:50 tune-in;
good signal almost equal to KKLF (and obliterating XEPE) so I assume they were on day
power. Straight into second song by black gospel chorus with no ID or other announcement,
but wiped out at 5:59 am by KKLF's jump in signal strength as they switched to day power.
7/27
Per a check just a few minutes ago, KVNA-1700 is now back on the air. They were off since
Wednesday morning, when Hurricane Dolly made landfall near Brownsville, and were still off
as of approximately 10:00 am this morning when I last checked.
Norbert Ansay – Warwick, RI
Radiosophy HD Radio
7/18
Here is a local HD radio report heard on radiosophy :
550 Pawtucket R.I. radio disney blue light flashing on and off cannot
obtain a lock.
630 WPRO Providence HD turnd off
920 WHJJ Providence HD is on and locked
1290 PBS providence doing an excellent job hashing 1280 and 1300 but i
sure can't get a lock.
1370 WFEA Manchester NH 8:15 AM EDT gave calls 1370 wfea manchester
then back to music i forgot the song. 7/29/08
Michael J. Richard – Evanston, WY
Chrysler Car AM stereo radio
1470 KIID CA Sacramento 7/26/08 2115 Heard on my Chrysler Corp AM Stereo/FM Stereo
car radio. I knew it was radio disney but didn't know from where til I heard an ID. "AM 1470
Radio Disney Sacramento". In for about 5 minutes nicely. Never gotten this one before nor
did I expect it. I've caught KKTY Douglas, WY and KEPL Estes Park, CO here before but
that's it. Nice to find something new every once in a while.
The Whole Earth
Glenn Hauser – Enid, OK
Yaesu FRG 7
** CHINA. Firedrake, barely audible on 17550, July 1 at 1412, presumably against V. of Tibet,
whose frequency jumps around this area. Somewhat better Firedrake on 12260 at 1416,
against Sound of Hope. I don`t bother to relog all the usual Firedraxe against RFA, etc.
** CUBA. Surprised to find CRI English relay on 13760 instead of 13740, July 1 at 1414 check
and still at 1542. So it applies to both hours, 1400 and 1500. Nothing on 13740. 13760 had
been in use for RHC itself until 1500. Usual poor modulation and much weaker than RHC on
13680. So is this a second-semester permanent change from 13740 to 13760 for CRI, or a
mistake, or a temporary substitute with one transmitter down, or what? Time may tell
** TAIWAN [non]. RTI still going via WYFR, UT July 1 at 0200 on 9680, better here than 5950,
despite announced plan to drop English to NAm as of July 1. Maybe this will be gone UT July
2. I listened to the last dekaminute until 0300 in case they said anything, but no, and ran usual
closing announcement with full English schedule ``every day`` as if nothing were wrong; while
9680 went into WYFR Spanish at 0300, 5950 restarted the RTI English broadcast, now with
better signal. RTI`s German and French language web pages say those relays via WYFR are
terminated, but nothing about the same on the English pages
** CUBA. CRI relay back on usual 13740, with open carrier July 2 from *1347, 1400 English
program, while RHC was on 13760, still past 1440. The day before, CRI was on 13760 and no
RHC
** KUWAIT. Repetitive electronic melody on 15495, July 2 at 2117, thought maybe an
unknown IS, but soon into Arabic, R. Kuwait scheduled
** SINGAPORE. Reports that R. Singapore International has closed down at the end of June
are contradicted by a webcast I heard of the July 2 broadcast, via http://www.rsi.sg/
announcing clearly that they will close on August 1, after two weeks of special commemorative
programming about their 14-year existence. The English schedule is 1100-1400 on 6080,
6150, which I have not checked since June 30, but Victor Goonetilleke reported that 6080 was
missing July 1, and assumed it was all over. So is 6080 on or off?
** TAIWAN [non]. RTI via WYFR still there UT July 3 at 0200 on 5950, 9680; 0300 on 5950. In
April, RTI was surveying listeners in NAm asking among other things if they listen via radio or
internet, or both. See DXLD 8-050 and subsequent issues. It was thought they were
considering dropping WYFR relays, and indeed they have, but apparently not in English
** U S A. IBB Greenville burning taxpayer kilowatts on open carriers long before scheduled
transmissions, I just happened across July 2: at 1707-1708:30* on 17895; 1712 on 15410, with
CVC JBA underneath; 1714 on 9565, no jamming yet
** U S A. KVOH spur July 2 at 1709, somewhere between 17922 and 17923, impossible to
pinpoint a carrier. Ratchety noise matched modulation peaks on fundamental 17775
** U S A. WBCQ again with much better signal than originally on 15420-CUSB, Wednesday
July 2 at 1932 with anapestic-style New Mexico preacher; undecided now on gender of
speaker. Recheck at 2100, WORLD OF RADIO 1415 started promptly. This time it was offfrequency to the high side, about 15420.4
My SW DX monitoring had been severely curtailed by a huge buzzy line noise problem; finally
about a week after I filed a complaint with the electric company, it was gone the morning of
July 3, uncovering much lower level line noise which seems like paradise in comparison. All
my fingers are crossed.
** ALASKA. KNLS, best heard in English for a long time, July 3 at 1232 on 9780 with interview
about country music composition. Did not catch name of subject, but apparently well-known.
Unfortunately marred by Firedrake, but can you believe it, KNLS was axually on top! In their
Asian target area, it must be terrible. It is really not a good idea to be on the same frequency
as Taiwan in Chinese, even if it were not jammed! A trimonth, or if you prefer, two
sesquimonths, into the A-08 season, KNLS has not caught on that they need to get off this
frequency pronto.
This 1200-1300 outsending is the single English broadcast which is on both KNLS
transmitters, and it was also audible tho weaker on 7355, no QRM, which I discovered was
running about one second behind 9780. This cannot be accidental, so apparently KNLS is
another station with a deliberate time offset to even out power consumption.
1246 ID and into next feature, Profiles of Christian Music. At 1253 Rob Scobie (?) gave
complete English schedule: 11765 at 0800, 6890 at 1000, 7355 and 9780 at 1200, and 7355 at
1400, then concluding with ``The Summer Rain`` by Belinda Carlisle.
I was not lucky enough to run across Fred Osterman reading tips from DX LISTENING
DIGEST, as all the segments are at random in their magazine format, cleverly mixing in sacred
stuff with the secular, trapping unwary listeners into getting evangelized. KNLS English is
almost Special, slow and clear for the ESL masses in Asia. If only Indonesia would take note
** CHINA. 15375 with weak Firedrake aside huge RHC 15370 signal --- Commies vs
Commies! July 3 at 1330. Per Aoki, target is RFA Tibetan via UAE. Fortunately there were
dizaines of other much stronger Firedrake frequencies with little or no QRM, the closest being
15285; also 11990. See also ALASKA, CUBA for more Firedrake QRM mentions
** COSTA RICA. Tnx to my lowered local line noise level, I was pleased to hear REE relay on
5970 as late as 1355 July 3, fair // 15170
** CUBA. RHC, 11760, just open carrier, as happens all too frequently, July 3 at 1258, tho
11805, over Firedrake, and 12000, mixing with VOR IS, were modulating as usual. Tsk tsk,
that RHC`s uninterfered frequency on 25m is the one they neglect to modulate. Audio was
back at next check 1335. I happened to catch the frequency announcement at 1402 on 9550,
which it seems is always read live by the announcer, who I suspect is not an SWL or could not
possibly make such a slip, this time claiming to be on ``7000 y 6180 kHz`` on 49m; also
perpetually claims to be on 9600, which is never on at this hour, always closed at 1300
** CUBA [and non]. The DentroCuban Jamming Command again blox WORLD OF RADIO on
WRMI, 9955, during the scheduled UT Thursday 0530 broadcast, as nothing but jamming was
audible here at 0549 check July 3. Tnx a lot, Arnie! Whenever you hear DXers Unlimited
without jamming (which is always), remember this
** INDONESIA. I could hardly believe my ears, July 3 at 1307 in routine check whether VOI
was on 9525 or 9526 --- the latter, and it was in English! So heavily accented I was not sure at
first, but it was not Korean as scheduled during this hour. Has VOI finally heeded my pleas for
months, years, that they should put English on during this hour when reception is reliable in
C&W NAm?? Or is it another mixup as has happened before in the appearance of their
language segments, earthquake-rattled or not? Time may tell.
Meanwhile, I listened as much as I could, noting the following content: News by M finished at
1311 with ID. 1315 switched to W announcer who was much more intelligible, but 1318 back to
M. 1321 W introduced a music break, 1326 talking about a ``remote area of western
Kalimantan``. At 1324 the hum level increased; 1348 end of music program, ID, but more
music, sounds like conventional xylophone accompanying singer, but maybe an Indo
instrument. 1356 IS briefly and into open carrier with hum. *1357 CRI 9525 with usual musical
prélude to Russian broadcast to DVR, thus also aimed at us, and hetting VOI 9526
** KOREA SOUTH [non]. KBS World Radio relay via Sackville, 9650 in Korean, but
pronouncing station name in sort-of English, starting 1400 July 3 with theme music, horrible
audio quality; must be backup program feed via phone lines or something
** MYANMAR [non]. I have an awful time trying to hear any of the Myanma Radio frequencies.
I was hoping extended usage of 9731v would help, but not a trace even of a carrier, July 3 at
1252, under big signal from Taiwan`s Japanese service on 9735, which happens also to be
beamed to North America; and a weak carrier from something on 9730. Further chex during
following hour also fruitless, even at 1359 when Taiwan had closed
** NETHERLANDS [non]. R. Nederland is blocking the last few minutes of RNZI`s transmission
on 9655; July 3 at 1250 the IBB PHILIPPINES relay was already on with open carrier, as IBB
burns up more kilowatts for nothing. Is RN paying for 70+ instead of 60 minutes of airtime?
Made a SAH of about 7 Hz with much weaker RNZI. At 1259 RNZI was off, moved to 6170
[see also NEW ZEALAND], and RNW IS, opening in Dutch on 9655. This is usually audible
here, far from the target, 200 degrees from Tinang, tho much weaker than China-via-Canada
on adjacent 9650
** NEW ZEALAND [and non]. No trace of usual good signal from RNZI on 9615, at 0552 July
3; instead was hearing good signal on 9610 in African language which per EiBi is BBC
Rampisham in Hausa. That went off abruptly at 0559* and still not even a carrier on 9615.
Another month, another schedule change at RNZI? But none such notified yet.
After some shuteye, checked more RNZI frequencies: at 1250 it seemed to be on 9655, but
blotted out by open carrier already from IBB Tinang warming up to relay RN --- see
NETHERLANDS [non]. And 6170 *1259 with RNZI bellbird IS, 1300 news. 6170 still audible
with music at 1356.
Then I check website http://www.rnzi.com/pages/whatsnew.php#239 and find this:
``Transmitter Maintenance 02 Jul, 2008. 23:10 UTC: 1100-1800 NZT - There will some
interruption to our short-wave broadcasts today.`` That means UT July 1 from 2300 until UT
July 2 0600 --- but 9615 was missing almost 23 hours later! So what gives?
** SINGAPORE [and non]. Checking whether RSI is still on the air for another month: July 3 at
1227, very poor signal in English on 6080, presumably this, with even weaker co-channel. Per
Aoki, possibilities there are two transmitters in China, one in India; and also HCJB, which
judging from 6050 reception could still be barely audible here as about to outfade. Further
South Americans much less likely.
Walt Salmaniw, BC, confirms that RSI is still active on 6080 as of July 3 at 1220. And Ron
Howard, CA, as late as 1328. The previous evening, I let the RSI webcast play for hours, and it
continued to be interrupted by very long buffering pauses, but stayed connected. I heard
several replays of the announcement that their closedown would be August 1. Apparently the
webcast is a repeating loop and you must join it at whatever point, rather than being able to
start it at the beginning
** TURKEY. Partly tnx to my reduced line noise level, VOT English on 15450 was audible
again, tho not very strong, Thursday July 3 at 1305 as hourtop music break in Live from Turkey
was about to end. Too much else going on to stay with it this time, but I heard the Tuesday
July 1 edition at 1900 via webcast, when the announcers were perplexed by the just-breaking
news of the arrest of generals in the squabble over secularism, lamenting that they did not
know what was really going on in their own country
** U S A. VOA Spe-cial Eng-lish on 15565, which is Woofferton UK, July 3 at 1330 starting
feature about the 1920y elexion and Pres. Harding; also found one second behind at 1339 on
// 9465, which is Udon Thani, Thailand, per EiBi and Aoki
** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Have not heard Radio Solh, 17700 via Rampisham UK for some
weeks, and still not hearing it at all on the main rig, FRG-7 with external E-W longwire, but for
some reason it can become audible on the YB-400 normally clipped on to a much shorter wire
inside the house. July 4 at 1320, music was audible mixed with usual announcements --- have
they changed their playlist yet, or still exactly the same music as ever, day after day at exactly
the same minutes? The latter, since at 1346-1349 the CD was still skipping/sticking!
** ALASKA. Unlike July 3, when KNLS was on top, July 4 at 1253 on 9780, KNLS was
underneath Firedrake, but could make out KNLS again announcing its complete English
transmission schedule
** CHINA. V. of Tibet must be on 17565 today, since Firedrake was audible under VOA carrier
prior to 1400 Spanish sportscast, at 1355 July 4
** CUBA [and non]. Today`s RHC anomaly, July 4: Just as I tuned into 9550 at 1245, I heard
one word, ``Habana`` and cut off the air, remained off for at least a few minutes. 9600 was still
going OK, as well as the buzzy CRI relay on 9570. 9550 back on at 1347 recheck.
Jamming pulses against nothing on 9885, July 4 at 1252. This is a VOA Spanish frequency but
only between 2300 and 0200, and only a fraxion of that is specifically for Cuba. This was also
bothering ``Jesus Saves`` IS on 9890 at 1256 and Chinese ID as FEBC Manila was about to
open Khams Tibetan, per Aoki schedule
** INDONESIA. VOI again in English during the 1300 UT hour July 4, so seems to be a
deliberate change in schedule. The old lineup was 1200 Japanese, 1300 Korean, 1400
Indonesian. I tuned in 9526 (no, not 9525), at 1240 and found Indonesian announcements and
music, not Japanese. 1257 ID and IS in Indo with PO Box.
