[HCDX] Glenn Hauser logs November 18-20, 2008

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

** ALBANIA. R. Tirana, 13720, Nov 18 at 1539, fair modulation this date during English semihour to NAm, something about an MP on hunger strike, in press review segment (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** AUSTRALIA. R. Australia`s normally loud and clear 9580 and less loud but still clear 9590 have sunk into the noise level, as presumably they are hitting summer/equatorial absorption in the middle of the night at first reflexion point. I.e., Nov 20 before 1400, 9580 quite weak, and at 1436, 9590 was JBA. That leaves us 6020 before 1400 and 7240 afterwards for inferior RA reception (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BULGARIA. R. Bulgaria, 15700, Nov 19 at 1433, very strong, but now the transmitter has a big stability problem. With BFO on, continuous rapid warble, much worse than WINB. Some signs of this could be heard in AM, and I was amazed the classical music programming sounded as good as it did, but still undermodulated and somewhat distorted.

The severely ailing R. Bulgaria transmitter continues to be heard with its very unstable warbling carrier: Nov 20 at 0735 on 7400 the warble so bad that it overrides the modulation on AM mode reception, which I think was in English as scheduled. At 1358 check, 15700 was not on the air at all. At 1820 I was again hearing the warble on 7400 (love these almost-winter lower-band conditions), this time messing up their own French transmission. 

I am now wondering if I blamed the wrong station in an earlier log on 5900; or possibly BOTH of them on 5900 at that moment were defective.

``Radio Bulgaria`s English broadcast to North America at 0000-0100 is
totally ruined on 5900 thanks to that defective motorboating Russian
transmitter always operating in B-season from one of the Moscow sites
on 5900, as heard 0010 Nov 2. Absolutely nothing was readable either
from it or from Bulgaria.

As in DXLD 8-115, 5900 is on VOR`s B-08 Spanish schedule at 0100-0300;
not sure what service is on it during the previous hour. Aside from
the QRM they cause to neighbors, waste of electricity and effort, ¿are
the Russian engineers sinvergüenza? But we can still hear Bulgaria on
7400`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CANADA. Another mnemonic for the CBC, Box 500, Station A, Toronto postal code M5W 1E6, as voiced by Matt Galloway, substitute host on The Current, Nov 20 at 1429 via CBCNQ 9625: `Mangle five words, I`ll enunciate six``. But if you wrote it M5W IE6 would your mail go into oblivion? BOH weather break from Montreal dealt with that city and others in Southern Québec, not Northern. Ahem! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. Firedrake on 9000, Nov 19 at 1455, mixing with something else, presumably Sound of Hope. Had been reported recently on 8900 instead, but now back here.

It`s nice to receive trans-oceanic signals both from Asia and Europe [see BULGARIA] on 7 MHz just minutes before local mean noon, i.e. on 7385, Nov 20 at 1821 UT, rock instrumental music, fair and somewhat fluttery, then announcement in Chinese and some semi-classical music. Presumably CNR-1 jammer against RFA in Chinese via Taiwan as scheduled per Aoki (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** EGYPT. I was checking 15700 for BULGARIA [q.v.], Nov 20 at 1358, and noted the lack of QRM from that on 15710. Trouble is, R. Cairo`s Indonesian service was putting out its usual extremely distorted and lowly-modulated signal, only the peaks poking thru, and cut to tone already before 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** JAPAN. NHKWNRJ, 6145, Nov 20 at 0715 with live sports coverage, apparently, in Japanese, yelling in background, but I never heard the crack of a bat, so I guess it`s not beisubaru, at 16:15 local time. Maybe sumo? VG signal on 300 kW, 35 degree beam from Yamata, intended for Kamchatka and the eastern end of Siberia, but onward to Oklahoma (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** LIBYA. V. of Africa, 17725, talk on the geography of Senegal, Nov 18 at 1525; then at 1531 ID for Voice of Africa from the Great Jamahiriyah, with frequencies, 21695 to E Africa, and 17860 to C Africa! Another studio which doesn`t even know the frequency in use by the transmitter. Then report on the activities of the Leader of the Revolution. Yawn! 1536, I checked 17860 and found something in Swahili, i.e. Channel Africa, South Africa as scheduled (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)  

** MEXICO. Finally able to confirm XEXQ still active on 6045, Nov 19 at 1345 with a few biggest hits of classical music barely audible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. RASA Mérida, 6105, slightly on the low side, but not as low as 6104.9, Nov 19 at 1350 with continuous discussion in Spanish; never could get a definite ID or local mention, so presumed. Obliterated by abrupt *1400 VOA in Chinese which is Tinang at 330 degrees.

