DX LISTENING DIGEST 17-37, September 12, 2017
Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING
edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com
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For restrixions and searchable 2017 contents archive see
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[also linx to previous years]
NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but
have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself
obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn
WORLD OF RADIO 1895 contents: Anguilla, Armenia, Australia, Bahrain
non, Brazil, Cambodia non, Congo DR, Cuba, Ethiopia, Europe and non,
Germany non, Guatemala, India, International Waters non, Korea South,
Mongolia, Netherlands non, North America, Sa`udi Arabia, Slovenia,
Spain, USA, Zanzibar
SHORTWAVE AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1895, September 12-19, 2017
Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 15770 [off the air, post-Irma]
Tue 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [1894 replayed]
Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 9455 [off the air, post-Irma]
Wed 1315 WRMI 9955 [off the air, post-Irma]
Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v [confirmed]
Wed 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed]
Thu 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed]
Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed]
Sat 0630 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio
Sat 1431 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio [not confirmed]
Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM
Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB
Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 [should play, back on the air, and following]
Sun 0200 WRMI 11580
Sun 0310v WA0RCR 1860-AM
Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio
Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB
Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v-AM Area 51
Mon 0330 WRMI 9955
Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB
Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 [not back on air yet as of Sept 16]
Latest edition of this schedule version, including AM, FM, satellite
and webcasts with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at:
http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html or
http://schedule.worldofradio.org or http://sked.worldofradio.org
For updates see our Anomaly Alert page:
http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html
WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS:
Tnx to Dr Harald Gabler and the Rhein-Main Radio Club.
http://www.rmrc.de/index.php/rmrc-audio-plattform/podcast/glenn-hauser-wor
ALTERNATIVE PODCASTS, tnx Stephen Cooper:
http://shortwave.am/wor.xml
ANOTHER PODCAST ALTERNATIVE, tnx to Keith Weston:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/GlennHausersWorldOfRadio
NOW tnx to Keith Weston, also Podcasts via iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/glenn-hausers-world-of-radio/id1123369861
AND via Google Play Music:
http://bit.ly/worldofradio
OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO:
http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html
or http://wor.worldofradio.org
DAY-BY-DAY ARCHIVE OF GLENN HAUSER`S LOG REPORTS:
Unedited, uncondensed, unchanged from original version, many of
them too complex, minutely researched, multi-frequency, opinionated,
inconsequential, off-topic, or lengthy for some log editors to
manage; and also ahead of their availability in these weekly issues:
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/index.php?topic=Hauser
NOTE: I have *resolved* to make DXLD leaner, more selective, as I
seriously need to reduce my workload, much of which has been merely
editing gobs of material into presentable form. This makes it even
more important to be a member of the DXLD yg for additional material
which may not make it into weekly issues (gh)
DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it
appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg without delay.
When applying, please identify yourself with your real name and
location, and say something about why you want to join. Those who do
not, unless I recognize them, will be prompted once to do so and no
action will be taken otherwise. Here`s where to sign up:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/
** AFGHANISTAN. Weak signal of R Afghanistan External Service Sept 5:
from 1530 6100 YAK 100 kW / 125 deg SoAs English, no signal at 1600
from 1600 6100 KNG 250 kW / non-dir NEAs Korean KCBS Pyongyang-fair
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/weak-signal-of-radio-afghanistan.html
(DX RE MIX NEWS # 1027 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Sept 7, 2017
via DXLD)
** ALBANIA. B17 CHINA as of 05-Sep-2017 via Cërrik
Total number of requirement: 41 ; for ITU NOTIFICATION
created by ITU HFBC -2017-09-05 14:33:10
FREQ STRT STOP CIRAF POWR AZIMUTH SLW ANT LANGUAGE
----+----+----+------------------------------+---+----+-------+---+--
5960 2000 2100 27,28W 150 310 0 146 Eng
5960 2100 2200 27,28W 150 310 0 146 Eng
5970 1600 1800 28NW 150 330 0 146 Deu
5970 1800 2000 27SE 150 310 0 146 Fra
5985 0500 0700 37S,37NE 150 240 0 206 Ara
6020 0000 0100 7-10 300 305 0 217 Eng
6020 0100 0200 7-10 300 305 0 217 Eng
6020 0200 0300 7-10 300 305 0 217 Chn
6020 0300 0400 7-10 300 305 0 217 Chn
6055 1800 2000 37,46W 150 240 0 206 Fra
6175 2200 2300 37N 150 280 0 206 Por
6175 2300 2400 37N 150 280 0 206 Spa
6185 2000 2200 38W 150 193 0 206 Ara
7210 0500 0700 37S,37NE 150 240 0 206 Ara
7210 2200 2400 37NW 150 280 0 206 Spa
7215 2000 2200 38W 150 140 0 146 Ara
7220 0500 0600 38E 150 140 0 146 Eng
7220 1100 1200 28SE 150 0 0 925 Bul
7285 0900 1000 28E 150 0 0 925 Ron
7285 2000 2100 27N 150 310 0 146 Eng
7285 2100 2200 27N 150 310 0 146 Eng
7345 1200 1300 28S 150 0 0 925 Srp
7345 1500 1600 39NW 150 0 0 925 Tur
7360 1800 2000 27SE 150 310 0 146 Fra
7380 1600 1800 28NW 150 330 0 146 Deu
7385 1800 2000 37,46W 150 240 0 206 Fra
9460 0900 1000 28E 150 0 0 925 Ron
9555 1600 1800 38E 150 140 0 146 Ara
9565 1500 1600 39NW 150 0 0 925 Tur
9570 0000 0100 7-10 300 305 0 217 Eng
9570 0100 0200 7-10 300 305 0 217 Eng
9570 0200 0300 7-10 300 305 0 217 Chn
9570 0300 0400 7-10 300 305 0 217 Chn
9590 0500 0700 39E 150 140 0 146 Ara
11725 1600 1800 37S,37NE 150 240 0 206 Ara
11750 0600 0700 38E 150 140 0 146 Eng
11785 0700 0900 27N 150 310 0 146 Eng
11855 0700 0900 27 150 310 0 146 Chn
11920 1400 1600 46W 150 240 0 206 Fra
13665 1100 1300 27N 150 310 0 146 Eng
13670 1400 1600 46W 150 240 0 206 Fra
(via Drita Çiço, RTSH Monitoring, Sept 7, DXLD)
** ANGUILLA. The Caribbean Beacon, Anguilla, had a good signal on
11775 kHz this afternoon until s/off on the frequency at 2207:19 UT,
abruptly with no ID, etc. Looked for them then on their night
frequency of 6090 kHz but not heard and not heard since. Battening
down the hatches? Next SW broadcast transmitters in the path of Irma
will likely be Cuba's and perhaps WRMI's (-- Richard Langley, NB, 0237
UT Sept 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
6090, Sept 6 at 0552, Caribbean Beacon is off, as you would expect
with huge Hurricane Irma hitting the island. Has Dead Doctor Gene
finally met his match in an even bigger blowhard?? Richard Langley
noted that the night frequency never came up after day frequency 11775
closed a few minutes after 2200 Sept 5.
11775, also CB absent, Sept 6 at 1241 check, uncovering a very weak
carrier presumably listed AIR Tibetan/Nepali via GOA, or jamming
(Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
[and non]. HURRICANE IRMA: FEARS GROW FOR BRITONS IN CARIBBEAN
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41185042
"Two British territories in the Caribbean have suffered 'severe'
damage from Hurricane Irma, the UK's Foreign Office has said.
"Sir Alan Duncan said Anguilla received the hurricane's 'full blast'
while the British Virgin Islands would need 'extensive humanitarian
assistance'.
"At least one death has been reported on Anguilla, according to local
officials."
...
"Josephine Gumbs-Conner, a barrister from Anguilla, claimed the UK's
preparations for and response to the storm have been 'sorely lacking'
"She said the island's essential services including hospitals and
police stations, were now in a 'limping position', after the hurricane
caused 'nuclear bomb devastation'.
Whither The Caribbean Beacon? (-- Richard Langley, Sept 7, dxldyg via
DXLD)
Does Ms. Scott care for her Anguilla possession in any way? (You can
guess my assumption.)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/06/government-accused-of-disgraceful-lack-of-aid-for-anguillans-hit-by-irma
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.4277147/duty-calls-radio-reporter-19-broadcasts-live-from-anguilla-at-the-height-of-hurricane-irma-1.4277182
(Kai Ludwig, ibid.) NO info about status of silent SW station! (gh)
** ANGUILLA. ANGUILLAN RADIO ANNOUNCER STAYS ON AIR AS HURRICANE IRMA
TEARS ACROSS ISLAND --- Here And Now
Hurricane Irma ravaged the small Caribbean island of Anguilla on
Wednesday, killing at least one person and leveling buildings across
the island. But it did not stop 19-year-old radio broadcaster Nisha
Dupuis from doing her job.
Video taken inside the studios of Radio Anguilla shows Dupuis
(@DupuisNisha) calling out to listeners as hurricane-force wind
rattles the building. Here & Now's Robin Young talks with her.
This segment [only 1:38, noisy off-mike] aired on September 8, 2017
http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/09/08/anguillan-radio-announcer-irma
(via Artie Bigley, Sept 8, DXLD)
** ANTARCTICA. ARGENTINE, 15475.976, LRA36, Radio Nacional [Arcángel]
San Gabriel logged on remote Kiwi-SDR in Brazil on SDR.net.worldwide
Set SDR option to AM
narrow or USB, next to 15475.96 kHz Zoom-in, manual gain of 97dB,
approx. S=6-7 at 1950 UT (in Brazil 16.50 local time) (Wolfgang
Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Sept 5 via DXLD)
** ARMENIA. Random reception of Armenian Public Radio on Sept 6:
0833-0903 on 9580 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Armenian & off
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/random-reception-of-armenian-public.html
Random reception of Armenian Public Radio on new freq 7520 kHz, Sept 8
0940&1005 NF 7520 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Armenian, ex 9580 &
off at 1010
Again on air 1030 and off at 1040/again on air at 1100 and off at 1110
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/random-reception-of-armenian-public_8.html
(Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ARMENIA. Yerevan tests Mon 11th Sept 0230-2100 UT --- There will be
a bunch of tests from Yerevan today, Monday, 11th September between
0230 (yes 0-two-3-0) and 2100 UT on 7530 kHz. Power 100 kW, directed
to 192 Iran / Iran / Turkey. RRs appreciated (Christian Milling,
Shortwave Service on WRTH Facebook page, 2130 UT, 10 Sept)
Posted by: (alan.pennington, 2227 UT Sept 10, BDXC_UK yg via WORLD OF
RADIO 1895, DXLD)
or probably on 7520, open carrier at 0925 UT, Sept 11 -- 73! (Ivo
Ivanov, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
Armenian Public Radio and Denge Kurdistan via Yerevan-Gavar, Sept 11
Armenian Public Radio
0604-0609 9580 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg WAs Armenian, distorted & off air
Denge Kurdistan
0700-0800 9580 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg WAs Kurdish, strong and good audio
//freqs 7520 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg, 11600 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg WeAs
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/armenian-public-radio-and-denge.html
Test broadcasts of Armenian Public Radio on 7320/7520 kHz, Sept 11
0230-2100 7520^ERV 100 kW / 192 deg WeAs Armenian, NOT on 7530
0929-0942 7320 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg WeAs Armenian, poor/weak signal
^NO SIGNAL 0630-0929, except 0700-0800 on 7520 kHz Kurdish Denge
Kurdistan. Tests started at 0929-0941 UT & 0959-1011UT & continues
xx59-xx11/xx29-xx41
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/test-broadcasts-of-armenian-public.html
Test broadcasts of Armenian Public Radio 7520 on Sept 11
1409&1429 7520 ERV 100 kW / 192 deg WeAs Armenian, NOT on 7530 kHz.
Test started at 0929 & continues xx59-xx11/xx29-xx41, not every hour
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/test-broadcasts-of-armenian-public_11.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 11 via DXLD)
** ASCENSION. Hi Glenn, The hum should now be fixed. Let me know if
you think otherwise! Regards, (Chris Greenway, UK, Sept 6, DX
LISTENING DIGEST) I must reply:
5960, Sept 6 at 0555, African language with hum, i.e. Dandal Kura
scheduled during this hour to Nigeria. Other ASC frequency, 6005 with
BBCWS in English, is hum-free, so apparently moved it to 5960 or
swapped transmitters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** AUSTRALIA. 5045, Ozy Radio, 1136-1215, Sept 11. Recently have
only had below threshold level audio here, but today heard with their
strongest signal yet; EZL pop songs; unable to recognize/ID any of
them; usual "Waltzing Matilda" IS at 1146, 1159 and 1214, along with
"Ozy Radio" IDs; 1200-1210 with the news; not readable, but could
make out bits and pieces; still above threshold level at 1243.
6230-USB, VMW (Australia Weather West), 1230-1241*, Sept 11.
Current marine weather and forecast, followed by current conditions
for coastal locations (Carnarvo, North Island, Rottnest Island, etc.);
ending with "V M W" ID; fair, even with QRN (static); readable. My
audio at
http://goo.gl/MU2BCB
5045, Ozy Radio. Sept 12, a day with very respectable reception from
this low powered station; 1156-1436; strongest feature continues to be
the old Radio Australia's "Waltzing Matilda," which were always well
heard at 1156, 1206 (end of news), 1218, 1240, 1249, 1305 (end of
news), 1337, 1348 (end of news, which mentioned "suburban Melbourne,"
etc.), 1357, 1406 (end of news - please listen to my audio) and 1417;
sometimes able to make out the Dacelo novaeguineae; new email address
- ozyradio @ gmail.com given with IDs; mostly playing pop songs
("Hooked On A Feeling," etc.); my local sunrise was at 1347 UT.
With today's improved reception of Ozy Radio, also came improved
signal from China (Beibu Bay Radio) on 5050, which caused some QRM for
Ozy Radio, so was forced to listen in LSB for the best results.
Considerable QRN (static) and only bits & pieces readable on my audio
ending with Dacelo novaeguineae, Waltzing Matilda and "Ozy Radio" ID,
at
http://goo.gl/2krPf9
(Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long
wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Hi Glenn, Sent a report via email to ozyradio @ gmail.com , telling
Craig about my listening to Ozy Radio today while parked at the beach.
My "radio shack" picture that I sent him -
http://goo.gl/TM7mmr
which is where I string out my long wire antenna along the wooden
fence that I park next to. Craig's nice reply came back in just five
hours (Ron Howard, Sept 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.:
"G'day, Ron, Thanks for the reception report. It is amazing what 500
watts does. We now include the Australian Independent National news
and also a 10 minute world round up.
I bought a Pioneer shortwave car radio about 2 months ago, but I still
haven't installed it. Maybe today. Thanks for your report and next
time I'm in the states we will have a beer and throw a shrimp on the
BBQ. Stay tuned, Craig Allen, Ozy Radio, 5045 Khz" (via Ron Howard,
ibid.)
** BAHAMAS. 1540, ZNS1, Radio Bahamas, Nassau, New Providence. 1005
September 8, 2017. Female live Hurricane Irma coverage of Out Islands
conditions. Presumed KXEL talker co-channel. On September 10 at 1004,
gospel program but bad KZMP Spanish Christian co-channel, no doubt on
full day power already (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISITENING
DIGEST)
** BAHRAIN [non]. Iran / Bahrain broadcast from Iran
IRIB external service has been heard carrying a broadcast to Bahrain
identifying as Neda al-Bahrain (Call of Bahrain). It is using IRIB
transmitters at 0900-1200 on 1224 kHz and 1700-2000 on 1080 kHz.
Before and after the Bahrain programme, both frequencies carry IRIB
Arabic programming as scheduled. The broadcast has a website
http://www.nedaalbahrain.com
which confirms the frequencies (Observations by Tony Rogers during
August 2017 using the Kiwi SDR receiver in Oman, Sept BDXC-UK
Communication via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
Per WRTH 2017: 1080 is 600/400 kW of VOIRI at Mahshahr; VOIRI 1224 is
400 kW at Kish Island (also a 1224 Radio Iran at Kerman with 50 kW).
Neither VOIRI place is in the index of the Reader`s Digest Wide World
Atlas, the top of my atlas collexion stack (should be demoted?), so am
I am forced to search for them online? But first, how about the slick
ME Map in the WRTH page 57? These would be much more useful if they
showed at least major MW sites rather than the ever-diminishing SW
sites only, leaving lots of blank areas.
Aha, near Kuwait in Iran is Bandar-e Mashar [sic]; is that a SW site?
Never heard of it. But in the International sexion we find that it is
the one more commonly known as Ahwaz. Still no Kish Island, but on
page 474, 1224 is attributed to Kerman with 600 kW --- atlas shows
this city is in south-central Iran, closer to Oman than Bahrain and
certainly not on an island. All this confusion is not totally WRTH`s
fault, as Iran has failed to provide updated info to them.
Now I finally search for Kish Island: Wikipedia says, altho caveat not
entirely satisfied with its entry:
``Kish is a 91.5-square-kilometre (35.3 sq mi) resort island in the
Persian Gulf off the southern coast of Iran. It is part of the Bandar
Lengeh County in Hormozgan Province of Iran. Owing to its free trade
zone status it is touted as a consumer's paradise, with numerous
malls, shopping centres, tourist attractions, and resort hotels.[1] It
has an estimated population of 26,000 residents and about 1 million
people visit the island annually.[2] Kish Island is the third most
visited vacation destination in Southwest Asia after Dubai and Sharm
el-Sheikh.[3][clarification needed]``
Map shows it almost due east from Bahrain across the Gulf, and could
certainly put a bigsig into the other island, but not a good spot to
DX from with that huge MW transmitter upon Kish!
BTW, as reflected in my propagation outlooks for Media Network Plus,
Bill Hepburn`s maps show the Persian Gulf is a hotspot for extreme
tropospheric propagation, so FM and TV DX in the area should be huge,
if anyone were doing it (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
1080, 1700, Call of Bahrain (Neda al-Bahrain) via Bandar-e Mahshahr,
Iran. Split from IRIB Arabic at 1700, piano IS, into Call of Bahrain
program (seemingly a repeat, heard earlier on 1224 kHz), ID; DRM noise
from India quite noticeable until 1930 (# Muscat, Oman SDR) SIO 323
09/08 TR#*
1080, 2140, IRIB, Bandar-e Mahshahr, Iran. Middle Eastern-type music
audible under Spain, found to be // IRIB Arabic on 7425 (# Northampton
SDR) 211 26/08 TR# (Tony Rogers, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via WORLD
OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
** BANGLADESH. Hi, Radio Bangladesh iñ English heard at 1710 UT on
13580 with Islamic prayer, ident music, etc., with a sinpo of 54544 on
my tecsun PL-660 with telescopic whip (Jon Collins, Birmingham UK,
Sept 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
9455, Sept 12 at 1320, JBA carrier; checking for possible WRMI, but
this instead: only listed is BB in Nepali at 1315-1345 (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BOLIVIA. This morning I was pleasantly surprised to pick up the
following SW station. I actually hear it every time I DX but just
thought if I hyped it up it would be more interesting. I'm a little
bored this morning! I think I need a job?