1258 already into English ID, ``Voice of Indonesia in Jakarta, the overseas service of RRI, on
9525, 11785, 15150, http://www.voi.co.id --- stay tuned``.
1259 English program summary, including, since I did not catch them all, News, Commentary,
Today in History, Focus, Indonesian Wonders, Music for Now, and announcer gave today`s
date, July 4.
1311 Commentary was titled ``Education --- the Right for All``. Text was soon apparent at
http://www.voi.co.id/news/17/tahun/2008/bulan/07/tanggal/04/id/1561/
Signal was only fair but I could detect lite hum. 1313 Today in History about US Independence
Day, thank you. 1315 Focus, on community health.
Since CRI 9525 was too much QRM from *1357, I could not tell what language VOI was in for
the next hour, but maybe not Indonesian any more. When have Japanese and Korean gone?
No schedule at all found on the above website. So I tried to enter this message on their
otherwise empty guestbook at http://www.voi.co.id/index.php/guestbook/add/
``Thank you VERY MUCH, for following my suggestions that you broadcast in English at 1300
UT, when we can hear VOI well in North America on 9526! As monitored July 3 and 4. But
what is your new language schedule? This replaces Korean, and also I hear Indonesian
instead of Japanese before 1300.``
I am not sure if it registered, as the response was red and only in Indonesian, even tho I
correctly entered the code, twice, ``Kode tidak sama`` -- how come Indonesian, one of the
world`s major languages, is not among the Google language translation tools? Not seen
immediately when I ``view guestbook``
** NETHERLANDS [non]. Not only is RNW interfering with RNZI on 9655 by an open carrier,
but tone test too, as noted July 4 at 1250. SAH of 7 Hz, and RNZI barely audible underneath.
This of course is the doing of IBB Tinang, Philippines, but can RNW and RNZI prevail upon
them to crash-start as long as RNZI is using 9655 until 1300?
** SPAIN. With so little audible on 13m these days, I was pleased to get at least weak signals
from REE on 21610 and 21570, July 4 at 1356
** CUBA [non]. No sign of R. República, July 5 at 2333 on 6135, just DentroCuban jamming
command. Usually one can at least detect RR is there, but the proportion of programming
audible vs jamming varies considerably. Tuned to its next scheduled frequency, 6155, at 2357
just after Spain had closed, and it was clear. 0000 July 6 jamming became detectable and
gradually built up, but no trace by 0016 of RR here either.
Propagation? Other European signals were making it, at 2342 check, such as 6055 Spain,
6075 DW/Portugal, 6190 Bosnia. I also looked for RR on 5940, which had been added a few
weeks ago to 6135; nothing on 5940 at 2340 but lite jamming pulses, and after 2400 blown
away by extreme crackling from WWCR/DGS 5935. Also checked 6185 in case RR had
jumped there as a previous alternative, but no. However, RR was very strong at 0209 check on
6100. So why weren`t they audible on the previous two channels?
** CZECHIA [and non]. This is not news, but something which should have been fixed long
ago. Since I have run across it again, I am reported it again: July 3 at 2345, R. Praga Spanish
via Sackville badly mixing with R. Habana Cuba with speech in Spanish by some Commie, //
9820.
In HFCC listings, there is no conflict since Cuba refuses to participate. But strangely, in Aoki
you would not think there is a conflict either, as the Prague broadcast is missing and RHC is
shown as M-F only at 23-01 on 6000, but this was Saturday. And it could be a 3-way clash on
Sundays only with Varna, Bulgaria greeting the sea, also on 6000. Hello --- is nobody paying
attention? Sackville could easily move to some other 49m frequency for this semihour
broadcast
** INDONESIA. VOI absent from 9526, Saturday July 5 at 1255 check and also after 1300,
when English had been airing for the previous two days
** JAPAN [non]. World of Haiku, sub-program on NHK World Radio Japan`s World Interactive
program, is still running, heard on the UT Sunday following the first Saturday, July 6 at 00070017 on 6145 via Sackville, the final repeat. Haiku guy seems to be named Shakan, and he
concluded by telling of his recent visit to Italy for a conference about haiku, renku, and some
other literary mode, where he had a very good time and good seafood. Listeners, including
several in the USA, send in short pieces which he improves or reworx into proper haiku format.
In English, or Japanese which he then translates. Should be back first Saturday in August, if
not skipping a month for vacations as happens to so many RJ programs. BTW, NHK how has
a 7-digit postal code, 150-8001
** NETHERLANDS [non]. Music on RNW`s Dutch service, yay. But once again it`s not Dutch
and not classical: July 5 at 2353 tuned in 11970 via Bonaire to hear love duet in English,
sounds like Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie, with electronic instrument accompaniment, but
abruptly cut off incomplete at 2356 for sign-off in Dutch and NA. What is the point of doing
this?
RNW was to change from 9895 to 7325 on July 5 for the 00-02 UT Spanish broadcast via
GUIANA FRENCH, ex-9895, to improve reception in S America --- guess the midwinter MUF is
just too low down there.
But, it didn`t. UT July 6 at 0003 still on 9895, nothing on 7325. Change of plans, or asleep at
the switch in Montsinéry?
** RUSSIA. VOR`s motorboating transmitter, 7300, July 5 at 2330, unintelligible audio, just putputting with rapidly fluxuating frequency. Portuguese scheduled during this hour from
Serpukhov, per Aoki, Moscow per WRTH update. This has been going on for years, and in Bseasons on 5900 instead. Such incompetence!
** U S A. Attention those who keep track of all SW broadcasts in French. There is now one on
WWRB, as Saturday July 5 at 2335 I was hearing preaching in French, 2336 into ``Faith of Our
Fathers`` with French lyrix, but overridden by spoken contact info including a postal address in
Tennessee. Rather distorted audio. O yes,
``This Transmitter has been Leased to the Treasure of Truth Broadcast, Altamont, TN``, says
the WWRB website, at 6 pm - midnight, timezone not specified, and no further details about
programming within, let alone language(s). It`s allegedly at 150 degrees with a ``dual feed
wide spaced yagi`` for South America, but plenty strong here westward from Morrison
** U S A. WWCR, 5935 with DGS service, July 6 after 0000 was suffering from extreme
crackling making it unlistenable, and severely interfering with adjacent channels. Recurring
unfixed satellite antenna aiming problem, I assume, at Los Ángeles and/or Nashville.
WWCR, 5070, July 5 at 2335 was accompanied by a roaring noise peaking at the sidebands
around 5062 and less so on 5078 where there was ute interference. The sound also audible
when tuned to center frequency 5070 underneath program modulation, which per June 3 sked
is ``Repairer of the Breach``. Some crud on the program feed line, which should not be SW
transmitted?
** CUBA. Checking the ``Alo, Presidente`` service Sunday July 6: at 1400, 13750 was already
on with Cuban NA, not Venezuelan, opening with RHC diatribe about, what else, the 5 héroes.
11875 open carrier pending A,P, as was CRI English relay on 13740 still until 1404 when
modulation had come up on both. Weaker 13760 with regular RHC non // programming
** CUBA [non]. Following up the absence of R. República from 6135 before 2400 and 6155
after 0000: tnx to a tip from Antonio Madrid in Spain, new frequency at 2200 is 9515.
Confirmed here, good atop jamming July 6 at 2310. I was standing by at 2356 for QSY
announcement. Overblown drama or dramatic reading about Cuba Libre ended just in time for
them to say that next frequency would be 9640 from ``8 pm``, and 9515 cut off at 0000 sharp.
So I go to 9640. Nothing except lite jamming in `standby mode``. Finally at 0002 I think, maybe
the RR transmitter site is still bringing up 6155? So I punch that it in, just in time to hear a
couple words in Spanish, and it cuts off as they realize their mistake. Back to 9640. Still
nothing, until after 0004, cuts on for a few seconds in Spanish, off again, back to stay before
0005, taking about genetix. Not as strong as 9515 was, and didn`t really sound like RR, and no
ID for the next few minutes till I had enough. Recheck at 0129 and immediately heard R.
República ID.
9640 appears to have been quite open for a new occupant, except for one day a week per
Aoki, EiBi, UT Sunday:
9640 PAN AMERICAN BC 0030-0045 1...... English 125 90 Wertachtal D 01041E 4805N PAB
a08
Maybe in the meantime this transmission has vacated. 9515 was also pretty open at 22002400
** INDONESIA. Raúl Saavedra in Costa Rica and Ron Howard in California say 9526 was on
the air July 5 at 1300 tho I could not hear it. Audible again here Sunday July 6 but VOI`s clock
is really off: at 1252 soft romantic music, 1300 not into English but in middle of Japanese
service with YL speaking distinctly. Recheck at 1325, now in English talking about Bali, 1326
ID mentioning the three frequencies, which they never use simultaneously; indeed it is rare for
them to use even two, but signal getting too weak, deep fades.
Aoki says this 250 kW Cimanggis transmitter is aimed 30 degrees, which is just right for us in
CNAm. The great circle route crosses the entire island chain of Japan, tangentially attains
about 58 degrees north latitude in SW Alaska, and carries on to Enid some 9800 miles away
** CHINA [and non]. 13760, July 7 at 0542 in Chinese, seems like defective unstable
transmitter with rapid fluxuations, noise also audible on center-channel, M&W discussion, //
15680 about 2 seconds offset. However, in reality, I think the strangeness on 13760 must be a
different kind of Chicom jamming, since both these frequencies are R. Free Asia in Mandarin
via Tinian at 0300-0700, and no other jamming, such as Firedrake, was audible
** CUBA. Woe betide any station which chooses a SW frequency which is used at any other
hour by another station the DentroCuban Jamming Command doesn`t like. Jammers are
allowed to run far beyond the ``necessary`` hours, TS. Latest observations:
9515, July 7 at 0536, bubble jamming mixing with raspy jamming vs nothing, but no doubt here
because R. República via UK has started using 9515, only at 22-24 UT. AND, lite jamming
still/again audible on 9515 at 1222, against nothing, fortunately. Same as on 9885, as
previously reported, against non-VOA.
11775, July 7 at 1308, DGS Anguilla faces both Firedrake from China, and bubble jamming
from DCJC, because R. Martí is on 11775 only in the evenings.
RHC 9550, was so strong July 7 around 0530 that it was cross-modulating other 31m
frequencies such as Spain/Costa Rica on 9630. At first I thought 9630 had some new CCI, till I
switched in attenuation
** INDONESIA. At first seemed VOI was missing on July 7, but at 1225 could hear weak talk
on 9526 in unID language, maybe Indo, and a het; just barely audible carrier at 1306 check.
What is on 9525 to het it before 1300? Only thing is R. Polonia in English via Nauen, Germany,
which has even less of a chance of being readable here than VOI, whose quality varies greatly
from day to day.
VOI, July 8 at 1249 check, could just detect a carrier on 9526 under increasing local noise
level again, and there was an even weaker one on 9525, presumably Poland via Germany. At
1328 could only detect the 9526 carrier. Is it still in English during that hour?
** VENEZUELA [non]. Tuned across 11705, RNV via Cuba, July 7 at 1227 just as they were
announcing their perpetually outdated transmission schedule, then Efemérides for current date
** AFGHANISTAN [non]. R. Solh, via UK, 17700, fair July 10 at 1311 with usual great music,
but at 1320 had a long talk segment of some 5 minutes
** ECUADOR. Sadly, one must again report that HCJB is announcing its own frequencies
incorrectly, since the demise of the 21455 transmission, as has been made well-known outside
the compound. July 9 at 1259:30, automated Spanish ID on 11960 still claimed to be on
``11690, 21455 y 11960``; ditto July 10 at 1329:30 check. How many years will it take for La
Voz de los Andes to recut these IDs?
** INDONESIA. VOI reception here in the morning has plunged to the barely-detectable-carrier
level. I say this since nothing else is likely to be on 9526. This was the case July 8 before and
after 1300; also July 10 at 1253, yet stations in the same region, such as VOA Philippines
9760 are coming in very well. This makes me wonder if something other than propagation is at
play, such as VOI not being up to full power and/or on usual azimuth toward us. Can anyone
confirm whether they are still running English at the new hour of 1300?
** KOREA NORTH. VOK, July 9 at 1301 seemed parallel on 11710 and 11735, both playing
national anthem, tho probably not synchronized, but then at 1303, 11735 went into Chinese
and 11710 into English. The 11710 transmitter also puts spurs out, a constant het on 11776
against Defunct Gene Scott, Anguilla, and a much dirtier one on 11644, unstable but with
enough audio to // 11710 which with the BFO on, one can tell is also unstable, can`t zero-beat
it.
Also July 10 at 1310, wobbly spur on 11644 // 11710, stable spur on 11776. KCBS domestic
service also audible with music on 11677 at 1313
** LIBYA. V. of Africa, poor but audible on 21695, July 9 at 1410 during English service, fading
in and out, barely //able to 17725. Spain 21610 and 21570 were also making it weakly
** NEW ZEALAND [and non]. IBB Tinang is still turning on its 9655 carrier for RNW relay in
Dutch at 1300, much earlier; already on at 1245 July 8 blocking RNZI, and with intermittent
tone tests too. On WORLD OF RADIO 1416, I urge IBB to crash-start at 1300. This might
involve doing the warm-up on some other nearby frequency instead.
Meanwhile, another abrupt frequency change by RNZI, even tho Adrian Sainsbury is away on
a long holiday to Wales: surprised to hear RNZI on 6095, July 10 at 0606, with coastal weather
summary, NZ news, nothing on 9615, but 6095 has QRM de VOA French, which is São Tomé,
M-F only at 0530-0630, 20 degrees!
