February 2007 ABDX Journal
Vol 2. Issue 2
Editors Corner:
Another year has come to ABDX. ABDX now has 147 members. We have
increased by two.
We enjoy seeing our members who have made it to the “Hall of Fame” for
those of us with faces for radio! If you are a member and want to be in the
Rogues Gallery, send your picture to
webmaster@americanbroadcastdx.com.
A lot has happened this month, in the news, Sirius and XM satellite radio
have announced that they would like to merge. The FCC and SEC have
stated that they are not approving. We will watch this as it develops.
Radiosophy who has been announcing the release of their HD radio for the
last two years, has finally brought their radio to market.
ABDX has added a new Section called “You Don’t Need a Weatherman…”
Send us your WX band logs and we will add them here.
ABDX is looking for those who would like to edit a section of the Journal. If
you are interested, email listowner@americanbroadcastdx.com .
In the listings of submitted logs, the states in the CME will be color coded:
Pennsylvania
Texas
Idaho
Ontario
Nuevo Leon
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 you and we will consider you for
membership.
This is the site to join ABDX.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ABDX/
The ABDX website URL is:
www.americanbroadcastdx.com or 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.
You can get your copy of the journal at www.abdx.org
Here is the announcement for the February CME:
ABDX is announcing the February CME.
We present the Tri-State, Province and Estado MW segment for MW BCB DX
aficionados. This has been requested in the long distant past and I figure its time we
give it a try. Three states, one in the east , one in the west and one central and one
Canadian Province and one Mexican Estado will be targeted.
The US states to be focused on are, Pennsylvania, Texas and Idaho. The target
Canadian province is Ontario. The Estado Mexicano is Nuevo Leon. Any station
heard on any band or frequency within the listed target areas are available for
logging.
All logs will be accepted, But the focus on the targeted areas is the main thrust of
this CME.
For the many HF DXers, extra-American SW segment .This segment is to receive
every signal you can on any meter band from outside the western hemisphere and
American islands in the Pacific. All HF logs will be accepted but the focus should be
on broadcasts from Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia and the like.
As always we are open for the FM and TV logs, LF logs and your favorite internet
radio feeds, just send in what it is and the URL for addition into the Journal. Let us
know about tests that are upcoming.
This CME starts 1 Feb. 0000 and ends 28 Feb 2359. Report LOCAL TIME for LW,
MW, FM and TV, UTC for HF broadcast [SW].
You may use any format to compile your logs that You wish. We hope to see your
logs this month.
The March CME announcement:
ABDX is announcing the March CME.
LW - Any broadcast station or beacon
MW - Back per popular demand by one of our favorite Florida DXers the range DX
segment. This month will cover 900 - 1190 kHz.
HF - Per request, logging of DX programs on such as World of Radio, DXers
Unlimited, Bulgaria's DX Program, DX Corner from Japan, DXing With Cumbre,
Allan Weiner Worldwide, Radio Weather, etc... For a good look at the times and
frequencies please visit Glenn Hauser's
URL http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html .
FM/TV - This is your time of year. FM and TV should be SMOKIN HOT with Trop
Ducting. Any log anywhere on the band.
Satellite - Any logging or program note.
NOAA WX Band - Any logging. Should be a good month for it with Trop season
starting.
Nuthin' But Net - Internet Radio logs and URLs are gladly accepted.
ABDX will accept all loggings but these are the preferred areas for the month.
This CME starts 1 MAR 0000 and ends 31MAR 2359. Report LOCAL TIME for
LW, MW, FM and TV, UTC for HF broadcast [SW].
You may use any format to compile your logs that You wish. We hope to see your
logs this month.
What are you hearing?
Kevin Redding, Phil Rafuse and Mike Richard, the ABDX crew.
The Broadcast Band
Keith McGinnis – Hingham, MA
Drake R8B
February 3, 2007
2200 UTC WTRI 1520 khz Brunswick MD with ID and mentions of Frederick and
Leesburg
February 19, 2007
0510 UTC WIFI 1460 khz Florence NJ with an ad for Life Center Academy
and 609 ac
0648 UTC WNYG 1440 khz Babylon NY under others but // to web stream
IEN-GA Ira Elbert New, III, Watkinsville – GA
DRAKE R8B 135' N/S Wire / SR III
1430 WDIC VA Clinchco - 02/01/07 1541 - Country music. Decent signal fading
in and out of the mix. "WDIC, AM Stereo 1430". (IEN-GA)
1120 WKCE TN Maryville - 02/01/07 1659 - The Line Score Show, a local sports
talkshow, live from Rooster's Bar and Grill. Good signal (S9) with fades,
but above KMOX in St. Louis, MO. "...WKCE in Maryville". (IEN-GA)
780 WPTN TN Cookeville - 02/04/07 1700 - TOH ID into ABC News. Weak
signal in the null of WCKB in Dunn, NC and WWOL in Forest City, NC. "WPTN,
Cookeville". (IEN-GA)
820 CA CUBA Santa Catalina - 02/16/07 2325 - Monday, Monday by The
Mamas and The Papas. Spanish music at 2330. Good signal (20 over S9) with
slight static. "Radio Ciudad de la Habana". (IEN-GA)
Kevin Redding – Gilbert, Arizona
Rx As Noted Below – Q-Stick +
Heard on a CCRadio, nekkid:
1440 KPUR Amarillo, TX 2/3 0000 ESPN sports and ToH ID.
820 WBAP Ft. Worth, TX 2/3 0600 with WBAP local news.
1080 KRLD Dallas, TX 2/3 0602 with national news and a PSA about
recycling batteries.
570 KLIF Dallas, TX 2/3 0605 Singing ID "570 KLIF" after Fox News.
Only heard in the AM here when available.
630 KFXD Boise, ID 2/3 0607 Willie Nelson singing "On the Road Again".
1590 KELP El Paso, TX 2/3 0618 running J. Vernon McGee.
1620 WTAW College Station, TX 2/3 0630 "Our House" home repair show, ad
for Texas Regional Eye Center.
1650 KHRO El Paso, TX 2/3 0635 Air America and the Thom Hartmann Show.
1380 KHEY El Paso, TX 2350 2/5 ESPN talking about the Colts win in the Super
Bowl.
700 KHSE Wylie, TX 2/6 0340 playing Asian music, sounding Indonesian.
750 KAMA El Paso, TX 2/6 0344 playing SS baladas.
1360 UNID 2/6 0328 playing C&W antenna facing to receive E-W. Heard
during a short time with local KPXQ off air
840 WHAS Louisville, KY 2/6 0000 with ToH ID in null and under KXNT.
Weak and rarely heard here.
1050 XEG Monterrey, NL, Mexico 2/6 1838 playing regional Mexican music.
870 KRLA Los Angeles, CA 2/6 1820 with ad for Hugh Hewitt, ID.
890 WLS Chicago, IL 2/6 1825 with an interminably long stop set, ID, fade out.
890 KLFF Arroyo Grande, CA 2/6 1828 "Saving your daughter in purity".
1050 XEBCS LaPaz, BCS, Mexico 2/6 1840 Playing jazz, LOUD, must still
be on day power.
1090 XEPRS Rosarita, BCN Mexico 2/6 1855 talking about the Chargers.
1180 R. Rebelde Havana, Cuba 2/6 1957 playing Cuban Jazz with a
tropical beat.
1380 KTKZ Sacramento, CA 2/6 1903 ID and news.
Heard on a Bruce Carter Modded SR III no external antenna:
930 KSEI Pocatello, ID 2/8 0534 sports talk about A-Rod.
1030 KCTA Corpus Christi, TX 2/8 with J. Vernon Mc Gee preaching and
still dead.
1660 KRZI Waco, TX 2/7 2338 running ad for the Baylor Bears, I think
basketball. Buried under KXOL.
Heard on a Digital Superadio 7-2882A nekkid:
1550 KZRK Canyon, TX 2/8 2324 ad for bald guy stuff to make us broke,
'cuz it ain't gonna make their hair grow, and into sports talk, sounds like ESPN.
Heard on a Zenith Trans-Oceanic H500 with RS loop: [Not nekkid]
1210 KPRZ San Marcos, CA 2/26 0002 with ID and ad for
www.normandmike.com and their financial show on Sundays. Was unusual as
KGYN is almost always dominant.
Phil Rafuse – Stratford, PEI, Canada
Collins R-392 and 6’ copper pipe antenna or Pontiac Vibe Radio and whip
2/2
MW was pretty good in PEI last night. No chance to do real DXing. But, I did do
a quick 530 to 1700 bandscan on the Drake R8 with the remote control in one
hand and baby Timmers in the other.
The X band was noisy but active, with the news from Iowa coming in very clearly
on 1630 KCJJ. 1680 WTTM was pretty weak, but its been weak ever since the
new format, loss of AM Stereo and the new transmitter site.
WQEW on 1560 was very weak, but the other NYC stations were booming as
usual. Got a talk station on 960 - the strongest signal on 960 since CHNS went
dark. 555 ZIZ was solid with BBC programming relayed. 530 RVC was near
local strength. Virgin 1215 was there but hammered by WPHT - I gotta get the
antenna jack fixed on the R-390A as the selectivity of the Drake R8 on even 2.3
is very poor compared to the R-390A on 4.0, plus the Drake's audio on 2.3 is
very poor, whereas the Collins is quite listenable on 4.0. 1134 Croatia was also
there but hammered by WBBR, again, this would not happen on the mighty
Collins.
Picked up WGN on 720 for the first time in weeks - i've been having noise
problems at various spots on the band the last few weeks - last night the noise
moved up the dial slightly leaving 720 fairly clear.
All in all, last night was a good DX night - good from the south e.g. Turks and
caicos and St. Kitts, good from the west, e.g. KCJJ, not bad from the east with
the aforementioned TAs and lots of hets that I couldn't explore as my hands were
not really free and the Collins is temporarly out of action.
Still, as good a DX night as it was, I've had better ones in the summer - summer
can be good for MW DX here in PEI.
2/6
Last night I was cruising the dial on the freshly re-tubed R-390A using the
venerable 70 foot wire antenna while trying to get baby Timmers to sleep. Lots
of electrical interference, but 700 WLW was unusually strong, as was 710 WOR.
Checked out 720 to get WGN and got a very strong Greenland [which also rode
over the buzzing and other interference that made me chuckle that the
neighbours were running a jammer] with WGN in the background. Lots of talk in
Greenlandic, and then they played a song with the pan flute. Talk about timing,
as I got Greenland just before they vanished at 9 p.m. AST.
Last time I got Greenland it was just after CHTN-AM went dark [early to mid
November 2006] - driving home after picking up the kids. Fairly good on the car
radio. Went inside, fired up the Zenith Royal 2000 Transymphony nekkid and got
it fairly well. A little later WGN took over.
But last night on the R-390A it was really strong and kicked WGN pretty
much aside. Maybe the really cold weather we have been having the past
week or so helped.
2/7
I was trying out the Ten-Tec RX-321 black box receiver with new control software
- GNRX-320 - and with the new old computer - Dell #2 [the new shack computer].
Switched it to 9 KHz spacing, hunting around through the over 30 bandwidths
provided, sliding the passband tuning bar around, and I'm getting loads of TAs.
864 in France was coming in quite nicely. 1377 France fair. 1521 Saudi Arabia
was coming in well - I used a very, very narrow bandwidth and the passband
tuning bar to get 1520 WWKB out of the picture. On LW, the only thing I could
get was Ireland on 252. Plus a bunch of beacons - but beacons are not my thing.
If I had used the Quantum QX Pro, I think my LW results would have been better.
Switched over to the Drake R8 and the TAs were pretty good too. But the Drake
cannot split hairs [1521 versus 1520] like the Ten-Tec can.
Gotta save for a multicoupler so I can have several receivers going at once.
By the way, I like the GNRX-320 software a lot. And, its free. It is very simple,
plain, non-showy. But it is also very easy to use and adds features like passband
tuning. And, I had forgotten how relatively immune the RX-321 is to noise and
interference.
2/20
After a long evening working on trying the CME for PA and ON [little success for
PA, much success for ON, which I hope to post tommorrow], I decided to surf the
X-Band on the R-390A. Nothing terribly exciting or strong, except for:
A very strong CJRS 1650 KHz Radio Shalom playing instrumental music, with
the occassional vocal, quasi-classical to easy listening, then every so often an
announcement that they are testing...
Very solid - so solid that I'm listening to them on 16 KC bandwidth on the R-390A
- very good audio quality.
According to their website, 1KW transmitter with a 76 foot tower. The testing
announcement gave their transmitter site location, but I can't recall it.
Folks, tune in CJRC 1650 and try to catch this!
560 WGAN Portland ME [I was hoping for 560 WFIL, but no dice!]
950 [This is where the fun begins, and where I was glad I had the Quantum
Phaser and Quantum QX Pro loop. Also, I used both the Drake and the Collins the Collins having superior intelligibility and tighter filtering, the Drake taking me
to the frequency dead on]
950 CKNB Campbellton NB - very strong
950 WPEN Philadelphia PA - not a bad signal once CKNB nulled!
950 WROL Boston MA "Focus on the Family" pretty good signal with really
intense nulling
950 WIBX Utica NY
950 WROC Rochester NY
950 CHER Sydney NS
1020 KDKA Pittsburgh PA
1060 WBIX Natick MA [I was hoping for KYW 1060, but no dice!]
1210 WPHT Philadelphia PA
580 WKAQ San Juan PR
580 CFRA Ottawa ON [with nulling of dominant WKAQ]
580 WTAG Worcester MA [WKAQ nulled, heard on CFRA fade]
680 WRKO Boston MA [trying for 680 CFTR]
680 WAPA San Juan PR [nulling WRKO into the dust!, still no CFTR]
740 CHWO Toronto ON
740 CHCM Marystown NL
860 CJBC Toronto ON [CBC French]
960 WEAV Plattsburg NY
960 CFFX Kingston ON - a toughie - first I had to null WEAV, then I
was hearing a hockey game play by play, waited, finally got "Oldies
960" ID which is CFFX now that the other Oldies 960 CHNS-AM, is dark
980 CKRU Peterborough ON "980 The Cruise" - oldies
980 WOFX Troy NY
1010 WINS New York NY
1010 CFRB Toronto ON [I just had to swing the QX Pro for this]
1050 WEPN New York NY
1050 CHUM Toronto ON [just had to swing the QX Pro around for this]
1150 CJRC Gatineau QC
1150 CKOC Hamilton ON with CJRC nulled
1200 CFGO Ottawa ON
1200 WCHB Taylor MI [clear as a bell on a CFGO fade]
1250 CJYE Oakville ON
1460 WDDY Albany NY Radio Disney
1460 CJOY Guelph ON
1540 WDCD Albany NY
1540 CHIN Toronto ON [nulling WDCD]
1550 CBE Windsor ON CBC Radio One
1580 CKDO Oshawa ON oldies
Fingers sore from using the Quantum Phaser so much! I was getting
tired of the muffled R8 audio and checked out the X-Band on the R390A. As previously noted, caught the following:
1650 CJRS Montreal Radio Shalom test broadcast! Great signal, superb
audio - I switched over to 16 KHz bandwidth on the Collins and Frank
Mills Musicbox Dancer sounded like I was playing a CD! What a way to
end a nice DX session!
