DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-102, August 25, 2007
Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING
edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com
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NEXT SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1371
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
MUNDO RADIAL agosto-septiembre 2007:
(corriente) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0708.ram
(descargar) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0708.rm
(texto) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0708.html
** ALBANIA. R. Tirana, 13750, Aug 23 at 1309, fair with press review;
1318 Albanian music. Hope this is a sign of improving equinoxial
propagation (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ARGENTINA. Ciao! ottima ricezione della RAE in Italiano su 15344.28
kHz dalle 1925 in poi. SINPO 45444 !!!!!! Nessuna traccia dei
Marocchini (Dario Monferini, JRC 525, 15 mt wire. Milano, Aug 23,
playdx yg via DXLD)
Anche questa sera arriva con un discreto segnale la RAE in Italiano su
15345 kHz. Giusto un po di fading a disturbare la ricezione. In questo
momento (1913) ovviamente... tango, una registrazione piuttosto datata
ma suggestiva in stile Gardell. 73's (Francesco
http://swli05639fr.blogspot.com/ Cecconi, Aug 24, Noticias DX via
DXLD)
** ASCENSION. Re: Radio Japan [q.v.] shortwave schedule changes during
re-engineering
Does this indicate that the Ascension site will be reconstructed or is
"re-engineering" just an elaborate wording for frequency/site
adjustments? The Ascension transmitters are about 40 years old, so
probably they will be replaced now? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 25,
dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I think that is a bit too much to
assume based on two minor schedule changes (gh, DXLD)
** BIAFRA [non]. Tuning around during a T-storm requiring internal
antenna only, I came upon a signal in African-accented English and
with a very heavy long-path echo on 15665, Friday Aug 24 at 2035 just
as it was IDing as Voice of Biafra International, Washington DC, and
going from English to a local language (Igbo or Ibo?). 2039 was back
in English, talking about Calabar. Was otherwise occupied for next
quarter hour but retune at 2055 found them playing instrumental multi-
national anthem ``God Bless Africa``. (Which god??? Why?); 2058, ID
again as V. of Biafra International, WDC, giving frequency as ``15.67
MHz in the 19 meter band… Goodbye, Biafra, and to you until our next
broadcast, good night.``
The last we knew, VOBI was on Saturdays only, for a while also
Wednesdays, at 21-22 on 7380 via RSA, but this strong echoey signal on
15665 smax of a WHR outlet; WHRA which is mainly aimed at Africa? No,
WHRI closing ID followed immediately at 2059, next frequency to be
13640 (which is the BBC relay). No day(s) mentioned for this
transmission, but I soon found it to be the only one now mentioned,
again with incorrect frequency! At http://www.biafraland.com/vobi.htm
``Voice of Biafra International (VOBI)
A SHORTWAVE Radio Broadcast Service
transmitting on 15.67 MHz (on 19 meter band)
at 2000 - 2100 Hours UTC (Universal Time [Coordinated])
equivalent to 9.00pm- 10.00pm Biafraland time every Friday.
A project of Biafra Foundation, and Biafra Actualization Forum.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The goal of VOBI is to provide and disseminate news and information of
relevance and pressing import to Igbo-Biafra, and to the rest of the
world, using SHORTWAVE Radio.
On September 1, 2001, the maiden broadcast was made.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Please support VOBI. Send contributions and donations to:
Voice Of Biafra International
1629 K ST. NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
TEL NO: 202 508 3795
FAX: 202 508 3759
Email: Biafrafoundation@yahoo.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use the controls to operate the audio; OR, You may also use the
MediaPlayer version by clicking on the link. We apologize for the
audio quality which is affected by systemic and technical limitations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Please follow this link to the transcript (text version) of THE NEWS
ANALYSIS SEGMENT only of the Voice of Biafra International (VOBI)
broadcasts.
[new] Also available in transcript form: WOB (Women of Biafra) segment
of the Voice of Biafra International (VOBI) Broadcasts``
The above copied from website, most dated info of which is 2006y or
earlier. But just below are audio linx to three previous broadcasts
and this latest one: http://www.biafraland.com/aug2407.wma
Is this on the WHR schedule? Yes, on ``Angel 1``, but incorrectly:
2000 Fr 0400 PM 0500 PM Monday - Friday VOBI Broadcasts Oguchi Nkwocha
17650
So both the programmer and the transmission provider have it on
different wrong frequencies! Note that it is really Friday only, tho
the WHR schedule display as usual is self-contradictory about this.
HFCC has it thus:
15665 2000 2100 46 HRI 250 87 5 250307 281007 D Eng USA HRI FCC
But has it really been going on this frequency since 25 March and no
one has noticed until now? CIRAF 46 = West Africa from Western Sahara
to Biafra. 87 is the azimuth and 5 is the day of week. HFCC also shows
17650 on air at same time on Fridays only but 100 kW toward Mexico; is
this imaginary?
17650 2000 2100 10 HRI 100 260 5 250307 281007 D Spa,Eng USA HRI FCC
I don`t find any DX reports of 7380 being heard since mid-April in
Japan Premium, altho DX Mix News Bulgaria was still showing it in May,
DXLD 7-060:
``Voice of Biafra International
2100-2200 on 7380 MEY 250 kW / 328 deg to WeAf English Sat
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, May 22 via DXLD)``
VOBI does not appear on the SENTECH schedule, but I am not sure it
ever did even when it was on 7380:
http://www.sentech.co.za/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=100&bid=25&btitle=Frequencies&meid=65
Searching the WHR site on VOBI turns up another transmission, which is
not mentioned on VOBI`s own site, this one via WHRA:
1915 Mo-Fr 0315 PM 0345 PM We VOBI Broadcasts Oguchi Nkwocha 13710
Note that in this case, WHR displays M-F with the UT, and Wednesday
only with the EDT listing, while just the opposite was the case with
the incorrect frequency, but correct time on Friday! Presumably the
1915-1945 UT one is really on Wednesdays only, but no telling if 13710
is really the right frequency.
About the long-path echo, which originally got me to stop and monitor
the frequency 15665: since Furman is roughly 1 kilomile from here, the
LP echo must be coming around from 24 kilomiles away (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This just in: I was not the only one
listening ---
(Biafra) [non]. Voice of Biafra International (clandestine). Tuned
into 15665 shortly after 2030 UT on Friday August 24 to hear
vernacular with frequent mention of Nigeria. Into English at about
2045 with a number of IDs - "Voice of Biafra International from
Washington". Frequency announced as 15670. Off just before 2100
followed by World Harvest Radio ID. Very strong and clear signal. So
it appears that WHR is relaying this clandestine on Fridays from 2000
to 2100 on 15665. Nothing heard on this frequency or 15670 on Saturday
Aug. 25 (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
[Last known logs on 7380:] Voice of Biafra International
7380, V. of Biafra Int., Apr 07, *2059-2110, 35433 English, 2059 sign
on with ID, Theme song, ID, Theme music, Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan,
Japan Premium 468 via CRW 228 just published via DXLD)
7380, V. of Biafra Int., Apr 14, *2059-2115, 45444, English, 2059 sign
on with ID, Music, 2105 ID, Theme song, 2107 ID, Chorus music, 2110
ID, News (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium 469, ibid.)
** BRAZIL. Davvero un ottimo giro, che proseguiva visitando una famosa
emissora che ancora opera sulle onde corte !!! 6040 kHz Radio Clube
Paranaense 10 kW in // 1430 kHz R. Clube B2, Curitiba 50kw. In effetti
abbiamo ascoltato gli annunci: "Radio Clube BE DOIS" (dato che il
prefisso originale era PRB 2 .....) e non Radio Clube Paranaense
!!!!!! inoltre gli 11935 kHz sono definitivamente OFF the AIR
WEB http://www.clubeb2.com.br/ che offre ascolto in real audio.
Situata in Rua Rockefeller, 1311 - CEP 80230-130 Prado Velho,
Curitiba - Paranà.
Fa parte del gruppo LUMEN RADIO, comprende anche CLUBE FM 101,50 MHz
180 kW !!!! WEB : http://www.clubefm.com/ che offre solo ascolto in
real audio. Lo scorso 27 Giugno 2007 l'emissora ha compiuto 85 anni
!!!!!!!!
Radio Paranà 1060 kHz 10 kW. Nessuna WEB. Ed inoltre le TV : TVs: Rede
Vida (retransmisso) e TV Lumen/Canal Futura 16 UHF. L'unica WEB con
informazioni è quella di LUMEN FM 99,5 MHz 4 kW
http://www.lumenfm.com.br/ http://www.grupolumen.com.br/grupo.html
questa è certamente la WEB migliore del gruppo !! Il chief Engineer è
Justos Zandellei, ma da quello che abbiamo visto, l'emittente NON è
INTERESSATA A RAPPORTI DI ASCOLTO per le ONDE CORTE purtroppo la Sra
Marisa Aparecida Zanon è andata in pension, e da quel momento non ci
sono state riportate conferme. Unica email reperita:
comercial @ grupolumen.com.br
Molto gentili e disponibili a far conoscere ad ascoltatori esteri le
loro attività ed i loro studi, facevamo molte foto, anche degli studi
da dove avevamo ascoltato molte volte i programmi di R. Clube
Paranaense 6040 kHz (e 11935 kHz attualmente spenti) e ricevevamo vari
adesivi (quelli di Radio Lumen e Radio Paranà sono in stampa).
Lo "scontro" Radiofonico Religioso a Curitiba è fortissimo --- 730 kHz
5 kW & 9665 kHz 5 kW Radio Marumby
http://www.gmuh.com.br/radio/radioma.htm
e la collegata Radio Novas de Paz sulle corte 6080, 9515, 11725 kHz.
(10 kW), Avenida Paranà 1885-1896, Curitiba (Paginas Amarillas)
88,50 MHz Rede Aleluia Curitiba 15 kW, WEB :
http://www.redealeluia.com.br/mapa.php
(Dario Monferini with Roberto Pavanello, 2nda VUELTA DX CONO SUR
AMERICA 28 JULIO-19 AGOSTO 2007, 22 PARTE CURITIBA, BRASILE, 13 AGOSTO
2007, playdx yg via DXLD) From their much longer report mostly about
FM and AM stations, excerpted here due to SW info (gh, DXLD)
** CAMBODIA. Radio The Voice of Cambodia, 918 kHz, letter in 71 days.
V/s Deputy Director Nget Saborak. QTH: Monivong Boulevard Rd: 106
Phnom Penh, The Kingdom of Cambodia. Tel: (885-23) 722 869 (885-23)
725 522. Fax/Phone: (885-23) 427 319. Overseas Service Department
Tel.: (855) 012 869 178 E-mail: nget_Saborak@ yahoo.com 73, (Sergey
Kolesov, Russia, via Dario Monferini, PLAY-DX via DXLD) IIRC, Sergey
has been globetrotting so maybe heard from anear (gh, DXLD)
** CANADA [and non]. CHU, 7335, UT Sat Aug 25 at 0614 check, once
again with WHRI co-channel, 4 Hz away, but for a change CHU was atop.
That does not make such an avoidable collision any less offensive
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CANADA. Does anyone else miss the old CFCF on 6005, well heard days
throughout New England? I know I do. Most of my buds do as well. First
HF SW BC heard on Zenith T/O 500, ca. '63. z (pv zecchino manareverie
key fl IRCA via DXLD)
I can hear the jingle, "CFCF 600 Radio Montreal". I have a couple of
QSLs from them. I even miss CFRX relays of CFRB 1010. I wish more
stations would relay like that but its easier for them to send it over
the net (Kevin Redding, Gilbert, AZ [Order of the Crossed 6V6], ibid.)
Yes. I used to listen to their SW feed all the time when I lived on
Long Island. Is 6005 closed? (Tim Kridel, ibid.)