The RNZI sked at http://www.rnzi.com/pages/listen.php still shows 9615 at 0459-0658, and
nothing under What`s New about any frequency change. Wonder what the true span of 6095 is
now. Seems to me they didn`t previously use it as early as 0600. At 1250 seemed to be on
9655 as usual under IBB Tinang carrier and tone, and from *1259 RNZI still on 6170
** U S A [non]. Lovely rendition of ``Beautiful Dreamer`` in English by tenor and plucked
instrument, July 10 at 1314, tnx to the VOA Korean service, outroed by announcement in that
language at 1318. This usually has good signal here, far from the target, since it is the
Thailand relay at 38 degrees during this hour; the second hour at 14-15 switches to Philippines
at 21 degrees, per Aoki. Why aren`t these transmissions jammed?
** U S A. WWV, Ft Collins CO, 80524, is seldom heard here on 20 MHz, too close under 500
miles for F2 propagation, if there is any, but tnx to sporadic E, good on 20000.000 at the late
hour of 0540 UT July 9 on indoor antenna. So I also checked 25950 for KOA relay, and
thought I could almost hear something there. At 0555, WWVH was also in well on 15000.000.
WWV audible again on 20 MHz, July 10 at 0613 check
** FRANCE [non]. RFI Spanish service, 15515 via GUIANA FRENCH, July 11 at 1215 with a
woman who was apparently one of the Colombian hostages released with Ingrid Betancourt,
sending a message of hope to those still kidnapped because she knows they listen to RFI, and
she`s now studying French at the Alliance. 1217 into Revista de Prensa; 1230* cut off a
chanson in progress abruptly. Usual VG signal
** INDONESIA. VOI, 9526, July 11 at 1159 ending Japanese service with ID, contact info, but
apparently no English transition announcement, into Indonesian, only fair and declined to poor
by 1300 recheck when English news was already in progress. VOI`s timing is clearly flexible
** NEW ZEALAND. RNZI back on correct 9615, July 11 at 0626 check, fair. Adrian Sainsbury
says he`s not sure why they were on 6095 the night before. Also checking later on July 11: at
1155, 6165-6170-6175 in DRM just before that closed. 6170 should have opened at *1259 in
analog, but nothing there at 1304; instead, 9655, which should have closed at 1259* was still
on, 1305 news, 1308 sounder and ID. This was of course, mixing with RNW via Tinang, but
atop RNW, with SAH of about 7 Hz, and as always at this hour, suffering from China/Sackville
9650. Serves RNW right for unnecessarily QRMing RNZI with carrier and tones before 1300.
You never know what is going to happen next with RNZI frequency usage, unreliable as if their
computer/automation system has a mind of its own
** TURKEY. Something on 13760 atop RHC with a SAH of about 4 Hz, July 11 at 1322 --- O,
it`s VOT as revealed by IS briefly at 1323, concluding German hour at 1230, 310 degrees from
Emirler, which means it`s also aimed at NAm. So I then checked 13685 for English but IS was
JBA at 1328 as this is aimed eastward
** U K [non]. BBC Mundo, via WHRI 9410, July 11 with Rachmaninov piano concerto cut off at
1300* before it was almost finished, a travesty. BBCM is still filling with repetitive classical
music selexions, never identified, at 1234-1300* M/W/F, top 10 pop countdown on Tue/Thu.
BTW, it appears the plan for B-08 is to move this service to 7335, blotting out CHU
** U S A. VOA Spanish, 13790, July 11 at 1220 with news // 9535 and 7305, all Greenville, of
course. 9535 by far the best; 13790 mixing over something else with a SAH, which would be
either Iran in Arabic or more likely CRI in English via Urumqi (not Urumqui). It`s interesting to
note the logjam of morning Spanish broadcasts from major stations all at 1200 --- VOA, RNW,
BBC, RFI at least
** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. RNRASD, 6300, July 11 from 0632-0655 mostly nice WAf music
and some announcements. Did not notice any RHC spur mixing this time
** BIAFRA [non]. As expected, V. of Biafra International finally shifted to 15280 via WHRI, for
the Friday-only 20-21 UT broadcast, ex-17690. July 11 at 2000 opening with no glitches,
different format than previous weeks, first Finlandia by a distinctly non-Nordic band, ID but no
mention of frequency or meterband, then soprano with ``All Hail Biafra`` anthem --- I think that
was the title, which lasted past 2005 when I suspended monitoring until 2057 recheck. The
orator this time mentioned 19 meter-band, but still no specific frequency. WHRI phony-
enthusiasm announcer did however then say 15280 as they were about to QSY to 7385. WHR
generalized frequency schedule still shows 17650, and the Angel 1 specific program schedule
does too, but on the other six days of the week during this hour, 9495, which may still be the
case
** CHINA. 5860 at 1224 July 12, talking and singing; at 1228 I decided it was Chinese. Aoki
shows this can only be V. of Jinling, Nanjing, 50 kW at 161 degrees, 1145-1430, also in Amoy.
Much weaker than VOA Korean 5890
** CUBA [non]. R. Martí announcing its lema, as it does quite frequently, a marvelous ode to
freedom, surely objexionable only to the DentroCubans, 1229 July 12 on 5980; but Greenville
modulation automatically cut off at 1230 before the motto was completely stated; open carrier
and jamming continued for good measure
** ECUADOR. HCJB ``Galápagos`` show, 6050 with usual Malaysian het, July 12 at 1156.
Scheduled Saturdays 1145-1200. Probably also on 11690 and 11960, no longer 21455, but
not checked
** FRANCE [non]. RFI Météo Marine service, a tad on the hi side of 13640, as compared to
local KFXY-1640 on the FRG-7, July 12 at 1142. This is 500 kW, 320 degrees via GUIANA
FRENCH, daily at 1130-1200. At this early hour it was the only station audible on the 21/22
mb, and the 19mb was still completely closed
** GUATEMALA. R. Verdad, Chiquimula, 4052.5, July 12 1126 winding up banjo version of
``Workin` on the Railroad`` which I think they play every day as a program themesong.
Concludes with RR Xing bells. Still audible at 1204 with hymn
* INDONESIA. Best Indonesian by far, RRI Fak2, 4790, July 12 at 1130 mostly music fighting
T-storm noise from Kansas, and CODAR from GKW, 1134 YL vocal. 1206 M&W news,
presumably Jakarta, overmodulated and distorted.
By comparison, VOI on 9526 was much weaker. At 1149 I could tell the YL was speaking
Japanese slowly and clearly. After 1300, it was mostly a YL speaking, but so weak I could not
be certain it was Inggeris until 1330
** LAOS [non]. Hmong Lao Radio, 11785 via WHRI, Saturday July 12 at 1334 with remarx
briefly in English by a woman at some weekend outdoor public event, about what good
students the Hmong children are in Hminneapolis; further evidence this is really a domestic
SW service
** MOROCCO. 15345, RTM presumed, July 11 at 2059, weak signal and modulation no match
for local noise level, but I did make out a typically-late timesignal a few sex after 2100, and off
at 2101, matching previous behaviour during standard time at 2200, so indeed running SW
one UT hour earlier. I could then detect an even weaker carrier slightly on the high side of
15345, no doubt Argentina
** NEW ZEALAND. RNZI, back on proper 6170, July 12 at 1301 check with news instead of
prolonged 9655 as the night before. One of the best signals on 49m when it opens
** U S A. If one can pull away from DXing on a Saturday morning, there is great doo-wop
music to be heard on Rock the Universe, from WWCR 7490 (the mighty 74-90, I call it), 12001300, as I enjoyed some of it July 12
** CANADA. CBC NQ must be almost on-frequency today, 9625.0, since it has a SAH of only 4
Hz, slightly fluxuating, with co-channel QRM, July 15 at 1302 in CBC news. Could not make
out language of QRM, but it should be FEBC Manila in Hmong, tho would not rule out Channel
Africa in Lozi by long-path
** CUBA [and non]. DentroCuban Jamming Command still showing its incompetence or total
disregard for civilized norms, in running jammers when there is nothing to block, except
innocent bystanders, July 15 at 0555 on 9515, 9565, 6100, pulsing and grinding.
A while ago someone reported Spain on 11680 with no mention of QRM de Cuba, so I check
July 15 at 0113, and RHC is very strong there, way over REE, both in Spanish
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. July 15 at 0559 found fair signal, S9+20, 43343 on 6250 in
Spanish, a language always fun to hear from Africa. Mentioned Guinea Ecuatorial, but 0600
song instead of news. Suffered from intermittent but frequent SSB and pulse QRM, what you
get for broadcasting in a utility band. Finally at 0606:30 a 5-pip time signal, so their studio clock
is somewhat slow, some other music, noticias interrupted by several different sounders. Finally
at 0608:30 titulares (headlines), but additional QRM of a continuous roar-sound starts, maybe
from own transmitter, so I quit
** INDONESIA. VOI, 9526 signal improved July 15 at 1258 check ending Indonesian hour with
Suara Indonesia ID, IS; 1259 into English with IS and ID claiming 9525, 11785, 15150,
http://www.voi.co.id How can a SW station have no clear link to its transmission schedule on
its home page?? First speaker was M with American accent, then W with Indonesian accent,
program summary, 1300 news sounder and headlines by a third announcer, M with Indo
accent; S9+15 versus my local hi line noise level was not sufficient to copy it without strain
** U S A [non]. Re previous report, no one asked me, WTFK? about this item. The frequency
was 11740, and BTW, HFCC says both hours are via Philippines, not first hour via Thailand as
in Aoki:
```Lovely rendition of ``Beautiful Dreamer`` in English by tenor and plucked instrument, July 10
at 1314, tnx to the VOA Korean service, outroed by announcement in that language at 1318.
This usually has good signal here, far from the target, since it is the Thailand relay at 38
degrees during this hour; the second hour at 14-15 switches to Philippines at 21 degrees, per
Aoki. Why aren`t these transmissions jammed?```
I log this again on July 15 at 1308, but now the damned `bonker` is pounding away centered
on 11740 but extending +/- 10, ruining VOA reception, maybe not so in target since I suspect
it`s close to North America, but has no business in the middle of a broadcast band! VOA was //
5890, but furthermore this time there was co-channel broadcast QRM on 11740. Several
possibilities in Aoki: most likely Japan via Singapore in Chinese; or CNR2 via Xian in English;
even Vatican in Spanish. Once again at 1315 it must be time for a nice inspirational song on
VOA Korean, this time John-Denverish ``You Raise Me Up``
** U S A. 15665, July 12 at 2157 with SAH between WHRI preacher closing his show, and
WEWN already on with carrier, 2158 WEWN choir starts chanting as WHRI signs off,
announcing QSY to 9615. Christians vs Christians!
** CANADA. Starting to check out how clear 7850 is, CHU`s planned new frequency this
summer. July 17 at 0557 it was OK but lite roar from some ute centered on 7845
** CHINA. Firedrake on 8000.0, July 16 at 1246, so Sound of Hope must have been on this
frequency; not listed in Aoki. 1304 recheck, open carrier, 1304:30 Fireddrake resuming, 1343
check, nothing.
FD on 11590 at 1344 July 16, along with poor 11665, and quite strong signals on some of the
usuals, 11785, 11990, 12040, 15285. Per Aoki, 11590 target is RFA in Tibetan via Kuwait, 1214.
Next day July 17 at 1317 no Firedrake Curtain on 8000, but yes on 9180, probably another
SOH popup, not in Aoki
** CUBA. DentroCuban Jamming Command against nothing: July 16 at 1255-1300+ on 9490,
lite grinding, no pulsing, in standby mode, as R. República/Sackville has ruined this frequency
by using it for one hour at 1000. At 1342 recheck, 9490 had both pulsing and grinding.
9805 with pulse jamming against non-Martí, July 16 at 1303.
11775 with grinding at 1346 July 16, against non-Martí, under Defunct Gene Scott, Anguilla,
also hit by N. Korean spur het 11776v.
RHC spur in Spanish on 9530, July 16 at 1257, presumably from 9550, caused by CRI relay
transmitter on 9570, whose audio you would expect on 9530. 9570 itself had some intermittent
buzzes; 9530 still at 1340 long after 9600 closed at 1259.
July 17 at 1321, pulse jamming again on 9490 and 9640 República frequencies hours away
from when they are axually in use. Before 1300 was also grinding on 9515
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. Gone again: RNGE, 6250, heard a few nites before around 0600,
missing July 17. Easy to find frequency, 1000 kHz below Vatican 7250
** INDONESIA. VOI, 9526, back to barely detectable carrier July 16 at 1341, but with an
equally weak het from something on 9525, nothing listed during this hour on 9525 by Aoki or
Eibi, unlike before 1300 and after 1400.
Much better next day July 17 on 9526, 1259 opening English with program summary, 1300
news. Low-level hum not too bothersome, no het. And no noise problem for a change, tho
signal fadey and not too solid. Major problem now is the accents of the announcers.
Concentrate as I may, I can only understand a fraxion of what they say. 1312 Focus. 1319
something about UNESCO World Heritage Sites, news in brief ending at 1320 ID, Indonesian
Wonders, 1325 Miscellany segment, 1331 Music Corner, contemporary Indonesian variety
including gamelans. Plugged website several times during the hour. Het from China 9525
starts promptly at 1357
** KOREA NORTH. KCBS, 9665.3, peppy NK choral music, before bedtime there, reminding
one what a privilege it is to live in the people`s paradise, July 17 at 1236-1248+. No roar or het,
but still off-frequency. Same on 11679.7 where there was a het from something on 11680.0
** U S A. Pastor Pete Peters audible weakly with ute QRM on 8590, July 16 at 1247 // WWCR
9980. How come? It`s 1390 kHz away, i.e. mixing with one of my locals, KCRC and thus not
audible elsewhere
** INDONESIA. VOI, 9526, was back to good strength July 18 for the English at 1259,
preceded by Indonesian music at 1250 tune-in. Now I have a better chance of understanding
the accent of the YL announcer, especially since I taped it for later replays. Was considerably
weaker during music portion when tape ran out at 1345. Much weaker signal on July 19
** U S A. WRNO, New Orleans, is finally back on the air, testing. First tuned in 15590 at 1938
July 18 to hear strong open carrier with slight whine, then tone test faded up. Level increased
briefly before 1944 and then cut off at 1945* *1946 back on with open carrier, 1947 tone fading
up and down again. Cut off again at 1950* So far, no announcements or IDs. It`s off-frequency,
more like 15590.4. Left a receiver on, but nothing further heard past 2300.