XEQM, 6105, Nov 20 at 1344, Spanish, ad for some business in Mérida and other Yucatán cities, which supplies everything from enfermeras to refrigeradores, which means nurses to refrigerators, so possibly I misunderstood as that would be a rather broad range of products and services, but still possible in the enterprising Third World. We`d better enjoy this while we can in Spanish, as when they switch to Maya it will be even less comprehensible. Frequency was very close to 6105.0 compared to RRI on 15105.0 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ROMANIA. RRI`s new transmitters at Tiganesti continue to put amazing signals into CNAm; Nov 20 at 1816 found the English hour for Europe very good on 9640, going from Traveler`s Guide to Song of the Day; at 1840 from folk music to Letterbox, which also included some music; 1852 pan pipe music, 1855 sign off, with frequencies etc., for next English broadcast at 2130, both nothing about the one we have been listening to. 1856 IS and off 1857* Besides the new 300 kW Continentals which we may safely assume are being run at full rated power unlike most aging SW transmitters, the refurbished antennas must be very efficient and high-gain. These are 8 x 4 curtains, but how much gain in the 307 degree boresight? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U K [non]. BBCWS, Have Your Say, which occupies the 18 UT hour daily, Nov 20 at 1811, fairly good on 15420, no sign of WBCQ. It would have been quite a collision otherwise. BBC is still competing for 15420: 13-14 280 degrees from Seychelles; 14-17 173 from Cyprus; and 17-19 5 degrees from South Africa. And indeed frequency was clear at 1902 check (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. R. Martí, 15330, Nov 20 at 1402, splattering between 15320 and 15345, and somewhat distorted on fundamental, which at least was atop the DentroCuban Jamming Command. Perhaps the Greenville transmitter had not warmed up adequately before opening at 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [non]. Some AWR transmissions to AfroAsia are putting big signals into CNAm, rather inefficiently. Nov 20 at 1400 on 15440, Voice of Hope English ID, next program in Urdu, and so it was. Site? They won`t say but listed Moosbrunn, Austria, 300 kW at 90 degrees.

Nov 20 at 1903 on 15240, VG signal bearing rustic African music with vocalizations, nevertheless talked over by announcer in Swahili-sounding language, at least with ``Sautu``. Transmission cut off for a semiminute within 1904-1905; carrier came back on a few sex before modulation did. At 1910 was giving E-mail address using ``arroba``, the Spanish word for @ and also ``adventist``, a dead giveaway. 

But what language is this? PWBR `2009` doesn`t care, just ``other`` and claims Greenville is also on 15240 at this time, obviously wrong. 
WRTH, EiBi and Aoki say Fulfulde, 250 kW, 317 degrees from Meyerton, South Africa, which means also toward US (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)  

UNIDENTIFIED. Pirate beacons on CW heard Nov 20 around 1330: MO on 4077, about 1 kHz higher, WW [but it`s just W]; also around 4100, did not measure, KX. And at 1343, PA near the KX frequency.

Looked up later at http://www.hfunderground.com/wiki/High_Frequency_Beacons
the info is refined, from many additional listings:

4078,     W   300-400 mW Inverted L night time only Location: Colorado   
4077.27,  MO  Solar 200 mW 118ft end fed wire 24/7 Location: Oklahoma   
4094.2,   PA  Solar power 200 mW Dipole 24/7 Location: Arkansas 
4097.4,   KX  "KX" ten times, then "TEMP IN F", then the temp (three times) inside the enclosure, then "TEMP OUT F", and the outside temp, again three times [no location; I did not listen long enough to hear the temp stuff] (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 7515, Nov 20 at 1349 oscillating whoop-whoop jammer covering up some music. Similar but somewhat slower jammer at same time on 7585. It`s much like the jamming by North Korea on 6350. And sure enough, per Aoki listings, we have two clandestines vs Korea North here:

7515 Open Radio North Korea 1300-1400 1234567 Korean 100  60 Tashkent              UZB  6909E4113N _ORNK b08 VT
7585 Radio Free North Korea 1400-1600 1234567 Korean 100  60 Tashkent              UZB  6909E4113N _FNK b08

Yes, both transmitted from Uzbekistan; only thing is, 7585 not scheduled until 1400, but perhaps the jammer and/or the target were getting a head start. BTW, these frequencies are supposedly coordinated by Christian Vision, which also uses Tashkent for its overt broadcasts to S Asia; so CVC are also in the North Korean clandestine business? Well, yes, also via their own site Darwin (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. `Puta Madre` seems to be the favorite expletive of the 2-way Spanish poachers or narcotraffickers invading the broadcast bands, for that`s the first thing I heard when I demodulated the SSB I found aside remnants of Radio Australia [q.v.], Nov 20 at 1435 on 9583.5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. On 12236-SSB, Nov 18 at 1435 found a military net of some kind; very short transmissions with lots of numbers, code words. NCS seemed to be Papa Whisky; various contacts had different background noises, hums, but all on-frequency, and they had single-phonetic-letter calls, such as Lima, Delta, Whisky, Oscar, India. Among other things, heard ``light green shadow``, Clerk 6504. Newport. Intercept Cougar 01. VIP. Maybe a field training exercise. Still going at 1510, 1519 rechex (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 15068-SSB, 2-way Spanish conversation Nov 19 at 1438 mentioning ``primer viaje``, ``soy marinero``. I might add, borrachos (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###


      

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