They were great. CFCX on 6005; CFRX, can't remember their freq., 6170
maybe relaying CFRB. And CHNX, Halifax on 6130 maybe, relaying CHNS
960. I think they fell by the wayside, and into disrepair as satellite
and internet came along. I used to hear all three pretty well in the
N.Y. Hudson Valley. I think all were either 500 watts or 1 KW. Seems
to me there was at least one other further west in Canada. Maybe
Vancouver. 73, (Chris Johnson, K2FO S.C., ibid.)
CKWX-1130 had a SW relay for years in the 6 MHz band, but I recall it
was low power. CKZU-6160 is still on air last time I checked, relaying
CBU-690 ef (Eric Flodén, BC, ibid.)
This really has nothing to do with the X-band [my post about 1690
Montreal, to which these were replies], but here`s the scoop:
CFCX 6005 Montreal closed several years ago, as did CHNX 6130 Halifax.
CFRX 6070 Toronto has been off for more than a year, but is supposedly
going to resume once CFRB can get around to repairing it. Not holding
breath.
CFVP 6030 Calgary is still on, relaying CKMX 1060. I hear it
occasionally with 100 watts when Cuban jamming and Marti are off. (Mon
0300-0900 UT), or maybe after 1200 when skywave is still working.
CKFX 6080 Vancouver was 10 watts, a great DX target. Off for years,
not worth repairing by CKWX. But just a few months ago they got around
to turning in the license.
CBC is still running CKZU Vancouver and CKZN St John`s both on 6160
and both often heard, the latter often with Goose Bay programming
relayed back to Labrador.
That does if for non-RCI usage of 6 MHz band. Unfortunately none of
these stations get any respect from the US or other countries which
feel free to usurp their long-established frequencies. 6070 has CVC
Chile on it most of the [night]time. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.)
Hi Paul and Group, I didn't hear CFCX very often from Michigan, but I
have nice QSL card from them in 1968. Part of the Marconi Radio Group
(if my memory is serving me correctly). LXXIII de (Joe Miller, KJ8O,
Troy, MI NRC-AM via DXLD)
Dr Z, I would not say that I miss Montreal-6005 (actual calls CFCX
according to my 1965 WRTH) but it does bring back some fond memories.
In 1965, if I took a sick day from school (10th grade), I would at
times enjoy listening to this station with its Top 40 format on my
Hallicrafters S-120 ($40 at Sears). I believe they simulcasted CFCF-
600 Montreal with slogan "Cuff Cuff." Correct me if I'm wrong. Other
privately owned SW stations listed in '65 WRTH: CJCX-6010 Sydney, NS;
CFVP-6030 Calgary; CFRX-6070 Toronto (relayed CFRB-1010); CFKX-6080
Vancouver (relayed CKWX-1130); CHNX-6130 Halifax (relayed CHNS-960 ?).
Thanks for stirring up the memories! (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, MA
http://hometown.aol.com/midcapemarc/myhomepage/profile.html ibid.)
** CANADA. For you folks trying to tune in CHTO-1690, be advised that
they're no longer on 1690.7. Someone must have given their transmitter
a good whack, since they've dropped way down to 1689.905 tonight.
Slowly but surely, they're zeroing in on 1690! Looks like they've just
about got it nailed - > they're on 1690.003 tonight. Third time's a
charm (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, Aug 16, NRC-AM via DXLD)
And it's much weaker. I can actually X around the danged channel. -
(Saul (Burnt River ON) Chernos, ibid.)
** CHINA. CNR-1 on following frequencies, 1240-1300+, 22 August &
1135-1150+, 23 August: 4460(Beijing), 4750(Xi`an), 4800(Ge'ermu), 5030
(Beijing), 5945 (Beijing), 6030 (Beijing with apparent Firedrake
jamming ?? Likely candidate is VoChinaReborn via TAIWAN listed at
*1400; FD on early for practice?), 6125 (Shijiazhuang listed *1300),
6175 (Beijing), 7110 (Shijiazhuang), 7290 (Beijing listed 1200*, but
heard well after), 9500 (Shijiazhuang), 9710 (Shijiazhuang), 11710
(Shijiazhuang with echo, Beijing listed 2000-0130; on early/late or
?), 11925 (Lingshi) 5+1 pips at TOH & M/W with "zhongyang renmin
guangbo diantai, zhongguo zhi sheng". ID all locations tnx DBS9.
Listed 6950 (Shijiazhuang) & 9890 (Lingshi) not heard (tho 9890 had
Indo or Bahasa Malaysia language program at 1150+ check on 23 August)
(Dan Sheedy, CA R75, 60' random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. ¿Castro muerto? Rumors are flying that Castro is dead. Listen
to see what's on RHC. You might get a glimpse at the truth or maybe
not. The Cuban government is saying no. The word in Miami is that
Castro es muerto (Kevin Redding, AZ, ABDX, Aug 25 via DXLD)
Castro Croaked, more rumors to effect of; S FL on alert; 24 2336Z; PVZ
Just noticed on Drudge, rumors to this effect & denials by gov cubano.
Among many good sites: http://www.killcastro.com
http://www.babalublog.com http://www.therealcuba.com
Miami PD in ctc w/Effa Bee Eye. Supposed EOC set up ca. Homestead AFB.
Probably nothing (paul vincent zecchino, manasota key fl, 24 2338Z AUG
07 BT, IRCA via DXLD)
Well, checked around 2330 UT Aug 25, neither
http://www.martinoticias.com nor http://www.elnuevoherald.com had
anything about this, much less banner headlines, so can`t be true.
More about this mixed in with UNIDENTIFIED 1181 (gh, DXLD)
** DEUTSCHES REICH. Re 7-015: His correct name is Ernst Zündel (with
ü, not u); more info at several Wikipedia pages:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Z%C3%BCndel
(Martin Schöch, CRW 224, Feb 14, 2007, just published, via DXLD)
I found that the above garbled URL, using six characters instead of u-
umlaut, does work, so I did not have to change it to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Zündel
Among the interesting points is that Zündel may well be Jewish
himself; he was unable to find documentation in Germany that he was
pure Aryan (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SWEDEN
** ECUADOR [non]. CHANGES IN STORE AT HCJB AS PRESIDENT, CHAIRMAN
BOTH PLAN DEPARTURES Radio World Newsbytes :: People News 8.24.2007
http://www.radioworld.com/pages/s.0104/t.8093.html
HCJB Global is seeking a new president to replace David Johnson.
The international organization’s head will step down in September
2008.
Separately, HCJB said board chairman Dr. Ron Cline, 70, will retire
after 25 years, though he’ll continue to host a daily program and
represent HCJB. Dr. James D. Allen will take the chair this September.
Commenting on Johnson’s departure, Cline called him a builder.
“Through his leadership, we have defined a new vision to be the voice
and hands of Jesus. We have expanded healthcare globally, strengthened
our regional offices and positioned ourselves for effective ministry
in the future.” Among his accomplishments was the New Life Radio
partnership for satellite ministry in Russia.
Cline jointed HCJB Global in 1976 as pastor of the English Fellowship
Church in Quito, Ecuador, and was its president from 1981 to 2001.
HCJB Global’s mission statement combines media and healthcare in its
efforts to create disciples for Jesus (Radio World via Sheldon Harvey,
DXLD) Or to put it another way,
HCJB GLOBAL STARTS SEARCH FOR NEW PRESIDENT
HCJB Global has launched a worldwide search to find a new president to
replace David Johnson, who announced he will step down in September
2008 after more than six years of success and major accomplishments as
leader of the international missions organization. HCJB Global’s Board
of Trustees have established a four-man presidential search team,
which has already begun the process of looking for a replacement for
Johnson.
In an unrelated announcement, Dr Ron Cline, who will turn 70 in
January 2008, will retire as chairman of the board of HCJB Global
after 25 years at the helm. Cline will continue to host “Beyond the
Call,” an inspirational daily radio programme, and serve in a new role
created by the board – global ambassador for HCJB Global. Dr James D
Allen, HCJB Global’s senior vice president, will replace Cline as
board chairman in September of this year (Source: HCJB Global)(August
24th, 2007 - 13:37 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD)
** EGYPT. 6135.02, Radio Cairo, 0115-0125, August 24, Spanish talk,
local pop music. Quite distorted audio. Much better on // 7270, 9360
(Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ERITREA. Re 7-099. 7180, Voice of the Broad Masses, Asmara, August
23, 1600, Afar (?) ID on clear frequency until co-channel RAI appeared
1627. First day on this NF for evening period presumably to avoid
jamming on 7175. By the way, Mariah Carey (it's definitely her) noted
there again that same day at 1636 with "Vision of Love" rather than
"Picture of you" (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands, Aug 24, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
7-096 and 7-099 had reports of VOBME being on 7180 in mornings (gh)
** ETHIOPIA. 7110.01, Radio Ethiopia, Geja Dera, *0300-0315, August
24, Sign on with opening announcements in local language. Talk. Short
breaks of local music. Poor to fair signal. // 5990-very weak under
DRM signal. // 9704.17-low modulation (Brian Alexander, PA, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** GERMANY [non]. DW, English via Rwanda 15205, VG as usual, Fri Aug
24 at 2132 with intriguing report on why Germany views the scientology
cult as dangerous (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GREECE. Radio Filia used to have a very good news service. Good
English pronunciation and quality reporting. Unable to receive 11645
kHz transmission at 0930 UT. Also website did not handshake. Would
appreciate status update (gcerow, primetimeshortwave yg via DXLD)
English is now at 0600-0700 on 11645. I`ve rarely if ever heard this
due to the timing, but I seem to recall that R. Filia relies on relays
of foreign stations, such as the BBC, as the service is really
intended for an audience inside Greece. I know they have done so in
other languages. Could this ``good English pronunciation and quality
reporting`` really have been a BBC relay? 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.)
** GUIANA FRENCH. No sign of TDF DRM on 17865-17870-17875, Aug 24 at
1400 and again at 1421 check. Just normal, maybe-on, maybe-off, or is
this test concluded? Seems I have also found it missing other
mornings, including Aug 25, but more likely to be missing on weekend
anyway. It`s still on the DRM DX schedule as M-F 13-20 (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
BIG strong signal from what appears to be (no SDC) RNW French Guiana
but no SDC/MSC! SNR hit 32db plus for a while!! All that signal and no
audio!!! Well, they are keeping any QRM off the frequency! 0255 UT 25
August 2007 9405 kHz (Mel Whitten, EM48 St Louis MO, K0PFX, Aug 24,
drmna yg via DXLD)
** HONDURAS. 3339.97, HRMI-Radio Misiones Internacionales, 0645-0745+,
August 24, Tentative. Spanish religious talk with English
translations. Religious music at 0734. Poor in t-storm static (Brian
Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
3340, Radio Misiones Internacional - HRMI (Tentative), 0931-1007,
August 24, sounded like religious music and singing, 0956 into non-
stop OM preacher, very excited, talking/yelling in Spanish with
background music, poor/fair (Ron Howard, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
3340, Radio Misiones International, 1048-1105 Aug 24. Noted a male in
Spanish language religious comments. This during entire period. At
1054 religious music. No break on the hour, just music. Signal was
fair (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, WR G305e/pd, ibid.)