If current registrations are to be believed, this is WRNO, New Orleans, on the air finally after
years and years of delays, under new ownership as 15590 is for it in A-08 since KTBN went
dark.
I quickly posted the above report on the DXLD yg and sent it to some who might know for sure.
Consulting engineer George Jacobs in Maryland confirmed they were on the air as of July 18;
he`s glad to have WRNO back after 7 years, and said programming should start August 1.
Tho I heard no IDs, this was also quickly confirmed by Dan Brown, Boston, who had
photographed the site and wrote a story about WRNO last year for Monitoring Times; he
phoned HQ in Fort Worth and they said the transmitter had indeed started on-air tests, with
program tests expected a week later. However, Dan heard preaching rather than tones already
the next day, July 19 at 1620-1640*.
It was a few minutes later at 1657 when I checked 15590, nothing, nor on occasional later
chex. No doubt it`s sporadic in testing period, and not yet heard on 7505 at random day and
night chex. Could be they will test 7505 during daytime working hours rather than at night
when it will be scheduled. Those sitting on one frequency or the other are bound to hear it
eventually. But it won`t be commercial rock as originally, just another religious station as long
promised by the new owner
** CHINA. Unusual propagation, July 20 at 1325 when Firedrake was audible on 17705, once
again vs nothing listed unless it`s running late against AIR Chinese via Bangalore at 1145
ending at 1315 per Aoki. While 17680, CVC Chile, normally VG, was JBA
** GABON. ANO, 17630, July 20 at 1326, S9+15 on the FRG-7 meter, but quite
undermodulated, which is fine since it was rap in French
** SWEDEN [non]. Sveriges Radio via Sackville, 15240, July 20 at 1318 had a YL cabaret
singer in English, and more of same a few minutes later after break for some talk in Swedish.
How often do we hear any music on R. Sweden`s English service other than to fill out the half
hour?
** VENEZUELA [non]. It was reported that ``Aló, Presidente`` had been suspended indefinitely
as HCF is too busy to do it, so I was wondering whether Cuba would continue to broadcast
that block from 1400 UT Sundays. Yes, July 20 at 1403 check in progress with intro, and 1404
RHC`s Mundo Siete program, best by far on 13750, // 13680, 11875, 11670. 13680 and 11670
were weakest and not synchronized. This programming is separate, not // daily RHC
frequencies such as 9550, 11760, 11805, 12000, 15370. Recheck at 1631, all the former
bunch still on in same relative positions, but not Chávez speaking. Re2check at 1901, all
STILL on, and now it does sound like a live speech by Chávez, with applause. By now the fifth
frequency 17750 was just barely audible, and 11670 had a 4 Hz SAH, probably DW in Arabic
via Sines, Portugal at 100 degrees
** AFGHANISTAN [non]. R. Solh, 17700 via Rampisham, UK, poor but audible July 23 at 1324
with announcements, 1329 back to music; will it still play the sticking/skipping CD at 1346?
Yes!
** CUBA. DentroCuban Jamming Command still ruining frequencies needlessly, pulsing at the
rate of 128/minute on 9490 and 9640, July 23 at 1330, even tho R. República uses 9490 only
at 10-11 via Sackville, and 9640 only at 00-02 via UK. Previous timing of the pulses came to
only 120/minute, i.e. 2 per second
** INDONESIA. VOI, 9526, July 21 at 1300 open carrier, 1301 IS and ID, frequencies, opening
English, but only fair. Next day, July 22, good enough to be listenable with some concentration,
from 1259 opening in English with ID, program summary. 1301 news, almost all of which was
about what various members of the bureaucracy were doing! Is there no significant nongovernment news happening in this vast nation? Antara news agency attributed at times. At
1307 even concerned diplomatic relations with Serbia, and some sporting event there involving
Indonesians. Focus segment, something about the Singapore national anthem at 1314-1316
was introed and outroed with VOI ID and slogan ``The Sound of Dignity``. Next about a
Thailand/Cambodia border dispute since 1962. 1317 news in brief. 1323 Arts & Culture about
the Dyak tribe and their long ears, in Kalimantan forests. 1330 Let`s Speak Bahasa Indonesia
Through Songs, playing a song, speaking the lyrix and
translating them, a feature returning next Tuesday. 1341 another music show as signal
weakens. Next morning, July 23, on 9526 reception was much poorer, but could detect news in
English at 1300
** NIGERIA. V. of Nigeria, 9690.0, July 23 at 1404 tune-in as news by YL was ending, badly
overmodulated with big S9+20 signal. OM announces website http://www.voiceofnigeria.org
and into next show with a percussion theme, something about the doings of Nigeria`s
president. 1414 outro of this M-F 1405 program, ID with frequency but modulation so bad I
could not tell whether they really announced this frequency. Next program to be from the VON
Abuja studio; 1415 YL named Rebecca opening that, still quite distorted and also with hum,
some interview about refugees, UNHCR. 1420 signal weakening and fading, 1431 even
weaker as into music.
This is a repeat of my log on June 16, see DXLD 8-070. In the meantime in almost daily
bandscans around this time, have not heard it. This is extremely interesting propagationally.
Nothing else from Africa audible on 31m at this time, and at peak the signal strength rivaled
WWRB 9385, RHC-9550, Sackville-9650, Firedrake-9930, but of course sounded louder than
any of them tnx to overmodulation. No contest with superPete WWCR 9980, however. BTW, it
was a quite poor East Asian morning with hardly any Firedrake audible besides 9930 and
15285.
I got out the NGS globe to check the long- and short-path routes. If it`s short, signal exits Africa
at the border between Western Sahara and Mauritania, crosses the Atlantic unimpeded, enters
North America around DelMarVa, then on to Enid, coming in at an azimuth of 78 degrees,
distance of about 6600 statute miles.
If it`s long-path, exits Africa in the middle of Mozambique, across the southern tip of
Madagascar, Indian Ocean, enters Australia around Adelaide, exists SE Queensland, across
Vanuatu, Kingman Reef, enters North America around Ensenada, then on to Enid, coming in
at an azimuth of 258 degrees, some 18400 miles. Either path is far from the auroral zones,
going only a little farther from the Equator than Enid is.
Assuming it`s not some highly unlikely skewed path. I wonder if it was being heard in Adelaide
at the same time, or if it was even better in DelMarVa and vicinity. I could ask people there to
check the next day, but conditions will probably be quite different.
What is the transmitted azimuth? Not registered with HFCC, but Aoki shows A-08 info for 9690
as 248 degrees from Ikorodu, while 15120, whenever it`s on, is at 7 degrees, neither of which
is at all favorable for NAm, long or short-path
** SPAIN. REE`s classical music hour on Mon/Tue/Wed at 1305, best signal from Europe on
16m, July 23 at 1355 on 17595 with The Moldau, ending precisely before the timesignal at
1400. There`s a professional operation where they know how to back-time, unlike the BBC on
9410 which cuts off classical music in progress an hour earlier. I`ll really miss REE when Spain
abolishes SW, surely the number one international broadcaster in Spanish from the standpoint
of cultural programming
** U K [and non]. BBCWS in English finally audible here on new 13675 via Rampisham, fair
July 21 at 1826, ex-13865. Scheduled 1700-1900 for Western Russia.
BBC Mundo Radio, 9410 via WHRI, classical fill music on M/W/F at 1234-1300* included
Wednesday July 23 at 1240-1250 some heavenly music which must have been Monteverdi, as
ever unannounced
** U S A. WYFR is not exactly DX nor of any programming interest, so I rarely log it, but could
not help but notice that it was inbooming on 21670, July 21 at 1756 with Mexican music, briefly
making me wonder if it was something else new, but 1758 WYFR theme music, 1759 Spanish
ID giving 21670, 15130, 6085. MUCH stronger than other WYFR transmitters on 13m, 21525
and 21455, which doesn`t make sense as 21670 is supposed to be on 44 degree antenna to
Europe, roughly off the side here, just like 21455, while 21525 is 87 degrees to Africa. I can
only conclude that 21670 must really have been on an antenna such as the 315 degree which
is aimed this way. Once again July 22 at 1818 check, 21670 much stronger than 21525
** CHINA. Bandscanning for Firedrake, July 24 at 1257, found it not on 8000 as a few days
ago but instead on 8020, good signal // 7280, 11665, etc. At 1300 went to open carrier, during
which no trace of Sound of Hope could be heard here, 1305:30 resumed FD, but gone at 1323
recheck
** CHINA. CRI`s Esperanto service coming in well on 11650, July 24 at 1328, talking about,
what else, La Pekinaj Olimpikoj, real Chinese clips with voice-overs in Mandarin-accented
Esperanto, k.t.p. Per Aoki, at 13-14 UT this is Beijing site at 215 degrees. That`s close to
directly off the back from CNAm, which would be 35 degrees. Per EiBi, the // frequency is 9440
from another site, unchecked. I noticed that there was less flutter-fading on 11650 than there
was on Firedrake 11665. BTW, penultimate stress is mandatory in Esperanto, but it sounded
like ``Olímpikoj``, something which those influenced by natural languages must always beware
of
** CHINA. 5955, July 24 at 1237, M&W interview in English, not // RA 6020, and didn`t think to
check CRI frequencies for //, but per Aoki:
5955 CHINA R INTER 1200-1257 1234567 English 500 95 Beijing CHN 11627E 3957N CRI
a08 But that also lists from a slightly different Beijing site:
5955 CNR 8
1200-1300 1234567 Mongolian 100 15 Beijing 491 CHN
11625E 3955N CNR8 a08
Which seems extremely unlikely, that both would be operational; I did have some co-channel
QRM, tho 5950 WYFR was more of a problem
** KOREA NORTH [non]. V. of the People, clandestine from S to N Korea, 6518 with talk in
Korean // 6600. The latter had rapid pulse jamming but 6518 was clear
** MEXICO. Since XEXQ told Julián Santiago that they are still on the air, I looked for it again
July 24 at 1243 when the noise level was lower than usual. I could detect a carrier a smidgen
on the hi side of 6045, but no modulation
** U S A. Looking for the unID African music on 5050, July 23 at 2255, WWRB was already on
the air with preacher. Supposedly scheduled from 0000, but definitely after 2300; does it really
start at 2200? That would be ``6 pm`` EDT rather than CDT in their ambiguous schedule. The
night before, WWRB was also off the air before 0500
** U S A [and non]. It`s unusual to hear WRMI, especially when the DentroCuban Jamming
Command is grinding away on 9955, but July 24 at 1253, WRMI was about equal level to the
jamming with a speaker talking urgently about ``Cuba Libre``. 1327 recheck, only jamming
heard
** U S A [and non]. Prompted by an erroneous log of VOA 9815 in Portuguese as Botswana, I
checked this transmission July 24 at 1823: VG signal so can`t be Botswana but instead
Greenville as currently scheduled. Sign-off lasted until 1831, and carrier stayed on until
1834:30. I had the BFO on to notify me when it quit, and then I could also hear a just barely
audible carrier on 9815. That`s also VOA, in French via Madagascar, both to exactly the same
West African target areas. But if the VOA Greenville signal is making it there during the first
half of the hour, it must also be interfering with the VOA Madagascar signal during the second
half which of course starts promptly at 1830, if not a minute before with its own sign-on. In
such a case, there should be DCI (drop carrier immediately) and/or CS (crash-start). This is
one of many cases now where VOA sites serving the same target area unnecessarily change
abruptly, and steps are not taken to avoid
self-interference! Another example is 17530 where the first half of the English hour is
Greenville, the second half Thailand, also with a monitored overlap.
BTW, 9815 has quite a convoluted VOA schedule at 1630-2130 per EiBi:
9815 1630-1730
USA Voice of America SWA EAf /BOT Swahili Botswana
9815 1730-1800
USA Voice of America P EAf /D-L Port. Lampertheim
9815 1800-1830 Mo-Fr USA Voice of America P WAf g Port. Greenville
9815 1830-1900
USA Voice of America F WAf /MDG French Madagascar
9815 1900-2030
USA Voice of America F CAf /BOT French Botswana
9815 2030-2100 SaSu USA Voice of America F WAf g French Greenville
9815 2030-2100 Mo-Fr USA Voice of America HA WAf /BOT Hausa Botswana
9815 2100-2130 Mo-Fr USA Voice of America F CAf /BOT French Botswana
A year ago, the 1730-1800-1830 Portuguese and the 2030-2100 Hausa were via Morocco, but
who needs that? Lampertheim and Greenville were simply plugged in as substitutes, surely
inferior ones to W Africa.
Furthermore at 1630-1700, 9815 now collides with BBC via Oman in Sinhala, which makes
one wonder how much co-channel QRM there be in those respective target areas
** U S A [non]. One of the better, or I should say few signals above 15410, July 24 at 1731 was
on 15760, talk in a language with lots of o-umlauts, but certainly not German, so is it Turkish?
Yes! Eibi shows this as YFR via Woofferton at 17-19. Still fair signal at 1816. BTW, CL, there is
nothing wrong with well-informed `list-logging` such as this for major broadcasters, where you
are never going to hear a local site ID anyway. However if later shown to be mistaken, a
correxion will certainly be forthcoming
** CHINA. Firedrake again on 8020, July 25 at 1217 presumably against Sound of Hope, but
not heard anywhere around 8 MHz on July 26. 9180 Firedrake was also active July 25 at 1226,
stronger than 8020, and // 9680 9780 9845 11605 11665 11710 11775 11785 11825 11840
12040
** CHINA. 4830, weak talk in Chinese, presumably China Huayi Broadcasting Corp., Fuzhou,
July 26 at 1219 as about to outfade. Meanwhile, Singapore [q.v] in Chinese owns 6185,
making one wonder if CHBC has given up on using 6185 at all, as seems prudent. Maybe in
August when RSI has closed down, we can detect whether CHBC exist on 6185. BTW, Mauno
Ritola points out that CHBC, station 15) in WRTH 2008, does appear under the heading
``Broadcasts to Taiwan`` on page 147 (in the domestic sexion), along with stations 11) to 14).