Radio Mosoj Chaski, 3310, Cochabamba, in Spanish, at 1005, on 8 Sep. A
song with several female singers played followed by a female DJ
talking about music. A male announcer came on with a commercial or
promo followed by the female DJ again. Fair-Poor. 60 Minute tape
recorded on line somewhere on Boo Tube if you really want to listen to
it, I didn't! (John Cooper, PA) (Located in beautiful Lebanon, PA
which is located 12 miles East of Hershey, PA, The Sweetest Place on
Earth, located 14 miles East of Reading, PA. As if you really care?)
Have a great DX Day! Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD)
** BOUGAINVILLE [and non]. 3325, NBC Bougainville, 1133, Sept 6. Nice
to hear a singing version of "Waltzing Matilda" here; cut off at
1200*, revealing RRI Palangkaraya.
Sept 7, was a bad day here, with both NBC and RRI being about equal
strength, causing a mess; NBC cut off at 1203*, leaving RRI in the
clear. Normally NBC is considerably stronger, making their station
more listenable.
Sept 9, with overall very poor propagation: 3325, NBC Bougainville,
1137-1201*, Sept 9. Usual DJ in Pidgin playing pop songs; 1200 full
ID along with frequencies; QRM from RRI Palangkaraya was light to
moderate (Ron Howard, San Francisco, at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1,
antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BRAZIL. Hi Glenn, With 6060 free of Cuba, heard Brazil, on 6059.79
kHz (Super Rádio Deus é Amor), with religious songs, at 0430+ (Ron
Howard, California, Sept 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BRAZIL. 4985, Rádio Brasil Central, Goiânia, 0612-0627, 11-09,
Brazilian songs, Portuguese, comments, ID “Brasil Central”. Teletype
stations interference. 21321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Lugo
and Reinante, Tecsun PL-880, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
4985, Sept 12 at 0126, very poor music, presumed R. Brasil Central,
and NO RTTY, which usually blox it totally; // 11815 is even weaker
now. Wonder if Irma has something to do with the RTTY being absent?
Never know whence it be. But Sept 13 at 0157, RTTY is back (Glenn
Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BRAZIL. Weak to fair signal of Radio Transmundial, Sept 9:
1848 & 2028 11735*CAB 050 kW / 060 deg to BRA Portuguese & off 2100 UT
* same time 11735 DOL 050 kW / non-dir to CeAf Swahili ZBC, NO SIGNAL!
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/weak-to-fair-signal-of-radio.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 9 via DXLD)
** BULGARIA. Am 08.09.2017 um 17:07 schrieb Shortwave Radiogram:
> Another reason you might not be able to hear Shortwave Radiogram
this weekend is solar events, which are forecast to affect radio
communications. See the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center for
updates.
Here in Central Germany the signal from Kostinbrod on 9400 kHz was
again very strong.
http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-09-09.htm#SWRG
Like "usual", a short AF dropout had been hidden. However, with the
spelling check of the MFSK-32 text such things are quite fast to find.
;-)
Also, again, look at the world of I-Q data, even a kind of stereo on
shortwave.
http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-09-09.htm#spectrum
(roger thayer, germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BURUNDI [non]. Again no signal of RPA Radio Publique Africaine via
TDF Issoudun
1800-1858 on 15480 ISS 250 kW / 145 deg to SoAf Kirundi & French
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/receptioin-of-radio-itahuka-via-mbr.html
(DX RE MIX NEWS #1028 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Sept 12, 2017
via DXLD)
** CAMBODIA [non]. UNIDENTIFIED. 9700, Sept 7, good S9 to S9+10 signal
in Khmer(?), strikes me as something new. Yes, nothing at all listed
in latest HFCC, Aoki or EiBi at this time on 9700. Searching HFCC on
Khm does not get many hits after 1300, in fact only KSDA on 11900 and
IBB Saipan 12140, so maybe ex-one of those. But I`m not 100% certain
it`s Khmer; could be some obscure related dialect beloved of the
evangelical imperialists. Needs further monitorage (Glenn Hauser, OK,
WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Hi Glenn, Radio Free Asia: Schedule Effective 26 March - 28 October
2017. All times are UTC
http://www.rfa.org/about/info/frequencies.html
Khmer 1230-1330 9700 12140 (Ron Howard, Sept 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
I've a copy of Aoki Nagoya database of Aug 30 at 1400 UT in use. There
is an entry of 9700 RFA Khmer already, and as reported last week, also
9615 VoA! Khmer from Tinang PHL 1330-1430 UT.
Use now a unit from Tinian Isl in the Marianas from Sunday Aug 27
onwards:
2017-08-27 12:32:01 capture: AM 9700 (TIN) aRF KHME
2017-08-27 12:32:21 email: 1708271232@PHNO 9700aRFKHME.mp4
B u t, there is an alfabet sort problem, called 'aRF' keyboard glitch,
and put 'sorted' on first line in row as aRF, BBC, RFA, RTG, RVA, VOA
RFA Khmer, 1230-1330 12140 Saipan MRA, 9700 Tinian MRA.
And too at ... sorted aVO ... VOA Khmer, 1330-1430 11695 Tinang PHL,
9615 Tinang PHL, 1575 Bangkok THA.
2017-08-27 14:02:01 capture: AM 9615 (PHT) aVO KHME
2017-08-27 14:02:21 email: 1708271402@PHNO 9615aVOKHME.mp4
What mean the lower case alphabet letter sort 'a' ? 73 wolfie
(Wolfgang Büschel, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
9700, Sept 8 at 1303, JBA carrier unlike yesterday, when Ron Howard
and Wolfgang Büschel quickly identified this as indeed a new frequency
for Radio Free Asia in Cambodian, here via Tinian, while now inaudible
original // 12140 is Saipan. Nor heard at 1308 on another recent
addition, 9615 Tinang, Philippines {rather, that is not until 1330 for
VOA, as below}. Severe geomag storm but only temporary. Beefing up SW
service at 1230-1330, since Cambodia is turning off FM relays (Glenn
Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
New extended schedule of Radio Free Asia in Khmer
1230-1330 on 9700 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to SEAs addit. freq.
1230-1330 on 12140 SAI 100 kW / 270 deg to SEAs as scheduled
1430-1500 on 7520 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs new addit.px
1430-1500 on 12140 TIN 250 kW / 279 deg to SEAs new addit.px
2230-2330 on 13740 SAI 100 kW / 270 deg to SEAs as scheduled
2230-2330 on 15275 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs addit. freq.
And updated shortwave schedule of Voice of America in Khmer:
1330-1430 on 9615 PHT 250 kW / 270 deg to SEAs addit. freq.
1330-1430 on 11695 PHT 250 kW / 270 deg to SEAs as scheduled
2200-2230 on 5915 PHT 250 kW / 270 deg to SEAs as scheduled
2200-2230 on 9320 PHT 250 kW / 270 deg to SEAs as scheduled
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/new-extended-schedule-of-radio-free.html
(Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, Sept 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CAMBODIA [and non]. STATEMENT BY CEO JOHN F. LANSING ON THE CLOSING
OF RFA'S PHNOM PENH BUREAU --- September 12, 2017
In recent days, the intimidation campaign by Cambodia's government
against free speech has intensified. As a result, and out of concern
for the security and safety of its journalists, Radio Free Asia (RFA)
has made the difficult decision to suspend operations of its news
bureau in Phnom Penh. [next story below]
In this interconnected age of borderless news and information, the
Broadcasting Board of Governors is committed to achieving our mission
of informing, engaging, and connecting people around the world in
support of freedom and democracy. There has never been a more
important time to hold governments accountable for treating press
freedom as a human right and a universal priority. The Cambodian
government's actions have only strengthened our resolve to continue to
respond to threats and harassment with accurate, factual reporting,
analysis, and other vital information.
We condemn this crackdown and again call on the Cambodian authorities
to permit journalists to do their important work in safe, unfettered
conditions; and to allow the programs of BBG networks back onto FM
stations in the country.
[link to previous call of 8/23:]
https://www.bbg.gov/2017/08/23/statement-by-ceo-john-f-lansing-on-press-freedom-in-cambodia/
We salute the dedication and determination of the journalists of RFA,
and independent media outlets in Cambodia who provide much-needed news
and information to audiences eager for the truth (BBG PR via Hansjoerg
Biener, Sept 12, DXLD)
STATEMENT OF RADIO FREE ASIA’S PRESIDENT ON CAMBODIA === 2017-09-12
http://www.rfa.org/about/releases/statement-on-cambodia-09122017092506.html
WASHINGTON – Libby Liu, President of Radio Free Asia (RFA), today
issued the following statement about RFA’s decision to suspend in-
country operations in Cambodia:
After almost 20 years of bringing the Cambodian people independent,
reliable and trustworthy news and information from inside the country,
Radio Free Asia has regrettably been forced to close its Phnom Penh
bureau. The government’s relentless crackdown on independent voices in
recent weeks has made it impossible to keep the bureau open while
guaranteeing the integrity of RFA’s journalistic mission.
It has become increasingly apparent that Prime Minister Hun Sun has no
intention of allowing free media to continue operating inside the
country ahead of the 2018 elections. The government has instead seized
on every opportunity to go after critics, political opponents, NGOs,
and independent media committed to reporting the truth. Using a thin
pretext of tax and administrative violations, authorities have closed
independent radio stations carrying RFA, Voice of America, and Voice
of Democracy.
The government has forced The Cambodia Daily newspaper to close due to
an extreme and punitive retroactive tax bill and has kept its manager,
Mr. Steele, from leaving the country under threat of criminal charges.
Authorities have been employing these same tactics against RFA,
despite our full cooperation at every step to comply with all requests
and our sincere efforts to register as a licensed media company.
Nevertheless, they have resorted to false statements and increasingly
threatening and intimidating rhetoric about RFA, made mostly through
leaked documents on government mouthpiece media and random statements
from different ministries.
Facing down intimidation is nothing new for RFA. Our journalists and
commentators have been threatened, jailed, and forced to leave the
country to avoid arrest or worse. But recent developments have
intensified to an unprecedented level, as Cambodia’s ruling party
shamelessly seeks to remove any obstacle or influence standing in its
way of achieving absolute power.
Through the years, Cambodian journalists working for RFA have risked
their lives to report on corruption, illegal logging, forced
evictions, bribery, labor disputes, and rights abuses, among other
important stories largely ignored by state-controlled media. Their
hard work has helped to build the foundation of RFA’s investigative,
in-depth journalism from the ground up and has earned us the trust of
the Cambodian people -- to whom we also owe our heartfelt gratitude.
The sacrifice and support of staff and audience alike reinforces the
need for RFA to keep Cambodia’s citizens informed, so they possess a
more complete and accurate picture of what’s happening in their
neighborhoods, their towns, and their villages. We hope that the
government will not persecute the individual brave Cambodians who
worked with us in retaliation for RFA’s efforts to bring reliable free
press to their countrymen and women.
RFA stands resolved to stay true to its vital mission in Cambodia, now
more than ever, to go forward shining a light even in the darkest of
hours. RFA will keep reporting on the most important and censored
issues and events inside the country -- and we will continue to
broadcast and publish our programs, reports and content on shortwave
radio, social media, and on our website.
As history has shown, dictators may rise and force their will on
nations, but the people will always seek truth in pursuit of freedom
(RFA via gh, DXLD)
** CANADA. 650, Sept 7 at 0549 UT, adstring mentioning Saskatoon
repeatedly, something called CPMA and promos for 650CKOM. Makes
52/minute = 0.867 Hz SAH with easily nulled weak WSM. I was looking
for auroral conditions, hardly; and not KGAB WY either. 10 kW CKOM
night pattern is north only, while day pattern has a minor lobe to
south (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CANADA. Bell Media Radio Launches New National Talk Radio Program –
THE EVAN SOLOMON SHOW, Beginning September 5 --- Via Bell Media
TORONTO (August 30, 2017) – Bell Media announced today a new national
talk radio program, THE EVAN SOLOMON SHOW, airing on all of Bell Media
Radio’s talk stations across the country beginning Tuesday, Sept. 5. -
Airing weekdays at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT, the program features
seasoned political journalist Evan Solomon (QUESTION PERIOD) bringing
his passion for breaking news and storytelling to in-depth interviews
with national and international newsmakers from the worlds of
politics, sports, entertainment, and more. Listeners across the
country will be encouraged to share their opinions on the biggest news
of the day through calls, emails, texts, and social media. Beginning
next week, THE EVAN SOLOMON SHOW airs across Bell Media Radio’s full
slate of Talk Radio stations:
CFAX 1070 in Victoria
CKFR AM 1150 in Kelowna
CKLW AM 800 in Windsor
NEWSTALK 1290 CJBK in London
NEWSTALK 610 CKTB in St. Catharines
NEWSTALK 1010 in Toronto
580 CFRA in Ottawa
CJAD 800 in Montréal – (From 3 to 4 pm only)
“I’m very excited to launch this new, national forum for thought-
provoking debate and discussion, highlighting compelling people who
are making a difference in Canada,” said Solomon. “There’s nothing
more important to a free society than public opinion, and this show
will be a platform for Canadians to share their thoughts on the most
pressing issues of the day, at home and around the world.”
Based in Ottawa, Solomon adds THE EVAN SOLOMON SHOW to his role of
National Affairs Specialist for Bell Media Radio. In addition, Solomon
hosts CTV’s weekly political journal of record, QUESTION PERIOD,
returning for a new season on Sundays at 11 a.m. ET beginning Sept. 10
(Sept CIDX Messenger via DXLD)
** CANADA [and non]. CANADA'S LARGEST RADIO TELESCOPE UNVEILED IN
BRITISH COLUMBIA --- New $16M telescope an all-Canadian project
between universities and National Research Council of Canada
By Nicole Mortillaro, CBC News Posted: Sep 07, 2017 6:01 PM ET Last
Updated: Sep 09, 2017 1:59 PM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/chime-telescope-unveiled-1.4278807
(via Gerald T Pollard, NC, DXLD)
** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. Christoph Ratzer: Today (Sept 9) a short
answer from Radio ICDI after 6 years, my EDXC country Nr. 199.
Waterforgood have also details about their broadcast now on 6030. See
https://waterforgood.org/radio-programs/
According to their website Water for Good’s Radio Station was
commissioned and started broadcasting at a dedication ceremony
February 22, 2007 and is currently transmitting programs on 6.03
megahertz.
Congrats to two excellent verifications from very seldom heard
stations /TN (Thomas Nilsson, SW Bulletin Sept 10 via DXLD)
** CHINA [and non]. 11985, Sept 6 at 1237, soft jazz with piano and
bass, hit by ChiCom echo jamming with flutter. HFCC blinders show
nothing at all on 11985 at this hour, but Aoki reveals it`s RTI in
Chinese from 100 kW Tamsui transmitter, 352 degrees this hour only
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. CNR1/Firedrake Jamming, 6105, in Mandarin, at 1040, on 8
Sep. Both CNR1 and Firedrake music can be heard jamming out Radio
Taiwan International’s broadcast on 6105. This is the first time I
have heard both playing simultaneously. CNR1 is primary with Firedrake
heard beneath it. Fair (John Cooper, PA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
21695, 10/9 1005, Voice Of America, PHL-Tinang, QRM China Jammer Px,
M, 32432. 73 da (N. Marabello, QTH Treviso, Italia, RX: SONY ICF-
SW7600G, Ant.: esterna VHF orizzontale 100 , playdx yg via DXLD)
** CHINA [and non]. 9800 via Kunming, Thu Sept 7 at 1312, // 9570 via
CUBA, CRI English with a drama I don`t have the patience to try to get
anything out of, but CRI must be diversifying its programming. What is
it called and what is it about? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** CHINA [non]. 9570, Sept 8 at 1306 already, CRI English relay via
CUBA during a drama, no news already; strange programming (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also CUBA {since, hearing more
dramas this hour}
** CHINA. 6035, PBS Yunnan (Voice of Shangri-la), Sept 8, noted cut
off at 1202*. No BBS/Bhutan.
6125, CNR1, 1209-1252+, Sept 8. Preempted regular programs to provide
live coverage of the closing ceremony of 13th National Games of China,
held in northeastern China (Tianjin); these games started Aug 27;
speeches and musical performers (Ron Howard, San Francisco, at Ocean
Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** CHINA. 11560, Firedragon (jamming station) at 1845. Caught in the
act with Good signal here. Probably attacking RFA via Guam [sic] at
this time. Sept 5 (Rick Barton, AZ, Equipment used was RS SW-2000629
and outdoor vertical wire, Grundig Satellit 750 and outdoor Slinky;
Zenith Royal Trans Oceanic 7000, stock, dxldyg via DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** CHINA. Random reception of China National Radio 1 on Sept.6:
0810 & 0830 on 15040 unknown tx / unknown to EaAs Chinese & off
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/random-reception-of-china-national.html
(Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Normally to jam 15040 AIR 4-5 hours later (gh, DXLD)
** CHINA [non]. Re: BBG - FY2018 Congressional Budget Justification
https://www.bbg.gov/wp-content/media/2017/05/FY2018Budget_CBJ_05-23-17.pdf
``RFA relays via Voice of Hope, combined a mention of an ominous
"Seagull Transmitter" - what can that be I wonder?``
No idea.
"Sound of Hope": I proceed from the assumption that this refers to the
operation shown in WRTH 2017 on pages 509/510. California addresses
are typical for "regime change" broadcasting projects. So this one
runs under a BBG budgetary title? What they are doing here can only
spoil their journalistic integrity (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 12,
shortwavesites yg via DXLD)
** COLOMBIA [non]. See USA: WRMI
** COLOMBIA. 5910.358, Nice Latin American folkloric music, of
Alcaraván Radio, S=6 at 0527 UT Sept 12. I guess, nothing heard from
CLM on 6010v at this hour. Checked on remote Rochester NY-US east
coast SDR unit [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz]
(Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Sept 12, dxldyg via DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** CONGO. 6115, Radio Congo, Brazaville, 1810-1823, 09-09, French,
comments. 14321. Also heard 1815-1856*, 10-09, French, comments, ID
“Radio Congo”, “Le Congo”, female, male, songs. 14321 (Manuel Méndez,
Lugo, Spain, Logs in Lugo and Reinante, Tecsun PL-880, cable antenna,
8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CONGO DR. The government broadcaster in the Democratic Republic of
Congo is now live streaming two radio services from its website at
http://www.rtnc.cd
They're labelled 'RTNC1' and 'RTNC2' on my media player. There's also
a button for a live TV stream, though it isn't working yet (David
Kernick, Interval Signals Online, Sept 11, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO
1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
The two live streams on the RTNC website (rtnc.cd) are now identified
on the webpage as Radio Nationale (RTNC1) and Radio Kinshasa (RTNC2).
