DX LISTENING DIGEST 18-02, January 10, 2018 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2018 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html [also linx to previous years] NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn WORLD OF RADIO 1912 Contents: Albania, Argentina non, Australia, Bhutan, Bonaire, Brasil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Goa, Hawai`i, India, Indonesia, Iran non, Kiritimati, Korea North non, México, Myanmar, Nauru, Nigeria non, Solomon Islands, Somalia/Puntland, South Carolina, Tibet non, USA; and the propagation outlook. SHORTWAVE AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1912, January 10-17, 2018 Tue 2030 WRMI 9455 7780 [1911 replayed] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 [1911 replayed] Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Wed 1030 WRMI 9455 Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v [1911 replayed Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Thu 2230 WRMI 5850 [confirmed] Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 1531 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Sat 2300 WRMI 7780 Sun 0200 WRMI 7780 Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v-AM Area 51 Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 9455 Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 Tue 2030 WRMI 9455, 7780 [or #1913?] Latest edition of this schedule version, including AM, FM, satellite and webcasts with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html or http://schedule.worldofradio.org or http://sked.worldofradio.org For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS: Tnx to Dr Harald Gabler and the Rhein-Main Radio Club. http://www.rmrc.de/index.php/rmrc-audio-plattform/podcast/glenn-hauser-wor ALTERNATIVE PODCASTS, tnx Stephen Cooper: http://shortwave.am/wor.xml ANOTHER PODCAST ALTERNATIVE, tnx to Keith Weston: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GlennHausersWorldOfRadio NOW tnx to Keith Weston, also Podcasts via iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/glenn-hausers-world-of-radio/id1123369861 AND via Google Play Music: http://bit.ly/worldofradio OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org DAY-BY-DAY ARCHIVE OF GLENN HAUSER`S LOG REPORTS: Unedited, uncondensed, unchanged from original version, many of them too complex, minutely researched, multi-frequency, opinionated, inconsequential, off-topic, or lengthy for some log editors to manage; and also ahead of their availability in these weekly issues: http://www.hard-core-dx.com/index.php?topic=Hauser NOTE: I have *resolved* to make DXLD leaner, more selective, as I seriously need to reduce my workload, much of which has been merely editing gobs of material into presentable form. This makes it even more important to be a member of the DXLD yg for additional material which may not make it into weekly issues (gh) DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg without delay. When applying, please identify yourself with your real name and location, and say something about why you want to join. Those who do not, unless I recognize them, will be prompted once to do so and no action will be taken otherwise. Here`s where to sign up: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ ** ALASKA. 6065, KNLS, 1710 25 Dec. Holiday program featuring English inspirational items translated into Chinese. 7370, KNLS, 1720 25 Dec. Russian religious-ish chat and pleasant holiday music (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** ALBANIA. 6020even, Reported in Nov and Dec 2017 already, distorted COMBINED signal of 2 x 150 kW transmitters at Cërrik, Albania, European relay site of CRI organization. Screenshot show two different audio wide signals stronger signal is 10 kHz wide, but same Program in English heard/seen also 20 kHz wideband signal. Vienna Waltz music totally distorted each other, signal loss heard at 0041 UT on Jan 6. This kind of COMBINATION OF TWO TXS IS TOTALLY FAULTY. Log of remote SDR unit in eastern Thai-Cambodian border area: [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 6, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) ** ANGOLA. 4949.74, R. Nacional de Angola, 0157-0215, Jan 8. Very noticeable het due to AIR Radio Kashmir, Srinagar, on 4950.0; after 0215 het was gone (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA [non]. Adrian Korol of RAE ATTW sent a new WRMI relay schedule effective Jan 8, in jpg format which I make into text: English 02-03 Tue-Sat 9395 NAm Japanese 08-09 Mon-Fri 9455 WNAm, As Chinese 09-10 Mon-Fri 9455 WNAm, As Portuguese 12-13 Mon-Fri 9955 LAm [should also be on 9455!] German 19-20 Mon-Fri 9395 NAm, Eu Italian 20-21 Mon-Fri 9395 NAm, Eu Spanish 22-23 Mon-Fri 5950 LAm French 2330-24 Mon-Fri 7780 NAm, Eu As of last week, the WRMI skedgrid showed German & Italian both on this new schedule, and on old schedule two hours later on 11580, the latter now removed. So not *everything* on 11580 has been moved to 7780, as originally publicized. This leaves 7780 free to continue with `The Power Hour` (I think) at 21-23. The azimuths of 9395 and 9455 are not exactly ideal for targets beyond NAm: 9395 at 355 degrees, not toward Europe; and 9455 at 285 degrees, not toward Asia. See also USA: WRMI. At least on the first Monday of the new schedule, Japanese did *not* appear at 08-09 on 9455, rather Oldies // 9395. Suspect that and Chinese are really Tue-Sat. 9395, Mon Jan 8 at 1900, guess what --- no RAE in German either, but music and songs in unknown language, presumably World Music filler. Adrian Korol, RAE Director, also sent this about celebrating RAE`s 60th anniversary this year: ``RAE Argentina al Mundo 60 Aniversario Queridos Amigos y Colegas, RAE Argentina al Mundo celebra este 2018 su cumpleaños número 60. Durante todo el año llevaremos a cabo distintas actividades para festejar este aniversario. En unos días más se inaugura una nueva y funcional redaccion con acceso desde el hall principal a la entrada del edificio de Radio Nacional en la histórica dirección de Maipú 555, Buenos Aires. Seguidamente comenzarán los trabajos para la construcción de nuestro estudio y control de aire, con capacidad de grabación y edición digital de sonido. Asimismo a partir del Lunes 8 de Enero entra en vigencia un nuevo esquema de onda corta via relay de WRMI. El mismo va adjunto en archivo jpg y se agradece especialmente la difusión que puedan hacer entre sus medios y contactos. Somos optimistas en poder festejar estos 60 años con nuevo transmisor de onda corta desde la planta de General Pacheco, Buenos Aires. En marzo estrenamos nuevos y mejores contenidos en los 8 idiomas de RAE especialmente producidos para nuestra audiencia global. Estos contenidos coinciden con una propuesta convergente, orientada hacia RAE Digital, mediante streaming, aplicaciones, on demand, podcasting y herramientas transmedia integradas y en diálogo constante con la onda corta y un esquema de emisoras asociadas. Y claro que en el 2018 habrá concursos, una nueva web, QSL ESPECIAL y mucho más. Los mantendremos informados. Cordiales Saludos, 73 & DX, Adrian`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9395, Jan 8 after 1900, RAE`s German service is *not* on the air at its new scheduled WRMI relay time, ex 2100 on 11580. At 2009 check I am hearing music fill instead of Italian, ex 2200 on 11580. 9395, Jan 10 at 1902, still no RAE in German as sked on WRMI, rather World Music filler. There must be some SNAFU getting the RAE files on the air on the new transmitter and new times. Other music = Oldies is on 9455. Also at 2055, 9395 with World Music not RAE Italian, tho possibly it could have been on and ended early (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {still no RAE on 9395 at 19- 21 Jan 11 & 12!} ** ARMENIA. Fair to good signal of Voice of Armenia on Jan 5 1530-1545 on 4810 ERV 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Assyrian 1545-1600 on 4810 ERV 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Greek 1600-1630 on 4810 ERV 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Kurdish 1630-1700 on 4810 ERV 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Yezidi 1700-1715 on 4810 ERV 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Turkish Mon-Fri 1700-1730 on 4810 ERV 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Turkish Sat/Sun 1715-1745 on 4810 ERV 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Azeri Mon-Fri 1730-1745 on 4810 ERV 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Azeri Sat/Sun 1745-1815 on 4810 ERV 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Farsi 1815-1845 on 4810 ERV 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Arabic http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/fair-to-good-signal-of-voice-of-armenia.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 5-6, dxldyg via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 5055, Radio 4KZ. Al Kirton , on Jan 5 (0537 UT), sent out this picture at http://goo.gl/eSAeCY East Innisfail transmitters --- At left is CEC 12 kW 531 kHz Continental transmitter for 4KZ. Centre of right rack is 1 kW LPB shortwave 5055 kHz transmitter for 4 KZ. Grey unit at bottom is the 1 kW 873 kHz transmitter for 4AY (via Ron Howard, California, dxldyg via DXLD) Is this link correct - it takes me to an Arabic site in Saudi Arabia? (Bruce, ibid.) Hi Bruce, Should be okay, but if you have a problem, here is a direct link: https://app.box.com/s/jodwph0jx4crf8iqj6sm1gdkhdlijmge Fairly sure this will get you to the picture (Ron, ibid.) Underlying the goo.gl link had TWO dots in it. For me got a 400 BAD REQUEST from nginx --- something I never want to see (gh, DXLD) 5055 > 5045, Jan 6 at 1357, two JBA carriers, no doubt remnants of the new low-power private stations, 4KZ and OzyRadio (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RE: AUSTRALIA. 5055 > 5045: Glenn, I am quite sure we in Eastern North America will have to wait until we approach the peak of the next solar cycle to have any hope of hearing these ones considering their low power, the poor propagation, and the EMI/RFI that plagues reception for us these days. During the last solar maximum on ham radio I regularly worked Japan and Australia on 5 watts. Can’t do that now! Thanks for all you do for us! (Mark Coady, Selwyn, ON, odxa iogroup via DXLD) Hi Glenn, The following posts are from WRTH Facebook. Craig Allen is the owner and operator of Ozy Radio (5045 kHz.). M Breyel: This email also just in from Al Kirton [4KZ - 5055 kHz.]: "In two or three weeks we should be up to 1.2 kilowatts." (posted about 0600 UT, Jan 3) Craig Allen: "Both 5045 and 5055 kHz use omnidirectional NVIS antennas, so the closer you are to each service, the better the signal. 5055 [4KZ] is covering the North of Australia and 5045 [Ozy Radio] covers the south; soon there will be 5050 for the West coast of Australia and 4835 for the middle." [my emphasis - Ron] (posted about 0200 UT, Jan 3) Craig's future 5050 kHz, will of course go head to head with Beibu Bay Radio, broadcasting from Nanning, in southern China (near Vietnam), with 15 kW of power. Future 4835 kHz will be unfortunate for continued AIR Gangtok (Sikkim) reception, which here in the States is a challenge to hear now without any QRM (once ABC Alice Springs NT closed down it became possible to again hear Gangtok). (Ron Howard, Jan 3, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5045, Ozy Radio, 1230-1310, Jan 7. Best in LSB; 1230-1235 news (close to being readable); pop songs; the Melbourne duo of Globos (Wendy De Waal and Mark Trevorrow), with "The Beat Goes On," etc.; 1259-1309 news; followed by commercial announcement for Tecsun radios, laughing kookaburra, "Waltzing Matilda," full ID. 5055, Radio 4KZ, 1314, Jan 7. Best in USB; mostly pop songs; Elvis with "Love Me Tender"; series of commercial announcements; poor. The power output of 4KZ? There have been considerable comments made at WRTH Facebook page regarding just what the power on 5055 kHz is. Craig Allen's (Ozy Radio) input and info from Al Kirton (4KZ), et al., are all rather contradictory (500w, 300w or 250w?). My 4KZ SW QSL indicates 500w, but is that correct? Sent "thank you" email (Jan 7) to Al regarding his QSL to me. His reply "We are still on 250 watts. I am sure you will notice an improvement when we go to 1kW," so who can say for sure? (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non-log]. 5045 (Ozy Radio) & 5055 (Radio 4KZ), on Jan 8, both covered by strong OTH radar, which also blocked Beibu Bay Radio on 5050 and AIR Jeypore on 5040. Reception impossible! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ron, re 5045 and 5055 this morning, I checked at maybe 1500 UTish plus minus 30 minutes and while 5045 wasn't good, it was audible. But there was NO trace of 5055 even on the waterfall so I'd have to say it wasn't on at that moment (Don VE6JY Moman, AB, ibid.) Don, Sorry, I should have been more specific as to my monitoring times. Was randomly checking 1444-1605. Always heard the very strong OTH radar covering that whole area. Could not detect Aussie carriers today underneath, as radar was overpowering (Ron Howard, ibid.) ** BELARUS. BELARUSIAN ARMY COMMISSIONS ADVANCED RADIO JAMMING STATIONS BORISOV, 15 December (BelTA) – The first few batch-produced radio warfare stations R-934UM2 were handed over to the 10th independent radio warfare battalion of the Belarusian army in Borisov, BelTA has learned. According to Chief of the Radio Warfare Office of the General Staff of the Belarusian army Igor Danilchik, the first three R-934UM2 radio warfare stations were handed over to the army on 15 December. The new stations boast better capabilities in comparison with the old jamming stations. The new stations are made using only Belarusian hardware and software. It took five years to start producing them in lots. According to the General Staff representative, it is a small period for developing a new product. “Not every country can afford creating such equipment. The new Belarusian radio warfare stations are on par with world standards and above them in many parameters,” noted Igor Danilchik. The prototype radio warfare station was tested by the 16th independent radio warfare regiment of the Belarusian army. The batch-produced equipment takes into account the remarks and proposals made in the course of the testing process. Igor Danilchik noted that more stations will be made in order to replace outdated equipment. “Three more stations are supposed to be made by summer 2018. Another two will be made in early 2019. Later on, we intend to gradually replace all the radio warfare stations with the new product,” he said. Valery Gordei, Deputy Director of the Belarusian microelectronics company KB Radar, reminded that the company has been making radio warfare solutions since 2001. Since then the Belarusian army has commissioned 12 kinds of radio warfare and radio control products. R&D work was followed by government tests and prototype tests in regular army units. Remarks were taken into account to iron out all the quirks in the batch- produced equipment. On 15 December the 10th independent radio warfare battalion also accepted an R-378AM station, which had been modernized in Russia. In essence the Belarusian army received a brand new piece of equipment, which exceeds its own pre-upgrade parameters by several times. Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian army Oleg Belokonev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Military Industrial Committee of Belarus Igor Demidenko and other officials took part in the ceremony. The ceremony was timed to Radio Warfare Specialists Day (really!), which will be celebrated by the Belarusian army on 16 December. Note: this equipment is designed to jam from 1.5 MHz up to 6000 MHz (via Medium Wave News 63/08 6 January 2018 via DXLD) ** BHUTAN. 6035, BBS. On Jan 5, with *0106. Usual format of announcers with brief breaks for their distinctive indigenous stringed instrumental music at 0112, 0114 and 0116; indigenous music / singing / chanting 0116-0129. Sign on times here can vary as much as by half an hour! 6035, BBS, on Jan 8, with a late sign on; not on at 0132, but carrier here by 0146; by then was below threshold level audio. 6035, BBS, 1131-1225*, Jan 10. Above average reception; in English with pop songs (Whitney Houston with "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," etc.); 1200 into vernacular with the normal brief breaks for indigenous stringed instrumentals at 1213 & 1215; indigenous music / singing from 1220 till suddenly off; mixing with PBS Yunnan (China) till about 1201*. Certainly one of their better days and recently not heard when checking after 1130, so an especially good day. Was also being enjoyed over on the East Coast by Dave Valko & Larry Yamron (well done, fellows!) (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BIAFRA [non]. New Biafra Hausa shortwave service - Radio Nigeria Unlike Radio Biafra, news about this, see NIGERIA [non] ** BONAIRE. UNWRAPPING SPECIAL GIFT: NEW TRANSMITTER! http://www.twrbonaire.com/news/view/419/2017/12-14/unwrapping-special-gift-new-transmitter December 14th, 2017 --- This afternoon eight wooden crates with the 450 kW transmitter got unwrapped by the TWR-staff on Bonaire. The crates arrived at the transmitter site at a symbolic moment, right after our Christmas Lunch! Bernard Oosterhoff, TWR-Bonaire's station director says, ‘I am overjoyed that everything is progressing so well. We can feel Gods’ blessing on this special project! A year ago, we planned that we would be finished by the end of this year. Now it will be January, but for a big project like this, one month delay is not much and we trust on Gods timing. Yes, it is very special feeling to have the new transmitter under our roof now. An amazing amount of installation work has been done this year, so most of us take some well-deserved time off during Christmas. In January we plan to hook up the new transmitter and test it. Please pray with us that the signal will reach into the new areas which we hope to cover and even beyond. Then when the signal is going strong, we will need to promote the 800AM frequency in the new regions, so many people will tune in and become regular listeners’ (via Dr. Hansjoerg Biener, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOTSWANA. 4930, VOA. Continuing with their expanded schedule; Jan 8 at 0102 with VOA news; 0105 into "VOA 1" music program; fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOUGAINVILLE [non-log]. 3325, NBC Bougainville, 1123, on Jan 4. Recently has been off the air (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4875.254, Jan 3 at 0230, music into Brazuguese talk, from R. Roraima, off-frequency and varying slightly, S8-S5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4875.253, R Roraima Boa Vista nice S=5 propagating level, 2357 UT, Log of remote SDR unit in eastern Thai-Cambodian border area: [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 6, dxldyg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4894.918, Jan 5 at 0331, VP signal with music vs CODAR on both sides; ditto exactly at 0639 recheck. Got to be R. Novo Tempo, Campo Grande MS, rather than Mongolia or India. Carlos Gonçalves reported it off-frequency last October: ``4894.9, R. Novo Tempo, Cap.º Grande MS, 2041-2052, 17/10, prgr. de propag. relig.; 35332`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4894.95, UNID, 0020 to 0035 not enough audio to determine signal 5 January (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, US, Drake R8 with noise reducing antenna, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Inconfidência 6011.73 --- Found this last last night and suspected R. Inconfidência reactivated here. Just verified this is them via their web stream at 0125. -- 73, (Brandon Jordan, KM4PBQ, Fayette County, TN EM55 http://www.swldx.us Jan 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Cf 18-01 ** BRAZIL [and non]. 9665.000, Jan 5 at 0650, Voz Missionária has finally fixed its off-frequency, pop song in Portuguese, 0652 TC by YL over music as ``4 horas e 52 minutos``. Weaker second carrier is under, maybe a few Hz away, presumably North Korea. 9665.011, Jan 7 at 0616, Voz Missionária with music is almost on- frequency, while most of the other 31m ZYs remain offset as much as 1 kHz, from 9565, 9675, 9725, 9820 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11764.6, Super Radio Deus é Amor at 1855 in Portuguese with a woman with talk then brief Brasopop music bridge and a man and woman with talk then promos over Brazilian jazz music from 1857 ID of “Super Radio Deus e Amor” then more promos and off at 1859 – Fair Jan 6 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) 1859* explains why we no longer hear it later (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. [Re gh comment in 18-01:] ObservatóIrio Nacional is under the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication. All promotional material used by federal ministries and agencies will normally carry the slogan adopted by the government of the day. The slogan "PAÍS RICO É PAIS SEM PROBREZA" was used by the government in office from January 1, 2011 to August 31, 2016. It did NOT/NOT replace the ORDEM E PROGRESSO on the flag. Regards, (Vince Ferme, Ottawa, ON, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA [non]. Last weekend, for the first time, I used the IQ option on a KIWI SDR. So it was time for a stereo recording, via shortwave, to capture the IQ audio. It is similar to a (true) IF recording in HDSDR. Here is an IQ recording made with 12 kHz sampling, two-track, the maximum AF bandwidth is thus 6 kHz. The benefit of this kind of audio recording is that you can load it into an SDR program, and then do a demodulation, only than. So you can still later use all the possibilities of AM, S-AM, LSB or USB, further narrow the bandwidth, put separate notches in the sidebands etc. Not all KIWI SDRs have this option, but more and more. Here's a screenshot of what it looks like on an "IQ-Kiwi": http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-12-30.htm#KBC (roger, germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Shortwave Radiogram this weekend is mostly in MFSK32, but it also includes some Thor Micro, an exotic and very slow mode. This mode might be able to overcome poor reception conditions. And, with Iran in the news, there will be some Persian text. Special this weekend will be two test transmissions from WINB in Pennsylvania. Details: http://swradiogram.net/post/169345937052/shortwave-radiogram-6-7-january-2018-persian Shortwave Radiogram Program 29 (6-7 January 2018) Saturday 1600-1630 UT 9400 kHz Space Line, Bulgaria Sunday 0130-0200 UT 9265 kHz WINB Pennsylvania Sunday 2030-2100 UT 11580 kHz WRMI Florida Sunday 2330-2400 UT 11580 kHz WRMI Florida Sunday 2330-2400 UT 9265 kHz WINB Pennsylvania Monday 0800-0830 UT 7730 + 5850 kHz WRMI Florida (Kim Elliott, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [7730 was no show, 7780 replaces 11580 Jan 14, and no mention of WINB the following week --- gh] ** CANADA. Glenn, My big New Year treat was the most fruitful LW beacon DX I’ve had in years. Canadian beacons from Ontario and Quebec were popping up all over the band on almost every possible frequency assignment. Things were so great that I stayed up all night on Sunday to Monday. A super treat. I think it resulted from an extended quiet period of solar activity. Conditions may be hot again this weekend ahead of the predicted activity on the 8th. Check it out. 73, (Art Peterson, Richmond, CA, Jan 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 382 kHz, Jan 5 at 0747 UT, beacon YPL and dash detectable. DX Info Centre says it is in Pickle Lake, Ontario; where`s that? Wikipedia: ``Pickle Lake is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the most northerly community in the province that has year-round access by road. Located 530 kilometres (330 mi) north of Thunder Bay, highway access is via Highway 599, the only access road to the town from the south. Coordinates: 51 28'N 90 11'W`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 990, Jan 5 at 1346 UT, CBW with traffic report about the Pémbina highway, ``on 89-3``. So CBC dismisses its 50 kW AM station as not worth mentioning. I guess North Dakotans commute into Winnipeg (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 2749/USB, VCS Halifax Radio; 0141-0202+, 1/3; English marine weather including Grand Banks & Gulf of St. Lawrence, “freezing spray”, “very large & dangerous seas”, “Gusts up to 5-0 knots”. ID at 0201:08 “This is Halifax Coast Guard Radio” & continued in French. Tough copy due to muted audio (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 6030, Calgary - CFVP relaying CKMX (AM 1060), at 1338, on Jan 4. Mixing with stronger CNR1, but could make out a definite promo for the "Calgary Motorcycle Show," being held this Fri.-Sat.-Sun. (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 5112 USB, VC01 (Chinese military numbers station), with numbers in Chinese; Jan 3, first noted at 1126 till past 1453+. Jan 4 from 1126 to past 1606+ (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. 6105, CNR1 at 2232 // 9620 in Mandarin jamming RTI in Mandarin with a man with excited talk – Weak but audible over Firedrake jammer Jan 3 6105, Firedrake at 2233 with oriental percussion, string, and woodwind cacaphony on music – Barely audible with CNR1 jammer Jan 3 – Two jammers to knock out RTI at this time? What a waste of bandwidth and power. 9620, CNR1 at 2227 in Mandarin jamming the VOA in Mandarin via the Philippines with a man and woman with excited talk and some promos to 1+1 time pips at 2230 – Weak Jan 3 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre- fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via DXLD) ** CHINA. 7480even, TJK/UAE? some much distorted audio signal noted already at 0048 UT maybe rather CNR jamming buzz signal against RFA Uyghur at 01-20 UT, 19 x 100 Hertz apart distance BUZZ signal strings visible. S=9 in eastern Thailand. Some new kind of China mainland noise jamming. Log of remote SDR unit in eastern Thai-Cambodian border area: [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 6, dxldyg via DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. 9450even, Heavy CNR1 jamming of 20 kHz wideband signal against RFA Uyghur Kuwait underneath, 0118 UT Jan 6. S=9+30dB powerful!! but much different cold war fight on!! 9700even KWT RFA Uyghur is ahead of CHN jamming with S=9+30dB signal at 0122 UT on Jan 6. Log of remote SDR unit in eastern Thai-Cambodian border area: [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 6, dxldyg via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. La Popu, 850, HJKC Bogotá, new slogan ex Candela 850 AM. “La Popu” is a diminutive to “La Popular”” (Rafael Rodríguez via Mauno Ritola, WRTH Facebook Page via Jan NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Some notes from remote SDR installation in FL-US coast: 5910.324 ... x.330 kHz very unstable fq unit. Hops 5 Hertz up and down CLM S=5-6 at 0723 UT. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 3, via DXLD) Radio Alcaraván [sic] --- Is this station still active? anyone knows? Best 73s (Luigi (Puerto Rico), Pérez, Jan 4, dxldyg via DXLD) From the most recent MARE DXpedition, the following Colombians made a showing: */_Colombia:_/* 5910 HJDH Alcavarán Radio, Puerto Lleras, SS music including "La Cucaracha" and chatter by OM between songs. FINALLY got a clear ID at 0622 by YL as Alcavarán Radio. At least the music was good! 3+4+3+43 0525-0625 9/Dec SPR-4 +500' randomwire --Zichi DXp 6010 HJDH La Voz de tu Conciencia Puerto Lleras /(Do 5910 and / 6010 REALLY have the same call? Why?!)/ EZL SS music and ID at :25 as both "HJ" and 'La Voz de du Conciencia'. Into SS tx. LSB Helped avoid 6020 and jammer from 6030. 34+3+42+ 0010-0028 10/Dec SPR-4 +500' r-wire -- Zichi DXp So yes, Alcavarán Radio is still around. Reception has been pretty spotty lately though. 73 (//Ken Zichi, ibid.) Very sporadic, but I had a number of logs since then in DXLD (gh) 5910.06v, Alcaraván Radio, Puerto Lleras, 0015 to 0020 om in Spanish chat, strong signal 5 January (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, US, Drake R8 with noise reducing antenna, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** CONGO. 6115, Radio Congo, Brazaville, 1750-1839*, 06-01, French, comments, news, ID “Radio Congo”, “Le président de la République...”. 23322. Also 0614-0633, 07-01, French, comments, mentioned “Le Congo”. 15321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 9513, Radio Habana apparent spur, 1406, 1/6/18, in Spanish. Familiar RHC woman announcer then joined by man, then back to woman alone with mention of Raúl Castro and “económica” and a bit of a speech (I presume by Raúl), with finally an ID in passing. Wide blobby signal about 7 kHz wide with peak on 9513. It was // 11605 but nothing in the area from RHC (Mark Taylor, Madison, Wisconsin, Perseus, SDRPlay; Eton E1, ICOM R75, Tecsun PL 880, and various other portables; 42 meters dipole, 100’ long wire, W6LVP loop, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) 9535 is the only RHC frequency on 31m at this hour; I don`t see how 9513 would relate to that. 11605 is not a known RHC frequency either nor a conventional leapfrog mixing product (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 6056-6065 approx., Jan 3 at 1152, huge distorted spurblob in Spanish with hum until 1156*. Bothers 6055 Japan, but 6070 Canada barely escapes. Nothing to compare it to, but don`t see how it could be anything but RHC warming up the ``6060`` transmitter, which nominally runs until 0800*, before changing it to another frequency, as in B-17 *no* 6 MHz channels are scheduled from *1200, just 9, 11, 13 and 17 MHz. Duh, in winter lower frequencies early in morning would be more appropriate than in summer, Prop 101. Something`s always wrong at RHC. I refer to DXLD 17-45 where various versions of the current RHC schedule appeared. 11840, Jan 3 at 1435, RHC is S9+20/30 but suptorted modulation, while // 11760 & 11950 are not. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 6100, UT Thu Jan 4 at 0630, RHC English with mailbag, good modulation for a change, and almost as good on 6000, 6060, better than 6165. Something`s almost right at RHC. 15508, 15439 approx., Jan 4 at 1552, RHC filthy distorted spurblobs out of 15370; I try listening in FM mode on R75, and modulation becomes more readable, in fact talk not distorted, but still accompanied by whine and crackle. But 15370 itself must be heard in AM mode only. Modulation stops on all at 1553 and all cut off air in mid- word at 1554*; much weaker // 15230-AM is still on at 1555 with JBM talk. But I`m too late today to log the rest of the spurs. Nominal close down for these is 1600. Why not let 15370 and its satellites continue until then? Somethings`s always wrong at RHC. 6100, Jan 5 at 0644, RHC English is S9+20/30 but back to JBM, better on 6165 & 6000, better yet on 6060 but with het, and best by far in strength and modulation on 5040. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 15572.5, 15505, 15437.5, 15302.5, 15235.0, 15167.5, Jan 5 at 1504, main filthy distorted spurblobs out of 15370 RHC today at 67.5 kHz intervals, and weaker ones detectable out to 15100.0, 15032.5 (which will QRM CHR after its ToH dekaminute break), and 15640? Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: ``9776-9782 & 9798-9804 approx., strong spur noise fields out of the superstrong 9790 CRI Cantonese relay, 250 kW at 305 degrees. Something`s always wrong at RadioCuba`` Something`s wrong here as I just noticed the time and date were missing: 0440 UT Dec 30. And no one else noticed or told me before now (Glenn Hauser, OK, Jan 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6000, Jan 6 at 0056, S9+20 open carrier except for hum. What`s left of the `Mesa Redonda` hour from RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9570, at 1403 with a man with “CRI News” and a promo for “Roundtable” and off at 1406 - Good Jan 6 – On late as RHC obviously forgot to pull throw the switch at 1400. Sometimes you can be rewarded with mistakes like these especially if an open carrier is left on that knocks noise and interference out but allows an otherwise inaudible station to be heard (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via DXLD) 15580, 15510, 15440, 15300, 15230 and weaker 15160, 15090, 15020, 15650, Jan 7 at 1540, filthy distorted spurblobs out of 15370 RHC are now at close to 70 kHz intervals, which mean they land more directly upon channels occupied by real stations, including RHC`s own other 19m frequency, 15230! And 15580 VOA. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 15509, 15439, 15301, 15232, and weaker 15163, 15094, Jan 8 at 1510, filthy extremely distorted spurblobs from 15370 RHC, today between 69 and 70 kHz intervals approx. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 15510, BANGLADESH, Bangladesh Betar presumed the one at 1355 in an unidentified language with a woman with talk with an awful audio squeal – Poor Jan 5 – Not heard here in a while (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA yg via DXLD) No, it`s one of those Cuban FM spurs I have been reporting almost every day. Bangladesh is on 15505 in Urdu not before 1400, and totally inaudible here for ages (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. RHC technical problems and remarks about it. Glenn, Out of curiosity. What's the purpose of repeating "Something`s always wrong at RHC", issue after issue, multiple times in one issue (6 times in the current one)? Politics aside, and regardless of who pissed in the other's corn flakes first, do you expect to have any dialog or influence with RHC? The "silly ballgame" comment, used every time soccer is mentioned, while silly in itself, does no harm to anything, but the RHC one can do. Let it be known that I have no love for RHC, or any other SW station for that matter. I wish RHC would fix things up, but that's where I stop. Please note that I'm not saying technical problems are not to be reported and/or commented on. Respectfully submitted. (Vince Ferme, Ottawa, ON, Jan 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Vince, Of course I have no influence at RHC. That was obvious long ago. But they deserve every comment like that, and if they ever get their act together, I will obviously stop making it. Don`t blame me for keeping it an issue. If it appeared six times, that`s because six individual logs were collected over the past week. It`s not just soccer but *all* ballgames I apply that to (and puck games if they ever come up). That`s my opinion --- extreme waste of everything, accomplishing nothing (except in moderation, good exercise for the participants and not worth anyone else`s concern). 73, (Glenn, ibid.) ** CUBA. 15441 & 15510 approx., Jan 9 at 1505, RHC-FM during `Sonido Cubano` music show. Yes, FM mode reception makes these huge dirty distorted spurblobs out of 15370-AM almost listenable. Weaker ones detectable out to 15580, 15300, 15230, 15160 at 70 kHz intervals. Something`s always wrong at RHC. (BTW, when something is no longer wrong at RHC, I can quit saying that; don`t hold breath.) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6000 // much weaker 11950, Jan 11 at 0001, S9+10 of dead air from RHC; finally at 0002 fades in undermodulated audio opening `Mesa Redonda` TV soundtrack. Something`s always wrong at RHC. BTW, now that the season is halfway over, ``official`` RHC B-17 frequency schedule, and Spanish program schedule have finally emerged, via José Bueno, Jan 7, noticiasdx yg. Pick your format: Frecuencias y programas de Radio habana Cuba para descargar en diferentes formatos --- Noviembre 2017 a Marzo 2018 http://programasdx.com/principal_archivos/RHC_Frec-nov2017-mar2018.doc http://programasdx.com/principal_archivos/RHC_Frec-nov2017-mar2018.pdf http://programasdx.com/principal_archivos/RHC_Frec-nov2017-mar2018.xls http://programasdx.com/principal_archivos/RHC_Prog-nov2017-mar2018-español.doc http://programasdx.com/principal_archivos/RHC_Prog-nov2017-mar2018-español.pdf http://programasdx.com/principal_archivos/RHC_Prog-nov2017-mar2018-español.xls (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECHIA. [Cf 18-01:] 3381.26, CZECH REPUBLIC. R Bílá Hora, Plzen, 1510-1525, 31.12. Reactivated for usual New Year Programme. Czech ann, song entertainment with an audience. 23222. QRM whistling tone in USB plus occasional Russian talk. Also heard at 2115-2335 31.12. Similar programme and whistling tone QRM. 33433 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark. AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Received eQSL from the pirate station Radio Bila hora. E-mail: rbh @ email.cz Reception 31 December 2017 / 2115-2140 UT / 3381 kHz You can see the confirmation here - http://rusdx.blogspot.ru/2018/01/blog-post.html (Anatoly Klepov, Moscow, Russia, QSL World, RusDX 7 Jan via DXLD) ** DENMARK. World Music Radio Denmark noted on 5840 at 0910 in Letchworth, Herts., UK, Eton E5 plus whip antenna, SINPO 34443, add in my local noise level. Checked the online Twente SDR at 0950 and steady S9 signal. Parallel to the webstream. http://185.156.96.20:8010/wmrmp3 "Our Short Wave service on 5840 kHz will hopefully commence in January 2018. No date for the Medium Wave launch. After some eight months of trying to find a suitable transmitter location we still haven't been able to find anything useful." (WMR Facebook page, December 28) In November they said they had a 300 watt transmitter for their medium wave allocation of 927 and would be getting a new 100 watt shortwave transmitter. Website http://www.wmr.radio/ Posted by: (Mike Barraclough, Jan 7, bdxcuk yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) Is 5840 really transmitted from Denmark? (gh, DXLD) World Music Radio relaunches on SW after 13 years On January 8th 2005 a hurricane force storm knocked down the transmitter aerial of World Music Radio (WMR) at the transmitter site near Karup in western Denmark, and silenced WMR broadcasting on 5815 kHz (7 kW). After a short break of 13 years - WMR is now back on short wave. Broadcasting on the new frequency of 5840 kHz commenced today January 7th at 0000. This time using low power only - 100 W only - into an Inverted V aerial at the new transmitter site near Randers, Denmark. Later 927 and 15805 kHz will be added. The music format is tropical world music, and WMR can also be heard via online streaming at http:/www.wmr.radio (WMR Facebook page via bdxc-uk yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Radio Listin flips to BE 99.7, 2014 On January 2nd, it was announced that long time Santo Domingo radio station HIXZ-FM has become the fastest growing station in popularity in Santo Domingo and most of Dominican Republic, after four years as a *new* station, with a new format. The surprising thing about the station - there is rarely a word of Spanish spoken on the station and there is no Spanish music featured either. On February 10, 2014, the station formerly known as "Radio Listin", flipped to a new format and name, and left the Spanish language behind. On that date, the station operated by Listín Diario, C. por A., flipped to a full blown US-style CHR station. They adopted the station name, BE 99.7. The owner, Listín Diario, is the oldest daily newspaper in all of the Dominican Republic. On February 10th, when Radio Listín was brought to an end, it ended a 40 year run as Santo Domingo's longest running news station, a station full with tradition. The newspapers' own press release for their radio station flip read like this, "With the intention of innovating its image and offering youth music, the Radio Listín frequency closes a cycle, after 40 years in the market, to open a new musical content, with which from now on it becomes "Be 99.7" " "It is a new concept with which we assure our listeners the experience of being, living and experiencing emotions through national and international projects that will dominate daily programming," said Edward Santana, executive director. If you care to check them out, you can follow this link to their website. Their stream launches on the website - https://be997.com/ BE 99.7 features all English CHR tracks, with English language liners, sweepers, and music news in English. Very little Spanish is spoken on Be 99.7. Programs featured are The Morning Show with Karina Ciprian, On Air with Ryan Seacrest (12 to 4 afternoons) and BE & Friends (late evenings), and All Gone Pete Tong, a BBC rock dj (Friday & Saturday nights). They promote a lot of tongue-in-cheek lines, which promotes their station name - Be In It, Be There, Be All You Can Be, and so on. Last edited by Jim Thomas; 01-07-2018 at 11:07 PM (Jim Thomas, Springfield, MO, Ozark Mountain DTV dxing Daredevil, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) Wow --- even Puerto Rico doesn't currently have a station with so much inglés as this Be deal. I wonder how many Spanish listeners (Listín- ers?) will be willing to hook on to this station, especially when EE puns, like the one above, are played. BTW I heard Listín as Es during the 1990s, but it was on 99.5 then. I had a 99.7 Puerto Plata in 1992, before HD was a thought --- via Tropo! At the 2:15 mark here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M2y9OZFC5Sk cd (Chris Dunne, Pembroke Pines FL, ibid.) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Hi GH! FYI, I posted an update on RD FM news on the WTFDA Forums, if you are interested: http://forums.wtfda.org/showthread.php?11730-Dominican-Republic-s-INDOTEL-steps-up-the-battle-on-pirate-FM-s&p=45284#post45284 (Jim Thomas, http://db.wtfda.org Jan 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Dominican Republic's INDOTEL steps up the battle on pirate FM's As 2017 closed in the Dominican Republic, INDOTEL, Dominican Republic's license authority, released their *state of the country* press release regarding pirate radio activity and their closing success rate. In May of 2017, in one sting operation, they closed four FM's within a one week span. Excerpted and translated from Spanish from their press release regarding that sting operation, they said: "The inspectors of the institution, accompanied by members of the Public Ministry, intervened and closed stations 93.5 FM, owned by Rafael Vaudelio Espinal, located on Las Carreras Avenue, San Luis corner of Santiago and 102.9 FM (La Janiquera), of Jánico, Indotel reported in a statement. Also, 90.7 FM (Jesús y María), on Calle Ramón Domingo Suárez in San José de Las Matas, and 85.5 FM (Liceydiana), which operated on the Duarte 81, on the second level of the Yordi Comercial building, of the municipality of Licey." The general supervisor of the Indotel Security Unit, Wendy Joaquín Arias Vásquez, colonel paratrooper of the Air Force, reported that in the operation in which he also participated, a team of engineers from the Technical Management, the Inspection Department and representatives of the public ministry, seized transmission equipment and hundreds of feet of cable. Likewise, radio studio-to-transmitter links, consoles, exciters, microphones, audio compressors, amplifiers, transmitting antennas and several feet of transmission line were seized. Regarding the progress of closing several pirate FM stations during 2017, were these comments: For its part, the president of the regulatory body, José Del Castillo, announced that it will close 70 stations identified that operate illegally in different areas of the country, "regardless of who owns them." He said that the operation of these stations "affects the transmission of those who comply with the regulation, who have their concession, who pay their taxes, while the illegal ones depredate the market of what informality implies in commercial terms." Indotel has the responsibility to "enforce the law. If we turn a blind eye or do not guarantee compliance, we compromise part of the good name or the assessment of a management and, in addition, there is a personal responsibility in criminal and patrimonial terms of the public official", he emphasized. Del Castillo regretted that the process is "slow and difficult, since judicial authorization is required to seize the equipment in each case." He specified that "in each jurisdiction we have to coordinate with the Public Ministry so that a judge issues a seizure order. That did not make us faint, in October we began the procedural steps and already in November is that we are able to close five stations in Bonao, we made this first shot," he said. He indicated that in Santiago "there is a very difficult situation" because "these illicit proliferate where there are more businesses, in urban centers and towns." "We will not faint until we achieve the closure of the largest number of stations, until the clear message is sent that Indotel deserves respect from users, operators, until it is understood that the concessions granted by law you have to respect it," he said (Jim Thomas, Springfield, MO, Jan 6, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) ** EAST TURKISTAN [and non]. 6015. Jan 5, 2018. 0300-0315, PBS Xinjiang, Urumqi-CHINA, em Cazaque. Time pips; ID; Locutora fala e, a seguir, canções cazaques; Às 0307 aparece a interferência da Zanzibar BC com o cântico do Alcorão e, em seguida, o Alcorão recitado, mostrando, neste momento da escuta, uma colisão entre ambas as emissoras pelos 6015 kHz. (DXer: José Ronaldo Xavier, Local da escuta: Cabedelo-PB, Brasil (UTC- 3), Receptor (es): Sony 7600GR & Tecsun S-2000, Antena: Longwire, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) He switched from English to Port. ** ECUADOR. I am listening to HCJB at 6050 with a good signal. It brought great memories since it has been one of my best radio stations ever since the good times with Allen Graham. It`s 1048 UT here in Puerto Rico. Posted by: ("Héctor (Luigi) Pérez", Jan 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 7140.021 kHz fair S=8 signal noted in Qatar at 0655 UT, 7181.555 kHz S=9+10dB noted much stronger, happy people program, followed HoA music [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 3, via DXLD) 7140..0, VOBME 1 (presumed), 1548, Jan 8. Not jammed at all; usual ham QRM; HOA music/singing and in vernacular. 7181.52, VOBME 2 [non-log], on Jan 8, at 1548 noted off the air here and no jamming present (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND [and non]. As already reported by Glenn Hauser’s World of Radio, resistance from the worldwide Latin community has saved the Nuntii Latini of YLE Radio for the time being. The news broadcast for three decades (for some years also on shortwave) was to be discontinued in December 2017. Some 3,000 protests ensured that the 5- minute programme was guaranteed until the 30th year of 2019. See these links https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2017/11/23/yles-nuntii-latini-to-be-broadcast-for-the-last-time-in-late-december https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2017/12/22/yles-nuntii-latini-to-continue-until-spring-2019 The messages since 2011 can also be found at http://yle.fi/nuntii The fate of the Latin news found on the German website of Radio Vatican until December is uncertain. Latin news can also be found at http://www.radiobremen.de/bremenzwei/rubriken/latein/latein-startseite100.html (Dr. Hansjoerg Biener 8 January 2018, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. 8 January 2018 --- "DAB+ GETS A BOOST IN FRANCE: CSA ANNOUNCES A CLEAR AND DETAILED PLAN" https://worlddabeureka.org/2018/01/08/dab-gets-a-boost-in-france-csa-announces-a-clear-and-detailed-plan/ (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. 11790, Jan 8 at 1514, VG signal S9+10 to S9 with flutter, sounds like Farsi. HFCC shows 15-16, MBR Nauen, 125 kW, 96 degrees, multilingual on M/W/F only. Aoki shows Bible Voice Broadcasting, Arabic on Monday, Urdu Wed & Fri. But this sked does match up at all with its B-17 under CANADA in WRTH 2018 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. Reception of Deutsche Welle via BaBcoCk damaged tx Al-Dhabayya, UAE, Jan 7: 1330-1430 on 9720 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg to WeAs Dari/Pashto, fair signal + big hum // frequency 11720 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg to WeAs Dari/Pashto, fair, good modulation http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/deutsche-welle-via-babcock-damaged-tx.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 6-7, dxldyg via DXLD) Twelve years ago someone from Media Broadcast let in a public presentation slip through the remark that "Deutsche Welle is a very picky customer". Not so anymore it seems (I understand this meanwhile goes on for months now?), and perhaps it was so already in 2007 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, ibid.) ** GOA. 11620, INDIA-GOA, AIR (via Panaji), at 1234 in Tibetan with an interesting format of fldgi tones similar to VOA Radiogram then subcontinental and Asian ballads at 1306 re-check to fldgi tones at 1316 then more subcontinental vocals at 1329 re-check – Fair to Good Jan 5 – I wonder if AIR are broadcasting personal messages to listeners in Tibet with these digital messages? Sounds like a good way to get information through jamming and atmospheric conditions (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) ** GREECE. 9935, 11/29 at 2000, V of Greece, Avlis. Greek. Some pleasant easy-listening Greek music - very relaxing and almost hypnotic - presented by male host. I tried a Google translate of the program from the ERT website: "F?S??? ? ?????S, F?S??? ?? ????" comes out as a very enigmatic: "BATHES IS BATHROOMING, WINGS THE KEY" 55444 (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK Winradio G31DDC Excalibur / Elad FDM-SW2 / SDR Play RSP with 17 meter longwire, Jan CIDX Messenger via DXLD) Transliterating the Greek which turned into ????s: ``Fusaei o mpates, fusaei to kyma`` (gh, DXLD) Poor signal of Voice of Greece on 9420 kHz, Jan 3 0557-0800 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek*tx#3 NO SIGNAL on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to WeEu Greek tx#1 *incl. news in Arabic & Serbian at 0752-0800 and off air http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/poor-signal-of-voice-of-greece-on-9420.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 3, dxldyg via DXLD) 9420, Jan 4 at 2144, VOG is on at S6-S8 with nice solo song in Greek; more music to top of hour with instrumental. Sorely needed something like this on dial for doze/naptime. Nothing on 9935. Had not heard 9420 for quite a while and assumed it sporadic sometimes on when I wasn`t checking; however, in the British DX Club, Peter J Arkless reported at this same time, ``Voice Of Greece coming in very strong now (21.50) on 9.420. Greek music. First time on air for several weeks. Maybe a New Year resolution for the station to broadcast more frequently! 73, Peter`` And Mike Bott replied, ``Making it here to central Ohio on 9420 also. Unfortunately, it has not been so these last couple of weeks. :( -- Mike`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not true. During the holidays, over the past couple of weeks or so, I listened to VoG on 9420 kHz on several occasions in the late afternoon and evening using a portable with its whip antenna in the dining room of my house in NB. While they might not have been on every night, it is not correct to say "First time on air for several weeks." Fake news as some would say. ;-) But whenever I checked 9935 kHz, I heard nothing (Richard Langley, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) OK, but let`s not throw around `fake news` in jest. It implies malicious intent, not just inaccuracy (gh, DXLD) 9420, Voice of Greece, after weeks I don't hear it, now on air, 2115- 2123, 27-12, Greek, comments. 45444 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Log in Lugo, wbradio YG VIA dxld) Weak signal of Voice of Greece on 9420 kHz, Jan 6 0652&0757 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek tx#3 NO SIGNAL on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to WeEu Greek tx#1 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/weak-signal-of-voice-of-greece-on-9420.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #1051 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Jan 6, 2018, via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4055, Jan 6 at 0628, R. Verdad carrier still on with S9 of dead air (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. 15000, WWVH at 2148 with storm information and female time announcements 15 seconds before each minute – Weak but audible under WWV Jan 3 – According to the NIST website WWVH on 5000 is at reduced power (2.5 KW vs. normal 10 KW) due to a transmitter fault (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) See also DX-PEDITIONS ** INDIA. 4920, AIR Chennai, 1600, Jan 3. What is happening here? Recently hearing strong buzzing sound (assume a problem with transmitter, but which one - India or Tibet?). Also noted strong buzzing sound here on Jan 5, at 0109 and later at 1437. 6145, AIR (tentative) via Aligarh, 0135, on Jan 5. Tuning by noted subcontinent chanting/singing, so a fair chance it was them. 7505.47, off frequency AIR, via New Delhi (Kingsway), 0216, on Jan 5. Nice subcontinent music; my local sunset was at 0105 UT, while Delhi sunrise was at 0145 UT. Of course this reception possible with the absence of WRNO (USA). Last Jan also noted AIR here, but was on 7505.0 and again with WRNO silent back then (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Log in Delhi India, Jan 10: 7505.535, measured at 0118 UT on Jan 10, direct in Delhi remote SDR unit. Kingsway signal, 5 x 100 Hertz apart distance peaks either side. S=9+20dB strength, carrier already on air, no modulation (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Wolfie, Received the following email from Jim Young (southern Calif.) at 0145 UT, on Jan 6: "Heard this buzzing sound on 4920 this evening while I was at my radio site doing photography. It went off one or two times, and on one occasion, what I heard was Tibet // 4905. So it seems it is the AIR station having the problem." Ron - - - - - - Wolfie wrote: Log of remote SDR unit in eastern Thai-Cambodian border area: re 4920 kHz, Xizang Tibetan from Lhasa, at 0000 UT [Jan 6] no buzz at all, heard in eastern Thailand, exact on 4920 kHz. [Thanks for checking - Ron] Re Madras BUZZY signal, yes started as 1200-1740 UT scheduled. Hindi. noted in remote Delhi, see screenshot, and recording mp3 file. At 1219 UT in peaks S=9+25dB, 30 x strings visible either sideband = 60 BUZZ audio peaks - distance apart 100 Hertz each! 73 wolfgang (via Ron Howard, ibid.) 4920 AIR Chennai. Jan 3 had buzzing here from their transmitter; Jan 8, finally heard without the buzzing, at 1441 and mixing with PBS Xizang (Tibet); both about equal strength. [WORLD OF RADIO 1912] 4810 (AIR Bhopal) // 4835 (AIR Gangtok - Sikkim) // 4920 (AIR Chennai) // 4970 (AIR Shillong) // 5010 (AIR Thiruvananthapuram), at 1530, Jan 8. Start of the New Delhi audio feed of the news in English. 9865 not // and 9380 off the air (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4920, Jan 6 at 1355, hum-roar at S4-S5, as already established yesterday by Ron Howard, Wolfgang Büschel and Jim Young as the AIR Chennai/Madras transmitter very out of order, not Tibet (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 7380.058, Very frequency odd signal from Kingsway, at 0057 UT AIR string / flute instrument interval signal played already. S=7-8 into Thailand SE Asia Sindhi language male at 0100 UT. Log of remote SDR unit in eastern Thai-Cambodian border area: [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 6, dxldyg via DXLD) See also GOA; KASHMIR ? Sindhi is spoken by 19 megapakistanis, 2 megaindians, per EiBi (gh) ** INDIA. Frequency change of All India Radio in Russian 1615-1715 NF 9910 DEL 250 kW / 312 deg to EaEu, ex 9595 // frequency 11620 BGL 500 kW / 325 deg to EaEu, ex 15140 BUT no signal on both frequencies on Jan.6 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/frequency-change-of-all-india-radio-in.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 6-7, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDIA [non]. 9745, TWR-India (Yerevan-Gavar), 1427-1448+ 15 Dec. Closing Hindi programme with p-mail, e-mail contact address at 1430, then English inspirational chat/music, 1445 contact info, including phone # & mention of programming on 9410 kHz (using an older, inaccurate closing tape, apparently). Off by 1450 recheck (sked to 1450*) (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA [non-logs]. 3325, Pro 1 RRI Palangkaraya, recently off the air, but on Jan 4, was hearing a decent level carrier here (dead air) with no audio at all from 1222 to 1316, but by 1342 the carrier was gone; so perhaps RRI working on their transmitter? Voice of Indonesia (9525.95), continues silent; Jan 4 checking 1124- 1221. There are a number of days now that this country has no presence on SW at all (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3325, Pro 1 RRI Palangkaraya, 1601, Jan 8. Nice signal strength; full ID with frequencies; best in USB due to Korea on 3320. My audio at http://goo.gl/Z4WBpa This has been the only Indonesian broadcasting on SW recently. Jan 8, had another day without 9525.95, VOI (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. SHF Geo-stationary Satellite stuff: Radio: 55.5 W, Intelsat-34, 3.940-H/5422 Msps, English BBC World Service show “The Forum” and into World Have Your Say, and then Newshour at the ToH. I miss not being able to easily listen to BBC other than on FM in the wee hours! The Forum was an interesting show about Flamenco music and culture with lots of musical snippets. Good stuff. This show was on several of their feeds (Audio ID/Service ID) (6622/13903) BBC English (Amer) (6692/13910) BBC English News (7112/13952) "APM" and (7542/13995) BBC America Feed 1 62% and perfect decode. QPSK/MPEG2. 2005-2145 30/Dec --Zichi MI2 (Ken Zichi, Pt Hope MI2, Manhattan DJ-1997 FTA receiver +96" movable dish, MARE Tipsheet Jan 5 via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. The Radio Farda Persian-language website announced its frequencies, presumably at least some additional during the protests. I Google-translated and converted to UT: 0000-0230 1575 5860 0230-0400 1575 5860 7585 0400-0430 1575 7585 13765 0430-0630 1575 7585 13765 15690 0630-0830 1575 7585 12005 13765 15690 0830-1430 1575 9990 12005 13765 15690 1430-1500 1575 12005 13765 15690 1500-1530 1575 12005 15690 1530-1800 1575 5860 12005 1800-2400 1575 5860 The article also has these addenda. I am unsure of the dates ... --Radio broadcasts tomorrow will continue on the wave of 9990 until [1500 UT]. --Broadcasting will continue on the 13765 wave until [1530 UT]. --A new frequency will be announced for broadcast from [1430-1500 UT]. Here is the URL, but look for updated articles on the radiofarda.com home page ... https://www.radiofarda.com/a/28949345.html I'm listening to 5860 now (2207 UT) via the University of Twente receiver, with no sign of jamming (Kim Elliott, VA, Jan 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) MW 1575 Al Dhabbiya UAE, 24hrs [apparently same info reordered by frequency with sites:] 5860 kHz LAM 0000-0300, KWT 0300-0400 1730-2400, UDO 1530-1730 7585 kHz UDO 0230-0400, KWT 0400-0830 9990 kHz KWT 0800-1330, UDO 1330-1430, BIB 1430-1500 11695 kHz LAM 1500-1700 12005 kHz BIB 0630-1800 13765 kHz UDO 0400-0530, LAM 0530-1500 15690 kHz BIB 0430-1530 (wb, ibid.) Today (5 January), I am also hearing R Farda at 1930 tune-in on 7585, with 5860 kHz in parallel (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, dxldyg via DXLD) But 1900-2000 UT scheduled is VoA Kurdish instead on LAM 7585 kHz, \\ BIB 7225 und BIB 9515 kHz 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) MW 1575 Al Dhabbiya UAE, 24hrs 5860 kHz LAM 0000-0300, KWT 0300-0400 1730-2400, UDO 1530-1730 7585 kHz UDO 0230-0400, KWT 0400-0830 9990 kHz KWT 0830-1330, UDO 1330-1430, BIB 1430-1500 11695 kHz LAM 1430?/1500-1630?/1700 12005 kHz BIB 0630-1800 13765 kHz UDO 0400-0530, LAM 0530-1530 15690 kHz BIB 0430-1530 (wb df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 5 via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. Additional frequencies of Radio Farda in Persian during the protests 1430-1500 9990 BIB 100 kW / 105 deg Farsi, extended, ex till 1430 1500-1530 13765 LAM 100 kW / 104 deg Farsi, extended, ex till 1500 1500-1630 11695 LAM 100 kW / 104 deg Farsi, new additional frequency http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/additional-frequencies-of-radio-farda.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 4, dxldyg via DXLD) Additional frequencies of Radio Farda in Persian during the protests 1430-1500 on 9990 BIB 100 kW / 105 deg to WeAs Farsi, extended, ex till 1430UT 1500-1530 on 13765 LAM 100 kW / 104 deg to WeAs Farsi, extended, ex till 1500UT 1500-1630 on 11695 LAM 100 kW / 104 deg to WeAs Farsi, new additional frequency http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/additional-frequencies-of-radio-farda.html (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) ** ITALY. MRI SPECIAL 32nd ANNIVERSARY BROADCAST - QSL CARDS FOR ALL BUT ONLY TODAY 4TH JANUARY 2018 Marconi Radio International went for the first time on air on 4th January 1986 and to celebrate this event has planned a special 32nd anniversary broadcast, which consists of some vintage shows. We'll be on the air today, 4 January 2018 as follows: 1300 to 1500 UT and 1600 to 1800 UT on 7720 kHz (USB Mode). This special broadcast offers the opportunity to receive our QSL card. All you have to do is to send a correct reception report with attached an audio file of our broadcast. Only today, our printed QSL card will be sent to anyone except for those who have already received one. Be advised that reports about the reception of MRI via websdr receivers, or not accompanied by an audio file, will instead be verified only with e-QSL. Our e-mail address is: marconiradiointernational@gmail.com and please don’t forget to include your postal address! (Marconi Radio International (MRI), also via Manuel Mendez, dxldyg via DXLD) ** JAPAN. WILLI WESTRUPP, our member from Gießen in Germany received the following advice from NHK Japan: “Regarding QSL card and verification letter services, NHK Sapporo continues to offer them, whereas NHK Tokyo has terminated the service nearly 20 years ago. We ask for your understanding. The postal address of NHK Sapporo is 1-1, Odori-nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido 060-8703, Japan”. Willi asks if anyone knows of a direct QSL response from Tokyo (for a medium wave report) in recent years? (Jan NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** JAPAN. Snoringly boring --- Many Japanese resent paying for their boring public broadcaster --- But it’s the only channel to show sumo Print edition | Asia Jan 4th 2018 | TOKYO https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21734026-its-only-channel-show-sumo-many-japanese-resent-paying-their-boring-public (via Gerald T Pollard, NC, DXLD) Economist has low free weekly quota ** KASHMIR. 4950.0, AIR Radio Kashmir, Srinagar (presumed), 0157- 0215*, Jan 8. Best in USB to get away from Angola (4949.74) QRM; subcontinent music/singing; 0200 news (seemed in Hindi), followed by child with commercial announcement; poor due to QRM (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KIRITIMATI. 846, Jan 5 at 0629, JBA carrier from presumed R. Kiribati. I was getting this almost every night initially, but not much lately in almost daily chex in the 06-07 UT period; figured it would be normal for it to appear, or has it been off the air a lot? Previous dates detected here were: Dec 7, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21. Those and many other reports of it starting with DXLD 17-49 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I was away for the last half of December, but since I've been back I haven't been hearing the Kiribati 846 carrier that I was getting every night before I left. Either reception conditions have changed radically since then, or it's been off the air. Will be interested to see what Colin observes when he gets a chance to escape the noise (Nigel Pimblett, Dunmore, AB, Perseus SDR with Wellbrook phased array. Jan 6, IRCA via DXLD) Currently using a DeBocked PL380 Tecsun. 