So WRTH concedes that Taiwan is part of China, by not putting this in the International
sexion? Not exactly: ROC still gets its own separate listings under TAIWAN in the domestic
sexion --- but Taiwan`s RTI and V. of Kuanghua broadcasts to the mainland are in the
international sexion, so Taiwan must not be part of China? Covering all the bases trumps
consistency
** CUBA. I noticed some anomalies in RHC`s frequency usage the morning of July 26, Cuba`s
national holiday, but did not bother to log them; there are anomalies just about every day. I
thought there might be extended broadcasts for the festivities but none of the usuals on 9, 11,
13 or 15 MHz were on when checked around 1530; maybe later. As they don`t say openly in
Habana, ``Patria o suerte, ¡pensaremos!``
** GUATEMALA [and non]. XERTA and TGMI are still clashing on 4800; must be the source of
the het of two or three hundred Hz one hears at 1207 July 25, which combined with CODAR
makes them both totally unreadable. BTW, WRTH 2008 shows sked of R. Buenas Nuevas as
1930-1545 and 2130-0230, which makes no sense; must mean 0930-1545
** INDONESIA. VOI, 9526, July 25 at 1225 check was only detectable as a very weak het with
equally weak 9525, presumably Poland via Germany. Even less so July 26, while e.g. VOA
Philippines 9760 and numerous Firedrakes were inbooming
** INDONESIA. RRI Fak2, Irian Jaya Barat, 4790, with talk in Indonesian, presumably Jak
news, July 25 at 1208. Nothing on other RRI 60m frequencies, not even 4605 Serui which
used to stand out
** KOREA NORTH [non]. V. of the People, clandestine from South to North, July 26 at 1209
clear on 6518 except for lite CW QRM – this is a marine band, after all, // 6600 slightly better
and free of any jamming on this occasion. M&W talk in Korean, 1232 orchestral music, still no
jamming on either. But there was heavy whoosh-whoosh jamming against 6348 R. Echo of
Hope. What does this tell us?
** SINGAPORE. RSI in English, 6080, July 26 at 1154 with Aussies, Filipinos on phone
lamenting closedown of RSI, hoping it would return. And someone from Singapore National
University with a North American accent who conceded that RSI`s day had come and gone
due to changes in IT. Apparently these were former contributors to the programming rather
than listeners; another one was known as ``Singapore`s travelling gourmet``. Show was ``25
Minutes``. 1200 to news of Kashmir klashes and Bangalore blasts. Bothered by Firedrake
overlap from 6085, especially during hi-frequency percussion passages.
Also checked 6185 for the RSI Chinese service, July 26 at 1205. Heard several IDs which I
think match the Mandarin ID as spelt in WRTH 2008: ``Xinjiapo guoji guangbo diantai``. The
last three words are also heard in IDs from China, so it`s crucial to catch the ``Xinjiapo`` which
is obviously a corruption of ``Singapore`` --- or vice versa? Would someone like to add the
proper tones? And is it different in Cantonese and Mandarin? I also monitored this July 25 at
1200 with timesignal and the ``Xinjiapo`` ID.
The RSI Malay service was also in as usual on 6120, just causing a lot of QRM to NHKWRJ
English via Sackville after 1200 July 26, a situation they never considered worth resolving, just
waiting for RSI to self-destruct
** U S A. Dictation-speed Bible reading in English of Acts XXV: 14, July 26 at 0550 on 7520,
about Paul & Festus. This is a Russian hour from WYFR, reminding me of when there used to
be some dictation-speed secular news in Spanish from VOA circa 1960, which was a big help
in my early learning of that language. I would tape and transcribe the broadcasts, not intended
as language lessons but I suppose for embassies or USIA/USIS libraries to copy down and
publish? But I digress. Haven`t run across dictation-speed broadcasts from WYFR before, just
another way to worm The Gospel into people`s heads, and skew their second-language skills
toward evangelism.
Surprised to find WYFR Spanish on 7730 instead of usual way OOB 7780, July 26 at 1211,
M&W discussing Daniel XI, confirmed by // 15130 which that early was JBA, and still going
past 1300; scheduled on 7780 until 1345. Probably punch-up error, and we shall see if it
happen again
** U S A. More from The Coasters this week on Rock the Universe, WWCR, 7490, Saturday
July 26 until 1300. Announced they have a 3-month audio archive of shows via
http://rtu.dkosmedia.com
** ANGUILLA. DGS was recently reported missing, but his voice is back on 11775, July 27 at
1319 check, atop DentroCuban leftover Martí jamming, and Firedrake too
** LAOS [non]. Hmong Lao Radio, via WHRI 11785, Sunday July 27 at 1321 rustic male solo
singing with abrupt tone changes; atop the Firedrake and victim QRM, but also could detect a
low-pitched het on the low side, about 11784.9. This I suspect was V. of Indonesia, as not
heard on 9526 at this time. If so, it was not +1 kHz around 11786 as it occasionally has been
reported
** NEW ZEALAND. Tuning in 6170 at 1258 July 27, jazz music in progress, making me wonder
whether RNZI had not been running DRM here during the previous hour as scheduled. 1300
timesignal and RNZI news in analog
** THAILAND. R. Thailand, 11625, July 27 at 1315, brief transmission break for antenna
change, chime IS – I love those mellow tones! Full ID in English including transmitter site near
Udorn, opening Mandarin service which is unscathed by jamming, tnx to the generosity of
China`s SARFT. But the Thais have to watch what they say
** U S A. WYFR again on 7730 instead of 7780, July 27 at 1303 with hymn in Spanish. I meant
to check the earlier scheduled usage of 7780 to see if it had changed too. The July 1 WYFR
revised schedule showed:
7780
0304-0400
RUSS
44
7780
0400-0500
ENGL
44
7780
0500-0600
GERM
44
7780
0600-0700
ROMA
44
7780
0700-0745
POLI
44
7780
1100-1200
ENGL
222
7780
1200-1345
SPAN
222
** CHAD. RNT, reactivated on 4905, July 30 at 0545 with talk clearly in French; signal roughly
equal to Mauritania 4845, but Chad is better modulated. Still no match for nearby T-storm and
local line noise
** EGYPT. R. Cairo, 11550.0, in the clear with WEWN missing, and as close as I could tell onfrequency for a change, July 28 at 2035 with very muffled, undermodulated talk, such that I
could not even be sure of the language; at first thought German, but in talk bits amid much
better-modulated Arabic music, decided it was French, as I later found scheduled 2000-2115.
See also USA re the missing WEWN
** U S A. WEWN OFF THE AIR --- July 28 at 2035 I noticed that R. Cairo was in the clear on
11550, no het and not a trace of WEWN co-channel, and same past 2100. Nor could I hear
WEWN on the other scheduled frequencies during those hours, 17510 or 17595. The higher
ones could have been missing due to poor propagation. After all three frequency changes at
0000 UT July 29, WEWN still missing from 11520, 11870 and especially 5810 which is
normally a monster signal. So what`s wrong? No hint on their website, of course.
Frequency schedule: http://www.ewtn.com/radio/freq.htm
WEWN still missing: July 29 at 0528, nothing on 5810; at 1313 nothing on 7425; at 1415
nothing on 11550, 15855, 17510, tho once again the higher ones could be inaudible here due
to propagation.
So I asked Glen Tapley of WEWN what was the problem. He replied promptly on July 29: ``We
will be off air for about two weeks for maintenance down time. We are replacing slew boxes,
working on grounding, electrical, and the like.``
** U S A. WYFR on new 7730, July 28 at 0535 in German, ex-7780, so presumably that goes
for all the 7780 transmissions, as in my previous report. I suppose some utility or military user
of 7780 complained, but it sure took them a while
Rick Barton – Middle of Arizona
Drake R-8
PHILIPPINES 11740 Voice of America via Tinang P.I. relay 1445 - 7/16 in listed Korean, but
buried and garbled under one of those strange raspy "dot-dot-daaaaaasssshh" ute stations,
which remained on after 1459 close of VOA. The book Underground Frequency Guide delves
into this and other "things that go beep in the night" topics. I'm wondering if the author has any
new or updated info on the purpose a/o locations of these type transmissions..........? (BartonAZ)
RUSSIA 7325 BBC-WS at 0345 7/15 m.e. type mx, M/F anncrs, and ID and web
addresses given in pres/ listed Farsi. Unusually strong this session. (Barton-AZ)
Harry Helms – Corpus Christi, TX
Eton E-5
7/24
3912 SOUTH KOREA Voice of the People clandestine in very well at 6:15 am tune-in with
male and female announcers and music; punching right through the ham QRM.
Tom Giella - Lakeland, FL
ICOM IC-746 Doublet at 35 feet
7/20
USA- WRNO New Orleans, LA Presumed. 7505.000 kc. 2230-2305 UTC. SIO 444. No
ID or talk, continuous C&W music by George Strait, poor audio quality, abrupt S/O.
Down in the Basement
(Jay Heyl –editor)
Jay Heyl – Orlando, FL
AR7030+/Quantum QX v2.0/Ratzlaff 6Hz audio filter
I took advantage of a day off to do some daytime listening for beacons. Most of these are
pretty close by. DIW-198 is just short of 500 miles, but it's one of the most powerful beacons in
the US. It's not at all unusual to hear it during the day here. GLS is another distant one I've
heard during the day, but it didn't make an appearance this time.
Log showing first reception of each signal between day 25 and 27
Daytime loggings only
Daytime: 15:00-19:59, Night: 20:00-14:59
Output sorted by Frequency
---------------------------------------------------------------------DD UTC
kHz
Call Location
---------------------------------------------------------------------25 15:04 198
DIW
Dixon, NC, USA
25 15:20 204
LCQ
LAKE CITY, FL, USA
25 15:25 206
VNC
VENICE, FL, USA
25 15:34 216
CLB
Wilmington / Carolina Beach, NC, USA
25 15:35 221
OR
HERNY, FL, USA
25 15:38 227
LA
WIREY, FL, USA
25 16:00 253
RHZ
ZEPHYRHILLS, FL, USA
25 16:32 257
SQT
'Satellite' Melbourne, FL, USA
25 16:40 263
DA
TOMOK, FL, USA
25 16:52 270
TPF
'Knight' Tampa, FL, USA
25 16:55 329
CH
'Ashly' Charleston, SC, USA
25 16:56 329
ISM
KISSIMMEE, FL, USA
25 16:59 332
FIS
'Fish Hook' Key West, FL, USA
25 17:04 335
LEE
LEESBURG, FL, USA
25 17:05 338
FJ
Luuce, FL, USA
25 17:21 344
JA
'Dinns' Jacksonville, FL, USA
25 17:25 346
PCM
Plant City, FL, USA
25 17:56 360
PI
CAPOK, FL, USA
25 18:02 368
TP
COSME, FL, USA
25 18:08 388
AM
'Picny' Tampa, FL, USA
25 18:10 392
VEP
Vero Beach, FL, USA
25 18:17 408
SFB
SANFORD, FL, USA
---------------------------------------------------------------------22 stations shown listed.
(Output generated by NDB WebLog 1.1.25 - looks best in courier font)
Nothin’ But Net
(Editor – Martin Foltz)
We have another small column this month. Thanks to Kevin and Harry.
Kevin Redding – Adamsville, TN
Internet radio plays the world in your home
Posted by: Kevin Redding
Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:37 am (PDT)
Internet radio plays the world in your home
By PETER SVENSSON
AP technology writer
Friday, July 18, 2008
What are you going to listen to? Norway's 24-hour folk music channel Allttid Folkemusikk? The public
hearings of the California Integrated Waste Management Board? Radio Banadir — the Most Trusted
News in Somalia?
It's a big world out there, and radios that grab their sound from the Internet rather than the airwaves can
bring it home.
Wi-Fi Internet radios have been around for a while without getting much attention, but they're worth a
look: Prices have come down, and features are up.
I tested four models, and found the best of them a great addition to the kitchen, the breakfast table or
maybe the patio.
The features vary quite a bit — this isn't a category where any manufacturer has had a breakout and
created a de facto standard for others to copy.
What unites the units I tested is that they all have Wi-Fi, so they can connect to the Internet via your
home hot spot and broadband connection. They also have built-in speakers, unlike the devices known as
"media bridges" and Apple Inc.'s Airport Express, which can play music through a stereo or a set of
powered speakers.
With the exception of the Aluratek model, all the radios in the test can be programmed through a PC,
though you don't have to keep the computer on for the radios to play music. Register your unit at a Web
site, and you can find your favorite stations (and, in a few cases, podcasts) and add them to your
"Favorite Stations" list or assign them to the preset buttons on the unit.
None of these radios are dead easy to use. People who don't program speed dials on their phones or set
the VCR clock will be daunted by an Internet radio. It's probably inevitable that a device that vastly
expands the usefulness of the radio will be tougher to use than turning a dial.
But the programmable preset buttons mean that a somewhat tech-savvy person could buy an Internet
radio for, let's say, elderly immigrant relatives, and set it up so that they could, with the touch of a
button, get the sounds of the home country. This presupposes that the relatives have Wi-Fi, which might
be a stretch.
n Com one Phoenix ($250) was the all-around best model I tried. It's the only one that was good at
playing subscribed podcasts. It's also the only one that can be used truly wirelessly, because it has
rechargeable batteries that will power it for a few hours.
The interface consists of a few buttons, a wheel and an LCD screen. It's not pretty, but reasonably
intuitive. There's no remote, which is good, it's just one less thing to lose. It accepts flash drives in a
USB slot.
The biggest limitation of the Phoenix is the sound quality. It has two small speakers, producing sound
barely better than a run-of-the-mill laptop. It works fine for spoken-word content, but it has by far the
weakest bass of all the radios tested, so it's harder to appreciate music.
n Roku Soundbridge Radio ($299) is the second pick, even though it's from 2005 and showing its age.
It's a large, handsome unit with stereo speakers backed up by a woofer. Together they pump out the best
sound of the test.