** INDIA. 4970, AIR-Shillong, 1220-1240, August 23, nice eclectic
music selections to 1230, pips, into English news. "All India Radio,
news read by...", sports at 1234, M/W yak in language, then "This is
the ...Service of All India Radio, Shillong" at 1236 and back to music
programm. Tnx DBS9 for info on 1230 English news (Dan Sheedy, CA R75,
60' random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDIA. AIR, 15050, Aug 24 at 1402 music with hum; 1417 recheck
Bollywood music. Had not heard this transpolar signal for quite a
while. Possibly it`s coming longpath whence most of the signal is
aimed. Here`s the Aoki info:
15050 ALL INDIA RADIO 1300-1500 1234567 Sinhala 100 174 Delhi
(Kingsway) 07712E 2645N AIR a07
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ITALY. Rai, Italian to NAm, still going, Aug 24 at 1419 check with
music on 17780 // 15280, the latter squeezed between DW 15275 and
China 15285 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ITALY. Vi invitiamo inoltre a visitare le sezioni dedicate ad ogni
continente:
America del Nord e
America Latina http://www.international.rai.it/aree/americhe/
Africa http://www.international.rai.it/aree/africa/
Asia http://www.international.rai.it/aree/asia/
Oceania http://www.international.rai.it/aree/oceania/
(RAI INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER DEL 24 AGOSTO 2007 via Dario Monferini,
playdx yg via DXLD) On the America page I click on the English word
``News`` and I get --- news in Italian! (gh, DXLD)
** JAMAICA. HURRICANE AFFECTS TV JAMAICA TRANSMISSION
TV Jamaica’s transmission system was hit by Hurricane Dean. One
critical television tower in the centre of the island is down and this
is having a significant impact on transmission to rural Jamaica.
(Source: Commonwealth Broadcasting Association)
Television Jamaica http://www.televisionjamaica.com/
(August 24th, 2007 - 8:54 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD)
Beware; promotional video and blaring audio auto-launch; I also got an
``error-safe`` popup (gh, DXLD)
** JAPAN [and non]. RADIO JAPAN SHORTWAVE SCHEDULE CHANGES DURING RE-
ENGINEERING
Radio Japan advises on its website that some of its shortwave
transmissions will change site and/or frequency due to re-engineering
of its transmission facilities.
The Arabic transmission at 0700-0730 UT currently on 15220 kHz via
Ascension Island will move to Meyerton (South Africa) from 29 August
onwards. From 28 October the site changes again to Rampisham (UK) and
the frequency will change to 9440 kHz.
The broadcast in Japanese at 2200-2300 UT via Ascension Island will
change its frequency from 9655 kHz to 11955 kHz from 29 August
onwards. (Source: NHK Online) (August 24th, 2007 - 14:42 UTC by Andy,
Media Network blog via DXLD)
And just a reminder that all shortwave from NHK World for North
America and Europe will go for good in just five weeks. Reportedly sad
remarks about the imminent end are being made time and again on the
German broadcasts, so there are no indications for any reprieve (Kai
Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
All? Not sure. As I wrote 5 months ago, the French service of NHK
denied the cancellation of French broadcasts to Europe. According to
NHK (25/03), transmissions in German, Italian et Swedish will
disappear, but French will stay via Moyabi. Not sure they know exactly
what will happen (Jean-Michel Aubier, France, ibid.)
A-07 in WRTH Update
0500-0530 daily ME,NAf 17820eka
0630-0700 daily Eu 11970gab
1230-1300 daily Af 15400asc, 17870asc
1630-1650 daily ME,NAf 11785yam
1800-1820 daily Af 9685yam, 11785yam
1800-1820 daily Eu 11970yam
B-07 NHK French to Africa will probably resume.
0630 UT is an African target service !
0630-0700 daily Af 11970gab to zones 37,38,46,47
1230-1300 daily Af 15400asc, 17870asc to zones 46-48,52,53
73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
What demagogy! It is just the same 11970 transmission they have on air
for years, and of course 11970 0430 0700 27,28 GAB 500 350 for Europe.
Now the official line is that no shortwave transmissions to Europe are
to be done anymore, but they decided to keep the frequency for French
(presumably with northern Africa in mind), and so of course the CIRAF
zones had to be "adjusted" although most likely not any technical
changes will be made. It's just the same demagogy as done by the BBC
who "adjusted" the official target areas for various frequencies from
UK sites to allow for PR puff that they no longer broadcast to Central
Europe on shortwave. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 26, DX
LISTENING DIGEST) see also ASCENSION
** KOREA NORTH [non]. JAPAN - Shiokaze 6045 QSL-card in 10 days. Tel:
03-5684-5058; FAX: 03-5684-5059 URL: http://www/chosa-kai.jp
TAIWAN - Shiokaze 9485 QSL-card in 10 days. Tel: 03-5684-5058
FAX: 03-5684-5059 URL: http://www/chosa-kai.jp
73, (Sergey Kolesov, Russia, via Dario Monferini, PLAY-DX via DXLD)
** KURDISTAN [non?]. Radio VoK --- Radio "VOK" is the first free radio
for the Kurds. It was established in Sep 28-1963 during the September
revolution of the Kurdistan. The radio station was formed with the
order of the KDP president Mustafa Barzani, the leader of September
revolution. At the beginning, the equipment's used were a number of
old military wireless sets joint together to form a short wave sender.
The center of broadcasting was a cave deep in a Kurdistan mountain
Salah-Addin north of Erbil. The radio station was a target of Iraqi
air force for many years. A number of technician, editors and guards
were killed by these air attacks. The radio was and is still running
by the KDP. The Program of "VOK" consists of News, opinion of KDP,
Kurdish culture and music (V. Rozhkov, Russia Apr 4, 2007 for
Clandestine Radio Watch 228, April 15, just published, via DXLD)
WTFK? SW now like many others? Means Voice of Kurdistan? (gh, DXLD)
** LATVIA. 9290 relays this weekend
Sat August 25th Radio Six International 0700-0800 UT
Sun August 26th Latvia Today 1900-2000 UT
Good listening (Tom Taylor, DX LISTENING DIGEST) & advance on dxld yg
** MEXICO. 9599.27, Radio UNAM, Mexico City, 0035-0115+, August 24,
classical music. Spanish ID announcement at 0059 followed by Spanish
talk. Possible radio-drama at 0105. Irregular. Fair signal strength
but difficult reception due to Cuba on 9600 (Brian Alexander, PA,
DX LISTENING DIGEST) could the UNIDENTIFIED 9665 be this?? (gh)
** MEXICO. What will happen to the border Fox low-banders XHRIO-2 and
XETV-6 after the U.S. ATVs go off? Is it possible that these stations
will continue to operate their ATV outlets for a while? Thanks (Danny,
Shreveport, LA, Oglegthorpe, WTFDA via DXLD)
Mexico has allotted companion channels for DTV to all stations in the
country. XETV is already operating a DTV on channel 23 (and there are
other DTV stations in the country. TV Azteca has launched two separate
networks for HD).
Mexico has also set a "drop-dead" date for analog TV. It's
considerably later than either in the US or Canada.
In practice I suspect XETV will either shut down its analog after the
US analogs go off, or switch it to a Spanish-language network for
domestic consumption within Tijuana. I doubt many English-only
Americans will stick with analog OTA TV if they can only get two
stations in their language (and if I recall properly cable penetration
in the San Diego market is relatively high).
I suspect XHRIO will revert to a Mexican network not too long after
transition. Same reason: few Americans will stick with analog OTA TV
if they can only get one station. – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View,
TN EM66, ibid.)
Thank you, Doug. Spanish-language XHAB-7 and XERV-9 run a lot of
commercials for businesses on the American side of the border. It
makes me wonder what their plans are, as well. Could it be that DTV
viewership in Mexican border cities like Matamoros might be more
common than in other parts of Mexico?
Your analysis is always interesting. One more thing about XHRIO-2: The
station is already available on DTV as a subchannel on KNVO-DT-49
(Danny, Shreveport, LA, ibid.)
I've noticed that as well. I would imagine they target two audiences:
- Spanish-speaking Americans in Texas
- Mexicans who make frequent shopping trips to the U.S.
I would not be at all surprised if many Mexican DTV stations end up
NOT carrying the same programs as their associated analog stations.
In fact, it appears that TV Azteca has made that decision for their
entire network. I can especially see stations like XETV carrying their
current fare on their DTV transmitters (for the US-based OTA audience
and for pickup by cable systems north of the border) while switching
their analog to Mexico-based networks (for an audience at home, where
multiple analog stations continue to operate).
I don't think that will apply to stations like XERV, which have a
larger audience in Mexico than in the U.S. Even after Transition, it
will still be legal for the Brownsville, Texas cable system to carry
Mexican analog stations - the XERV analog transmitter will continue to
be of value for delivering programming to cable in the States. Also,
the Spanish-speaking analog TV audience will continue to have other
analog programming choices, among the other analog stations continuing
to operate in Mexico. They won't have to switch to DTV to get more
than one station in their language. And conversely, there will
continue to be an audience for Spanish-language analog stations, on
both sides of the border.
I suspect the DTV viewership patterns in Mexico will be more rural-
vs.-urban than border-vs.-interior. More DTV near the border, not
because they're near the border but because there's more relatively
high-wage employment, more people can *afford* a DTV. I suspect you'll
see similar DTV deployment rates in the richer cities in Mexico's
interior, like Mexico City and Guadalajara.
But really, the big difference between transition in the States and in
Mexico will probably be the much lower cable/satellite penetration
down there. – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.)
Unlike TVs from 20-30 years ago, the ones made in the last decade were
designed to fail in 5 years -- at least all the ones I've bought have.
Since the only ones you can buy now are HDTVs, people will get them
whether they want to or not. And the prices have dropped so low that
price will stop no one, even Mexican factory workers, from buying a
new one (Rick Shaftan, NJ, ibid.)
** NETHERLANDS [non]. Acabo de recibir un mensaje del queridísimo
Jaime Báguena, de Radio Nederland, informándonos lo siguiente: La
frecuencia de 9450 kHz (31 metros) dirigida hacia el Sur de Sudamérica
que se utiliza en el horario de 0000 a 0157 UT, será reemplazada por
la de 15315 kHz (19 metros) vía Bonaire, Antillas Neerlandesas. Este
cambio entrará en vigor el próximo domingo 2 de septiembre UT, es
decir sábado en la noche en Sudamérica. Cordiales 73 Jaime Báguena
García Director Artístico - Redacción Española RADIO NEDERLAND
WERELDOMROEP http://www.informarn.nl (via Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina,
dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) They had unexpectedly shifted to 9450
in June? Due to poor winter propagation to the south (gh, DXLD)
** NIGERIA. 9690, Voice of Nigeria, *0758-0815+, August 24, Sign on
with their theme music. Talk in local language at 0759. IDs. Local
tribal music. Fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also
BIAFRA [non]
** NORFOLK ISLAND. NORFOLK ISLAND LANGUAGE UNDER THREAT
``Inasmuch`` coat of arms:
http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/norfok-island-crest.jpg [sic]
The United Nations says it wants to see the unique language of Norfolk
Island preserved. The Islanders are descendants of Manx mutineer
Fletcher Christian and the Bounty crew – the surname Christian is
still one of the most common among the 2,000 inhabitants. The Bounty
mutineers initially settled on Pitcairn Island in 1790 but settled
Norfolk seventy years later because of overcrowding.
The patois – containing a smattering of Manx - is under threat from
English, although it’s had a revival in recent years. UNESCO is now
backing a campaign to keep the unique tongue, including it in the
Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing.
(Source: Manx Radio) Radio Norfolk http://www.vl2ni.nf/
The Norfolk Language http://www.school.edu.nf/Bounty/language.htm
[Norfolk Islanders and our Pitcairn ancestors, speak among themselves
in their language, a beautiful patois, a made-up language. Put
together from pieces of English and Tahitian and from natural
responses to the natural surroundings where they live in.
Here are some words and phrases: (CLICK ON THE NORFOLK WORD TO HEAR IT
IN THE NORFOLK TONGUE)]
(August 24th, 2007 - 12:32 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD)
2 Responses to “Norfolk Island language under threat”
Herman Says: August 24th, 2007 at 17:32 e
Where do you get the idea that there is a bit of Dutch in the
language? As far as I know, there were no Dutch people on the Bounty,
and the language page itself does not mention Dutch. I’ve also checked
the language and I can hardly find any Dutch in it.