By the way, second night in a row - none of that nasty interference
that has been plaguing me for the last few months.
Last week, I was home for a day's vacation taking care of my 4 year old daughter
and 1 year old son, both of whom had the flu. They were awfully good kids
though and they let me do some dxing. Now my wife and I have the flu and
thankfully the kids are well and at their sitter.
I had to stay close by the kids, so my basement shack was a no-no, so I dragged
up the SAT 800 and disconnected and dragged up the Quantum QX Pro, hooked
it all up and starting at 10:00 a.m. AST February 22/07 caught the following:
570 CFCB Corner Brook NL
580 CFRA Ottawa ON
590 CJCW Sussex NB
600 CBNA Saint Anthony NL
630 WPRO Providence RI
640 CBN St. John's NL
650 CKGA Gander NL
660 WFAN NYC NY
680 WRKO Boston MA [Very strong for 10:00 a.m.!!!]
690 CINF Montreal QC
710 WOR NYC NY [their new transmitter site works very, very well]
740 CHCM Marystown NL
750 CBGY Bonavista Bay NL
760 WVNE Leicester MA
830 WCRN Worcester MA
850 WEEI Boston MA
870 CFSX Stephenville NL
880 WCBS NYC NY
940 CINW Montreal QC
990 CBY Corner Brook NL
1010 WINS NYC NY
1030 WBZ Boston MA [strong enough that their was "hash" on 1020/1040!]
1580 CKDO Oshawa ON
End time - 11:20 a.m.!!!
2/27
Up in the wee hours with baby Timmers, fired up the R-390A, Quantum
QX Pro and Quantum Phaser, nulled WCBS as best as I could [only a
partial null] revealing C&W music.
Timmers now asleep, returned to his crib. Went to the CKLQ website,
listening, by golly, the internet feed matches the audio on the R390A.
My first definite Manitoban! A few months back I might have caught
CBW 990 but could not be sure. This one I'm sure of.
And, a 10KWer, not a 50KWer.
I would have never thought to try for this but for Brent's success!
Now I realize that those powerhouse NYC stations are not always
invincible.
Alan Willie – Newfoundland, Canada
Yaesu FRG-100 and 60’ wire
2/1 Hearing alternating Arabic chanting at s 8 -9 levels intermixing with Spain on
999 tonight, presumed its QBS Qatar from Al Khasaih , been audible for last 20
minutes or so.
2/2 Seems like conditions here tonight were good but a lot of noise and static
early, pretty decent conditions now as I heard WFLA in Tampa Bay Florida for
the very first time , heard it behind WZAN Portland Maine w/ ID Newsradio 970
WFLA. Also a couple of strong Portugal stations in here tonight on 963 and
1035
2/3
760 WCHP Champlain, NY 2/3 2217 w/ PSA's , music and ID then sign off
900 Radio Progresso, Cuba 2/4 0051 w/ Full ID all alone on 900
945 Radio Bleue, France 2/3 2152 w/ news program followed by French
vocal
990 CKGM Montreal. PQ 2/4 0040 w/ Sports Talk, Montreal's Sports
Authority
1449 LJB, Tripoli Libya 2/4 0042 w/ arabic and strong signal
1467 TWR, France w/ arabic programming, strong several nights here
1540 KXEL, Waterloo, Iowa under WDCD w/ ad for Cedar Falls
2/6 07:30 NST 1580 CKDO Oshawa, Ontario Can - News ;story: breakins in
several Ontario towns , 15-80 CKDO ID, then oldies after news
2/7 08:32 NST 1010 CFRB Toronto, Ontario Can - News & "Newstalk 1010
ID"
2/7 09:01 NST 1020 KDKA Pittsburgh, Penn USA - Tri Star Motors
Ad / "Newsradio 1020 KDKA " ID
2/7 09:09 NST 1550 CBE Windsor, Ontario Can - News program , CBC ID's
2/7 09:15 NST 1200 CFGO Ottawa, Ontario Can - NHL Scores & games
scheduled " The Team " 1200 ID
2/10 1:00 UT on 1575 khz United Arab Emirates , Radio Farda w/ arabic pop
type tunes , ID on the half hour followed by news headlines and news in
Arabic ( Haven't heard this one this strong in a while
2/26 1310 CIWW Ottawa, Ontario w/ "Oldies 1310" Id and Mamas and Papas
song
Jay Heyl – Orlando, FL
Acura Radio and 31” whip / Panasonic RF-2200
2/6/2007 0122 EST - 1,060.0 KYW, Philadelphia, PA UNITED STATES
33333 - English (EE) - RF-2200 - Orlando, FL "KYW 10-60"
2/6/2007 0130 EST - 1,020.0 KDKA, Pittsburgh, PA UNITED STATES
32333 - English (EE) - RF-2200 - Orlando, FL Endless reading of school
closures. Finally got ID at BOH.
2/6/2007 0133 EST - 1,210.0 WPHT, Philadelphia, PA UNITED STATES
33333 - English (EE) - RF-2200 - Orlando, FL "The Big Talker 12-10". Ad for
home show featuring Amy Wynn from "Trading Spaces".
2/6/2007 0135 EST - 1,200.0 WOAI, San Antonio, TX UNITED STATES
33333 - English (EE) - RF-2200 - Orlando, FL Rodeo ad. Sean Hannity ad. Back
into C2CAM with "Send in the Clowns" bumper. Was very marginal at first but
then started coming in like a local.
2/8/2007 0635- 1,040.0 WHO, Des Moines, IA UNITED STATES 33333 English (EE) - RF-2200 - Orlando, FL News about alcohol fuel plant. Weather.
Mention of Des Moines. Several IDs during news segment.
2/27/2007 0630- 820.0 WBAP, Fort Worth, TX UNITED STATES 33333 English (EE) - RF-2200 - Orlando, FL ID coming out of "Midnight Trucking" into
news. Strong pulsing noise (QRM from 810-WEUS?) made reception difficult.
Don Kaskey – San Francisco, CA
Drake R8 and Kiwa Loop
To anyone awake out there in the Rockies or even further east,
KSTE-650-Rancho Cordova (Sacramento) CA is obviously (from their signal
strength here in San Francisco) running full 25 kw daypower. Possibly a
chance for someone to log this guy.
Who on 970 is carrying the John & Jeff Show 12-1 a.m. PST with only
national ads on break and a 'AM 970 Solid State Radio' ID around 0033.
Looping NNW/SSE....Probably another new format for Portland but could be
someone else. While listening here around 0035 I heard George Jones'
"The Race is On"..Dunno if this was a c&w station (who?) or the lead-in
for Coast to Coast (more probably)....
Time to quit. A few minutes more & I might start getting hooked again..
2/20
--Between 1645-1715 PST
570 KCNO CA Alturas....good signal with syndicated NOS music hosted
by daughter/granddaughter of Nat King Cole.
580 KMJ CA Fresno...normal good signal but someone with Talk under
them looping NE. Probably Boise.
590 KUGN OR Eugene...took over 1715 after station with MoR music was
swallowed or (if Boise or Cedar City) switched patterns. Music station
most likely was Lake Tahoe.
600 Covered by KEAR-610 noise
610 KEAR San Francisco local with religion
620 KPOJ Portland with liberal talk show. Trying to remember calls
without having to get up and check my logs. I still remember it fondly
as KGW.
630 ???? Reno with sports show. Forget calls...Remember as KOH.
640 KFI Los Angeles CA fair/good signal bothered by usual noise
here.
650 KSTE Rancho Cordova CA very loud with talk
660 KXOR Junction City OR, basically atop with SS music. KTNN Window
Rock AZ also in there with regional (AZ) news.
670 KBOI Boise ID...all alone with talk/news
680 KNBR San Francisco CA 50 kw local with sports
690 CBU Vancouver BC with news program, assume CBC. Someone in
english below them around 1710.
700 KGRV Winston OR strongest of numerous stations. News at TOH then
into religion.
710 KFIA Carmichael CA with religion with KIRO Seattle in their
null.
720 KDWN Las Vegas NV all alone with talk
730 KBSU Boise ID surprisingly atop 1702-1706+ with Idaho News & ID
"You are listening to Boise State Radio, the time is 6:06" & eventually
into a jazz program. After 1715 it was Vancouver with traffic reports.
740 KCBS San Francisco CA local but not using IBOC
750 KHWG Fallon NV noted atop around 1700 TOH with c&w & loud.
However at 1720 it was KOAL Price UT atop with ads & talk.
760 Covered by IBOC noise from KCBC 770
770 KCBC Riverbank CA with religion
780 KKOH Reno NV having some success overcoming IBOC splatter from
KCBC-770.
790 Mixture of KABC-Los Angeles CA & KFPT Clovis CA with a bit of the
TIS from Richmond CA thrown in. Still looking for the Winchester NV
station but 790 is pretty messy here.
800 KPDQ Portland OR big surprise here as they had good signal at
1645 using LSB filter. Could hear music below them but not very well.
After 1715 KPDQ still atop but SS talk noted below. Was looking for the
station KBRV in Soda Springs ID that latest 'DX News' shows is on the
air with 50 kw daytimes. Kinda doubt if they are on as 50 kw from
southeast Idaho non directional should blast into my location.
810 KGO San Francisco CA local & not using IBOC
820 not much recognizable thanks to KGO
830 ???? Orange CA riding atop Grass Valley CA...Again forget calls
temporarily (I hope).
840 Frequency (and nearby Modesto & TISs from Marin Co) covered by
hideous assortment of neighborhood generated noises.
850 Nothing yet (but noise)
860 KTRB San Francisco CA with music & not using IBOC.
870 KLRA Glendale CA with talk
980 KEAP Fresno CA surprisingly (very rarely heard here) atop with
religion 1715-1720.
Enuf already....
2/21
1210 KGYN OK Guymon...atop which was very surprising from 0020-0032
tune out 2/21 with rock music & ID 'High Plains Proud-KGYN' at 0030.
Checked my records and appears to be the first time I've heard them
since Feb 1984 (at the start of the onslaught of western stations
popping up on 1210). Mike Hawkins down in the San Jose area hears them
frequently but I haven't. Tried & tried but until last night had no
success.
Probably has something to do with the fact that KZTS Sunnyside WA has
vacated the frequency and moved back to 1230. KZTS was the normal
dominant at night altho QRM was usually fierce. It should be an
interesting story as to why KZTS moved back to a graveyard frequency
after 20 some years on 1210.......
Logs showed that I was hearing Philadelphia (WCAU) thru 4 or 5 of the
western additions up to about 1984/1985 and then no more. Too bad!
Nothing else exciting noted on upper band. South seemed to predominate.
Mike Richard – Evanston, WY
Chrysler Radio and 31” whip
Catches on a trip home from Rock Springs, WY yesterday afternoon. Some
CME logs included – well for Idaho anyway. Don’t know if I’ll get the other
states/provinces.
Heard on a Chrysler Corp AM Stereo / FM Stereo factory radio:
930
KRKY Granby, CO
1620 Heard country music and many ID’s for
“Colorado Country!” NEW Fair to good at times mixing with KSEI.
1460 KZNT Colorado Springs, CO 1640 Hugh Hewitt show and local
break with traffic info and several “Newstalk 1460 KZNT” IDs. NEW
1550 KUAZ Tucson, AZ
1658 Heard the usual “Support for NPR
provided by…..” and then local insert “support for All Things Considered on
KUAZ provided by ….” Don’t think this is new, but it’s extremely rare.
For the CME:
930
KSEI Pocatello, ID 1630 sports talk mixing with KRKY’s country.
670
KBOI Boise, ID 1642 Boise traffic updates and WX
That’s about all there was. Not bad for late afternoon skip.
2/21
590
KID ID Idaho Falls 16:15 talk with ads for Idaho Falls businesses and
several KID mentions
670
KBOI ID Boise 16.17 local talk show with Boise traffic & weather
930
KSEI ID Pocatello 16:25 the usual sports stuff w/local break
w/Pocatello mentions
1450 KVSI ID Montpelier 16:40 country music w/local ads
2/23 Another quick trip to Rock Springs, WY this afternoon late. For all
interested, I'm the Dell warranty tech for this area (Southwest Wyoming) so that's
why I have so many trips to Rock Springs. Today it was supposed to be a
motherboard replacement on a laptop, but turned out to be just a battery
replacement. Talk about a 200 mile round trip just to replace a battery.
Anyways - found a few things on the way home.
1300 KKOL WA Seattle 1820 Heard traffic reports for Seattle mentions of I-90 and I-5 and the usual local roads plus a few local ads and
several mentions of "news / talk 1300 K-O-L " NEW!!