(David Kernick, Interval Signals Online. Sept 13, dxldyg via DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** CRIMEA [non]. UCRANIA PLANEA AMPLIAR SU COBERTURA DE RADIO EN LA
CRIMEA OCUPADA === 07/09/2017
La Comisión de Radiodifusión Estable del Ministerio de Política de
Información tiene planes para ampliar la cobertura de la radiodifusión
ucraniana en la Crimea ocupada.
Así lo afirmó el secretario de Estado del Ministerio de Política de
Información de Ucrania, Artem Bidenko, en el aire de Espreso.
“Tenemos planes para un aumento adicional de la cobertura ucraniana en
el territorio de la península”, dijo Bidenko.
Según él, la señal de la torre de Chongar, construida en diciembre,
alcanza Dzhankoy e incluso los suburbios de Sudak. “Dada la escasez de
la potencia electica a disposición de las autoridades de ocupación, la
señal de la torre de Chongar alcanza perfectamente Dzhankoy”, dijo
Bidenko.
Según él, aunque los ocupantes planean construir una torre cerca de
Dzhankoy en 2018 para bloquear la señal de la torre de Chongar, la
Comisión del Ministerio de Política de Información ya tiene planes
para evitar la ampliación de la cobertura de la radiodifusión rusa.
https://www.ukrinform.es
(via GRA blog via DXLD)
** CUBA. New SW TX sites or not? Hi folks, This link was quietly
forwarded to me by one of our members.
http://fremy.be/radiodiffusion/index.php?radiodiffusion=Cuba&id=6&cat_id=3
Does anyone know anything about the supposedly new SW TX centres No. 5
& 6 or locate them? This is all new to me (Ian, Sept 10, shortwave
sites yg via DXLD)
See the Légendes des photos, for alleged "Feeders et antennes du
centre OC n 6 à Chambas" and "Antennes ondes courtes du centre n 5 à
Marti".
What these pictures in fact portray are *mediumwave* facilities with
big directional antennas. They're aiming at the USA, of course, and
had in the past also been used by Radio Moscow, scaring the hell out
of some people.
Are there any indications for these "ALLISS antennas delivered by
China" being more than plain fantasy? If not I would not waste further
time on that.
What also strikes my eye:
"et même 6,2 km à Tbilisskaya [Russie]. Cette technique permettait à
l'époque de protéger le centre émetteur en cas d'attaque, seul le site
des antennes était fort visible par l'aviation."
??? What kind of fairytale is this? The transmitter buildings can
clearly be seen within the antenna field.
Quivicán:
"De même conception que les centres émetteurs chinois de Geermu ou
Kashgar [Chine et Turquistan de l`Est], il dispose de 5 émetteurs de
250kW"
-- This is Soviet equipment, too, obvious already from the typical
fixed dipole walls. Was very likely involved in the former Radio
Moscow relays, other than the (now revived) 4765 kHz.
"Radio Rebelde sur 5025 kHz"
-- This comes from Bauta, the mentioned "1 x 50 kW (Bande tropicale)"
"Radio Nacional de Venezuela dans l'attente de la construction du
centre émetteur de la RNV à Calabozo dans l'État de Guárico au centre
du Vénézuella (2 x 100kw)"
-- Has this ever progressed beyond wishful thinking?
(Kai Ludwig, swsites yg via DXLD)
> TITAN San Felipe Quivicán, by BBEF Beijing, Made in China
Not! Please, we must really avoid to mess anything into a meaningless
mutter.
Established knowledge is that the San Felipe / Quivicán station has
been built at some point before 1990 with Soviet equipment, including
the characteristic fixed dipole walls that can be seen in the
satellite views. Arnie Coro once mentioned in passing that the 250 kW
transmitters later got DCC circuits to save power. I can not remember
that ever a complete replacement of equipment has been reported for
this station. And that often mentioned Beijing-based company never
showed 250 kW transmitters in its portfolio.
Then there is Bejucal: 50 kW transmitters with a possibility for
coupling two to a single 100 kW (such a pair could be counted and
treated as a single unit). These are the Sneg transmitters Arnie Coro
referred to time and again, for the now indeed reactivated 4765 kHz
and the 90 mb outlet never put on air.
Then there is Bauta, the station indeed completely refitted by BBEF.
Six 100 kW transmitters for external transmissions and another
transmitter to run 5025 kHz with 50 kW.
Until starting to open up the Cuban side only acknowledged the
existence of the Bauta station. But this has changed, Arnie Coro
meanwhile provided schedules for RHC which detail the use of all three
shortwave sites.
And here's a newspaper report from 1981 about the Radio Moscow relays
on mediumwave. Of particular interest is that most of this article
could be a current report when updating station names and technical
details.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19810407&id=myQeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0Y4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6705,934468
(Kai Ludwig, ibid.)
** CUBA. 15730, Sept 6 at 2328, RHC is suptorted in Kriyol = fraxured
French. Something`s always wrong at RHC.
12090, Sept 6 at 2329, RHC S5 leapfrog mixing product of 11670 Spanish
over 11880 English [resuming proper language unlike Spanish yesterday]
another 210 kHz higher; no others found in the 12s.
6145, Sept 8 at 0612, RHC English is almost open carrier/dead air, but
can barely detect some suptorted modulation; 6100 and 6000 are OK;
6060 somewhat distorted as usual. Something`s always wrong at RHC.
Sept 9 at 0535, all RHC English on 49 m are undermodulated, but
audible; 6145 at S9 to S7; 6100 & 6060 S9; 6000 S9+20/10; while the
last of The Cuban Five, 5040 is fully modulated during news about
Irma.
11760, Sept 9 at 1228, RHC Spanish with a report from Las Tunas about
hurricane Irma: trees downed, major hotel out of contact, 500,000
without power in an apagón; but local radio remains on 24h, also
accessible by some app. 1230 news theme and more about Irma, including
250 kph winds, Malecón in Habana flooding.
But enough of that in two minutes: time for more railing about the
bloqueo. So far, all the other weaker RHC frequencies on 6 and 9 MHz
seem nominal, as well as heavy jamming on 9805 of Radio Martí, who
just might be trying to be helpful about the hurricane.
5025, Sept 8 at 0534, R. Rebelde is S9+10 but just barely modulated;
much better on 1620 kHz with normal modulation at 0559 check! At 1153,
5025 is still JBM --- even during a weather emergency, can`t manage to
modulate this. Of course, the island is crammed with MW relays, many
of them just to block gusanos (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Recorded Radio Rebelde overnight but with the modulation problem
(comes and goes) and some local noise even towards the back of my
property (power lines / street lights affected by moisture? -- it was
raining), the recording session wasn't very successful. Now and then I
could make out "Atención" but as my Spanish is next to non-existent,
couldn't understand what came after that. Presumably a warning about
Irma. Perhaps Glenn could translate what comes after "Atención" at the
end of the attached clip. They were still on the air at 11:00 UTC when
I checked before coming to the office (-- Richard Langley, Sept 9,
dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Hi, your clip has a commemorative ad about the origins of Radio
Rebelde, there is a guy calling "columna 2" saying "atención...."
Saludos (Humberto Molina, El Salvador, ibid.)
5025, Sept 10 at 0022, R. Rebelde manages to modulate again, Huracán
Irma report about impact on Cuba and SW Florida (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
Check of Cuban Frequencies Last Night. Here in NB, around 0130 UT:
4765 - Radio Progreso: No signal
5025 - Radio Rebelde: Good signal and good modulation
5040 - RHC, Spanish: Good signal
6000 - RHC, English: No signal
6030 - Radio Martí jammer: Could be heard faintly
6060 - RHC, Spanish: Good signal
6145 - RHC, English: Mostly good signal; modulation problems
("thumping" sounds at times); briefly off air (for a few seconds) 0145
7365 - Radio Martí jammer: Could be heard faintly
Radio Rebelde noted still on air at 1100 UT this morning. Several WRMI
frequencies that I checked were also on air at 1100 (-- Richard
Langley, 1241 UT Sept 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
6060, Sept 10 at 1233, RHC with report from Cárdenas about Irma
damage, on the Cadena Nacional de Radio y Radio Habana Cuba. (CNR may
mean some or all of the major domestic networks have been merged.)
6000 is off; // 6100 but with usual CCCCCCI (Chinese communist Chinese
language co-channel interference); 1238 on to the situation in la
Florida (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. Hurricane Irma traveled along the northern coast of Cuba, but
did not veer away before it got to Habana area where the SW
transmitters reside. They have been affected, as surveyed Sept 11 at
0137-0147, more wrong than usual:
RHC Spanish: not on 11840, 11760, 9535, 6060, but still on 5040.
RHC English: not on 6000 or 6145, but on 6165 instead, reversion to
its ex-, by mistake or default? Site switch with old fq programmed?
CRI Relay: not on 9580 (but still on Albania 9570)
Jamming: none heard on 9490, Radio República via France, very good!
None heard on 7365, Radio Martí, VG; on 6030, VG with lite pulsing
Radio Rebelde: 5025 on, but just barely modulated as so often
Radio Progreso: 4765 off
6165, UT Monday Sept 11 at 0212, `DXers Unlimited` is starting, but
it`s an evergreen/generic/backup since Arnie says there can be no
propagation report [when really needed], and he doesn`t even know
whether this will be airing mit-week or weekend, after bottom of hour
or top of hour respectively. First about some radio construxion
project by LA8AK; then Q&A from RSA.
6165, Sept 11 at 0501, erroneous RHC English frequency is off, having
been on at last check 0215. Now, NO other Cuban transmitters are to be
heard: 6145, 6100, 6060, 6000, 5040, 5025. At 1247, no 5025, nor 6000,
6060, 6100, nor any on 9, 11, 13 and 15 MHz bands. CRI relay 9570 off,
uncovering a JBA algo, presumably KBSWR in Indonesian. At 1421, 13740
CRI English relay is also off.
When will any Cubans make a comeback? RHC website is replete with news
about the hurricane, but nothing about RHC itself being off the air,
or exactly what damage it sustained: http://radiohc.cu/
[and non]. Meanwhile, Radio Martí is loud and clear, 7365 at 0503, no
jamming. 7405 is open carrier at 1245, but programming by 1249, and
9805 VG too with lite jamming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
BBC is reporting that electricity is out across Havana. Status of the
OCB Radio Martí transmitter on 1180 kHz in Marathon on Vaca Key?
(Richard Langley, 1730 UT Sept 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
11760 non-directional antenna outlet of RHC Spanish via Bauta center
on air, Monday Sept 11 at 1745 UT, S=7-8 in MI and Rochester NY in
eastern US remote SDRs, and also noted at S=8-9 level in Edmonton
Canada Alberta.
A lot of 'cronistas reportajes desde el pueblo cubano' per telephone
line in 1730-1800 UT. Guitar music + canciones male singer + female
singer group at 1753 UT. At 1757:18 UT break down in transmission, OFF
air. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.)
15140, RHC La Habana Bauta heard in Arabic around 1828 UT and further
more French like 'Creole language' at S=9+20dB signal level,
tremendous signal broadband 40! kHz, wideband 15120 to 15160 kHz,
in peaks heard in Rochester NY and Edmonton Alberta remote SDR units.
But suddenly at 1836 UT, TX BREAK DOWN totally, no Cuban signal any
more, only co-channel Radio Oman in Arabic heard 'underneath' at S=4-5
level til 19 UT.
Others in 19 mb at same 18-19 UT time slot:
15300 RFI ISS S=5
15315 R Sawtu Fulfulle ISS S=5
15390 REE Spanish S=4-5
15400 BBC En ASC S=4-5
15510 IBRA R via WOF S=4
15520 REE Spanish, stronger at S=7 level.
15555.245-usb peak, WJHR usb mode S=6-7 signal
15580 VoA BOT En S=7
15610 USA EWTN S=9+25dB strongest signal in 19mb
15700 VoA Lampertheim Amharic S=5
15710 tiny, probably WHRI threshold level ??? or spur ?
15785 VoA Amharic WOF S=4
15825 WWCR S=8
73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.)
At 1933 UT NOTHING heard from RHC Bauta Cuba island on scheduled
15140 nor 15370 kHz. 73 wb (Büschel, ibid.)
Now at 1947 UT when checked again, 15140 kHz RHC Bauta in English on
air, local artists program and artists opera culture and museum
reports, S=9+25dB excellent strong, but 40 kHz wideband again on 15120
to 15160 kHz. Nothing heard on 15370 kHz. 73 wb (ibid.)
Checked in remote SDR units at Rochester NY, and Edmonton Alberta CAN.
2100-0400 7340 BEJ 050 / 110 SoAm Spanish, 2320 UT nil
2100-0500 9535 BEJ 100 / 230 CeAm Spanish, 2322 UT nil
2100-0500 11840 QVC 250 / 170 SoAm Spanish, S=9+20dB
2325 low modulated
2100-0200 11760 BAU 100 / n-d NCAm Spanish, S=9+25dB 2323 UT 40 kHz
broadband (seemingly same unit of previous 15140 kHz outlet tonight)
2100-0400 13740 BAU 100 / 160 SoAm Spanish, 2326 UT nil
2300-2330 15730 BEJ 050 / 135 SoAm Creole , 2327 UT nil
2330-2400 15730 BEJ 050 / 135 SoAm Portuguese, 2338 UT nil
2300-0400 11670 BAU 100 / 130 SoAm Spanish, 2328 UT nil
2300-2400 11880 BAU 100 / 100 SoAf English, 2329 UT nil
2300-2400 11950 BAU 100 / 340 WNAm Spanish, S=9+20dB 2330 UT
Mon-Thu "Mesa Redonda", 14 kHz wideband signal.
2300-0500 15230 QVC 250 / 160 SoAm Spanish, S=9+15dB 2332 UT low
modulated
83 and 263 degrees CT2/1/0.8
2100-2400 5040 BAU 100 / n-d Cuba Spanish, 2315 UT Spanish, S=9 in
Rochester NY-US, S=9+10dB 2344UT
Transmitter sites:
BAU=Bauta
BEJ=Bejucal
QVC=Titán-Quivicán San Felipe.
Shortwave schedule of Radio Rebelde
2300-2400 [sic] 5025 BAU 100 / non-dir to Ce&SoAm
2317 UT Spanish, S=9 in Rochester NY-US,
2345 UT S=9+10dB stronger modulated than 5040 kHz
Shortwave schedule of Radio Progreso
2330-0300 4765 BEJ 050 / non-dir to Cuba / Caribbean Spanish,
2320 and 2340 UT nil (Wolfgang Büschel, Sept 11, dxldyg via DXLD)
Where did you get that schedule for 4765?? It`s 0030-0400 UT normally
(one hour later in winter) (gh, DXLD)
see Aoki Nagoya Japan database. wb (Büschel, ibid.)
** CUBA. Chex of RHC, Rebelde, Progreso and China relay frequencies,
as these are not yet fully recovered from Irma: Sept 12:
0111, 5025 & 5040 VG; 4765 off; 6145 undermod; 6000 & 6060 off; 7340
off but algo is there; 9535 off; 9580 very good
0117, 11840 on along with parasites 11830 & 11850; also on, 11760
0140, 7340 definitely off
1316, 6000 & 6060 on, 6100 off
1320, 9535 & 9640 off, 9570 on; 11760 on, 15230 suptorted, 17730 on
Sept 13:
0157, 5040 dead air; 5025, trace of JB modulation; 4765 off
0159, 6000 OK, 6145 undermod, 6060 off
0201, 7340 JBA carrier not RHC: in our evenings could be AIR Urdu via
Mumbai, India; or Xinjiang PBS, East Turkistan in Kazakh
0204, 9535 S9 but undermodulated
0207, 11840 VG & weak parasites 11850 & 11830; 15230 S9+10 the SSOB by
far but undermodulated (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
Radio Havana Cuba heard for first time here since hurricane Irma
struck the island this morning (12 Sept) on 6000 kHz with abrupt start
at 0545 UT in English. Strong signal. Prior to this, strong carrier
heard which hinted RHC was to return. Full hour in English 0600+. 73
(Alan Pennington, Sony 7600GR +telesopic Caversham UK, BDXC-UK yg via
DXLD)
[general summary of the Cuban frequency situation] (Glenn Hauser,
WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [and non]. 13650, JAPAN, NHK World/R Japan, at 2345. M, W in
Japanese, but in huge collision with CRI China via Quivicán, showing
another Cuban broadcast still/back on. Both equal at times. Sept 11
11760, RHC at 2230. Some brief hurricane coverage in Spanish. Checking
other RHC channels, have 11840 with S-9 carrier, almost no modulation;
15230 Good with low modulation, hum. 11760 Very Good, Sept 11 (Rick
Barton, AZ, Equipment used was RS SW-2000629 and outdoor vertical
wire, Grundig Satellit 750 and outdoor Slinky; Zenith Royal Trans
Oceanic 7000, stock, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 11635, Unidentified Numbers Station, presumed the one at
1800. Very strong open carrier, like some I've heard on RHC
frequencies since Irma's passage. Last night, didn't hear anything on
49m frequencies used by RHC, tho Cuban frequencies 5040 and 5025 were
active. First signal I've heard on numbers frequency in a cupla days.
This local morning, nothing heard on 11435 after 1600, or 11530 during
1700 hour. 11635 signal undulating, strong S-9, Sept. 11
11635, Unidentified Numbers Station, at 2000. Open carrier for the
entire hour, with numbers by Spanish female commencing at 2100.
Digital tones added later as per HM 01 format. Went on to OC at 2145
and finally all off at 2155 Sept 11 (Rick Barton, AZ, Equipment used
was RS SW-2000629 and outdoor vertical wire, Grundig Satellit 750 and
outdoor Slinky; Zenith Royal Trans Oceanic 7000, stock, dxldyg via
WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. Nothing heard at 0512 UT on all scheduled frequencies,
like 4765, 5025, 5040, 6000, 6060, 6100, 6145 kHz. Also jamming
scratching on air on 6030 and 7365 kHz at S=8 signal level.
But at 0526 kHz heard strong empty carrier on 6000 kHz, seemingly
TITÁN Quivicán technicians on-air test their unit at S=9+30dB signal
level heard in NY-US. At 0545 UT heard RHC in English with singer of
classical music. Studio-6 on air. Seems a theatre, artist and opera
report. 20 kHz wide signal, but carried contain also a small whistle
tone of approx. 1200 Hz on audio spectrum.
Surprise, and when checked 6145 kHz from Bauta at 0557 UT, was on-air
too with S=9+10dB westwards signal too! At 0607 UT hurricane IRMA
report on Florida and Georgia heard on 6000 and 6145 kHz.
5025 kHz Radio Rebelde Bauta also on air, when checked at 0603 UT,
S=9+15dB signal strength in NY-US. Funny singer group and violine in
between at 0606 UT.
