DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-100, August 21, 2007 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 2007 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html 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 SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1371 [not 1370 as previously] Wed 2200 WBCQ 7415 [first airing of each edition] Wed 2300 WBCQ 18910-CLSB or 17495-CLSB Thu 0600 WRMI 9955 Thu 1430 WRMI 7385 Thu 1500 KAIJ 9480 Fri 0630 WRMI 9955 Fri 1030 KAIJ 5755 Fri 1100 WRMI 9955 Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 1630 WWCR3 12160 [irregular; confirmed 8/18/07] Sat 2130 WRMI 9955 Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1500 WRMI 7385 Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB [irregular; not 8/13/07] Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Mon 0830 WRMI 9955 Tue 1030 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 7385 Wed 0730 WRMI 9955 WORLD OF RADIO, CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL SCHEDULE: 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 For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN NOW AVAILABLE: http://www.wrn.org/listeners/stations/podcast.php OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** ALBANIA. 13750, Radio Tirana English service Tue-Suns only, 1300- 1329 UT. Slow start of today's English service. Today Aug 19, 1300- 1303 UT no audio, strong S=9+30dB carrier ONLY. 1303:00 R. Tirana started audio connection in Albanian language INSTEAD. 1305 switched over to English news program service, mentioned car accident report. 1307 Interview on Serbia's Kosovo province in German newspaper "World". 1308 ID in English. "Mosaic of the week" program. 1939- 1943year Italian invasion into Albania. 7700 foreign people visited Albania in 1938 year. Landscape report on Skodra lake. Hunting and fishing in Albania. Final IS melody at 1327 to 1328:29 UT. At 1328:49 switch over to TWR satellite feeder line at Shijak transmission center, Russian program on air for few seconds. 1329 close-down on 13750 kHz. 11615 kHz, then Shijak transmitter switched over to prepare for TWR relay broadcasts from 1331 UT, carrying TWR IS music box continuously, Russian scheduled at 1340 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX Aug 19 via DXLD) ** ALBANIA [and non]. BULGARIA/ALBANIA/USSR, Re: Bulgaria, R Moscow relays. From Adrian Peterson FYI. Radio Tirana Albania relay on SW to NA via Radio Sofia Bulgaria. Jerry, Yes, this is correct. Radio Tirana Albania was indeed on relay to North America via Radio Sofia Bulgaria. A new 100 kW SW transmitter was installed for Radio Bulgaria [sic] in 1952 and it was in use also for relays of Radio Moscow as well as their own international programming. The schedule for Tirana via Sofia in late 1953 was English, Sundays only, 1930 - 2000 UTC (GMT!) on 9700 kHz, though it seems that other channels were in use during other transmission periods. The political climate changed later, and in 1962 Radio Tirana Albania began a relay from Radio Peking for their service to North America. Greetings! AMP (Adrian Peterson-USA, via Jerry Berg-USA, Aug 9 via BC-DX Aug 20 via DXLD) [that is extremely ambiguous; at first I took it to mean that he was saying Tirana was being relayed via Peking. Which station does ``their`` refer to? But I have no recollection whatsoever of R. Tirana being relayed by R. Peking --- even tho Peking was certainly relayed via Albania. ``A relay of Radio Peking`` rather than ``from`` would also make it clear. The alleged R. Tirana relays via Bulgaria were before my time, so maybe they happened --- gh, DXLD] Superb !!! But no piece of information found, when I checked past WRH's of 1953 to 1957 under Albania and Bulgaria. Sofia used 9700 kHz much later at night towards the Americas (Wolfgang Büschel, Aug 9, BC- DX via DXLD) The first relays of R Moscow via Bulgaria were reported in SCDX 173, 16 June 1951. The frequency used was measured as 15333 kHz, the announced wavelength was 49.92 m for the period 21.00-22.00 (R. Sofia in English). This was reported by a Mr. Alex C. Fried of Smiths Creek, Mich. The Moscow relay is given as 0.20-5.00, followed by R. Sofia news in English until 5.15. Other DXers had also noted this new transmitter. This was most likely the Soviet 120 kW unit installed at Stolnik. All times cited here are likely to be CET, since I have this info from a magazine for Swedish listeners. The Tirana relay via Bulgaria is new to me, never heard about it before. BTW, the R. Peking relays via Albania as far as I know started in 1967 or 1968 (Olle Alm, Sweden, wwdxc BC-DX Aug 9 via DXLD) http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v175/n4465/abs/175948c0.html Nature 175, 948 - 949 (28 May 1955); doi:10.1038/175948c0 Focusing of Waves in Radio Reception === H. V. GRIFFITHS (Engineer-in- Charge) B.B.C. Engineering Information Department, Tatsfield Receiving Station, Near Westerham, Kent. Dec. 30. THE normal maximum field-strength in Kent of the broadcast transmission on 9,700 kc/s (30.93 metres) from Sofia in undisturbed propagation conditions, and at times of the evening or night when 9.7 Mc/s is about the optimum working frequency for the transmission path by single refraction in the F-2 layer, is about 1.0-1.5 millivolts per metre (Fig. 1). The aerial power of the Sofia transmitter is believed to be 120 kW approximately, and the calculated quasi-maximum field-strength in conditions of minimum absorption agrees fairly closely with this field-strength being obtained at the path-distance involved. (wb, Aug 11) ALB - BUL relay. Noch nie etwas darueber gelesen oder gehoert, gleiche Aussage von Olle Alm. Ich habe gestern die WRH CD's aus 1952 bis 1956 durchgesehen, da gibt es sowohl bei ALB wie BUL, wie im hinteren FrequenzTabellenteil keinen Hinweis. Und auch Zeiten/Frequenzen passen nicht so richtig zusammen. Vor allem die R Tirana Aussendungen ueber deren 15 kW Kleinsender waren auch zu anderen Zeiten des Tages/Nacht. Da haben die Amis irgend etwas durcheinander gebracht. Der Bruch ALB und USSR kam in 1958?? Olle sagt etwas ueber RM relay in 1951/1952 via Sofia. Im Juli 1967 waren die Chinesen schon auf MW Fllake und SW Shijak via Albanien on air, z.B. 1214/1394 kHz knueppeldicke in Opatija und Dubrovnik gehoert - kann ich mich erinnern, d.h. der Bau muss schon 1965 begonnen und im Laufe 1966 eingeweiht worden sein (Wolfgang Büschel, Aug 10) (all: BC- DX Aug 20 via DXLD) ** ALGERIA [non]. Looking one more time for CHAD [q.v.] around 7260, Aug 21 at 0550 I did hear a rather distorted signal in Arabic, but not so distorted it would have been unintelligible, and it was right on 7260, without the accompanying garbage Chad presented. This must have been the RTA relay via UK as scheduled, 0558 giving a string of `kilohertz` over singing, so apparently announcing entire transmission schedule, and off at 0559* {You`d think VTC/Merlin would be ashamed to put out such a dirty signal} (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ASIA [non]. Khmer-language broadcast on 11870, Aug 21 at 1326 was severely degraded by wavering het from Pastor Scott via Costa Rica, on her perpetually unstable transmitter. Audio from each took turns dominating. 1327 mentioning lotsa kHz in apparently full transmission schedule of R. Free Asia, as scheduled via Tinian, also giving website and P O Box address, 1330* After RFA went off, there was still a lite wavering het with TIRWR as it was beating with some weaker signal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL – O governo federal vai fundir a Radiobrás com a Associação de Comunicação Educativa Roquette Pinto, que comanda a TVE Brasil e a Rádio MEC. Da fusão surgirá a TV Brasil. Nos próximos dias, o governo pretende enviar um projeto de lei ou medida provisória para o Congresso Nacional instituindo a modificação. As informações são do site SulRádio. BRASIL – Desde Novo Hamburgo (RS), Édison Bocorny Júnior lembra que a Rádio Educação Rural, de Campo Grande (MS), passou a se chamar Rádio Imaculada Conceição. A estação transmite em 4755 kHz, em ondas curtas. BRASIL – Faz alguns dias que a Rádio Canção Nova, de Cachoeira Paulista (SP), não tem sido captada na freqüência de 9675 kHz, em 31 metros. É o que o Édison Bocorny Júnior tem constatado em Novo Hamburgo (RS). Estaria inativa? BRASIL – Ao invés de ser captada em sua tradicional freqüência de 9615 kHz, a Rádio Cultura AM, de São Paulo (SP), tem sido ouvida entre os canais 9350 e 9355 kHz. A constatação foi feita, pelo colunista, em Porto Alegre (RS), há alguns dias. Em 19 de agosto, foi monitorada em tais canais às 1803, quando o locutor Celso Brambilla identificava músicas e intérpretes após módulo musical. [see UNIDENTIFIED 9355] BRASIL – A Rádio Novas de Paz, de Curitiba (PR), tem tido boa performance de sintonia em suas três freqüências de ondas curtas: 6080, 9515 e 11725 kHz. É o que constata Kelly Lorente Xavier, em Espigão (SP). No Sul do Brasil, a estação religiosa tem sido captada, com bom sinal, pelo colunista, em 6080 e 9515 kHz. BRASIL – Uma estação brasileira que está com os transmissores sempre em bom funcionamento é a Rádio Brasil Central, de Goiânia (GO). Em Espigão (SP), Kelly Lorente Xavier monitora a emissora, com excelente sinal, tanto em 4985 como em 11815 kHz. Além disso, acrescenta que a Brasil Central também é sintonizada no Sudeste do Brasil pela freqüência de 1270 kHz, em ondas médias. BRASIL – Desde Novo Hamburgo (RS), Édison Bocorny Júnior ressalta que o sinal da Rádio Transmundial, de Santa Maria (RS), não tem sido captado, nos últimos dias, pela freqüência de 5965 kHz. Seria falta de propagação ou a emissora estaria inativa? BRASIL – Em 19 de agosto, o apresentador do programa Enquanto a Bola não Rola, Eraldo Leite, informou a lista de todas as emissoras que fazem parte do Sistema Globo de Rádios. Confirmou que as duas últimas estações que se filiaram ao SGR foram a Globo Santos, de Guarujá (SP), ex-Guarujá Paulista, e Globo Manaus, ex-Baré. Coincidentemente, são duas emissoras que possuem freqüências em ondas curtas. A Globo Santos pode ser captada em 3385 e 5045 kHz. Já a Globo Manaus emite em 4895 kHz (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX August 19 via DXLD) ** CANADA. While checking out Chad on 6165, had much stronger signal on 6160 with CBC News at 0602 Aug 21; CKZN or CKZU? At 0604 into weather for the Lower Mainland. While there could be other areas which would qualify for that name, this is a dead giveaway for the Vancouver area. Seems ``LM`` is the preferred term, rather than Metro Vancouver, etc. But just how far up the BC coast does the Lower Mainland reach? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHAD. I could hear French under Croatia yesterday after 2200 and at 2228 a National Anthem was played at sign-off. It matched perfectly the one presented for Chad on http://www.national-anthems.net 73, Mauno Ritola, Finland, Aug 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ex- 7260v, ex-7290v, ex-7310v extremely distorted Looking for RNT believed to be back to normal on its nominal 6165, no chance before 0600 with RN Bonaire there, but Aug 21 at 0602 could hear a weak signal with music on 6165; nearby T-storm QRN. Maybe identifiable on a better occasion (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also ALGERIA [non] ** CUBA. 13750, R. Rebelde, 1630-1700, 8/14/07. Music program "Hecho en Cuba", SINPO 55455. Spanish, appears to be SW relay of do FM broadcast. This is a regular Mon-Fri program except for occasional preempts for sports or special events. Usually SINPO 4s or 5s, great Cuban music for 30 mins with little interruption except for song (NO CREDIT, NASWA Flashsheet Aug 19 via DXLD) We outpointed this show years ago and has been in our MONITORING REMINDERS CALENDAR (gh, DXLD) 1181 carrier: see UNIDENTIFIED ** ETHIOPIA. 