1300 UNID 1810-1820 Listened to this for quite a while before KKOL came
up and over - I've mentioned it before - same station playing 80s music (Miami
Sound Machine, Men At Work, Kool & the Gang) plus a little 70s there too (John
Lennon). Nothing but music and apparantly some SS liners in between each
song. I'm not fluent in Spanish (not even close) so I don't know what they were
saying but I'm assuming this is a mexican. Check the Mexican log on our web
site - logical one would seem like XEP in Ciudad Juarez but the format's listed as
"Musica Tropical Popular" - so I would think tropical music. They're the only one
listed there as "50 mil wats". There's XESW in Ciudad Madera, CH . That one
shows "musica variada" - does that mean variety? They're only 1kw, though. I
guess the "closest" one to me would be XEXW in Nogales. Kevin might be able
to confirm the format on that one. Another 1kw-er. Anyways - any thoughts
there appreciated. I've picked these guys up from time to time and enjoy the
music.
1120 KMOX MO St Louis 1800 Heard TOH ID - Really good signal!
"The most trusted source for news. KMOX St Louis" and into local news an
earthquake. I could have sworn this was a local newscast - didn't know they had
earthquakes in MO. Was only a 3.5 but still interesting.
Harry Helms – Smithville, TX
Sony ICF 2010
2/3
monitored 1660 kHz on the evenings of January 30, 31, and February 2, and
each time I was able to identify the ESPN signal I was hearing as KRZI, Waco.
The strength of this station is much less than it was in early January, and I
suspect that either 1) their antenna was damaged or otherwise compromised in
the mid-month ice storm or 2) they are now running 1 KW at night instead of 10
KW. I'm in the groundwave/skywave cancellation zone from Waco; there is
considerable fading on KRZI (unlike previously) and sometimes there is a fade to
quasi-SSB, which tells me the skywave/groundwave carriers are cancelling out
here. WCNZ is still heard here with their Catholic-oriented programming and
KXTR is in the background with classical music and rare IDs. I strongly suspect
my previous rock-solid copy of KRZI at night was due to receiving their
groundwave signal at day power.
I've also been listening to 1700. Prior to their switch to all-Spanish, KVNS's signal
strength was equal to KKLF and both were easily separable here with a loop.
Now KVNS is notably stronger and it's impossible to null it enough to get clear
copy of KKLF. Thus, I have a feeling KVNS is now running their 10 KW at night.
I wonder how many AM stations ignore their night power/pattern restrictions and
run day power/pattern at night. Hundreds? Thousands???
Jerry Lenamon – Waco, TX
Drake R8B and Sloper / Sony SW07
Received on a Sony SW07, barefoot, Sunday night Feb 04, 07.
KFAN Minneapolis, MN 1130 khz at 2155cst (first log)
with KWKH nulled and several stations floating in and out.
CKWX Vancouver, BC 1130 khz at 2159cst (logged before)
with KWKH nulled and several stations in and out.
Brent Taylor – Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
Sony GR7600 and RS Loop
I start my new job with the Federal government today. We arrived in
Charlottetown yesterday (Sunday) to hunt for houses and I brought only my
Sony 7600GR. I had the radio on all night through my earphone (as I have
been doing for 30 years). I was listening to WCBS get hammered pretty good
by both a LA and a C&W station in the pre-dawn hours, and the country
station faded up to produce the following:
880 CKLQ
MB Brandon - 02/26 0416 - Fair/poor, u/o a
partially-nulled WCBS w/ country music, "Q-Country" ID @ 0416, followed by
two songs, then female announcer with weather, "2 to 4 cm of snow and a high
of minus 4." Verified // with CKLQ web site, with web feed lagging by only
about three seconds. First DX log from new location in PEI.
First Manitoba station here for me since Miscou '05 in New Brunswick (and
that was the first Manitoban for me, ever).
I'm liking PEI so far.
Between Phil and me, we're gonna clean up!
The Whole Earth
Jerry Lenamon - Waco, TX
Drake R8B and Sloper
25m was open Sunday mid-day.
France: 11615 at 1630z, Radio France Intl in English to Africa, ending just
before 1700z (didn't this broadcast go to 1730?). 15160 very weak, not even
certain that it was the // from Meyerton.
India: 11620 at 1700z, All India Radio in Russian, in progress from 1615z
continuing to 1715z. HFCC doesn't show the azimuth (from Bangalore)but
probably aimed north where the main beam would continue over the pole toward
N America.
UK (RMP): 11665 at 1715z, BBC World Service, better signal
than //21470. Off at 1800z, with DW Rwanda immediately
taking over the channel.
Germany (NON): 11665 at 1800z, Deutsche Welle in Hausa, from Rwanda with
295 degree azimuth toward Nigeria and on to N America in the main beam.
Glenn Hauser – Enid, OK
Yaesu FRG-7
** AUSTRIA [non]. Ö1, via Canada, 13675, Jan 31 at 1622 in English was
marred by co-channel interference in French, and SAH, the latter occasionally
fadingup when Sackville faded down. It`s the RFI Issoudun megawatt to NW
Africa, exactly as I reported Nov 11, and nothing has been done about this
collision!
** ECUADOR. LV de los Andes, Quito, Feb 2 at 1459:30 on 11960: as always,
automation cut off last words of the previous program and canned ID played. I
was expecting the Albert Einstein quotation, but this time it was something
else. Without embargo, the frequency info was STILL WRONG, outdated since
last March. Said they were continuing on 11760, and closing transmission to
Mexico on 9745, and then 11960 went off. In fact, they are not and have never
been on 11760, but instead Cuba also closing at 1500 (except Sundays 1530
after Esperanto). 11960 is now the unknown (to the station itself) frequency
toward Mexico, and the other one is actually 11690, which was also confirmed a
few minutes earlier. Why do I keep reporting this? I try to keep it to no more than
once a month or sesquimonth. The question is: why doesn`t HCJB ever get its
act together and announce its own frequencies correctly? Could they axually
have recorded a new ID break to replace Einstein, and perpetuated the outdated
details?
** GABON. Jan 30 at 1509, Afropop music distraxion was on 17645, while ANU
transmitter was also on the air on 17630 with news of Congolese football. On
Feb 2 at 1521 check, I found Afropop music distraxion on 17640, and this time
the music was // 17630 instead of Africa Number One! More evidence the two
come from same Moyabi site, and others also noticed this convergence **
MEXICO. XEXQ, 6045, continues to be audible in the 0630 period with classical
music, such as Jan 28 at 0632, good signal with usual slight distortion, and also
Jan 31.
Also Feb 2 at 0655, and on this date XEYU 9599.2v was also audible with
classical. Later at 2017 and 2133 chex it was audible but poor with het
** NIGERIA. VON, 7255, good modulation and signal shouldering aside the
hams, Feb 2 at 2145 in French with a program about some church
** THAILAND. R. Thailand, 9725, lucked out again with DGS Costa Rica absent,
Jan 29 at 1409 with feature on Mongolia and Genghis Khan revival; 1414 promo
for one of HMTQ`s projects, 1415 Information Thailand. 1429:30 cut off in
mid-word exemplifying the ongoing lack of communication between studio and
transmitter
** VENEZUELA [non]. RNV via Cuba on scheduled 17705, Feb 2 at 2015, was
nothing but open carrier. Refund to Chávez?
** CANADA. CBCNQ, 9625, was weak but audible, 25443, Sat Feb 3 at 1443
during The House, with a segment on pets of the MPs, cats vs dogs. I kid you
not. Much, much weaker than the Sackville transmitters on 9610 and 9650
** CANADA [and non]. RCI, 11870 via Germany, Feb 3 at 1509 during The Blink,
report on a small Québec town, almost 100% French Catholic, which had passed
a resolution taken to be anti-Moslem, e.g., we drink alcohol, allow boys and
girls to swim together, etc. Quite a controversy, it seems, and grist for the
RCI obsession with immigrant affairs. Same show was running a few minutes
later on Sackville 9610
** CHINA. Firedrake against Sound of Hope, 9200, good signal around 1405 Feb
3. Nothing heard on the 10 or 14 MHz frequencies
** CUBA [non]. Feb 4 at 0327 I heard a Beatles tune in English on 6100, above
heavy Cuban jamming, making me wonder if Planet Rock was back, but a few
minutes later programming in Spanish, so I assume this was really R. República.
We have discussed previously the DX Mix News Bulgaria item of Jan 16 which
had a VT Communications update as of Jan 15:
``Radio República
2200-2400 on 6135 RMP 500 kW / 285 deg to Cuba Spanish
0000-0400 on 6185 RMP 500 kW / 285 deg to Cuba Spanish
0200-0500 on 9630 SAC 250 kW / 176 deg to Cuba Spanish Tue-Sat
0300-0400 on 6100 SAC 250 kW / 176 deg to Cuba Spanish Tue-Sat``
But this was UT Sunday. The signal was quite good to be coming from Europe
under these conditions, so this is what I think is happening:
6100 is the VT Merlin relay and they are using Sackville for the final hour,
which makes sense propagationally, instead of Rampisham on 6185, which was
not heard, nor was there any jamming on 6185. But this is the 7-day-a-week
service, in which Radio Miami International is not involved, while the 9630
transmission via Sackville is the non-// 5-day-a-week service brokered by RMI,
which was presumably also routed thru VTC in order to get access to Sackville
** GABON [and non]. Afropop music distraxion, Feb 3 at 1433 was on 17620,
while ANU was on 17630. Also noticed 17610 with a very different fluttery weak
signal, presumably Libya via France
** GREECE. Hellenes Around the World, as promoed in DXLD 7-014 for Sat Feb
3, was indeed repeated at 0300 UT Sunday, loud and clear on webcast, but
inaudible on 9420, 7475, nor 5865, which is reportedly testing, if they were really
on the air. For the original broadcast Sat Feb 3 at 1400, 17525 was audible,
fading in and out, but improving as the hour went on; not audible on 9420 which
is usually better here, and may have been testing that transmitter on 15630, as
I found out later, too late to check that myself
** GUIANA FRENCH. No sign of the new DRM tests on 17870-17875-17880,
when checked Feb 3 at 1437
** ICELAND. RUV SW has survived into another month. Feb 3 at 1455 could
hear some talk in presumed Icelandic, on 13865 reduced carrier SSB, and dared
to hope I would get to hear their new sounder at hourtop, but it vanished a minute
later. 1455 is a lot later than this transmission usually runs
** ISRAEL. Kol Israel, 13630, must be the station in Hebrew, as scheduled, fair
at 1450 Jan 3 on 330 degree beam toward us. BTW, Kol is just a word meaning
voice, and not an abbreviation to be put in caps
** U K [non]. Some schedules insist that BBC WS in Spanish at 03-04 is via
WHRI on 6110 and 7315. Notably BBC`s own page not updated since Dec 15,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/tuning_in/newsid_4294000/4294086.stm
But it`s only on 6110, as confirmed here before and after 0330 UT Feb 4; 6110
from Angel 2 had a good signal in BBC Spanish, while 7315 Angel 1 was JBA
with LeSEA`s own English programming, Top 20 Countdown. And the WHR
online schedule now agrees with this. So was BBC ever really on 7315?
No WHRI frequencies are shown either for the BBCWS morning broadcast in
Spanish at 1000-1230 which initially was on 7315, and then 5835 during the first
hour only. The 6110 BBC transmission is at 173 degrees, appropriate for Cuba
and beyond despite the map at http://www.whr.org/index.cfm/fa/chooseSchedule
showing Angel 2 is not for anything S of the USA
** U S A. Website of KAIJ Dallas, http://kaij.us has added a bit more
information revealing that its HQ is in Murfreesboro TN, near Nashville, its GM
George McClintock, PD his son John, and it seems all the other staff are former
WWCR people too, who have not had to move to Dallas, or Frisco/McKinney, the
transmitter location. Program schedule shows that WORLD OF RADIO has been
added: Fri 1130 on 5755, Fri 2000 on 9480
** CHINA. Firedrake against Sound of Hope, Feb 4 at 1452 was audible on
10400 // 9200
** GABON [and non]. Feb 4 at 1500 check, Afropop music distraxion was on
17660, ANU on 17630 mixing with CRI; also RFI Issoudun on 17620 with CCI
from something, presumably RDPI Portugal which is scheduled to collide on
weekends only
** GREECE. Announcers screaming in Greek, presumably inspired by spor,
Sunday Feb 4 at 1445 on 9420, which had not been audible 24 hours earlier; this
time, nothing heard on 15630 or 17525
** AUSTRALIA. RA with discussion of the letters ``gh`` in English (my
favorites) and their wide variety of pronunciations, Tue Feb 6 at 1350-1357 on
6020. Turned out this was the conclusion of Australian Express; apparently
segment lifted from Lingua Franca, tho nothing about that mentioned in outro by
Roger Broadbent
** GABON. Afropop music distraxion, Feb 5 at 1513 check was on 17625,
squeezed between ANU 17630 and RFI on 17620. Feb 6 at 1500, Afropop was
on 17635, again only 5 kHz from ANU but on the other side
** GREECE. VOG, Feb 5 at 1520 with Greek music was much stronger on 9420
than 15630, which was stronger than 17525; nothing on 12105, but did not check
other possible frequencies
** GUIANA FRENCH. Apparently the latest series of DRM transmissions to NAm
on 17870-17875-17880 are M-F only, as nothing was heard around 1500 Sat or
Sun Feb 3 or 4, but were back on Feb 5 and 6. Did not see anything in the
original notice about their being weekdays only. To state the obvious, more
listeners would be available during the daytime on weekends
** INDIA. I often find it convenient to listen to Faithfully Yours, the AIR mailbag,
Mondays at 1430 on 9690. Feb 5 the ongoing theme by the M&W presenters
was that they wished people would comment more on the programming, and
send reports covering longer listening periods. I suspect they are dealing mainly
with QSL-hunters who aren`t really interested in programming or listening any
longer than absolutely necessary
** MEXICO. After having heard XEPPM, 6185, in the daytime after 1500 on two
consecutive Mondays in January, I missed checking Jan 29, and almost missed
Feb 5, but at 1521 it was not to be heard
** U S A. VOA Talk to America, Tue Feb 6 again featured Kim Andrew Elliott. I
listened to most of it on 9760 via Philippines, despite Chinese QRM in
background, since this had a much better signal on this date than 11655 via
Germany. Started with recording of a DC station that just ran nature sounds
during Superbowl, and then onto the big news of the day, BBG`s unaltered plans
to slash English and several other languages. As usual, Kim did not overtly
criticize this but tried to explain it. He did mention that VOA News Now would
be gone, including this very program. Recommended listening, anyway,
ondemand at the usual website
** VATICAN. Feb 6 at 0648, on 7360, discussion on treatment of women, with
heavy African accent; VR scheduled in `English` at 0630. Meanwhile, Church
Latin was reigning on 7250 with a much better signal
** CHINA. Another of those strange midnight pipeline openings you would not
expect unless you tune around the `dead` bands: Feb 9 at 0639 I found CRI
English on 17710, fair but with deep fades. No other signals of consequence on
the 16m band, and on the 19m band the only SOCs were R. Australia on 15515,
15240, 15160. Looking it up later in HFCC, 17710 is listed as Beijing site, 500
kW at 193 degrees to SE Asia at 04-08
** CUBA. Not only has RHC abandoned 15230 at 11-15, but also in the
afternoon. Feb 9 at 2153, found RHC on 15190 with feature on a Cuban
composer, // 9550 but the two a reverb/echo apart as so often happens with RHC
frequencies. 15230 was open, so the move was not really necessary until 2200
when R. Australia came on 15230 where the two had also been clashing for a
very long time, so the RHC move also solves that. Until 2200, 15190 did have
some ACI from YFR Ascension. Has this update been made on RHC`s own
transmission schedule at
http://www.radiohc.cu/espanol/frecuencia/frecuencias-espanol.htm --? Of course
not! Still shows 15230 at 11-15, but neither 15230 nor 15190 at any other time.