But it's harder to use than the Phoenix, and you go back and forth between pressing buttons on the unit
itself and on a remote. The Roku can get audio files from a computer on the home network that runs
Windows Media Player, iTunes or Rhapsody software. That's better than the competing models, which
talk only to Windows Media Player.
The Roku can also play music files from flash memory, but only from an SD card.
n Grace Wireless Internet Radio ($199) almost has the bass power of the Roku unit, but it's from a single
speaker. Mono sound feels antiquated, and with good reason: no matter how far you turn it up, it still
sounds small.
This unit does play podcasts, but not very well. For instance, you can't pause them. There's a button with
a "pause" sign on it, but if you press it, the set will start playing a preset radio stream, rather than
pausing your podcast. In other words, the user interface is a bit of a bear.
There's also no provision for plugging in flash drives or memory cards.
n Aluratek Internet Radio Alarm Clock ($150) is another single-speaker solution. It's a new model, and
has some software glitches that should be straightened out in time. The unit I tried got stuck when trying
to connect to my hot spot, and then garbled the sound when playing from a USB flash drive.
It's billed as an alarm clock, but it's a bit too complicated for that role. For example, to get it to the
display the time, you either have to leave it alone for a while, or navigate a menu. Like the other units,
the kitchen or a table is a better place for it.
The Aluratek gets a point for being the only model in the test with an Ethernet port, which means you
don't have to mess with Wi-Fi if you can connect it conveniently to your router with a cable.
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/jul/18/internet-radioplays-the-worldin-your-home/
NPR to offer webcast of Newport music festivals
Posted by: Kevin Redding
Thu Jul 31, 2008 5:50 am (PDT)
NPR to offer webcast of Newport music festivals
By ERIC TUCKER – 19 hours ago
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Music fans unable to attend the Newport folk and jazz festivals will be
able to listen to some of the concerts online.
NPR Music, part of National Public Radio, plans to stream select performances from both festivals. The
webcasts also will be archived and available on-demand.
This is the first time NPR Music is webcasting the Newport, Rhode Island, festivals. The folk festival
runs Friday through Sunday, and the jazz festival is next weekend.
Bob Boilen, host of the NPR Music show "All Songs Considered," says the initiative is a way to reach
more fans than can actually attend the concerts. He also says it's a reflection of the excitement generated
by the eclectic lineup of this year's folk festival, which includes Jimmy Buffett, Trey Anastasio and the
Black Crowes.
Harry Helms – Corpus Christi, TX
USB-based "internet radio" receiver
Posted by: Harry Helms W5HLH
Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:59 am (PDT)
Looks interesting, but more details would be helpful:
http://www.unitedconsortium.net/products_consumer_eradio.php
---------Harry Helms W5HLH
Corpus Christi, TX EL17
And that’s another month on the Net.
73’s, Martin
The Line of Sight and Beyond
Norbert Ansay – Warwick, RI
Eton E-100
7/1
Today was a rather busy day only had time for a brief DX stop in the park from 7:50 AM EDT
had to leave at 8:40 AM EDT all heard on Eton E100 barefoot . Tropo was picking up by 8 AM
with WBLI (relog) Long island NY pounding in and stable too. 105.9 CT was pounding in along
with 105.5 106.9 100.9 and the 3 NH's 94.9 97.5 and 101.1 all booming in. the opening was
very stable unfortunatly I had to leave and couldn't stay to see if things got bigger.
Later while attending matters in Greenville R.I. stole a chance for quick band scans. Heard my
first talking house on 1610 . on FM there was no sign of tropo or e skip around 1015 AM EDT
from Greenville. only heard something on 101.1 I presume cape cod MA there was no sign of
94.9 or 97.5 NH at this time so doubting it was WGIR 101.1 NH.
Heard on Eton E-100 barefoot at Conimicut Point Park Warwick R.I.
7/12/08
104.1 WURH Waterbury CT 8:55 AM EDT at 8:42 am edt ad block mentions of East Hartford
CT we get the commericals done faster back to music later at 8:55 AM EDT caught TOH ID
7/18
Here is a local HD radio report heard on radiosophy :
92.3 WPRO HD 1 is on
93.3 WSNE HD 1 is on but they DROPPED the disco dance format that used
to be on HD 2 . They also dropped the HD-2 altogether !!!!
94.1 WHJY running HD 1 and HD 2 rock formats HD 2 indy or the like.
101.5 WWBB running HD 1 and HD 2 main channel 70s 80s oldies comedy on
HD 2.
105.1 WWLI I can hear a whinning sound on the Eton E-100 on 104.9 and
105.3 but the blue light does not come on nothing seems to be
detected. WWLI should be running HD 1 .
106.3 Woonsocket supposed to be running HD 1 no blue light signal
could be too weak analog is rough using stock antenna.
Heard on Eton E-100 barefoot at Conimeicut Point Park Warwick R.I.
Notes: This logging was a strong short haul tropo opening out to Cape Cod.. Although even
the slightest tropo enchanment will bring in the stronger Cape market stations this one is very
hard and rare .
Notes 2: Earlier this AM i reported n HD detection on WWLI 105.1 . An absense of whining on
104.9 and 105.3 was noted on the Eton E-100 therefore WWLI IBOC is off at this time or at
least was earlier today.
New Logging:
103.9 WKPE South Yarmouth Ma 9:20 AM EDT wkpe cape 104 if your name is Nora Montreal
call in at xxxxxxx you won cape 104 capes hit music station 7/18/08
94.9 WKSJ Mobile Alabama 12:01 PM EDT heres another 50 minute music marathon on 95
ksj also heard a mobile alabama weather report earlier. battling i out with WHOM Mt
Washington for channel ownership. 7/22/08
94.5 WHOD Jackson Alabama 1:09 PM ET Jox or jocks fm jox is moving
from 100.5 to 94.5 change your car presets website is here http://wjox1005fm.com/ . An earlier
AD block mentioned something in or about missisipi. 7/22/08
94.7 WWJK Jackson Mississippi 12:32 PM EDT something about mississippi followed by Jack
947 playing what we want followed by blondie heart of glass 7/22/08
I took my Radiosophy HD-101 out of mothballs earlier this week to serve as a bedside clock
radio for local listening . the radio out of the box is deaf on FM and not bad on AM except for
battling noise from the house. i have had the radio over a year and kept meaning to make
improvements to it but kept pushing it off. Yesterday was the day. off to ocean state job lot
picked p a nice clean needle nose pliers to get the built in rod off the connector. Then next it
was a stop at bennys for a standard phillips UFH - VHF antenna with 34'' dipoles. this is very
close to the ideal 36'' length for FM. There is a single phasing knob . This is not amped.
Got back pulled the built in rod and connected the new antenna. Everything was cleared from
the dresser top to make plenty of flex room for the antenna . It was the difference between day
and night. ater a few adjustments with the phsing knob in came WGBH 89.7 HD1 HD2 HD3
with a lock i can reproduce !!!!! this is about 60 miles as the crow flies. The analog
took a flying leap . All the boston market stations could be heard along with some of the cape
cod stations that bounce in and out depening on if theres any tropo enchanment or not. it also
grabbed a brief lock on 96.9 Bostons HD-2 . this is a major rebirth of this now bedside DX /
listening machine (also provides a handy line in for bedside XM). The next step is to do
something about that piece of plastic that looks like an AM loop antenna and put some sort of
decent AM antenna on it maybe CC crane .
Being heard right now on Radiosophy with phillips Dipole TV antenna.
Thank You WSNE 93.3 for having your IBOC off even though i like your dance channel on HD2 !!!
93.1 WMGX Portland Maine 9:00 AM EDT TOH ID before that ads mentioning maine and
matched website just said maines #1 for 70s and 80s 7/25/08
102.3 WMOS Stonington CT 9:06 PM EDT 102.3 the wolf the shorelines classic rock followed
by Van Halen jump matches website 7/25/08
Heard on Eton E-100 at Comenciut Point Park Warwick R.I.
Tenative Logging:
104.3 WAXQ Newyork NY 11:50 AM EDT station doing beetles block followed mention of Q104 by TOH fade down / drop out upon fade back up ad block with something about ocean city
also mentioned Q 104.3 again went back to music and dropped out. 7/28/08
Notes: Logging is tenative as TOH time came along came Murphy and a gorgous fade
out.......and fade right back in afterwards. Googling Q-104 brings up WAXQ 104.3 NY NY.
Format is classic rock which matches what i was hearing. A tropo opening into NY is quite
possible . Also at the time of logging WHOM 94.9 was pounding in out of NH. This is a
known tropo pattern at the park where one end of the opening hits somewhere between NH
and Maine and the other end between long island NY and western CT or Hartford CT.
Kevin Redding – Adamsville, TN
Receiver and antenna as listed
Heard on a 2006 red Saturn Vue radio in Hardin County, TN:
93.3 WSYE Tupelo, MS 1006 7/7 RDS Better music and more of it. Tr 71 mi.
95.5 WSM-FM Nashville, TN 1011 7/7 The Wolf. Tr 107 mi.
95.5 KAHE Dodge City, KS 1015 Super hits K-95 over Nashville The Wolf. Es 673 mi.
98.1 WXMX Memphis TN 7/7 1430 ID as 98.1 "The Max". 96 mi.
98.5 WKSR Pulaski TN 7/7 1445 ID as "ninety eight-five KSR" 73 mi.
101.1 WASL Dyersburg TN 7/8 1515 playing classic rock from the 70s
and 80s and ID. 81 mi.
FM Logs heard on a Sangean HDR-1 and rabbit ears:
102.5 WERX Columbia, NC 7/9 1200 "102.5 The Shark" Es 681 mi.
106.3 WBTG Sheffield, AL 7/9 1100 ToH ID. TrS 49 mi.
7/9
Es and a regular GW catch between 1300 and 1400 in Crump, TN
94.1 KKLN Atwater MN IDed at BOH
95.1 CHVN Winnipeg MB CAN RDS hit and contemporary REL MX.
96.9 KAML Gillette WY ID "Camel Country" and announcement about I-90
construction.
97.3 WKJQ Parsons TN C&W ads for Decaturville, TN
97.1 KYCK Grand Forks ND USA "The Valleys Hit Country"
Heard on a Sangean HDR-1 and rabbit ears:
100.7 WYDL Middleton TN 7/10 2341"Wild 101.7" 43mi
100.9 WVHR Huntingdon TN 7/10 2344 C&W 60mi Tr
101.7 WORM Savannah TN 7/10 2345 "The Worm" 4 mi
101.9 WFTA Tupelo MS 7/10 2347 "Power 101" ID 81mi Tr
102.1 WDRM Decatur AL 7/10 2350 C&W 99mi Tr
102.5 WVNS Pegram TN 7/10 2356 ID "V 102.5" 123mi Tr
102.7 WEGR Memphis TN 7/10 2358 Rolling Stones 96mi Tr
103.1 WMXX Jackson TN 7/10 2359 "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" 50mi
103.3 WKDF Nashville TN 7/11 0001 C&W 107mi Tr
Heard on a red 2006 Saturn Vue radio and whip in Hardin County, TN:
94.1 WSNA Germantown, TN 7/17 1530 with rock music. 50 kW Tr 90 mi.
107.7 WHHM Henderson, TN 7/17 1542 RDS Star 1077 50 kW 35 mi.
107.3 WQLT Florence, AL 7/17 1545 RDS Q107 - Classic Rock. 93 kW 69 mi.
106.9 WWYN McKenzie, TN 7/17 1549 playing C&W. 100 kW 70 mi.
106.3 WBTG Sheffield, AL 7/17 1558 with TOH ID. 6 kW Tr 60 mi.
Heard on a Sangean HDR-1 and rabbit ears:
89.5 WMAE Booneville, MS 7/19 1126 in HD with program about air quality. No HD2. 55 mi.
TrE.
Heard on a Sangean HDR-1 with CM-3032 amp and rabbit ears antenna:
88.7 WQPR Muscle Shoals, AL 7/19 1706 with "A Prairie Home
Companion". 54 mi. 20 kW TrE
91.3 WFIX Florence, AL 7/19 1721 with top 20 REL rock and ID "The Fix
91 point 3". 52 mi. 100 kW
91.5 WFHU Henderson, TN 7/19 1724 playing "The Rock Shop". ID as "The
Lion." 35 mi. 10.5 kW
93.1 WWGM Alamo, TN 7/19 1732 playing standard gospel music. 75 mi.
14.2 kW. TrE
93.9 WSIB Selmer, TN 7/19 1737 with a local baseball game. 20 mi. 3 kW
94.3 WXRZ Corinth, MS 7/19 1740 with money talk. 36 mi. 25 kW
94.5 WFGZ Lobelville, TN 7/19 1744 REL music 60 mi 22 kW
94.7 WOJG Bolivar, TN 7/19 1747 Black gospel. 44 mi 22 kW
94.9 WMSR Collinwood, TN 7/19 1753 CHR 38 mi 7.7 kW
95.3 WADI Corinth, TN 7/19 1755 C&W "Whiskey For My Men and Beer For
My Horses." 36 mi 2.6 kW
95.9 WFKX Henderson, TN 7/19 1800 playing Urban Contemporary. 35 mi.
6 kW
96.5 WBFG Parkers Crossroads, TN 7/19 1803 with ESPN Radio. 41 mi 6 kW
96.7 WMOD Bolivar, TN 7/19 1807 C&W "The Bed You Made For Me." 44 mi
3 kW TrE
104.1 WOGY Jackson, TN 7/19 1829 C&W "Froggy 104." 58 mi. 100 kW
105.5 WXOQ Selmer, TN 7/19 1833 C&W ads for Nurse jobs in Savannah. 6 kW
89.5 WMAE Booneville, MS 7/23 2321 with HD2 and the music program
World Cafe. Its one of the few HD programs I like so far.
Heard in a red 2006 Saturn Vue in Savannah, TN:
92.7 KBRB Bassett, NE 7/26 1140 with ad for a fair in Bassett.
Harry Helms – Corpus Christi, TX
Eton E-5
7/16
FM was a little weird last night, with stations from Houston and San Antonio/Austin overriding
some of my semi-locals. For example, KITE, 93.3, in Port Lavaca was being crushed by KPTY,
Houston, with hip hop programming. No long distance tropo, just a strange inversion that
seemed to take out anything 30 to 60 miles distant and opening the door for stations 150-250
miles away on the same channel.