7110.13, R. Ethiopia, Gedja, 0340, 8/13/07. Poor with Horn of Africa music; only marginal improvement at 0405 recheck; on 8/15 fair-good at 0401 with chimes and ID; into HoF [Horn of Africa?] music (Jim Ronda, Tulsa, OK, NRD-545, R-75, E-1 + Eavesdropper, GMDSS- 2 vertical, homebrew FlexTenna, and an extended homebrew FlexTenna, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** JAPAN. JAPÃO – A partir de 1º de outubro, a NHK vai encerrar as emissões em ondas curtas nos idiomas sueco, italiano, malásio e alemão. Também serão cortadas as emissões em japonês para a América do Norte e Europa e em espanhol e francês para a Europa. Em recente edição do programa Ponto de Encontro, os apresentadores Santiago Filho e Kazue Imasato, informaram que o serviço em língua portuguesa permanece “firme e forte graças aos ouvintes”. As informações são do monitor da emissora, Leônidas dos Santos Nascimento, de São João Evangelista (MG). (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX August 19 via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. I have seen reports that NBC Port Moresby is back on air on 4890 / 9675 kHz. At 1000 UT today, I can't hear them on either of those frequencies. However, I will be "next door" in Port Douglas, North Queensland for 10 days from next Saturday (18 August) and I'll see if I can hear them there (Barry Hartley, NZ, Aug 13, wwdxc BC-DX Aug 20 via DXLD) ** PERU. 3234.2, R. Luz y Sonido, Huánuco, 0227, 8/19/07. Fair-poor with impassioned preaching by man in Spanish; clear ID at 0244 by woman; talk barely audible by 0254 (Jim Ronda, Tulsa, OK, NRD-545, R- 75, E-1 + Eavesdropper, GMDSS-2 vertical, homebrew FlexTenna, and an extended homebrew FlexTenna, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** PERU. 6019.49, R. Victoria, Lima, 0617-0705, 17 Aug., low-key religious yak, promo for Thursday services at church on Ave. Arica, into call-in program with testimonials about being delivered from "brujería" & general healings (apparently surviving a terremoto didn't make the testimonial cut). ID in passing during phone call & announcement for a revival with Mario Soto (?) at 0759 with Mike Oldfield-style "Tubular Bells" accompaniment (perhaps they're casting out devils at the revival?); heard almost every night, but still interesting listening (Dan Sheedy, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. Still no sign of SIBC on 5020 kHz! (Barry Hartley, NZ, Aug 13, wwdxc BC-DX Aug 20 via DXLD) ** U K. Land based radio history --- Hi Glenn, There are now hundreds of new photographs, 1985 > 1969, in The Archive photograph album on the Radio Jackie website... from http://www.radiojackie.com RADIO - PAST AND FUTURE As the 1967 offshore era is marked and Ofcom considers its Future Of Radio consultation (Jackie encouraged non-conglomerate ownership and noted that copycat music policies may explain falls in total non-BBC audience share) there is a new slideshow of early Jackie history here: http://www.radiojackie.com/pics/slideshow.php?set_albumName=Radio-Jackie-Archive All the best, (Trevor Brook, Website Editor and Engineering, Radio Jackie, 110 Tolworth Broadway, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 7JD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [mostly non]. Updated summer A-07 for Voice of America. Part one of two: AFAN/OROMO 1730-1800 9875 11500 11675 11905 13870 Mon-Fri ALBANIAN 0500-0530 9460 1600-1630 13740 1830-1900 9840 AMHARIC 1800-1900 9875 11500 11675 11905 13870 ARABIC 0400-1645 990 1170 1548 Radio Sawa 1645-0400 990 1170 1431 1548 AZERI 1730-1800 7170 7235 13725 BANGLA 0130-0200 11735 15205 1600-1700 1575 7430 11835 BURMESE 1430-1530 1575 Sa/Su 9325 11910 12120 2330-2400 6185 9505 11980 CANTONESE 1300-1500 1170 7115 9355 CHINESE 0000-0200 9545 11830 11925 15150 15385 17765 0200-0300 9545 11830 11925 15385 17765 0700-0900 13610 13740 15250 17780 17855 21705 0900-1000 11825 11965 13610 13740 15250 15665 17780 17855 1000-1100 9575 11825 11965 12040 13610 15250 15665 17855 1100-1200 1170 6110 9575 11785 11825 11990 12040 15205 1200-1230 6110 9845 11785 11825 11990 12040 15205 1230-1300 6110 9845 11785 11805 11825 12040 15205 1300-1400 6110 9845 11785 11805 11965 11990 12040 1400-1500 6110 9845 11805 11965 11990 12040 2200-2300 7190 7200 9510 9545 11925 13775 CREOLE 1130-1200 11890 15390 Mon-Fri 1630-1700 15390 17565 2100-2130 11895 13725 21555 CROATIAN 0430-0500 5965 1830-1845 7180 15180 DARI 0130-0230 1296 9335 12140 Radio Ashna 1500-1530 1296 9335 15090 15120 1630-1730 1296 9335 11565 11580 1800-1830 1296 9335 11565 11580 1930-2030 1296 7555 7595 ENGLISH 0030-0100 1593 9715 9780 11725 15185 15205 15290 15560 Special 17820 0130-0200 6040 13740 Tue-Sat 1500-1600 1575 6160 9590 9760 12080 15550 1600-1700 1170 Mo-Fr 12080 13600 17895 1900-2000 7480 9670 2230-2300 1593 9570 11705 15145 2300-2330 1593 9570 13755 15145 2330-2400 1593 7350 9570 13755 15145 15340 ENGLISH to 0100-0200 7430 9780 11705 FE/SoAs/Oce 1100-1200 1575 Sat/Sun 1200-1300 1170 6140 9645 9760 12075 1300-1400 9645 9760 1400-1500 7125 9760 15185 1500-1600 7125 12150 13735 15105 2200-2400 1575 Fr/Sa 7120 9415 11725 15185 ENGLISH ZMB 1730-1800 909 4930 13755 15775 Mon-Fri ENGLISH 0300-0330 909 1530 4930 6080 7340 9885 12080 15580 to Africa 0330-0400 909 1530 4930 6080 9885 12080 15580 0400-0430 909 1530 4930 4960 6080 9575 11835 12080 15580 0430-0500 909 4930 4960 6080 9575 11835 12080 15580 0500-0600 909 4930 6080 6180 12080 15580 0600-0700 909 1530 6080 6180 12080 15580 1400-1500 4930 6080 13570 15580 17685 1500-1600 4930 6080 13570 15580 17895 1600-1700 909 1530 4930 6080 15580 1700-1730 4930 Sa/Su 6080 15580 1730-1800 4930 Sa/Su 6080 15410 15580 1800-1830 909 4930 Sa/Su 6080 15410 15580 17895 1830-1900 909 4930 6080 15410 15580 17895 1900-2000 909 4930 4940 6080 15410 15445 15580 17895 2000-2100 909 1530 4930 4940 6080 15445 15580 2100-2200 1530 6080 15580 ENGLISH AFG 2030-0030 1296 7555 ENGLISH to 1400-1500 15530 17740 Eu/ME/NoAf 1500-1600 15445 15530 FRENCH 0530-0600 1530 4960 6035 6095 9885 13710 Mon-Fri 0600-0630 4960 6035 6095 9885 13710 Mon-Fri 1830-2000 1530 9815 9830 12080 15730 17785 2000-2030 9815 9830 11720 12080 15730 2030-2100 9815 9830 11720 12080 15730 Sat/Sun 2100-2130 9815 9830 11720 12035 12080 Mon-Fri (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Aug 21 via DXLD) ** U S A. Re 7-099, WWRB: Hi Glenn: Your reaction speaks volumes : Thank you for confirming that we are on Course (Dave Frantz, WWRB, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KCKK / 1510 LMA cancellation --- I let a few people know about the format change when it happened. I was going to wait a few days to see how this plays out before making a public announcement. But since the news is out --- NRC Broadcasting did cancel the LMA with, and pending sale of KCKK to, Mile High Sports Radio this past Thursday at 2:00 PM local time. Mile High Sports Radio had operated the station for 18 days. I don't know all of the details but it appears that Mile High Sports, whose primary business is a local sports magazine, had cash flow problems which forced this action. I don't know if this is final or not. And if it is final, I don't know how NRC plans to proceed with the station. For the moment KCKK is once again carrying classic country from ABC's Real Country with network spots but no local spots. NRC is the O&O of about a dozen radio stations throughout Colorado including two popular FM stations in the Denver market. KCKK is still operating under a CP at 9.5/19 kW while the proof of performance for the new transmitter site is being completed. The local power company finally completed installation of the detuning wires on the 12 high tension towers closest to the east side of the array and myself and two other engineers detuned those towers this past Tuesday. They were definitely affecting our pattern. While on the power company towers I found that I was able to hear our audio modulating on the detuning networks. And I was able to draw a hefty arc from the detuning wires to ground even on the most distant tower. Following the detuning process we observed definite phase shifts on the antenna monitors. So now we will be readjusting the phasor and resampling our monitor points until we reach the desired patterns. Of course this could take days or weeks and hundreds of field intensity readings to complete. After that is done and approved, the new license calls for a power increase to 10/25 kW. Incidentally since this is one of those unusual licenses with higher power at night, and since the night pattern is somewhat more critical than the day pattern, the detuning process and most of the pattern adjustments have been performed using the night power and pattern during the day as authorized by the CP. The higher daytime power during these procedures is probably not very noticeable outside of eastern CO (Patrick Griffith, Westminster CO http://community.webtv.net/N0NNK/ http://community.webtv.net/AM-DXer/ Aug 18, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. CHAVEZ SPOSTA LANCETTE IN AVANTI DI MEZZ'ORA, ORA LEGALE PRESIDENTE SICURO, 'MIGLIORERA' PRESTAZIONI NELLO STUDIO E NEL LAVORO' Il presidente venezuelano Hugo Chavez ha deciso l'introduzione, in vigore dal 1 gennaio 2008, dell'ora legale permanente: lancette in avanti di mezz'ora nel Paese sudamericano allo scopo di "migliorare le condizioni di lavoro e di studio" della popolazione. Lo ha riferito lo stesso capo di stato durante il consueto discorso radiofonico della domenica 'Alo Presidente", prolungatosi oltre sette ore, al quale e' intervenuto anche il ministro della Scienza e della Tecnologia venezuelano, Hector Navarro. Chavez ha spiegato che la misura produrra' "benefici sul metabolismo", per via dell'effetto di 30 minuti in piu' di luce solare, consentendo a lavoratori e studenti di ottenere migliori performance nelle loro attivita' quotidiane. Dopotutto, ha detto il leader venezuelano, "il cervello umano e' condizionato dalla luce solare". Il provvedimento comporta la riforma di una precedente legge varata nel 1965: in quel caso gli orologi furono spostati indietro allo scopo di incentivare il consumo di energia elettrica prodotta dal Paese ricco di giacimenti petroliferi. Per effetto di tale riforma dovrebbe variare, di conseguenza, anche la collocazione del fuso orario a livello internazionale di Caracas, rispetto al blocco dei Paesi confinanti: da -4 GMT (ora del meridiano di Greenwich) a -3.5 GMT. (Adnkronos) (via Roberto Scaglione, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) I remember when Venezuela was on UT - 4:30 many years ago. Made it easy to ID stations there, differentiated from rest of LAm. Wait a minute --- this is confusing, but he wants MORE light in the morning rather than the evening, so this is the opposite of DST, a move to from UT -4 to UT -4:30, not -3:30! (gh, DXLD) Viz.: VENEZUELA CHANGES TO UTC -4½H IN JAN 2008 Venezuela to have new time zone from January 2008 ABN 20/08/2007, Caracas, Distrito Capital http://www.abn.info.ve/go_news5.php?articulo=100918&lee=17 Caracas, Aug 20th (ABN). - From next January 1st, 2008, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will have a new time zone that will allow to improve the Venezuelans’ performance on their daily activities. The information was given by the Minister of People’s Power for Science and Technology, Héctor Navarro, during President Chávez’ weekly TV program Aló, Presidente (Hello President), held on Sunday at the cultural complex Teresa Carreño Theater, in Caracas. He explained that 30 minutes will be added to the current hour. When the Venezuelans wake up, the sun’s rays will be illuminating the day. According to Navarro, «It is a metabolic effect in which the human brain is conditional on the sun’s rays,» so the new time zone will improve the Venezuelans’ performance in their activities. «The new time zone will allow that the Venezuelans take advantage of 30 minutes of sun’s rays. The children that go to school in the morning will not to have breakfast when the sun’s rays are not illuminating the country,» the Minister said. He pointed out that the new time zone of Venezuela will be determined by meridian 66 (Río Chico meridian), which cross the national territory, passing through the half of the country. Furthermore, Navarro said that it will be necessary to change the Meteorology Law, in which Venezuela has four hours ahead of the international hour established by the Greenwich Meridian (meridian 0) to change it 4,5 hours ahead [should read BEHIND - bt] of the Greenwich mean Time. Translated by Natalia González (via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, August 21, dxldyg via DXLD) All