Aoki had 15230 at 21-23, and EiBi at some other times, but not 21-23. BTW,
9550 was again missing Feb 9 at 1454 when the VOA Philippines Korean service
on 9555 was not so extrusive as the day before. Feb 10 at 1450 RHC 9550 was
back and VOA 9555 was weaker
** GABON. Afropop music distraxion was on 17640, Feb 9 at 1457, for a change
not QRMing anything else. And on Feb 10 at 1506 on 17655
** GREECE. VOG`s mysterious test frequency, 15630, Feb 10 at 1456
concluding Hellenes Around the World, was OK except for occasional brief audio
dropouts, no longer carrier dropouts too; // 9420 and 17525. At 1600, 15630
going from music to ID and directly into spor yelling, no dropouts heard. Noel
Green and Wolfgang Büschel have noted these test frequencies, also 11645 and
5865, starting out in SSB as each transmission opens, but then tweaked into AM,
more or less. I`d say this gives away that the transmitter was originally a utility
unit. They and John Babbis guess it may be Thessaloniki
** GUIANA FRENCH. You never know with these DRM tests, but Feb 9 at 1457,
17870-17875-17880 was back on with its big buzz. Feb 10, Saturday it was gone
again at 1557 check
** JAPAN [non]. NHK Warido, R. Japan, 11970 via Gabon, Feb 10 at 0628 in
German with strange accent making me wonder at first if it was Low; some hum
and distortion on Moyabi, which isn`t what it used to be; 0629 going into French
** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Brother Scare`s Sabbath Service, Sat Feb 10 at
1550 via Guiana French 17810 was running 4 seconds ahead of // WWRB 9385,
and much better audio from GUF
** U S A. KAIJ, 9480, Feb 9 at 1451 in The Power Hower, but guess who could
be heard in the background? Yours truly with World of Radio 1346, and at 1453
starting over with WOR theme. Recheck 1533 could still hear myself underneath
so notified KAIJ studio. Apparently their production line was bleeding into
their program feed line, or the automation decided to play WOR when it wasn`t
supposed to. WOR did appear at 2001 on 9480 in the clear. Rather weak here,
but past the skip zone doing OK in Michigan, Ontario, and VG in San Francisco,
says George Poppin, closer to the 320 degree azimuth of this outlet, while not
making it to Germany, says Wolfgang Büschel, as was to be expected. Wayne
Bastow in NSW could not hear anything at 1130 on 5755, so was KAIJ off the
air? Thanks to KAIJ for adding WOR and improving our coverage especially to
the W and NW
** CUBA [and non]. The 5025 transmitter is having more and more down time.
Feb 11 at 0540 just an open carrier with hum. RHC was OK on 6000 with Arnie
plus usual squeal. But guess what --- NO jamming audible on R. Martí, 6030 and
7405. This was during a drama produxion; not sure if that had something to do
with it. But at 0557 recheck, jamming was back on 7405 but R. Martí was atop,
while on 6030 at 0602, heavy jamming was atop RM. Perhaps a short-lived
power failure at certain sites
** GABON [and non]. Afropop music distraxion: Feb 11 at 1508 was on 17660;
Feb 12 at 1509 also on 17660, but with heavy flutter, in disturbed propagation
conditions; however, ANU Moyabi on 17630 was steady as usual with no flutter,
altho some CCI from Mali.
This has happened on previous occasions, making one wonder if Afropop and
ANU are really from the same site, with such different reception characteristics.
One would expect the flutter to come over a much higher-latitude path. At this
time on the 16m band I did not find any other signals with such flutter; among
the normal ones checked were 17725 Libya/France, 17770 South Africa, 17830
Ascension, 17620 France, 17595 Spain, 17525 Greece. Sa`udi Arabia with
Qur`an at 1525 had some flutter tho much stronger signals on 15435 // 15425
and so did a weak signal from DW in German on 15275. Then at 1529 I noticed
VOA News Now on 17895 had similar flutter to 17660. Sites for these: 15275
Rwanda, 17895 Botswana, certainly neither of them hi-latitude.
Afropop on 17660 went off at 1531* as usual after a semiminute of dead air.
During this time I had the BFO on and noted that not only was there a flutter
in the amplitude of the signal, but also in the frequency, which I believe is
attributed to Doppler effect in the unstable ionosphere.
Perhaps the amplitude flutter can be explained by the azimuth of these
particular transmissions, not directly toward us, but going north towards a
disturbed area of the ionosphere, and part or most of the signal being
scattered back toward us? 15275 is 30 degrees, and 17895 is 350 degrees per
HFCC. Who knows what on 17660, but it should be somewhere in that area if it`s
aimed from Gabon toward Libya as jammer/distraxion. 17630 is missing from the
latest HFCC, but previously was shown as 307 degrees, which is more favorable
for NAm, somewhat south of due NW
** GREECE. ERA5 test, now believed to be from the Olympia Radio maritime
site, Feb 12 at 1512 on 15630 had frequent breaks in transmission, and when
transmitter stayed on there were also quick breaks in modulation. At 1523 I
found that 15630 was off more than it was on. // 17525 Avlis with no such
problems. If they can`t get the Olympia utility transmitter to funxion in AM,
these tests will have been fruitless. Rechecked at 1602, I found that 15630 no
longer was breaking up, presumably after Avlis resumed that frequency, probably
the transmitter which had been on 17525 but no longer heard
** GUIANA FRENCH. TDF DRM test was back on 17870-17875-17880, Monday
Feb 12 at 1507
** JORDAN. 11690, Feb 12 at 1501-1503 with news headlines in English, 1503
TC at 3 minutes past 5 pm, ``Radio Jordan 96.3 FM``. Some flutter on this signal,
but strong enough to edge out the RTTY on low side, and no sign of HCJB
usually dominating 11690
** LAOS [non]. Hmong Lao Radio, 11785 via WHRI, Sun Feb 11 at 1445 with a
cappella chants and bird, nature sounds. This is really exotic, lovely, stuff
occupying parts of the Sat & Sun 1400 hours, and here on a big clear signal. I
urge people to listen in, if they haven`t already. 1450 into talk with guitar
background
** U S A. WTJC missing again from 9370, Feb 11 at 1512; at this hour there was
too much noise to decide whether WBOH 5920 was also silent. Perhaps they
have got religion and now observe Exodus XX: 10 and XXXV: 2? 9370 still not
heard around 0700 Feb 12, but was back on at 1541 with Roloff. Until now,
WMLK has been the only US SW station observing the Sabbath, tho in that case
it`s Saturday
** U S A [non]. Checking VOA`s new Somali service on its first day, Feb 12: at
1628, 15620 was weak with flutter, and 13580 inaudible. At 1632, nothing on
15620 during scheduled half-hour break. But I could hear neither of them at
next check 1724. What are the sites?
The VOA Swahili service does continue, best on 17580, Feb 12 at 1629 with
open carrier, 1630 VOA theme, opening in Swahili, fair. Could only detect very
weak carriers on other listed frequencies 17705 and 21480. At 1726, 17580 was
fair with hum, and VOA theme, mentioning Robert Gates; a bit of audio on poor
21480.
Also checked the M-F service to Zimbabwe. At 1725 Feb 12, new 15775 was fair
in presumed Shona talk; no music jamming audible here tho still reported from
Zimbabwe. Promptly at 1730 VOA ID and into English with Studio 7; said if MW
909 is jammed, tune to SW 4930, 11815 or 15775
** VENEZUELA [non]. Sunday, Feb 11, at 1512, there was nothing on any of the
usual five frequencies for Aló Presidente via Cuba --- 17750, 13750, 13680,
11875, 11670. However some minutes before 1500, there was something in
Spanish on 13680, presumably this with an early close
** FRANCE [and non]. Not only are the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES getting
reclassified, but so are Wallis & Futuna and French Polynesia, per a brief item
on R. Australia news in English Feb 14 at 2204 on 15515: henceforth they are to
be known as ``Overseas Communities``, which I suppose is originally
``Communautés d`Outre-mer``
** GABON. Feb 13 Afropop was on 17660 yet again until 1531* but no flutter
today. Africa Numéro Un on 17630 was in normal programming of its own in
French around 1500 check, but after 17660 went off I checked 17630 and it was
off too; only CRI in English via Mali was to be heard. Finally at 1536 mixing with
open carrier, and at 1537 ANU was back on 17630. It looks like a transmitter
change was made during this period, i.e. 17660 unit moved to 17630. Unlike the
day before, ANU, 17630 did not break transmission around 1530 Feb 14. And
17660, Afropop music distraxion, closed as usual at 1531*
I have not heard the 19160 harmonic for several weeks in almost daily chex
around 1500, but Feb 14 I had the opportunity to look for it later, at 2140,
and there it was, fair level of S9 + 7 but modulation below equivalent level;
thought I heard some English words and then checked fundamental // 9580,
which was much stronger; they were introducing some Lionel Ritchie music
** GREECE. Checking again on Feb 13, at 1519, VOG test on 15630 via SVO,
Olympia Radio, was managing to stay on without any breaks in carrier or
modulation, so maybe there is hope; // 17525 and 1520 ID. Nope, at 1527 during
music there were some modulation dropouts, but carrier stayed on. At 1552
recheck, 15630 was off; John Babbis says it closes around 1545. I stayed on
frequency, and 15630 came back on at 1553 with carrier, now presumably Avlis,
and 1557 into music. 10 kW to a log-periodic is doing very well as far as
signal strength compared to 100 or 250 kW from Avlis curtains.
Checking out VOG via SVO, Feb 14 at 1430, 15630 was doing well but still some
occasional audio dropouts. This is supposed to be only 10 kW on a log periodic
at 310 degrees for Pirgos, which crosses: Brittany, Newfoundland, Montpelier,
Nashville, Houston, Corpus, Monterrey, according to my National Geographic
globe with geometer.
** JAPAN. On 9760, continuous jazz from 0715 Feb 14, weaker but separable
from RNZI 9765. What could it be? Of course, it was R. Nikkei, as IDed in
Japanese about 0726
** ECUADOR. HCJB, 11960 in Spanish, Feb 15 at 1429 was giving their
Western
Union account number for donations, but natch, the automation cut if off for
the mandatory ID break at 1429:30 as always giving the two wrong frequencies
** GREECE. Checked 15630 for a few minutes Feb 15 at 1440, the experimental
Olympia Radio relay; pretty weak but did not hear any breaks in carrier or
modulation
** MEXICO. XEXQ, 6045, at 0713 Feb 15 with flute and piano classical music,
but at 0715 it was the Ritual Fire Dance. I never hear any announcements.
Seems like they are playing some CDs of best-of classics, rather than seriously
programming this.
XEYU, 9599.2, was audible weakly with classical music at 0707 UT check Feb
15; usually it has been inaudible this time of night, but this is what it took:
Solar flux 73 and mid-latitude A-index 16. The mid-latitude K-index at 0600 UTC
on 15 February was 5 (77 nT). Space weather for the past 24 hours has been
minor. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level occurred. Space weather for
the next 24 hours is expected to be minor. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1
level are expected
** TURKEY. Live from Turkey, Thu Feb 15 at 1352 was much better on 11735
than 12035, the latter being weak and echoey, the former fair and steady, the
opposite of what one would expect since 12035 is aimed toward us and 11735 is
aimed east. This dichotomy varies from one day to the next, as if they are
exchanging the antennas and frequencies at random; otherwise we can only
blame it on the vagaries of propagation. But since VOT have also been caught
on completely wrong frequencies for other languages, why not wrong antennas
too?
No callers this time either, so the hosts gabbed and played some music breaks.
Among the topics, bungee jumping, Turkish film industry improving with some
new ones lately, also a TV channel plays a lot of them; and this summer`s essay
contest. To keep costs down it has been decided to have only 8 winners instead
of 10 getting all-expenses-paid 2-week tours of Turkey in August/September.
Both frequencies went off around 1425 after less than one iteration of the IS,
so this time the 1430 languages were more likely to be on the correct
frequencies
UNIDENTIFIED. DRM on 9720-9725-9730, with DGS Costa Rica analog right
smack dab in the middle of it, 0709 UT Feb 15. DRM noise could be heard
mixing with him, but louder on the adjacent frequencies, so it must have been
centred on 9725. Nothing listed on any of them in the DRM online schedule
** ANTARCTICA. Following wide reports of LRA-36 on Feb 13 and 14, nothing
on 15, I tried on Feb 16 at 2042, and could hear a carrier on 15476.0
occasionally fading up with music; improved by 2049 with continuous music,
some vocal, accompanied by bagpipe-sounding instrument.