Checked on remote Rochester NY-US east coast SDR unit [selected SDR
options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc
BC-DX TopNews Sept 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA [and non]. 1180, Sept 12 at 0145, I`m trying to detect whether
Radio Martí in the Keys is still on the air. Even here, dominant are
the Radio Rebelde jammers, an echo apart from 5025. There is a weaker
station under, but I can`t make it // to Greenville SW on 7365, even
considering they may not be synchronized. LSB required to avoid KFAQ
IBOC peaking 1183 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** EGYPT. 9799.59, Sept 8 at 2221, JBM S7, presumably R. Cairo English
until 2245, only significant signal on band from outside North America
during geomag storm. 250 kW at 325 degrees USward still making it
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 5005, Radio Nacional, Bata, *0513-0525, 09-09,
extremely weak, carrier and for moments some songs detected. 15321
(Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Lugo and Reinante, Tecsun PL-880,
cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
5005, Sept 11 at 0502, JBA carrier from presumed Radio Bata (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ERITREA. Dimtsi Hafash [Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea] heard
on 840 kHz with relatively good signal here in Hungary parallel with
7175v kHz. Earlier it appeared on 837, and later on 845 kHz. The
second channel on 950 kHz was absent tonight. Either the transmitters
are so poor and unstable OR they are just escaping from Ethiopian
jamming (Tringer László, mediumwave.info 5 Aug via Sept BDXC-UK
Communication via DXLD) were the alt frequencies precise to .00? That
would indicate they were deliberate changes (gh, DXLD)
** ERITREA [non]. Dimtse Radio Erena via BaBcoCk Secretbrod on Sept 11
1700-1749 on 11965 SCB 050 kW / 195 deg to EaAf Tigrinya Mon-Fri
1749-1800 on 11965 SCB 050 kW / 195 deg to EaAf Arabic Mon-Fri
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/dimtse-radio-erena-via-babcock.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 11 via DXLD)
** ETHIOPIA. Hi out there, I spent some time on the SDRs this night. I
did not trace 5940 Ethiopia 1820-, also yesterday. Probably they
changed times and/or frequency? 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Germany, Sept
8, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EUROPE [and non]. European Music Radio Relays:
16th September 2017: [Sat]
0800 to 0900 UT on 6070 KHz - to Western Europe via Ch 292
2130 to 2200 UT on 7490 KHz - to Central & North America via WBCQ
17th September 2017: [Sun]
0800 to 0900 UT on 9485 KHz - to Western Europe via MVBR
1900 to 2000 UT on 6070 KHz - to Western Europe via Ch 292
Internet Repeats on 17th September 2017:
EMR will have this month`s transmissions via two streams running at
the following times: 1500, 1700, 1900 UT
http://nednl.net:8000/emr.m3u
will be on 96 kbps /44 KHz stereo for normal listening
http://nednl.net:8000/emr24.m3u
will be 24 kbps / 22 KHz mono will be especially for low bandwidth
like mobile phones
(Tom Taylor, via Manuel Méndez, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
** FIJI. 558-Fiji -- Bottom of the Hour Song Medley ID
File review from last month's Rockwork 4 DXpedition has uncovered a
558-Radio Fiji One programming feature that may be helpful for those
hoping to track down the exotic station -- a three song medley ID at
30 minutes past the hour. This song medley ID (followed by an apparent
native language ID by the usual RF1 announcer) was noticed on both
August 9th and August 19th at 1330 UT at the Rockwork cliff.
Credit should be given for Bill Whitacre's assistance in determining
this. During his San Souci DXpedition on August 9th (the same date at
the MP3 linked below) he recorded an ID from 558-7BU at 1315, followed
by the classic rock song "Urgent" by Foreigner. Although 558-Fiji was
smothering the frequency 100% at 1315 at Rockwork 4, I was able to
record one minute of the same "Urgent" song from 7BU at 1317, which
was 13 minutes prior to the song medley ID on the MP3 below. Both 558-
7BU and the 558-Fiji medley ID were recorded using a "backup" 15" FSL
antenna at the ocean cliff -- unfortunately without a very accurate
start time written down at the beginning. The following 558-Fiji
medley ID (and island choral music song, at near S9 level) were
recorded on a Tecsun PL-380 Ultralight and 15" FSL antenna at 1330 on
August 9th.
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/kbjssln9b4wtt58kt2bed7un9c4ytth9
73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), Sept 8, IRCA via
DXLD)
558-Fiji Polynesian Choral Music --- After the Japanese-directed
upgrade of the Radio Fiji One's transmitter and antenna on 558 kHz
recently the station sounded very much like a South Pacific big gun
last month at the Rockwork 4 cliff (even better than the old 639-Fiji
signal, which most of us remember very well).
Radio Fiji One plays a very diverse variety of traditional Fijian
choral music, with such diversity that I've never heard them play the
same song twice (except for the bottom-of-the hour song medley ID).
After detailed file review I've compiled my own "Top Ten" list of 558-
Fiji's Polynesian choral music, which may be of interest to those who
miss the old 639-Fiji transmitter. All of these signals were received
last month at the Rockwork 4 cliff with Ultralights and FSL antennas.
I'm happy that Colin, Nick and some others have also been able to
enjoy the station's improved signal recently (in addition to Tom and
Chuck, my DXpedition partners last month)..
1) 1323z August 4
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ykjkqqfa59l7h2rfcedhudikwn8ayfye
2) 1323z August 8
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ca7tpo195gua5eayhc46evv9ix29e9oz
3) 1318z August 8
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/6b2fxp2ai8p44t38fih4dn1meffzocxi
4) 1307z August 1
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/vprj88dgl97t4lcp5tx23edh31gorfd0
5) 1330z August 9 (includes bottom-of-the hour song medley ID)
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/kbjssln9b4wtt58kt2bed7un9c4ytth9
6) 1302z August 2
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/f2lkogkmloww9vo6uehffdqenh7v8l0i
7) 1307z August 4
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/13ra6q2edyniegz3jnwii1nlu6dcoz05
8) 1313z August 8
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/tno4iqsiuaw1kx62i80y8rg722y15e4o
9) 1346 August 21
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1a9ksarxibdhdbpof39dyds4fu8q9xlg
10) 1340 August 9
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/97tt821sjvpw4msptf2vg42vb8dnwstl
73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), Sept 12, IRCA via
DXLD)
** FRANCE. Very good signal of Radio France International on new
frequency, Sept 7
1200-1230 NF 17815 ISS 500 kW / 198 deg WeAf Mandingo Mon-Fri, ex
15275 Sep 3
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/very-good-signal-of-radio-france.html
(DX RE MIX NEWS # 1027 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Sept 7, 2017
via DXLD)
** GERMANY. DWD Deutscher Wetterdienst on 2 frequencies in // Sept 11
2000-2025 on 5905 PIN 010 kW / non-dir to CeEu German CUSB, fair/good
2000-2025 on 6180 PIN 010 kW / non-dir to CeEu German AM weak to fair
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/dwd-deutscher-wetterdienst-on-two.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 11 via DXLD)
** GERMANY [and non]. European Music Radio will be back on air, Sept
16/17:
0800-0900 on 6070 ROB 025 kW / non-dir to CeEu English Sat AM mode
0800-0900 on 9485 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu English 3rd Sun CUSB
2130-2200 on 7490vBCQ 050 kW / 245 deg to ENAm English Sat AM mode
1900-2000 on 6070 ROB 025 kW / non-dir to CeEu English Sun AM mode
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/european-music-radio-will-be-back-on.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 11 via DXLD)
** GERMANY. [Re the new shortwaveradio testing 6160, 3975:] The HFCC
zip file does not include an updated site.txt file to give details on
the site ``WIS``. However, the schedule for the FMO shows the site as
``Winsen`` and the coördinates as 52N40-009E46. Plug those numbers
into Google Earth and you get a site quite a distance from the Winsen
which is at 53N22-010E13, SSE of Hamburg. But down near 52N40-009E46,
to the east a bit, is a town ``Winsen an der Aller``. So, which
``Winsen`` is it? I`m guessing the latter, at least until I get a
reply to my email to the station (Dan Ferguson, SC, Listeners
Notebook, Sept NASWA Journal, retyped by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Hi Glenn, Thanks very much for the repost of Dan's. I do however
wonder why Dan didn't make the post here first when he's a member of
our specialist interest SW DX group. No confidence in our group? We've
been the premier driving force in the SW DX community for the past 12
years in uncovering info pertaining to SW TX sites for the SW DX
community as you know.
For the record; one of our highly valued & helpful members quietly
provided me this valuable info this week, which I was to repost later
(when I had the time) with a request for more information. Anyway now
would be a good time to expedite the topic. I'm informed the correct
site is indeed: `Winsen an der Aller`
As for more information: If any of our members based in Germany are
able to provide more precise coordinates of this TX site or
transmission antenna, we would be most grateful.
If reposting please credit as: 'Shortwavesites YG membership' (not me,
as it wasn't my research) Best regards (Ian - Shortwavesites via DXLD)
** GERMANY [non]. Sunday 17 to Friday 22 September 2017: Special SW
broadcasts from Radio DARC from the 24th IARU Region 1 conference in
Landshut near Munich, Germany. (all via Moosbrunn)
1730-1800 UT: 13775 for Africa; 9790 E Europe / Russia / Middle East
1800-1830 UT: 6070 for C, N & S Europe; 9540 kHz for W Europe
Reports are welcome to radio@darc.de
(Sept BDXC-UK Communication via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
** GERMANY [non]. Listening Post with Alan Roe
listeningpost@bdxc.org.uk
Hello, and welcome to Listening Post for September.
Deutsche Welle
Last month in Listening Post I referred to a couple of stations
carrying radio plays/dramas. Another station that has a regular drama
slot is Deutsche Welle. These stories fall firmly into the genre of
educational radio drama and is very similar to the educational radio
drama programme Theatre on the Air aired by Voice of Nigeria on
Fridays at 1900-1930 UT (although the evening transmissions from 1800
to 1930 on 15120 kHz have now unfortunately not been heard for a
while).
The DW series which has been running and repeating for some years now
is Crime Fighters. Crime Fighters is described as follows:
Radio crime stories for Africa's youth. Join our detectives in their
fight for truth and justice while gaining valuable perspectives on
critical issues. Cyber crime, domestic violence, environmental
pollution, human trafficking, terrorist recruitment, poaching, land
grabbing and counterfeit drugs – this is a series that gets to the
heart of what challenges young Africans. Continuing with Learning by
Ear's tradition of successful educational radio dramas, Crime Fighters
provides knowledge and information in an entertaining format.
I listened to the episode on 26 July at 1650 on 15290 which was
episode 4 of the eight-part series “The Radical Journey”. Here is the
series plot and episode summary from the DW website:
Series plot. A bomb explodes in a shopping mall in Kululaland and the
young police officers Jude and Brenda are on the case. Soon they find
out it was a suicide bombing, carried out by a woman. Even more
shocking is her identity. The attacker is Zorah Kassim – just out of
university and from a rich family. As the daughter of an influential
politician, what could have been her reasons for the bombing? Was she
forced to do it? Or did she do it willingly? Using different
approaches and putting their own lives in danger, officers Jude and
Brenda conduct an investigation that uncovers the mechanisms that make
young people join terror groups. But the motive that guided Zorah in
her “radical journey” turns out to be completely different
Episode 4. Still undercover, Inspector Jude sneaks into a recruitment
meeting of the terrorist group "Sword Sages". Can he find any link to
Zorah, the suicide bomber? Meanwhile, Brenda talks to the suicide
bomber's father Hon. Kassim again who does not seem to have a clean
slate.
Educational drama is always a little unrealistic as there is a message
to be put across, so dialogue and so forth can be a little forced, but
I did find this story to be fairly realistic and, more importantly,
pertinent to today’s youth in Africa and quite hard hitting. Also,
although I am not part of the target audience, the story was never-
the-less very engaging and left me wanting to know how the story is
going to end. I was also pleased to hear that the episode was
introduced with a short summary setting the story in context and a
brief recap to remind existing listeners of where the story had
reached (or, in my case as a newcomer, it allowed me to quickly catch
up on the story so far).
Crime Fighters is aired Wednesdays and Sundays at 1650 UT. Until next
time, good listening! (Alan Roe, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD)
** GREECE. Reception of Voice of Greece on 9935 kHz, Sept 11
2020&2100 on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to WeEu Greek tx#1
NO SIGNAL on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek tx#3
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/greece-reception-of-voice-of-greece-on.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 11 via DXLD) 9420 AWOL lots
** GUAM. TWR 3 September 2017 --- KTWR turns 40! September 5, 2017
KTWR QUICK FACTS
4,447 total broadcast hours in 2016, averaging 86 hours of programs a
week.
Broadcasts to 19 countries, including North Korea, China and Vietnam
[?? Only 19? What do they not know about SW?]
KTWR, our powerful shortwave station on Guam, is celebrating 40 years
of broadcasting hope to Asia on September 5. The Guam team will have a
celebration on September 26 to mark the occasion.
“This is a big milestone for Guam and TWR,” said Grant Hodgins, KTWR
station manager. “Being a part of sharing the gospel throughout all of
Asia for 40 years means a lot of people have had the opportunity to
hear the gospel. TWR not only shares the gospel so people can know
their Savior, they encourage discipleship so that believers can grow
and learn about being a follower of Christ.”
Shortwave has the power to travel long distances, crossing
geographical and ideological barriers, reaching into peoples’ homes
and lives with the good news.
For 40 years, God has been using broadcasts from Guam to transform
lives, especially in areas where proclaiming the gospel is restricted
or forbidden.
In that time, KTWR has seen changes in staff as well as the equipment
it uses to beam the good news to Northeast Asia and parts of Southeast
Asia and South Asia.
Full article here:
http://www.twr.asia/features/ktwr-on-guam-turns-40
(via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD)
** GUATEMALA. 4055, Radio Verdad is still off. Dr. Madrid wants to use
a ham transmitter in the meantime, but can`t get it to work; may need
some rewiring. Asks for help from hams. On Sept 8 he copied this
missive to Magdiel Cruz along with some photos of the apparatus:
``Hermano Magdiel: Necesito ayuda urgente de algún radioaficionado que
conozca bien el transceiver Yaesu FT-840. Necesito lanzarlo al aire
con la señal de Radio Verdad, para mientras que nos reparan el
transmisor principal dañado.
EL PROBLEMA: Mi transceiver Yaesu FT-840 enciende normalmente, pero la
pantalla se enciende y apaga intermitentemente. Eso indica que algo no
está bien, pero no sé qué es lo que no está bien. El caso es que no
transmite, a pesar de que ya le presioné el botón MDX para activar el
modo de transmisión.
Éste es el transmisor que estuve usando con anterioridad, pero lo dejé
de usar. Ahora que lo quería utilizar, me da dos problemas:
1) No logro que transmita. La pantalla se enciende y apaga
intermitentemente.
2) Encontré rotas las conexiones del audio y no sé en qué pines las
debo conectar. En el transmisor hay un conector de 8 pines, pero el
conector que tengo que encaja bien en él tiene sólo 6 pines. Un
técnico me hizo una conexión, pero no sé si está bien.
Espero la ayuda de los diexistas y radioaficionados, si usted pudiese
comunicarles.`` He does speak English. If you can help him send to:
radioverdad5 at yahoo.com (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1895,
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Informamos a todos los amigos de la Estación Educativa Evangélica
Radio Verdad que ya estamos en el aire por Internet con el mixlr, y
agradeceremos mucho sus reportes. Nuestra dirección ya no es igual,
puesto que se omitieron los guiones.
Referente a nuestra transmisión por onda corta, estamos procurando
sacar al aire un transmisorcito de 100 watts, para mientras que se
repara el transmisor grande. De todo les informaremos.
Por otro lado, ya estamos próximos a salir al aire con las
transmisiones de Radio Verdad Transmundial, con la cual llegaremos a
todo el mundo con mucha potencia. Vea el link más abajo, al final.----
----- En Inglés - English
We are informing all friends of the Educational and Evangelical
Station "Radio Truth" that we are on the air by Internet with mixlr,
and we'll appreciate your reports. Our address is slightly different;
we have omitted the dashes. Referring our transmissions by short wave,
we are on the effort to put on the air a small 100 watt transmitter,
while we repair our big transmitter. We will inform you about all
this.
On the other hand, we are next to come on the air with Transworld
Radio Truth transmissions, with which we plan to reach the whole world
with much power.-------
Éste es nuestro link directo para Radio Verdad Internet:
This is our direct link for Radio Truth Internet:
RADIOVERDADCHIQUIMULA on Mixlr
Listen live: RADIOVERDADCHIQUIMULA is on Mixlr
http://mixlr.com/radioverdadchiquimula/
(Dr. Édgar Amílcar Madrid, Manager and Director, Radio Verdad, Sept
12, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** HAITI. Pirate Radio Hunt is open! For years, the number of free
radios, or pirates, has been steadily increasing. There are nearly 600
illegal transmitters in this small country. Despite the requests of
the executive body of the executive body of the National
Telecommunications Council (Commatel) to legalize the situation,
nothing has been done. Last week no fewer than 6 Pirate Radio stations
were closed by the institution. Most of these illegal stations were
hosted on telecommunications sites in boutilliers, located on one of
the summits south of Port au Prince. Conatel takes the opportunity to
remind the owners of the telecommunications towers, the obligation to
ensure that all equipment installed on their sites is duly authorized
by Conatel. Violators will be punished. 14/8/17 (Radios du Monde via
Sept Mediumwave News via DXLD)
** HAITI. SOLIDARITY MEETS SURVIVAL --- by Jim Thomas
``When you live in Port-au-Prince, you may not know the name of the
place, but you`ve seen it many times. It`s the mountain top with at
least ten different radio towers``
Those are the words of Gerard Schut, a global hiking trail expert from
Italy. In 2015, he took on the Boutilliers Observatory trail, a 7.25
mile trek clinging to the perimeter of the Boutilliers summit.
Boutilliers, which is five miles from the village of Petion-Ville, is
the home to every AM, FM and TV signal that blankets the city of
Port-au-Prince. . .
http://www.w4uvh.net/boutilliers.pdf
(illustrated 4-page article in September WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest,
provided to us for open access by author Jim Thomas, DXLD)
** INDIA. All India Radio unit closure plan sparks protest
By Express News Service | Published: 05th September 2017 08:06 AM |
Last Updated: 05th September 2017 08:06 AM | A+A A- |
DHENKANAL: The proposed plan to shut down the All India Radio unit at
Joranda has met with stiff opposition from all sections of the
society. The locals, meanwhile, have started gathering support for
upgradation of the AIR unit which is situated at the international
headquarters of Mahima . . . Dharma.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2017/sep/05/all-india-radio-unit-closure-plan-sparks-protest-1652683.html
Yours sincerely, (via Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of
Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India, dx_india yg via DXLD WTFK? Not SW, of
course (gh)
** INDIA. All India Radio's special transmission for "Mahalaya"
Date : 19th Sept, 2017 (Tuesday)
Time : 2225 UT (18th Sept 2017) to 0015 UT (19th Sept 2017)
* some stations have late sign in & may continue past 0100 UT = 0355-
0545 IST
"Mahalaya" is a special two hour transmission consisting of Sanskrit
recitation & music orated by Late Shri.Birendra Krishna Bhadra. All
India Radio has been broadcasting this program since early 1930's.