Andy Says: August 24th, 2007 at 20:51 e
The reference to Dutch was in the report quoted from Manx Radio. Since
you brought it to my attention I have also checked and I agree that
there seems to be little evidence of Dutch. I have removed that
reference, since it was not central to the story (Media Network blog
via DXLD)
** OKLAHOMA. First MS ID in years today! I was on 96.9 KIAQ Clarion,
IA (yes, adjacent to a strong local) when for about 4 seconds
something popped in strong out of nowhere & said "96-9 Bob FM".
According to the FM Atlas, that's Enid, OK! New here. My most distant
heard so far on the Radiosophy HD-100 with Terk TV1 rabbit ears. If I
can do this on a cheap radio (about $100) with a cheap indoor antenna,
so can just about anyone. I now have well over 200 August loggings
from 10 states with HD-100/TV1 combo. I noticed Saul Chernos also
reported a MS burst with ID. Is meteor scatter supposed to be good
today? 73, (George Sherman, MN, Aug 25, WTFDA via DXLD) Enid in name
only; KQOB transmitter halfway to OKC and funxioning as an OKC market
station (gh, DXLD)
** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3235, R. West New Britain. Just caught very end
of announcement by W in Pidgin at 1045 tune-in Aug 25. Into long
lively island pop song. 1050 W host again with voice-over announcement
mentioning "station" and "number one", then reggae-like song. 1057
more W voice-over talk about "program", "Sunday", recap of the songs`
chart positions. 1059 continued brief announcement of "station" and
island filler music. 1100 children`s choir island song. Same W host at
1104 followed by more island music.
Decent signal with some thunderstorm crashes. Fading after 1100.
Haven't heard this one or seen it reported in a long time. Nice to see
it back. Hopefully it`s a permanent reactivation. The other "usuals"
were also on except 3335. 73 (Dave Valko; RX: JRC NRD-535D, Hammarlund
HQ-129X, Collins R-388, and various portables including the Sony SW-
77. Ant: 60 meter T2FD, 60 meter Windom; QTH: Dunlo, PA, USA, HCDX via
DXLD)
?? 3235 was already in 7-101, heard in Japan as of Aug 22 (gh, DXLD)
** RUSSIA. The motorboating transmitter from Magadan, 7320, previously
reported at 1248 is also audible as early as 0602, Aug 24 in Russian.
And again at 0617 August 25 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SUDAN [non]. RWANDA. 5985, Sudan Radio Service, Kigali, 0315-0329*,
August 24, English talk about schools in Sudan. Children's chorus. ID
at 0329. Poor with co-channel QRM (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** SWAN ISLAND. HR - A team from the Radio Club de Honduras and four
operators from the US plan to be active from the rare Swan Island (NA-
035) on 23-28 September, weather permitting. A special callsign (HQ0S
or HQ6S) has been requested. Further information will be published in
due course. [TNX HR2J] (425 DX News Aug 25 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg
via DXLD)
** SWEDEN. - HISTORY --- Hitlers schwedischer Radiosender
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/International/nyhetssidor/amnessida.asp?programID=2108&Nyheter=0&grupp=2402&artikel=1036422
"Radio Königsberg" - die Nazis liessen diesen Propagandasender im
Krieg einrichten und sendeten auf Schwedisch über das vermeintlich
glorreiche und erfolgreiche Hitler-Deutschland. Einmal wöchentlich, 20
Minuten lang. Ein Zehntel der schwedischen Bevölkerung schaltete
regelmässig ein, wenn es mit den Stimmen bekannter schwedischer
Künstler gezielt über Deutschland und seine Taten desinformiert werden
sollte.
Der Schwede Niclas Sennerteg hat ein Buch über Radio Königsberg
geschrieben. Es trägt den Titel "Deutschland spricht. Hitlers
schwedischer Radiosender." ("Tyskland talar. Hitlers svenska
radiostation"). Das Buch gibt es - noch - nicht auf Deutsch. Deswegen
hat uns Niclas Sennerteg berichtet, worum es in seinem Buch geht.
(via P. Gager, Austria, Feb 18, 2007 in A-DX-ML via CRW 225, Feb 28,
2007, just published, via DXLD)
** UGANDA. Hello Glenn, Re 7-101, Not unusual to listen though not
daily, not unusual to present pop or rap songs, and not unusual
(unfortunately !!!) the strong local noise. Greetings from Portugal
(José Turner, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WWCR-1, 15825 with new edition of Mundo Radial, Fri Aug 24
until 2127:50. Therefore it must have started shortly after 2113; it
often gets a headstart. Also airs Mondays nominally at 2115 (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Q&A session with gh and Jeff White, WRMI, NASB:
G: Judging from my near zero reception of 7385, am I correct that
nothing has yet been done to repair the NAm antenna to get it back up
to its original performance? Do you still plan to?
J: The manufacturer of the antenna has been planning to come down and
do a major repair for us, but it's a small operation and they haven't
got this done yet. I have a meeting next week to try to push this
along.
G: How about plans for a second transmitter, other than the backup? Is
that going anywhere?
J: The plans are all made and ready to submit to the FCC. But frankly
the market at the moment doesn't justify the kind of expenditure that
this will require, so it's basically on hold for the time being. The
North American market is very small for us right now, so we're
concentrating on the Latin American market, which has traditionally
always been our strong point. I think the future viability of
commercial shortwave to North America is questionable right now,
although that could change considerably with the advent of DRM.
G: Did your transmitter turn out to be DRM-capable, and have others
been located in the US by now?
J: I think most transmitters are theoretically DRM-capable, but it's a
question of just how easy it is to convert them. The initial
indications are that the Wilkinson would not be very easy to convert
to DRM, at least in comparison to some of the other transmitters
presently being used by NASB members. But it's a question of finding a
station with -- besides an easily-convertible transmitter -- time
available to devote to the test transmissions without disrupting their
current schedule, the interest and willingness to dedicate the time
and work that this will require, and an appropriate antenna to reach
the desired target area(s). This is what's being worked on right now,
and we're going to be talking to at least one station next week to see
if they are interested (Jeff White, RMI, Aug 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 9265.05, WMLK, Bethel, Pa, 1930-1955+, August 24, English
religious talk about Yahweh teachings. Theme music & ID at 1945.
Irregular. When they are on the air they appear to always be slightly
off frequency. Weak. Poor in high noise level.
9264.96, WINB, Red Lion, Pa, *2200-2300+, August 24, English sign on
announcements with ID & religious talk. Religious music. Re-
broadcasting WYFR programming. Weak. Poor in noisy conditions.
Slightly wobbly carrier (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Brian, I wonder if you're getting the PA stations via ground wave?
Bethel appears to be about 45 miles and Red Lion about 35. I expect
that you would be too close for a skywave. Indonesia though, might be
skywave. Jerry Lenamon, Waco TX, dxldyg via DXLD) Surely groundwave,
or possibly backscatter (gh)
** U S A. Here we are 5 months into the A-07 season, and WEWN *still*
claims to be on imaginary 5010 at 00-05:
http://www.ewtn.com/radio/freq.htm
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Radio Show addresses various radio issues, including
translators of AM stations on FM
Hi Glenn, A couple of interesting radio shows about radio:
Mediageek --- As it often does, last week's Mediageek featured various
radio issues, including spending about 10 minutes on the issue of
translators of AM stations on FM. The half-hour program also touched
on LPFM legislation, media ownership and TV digital transition.
Show site: http://radio.mediageek.net/
Direct audio links for Aug. 17th episode:
http://www.mediageek.net/sound/2007/mg20070817.mp3
http://www.mediageek.net/sound/2007/mg20070817.ogg
(My own comment about AM stations on FM: Not mentioned in the show is
the seeming connection between this issue and AM IBOC, and how all
this might inhibit future LPFM. If the FCC ever has another Low Power
FM window, LPFM stations will not be allowed to interfere or take
frequencies from translators. This presumably will apply to FM
translators of AM stations, although the FCC has not made any rules on
this yet. In fact, they are just now asking for public comments.
Anyway, the FM translators for AM stations plan will mollify some of
the AM's hurt by the imminent tsunami of AM IBOC. In fact, day-timers
and other smaller AM stations will take to the idea in droves after
they get an earful of AM IBOC's jamming abilities. If this happens,
LPFM will not reach its full potential, because they will lose many
potential frequencies. First the translator invasion of 2003, now
this.
____________
The Inner Side
An interesting show about the Pacifica station in Houston hit by a
drive-by can be found at http://acksisofevil.org/innerside.html
Episode 149 is called "Shots Fired at KPFT"
Direct link to mp3: http://acksisofevil.org/audio/inner149.mp3
(--Leigh Robartes, KRFP / Radio Free Moscow, Inc., 92.5, Moscow, ID
http://www.radiofreemoscow.com Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Maine network trustees didn’t fire Skoglund, and that Bill
Cohen isn’t on the board --- Aug. 23, 2007 To the editors:
On your website you published a letter [below] from Maine Democratic
Party Secretary Susan Cook, in which she chastised Maine Public
Broadcasting Network for allegedly “firing” a volunteer host of one of
our music programs. It appears that Maine Public Broadcasting is
being used in the early stages of what may become one of the fiercest
political campaigns in some time.
Essentially MPBN was, among a host of other sins, accused of having
former Maine [U.S.] senator and secretary of defense, the Hon. William
Cohen, working as a MPBN trustee behind the scenes with others to
affect the upcoming campaign for the Senate between Sen. Susan Collins
(R) and [challenger] Rep. Tom Allen (D) by firing our radio host.
As we say in the news business, “never let the facts get in the way of
a good story.” Just for the record:
1. A simple phone call to verify the facts would have revealed that
the Ms. Cook, the secretary of the Democratic Party of Maine,
misidentified MPBN Trustee “Bill Cohen,” who is not our former
senator, secretary of defense and strategist for Sen. Collins. The
other Mr. Cohen lives in Bucksport, Maine. I wish she had called to
check her facts.
2. The decision to cease airing The Humble Farmer came solely from
Charles Beck, MPBN’s vice president of radio services, with absolutely
no involvement from our Board of Trustees.
3. On numerous occasions, host Robert Skoglund had been strongly
cautioned regarding the inclusion of extremely biased political
commentary in [his] jazz program. In effect, what was originally a
program devoted to music and humor suddenly became an opportunity for
regular political commentary with occasional self-promotion. Mr.
Skoglund had previously agreed in writing to comply with MPBN’s
policies for on-air personalities and then later simply refused. Mr.
Beck made the call on his own, and later was fully supported by the
organization.
4. As for donations to political parties, MPBN has never audited any
trustee or employee and certainly will not begin to engage in such
unethical practices now. I was a trustee and trustee emeritus and I
never had any political discussion with any board member other than
one who ran against Sen. Cohen in the Senate race some years ago.
It is indeed unfortunate that MPBN has been included in early and
aggressive pre-election campaign strategies. The inaccuracies of the
accusations in Susan Cook’s letter point to the need for the
independent journalistic traditions of public broadcasting, which MPBN
is proud to continue to uphold.
David E. Morse, Vice President for Marketing, Communication and
Government Affairs, Maine Public Broadcasting Network (Current via
DXLD)
** VENEZUELA. VENEZUELA TO CHANGE TIME ZONE BY 30 MINUTES
August 24, 2007, Caracas, Reuters
http://today.reuters.com:80/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2007-08-24T121349Z_01_N23289803_RTRUKOC_0_US-VENEZUELA-TIME.xml
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has changed his country's name,
redesigned its flag and rejigged its coat of arms in his drive for a
socialist state.
Now the leftist reformer, highly popular for redistributing oil
income, is seeking to move the country's time zone to offer a more
equitable distribution of sunlight.