Italian media reports a change from -4 to -3.5, other sources... only the last (ANSA) gave from -4 to -4.5! http://www.rainews24.it/notizia.asp?newsID=73028 A partire dal 1 gennaio 2008, recuperando così 30 minuti di scarto rispetto al meridiano di Greenwich, che attualmente è di quattro ore ma che scenderà a tre e mezza. http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Esteri/2007/08_Agosto/20/chavez_fuso_orario.shtml Dal 2008 ci sarà una nuova ora ufficiale: lancette in avanti di 30 minuti e distacco da Greenwich portato da 4 a 3 ore e mezza ADNKRONOS Per effetto di tale riforma dovrebbe variare, di conseguenza, anche la collocazione del fuso orario a livello internazionale di Caracas, rispetto al blocco dei Paesi confinanti: da -4 GMT (ora del meridiano di Greenwich) a -3.5 GMT. ASCA-AFP Il presidente venezuelano Hugo Chavez ha annunciato che l'ora ufficiale del suo Paese sara' spostata in avanti di mezz'ora a partire dal primo gennaio, diventando cosi' di 3 ore e mezza antecedente al fuso di Greenwich invece delle attuali quattro ore. ANSA - 4,5 oltre a precisare che sara' necessario modificare la Legge sulla meteorologia, in cui il Venezuela ha quattro ore in piu' rispetto al meridiano di Greenwich, per portare la differenza a quattro ore e mezzo, ha specificato: 'Si tratta di un effetto metabolico, in cui il cervello umano e' condizionato dalla luce del sole'. (via Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, dxldyg via DXLD) Sometimes it is necessary to engage brain and understand what is really being done and why (gh, DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 6300, CLANDESTINE, Radio Nacional de la RASD, 2340-0001*, 8/15/07. Program of continuous regional vocals with a very rustic sound. Flute music at 2359 followed by a man announcer with ID and closedown announcements in Arabic. Marching band anthem at 0000. Fair (Rich D'Angelo, Wyomissing, PA, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B, Eton E1, Lowe HF-150, Alpha Delta DX Sloper, RF Systems Mini-Windom, Datong FL3, JPS ANC-4, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. 4830, 2249 10/08, Voice of Zimbabwe Gweru vern mx (percussão com som de xilofone, coro tribal, longa) 34433 (LOB). trecho desta escuta 115kBt 30 seg. em: http://br.geocities.com/eefibra/voiceofzimbabwe4830khz2249utc100807.mp3 4830 kHz 2302 17/08 R. Voice of Zimbabwe Gweru vern mx (fv e coro feminino em vern) 33433 (LOB). obs.: interrupçoes no audio que parecia picotando. Nos bancos de dados esta radio está na freq. de 4828 kHz; eu já ouvi nesta freq. e em 4830 no dia 17/08, Rudolf Grimm já ouviu-a em 4829 kHz. Ótima para quem gosta de música local; semana passada ouvi este som tribal que está neste audio de 115kBt 30 seg. em: http://br.geocities.com/eefibra/voiceofzimbabwe4830khz2249utc100807.mp3 Nesta semana a música parecia religiosa mas com uma sonoridade de mx local; aparentemente pareciam várias músicas do mesmo grupo musical, tanto que a partir da 2338 as mesmas mx começaram a se repetir, talvez até na mesma ordem (como se houvesse um só disco na técnica p/ tocar a noite inteira). (LÚCIO OTÁVIO BOBROWIEC, EMBU-SP BRASIL, SONY ICF SW40 DIPOLO 18M E 32M EM OC E OT, @tividade DX via DXLD) Zimbabwe varying up from 4828; that would tend to confirm Hambly`s log from Australia of something mixing with VL8 on 4835; but I`ve yet to see any reports from Africa, Europe or NAm of VOZ on anything but 4828. And or course that would not be for jamming purposes, with SWRA way up on 4880 (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Here`s a roundup of most but not all the posts about the mysterious carrier on 1181.0, from several newsgroups. They are roughly in chrono order, but not exactly, as it`s impossible to do that, especially with threads and give-and-take responses which are best left adjacent. Starting with the first report of it: 1180 - The Tone [really: 1181 – the carrier] Anyone else hear this? Driving home from Rock Springs late last night - was just scanning the band since I hadn't in a while. 'bout 11 pm [0500 UT August 17] 1180 had this continuous 1 kHz tone going. I could hear talk in the background (Bruce Williams?) and I'm sure that was KOFI [MT]. Not sure about other 1180s or what. When I arrived back in Evanston [WY] about 12:15 am [0615 UT] I checked before I went in the house and it was still there. Reminds me a lot of the tone we all heard last year. No idea what it is or where it's coming from. Check it out (Michael n Wyo Richard, ABDX via DXLD) Haven't heard it Texas yet (Robert N. Bratcher, Houston, 1801 UT Aug 17, ibid.) So I take it that the station wasn't KGOL in Humble [TX]. (Kevin Redding, AZ, ibid.) Hi Michael, I Just checked 1180 and it has that annoying 1 kHz tone on it right now. I am hearing no voices in the background, just the tone (1856 UT 8/17/07) (Paul Armani, Denver, ibid.) Hmmmm --- you're hearing it in Denver during the day. Actually Paul I didn't think to check 1180 during the day today. I'll go out and do that. Only probably I have is KSL's IBOC HASH which extends from 1140 to 1180 (MJR n WYO, ibid.) I checked FCC AM query for all broadcast stations on 1180 in WY and CO and came up with an application in Walsenburg, SE Colorado. But it`s only an application, so should not be on the air yet, even testing. In view of later findings, I can`t help but wonder if Paul wasn`t hearing something unrelated in daytime (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Toneless in AZ. If you are hearing it in Denver then it`s not KERI [Wasco CA] for sure (Kevin Redding, AZ, ibid.) I have Radio Rebelde on 1180 24/7, so I am not much help in hearing it. I wonder if this tone is related to this from Glen Houser [sic]: The FCC has licensed some more experimental operations on the MW broadcast band. Digging deep into FCC info, I find Psyop mentioned in connexion with this, altho the licensee is the Multi-Spectral Laboratory in Ponca City of Oklahoma State University whose main field seems to be sensing. This is part of a 27 megadollar Navy contract, on behalf of the US Special Operations Command, Charleston SC. The authorization expires July 1, 2009. . . (Kevin, possum hunter, ibid.) Maybe something similar, but 1180 was not one of the frequencies specified for this in OK or NM (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I know it seems a stretch, but there's a "new" in the FCC database for a station in Walsenburg, CO; know anything about that one, Paul? Does it seem to be coming from the south? (MJR n WYO, ibid.) I can't tell, but I will look into that, and get back to you. That could be a big possibility (Paul Armani, CO, ibid.) Thanks Paul. Hopefully everyone will check for it tonight (if it's ON tonight) and see if they can hear it. Maybe we can pin it down (MJR n WYO, ibid.) I'm getting a 1 kHz tone on 1180 right now [0243 UT Aug 18]. But it sounds like a het, and that makes sense as 1179 is a 9 kHz spacing frequency for Europe etc. I take it for you folks that it sounds different than a het, or is a lot stronger. If I were getting this say an hour before sunrise, then I'd be really curious, as it would be daylight in Europe and highly unlikely to be a het. I keyed in 1179 LSB on the R8 and caught what sounds like a European, but it is way too weak to identify. I fired up the RX-321 using the Ten-tec software in order to run the sweep [econo dude's spectrum analyzer] function. The sweep function shows a big peak at 1180, but a significant spike at 1179 and 1181. With the hets on other frequencies, it`s either lower or higher, not both. Which has me intrigued (Phil Rafuse, VY2PR, Stratford PEI Canada, ibid.) Radio Rebelde is loud n proud this evening, but barely hear a 1 KC tone in the deep fades. I am listening in Northern Lake County, Florida. They must have some decent power to be heard under the 100 KW Cuban signal (Kevin Possum hunter, ibid.) Damn Kevin! That's a LONG way for this thing to be traveling. It's 21:48 here [0348 UT Aug 18], just went out and checked. KOFI - Kalispell MT coming in pretty good tonight. Hearing "Wedding Bell Blues" by the 5th Dimension, along with, you guessed it, a solid 1 kHz tone. This SO reminds me of last year when we had the mystery tone. If y'all remember, that tone was heard by almost 3/4 of the country. Me wonders if this is something similar. I still think it's coming from somewhere here in the west, maybe Colorado, since Paul Armani reported hearing it during the day today (Michael n Wyo Richard, ibid.) I think it is coming from the northwest from me. It is fairly strong if I null out Rebelde. What I hear in the Day on 1180 is weak groundwave from Rebelde. If I null it out, I get (I think) it is KGOL I hear with South Asian programming (Kevin Possum Hunter, Lake Co. FL, ibid.) Possible weak tone running N/S on 1180 (Frank N7SOK Aden, Boise ID, 0420 UT Aug 18, ibid.) Listening here at 10:25 pm Central [0325 UT Aug 18] and "The Tone" is easily dominant on 1180, looping NNW of here. Signal is present on the R8B/Quantum loop combo, the ICF-2010, and the C Crane radio. I am willing to bet this is not a new commercial station testing but instead some sort of U.S. government-run (or sanctioned) experimental station, much like the 1140 mystery we had back in early 2001. These muy weirdass stations seem to have a habit of popping up on Cuban frequencies, and I don't think that's a coincidence --- I think it's an effort to confuse people as to the actual origin of such signals (Harry Helms W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19 http://topsecrettourism.com ibid.) Yup, and to make the Cubans harder to listen to is just a bonus. Wonder what kind of power they are running? Like I said, they have to have some STEAM to be heard under Rebelde! Neither 50 kW [sic] Radio Martí or 50 kW WHAM can be heard at all in my location (Kevin possumhunter, FL, ibid.) Just a quick check, and the Tone is under Rebelde. Can't get a clean null though (Juan Gualda, FL, 0447 UT Aug 18, ibid.) Gee, and you are closer to Cuba than I am. The tone MUST be on a 50 kW or better transmitter to do that. Normally Rebelde is 100 kW, but when Castro gets pissed, he can put a 500 kW transmitter on that frequency. They are different transmitters because the 500 kW has had audio problems for some time.It seems they fixed the 100 kW plant. It may be interesting to see what power levels Cuba and the other islands use and what we can hear during this Hurricane (Kevin ``possumhunter`` location unknown, ABDX via DXLD) I have it tonight with my radio 90/180 [sic – means 90/270?] degrees That puts it on an E/W axis from AZ we need some people to play with this and give coördinates for triangulation (Kevin Redding, ibid.) I gave a quick listen about midnight here in the east with the AR7030+. I could hear the tone. It wasn't in your face obvious, but it was there. I played around a bit and noticed it completely disappeared when I switched to LSB. On USB it was strong and clear. Dialing up to 1181 in USB, it dropped in pitch until it disappeared. In LSB on 1182 I again got the tone. Of course, dialing down to 1181 in LSB I still had a 1 kHz tone due to the carriers on 1180. Since I'm apparently only getting a signal on the high side of 1180, I was wondering if it might be a simple, if powerful, carrier on 1181. I know 1179 would be the more likely suspect for carrier interference. Perhaps somebody is trying to effectively jam 1180 (Jay Heyl, Orlando, FL, AR7030+/Quantum QX Pro, ibid.) Checking in from the left coast. 