Signal seemed to be AM rather than USB, and not 15475.9. Along with the
improved strength, this leads me to wonder if they have a new transmitter, or
refurbished the old one. During previous period of activity a few months ago
they were reportedly running at reduced power, and they were on USB + reduced
carrier.
We should not forget that we are able to hear this thanks to CVC Chile
evacuating 15475 last year, following pressure we put on them. And there are no
other signals anywhere near 15476 during this time period. Fortunately in this
case, VOG via Delano relay on 15485 is also kaput, tho keeps appearing
woodenly in HFCC.
Strength was about S2, but occasional peaks to S5 or even S7, or in SINPO
roughly 25332 at best. Never heard any announcements, tho could have been
during fades. Kept going past 2100 with music, but disappeared around 2106
** CANADA. Liz Cameron, MI, fears CBCNQ is missing from 9625, but I still hear
it, such as Feb 17 at 1404 in CBC news. Signal was 12 over S9 but as always,
very undermodulated. This must be the lowest-priority service at Sackville and
it gets the worst transmitter.
Was also listening to CRI relay on 15230, now free of CubaRM, Feb 17 at 1455,
but when ended at 1500 transmitter stayed on or came back with a few strange
sounds; and at 1525 past 1530 a tone test was running on 15230, altho I cannot
be sure it was still Sackville
** GREECE. VOG via SVO Olympia, 15630, Feb 17 at 1522, very weak but could
detect no breaks in carrier or modulation. However, others are still reporting
this problem at other times on other frequencies
** MEXICO. XEYU, 9599.2, 0628 Feb 16, again audible after midnight local, with
church chanting at first like a mass but then morphing into something less
conventional. Modulation distorted and cutting out, but signal at 15 over S9;
however at 0636 a quick fadeout or cutoff. Also good signal of 12 over S9 Feb
17 at 1536 with percussion, rap (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NETHERLANDS [non]. Looked for the Cupid Radio transmission to NAm, Sat
Feb 17 at 1526 on 15070 but could not hear anything; however, at 1532 there
was 2-way SSB in Spanish on 15071. At least I recognized a few Spanish
phrases and `cambio` but the rest of it was incomprehensible
** PERU. R. Visión, 4790 [did not measure the offset], Feb 17 at 0558 amid
pentecostal service, using that word, giving a website including lacosecha.org
but could not catch all of it, and ID for R. Moderna, 930 in Lima, and another
station in Chiclayo, but I could not catch the name and it may have been
something else, on MW. Fair reception with constant CODAR swishes
** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Sabbath broadcast of Brother Scare on 17810 via
Guiana French did not come off: Feb 17 at 1520 and still at 1538, nothing but a
big open carrier, hum. Meanwhile the service was on WWRB 9385 as usual, tho
some speaker other than BS when I checked
** U S A. No signal on 7385 around 1428 Feb 17; WRMI off the air?
** ECUADOR. HCJB, 11960, yet another time to hear them announce the wrong
frequencies, at 1444:30 Feb 20, then La Biblia Dice
** GABON [and non]. Routine check of Afropop music distraxion, Feb 20 at 1524
found it on primary channel of 17660, but for a change there was co-channel and
fast SAH from something in French, an occasional word of which could be heard
during fades; not // 17630 ANU. However, the French was no longer heard from
1527, and when Afropop went off at 1531 it could not be heard either tho there
was some weak carrier remaining
** GREECE. 15630 once again had lots of carrier breaks when checked Feb 19
at 1520. In fact, I counted 13 of them during a 1-minute period, when the
transmitter was off more than it was on. When will they ever overcome this or
give up?
** GREECE. Another check of ERA5 via SVO Olympia, 15630, Feb 20 at 1521
found carrier dropping off about 9 times in that minute; but in the following minute
when I had stopped counting, even more times and it was off more than on. How
much longer are they going to mess with this obviously unsuccessful test?
** ICELAND. Contrary to Anker`s observations, which may have been correct for
that date only, since ISBS timings vary, on Feb 19 as early as 1422 I was
getting very weak talk and no music, which I think was ISBS and not R. Free
Asia
** MEXICO. XEYU now seems to be a bit lower around 9599.1, Feb 20 at 0620
but best reception yet in classical solo piano recital, S9 +15, SINPO 44444.
However, it was missing at another time I usually hear it, 1442; just some weak
Asian signal on 9600.
XEXQ, 6045, barely audible with classical music at 1435 Feb 20
** RUSSIA. 7200, Feb 20 at 0641 in Russian talk, than rock music in English;
fair signal but carrier frequency fluxuating rapidly, and even more obvious
with BFO on, the Yakutsk warbler
** U S A. WEWN missing from 7540 in Spanish, at 0639 check Feb 20. Then I
found it on new 7455 heavily mixing with RTTY, despite WEWN`s super-power!
** GREECE. Same old story with ERA5 test via SVO, Feb 21 around 1500 on
15630: frequent carrier breaks making it unlistenable; when on, pretty good
signal // 17525 Avlis
** SAUDI ARABIA [and non]. I am again hearing French on 17660, at 1508 UT
Feb 21, mixing with and underneath the Afropop music distraxion; something
which was not there before yesterday. It is not // 17630 ANU, nor // 15300 RFI. I
believe it is BSKSA, ex-21600. The signal again fades down greatly before
Afropop goes off at 1531. There is a fast SAH between them of about 15 Hz. An
interesting thing I have noticed more than once. Just before Gabon cuts the
carrier at 1531, for a few seconds the SAH level increases. This must be
because the Gabon output power steps down briefly before going off; that is,
BSKSA momentarily has a relative strength advantage. Presumably BSKSA
continues on 17660 at least until the French bihour ends at 1600, but after 1531
the carrier is barely detectable. No doubt those further east could confirm this.
VOA, 17895, via Botswana, in English at 1444 Feb 21 had fluttery co-channel
QRM from something. Per EiBi, that must also be BSKSA, which overlaps on
17895 at 14-15, both broadcasting to different parts of Africa. BSKSA frequency
management is the pits:
17895 1200-1500 ARS BSKSA HQ A NAf
17895 1400-1700 USA Voice of America E EAf /BOT
** SPAIN. REE had an excellent show discussing US-sponsored coups in Iran
and Guatemala in the 1950s, interviewing various authorities in Spanish but with
accents, apparently North Americans. One quite fluent nevertheless slipped and
said ``una programa``. The show was rudely interrupted at 1455 UT Feb 21 on
17595 for the mandatory waste-of-time frequency change announcement.
Axually all they do on 17595 is move the antenna beam southward, which could
probably be accomplished in less than a minute during a real programming break
at 1459. Grrr! Per schedule, this is ``Documentos``, Wed at 1400+
** U S A. Christians vs Christians! There is a big collision between WEWN and
WYFR now on 7455. The night before I found that WEWN had moved from 7540
to 7455, and posted as such on its schedule, at 23-13, and assumed WYFR must
have moved off 7455 at 07-11, but it did not! Feb 21 at 0711, found both of them
there, along with the RTTY which should have dissuaded both broadcasters from
using 7455 at all. At that moment, WYFR was on top, with Camping in English, at
most favorable skip distance from here; RTTY was next; and below that, WEWN
could be heard in music // weak 11870
** U S A. WTJC missing again from 9370, Feb 21 at 1438 check, as well as
various other times, not just on Sunday, as I supposed previously
** U S A. Is Marie Lamb OK? I had a report that DXing with Cumbre has been
repeating the old standby pirate show for three weeks. Feb 21 at 1727 UT I
checked WAER webstream for Marie`s jazz show scheduled weekdays 15-18
UT, only to hear some other woman doing it, Jane McGreasy, who said she was
sitting in. She is not among those pictured on the staff list at
http://www.waer.org/stafpics.html where I went to check the spelling of her
name
** PHILIPPINES. In another futile check for CFRX, Feb 22 at 1407 I came across
this on 6070 which I had not noticed before: clearly and slowly enunciated
declamation, presumably preaching, in what sounded like Vietnamese;
``Abraham``mentioned frequently so this is no Buddhist, Confucian or Commie
station, and not likely Jewish or Moslem either even tho they are supposedly
equally Abrahamist to the Christians. Paused about once a minute for a bit of
music which sounded about the same each time, probably derived from a hymn.
Ranges S3 to S9, averaging S6; no QRM from no CFRX. 1423 went to music
and kept it going until 1429 when YL ID mentioned ``phat-thanh``, i.e. radio
station in Vietnamese, but could not catch ID. Bit of music, IS, sounded like
``Jesus Saves``, but not sure, and then off at 1430. No clues in PWBR ``2007``.
WRTH 2007, however, shows 6070 is FEBC Bocaue with daily ethnic broadcasts
in various languages at 1400-1430. But is it really Vietnamese?
** ANTARCTICA. LRA36, Base Esperanza, 15476, was on the air and heard
again Feb 22 at tune-in 2057 during song mentioning Argentina; perhaps their
closing anthem. Ended at 2100 without further announcements, and carrier off a
couple minutes later. Was S4 to peaks at S9+5
** U S A. VOA, Greenville, 15185, left the powerful transmitter carrying Hausa
until 2100 on the air, still open carrier at 2104 Feb 22; well, not quite open,
because I could clearly hear at very low level VOA English news, // and
synchronized to 15580, another Greenville transmitter, probably just a few
metres away. This could have been receiver-produced cross-modulation, but the
audio did not diminish or disappear when I detuned the preselector and
employed maximum attenuation. Therefore I think it was really transmitted that
way. 15185 was S9+25 when not attenuated, while 15580 was only S9+18
** U S A. KVOH was putting large S9+20 signal in on 17775, Feb 22 at 2105, but
this time I could not detect any spurs on 17629, 17921, etc
** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. Since José Miguel Romero found Polisario back
on the air Feb 22, earlier in the evening on 6380, I checked just before expected
sign-off at 2356, but only a very weak carrier, along with some CW marker
** ANTARCTICA. Once again, no sign of LRA36 when checked 15476 Friday
Feb 23 just before 2100. Seems like it is only on maybe 2 or 3 days a week
** GABON. ANU harmonic of 9580 on 19160 audible again, but barely, Feb 23 at
2100. Meter said S9, but could barely make out some speech along with
high-pitched hum, not the buzz of yore
** GREECE. ERA5 via SVO, 15630, Feb 24 at 1442 during English hour with
inevitable carrier dropoffs every few seconds. John Babbis suggests they may be
doing this just to hold the frequencies, keep other stations from occupying
them; so it doesn`t really matter if no one can stand to listen to them
** GUINEA. Following Al Quaglieri`s tip, I too heard presumed Conakry with
music at 2330 Feb 23 on 7125. Only fair; some ham was unimpressed and was
sending CW within 1 or 2 kHz thus requiring no BFO
** ISRAEL. Kol Israel, 15640, Feb 24 at 1604 with Saturday-only service in
Spanish/Ladino, mostly songs, and occasional announcements in slightly strange
Spanish, which must have been Ladino; 1625 into IS for 5 minutes and 1630
without announcements into Hebrew(?) rock music past 1635. This quarter-hour
is supposed to be in French, before Ladino-only at 1645
** NETHERLANDS [non]. Sat Feb 24 at 1501, RN was putting in a good signal
via Madagascar, on 12080, opening a program about an artist. Sounded quite
interesting, but did not have time to listen for a semihour, so made a note to
catch it ondemand later. But what show was it? Checking the weekly programme
preview newsletter for Feb 23, nothing about it! I had to go back to the
previous week`s newsletter to find it listed under Thursday Feb 22:
``*** Dutch Horizons *** More than thirty years after his death, the work of
Dutch graphic artist MC Escher remains popular all around the world. His
woodprints and lithographs possess a unique quality that makes them instantly
recognisable. Where did he get the inspiration for his powerful black and white
landscapes, clever abstracts and mind-boggling metamorphoses? Join Bertine
Krol for a special edition of Dutch Horizons about MC Escher and find out.
Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1027 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1227
(Eastern N America), 1430 (South Asia), 1827 & 2000 (Africa), 0027 (Eastern N
America), 0127 (Central N America), 0527 (Western N America) Repeated: Wed
1500 (South Asia), Wed 1900 (Africa)``
Which DOES NOT mention this Saturday 1500 repeat! Wish RN would get its act
together on this. So I go to http://www.rnw.nl and figure it must be under the
Culture and History heading:
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/cultureandhistory/
No, not there! So I search on Escher, and see that the same show was originally
classified as a Documentary in June 2005, but now it`s Dutch Horizons. Was
hoping for some visuals to accompany, as, let`s face it, radio about the visual
arts cannot be left solely to the imagination; and there are some on this page
along with audio linx:
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/radioprogrammes/dutchhorizons/060405dh
And a rather long article, a partial transcript? Plus the inevitable bloggy
comments by (only) a triad of listeners
** SAUDI ARABIA. Checking again the new frequency of BSKSA, 17660, which
collides with Afropop music distraxion: Afropop used to jump around from day to
day between 17620 and 17695, and may still do so before 1400 when it has real
jamming of Sawt al-Amal to accomplish, wherever it goes, but after 1400 when I
check it`s on 17660. I suspected that BSKSA is opening 17660 as early as 1400,
since that`s when the bihour in French is supposed to start, as formerly on
21600. Feb 24 at 1430 I could detect something under Afropop, just barely. At
1457 recheck, the SAH was heavier, and at 1525 rerecheck, BSKSA in French
was axually on top in a bad collision.