Venezuela in September will turn clocks back by 30 minutes as it
switches time zones to boost the amount of natural light to residents,
a government official said on Thursday.
Next month Venezuelan clocks will be set at Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
minus 4-1/2 hours, compared to the previous GMT minus four hours,
Science and Technology Minister Hector Navarro told reporters at a
news conference.
He said the measure sought "a more fair distribution of the sunrise,"
which would particularly help poor children who wake up before dawn to
go to school.
"Very rigorous scientific studies have determined that ... the
metabolic activity of living beings is synchronized with the sun's
light," he said.
Navarro said the government is planning to announce additional
measures to "make more effective use of time."
Venezuela, which under Chávez was officially changed to the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela, adopted its current time zone in the 1960s (via
Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD)
All the previous reports agreed that the start date for this would be
January 1, 2008, even tho they were confused about the change in
relation to UT. Now I find another story saying it could be ``next
September`` -- whatever that means, 2007, or 2008? Confusion reigns
(Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Viz.:
http://buscador.eluniversal.com/2007/08/21/en_pol_art_venezuelan-time-zone_21A93\6597.shtml
Venezuelan time zone may change in September
The new Venezuelan time zone could be matched with the beginning of
the school year next September, reported Minister of Science and
Technology Héctor Navarro.
His remarks were made during the show "En Confianza" aired on official
TV channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV). In his view, children and
teenagers will be the major beneficiaries of the change.
He explained that the purpose of the change is to maximize the effects
of day-time on human metabolism and make a most effective use of time,
official news agency ABN quoted.
Navarro said that in the practice, 30 minutes will be added to the
current time. Therefore, Venezuelans will weak up when the sun is
lighting already the horizon.
According to the current meteorology law, Venezuela has four hours
ahead of the international time, under the Greenwich meridian,
meridian 0. The proposed change will take that difference to 4.5 hours
(via gh, dxldyg via DXLD)
The background (according to other reports from Venezuela): the law on
the change of time zone still has to pass parliament (which it is
expected to do, though), and the government is trying to push it in
order to make the change possibly already by September 17 this year
(Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, ibid.)
** VENEZUELA [non]. Re 7-099, UNIDENTIFIED with cut numbers too:
Radio Nacional de Venezuela. Caught the last few minutes of what
appears to be a new time and frequency. 15290 at 1950 UT Saturday
August 25. ID and signature tune just before closing at 2000. Loud and
clear signal (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
So 19-20 UT on 15290. That was originally the first broadcast of the
day, designated for ``San Francisco``. I wonder if it has been around
in the interim on some undiscovered frequency? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD)
** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. Yes, I can confirm RASD on 1550 kHz. Heard
21/08/2007 at 2236 UT with talk in Arabic, Saharahui often mentioned.
It was one of my first MW logs after a long absence due to FM. 73,
(Günter Currently on vacation near La Spezia, Italy, Lorenz, MWC via
DXLD)
UNIDENTIFIED. 1181 kHz carrier(s): This time I am grouping postings
from three different sources rather than mixing them: first, IRCA;
second, BC forum at radiolistsl.net; third, most of them, ABDX (gh)
Fascinating, but doesn't account for the all day reception up the west
coast of Florida. Definitely groundwave, and that indicates the Keys
or the western half of Cuba (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, IRCA via
DXLD)
Also heard all day on the east coast of FL, but I don't know how far
north, nor how the signal compares with that along the Gulf coast. (W.
Curt Deegan, Boca Ratón, (southeast) Florida, USA, ibid.)
don Curtino y Compays - '66 JN47 chart of Gulf/FL/Carib, S wall radio
room sez Sta. Clara a whisker shy of 80 W. FL E coast W of 80, giving
1181 nice water shot uppa your necka woods aza well... and a clean
shot at Scotland. Presently 0827. Another peek at 1181, yeah, Mr. Het
is still with us, still LOBng > Sta. C // 840 & slightly to E. of 890
Pro, qth Chambas. z "I'm rather fond of Scotland." - Lord Stockbridge
"Gosford Park" c. 2002, Robert Altman (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manasota
Key, Aug 23, IRCA via DXLD)
1181 continues to be strong tonight, 0300-0530 UT (I don't know when
it was first heard tonight.) (Steve Ratzlaff, NE Oregon, UT August 25,
IRCA via DXLD)
Dear Steve & fellow IRCAnauts - Top of the day to you. Just returned
from truncated forced march up MK Road, necessary soot blowing for
what's laughingly referred to as my mind. 1181? Right. There he is.
Med strgth, LOBS 153 deg's > Sta. Clara, at 1332Z. 1181 Het nulls //
one of Rebelde Quad/Triplets & 840 R. Dobleve. Of late, today prime
example, for reasons unknown, R. Martí well received this QTH. Until
perhaps month ago, Martí 1180 barely audible carrier beat against
Rebelde Gangstas. With careful looping could one extract weak audio.
Now, med strength, audio listenable. z (pv zecchino manamarti key, fl
25 1339Z AUG 07 IRCA via DXLD)
I had been wondering if the `professional` broadcast lists would ever
notice this? Not until Aug 20 when Jim Tonne cross-posted his map info
to the broadcast forum at radiolists.net Here are some of the non-
duplicative comments from that: (gh)
I don't understand what this is supposed to show (Lyle Henry, Oconto
Falls WI, CPBE THE RADIO DOCTOR K9DKW/K7OO Silver Lake/Los Angeles SCA
Consultant, Contract Engr: Brazil, China, Mexico, Taiwan, SE Asia, BC
list via DXLD)
Possible location of the interfering noise, by triangulation? (Mark
MN, ibid.)
Yes. This is a result of the Feds doing some testing a year or so ago
and a huge number of observations were made. I modified BCmap to add
DF capabilities and this series of plots (1180A through D so far) is
the result. I won't be posting this anymore to BC. I thought it would
be appropriate but then . . . (Jim Tonne, ibid.)
I'm glad you're talking about this, Jim. But I still don't understand
what your red great circle portions are telling me. One doesn't need
observations to determine what the direction to a station is except
for slight variations resulting from where the signal reflects off the
ionosphere. Or is that what they were trying to determine; over how
wide an angle from a given point a station's protection needs to be
effective? (Lyle, FMeXtra evangelist, in Oconto Falls, WI, ibid.)
Be very careful. This is a black helicopter thing. Last time we were
warned about the consequences of following it up. There's still room
at Guantánamo (Rich Wood, Aug 21, ibid.) Not the one in Hawaii
The Russians were doing this decades ago with shortwave. They used
backscatter to and steer the vertical angle of their radiation for
maximum signal at the desired location. It works extremely well-a 12-
15 db improvement in received signal was typical. -D (Dana Puopolo,
ibid.)
I drove from Memphis to Atlanta last evening. I noted the inference of
the jammer on the 1180 kHz. frequency during several checks after
local sunset. What was very interesting was the level of the noise
(Jammer) in the Atlanta area compared to the adjacent channel on 1190
kHz (Dave Hultsman, Traveling peddler, Aug 24, ibid.) So what was the
level comparatively?? (gh, DXLD)
Right - 1181 jammer likely, het from R. Rebelde 1180, qth Santa Clara,
VC, Cuba. Radio boards looking at it past several days. My qth
lat/long: 26 deg's 58' 24" N - 82 deg's 23' 58" W. Using Benmar 555A &
other RDF's, from this qth, 1181 LOBS 153 degs > Santa Clara. Null
coincides w/null of one of three or four Rebelde mitters on 1180 and
as well, 840 R. Dobleve, known qth Sta. Clara. Daylight readings, w/in
groundwave range. Two additional towns w/confirmed transmitter sites
LOB w/in one degree of 153 from my qth. Sagua la Grande, 151 and
Sancti Spiritus, 152 degrees. Sagua la Grande known qth of R. Sagua,
1540, audible above local WENG 1530, days, using loop & filters.
Sancti Spiritus qth of R. Sancti, 1200 & 1210. Sta. Clara probable qth
in light of past activity. As long as don fido rules Cuba, we never
suffer dull moments. z (PV Zecchino, Manasota Key, FL, 24 1250Z AUG 07
AR, ibid.)
I sent the following message to Radio Havana to check out their
response. It is possible that Cuba doesn't even know what Cuba is
doing!!! Sort of like the United States!! It should be informational
if the email is answered.
Saludos Radio Habana,
Como compañero Radiodifusor, ustedes sabrán que hay ahora una señal
muy fuerte transmitiéndose en la frequencia de 1181 kHz desde algún
punto de o cerca de Cuba. Esta señal ha sido diseñada probablemente
para interferir con alguna estación que está transmitiendo lo que Cuba
considera propaganda. Como nación soberana, Cuba indudablemente tiene
derecho a protegerse de lo que considera interferencia peligrosa a sus
asuntos internos. Bajo estas circunstacias, Cuba tiene derecho a
interferir ciertas transmisiones internacionales como considere
necesario.
Ahora bien, Transmitiendo una señal portadora en los 1181 KHz produce
interferencia molesta por la noche a muchas emisoras de radio en Norte
América. Yo no estoy seguro que esta es la intención de Cuba, porque
Castro ha dicho a su pueblo que el es un buen ciudadano del mundo.
¿Podrían ustedes usar su influencia para informar a su gobierno de
este error? Muchas Gracias, Richard B. Johnson, Groveland,
Massachusetts, USA
Hello Radio Havana,
As fellow broadcasters, you should know that there is now a strong
signal radiating on 1181 kHz from somewhere in or near Cuba. This
signal was probably designed to interfere with a station that is
transmitting what Cuba considers propaganda. As a sovereign nation,
Cuba undoubtedly can protect itself from what it considers harmful
interference with its internal affairs. To this end, Cuba jams certain
international broadcasts as it sees fit.
However, transmitting a carrier signal on 1181 kHz causes harmful
interference in the nighttime to many radio broadcasters in North
America. I’m not sure that this was Cuba’s intention because Castro
has told his people that he is a good world citizen.
Would you please use your influence to bring this error to the
attention of your government? Thank you kindly, (Richard B. Johnson
Groveland, Massachusetts, USA, Aug 25, radiolists.net broadcast forum
via DXLD)
All remaining posts, except some gh comments on this are from ABDX:
Re 7-101: More 1181 Tone: Sorry, Glenn, but now you're confusing me. I
suggest we get away from referring to "peak direction" or "null
direction" and stick with "bearing to transmitter". You can determine
that bearing by either peaking or nulling the signal, whichever you
find easiest and most accurate with your equipment.
I personally find it easier, at least in this situation, to rotate the
antenna until the target signal is minimized. Knowing where the null
region lies in relation to the orientation of my antenna I can then
determine a bearing to the target transmitter.
Now that I'm confident that I know what I'm doing with determining
transmitter direction, I believe I'll skip all further discussion of
peaks and nulls and simply report my calculated bearing. That should
eliminate much of the confusion I've apparently caused.
I went to the site you referenced. Unfortunately, it didn't explain
how to actually use the declination value it produced. The value it
reported for my area was about 5 degrees, but I have no idea if that's
supposed to be added or subtracted.
Given the variety of bearings being reported and the guesstimates of
compass direction I'm sure are being used in many cases, I suspect not
correcting for true north is the least of the problems we face in
determining the transmitter location. Besides, even with the giant
compass rose and the plumb bob, I wouldn't claim a margin of error of
less than +/-10 degrees anyway. And I don't think I'm going too far
out on a limb in suggesting that I've gone further than most in trying
to produce an accurate bearing to the transmitter.