8/17/07 11:05 pm PDT [0605 UT Aug 18] San Francisco CA. Hearing strong KERI-Wasco CA with Praise Band Song (quite loud) with KOFI Kalispell MT with local news ending & into syndicated talk. When nulling KERI (toward KOFI) a 1 kHz cycle tone can be heard steadily, far down behind both the two dominants. Hard to get a bearing on it. It certainly isn't anything in this area (Don Kaskey, ibid.) The Tone on 1180 is fading in and out. Tonight, There is a talk show or something on right now. But I can still hear it; it sounds like a tone alarm (Like you hear on NOAA All-Hazards Radio). I Have no Idea where it is coming from. Could it be from Cuba? Or somewhere in the Tropics? (Paul Armani, Denver, ibid.) Heard driving home from work at 2230 PDT in the X & checked on the R75 at home and noticed the same USB/LSB phenomenon as Jay Heyl. Tone disappeared when in LSB, solid on 1181 in USB (Dan Sheedy, R75, 60' random wire, Encinitas, CA, ibid.) Sure sounds like it is not a het from 1179! Good work, gang! That might explain the RX-321 scan I did last night - a major, "wide" peak at 1180, with a shorter, very narrow spike at 1179 [theory European carrier] and a roughly equal spike at 1181 [theory mystery carrier]. DX detective work is fun! (Phil VY2PR Rafuse, Stratford PEI, Canada, ibid.) It's very interesting that I'm getting it on all my radios here in Orlando. Phil has it on PEI. Dan has it in Encinitas. That's pretty wide coverage. Has anyone in the northwest heard it? (Jay Heyl, FL, ibid.) Actually Frank in Boise posted he could hear it too. Don't know if that's far enough Northwest or not :) Phil Bytheway is still on our list I think and he's in Seattle. Maybe if he's reading he'll check. Don Kaskey had it in SF. Some of you that are on the other lists might want to sniff around there or post about it. Patrick Martin in Seaside Oregon is not on our list but is on most of the others. Some of you could probably ask him if he's hearing it (Michael n Wyo Richard, ibid.) Here is what I found in the vicinity of 1180 kHz this morning 08/18 at 0115 PDT [0815 UT]: 1179.000 a weak fading carrier, probably a DU station 1179.998 KERI 1180.005 KOFI 1181.000 a fairly strong open carrier (Albert Lehr - Livermore, CA, Allied A-2515 receiver, Homebrew external sync detector, Frequency measurement system, phase-locked to WWVB, Two 8 x 35 x11 ft. Ewe antennas at 218 and 293 degrees, 6 ft. outdoor loop, ibid.) Unless DF rules out Cuba, I would suspect one of the jamming transmitters there has simply shifted up 1 kHz in order to do more damage. Being exactly 1000 Hz off means it is not accidental (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) If A3H modulation --- carrier plus upper sideband only --- is being used, then nothing would be present on 1179. A3H has been used extensively by U.S. government stations --- like the 2 MHz USCG weather transmissions and the four-digit numbers stations --- and I wonder if this is the case here? I think you're probably correct about this being an off-frequency carrier, but maybe someone with spectrum display capability can take a look at this and let us know. Can anyone in Florida, etc., confirm whether the Cuban is still heard on 1180 along with this carrier/tone? [Later:] The tone is still in tonight, just as strong as before. While listening with the ICF-2010, I switched to the sync mode using the 2.4 kHz Kiwa narrow filter. When I tuned to the lower sideband, the tone disappeared; when I tuned to the upper sideband, the tone is loud and clear. This is nicely congruent with Glenn Hauser's conclusion that the "tone" is actually a carrier on 1181. (I initially thought this could indicate A3H modulation.) My one reservation about declaring this to be a Cuban operation is the report of daytime reception from Colorado. Anyone feeling like staying up past Cuban sunrise tonight?? ;-) (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, ABDX via DXLD) I'd bet this signal, either a open carrier on 1181 (or possibly 1180 carrier plus upper sideband modulating a 1 kHz tone per Harry), is originating from the lower half of Florida. I was confused on my previous post when I mentioned the bearing from Memphis being the Florida panhandle or Eastern half of Cuba, I meant the Florida peninsula, or the Florida pan.... or whatever it is called ;) 73, (Brandon Jordan, Memphis, TN, ABDX via DXLD) Just returned from going out to pick up a pizza and the tone was there pretty strong. KOFI was in nicely at times but this tone was certainly overriding it otherwise. It would get louder and then softer as the signal faded. I certainly heard beating before and in my opinion it doesn't sound like a carrier beating but then again what do I know. Sounds like it's a legit tone being sent. One man's opinion, though. 3 days now it's been on. I just can't see another station beating against 1180 producing a tone that loud. *shrug* (Michael n Wyo Richard, 0347 UT Aug 19, ibid.) I'm probably going to display my ignorance here, but I have to ask, how would the radio know or express the difference between two carriers 1kHz apart and one station broadcasting a carrier and just an upper side band 1kHz tone? I guess I'm asking how a het would sound different from a legit tone? (Jay Heyl, FL, ibid.) Checked 1180 at 6AM [1100 UT] Saturday morning. Mix of 2 or 3 stations & the 1 khz tone was there. Was Tone transmitting this morning? Anybody else around Texas (or anywhere else) pick it up at or near this time? (Robert M. Bratcher Jr., Houston TX, ibid.) Why would Cuba jam its own radio station Radio Rebelde? (Kevin, possumhunter, FL, ABDX via DXLD) Appreciate all the interesting posts and ideas about this one! To answer Kevin FL`s question, the R. Rebelde transmission on 1180 exists ONLY to jam Radio Martí. Rebelde has plenty of clear frequencies all over Cuba for those who really want to listen to it. In many areas the Martí interference on 1180 is strong enough so the frequency is a real mess, even without the 1181 carrier. It`s disposable as far as the dentroCubans are concerned, and the more QRM, the better. It would certainly be more interesting if this could be pinned on a US location! The way to do this is with multiple DF bearings. Is Rick Shaftan still in Bermuda? Fixed antennas (except Wullenwebers!) are of no use for this. All you need is a box loop, a Space Magnet or a portable radio with a ferrite rod antenna. Is anyone operating an LSCA [loop-sensor cardioid array, pioneered by the late Ronald F. Schatz] any more? That`s unidirexional rather than bidirexional and could answer once and for all whether it is in the west or the east. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, ABDX via DXLD) I'll toss my .02 in here too. The tone is being heard here in L.A., looping pretty much NNE, under KERI and stronger and more consistent than KOFI. For some reason, I realized that I did not have KOFI in the log before, which seems strange to me, since I've heard other Montana stations that should be more difficult than KOFI. In any case, I confirmed the logging by using the webcast to verify that the song Black & White by Three Dog Night was them. First new logging in a while - I guess I should start listening more, before IBOC puts an end to the fun. [later:] I'm still catching up on my reading - sorry for all of my emails. I just figured I'd add a couple of data points. I'm hearing the same phenomenon. Nothing in LSB, tone heard clearly in USB. The direction is pretty fuzzy - I can tell you it's not N/S, but it's heard pretty much throughout the range from SSE to NNE, probably strongest at ENE (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA (GMT -0800) DX-398 / RS Loop, ABDX via DXLD) The way to DF a signal is not to note the broad peak, but to find the sharp null and then add/subtract 90 degrees. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Yeah, that occurred to me later on. Besides, the strength of the tone is affected by KERI, so I really should be looking for the null, and not the peak. I'll try again tonight. I just tried, and heard nothing daytime. That doesn't prove much, since all I get on 1180 daytime is my neighbor KSPN. If I null it, there's nothing else there, not even KERI which is usually audible during the day once I get far enough away from KSPN (Brian Leyton, CA, ABDX via DXLD) I'm maybe having a brain fade here, but I don't understand the add/subtract 90 part. I get the part about nulling out the station since most good antennas have sharp nulls and very broad reception lobes. Maybe it's a matter of what seems more natural with your antenna. With my QX Pro ferrite antenna, it seems to me that if I null out a station then that station lies on the same line as the antenna. (The nulls are off the ends of the ferrite, right?) With an air core loop the nulls are perpendicular to the plane of the loop, so that's where the add/subtract 90 comes in. Have I got this right? (Jay Heyl, FL, ABDX via DXLD) I think you got it right. I was trying to peak the signal while spinning in my desk chair, facing the radio. I read the bearing from the direction I was facing when hearing it the strongest. Glenn is saying that what I should do is spin around and look for the null, then add or subtract 90 degrees from where I'm facing, to get the bearing (Brian Leyton, CA, ABDX via DXLD) Could it be more than one transmitter? The tone also fades at different rates than Rebelde, making it very unlikely it is in Cuba. Is it a PowerSide or CAM-D signal making it lean toward the Upper Sideband? (Kevin, FL, ibid.) I guess we should ask Kahn if he has a new client on 1180. We know there is (was) more than one transmitter in Cuba on 1180, so of course they would not fade at the same time (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) I have it here in central NJ, and I listened to it for a half hour or so. It loops about 340/160 here, which sounds like the bearing to FL or Cuba. I also noticed that the het, tone, or whatever rose up when Cuba faded (Dave Hochfelder, Highland Park, NJ, 1753 UT Aug 19, ABDX via DXLD) What time was this? Please specify zone. That bearing would be way east of Cuba, like PR (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) I was getting it here in Prince Edward Island last night also. Strange night, really. The south was in really well, and the usual TAs were nice also. 670 was dominated by Cuba, WOR was getting a real rough tide from Latin America, and Virgin Radio 1215 was delivering full audio on the narrow filter setting of my 2010 by the bedside, with only the Radio Shack inductive loop for help. The "het" or "tone" on 1180/81 was plainy there, but not nearly as loud as the het on 1189/1190 from Talksport UK banging in to WBAL (Brent Taylor, VY2HF, Stratford, PEI FN86, ABDX via DXLD) Remember, the weird thing playing into the equation here is Paul Armani's report of hearing it during the day. I'm still showing my ignorance here, but aren't hets usually higher than 1khz? (usually like 5khz or around there and kinding beating back and forth) And it just seems like this is much louder than a het would be. I honestly mean no disrespect to those like Harry and Glenn...whom I have GREAT respect for. Just doesn't seem like a het to me. This is sounding more and more like one of those gov't things like we had last year. Wasn't it on 1020 or something like that? Then it moved (Michael n Wyo Richard, ibid.) Michael, I have a hard time believing it's Cuba, though my lousy DFing is no proof. Mainly it's the fact that I've never heard a peep from Cuba, or even RVC for that matter. This het seems too strong for that kind of distance. To answer your question, hets from TA/TP signals can be anywhere from 1 kHz up to the highest frequency you or your radio can hear, since the TA/TP channels drift in relation to domestic channels. For example, the closest TA/TP to 1180 is 1179. If this were a TA/TP running open carrier, we'd hear the same 1 kHz het we're hearing now, but it would most likely be heard on LSB instead of USB when tuned to 1180. The next TA/TP channel up is 1188, so you'd hear a 2 kHz het when tuned to 1190. The next one would be 1197 with a 3 kHz het on 1200. Of course there is also a 7 kHz het on 1190 from the 1197, but most receivers aren't wide enough to hear it anymore. And my aging ears probably wouldn't hear it either. It seems that everyone is hearing the tone in USB, but not LSB. If it were a regular modulated AM signal, then we'd be hearing the tone on both USB and LSB. Since we're not, the best explanation is that it's either an open carrier on 1181, or something like a Kahn Powerside signal that only uses one sideband. What intrigues me is that this tone/het is being heard throughout North America. That's pretty impressive by itself. I hope they start modulating this signal so that we can get some hints as to what it is (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA RS DX-398 / RS Loop, ABDX via DXLD) If it's actually an open carrier on 1181, hearing it all over the place isn't really