After Afropop was off at 1531, BSKSA remained audible and in the clear, with
detailed newscast by woman (help me, help me, not to get turned on by hearing
a woman`s voice on the radio; those wicked Saudis!). 1542 martial music, maybe
their news theme, and into a talk about literature. By 1555 BSKSA was
weakening, well after local sunset in Riyadh; bird chirping along with a
meditation, again by a woman, mentioning Abraham. WYFR came on at 1559:30
with IS and right into Portuguese hymn, well atop BSKSA which may have gone
into English if not off, but I had to give up. I await reports from east of Enid
about how long the English, which is originally two hours on the domestic
service, may last on 17660, or if they intend to turn it off immediately but
sometimes dally as they did on 21600.
Also Feb 24 at 1549, VOA English 15205 via Lampertheim, Germany, had cochannel with a fast SAH from something in Arabic, a speech, or should I say
sermon, with reverb. I can only assume this is also BSKSA, with the Holy Qur`an
service not supposed to start on 15205 until 1600 when VOA finishes, and not //
15425/15435 which are the separate Call of Islam service
** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Brother Scare Sabbath service, via Guiana French,
17810, Sat Feb 24 at 1455 was playing rustic hymn, Sweetest Lord Jesus, I think
it is called, but with hiccups in modulation. Later after 1500 B.S. was
screaming irrationally but without hiccups
** U S A. KAIJ reconfirmed with WORLD OF RADIO, 1347, Friday Feb 23 at
2001 on 9480; not a solid signal here in the skip zone, but no doubt so further to
the N and W. Rechecked at 2057, playing Andean music and if I did not know
better, would have guessed it were HCJB. Fill music? Scheduled at 2030 is The
Sower, with Dr Guido. BBC via WHRI 9480 carrier came on at 2058 and there
was overlap as KAIJ announced QSY to 5755, but KAIJ announcement finished
at 2059:30 just as BBC started talking, a perfect transition
** U S A [non]. Feb 24 at 1453 found a good tho fluttery signal on 11510 with
woman spelling out using English lettering, deewaradio at voanews.com, then S
Asian music until 1459* without further announcement.
This of course is the recently added service for the
Pak/Afghanistan-border-area Pashtuns, the ``get Osama`` service, surely the
most specialized USG SW transmissions. If you go looking for it under VOA
language frequency schedules under P you will not find it, only the ordinary
Pashto service. On the VOA homepage you will only find it in the ``select
language`` drop-down under Pashto - Deewa which leads to:
http://www.voanews.com/deewa/
And thence to a page in English explaining it:
http://www.voanews.com/deewa/schedule.cfm which claims that there is a onehour break in usage of 11510 between 14 and 15, but this is obviously not true!
The latest info since Feb 7 shows 11510 Iranawila, Sri Lanka, now straight thru
from 13 to 16. The parallel frequency 9565 from elsewhere has also been
expanded to cover 14-15. Maybe 11510 came back on at 1500 after an antenna
change, if I had kept listening, as each hour is supposed to be on a different
azimuth requiring breaks in transmission
** ANGUILLA [and non]. Caribbean Beacon, a.k.a. Defunct Gene Scott, missing
from 11775 at 1555 Feb 26, leaving 11780 clear for weak signal from Brasília in
sports. After 1600 I still don`t hear Indonesia on 11785 either
** ANTARCTICA [and non]. LRA36 really ought to try some other times, besides
maintaining the original 10 ex-15 hours per week. Sunday Feb 25 at 1436, heard
music on 15475, briefly imagining LRA36 could be following my suggestion, but
soon into Portuguese talk // 15560, so it is only RDPI, which per EiBi is sked:
15475 1200-1500 SaSu POR RdP Radio Portugal P Eu
That and ANO daily at 16-19 are the only other occupants of 15475, per EiBi,
and there is not much on 15470 or 15480 either. What an opportunity for LRA36!
** BRAZIL. DST has just ended, Feb 25, so the south/east states resume UT -3
instead of UT -2. Radio Cultura São Paulo FM program listings have been shifted
one UT hour later in MONITORING REMINDERS CALENDAR. Altho their
webcast is intermittent. This will also affect timings of SW broadcasts, e.g. RNA
11780 coming on an hour later in the mornings
Good! Now maybe Vatican et al. will have to take notice of CHU`s existence. I
would have missed the changed announcement as my ears glaze over, and after
the same previous announcements every single minute for months and months, I
have avoided listening to CHU
** CANADA. CHU has replaced their warning notice with the good news that
``CHU has been licensed to continue broadcasting on 7.335 MHz`` from :16 to
:23 in even-numbered minutes, and the equivalent in French in odd minutes. The
pips are still missing during the announcements. What if we need them then?
This was monitored on 14670, Feb 26 at 1737-1739, as well as on 7335 at 07310733
** CUBA. CMBF R. Musical Nacional got some more SW airtime again UT Mon
Feb 26 as RHC transmitters stayed on past 0700. Missed ID, but obviously this;
tuned in 9550 at 0701 for incorrect timecheck as ``exactamente las 2 de la
madrugada``, then ``La Opera`` (not ``Teatro de la Opera`` as on schedule from
0630) featuring Richard Tucker recordings. Great stuff. Still going at 0716
when I realized I`d better check for parallels. Yes, same thing on the 6300
spur, and on 6060 but they all went off at 0718, along with 6180 fulcrum which
had been playing some other music, source unknown. With DST over in Brasil,
RNA is not coming on 6180 so early and there was no clash at this time with
Cuba
** GERMANY. There is no final DW DX Meeting as already had been planned for
this week. Could not Uwe have done it by himself this one last time? He was not
even mentioned. In the Mailbag ondemand for this week via
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,2142,4703,00.html Margot and her sidekick spend
less than 3 minutes starting at 49:18 into the program talking about the late
Wolfram Hess, and a bit later play ``Time To Say Goodbye`` yet again
** GUINEA [non]. No sign of Conakry on 7125, Feb 26 at 0735, but instead RNW
in Dutch. This could be a problem if Guinea really comes back to stay; fortunately
RN is on 7125 only during this one hour:
0700-0757 Flevo 7125 123 500 Dutch C + SE Europe
** ICELAND. RUV, 13865-USB + reduced carrier, but no LSB, Feb 25 at 1433
with better signal than usual in presumed Icelandic news; no QRM from any
other broadcaster
** MEXICO. XEXQ is not always audible around 0630 on 6045, but it certainly
was Feb 25 with classical music, deep fades both up and down slowly, good at
peaks in Wagner; still holding its own when CVC Chile came up on 6050 at 0700.
If I`m not mistaken, neither Manuel Méndez in NW Spain, nor Carlos Gonçalves
down in Portugal have yet reported XEXQ in the 0630-0700 time period when I
am hearing it on 6045. Manuel was getting XERTA 4810 then. It should be
possible to Europe, tho quite weak. Sunrises will soon be too early
** MEXICO. XEYU still missing from 9599.2v, Feb 26 at 1523 check; let`s hope,
not for long. Julián Santiago says it has been off since Feb 24
** NEW ZEALAND [and non]. RNZI gone from 9765, checked Feb 26 at 0654,
and instead on 9870 with Kermit and Gonzo in comedy skit with Flight of the
Bumblebee, then into classic Flanders & Swann on Mozart. This cleared 9765 for
Turkey, heard at 0659 with IS in the clear prior to Albanian service, but is
that why RNZI moved? Has RNZI overhauled their schedule yet again? Yes, as
of today! See http://www.rnzi.com/pages/listen.php
26 Feb 2007 - 26 Mar 2007 UTC kHz band Target Azimuth Days
0559-1058 9870 31 Pacific 0° Daily
1300-1750 5950 49 Pacific 0° Daily
1751-1850 9765 31 NE Pacific, Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands 35° Daily
1850-1950 11725 25 Pacific 0° Daily
1950-2258 17675 16 Pacific 0° Daily
2259-0558 15720 19 Pacific 0° Daily
2259-1259 13840 21 NW Pacific, Bougainville, PNG, Timor 325° Daily
Noteworthy is that this page makes NO mention of DRM, and there is nothing
about a parallel DRM frequency schedule which is supposed to resume this
week.
What was this comedy show? According to the program grid at
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/listen.php this is supposed to be Checkpoint, since
it was UT Monday, while National Radio is carried on Sat & Sun, but obviously
not so. Would it be too much trouble to show the actual PROGRAMS involved
during the long hours RNZI is relaying National Radio, and the real times this
happens? Or rather as it is now identified on air, such as at 0658 ``Radio New
Zealand, National``? Is there a quick link, at least to RNZN`s own program
grid? No, but in fine print at the bottom of one RNZI page we found a link to
its homepage http://www.radionz.co.nz/ which then leads to
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/home
So what`s on at 1930 local NZDST Mondays? ``7:06 Nights with Bryan Crump --Entertainment and information, including: 7:30 Canned Laughter``
** NIGER. La Voix du Sahel the best I`ve heard it, without really trying, on
9705.0, Feb 26 at 0643 almost as soon as I tuned in, with YL ID in French,
``Vous écoutez La Voix du Sahel. . .94 MHz``. WRTH says 93.6 in Niamey so I
guess they round it off. This was amid chanting and shouting. SINPO 33333 at
first with a bothersome het from 9704, Ethiopia? But after 0650 splatter from
WYFR 9715 worsened. At 0652 another such ID this time by OM and music
continued
** U K [non]. China`s demands for frequency hours are so excessive that they
have to run Kashi colliding with BBC`s erstwhile Singapore channel 9740 at
14-16, per HFCC B-06, separate targets, to be sure, but still marring BBC
reception here at 1522 Feb 26
** U S A [and non]. Talk to America on VOA Feb 26 is another one to make a
point of listening to, once it is availablized at
http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/TTA-New-Past-Shows.cfm
I only caught the last quarter-hour with Alan Heil, VOA historian; they said
earlier in the hour was current VOA Director Danforth Austin; on the occasion
of VOA`s 65th anniversary Feb 24. Good reception atop CCI from China on
Tinang 9760. Now TTA ends at 1458, in time for a lengthy list of frequencies to
be used for the following hour`s Border Crossings
** U S A [and non]. As noted a few days ago, BSKSA is colliding with VOA on
15205; in fact, Feb 26 at 1552 check, BSKSA in Arabic was way over VOA
during enhanced ME conditions. As Noel Green points out, BSKSA apparently
have the bad habit of turning their transmitters on with modulation several
minutes ahead of the scheduled hour, but how many, in this case?
** U S A. WRMI 7385 ANTENNA DAMAGED
Glenn: It looks like the debut of WRN on 7385 will be delayed. [from replacing
R. República weekday evenings]
Late Friday night or early Saturday morning, we seem to have had some really
high winds at the transmitter site, and somehow the elevator assembly broke on
the North American antenna, sending the boom crashing down several feet. It
was stopped from falling all the way by the guy wires on the antenna, fortunately.
But the boom has some broken parts and was bent out of whack, sitting
diagonally instead of horizontally.
Raúl tried to do a quick fix and get it back up and running, but the transmitter
doesn't like the match and keeps turning itself off when we switch to that
antenna. So tomorrow he's going to bring it back down again, get some
parts locally and see if he can get it working again. However, our consulting
engineer is out of the country until Wednesday, and the antenna manufacturer
seems to be out of the country as well. So Raúl is estimating that we will
probably be off the air on 7385 kHz for two or three days -- hopefully no
longer than that.
If by some miracle they happen to get it working again before then, I'll let
you know. It's a bad deal, but could have been a lot worse, I guess. I'll keep
you updated (Jeff White, WRMI, Feb 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I wonder
whether 7385 programming will still be webcast (gh)
Glenn: Yes, we'll keep the webcast going all the time
** U S A. Catholix vs Protestants vs bauds! On Feb 25 I checked 7455 at 0624,
well before WYFR came up at 0700, and found that WEWN, despite its 500
(350?) kW, was losing out to co-channel RTTY
** U S A. The 7455 collision of Christians vs Christians: Feb 26 at 0728 check,
huge signal from WYFR in English, and only during pauses and by straining
could I detect something underneath, presumably WEWN, which still has 7455
on their schedule at http://www.ewtn.org/radio/freq.htm
** U S A. Both WWCR and KAIJ carry Pastor Pete Peters, at 0652 Feb 25, on
5765 and 5755 respectively, but KAIJ was about 5 seconds behind WWCR as he
was giving the WWCR address. Too much of a thing?
** VENEZUELA [non]. As expected, the Cuban transmitters formerly carrying Aló
Presidente, or rather, standing by most of the time for HCF to show up, were
missing Feb 25 at 1427 check now that the Sunday morning broadcasts have
been abolished by Venezuela. Please check known Cuban frequencies in the
0000 sesquihour UT Tue-Sat in case RHC has decided to broadcast A,P on its
new live schedule
** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. No sign of Polisario on 6280, where reported by
one listener a couple days ago, when checked at 0720 UT Feb 26, nor anywhere
else in the 6200-6500 range
** ANTARCTICA. LRA-36 back on the air Monday Feb 26 at 1954 check, but all I
could get was a carrier on 15476. During the following hour and as late as
2115, Steve Lare in MI and Raúl Saavedra in Costa Rica were more successful
** ARGENTINA. R. Diez, 710, via LTA, 15820-LSB and not USB, Feb 26 at 2332
with ID, news, traffic report, adstring including Banco Rio; fading in and out but
good at peaks
** CUBA. A few chex of RHC during a time I seldom monitor, Feb 26: 2336 on
6000, huge collision with R. Praga in Spanish via Sackville; at 2339, found
6000 // 6180 in obsessive discussion of Posada Carriles; 6180 was over Brasil
but why should there be any collision here? At 2340, RHC Portuguese was on
both 11705 and 17705, while 9550 was in English. At 2400, 6300 was audible
with NA and outdated frequency list in Spanish, not, of course, including the
frequency where I was hearing it
** CUBA [non]. Had another try at R. República`s frequency change
announcement at the end of the 6135 transmission, Feb 26 at 2357. A few days
earlier I thought they said they were about to move to 6100 [seis mil cien], but
now it`sclearer that they are saying 6010 [seis mil diez]! --- Which IIRC was their
original frequency at 0000 when they started about a year ago, but long out of
use. How can they be so FUBAR? Furthermore, they still have not managed to
coordinate their programming with frequency changes, as at 2358 with 6135 still
on the air, another program started, ``Hablando en Serio``, until automatic
cutoff at 2359:30. Quick retune to the real successor channel, 6185, and that
show continued, having started on the previous frequency
** CZECH REPUBLIC [non]. R. Prague in Spanish via Sackville, 6000, is still
going despite huge collision with Habana we pointed out months ago, Feb 26 at
2336 czeck producing fast SAH and roughly equal levels; but one of them had
Slavic bits. No problem on 5990 with CRI Cuban relay only, Prague having
cancelled that English relay via Sackville at yearend
** EGYPT. Finally heard R. Cairo here on 11950, Feb 26 at 2303 with Arabic
music, ACI from 11945; 2307 into disco beat mixed with YL talk in seeming
English as scheduled; reception deteriorated thereafter
** GUINEA. Checking reactivated Conakry, 7125, Feb 26 at 2253 with talk in
vernacular mixed with music; at 2347 recheck some shouting in English naming
several other African countries, mixed with hilife. At 2356 Guinea was till
going under Russian tune-up tones
** JAPAN [non]. Maybe this is SOP for Bonaire, but I still found it odd to hear
RN`s carillon IS on 17605 at 2259 Feb 26, then after some clix, at 2300
directly into NHK in Japanese talk, without any NHK IS or theme music
** MEXICO [and non]. After having been missing for a couple days, XEYU was
surely back Feb 26 at 2314 check on 9599, causing the big het with Vatican IS
but the latter was on top, Christus Vincit! and 2315 opening Vietnamese. Would
Vatican please keep its broadcasts to SE Asia out of North America? Per HFCC
this is Santa Maria di Galeria aimed 72 degrees with 500 kW, yet it is stronger
than Mexico next door (BTW, until 2245, VR on 9600 is via Pet/Kam or
Khabarovsk, Russia).
** SPAIN. Did a double take upon hearing REE in Spanish on two adjacent
frequencies, 7270 and 7275, Feb 26 at 2251, but it`s intentional, as in HFCC,
both dated thruout B-06:
7270 1900 2300 37,38W,46 NOB 350 170 234567 ARAB/SPAN E REE REE
7275 1700 2300 18,27-29 NOB 250 50 1234567 SPANISH E REE REE
** U S A. WBCQ, 18910 was on both LSB and USB, and full AM carrier as far as
I could tell, Feb 26 at 2255 with Hembree`s Quick Study Radio, thinly disguised
evangelism, as checked on the DX-398 with separate LSB and USB tuning; very
good signal
** U S A. Looking periodically for KVOH spurs as previously reported, sometimes
I hear nothing but a buzz which cannot be correlated with 17775 audio, except
it is on matching offsets around 17630 and 17920, such as Feb 26 at 2258;
however, they seemed to be gone a minute later as 17775 continued with ID;
perhaps this was a result of temporarily lowered modulation level
** U S A. WEWN still on 7455 in Spanish but over RTTY, Feb 26 at 2344 check;
meanwhile I could hear something else on its former frequency, 7540, which per
EiBi and PWBR would be R. Free Asia in Mandarin via Tajikistan, and/or
jamming, but only until 2400, so that still doesn`t explain why WEWN shifted to
7455 all the way from 23 to 13, and despite WYFR at 07-11 and despite all the
RTTY
** GREECE. ERA5 via SVO, 15630, Feb 27 at 1528 check: usual dropouts of
carrier during music, but listening carefully, there were also dropouts in
modulation during moments when the carrier was on. What wonderful
engineering we are being exposed to
** MEXICO. XEYU`s frequency has slipped back up again, but still fails to
attain nominal 9600.00; Feb 27 at 1455, when the het from 9600 went off, I put
it at approximately 9599.44. Method: counting the 40-Hz steps up from original
punch-up tuning to 9599.00 on the DX-398, (once the offset error was corrected
for), until the signal was more or less zero-beat. Eleven steps = 440 Hz high.
But this is not so precise, so I would say somewhere between 9599.4 and
9599.5, altho obviously less than 9599.50 since the pitches were different with 1
kHz stepping between 9599 and 9600 on the YB-400 once its BFO thumbwheel
was zeroed on another signal, such as 9610 RCI
** PHILIPPINES. VOA Korean, 9555, Feb 27 at 1445 with English lesson,
splattering +/- 20 kHz, and especially bothersome to RHC 9550. It was all over
by 1500. Not the first time the 9555 transmitter has been so dirty
** SAUDI ARABIA. BSKSA, 17660, Feb 27 at 1530, during the minute before
co-channel Afropop went off, could be heard with a timesignal running about 5
seconds slow --- not suitable for navigation! And introducing Informations with
a Sousa(?) march, starting with diplomatic meeting between Egypt and France
** U S A [non]. On 12135, Feb 27 at 1535, something in Farsi, but heavy
interference from AFRTS 12133.5-USB and CODAR sweeps; listed as VOA via
Morocco at 1530-1630
Allan Willie – St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada
Yaesu FRG 100 and 140’ wire
Vatican Radio 11.850 @ 15:30 UT Feb 10 w/ sign on and interval signal then
mention of additional frquencies 9.310/13.765 transmission directed to Asia and
the Middle East
J. Armani – Denver, CO
Radio/Antenna
BBC World Service is Booming In loud & clear rite now.
9480 KHz. 21:59 UTC
Stephen Ponder – Houston, TX
Kaito 1103
Heard on a Kaito KA1103 ...
7160 ASCENSION ISLAND BBC Network Africa 02/27 0439-0455 with West
African news items, music, frequent Ids "You're tuned to the BBC Network
Africa")by M/F announcers. Heard interview with a Ugandan MP. Signals were
good but had slight fading. Parallel frequencies 3255/6005/6190/7120/11665 all
inaudible.
Down in the Basement
Stephen Ponder – Houston, TX
Kaito 1103 – Internal Ferrite
245 kHz
286 kHz
332 kHz
347 kHz
388 kHz
391 kHz
397 kHz
418 kHz
ARM Wharton NDB, Wharton, TX (65 mi)
EYQ Weiser NDB, Houston, TX (39 mi)
FIS Fish Hook NDB, Key West, FL (891 mi)
JPA SanJac NDB, LaPorte, TX (8 mi)
SGR Hull NDB, Sugar Land, TX (31 mi)
DDP Luiz Munoz/Dorado NDB, San Juan, PR (1962 mi)
BWK Bunkie NDB, Bunkie, LA (195 mi)
CW Mossy NDB, Mossy, LA (127 mi)
Jay Heyl – Orlando, FL
Panasonic RF-2200/AOR 7030 QX Pro DSP-599zx
2007-02-01 05:00 521 TVX 840 Y Greencastle, IN, USA
20070205 03:23 206 GLS 2000 1301 Galveston, TX, USA
20070205 03:46 219 AY 0 339 Y WIKET, GA, USA
20070204 21:38 245 SR 0 157 Y RINGY, FL, USA
20070205 01:25 392 ML 500 2343 Y Charlevoix, QC, CAN
20070201 05:00 521 TVX 0 1352 Y Greencastle, IN, USA
20070211 06:17 350
20070211 06:11 350
20070211 06:21 350
20070211 05:56 353
20070211 06:03 354
20070211 06:01 356
20070211 05:51 366
20070211 05:30 395
20070211 05:16 409
20070212 04:45 340
20070212 04:16 349
DF 1000 3081 Deer Lake, NL, CAN
LE 400 876 'Leevy' Raleigh, NC, USA
BEP 0 504 Y BAY CREEK, GA, USA
VV 0 604 Y 'Junne' Greensboro, GA, USA
MKS 25 550 Y Moncks Corner, SC, USA
PB 0 224 'Rubin' West Palm Beach, FL, USA
EZM 25 448 Y Eastman, GA, USA
CWV 0 425 Y CLAXTON, GA, USA
TM 25 383 Y Tifton, GA, USA
BIJ 25 469 Y 'Early County' Blakely, GA, USA
AAF 25 380 Y APALACHICOLA, FL, USA
The Line of Sight and Beyond
Phil Rafuse – Stratford, PEI, Canada
Pontiac Vibe Radio and 31” whip or listed below
FM - SAT 800 with built in whip:
91.9 News 91.9 Moncton NB
93.9 Confederation Bridge Radio 38 watts and 40 miles away
96.5 CKUL Halifax NS
96.9 XL-96 Moncton NB
102.7 CBC Radio Two Halifax NS
103.5 CKHZ Halifax NS
104.3 CFRQ Q104 Halifax NS
Kevin Redding – Gilbert, AZ
2006 Red Saturn Vue with 31” Whip
Heard in a Red Saturn Vue with mid range Delco Radio with RDS and 31"
whip:
101.9 K270BA Wickenburg, AZ 2232 with REL rock music. 75 mi.
David Slate – Hendersonville, TN
DX398 and whip
2/7 11:33 AM 93.7 WBXE, Baxter TN w/ B-Rock 93.7 id and Upper
Cumberland Gun store ad
9:46PM 100.3 WNOX Oak Ridge, TN Heard on 2/7/07 with ad for a gun store
on I-75 in Athens TN and shouting the big talker was also in this morning
2/8 11:39A WUSY Cleveland TN us 101 slogan and ad ment " highway in
Chattanooga" never id the calls before me and Kevin called this the WUSSY
station
11:48 100.7 WKLX Brownsville KY "sam 100 slogan" it's is a relog
12:00P 101.7 WJLE Smithville TN with Fox news ads for legelzone.com and
Smithville Building supply new and this a GW
6:33 95.9 WLQK Livingston , TN 2-8-07 w/ Lady Vols game Id'ed by RDS:
WLQK-FM 95.9
6:55 104.1 WCKQ Campbellsville, KY 2/8/07 w/ "....Kentucky Wildcats here on
Q-104""looked up the radio network list and voila this was the only 104.1
9:00 AM 105.1 WCLC Jamestown, TN w/ WX forecast "......from the Storm 6
Weather center on today's Christian Music station WCLC" I have never
heard this before even it is groundwave maybe the fact that it has a small
coverage area
2-26-2007
9:51 AM 101.9 WQXQ Central City, KY "Q101.9" liner into a Owensboro
local ad then gone not sure if i had this before here at the new place
9:59 AM 93.3 WDNS Bowling Green, KY never heard this semi local before
RDS: Classic Rock D 93
2/27/2007
7:34 AM 102.3 WCLU Mufordsville, KY Paul Harvey into a Glasgow, KY
locel ad first time i haerd anything on this freq NEW 97 miles
8:09 93.7 WBXE, Baxter, TN "B-rock" liner and Upper cumberland ment
Not needed
Stephen Wiseblood – Boca Chica Beach, TX
Receiver/Antenna
2/28
As we speak, a hefty tropo DUCT to DALLAS TX at 475-miles going strong on
the FM car radio. I will erect a FM YAGI in about a month (with IRS refund, hi hi).
0843 105.3 KLLI TX Dallas "FREE-FM Live 105-3" morning talk show 475
also heard 106.1, 104.5 & 103.3 Dallas Ft. Worth.
Glenn Hauser – Enid, OK
Receiver/Antenna
** OKLAHOMA. KAMG-LP 92.1 finally went on the air in Enid Feb 18 at 1700
UT,and I tuned in after an item about it in the Eagle Feb 24. It`s in Spanish with
seemingly continuous alabanza music, just what we need, from Amigos
Ministries.Much more in upcoming DXLD 7-025 as I tracked down their
transmitter site and spoke with the proprietor
You don’t Need a Weatherman…
David Slate – Hendersonville, TN
PRO-96 and Rubber Duckie
2:33 162.450 WNG629 Spencer, TN with FX for Spencer, Dunlap and Sparta
111 Miles
2/28
7:40 am 162.4000 WXK 61 Cookeville, TN forecast out of NWS Nashville
and climate data from Crossville NEW!
7:46 162.425 WWF-84 Lawrenceburg, TN special weather statement and id
NEW!
Harry Helms – Smithville, TX
Yaesu FT-60 and Rubber Duckie
2/21
For those of us east of the Rockies, don't forget that tropo season is soon going
to be upon us.
At around 6:45 am Central this morning, I switched on my Yaesu FT-60 handheld
to listen to NOAA weather radio out of Austin, and was surprised to find the
Shreveport, LA NOAA station completely dominant on the channel! I channelsurfed a little more and found NOAA stations at Tyler and Palestine TX loud on
their frequencies; normally on the NOAA stations at Austin and Gonzales, TX are
audible on my FT-60.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to DX further. (OT, I'm sending this via WiFi
and a laptop from the chemotherapy infusion center at St. Davids Hospital
North in Austin-----ain't technology great?!?!)
With analog UHF TV soon to be a thing of the past and FM IBOC becoming more
widespread, we're not going to have too many tropo seasons left for such DX. I
hope this morning was a harbinger of things to come this year.
2/27
There was heavy fog here this morning and a big opening toward the southeast;
the NOAA Austin station I normally monitor on 162.40 was completely
overridden by a Port Aransas station giving coastal weather information, and all
NOAA channels had stations giving weather info for Galveston, Houston,
etc.
I didn't have to really DX these because I had to be in Austin this morning for a
9:00 am appointment, but I'll definitely be looking for some tropo DX this evening!
2/28
Loggings this morning on my Yaesu FT-60 handheld transceiver with the "rubber
ducky" antenna, all times Central:
162.45 WWG40, Bay City, TX, full quieting on channel with marine weather info
7:31 am.
162.45 KWM33, Stephensville, TX, with ID 7:20 am.
162.475 KGG68, Junction, TX, scratchy but understandable 7:28 am.
162.50 KWM31, Greenville, TX, with ID 7:25 as serving the "Greenville/Sulphur
Springs" area.
162.525 At least three different stations fighting it out on this channel, but couldn't
pull an ID for any of them no matter which position I had the antenna in!
No surface fog but still interesting tropo opening this morning to about 200 miles
from here, stretching from north to south. The anomaly is 162.475; Junction
is about 150 miles west of here and the path was across the hills of the Hill
Country.