It's very difficult from here to find any MW frequency with only one
occupant. I tried 630 and could hear what I assumed was Savannah, but
I also had a couple SS stations which are probably out of Cuba, maybe
Mexico. I couldn't get a null on the carrier. On 1100 I heard only SS,
which I'm guessing was not Cleveland. (I couldn't get WBBM either, so
I'm apparently not looking good to the north tonight.) If I have time
in the morning I'll try Savannah again. Perhaps the SS stations won't
be as prominent.
I did, as usual, get a nice strong copy on DDP-391 out of Puerto Rico.
My calculated bearing for that transmitter was within a few degrees of
the known bearing. If anyone wants to verify methodology on
calculating bearings and your receiver does LW, I'd suggest trying to
DF some of the stronger beacons. DDP-391 is 2 kW and certainly booms
in here even at almost 1200 miles. I'm not sure how far inland it
gets. GLS-206 in Galveston is another 2 kW beacon that is often heard
all over the country. As is DIW-198 out of Dixon, NC, though there
have been reports lately of DIW not getting out quite as good as usual
(Jay Heyl, Orlando, FL, ABDX via DXLD)
The peak of any loop-type antenna is too broad to allow for any
accuracy in readings, while the null is extremely narrow in any well
built and well designed loop antenna.
As Kevin mentioned, use the null of the loop to null the signal from
the target station. The antenna null points along a bi-directional
line, one bearing of which points toward the transmitter.
The loop must not be tilted when doing DF work. I.e on a ferrite loop,
it must be parallel to the ground, on an air-core loop it, must be
perpendicular to the ground.
One might want to test the loop on a known station on groundwave prior
to doing unknown DF work. This will build confidence in the DF
reading. Skywave DFing is not always easy with a loop though.
One other test worth doing is to see if the loop has symmetrical
nulls. Both of the nulls should be symmetrical around the loop axis,
and at 90 degrees to the peak point(s). If they aren't, there is
something wrong with the loop. This defect is called null skewing, and
it's correctable. Shallow nulls are another loop defect, and this is
sometimes called null blunting. This is also correctable. Sometimes
these two defects are both present. This could be caused by either the
loop balance which is inherent to the loop design, loop feed line or
coupling issues, or other factors. But on a well designed loop, the
nulls will be symmetrical and very deep, and at 90 degrees to the
peaks. The area over which the null gets really deep will be quite
narrow.
Jay, in your case from looking at the deviation chart, you are at -5
degrees magnetic deviation. That means that your compass needle will
be pointing 5 degrees west of true north. To get your magnetic bearing
converted to a true bearing, in your case you'd add 5 degrees to the
magnetic bearing you read from your compass rose. I run a few degrees
more than you (about -7) here in Michigan. Deviation can be either +
or - depending on the location on the globe, and gets pretty wild out
west.
It would probably help when we post bearing readings if we state
whether they are true or magnetic. If someone isn't sure about the
conversion to a true bearing, maybe just post and state the bearing is
magnetic, making sure to give the location the bearing was taken. That
way someone can do the magnetic-to-true conversion later.
I don't know if the true vs magnetic issue accounts for the variations
in readings so far or not? (Rick Kunath, K9AO, Aug 24, ABDX via DXLD)
Thanks, Rick. I thought I remembered magnetic north being west of true
north for much of North America, but it's been a long time since I've
done any work with a map and a compass where a few degrees one way or
another made a difference. (I love GPS!) So, adding 5 degrees gives us
77/257, one degree closer to my original estimate. There's a stupid
saying in poker that would seem to apply here -- think long, think
wrong. I should have just stuck with my original bearing.
My guess would be that any adjustment for magnetic vs true falls well
within the margin of error for even the most accurate of reported
bearings.
OTOH, if you move the bearing reported from Texas 10 or 15 degrees to
the north, then several of the bearings, including mine, intersect in
the Tampa area. There was an early report of someone from Clearwater
(sorry, I forgot who) getting a very strong signal on 1181 and having
great difficulty getting a bearing on it. (For those of you not
familiar with Florida, Tampa and Clearwater are only 20 miles apart.)
Combined with reports of daytime reception from locations in the
southeast, much of the evidence at least doesn't eliminate the Tampa
Bay area as the source (Jay Heyl, ibid.)
``Also, could you use this setup to see if you get 0 degree azimuth on
MW stations in cities which according to my globe happen to be due
north of Orlando: Savannah (630 in daytime?) and Cleveland OH (1100 if
you can get it).`` -- gh
I took a couple minutes this morning to DF the carrier on 630. I
didn't have time to positively ID the station or play with things
enough to get a bearing I'd claim had a very high degree of accuracy.
That said, whatever it was I was DF'ing was +/-10 degrees of true
north (or south).
Combined with all the other bearings I've taken to transmitters with
known locations, I'm now highly confident in my methodology (Jay Heyl,
ibid.)
Not that this has any bearing on any of the discussions about
directions and bearings and all that, but I checked again last night
and did hear the tone on 1180. Seems like it's not as loud as it has
been. Pretty weak behind KOFI. Even when KOFI faded down, tone still
wayyyy back there (Michael n Wyo Richard, Aug 24, ibid.)
Just to join the party, I had an obvious tone on 1180 on the car radio
coming home from work last night around 8 pm or so [PDT = 0300 UT].
Being in the car, I didn't have an opportunity to DF it (I suppose I
could have driven around and around in circles, but that would
probably have attracted a certain amount of unwanted attention! :) )
Noise levels at home have been too high to do much with this signal so
far. 73, (Tim Hall, Chula Vista (San Diego), CA, ibid.)
According to the deviation chart on my Brunton compass, a line from
New Orleans to Duluth is close to zero deviation. West of that line a
compass reading north would be pointing east of true north so the
deviation would be added to the compass reading in order to compensate
for the extra degrees that were missed from zero (true north). East of
that line a compass reading north would be pointing west of true north
so the deviation would be subtracted from the compass reading. Since
Orlando is East of New Orleans the deviation of 5 degrees would be
subtracted from the compass bearing. Therefore 72 - 5 = 67/247
degrees. (Disclaimer; I am not a scientist, nor do I play one on TV)
(Jerry Lenamon, Waco, ibid.)
Nope. It's added to the compass reading to go from magnetic (read on a
compass) to true (read from a map).
So in Jay's case, he adds the magnetic deviation to his compass
reading to get the true bearing. If he took a map true reading and
needed to convert to a magnetic reading that he could use with the
compass, he'd subtract the deviation from the true to get the
magnetic.
West of the zero line this is just opposite.
http://www.coastalnavigation.com/samples/sec_3/3_pages/3_2.htm
http://www.disitron.com/freeresources/northamerica.gif
Looking at that last link, you can see how far off things get out
west. And northwest Canada and Alaska is even worse. It's not too bad
in the central US and the southeast, though the northeast is worse
than most of the west. Seeing the stuff on the map should help
magnetic deviation make more sense (Rick Kunath (Who has been known to
bet his life on his compass skills out west.), ibid.)
Hi Rick, It might just be perspective. Your coastal navigation link
shows a good example. West of the zero line (like you or me) we would
have to add to the bearing because our compass needle is reading a
smaller number than if it were pointing True North. For example,
magnetic north from Vancouver is 23 degrees east of true; our compass
reading is not including those 23 degrees. So we add 23 to whatever
bearing is indicated. Since magnetic north from Ottawa is 14 degrees
west of true our compass bearing is showing too large a number and we
would subtract the 14 to show a bearing from true. Orlando, like
Ottawa, is east of zero so the apparent 72 degrees should be reduced
by the 5 degree deviation in order to correct to true (Jerry Lenamon,
ibid.)
My head's spinning a bit, but I think I have to agree with Jerry on
this one. If magnetic north is 5 degrees west of true north from my
location, then true north lies at the 5 degree mark on the compass. To
get true north to be zero degrees, I have to subtract 5 degrees from
the compass bearing. I'm not sure that cleared things up.
Let's say I'm taking a bearing on something I know to be at 5 degrees
relative to true north. My compass bearing to that target will be 10
degrees. So I need to subtract 5 degrees from the compass reading to
get what I know is the correct bearing. I think that makes it a bit
clearer. At least it does in my mind.
I believe I read somewhere that magnetic north has actually been
moving around quite a lot in more recent times. There was some
speculation that this might be prelude to a magnetic pole reversal.
Wouldn't that be fun? (Jay Heyl, ibid.)
I think everyone is saying the same thing with this, but here are a
few more examples of some NOAA computations to maybe help out:
The rule: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/faqgeom.shtml#q5d
East magnetic deviation sample calculation (you western folks):
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/icons/case1.gif
West magnetic deviation sample calculation (us eastern folks):
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/icons/case2.gif
Jay, you are at a negative magnetic deviation or west deviation per
the below chart:
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/img/us_dec_11x17.pdf
So the value you're adding in the formulas is (per the chart) negative
(-). For the western folks this is positive (+).
As the examples show, it's how the bearing is stated and taken that is
also important. I don't know if any of this would have affected any of
the stated readings, maybe not (Rick Kunath, ibid.)
In the interest of continuing to flog an already deceased equine, I
think it should be pointed out that the map
http://www.disitron.com/freeresources/northamerica.gif
you linked to in a previous message appears to have the whole thing
backwards. It has lines of declination east of the zero line labeled
as "East Declination" and says to add the indicated values, all of
which are positive, to the magnetic bearing to determine the bearing
in relation to true north. Bad map. Bad, bad map. I guess even on the
internet you get what you pay for (Jay Heyl, ibid.)
Yeah, just noticed that. Bad map is right. Bad choice in that first
map I posted. I should have enlarged the thing and looked at it better
:( Hoping some of this thread eventually makes sense (Rick Kunath,
ibid.)
Jim Tonne, With correction for magnetic declination, my bearing should
be 92/272 (Kevin Redding, Gilbert AZ, ibid.)
I don't know if this is useful or not, but I could see the 1181
carrier on my SDR-IQ receiver display last night at a signal level
about equal to WHAM. At about 0027 UT the carrier dropped suddenly
(it didn't look like a fade out) and remained off for ~1 minute. Then
it returned but at a lower signal level than previously. I attempted
to get a bearing with my Quantum loop, but due to local noise I wasn't
able to get an accurate reading (Brett Saylor, Central Pennsylvania,
Aug 24, ibid.)
My take on the 1181 tone and any fuzziness in the collective DF
project is due to lots of people taking not very precise bearings. I
DF'd it from New Jersey with an indoor setup, and indoor antennas will
not give true bearings because of multipath, wall reflections, etc.
It's most likely Cuba in my opinion (Dave Hochfelder, Albany, NY (but
not yet back to DXing...) ibid.) [He had it at 160 degrees = Puerto
Rico]
I was awake before 6:00 am today [CDT = 1100 UT] and decided to check
1181 on my ICF-2010. The het was quite loud and steady even though
dawn was breaking here. I checked 530, and noted Rebelde there was
beginning to flutter and fade. By 6:15 am, 1181 was still in here well
but Rebelde was totally gone from 530, leaving only a Texas Department
of Transportation TIS station. At 6:20 am, the 1181 tone was beginning
to fade, and I noted some other stations (like KKLF-1700 in Sherman,
TX) on their day powers. Around 6:25 am, the 1181 tone abruptly
vanished, but reappeared about a minute later at a lower level, but
still there. By this time KGOL-1180 in Houston was on day
power/pattern and dominating 1180, but the 1181 signal was still there
and could be heard during KGOL dead air until I stopped listening
at 6:30 am.
As the late, great Rod Serling used to say, "Submitted for your
consideration. . . . " (Harry Helms W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, Aug
24, ABDX via DXLD)
Vely intelesting, but fadeout of the lowest MW frequency 530 should be
quite a lot earlier than mid-band or higher from the same location
(Glenn Hauser, DXLD)
It was raining and thundering too hard earlier to get outside and take
some bearings on the 1181 tone here from Michigan, but I managed to
grab some Spectran screen shots starting at 10 PM EDT. I'd have liked
to start the Spectran run before sunset. Hopefully I can do that
tomorrow.
I ran the shots off with the AR5000 tuned to 1179 kHz in USB mode and
looked at the area around 2 kHz for the tone from the 1181 kHz
station.
I actually saw two separate carriers. One was at 1981 kHz and was the
stronger of the two. The other was around 1962 kHz and was weaker with
more fading. The 1981 carrier disappeared for about a minute and a
half, at one point and then reappeared. The carrier at 1962 remained
steady during the fade of the other carrier.
I saved two screen shots from Spectran, but don't have anywhere to
post them. If anyone is interested in seeing them, let me know and
I'll send them along. I am curious whether anyone else is seeing two
separate carriers on the channel? This might explain the bearings?
Hopefully I can grab some bearings tomorrow night from outside in the
yard with the Kiwa (Rick Kunath, K9AO, Aug 24, ABDX via DXLD)
I guess you mean 1981 Hz above 1179.0000 kHz = 1180.81 and
1962 Hz above 1179.0000 kHz = 1180.62, right?
Maybe the 19 Hz difference between them would explain the slight
wavering in pitch we`ve sometimes heard vis-à-vis 1180 carriers.
This and the off-and-on, signal level changes are very interesting.
Hope we can get some consistent DFs on a definite second (or third)
probable target area (Glenn Hauser, ibid.)
Yes, I sure do, Glenn. The frequencies were audio tones and should
have been stated in Hz. Both were relative to the AR5000's dial
frequency of 1179 kHz. I used USB, manual RF gain, and had a Collins 3
kHz filter in-line at the time, with the audio high-pass set to 3 kHz
also. I was using a wire antenna that is pretty non-directional.
If my post proofreading gets any worse one of these days everything
will be sent upside down :(
If the storms pass through here quickly enough this afternoon, I am
hoping I can get something useful tonight. Fade up times on each of
the signals using the wire antenna might be useful, as would any
possible bearings on either signal using either my large air-core box
loop or the Kiwa loop.
It would be interesting to see what others from other areas would see
for fade-up times (Rick Kunath, ibid.)
Rumors are flying that Castro is dead. Listen to see what's on RHC.
You might get a glimpse at the truth or maybe not. The Cuban
government is saying no. The word in Miami is that Castro es muerto
(Kevin Redding, AZ, ibid.)
Kevin, So said Paul Zecchino in one of his cryptic submissions to
IRCA's reflector [see CUBA]. I ran his submission through my
Intergalactic Radio Communications Assembly decoder, and merely got a
decryption of "Eat Post Toasties in the morning!"...so I'm doubtful.
EL GATO HABLA (Charles A Taylor, WD4INP, Greenville, North Carolina,
ibid.)
Charles, You forgot to use the Milspec390 patented secret password
with the decryption. I got, "I just saved a bunch of money on my car
insurance" I guess maybe my password is out of date (Chris N1CP Black,
Cape Cod, ABDX via DXLD)
Hi Rick, The few times I have measured 1181 kHz using a SDR-14
calibrated to less than 1 Hz accuracy, the signal has been precisely
1181.000 kHz. I'll try to check again this weekend and see if I am
also receiving the second carrier that you found at -19 Hz. 73,
(Brandon Jordan, Memphis, TN, bcdx.org Aug 25, ABDX via DXLD)
[Re Heyl`s readings:] I don't understand this. You must mean the
bearing of the null and not the bearing of the signal? (which is at
right angle to the bearing of the null) Otherwise Jay's signal would
originate from the Bermuda triangle, as shown at
http://tonnesoftware.com/1180F.gif 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ABDX
via DXLD)
That is the point I was trying to make the other day. The null bearing
is 72/252, so the signal bearing is 162/342. The map is obviously
plotting Jay's null and not signal bearing, which looks like it will
be pretty close to the other Eastern Cuba plots.
Bermuda triangle, eh? Maybe we are dealing with a UFO or R. Atlantis
trying to QRM both Marti and Rebelde :) Maybe this is a job for Art
Bell's Coast to Coast AM! 73, (Brandon Jordan, Memphis, TN, ibid.)
There is no "null bearing". There is a bearing from my location to the
transmitter. That's it. The rest is just a matter of how I determine
that bearing.
The only time what you're suggesting would make any sense at all is if
one was using an air core loop, nulling the target signal, and then
taking a bearing using the plane of the loop. In that case the target
signal would be coming from a location 90 degrees out from the plane
of the loop. But such is not the case. I'm using a ferrite loop which
has its null along the line of the ferrite bar.
I've probably bored the list to tears explaining exactly how I arrived
at the bearing I've reported. I posted a photo essay of how I made
precise measurements of the bearing. I've used the exact same method
to take bearings on other transmitters with known locations and they
have always been within a few degrees of the known bearing.
It may be hard to accept, but I do actually have a vague clue of what
I'm doing. And I'm getting tired of defending my competence (Jay Heyl,
FL, ibid.)
Subject: Martí-1180 DA pattern change? WTF, over ?
``Dear Steve & fellow IRCAnauts - 1181? Right. There he is. Med
strgth, LOBS 153 deg's > Sta. Clara, at 1332Z.``
======================================================================
Thanks, Doc: we finally got you to transmit something in the clear.
Now we KNOW you know how to speak English like other Earthlings!
======================================================================
``1181 Het nulls // one of Rebelde Quad/Triplets & 840 R. Dobleve.
OF LATE, TODAY PRIME EXAMPLE, FOR REASONS UNKNOWN, R. Marti WELL
RECEIVED THIS QTH.*
======================================================================
*PV's words emphasized by me. (CAT-NC)
======================================================================
Until perhaps month ago, Marti 1180 barely audible carrier beat
against Rebelde Gangstas. W/careful looping could one extract weak
audio. Now, med strength, audio listenable.
======================================================================
Don't know if you saw my submission on Martí-1180 DA pattern a few
nights ago. I was looking at this 1181 thing and listening to the mess
on 1180.
I WAS ASTOUNDED to hear a few bar of Martí's flute-like post ID theme
through the Rebelde barrage. I'd heard this same theme hundreds of
times listening to Martí on the control room monitor as was my wont
over twenty tears of IBB employment at Greenville and Delano (where
cancer forced my retirement).
I have experienced Martí's tight DA pattern twice riding up/down US-1
to/from Cayo Hueso (Key West to you Gringos), and knew I shouldn't
be heard a peep out of Martí three nights ago.
Something the Hxxx is going on here. Why is Martí letting their
pattern out? Does this have a connex with Castro's supposed death?
Some strange things happening on 1180 and vicinity! Habla el Gato.
(Charles A Taylor, WD4INP, Greenville, North Carolina, ibid.)
This is another problem of perspective. Nothing to do with the
transmitter itself. In this case the null refers to the angle where
the receive antenna has its minimum pickup. Most loops will have a
much more distinct point of minimum pickup than maximum pickup so when
the distant station's signal is at a minimum (nulled), that's
(hopefully) the direction that the station is located (Jerry Lenamon,
ibid.)
There is a photos area on Yahoo for the ABDX group. You could post
them there.
There are also lots of free places online to post photos. Kodak has
one. I use http://www.fotki.com for most of my photos. I pay for
unlimited space there, but they offer a fairly generous amount of
space for free. Google also has free online photo storage through its
Picasa photo organizer. I don't personally care all that much for
Picasa (insufficient user control over what it does), but it is free.
And if you don't want to use any of those, I would like to see the
photos. I'm rather curious because I've not seen the kind of deviation
from 1181 your results suggest. Of course, I've to this point been
more concerned with direction than with exact frequency. Maybe it's
time to change gears (Jay Heyl, FL, ibid.)
I suspect that your overall accuracy is better than mine, though I
plan to do some additional calibrating later on tonight if I can.
The receiver is usually pretty good, but can't say how close to exact
it really is. Then there is the sound card clock frequency, which is
pretty close on this machine, but likely nowhere near your 1 Hz
accuracy. The carrier difference of around 20 Hz between the two
carriers is probably pretty close.
I did a calibration run against several local BC stations with the
receiver and sound card app today and it looks like the total setup is
in the area of 20 Hz off on the low side. I.e. reading approximately
1980 on the peak of the het for a dial setting 2 kHz low on the
receiver (USB). This was true with FLdigi in calibration mode and
Spectran, both run under Linux. I'll test later on with Spectrum Lab
under Windows and see what I get, as I was hoping to use that for a
longer run later on. I think that jives with your reading?
I could likely improve this with an external Rubidium precision
reference feeding the receiver's external reference jack, but didn't
drag one home so can't test this weekend. I don't know which is in
error, the receiver or the sound card. I'll have to investigate that
another day (Rick Kunath, ibid.)
I don't know about Jay's bearing. I don't know why it's what it is.
But as far as this peak/null question. It matters not which you use to
determine a bearing to the station. The bearing is the same.
The best to do is to use the null on the loop because it is very
narrow in width, so your bearing accuracy will be better. The peak is
broad, with almost no variation over a wide loop swing. It's almost
impossible to get a really useful bearing with a peak reading.
Either way, the line through the peak or the null is the bearing to
the station.
In Jay`s case with his ferrite rod antenna, the null is off the end,
so he rotated this until he found the null. This was off the end of
the rod, so the axis of the rod was lying along the bearing line, just
as he reported. Not at right angle to this. The null lies on a bi-
directional bearing line to the station. One end of the rod was
pointing towards the station. Without additional equipment, this is
all we know. We don't know which end, but it looks like most are
suspecting the end pointing toward the Caribbean.
The peak is at right angle to this (the axis) on a ferrite loop, but
this makes no difference to the bearing. He wasn't reading the peak.
He was reading the null, and the station lies along that bearing line.
Had he been doing a peak reading (instead of a null), and if he could
have gotten a meaningful reading on the broad peak, and the peak was
actually at the correct place in the loop pattern which it often isn't
exactly on a loop like the null(s) are, he'd have stated that bearing
line. I.e the line at right angles to the rod axis.
When nulling for DF purposes, you find the null to the station you are
Dfing, and the station lies along the line of the null. On a ferrite
rod loop this is along the axis of the rod. On an air-core loop this
is through the open part of the loop, i.e. 90 degrees to the loop
winding plane. Hopefully that makes sense (Rick Kunath, ibid.)
My wife and I are back in Bossier City, LA, visiting our parents. This
time, I think we'll be successful in getting my Mom to go back with us
to Houston for a few weeks.
Anyway, I heard the "tone" again early this morning (Saturday, 25 Aug
2007). I tuned to 1180 kHz on my YB-300PE and there it was!
Tune-in was at 0115 CDT [0615 UT Aug 25]. The tone was extremely loud
and made the unid station on 1180 sound like it was using SSB.
Using my Garmin eTrex, I quickly got a fix on my lat-lon:
32:28:44.5 N
93:40:23.9 W
The street in front of my Mom's house is oriented due North/South, so
that made determining the tone's null azimuth a little easier. Using a
quickly-drawn graph, I found the null was approximately 135/315 from
my location.
I was really getting into all of this when, suddenly, the tone stopped
at 0126 CDT. I stayed on 1180 for about 20 more minutes, but the tone
did not return. Hope this gives everybody another datapoint to use.
73, (Steve Ponder, N5WBI, Houston TX, ibid.)
It's obvious Castro is nearing the end of his life (the fact no video
or photos of him were released on his recent birthday is a strong
indicator El Jefe Máximo is doing badly). Since Castro has built a
personality cult instead of a government, there is no telling what
might happen when he dies (another Mariel boatlift??). Maybe U.S.
psyops are getting transmitters ready to broadcast to Cuba when Fidel
leaves this world for that Perpetual Revolution in the Sky?