all that impressive. It just seems like it because we're so accustomed to the airwaves being crowded and signals interfering with each other. Since there's no one else putting out a constant signal on 1181, there's very little competition. The occasional 1kHz transient sound from stations on 1180, but that's about it. If I can clearly hear a 400W NDB from 2100 miles away, then it doesn't seem much of a stretch to think that a 5-10kW carrier on an unoccupied frequency could carry thousands of miles. Lest it be said that long distance reception was due to equipment alone, I've also heard a far less powerful NDB from over 800 miles on the RF-2200 (TVX- 521). Point being, if there's nothing interfering, signals of even very moderate power can travel great distances (Jay Heyl, ibid.) I was getting a slight het/tone on USB 1180 about 7:00 am this morning [EDT = 1100 UT] here on the Cape on my southern flag, but it was getting light and faded out. It seemed to resolve about 1180.825. I could see the blip on the Icom scope, so am assuming a carrier of some sort? I will take a look tonight (Chris Black, Cape Cod, Aug 19, ibid.) Brian, I revisited the carrier/het/tone on 1180 and I have what you have. ENE is more accurate from here. It makes me wonder if this carrier could come from one of the US military bases in GA (Kevin Redding, Gilbert AZ, ABDX via DXLD) I checked at roughly 3 pm EDT. I'm getting no discernible signal on 1180. When I switch to CW mode (I was using the AR7030+) I get a weak tone on 1180, so I'm getting just a bit of a carrier from somewhere, but nothing else to go with it. There's no sign of anything at all on 1181. I tried DFing the carrier on 1180 but the direction didn't make a lot of sense. The null line was ENE/WSW. According to the NRC log book, the only station in Florida on that frequency is Radio Martí in Marathon, and Marathon is nowhere near that line. Maybe I'm getting something overwater from Mexico (Jay Heyl, Orlando, FL, AR7030+/QX Pro, ABDX via DXLD) I too had the carrier at 1181 Saturday evening at 2300 CDT. I checked during the day and heard no het on 1180 or zero beat on 1181. If the carrier is from S Florida or Cuba the guys in the area might be able to hear it on groundwave. While listening for the carrier I caught R Romántica, 1180, XEDCH, Delicias, Chihuahua with top of the hour ID. WRTH lists with 250w (nights). It stayed on top of the heap most of the time until tune out at 2330 CDT. Another station, in English, had USA Radio News but I couldn't catch an ID (Jerry Lenamon, Waco, Drake R8B, sloper, ABDX via DXLD) I fired up Spectran this morning and 1181 was rock solid at 10:30 am ET, Aug 19 2007. Not very strong, might be missed if just listening, but with narrow filters and the Spectran display, the signal was obvious. Close as I can tell -- though I couldn't tweak my receiver tuning very well because only 10 and 15 MHz WWV could be heard -- the frequency seems to be spot on, assuming 1181 is the intended frequency. I listened and watched the signal all night last night until about 2 am local. There was some fading but the signal was always there except for a brief period between 11:49 and 11:52 ET [0349-0352 UT] when it seemed to suddenly switch off then back on. Efforts to DF were unsuccessful last night, using a couple portables and a Quantum Loop. Nothing could be determined with the portables. A slight dip in signal strength was noted with the loop, but it was inside and weather precluded outside measurements (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Ratón, (southeast) Florida, USA, [Ten-Tec RX-320D; LFE H-800 Vertical; Spectran] [Palstar R30cc; Quantum QX Loop] [Kaito KA1121 & Panasonic RF-B45] Aug 19, IRCA via DXLD) Hi Glenn - Checked 1181 het today circa 0820L [1220 UT Aug 19]. LOBS > Santa Clara, VC, Cuba, null // 840, R. Dobleve. Assume het/tone source to be second/third R. Rebelde mitter at Sta. Clara. Will look at this one during this week. Our fido is always full of surprises. Good to hear from you. Best, Paul pvz mk fl 19 2237Z AUG 07 (Paul Vincent Zecchino, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Seemingly western Cuba, but I could be wrong. The signal is rock- steady all day here in west central/coastal Florida, seemingly full AM mod (could be wrong on that). Can't imagine it's not Cuba, but... (Terry L. Krueger, Clearwater FL, UT Aug 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) At local 7:30 pm [2330 UT], about 1/2 hour before sunset, the het is strong on my southern flag only under a mix of WHAM, Rochester and SS (presumed Radio Martí - it isn't // 5025 so not Rebelde). (Chris, Cape Cod, Black, Aug 19, ABDX via DXLD) Radio Martí-1180 noted @ 2002! 1180, FL, Marathon: Part of the theme music of Radio Martí was noted this evening at 2002 [EDT] 8/19 while listening for the mystery emission on 1181. Station not logged on this basis as no ID was heard, but the theme music is something I've heard zillions of times while in the employ of IBB. This would seem very unlikely unless Martí were operating on other than its usual pattern which puts practically 0 watts this way. Something strange is happening here! (Charles A. Taylor, WD4INP Greenville, North Carolina, 0041 UT Aug 20, ABDX via DXLD) Glenn, This time I was awake at the switch: I noted the 1181-kHz beginning at around local sunset (NC) time. As noted in my report to ABDX and IRCA, I happened to hear part the post-ID theme for Radio Martí at 2002 [EDT = 0002 UT]. This REALLY caught my attention because Martí puts practically no signal in this direction. As the 1181 signal became stronger, I set my PFM equipment to measure it and it was 1,181,000 +/- 1 Hz. The 1181 signal nulls right for Cuba and Florida, but I can't get any closer than that. Suffice it to say that when 1181 nulls, Rebelde-1180 nulls, too. And, while observing the 1181-kHz signal, I noted that it suddenly jumped up by a factor of about 20 dB and stayed at that level for a while, then dropped back down 20 dB or so. This is really WEIRD! (Charles A. Taylor, WD4INP, Greenville, North Carolina, Aug 19, ABDX via DXLD) I'm getting a null almost at a right angle to yours. Given the tools I have available, my guess is a line about 75/255 through Orlando. The only place remotely near by that lines up is Bermuda. [bearing later changed and uncertain --- see below] Let me describe my methodology in case somebody can spot a flaw. I used the AR7030+ with the QX Pro antenna. My technique was similar to what I do with NDBs. I put the radio in CW mode and used the 500Hz filter. The radio output goes to the DSP-599zx, which is also in CW mode with the CF set the same as the AR7030+ BFO and the bandwidth to the minimum 10Hz. Basically, the DSP in this mode provides a very narrow audio filter that allows through only tones within a very few Hz of the BFO frequency. It lets you concentrate on just the signal the is precisely tuned. Move just the tiniest bit off frequency and the tone disappears completely. With the radio tuned to 1181 kHz, I turned off the AGC and turned the RF gain down to 50%. I also turned down the gain on the QX Pro. I played with the gain settings a bit trying to find the sweet spot where the signal dropped out of audibility just at the null. Once I found the null, I grabbed my watch with the digital compass, lined the band up with the head on the QX Pro and hit the activate button. Adjusting the compass rose I got a reading of 75/255. I'm not sure the results make much sense to me, but that's what I came up with. I'd love to hear what anyone makes of this (Jay Heyl, Orlando, FL, AR7030+/QX Pro/Timewave DSP-599zx, ABDX via DXLD) Jay, could it be your bearings are 90 degrees off? 75 + 90 = 165 degrees would match up with others into Cuba. You could try the same technique with a known station and see what you get. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) I don't think so, Glenn. I did as you suggested with two different transmitters. I recently looked up the location of the 540-WFLF transmitter and was surprised to find it is almost due west of me, despite them announcing themselves as "Pine Hills/Orlando", which would be to the north. That one's a bit tough being 50 kW and less than 20 miles away, but at least I know it's the only station on that frequency for a very great distance. Reducing the gains I was able to get a null almost exactly due west. I then tried a NDB about 40 miles from here. When I got it nulled, the line through the ends of the QX Pro was within 10 degrees of the known bearing to that NDB from my location. I will be the first to admit my method of determining compass direction leaves a lot to be desired. I couldn't claim to be any better than +/-20 degrees accurate, and that's probably a bit of a stretch. But I know from looking at Google Earth that the back wall of the house is on a ENE/WSW line and the head of the QX Pro is lining up maybe 10 degrees further N in the ENE direction. Is it possible that some of those measuring from greater distances and simply doing it by ear while listening to 1180 are actually nulling the carrier on 1180 rather than the signal/carrier on 1181? If listening in AM mode, nulling the carrier on 1180 would remove the signal the carrier on 1181 was beating against and the tone would disappear (Jay Heyl, ibid.) Another variable one must take into account if using a magnetic compass: magnetic declination. Compute yours here: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/jsp/Declination.jsp This is not a problem for me since my house and neighboring streets are on N/S, E/W grid so it`s easy to line up the angle of the radio where the null is. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid, ibid.) I checked at around 6:45 pm Central today and noted the carrier/tone clearly audible on my ICF-2010. By contrast, Rebelde-530 was barely "there" and no audio was intelligible. While listening to 1180, the carrier/tone abruptly dropped to near inaudibility twice for a few seconds before resuming its previous level. I thought those were propagation "blips" but, after seeing your report above, I wonder if someone was diddling with the transmitter output or antenna pattern. I get the strong feeling that some of our psyops people are playing around again (Harry Helms, W5HLHm Smithville, TX EL19 Aug 19 ABDX via DXLD) From here, in SSB mode on the 7600 out in the yard, I get a definite null here at about 010/190 degrees. That places the direction just east of the Florida coast from here, and places the bearing on a line through the eastern Bahamas into eastern Cuba. In fact, when I shoot the line onto Google Earth, it points right to Guantánamo. Just sayin` (Brent Taylor, VY2HF Stratford, PEI FN86, ABDX via DXLD) I made my first check of the mystery 1181 kHz carrier at 0230-0240 UT August 19. First of all, it`s definitely a carrier on 1181.0 and not a tone modulated from an 1180 station. There is nothing matching it on the low side at 1179. It should not be called a `tone` since the tone we hear is only produced by the carrier beating against 1180 stations. But can anyone pull any modulation of its own on 1181? 1181 should not be called a `het` either, since the heterodyne is produced only by the proximity of 1180 and 1181 kHz carriers and has no independent existence of its own. I spent about 10 minutes swiveling on my porch with the battery- powered DX-398, which has a pretty good null with its ferrite bar antenna. I would have preferred to get out in the middle of the yard further from metallic influences, but it`s been drizzling. Maybe later. This indicated the signal is approximately 120/300 degrees from here, i.e. a bit closer to NW/SE than to WNW/ESE. I would say the margin of error is plus or minus 5 degrees. Checking this great circle on a globe, the line runs approximately from Seaside to Boise to Denver to Enid to Jackson to Tampa to Miami to Port-au-Prince to Georgetown. That puts it slightly north of Cuba, but Cuba is within the margin of error, which lends credibility to my theory that is could be one of the 1180 Cuban jamming transmitters which has simply been bumped up exactly 1 kHz to become more of a nuisance. Surely DXers in the East can get bearing of similar accuracy to help us triangulate it. Later: I did check again at 0415 UT, this time in the middle of the yard, and got about the same bearing, altho maybe a few degrees further to the SE/NW, which would put it closer to Cuba (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I noticed that the tone is there. The usual thing in Central Mississippi (Jackson and vicinity) is that Radio Rebelde drowns out WJNT (1180) at night and WJNT cuts power to reduce interference. The interference is so bad that they had to go low power FM at 103.3 after sunset to deliver the talk radio programs that they do. I hear Radio Rebelde at night loud and clear and tonight I heard the tone (Richard Lewis, Grundig G400A, 0230 UT Aug 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I dusted off the Quantum QX Loop to DF this and the bearing is approx. 