1440 kHz - assume Kiribati with Island music. No sign of 1098, 1017 or 846. The last few nights I`ve looked, there has been no evidence of 846 kHz even being on the air (Colin Newell - Kona, Hawaii, Jan 6, IRCA via DXLD) If 846-Christmas Island isn't pounding in after local sunset in Kona, then its transmitter is almost certainly QRT. It was on the blink last month, so certainly not very surprising (Gary DeBock, ibid., WORLD OF RADIO 1912) 846 back --- After being missing for the past couple of weeks the 846 carrier is back tonight, so I'm guessing Kiribati is back on the air. Go get 'em, Colin! Carrier on 1017 too, but much weaker. 73, (Nigel Pimblett, AB, 0537 UT Jan 10, IRCA via DXLD) Not up here, Nigel. 0556 UT Jan 10, carriers on 1017 and 1098 but still not even a wisp of anything on 846 in more northerly Alberta. 73 (Don Moman, 0558 UT, ibid.) Don and Nigel, There is a moderate carrier on 846 here at 0620 UT -- presumably from Kiribati, but with no audio (which isn't unusual, here in this DU-dead zone). For some reason the Victoria DXers all seem to be on overseas trips at the same time, so I thought you might like a west coast report (even if it's from this mediocre location). (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), ibid.) 846, Jan 10 at 0714, JBA carrier from R. Kiribati, first time heard since Jan 5, believed to be sporadic (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) According to verie signer Babera Marewenimakin, the power of Christmas Island is 10 kW (Stu Forsyth via DX Dialog 12/12, Jan NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Some information on your clips of 657 and 819 to put the recordings in better context for you: I have always said that 819 is the "flagship" station of KCBS because most of the MW stations in the country have shared programming. The Pyongyang Broadcasting stations share select programming with KCBS stations in more rural areas like Kaesong, Hamhung, Kanggye, etc. However, 819 and 657 are the flagship stations, meaning that they do not stray from their network programming or share anything with each other. KCBS is KCBS 24/7 (well, 22/7 actually), and Pyongyang Broadcasting is as well. But if you were to listen to other frequencies, they may be parallel to the opposite network at certain times, especially in the evening or at night, which is misleading. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it either. I could never pin down a sharing schedule for any of them because every time I tuned in, the order of who was sharing with who was different. As for your 819 clips: your first clip is the song "Sahoejuui jikise". I'd type it in Korean, but this list will absolutely just give it to you with a long line of question marks, so why bother (plus, you can see it in the link below)? It means "Let's Defend Socialism" and is originally performed by the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble in 1991. North Korean pop is heavy on the synthesizers, which are heard in just about every song even today. I once counted the number of songs including that on my local 92.5 (Pyongyang FM until recently) and was up to 10 in a row using synthesizers. You can see the KCTV clip associated with the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIoOPH7kpCs or else you can follow along with the lyrics in this video, Romanized with the South Korean system that I use (North Korea uses the pre-2000 system still, which it also uses in its city names): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlrYHuyTJmc Your second 819 clip is playing the song "Geu pumi jeil joha" by the most popular girl group in North Korea, the Moranbong Band, which is more of a modern day girl group that started 5 years ago, though a far cry from the K-Pop girl groups to the south. An interesting fact about this song: it's the song played during the sign-on of the Echo of Unification network (on FM and SW, former 1080 on MW) in the background as they announce of the daily schedule of programming. I no doubt have recordings of that from before 1080 turned off. You can watch the video for this song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-t2YRP-iJE And your 657 clip does not include an ID actually, though that long moment of silence is no doubt there. I've had to wait through 30 seconds of silence before someone speaks. The man says the following: "<< Uriui gojeonjeok myeongjak >>, i siganeneun uidaehan suryeongnimkkeseo hangilhyeokmyeongtujaengsigie jieusin uriui gojeonjeok myeongjak, 'baniljeonga' leul bonaenaedeurigessseubnida." In English: "<< Our Classical Masterpieces... >> At this time, we will play our classical masterpiece "Song of the Anti-Japanese War," created by the Great Leader during the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle." This is one of the songs I can recall listening to at home, where I used to receive the North Korean FM signals clearly. You can listen to the full song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQmDo0NjVM8 Hope you can appreciate your recordings more than before with this additional information. [Sorry for not including the original message.] (Chris Kadlec, Seoul AM Radio Listening Guide http://www.beaglebass.com/dx/seoul/ Jan 7, IRCA via DXLD) Before DXing in Hawaii I never really thought much about any distinction between KCBS and Pyongyang BS. The 657 signal is frequently received on the west coast, and I recorded lots of music and 3 + 1 time pips from it (on the half hour). The music sounded pretty wacky and bizarre to me, so I ended up with quite a library of it. In Hawaii the 819 frequency is at awesome strength at night, so I ended up with quite a few more songs in my "library." Thanks for the YouTube links! Thanks, Chris. I don't speak Korean, and the lyrics in these songs have always sounded like something from outer space to me. With Japanese I can usually understand about 80%, to the point where the language seems pretty similar to English regarding certain subjects. It's easy to tell when the middle-aged lady on 819 is yelling and screaming, however. Yikes! After rechecking that 657 clip, I discovered that it was recorded at 0857, not at the 0900 time I had thought. So no wonder there was no ID in Korean (not that I would know the difference, if I heard it). As for the two girl group recordings, I thought that the groups sounded like they had the same members. I had no idea that they were different groups, recorded about 19 years apart. Weird! Thanks for the YouTube links, also. It may not be my favorite music, but it sure is different from what I hear on 972-HLCA or 603-KBS2 "Happy FM" :-) 73, (Gary DeBock, ibid.) ** KOREA NORTH. On Jan 4, from 1307 to 1312, there was no jamming at all of the various South Korea stations (5995, 6015, 6135, etc.), but started up again at *1312 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. JAPAN, Very good signal of JSR Shiokaze Sea Breeze but not in English on Jan 4: 1300-1300 6085 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Japanese Thu, instead 1330-1400 6085 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Korean Thu, instead http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/good-signal-of-jsr-shiokaze-sea-breeze.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 4, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) 6085, Shiokaze/Sea Breeze, via Yamata, 1300 on Jan 4 (Thursday). Anomaly today, should have been in English, but not so during 1300- 1400; instead Japanese first half hour, followed by Korean. A one time Thursday anomaly? (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) 6085, Shiokaze/Sea Breeze, via Yamata, 1334, Jan 7, Sunday. Special rebroadcast of the joint Shiokaze & Furusato no Kaze sponsored musical concert held Dec 16, as part of the annual year end international symposium that was held in Tokyo; jammed (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 7290, Nippon no Kaze (Presumed) (Paochung, TAIWAN) *1500-1512, 1555-1558* 15 Dec. Piano opening into Korean chat with partial ID: "il bon ue..", retune at 1555 to hear web address & what sounded like a phone number. CNR1 (Beijing) CCI but well in the background (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 7295, Furusato no Kaze (Presumed) (Paochung, TWN), 1428-1500* 15 Dec. OC at tune-in then JBA opening in Japanese with piano music background. Mostly Japanese chat with occasional Japanese romantic pop, apparently closing at 1458 after announcement & song. Glenn Hauser's log tipped me to this one -- thanks! (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) Yes, different frequencies depending on time, also 7285 later, per Aoki/NDXC (gh, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. BELGIUM(non), Frequency change of BRB Living Water Ministry Broadcasting, Jan 2-3: 1500-1600 NF 7280 PUG 250 kW / 000 deg to NEAs Korean Tue-Thu, ex 9650 till Dec 28 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/frequency-change-of-brb-living-water.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 3, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. 4925, V24 (South Korean #s station), 1428-1443* 15 Dec. OC at tune-in, instrumental classical-style piano intro at 1432 with # groups beginning at 1437 (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach / Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 5150, V24 (South Korean #s station), 1356-1408* 17 Dec. OC at tune-in, Korean pop song at TOH, followed by Korean # groups (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 5900, V24 (South Korean #s station), 1557-1611* 15 Dec. OC at tune-in, zippy Korean pop song at TOH, # groups begin at 1603. Also 1552-1612* 17 Dec. OC at tune-in, bouncy Korean pop song to open then Korean # groups (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. 4885, Jan 4 at 1500, Echo of Hope still S9-S7 with music, 1503 three widely-spaced gongs, signifying what? Then Korean YL talk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: DXLD yg - Loggings from British Columbia > 4885 SOUTH KOREA Echo of Hope - Voice of Hope at 1323 in > Korean, “V-O-H” ID, woman talking. - Good, with no jamming. > 3985 was poor under jamming, only weak jammer audible on > 6003 and nothing on 6348. Jan 5 Sellers-BC Hi Harold, Wish you all the best of DXing in 2018 !! Just to let you know, VOH has not been on 6003 for a long time now. That moved to 5995. Here is some basic Echo of Hope - VOH info: VOH broadcast three different programs in Korean: 4885 - "Radio Broadcasting Guide" (not // to any other frequencies). A one hour program that is repeated every hour. 6350 - "Hope plaza of my brothers" or "Hope Plaza of my brothers who have been defeated" (not // to any other frequencies). Thanks very much to Amano-san for this info. 3985 // 5995 [ex: 6003] // 6250 // 9100 - Their main program. Only 4885 and 9100 remain unjammed by N. Korea (Ron Howard, California, DX LISTENIG DIGEST) Thanks, Ron, I appreciate the clarification and new info (Harold, ibid.) ** KOREA SOUTH. In the WRTH Facebook group big discussion recently took place about the Radio Free Korea outlet on 1143 kHz. This is listed under Clandestine on page 516 of the new WRTH. I have often used the Karelia Perseus and many afternoons this station comes through smoothly providing pleasant listening. Various investigations led to the following conclusions. 1) There are 3 masts running North-South around 37 35 43N 126 50 22.5E. In decimal the coordinates of the middle mast are 37.595161, 126.839581. 2) The azimuth at 329 degrees goes straight through the center of Pyongyang and continues to South Finland. 3) Such clear signals over the North Pole make me wonder if 100kW is an underestimate. 73 and 88 (Dan Goldfarb, 6 Jan, mwmasts iogroup via DXLD) Dan, isn't it rather 358 than 329? (Mauno Ritoa, ibid.) Members, I now accept that for coverage of the whole of North Korea rather than just the capital an angle of 358 degrees is ideal. 73 and 88 (Dan Goldfarb, UK, Jan 9, ibid.) ** KOREA SOUTH & NORTH. [KOR and KRE respectively] 1143 KOR Radio Free Korea, 100 kW, S=9+15dB newscast 0700-0704 UT, noted more radio programs 0700-0730 UT on Seoul remote SDR: 1134 KOR adjacent channel HLKC vocal group performance S=9+25dB at 0706 UT. 2850even KRE KCBS, light mx program, women chorus, S=9+20dB, 0707 UT and between some Korean spurious on 3040, 3050, 3120, 3219.925 KRE KCBS Pyongyang, S=9+10dB, 0708 UT 3249.995 KRE Pyongyang BS, S=8-9, 0709 UT, and \\ on 3319.996 KRE Pyongyang BS, S=8-9, 0710 UT 3480even KOR Voice of the People, Kyonggi-do Koyang, S=9+35dB, 0711 and heavy KRE jamming, different audio, bubble ditter, scratching plus spurious 3531 kHz. 3909.965 KOR Voice of the People, Kyonggi-do Koyang, S=9+35dB, 0712 and heavy KRE jamming like 3480 kHz. 3929.992 KOR Voice of the People, Kyonggi-do Koyang, S=9+35dB, 0714 light music singer group, and underneath poor KRE jamming. 3985.013 KOR Voice of the People, Hwaseong site, S=9+35dB + KRE jamming 4450even KOR Voice of the People, Kyonggi-do Koyang, S=9+35dB, 0717 and KRE jamming on 4449.940 kHz. 4557.024 KRE Pyongyang BS probably, empty carrier, not modulated, S=9+5dB at 0718 UT. 4885.005 KOR Echo of Hope, Seoul, music program, not jammed, S=9+30dB 5830 KRE North Korean jamming in parking position, probably from Kujang site, no carrier to state, S=9+20dB at 0723 UT, 20 kHz wideband. 5857.508 KOR HLL8 Seoul Meteo, S=9+10dB, 0725 UT. 5995.031 KOR Echo of Hope, Hwaseong site, talk px, S=9+40dB, 0727 UT powerful 20 kHz wideband block. 6045.010 KOR Echo of Hope, Hwaseong site, S=9+10dB, 0730 UT compare Japanese R Nikkei 6055 kHz also S=9+10dB. 6100even KRE KCBS Pyongyang, S=9+5dB, not as strong as expected 0734 6135even KRE North Korean jamming in parking position, probably from Kujang site, no carrier to state, S=9+25dB at 0735 UT, 20 kHz wideband. 6250even KOR Echo of Hope, Seoul site, S=9+30dB, 0748 UT, KRE jamming 6350even KOR Echo of Hope, Hwaseong, S=9+30dB, 0749 UT, KRE jamming 6400.006 KRE Pyongyang BS, Kanggye, smooth female voice singer, light mx S=9+5dB 0751 UT. 6418 JPN slot machine QPS Japan, S=9 at 0752 UT. 6446 JPN slot machine QPS Japan, S=9 at 0754 UT. 6519.973 KOR Voice of the People, Kyonggi-do Koyang, S=9+45dB, 0756 POWERHOUSE signal. KRE jamming. 6600even KOR Voice of the People, Kyonggi-do Koyang, S=9+45dB, 0758 POWERHOUSE signal. KRE jamming. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 6 via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. Good signal of Radio Kuwait General Service on Jan 3: 0500-0900 on 15515 KBD 250 kW / 059 deg to EaAs Arabic AM mode http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/good-signal-of-radio-kuwait-general.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 3, dxldyg via DXLD) 15110, Radio Kuwait in DRM at 1240 in listed Arabic splattering over 15 kHz – Strong signal but useless waste of bandwidth for those without decoding capabilities, Jan 5 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre- fed dipoles, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. 4010.223, Kyrgyz Radio Bishkek, empty carrier 2355 UT at S=7 signal, music program on air, when tuned-in again at 0005 UT Jan 6. Log of remote SDR unit in eastern Thai-Cambodian border area: [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 6, dxldyg via DXLD) ** LAOS [and non]. 6129.971, LAO National Lao sce from Vietiane, S=5-6 short skip zone signal, hit by stronger Lhasa Tibetan program on even 6130 kHz. Log of remote SDR unit in eastern Thai-Cambodian border area: [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 6, dxldyg via DXLD) Time? circa 0030 judging from adjacent logs (gh) ** MADAGASCAR. 6065, Jan 5 at 0315, poor-fair, YL speaking in unknown language; the intonation is sorta Spanish, but no words to recognize. HFCC shows it`s AWR in Malgache, 100 kW at 20 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 11610, MWV (Mahajanga), *2100+ 27 Dec. IS, Chinese opening ID with website into hymn. Heard with a fair signal while watching the waves at Moonlight Beach. 11790, MWV (Mahajanga), *2200-2205+, 2247-2255* 29 Dec. Flute / percussion tune, (Presumed) ID as "Radio Feda/Seda", Arabic hymn-y tunes, inspirational chat. Nice banjo bridge at 2244 into (Presumed) Bible reading, how to "Listen Live" on-line + station website. Audio off with "salaam aleikum, bye- bye" but left carrier on past 2303 at least. 11945, MWV (Mahajanga), *2000-2005+ 30 Dec. Same flute-percussion tune as heard on 11790, (Presumed) inspirational Arabic chat & music. Also heard slightly better 2052-2057* 30 Dec. with closing announcements (sounded like web address) over music bed (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. 9835, Sarawak FM, 1600, Jan 4. Choral National Anthem (Negaraku – Lagu Kebangsaan Malaysia); fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Are 9835 & 11665 active much lately? (gh, DXLD) ** MEXICO. 700, Jan 5 at 1323, during news, TC ``6:23 en la capital del mundo, Parral``. So XEGD, Chihuahua. More timechex for 6:24, 6:25, temp 4 grados. I am hearing this only by nulling much stronger XEETCH which is further west. By 1334 it`s gone while XEETCH is still in. Hidalgo del Parral sunrise not until 1353 per: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/@8583642 Enid LSR is now at its latest of the year, 1344 UT: https://www.gaisma.com/en/location/enid-oklahoma.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 700, Jan 5 at 1323, always neat rustic fiddle & guitar music, good signal from WSW, 1326 pause for ad/PSA string including: Banco de México, Secretaría de Salud re vaccinations, Ricardo Anaya, PAN candidate; INE about independent candidates; full ID for XEETCH, Etchojoa, Sonora, location at km 27 on road from Navojoa, ``5 mil watts en 700 de AM e internet ---``, 1333 ``La Voz de los Tres Ríos``, and full ID again in native language, 1334 back to rustic music. Dominant signal, and can only hear closer XEGD Parral, Chihuahua by nulling XEETCH, from several degrees apart. Etchojoa sunrise 1408 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. RAYMIE`S MEXICO BEAT this week --- One of 2018's less interesting stories is the saga of the Article 90 clears — more than 20 stations being moved below 106 MHz. The first of these is now promoting their frequency change. It is XHYW-FM in Mérida (106.7 to 98.9). Aside from the name of the Facebook page, the Grupo Rivas website also has been updated with a new Mexicanísima 98.9 logo and there are even balloons spelling out "98.9 FM" in the studio. https://twitter.com/EBO240/status/948930317829705728 Gargadon says that they have said on air that the frequency change will not actually take place until next month. Mérida has one other station in the reserved band, XHYRE-FM (Radio Educación). It is a class A, so it should find a new dial position fairly easily (Raymie Humbert, Phœnix AZ, Jan 6, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) Staying in Mérida, it's a sad day as the founder of Radio Ecológico XHIPM-FM 102.3 died yesterday. https://www.lajornadamaya.mx/2018-01-08/Fallece-Francisco-McManus--fundador-de-Radio-Ecologica Francisco McManus Soto, who headed the Instituto para la Protección del Medio Natural, A.C., received the permit on August 16, 1999 and brought XHIPM to air six months later (Raymie, Jan 9, ibid.) In a somewhat unusual marriage of IFT-4 winners, it looks like the format Media FM will be carrying to all those FMs (and AMs) it won in IFT-4 has a lot to do with the auction's biggest winner. Media Group, as they are calling themselves, includes these stations and the cable-only Canal Seis. (You might recall they were turned down in an attempt to bid in IFT-6 as Media TV.) The stations look like they are going to launch as Acustik Michoacán. You heard me right, Acustik. http://www.mediagroup.mx/senal-en-vivo/acustik-michoacan/ Media FM describes Acustik Michoacán as "the most ambitious radio project at the state level" with eight stations. Not coincidentally, Media FM won eight stations in Michoacán in IFT-4. (The fate of its trio of Coahuila AMs is still unknown.) Acustik Michoacán's schedule includes programming coming from the Acustik mothership, including the aforementioned program with Brozo but also the Javier Solórzano radio newscast, which ceased broadcasts on the Arroba FM network at year's end. (Solórzano, who also hosts Once Noticias on TV, is not to be confused with Javier Alatorre, the host of Hechos on TV Azteca, who also has his own radio newscast distributed through GCIM and aired on Audiorama stations.) There are also programs simulcast with Canal 6. Given that the Brozo show debuts January 15, it's possible that may be the start date for some of Acustik's stations. It's unclear if the Media FM "Acustik Michoacán" stations are on air; there is a program lineup, but as they had a casting for airstaff last month, I'm not sure how close they are. The stations of Acustik Michoacán are XHPQUI-FM/Mich. 92.7 Quiroga XHPHGO-FM 92.7 Ciudad Hidalgo XHPMAR-FM 94.3 Maravatío XHPNIM-FM 97.1 Nueva Italia XHPAPM-FM 100.9 Apatzingán XHPATZ-FM 103.7 Pátzcuaro XEMEFM-AM 1240 Morelia XEUORN-AM 750 Uruapan (that callsign, somehow, is correct) According to the web stream, XEMEFM *is* identifying (as XEME, natch) and claiming it is 25 kW. It is the first AM from the auction that appears to be on. Studio facilities are at the Hospital Victoria Medical Center (also an office building), a 13-story building on Morelia's east side. Transmitter is in Col. Niños Héroes. 1240 AM may be on program test —*no commercials, all English classic hits, and a schedule not matching what should be on at this hour (Raymie, Jan 10, ibid.) There might also be an Acustik Chiapas in the not-too-distant future. Grupo Acustik's new corporate website also lists their operated and affiliated stations (cities only), and some cities stand the heck out: http://grupoacustik.com.mx/radio/ Coahuila: Piedras Negras, Saltillo and Torreón, matching the footprint of the Media FM stations on AM in Coahuila. Chiapas: Playas de Catazajá, Tapachula and Comitán. Grupo Informativo Fusión Peninsular won stations at all three cities in IFT- 4. As this is the first ever radio service in Playas, it's probably them. Fusión Peninsular, whose name and investors suggest Quintana Roo origins (Chiapas is not on a peninsula), is owned by Javier Alexander González Slim, Jaime Eduardo Martínez González and Juan Leopoldo Ramos Hernández, according to information supplied by the IFT. González Slim runs the Fundación Yantra, a fairly all-purpose charity. Martínez González is listed as the president of a resort HOA in Cancún. There is no information on the third principal. Guerrero: No IFT-4 station was won in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, but that town is on the affiliate list (Raymie, Jan 10, ibid.) How do you ring in 2018? If you're at Grupo RSN in Sinaloa, you do it with a traditional New Year's Mass. https://www.lineadirectaportal.com/publicacion.php?noticia=366944 That's right, that's the custom at RSN, where they brought a priest (Saúl Norzagaray) to the station to celebrate Mass this week. In 2017, RSN had an interesting year, with a notable and heretofore unreported station acquisition, of XHWS in Culiacán (a former Radiorama station in a market known for Radiorama cluster stability). The format remains La Bestia Grupera, with the Javier Alatorre afternoon newscast syndicated by GCIM (a related company to Audiorama), but you can't help but wonder if someday La Mejor will come to the capital of Sinaloa... (Raymie, Jan 11, ibid.) Mexico City rang in 2018 here; sorry audio couldn't be better, but 1380 is not a fun frequency to DX here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8fQ4vDl_y7I c d (Chris Dunne, FL, ibid.) ** MYANMAR. 5985, Myanmar Radio, 1231-1238, on Wednesday, Jan 3. Language lesson "Say It In English"; "How do I pronounce this word?" "How do I say that?"; more dialog with Tom and his aunt Jennifer; not as readable as usual. Repeat of Monday's show. Wednesday's (Jan 3) VOA program "The Benefits of Baby Talk," at 1542; was a repeat of last Wednesday's show. 5985, on Thursday, Jan 4, with NHK's production of "Friends Around the World," being a repeat of their Sept 24 show, with interview of storyteller John Kilaka (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. Tonight poor signals from Myanmar on short skip zone in eastern Thailand: 5914.988 MMR Myanmar Radio Nay Pyi Taw, S=6 at 0010 UT. 5984.998 MMR Myanmar Radio Yangon, Burmese, S=8-9, hit heavy by 5980even 6029.999 MMR Thazin program tentat. same level at 0033 UT. Log of remote SDR unit in eastern Thai-Cambodian border area: [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 6, dxldyg via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ralph Meissner" Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2018 12:17 PM Subject: [INTRUDER ALERT] Radio Myanmar on 7200 kHz By occasion I receive Radio Myanmar today on 7200 kHz here in Phuket with 5/9+30dB from 10:50 UTC up (Ralph, HS0ZFL, DK3GH, INTRUDERALERT mailing list via Wolfgang Büschel, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) FYI, Moin, moin, bei Uwe in Tha Mai Ost-Thailand gehoert: 7200, ja ist schon seit Wochen in der Aoki Liste 7200 kHz um 0930-1500 UT enthalten. 7200even ein breitbandiges 9.4 kHz signal, S=9+40dB in peaks. MX px MR Yangoon ex-capital, Aoki: 0930-1500 UT. vy73 de (Wolfgang Büschel, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MYANMAR/BURMA. new frequency 7200.0, Myanmar Radio, 1323-1358, Jan 10. Non-stop lecture (Distance Learning Service), in vernacular; many mentions in English (accented) of "industrial organization" and a few “industrial psychology"; QRM from chatty hams (one mentioned a "foreign broadcast" on frequency); without QRM the strong signal would have had good reception; audio ended after theme music at 1356, with transmitter off 1358. My audio at http://goo.gl/ybTdg5 Also being heard over on the East Coast by Dave Valko. [WORLD OF RADIO 1912] 5985, Myanmar Radio, 1245-1300, on Jan 10. The Wednesday edition of the language lesson "Say it in English"; this week Tom's aunt Jennifer had a car accident, as she was learning to drive; "If only she had been more careful," "If only she would have listened to me," etc.; fairly readable (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NAURU. Pacific station Radio Nauru transmits on FM 105.1 MHz on the island and is now also available on a live stream at http://radionauru.nr:8000/live [thanks to Dutch DXer Rudy van Dalen for this tip]. The broadcaster doesn't have its own website but the Nauru Government site at www.naurugov.nr has a link to the stream. The radio identifies on air as "FM105" and I've observed it opening at 18:05 UT (following a Radio Australia news relay) with their birdcall interval signal - the call of the Nauru canary - then closing at 12:00 UT with just their national anthem without announcement. You can hear a clip of this on the Interval Signals Online resource at http://www.intervalsignals.net or at https://tinyurl.com/radionauru (David Kernick, Interval Signals Online, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Like many other e-mail addresses in WRTH, the address for FM 105 NBS of radionaurufm@hotmail.com is not valid. My e-mail to them was returned as undeliverable. Their audio streaming works great and they have excellent pop music selections and the occasional public service announcement, ABC news on the hour, etc. Many announcements are in Nauruan but PSAs are usually in English. The audio stream tends to drop out every 3-4 minutes but is easily recoverable within 10-15 seconds by just recycling the URL (Bruce Churchill, Jan 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 9400, KBC (Nauen), 1538+ 23 Dec. The "Euro- version`` of The Giant Jukebox is making it to the beach this morning -- poor signal but readable. 5960, KBC (Nauen) 0027-0100+ 24 Dec. Dave Mason & Eric doing the Saturday night rock'n`roll honors with a better than usual signal tonight. 6150, KBC (Nauen) 0045-0100+ 31 Dec. KBC's NF heard poorly with Dave Mason's show until 0100, then Eric & "The Giant Jukebox" (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 6150, EAST GERMANY The Mighty KBC at 0000 with OC noted from 2358 then ID of “Rocking over the ocean and all across Europe we are the Mighty KBC” and into DJ Dave Mason with oldies music and KBC Imports ads – Fair to Good with considerable fading Jan 7 – How come 49 meters seems to work like gangbusters for Radio Romania International but not so much for the Voice of Turkey and the Mighty KBC? Enquiring minds need to know! (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre- fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via DXLD) Romania has newer equipment, higher power and higher gain antennas (gh) 6150, UT Sun Jan 7 at 0149, The Mighty KBC via GERMANY is S9+15, no het or other QRM, which Kraig Krist had complained of. Song ``Never Know What You`re Missing``; then 0151, Kraig`s own Forgotten Song segment, about Dave Matthews who moved from RSA to Charlottesville VA, formed a band in April 1995, and had a #16 hit in May 2005, title missed due to fade, plays it, and no back-announce (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND [and non]. 7390, RNZI, 1445, 1505 19 Dec. Now here with ACI from CRI (Xian)-7395 in Japanese until 1500. (CRI-7395(Urumqi) in English at 1500 is no problem). (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach / Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 13730, Jan 5 at 0702, RNZI is S7-S9 with news, almost the OSOB, except for a JBA carrier on 13750. HFCC shows that would be CRI in Chinese, southward from Kunming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 15120, 12/06 at 1800, V of Nigeria, Abuja. English. V of Nigeria English news intermittently audible on 15120 in DRM mode. Poor signal lock resulting in multiple drop-outs. DRM: 8dB (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK Winradio G31DDC Excalibur / Elad FDM-SW2 / SDR Play RSP with 17 meter longwire, Jan CIDX Messenger via DXLD) 15120/DRM, V Nigeria with English programming including “It’s the little things`` with talx re how small stuff makes life worth living, and into “Weekend Magazine at 1820 ID and talx re Nigerian music, arts, fashion, and a recipe. Then into “The Villa” with political news from the Presidential Villa in Abuja including items about the hosting of a regional meeting about revitalization of Lake Chad coming in February. Then another ID & mention of their VON.GOV.NG website, and their twitter handle, and a musical number “One Love”. Then at ToH into “Sports Roundup”, mention of the Liberian footballer George Weah who is now President of Liberia. I am struggling to figure out how SINPO might apply to DRM signals. This was STRENGTH 4+ and although there were two fades that caused BRIEF dropouts (less than 5 seconds each) during the time I listened, generally the audio was excellent. Almost FM quality until about half way through when they started overmodulating during the voice portions of the broadcast (music was fine) so I’d need to resort to the SINPFEMO code and say the “M” was only a 4 dropping the “O” to 4 as well despite pretty much perfect copy. Here's what the screen looked like as I listened: A snippet of audio with the ID is attached. 1818- 1908 31/Dec. SDRplay, +SDRuno +DReaM decoding software +randomwire (whew!) (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Port Hope MI2, MARE Tipsheet Jan 5 via DXLD) ** NIGERIA [non]. New Biafra Hausa shortwave service "The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Thursday announced the launch of its Hausa Radio Service. "This announcement was contained in a statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful. "It said the maiden daily broadcast will hit the airwaves on Saturday, the 6th of January, 2018 at 7PM Nigerian time on Short Wave 15110 KHz 19 Meter Band. ... "'The broadcast will have the widest coverage of any radio signal in Africa. It will be received all over West, East and Southern Africa.'" http://dailypost.ng/2018/01/04/biafra-ipob-launches-hausa-radio-service/ (via Kim Elliott, Jan 4, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) Biafra: IPOB to launch daily Hausa service on 15110 kHz The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Thursday announced the launch of its Hausa Radio Service. This announcement was contained in a statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful. It said the maiden daily broadcast will hit the airwaves on Saturday, the 6th of January, 2018 at 7PM Nigerian time on Short Wave 15110 KHz 19 Meter Band. Read more at http://www.247nigerianewsupdate.co/2018/01/biafra-ipob-launches-hausa-radio-service.html#0boCPwM72EBdVDvS.99 (Broadcast is 1 hour 7pm-8pm Nigerian time re website: http://www.ipob.org/2018/01/ipob-launches-radio-nigeria-hausa.html Nigerian time is UT+1 so 1800-1900 UT) Posted by: (Alan Pennington, Jan 4, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Latest HFCC of today Jan 4 has nothing registered there; site? (gh) BIAFRA (non), New Biafra Hausa SW service probably via Secretbrod 1800-1900 on 15110 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg to WeAf Hausa from Jan.6 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/new-biafra-hausa-shortwave-service.