The precision of the carriers' frequencies strongly points to a U.S.
source, and the switching on and off, variations in signal level,
etc., indicates some sort of testing. Gosh, I feel like we're all the
Hardy Boys and we're trying to solve a mystery! (Harry Helms W5HLH,
Smithville, TX EL19 http://topsecrettourism.com ibid.)
Subject: Radio Direction Finding with a Loop
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_finding
This says use the null and that`s where the signal is. If you are
using some other method, well your results WILL vary.
http://books.google.com/books?id=BusoFoKzMwMC&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=radio+direction+finding+with+a+loop&source=web&ots=AzZ-EepIUX&sig=dCMVnGqDioz1Ix5gHkkFark80bw#PPA121,M1
This from Joseph Carr - The Technicians EMI Handbook: Clues and
Solutions
"Open the radio and locate the loopstick antenna. If you rotate the
radio through an arc where the loopstick is first broadside to the
arriving signal, and then perpendicular to the signal, you will
notice a tremendous reduction in signal. Ferrite loopsticks are
extremely sensitive to direction of arrival, with a sharp null coming
off the ends.
By noting the direction which the null occurs (Figure 11.1) you find
the line of direction to/from the signal source." Use the null. Do not
use the peak. If you are not using the null, you will have error.
Period (Kevin Redding, ibid.)
"Use the null, Luke, use the null!" (Harry Helms W5HLH, ibid.)
Harry, I think you are right on, or very close in your observations.
Personally I don't think there will be a mass exodus when El Viejo
kicks the bucket, but it is wise for the US to be prepared just in
case. This makes sense. By the way the "tone" is audible all day here
in Fort Pierce. I am getting 2 audio signals about equal strength on
1180 here. One being Rebelde, the other UNID (Juan, Ft. Pierce FL, Aug
25, waiting for the right occasion to light that special cigar, ibid.)
Oye Juan, Methinks you're hearing Radio Martí-1180. Give a listen to
the SW (6030, 9565, 11930, 13860) freqs and see if the audio there
correlates with 1180.
Radio Martí is very much a handmaiden of the Miami/Dade Co. Cuban
American community, to the extent that Radio and TV studios are in
Hialeah, and not in WASHDC as many think.
I'm think that maybe Martí-1180 may go ND should things change
drastically in Cuba as a means for the US Government to "talk" to the
aforesaid community. That's some kind of semi-rational interpretation
I put on the fact that both Paul Vecchio and I have both noted Martí-
1180 is being heard back on the mainland more so than before. Jest mah
two cints worth, take it 'er leave it, sez I. El Gato (Charles Taylor,
NC, ibid.) It`s 13820, not 13860 (gh, DXLD)
1181 now seen in Austin --- For what it's worth the 1181 signal has
been visible on Spectran since 6:30 pm central [2330 UT] here in
Austin. If like last night it will be audible after KGOL goes to night
power. As best as I can DF it is from S. Florida and has really good
frequency accuracy; 1181.0000 which is something almost never seen on
a MW transmitter. Right now I see five separate carriers on 1180, none
of which seem related to what is seen on 1181. FT-1000MP and Spectran
just calibrated against 2.5 MHz WWV. I agree with the R. Martí theory
given the current Fidel rumors (Alan Schreier, WA5DJU, Aug 25, ABDX
via DXLD)
I took some more bearings UT August 26 around 0100 and 0340. Still
getting about 125 degrees (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. Tuned in to 9665 today Aug 25 at 1535z continuing past
1630z, classical music, some opera. I heard no ID at the top of the
hour. Ideas? (Jerry Lenamon, Waco Texas, Drake R8B with sloper, dxldyg
via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
I am rarely listening that late, but a bit earlier around 1300-1400
this frequency is normally dominated by Pyongyang KCBS domestic
service, axually more like 9666 and with a buzz on the audio,
sometimes nothing but the buzz. Was it anything like that? Any hint of
East Asianism in the music? It`s scheduled until 1800. 73, (Glenn
Hauser, ibid.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LANGUAGE LESSONS See NORFOLK ISLAND
++++++++++++++++
WORLD OF HOROLOGY See VENEZUELA
+++++++++++++++++
CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
RSGB HF CONVENTION ON 12 TO 14 OCTOBER
This year's convention is at a new venue, Wyboston Lakes, in
Bedfordshire. As usual there is a full lecture programme and the
chance to meet the world's top HF operators and DXers. Full details of
the convention are at http://www.rsgb.org/hfc/
(via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD)
RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM
+++++++++++++++++++++
PHOENIX AIR
A subpage of the company that is contracted and (maybe sometimes)
conducts Air Martí operations. Some of their other subpage links have
interesting photos of other airframes and rolls as well.
http://www.phoenixair.com/electronic_warfare.php
(Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
One section of the above, proudly proclaiming jamming capability:
CAECSP Communications Jamming
Jamming Covers 20 to 500 MHz
MD-1203 Tone Modulator Provides Additional Jamming Techniques
MD-1203 Interface with HF Radios and USQ-113 Communications Jammer
Effective Against Single Channel Fixed Frequency or Slow Frequency
Hopping Comms in the HF, VHF and UHF Frequency Ranges
(via DXLD)
DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: ETHIOPIA; GUIANA FRENCH; USA WRMI
++++++++++++++++++++ DTV: MEXICO
THE FCC'S LATEST "FINAL" IS A JOKE ON iBOC
wrathofkahn.org: Where the Truth Comes First
In a huge document printed in the Federal Register now available on
the Wrath in easy to read print (go to the latest "Previous Week"
button) the long expected final, final, really, really no kidding
final Rules in which the FCC played a little joke on the Trillion
Dollar iBOC team, including Clear Channel, Lucent etc. who are ready
to trade the safety of over-the-air radio for a piece of that Trillion
Dollar pie in the sky scheme.
Enuf talk Leonard, tell us the joke... OK, OK
On Page 45671 the FCC states that it:
"Recognizes that further negotiations between the United States and
the international community are taking place to resolve possible
disputes about the implementation and operation of DAB [Digital Audio
Broadcasting... AM & FM radio] by domestic radio stations.."
In other words, as the WRATH reported last week, the Mexican
Government sent the State Department a very, very tough letter warning
us that even our border stations were interfering with Mexican
stations and stop it... It sounded like troops were marching... And
since I haven't bragged yet but a long time ago I spent about a month
in Geneva as the State Department's (one and only) radio expert; they
didn't want more than one because even then the USA was worried we
might look like bullies, so unlike France who had like ten engineers,
I had to work all the committees whether or not I knew what I talking
about. Anyway, I at least convinced the Germans not to desert AM radio
in favor of all FM. Leonard that is enuf. Last word the FCC has about
as much chance of convincing the ITU to accept additional interference
from iBOC jammers as I have of winning the Olympic pole vaulting gold
medal.
Anyway, let us get to the PUNCH LINE of the FCC's little joke on my
iBOC friends.
On Page 456871 after telling iBiquity some really, really bad news
about Patents that they may not fully understand, we finally get to
the Joke re international treaties:
The FCC opines that: "While we are optimistic that we will be able to
resolve any outstanding issues with Canada and Mexico or other
countries, these issues remain subject to ongoing negotiations.
Therefore, until the negations are completed, we advise the radio
industry that the following condition will be applied to stations
operating with IBOC DAB:
Operation with facilities specified herein is subject to modification,
suspension or termination without the right to hearing...."
Since I want to be certain RW and the Trillion Dollar international
cartel including Clear Channel and Texas Instruments and Lucent gets:
the JOKE, let me repeat: [in large type in original]
Therefore, until the negations are completed, we advise the radio
industry that the following condition will be applied to stations
operating with IBOC DAB:
Operation with facilities specified herein is subject to modification,
suspension or termination without the right to hearing...."
So you broadcasters, who maybe spent a million bucks for IBOC gear,
this isn't all that funny, especially when you decide to try to prove
your station doesn't increase interference. Sorry, but you really have
to be careful when someone sells you a device that has never worked at
night, and you don't even take the time to tune into stations that
real engineers tell you are jamming their neighbors (Leonard Kahn,
Wrath of Kahn, http://www.wrathofkahn.org/ via DXLD) This item will
eventually be toward the bottom of his Previous Weeks file (gh)
PROPAGATION
+++++++++++
ARNIE CORO’S DXERS UNLIMITED’S PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST
Hi amigos radioaficionados around the world and in orbiting planet
Earth. Welcome to the weekend edition of your favorite radio hobby
program that you are picking up under rather difficult propagation
conditions due to a combination of very low solar activity and the
effects of a disturbing high speed solar wind impacting into the
Earth’s magnetosphere. But, if you stay up late, your lack of sleep
will be rewarded by much better propagation conditions than those
prevailing during your local daylight hours, as we are still in the
summer, when that happens due to the high temperatures reached by the
ionosphere in the sunlit hemisphere.
Just one sunspot group and it is certainly a small and of simple
structure, so the daily sunspot number is the rock bottom 12, a bit
higher than during the previous several days with zero sunspot count.
The proton density of the solar wind has increased quite a bit, and
that may trigger geomagnetic disturbances at high latitudes. The
general description for short wave propagation conditions can be
resumed with one single word: POOR, because of the combination of very
low solar activity and the incoming high speed solar wind with high
proton density… Don’t expect Sporadic E openings, because the season
has now, for all practical purposes arrived to its end (Arnie Coro,
CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Aug 25, HCDX via DXLD)
TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING
++++++++++++++++++++++++
What struck me about my fellow Texan, Karl Rove, is that he knew how
to win elections as if they were divine interventions. You may think
God summoned Billy Graham to Florida on the eve of the 2000 election
to endorse George W. Bush just in the nick of time, but if it did
happen that way, the good lord was speaking in a Texas accent.
Karl Rove figured out a long time ago that the way to take an
intellectually incurious draft-averse naughty playboy in a flight
jacket with chewing tobacco in his back pocket and make him governor
of Texas, was to sell him as God's anointed in a state where preachers
and televangelists outnumber even oil derricks and jack rabbits. Using
church pews as precincts Rove turned religion into a weapon of
political combat — a battering-ram, aimed at the devil's minions,
especially at gay people.
It's so easy, as Karl knew, to scapegoat people you outnumber, and if
God is love, as rumor has it, Rove knew that, in politics, you better
bet on fear and loathing. Never mind that in stroking the basest
bigotry of true believers you coarsen both politics and religion.
At the same time he was recruiting an army of the lord for the born-
again Bush, Rove was also shaking down corporations for campaign cash.
Crony capitalism became a biblical injunction. Greed and God won four
elections in a row — twice in the lone star state and twice again in
the nation at large. But the result has been to leave Texas under the
thumb of big money with huge holes ripped in its social contract, and
the U.S. government in shambles — paralyzed, polarized, and mired in
war, debt and corruption.
Rove himself is deeply enmeshed in some of the scandals being
investigated as we speak, including those missing emails that could
tell us who turned the attorney general of the United States into a
partisan sock-puppet. Rove is riding out of Dodge City as the posse
rides in. At his press conference this week he asked God to bless the
president and the country, even as reports were circulating that he
himself had confessed to friends his own agnosticism; he wished he
could believe, but he cannot. That kind of intellectual honesty is to
be admired, but you have to wonder how all those folks on the
Christian right must feel discovering they were used for partisan
reasons by a skeptic, a secular manipulator. On his last play of the
game all Karl Rove had to offer them was a Hail-Mary pass, while
telling himself there's no one there to catch it (Bill Moyers,
commentary on Bill Moyers Journal, PBS, Aug 17, quoted in latest PBS
Ombudsman column
http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2007/08/the_gift_that_keeps_on_giving_print.html
via DXLD)
Along with lots of criticism. Rove maintains he is a believer, as if
that makes OK all the evil that he has accomplished (Glenn Hauser, DX
LISTENING DIGEST) ###