135-140 degrees (assuming it is SE, 315-320 degrees if not) from Memphis. That would put it in eastern half of Cuba or the Florida panhandle. 73, (Brandon Jordan, Memphis, TN http://bcdx.org dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Brandon, you and I have it about to the same place. It`s probably a Cuban (Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Glenn, I can hear the het here in Victoria at 0550 UT 19 Aug 07. I'm unable to get any kind of bearing as I'm hearing it on all quadrants of my K9AY array (it's not very directional in the summer). (Walt Salmaniw, BC, IRCA via DXLD) I checked 1181 again on the portable DX-398 in the yard between 0135 and 0145 UT August 20. Tonight it was stronger than last night. I was getting the same bearing as before, approx. 120/300 degrees +/- 5. Rebelde 1180.0 was also in well, and I could not detect any difference in the null between the two, tho there could be just a few degrees. When those were nulled, a Mexican on 1180 dominated, as before. Rebelde was // 710 and 670 with, what else, hurricane info. Never any trace of Martí here. Again, no carrier detectable on 1179. I suspect Phil Rafuse`s spike in PEI at 1179 was a TA unrelated to this. It does seem like the het is wavering slightly in audio pitch, altho no one has reported the carrier on 1181.0 as wavering (except someone who had it much lower than 1181; not sure what to make of that). So here`s another theory. The transmitter with carrier on 1181.0 could also be transmitting an audio tone on its LSB only, i.e. falling on 1180.0 and that tone could be wavering. (I also don`t get any tone or carrier on 1182.) Terry Krueger in Clearwater says he hears it rock-steady all day, and seems to be in western Cuba, but not sure. Anyhow, that pretty well rules out anything in the W or NW. Paul Vincent Zecchino on Manasota Key, to give it its real name, found 1181 nulling at the same spot as CMHW 840 Santa Clara (but WRTH puts the second R. Rebelde transmitter on 1180 in Santiago de Cuba province, further east). I`m still waiting to hear at what time (day or night?) Dave Hochfelder in NJ had it, since his post was at mid-day and he used the present tense. But a 160 degree bearing from there would be far east of FL and all of Cuba, more like PR. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I notified some other DXers about this signal, and I received an e- mail this morning from Walt Salminiw in Victoria, BC, saying he had the signal last night. Coupled with Phil's report from PEI, this means the mystery signal was covering Canada coast to coast last night! Walt is using a WinRadio 313e receiver and says its spectrum display indicated a clear "spike" on 1181 but nothing below 1180, which pretty much clinches the case for this being a het produced by an open carrier instead of a modulated tone. Given the widely differing loop bearings people are getting, I think we need to consider Kevin's suggestion that we could be looking at more than one transmitter site in this situation. More and more, this is reminding me of the 1140 mystery signal heard in early 2001. For those of you who weren't around back then, here is a summary of that little drama: http://www.nrcdxas.org/notebook/dxnt6820.html (Harry Helms W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, http://topsecrettourism.com ABDX via DXLD) I cannot get any modulation on 1181 either but there is a carrier there. I thought the definition of a heterodyne was two closely separated carriers beating against each other and you got the difference tone? A het cannot exist with only one carrier or multiple carriers all on frequency. The modulation doesn't cause the het, the carriers themselves do, that has always been my experience. I located the carrier with the BFO of both my SP-600 and my R-390A on two different antennas so I know there is something there. I did also get a weak carrier on 1179 at times but it was independent of the carrier on 1181. I nulled the dominant NY station on 1180 here and got SS which I presume is Cuba and is right on frequency, I'd get outside now with one of my Super Radios but it is midnight and I'm not dressed, (Bob Young, Millbury, MA, Aug 19, NRC-AM via DXLD) Yes, just like I said, that exactly defines a het (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) I am also getting the het here too. 73 (Patrick Martin, 1600 UT Aug 19, NRC-AM via DXLD) But not, I assume, at 1600 UT (gh, DXLD) As recently as February, I heard two separate Cubans on 1180 (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ), NRC AM via DXLD) This evening around 9 pm ET [0100 UT], I compared the signals on 1180 and 1181 using Spectran, and the fading on 1181 was not in step with the signal on 1180. 1180 was pretty much unfading at the time. At 11:30 [0330 UT] I heard two stations with audio fairly well but suspect they are both on 1180 since the carrier on 1181 is much weaker while the audio of the two I heard were similar. Also the het 1181 produces on 1180 could be heard fading in and out even as the audio stays steady, as before. It is clearly a single carrier on 1181, while at least two carriers can be seen on 1180, beating against each other producing sub-audible hets varying around 0-5 Hz. It must be two R. Rebelde's on 1180 because there is a clear echo affect of a half second or less in the audio, confused somewhat since the // 5025 R. Reb had a slight echo in the audio as well, but not nearly as prominent as on 1180 and I suspect just the nature of the broadcast material itself (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Ratón, (southeast) Florida, USA, [Ten-Tec RX-320D; LFE H-800 Vertical], 0445 UT Aug 20, IRCA via DXLD) 1181 is very strong tonight in NE Oregon, at 0500 UT, on 2 of my antennas (E/W longwire and active whip). N/S longwire has it but not like the first two. I would guess it's a domestic NA signal, or else running a lot of power, if offshore (Steve NE Oregon Ratzlaff, UT Aug 20, IRCA via DXLD) Steve, Also getting it here. I wonder if another Cuban. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, 0518 UT Aug 20, ibid.) Tone can be heard faintly but steadily on 1180 in KERI null, under KOFI. On 1181, using LSB, the tone is a monster. Very loud. Not heard on 1182, 1181 USB or LSB 1180 (Don Kaskey, San Francisco CA, 0531 UT Aug 20, IRCA via DXLD) Hi Glenn. I stumbled across this one Friday afternoon, 8/17, on the way home from work. Initially checked 530, out of curiosity on what might be there, and finding the Cuban strong, switched up to 1180 to hear what might be heard from what has been, clearly, higher power there for the last few weeks. Found the 1 kHz het just at 2200Z, reminiscent of the tone that one will hear on 1520 when the Saudi is coming in well. No way then of knowing who was off-frequency then, but a check at home, around 2330, found the OC on 1181. Did not encounter it on two, quick checks during the daytime on 8/18, but that doesn't mean it wasn't on, just that I caught it weak and buzzed over by the power line noise, now a constant and apparently unfixable problem here. 8/19 checks found it at very good strength on the car radio at 1500 and again 1715. Using the QX loop and the R8, DF is SSE/NNW, putting it in the western half of Cuba most likely. Signal on the R8 was a steady 10 over 9 8/20 at 0100. I`m also hearing two Rebelde transmissions, distinguished by the out of sync echo, in addition to the 1181 OC. This is par for Rebelde, of course, that there are two transmitters with programming (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, Aug 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn and crew, In retrospect, this 1181 thing was surreal. First of all, I heard bits and pieces of Radio Martí in there for sure! I DAMNED well know what Martí sounds like since I spent nearly twenty years at VOA (now IBB) listening to Martí and VOA; and I sure was hearing Martí mixed in there on 1180. If there were aerospacial broadcasts by US government of Martí on 1180, then that would explain my reception of Martí. Otherwise, if Martí were absolutely alone on the channel, I'd expect their signal to be very weak. Look at the 1180 pattern. Martí puts practically zero, zip, nada in this direction. If I had my druthers, I'd say this time the Cuban government was the one putting the 1181 thing out. To say that some National Guard element was up there flying around broadcasting Martí on 1181 goes against what has been observed. Assuming the 1181-kHz transmission was intentional, it seemed to be unmodulated at all times (Charles A Taylor, WD4INP Greenville, North Carolina, Aug 20, IRCA via DXLD) Glenn: The 1181 kHz carrier is very strong at my location. With a ferrite loop, I'm getting an approx. bearing of 110/290 degrees. I suspect Radio Rebelde, Cuba, which is not presently audible on 1180 and is usually very strong. The carrier is strong enough to produce audio, but nothing heard. 73, (Mike Beu KD5DSQ, Austin, Texas, 0621 UT Aug 19, MWC via DXLD) Rebelde was certainly there on 1180.0 as per my later log, besides the 1181.0 carrier (gh, DXLD) Michael, Here in Cedar Creek which is south east from Austin, I am hearing 1181 het as well, and yes, very strong. I was tuning on my loop and agree with the bearing as well, 110/290 degrees. I also suspect Cuba also. Thanks (James Niven, Cedar Creek, TX, MWC via DXLD) I think we can now safely assume we're dealing with an unmodulated carrier on 1181. And the loop bearings and Jey Heyl's daytime reception this morning strongly points to a location in southern Florida or Cuba (including Guantánamo). Now that word is getting out about this signal, I wouldn't be surprised if it disappears just as swiftly and mysteriously as it appeared (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, Aug 20, ABDX via DXLD) I just checked again at 0800 EDT. I am hearing the tone, though it's difficult to tell in AM mode due to splatter from local 1190. (Funny, when I'm actually trying to listen to 1190 their signal is often weak and inconsistent. Today it's blasting in.) If I switch to LSB on 1180 the tone again disappears. In this mode I can hear at least three, possibly four, stations, all in SS. All but one of them nulls pretty much along the same line as the tone (for me). I'm assuming the remaining signal is out of Cuba or is possibly Radio Martí. (I did hear "Cuba" mentioned. The announcer was speaking rather slowly and enunciating clearly, so I'm kind of leaning toward Martí on this. Not sure of their hours of operation.) The other stations I'm guessing are out of Mexico and coming in over the Gulf. I didn't carefully measure the null angle for 1181 in CW, but it was pretty much the same as I was getting last night -- just a few degrees north of the ENE line of the back wall of the house. Anyway, the tone is audible here at 0800 local, well after sunrise. This is the first time I've heard it in the day time, though it's also the first time I've listened during the day on the AR7030+ with the QX Pro (Jay Heyl, Orlando, FL AR7030+/QX Pro/Timewave DSP-599zx Aug 20, ABDX via DXLD) R Martí is 24/6 except weekly truce UT Mon 03-09 (gh, DXLD) [to Jay Heyl:] You didn't mention your nulling technique. What I do is to find the null, then rock the loop back and forth across the null, noting the points where the signal just becomes audible again on each side of the null. The null will be centered between these two points. Any time a loop is being used for direction