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 4, dxldyg via DXLD) New IPOB Radio Nigeria via SPL from Jan 6 1800-1900 on 15110 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg to WeAf Hausa BUT in HFCC Database this new frequency is registered on Jan 6 1600-1700 on 15110 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg to WeAf, not 1800-1900 0800-2100 on 15100 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg to WeAf is wooden freq -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nothing heard yet using the U. Twente SDR receiver. Not even a waterfall trace (Richard Langley, 1803 UT Jan 6, ibid.) Yes, nothing on 15110 at 1800 & 1820 UT. It will be from Secretbrod, but when? 73! (Ivo Ivanov, ibid.) Still unlisted in the latest HFCC, or in EiBi, although I note that Ivo thinks it`s coming from "Secretbrod". I seem to recall reading another post in DXLD that said this station will be heard all over West, East and Southern Africa. But wherever it is coming from, if it is on air at all, it is not audible at my location in Jo'burg, South Africa. Whether it is coming from Nigeria itself, or from "Secretbrod", I believe it is (just) dark path all the way. 15110 Country ??? IPOB Location ??? Jan 6, 2018 Saturday. 1755- 1810. Nothing heard, no carrier. Jo’burg sunset 1704 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15110, Sat Jan 6 from 1800, no signal from the new IPOB/R Biafra program in Hausa which per Jan 4 publicity was supposed to start today at 18-19 UT, a ``liberation radio service``; via Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK yg: http://www.247nigerianewsupdate.co/2018/01/biafra-ipob-launches-hausa-radio-service.html ``This announcement was contained in a statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful [sic]. It said the maiden daily broadcast will hit the airwaves on Saturday, the 6th of January, 2018 at 7PM Nigerian time on Short Wave 15110 KHz 19 Meter Band. The statement reads: "In keeping with our promise to facilitate the creation of an unbiased informative platform to take the message of liberation to the down trodden and oppressed indigenous populations of Northern Nigeria, we the family members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) worldwide and it’s indomitable leadership, wish to happily announce the official launch of the much anticipated IPOB sponsored Radio Nigeria Hausa Service. "The broadcast will have the widest coverage of any radio signal in Africa. It will be received all over West, East and Southern Africa. Every Hausa speaking community in Africa will be able to receive it. In our opinion, we feel it has become imperative to educate the poor masses of Northern Nigeria. The ruling class cleverly enslaved and impoverished ethnic populations of the North by keeping vital information and knowledge away from them. This information deficit is what Radio Nigeria Hausa Service has come to remedy. "All the hitherto hidden history of the conquest of indigenous Hausa speaking populations of the North will be laid bare for the world to know. More importantly, enslaved minorities of Arewa North, brutally savaged by Fulani terrorist herdsmen, through this unbiased platform, will acquire the necessary education needed to liberate them from the suffocating stranglehold of the caliphate born to rule class. "What we hope to demonstrate through the launch of this liberation radio station is to prove beyond every conceivable doubt that IPOB is not a selfish movement concerned only about the well-being of Biafrans, but are also genuinely concerned about the plight of all oppressed people in Nigeria as stated by our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on countless occasions. Regardless of ethnicity, religion or creed, IPOB is pursuing an agenda of freedom for all. Our message is very simple, 2018 will be like no other in the history of Nigeria and will prove to be the year of liberation for those brave enough to confront the evil that Nigeria has become in the lives of millions of people. "Our quest for the total and adulterated [sic] liberation of Biafraland is unstoppable; this we shall demonstrate in the coming months. Those deluding themselves with the laughable and perverse notion that IPOB has been weakened because of the absence of our leader is in for an almighty shock. This move today is the beginning of a mass revolution against our oppressors that will spread outside the borders of Biafraland. "The coming of this new and revolutionary Radio Nigeria Hausa Service will expose centuries old dark secrets through education of the oppressed Hausa Fulani youths that IPOB and Biafra mean well for them contrary to the lies being peddled by their corrupt leadership. We will not fail to let all Northern youths understand that their political leaders, elders and fathers like those in Biafraland are the real oppressors that over the years have kept them in the dark through a carefully crafted and systematic regime of misinformation and propagation of falsehood. Every Hausa speaking Northerner is advised to tune into 15110 KHz every night at 7PM, starting from this Saturday 6 January 2018, to be educated in order to be liberated."`` The above appears to be a verbatim quotation from here: http://www.ipob.org/2018/01/ipob-launches-radio-nigeria-hausa.html which displays additional logo graphic reading: RADIO NIGERIA HAUSA SERVICE Yan Uwana Mutanen Arewa The Voice of Truth Tune into Short Wave 15110 kHz 19 meter band At 7 to 8 pm Daily http://www.facebook.com/Radio-Nigeria-Hausa-service-506033216438570/ Underlying this logo is not a facebook, but a complicated blogspot. Clicking on it only enlarges the logo. DXLD monitors in Europe, South Africa, and via remotes could not hear it either. Ivo Ivanov is sure that the site will be Bulgaria, whenever it may really start. Meanwhile at 1802-1806 Jan 6, I survey what little is audible on the 19m band, starting with 15115-15120-15125 where V. of Nigeria DRM noise in English is only a poor signal. The 19m band is hardly open, just with these: 15390 Spain VP, weaker 15500 JBA; 15580 VOA VP; 15610 WEWN poor, 15825 WWCR poor. Very poor on 15490 BBC French via Ascension; best of the lot is 15420, S4-S8, R. Itahuka via Madagascar on Saturdays only (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also checked 15110 kHz today (Sunday) from 16:00 UTC onwards to past 1800 UT using both the U. Twente SDR receiver and my own. Didn't notice anything (-- Richard Langley, Jan 7, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) I also checked again last (local) night [Jan 7] at 1805. Nothing heard. But as I pointed out on Saturday, in this time slot it is dark path all the way from Bulgaria to Jo'burg. 15110 Bulgaria ? IPOB, Location ??? Jan 7, 2018 Sunday. 1805-1810. Nothing heard, no carrier. Jo’burg sunset 1704 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) SECRETLAND, No signal of Radio Nigeria on Jan 6 1800-1900 on 15110 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg to WeAf Hausa In B17 HFCC 15110 is registered from SPL on Jan 6 1600-1700 on 15110 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg to WeAf Multi http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/no-signal-of-radio-nigeria-via-spl.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 6-7, dxldyg via DXLD) I was immediately surprised by the alleged use of 15 MHz at 1800-1900, when the complete path from Bulgaria to Nigeria is under darkness. Very much looks like 1600-1700 could indeed be the real slot, perhaps used already yesterday (Kai Ludwig, Germany, ibid.) No signal of IPOB Radio Nigeria via SPL on Jan 7, second day 1800-1900 15110 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg WeAf Hausa IPOB Radio Nigeria http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/no-signal-of-rsantec-vorow-ipob-radio.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 6-7, dxldyg via DXLD) Jan 8, poor signal of New Biafra Sce 1600-1700 on 15110, not 1800-1900 QRM TWR Africa on 15105 till 1627 (Ivo Ivanov, ibid.) Fairly good signal using the U. Twente SDR receiver once TWR signed off. So, today is the first day of broadcasting? I recorded the signal while I was having my research group meeting. On replaying the recording, didn't detect any audio until about the 16:30 UTC mark. Was the transmitter really on before and with audio? Or perhaps it's just a propagation effect. But why start at 16:00 UTC and have adjacent- channel QRM from TWR on 15105 kHz (at least, Monday through Friday), which must also be heard quite well in the target area? Or, if the Biafra signal is strong enough in Nigeria perhaps it can handle the adjacent channel QRM. Signal, actually, turned out to be rather poor overall for the U. Twente SDR receiver (of course, nowhere near the target direction) although there were periods when it was above the noise level and could be comprehended (if one understood the language). Clip attached. Some mentions of Biafra and Nigeria in the audible parts of the recording. Signal fell back into the noise towards 17:00 UTC so couldn't tell when the audio ended or when the transmitter actually signed off. Will record the program for the next few days to see if the U. Twente SDR receiver can get a better signal. (-- Richard Langley, NB, Jan 8, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ivo, thanks for the tipoff. Yes, can hear it tonight (Jan 8) but it`s mostly unreadable. Not living up to its promise of being a useful signal in Southern Africa. But I'm catching the tail end of the transmission and it is dark path most of the way from Bulgaria to Jo'burg, so probably ok in Nigeria. 15110, Bulgaria ? IPOB, Location ??? Jan 8, 2018 Monday. 1644-1655. OM talking, mostly unreadable. Music at 1654. Jo’burg sunset 1705. Hi Richard, Your recording is much better than I was getting it here in Jo'burg (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15110, Jan 8 at 1656, VP signal in African music, then talk presumed Hausa until chopped off at 1700, and carrier off circa 1700:40*. This the new ``Radio Nigeria`` service from the same people at IPOB who brought us Radio Biafra, trying to broaden their influence to another major ethnic group. It was originally publicized to start on Sat Jan 6 at 18-19 on 15110, but nothing heard by anyone, nor Jan 7 at same hour. Ivo Ivanov found there was another new registration via BULGARIA for 16-17 UT on 15110, which turned out to be the correct timing. Tsk2 if their main audience was still looking for it two hours later. IPOB website still displays the wrong times: http://www.ipob.org/2018/01/ipob-launches-radio-nigeria-hausa.html Ivo says 100 kW at 195 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15110 Bulgaria ? IPOB Location ??? Jan 9, 2018 Tuesday. 1558-1611. I think it is still light path all the way from Bulgaria to Jo’burg, but it makes no difference. Nothing at all heard tonight and no carrier found on 15110. Either they are not on air, or Southern Africa is a no-go area for them. Jo’burg sunset 1705. I am receiving the adjacent channel TWR. 15110 Bulgaria ? IPOB Location ??? Jan 9, 2018 Tuesday. 1655-1658. Can pick up a very weak carrier and hear an OM talking at imagination level now its getting dark here in Jo'burg. At that fequency I should have thought it would be getting worse as dark arrived, rather than better! Jo’burg sunset 1705 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Again very poor signal tonight, videos tomorrow (Ivo, 1644 Jan 9, ibid.) Using the U. Twente SDR receiver today, only a faint carrier could be seen in the waterfall once TWR signed off. A couple of times the carrier strengthened and bits of audio could be heard. Worse reception than yesterday. Transmitter went off about 10 seconds after 1700 UT (Richard Langley, 1708 Jan 9, ibid.) Time of this new IPOB service is 1600-1700 UT (not as given on their website). But not audible here in Caversham on 15110 kHz yesterday (Tues 9-Jan) at 1600, though a weak signal was audible on 15110 using a remote receiver in Portugal. 73, (Alan Caversham, UK, Pennington, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Today, best so far this week using U. Twente SDR receiver. Will report more fully later after a meeting (Richard Langley, 1630 Jan 10, ibid.) Spoke a bit too soon. Readable signal shortly after TWR signed off (short indigenous musical selection and a discussion between two males (possibly phone/Skype) but, only playing back the recording, that lasted only for about 5 minutes before the signal went into the noise and didn't come back (Richard Langley, 1722 UT, ibid.) ** NIGERIA [non]. FRANCE, Reception of Radio Herwa International via TDF Issoudun on Jan 3 0700-0729 on 13710 ISS 100 kW / 170 deg to WeAf Hausa/Kanuri, very good signal http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/reception-of-radio-herwa-international_3.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 3, dxldyg via DXLD) Reception of Radio Herwa International via WRMI tx#10, Jan 7 1900-2000 11530 YFR 100 kW / 087 deg WeAf Hausa/Kanuri, weak/fair http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/reception-of-radio-herwa-international_8.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 7-8, dxldyg via DXLD) Really? I don`t hear it before 1930 (gh, DXLD) Reception of Radio Herwa International via WRMI tx#10, Jan 8 0700-0730 11530 YFR 100 kW / 087 deg to WeAf Hausa/Kanuri, fair/good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/reception-of-radio-herwa-international_89.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 7-8, dxldyg via DXLD) ** NIGERIA [non]. Radio Dandal Kura Int via BaBcoCk Ascension on Jan 4 0500-0700 on 5960 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg to WeAf Kanuri, fair signal http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/reception-of-radio-dandal-kura-int-via.html Radio Dandal Kura Int via BaBcoCk Woofferton on Jan 4 0700-0800 on 13810 WOF 250 kW / 165 deg to WeAf Kanuri, very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/reception-of-radio-dandal-kura-int-via_4.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 4, dxldyg via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. RADIO USA, YOUR POLITICAL STATION: 6930/USB, 2215- 2249+, 12/30; Tune in to punk tunes; “Radio USA, your political station”; 2219 “A Nazi Xmas” intro’d by George Zeller in Ohio -- “round at both ends & hi in the middle, O-hi-O”; into series of stirring band music & lotsa marchin’ & drinkin’ tunes + RUSA IDs throughout; 2247 brief commentary about “Messiah” Hitler; “We love Hitler”. (They offered no updates on the situation on the eastern front. Hitler was in an episode of WKRP.) SIO=3+53 on peaks, fady. Apparently a bogus RUSA. The real RUSA first logged in 1989 & last in 2010 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. == Shortwave free radio == UnID, Saturday, December 30, 2017, 1710, 6945 usb. Bits and pieces of "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." with occasional skips and dropouts. Fair signal, with a het from a nearby utility. (Will-MD) Old time radio. Saturday, December 30, 2017, 2115, 6770 am. Fair but listenable signal with an episode of "The Lone Ranger." s5. (Will-MD) UnID, Saturday, December 30, 2017, 2333, 6924.7 am. Music by Molly Hatchett, "Flirtin' With Disaster." Fair signal, s9. (Will-MD) Friday, January 5, 2018, 2252, 6940 usb. Synth/trance music, ID, "You're listening to Unidentified radio which is a clever name for an unknown radio station" into some rap music. Fair to good signal, s5 (Larry Will, 28723 Ridge Road, Mount Airy, MD 21771, radio@zappahead.net, Icom IC-R75 with G5RV, Tecsun PL-600, PL-660, PL- 880, random wires, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6935-USB, Jan 6 at 0053, pirate music at S9 vs S8 noise level, off at 0059 recheck. Unidentified, and no logs of this at HFUnderground (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6940-USB, Jan 6 at 0119, unID pirate rock music somewhat distorted around S7-S8. This may refer to it: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,39675.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6770.046, Jan 8 at 0631, trace of modulation, presumed the old-time-radio pirate from a radio museum. No matching logs in HFU, but here`s the most recent one at a totally different daypart: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,39683.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6940-USB, Jan 11 at 0008, rock music, 0009 synth OM voice repeats several times, ``Mister Crowley, O Mister Crowley`` (sp? pronounced krau-lee), then playing song of that name; 0014 same announcement two or three times, dead air, more music, long pauses, past 0026. These logs https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,39754.0.html heard ID as Cool AM Radio, and Clever Name but started with Cool AM himself in Netherlands reporting hearing it via NH SDR as unID, CNR? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. 1210, Jan 6 at 0104 UT, KGYN Guymon is blasting in obviously on day pattern failing to protect Philadelphia, ``The Big Talker, 1210 KGYN``. I try nulling it and from right angle can hear a list of stations in the Rio Grande Valley, obviously the network including KUBR San Juan whose night pattern is supposed to have tight major lobe toward its west; and cardioid null toward WPHT in daytime (??), per NRC Pattern Book. I thought these might be reversed, but confirmed as such in FCC AM Query. In any event, we should not be getting so much signal from either station; together they make a heavy 160/minute SAH = 2.67 Hz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. 15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman at 1402 with a woman with news from Oman and the Arabian Peninsula then international news at 1405 then news headlines at 1408 and into “DJ Frank on your nation’s station” with Latin American pop vocals – Fair to Good Jan 5 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3260, NBC Madang, on Jan 4, NBC News in English started late (1205); followed by pop songs till cut off at 1214*; poor; recently running later than usual. 3260, NBC Madang, 1134 till cut off at 1210*, Jan 7. Their normal Sunday religious programs of preaching in Pidgin and religious songs; poor. Clearly they have re-scheduled the syndicated program hosted by Stacy Rose ("Island Praise"), which formerly would have been here Sunday at about 1200. I miss her unique music show! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PUNTLAND [and non]. 13800, MADAGASCAR, Radio Dabanga at 1537 in Sudanese Arabic with a man with a telephone interview of another man with definite mentions of “Dabanga” at 1542 and 1543 – Fair over suspected Puntland Radio Jan 7. 13800, SOMALIA, Puntland Radio, presumed the one at 1538 in Somali with a man with talk with a possible mention of “Somalia” at 1541 as the signal briefly peaked – Very Weak but audible in peaks under Radio Dabanga Jan 7 – I’ll take even if this is a presumed logging as it is the first time I have possibly heard Puntland Radio! (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) ** ROMANIA. 6130, RRI, 0143, Jan 5. "DX Mailbag" program in English; fair-good (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. About the radio station UVB-76 (4625 kHz). ---------------------------------------------------- The most terrible or the strangest radio station in the world. https://gold-manaa.livejournal.com/417178.html In Russian. https://vk.com/club59176345 (RusDX 7 Jan via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. On the first day of the New Year, 2018, two completely different Internet radio stations start their work: «Grindoteka». http://grindoteka.ru "Look Inside". http://lookinside.xyz The Grindoteka channel will continue to offer listeners the following musical genres, such as grindcore, cristgrind, powerwave, nozkrast, old school punk, chaotic hardcore, including experimental, unexpected musical blocks like avant-garde black, industrial-techno or gloomy psi-trance. Unusual, "unofficial" for the transfer of the group appeared on air earlier, but only now, in a new format of round-the- clock online broadcasting, will be conceptually presented the most diverse, "difficult" for listening genres. In addition, the plans of the team include colloquial shows that go beyond the scope of ordinary interviews and will please listeners with the novelty of the approach, preserving the traditions of Grindoteki. Listeners of "Look Inside" are also waiting for music that is far from the easiest to listen to - even more shocking, brain-blowing avant- jazz compositions, "indie" of all stripes, absolutely unquantifiable "psychedel" and experiment, unique ethnic musical phenomena and a truly intimidating bloc Russian "avant-garde" - despite the formal "non-extremism" of these genres, a substantial part of the air can "do" to the neighbors no less mental harm than the "Grindoteka", and is designed for a prepared (or very brave) listener, so that the project team will regularly publish valuable cognitive materials about little-known genres, informative interviews and news from the world of underground music, including special materials available only for permanent listeners. http://obob.tv/radioveshhanie/v-internete-startuyut-srazu-dve-radios/ (RusDX 7 Jan via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 9714.979, BSKSA Riyadh Near East neighbourhood service, HQ prayer at 0645 UT on Jan 3. S=9+20dB in Qatar remote Perseus site. 11 kHz wideband audio signal block visible [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 3, via DXLD) 17895, BSKSA at 1300 // 17705 in Arabic with a man with talk and a Middle Eastern music bridge at 1303 and more talk – Weak but audible on both frequencies Jan 5 – The only two signals on this band at this time of the morning and they’re the same program (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA yg via DXLD) 15380, BSKSA at 1330 in Arabic with a man and woman with telephone interviews of people singing Middle Eastern songs a cappella – Good signal but awful audio hum Jan 7 – Must be something that happened recently as there was no audio hum when listening on January 5th (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via DXLD) ** SIKKIM. 4835.0, AIR Gangtok, 0109, Jan 8. Subcontinent music; weak (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also AUSTRALIA ** SINGAPORE. 7485, Jan 4 at 1559, some weak Asian signal uncovered after WWCR 7460 QSY to 12160; it`s BBC Urdu via Singapore and it goes off at 1600* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. This follow-up from Ashley Wickham, CEO of SIBC, has been issued through their website A number of print and radio outlets have published stories about SIBC’s difficulties in the past two weeks. In some cases, two stories have been conflated which has confused listeners. On Tuesday, December 12 Solomon Power (SIEA) disconnected power at SIBC’s Rove Studio headquarters, believing SIBC was behind in its payments. This caused SIBC to run on a standby generator until the matter was resolved. An accounting error was discovered, cheques were exchanged, and we returned to normal business operations on December 15. SIBC has since had no difficulty with connectivity to mains power supplied by Solomon Power. Coincidentally, on December 15 the Board of Directors approved the implementation of the first phase of the SIBC Contingency Plan. The plan was developed earlier in the year when SIBC feared the government cash-flow situation might deteriorate to the point it could not pay its bills and its contracted commitments. The plan was devised so that SIBC would not be allowed to collapse for lack of funds but be strategically re-organised so that its essential service role of broadcasting National Disaster and Emergency warnings and public information was not disrupted. The plan is that in the event of revenue levels at bank falling below a trigger threshold, the following cost-cutting measures would take place: ACTION 1. The Medium Wave transmitter which serves mainly the central Solomons would be switched off. People throughout the country would still be able hear SIBC’s dual-frequency Short Wave transmitter. The MW transmitter was switched off shortly after December 15. Power for the FM 96.3 transmitter, which should serve the Florida group as well as areas in and around Honiara, was raised to 800 watts. ACTION 2. Daily SW transmission hours will be reduced from 18 hours to 12 hours. This means the transmitter would be switched off during off- peak times. SIBC surveys in the past three years show that rural listeners, who make up about 80 percent of the population, prefer to listen in the early mornings and in the evenings. On current trends, since SIBC’s invoices have not been paid since December 1, management expects to implement Action 2 just after New Year’s Day. ACTION 3. Transmitters will be powered for as long as possible by stand-by generators. This will be carried out simultaneously with Action 2. ACTION 4. Merge FM and SW evening programme to reduce staff costs. This has already been actioned. ACTION 5. SIBC’s subscription to an overseas music library providing new music each week will be reduced until further notice. The supply of new local songs for airplay is not a problem. The major demographic in this country are those between 15 and 40 years of age and new music from overseas is needed. It is planned to reduce subscription costs by 50 percent in the first quarter of 2018. PHASE 2. STAFF REDUCTION. If after four weeks of Phase 1 there is no improvement, lay-offs will begin. This could begin at end of January 2018. The rest of the Contingency Plan is yet to be announced but it has been approved by the Board of SIBC and government officials have been notified. SIBC looks forward to government’s finances improving substantially in early 2018 so that SIBC can — with government support — resume normal operations and prepare to launch television and other projects in the new year. We wish everybody a very happy and prosperous New Year. Here is the current operating schedule for SIBC-Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp. on shortwave [before curtailment, to when exactly?] 5020 kHz UT 0500 to 1200 5020 kHz UT 1900 to 2200 9545 kHz UT 2200 to 0500 (Jan CIDX Messenger via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS [and non]. 9545, Jan 3 at 1201, JBA signal with talk, can it be SIBC day frequency on very late? But there is a weaker carrier on 5020, which is surely SIBC, but unreadable even if there weren`t Rebelde splash from 5025. O yes, as Ron Howard was reporting a month ago, and confirmed in Aoki/NDXC, since Dec 1, R. Taiwan International took the 12-13 hour on 9545, and it *must* be jammed by the Chicom, so I could be hearing either one. 1205 a bit of music, more talk. 5020 carrier remains on, still audible at 1247, when 9545 has risen to S5-S7 in Chinese. Press reports via DXLD say that SIBC has had to turn off its MW 1035 transmitter due to dispute with power company and government over what`s an essential service, and rely only on SW with diesel generator for nationwide coverage! It`s not been unusual for 5020 to run beyond nominal 1200*, probably now more so than ever (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Jan 3, indeed found SIBC on 5020. At 1201, with the end of the National Anthem; then just carrier (dead air); by 1240 could make out pop music, but low modulation and significant dead air between songs; 1345 played Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's song "Against the Wind"; still being heard with low modulation at final check at 1610. Most of today was unusable! Only a few brief announcements heard, so not the frequent IDs for "Wantok FM," so assume this was SIBC extended programming and not the relay (Ron Howard, California, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) They were still decent here Jan 3 at 1636 check here. The Australians on 5045 and 5055 were there but weaker. 73 (Don Moman, AB, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, ibid.) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 3320, Jan. 7th at 0325, Pleasant classical music selections by orchestra of violins, cellos, or violas in moderate tempo, S8 to S9+10, with continuing up and down fades at about one second intervals. Used AM to listen instead of USB. Female presenter giving commentary in what may have been Afrikaans. Could not initially identify language but after an HFCC check found that only user of 3320 at that time was on beam of 275 deg which fit my location relative to Meyerton, so assumed it was South Africa. No problem with CHU Canada being on adjacent frequency. As expected, music was more easily appreciated versus commentary due to syllables, intonation, inflection, etc. changing more rapidly during the fades. A surprise came at TOH 0400 when about five seconds of beginning of Elvis Presley's Hound Dog was heard just before a change to what was probably a news bulletin. Reception overall was nearly armchair listening except for difficult understanding of commentary. Signal became weaker after 0400 as sunrise over west Africa and the south Atlantic was no doubt having effects (Richard Howard, Burnsville, Yancey county NC, NRD-545, long wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA. COLLETON COUNTY PREACHER (BROTHER) RALPH STAIR ARRESTED FOR SEX ASSAULT, OTHER CHARGES, DEPUTIES SAY by Drew Tripp, WCIV - Monday, December 18th 2017 [excerpt:] Stair's most devout followers live with him in a commune setting at the Overcomer Ministry property, according to the church's website, "with common baths and common eating, all seeking to live together in love for God and each other." "We do not go anywhere as we need not do so. We work the farm and have our school and with the simple life; we need very little that the world offers," the Overcomer Ministry website says. "We go nowhere, no shopping, or trips to see what have you. Your life will be here on the farm until Jesus comes." The ministry's brochure says that followers who come to live on the property relinquish their worldly possessions and money "to the Lord," and must subject themselves to Stair's authority and the "biblical" rules he has established for the community, including allocation of supplies. Some of the rules include: The man of God (Brother Stair) shall have sole discretion to judge the legitimacy of need and to direct distribution to satisfy the need. A curfew is imposed from the hours of 10:00 P.M. until 4:00 A.M. Residents will restrict themselves to their dwellings during the hours of curfew unless special permission is granted by the man of God (Brother Stair). The residents ... acknowledge the right of the man of God to discipline and direct and correct residents who exhibit unbiblical behavior. The residents recognize the practice of shunning as necessary in correcting the unrepentant and insubordinate. The residents recognize expulsion from the community as a sanction of last resort for the rebelliously unrepentant. Stair does not require membership in the community to attend worship services. Stair also broadcasts sermons over the radio, and shares videos of the services on the internet (via Jan CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 3185, WWRB Manchester TN (presumed); 0204- 0212+, 1/3; B.S. preaching about chastisement, days of vengeance, “God can knock the hell out of him anytime he wants to.” (not clear who ”he” was), etc. B.S. said that Brattleboro VT has the highest occurrence of incest in the country. (recruiting trip?) S30 9230, WWRB Manchester TN (presumed); 2008, 1/2; Presume spur from WWRB 9370 with B.S. ranting. Weak; was on 9235 previous day. 9235, WWRB Manchester TN (presumed); 2004, 1/1; Bro. HyStairical the Overfeeler working up a lather about the resurrection. (Apparently B.S, often got a resurrection) SIO=2+52+; spur? from //9370 WWRB (presumed) with S10+ distorted signal B.S. Should get his money back from this...he’ll need it. Nothing on 9370 - 9235 + 9370 = 9505. 