With a better receiver and antenna, I should be able to get some interesting stuff,
especially when 30-50 MHz opens to Mexico and Central America. Maybe I
should get more involved with VHF utility station DX .
The Visible Universe
No TV DX logs this month…
Nothin’ But Net
Kevin Redding - Gilbert AZ
For smokin hot swing music, try this URL:
http://kcea.org/%7Ekceaplaylist/ourmusic.html
I am sure that many of you will really like it.
http://www.fatmusicradio.com/
FAT Music is a format that began in Austin, Texas in the early 70's,
became famous in Gilroy, California from the mid 70's through the early
80's and found a permanent home with FAT Music, starting in 1987. The
FAT Music Show was most recently heard on XM Satellite Radio from 2001
until 2005. Join us for the next chapter in a long, wonderful journey
in free-form radio.
David Slate – Hendersonville, TN
http://wellington.morefm.co.nz/
More FM 94.7/100 Wellington, NZ great staion to liston too excpolety the
morning show Great fun
Juan Gualda – Ft. Pierce, FL
Here's a great net station, and it happens to be mine. No imaging or
promos yet, but for now just great Carolina Beach Music and and
classic R&B music.
http://www.live365.com/stations/hot100fla?play&site=live365
Extra, Extra!
Art Jackson – Ft. Worth, TX
Link with pictures of the tower collapse of WCFB:
http://580wdbo.com/slideshows/5085/11.html
Kevin Redding - Gilbert, AZ
Sports Radio 950 WPEN-AM Announces Signal Increase in Philly
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Greater Media Philadelphia announced
that Sports Radio 950 WPEN-AM has increased its daytime broadcast signal from
5,000 Watts to 25,000 Watts under authority from the FCC. Final approval of the
permanent signal increase is expected next month.
The signal increase has improved reception in areas already receiving WPEN and
has additionally brought Sports Radio 950 to new listeners to the Northeast, East and
Southeast. In 2005, the nighttime signal was increased from 5,000 Watts to 21,000
Watts."We have been getting calls hearing us loud and clear in center city offices,
Princeton, New Jersey to the North and Jersey shore towns like Avalon to the
Southeast. It's very exciting to be able to deliver the breaking sports news first to so
many Philly sports fans," said Station Manager, Bob DeBlois. "Our investments in
Sports Radio 950 over the past couple of years have improved both the day and
nighttime signals, fueling Philadelphia's fastest growing sports radio station."
Sports Radio 950 WPEN officially launched in October 2005. The interview- based,
sports/talk oriented format provides listeners with a new choice to hear the very best
sports variety, facts, information and talk in Philadelphia.
WPEN is owned and operated by Greater Media Philadelphia, a division of Greater
Media, Inc., the parent company of 20 AM and FM radio stations in the Boston,
Detroit, New Jersey and Philadelphia markets. It also owns a modern printing plant
and a group of weekly newspapers in central New Jersey as well as several
telecommunications towers located throughout the United States.
Greater Media Philadelphia
NOAA Weather Radio Transmitter Installed For Island
Park
Posted: 1:36 PM, Feb. 26, 2007
People in Island Park and the western Teton Mountain Range are
able to hear weather forecast and warnings from NOAA Weather
Radio now.
A new transmitter was installed at Relay Ridge in Idaho.
The signal allows listeners to hear 24-hour weather information
when they tune their radios to 162.450 MHz.
The transmitter is being provided through a partnership between
NOAA and the Teton County Civil Defense. Site facilities are
provided by the state of Idaho microwave services and grand
funds provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural
Utility Service."
The broadcast originates from the National Weather Service's
office in Pocatello.
http://www.localnews8.com/story.cfm?nav=news&storyID=1303
Sirius, XM face static: Merger questioned
By Jesse Noyes
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
A proposed mega-merger between XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio was
already being eyed warily by U.S. Representative Ed Markey yesterday.
A couple of hours after XM and Sirius announced their intention to marry in a $13
billion deal, Markey (D-Mass.) issued a statement saying the merger demands the
“utmost scrutiny” by Federal lawmakers.
“I believe that the merger of the only two satellite radio companies must be assessed
with an eye toward ensuring that it does not have a . . . deleterious effect on diversity on
the dial and localism in radio coverage and reporting,” said Markey, the chairman of the
House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
The deal would consolidate the only two companies in the emerging business of
subscription-only satellite radio, and is sure to face tough scrutiny from federal
regulators.
A merger would give subscribers access to Sirius’ Howard Stern and XM’s Oprah,
along with a wide array of sports, music and entertainment.
The two companies said in a statement that Mel Karmazin, the CEO of Sirius, would
become chief executive of the new company while Gary Parsons, the chairman of XM,
would remain in that role. XM’s CEO Hugh Panero will remain to oversee closing of the
deal, they said.
The long-speculated-upon deal would face significant regulatory hurdles in
Washington, including a Federal Communications Commission rule that clearly states
that one satellite radio provider cannot buy the other one. However, that rule could be
waived.
A combination would also have to meet antitrust approval from the Department of
Justice.
XM and Sirius have both posted significant financial losses. Both stocks declined more
than 40 percent last year on concerns about their continued growth in subscribers and
about softness in the retail market, but investors have held out hopes that a merger could
bring costs down significantly.
What’s unclear is how the two services will be combined. XM and Sirius use different
satellite technology and millions of customers have bought separate receivers, said Scott
Fybush, editor of NorthEast Radio Watch.
http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=183862&form
at=text
Jerry Lenamon – Waco – TX
This information courtesy of Radio Online
Daily News & Headlines
Satellite Radio Accounted for 3.4% of Fall 2006 Listening According to Arbitron,
listening to satellite channels totaled 3.4 percent of credited quarter hours during
the Fall, 2006 survey period from mentions by about a half million diarykeepers,
or 5.6 percent.
The Fall, 2006 survey was the first in which new instructions were provided in the
diary asking respondents to indicate their listening to satellite and Internet radio
in addition to AM/FM radio.
Respondents mentioned 297 separate satellite radio channels during the survey.
Arbitron's recent analysis revealed that the highest share of quarter hours for an
individual satellite channel was 0.2 percent. The average satellite radio channel
had a .009 percent share of quarter hours, which would not be high enough to
meet Arbitron's minimum reporting standards.
The analysis also showed that satellite listeners are heavy listeners to radio in
general including AM/FM radio. Satellite listeners spent an average of 33 hours a
week with radio compared with the typical listener who listened approximately 19
hours a week. Also, people who listened to satellite spent more time with AM/FM
radio (14 hours) than they did with satellite radio (10 hours 45 minutes) or
Internet (8 hours 15 minutes). (02-27-07)
Phil Rafuse – Stratford, PEI, Canada
Bob Smoak – Bamberg, SC
Powell Way, who is without a computer at the moment (and says he's enjoying it)
asked me to post the following for him.
WCSZ, 1070 kHz, 50,000 watts daytime, 1,500 watts nighttime, DA-2, which is
licensed to Sans Souci, S. C., which Powell says is an area, not a town
(essentially a Greenville, S. C. station) has had its MW 50 transmitter repaired
and is back up to full power in the daytime.
Powell has moved to a rural area in Newberry County, S. C. outside the small
town of Silverstreet, about 60 miles northwest of where he was living and has not
had all services re-established yet.
Mauno Ritola – Finland
From: "WRTH International Editor" <sean.gilbert@wrth.com>
WRTH is pleased to announce that an update file for the Winter season
international broadcasting schedules is now available for download from the
WRTH website. Please visit http://www.wrth.com and follow the instructions.
The update file is a pdf document, and you will require version 5 or later
of the free Adobe Acrobat reader to view the file.
The file contains 13 pages and is less than 80kb in size.
We hope you find this file a useful accompaniment to the printed WRTH.
Regards
WRTH editorial team.
Glenn Hauser – Enid, OK
** U S A. UT Feb 6 AT 0354 I had another look at http://www.kxtr.com and find
the website now has some stuff in it, including this perplexing announcement:
KXTR will soon start broadcasting in high definition FM stereo. Get ready by
purchasing a Boston Acoustincs [sic] High Definition radio from Primus Audio
Pleasure today. Click here http://www.primusaudiopleasure.com/ to find out
more.
To learn more about High Definition radio, visit Primus Audio
http://www.primusaudiopleasure.com/hdradio/index.htm
Primus being a local store in Kansas City, apparently. It will be a neat trick
to broadcast in ``high definition FM stereo`` on 1660 kHz! Or could they be
hinting about a return to the 92-108 MHz band? Or, just as they don`t know that
HD does not mean high definition when applied to radio, perhaps they don`t
know the difference between MF and VHF? Or, maybe it will only be an HD
channel on some other FM transmitter?
And the calls? Referred to as KXTR all over the place, except in the program
schedule for one entry:
THURSDAY AT 8:35: WDAF ARTS PREVIEW PROGRAM WITH TIMOTHY
MCDONALD
No program schedule info outside the M-F 6-10 am Morning Show block!
Has anyone ever heard them give a legal ID as WDAF? If so, any more? Will
they really mention WDAF Thursday at 1435 UT? Stay tuned, to the webcast at
least
** CANADA. CJRS --- Yes, that's the official set of call letters for Radio
Shalom. We'll begin testing at 1650 very soon, possibly next week, with a
tentative March launch. If you're interested in participating on-air or behind
the scenes in our unique venture (North America's first all-Jewish radio
station), please feel free to reach me at stanleyasher@.... [truncated]. We'll
also consider some limited programming from various ethnic and/or religious
organizations who are presently not served by other Montreal area radio
stations (such as those on CFMB, CINQ, CKDG and others). Japanese,
Mennonite,
Bahai, Bulgarian, and Roma groups particularly are welcome. I'm writing in the
dual capacities of long-time RIM member, and VP of CJRS with temporary duties
as English-language pgm. coordinator (Stanley Asher, QC, Feb 4,
radioinmontreal yg via DXLD)
CJRS/Radio Shalom, 1650 AM --- Our tech guru, Michel Mathieu, has promised
testing by mid-week -- we hope -- and we still are interested in news readers
(Fr. & Eng.), journalists, producers/ops, who will be heard on a Montreal
market station. Our budget is highly limited, so almost everyone is
volunteering. We're 1000 watts, and would like to hear reception reports.
Laurentians? South Shore? Hudson/St. Lazare? Anjou/RDP/Mtl. N.? Ontario and
US border towns, maybe? (Stanley Asher, Feb 11, radioinmontreal yg via DXLD)
Where is the transmitter site located? And just a neat tidbit that I'm sure
most everyone knows, CJRS was the call of Radiomutuel's Sherbrooke outlet,
CJRS 1510. :) (Marc Guerard, ibid.) On Ferrier 3 blocks west of Decarie (Asher,
ibid.)
But nothing further about it in this yg as of Feb 17
Bruce Winkelman – Tulsa, OK
KAKC 1300 noted for the first time today (2/17) with sports programming -ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio, "AM 1300 The Buzz" and "Building the Buzz
Sports Network". KTBZ-1430 still using "The Buzz" slogan as well. Tulsa now
has 3 AM
sports stations: KAKC-1300, KTBZ-1430 and KYAL-1550. Dropping its former
"business radio" format. Not sure when the format switch happened. Awaiting a
response to my email inquiry....
Tim Hall – Chula Vista, CA
As I write this, the three Tijuana stations XESS-620, XESDD-1030, and XHBCE105.7 (all nominally Ensenada) are blasting away as usual. If anything has been
shut down, it would be the original legitimate Ensenada stations on 920 (audible
middays from my home), 1450 (audible if I drive about 30 miles inland) and 92.1
(not sure I can hear them at all). That would leave Ensenada rather
underserved, while the perpetrator of this fraud remains free to (possibly) make a
lot more money on his 3 new San Diego market stations. 620 is ESPN Deportes
(slightly bothered by KOGO-600 IBOC hiss during the day). 105.7 is leased to
XEPRS-1090 for sports talk and Padres games. I'll have to listen for a while to
hear what the 1030 station is programming now.
They were still running Mexican oldies last week. Recall that we also have a
1040 in this market (KURS "the soul of San Diego", owned by the same
individual but currently leased to a Baptist church in downtown San Diego).
Nice detective work, SCT. Inspector Clouseau would be proud.
Bargain Barn
Dennis Gibson – Santa Barbara, CA
I have a mint condition Radio Shack DX-398 with original carrying case
for sale. It is identical to the highly acclaimed Sangean ATS-909.
$150 includes shipping and insurance anywhere in the US.
Please contact me at dcgibson55@yahoo.com if you are interested.
Testing, Testing…
Les Rayburn – Helena, AL
KMTI 650khz Manti, UT Maintenance Test
Date(s): Monday Morning (Late Sunday Night) March 19, 2007
Time: Midnight until 0200AM Mountain Time (2 Hour Long Test)
Modes of Operation: 10Kw DA-2
Programming: Morse Code ID's, Sweep Tones, Voice ID.
Notes: Arranged by NRC Member, John Tucker, KG7RS, of Mesa, AZ. John
stopped by KTMI during a recent road trip and convinced engineer Doug Barton
to run some special programming during his next maintenance period! That's
"grass roots" DX testing in action!
Reception reports are desired via e-mail (first choice) and
snail mail (only if e-mail is not available) Station would prefer
to received recordings of the test (MP3, CD, or cassette).
Submit reports to:
les@highnoonfilm.com
Please put "KMTI DX Test" in the subject line.
All standard mail reports should go to:
Les Rayburn
High Noon Film
100 Centerview Drive Suite 111
Birmingham, AL 35216
*SASE Required for reply.
Thanks to Doug Barton and the staff of KMTI for including us in their
maintenance period! And a special thanks to John Tucker for arranging this
test. This is a real chance for those on the East Coast to put a 2nd Utah
station into their log books!
Les Rayburn, N1LF
NRC/IRCA Broadcast Test Coordinator
Please call anytime 24/7 if your transmitter
will be off the air for maintenance.
(205) 253-4867
I Got The Bird!
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