finding, it must not be tilted. So make sure that the loop is parallel to the ground for a ferrite-core loop, or perpendicular to the ground for an air-core loop. Your loop would null on the end of the ferrite rod. Was this the direction you stated? (An air-core loop would null 90 degrees from the plane of the winding, i.e. through the open part of the loop winding.) Could there be any wiring in the area, electrical wiring in the walls, cable TV, telco, CAT5, etc. that might have skewed the reading indoors? (Rick Kunath, ABDX via DXLD) That's pretty much what I did. I lowered the gain on the QX Pro almost all the way down. The AR7030+ had AGC off and RF gain to about 50%. I adjusted the gain so that as I rotated the antenna the null covered as little area as possible. I figured this allowed me to most accurately identify the null point. The null on the QX Pro is pretty narrow to begin with. Combined with the gain being adjusted it allowed me to get it so the null was just a few degrees of travel. Yes, the directions I reported were those of the line running end-to- end along the head of the QX Pro. Admittedly, my directions may be off a bit, but certainly not anything close to 90 degrees. The walls are the typical concrete block construction used in Florida. I would imagine there is some rebar running through them. But I've never had any issues before. The other transmitters I DF'ed to verify my methodology all came out exactly as expected. Since my direction comes out different than most everyone else I am inclined to believe it is in error, but I can't find the flaw in my method. Without knowing why my results are wrong I'm also disinclined to completely disregard them, especially since I think I was fairly rigorous in trying to avoid errors. It's a mystery wrapped in an enigma (Jay Heyl, FL, ibid.) Sounds like you did everything just right on your DFing. The only other thing you might do would be to haul the radio and loop outside and see if the direction you get is the same as the indoor reading. That would rule out any metal in the walls affecting the null (Rick Kunath, ibid.) I checked 1180/1181 on the way in to work, and had nothing but a weak KERI. So it's not audible daytime. I also tried to get a better fix on the null last night, and while I did not use a compass, I'd estimate the bearing to be just a bit north of due east. A reminder for anyone using a compass - keep it away from your radio. The metal in the radio, and especially the magnet in the speaker, will skew your results (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA, DX-398 / RS Loop, ABDX via DXLD) The het was gone by sunrise here in central Texas (7 am [1200 UT]). It was still strong at 6 am [1100 UT]. Jay Heyl's comment about nulling is correct. I think one would need to zero beat 1181 and null on it. (Jerry Lenamon, Waco TX, ibid.) There exists precedent. Fido has a history of slewing mitters slightly off freq. Why? Because he can. And because he enjoys tweaking the snouts of stateside broadcasters. Prior to Progreso 640's APR '06 glorious resurrection, it occasionally emitted tonal windgalls. Generally, Pro 640 ran clean. Sometimes, Pro 640 ran fulla-snot power, evidenced by two hets, symmetrically about the carrier, at 627.5 and 652.5 Kcs, respectively. When mitter cranked back, hets evaporated. No mystery here. Just SinBag Maximo being his usual folksy, avuncular self (paul vincent zecchino, manasota key, fl, 20 1306Z AUG 07 IRCA via DXLD) 1181 Hetso Fatso; 20 1221Z AUG 07; PVZ --- Alright. Again looked at 1181, 0830L, w/2010 & Mighty Benmar 555A RDF. Today, as yesterday, 1181 nulls // 840 R. Dobleve & 1180 Reb, qth Santa Clara, VC, Cuba. 1181 LOBS 151 degrees from this qth > Santa Clara & // 840 & 1180. Yeah, some claim mitter site to be Sancti Spíritus. Who can say? WRTH sez Sancti. List here, which incorporates WRTH, sez Sta. Clara. LOBS > Santa & Sancti within 4 degrees. Not to be confused with ex-Taíno 1180, qth Guanajay, just southa Fidoville. Choose for yourself. With FidoNet, sooner than later, your guess will prove to be correct. Het may or may not be related to hurricane power troubles, idle speculation based upon slightly diminished strength of Pro 640 & el Wobblito's abrupt maestoso return to 1100 R. Cadena Habana. Probably unrelated. May. Or may not. BCB's Cubano operate for sole convenience of SinBag Máximo, The One Who Refused the Bag and lived to tell of it. Always, when looking at Cuba, look behind Consolación sur Norte, to see the surprises. Are my posts getting through, re reported net troubles? Or merely wisely disregarded by discerning readers? Preferably, the latter. I wouldn't read any of the bilious tripe I, with all too great frequency, belch up, in manner of a cirhhotic with esophageal varicicles. Sweet imagery for a lovely morn. paul vincent zecchino pvz manasota key, fl [tagline] "The faculties which discern conspiracy and betrayal are also those which corrode judgement." - Professor Fredericks, "The Good Shepherd" c. 2007 (Zecchino, IRCA via DXLD) Z, Were you noting anything unusual on Martí? A second transmitter? I can't explain how it was I heard Martí through the 2 x Rebelde transmitters + WHAM-1180 last night. Martí's pattern just doesn't send anything this way. I figured that the US military was running another transmitter with Martí On 1180, and the Cuban government was running the 1181 transmitter in an attempt to kill the two Martí transmissions. Really weird to hear Martí on 1180, even though just bits and pieces. Gonna try again tonight. Martí would look good in my logbook! Signal on 1181 was +/- 1 Hz. A hurricane doesn't knock a transmitter off-frequency exactly 1 kHz. That 1181 thing was there for a purpose. Just hoping you (and you're closest to the goings-on) can clarify this 1181 thing a bit. Carlitos (Charles A Taylor, WD4INP, Greenville, North Carolina, IRCA via DXLD) Re 20 dB jumps: Airborne transmitter? (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA (360' ASL), IRCA via DXLD) The following log was reported by Bruce Conti on another (much smaller) list. He was DXing from his usual DXpedition site in Camden on the Maine coast. 1180, CUBA, R. Rebelde, Villa María (23 07'N 82 22'W), AUG 18 0848 - Noted off-frequency almost 1 kHz high producing a killer het against 1180 WHAM. [Conti-ME] – (via Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, MA, IRCA via DXLD) 1181 CUBA unidentified (jammer?); I say Cuba as in presumed. Per Gerry Bishop's report and my follow-up here, a huge and non-fading signal all day 19 August, seemingly right on 1181.00 and AM modulated with no audio (but that's just my guess on the mode). No trace of this August 16-18 in extreme south Florida, however the car and portable radio were not of any great quality and also Radio Martí-Marathon was huge (the reason for the 1181 signal?). Not sure if Martí was so strong because I was on the back end of the beam (Florida City, Everglades City) or something else is happening with the Martí signal. But interestingly, GMT 20 August 0100+ Martí is pretty good over/under Rebelde, and the 1181 carrier here at the Clearwater QTH (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Gents: I started up again the direction-finding version of BCmap. Just posted (Monday, 11:50 AM ET) is the map showing the 1180 signal as observed by Glenn in Enid, Oklahoma. To see this first observation plotted, go to: http://tonnesoftware.com/1180A.gif If you manually enter the address, note the upper-case "A". I have just (7:15 PM ET) posted a second map of the signal on 1180. To see this second observation plotted, go to: http://tonnesoftware.com/1180B.gif If you manually enter the address, note the upper-case "B". The "A" map is still available. If the map looks crude, click on it to enlarge it. It is 800 x 600 pixels. If we can get a few more observations it might prove interesting. To do that, post and include your location, preferably latitude and longitude, along with the evident direction (Jim Tonne, Aug 20, NRC-AM via DXLD) I've been monitoring several lists about this, and several other DFs have been reported: 135-140 from Memphis by Brandon Jordan 110 from Austin TX by Michael Beu 110 from Cedar Creek TX (near Austin) by James Niven SSE from Niceville FL by Gerry Bishop same as Santa Clara from Manasota Key FL by Paul Vincent Zecchino 75/255 from Orlando FL by Jay Heyl [this one doesn`t fit but he`s pretty sure of it] 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) [should be added: 190 from PEI as far above] And Jim promptly put up most of these on version C of his map: http://tonnesoftware.com/1180C.gif [if reading this much later, I suppose one must look for D, E, etc.] I think that it was pretty well established by Bruce Conti that the off frequency signal on 1181 was coming from one of the Cubans. In my DX experience, at least 90% of all off frequency signals have been from Cuban stations, going back to the 1930's (Ben Dangerfield, Wallingford, PA, NRC-AM via DXLD) Yes, I agree with that, the question is why would they be running an open carrier on 1181? (Bob Young, Millbury, MA, ibid.) Not at all. The log from Conti said it was R. Rebelde off-frequency on 1181 (i.e. instead of 1180). That has certainly not been the case when I have logged it nor any others I can think of. 1181 has yet to be found with any audio, altho I do still think it too is probably coming from Cuba. As I already said, why they would be running an OC on 1181 is to cause more QRM to Radio Martí in addition to Rebelde being on 1180, which is really a jammer, and it doesn`t really matter if Cubans can`t get clear reception of Reb 1180 since they have the island covered with numerous transmitters on other frequencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, NRC-AM via DXLD) Tried 1180 again tonight to see if I could get a logging on Radio Martí. Nothing, but DID get a positive ID on the two Rebelde outlets on 1180, so didn't turn up empty handed. 1181 was in, too. Quite poor; not the powerhouse others are hearing. Only 5 kW is my best guess. Not a trace of modulation, though. 73, (Charles A Taylor, WD4INP, Greenville, North Carolina 0051 UT Aug 21, ABDX via DXLD) Making another check of 1181, UT Aug 21 at 0133, in the yard with portable DX-398, this time I made a point of getting the null after tuning to 1181-LSB [not USB as I said in earlier post], and then off- tuning a few dekahertz upward to get a low beat, and concentrated on that, i.e. the 1181 carrier only, not the 1180/1181 het. I still was getting the same bearing of about 120 degrees, tho it was sharper --- just as it disappeared about 0135:30 and still had not come back 5 minutes later. Also, Rebelde-1180 was nowhere near as loud as it was 24 hours earlier. I wonder if they had jacked up the power the night before for hurricane coverage. Rechecked at 0305 UT it was back on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1181 Fidoman's last gasp? 1181 is probably just 1180 Sta. Clara off freq, biz as usual in SinBaggie Land. z (Paul Vincent Zecchino, FL, IRCA via DXLD) A check at 1950 PDT 8/20 [0250 UT 8/21] got the following results: a--1180 kHz KOFI atop in KERI null. Tone noted far below but steady and not hard to hear. b--1181 tone a bit louder but still far down c--1181 using LSB filter. Tone very loud Seems to be a pretty darned good signal if it`s coming from Florida or Cuba. Don't often hear stuff that far away out here anymore, especially with two powerful signals fairly near by. Also, this reception was while it was still bright daylight outside, about 10 minutes this side of sundown (Don Kaskey, San Francisco CA, IRCA via DXLD) The 1181 signal is missing tonight at a 9:05 pm Central check [0205 UT Aug 21]. Another demonstration of my awesome precognitive powers. . . (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19 Aug 20, ABDX via DXLD) Harry, the mystery signal has been in here, Tennessee, since sunset. Some QSB on the band causes it to sound like it not there. At 2130 [EDT?] it is S9+10db (Willis Monk, Old Fort TN, UT Aug 21, IRCA via DXLD) NO, it definitely went off abruptly at 0135 UT, as I happened to be monitoring it then (gh, OK, DXLD) A check at 9:55 pm Central shows the 1181 signal is back, but not as strong as previously. Power or antenna change? 