9235 gone at 2149 check. (On 9230 next day.) (Frodge-MI) 9370, WWRB Manchester TN (presumed); 2001-2008+, 1/2; The Overfondler ranting away on a recently, frequently repeated programm; “hippocritical [sic] preachers”, “Don’t vote”, “Is God a Democrat or a Republican?”, “I’m gonna get a new body honey.” S20; // 9370 WWRB(presumed) S15 & presumed 9370 spur on 9230. The Overfondler farewell tour continues! 9395, WRMI Radio Miami Int’l; 0055-0101+, 1/1; Shouting Bro. HyStairical the Overcopafeeler; mentioned a “young Baptist snotnose” that came to visit. 0059:40 B.S. interrupted for WRMI spot into Bing Crosby Xmas tune. S10+ 9980, WWCR, Nashville TN (presumed); 1939, 12/30; Younger version of Bro. HyStairical the Last Days Overfondler really working up a lather about the tribulation, etc. “I’m so sick of Jerry Falwell.” (Rev. Jerry died in 2007) (WWCR & WWRB continue to provide this high quality spiritual doomsday entertainment.) SIO=3+53- 12160, WWCR Nashville TN (presumed); 1938, 12/31; Bro. HyStairical ragging on otherhuxters; B.S. seems to have shouted a lot more in his earlier days. (I’ve noticed over the years that many religihuxters seem to think that their flock & listeners are hard of hearing.) SIO=353- (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9980, Jan 3 at 1513, Overcomer is still on WWCR blasting in, a caller with no hope saying he expects to kill himself, but meanwhile listens to BS; just what we need to hear. And also on 9370 WWRB a second or two later. Are these stations still getting paid for BS airtime after all, or just can`t bear the thought of dispensing with him? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Overcomer apparently gone from Kostinbrod, too --- Quick check at 1820: 5900 and 11600 are off, 9400 now carries some programming in Arabic, as it did already before at other times (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 3185, WWRB with BS still on. WWRB ID at 0358 and the Robo shut down announcement at the ToH. The umpteenth repeat of the old programme with talx re ‘war in America’ and talking about ‘the moment God cuts off the money you won’t hear me any more’ and “I’m not here to make a name for myself” and “The People of God Don’t Sin!” etc. 4+4+54+4+ 0355-0405 5/Jan SPR-4 +ANC-4 +rwire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Jan 5 via DXLD) As of January 7, the BS frequencies of WWRB are OFF: still on WWCR, WBCQ, a bit on WRMI: see USA (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) ** SPAIN. 15390, Jan 7 at 1540, REE is still distorted on this frequency, altho the carrier is stable; weaker but clearer on // 15500. BTW, 15390 for B-17 was announced as for S America, altho in A- 17 it had been for Mideast. In fact, current HFCC claims both are on 110 degrees, surely not really (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. QSL came from the Voice of America - this time on the DX-theme, with a photo palms, masts and antenna arrays. Before that, I usually got photos speakers in the studio with iPods. Pictures here: http://dxsignal.ru/qsl/new/VoA_Mashaal_180104_1.png http://dxsignal.ru/qsl/new/VoA_Mashaal_180104_2.png Curiously, the text side of QSL does not say where it is. I posted scans in facebook group QSL CHASERS, and there people are inclined to the fact that card - the transmitting center of Iranian [sic; Iranawila] (Sri Lanka). Now he is no longer. It works: because of the humid climate, everything has rusted there, and repairs would have flown in kopeck, so it was decided not long ago to close Iran. And now about the sad: confirmation of the reception of this card is unlikely to be called. It was a broadcast of Radio Mashaal and on the basis of HFCC registrations it passes like relayed through Kuwait, and not British Wufferton. And the second: Voice of America and Radio Mashaal are two big differences; Mashaal is included in structure RFE / RL and in the logo it has a torch, like the "Freedom". I reported in early August to the e-mail of the transmitting center in Kuwait manager_kuwait [at] kuw.ibb.gov, as well as at mashaalradio [at] rferl.org (this address is listed on the website in the contacts, but in response there is a notification, that it does not exist) and through private messages on facebook.com/mashaalradio. The card came from Washington (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia / “open-dx”, via QSL World, RusDX 7 Jan via DXLD) ** SWAN ISLAND [and non]. Caribbean hit by massive earthquake 7.6 magnitude earthquake shakes the Caribbean Sea, tsunami threat diminishes https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/breaking-76-magnitude-earthquake-shakes-the-caribbean-sea-tsunami-threat-diminishes/70003790 (via Mike Terry, Jan 10, dxldyg via DXLD) Near Swan Island. Old-timers will remember that as a radio country. (-- Richard Langley, ibid.) I guess I qualify as an "old-timer". I started in the hobby in Dec 1964 and heard R Americas, Swan Island on 6000 kHz on 9/05/1965. Got a QSL from their Miami address and later QSLed their MW outlet, too. I was a teen then and when I quit the hobby to chase gals and go to college, luckily my parents saved my QSL collection (Don Hosmer, W8SWL, W Branch MI USA, ibid.) December 1963 for me when I got a Knight-Kit Span Master for Christmas. I have my QSL card collection, too. And my log books! ;-) Logged Radio Americas on 6000 kHz at 0200 UT on 21 March 1968 with SINPO 43434. No QSL card, though (-- Richard Langley, ibid.) Incredible how little coverage this major EQ got on American media, too mired in domestic politix, disasters (gh, DXLD) ** TAIWAN. 6280, SOH (presumed), 1428-1443+ 21 Dec. Weak but unjammed with Chinese chat & some music, // 6230 [which is bothered by CCI from VMW Wiluna's sea weather reports]. (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach / Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m Xwire, via Bob Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. 4765 kHz Radio Tajikistan: 0040 UT Music local Tajikistan 0050 UT Music Culture Tajikistan Day 09 January 2018 SINPO 23222 QRM of CODAR (DXer: Daniel Wyllyans - Nova Xavantina - Mato Grosso - Brasil, Jan 10, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) 7245.000, This Tajik Radio in 14-16 UT slot is real on even frequency, Tajik language program. But both 60 mb frequencies are oddly these days at least past 6-8 weeks now. Usually 4765 kHz channel was exact even fq in past years time as an alignment marker, when compared to Standard fq outlets AUS 4835, RWM Moscow TS 4996, BPM 5000, or WWV / WWVH 5000 kHz. Now today Jan 10, Yangi Yul broadcasts are TJK Tajik Radio 4765.062 kHz S=9+10dB monitored in India, TJK BBC London via Yangi Yul in Uzbek language 4789.989 kHz at 1320 UT, and co-channel CHN 4790even as China mainland jamming S=9+15dB. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) ** TIBET. Xizang PBS via Lhasa, 1600+, Jan 3. Thanks to Richard Langley for providing complete list of all the frequencies for the "Holy Tibet" program in English; intro for "China Tibet Broadcasting": 4905 - fair. 4920 - recently with strong buzzing sound (assume a problem with transmitter, but which one - India or Tibet?). Also noted strong buzzing sound here on Jan 5, at 0109 and later at 1437. 6110 - very poor (QRM UNID station). 6130 - not heard. 6200 - fair; good by 1623. 7255 - almost fair. 7385 - totally covered by strong CNR1. Jamming who? // 6125 6200, Xizang PBS via Lhasa, 1625, Jan 8. The “Holy Tibet” show in English, with segment “Tibet Stories,” about Tibetan culture; fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET [non]. TAJIKISTAN, Frequency change of Voice of Tibet, Jan 10 1300-1308 NF 11627 DB 100 kW / 095 deg to EaAs Chinese, ex 11633 1308-1315 NF 11633 DB 100 kW / 095 deg to EaAs Chinese, ex 11627 1315-1330 on 11627 DB 100 kW / 095 deg to EaAs Chinese no change http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/frequency-change-of-voice-of-tibet-jan10.html (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) ** TURKEY. 5960, UT Sat Jan 6 at 0057, TRT IS at S9+20. This means the entire extra hour in German must have stayed on the air from 0000 instead of turning off after English before 2400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Voice of Turkey fortnightly Letterbox programme was not heard as scheduled today. Instead was heard "Global Perspectives" and "Food of the Courts" - the latter appears to be a weekly programme. So, either the fortnightly schedule for Letterbox has slipped by one week (as has happened previously) or it has reverted to Saturdays only. Will have monitor further to discover which it is (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, 1406 UT Wed Jan 3, dxldyg via DXLD) Alan, I stumbled upon them this morning. I wasn't able to listen for long but I did hear what appeared to be a mailbag-type program: Voice of Turkey 1408 5 Jan 2018, 12035, 1405z 5 JAN - VOICE OF TURKEY SINPO = 35222. English, soft-spoken male announcer reading letters and commenting (mailbag program?). QSB=moderate to rapid rate, modulation mostly just above the noise floor with occasional peaks well above it. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 9226KM from the transmitter at Emirler. Local time: 0805. Hope that helps (Rodney Johnson, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ah - interesting! I'll check out the rebroadcast at 2300 UT in a little while. Thanks, Rodney! (Alan Roe, ibid.) Further to Rodney's tip. the V of Turkey Letterbox programme was indeed aired in today's - Friday - programme. Announcement at conclusion said that the next Letterbox will be in two weeks time, but made no mention about day(s) of week, so unclear at present whether this week's Friday edition was an exception, or whether it has moved from Wednesday permanently. And will need to check Saturday's broadcast also (Alan Roe, Jan 5, ibid.) 5960.018, TRT Emirler in Deutsch! German program repeat of New Year night program. Scheduled English program ended at 2355 UT, but on feed line from Broadcasting House still the German service. 500 kW S=9+25dB powerhouse signal in THA/CBG border. 0020 UT. Log of remote SDR unit in eastern Thai-Cambodian border area: [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 6, dxldyg via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. 9 Jan 2018, 2104 UT: Radio Kultura is putting a beautiful signal into Western Europe on 1278 kHz from the Petrivka transmitter near Odessa. They are playing different parts of Dvorak's 9th symphony "From the New World", explaining about his stay in the US. Some weak stations in the background can't really bother the AM listener. SINPO 53443. 73 (Eike Bierwirth, Wiesbaden, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Test transmission of BBC BaBcoCk via Woofferton, Jan 8 1230-1250 on 9650 WOF 300 kW / 140 deg to EaAf BaBcoCk Music http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/test-transmission-of-bbc-babcock-via.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 7-8, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U K. BBCWS: See INTERNATIONAL VACUUM ** U K. BBC'S CHINA EDITOR RESIGNS OVER GENDER PAY GAP DISPUTE BEIJING (AP) -- The BBC's China editor has resigned her position in Beijing in protest over what she called a failure to sufficiently address a gap in compensation between men and women at the public broadcaster. Carrie Gracie's departure is the latest aftershock from the BBC's forced publication last year of pay levels for its top earners that showed two-thirds of those in the top bracket were men. A 30-year veteran of the BBC, Gracie said in a statement on her website addressed to BBC viewers that she could no longer perform her job at a high level while battling with bosses over pay equality. Gracie said she learned that two of the BBC's four international editors - both men - made at least 50 percent more than their two female counterparts. She said she was not seeking more money for herself, but only demanding that the BBC observe British law requiring equal pay for equal work. . . http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/APFN_AS_BBC_EQUAL_PAY?SITE=AP (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) And WHO is the other woman in this situation? Katty Kay? Lyse Doucet? On `Beyond 100 Days`, Katty has not been looking very cheerful lately (gh, DXLD) RESIGNATION OF CARRIE GRACIE, BBC CHINA EDITOR, RESURFACES PAY ROW Image --- Carrie Gracie's resignation as the BBC's China editor has refocused attention on the broadcaster's gender pay disparity. Credit Ben Cawthra/Sipa, via Associated Press [caption] By Amie Tsang Jan. 8, 2018 https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/01/08/business/media/bbc-carrie-gracie-china-editor.html LONDON -- The journalist who resigned as the BBC's China editor to protest the broadcaster's gender pay gap said on Monday that she was offered a raise before quitting, but one that still did not bring her to the level of her male peers. The sudden resignation by Carrie Gracie, the BBC's top journalist in China, was met with a wave of support from her peers in the British media. It comes with international attention focused on the wider issue of gender disparity, from entrenched differences in compensation to the harassment and, in some cases, assault of women in the workplace. It has also fueled renewed criticism of Britain's publicly funded broadcaster, which last summer published the salaries of its top stars. The data revealed a startling gap in pay between its most senior male and female journalists. In the aftermath of the release of the figures, the BBC's most senior female journalists demanded the organization take action to close that divide. On Monday, Ms. Gracie indicated that any changes so far had not gone far enough. In an interview on BBC radio, she said she had filed an official complaint after the pay data showed that two of her male peers were paid far more than she was. BBC executives responded by offering her a raise that would have pushed her salary to 180,000 pounds, or $245,000, from -L-135,000. That salary would still have been lower than those of her male counterparts, however. "I was not interested in more money," Ms. Gracie said on Monday. "I was interested in equality, and I kept saying to my managers that I didn't need more money; I just needed to be made equal and that can be done in a variety of ways." Ms. Gracie had been one of four international editors at the BBC. For the year that ended in March 2017, Jon Sopel, the North America editor, was paid between -L-200,000 and -L-249,999 annually, according to the data released by the BBC. Jeremy Bowen, the Middle East editor, was paid between -L-150,000 and -L-199,999. But Ms. Gracie and Katya Adler, the Europe editor, did not make the -L-150,000 threshold to have their salaries made public. "I just decided that enough was enough," Ms. Gracie said. "I could not go back to China and collude knowingly in what I considered to be unlawful pay discrimination." She said that she had entered a formal grievance process, but that there had been little progress. Several of her colleagues voiced support for her decision. Ms. Adler described Ms. Gracie's resignation as a "huge loss," and Sarah Montague, a presenter on the broadcaster's flagship morning radio program, "Today," said in a tweet that she was "brave and brilliant." https://twitter.com/BBCkatyaadler/status/950301406526926854 "Not sure what is so hard to understand about #equalpay for equal work," Ms. Montague wrote. And Kirsty Wark, a presenter on the BBC's nightly television current affairs program, "Newsnight," added that she was "proud to stand with" Ms. Gracie. All four women were among the 42 who called on the BBC to take action to close the gender pay gap. https://twitter.com/Sarah_Montague/status/950125655747891200 The debate over the gender pay gap has grown louder in Britain in recent months, particularly after the government required large companies to publish the average salaries of the men and women they employ. These companies have until April 2018 to report the information. British law already requires that men and women should receive equal pay for the same job, a fact Ms. Gracie pointed to in her resignation letter. At least in the case of the BBC, Ms. Gracie's resignation could force the broadcaster to do more to resolve disparities. "She's a competent woman, she's highly qualified," said Marianna Fotaki, professor of business ethics at Warwick Business School. "It gives courage to other, less prominent women to come forward." In a statement, the broadcaster said an independent audit of pay showed "no systemic discrimination against women," and added that it was "performing considerably better than many" other organizations that had published their gender pay figures. Follow Amie Tsang on Twitter: @amietsang. A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B3 of the New York edition with the headline: BBC Editor Walked Away From Raise in Protest (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) A TOP BBC EDITOR FOUND OUT MALE PEERS WERE EARNING 50 PERCENT MORE. SO SHE RESIGNED. By Emily Rauhala January 8 at 6:34 AM The Washington Post WorldViews https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/01/08/a-top-bbc-editor-found-out-male-peers-were-earning-50-percent-more-so-she-resigned/ Carrie Gracie, who served as the BBC's China editor, resigned from her post in Beijing, citing pay differences with her male peers. (Reuters) BEIJING -- One of the BBC's top journalists, Carrie Gracie, has resigned from her China post over what she called a "secretive and illegal" pay structure that had her male peers making 50 percent more than she did. In an open letter published Sunday evening, Gracie, who served as China editor, said the public broadcaster faces a "crisis of trust" because it routinely pays men more than women for the same work. "The BBC belongs to you, the licence fee payer. I believe you have a right to know that it is breaking equality law and resisting pressure for a fair and transparent pay structure," she wrote. The BBC's superb China editor steps down over equal pay after discovering she is paid 50% less than male counterparts @bbccarrie #istandwithcarrie https://t.co/SirBYwRPjR -- Katty Kay (@KattyKayBBC) January 7, 2018 Carrie Gracie's letter in full on her own website. I have seldom read anything so dignified and powerful. So selfless and brave https://t.co/72EEh96q5q China is the future. And we have just lost our guide @BBCCarrie -- Paul Lewis (@paullewismoney) January 7, 2018 Gracie's resignation comes after the BBC was forced to go public with a list of its highest-paid employees -- and the vast majority were men. The disclosures prompted some of the BBC's biggest stars, including Gracie, to call publicly for pay equity using the hashtag "#BBCWomen." The BBC conducted an audit, only to determine there was no gap -- a finding Gracie contests. In the letter, Gracie said the BBC has four international editors, two male and two female. She said she learned last summer that the two men earned at least 50 percent more than the two women. "Despite the BBC's public insistence that my appointment demonstrated its commitment to gender equality, and despite my own insistence that equality was a condition of taking up the post, my managers had yet again judged that women's work was worth much less than men's," she wrote. BBC's China editor, Carrie Gracie, speaks to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in London on Jan. 8. (Dominic Lipinski/PA/AP) Gracie asked for parity but did not get it. So she is leaving the China post and returning to the newsroom, where she said she "expects to be paid equally." "Enough is enough. The rise of China is one of the biggest stories of our time and one of the hardest to tell. I cannot do it justice while battling my bosses and a byzantine complaints process," she wrote. Journalists in Britain and China applauded her and expressed solidarity using the hashtag "#IStandWithCarrie." It's a shame for us to lose @BBCCarrie as the China Editor today. Women deserve equal pay and I'm very proud Carrie spoke up with actions. #IStandWithCarrie #equalpay #BBCWomen https://t.co/qnp6HO0uVA -- Xinyan (@xinyanyu) January 8, 2018 Worked as @BBCCarrie's producer for 3 years. She's the best of the BBC: talented, hard working, & always asking tough questions. #bbcwomen for #equalpay https://t.co/mQnZ6y0NxW -- Maria Byrne (@byrnemaria) January 7, 2018 Gracie closed her letter by calling on all companies -- not just the BBC -- to pay women what they are worth. "We are by no means the only workplace with hidden pay discrimination and the pressure for transparency is only growing. I hope rival news organisations will not use this letter as a stick with which to beat the BBC, but instead reflect on their own equality issues," she wrote. "It is a century since women first won the right to vote in Britain. Let us honour that brave generation by making this the year we win equal pay." (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. 1790, MASSACHUSETTS, WH2XDE/3 (experimental), Wayland. 0914 January 7, 2018. Fairly decent level with CW calls, VVV VVV TEST and seemingly something else. Thanks David Crawford tip, who when he had it at night was confirmed by the operator as then at 70 watts. Licensed to 5000 watts, 1720-1800 kc/s range and various modes including CW, RTTY and voice. Address listed as Kestrel Electronic Design LLC, c/o Gerald T Whitney, 2083 Stirne Rd, Victor, NY 14564 (which is nowhere near Massachusetts) and email ked283@gmail.com. Old YouTube etc. posts show it once operated on 1740 and 1750 kc/s. Warren at the email above replied that he will mail me a QSL verification card. States this is currently just running as a propagation beacon (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater FL, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1810 kHz, Jan 11 at 0049, JBA carrier, seems to be pulsing a bit. Tnx to Don Moman for forwarding a current Topband thread about this, IDed as WKYW, Frankfort KY, 1490 kHz, oldies format, somehow radiating in the 160m hamband, with many hams on the case, hearing it much stronger all over east America (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Another thread thought someone was just relaying it and gone in an hour or so (gh) ** U S A. 1860-AM, Jan 7 at 0215, WA0RCR is S9+20 with a hamified version of `Twas the Night Before Xmas` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 3245-USB, Jan 7 at 0210, MARS net, poor signal with abbr`d calls 5R7 and 5XF in contact, discussing 126 vs 127 formats, whatever that mean. Another call mentioned is AA5OAO (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 3272-USB, Jan 6 at 0109, MARS net hosted by YL NCS, AAR7EH; ``nothing heard, net is free``, asking for relays. This document Army/Air Force MARS 2016 Region V Fall Conference Date: October 15, 2016 Location: Minneapolis Emergency Operations Training Facility identifies her as ``Joanne "Jodie" Rouse / AAR7EH`` https://afmars-nc-mil.us/.../USAF_MARS_2016_Minnesota_Fall_Conference_Agenda_1.7_Final.docx It seems there is no way to display the complete URL replacing the three dots, but it`s the top hit in a google search on her callsign (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 4045-USB, Jan 3 at 1220, WCY, Lakeland FL, with informal marine weather advice about the Belize/Mexico border area; nice to hear a real human being doing this live with a contact. S9 signal, and answer from a much weaker one. Informal ID is Bel Ami, then standing by for calls from ``any subscribing vessels``. 1224 ``Whisky Charlie Yankee`` ID, to be back in 5 minutes with east coast forecast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 13565, Jan 3 at 1438, K6FRC HIFER beacon is RST 525, easily readable and no CODAR. Does that mean when there is CODAR it is propagating from somewhere other than California? As usual there is hash circa 13561 from nearby Part 15 medical devices and/or RF ID equipment. But then I hear another RF next to it. 13565, Jan 8 at 1512, K6FRC HIFER beacon, Patterson CA, easily copiable despite 1.8 milliwatts claimed power. No others audible on the 13550-13570 Part 15 band (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 13564, Jan 3 at 1441, after hearing K6FRC beacon about 13565, I detect a much weaker one 1 kHz below, sending ID as RF and just barely copiable. The LWCA HIFER list already has it: ``13564.330, RF, Unknown, EM96, CW (h2017/12)`` that grid would be in WV or VA; how do they know that much? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn, would you be surprised if at least 80 percent of WOR listeners listen on a downloaded podcast, or listen on your site? Is there one of you out there who can set up a Twitter poll? Posted by: (Larry Nebron, San Francisco, Jan 3, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I have never done any ``audience research`` about WOR, but I would not be surprised. I have doggedly kept it ``primarily`` on SW, since it`s all about SW, but just being online would be a lot less frustrating and easier to manage. I dream of not having to meet strict weekly deadlines, and 29 minute length limit. Of course that still applies to all the non-SW stations/webcasters carrying it. Let`s hear from those who depend on it only via SW --- of course anyone who can read this can probably also get it online (Glenn Hauser, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Despite what the rest of the world seems to be able to do, my poor dial up connection over crappy phone lines, does not allow me to stream anything. While I can appreciate the pressures you are under by doing the show for broadcast on SW I would like to say that I for one would greatly miss you. I do not own a cellphone as I live in a dead zone for them and they don't work here. I have been told over and over and not always nicely, that I'm in the minority and I should just suck it up when I can't download large pictures, stream anything or take part in the computing things that apparently every else in the world can. I would miss your broadcasts that I have listened to since they started but my majority of one is not enough to keep you on the air (John Carver, Mid-North Indiana, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1911 monitoring: unfortunately awake at 1055 UT Wed Jan 3, I check 9455 and confirm this week`s first SW airing from 1030 on WRMI, but it`s poor S8-S2 as the much better // frequency, 5850 has been deleted, why? Just before local sunrise, the MUF is lowest and if one were dropped it should have been the higher one. Deletion of next broadcast 1415 on 9955 also confirmed, replaced by gospel huxter in progress at instantaneous check circa 1425. Next: Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Thu 2230.5 WRMI 5850 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 9455 to WNW Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1912?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1912?] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7490, WBCQ at 2209 with Glenn Hauser’s “World of Radio” - Fair to Good Jan 3 [Wed] (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II, 40 & 80 m off-centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via DXLD) WORLD OF RADIO 1911 monitoring: confirmed Wednesday January 3 at 2200 on WBCQ, 7489.907v-CUSB, VG S9+10/20. Barely confirmed UT Thu Jan 4 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB. Also heard by chance starting at 1510 Thu Jan 4 on WBCQ 9330.127v- CUSB, good; one of random(?) airings during the 24/7 9330 test(?). Next: Thu 2230.5 WRMI 5850 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 9455 to WNW Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1912?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1912?] WORLD OF RADIO 1911 monitoring: confirmed Thursday January 4 at 2230.5 on WRMI, 5850, VG S9+20/30. Carrier was on by 2228, no modulation until 2230.0 with `Okeechobee River` song ID. Not confirmed UT Fri Jan 5 at 0055 check, the 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB – no signal. Next: Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 9455 to WNW Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1912?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1912?] I`ve had a complaint that the WOR 1911 podcast stops 10 minutes into and loops repeating the first part. Is anyone else finding that, and from which source(s)? Can`t find anything wrong with my original file (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GERMANY, Reception of World of Radio via HLR 6190CUSB, Jan.6 0730-0800 on 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu English Sat, good: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/reception-of-world-of-radio-via-hlr.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 5-6, dxldyg via DXLD) WORLD OF RADIO 1911 monitoring: not confirmed Saturday Jan 6 at 1531 on Hamburger Lokalradio, 6190-CUSB via UTwente SDR. Checked several times during the 15-16 hour, also for `Media Network Plus`, nothing heard but two stations mixing in unknown language, no doubt the two from China, and both are DSB, audible same with LSB tuning. Not confirmed Sat Jan 6 at 2230 on WBCQ, 9330v-CUSB, which continues to be inaudible, even at a time it was scheduled to be on. Confirmed Sat Jan 6 at 2300 on WRMI 11580, S9+20, and 7780 is now off after a 2- hour stint. From next week, 11580 programming is to be on 7780 instead. (the 2300 broadcast was preceded at 2259 by that saxophone tune, and ID by Keith Perron. BTW, it appears that the ID I recorded for WRMI is gone along with the Wed 1415.5 WOR airing, as before that at 1415.0 was the only time I ever heard it.) Next: Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE [7780 from next week] Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 9455 to WNW Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1912?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1912?] WORLD OF RADIO 1911 monitoring: UT Sunday January 7 at 0200, I strain to hear me on WRMI 11580, which for weeks has been fading out by this hour: opening theme is barely recognizable, S3 at band noise level. At 0223 slightly better, I can recognize my voice with ECSS help, but still unreadable. From next week, all 11580 programming replaced by 7780, which will certainly be an improvement at this hour, altho not the best for us, as aimed NE toward Europe rather than NW across this continent. Also confirmed UT Sun Jan 7 at 0428 on WA0RCR, 1860-AM, Wentzville MO, at the item about XEPPM, 14 minutes into show, so started circa 0414. Manuel Méndez, Friol, Spain reports: ``9485, Hamburger LokalRadio, Göhren, 1055-1159, 07-01 [Sunday], German, comments, ID “Hamburger LokalRadio”, at 1100 English, “This is Hamburger LokalRadio”, comments, at 1130 Glenn Hauser’s program “World of Radio”. 25432`` Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria reports: ``GERMANY, Reception of World of Radio via HLR 9485-CUSB, Jan 7 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/reception-of-world-of-radio-via-hlr_7.html 1131-1200 on 9485 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu English Sun, weak`` Next: Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 9455 to WNW Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1912?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1912?] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Updated schedule of Glenn Hauser's World of Radio, Jan 8 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/updated-schedule-of-glenn-hausers-world.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #1051 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Jan 6, 2018, via DXLD) WORLD OF RADIO 1911 monitoring: not confirmed UT Monday January 8 at 0056, the 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB: no signal. Confirmed UT Mon Jan 8 starting at 0359 on Area 51 webcast, and 5129.84-AM also audible, already in HRI at 0429 check, S8. NOT confirmed UT Mon Jan 8 at 0430 on WRMI, as both 9455 & 9955 were replaying last week`s New Year Eve show from Angloparade. I`ll have to remind Jeff to restore WOR to this slot by next week. Next: Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW I`m further behind than usual in processing material so WOR 1912 may not be ready until Wednesday Jan 10. WORLD OF RADIO 1911 monitoring: confirmed Tuesday January 9 at 2030 on WRMI 9455 good, 7780 poor (ex-11580). Also confirmed at 2130 on WRMI 9455 only, S9-S6 with fast SAH presumably from the China radio war. Ideally I would have new edition 1912 ready for Tue 2030, but again this week, cannot, too far behind in preparation, and also not recovered from a cold. Not confirmed UT Wed Jan 10 at 0043 check the 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB, no signal. Feeling much better on Wed Jan 10, I finish recording WOR 1912 and availablize it to all by 2030 UT, hoping for first airing a sesquihour later on WBCQ. But at 2200 Jan 10, 7490 is replaying last week`s 1911. And of course, still inaudible by next chance, UT Thu Jan 11 at 0030 on 9330v-CUSB; when 9265 WINB is but a JBA carrier. WORLD OF RADIO 1912 Contents: Albania, Argentina non, Australia, Bhutan, Bonaire, Brasil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Goa, Hawai`i, India, Indonesia, Iran non, Kiritimati, Korea North non, México, Myanmar, Nauru, Nigeria non, Solomon Islands, Somalia/Puntland, South Carolina, Tibet non, USA; and the propagation outlook. Next: Thu 2230.5 WRMI 5850 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 7780 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 7780 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 9455 to WNW Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1913?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1913?] Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 to NW [or #1913?] Full WOR schedule via all media, podcast access: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Forgive me being a skeptic, but --- This report, about WBCQ installing a rotatable array, needs, as we say in the news business, a "second source." http://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/0002/ampegon-installs-shortwave-array-antenna/340965 (Kim Elliott, dxldyg via DXLD) Viz.: AMPEGON TO INSTALL SHORTWAVE ARRAY ANTENNA --- WILL DELIVER ITS FIRST ROTATABLE SHORTWAVE HIGH-POWER ARRAY ANTENNA IN NORTH AMERICA January 3, 2018 Ampegon says it is about to deliver and install its first rotatable shortwave high-power array antenna on the North American continent. The system, which will be installed WBCQ in the United States, is designed for the transmission of shortwave signals of up to 500 kW, the high-power antenna offers different radiation patterns, an antenna gain of up to 23 dB and uses a technology characterized by a single- shaft structural design. The tubular shaft with a diameter of four meters acts as a rotatable and supporting axis that is able to absorb static and dynamic forces originating from antenna components. This, explains Ampegon, allows the system to function under extreme weather conditions. The antenna is made up of a low-band and a high-band array antenna, positioned back to back, each equipped with a reflector screen. Thus, WBCQ can access all shortwave frequency bands between 6 MHz and 26 MHz. In addition, Ampegon points out that the computer-controlled and monitored system offers unlimited rotation capacity and will turn toward the coverage area using the shortest possible path. Intelligent drive control ensures the large rotating part of the structure is jolt-free, starting and braking to standstill with a high rotation speed of 1.2 degrees per second and a positioning accuracy of <1degree. The system also features DC grounding, a minimal number of insulators and no insulation in structural parts (via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) Comments in recent DXLD mail-list posts suggest Allan Weiner has confirmed the reports. One wonders where the money for this is coming from if there needed to be a kickstarter campaign after the recent transmitter fire. –kvz (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MARE Tipsheet Jan 5 via DXLD) ???? I am not aware of any such confirmation!!! Allan has certainly not replied to my inquiry directly to him (gh, DXLD) And antennas too, low budget RIGID antenna Rigid Curtain Antenna Arrays The rigid dipole technology combines the advantages of curtain antennas with the design principles as implemented in rotatable shortwave antennas. The resulting integrated system consists of rigid dipoles and a self-supporting structure with a central shaft. The components of the rigid dipole antenna are easily accessible. The system maintainability is greatly simplified due to the fact that there are no moving parts like halyards, steel ropes, counterweights etc. Technical Highlights: • Highest radiation performance • Perfect DC grounding; minimized number of insulators • Highest tolerance on worst environmental conditions • Easiest accessibility of antenna components • Shortest lead time to start-off coverage • Lowest possible life cycle cost, optimized maintainability http://ampegon.com/download/20160727_leaflet_folded_dipole_shortwave_antenna_1.pdf http://ampegon.com/download/20160727_leaflet_sw_broadcast_antennas.pdf http://ampegon.com/news/?id=91 (via Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) ** U S A [and non]. 9330.124v-CUSB, Wed Jan 3 at 0646, WBCQ rock music at S9-S7. I`m attentive now, because as mentioned in last report, the HM01 Cuban spy numbers station is on 9330 four nights a week around 0700. Yup, *0653, full carrier 9330.002 on atop WBCQ, but can still hear it under, and of course, being 122 Hz away, distorts the music pitch. At 0656, 5-digit number groups by YL in Spanish start. She`s oblivious to the QRM from BCQ. At 0700 switches to digital blaaps. The collision should last almost an hour. Let us hope that as a result, Cuban agents in the USA do not get the wrong message and explode or something. 9330.073, Jan 3 at 1146 check, WBCQ frequency now down to here at S5, stronger than the WRMIs on 9 MHz which descended to JBA before sunrise. Better at 1424 with ``Red Rider`` trucker/CB song by Johnny Cash. 9330.13-CUSB approx., Jan 3 at 2201, WBCQ 24/7 tests now here with music. Dips to JBA at 0030 Jan 4 during WOR. 9330.127-CUSB, Jan 4 at 1508, rock music from WBCQ, and just as I finish measuring frequency, WORLD OF RADIO 1911 playback starts at 1510! As if they knew I had just tuned in. Followed at 1543 by an `Allan Weiner Worldwide` playback with William Tell Overture theme, initial interjexion ``oh, shit``; and opening one I have heard before, about ``nothing working, transmitters or mikes``; Scott et al. are in the background as only one mike is available, the old mixer having failed. I wonder if there is any scheduling to these shows on 9330 or just played at random? Assume not all the music is from WBCQ-FM which is country, since some of it is rock. 9330v-CUSB, further chex of the WBCQ 24/7 tests: Jan 4 at 2143, JBA carrier, while 9265 WINB is S9 to S9+10. No signal at 0055 Jan 5 for WOR. At 0301 a JBA carrier. At 0646, S2-S5 with music on 9330.131 --- but 0658 blotted out completely by Cuban spy numbers on its alternate- night schedule. 9330.116v-CUSB, Jan 5 at 1418, poor S5-S7 with music. 9329.984V-CUSB, Jan 5 at 2206, poor S3 generally below noise level, with an `Allan Weiner Worldwide` playback from a few weeks ago (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5129.80, very poor UT Sat Jan 6 at 0058, WBCQ The Planet ID & IS loop; 0101 music bits, while 7489.9 is a JBA carrier as `Allan Weiner Worldwide` should be starting, but can`t copy it, except at 0107 VP 5129.8, AW is ``just making sure we are on the air``, giving out phone numbers for reception reports. I`m away from the computer for rest of hour, so can`t listen to webcast either. John H Carver, Jr., mid-north Indiana, was able to hear it and reports: ``Everything frozen here. Snow on the ground. Last few nights have been 14 and 17 below zero. Haven't even gone out to check the mail this week. Listening to the radio and watching some TV is about all I can do :) Music at 0100. Listening on 5130 again this evening. Program starts mid-sentence at 0105. Three feet of snow at the station and Allan doesn't know where anyone is up there. Angela is in the studio with Allan in FLA. Early phone call from Guatemala saying great reception there. The new program previous to AWWW which was supposed to start two weeks ago wasn't there this evening either as there was no one at the station to patch the phone call onto the air. Long talk about the dangers of portable electric heaters. After that Allan started another long talk about making ice cream and the various experimenting that he's been doing with and what could be done with it. "Billions of options when making ice cream." [He also showed this on his twitter feed --- gh]. At 0138 Mr. Transistor Radio Norm called the station and spent the first part of his call talking about ice cream and then talked of MW propagation. Reading of emails began at 0149 interrupted by a quick check in by Tony Straka asking if Allan was going to the WinterFest this year in PA. Allan had previously announced a few weeks ago that they would be going but said this evening that he can't make it this year. Show was off the air at 0200`` 9330v-CUSB, Sat January 6 at several chex such as 1808, 2105 and 2230, no signal detectable from WBCQ, so the 24/7 test period may be over, perhaps curtailed by snowstorm. At 1808, neighbor 9265 WINB was S9-S7. 7489.931v, UT Sun Jan 7 at 0117, WBCQ playing back an `Allan Weiner Worldwide`, always a handy choice to fill an hour. Seems like the one right after the transmitter fire, familiar comments, about how Angela cleaned up the building, Terry vacuumed for three solid days. AW had also, on an AWW, publicly shamed `Mitch & Kathy` for being six months behind in paying their bills, may not be on much longer, and this was their slot, UT Sun 01-02 as still shown on the schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9330v-CUSB, Jan 10 at 0700, WBCQ music is audible under the Cuban numbers station, so much stronger I can`t be sure of WBCQ offset, but maybe circa 9329.9. WBCQ had been unheard for several days at various day and night chex, 9330 presumably suspended due to heavy weather in Maine? 9330 WBCQ is still/again audible Jan 10 at 1902, but as usually the case, off or at least inaudible by WOR time at 0030 Jan 11 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. FROM THE ISLE OF MUSIC, JANUARY 14-20 AND JANUARY 21-27: January 14-20, our special guest is the award-winning Cuban jazzista Alejandro Falcón, who will talk to us about his new release Mi Monte Espiritual, and we will listen to a few selections from that album. January 21-27, in honor of Jazz Plaza, we will listen to a potpourri of excellent Cuban Jazz from the 1970s until today Four opportunities to listen on shortwave: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100 kW, Sunday 1500-1600 UT on SpaceLine, 9400, from Kostinbrod, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK) 2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 UT on WBCQ, 7490 from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9 PM EST in the US). This is running on a backup transmitter due to a recent fire. 3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UT and Saturday 1200-1300 UT on Channel 292, 6070 from Rohrbach, Germany. Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, January 14 and 21, 2018 Episode 45 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, January 14, will be a bag of surprises, a little of this and that. Episode 46 of Uncle Bill’s, Melting Pot, January 21, will focus on Albanian folk music. We promise it will be fun. Sundays, 2300-2330 UT (6-6:30 PM Eastern US) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 shortwave from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe. Thanks for all you do for radio! (Bill Tilford, Jan 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The current WRMI 9955 webcast shows up as http://wrmi.listen.creek.fm/stream but it really turns into: http://167.114.172.18:9988/ and is labeled also RAE; strange. While it carries whatever is on 9955 when it is on the air, at 1700 UT one day, while 9955 was off the air, it started playing the only RAE language on that frequency, originally at 12-13 UT, Portuguese. And I already heard R. Biafra on it one night at 0500 when not on WRMI SW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Additional transmissions via WRMI Okeechobee effective from Jan 1 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/additional-transmissions-via-wrmi.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 3, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. 9395 & 9455 & 9955, Jan 3 at 1209 check, the only WRMI frequencies now scheduled on air at 12-13 are all JBA carriers! If any 5 or 7 MHz channels were in use, they would be well audible if not very strong. I was wanting to confirm that Brother MoleStair is really gone from 9395 as he was still on the schedule thru December, but can`t tell what`s on it, nor 9455 & 9955, RAE Portuguese? Yet by 1244, MUF has soared, making 9395 audible with Oldies, the other two indeed RAE Portuguese (on weekdays), all about S9+10. There is a lag in ionospheric ionization buildup after local sunrise, but today in Okeechobee city, LSR was 1213 UT (and LSS 2242) per https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/@7169996 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9395 & 9455, Jan 4 at 1558, these WRMI`s are // in Oldies music, not `The Power Hour`. Yes, now the WRMI skedgrid shows the morning playbacks of the 2-hour Power ``Hour`` take only two hours instead of three, at 13-15, and on 9395 & 7780; while 9455 now duplicates 9955 at 11-15. Latest sked also shows 9455//9955 with System B at 02-03, 0430- 05 and 22-23. 9395, Jan 5 at 0304, this WRMI is VG S9 to S9+10 with R. Prague in English, while 9455 is R. Taiwan in Spanish // much weaker 5985; and also much stronger than 9955 which is now R. Praga in Spanish. 11580 unheard, presumed off. Usage of 9395 & 9455 in particular has been very confusing and not always matching published schedules. January 5 at 0648, both have a sermon but it`s not Bob Biermann of `Your Weekend Show`, which has been a regular diversion at times from Oldies. Jan 5 at 1419, 9455 is not // 9955 as supposed to be both System C per the WRMI sked grid at 11-15. Two different gospel huxters. But 9455 is // 9395. 7780 much weaker has different talk, apparently the only one remaining with `The Power Hour` playback from yesterday afternoon. However it is not // 13845 WWCR nor 7490 WWCR with ads. At the odd time of 1454, 7780 interrupts with a WRMI Bob Biermann ID, and then music. Still music at 1501, presumably back to Oldies. 7780 at 2213 is poor, seeming `Power Hour` talk, and not on the nines. 9395 // 9455, Jan 5 at 1459.5, ID as ``21525, Radio Africa Network``! and continues past 1500. Apparently things are all mixed up with the wrong feeds going into transmitters. 21525 is as usual here, a JBA carrier at best. Maybe RAN continued all day on these two, not checked again until 2213 when // with an unknown gospel huxter who sorta sings his sermon, continues past 2215. But soon at 2216 cut to different music and next show, `Be Healed in the Name of Jesus Broadcast`. Now, 9455 has some talk CCI, presumably IBB SAIPAN in Chinese. 9395, Jan 5 at 2216 unusually has transmitted Spanish crosstalk underneath, which does not go away with attenuation. I then match it to much weaker 5950 WRMI, which is the Spanish hour from RAE! 9955, WRMI is still off the air after 1500 Jan 5. 11530, Jan 5 at 0657, surprised to find this WRMI back on air with Brother Scare! and S9+20/30 in the nightmiddle. Yes, it`s TOM since // 5890 WWCR and 3185 WWRB but not exactly synchronized. 0659 cut to Biermann ID, 0700 opening R. Herwa International, and it`s the SSOB, much stronger than 11520 WEWN at S6-S8. I guess WRMI may have just turned 11530 on a few minutes early and failed to suppress the former occupant of the 06-07 fill-block. Nothing audible on 7240 via France. Not always, but I must say somethings now are wrong at WRMI. 9395 & 9455 & 9955, Jan 6 at 0033, immediately after dispatching last report, I check the dials and find a blackout on the 9 MHz band, even low-latitude WRMIs not audible; 7730 is JBA; and 5850 is still S9+20. Other USA: 7385 WHRI S9+20 but unusually fadey; 7355 R. Martí GB JBA. Yet WWV had reported nothing unusual as of 0000, still audible on 2500 at 0118, K index of 2, no storms. Ditto after 0300. I was hoping for some auroral conditions on MW or lower SW, but not really. It does also mean that high-latitude WBCQ on 5 and 7 MHz will be unreadable for `Allan Weiner Worldwide`, q.v. 9395 // 9455, Sat Jan 6 at 1359, PanAmerican, Radio Africa Network ID as ``21525`` like yesterday morning on these WRMIs. On the second day of this, I notify Jeff White directly at 1538 UT that R. Africa is on wrong frequencies, in case it`s a mistake he is not aware of. But same ID at 1559 check. Meanwhile 21525 direct is a JBA carrier at best, and inaudible at UTwente SDR. Maybe he got the message, as at 1758 closing some show about ``Gospel of the Kingdom``, but by 1809 recheck both 9s have resumed Oldies with Biermann ID for both frequencies. Further chex of these: At 1951, 9395 not // 9455, different music. the former with harp probably World Music default fill, or could be rounding out the RAE German relay hour now showing on the skedgrid for 1900; but Saturday besides Monday-Friday? Not explicit. 1954 it`s definitely WM fill on 9395, familiar tunes including Greek; much stronger than 9455 with something else, which by 1958 I conclude is Oldies. Both keep going past 2000 with no ID break. 7780 is not on yet, and 11530 has just gone off after fill music after R. Herwa, which was quite strong, S9+10 at 1950. But inaudible via UTwente at 1935, when presumed // 9580 via France was VP with some music. 9395 continues with World Music and 9455 starts a YL gospel huxter, as this is now a diverse-programming hour. After a Keith Perron canned ID, at 2100, 9395 with more music; while 9455 fires a Bob Zanotti canned ID half a minute later, starting, rather than ending, at hourtop. At 2100.5 starts `Dub Politico`; 7780 is now on but very poor, probably // 9395 music. At 2106-2111, 9395 with delayed VOA News relay. 11580 from 2100 is S9+20 with Slovakia in English as sked only on weekends, and certainly does not need to be replaced by 7780 this early. Next check at 2230: 7780 // 9395 with one gospel huxter; 9455 // 9955 with another. And something else on 11580 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 21525, Radio Africa (via WRMI) at 1553 with a man introducing the Moody Church Sanctuary Choir from Chicago with a choral hymn then the Ralph Carmichael chorus with more choral hymns at 1556 then closing announcements at 1559 and “Radio Africa via WRMI” ID and info@panambc.com email – Very Good Jan 7 – Only this one and WHRI on the band at this time. It makes you wonder who, outside of us SWLs and DXers, would be listening to these religious broadcasters? (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via DXLD) 5850, UT Monday Jan 8 at 0827 I happen to awaken, so check for `Shortwave Radiogram` via WRMI: there it is with beeps, ``Baby it`s Cold Outside`` song mixing in and eventually alone, right up to 0830 immediate switch to `Wavescan` theme. 7730 was supposed to be // for this but no: Brother Scare! still on WRMI, // 5890 WWCR not synchronized. I guess the automation still pulls him on sometimes by default if it has not been overwritten. This is the second time I have caught BS overcoming WRMI cancellation. At 0830, 9395 & 9455 are in Oldies. This contradicts the new sked from RAE which claims that 08-09 M-F on 9455 is RAE in Japanese --- see ARGENTINA [non]. 7780, Monday Jan 8 at 1507, WRMI still on here with weak music but not // Oldies on 9395 & 9455 which are playing ``Telstar``. Frequency sked grid shows 7780 at 15-16 with System F (red), but program sked grid below shows this only on Sunday with Yeshua Messiah Ministry; so what programming is this? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More changes of WRMI Okeechobee tx#1 from Jan 8 1600-2100 on 7780 YFR 100 kW / 044 deg to WeEu English, add.time slot 2300-0300 NF 7780 YFR 100 kW / 044 deg to WeEu various*, x 11580 tx#9 *including RAE French 2330-24; RSI Slovak/English 00-01; R. Ukraine/R. Prague English 02-03 WRMI tx#9 on 11580 YFR 100 kW / 044 deg to WeEu various is off totally http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/more-changes-of-wrmi-okeechobee-tx1.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 7-8, dxldyg via DXLD) 7780 between 16 and 20 is now labeled as Oldies like 9395 (allegedly until 1900) & 9455. Barely audible here at midday (gh, DXLD) The WRMI schedule has now been updated to reflect the new schedule from January 8th at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nEVwCMB9RSKowLzLXamyayVpCzjmPAw_SB1r3YOdzQc/edit?pli=1#gid=0 In particular, as had been previously indicated, the use of 11580 has now been completely dropped, and all broadcasts by The Overcomer Ministry have ceased. Apologies - on closer inspection the skeds are only partly updated - the transmitter/frequency matrix is updated whilst the more detailed programme schedule below still awaits updating (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good signal here in NB this evening (Tuesday, Wednesday UT) at 0250 on 7780 kHz with Radio Prague in English. Off at 0300. So, looks like I was too late to hear it last night (-- Richard Langley, Jan 10, ibid.) ** U S A. Now you can see the VORW guy along with more than half a million others: CHECKING OUT THE NEW MCDONALD’S DOLLAR MENU 523,164 views TheReportOfTheWeek Published on Jan 5, 2018 Trying out the new Dollar Menu from McDonald's and reviewing the Classic Chicken Sandwich and the Bacon McDouble. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiSsAjNtsFc (via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WRMI is operating at only about 30% capacity, since the deletion of Brother Stair. That`s the figure I compute after adding up all the white-space hours for the 14 transmitters on the skedgrid at http://www.tinyurl.com/WRMIfqs (Others please feel free to cite this compact link I created months ago rather than the extremely complex googledocs URL. Also the 9955 program schedule: http://www.tinyurl.com/WRMI9955 is condensed) Only two transmitters are full-time (9395 & 9455); three are completely silent; five are used less than 5 hours a day. What a tremendous opportunity to broadcast worthwhile programming to North America and the world, such as more relays of foreign stations, BBCWS! Radio Australia! Public radio programming! Even a classical music channel! That would be available free from WCPE, for example. But of course someone has to pay the bills and make a decent profit for WRMI. 9395, Jan 8 at 2240, not `The Power Hour` but Oldies; 9455 with `La Rosa de Tokio` as sked // 9955 during this lunes hour. See also ARGENTINA [non]. Jan 10 at 2100 after still lacking RAE relays, 9395 opens GCN // 7780 for `The Power Hour`, and 9455 starts `FG Radio` from Cyprus, opening story about a Berlin-Cyprus flight aborted (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 17774.9 approx., Jan 3 at 1512, KVOH peaks S9 but undermodulated and unreadable. If another Californian with 1.8 milliwatts can be heard on 13565 (K6FRC), imagine how well KVOH could make it, if 4 MHz lower than its only frequency; not that they care about serving Oclajoma, and then they would also risk white noise into the 14 MHz hamband rather than the 18. 17774.888, Jan 4 at 1549, KVOH is S9 but JBM with music; yet amounts to the SSOB by far (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9370 // 9640.4 spur. WWRB, 1843, 1/4/18 in English. Molester Stair preaching about being on the internet and satellite “24 hours a day.” Obviously an old program. 9370 was good. Spur was audible on peaks. I couldn’t find the lower peak at this time. [+] 9234 & 9506 spurs, 2022, 1/4/18 in English. Man (not Br. Stair) preaching about the inevitability of nuclear war, the wrath of God, etc. 9370 was very good // 9370. 9234 was muddy but good level throughout, 9506 was audible only at peaks. (Taylor – WI) 9637.5, WWRB spur, 1434, 1/4/17 in English. Man calmly preaching a fire and brimstone sermon about the wrath of God and “the door is open to salvation.” 1459 WWRB ID over preacher who continued. The signal slowly deteriorated during the listening time. Interestingly this was not // 9370. (see also my 9370 log.) (Mark Taylor, Madison, Wisconsin, Perseus, SDRPlay; Eton E1, ICOM R75, Tecsun PL 880, and various other portables; 42 meters dipole, 100’ long wire, W6LVP loop, NASWA Flashsheet via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) 9234 & 9506 are the first-order spurs I have also heard, in this case plus/minus 136 kHz. 9637.5 is close to double that, second-order spur at 267.5 separation. Its match would have been 9102.5. When heard on 9640.4, at 270.4 kHz separation, match would have been 9099.6 (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9370, WWRB is also still carrying TOM, slightly out of sync with WWCR, at 1506 January 4. And I have just received this Jan 4 message from Dave Frantz, not mentioning Overcomer: ``Hi Glen[n], Just to let you Know that WWRB is being operated as a hobby shortwave station. In the near future, we will cut our airtime rates to $25.00 per hour, 100 kW power. This is the dead cost to operate WWRB shortwave. ONLY one hour time slots sold, no half hours! The programming will be religious in nature, plus music programming in most any form. No gold dealers or save-America patriot programming. Political programming must have a religious content bringing our listeners to Christ. NO commercial programming! Our main focus is Aviation and in the process of building another aircraft runway. We have removed some towers to make room for the new runway. The runway is laid out and under construction. We will keep 3.215 and & 3.185 and 9.370 MHz as these frequencies are prime well established listeners base. These frequencies plus the 100,000 watt power full AM will make sure that broadcasters will be heard and not waste money trying to be heard under the static/fading. They will booom out with 100,000 watts! plus the prime frequencies! Our web site will be revised at http://www.wwrb.org in the next few weeks as I am very busy with the runway and one of our airplanes is having a new engine installed. Regards to you`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9370, Jan 5 at 1457, WWRB Overcomer is running 6 seconds behind WWCR 9980, with Bible reading not by Scourby. Still waiting for WWRB to dump him, as Dave has implied he plans to open up the transmitter to other programming. 3185, Jan 7 at 0605, WWRB is off as it has been all evening, close to the end of BS on this station? Irregular operation, so one can never be sure: it could even be stuck on day frequency 9370 but if so, not propagating at all. 9370 is also off at 1644 Jan 7, when it would certainly be heard if on. 9370, Jan 8 at 1515, 1910 chex, WWRB continues to be off, as it was at night on 3185, presumably having belatedly banished Brother Scare with nothing yet to replace him. Wonder if he`s still in jail or out on bail by now? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 3215, WWCR, English Bible Bleater "Classic Redneck Radio" – a Yahweh preacher with the usual anti-organized religion junk and asking us to send 'support funds' but he couldn't tell us what he wanted to use them for. 'This isn't for airtime or a new invention' (he's hawking a handset to allows you to keep your cell phone (which damage the mitochondria with their 5G radiation!) away from your head. Whew -- I was worried about not having something to mock when Brother Swear goes off the SW airwaves! Praise Yahweh, for he will provide! :o WWCR ID at ToH and into yet another Bible bumper. 4+4544 0235-0305 28/Dec, SPR-4 +ANC-4 +randomwire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Jan 5 via DXLD) 5890, Jan 4 at 1506, surprised to find the BS disservice of WWCR still on night frequency, not 9980. And 5890 is holding up well at S9+20/30 altho 9980 would be even stronger. Recheck 1557 still on 5890 past 1600 with no ID, but 1601 Overcomer interrupts for its standard robot announcement about no more radio broadcasts as of January 1, just this webcast. Well, somestations just won`t let go of the OverMoleStair! (meanwhile, WWCR 7490 is QSYing to 12160 by 1600). Next check at 1738, 5890 *still* on, not 9980. Current schedule shows 5890 WWCR-4 is supposed to change to 9980 at 1300. Oversight, or experimenting with how well 50m will hold up past winter noon? So far, well enough at this 1- megameter distance, S9+10/20. 5890, Dec 4 at 1848, WWCR-4 is *still* on night frequency with Overcomer, VG signal right after local mean noon here at 1832. Next check at 2216 during other programming, finally changed to 9980. 9980 at 2216, `Will Martínez Live`, with timecheck as ``14 minutes before the top of the hour`` --- either he is in some unAmerican half- hour timezone, Or he is *not* live! Next day Dec 5 at 1417 check, 9980 is already up with BS singing. 5935, Jan 10 at 2351, surprised to hear `Allan Weiner Worldwide` on WWCR! Loud and clear. It`s the episode with him talking about Brother Scare`s arrest, and how unjust it was to him and his followers, being denied bail hearing, etc. It`s not just a clip but seems unedited original show audio. We don`t think of WWCR-2 on 5935 as being an Overcomer frequency but in fact it has been and still is, only at 23-24 UT weekdays, until 2430 weekends. This is the same hour that Allan has pledged to keep BS on WBCQ 7490, and in fact BS himself is heard there, not // 5935 at all. At 2400 Jan 10/0000 Jan 11, 5935 cuts off for WWCR ID and switch to the so-called University Network (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fair to good signal of WWCR-1 World Wide Christian Radio on Jan 8 till 1300 15795 100 kW / 046 deg WeEu English, tiny distorted audio from 1300 15825 100 kW / 046 deg WeEu English, good audio & signal: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2018/01/fair-to-good-signal-of-wwcr-1-world.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, January 7-8, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. 5085, UT Sun Jan 7 at 0204, WTWW-2 with Ted`s ad block including for Heil products, ID as ``9930``, 0205 finally starts `Theater Organ in the Ozarx``, with Bob Heil. Says his voice is ailing, so more music, less talk, until 0237. Normally a huge blasting signal, now it`s *only* S9+10 fading to S8, and decreasing during the semi-hour. For once, this is not enough to audiblize the parasite carriers near 5072 and 5098. 5830, Jan 7 at 0611, WTWW-1 is off, while neighbor WWCR is strong on 5890 & 5935. Could be stuck on day frequency 9475, but if so, not propagating. 9475 is ops normal at 1644 check. 9475, Jan 9 at 2137, WTWW-1 is off and so is the night frequency 5830, no SFAW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Atlantic 2000 International 10 de enero de 2018 11:22:38 a. m. Special broadcast this Sunday --- Atlantic 2000 will be on the air this Sunday 14th of January, with a special broadcast transmitted from Red Lion in the USA via WINB. We will be on the air from 2100 to 2200 UT on 9265 kHz with a power of 50 kW. Our webstream will be active at the same time: http://radioatlantic2000.free.fr Reports to : atlantic2000international@gmail.com Good listening ! -- Visit our website : http://radioatlantic2000.free.fr (via Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) ** U S A. Salem has completed moving their right wing "The Answer" on 1260 (Washington DC) to 570 (Bethesda MD) and swapped the calls on the two stations (570 is now WWRC and 1260 is WSPZ). The former WSPZ 570 ran a sports-talk format. 1260 is now relaying Salem's religious-talk WAVA 105.1 Arlington. (Will-MD) AM 950, WCTN, Potomac-Cabin John, MD, 2500 watt daytimer, has been off the air since at least December 30. However, their new translator, W275BW 94.3 FM, has remained on. The station's format is 70s/80s classic hits with no commercials. The absence of 950 has opened up the occasional reception of a sports-talk outlet in Richmond, VA, WXGI, which IDs as "99.5 and 102.7 ESPN Radio Richmond Petersburg." (Larry Will, 28723 Ridge Road, Mount Airy, MD 21771, radio@zappahead.net, Icom IC-R75 with G5RV, Tecsun PL-600, PL-660, PL-880, random wires, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. CARTHAGE RADIO STATION WCAZ-AM TO END 95-YEAR RUN SUNDAY http://www.pjstar.com/news/20171228/nick-in-am-carthage-radio-station-wcaz-am-to-end-95-year-run-sunday Can someone verify it went dark? (Dennis Gibson, CA, Jan 3, Sent from my iPad, ABDX via DXLD Hi All: Just back from visiting mother-in-law in Macomb, IL. WCAZ is definitely off. No trace of them at all. 73 (David Faulkner, Jan 4, IRCA via DXLD) See also 1510: WYEC, below as he continued Still dead air here (Jerry Rappel, Jan 5, ABDX via DXLD) I suspect he means ``no`` air; dead air means an unmodulated carrier (gh, DXLD) And DXer Doug Beard in Springville, Iowa (114 air miles from Carthage) e-mailed me offlist yesterday morning with "Yeah, they're dark", so owner Robin Dunham stayed true to his word. Sad to see a historic station's run come to this sort of end. The FCC may turn a blind ear to stations running day power at night (and we all know they do), but I would have to imagine that "Failure to Pay Fine" and "Unauthorized Operation" are two of the most egregious offenses in their eyes, and if you thumb your nose at them in regards to those, you're just ASKING to have them drop the hammer on you. Mr. Dunham may already be in plenty of hot water with the FCC, but he probably just saved himself an even worse fate by pulling the plug as he promised. In addition to the link from the Peoria Journal-Star that Dennis Gibson posted here, there's another story about WCAZ from a few weeks back on this link from Rockford, Illinois TV station WREX: http://www.wrex.com/story/37119033/2017/12/Thursday/carthage-radio-station-ordered-to-stop-operations 73, (Rick Dau, South Omaha, Nebraska, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. MARE Paul Dobosz passes along a clip from Radioworld: THE RADIO WORLD HAS LOST A WELL-KNOWN VOICE ACTOR AND RADIO COMMERCIAL PRODUCER AFTER DICK ORKIN PASSED AWAY ON DEC. 24 AT THE AGE OF 84. Orkin is perhaps most well known as the creator of the Chickenman radio series, which began when he was a production director at Chicago's WCFL (AM). Chickenman was a comedy about a shoe salesman who spends his weekend protecting the city from criminals everywhere in his yellow crime-fighting Chicken Coupe. Born in Williamsport, PA in 1933, Orkin was 16 when he his radio career as a fill-in announcer at WKOK (AM) in Sunbury, PA. He also served as the news director at WLAN (FM) in 1959 before joining the staff of KYW (AM) in Cleveland. He then moved on to WCFL. Dick Orkin was inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2002. Orkin later requested to be removed from the hall because Rush Limbaugh was inducted, according to Wikipedia. Orkin passed away from a stroke in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (MARE Tipsheet Jan 5 via DXLD) obit ** U S A. 1067 & 1093, Jan 5 at 1344 UT check, no IBOC noise detectable from 1080 KRLD Dallas TX. Mark Sills, Dallas, told me Dec 28, ``Starting around December 5, I noticed 1080 KRLD has dropped iboc. I hope they keep the damn thing off. It makes so much noise it makes DXing impossible. You'd be surprised what I was able to pick up with that noise gaughan``. 1157 & 1183, Jan 5 at 1351 UT check, our worst IBOC noise around here is still from 1170 KFAQ Tulsa (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1067 & 1093 peaks, Jan 7 at 0232 UT, IBOC noise is back out of 1080 KRLD. Mark Sills in Dallas had welcomed its absence during December. DXers hope that CBS disposing of stations to Entercom would also lead to the end of IBOC upon them (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1110, Jan 5 at 1346 UT, under KFAB am hearing high-pitched singing in South Asian style, surely KVTT, updating/contradicting this: ``1110 KVTT TX Mineral Wells – Reported silent`` (Bill Hale, TX, update to NRC AM Log, AM Switch, NRC DX News Jan 8, published Dec 31) It`s a 50 kW daytimer, or 39 kW critical hours, with Asian format; really stood out around SR/SS vs KFAB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1120, Jan 7 at 0227 UT, KMOX interviewing conductor Leonard Slatkin about the classical music world, surprisingly. Show is `KMOX Profiles` at 01-03 UT Sundays, followed by the classic rock show deviating from news/talk, `Route 66 on KMOX with Johnny Rabbitt`, UT Sundays 03-07 per sked: http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/kmox-programming-schedule/ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1200, Jan 5 at 1353 UT, not much signal from WOAI, but Spanish phone interview about Mexican politix, from external POV, mentioning ``su país``, and ``Buenos Días, América``. Could it originate from VOA, which used to call its morning Spanish show that, long gone from SW? Does it still exist via satellite-webcast- affiliates? By 1400 UT, Chicago mentions and ``deportes radio`` so must be WRTO which is with Univisión Deportes, but not 100% sports (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WBIX BOSTON DROPS CONSERVATIVE TALK FOR BRAZILIAN By Lance Venta on January 8, 2018 No Comments https://radioinsight.com/headlines/122261/wbix-boston-drops-conservative-talk-brazilian/ 1260 The Buzz WBIX Boston Nossa RadioSalem Media has dropped Conservative Talk from “1260 The Buzz” WBIX Boston and has leased the station to “Nossa Rádio USA“. The station targets Brazilian ex-pats with Portuguese language programming and had been heard in the Boston market on 1570 WMVX Methuen until early 2017. The station’s Conservative Talk brand had debuted in September 2015 and featured Salem’s syndicated lineup of Conservative Talkers including Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, and Michael Medved (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. From Youtube, courtesy of Paul Carroll, here is the audio shutdown of KQV AM Pittsburgh [1410] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ulXRVcUWw Also, here is a YouTube video documenting the shutdown of the KQV am transmitter https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=RufqJLtYrC0 (Jan CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** U S A. I listened to WYEC, 1510, Macomb IL, for several hours Jan 2. Heard lots of contemporary Christian music, some of it dating back several years with short silent pauses between each song. Did not hear any IDs, even at TOH. Twice between 1330 and 1745 CST they ran a brief "Positive music on FM 93.1 and AM 1510" clip, but even then no call given. At 1728 CST the AM dropped suddenly from the air with no s/off or ID. The FM is definitely on 93.1, contrary to Barry's list, which has them on 103.7. Also did not hear a single ad or promo of any kind. According to my sister-in-law, Virden Broadcasting is sustaining them with income from its 5 area FMs (in Macomb, Colchester and Bushnell). The format was requested by a number of local citizens. Wonder how long that will last. 73 (David Faulkner, Jan 4, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. KKAA-1560 in Aberdeen SD is presently broadcasting an ag/talk format probably originating from ND (heard ads for the ND National Guard). The are on the air during the morning and afternoon, but seem to be silent at night. I checked yesterday afternoon and night and again this morning. Did not hear a call sign (Larry Wild, KE0BTV, Aberdeen, SD, Jan 5, via Rick Dau, NE, Jan 8, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. AS LOW-POWER LOCAL RADIO RISES, TINY VOICES BECOME A COLLECTIVE SHOUT Here's a story from The New York Times that I thought you'd find interesting: A diverse new wave of stations, united by the word “alternative” and broadcasting from basements or attics, has arrived in urban America. Salt water, though, which lies at this city's doorstep, can boost a radio signal for miles, like a skipped rock. For a low-power FM radio station, anything measurable in miles is good. But on a recent Thursday night, one station, KBFG, was struggling to even get on the air... Read More... https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/06/us/low-power-radio.html Get The New York Times on your mobile device Sent from my iPhone (via David Cole, OK; Artie Bigley, OH, DXLD) Same also: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/06/us/low-power-radio.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad|=nytcore-ipad-share Posted by: ("John A. Figliozzi", dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. == FM free radio == (Non-log) After several months of activity, the Frederick, Maryland pirate broadcaster on 90.3 FM was off the air when checked on December 30. This station featured a mix of mid to late 1960s pop/rock music with full quieting between songs and no ID or other content. The station was active for at least several months; I first identified it in mid-2017 with a fair to good signal centered around the intersection of Interstates 270 and 70 and US 340 and 15 south of Frederick proper (Larry Will, 28723 Ridge Road, Mount Airy, MD 21771, radio@zappahead.net, Icom IC-R75 with G5RV, Tecsun PL-600, PL-660, PL-880, random wires, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. RF 18, Jan 9 at 2330 UT, I turn on the Zenith STB to channel ``5`` for ABC News on KOCO OKC RF 7 --- instead I am getting CBS News from 5.1, KFSM-DT Fort Smith AR! Which the box has retained from a previous reception. It`s rock-solid for almost the full semi-hour, beginning to break up only by 2357 UT; local news starting by 0000 UT, but fades into Bad level in a few minutes. Meanwhile, KFSM also contained 5.2 KXNW-DT and 5.3 AntTV. I also scanned the entire DTV spectrum and while there were some other weak signals, no other DX was decoding. Hepburn`s tropo maps showed minor enhancement in eastern Oklahoma not reaching as far as Enid (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN. Mauno Ritola reports today on the WRTH Facebook group Vatican Radio will have special transmissions tomorrow and the day after as follows: 6 January 2018 0855-1040 UT (closing time may vary) To Africa 17500 kHz Portuguese SMG 165 17520 kHz French SMG 214 17530 kHz English SMG 184 7 January 2018 0825-1045 UT (closing time may vary) To Africa 17520 kHz French SMG 214 17535 kHz English SMG 185 Posted by: (Mike Terry, Jan 7, dxldyg via DXLD) Only fair reception (understandably) using the U. Twente SDR receiver of the English commentary of the holy mass celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany in St. Peter's Basilica this morning on 17530 kHz. For those who've forgotten their Sunday School teachings, Epiphany commemorates the visit of the Three Wise Men to the baby Jesus. It's also a holiday in some countries and there are various customs and celebrations on 6 January and the evening before (see below). Timeline (approximate in UT): 0845 Transmitter on 0851 Classical music 0855 Commentary starts 1035 End of coverage and switch to light/jazz/choral music 1054 Transmitter off I was surprised at the image included in an e-mail I received today, from an Italian airport limo service I once used, of a witch on a broomstick. I thought the message must have been delayed from Halloween. Turns out, in Italy, Epiphany is associated with the Befana, an old woman who rides a broomstick to bring gifts (or "coal") to children on Epiphany Eve (-- Richard Langley, dxldyg via DXLD) 11615, Jan 9 at 1530, VR IS at S9+10/20, 1531 ``Laudetur Iesus Christus``, and ``Yih ---`` ID signifying Amharic as now scheduled since Dec 18 per HFCC: daily 1530-1600, 250 kW, 113 degrees from SMG. Another fine example of serving the opposite direxion very well, and one can only hope as well or better in the intended target. I can`t help but wonder if a rotatable antenna calibration is 180-degrees off! Or if merely reversible, wired backwards (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Now have a new address for QSLs, these full details from Michael Cunningham on the WRTH Facebook group: Elvira Ortmann Segreteria per la Comunicazione Direzione per gli Affari Generali - Divisione Ufficio Commerciale 00120 Città del Vaticano Tel. +39 06 698 83945 - Fax. +39 06 698 83237 commerciale@spc.va Posted by: (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. 4965, Voice of Hope Africa, 1613, Jan 3. Via long path; religious songs; in English; almost fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. 6015, Jan 3 at 0338, YL in Swahili from ZBC, S7 to S9+10 and no CCI audible here from East Turkistan which is sked until 0345 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Just found something odd in my Border Inn recordings. On my EENE (Nebraska) wire at 1146 UT on 1710 kHz I have a faint signal with a man talking. Around 1146:17 the signal fades up a bit and it sounds like he's saying "This is WRSV" or something similar. This is the only readable audio I've found so far. Hopefully I'll find a bit more on one of my other recordings. Does this ring a bell for anyone? 73 (Tim Hall, ABDX via DXLD) Nothing seems to help much, because the noise is spread across a wide frequency range. The signal is only audible on USB. I'm already notching the main noise spike around 2 kHz. The attached version is with fast AGC, SpkRej on, and NB (all of which I usually leave off) turned up to right before the distortion starts. NR is turned all the way up, but makes almost no difference on this signal. Seems more like a TIS than a pirate or harmonic. The same announcer appears to be talking in the same sort of tone (as if reading announcements) for the entire two minutes, but it fades in and out, and the "This is WRSV" is the only phrase that's remotely discernible. Maybe I'll get lucky and find it on another recording. I still have 70 to go! 73 (Tim, ibid.) Hmm, this is interesting... http://www.americanfreedomradio.com/affiliates.html Note the "1710 AM" affiliates listed for Sioux Falls and Minneapolis (Maple Grove MN). Here's another site that mentions these two stations: http://bragg.com/blog/index.php/all-natural-organic-whole-live-foods/patricia-bragg-on-the-power-hour-radio-show-with-joyce-riley/ Seems to be some sort of Libertarian thing. Can't find anything that sounds like "WRSV" on any of these sites though. 73 (Tim Hall, ibid.) Tim, I'm about 65 miles North of Maple Grove and I don't hear anything now or on my archive recordings. Todd is pretty close though. 73, (Mike Gorniak, Braham, MN, ibid.) Checking a few of my other recordings, this station is consistently present (albeit extremely weak) on my EENE wire, and not present on the others. That would seem to imply UT, CO, KS, NE, MO... or CA/NV off the back end. It always seems to be a man talking so maybe it is some kind of TIS/HAR after all? 73 (Tim Hall, ibid.) I think this is some TIS. I get NOTHING to my west on 1710. All TIS come from my east. Hudson Cty NJ with NYC area marine oriented wx. Both Flight 93 memorial TIS from PA, and Springfield MA armory. 73 KAZ (Neil Kazaross, IL/WI, ibid.) Tim later said he recalled that there is a TIS on 1710 at Bandelier NM, NM, bet that`s it --- I know I saw it but can`t find it again searching IRCA or ABDX archives (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4070.186, Jan 5 at 0634, ZN beacon is JBA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 5101, Jan 10 at 0709, S9+ of dead air. Wonder if it`s Arecibo with a HAARP test, as occurred some months ago (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6935-LSB, Jan 7 at 0140, good signal 2-way talk in Brazuguese, with a much weaker contact, I encounter instead of any N American pirates on this band (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 9712-9724 approx., Jan 3 at 1211, extremely distorted S9 spurblob, talk definitely in Korean, centered about 9718. Strength and frequency fluxuate with modulation level. This reminds me of the VOA Tinang, Philippines 9800 transmitter which not long ago put spurs around here and equally on hi side, but the trouble is, its Korean does not start until 1300, still per Aoki/NDXC dated Jan 2; and HFCC, which has not been updated since 25 Dec, still on holiday. Now, what? Well, KSDA Guam has Korean at this time on 9880, and there is a much weaker signal there but does not seem //, altho I do not have a second receiver handy to compare. Furthermore, KSDA is also scheduled now on 9800, in Chinesish, so those two could plop a leapfrog on 9720. 9800, Jan 3 at 1426, now VOA is on, VG S9+10 in Korean and no spurs from it today (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 11802-USB, Jan 9 at 1526, 2-way in colloquial Spanish, one of them S9 with engine noise, the contact weaker, including whistling, screaming; INTRUDERS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACKNOWLEDGED ON WORLD OF RADIO 1912: Thanks to an Anon., via PayPal, to woradio at yahoo.com Note from Henning Vahlbruch: quote ``Keep up the good work!`` also via PayPal TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED FUTURELY: Tnx to Ron Howard, Monterey CA, for a check with 2018 wishes to P O Box 1684, Enid OK, 73702 Ron, Many thanks for the check. And even more for the continuing flow of your editor-friendly top-notch reports. 73, (Glenn to Ron) Glenn, It's I who am always grateful for all you do for our hobby! Speaking of "editor-friendly" postings, I still miss the many good reports of Brian Alexander. Is now five years since his passing (Dec. 26, 2012). Doesn't seem possible that so much time has passed since then (Ron Howard, CA) Thanks for always providing exceptional details and shortwave info every week! (Mark Brandau, with contribution via PayPal) Thanks to Will Martin, St Louis MO, for a generous check (and subscriptions) to P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 CQ Glenn. Again, thank you for all of your dedicated SWL works; also to your other supporters. You make SWL more fun and always informative. Tnx n 73 fer now Bob HNJ (Robert Zerilli with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ WRTH 2018: A look inside From Thomas Witherspoon’s SWLing Post blog we have his first look at the 2018 World Radio TV Handbook. I received my copy of the 2018 World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH) directly from the publisher yesterday, just prior to my Christmas holiday travels. As I mention every year, I look forward to receiving this excellent staple radio reference guide–and this is their 72nd edition! WRTH’s team of noted DXers from around the world curate frequencies and broadcaster information by region; while I’m not sure how they orchestrate all of this, the end result is truly a symphony of radio information. In addition to broadcaster listings, WRTH’s radio reviews, feature articles, and annual HF report make for excellent reading. But the WRTH isn’t just a frequency guide: the publication always devotes the first sixty or so pages to articles relating to various aspects of the radio hobby. Following, I offer a quick overview of these. The first article always features a WRTH contributor: this year, they feature Torgeir Woxen who is the contributor for Norway and editor of the Asia & Pacific frequency list. Reading about how Woxen became interested in radio and DXing reminds me of how I – and many of my radio friends – got their start as well. The second set of articles is always my favorite: WRTH receiver reviews. This year, WRTH begins with a review of the Icom IC-R8600 wideband tabletop SDR receiver. They also review the Tecsun PL-880, Tecsun S- 8800, Expert Electronics ColibriNano, SDRplay RSP2, and the new AOR AR-DV10 wideband handheld. Besides radio reviews, WRTH also includes an evaluation of the Cross Country WireleActive Loop. I must admit: the Cross Country sounds like an effective and affordable portable mag loop antenna. I might need to grab one in the future to use on impromptu travels and DXpedition. The following article features WRTH contributor, Brian Clark, and his travels from New Zealand to the geographic antipodes of his home: Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Of course, enjoying diverse radio broadcasts was an integral part of his journey! I was pleased to find that the following feature article, entitled Receiving Noise, explores the radio interference that plagues our hobby. The article mentions several common sources of noise and some of the antennas that most effectively mitigate RFI. Sadly, radio noise/interference is an important topic for most radio enthusiasts. Following this, WRTH writer, Hans Johnson, features an article on Radio Romania International. RRI is one of my favorite shortwave broadcasters, so this was a treat to find indeed–Johnson’s piece sheds light on the past, present and future of the station. Next, in A New Voice of Hope in the Middle East, Founder and President of the Strategic Communications Group, John Taylor, writes about setting up a new mediumwave station in Israel. The following article features Dr. Martin Hadlow, a former advisor to the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC), who explores the history of broadcasting in the South Seas. Next, WRTH feature their Digital Update which assesses the state of digital broadcasting and – this year a special note about – Digital Radio Mondiale. The final article – a tradition – is the WRTH HF propagation report / forecast by Ulf-Peter Hoppe. Always an informative read and this year he ends on a positive note despite the fact we’ve hit the solar rock- bottom! The 72nd is another fantastic edition of the World Radio TV Handbook. As I say every year, I’ve never been disappointed with WRTH. Their publishing standards are such that the quality of their reviews, their writing, and (most importantly) their broadcast listings are simply unparalleled. For DXers who collect QSL cards, you’ll find that broadcaster contact information in WRTH is often more up-to-date than a broadcaster’s own website. When readers contact me asking for QSL information from an obscure broadcaster, the first place I search is the current WRTH. Remember: their information is based on volunteer contributors who specialize in specific regions of the world–the most knowledgeable regional DXers keep this publication accurate. Purchase your copy of WRTH 2018 directly from WRTH’s publishers, or from a distributor like Universal Radio (US) and Amazon.com (US), Radio HF (Canada), or BookDepository.com (International). (via Don Moman, Technical Topics, Jan CIDX Messenger via DXLD) FILM. “KOROTKIE VOLNY” ("SHORT WAVES"). ---------------------------------------------------- Radio is the first widely used means of communication of people, on short waves, thanks to the wireless transmission of information, it was possible to report news to any point of the planet. Since its inception many years have passed, but it still remains an ordinary phenomenon present in our life. Equipment is changing, people, stories, radio waves are unchanged and their frequency too. The film "Short Waves" was shot on five short novels. It shows the irreplaceable role of shortwave radio as a reliable communication tool, the value of which we sometimes do not notice or understate. Due to the simplicity of its work, as soon as it became possible to mass purchase the simplest receivers, people tried to get in touch with extraterrestrial civilizations, send a friendly signal with the coordinates of the location. What can we say about ordinary mortals, regularly, like hypnotized, including a favorite FM in the car. Yes, there are many other gadgets now, progress can not be stopped. But all this until the Internet and television were switched off. We are hostages of the usual means of communication. What will remain after the nuclear explosion: cockroaches, radio and eternal rock and roll. In a simple town, the place of attraction is the city radio. A lot of destinies intertwined by different life circumstances direct attention to it in order to solve the existing problems. All the characters in the film have different goals. Some people dream of becoming famous, others - to receive an instrument of influence on society, others - are recognized as beloved, there are also those who came from cynical considerations. In each episode the radio station plays a key role, acting as a kind of litmus test of the society. Director: Mikhail Dovzhenko Starring: Alex Dubas, Evgeny Grishkovets, Igor Yasulovich, Yakov Dovzhenko, Ekaterina Volkova, Ekaterina Volkova, Vlad Malenko, Alisa Khazanova, Elena Plaksina, Ekaterina Semenova Release date in Russia: April 6, 2018 Time: 80 mins. / 01:20 Russian Trailer: Source: http://chto-posmotret.online/news/korotkie-volny-2017.html https://vk.com/club3877182 (RusDX 7 Jan via DXLD) LANGUAGE LESSONS For Lovers of Latin: see FINLAND [and non] ++++++++++++++++ WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ RADIO EVENTS - 2017 The site of the Italian club CO.RA.DX has an interesting article about the events in the world of radio in 2017. True, it is in Italian, but in this century Google translators are not such a problem. http://www.coradx.it/radioricordando-il-2017/ (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia / "open_dx" via RusDX Jan 7 via DXLD) MUSEA +++++ Update, December 3, 2017 – From 1984 to 1994, late night ABC talk show host Ray Briem conducted an annual five-hour `DX Special` about DXing. Originating in Los Angeles, it was carried nationwide. Briem was a DXer himself, and he invited many DX luminaries to take part in the discussion, either in person or by phone. Under "DX History/Recordings" we have posted a recording of Ray's shortwave special heard on February 15, 1985 over WABC-770, New York. Stew MacKenzie was in the studio with Ray, and among the DX cognoscenti who participated by phone were Richard A. Wood, Tom Meyer, Arthur Cushen, Glenn Hauser, Laurie Boyer (NZ), Jonathan Marks (briefly), Ian McFarland, H. D. Norman (NDXE), and Joe Costello (WRNO), plus several callers. Briem retired at the end of 1994. He died in 2012. The recording is 2 hours, 50 minutes in length (via Jan NZ DX Times via DXLD) RADIO HISTORY: "BEHIND YOUR RADIO DIAL: THE STORY OF NBC" 1948 National Broadcasting Company https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz_fJPKVQpM This 24-minute video takes a look behind the scenes at NBC's radio and television broadcasting facilities at Rockefeller Center, New York City 1n 1948 (YouTube Video of the Month, Jan CIDX Messenger via DXLD) DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ PERU & ECUADOR SDR RECORDINGS As a backup for my portable hard drive, I have purchased 100GB of space at Google Drive and have begun uploading a selection of my better SDR files from various locations in northern Peru plus also Loja, Ecuador. They are available for download from the same URL, below. Check the 'read me' file for details of all the locations DXed from and equipment used at each location. I am currently in Cuenca, Ecuador and will remain here until around the end of January. Sometime in February I expect to spend a few days at a rural location suitable for DXing in central and/or northern Ecuador. I will spend March in Colombia and will make some additional DX recordings then. https://drive.google.com/open?id=17XXTi0w5hzzNmC60kjm6WiNTXEnvNloX Don Moore --- donmooredxer@yahoo.com http://www.donmooredxer.com Life is just a leap of faith. Spread your arms and hold your breath Always trust your cape. - Guy Clark [tagline] (Don Moore, Jan 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MW DXING FROM HAWAII <<< Scanning the dial - night one Kona - nothing at all like Gary`s Royal Kona next door. This is an environment with S9+ video buzz, dimmers, TVI, RFI top of the dial to the bottom - >>> Colin, Depending upon which ocean-facing motel room they place you in, you can either end up with a TP-DXing paradise or a RFI-saturated zoo. To be perfectly honest, last month I ended up with the latter. During the "hot season" in Hawaii (which is the cold season for us here), the less desirable rooms seem to be the ones we end up with. We pay more $$ and end up with more RFI. Last month I survived by taking the modified CC Skywave, Frequent Flyer FSL, digital recorder and logbook down to the ocean side lounge area on the south border of the Royal Kona Resort property, facing your motel. All this gear can easily be carried without any hassle, and setting up a TP-DXing station at the beach level was easy (they even provided a couple of lounge chairs for the motel guests). In Kona you can chase some of the Pacific island stations (846 and 1098) as soon as it gets dark, and about an hour after that the island stations on 540, 621, 1017 and 1440 start to come in. With luck you can track down 558. After about 0800 UT you can pretty much expect to get plastered by overpowering Asian stations, though, leaving most of the Pacific island DU's in the noise. 621-Tuvalu rarely survived until its 1006 sign off without getting hammered by North Korea and China, while 1440-Kiribati had a running battle with JOWF until it signed off around the same time. 846 and 1098 usually survived the Asian onslaught fairly well. During wild DXing trips like this, my advice would be to expect the unexpected! (Gary DeBock, Puyallup WA, IRCA via DXLD) Hawaii adventure I just completed my first-ever vacation to Hawaii. I found both central Maui and the Honolulu area to be just stacked with powerful AM and FM stations. I am guessing that the transmitter power combined with very high transmitter locations are an effort to tackle the very challenging terrain of Hawai`i. Even so, many repeater-translators are used as hole fillers. I also became very grateful for my home QTH. I live out in the country where I have the ability to keep my enviroment quiet and have reasonable antennas. My home sits over 500 feet ASL with not remarkable but reasonable ground conductivity. In Hawai`i, I was nearly at sea level sitting on lava rock with (what seemed like) a chorus of electronic noise makers that just buried everything. I heard very very little on shortwave. On long wave I heard POA 332 from Big Island, VYI 327 in Maui, HHI 373 on Oahu and powerhouse LLD 353 from Lanai. LLD could [be heard?] inside hotel rooms next to Interstate highways. 2000 watts goes a long way! (Karl Zuk, 5 Jan, IRCA via DXLD) My best advice: Get away from civilization. Going down to the beach is a great first step. Highly recommended is Hana on the far east tip of Maui. I managed to log KSL 1160 and 1380 ?The Answer? Sacramento along with many 50 kilowatters from the west coast of the USA there beyween midnight and dawn. All this with a Sony ICF-SW7600GR bare back. Another excellent spot is Kona on the south shore of Big Island. I have a ham friend who had a QTH 2200 feet above the ocean in Kona. He worked legendary QSOs there. If you don`t want disappointment --- get away from the noise and clutter!! This vacation also made me honor further the abilities of Gary, Pat Martin, Mark Connelly and all the other talented DXers I have come to know over decades of belonging to IRCA. The miracles they log take great effort and knowledge. Bravo. Hawaii is an amazing place, but you must learn where to go and how to manage it! Tiny Maui has five 5 kW broadcasters and one 15 kW broadcaster! Go to Hana! Go to Kona! 73 de (N2KZ, Karl Zuk, ibid.) Hi Karl, In comparison to a relatively quiet Mainland location, Hawaii can indeed seem to be loaded with RFI noise. The number and power of the AM and FM transmitters seem excessive for such small islands, and the large motels have all kinds of RFI pollution. If a DXer comes here expecting to receive tons of DX while sitting inside the average motel room using simple portables, he is likely to be very disappointed. First of all, you can increase your chances of DXing success by getting away from the most RFI-saturated island-- Oahu (particularly Honolulu, Waikiki Beach, etc.). Trying to chase rare DX in that environment is little better than trying to do it in downtown Chicago. The farther away you can get from that RF zoo, the better (Kauai, the Big Island, etc.). I was a Navy DXer in Pearl Harbor from 1976-79, so I am speaking from experience. Next, if your main interest is TP-DX, try to get a location on the western side of an island. Most of these islands have significant hills running through the center of them, tending to cut down reception of signals coming from the other side of the hills. That's why Kona on the Big Island is a preferred location for TP-DXing. Finally, have a "Plan B" ready if your motel places you in an RFI- saturated room. Be ready to take your DXing gear outside the motel, and set up a listening station down on a quiet beach. If you are in an oceanfront motel, this should be relatively easy-- but if not, hit the road until you can track down a quiet location near salt water. Lightweight, portable gain antennas can be extremely useful in situations like this, but even using a stock portable on a quiet beach is far better than listening to RFI in a motel room. 73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), ibid.) I also found Kauai to be a quiet island. In Princeville, I found that the mainland was amazing to receive signals. KTCT 1050 was by far the best performer nightly and came in like a local. Only 570 Lihue was stronger and really not by much. It was also a place to where it was a cliff DXing advantage being up about 100 feet (Todd Skaine, MN, ibid.) Years ago, I spent a lot of time on Maui. I recall one memorable visit in the winter in Kaanapali. I purchased a Superradio 3 at the local KMart, and proceeded to have a blast DXing from the lanai from sunset for many hours. Recall receiving Alaska quite well, and all the way down the coast. Noise wasn`t an issue then. In my SW days, I would take my receiver to local parks with random wire and have a blast on the Tropical bands. The other pleasant memory was hearing every single Hawaiian at good level while driving to the summit of Haleakala for sunrise. Those were the days! (Walt Salmaniw, BC, IRCA via DXLD) I'm curious, looking at the map, if anyone has tried to listen from the westernmost island of Hawai'i instead of from Kona. Is Kona a sort of sweet spot where someone once saw that the signals were superior or is there another reason for this specific location, historically speaking? It seems that things on the outlying islands could be quieter than on the Big Island. I mean, it's a tad harder to access and fewer services, but for hardcore DXers (of which anyone heading to Kona or the Pacific coast typically are), it would be do-able. Heck, for FM DXing, I used to climb a mountain just to get to my spot and would regularly climb 2,000+ foot mountains for my bandscans. You do what you have to do to get the signals you want (-Chris Kadlec, ibid.) Good questions - I am not sure what the history of the Big Island DX scene is - What I`ve observed is that there are 3 distinct kind of Island DXERS: A.) people like Gary DeBock who go out of their way to break new ground and push it to the limit by tackling the West facing DX in Asian and Oceania. B.) The homesick DXERS who are leather bent for hearing North American stations only from Hilo, Kauai or Maui because they are intimidated by foreign languages like Japanese and strange hypnotic North Korean choirs and Sabre ratting harangues. And finally --- C.) People like me who take a half-assed approached to DXing - bringing great equipment but too lazy to crow the day or explore much outside of my highly limited comfort zone. People like DeBock and others on here are inspiring and if not for them I`d likely moved on to other hobbies (like the hour + a day I dedicate to guitar playing or the daily look at electronics design.) I`m sure there`s a historic side to Hawaiian DXing --- I just don`t have the answers (Colin Newell - Victoria - B.C. CANADA, ibid.) Kona on the Big Island has quite a few advantages going for it, if a DXer is mainly interested in TP-DX. It is relatively distant from the RF zoo of Oahu (Honolulu), where far too many stations run far too much power to cover such a small area. It is west of the Big Island's significant mountain range, which tends to attenuate signals from the east (like those from the North American mainland). And finally it has lots of relatively cheap motel rooms, in comparison to tourist traps like Oahu (Waikiki Beach, etc.), Maui, etc. Kauai (the westernmost main island) is also a popular DXing spot, especially around Princeville on the north coast. Craig Barnes took one of the 5" Frequent Flyer FSL's there last April, and received lots of Asian DX at strong levels. But the fact that Kauai is the westernmost island probably doesn't give it any real TP-DXing advantage over the other islands. The main factors seem to be DXing as far away from Honolulu as possible, and as close as possible to salt water on the side of the island facing your preferred area of DX (west side for TP-DX, and the east side for North American DX). (Gary DeBock, ibid.) << I`m sure there?s a historic side to Hawaiian DXing --- I just don`t have the answers. Colin Newell - Victoria - B.C. CANADA - >> Look up the reports from Richard Wood in old DX Monitor / DX News. This would mostly be in the 1980s. He wrote the book on DXing from Hawaii (at least in the pre-SDR / pre-ultralight era) (Mark Connelly, WA1ION, South Yarmouth, MA, ibid.) He was also a noted linguist and permanent resident. One wonders sometime if there are any permanent residents of the Islands out there toiling anonymously with these productive listening conditions that haven`t signified yet (Colin Newell - Kona HI, ibid.) Richard also emigrated to Hawaii from the mainland, bringing his hobby with him (Russ Edmunds, WB2BJH, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) Did anyone ever learn what became of his numerous shortwave and AM veries? No will, no relatives, and no other DXer within reasonable "rescue" distance. I'm thinking they ended up in a Puna recycling center (Steve Francis, Alcoa, Tennessee, ibid.) Pretty sure he died alone. :-( His language series created by Ian McFarland of RCI was a huge hit on DXER.ca --- although he never did an `Island radio listening` series that I`m aware of (Colin Newell - Victoria - B.C. CANADA, ibid.) Richard E Wood also had lots of Latin American MWDX from his location inland on the eastern side of BIHI, near Hilo I believe. I see zero mention of LA DX among current visitors. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Noted. When I was in Hilo last, there was Spanish all across the dial - I always thought: how hard would it be to hear South America in Hawaii? I think because we hear so little SA DX in WCNA, we don’t know what to listen for (Colin Newell - Victoria - B.C. CANADA, ibid.) Hi Glenn, I have asked a few of the DXers from the Pacific Northwest about stateside DX and LA and such from their home QTH and HI and they seem only interested in DU and Far East DX (Dave Hascall, DXLD) I find Portuguese and Spanish a lot easier to understand than Chinese, Japanese or Korean – but that`s just me (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In my 5 days in Kona I never even had to get up at sunrise to chase TP-DX, since I was thoroughly swamped by overpowering Asian signals from 0730 to 1030 UT every evening. My main challenge was in preserving my digital recorder time until the end of the trip. Later on tonight I hope to post some links for the "Top 10 Flamethrower TP Signals" heard in Kona-- some of which don't seem to have been heard on the west coast for many years. Rock on! TOP 10 "FLAMETHROWER" TP'S IN KONA, HAWAII West coast DXers fed up with cold weather and even colder DXing conditions do have one ultimate solution for both problems-- take a quick flight to Hawaii. In Hawaii during the winter the main challenge isn't tracking down TP-DX... it's sorting out the wild TP signal snarls that occur when sunset sweeps over Asia. During a five day trip to Kona (Big Island) last month over 100 TP-DX recordings were made, including the 10 awesome TP signals linked below. Most of them are probably familiar to TP-DXers here, but one of them apparently hasn't been received on the west coast for quite a few years (621-North Korea). These signals were all received at the ocean beach level at the Royal Kona Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii from December 17-20 using a 7.5 inch (19cm) loopstick C.Crane Skywave SSB Ultralight and a 5 inch (13cm) diameter "Frequent Flyer" FSL antenna (specifically designed to easily pass through airports). The antenna provides inductive coupling gain roughly similar to that of a 4 foot (1.2 meter) air core box loop, and a photo of it (and the modified Ultralight portable) is posted at https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/rhpgxnnqrzkxt5xq5ofc8arqwq0m4cmd 1) 621 Pyongyang BS (VOK Japanese service) Pyongyang, N. Korea (500 kW) This bizarre transmitter has an obvious buzzing sound, but was strong enough to snarl badly with 621-Tuvalu on most nights. The Japanese service plays the usual North Korean music, with robotic Japanese announcers praising Kim Jong Un and his ancestors. This typical clip was recorded at 0850 on 12-20, temporarily sending Tuvalu down into the noise https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/rhfksf381csgtohluxt3e97tjf79fshm 2) 621 Radio Tuvalu Funafuti, Tuvalu (5 kW) One of the exotic Pacific island stations that's very easy to receive in Hawaii, this station had a rough time with Pyongyang BS (above) and 621-China on most evenings after 0730 UTC. This strong signal features the usual female announcer providing local employment offers at 0750 on 12-18 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/chbg6d1b3xfskb7axw7vhvwae07o0y6c 3) 666 JOBK Osaka, Japan (100 kW) No big surprise here, although the 594 NHK1 parallel was hammered by Hawaii splatter. Japanese male conversation was at a local-like level at 0918 on 12-20 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/5sm6pogm45wuukbggvhb8q9i8klpyqh5 4) 747 JOIB Sapporo, Japan (500 kW) Overall the strongest Japanese station in Kona, with awesome signals and never any co- channels. The only Japanese station that ever came close in strength was 1134-JOQR, although that had some KBS competition at times. This blowtorch signal was at 0913 on 12-19 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/5v5byw2vzvw7azxhzrgsz6j591qwtxyv 5) 774 JOUB Akita, Japan (500 kW) The NHK2 flagship station sounded potent at 0857 on 12-18, but never quite up to its 747 parallel's strength (which is the opposite of the usual west coast situation) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/p9aiqrhx4ji22gwc7nehalybl46cetj0 6) 819 KCBS Pyongyang, N. Korea (500 kW) Overwhelming signals were the order of the day every evening from this bizarre flagship of the KCBS network. This girl group song from the modern Moranbong Band was loud enough to wake up the dead at 1035 (just past local midnight) on 12-19 (thanks to Chris Kadlec for info) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/gj2deffl7mjuzqr5tocsro100sfhqll9 7) 846 Kiribati Christmas Island, Kiribati (10 kW) This Pacific island station had the strongest signal of any such transmitter-- as long as the equipment didn't go on the blink. Multiple signal dropouts were observed, and variable programming delays from the 1440 source were recorded. When it was on the air awesome signals were common, however, such as at 0735 on 12-18 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/zbo418obgvvnj4kvlchxgryze60e2q0p 8) 981 CNR1 Changchun, China (200 kW) This was another overwhelming Asian signal after 0800 on most evenings, and was far and away the strongest Chinese station. This thunderous CNR1 theme music was received at 0900 on 12-18 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/0390gk266y2v675chc196nejoe6rqxnw 9) 1098 V7AB Majuro, Marshall Islands (25 kW) Another Pacific island blowtorch showing up every evening around local Kona sunset, this was one of the very few island stations impervious to the Asian signal onslaught. This typical island music was received at 0815 on 12-18 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ogc8kz73he7cwtln5gw6ljammluub5p0 10) 1134 JOQR Tokyo, Japan (100 kW) The only commercial Japanese station to make this list, its fast-paced programming usually drowned out the KBS co-channel, as at 0945 on 12-20. Stronger than most NHK big guns! https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/7wbk5ocbzaa5phxz9bnpr6bal4hqlzg7 Honorable Mention: For technical reasons these two stations missed out on the Top 10. 909-Chinese was UnID (one of many such Chinese stations), and because of some Christmas music may possibly have been the 10 kW Taiwan station. Strong children's chanting in apparent Mandarin was heard at 0956 on 12-18 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/0siovz0ojkty9ocy0gzl40bnfrp7qxpo 1593-CNR1 would have made the list except it could never quite shake off its pesky NHK2 co-channel https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/eybu72zjipo1zb5gz6qh461cfomjly5s (Gary DeBock, IRCA via DXLD) Nice clips, Gary! A lot of those signals are better received in Hawaii than in Korea, but there is predictably a lot less noise from other stations in the middle of the ocean than in one of the most congested MW locations on Earth. The CNR-1 theme music also serves as the TOH station ID, which you have there as well. I mean, even without the ID, it's darn well obvious what station you're hearing. That's the joy of networks like that. You can understand no Mandarin whatsoever yet you know what you've got. 1134 Tokyo also liked to trounce on my local KBS 2R from just about seven miles away. It could always be heard in the background despite being a good 700 miles distant. And then, of course, Seoul turns off for much of the early morning hours and it's all Tokyo. The 1593 is just like in Korea. That darn NHK was always in the way and sounded almost exactly as it does in your clip!! Then BOTH of them turn off for the night as well. Then 1593 is just a graveyard of silence. As for your 909 unID, the clip you posted is almost certainly CNR-6, 1000kw aiming east from Quanzhou, China. The clip sounds Hakka to me, not Mandarin. And CNR-6 has a Hakka programming block at the specific time of your recording. However, the station isn't on for the entire day; it takes breaks, so you very well may have been receiving a different station at the times it was off the air. I could probably get the children clip here confirmed as to whether it's Hakka or not, which would be your confirmation. I can usually tell them apart (harder when it's being sung obviously) after all my Taiwan Es received in Hakka and Hokkien, and while it's extremely likely, I can't be extremely sure. Send me any of your Asian clips you have UNID if you wish. Even some of them that sound like a mess of Chinese to you may have obvious clues that rule out other stations and zero in on a specific one. Plus, I'm bored (-Chris Kadlec, Seoul AM Radio Listening Guide http://www.beaglebass.com/dx/seoul/ ibid.) Hi Chris, <<< A lot of those signals are better received in Hawaii than in Korea, but there is predictably a lot less noise from other stations in the middle of the ocean than in one of the most congested MW locations on Earth. >>> Thanks for listening to the "flamethrower" clips, and for your detailed comments. It's definitely true that TP-DXing in Hawaii can sound exactly like you are on the east coast of Asia-- I lived in Japan as a teenager from 1967-69, and this was the first MW-DXing experience I've ever had since then that made me feel like I was back in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi-ken. <<< The CNR-1 theme music also serves as the TOH station ID, which you have there as well. I mean, even without the ID, it's darn well obvious what station you're hearing. That's the joy of networks like that. You can understand no Mandarin whatsoever yet you know what you've got. >>> 981-CNR1 was one of two Asian stations whose signals bordered on science fiction levels in Kona -- the other was 819-KCBS. I made about 5 long MP3's of each, and would have made a lot more except that I was running out of recording time. The combination of overwhelming signals and wacky programming on 819-KCBS was almost enough to make someone look out for incoming ICBM's. <<< 1134 Tokyo also liked to trounce on my local KBS 2R from just about seven miles away. It could always be heard in the background despite being a good 700 miles distant. And then, of course, Seoul turns off for much of the early morning hours and it's all Tokyo. >>> Yes, that 1134-Tokyo transmitter seemed to get a megawatt power boost in Hawaii. KBS was hanging around at a paltry level, but barely strong enough for language recognition. <<< The 1593 is just like in Korea. That darn NHK was always in the way and sounded almost exactly as it does in your clip!! Then BOTH of them turn off for the night as well. Then 1593 is just a graveyard of silence. >>> Actually 1593-NHK2 was dominant over CNR1 for much of the trip, but as the Asian sunset shifted from Japan to China the Chinese would get a turbo boost. I was hoping for a nice S9+ recording of Changzhou all alone (like 981-CNR1), but the pesky NHK2 never left it alone. <<< As for your 909 unID, the clip you posted is almost certainly CNR-6, 1000kw aiming east from Quanzhou, China. The clip sounds Hakka to me, not Mandarin. And CNR-6 has a Hakka programming block at the specific time of your recording. However, the station isn't on for the entire day; it takes breaks, so you very well may have been receiving a different station at the times it was off the air. I could probably get the children clip here confirmed as to whether it's Hakka or not, which would be your confirmation. I can usually tell them apart (harder when it's being sung obviously) after all my Taiwan Es received in Hakka and Hokkien, and while it's extremely likely, I can't be extremely sure. Send me any of your Asian clips you have UNID if you wish. Even some of them that sound like a mess of Chinese to you may have obvious clues that rule out other stations and zero in on a specific one. Plus, I'm bored. >>> Well, Chris, if you're bored, I'm in luck! I hadn't really expected any assistance with the 909 UnID-Chinese clip, so your comments are extremely interesting. Actually that segment was part of a 4-minute 909 kHz clip starting off at 0955 UTC on December 18th, with some Chinese speech before the children's chanting. Another possible Chinese station (male voice) comes around at the 1:00 point, but I'm not sure of the language. Anyway, even if you can't dig out any more clues, you've already provided more assistance than I thought I could get. Thanks! https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ze1djtse64rzemp4q0aeehqlw24n6xg4 (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), ibid.) I'm curious, looking at the map, if anyone has tried to listen from the westernmost island of Hawai'i instead of from Kona. Is Kona a sort of sweet spot where someone once saw that the signals were superior or is there another reason for this specific location, historically speaking? It seems that things on the outlying islands could be quieter than on the Big Island. I mean, it's a tad harder to access and fewer services, but for hardcore DXers (of which anyone heading to Kona or the Pacific coast typically are), it would be do-able. Heck, for FM DXing, I used to climb a mountain just to get to my spot and would regularly climb 2,000+ foot mountains for my bandscans. You do what you have to do to get the signals you want (-Chris Kadlec, ibid.) Last year in April and May I travelled to Hawaii and DXed from Princeville, on the northern side of Kauai and a VRBO "up the hill" from Kona-Kailua on the western side of Hawaii. The VRBO was equipped with a lanai with a clear view of the Pacific. Using a Great Circle map I generated from a graciously provided program by a ham, I used Honolulu as the center. I surmised that Princeville would probably be a nice DXing locale for Asian TP DX. It was overwhelmingly phenomenal. Due to the topography on Kauai I figured DU TP DX would not be so good from there, which was the case. The DU TP DX from my location in Hawaii (in the midst of a mango grove) was plagued with QRM from a NW direction completely obliterating Asian TP DX from that direction, however the DU TP DX was phenomenal there. I've contemplated returning to Kauai to try TP DXing from Princeville first for Asian TP DX, then Poipu on the south side of the island next for DU TP DX. I appreciate Colin's frank description of his DXing approach. Last April/May was my first trip to Hawaii and I regarded TP DXing as icing on the cake, as opposed to the primary focal point of the trip. I will be travelling to Kalaloch on the NW coast of Washington this March, when TP DXing will be more of a focal point. I will say that Gary Debock's linguistic help and his "airport friendly" FSL were difference makers regarding TP DX success. Chris Kadlec's insights were also very helpful. My linguistic abilities are more focused on this hemisphere, not the Far East. Curiously receiving a broadcast from a Japanese station in Brazilian Portuguese was most interesting! I have decided to take a serious look at travelling to the North and South Islands of NZ later this year. I am intrigued at the DXing prospects from that location. Aloha, Colin! Best of DX from the TP DX hinterlands of the interior where hope springs eternal! (Craig Barnes, Wheat Ridge, CO, Jan 8, ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC See USA: 1080 KRLD, 1170 KFAQ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DAB See FRANCE ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See KUWAIT; NIGERIA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See MEXICO peripherally; USA KFSM ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ QUESTION ABOUT DXING WITH HEARING AIDS I recently started using hearing aids. My older daughter gifted them to me as a combination Father's Day/Birthday present. The difference they make is amazing! I was diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss approximately 7 years ago. The type I have is hereditary and has been getting worse every year. The type of aids I use are the Oticon OPN 1 miniRTE. They connect to my iPhone 6+ via Bluetooth, so I can listen to my iTunes and Amazon Music libraries, my Pandora, TuneIn, and Spotify online music services, etc. I hope this doesn't come across too gushy or too much like a commercial for Oticon, but I really love my new hearing aids!! Here's my question … How can I incorporate my new hearing aids into my DX hobby? Is there a way to connect my DX radio(s) to my iPhone via Bluetooth so I can listen to it via my hearing aids? Thanks for your help! 73 and Good DX! (Steve Ponder, N5WBI, Houston, TX, Sent from my iPhone, Jan 2, ABDX via DXLD) Steve, There are bluetooth audio transmitters that might work for this, assuming the hearing aid pairs like a headset. Here is an example of one on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01IV1H1ME/ref=pd_aw_sim_sbs_107_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5PMS2431BA2C1C1ZMWY9&dpPl=1&dpID=518sBX1YPjL (Neil Griffin, Spartanburg, SC, WTFDA gg via DXLD) It seems to me that the grossly overpriced hearing-aid industry depends on people being ashamed of hearing loss --- make them as unobtrusive as possible. Yet I and many hearing-OK people wear relatively bulky headsets to listen to whatever from our radios or devices with no shame whatsoever; what`s the difference? (gh, DXLD) GERMAN REGULATOR TAKES ACTION OVER RADIO INTERFERENCE Southgate January 6, 2018 http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2018/january/german-regulator-takes-action-over-radio-interference.htm#.WlDA4qhl_IU The DARC reports that in 2017, the Federal Network Agency BNetzA withdrew about 460,000 products on the Internet, which could cause radio interference or electromagnetic incompatibility A Google English translation says: "The trend of recent years has it that many unsafe products reach the German market via the Internet. Many of these products come from the Far East. We also end offers of unsafe products even where the dealers do not cooperate with us, "explains Jochen Homann, President of the Federal Network Agency. He adds: "Our market surveillance is a contribution to consumer protection, which also has a preventive effect." In 2017, the Federal Network Agency ended 665 offers of unsafe products that could cause radio interference or electromagnetic incompatibility. A total of around 460,000 products were affected. The trend from the past few years suggests that there are many unsafe products on the Internet. In 2016 537 offers were closed. The number of affected products was then higher, as among other things 744 000 FM transmitters were blocked. Among the approximately 460,000 products were 388,000 wireless headphones, which use security-relevant police radio frequencies and therefore may not be operated in Germany. The Federal Network Agency is also increasingly conducting anonymous test purchases to test products that are not voluntarily made available. In this context, 52 products were reviewed. All of these products had abnormalities and distribution on the respective platforms was therefore suspended. This involved a total of 14,700 devices, e.g. Drones, smart home or LED products. More and more products are ordered by consumers online directly from third countries. That is why the Federal Network Agency works intensively with Customs. In 2017, customs reported more than 16,000 suspicious shipments to the Federal Network Agency. These reports totaled around 240,000 products. In 86% of the reports, no release of the products was granted for the European market. The proportion of eye-catching products thus remains at a consistently high level. In 2016, more than 10 000 suspicious consignments were reported by the customs authorities, covering a total of around 270 000 products. In 2017, the Federal Network Agency reviewed about 3,000 products in the German retail sector. Of these, about 1000 were also metrologically tested in the laboratory. Overall, some 800 regulatory measures were taken. Further information on the market surveillance of the Federal Network Agency can be found at http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/marktueberwachung In addition, consumers can find out about specific products on the European Market Surveillance information and communication system https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/icsms/ The Federal Network Agency shows products that have been withdrawn from circulation in a traveling exhibition. Current dates are published at http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/wanderausstellung DARC http://darc.de/ (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) DISTRACTED DRIVING: ONTARIO TEMPORARY EXEMPTION EXTENDED Distracted driving regulations continue to be an area of interest for many Canadian Radio Amateurs. These regulations are made and enforced by provincial governments and can vary considerably from province to province and over time. On December 15, 2017, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) announced that the current two-way radio exemption for “Amateur Radio operators and specified commercial, public transit, and public function drivers will be extended for a further three-years, effective January 1, 2018 until January 1, 2021.” The update to the regulation can be found at https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r17475 While the RAC is seeking a permanent exemption, this decision by the MTO ensures continued ability to operate Amateur Radio apparatus while mobile. For more information visit the RAC Distracted Driving webpage: http://wp.rac.ca/distracted-driving/ (Jan CIDX Messenger via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ NO SUNSPOTS MEANS CHALLENGING PROPAGATION Southgate January 3, 2018 Changes in the density and structure of the ionosphere affects the transmission path at high frequencies and can even block HF radio signals completely. The ionosphere relies on Sunspot radiation – the more there are usually the better the propagation. The solar cycle or solar magnetic activity cycle is the periodic 11-year change in the Sun's activity and appearance. We are still in Solar Cycle 24 which is the 24th since 1755 when extensive recording of it began. The present cycle started in December 2008. It reached a maximum in April 2014 with the smoothed sunspot number only 116.4, the lowest in over a century Scientists can’t explain the Sun’s bizarre behaviour, being divided between it being a fluke or a sign of a deeper trend. In 2017 there have been more than 100 days with no sunspots. The next Cycle 25 is predicted to start by 2020 peaking about 2024-25 and forecast to be another weak one. Source: The Wireless Institute of Australia http://www.wia.org.au/ (via MIke Terry, Jan 3, dxldyg via DXLD) :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2018 Jan 08 0137 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center # Product description and SWPC contact on the Web # http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly.html # # Weekly Highlights and Forecasts # Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 01 - 07 January 2018 Solar activity was very low throughout the reporting period. Region 2693 (N18, L=333, class/area=Cro/20 on 04 Jan) was the only numbered sunspot region on the visible disk but it was inactive and absent of significant flare activity. No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections were observed during the period. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached moderate levels on 01 January with normal levels observed throughout the remainder of the period (02-07 Jan). Geomagnetic field activity reached active levels on 01 January due to the influence of a positive polarity coronal hole high-speed stream. Quiet conditions were observed throughout the rest of the period (02-07 Jan). FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 8 JANUARY - 3 FEBRUARY 2018 Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels throughout the outlook period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 14-19, 23, and 25 January in response to recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream influence. Normal to moderate levels are expected throughout the remainder of the outlook period. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to reach active levels on 08, 15, and 20 January due to the anticipated effects of recurrent coronal hole high-speed streams. Quiet to unsettled geomagnetic field activity is expected throughout the remainder of the outlook period. GLENN`S PROPAGATION OUTLOOKS FOR MEDIA NETWORK PLUS are on hiatus indefinitely while Keith Perron is on other projects :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2018 Jan 08 0137 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center # Product description and SWPC contact on the Web # http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2018-01-08 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2018 Jan 08 70 12 4 2018 Jan 09 70 8 3 2018 Jan 10 70 5 2 2018 Jan 11 70 8 3 2018 Jan 12 70 5 2 2018 Jan 13 70 5 2 2018 Jan 14 70 10 3 2018 Jan 15 70 15 4 2018 Jan 16 70 10 3 2018 Jan 17 70 5 2 2018 Jan 18 70 5 2 2018 Jan 19 70 5 2 2018 Jan 20 70 12 4 2018 Jan 21 70 10 3 2018 Jan 22 72 8 3 2018 Jan 23 72 6 2 2018 Jan 24 72 5 2 2018 Jan 25 72 5 2 2018 Jan 26 72 5 2 2018 Jan 27 72 5 2 2018 Jan 28 70 10 3 2018 Jan 29 70 5 2 2018 Jan 30 70 5 2 2018 Jan 31 70 5 2 2018 Feb 01 70 5 2 2018 Feb 02 70 5 2 2018 Feb 03 70 5 2 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1912, DXLD) ###