You don’t Need a Weatherman…
Kevin Redding – Adamsville, TN
CCRadio
Heard on a CCRadio about 2230 7/2 while scratching massive numbers of
chigger bites:
Ch 1 - 162.400 KIH53 Dumas, MS WX for Booneville and Ripley, MS 51 mi.
Ch 2 - nothing
Ch 3 - 162.450 KWN53 Centerville, TN WX for Paris, TN 62 mi.
Ch 4 - 162.475 KIH57 Crooked Oak, AL WX for Tuscumbia, Muscle Shoals,
Sheffield and Florence, AL 54 mi.
Ch 5 - 162.500 WZ2506 Cypress, Inn, TN WX for Nashville, TN 33 mi.
Ch 6 - 162.525 KWN52 Lobelville, TN WX for Jackson, TN 46 mi.
Ch 7 - 162.550 WXK60 Jackson, TN WX for Jackson, TN 39 mi.
The Visible Universe
Norbert Ansay – Warwick, RI
Digital Stream DTV Tuner and Analog TV
Seen with digital stream from Warwick R.I.
I picked up an (out of pocket) digital stream from radio shack yesterday. over the W/E i had
tested one of the maggys i bought from walmart with the coupons. this opened a can of worms
when i found the maggy converter got more channels then the TV built in DTV tuner. after
seeing this i got the digital stream for myself (the maggys are for other family member TVs and
were only meant for local viewing).
here is a bandscan as seen on the digital stream with radio shack amped remote control
indoor antenna. (all are remapped although the digital stream does show the real RF numbers)
This is an improvement over analog. Also ntenna web said outdoor antenna was needed for
boston but the digital stream is punching thru.
2.1 WGBH 2 Boston PBS
2.2 WGBH Boston
4.1 WBZ 4 boston CBS
5-1 boston 5
6-1 WLNE Newbedford ABC
6-2 WLNE
7-1 Boston 7 NBC
7-2 Boston weather
10-1 WJAR Providence NBC
10-2 Local weather
12-1 WPRI Providence CBS
25-1 boston WFXT (poor signal)
27-1 Wocrestor 27
28-1 CW 28 providence
36-1 WSBE providence PBS
36-2 PBS
38-1 WSBK Boston
44-1 WGBX Boston PBS
44-2 PBS
44-3 PBS
44-4 PBS
46-1 home shopping (mass)
56-1 WLVI 56 Boston CW
64-1 WNAC Providence Fox
69-1 Block Island ION (very poor signal)
69-2 ION
69-3 ION
69-4 ION
Bob Carter – Utica, NY
Zenith TV and Midrange Antenna
I experienced some E skip today [7/08/08] on my day off. Catching the last analog TV E-skip
season while I can...nabbed KMTV Action 3 News from Omaha Neb around 6pm eastern.
They were in their newscast. Saw a ..strong at times, station on 4 but did not catch an ID.
Channel 5 and channel 3 had Jeopardy on around 430pm eastern....but no IDs from either
channel. For a very brief while, there was a weak unIDed channel 6 by 630pm eastern and all
was gone by 730pm eastern. Nothing long distance caught on channel 2 as there is a local
analog station here on that channel, but for a while....even at 12 miles from WKTV
NewsChannel 2's transmitter site, the picture was a slight bit beat up.
I'll certainly miss the TV summer E-skip catches...after Feb 17th 2008 ...its digital or bust.
[Antenna is a "mid" range vhf/uhf up pointed west....around 30 feet above ground atop a 200
foot hill, tv is a Zenith "Omni Electronic Tuning" set.}
Two new catches this evening at 7pm eastern 7/9.
Channel 3 WCIA Champaign, Illinois and Channel 4 KMOV St. Louis Missori. WDAF Fox 4
from Kansas City Missori coming in as well..video only while it takes turns with KMOV video
with KMOV audio holding near steady with some fading. All 3 stations into their 6pm
newscast. A faint picture on channel 5...but not good enough to see who it is. Channel 6 a
very faint hortizonal rolling bar showing up...would not be surprised if the MUF was up in the
lower par of the FM broadcast band.
Just caught "The Baby Borrowers" on KSNW ....also known as KSN, Witchita Ks [8pm local]
Had near local type video/audio before fading to just above the noise and approaching serve
thunder storms in my area....
All of the other channels are "quiet" dx wise.
Extra, Extra!
Robert M, Bratcher, Jr. Houston, TX
92.1 in Seabrook Texas. I can get it in northwest Houston just fine. Used to listen to them
when they were KRTS (classical) before it changed to mexican. Now the programming is black
gospel calling itself Praise 92. Just an fyi.....
Dr. Tom Gruis – Des Moines, IA
Hi from Des Moines - the one in Iowa. I recieved e-mail this afternoon from the
engineer at WOI (640 AM @ 5 KW ND day and about 1KW 2-towers night) and WOIFM (90.1 @ 100 KW) in Ames, Iowa saying that FM's digital should be on by the end of
the month and that digital is also in the works for AM. The stations are operated by Iow
State University and part of Iowa Public Radio.
Glenn Hauser – Enid, OK
** MEXICO [and non]. XETV TO BE CW NETWORK ON AUGUST 1
Thursday, July 3, 2008 by SDRadio.
Logo: http://sdradio.net/__oneclick_uploads/2008/07/sd6_aug1_a.jpg
On August 1st, 2008 XETV Channel 6 becomes "San Diego 6 The CW" and the proud new
home of The CW Television Network. "We believe that The CW’s new fall line-up, with the new
90210 joining the critically acclaimed Gossip Girl, will be a very exciting and promotable
schedule that will fit perfectly with the #1 local station in San Diego. We are looking forward to
a great new partnership," said VP/General Manager, Richard Doutré Jones.
The station logo and prime time programming will change, but the rest of the program
schedule will remain the same. "We will continue our popular 5 a.m.-9 a.m. morning newscast,
and 9-10 a.m. San Diego Living, as well as our full hour of news at 10:00 p.m. We also have
our top-rated syndicated programs including The Simpsons, That 70’s Show, South Park and
Seinfeld.
Viewers will wake up with San Diego 6 in the Morning anchors Marc Bailey, Lynda Martin and
man about town Ruben Galvan weekdays 5-9 a.m. San Diego 6 News at 10:00 p.m. will
continue to bring balanced news coverage to San Diego, with anchors Jim Patton, Heather
Myers, meteorologist Aloha Taylor and C.S. Keys on sports.
According to the May ’08 Nielson Media Research rating survey, our 10 p.m. and morning
newscasts were rated number 1 among adults 18-54," said Jones "XETV has been serving
San Diego for over 55 years. We will continue to bring viewers the balanced news they trust
and the great entertainment programming they love".
The CW fall 2008 prime time schedule lineup includes returning hits America’s Next Top
Model, Smallville, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, and this year’s wildly-anticipated new show,
90210.
"We are thrilled to be affiliated with XETV, the number one station in San Diego," said John
Maatta, Chief Operating Officer, The CW. "This station has a huge local identity, which
perfectly complements The CW Network. The combination of XETV and The CW will be an
explosive one which will rock the San Diego market. This vibrant and happening West Coast
market now has a vibrant and happening combination with the hook-up of The CW and XETV.
This will be a great thing for the station, the network and most importantly, the viewers in San
Diego."
XETV signed on the air in January, 1953 as San Diego’s second television station. From 1956
to 1972 XETV operated as an ABC affiliate. The station became independent in 1972 and was
one the first stations to affiliate with the fledgling FOX network in 1986.
Today’s FCC Public Notices showed the renewal of XETV’s permit to send programming
across the border. The notice specifically says the programming is to be in English
(SDRadio.net via DXLD)
Is this only about analog-6 which won`t have to go off next Feb?
Bargain Barn
Nothing for sale this month
Show and Tell – New Toys
Brian Leyton – Valley Village, CA JVC HD Car Radio
Well, in case anyone was wondering what ever became of the JVC HD radio I was buying for my wife's
van (you forgot all about it? Yeah, me too). Actually, it just took a while to find the time to sit down
for a bit and put the wiring harness together. I finally did it last Saturday night, and had the radio
installed by 1:00 AM. As with all Crutchfield installations, this one took a little time, since I wanted to
be careful, but it was really quite easy. Ever since I discovered the wonders of heat-shrink tubing, I like
to take my time and do it right.
So anyhow, the radio works well. The sound is good, and it works pretty much as I expected it would. I
only had a little time to play with it, but I do have a few first impressions.
First of all, I cannot tell the difference between FM analog and HD. Maybe its my middle-aged ears, but
the only way I knew I was listening to HD was the "HD" light in the display. Try as I could, I could not
hear any difference when the light went from flashing to solid. Maybe that's just a testament to the local
engineering folks - at least the timing and processing is matched well.
As for AM, the difference was quite obvious, but my first impression is that the HD sounded tinnier (I
guess if I wanted to make that a good thing, I could have said "brighter").
Driving around town, we were mostly stuck listening to my 4-year-old daughter's CD, but once she fell
asleep, I got to play. Analog and HD-1 sounded just fine. One HD-2 that we tried (KBIG 104.3 as I
recall) sounded fine, but would periodically drop out completely. Incidentally, this happened while
driving the 405 freeway in West L.A. (right by Saul Levine's studios for AM 540/1260 and FM 105.1).
Not exactly the boonies. If we were spending all of our time in the Valley, then I suspect that the HD-2s
would do better, but now that we have a business over by LAX, my wife is driving over the hill every
day. She's normally the type to just pick a station and listen, but I doubt she will do that with an HD-2
that cuts out all the time.
One other minor annoyance is that you can't set a preset for a sub-channel. You can only set it for the
analog channel, then press the up-arrow to switch to the sub-channels.
We sampled a few of the other HD-2 channels, but there wasn't anything so compelling that we had to
stop and stay for any length of time.
So at least here in L.A., I don't think that the HD-2 channels are going to be much of a draw - at least
not until there is a substantial power increase.
More to come as I have time to listen more...
Powell E. Way III – Silverstreet, SC Sangean DT400W
It came today and I put the batteries in it at the Post Office. There was a good bit of powerline
noise, and it even picked up WGAC 580 Augusta, Georgia which just doesn't come in well here
for some [unknown to me ] reason. WX radio part was excellent. You MUST have something
plugged into the headphone jack for WX or FM to work More later. it seems to be
excellent....and it is VERY
YELLLLLOWWW
!!!!
Steve Ponder – Houston, TX Sangean DT400W
My bright yellow Sangean DT-400W arrived via USPS this past Tuesday! I decided to get one
based on how well my DT-200V performed. I figuredthe DT-400W would be an improved
version of the DT-200V. I was right!
Also, since the DT-200V covers the analog TV channels, I thought the replacement of the TV
channels with the 7 US National Weather Service frequencies on the DT-400W was a smart
move since the analog TV channels will go dark next year.
Right out of the blister pack, the DT-400W's performance was SUPER!
This will definitely be a radio that I will get a lot of enjoyment outof! Now I can leave my DT200V in my desk at work, since, even inside the government office building where I work, it will
receive the local AM and FM stations.
One thing majorly different in FM reception between the DT-200V and the DT-400W is that
with the DT-400W you definitely need either your headphones or the nifty antenna wire
(supplied) to pick up even the local FM stations.
A more detailed review, along with a bandscan, is forthcoming (I hope).
Eton E-100
My Eton E-100 from "The Shortwave Store" in Canada arrived, safe and sound, this past
Saturday! Even after reading the reviews of the radio and seeing pictures of it on various
websites, I was still amazed at just how small the radio really is. Sure fits the description of an
"ultralight!"
Not a bad price, either! Less than half the list price, thanks to a special from Gary DeBock of
www.dxer.ca.
One minor problem, though - the 2 AA batteries that came with the radio (Eton brand) had
started to corrode. But, thankfully, they were still in the shrink-wrap and didn't damage
anything inside the box. AND, there were 2 new AA alkaline batteries taped to the outside of
the box, so I came out okay!
Haven't had any time to do anything with the radio other than to put the new batteries in, set
the time, and check out the controls to see if they work.
I'm hoping to have some time later this week to test the radio, do some bandscans, etc. We'll
see.
Alan Furst – Round Rock, TX Grundig G4
I was in Columbus yesterday and visited Universal Radio.
UR always makes the trip very worthwhile.
For those looking for a radio that records, check into the Grundig G4. It is a great sounding
little radio, with excellent ability to pull in signals.
The G4 is very compact, in fact smaller than the G5.
It has a built in flash drive or you can record on SD cards. It takes them up to 2GB.
The radio takes a little getting used to and the labeling hard toread. (Maybe it's just time for a
new eyeglass prescription for me).
No this is not a paid advertisement.
It's kind of like the old Sony T1000 which had built-in cassette. Just smaller and a little more
convenient. The Sony sold for about $500, this one is $199.
Scott Fybush – Grundig G4
I bought one a couple of weeks ago and am trying to decide whether to keep it or return it. I
love the size of the radio, and I've been looking for something to replacing my aging fleet of
T1000s, especially as it becomes harder to even find blank cassettes.
BUT...I can't find any way to change the bitrate at which the G4 records off the radio. The unit
I've been playing with records at the "voice" setting, which is probably something like 32k
mono. That's not good enough for the airchecking I want to do with it...so it's likely to be
going back to Amazon ($199 there as well) while I wait for the G4+ or whatever the next radio
with a built-in MP3 recorder is...
Jay Heyl – Orlando, FL Sony XDR-F1HD
My Sony XDR-F1HD arrived this morning from Amazon. I don't know why, perhaps because
it's a component tuner and not a full radio, I was under the impression it would be the size of a
normal audio component. It's not even close. It's roughly 7"x7"x2.5".
The front contains the display and the on/off button. All other controls are on the top in a single
row set back about 3/4" from the front. There is a remote control included.
Due to it not including speakers, I had to run out at lunch and spend $15 on connector pieces
at Rat Shack so I could hook it up to the computer speakers I have at work. It would have been
nice if Sony had included a stereo mini-plug connector. Given the lack of a volume control, this
unit is either going to be attached to a full stereo unit (most of which already have tuners, so
that's a bit questionable) or to powered speakers that have built in volume control. I find the
latter to be far more likely, particularly since almost all the controls are on the top. Odd
placement for a component intended for use with the full component stereo system.
With the unit hooked up to the massive 3" cube JBL speakers I have on my desk, I started
searching for HD stations. Somewhat to my surprise, since I've never once heard them
mention it on the air, the FM station I normally listen to in the morning is available in HD. Sort
of. Even though the signal strength indicator (which is only three vertical bars) shows a full
strength signal, the station keeps slipping in and out of HD. Admittedly, the dipole is not high
on an outside wall as they suggested, but it is fully stretched out, taped to the back of my
desk for the moment. Okay, in a flash of near brilliance, I moved the antenna to the top of
cabinet over the other leg of the desk. I'm now getting a solid signal on that same station.
When the signal transitioned from analog to digital, about all I could hear was a slight reduction
in the volume level. In fairness, I need to try this again with something a bit better than these
tiny speakers that probably cost all of $15. Still, I guess I was expecting something a bit more
obvious. If I hadn't have been listening for it, I would have never noticed when it switched to
digital.
This particular station has just the one HD channel. In the scans I've done I did notice a couple
with two HD channels and one that had three. I'll have to give those a critical listen when I get
the better speakers hooked up.
On AM this unit is providing the best signal I've gotten in my office. That may be more due to
the mini loop antenna than the tuner, but at least I'm going to be able to listen to AM talk now.
The unit runs a bit warm. I'm getting that wonderful smell of new plastic being heated up and
outgassing all those marvelous chemicals. I'd never made the connection before, but it smells
a lot like the TV section at Circuit City. Now I know why they all smell the same.
OMG! I just found a station that's playing Christian rap! For some reason that strikes me about
like Kosher ham.
I guess that's about it for now. I'll write more after I play around a bit more. took the XDRF1HD home yesterday and hooked it up to some much better speakers. I'm pretty sure these
speakers exceed the capacity of the tuner, so any limitations are from the radio (or my hearing)
and not the speakers.
I found one instance where the analog signal was a bit noisy and the digital signal was
obviously much cleaner. Night and day difference in that case.
In every other case it seemed to me the analog signal actually sounded better than the digital
signal. The volume level clearly dropped when the digital stream took over. Trying my best to
ignore that aspect, the overall sound just felt compressed. And I don't really mean that
in a digital compression sense. It was as though someone had literally squeezed the sound.
That was my subjective impression. In reality I suspect some of the highs and lows were
thrown out during the digital compression process. This wasn't just on the stations that were
airing multiple HD channels. Even the ones with just a single HD channel sounded like this.
On the positive side, it did seem like the digital signal provided a better sense of the sound
stage.
I almost got a lock on an HD station from Tampa. I'm not sure where their broadcast tower is,
but it has to be at least 50 miles away. Many of the Tampa stations were coming in very solid
in analog. The signal strength "meter" only has three segments. Most of the Tampa
stations were reading two segments. It's not unusual to get these stations on the mono FM
radios I have, but I was a bit surprised to get a decent stereo signal at that distance. Mind you,
this was with just the included dipole antenna stretched out over the back of the sofa. If I had a
decent antenna up on the roof I'd probably have a shot at some Miami stations.
The only local station transmitting IBOC on MW switches to a north-easterly pattern at night
and I get effectively no signal at all from them. I tuned around a bit to see if I could get any hint
of IBOC coming in from a distance but struck out on that. I guess I need to figure out a way to
hook the QX Pro to the F1HD.
To summarize my impressions so far -XDR-F1HD: Very nice FM tuner, far better AM tuner than I was expecting. An excellent value
at $50 with the rebate.
HD-Radio: Eh.
Testing, Testing…
No tests this month
Call Sign Changes
PUBLIC NOTICE
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
News media information 202/418-0500
Fax-On-Demand 202/418-2830
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
ftp.fcc.gov
________________________________________
Report No. 511 Media Bureau Call Sign Actions July 16, 2008
During the period from May 8, 2008 to July 10, 2008 the Commission accepted applications to assign call signs
to, or change the call signs of the following broadcast stations.
Call Signs Reserved for Pending Sales Applicants
Call Sign
City
State
KMRZ-FM FM SUPERIOR
WY
KQTM FM RIO RANCHO
NM
WJTP AM
WALHALLA
SC
WYHM AM
ROCKWOOD TN
New or Modified Call Signs
Call Sign
WNTJ
KKRN
KLBN
KESA
Former Call Sign
KKWY
KQBT
WWOF
WOFE
Service
City
State
AM JOHNSTOWN PA
FM BELLA VISTA CA
New
FM FRESNO
CA
FM EUREKA SPRINGS
AR
Former Call Sign
WPRR
KOQO-FM
KTCN
KKWB
FM KELLIHER
MN
New
KEJC-LP LP SHERIDAN
AR
KWBF-LP
KSEW
AM SEWARD
AK
KSWD
KSWD
FM LOS ANGELES CA
KRBV
WBKK
AM WILTON MN
New
WIOX
FM ROXBURY NY
New
WJFN
AM BRANDON
MS
WZQK
KSDQ
FM MOBERLY
MO New
WBNM
AM ALEXANDER CITY
AL
WRFS
WGWS FM SAINT MARY'S CITY
MD
New
WUCN
AM SMITHVILLE GA
New
KDNR
FM SOUTH GREELEY
WY
KEZF
WHWS-LP FL GENEVA
NY
WSAC-LP
WTNQ
FM LA FOLLETTE TN
WQLA-FM
WXXW-LP BINGHAMTON
NY
W06CC
KOLJ FM
WARROAD
MN
New
WSGC-FM FM ELBERTON GA
WLVX
WSKX
FM YORK CENTER ME
WUBB
WYNJ FM BLACKDUCK
MN
New
WTBZ-LP LP GAINESVILLE FL
W29CV
KCFL
FM
GLENOMA WA
New
WZFG
AM DILWORTH
MN
WZFN
KEZF
FM KIMBALL
NE
New
KSGS-LP FL RIO GRANDE CITY
TX
New
WPNT
AM SOUTH BEND IN
WWLV
WSYA
AM ANNISTON
AL
WANA
WXLE
FM CANTON
NY
New
WABT
FM FAIRLAND
IN
New
WVXI
FM COLE
IN
New
KTWI
FM BENNINGTON NE
KHUS
KXJM
FM BANKS
OR
KVMX
KXTG
FM PORTLAND
OR
KXJM
KBTN
AM NEOSHO
MO
KQYS
WUMI
FM NEWBERRY
MI
New
KKND
FM BELLE CHASSE
LA
KMEZ
KQAQ
AM AUSTIN
MN
KNFX
WCHH
FM BALTIMORE MD
WSMJ
WFBX
AM SPRING LAKE NC
WCIE
WLNB
FM WARTBURG
TN
New
WTCO-FM FM PENDLETON SC
New
WVWA
FM NORTH SALEM
NY
New
WXLB
FM BOONVILLE NY
New
WBYK
FM KULPMONT
PA
New
WKMZ
FM MUKWONAGO WI
WFZH
WSHM
FM WIXOM
MI
New
WDLF
FM . MAYNARDVILLE
TN WOEZ
WNDA
AM NEW ALBANY IN
WWSZ
WQLO
FM LAKE ODESSA MI
New
WRCI
AM ROCHESTER NY
WLGZ
WZKL
FM WOODSTOCK IL
New
KHEC FM CRESCENT CITY CA
New
KOHP
FM RILEY
OR
New
WSJE
FM SUMMERSVILLE
WV
New
KJCD
FM FORT BENTON
MT
New
WJYF
FM TALLULAH FALLS
GA
New
WREE
FM FARGO
GA
New
WREI
FM KINGS BAY
GA
New
WELX
FM DANNEMORA NY
WDYC
WKFO
AM STANFORD KY
WRSL
WRIW-CA PROVIDENCE
RI
WRIW-LP
KSKR
AM ROSEBURG
OR
KRNR
KSKR-FM FM SUTHERLIN
OR
KAVJ
WKNZ
FM HARRINGTON DE
New
KCST-LP LP HOQUIAM
WA
KDNH-LP
KMEZ
FM PORT SULPHUR
LA
KXOS
KYTS
FM TEN SLEEP
WY
KGCL
WGVN
AM GEORGETOWN
KY WXRA
WUPG
FM REPUBLIC
MI
WUPZ
WUPZ
FM CRYSTAL FALLS
MI
WUPG
KGCC
FM GILLETTE
WY
KXXL
KITG
FM SARCOXIE
MO New
KXXL
FM MOORCROFT WY
KPKL
WKWH FM LIBERTY
IN New
KBNZ-LP LP BEND
OR
K07YM
KZME
FM BRIGHTWOOD OR
New
WFHC-LP FL HENDERSONVILLE
NC
New
WPPG
FM REPTON
AL WTID
WYRD-FM FM SIMPSONVILLE
SC WGVC
WCMR
AM ELKHART
IN WFRN
WCMR-FM FM BRUCE
MS WCMR
WCRW
AM POCOMOKE CITY
MD
WBEY
WMEX
FM EDGARTOWN MA
New
KGCD
FM LINCOLN
NDKVLQ
KGCM
FM BELGRADE
MT
KQLU
KQCK
TV CHEYENNE
WY
KDEV
KQDK-CA CA
AURORA
CO KDEV-LP
WGCN
FM NASHVILLE
GA
WVRI
WGXM
FM PORT REPUBLIC
NJ
WXXY-FM
WHBP
FM HARBOR SPRINGS
MI
New
WLMN
FM MANISTEE
MI New
KLHV
FM FORT COLLINS
CO KGCO
WDTX
FM ROTHSCHILD WI
New
KBKO-FM BAKERSFIELD
CA
KDFO
KDFO
FM DELANO
CAKBKO-FM
KGFJ FM BELT
MT
New
WHEY FM
NORTH MUSKEGON MI New
WLUX
AM DUNBAR
WV New
WNHI
FM FARMINGTON NH WKHL
WSMJ
FM WILKINSON
IN
New
KSRJ
FM ARLINGTON SD
New
WEUC
FM MORGANFIELD
KY New
KDEV-LP LP CHEYENNE
WY
KKTU-LP
WUMM
FM MACHIAS
ME
New
KEIS
FM
YORK
NE
New
KEJA
FM CALE
AR New
KJOG
FM CLEVELAND OK
New
KYAH
FM MANHATTAN KS
New
WGIA
FM DAMASCUS
GA New
WGLG
FM LA GRANGE GA
New
KGCO
FM RED FEATHER LAKES CO
KEZV
KGWB FM SNYDER
TX
New
KVTS-LP REPUBLIC
MO
New
KYCO
FM LIMON
CO New
WLS-FM CHICAGO
IL WZZN
KPDC-LP LP INDIO
CA
K25GW
KTLO-LP LP COLORADO SPRINGS CO
K49CJ
KUWI
FM RAWLINS
WY
New
WNJY-FM NETCONG
NJ
New
WNLI
FM STURGEON BAY
WI
WRGX
WQOH AM IRONDALE
AL
WRLM
WTOC
AM NEWTON
NJ
WNNJ
WRKJ
FM WESTBROOK ME
New
KTXW
AM MANOR
TX KRAU
KWEH
FM WEATHERFORD
OK
New
WOWC
FM MORRISON
TN
WRKK-FM
KCSF
AM COLORADO SPRINGS CO
KKML
KDOW
AM PALO ALTO
CA
KNTS
KNTS
AM SEATTLE
WA KDOW
KTLP-LP LP PUEBLO
CO K34FB
KVRZ
FM LIBBY
MT
New
WNWT
AM ROSSFORD
OH
WDMN
KPMZ
FM FLOWER MOUND
TX
KTYS
WDCN-LP LP FAIRFAX
VA W06CJ
KAJF
FM IPSWICH
SD
New
KAMF
FM TULARE
SD
New
KBLC FREDERICKSBURG
TX KHCF
KGCV
FM ELK MOUNTAIN
WY
KEZH
KGCY
FM ESTERBROOK WY
KEZG
KKHI
FM CENTENNIAL CO
KGDQ
KMQS
FM WHEATLAND WY
KKHI
KOEC
FM O'NEILL
NE
New
KOMH
FM MARSHALL
MN
New
KPCJ
FM YANKTON
SD
New
KSTJ
FM NORFOLK
NE
New
WGIW
FM PILOT MOUNTAIN
NC
New
KLJK
FM HUDSON
TX KLSN
WNNJ
FM NEWTON
NJ WNNJ-FM
KBDY
FM HANNA
WY
KXMP
WEBK
FM SOCIETY HILL SC
New
WFBK
FM FORT MILL
SC
New
WJTJ
FM CAMERON
MO
New
WNBK
FM WHITMIRE
SC
New
WRDK
FM BLADENBORO NC
New
KCFR-FM FM DENVER CO KVOD
KVOD
FM LAKEWOOD
CO KFDN
KRUK
FM HAPPY CAMP CA
New
WFGE
FM TYRONE
PA
WGMR
WFGS
FM MURRAY
KY
WFGE
WHDC-LP LP CHARLESTON SC
WJEA-LP
WNDA-CA CA JEFFERSONVILLE, ETC. IN WVHF-CA
WWSH
FM PLEASANT GAP
PA
WSGY
I Got The Bird!
No one got the bird this month!
ABDX consists of:
Editor/List Owner: Kevin Redding
Webmaster: Michael J. Richard
Moderators: Phil Rafuse
Powell E. Way III
LW Editor: Jay Heyl
NBN Editor: Martin Foltz
And 187 of the greatest DXing contributors on earth!
Please pass the ABDX Journal to all the DXers you know. The dues are free and all we would
like to do is see you contribute your logs on occasion.
To join the DXers at ABDX either go to this URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ABDX/
Or email dc2daylight at gmail.com