'Twas definitely gone at 9:05 pm (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, ABDX via DXLD) It`s still here in PEI, and I managed to use the Quantum QX Pro to determine approximate direction. Seems to be Florida. Or Greenland. Very hard to null (Phil Rafuse, Aug 20, ABDX via DXLD) From your angle, how can you possibly put it in FL instead of Cuba? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Really strong here in the Dallas area. It is audible as a 1 kHz on 1181 and 9 kHz imposed on a local 1190, which is also hammered by a 10 kHz heterodyne from 1200 in San Antonio. I did a bit of nulling using the ferrite bar in my radio - it seems to be coming from the direction of Cuba - or 180 degrees away. Anybody else want to try to triangulate? Maybe Castro is getting ready to retaliate for nighttime HD radio. Or - maybe it is a jamming signal - isn't radio Martí on 1180? (Bruce Carter, ABDX via DXLD) Yes After spending another hour messing around trying to get a bearing on the 1181 tone that is a bit closer to what the rest of the world is getting, I've come to one very clear conclusion. I never want to get lost with just my digital compass watch as a guide. Maybe it would do better out in the middle of nowhere, but in the house here it's a mess. The repeatability of measurements is non-existent. I line the watch up the right edge of the desk and take a reading. I line it up with the left edge of the desk, which is parallel to the right edge, and north is suddenly in a different direction. Based on satellite photos of the house, a myriad of compass readings, and, ultimately, my best guess, I'd revise my previous bearing to be more like 50/230 than the 75/255 I reported before. The alignment of the null point hasn't changed, just my best estimate of the direction. This is still not pointing to the same place everyone else is reporting, but that's my reading (Jay Heyl, Orlando, FL, AR7030+/QX Pro/Timewave DSP-599zx/Crappy Casio compass watch 0551 UT Aug 21, ABDX via DXLD) Probably more to come on this; cutoff here early UT August 21. I hope that the next time something like this comes up, we don`t have to spend so much time explaining and refining DFing techniques. For starters, everyone should locate where true north is from their location. And if only everyone would use UT instead of local time (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 7-099, mystery signal on 1660: Glenn: I heard the same thing a few months ago here in Nashville, so it appears to be state wide. At the time I thought it might have something to do with the local or state government (David Hodgson, TN, Aug 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) i.e. driver`s ed UNIDENTIFIED. 3325. 1122-1145, 8/18/07. Fair-poor with muffled audio; EZL vocal music with announcements by woman; program shifted to all talk by man at 1132; could not catch ID at 1130; talk not in Pidgin but seemingly Bahasa Indonesian perhaps suggesting RRI-Palangkaraya that has been logged here in this time period. This has been a banner 90 meter week for me; R. Manus is the first 90 meter PN/G I've heard in OK. I am intrigued by the UNID on 3325 and would appreciate any thoughts on that. Six logs on 90 meters in one week is fairly amazing here. The extended FlexTenna is an end-fed Zep with the legs at 38 feet and 48 feet, twice the usual length for a FlexTenna. This antenna is run thru an RF Systems MLB balun. I'll probably call this extended antenna the FlexTenna Mk. 2! (Jim Ronda, Tulsa OK, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. (at least by me) station: 9355, 1200:45 - 1215+, Aug. 21, 2007. Anthem - like theme, OM with talk until I had to tune out at 1215 to go to work. Deteriorating signal after 1210. There was a very large open carrier on top of this which made a roar throughout, and the signal was audible (to the extent it was) only by ECSS on USB. SINPO 13432 at start to 12141 at end. Things listed before and after: RFA 1100 - 1200 from MRA VoA 1300 - 1500 from MRA but nothing listed in EiBi, Aioki, WRTH updates, HFCC, or last two months of DXLD for 1200 - 1300. Any ideas? (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See BRASIL, R. Cultura 9615 reported on 9350-9355 tho somehow I doubt it`s what you had (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ Chávez moving Venezuela to UT -4.5 in 2008y: see VENEZUELA WORLD OF TELEPHONY ++++++++++++++++++ JOYBUBBLES, 58, PETER PAN OF PHONE HACKERS, DIES By DOUGLAS MARTIN, NY Times, August 20, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/20/us/20engressia.html?pagewanted=print Joybubbles (the legal name of the former Joe Engressia since 1991), a blind genius with perfect pitch who accidentally found he could make free phone calls by whistling tones and went on to play a pivotal role in the 1970s subculture of "phone phreaks," died on Aug. 8 in Minneapolis. He was 58, though he had chosen in 1988 to remain 5 forever, and had the toys and teddy bears to prove it. The cause of death has not been determined, said Steven Gibb, a friend and the executor of the Joybubbles estate. Joybubbles, who was blind at birth, was a famous part of what began as a scattered, socially awkward group of precocious teens and post-teens fascinated with exploring the phone system. It could then be seen as the world's biggest, most complex, most interesting computer, and foiling the phone system passed for high-tech high jinks in the '70s. "It was the only game in town if you wanted to play with a computer," said Phil Lapsley, who is writing a book on the phone phreaks. Later, other blind whistlers appeared, but in 1957, Joybubbles may have been the first person to whistle his way into the heart of Ma Bell. Phreaks were precursors of today's computer hackers, and, like some of them, Joybubbles ran afoul of the law. Not a few phreaks were computer pioneers, including Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple. Joybubbles felt that being abused at a school for the blind and being pushed by his mother to live up to his 172 I.Q. had robbed him of childhood. So he amassed piles of toys, Jack and Jill magazines and imaginary friends, and he took a name he said made people smile. But he never lost his ardor for phones, and old phone phreaks and younger would-have-beens kept calling. Joybubbles loved the phone company, reported problems he had illegally discovered and even said he had planned his own arrest on fraud charges to get a phone job. And so he did, twice. Well before the mid-1970s, when digitalization ended the tone-based system, Joybubbles had stopped stealing calls. But he was already a legend: he had phoned around the world, talking into one phone and listening to himself on another. In an article in Esquire in 1971, the writer Ron Rosenbaum called Joybubbles the catalyst uniting disparate phreaks. Particularly after news accounts of his suspension from college in 1968 and conviction in 1971 for phone violations, he became a nerve center of the movement. "Every night he sits like a sightless spider in his little apartment receiving messages from every tendril of its web," Mr. Rosenbaum wrote. Josef Carl Engressia Jr. was born May 25, 1949, and moved often because his father was a school-picture photographer. At 4 or 5, he learned to dial by using the hookswitch like a telegraph key. Four years later, he discovered that he could disconnect a call by whistling. He found this out when he imitated a sound in the background on a long-distance call and the line cut off. It turned out that his whistle precisely replicated a crucial phone company signal, a 2,600-cycles-per-second tone. Joybubbles's parents had no phone for five years because of their son's obsession. Later, his mother encouraged it by reading him technical books. His high school yearbook photo showed him in a phone booth. By the time he was a student at the University of South Florida, Joybubbles was dialing toll-free or nonworking numbers to reach a distant switching point. Unbeknownst to telephone operators, he could use sounds to dial another number, free. He could then jump anywhere in the phone system. He was disconnected from college after being caught making calls for friends at $1 a call. In 1971, he moved to Memphis, where he was convicted of phone fraud. In Millington, Tenn., he was hired to clean phones, a job he hated. In 1975, he moved to Denver to ferret out problems in Mountain Bell's network. He tired of that and moved to Minneapolis on June 12, 1982, partly because that date's numerical representation of 6-12 is the same as the city's area code. He advertised for people yearning to discuss things telephonic and weaved a web of phone lines to accommodate them. He lived on Social Security disability payments and part-time jobs like letting university agriculture researchers use his superb sense of smell to investigate how to control the odor of hog excrement. Joybubbles is survived by his mother, Esther Engressia, and his sister, Toni Engressia, both of Homestead, Fla. His second life as a youngster included becoming a minister in his own Church of Eternal Childhood and collecting tapes of every "Mr. Rogers" episode. When asked why Mr. Rogers mattered, he said: "When you're playing and you're just you, powerful things happen." (via Ray T. Mahorney, DXLD) OBIT Joybubbles also was credited with setting up the phone number in WA where you can listen to WORLD OF RADIO, via Laser Box, from Sundays (toll call outside Seattle): 1-206-333-5096. Does that still work? (gh, DXLD) He was a regular fixture on EVoice back in the late 90s as well as on the conferences that exist today just listening to the guy you could learn allot about how the networks worked or in a few cases didn't work. Also, many of you will remember that he figured prominently in a the world in your ears segment on R4 a few years back. (Ray T Mahorney, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: not mentioned in this issue ++++++++++++++++++++ I guess it is only another 3 or 4 weeks before IBOC-USA is set to clutter the airwaves 24/7 [Sept 14]. I am, in fact, looking forward to all the chaos and QRM reports that are going to ensue the moment this all starts. Imagine it - an IBOC station QRMing another IBOC station to the point that digital reception on neither of them is possible. Not even thinking about all the cross border stuff that will come up between the U.S. and Canada and the U.S. and Mexico. IBOC: The ingenuity of the hula-hoop mated with the staying power of the patty- stacker (Colin Newell - Victoria B.C. Canada http://www.coffeecrew.com | http://www.dxer.ca IRCA via DXLD) AUDIBLE ATROCITIES ++++++++++++++++++ Listening to NPR News, 1704 UT Aug 21, Korva Coleman asserted that the Iranian-American had finally been released upon payment of ``320 million dollars bail``. Isn`t that a bit much, even for Iran? Yes, quickly found an AP story giving the figure as 333 thousand dollars (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ OUR EXCLUSIVE AND NOT COPYRIGHTED HF PLUS LOW BAND VHF PROPAGATION FORECAST AMIGOS Solar activity is very low, and will continue at very low to low levels during the next several days. For six consecutive days the daily sunspot count has been ZERO, but that may change as at least one and possibly two active sunspot regions are about to enter the visible solar disk. Solar flux has also been correspondingly low at between 68 and 70 units, the baseline level for that solar parameter. The effective sunspot number for feeding into your computer propagation forecasting software is around 8, and don't expect daytime maximum useable frequencies higher than about 20 megaHertz at peak time (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Aug 21, HCDX via DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ATHEISTS MAKE A CASE AGAINST GOD Comedienne Julia Sweeney Talks About Giving Up On Religion http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/16/sunday/main3174781.shtml This was on CBS Sunday Morning Aug 19 --- totally pre-empted in OKC due to flooding coverage. I`ll bet KWTV did not miss it. So far have not found any video available, but the segment could show up later (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ###