[HCDX] Glenn Hauser logs, September 9-13

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Sept 13 at 1325 good signal with Qur`an on 15680, then
lecture in non-Arabic; 1330 audio cut off in mid-word, but carrier on until
almost 1335. Per Aoki this is R. Free Afghanistan, via Sri Lanka, scheduled in
Pashto until 1330. So the USG is promoting Islam to the exclusion of other
religions? Afghanistan is as we know, destined to become a Korean-Christian
country (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ALBANIA [and non]. R. Tirana, 13750, with usual deep fades into the TVI, but
readable at peaks in between, Sept 13 at 1315. Now has slight QRM from Cuba`s
new 13760, but more QRM from something on 13745, which is supposedly Rwanda,
active only on Fri and Sat until 1315, but this was Thursday. Tirana did not go
off until 1331 after another program had started (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)

** BIAFRA [non]. One biweek later, just in case, checked again the scheduled
other time for V. of Biafra International, Wed 1915-1945 on WHRA 13710 --- no,
from 1925 to 1932, just the usual WHR gospel fill music and ID. Is it still on
the imaginary schedule? Yes, on WHR website, by searching on VOBI in specific
program criteria, there it is, and also still showing wrong frequency for the
non-imaginary Friday broadcast at 20-21 on WHRI, really 15665, not 17650 (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. Ah, another day, another transmission problem. Sept 10 at 1426, I
found the very strong RHC transmitter on 13680 also putting out spurious audio,
but this time without great distortion or additional noises. First noticed on
13760.0, RHC Spanish audio but under-modulated, and other audio underneath, CRI
English, same as relay on 13740. Then same found, but much weaker, on 13720.0.
No other such spurs found below 13680 or above 13760. These do not follow the
usual leapfrog pattern, so who knows how they come about. Heard on both the
FRG-7 with external antenna and the YB-400 with internal antenna.

Rechecked at 2125 the situation becomes clearer, as undermodulated RHC Spanish
// 9550 is still, or more likely again, on 13760, but only on 13760, no 13680
or any other frequency on the band. So that means 13760 is a new deliberate
frequency, and 13720 heard earlier was a leapfrog mixing product over 13740 CRI
relay. During the hours RHC is using it, the main other occupant of 13760 is
Voice of Korea: Commies vs Commies! 

Another check, Sept 11 at 1351: 13760 with RHC as before, and also on weaker
13720, a leapfrog over 13740 CRI relay which is only in open-carrier warmup at
this time, so nothing but RHC audio on 13720. This time with another receiver I
compared audio on 13680, and there was an echo between them, proving that 13760
and 13680 are at two different sites.

Another2 check of RHC`s new 13760, Sept 12 at 1402: it and the mixing product
on 13720 were audible again during frequency announcement, to which 13760 has
indeed been added, but 9600 has not been removed, despite our pointing out that
it goes off reliably over an hour earlier, at 1300. Also plugged upcoming Mesa
Redonda this date at 2230 on 9820 and 6000 about --- guess what? ``Los 5
Héroes``!! Now what would Cuba do if it caught 5 Americans, especially gusanos,
spying inside Cuba? Don`t ask! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. R. Amanecer Internacional was on late again Sept 13, on
6025, noted at 0620 with lite gospel music, 0622 talk in Spanish about sunlight
taking 8 minutes to get here, and then incidence of skin cancer: Adventist
obsession with health matters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GERMANY [non]. Noticed DW in // on 17800 and much weaker 17770, Sept 13 at
1335, but a slight reverb between them due to different sites. Per Aoki this is
Hausa, via Rwanda and Portugal, respectively:

17770 DEUTSCHE WELLE 1300-1357 1234567 Hausa 500 150 Sines POR  
17800 DEUTSCHE WELLE 1300-1400 1234567 Hausa 250 310 Kigali RRW 
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. Traces of XEYU again after missing for a week or two, Sept 13 at
1340, very weak carrier and traces of audio on 9599.3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)

** RUSSIA. VOR`s service to Asia in English is again becoming audible here way
off the back in the 1400 UT hour, best on 15605, and also // 15660. Per HFCC,
both are Moscow site; 15605 is 500 kW at 115 degrees, while 15660 is 250 kW at
100 degrees. 

Monday Sept 10 until 1458 we were enjoying a program of old Russian 78 rpm
records (or 80?), but if there was an outro before the QSY announcement, we
didn`t catch it. So what show was it? Going to the website http://www.ruvr.ru
and clicking on English in the drop-down, we then find Guide to Programs
http://ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&e=122&p= 
-- which gives a list of programs, but no times or frequencies!

Counter-intuitively, you have to go to Frequencies, 
http://ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&e=152&p= 
eventually to reach further linx for the programming during each hour to each
target area, clicking on Full Schedule (1400 and others no doubt duplicated,
also to Eu and ME in this case). 

So we get to Asia, Monday, and what do we find? The column of times does not
line up with the column of program titles. As we go down the page, they are
increasingly misaligned. Re-sizing or switching from Firefox to IE does not
help either; thus it must be built into their new php webpage. Geez! Starting
at the bottom and trying to follow which title goes with which semi-hour
segment somewhat higher, we think this must have been: ``Our Homeland``. But is
that a musical show? Back to Guide to Programs:

``- Focuses on the old, new and latest history of Russia, its prominent and
ordinary citizens, both children and adults, this country?s political,
scientific and cultural life of the past and present. The program is an
addition to our regular feature THIS IS RUSSIA.``

Nothing musical mentioned there; maybe what we heard was fill afterwards, but
there must have been at least 10 minutes of it. Several music shows are on the
list; maybe it was Folk Box, from the type of music we were hearing, but no
sign of that anywhere nearby on the program schedule.

So VOR has this extensively detailed website, but it fails to convey accurate
info when we need it. And/or, the programmers fail to follow the published
schedule. Furthermore, all the times given are wrong, ignoring news on the hour
and half-hour.

More problems: we see typos in the program schedule, such as ``03.00-30.30``
repeated six times except Sunday when the out time is 04.00. Altho the schedule
is certainly in UT, this is not specified on the individual target area pages,
and the Listen Live spot at the upper right displays times of UT+4 as being
current, so that must be local Moscow time! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)

** VENEZUELA [non]. Checking RNV Sunday Sept 9 at 1905 via CUBA: unlike last
week, RNV CI was underway as usual on 15290. Nothing audible on 17705, which
Adán Mur in Paraguay, Conexión Digital, had reported at 1945 in mid-August. I
wonder if the time was an hour off, as 17705 is normally used for the 20-21 UT
transmission. Also, unlike previous weeks, the separate `Alo, Presidente`
service was still running at 1905 on 11670, 11875 and 17750, but not on 13680.
Thus I suspect the 13680 transmitter, if it was really on earlier, did not
check, is the one taken out of that for the regular RNV CI service to start at
1900 on 15290. A double-dose of Bolivarianism. Thank you, Habana! (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. R. Nacional de la RASD, 6300, Sept 13 at 0603 with
Qur`an, but sounding quite distinctive from the mainstream Arabic version; 0612
a bit of music, and then a brief lecture; no sign of RHC mixing product tho
6060 and 6180 were both on; perhaps 6060 was too weak to make the leapfrog at
the moment. SINPO 35333 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###


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