Countdown of Indian festival of Durga Puja starts from the day of
Mahalaya. Frequencies observed during past years :
SW
4760 - Port Blair
4810 - Bhopal
4835 - Gangtok
4910 - Jaipur
MW
531 - Jodhpur
549 - Ranchi
594 - Chinsurah (Kolkata)
603 - Ajmer
621 - Patna A
648 - Indore A
657 - Kolkata A
666 - New Delhi B
675 - Chattarpur
684 - Port Blair
711 - Siliguri
729 - Guwahati A
747 - Lucknow A
756 - Jagdalpur
774 - Shimla
801 - Jabalpur
810 - Rajkot A
819 - New Delhi A
828 - Silchar
846 - Ahmedabad A
891 - Rampur
909 - Gorakhpur
918 - Suratgarh
954 - Nazibabad
981 - Raipur
1008 - Kolkata B
1026 - Allahabad A
1044 - Mumbai A
1125 - Tezpur
1179 - Rewa
1215 - Delhi National Channel
1242 - Varanasi
1260 - Ambikapur
1296 - Darbhanga
1314 - Bhuj
1386 - Gwalior
1395 - Bikaner
1404 - Gangtok
1458 - Bhagalpur
1476 - Jaipur A
1530 - Agra
1566 - Nagpur
1584 - Mathura
1593 - Bhopal A
Sign on observed by Jose Jacob at different times as follows:
2225 UT (3.55am IST) 4760, 4910, 531, 603, 666, 675, 747, 756, 801,
819, 828, 918, 1044, 1386, 1395, 1530.
2230 UT (4.00 am IST) 4835, 1404.
2245 UT (4.15 am IST) 4895
2250 UT (4.20 am IST) 846
2255 UT (4.25 am IST) 4810, 621, 648, 810, 954, 981, 1026, 1242, 1260,
1296, 1593.
Please email your observations & receptions reports to :
spectrum-manager@air.org.in
Or,
Director (Spectrum Management & Synergy)
All India Radio,
Room No. 204
Akashvani Bhawan,
Parliament Street
New Delhi 110001, India
Or, Online at :
http://allindiaradio.gov.in/Information/ListenersCorner/Pages/default.aspx
Related :
Come Mahalaya, Birendra Krishna Bhadra's recitation still default
choice for All India Radio
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-come-mahalaya-birendra-krishna-bhadra-s-recitation-still-default-choice-for-all-india-radio-2020933
(Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Sept 8, dx_india yg via WORLD OF RADIO
1895, DXLD)
** INDONESIA. 3325, RRI Palangkaraya. As August is over, they are no
longer playing the patriotic/national song “Dirgahayu Indonesiaku” to
close the 1200 Jakarta news relay.
Instead on Sept 6, at 1225, ended the news with the patriotic song
"Garuda Pancasila" (a.k.a.: "Mars Pancasila"), which was composed by
Sudharnoto, with lyrics about the loyalty of all Indonesian people to
Pancasila as the only ideology or philosophy of the Indonesian nation
(Ron Howard, San Francisco, at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100'
long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. 7268-LSB, Sept 6 at 0550, and several
earlier random chex, nothing happening on the Hurricane Watch Net
night frequency. Finally at 0605, VG signal from WF4H, calling for
check-ins, with call-signs only, but no replies heard. Then he calls
some specific stations, again without answers, such as KF4BY. Says
this is a ``directed net``. Inviting any station with weather data for
relay to National Hurricane Center. 0613 calls CM8GR, no answer.
ARRL/FCC lookup for WF4H shows: Greenberg, Dwight A, WF4H, 5320
Shadwell Ave, Cocoa, FL 32926.
You might think the HWN frequencies would really be hopping now, but
most of the time there is nothing.
14325-USB, Sept 6 at 1229, very poor signal from unID HWN station with
NHC conditions as of 12z: 185 mph across Anguilla, 918 millibars ==
27.11 Hg inches. 20m is mostly dead during near-blackout.
Say, hams really need a voice band halfway between 40 and 20 meters.
The newish 30m band above 10100 is non-phone only. Give them another
200 kHz for that!
7268-LSB, Sept 7 at 0035, Hurricane Watch Net is active now, NCS
sounds like N8VHL, but not sure of middle letter as he is unfonetik.
Mentions in Ohio, so that correlates with ARRL/FCC lookup: MARCH,
KEITH H, N8VHL, 17156 ROAD E, CONTINENTAL, OH 458319527. Rather than
contacts, he`s broadcasting latest Irma advisory, eye 50 mi N of San
Juan, moving WNW at 16 mph, barometer 26.99!
7268-LSB, Sept 11 at 0203, Hurricane Watch Net is being controlled by
N8BHL, with latest Irma report: 78 mph gusts at Clearwater Beach; 105?
max; position 27.3N/81.9W, 50 mi ENE of Fort Myers, moving 350 degrees
at 14 mph; 948 mb = 27.99 Hg inches. As soon as he starts, so does ACI
from someham in Houston on 7269.5-LSB.
7268-LSB, Sept 11 at 0504, Hurricane Watch Net is now hosted by
KF5WDJ, asking for reports; no response, but while he is talking I
hear some QRM, maybe deliberate jhamming. ARRL lookup shows: Overton,
James D, KF5WDJ, 2812 W Shandon, Midland, TX 79705 (Glenn Hauser, OK,
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. DXing Hurricane Irma --- by "Steve
Whitt (MWN Editor)"
Very little information available regarding station outages etc across
the Caribbean. One possible casualty might be ZBVI [780]. On line
streams were dead and Facebook contributions had stalled. Yesterday
6/9.
On Barbuda the storm has reportedly wiped out 90% of buildings and all
telecommunications is down.
Keep your radios on for stations along the Florida Coast. All stations
are authorized to operate with max power and non-directional in case
of emergency. This is possible during this coming weekend when
Hurricane Irma makes US landfall. Current prediction suggest closest
landfall in Florida might be Miami area, but if storm stays offshore
then the Bahamas could be the target, Evacuations are taking place in
both areas. 73s (Steve Whitt, UK, Sept 7, MWCircle yg via DXLD)
Hurricane Irma DX target list
Here is a list of stations to look out for if they are operating
emergency daypower at night or non-directional antennas
All of the following stations could boost their night power
significantly under emergency conditions
kHz DAY NIGHT
540 WFLF FL PINE HILLS 50000 46000
550 WAYR FL FLEMING ISLAND 5000 500
600 WBOB FL JACKSONVILLE 50000 9700
640 WMEN FL ROYAL PALM BEACH 7500 460
670 WWFE FL MIAMI 50000 1000
690 WOKV FL JACKSONVILLE 50000 25000
720 WRZN FL HERNANDO 10000 250
760 WLCC FL BRANDON 10000 1000
770 WJBX FL NORTH FORT MYERS 10000 630
810 WRSO FL ORLOVISTA 20000 400
820 WWBA FL LARGO 50000 1000
850 WFTL FL WEST PALM BEACH 50000 20000
940 WINZ FL MIAMI 50000 10000
950 WTLN FL ORLANDO 12000 5000
970 WFLA FL TAMPA 25000 11000
980 WDVH FL GAINESVILLE 5000 166
990 WDYZ FL ORLANDO 50000 14000
1000 WYBT FL BLOUNTSTOWN 5000
1010 WJXL FL JACKSONVILLE BEACH 50000 30000
1010 WHFS FL SEFFNER 50000 5000
1030 WONQ FL OVIEDO 45000 1700
1040 WURN FL BOYNTON BEACH 25000 1100
1050 WROS FL JACKSONVILLE 5000 13
1060 WIXC FL TITUSVILLE 50000 5000
1070 WNVY FL CANTONMENT 15000 28
1070 WFRF FL TALLAHASSEE 10000
1080 WHIM FL CORAL GABLES 50000 10000
1080 WHOO FL KISSIMMEE 19000 190
1110 WTIS FL TAMPA 10000
1140 WQBA FL MIAMI 50000 10000
1140 WRMQ FL ORLANDO 5000 8
1150 WTMP FL EGYPT LAKE 10000 500
1160 WEWC FL CALLAHAN 5000 250
1170 WAVS FL DAVIE 5000 250
1200 WJUA FL PINE ISLAND CENTER 50000 1000
1210 WNMA FL MIAMI SPRINGS 47000 2500
1250 WHNZ FL TAMPA 25000 5900
1260 WSUA FL MIAMI 50000 20000
1270 WRLZ FL EATONVILLE 25000 5000
1270 WTLY FL TALLAHASSEE 5000 110
1280 WDSP FL DE FUNIAK SPRINGS 5000 46
1290 WJNO FL WEST PALM BEACH 10000 4900
1300 WQBN FL TEMPLE TERRACE 5000 160
1310 WYND FL DELAND 10400 115
1320 WJNJ FL JACKSONVILLE 50000 5000
1330 WEBY FL MILTON 25000 79
1330 WCVC FL TALLAHASSEE 5000
1360 WCGL FL JACKSONVILLE 5000 89
1370 WOCA FL OCALA 5000 33
1390 WAJD FL GAINESVILLE 5000 51
1410 WQBQ FL LEESBURG 5000 88
1410 WHBT FL TALLAHASSEE 5000 18
1420 WDJA FL DELRAY BEACH 5000 500
1430 WTMN FL GAINESVILLE 10000 45
1430 WOIR FL HOMESTEAD 5000 500
1460 WQOP FL JACKSONVILLE 15000 5000
1460 WZEP FL DEFUNIAK SPRINGS 10000 186
1460 WQXM FL BARTOW 10000 155
1470 WWNN FL POMPANO BEACH 50000 2500
1480 WKGC FL SOUTHPORT 5000 34
1510 WWBC FL COCOA 50000
1520 WBZW FL APOPKA 5000
1530 WYMM FL JACKSONVILLE 50000
1550 WNZF FL BUNNELL 11000 57
1550 WAMA FL TAMPA 10000 133
1550 WRHC FL CORAL GABLES 10000
1560 WLZR FL MELBOURNE 5000
1570 WVOJ FL FERNANDINA BEACH 10000 30
1570 WTWB FL AUBURNDALE 5000 13
1580 WSRF FL FORT LAUDERDALE 10000 1500
1580 WTCL FL CHATTAHOOCHEE 10000
1580 WNTF FL BITHLO 10000
1590 WPSL FL PORT ST. LUCIE 5000
1600 WZNZ FL ATLANTIC BEACH 5000 89
1620 WNRP FL GULF BREEZE 10000 1000
1660 WCNZ FL MARCO ISLAND 10000 1000
1680 WOKB FL WINTER GARDEN 10000 1000
1700 WJCC FL MIAMI SPRINGS 10000 1000
During hurricane Irma look for those on the Atlantic coast
73 (Steve, ibid.)
WBOB [600 Jax] was running 20 kW non directional during the storm
(Jerry Kiefer, Orlando, FL, Sent from my MetroPCS 4G Android device,
12 Sept, IRCA via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
Report on Channel 4 TV here in the UK, by a local on Anguilla, stated
that all radio stations were off air and internet was down. Some
mobile comms seems to be working. Serious damage throughout. 73
(Steve, ibid.)
Turks & Caicos & hurricane Irma
Ahead of Irma arriving in T&C (a few hours away) I tried to see how
local stations were dealing with it. Some stations have no mention of
hurricane on air or on their website/facebook or twitter
e.g. religious station Faith FM 98.9 completely oblivious of
hurricane. Do they just expect their listeners to pray for divine
protection? Ditto for Radio Example of Christ 95.1
Tradewinds Radio 104.5; no mention of Irma on website, last tweet by
station was in Feb 2017; only one facebook post mentions hurricanes
but dated August 17! Syndicated news at top of hour comes from
Washington DC even during a local emergency. Does have brief local
mariners weather forecast at 3 minutes after the hour covering Irma,
but nothing about emergency planning/response. Main music programming
seems automated with no local element.
The main T&C station Radio Turks & Caicos is returning a network error
on its internet streaming and has just a handful of messages about
Irma on its Facebook page. Not what I'd call comprehensive coverage
for its listeners.
Power 92.5Fm / Kiss FM seems to have got its act together (despite
apparently automated music show) with pre-recorded hurricane watch on
air every 30 minutes. They claim "More people listen to Power 92 than
all other local Radio & TV Stations combined. We've been the #1
Station in Provo since 1980." They are also warning listeners that
they may have switch to back-up generators (but no significant social
media presence). But not sure if anyone actually is in the studio.
93.9 Island FM has a few recent posts on its Facebook; can't get live
audio stream to work; useless one page website
I'm not sure if R Vision Cristiana is on air but the island lacks a a
suitable island wide MW broadcaster - to given the size of the island
FM would do also.
If I was on Turks & Caicos I think tuning into the radio would not be
much help. 73s (Steve Whitt, ibid.)
Hurricane Irma & Puerto Rico
Reports (from Associated Press) today say that 70% of homes are
without electricity in PR. One other report says 90%. The power
company PREPA says nothing on its website about outages or hurricanes!
It is being reported that it might take months to restore all power
because PREPA has no money and not enough technicians.
I'm having difficulty finding any information about radio stations
affected by hurricane Irma. Does anyone have any news? 73s (Steve,
ibid.)
It seems like Caribbean Beacon-1610 has been off the last two nights.
WSTX-970 [USVI] was heard here the 6th of September and tonight I
listen to their webstream where they continuously reported of damages
in Virgin Islands and the surrounded areas (Bernt-Ivan Holmberg, Sala,
Sweden, Sept 7, ibid.)
Impact of Hurricane Harvey on radio
At the height, just nine Texas radio stations were silenced due to
Harvey, scattered across the region, leaving others to step up and
serve listeners. That's a far cry from during Hurricane Katrina when
the FCC estimated about 100 broadcast stations [2006y document]
were knocked off the air. Source: FCC September 6 (Steve Whitt, Sept
7, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, ibid.)
Island 92 in Saint Maarten is off the air too, I think and so is their
BVI sister station, Z Rock (105.1?), I think (Paul Walker, PA, NRC-AM
via DXLD)
If you have the ability to decide faxes and you want images, NMF
Boston on 6340.5, 9110, and 12750 kHz and NMG New Orleans 4317.0,
8503.9 and 12789.9 kHz are good options for HF faxes and weather in
the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, including regular satellite images, and
of course you can check out the 'direct' APT satellite images from the
NOAA birds around 137 MHz (If you've never done this before, there IS
a learning curve so don't expect to be able to just 'tune in and
decode' them!) If you insist on voice only, check out the US Coast
Guard Weather broadcasts, from NMN on 4426/U 6501/U 8764/U 13089/U and
17314/U. And simulcast from NMG New Orleans on 4316/U, 8502/U and
12788/U (Ken Zichi, MARE Tipsheet Sept 8 via DXLD)
Hurricane Watch Update - Solar Flare Shuts Down HF Propagation
Posted: 07 Sep 2017 08:21 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2017/09/hurricane-watch-update-solar-flare.html
The following update is from Hurricane Watch Net Manager KB5HAV. A
solar flare is disrupting HF communications...
NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory photo of solar flare that is currently
disrupting HF communications.Update: Thursday, September 07, 2017 at
1100 AM EDT (1500 UT). Mother Nature is still not playing fair. We’ve
had yet another solar flare which has caused another HF blackout.
Hopefully, the frequencies will recover soon.
Irma remains a powerful and deadly Category 5 Hurricane with maximum
sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h). At 1100 AM AST – 1500 UT, Irma
was located about 120 miles (190 km) southeast of Grand Turk Island.
We are closely monitoring 2 additional hurricanes: José and Katia.
There is an old saying, “Timing is Everything”. Amazingly enough,
depending upon the course and timing of José and Katia, members of HWN
“could” be working 3 landfalling hurricanes at once.
José could affect the northern Leeward Islands Saturday or Sunday as a
Category 2 Hurricane. Katia is forecast to make landfall as a Category
2 Hurricane late Friday evening-early Saturday morning somewhere
between Veracruz and Tampico, Mexico.
As a reminder, our Net will remain in continuous operation until
further notice. Daytime operations on 14325 kHz [USB] will begin at
7:00 AM EDT – 1100 UT each day continuing for as long as propagation
allows. Nighttime operations will be on 7268 kHz [LSB] starting at
6:00 PM EDT – 2200 UT and continue overnight. If propagation dictates,
we will operate both frequencies at the same time.
Note: Operations on 7268 will pause at 7:30 AM ET, and, if required,
resume at approximately 8:30 AM ET. This will allow the Waterway Net
to conduct their daily net.
Any change in Net Operation plans will be noted here, on our website,
the networks of 14300.00 kHz, and many additional amateur radio
networks and media.
As with any net activation, HWN requests observed ground-truth data
from those in the affected area (Wind Speed, Wind Gust, Wind
Direction, Barometric Pressure – if available, Rainfall, Damage, and
Storm Surge). Measured weather data is always appreciated but
estimated data is accepted. We will also be interested to collect and
report significant damage assessment data back to FEMA officials
stationed in the National Hurricane Center.
In addition to collecting weather data for the forecasters at the
National Hurricane Centers and reading the latest advisories,
bulletins, and updates, we can also handle any emergency or priority
traffic. Additionally, we are available to provide backup
communications to official agencies such as Emergency Operations
Centers and Red Cross officials in the affected area.
As always, we are praying and hoping for the best yet preparing for
the worst.
Sincerely,
Bobby Graves - KB5HAV
Hurricane Watch Net
Net Manager
http://www.hwn.org
Posted by: (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD)
And Glenn - 14325 had voices yesterday (Wednesday) around 1500 and
again this morning at 0630. Unfortunately I couldn`t copy any of it,
but maybe it's the hurricane network??? Nothing audible - except
noise - on 7268 today though at 0630. 73 from (Noel Green, UK, Sept 7,
DX LISTENING DIGEST) Much more Irma-related reports under USA and
other countries this issue
** IRAN. I sent back the day before yesterday and today I resubmitted
the reports for 2016 to both addresses and received the reply:
Russian radio of Iran We ask changes for
late But, unfortunately, we can not send QSL cards. Yours faithfully
(via Dmitriy Yelagin, Saratovskaya oblast, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx"
via Rus-DX Sept 10 via DXLD)
In the last issue of "Rus DX" there was information that the Russian
service "Voices of the Islamic Republic of Iran" confirms reports from
its listeners. On the same day, he sent them an e-mail report on the
reception of the evening broadcast in Russian at a frequency of 702
kHz. The next day the e-mail received the following message from the
employees:
"Good afternoon! Thank you very much for the reports and letters.
Unfortunately, we can not send you QSL cards. We are waiting for the
following letters from you! Yours faithfully, Parstoday Russian".
It turns out that Iran in Russian as well as the last few years does
not confirm the reports (Igor Kolke, Moscow, Russia / "rusdxplus",
ibid.) See also BAHRAIN [non]!
** ITALY. Independent Italian stations heard this Sunday --- Hello,
here is a list of Italian independent stations heard today Sept. 10th
in Forlì, Italy. Daytime (0930 UT):
828 Radio Z-100 Milan (Milano), very weak
846 Challenger Radio (Villa Estense, Padova), excellent
1098 Media Radio Castellana (Castel San Pietro, Bologna), good
1206 Amica Radio Veneta (Vigonza, Padova), non stop folk music, good
1368 Radio One (somewhere in region Tuscany), weak
1476 Free Radio AM (Trieste), good
1584 Radio Studio X (Momigno, Pistoia), weak to good
1602 Baby Radio AM (Trieste), ex 1566 kHz, very weak
On 1350 kHz, I AM Radio is currently transmitting with low power
(about 8 W) due to transmitter fault.
Receiver: Perseus. Antenna: 2 Wellbrook ALA-100 active loops (N-S, E-
W) 73 (Fabrizio Magrone (Forli, Italy), MWCircle yg via DXLD)
** JAPAN. 3925, Thu Sept 7 at 1251, no signal from R. Nikkei 1, but
still a signal from 3945, R. Nikkei 2 with music. I quickly check the
// for each: 1 is on 6055 with other music, not on 9595. 2 is not on
6115, and 9760 occupied by CRI English.
Aoki skeds show 3925 from 10 kW Nemuro site Mon-Thu until 1330, Fri
until 1415, and Sat/Sun until 1200. But also: 50 kW Chiba-Nagara site
at 64 degrees all the way from 2155 to 1500 daily, same // 6055 &
9595. WRTH says Nemuro stops 3925 at 0750, but until then are both
sites running on 3925?? Bottom line is that 3925 should be on now.
Per Aoki, 3945 scheduled until 1400 weekdays, 0900 weekends; 6115 only
until 1000 weekdays, 0900 weekends; 9760 only until 0800 daily. WRTH
agrees, except 6115 not closing earlier than 1400 anyday (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also VANUATU
** KOREA NORTH. 9435, Voice of Korea, September 4, 2017, 1421–1427 in
English. SIO 352. Music, talk. Considerable QRM, apparently jamming.
Jamming is effective and possibly from China. Will attempt other times
and frequencies later in the day (Vince Henley, Anacortes, WA,
Equipment currently in use: Tecsun PL-380, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R8B,
ICOM IC-R8600, Sony ICF-2010. Antennas are half-meter whip on PL-380,
1.2 meter whip on ICF-2010, and Alpha-Delta DX-Ultra installed
broadside east-west, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD)
Here we go again: this has been reported for years as self-jamming, as
one would find by a bit of research. VOK may be well deserving of
jamming, but think about it: no one is going to do that, certainly not
closest ally China, nor #1 enemy USA. What really happens is that NK
jamming of *other* stations on other frequencies is bleeding into
their own transmitters, which are no doubt adjacent, from same site,
adjacent antennas too. One way to confirm this, besides it being
obvious, is to note the jamming going off at exactly the same time
that VOK carriers go off. It is also the same grinding noise sound as
heard against NK`s numerous clandestine targets (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA NORTH [non]. DEFECTORS PROVIDE RARE GLIMPSE OF ISOLATED LIFE
IN NORTH KOREA --- Thomas Maresca, Special for USA TODAY Published
3:18 p.m. ET Sept. 5, 2017 [SW-pertinent excerpt:]
. . .Kim Seung Chul, a defector who came to South Korea in 1994, also
believes that information is key to changing his homeland. He founded
North Korea Reform Radio in 2007, which currently broadcasts two hours
a day of news, information and entertainment over shortwave
frequencies. He also occasionally uses remote-controlled balloons to
drop leaflets and other information into the country. . .
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/09/05/north-korea-defectors-provide-rare-glimpse-isolated-life/625916001/
(via Artie Bigley, DXLD)
** KOREA SOUTH. 5920, Voice of Freedom (ex: 6045). After going three
days without any VOF, they have returned to this former frequency on
Sept 7. Noted at 1119, plus subsequent checks. Thanks go to Hiroyuki
Komatsubara, who confirmed he was also hearing them today at 0930.
On former VOF frequencies: 6135, still being jammed with strong white
noise; 5940 clear; 6020 with weak Vietnam and 6045 with pulsating
noise jamming that has been here now for four days (causing
considerable QRM for Tibet on 6050).
5920, Voice of Freedom (ex: 6045). Sept 8 was their second day here
and still free of North Korea jamming; 1146+; fair-good.
5920, Voice of Freedom. Sept 9 with another day of no N. Korea jamming
here and VOF with strong signal; in Korean at 1215 (Ron Howard, San
Francisco, at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire,
dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA SOUTH. 6680, Voice of the People, 1207, 9/4/17, in Korean.
Man talking at some length. DPRK jamming audible under VoP. Fair (Mark
Taylor, Lake Farm Park near Madison, WI, 9/4/17 (Labor Day), 1100–1615
UT. With Bill Dvorak, Carlie Fosythe and Neil Bartlett. Equipment:
Tecsun PL880, Kaito K31 antenna, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD)
Unknown frequency for them; typo for 6600 maybe? The transmitter could
also have suffered a typo which is why we don`t ignore this (gh, DXLD)
** KURDISTAN [non]. 11660, OPPOSITION. Denge Kurdistan – Grigoriopol,
MOLDOVA (presumed), 1304, 9/4/17, in Kurdish. Woman, most likely with
news; later check with nice Kurdish music with improved signal. Fair
initially, good later (Mark Taylor, Lake Farm Park near Madison, WI,
9/4/17 (Labor Day), 1100–1615 UT. With Bill Dvorak, Carlie Fosythe and
Neil Bartlett. Equipment: Tecsun PL880, Kaito K31 antenna, NASWA
Flashsheet via DXLD)
Unknown frequency for them; typo for 11600, maybe? The transmitter
could also have suffered a typo which is why we don`t ignore this (gh,
DXLD)
Updated A17 schedule of Denge Kurdistan
0230-0500 on 7350 ISS 250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish
0300-0500 on 7520#KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish
#or alternative tx ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Kurdish
0500-1400 on 11600 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish
0700-0800 on 9580 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Kurdish
0700-0800 on 7520 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish
1400-1600 on 11600 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish
1600-1900 on 11600 ISS 250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish
1900-2100 on 7320 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Kurdish
1900-2100 on 7520 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish
1900-2100 on 11600 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish
* tx ERV started 3-5 minutes before the top on the hour
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/updated-17-schedule-of-denge-kurdistan.html
ARMENIA, Denge Kurdistan via Yerevan-Gavar* Sept 5
0300-0500 on 7520 ERV#100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Kurdish
#or alternative tx KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish
// frequency 7350 ISS 250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish
0700-0800 on 9580 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Kurdish
// frequency 7520 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish
// frequency 11600 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish
1900-2100 on 7320 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Kurdish
// frequency 7520 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish
* all started 3 to 5 minutes before the top on the hour
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/denge-kurdistan-via-yerevan-gavar-sept5.html
(DX RE MIX NEWS # 1027 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Sept 7, 2017
via DXLD)
Reception of Denge Kurdistan via Yerevan-Gavar, Sept 8
0728 & 0800 9580 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Kurdish & off at 0803
// freq 11600 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish, strong signal:
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/reception-of-denge-kurdistan-via.html
Denge Kurdistan via Yerevan-Gavar & Grigoriopol, Sept 9
0658&0809 9580 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Kurdish & off at 0811 UT
0659&0809 7520 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish & off at 0810 UT
// freq 11600 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish, strong signal:
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/reception-of-denge-kurdistan-via_9.html
Denge Kurdistan via Yerevan & Grigoriopol, Sept 9:
1900-2100 on 7320 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to WeAs Kurdish, very good
1900-2100 on 7520 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish, very good
1900-2100 on 11600 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish, very good
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/denge-kurdistan-via-yerevan-grigoriopol.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 9 via DXLD)
** KUWAIT. Kuwait back on AM on 15540 --- Is this news? 13650 is still
in DRM. I was "off the bands" for a couple of weeks. Best Regards,
(Wojtek Zaremba, Poland, 1802 UT Sept 7, Hard-Core-DX mailing list
via DXLD) Oops - they switched back to DRM seconds [after] I pressed
"send". Looks like they still have no clue about international
broadcasting. BR, (Wojtek, 1804 UT, ibid.)
** KYRGYZSTAN. Kyrgyz Radio, Bishkek, 4010 kHz. QSL letter in Russian
received from the second director of their radio Mr K. Imanaliev. My
report was for 22 April 2017 and the reply was received on 13 July
with the text (in Russian) "We confirm you listened to Birinchi Radio
on 22 April 2017 in Russian at 23 h our local time on the frequency of
4010 kHz" (Rumen Pankov, B`lgariya, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via
DXLD)
September 7, 2017 from 1730 UT I accept the Kyrgyz radio in Russian at
a frequency of 4010 kHz. Transfer of the "Day of the day". SINPO:
35333. Who knows how things are going with them confirmation of
reports? In the village, I always take them for 3-4 points (at night).
I've met reports that they confirm with a letter, but I do not
remember where. I'll try to send a report to the addresses from the
directory "Broadcasting at in Russian". The return came from the
address kabarlar @ ktrk.kg The message went to public @ ktrk.kg
(Dmitry Kutuzov, Ryazan, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx", Rus-DX Sept 10 via
DXLD)
** LITHUANIA. [Re Radio Liberty new on 1386 kHz:] * 200 kW formerly
used at AFN 873 kHz Frankfurt-Germany, Nautel transmitter (Wolfgang
Büschel, BC-DX 8 Sept via DXLD)
** MEXICO. 640, XEJUA, Cd. Juárez, Chih., SEP 4, 1200 - National
anthem in progress; ID at 1201:45 with call letters, power (5 kW), and
slogan (new?) "La Caliente" - don't recall hearing this slogan before;
went into music program hosted by Avril y David, but did not catch
program name. Fair, mixing with KFI (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge CO;
Drake R8, 4-ft box loop, International DX Digest, NRC DX News via
DXLD)
** MEXICO. 709.93, Sept 7 at 0553, big het against KCMO et al., loops
WSW, no doubt the off-frequency transmitter of XEDP, Ciudad
Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua. When heard around SRS, it`s the other
transmitter site, not off-frequency. IRCA Mexican Log of 2015 said
``185 Hz low``, but now it`s only ~70 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** MEXICO. Made a quick recording at 1200 UT. No TP signals noted
except for time pips on 972.
XEOX-1430 was in well with slightly revised slogan "ponte exa FM
106.5" so they have not fully moved to FM yet after all. The "ponte
exa FM" is spoken by a female announcer and the "106.5" by a male
announcer. // web stream at
http://www.exafm.com/#!/ciudadobregon/home
(Not heard in quite a while)
XEREV-770 was on top of channel with "Los 40" slogan.
XENT-790 was on top of the channel with Radio Fórmula programming and
XE anthem.
XEBCS-1050 was conspicuously absent. They are usually huge on this
wire. Instead I had a weak signal from XED fighting with KTCT.
Antenna directionality seemed to be just a bit compromised. Time to
check the wire for breaks. 73 (Tim Hall, Chula Vista CA (near San
Diego), Perseus SDR-IQ, 560 ft unterminated BOG aimed SSE(/NNW), Sept
5, ABDX via DXLD)
** MEXICO. XEDX [-1010 Ensenada] and all other true Ensenada stations
are gone from AM. Only XESS-620 and XESDD-1030 remain in Puerto Nuevo
after multiple fraudulent moves. Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone
(Tim Hall, CA, ABDX via DXLD)
** MEXICO. XEJL-1300, Guamuchil Sinaloa --- They're coming in right
now, with Grupo Chávez program hosted by a female announcer //web
stream at
http://grupochavezradio.com/radio/guamuchil-lajl.html
(Tim Hall, CA, 0436 UT Sept 11, ABDX via DXLD)
A few relogs tonight --- Perseus SDR-IQ, 560 ft. unterminated mini-BOG
aimed SSE(/NNW), Dates/times UT.
730, XEX, Mexico DF. 9/11 0400 - Mexican anthem, "W radio deportes",
not heard in ages. Usually 730 here is XESOS way on top of CHMJ and
XEHB.
1150, XEUAS, Culiacán SIN. 9/11 0423 - Radio Uas with usual classical
music, playing Ravel's Bolero //web stream.
1150, UNID, MEXICO. 9/11 0400 - Weak XE anthem under KAGO/KEIB. Pips
about 20 seconds late.
1190, XEWK, Guadalajara JAL. 9/11 0400 - Mexican anthem, "W Radio
Guadalajara." (Tim Hall, CA, 0609 UT Sept 11, ABDX via DXLD)
** MEXICO, 6185, Radio Educación, on Sept 11, happened to catch
0501*; fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna:
100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. RAYMIE`S MEXICO BEAT this week [including some DTV]
[Re gh`s posts from DXLD 17-36:]
I've certainly never heard of Radio Tzinaka either. They went on air
from San Miguel Tzinacapan in Cuetzalan Municipality in 2012.
http://ladobe.com.mx/2017/08/radio-tzinaka-te-necesita/
They sound like a prime target to get a community or indigenous
concession. This is in the mountains of northern Puebla.
As to the question of Radio Educación being a migrant, I strongly
expect it to remain on AM via either the last radio service rule
(which has kept several migrants alive as combos) or a move similar to
what the CDI was able to pull off with its migrants in Felipe Carrillo
Puerto and Tuxpan Mich. — new concession, same service.
———
The big news of the day is...no news at all. With the Communications
and Transportation and Legislative Studies Commissions of the Senate
lacking presidents, Zoé Robledo, who chairs the Radio, Television and
Film Commission, has said the Senate will not confirm a new IFT
commissioner or select a new president on time.
http://eleconomista.com.mx/industrias/2017/09/07/paralisis-legislativa-llevara-labardini-presidencia-ift
That means that, falling back on Article 28 of the Constitution, the
dean of the commissioners, Adriana Labardini, will be designated the
IFT's president effective September 10. Her term as commissioner,
however, ends in February, and she cannot be renominated.
Additionally, only Labardini and Javier Juárez Mojica declined to seek
the presidency of the agency, leaving the other five commissioners to
contend for it (including current president Gabriel Contreras, who is
seeking renomination). (Raymie Humbert, Phœnix AZ, Sept 7, WTFDA Forum
via DXLD)
I wonder how much power Radio Comunitaria Tsinaka is running?
https://www.facebook.com/pg/RadioComunitariaTsinaka/about/?ref=page_internal
(Jim Thomas, Springfield, MO, Sept 8, Making FM Dxing more fun than a
barrel of monkeys! ibid.)
It takes more time to build a TV station than a radio station, and the
most transparent of all of 2017's bidders says their TV station will
hit the air in nine months.
http://www.zocalo.com.mx/seccion/articulo/iniciara-operaciones-en-junio-tele-saltillo
Tele Saltillo, a subsidiary of Grupo Zócalo, will receive its
concession in December and plans to build transmission facilities on
Calle Allende in the center of the city. This area has a general
elevation advantage; its southern terminus is near Saltillo's TV tower
farm, while the street already has one FM facility on it,
https://www.google.com/maps/@25.4223743,-101.0013216,3a,77.1y,71.44h,134.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6vcIgABtIGFF8tK7OqRrjQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
XHEIM.* Studios will be housed with the Zócalo newsroom.
In the long term, the plan is to consolidate into one building and
share transmission facilities with XHKS-FM 104.9, with which the
station maintains a relationship.
The target date is June 13, 2018, the tenth anniversary of Zócalo
expanding its newspaper to cover Saltillo.
*The technical authorization for this was processed in 2016
http://rpc.ift.org.mx/rpc/pdfs/41742_160602232059_9386.pdf
(and filed for in 2014), but the tower was here before then.
(Raymie, Sept 10, ibid.)
The Federal Telecommunications Institute has a new president as of
this morning —*at least for a little while.
While it's not the permanent solution that many wanted the Senate to
confirm, there's no question that the new (and for all intents and
purposes, interim) president is capable. Adriana Sofía Labardini
Inzunza has been an IFT commissioner since the agency was created four
years ago.
Labardini, a Fulbright and Ashoka scholar, holds a master's degree in
law from Columbia University and has been a communications lawyer for
the past 16 years. She was the clerk (Secretaría Técnica) of the
Cofetel commission between 1999 and 2003 and has advised Cofetel,
Profeco and the Secretariat of the Economy in the past. Additionally,
Labardini founded the nonprofit Alconsumidor, a consumer rights
organization focused on telecommunications.
A report in El Universal
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/cartera/adriana-labardini-esta-lista
this morning says that the senators of the Communications and
Transportation, Radio, Television and Film, and Legislative Studies
Commissions will meet tomorrow to decide whether to reconfirm
Contreras, who remains on board as a commissioner for the moment, or
to select a new president. A shorter item in Alberto Barranco's column
notes that the handicap facing contender Adolfo Cuevas Teja
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/columna/alberto-barranco/cartera/herencia-maldita
is a perception of favoritism to some telecommunications providers and
broadcasters (notably América Móvil is often mentioned here).
Gabriel Contreras will remain on the commission, as his term as
commissioner does not expire until 2020 (Raymie, Sept 11, ibid.)
The earthquake off the Chiapas coast last week exacted the heaviest
toll on Juchitán de Zaragoza, in the Istmo Region of Oaxaca. Juchitán
has two stations (XHAH 90.1 and XHTEKA 91.7, co-owned) and receives
stations from Salina Cruz.
It also served as an opportunity for the Western Association of
Community Radio Stations (ORC), whose geographic name is something of
a misnomer with its representation of stations from Sonora to Tabasco,
to prod the IFT to approve the concession application
http://orcmexico.com.mx/2017/09/09/exhorto-urgente-al-pleno-del-ift-aprobar-la-radio-comunitaria-juchitan-zaragoza/
of a group seeking to operate a community station in Juchitán, Guna
Caa Yuni Xhiña, A.C., which is an ORC member and is proposing
transmissions in local indigenous languages (Raymie, ibid.)
While it normally can take a long time to get this info on new
stations, being in Mexico City means we know Violeta Radio's
frequency, if not its callsign (yet).
It will operate on 106.1 MHz, in the Article 90 reserved band.
http://www.cimacnoticias.com.mx/noticia/lista-la-primera-radio-comunitaria-feminista-de-la-cdmx
(It is worth noting that CIMAC - Comunicación e Información para la
Mujer, A.C. - is one of the members of the concessionaire.)
This frequency would have been made available as part of the same
process that produced second-round migration. 69 frequencies were
found open nationwide, but 22 of those were in the reserved band, so
there were only 47 frequencies made available for migrants.
(Raymie, Sept 12, ibid.)
Residents of Chalco in the State of Mexico, southeast of Mexico City,
will soon be in Contacto with the country's newest social community
station.
Comunicaciones en Contacto, Cultura y Bienestar Social, A.C. will
operate the station, which becomes the sixth to set up shop in the
eastern portion of the State of Mexico (Otumba, Neza with 2, Texcoco,
and Amecameca all have stations).
It looks like this is an ex-pirate, but not one of recent vintage. A
"Contacto 100.5" was closed in Chalco in November 2005
http://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/ciudad/72392.html
after being raided by the now-defunct Federal Investigation Agency,
along with another pirate in the area.
The connection between the two, beside the name, starts with Luis
Fernando Martínez. A Luis Fernando Martínez Aguilar filed a comment on
behalf of CCCBS
http://www.ift.org.mx/sites/default/files/industria/temasrelevantes/consultaspublicas/documentos/03consultapublicafmasoccom.pdf
in 2015 in favor of 400 kHz spacing, which was probably necessary to
allow Contacto to operate legally with so many stations around it.
The IFT's September 6 meeting, its last with Contreras as president,
also tackled multiprogramming matters (and a bunch of irrelevant
stuff). Of note:
-Excélsior TV will hit 38 Imagen TV transmitters after the false
start of some months ago. No timeshift channels are in the wings this
time.
-XHL will get Gala TV, perhaps allowing Multimedios León to stop
carrying it.
-Gala TV will replace Surestv in Coatzacoalcos.
Este programa es público, ajeno a cualquier partido político. Queda
prohibido el uso para fines distintos a los establecidos en el
programa (Raymie Humbert, Sept 14, ibid.)
** MONGOLIA. 4895, Mongolian Radio 2. Has been on the air here very
erratically; back again Sept 7, with decent level carrier, but am
unable to catch any audio; 1131 and subsequent checking. Thanks to
Hiroyuki Komatsubara for reporting
"-1057- 4895kHz MONGOLIA Golden Radio, (Radio 2)"
(Ron Howard, San Francisco, at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100'
long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MYANMAR. 5985, Myanmar Radio, on Wednesday (Sept 6), heard repeat
of the Monday program of "Say It In English" that dealt with the
"train to Manchester"; started later than the Monday show, as it ended
at 1247, instead of ending at 1232.
So I can confirm the English language lessons are only on Monday and
Wednesday! (Ron Howard, San Francisco, at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1,
antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
5985, Myanmar Radio, 1239, Sept 11. Special coverage of Philippines vs
Myanmar AFF U-18 football/soccer match held at Thuwunna Stadium
(Yangon); which preempted the usual Monday language lesson - "Say It
In English."
For those that are interested, Youtube highlights of today's game at
http://goo.gl/A97xHi (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1,
antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MYANMAR [non]. 7530, Sept 11 at 1243, S7-S5 in Burmese; it`s RFA at
1230-1430 via TINIAN. I was checking for this, but no sign of it; it
would have been a good idea to avoid that bihour anyway:
``ARMENIA. There will be a bunch of tests from Yerevan today, Monday,
11th September between 0230 (yes 0-two-3-0) and 2100 UT on 7530 kHz.
Power 100 kW, directed to 192 Iran / Iran [sic] / Turkey. RRs
appreciated (Christian Milling, Shortwave Service on WRTH Facebook
page, 2130 UT, 10 Sept) Posted by: (alan.pennington, 2227 UT Sept 10,
BDXC_UK yg via DXLD)`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NETHERLANDS [non]. Glenn, Thanks for the frequency input. I checked
all the frequencies 0000-0200 UTC on September 7, 2017.
0000 UT
5960 - clear Note that a strong WRMI is on 5950 kHz.
5965 - clear
5970 - someone with S5 to S6 signal
6100 - clear
6105 - clear Note that a strong WWCR is on 6115 kHz.
6125 - clear. Same note from 6105 kHz.
6130 - someone with S7 to S8 signal
6135 - useless due to R. Santa Cruz Bolivia on 6134.829 kHz.
0030 UT
5960 - clear Note that a strong WRMI is on 5950 kHz.
5965 - clear
5970 - someone with S5 to S6 signal
6100 - clear
6105 - clear Note that a strong WWCR is on 6115 kHz.
6125 - clear. Same note from 6105 kHz.
6130 - someone with S7 to S8 signal
6135 - useless due to R. Santa Cruz Bolivia on 6134.829 kHz.
0100 UT
5960 - clear Note that a strong WRMI is on 5950 kHz.
5965 - clear
5970 - someone with S5 to S6 signal
6100 - clear
6105 - clear
6125 - clear
6130 - clear
6135 - useless due to R. Santa Cruz Bolivia on 6134.829 kHz.
0130 UT
5960 - clear
5965 - clear
5970 - someone with S7 to S8 signal
6100 - clear
6105 - clear
6125 - clear
6130 - clear
6135 - useless due to R. Santa Cruz Bolivia on 6134.829 kHz.
Nauen wanted a quick decision so beginning Sunday, September 10, 2017
new frequency is 5960 kHz for 0000-0200 UT. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist,
dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Kraig, 5960 should be OK, but the reason I avoided it was East
Turkistan, which is off-frequency and could cause a het in some areas,
especially if KBC cares about reception around Europe at that late
hour. 5950 WRMI is always very weak here, aimed southward (Glenn
Hauser, ibid.)
Glenn, Thanks. KBC targets Europe during the 1400 UT broadcast. 73,
(Kraig, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Just a reminder. The Mighty KBC switches from 9925 to 5960 kHz for
0000-0200 UT broadcast to North America beginning with the September
10, 2017 broadcast.
On the "Forgotten Song" I feature a singer, songwriter born in Los
Angeles, CA who last charted on the US Pop Charts in 1981. 73, (Kraig,
KG4LAC, Krist, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
GERMANY, Help select new Mighty KBC frequency for ENAm. Options are
follows
0000-0200 on 5960 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm English Sun
0000-0200 on 5965 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm English Sun
0000-0200 on 5970 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm English Sun
0000-0200 on 6100 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm English Sun
0000-0200 on 6105 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm English Sun
0000-0200 on 6125 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm English Sun
0000-0200 on 6130 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm English Sun
0000-0200 on 6135 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm English Sun
But in MBR schedule as of May 4 The Mighty KBC from Sept 3 is:
2300-2400 on 6145 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to NoAm English Sat
0000-0100 on 6145 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to NoAm English Sun
(DX RE MIX NEWS # 1027 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Sept 7, 2017
via DXLD)
GERMANY, New Mighty KBC frequency from Sept 10:
0000-0200 on 5960#NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm English Sun*
* and deleted 6145 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm 2300Sa-0100Su
# co-ch same 5960 URU 100 kW / non-dir to EaAs Ch PBS Xinjiang
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/new-mighty-kbc-frequency-is-5960-khz.html
(Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Why gh nix it
5960, Sept 10 at *0000, The Mighty KBC via Nauen, GERMANY on new
frequency, ex-9925 which has not been propagating the last few weeks.
5960 is poor, fading from S8 to S3 in noise level and not really
listenable, but hopefully will improve into autumn. May have to QSY
again for B-17 depending on QRM. Once the ionosphere settle down, 7
MHz band might be better around the equinox, less noisy (Glenn Hauser,
OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NEWFOUNDLAND. Listener Feedback Prompts Programming Changes at VOCM
You will notice some big changes when tuning in to VOCM radio this
week. Station officials say the changes are based on listener feedback
from the last few months. As of today, VOCM has brought music back as
part of its programming format. VOCM’s Program Director Aiden Hibbs
says “news and information will still be the main focus of the
station,” but that “our listeners made it clear they also wanted a mix
of music with that information.”
Hibbs says the station is returning to its roots with a focus on
“local programming.” He says mainland programs have been removed from
the schedule altogether. Locally produced shows like Your Money with
BDO and The Law Show with Butler Wills and Estates will move to better
time slots on Saturday afternoon. They will also be posted as podcasts
on iTunes and at VOCM.com. Hibbs says “VOCM’s long history and
connection with the community is one the station values greatly” and
was “the impetus behind the changes.” (Via Mike Brooker and Allen
Willie, Sept CIDX Messenger via DXLD) WTFK? 590 kHz (gh)
** NEWFOUNDLAND [and non]. 2598-USB, Sept 12 at 0119 UT, roboyl with
marine weather in English, S5 about equal the noise level.
2749-USB, Sept 12 at 0120 UT, roboyl with marine weather in French, S6
slightly stronger than 2598.
Here`s the 2017 reference, to extract from too much info:
Radio Aids Marine Navigation 2017
RAMN 2017 - Part 2 - Facilities Information
http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/Marine-Communications/RAMN-2017/Part2#21
The last listed broadcasts` start times before the times above are:
Table 2-6 - Labrador MCTS/VOK - Broadcasts
Time UT Site Frequency or Channel Contents
0107 St. Anthony 2598J3E Radiotelephony
Technical marine synopsis, forecasts and wave height forecasts for
marine areas 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230,
235, 237 and 238.
Ice conditions and forecast for the East Coast of Newfoundland, and
the Labrador Coast, south of 54N. Iceberg Bulletin: Newfoundland Coast
and Strait of Belle Isle.
Table 2-24 - Sydney MCTS/VCO - Broadcasts
Time UT Site Frequency or Channel Contents
0040 Port Caledonia 2749J3E Radiotelephony
Technical marine synopsis and forecasts for marine areas 209, 213,
214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 231 and 232.
Wave height forecast for marine areas 209, 213, 214, 215 and 217.
Notices to Shipping in areas Cape Breton Shore (covering Cabot Strait
to Banquereau Bank), Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland South Coast,
P.E.I. and Miramichi Bay.
Notices to Shipping revising the position of every reported offshore
exploration and exploitation vessel [Nothing about also being in
French, unlike some other entries, so is this ID correct?] (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NEWFOUNDLAND. Message sent to CBC on 5 September:
CKZN is still off the air. Has a decision on its future been made yet?
Responses:
"As far as I know the question has been asked but no decision has been
made yet." (Terry Brett, transmitter technician)
"I have inquired this morning and no decision has been returned to
me." (Larry Wartman, Regional Supervisor, Transmission Operations,
Atlantic Canada)
(-- Richard Langley, NB, Sept 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Do these guys really believe that this is still an open case and any
further action will be taken up in the hierarchy? (Kai Ludwig, ibid.)
** NEW ZEALAND. 7425, RNZI, 1130 on 6 Sept. The RNZI antenna situation
reported by Glenn Hauser in August (apparently no switchover from NNE
to NNW at 1057Z) continues with solid reception early mornings in
northern Virginia well past 1130 and even until 1200. S9 +10, 55544,
at 1130 on 6 Sept (Bob Dodt, Virginia. Equipment: IC-750, Alpha Delta
SWL Sloper, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD)
For a change, RNZI was audible - not useable - on 9630 and 7425
yesterday and today. My guess again is that the path of this signal to
the UK is now not as favourable as it once was. 73 from (Noel Green,
UK, Sept 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NICARAGUA [and non]. 539.739, UnID, AUG 26, 0200 - Steady S5 signal
above the noise floor. Per Tim Tromp in Michigan via the NRC Facebook
group, "539.739 is real. I see this carrier when Nicaragua is really
strong, usually only during good auroral conditions. I'd love to know
who this is." Seemed to sign-off at 0401 UT. [Conti-NH]
539.859, NICARAGUA, R. Corporación, Managua, AUG 26, 0200 - Good;
excited sports commentary. At 0400, jingle with time check, "Diez en
punto." At 0501 sign off with choral national anthem (Bruce Conti,
WPC1CAT, Nashua NH; WiNRADiO Excalibur, MWDX-5, variable termination
Super/Ewe antennas 15 x 23-m 60 northeast and 15 x 23-m 180 south,
International DX Digest, NRC DX News Sept 8 via DXLD)
** NIGERIA. 7255-, Sept 8 at 0611, no signal from VON, not on 9690-,
which occasionally replaces it. Ordinarily I would confidently assume
it`s off the air, but even over this low latitude path during a major
geomagnetic storm, it simply may not propagate at all (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** NIGERIA [non]. Reception of Radio Dandal Kura International via
BaBcoCk Woofferton
0700-0800 13810 WOF 250 kW / 165 deg WeAf Kanuri, ex DHA 250 / 255 deg
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/radio-dandal-kura-international-via.html
(DX RE MIX NEWS # 1027 via DXLD)
Radio Dandal Kura International via BaBcoCk Ascension, Sept 6
1800-2100 12050 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg WeAf Kanuri, very good signal:
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/radio-dandal-kura-international-via_7.html
(DX RE MIX NEWS # 1027 via DXLD)
** NORTH AMERICA. A Fond Farewell to Pirate Radio Boston!
[altho it`s fairly clear this one was not in Canada, here it is to
keep it grouped with other SW pirates --- gh]
Ever since May of 1992, when Pirate Radio Boston took to the shortwave
pirate airwaves, the station was always a fan favorite in the
northeastern part of North America. Station op, Charlie Loudenboomer,
sometimes accompanied by his sidekick, Mr. Excellence, were the pirate
station “run by DXers, for DXers” and always QSLing 100% for correct
reception reports. Charlie claims, even during the times of FCC
persecution, they were always on the air at least once a year for all
25 years.
Pirate Radio Boston usually transmitted in the AM mode, using older
ham equipment such as the Heathkit “Apache” and E.F. Johnson “Viking”
and “Ranger” transmitters. Happy retirement, Charlie and friends! You
will be missed (Chris Lobdell, Free Radio Scene, Sept CIDX Messenger
via DXLD)
With illustration of farewell QSL. OMG, I just realized Chris Lobdell
has the same initials as Charlie Loudenboomer (gh, DXLD)
** NORTH AMERICA. 6770, Sept 13 at 0200, JBA carrier, perhaps the old-
time-radio pirate, seldom heard here lately. From Chris Lobdell`s Free
Radio Scene in Sept CIDX Messenger:
``Mystery of the Old Time Radio Station on 6770 solved?
Many of us have heard the weak signals on 6770 AM playing old time
radio shows. Signals are always quite weak and usually fade out rather
quickly. They usually are heard best at sunrise and sunset. Who is
this station and where is he located? This was posted back in January
of 2016 and I never saw it. Just in case you didn’t either, here it
is.
"Old Time Radio is an "accidental broadcaster" of sorts. It is located
inside of an old radio museum. The antenna is a several hundred foot
length of Cat 5 network cable run along the back of each radio display
so each radio doesn’t need an antenna to receive the program.
The transmitter (home brew, unknown RF output) is attached to a small
audio processor and gets its audio stream from a computer. Winamp is
used to run the very large playlist over and over. Another program is
broadcast on 770 kHz using a Ramsey Electronics transmitter. The
similarity in frequencies (6770 and 770 kHz) is not coincidental.
These frequencies were chosen to make them easier to remember believe
it or not.
The owner/curator of the museum lives nearby and listens to the stream
from his house. He is not fully aware of how far this broadcast can be
heard and I will not divulge the location of this museum to avoid him
getting into trouble. I have spoken to him about the legalities but he
wasn’t interested as he has "done this for a long time without anyone
breaking down his door". I’m surprised these transmissions are being
heard as widespread as they are." Posted by "Old Time Radio Fan" on
the "30 Below" blog on The HF Underground.
Next time you visit an antique radio museum, bring your shortwave
portable along with you and you just might find the source!`` (via
WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
** OKLAHOMA. EARTHQUAKE felt in Enid: my chair and computer desk shake
for a few seconds and the house creaks, Sept 8 at 0226:40 UT. USGS
reports:
3.9 magnitude, 15 km SSE of Medford, Oklahoma, 2017-09-08 02:26:23
(UTC), 5.0 km deep --- so it took about 17 seconds to get here. This
was less than a sesquihour before the big one off Mexico, 8.1;
coincidence? (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {later upgraded
to 4.3!}
** OKLAHOMA. 90.1, Sat Sept 9 at 1310 UT, KUCO`s `Performance
Oklahoma` is back after summer break, Kimberly Powell introducing
concert recorded Sunday Feb 12 at 2 pm at St Francis of Assisi
Catholic Church in OKC, of Brandenburg Concerto #3, by the newly
formed Oklahoma Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra
http://www.kucofm.com/programs/performanceoklahoma/this-week-s-program/
And later, Vivaldi`s The Seasons. The OVCO is based at Oklahoma City
University, ``a standing conductor-less string orchestra``. First
concert of this season will be Sept 17. Thanks to immigrant musicians
interviewed, reminds us that OK is not a total cultural desert.
Two-hour PerfOkla airs first UT Thursdays at 0100, repeated Saturdays
1300 UT on KUCO; and also UT Sundays 0100 on KWTU Tulsa, all available
by webcasts; rarely some are ondemand temporarily. Here I have to hope
for some morning tropo boost to get quiet stereo, and suppress KHCC
Radio Kansas CCI fighting to capture 90.1 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. A bit o` area morning DTV tropo Sept 12 at 1440 UT: 21-1
with HSN, 21-2 SBN, but lose decode before can survey the remaining
subchannels of 4 kW KTOU-LD OKC; SBN is listed as SonLife in W9Wi.com.
Also has a CP to be 11 kW KTOU-CD still on 21. Also have decodes
briefly from RF 28 = 44.1 Ion Tulsa market; RF 36, KUOK-CD 36-1 OKC
(Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OMAN. Strong signal of Radio Sultanate of Oman, Sept 8
1400-1500 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg WeEu Arabic, instead of English
1600-2200 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg WeEu Arabic as scheduled in A17
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/reception-of-radio-sultanate-of-oman-in.html
(Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OMAN. Oman 15140 kHz Missing Sept 10th -- As of 1425 UT, there is
not even a trace of a carrier from 15140 via Thumrait, Oman. Even in
bad conditions, a carrier shows up on Utwente SDR and there's nothing
I have noticed lately, without taking notes in the last 2 weeks or so,
Oman has been fairly regular in signing on late (Paul Walker, PA,
Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) And so it goes
** PERU. 5980, Red Radio Integridad. Septiembre 7. 2314-2331 UT.
Programa: “El camino de la vida”. Desde las 2323, canciones. A las
2330, hora local, identificación y devocional. SINPO: 44343. Desde las
2325 con SINPO: 33242 (Claudio Galaz; RX: TECSUN PL- 660; ANT: Hilo de
40 metros de largo; QTH: Ovalle, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via
DXLD) Who doesn`t listen a bit longer for their slipping autocutoff
** PUERTO RICO. The strongest hurricane ever? Indeed it is in this
region of the Atlantic. With a barometric pressure of 926 mb and
sustained winds of 185 mph, Irma is something to deal with. Tell me
about it. I live in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The hurricane center is
expected to pass 35 miles to our north. Apart from all other
preparations, all my antennas are down and secured. Only a small
vertical in my backyard will remain and we will see if it survives.
For those in Florida, please prepare well. This is a serious and
dangerous storm. Best 73s (Guido Santacana KP4FAR, Sept 5, dxldyg via
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ROMANIA. 9730, RRI at 0130. Romanian folk music, M announcer. One
of my favorite stations ever - multumesc mult, si naopte buna RRI!
Over a lot of thunderstorm static, VG, Sept 6 (Rick Barton, AZ,
Equipment used was RS SW-2000629 and outdoor vertical wire, Grundig
Satellit 750 and outdoor Slinky; Zenith Royal Trans Oceanic 7000,
stock, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RUSSIA [non]. Hi! In the 1961 movie "Voyage to the Bottom of the
Sea`` the submarine has precisely the same buzzing sound as the
Russian buzzer UVB-76 on 4625 kHz. Have just watched the movie on
film4 TV in the UK (Jon Collins, Birmingham UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RUSSIA [non]. BBG CEO JOHN LANSING TO TESTIFY BEFORE THE HELSINKI
COMMISSION
Contact: Stacy Hope
Phone: +1 (202) 225-1901
Stacy.Hope@mail.house.gov
http://www.csce.gov
http://www.facebook.com/helsinkicommission
http://www.twitter.com/helsinkicomm
RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION FOCUS OF UPCOMING HELSINKI COMMISSION HEARING
WASHINGTON-The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also
known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following
hearing:
THE SCOURGE OF RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION
Thursday, September 14, 2017
9:30 AM
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Room 562
Live Webcast:
http://www.senate.gov/isvp/?type=live&comm=csce&filename=csce091417
Russian disinformation is a grave transnational threat, facilitating
unacceptable aggression by Russia both at home and across the 57-
nation OSCE region. Russian disinformation helps support rampant
violations of OSCE norms by the Putin regime, ranging from internal
human rights abuses to military intervention in neighboring states to
interference in elections in several countries.
The hearing will examine Russia's efforts to spread disinformation,
both domestically and abroad, as well as U.S. efforts to set the
record straight with Russians, Ukrainians, and other speakers of
Russian in the region. Witnesses will also discuss the effectiveness
of U.S. counter-measures across a variety of platforms; whether
resources available correspond to the threat; and whether coordination
amongst key players within the U.S. Government at the Department of
State, Department of Defense, and USAID, and with European partners is
adequate. Finally, with German elections scheduled for September 24,
one of the witnesses will highlight attempts by Russia to use NGOs and
think tanks in Germany to try to influence the outcome.
The following witnesses are scheduled to testify:
John F. Lansing, Chief Executive Officer and Director,
Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)
Melissa Hooper, Director of Human Rights and Civil Society
Programs, Human Rights First
Molly McKew, CEO, Fianna Strategies
###
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as
the U.S. Helsinki Commission, is an independent agency of the Federal
Government charged with monitoring compliance with the Helsinki
Accords and advancing comprehensive security through promotion of
human rights, democracy, and economic, environmental and military
cooperation in 57 countries. The Commission consists of nine members
from the U.S. Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and one
member each from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce.
Broadcasting Board of Governors, 330 Independence Ave., SW,
Washington, DC 20237 (BBG PA Sept 11 via Hansjoerg Biener, DXLD)
** RUSSIA [non]. RT, SPUTNIK AND RUSSIA’S NEW THEORY OF WAR --- How
the Kremlin built one of the most powerful information weapons of the
21st century — and why it may be impossible to stop.
By JIM RUTENBERG September 13, 2017
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/magazine/rt-sputnik-and-russias-new-theory-of-war.html
Martin Steltner showed up at his office in the state courthouse
building in western Berlin. Steltner, who has served for more than a
dozen years as the spokesman for the Berlin state prosecutor,
resembles a detective out of classic crime fiction: crisp suit, wavy
gray hair and a gallows humor that comes with having seen it all.
There was the 2009 case of the therapist who mistakenly killed two
patients in an Ecstasy-infused session gone wrong. The Great Poker
Heist of 2010, in which masked men stormed a celebrity-studded poker
tournament with machetes and made off with a quarter-million dollars.
The 2012 episode involving the Canadian porn star who killed and ate
his boyfriend and then sent the leftovers home in the mail. Steltner
embraced the oddball aspect of his job; he kept a picture of Elvis
Presley on the wall of his office.
But even Steltner found the phone calls he received that morning
confounding. They came from police officers from towns far outside
Berlin, who reported that protests were erupting, seemingly out of
nowhere, on their streets. “They are demonstrating — ‘Save our
children,’ ‘No attacks from immigrants on our children’ and some
things like that,” Steltner told me when I met him in Berlin recently.
The police were calling Steltner because this was ostensibly his
office’s fault. The protesters were angry over the Berlin prosecutor’s
supposed refusal to indict three Arab migrants who, they said, raped a
13-year-old girl from Berlin’s tight-knit Russian-German community.
Steltner, who would certainly have been informed if such a case had
come up for prosecution, had heard nothing of it. He called the Berlin
Police Department, which informed him that a 13-year-old Russian-
German girl had indeed gone missing a week before. When she resurfaced
a day later, she told her parents that three “Southern-looking men” —
by which she meant Arab migrants — had yanked her off the street and
taken her to a rundown apartment, where they beat and raped her.
But when the police interviewed the girl, whose name was Lisa, she
changed her story. She had left home, it turned out, because she had
gotten in trouble at school. Afraid of how her parents would react,
she went to stay with a 19-year-old male friend. The kidnapping and
gang rape, she admitted, never happened.
By then, however, the girl’s initial story was taking on a life of its
own within the Russian-German community through word of mouth and
Facebook — enough so that the police felt compelled to put out a
statement debunking it. Then, over the weekend, Channel One, a Russian
state-controlled news station with a large following among Russian-
Germans, who watch it on YouTube and its website, ran a report
presenting Lisa’s story as an example of the unchecked dangers Middle
Eastern refugees posed to German citizens. Angela Merkel, it strongly
implied, was refusing to address these threats, even as she opened
German borders to hundreds of thousands of migrants. “According to
Lisa’s parents,” the Channel One reporter said, “the police simply
refuse to look for criminals.”
The following day in Berlin, Germany’s far-right National Democratic
Party held a protest at a plaza in Marzahn, a heavily Russian
neighborhood. The featured speaker was an adult cousin of Lisa’s, who
repeated the original allegations while standing in front of signs
reading “Stop Foreign Infiltration!” and “Secure Borders!” The crowd
was tiny, not much more than a dozen people. But it was big enough to
attract the attention of RT, Russia’s state-financed international
cable network, which presents local-language newscasts in numerous
countries, including Germany and the United States. A crew from the
network’s video service, Ruptly, arrived with a camera. The footage
was on YouTube that afternoon.
That same day, Sputnik, a brash Russian-government-run news and
commentary site that models itself on BuzzFeed, ran a story raising
allegations of a police cover-up. Lisa’s case was not isolated,
Sputnik argued; other refugee rapists, it warned, might be running
free. By the start of the following week, protests were breaking out
in neighborhoods with large Russian-German populations, which is why
the local police were calling Steltner. In multiple interviews,
including with RT and Sputnik, Steltner reiterated that the girl had
recanted the original story about the kidnapping and the gang rape. In
one interview with the German media, he said that in the course of the
investigation, authorities had found evidence that the girl had sex
with a 23-year-old man months earlier, which would later lead to a
sexual-abuse conviction for the man, whose sentence was suspended. But
the original, unrelated and debunked story continued circulating,
drawing the interest of the German mainstream media, which pointed out
inconsistencies in the Russian reports. None of that stopped the
protests, which culminated in a demonstration the following Saturday,
Jan. 23, by 700 people outside the Chancellery, Merkel’s office.
Ruptly covered that, too.
An official in the Merkel government told me that the administration
was completely perplexed, at first. Then, a few days later, Russia’s
foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, held a news conference in Moscow.
Bringing up Lisa’s story, he cast doubt on the official version of
events. There was no way, he argued, that Lisa left home voluntarily.
Germany, he suggested, was “covering up reality in a politically
correct manner for the sake of domestic politics.” Two days later, RT
ran a segment reporting that despite all the official denials, the
case was “not so simple.” The Russian Embassy called Steltner and
asked to meet, he told me. The German foreign ministry informed him
that this was now a diplomatic issue.
The whole affair suddenly appeared a lot less mystifying. A
realization took hold in the foreign ministry, the intelligence
services and the Chancellery: Germany had been hit.
Officials in Germany and at NATO headquarters in Brussels view the
Lisa case, as it is now known, as an early strike in a new information
war Russia is waging against the West. In the months that followed,
politicians perceived by the Russian government as hostile to its
interests would find themselves caught up in media storms that, in
their broad contours, resembled the one that gathered around Merkel.
They often involved conspiracy theories and outright falsehoods —
sometimes with a tenuous connection to fact, as in the Lisa case,
sometimes with no connection at all — amplified until they broke
through into domestic politics. In other cases, they simply helped
promote nationalist, far-left or far-right views that put pressure on
the political center. What the efforts had in common was their agents:
a loose network of Russian-government-run or -financed media outlets
and apparently coordinated social-media accounts.
After RT and Sputnik gave platforms to politicians behind the British
vote to leave the European Union, like Nigel Farage, a committee of
the British Parliament released a report warning that foreign
governments may have tried to interfere with the referendum. Russia
and China, the report argued, had an “understanding of mass psychology
and of how to exploit individuals” and practiced a kind of
cyberwarfare “reaching beyond the digital to influence public
opinion.” When President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia visited the new
French president, Emmanuel Macron, at the palace of Versailles in May,
Macron spoke out about such influence campaigns at a news conference.
Having prevailed weeks earlier in the election over Marine Le Pen — a
far-right politician who had backed Putin’s annexation of Crimea and
met with him in the Kremlin a month before the election — Macron
complained that “Russia Today and Sputnik were agents of influence
which on several occasions spread fake news about me personally and my
campaign.”
RT vans in a parking lot at the network’s studios in Moscow.
James Hill for The New York Times [caption]
But all of this paled in comparison with the role that Russian
information networks are suspected to have played in the American
presidential election of 2016. In early January, two weeks before
Donald J. Trump took office, American intelligence officials released
a declassified version of a report — prepared jointly by the Central
Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and National
Security Agency — titled “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions
in Recent U.S. Elections.” It detailed what an Obama-era Pentagon
intelligence official, Michael Vickers, described in an interview in
June with NBC News as “the political equivalent of 9/11.” “Russian
President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed
at the U.S. presidential election,” the authors wrote. “Russia’s goals
were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process,
denigrate Secretary Clinton and harm her electability and potential
presidency.” According to the report, “Putin and the Russian
government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.”
The intelligence assessment detailed some cloak-and-dagger activities,
like the murky web of Russian (if not directly government-affiliated
or -financed) hackers who infiltrated voting systems and stole
gigabytes’ worth of email and other documents from the Democratic
National Committee and the Clinton campaign. But most of the
assessment concerned machinations that were plainly visible to anyone
with a cable subscription or an internet connection: the coordinated
activities of the TV and online-media properties and social-media
accounts that made up, in the report’s words, “Russia’s state-run
propaganda machine.”
The assessment devoted nearly half its pages to a single cable
network: RT. The Kremlin started RT — shortened from the original
Russia Today — a dozen years ago to improve Russia’s image abroad. It
operates in several world capitals and is carried on cable and
satellite networks across the United States, Europe, Asia and the
Middle East. RT and the rest of the Russian information machine were
working with “covert intelligence operations” to do no less than
“undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order,” the assessment
stated. And, it warned ominously, “Moscow will apply lessons learned
from its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the U.S. presidential
election to future influence efforts worldwide, including against U.S.
allies and their election processes.” On Sept. 11, RT announced that
the Justice Department had asked a company providing all production
and operations services for RT America in the United States to
register as a “foreign agent” under the Foreign Agents Registration
Act, a World War II-era law that was originally devised for Nazi
propaganda. Also on Sept. 11, Yahoo News reported that a former
correspondent at Sputnik was speaking with the F.B.I. as part of an
investigation into whether it was violating FARA.
Russia has dismissed the intelligence-community claims as so much Cold
War-era Yankee hysteria. Margarita Simonyan, RT’s chief editor, told
me the allegations against the network smacked of “McCarthyism.”
Still, Russian officials are remarkably open about the aims of RT and
Sputnik: to “break the monopoly of the Anglo-Saxon global information
streams,” as Putin himself put it during a visit to RT’s Moscow
headquarters in 2013. Russia’s argument about RT’s rightful place in
the American media landscape is not all that different from the one
Roger Ailes made when he started Fox News: If you thought Fox looked
conservative, he would say, maybe it’s because you were liberal. In
Russia’s case, it’s: If RT looks biased, it’s because you live in a
bubble of Western arrogance and hypocrisy. You’re the one who’s
biased.
Plenty of RT’s programming, to outward appearances, is not
qualitatively different from conventional opinion-infused cable news.
RT America’s current roster of hosts includes the former New York
Times correspondent Chris Hedges, Larry King and the former MSNBC star
Ed Schultz, who told me that the network allows him to cover news that
may not otherwise “get the proper attention that we think it
deserves.” (And, he added, “the health care is outstanding.”) Its fans
point to its coverage of political perspectives that aren’t prominent
on mainstream networks — voices from the Occupy movement, the
libertarian right and third parties like the Green Party. The network
has been nominated for four International Emmy Awards and one Daytime
Emmy.
This makes RT and Sputnik harder for the West to combat than shadowy
hackers. You can tighten your internet security protocols to protect
against data breaches, run counterhacking operations to take out
infiltrators, sanction countries with proven links to such activities.
But RT and Sputnik operate on the stated terms of Western liberal
democracy; they count themselves as news organizations, protected by
the First Amendment and the libertarian ethos of the internet.
So over the past decade, even as the Putin government clamped down on
its own free press — and as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe,
the U.S.-government-run broadcasting services, were largely squeezed
off the Russian radio dial — RT easily acquired positions on the basic
cable rosters of Comcast, Cox, Charter, DirecTV and Fios, among
others. The network’s offshoots — RT UK, RT Arabic, RT Deutsch, RT
Español — operate just as freely in other countries (though British
regulators have reprimanded RT UK for content “materially misleading
or not duly impartial”). Macron might have grumbled about RT to Putin,
but France is not standing in the way of RT’s plans to start a new
French channel.
By standard media-industry metrics, RT is relatively small. Numbers
that RT commissioned in 2015 from the polling firm Ipsos showed it was
watched, weekly, by eight million people in the United States, placing
it among the top five foreign networks here and in Europe. (Ipsos also
found RT was it is watched by 70 million per week globally; the BBC,
using a different polling firm, says its own audience is 372 million
per week.) But American television measures itself by the Nielsen
ratings, which RT doesn’t pay to be measured by. Nielsen shows Fox
News with an average audience of 2.3 million people nightly, MSNBC
with 1.6 million nightly and CNN with more than one million nightly.
It’s a good bet that if RT thought it would rank anywhere near them,
it would pay to be rated.
But the ratings are almost beside the point. RT might not have amassed
an audience that remotely rivals CNN’s in conventional terms, but in
the new, “democratized” media landscape, it doesn’t need to. Over the
past several years, the network has come to form the hub of a new kind
of state media operation: one that travels through the same diffuse
online channels, chasing the same viral hits and memes, as the rest of
the Twitter-and-Facebook-age media. In the process, Russia has built
the most effective propaganda operation of the 21st century so far,
one that thrives in the feverish political climates that have
descended on many Western publics.
In April, I went to visit Dmitri Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, at
his Kremlin office. Peskov, who is 49, works in the presidential
administrative headquarters, a prewar building with a grand facade but
cramped hallways and offices inside. He has been a spokesman for Putin
since Putin first took office in 2000 and is almost always hovering on
the edge of the frame in Putin’s photo ops, whether it’s at a
gathering of international heads of state or as the president is
positioning his pads for a star turn in an exhibition hockey game. The
whole presidential-press-attaché-as-celebrity thing is finally
starting to hit Russia — Peskov’s lavish wedding to a former Russian
Olympic ice-dancing gold medalist in 2015 made the tabloids — but his
work look is more Politburo than Paul Smith. He has bushy reddish-
brown hair and a mustache, and always appears to be suppressing a sly
smile, even when he is frowning.
When I asked Peskov what Putin meant by RT’s mission to “break the
monopoly of Anglo-Saxon global information streams,” he went into
something of a dissertation, speaking in English with obvious relish
and little room for interjections. “The whole trend of global media
was set by Anglo-Saxons,” he began. “It’s like the first conveyor
belt. It was created by Mr. Ford in the United States.” (It wasn’t,
but Ford was the first major manufacturer to use the technology on a
grand scale.) But now, he went on, “the conveyor line is not only
working in G.M., in Ford — it’s also working in Citroën, in Renault,
in Mercedes-Benz, in Toyota, everywhere in the world.”
Something like the dissemination of Ford’s conveyor belt, he said, was
now happening in media; the sort of global news networks the West
built were being replicated by Russia, to great effect. What was
making “the whole story successful,” he said, “is a tectonic change of
the global system that all of a sudden started to develop 10 years
ago.”
The transformation and acceleration of information technology, Peskov
said, had unmoored the global economy from real value. Perception
alone could move markets or crash them. “We’ve never seen bubbles like
we’ve seen in the greatest economy in the world, the United States,”
he said. The same free flow of information had produced “a new clash
of interests,” and so began “an informational disaster — an
informational war.”
Peskov argued that this was not an information war of Russia’s
choosing; it was a “counteraction.” He brought up the “color
revolutions” throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which led to
the ousters of Russian-friendly governments in Ukraine, Georgia and
Kyrgyzstan in the mid-2000s. Russia blamed American nongovernmental
organizations for fomenting the upheavals. But now, Peskov argued, all
you might need to shake up the geopolitical order was a Twitter
account. “Now you can reach hundreds of millions in a minute,” he
said.
By way of example, he pointed to “this girl, from show business, Kim
Kardashian.” Kardashian is among the most popular people in all of
social media, with 55 million Twitter followers, nearly 18 million
more than President Trump. “Let’s imagine that one day she says, ‘My
supporters — do this,’?” Peskov said. “This will be a signal that will
be accepted by millions and millions of people. And she’s got no
intelligence, no interior ministry, no defense ministry, no K.G.B.”
This, he said, was the new reality: the global proliferation of the
kinds of reach and influence that were once reserved for the great
powers and, more recently, great media conglomerates. Even Peskov
sounded slightly amazed considering the possibilities. “The new
reality creates a perfect opportunity for mass disturbances,” he said,
“or for initiating mass support or mass disapproval.”
One way of looking at the activities of Russia’s information machine
is as a resumption of the propaganda fight between the United States
and the U.S.S.R. that began immediately following the Second World
War. In the late 1940s, the Marshall Plan, the herculean development
project helmed by Secretary of State George Marshall, flooded postwar
Europe with money and advisers to help rebuild cities, advance
democracy and form an integrated economic zone. Joseph Stalin
immediately saw it as a threat — and saw propaganda as one of his best
weapons to contain it.
In 1947, Stalin formed the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform), a
Belgrade-headquartered forum to coordinate messaging among European
Communist parties. Cominform used Communist newspapers, pamphlets and
posters to paint the Marshall Plan as an American plot to subjugate
Europe. A representative Soviet poster distributed in Vienna showed an
American — identified by American-flag shirt cuffs — offering aid
packages with one hand while plundering Austria’s gold with the other.
Radio Moscow — the state-run international broadcaster — and Soviet-
supported newspapers throughout Europe accused the “imperialist”
United States of pursuing a plan of “dollar domination” to make the
Continent dependent on American goods and services, and of
conscripting local youth to fight American proxy wars elsewhere.
Writing in The New York Times that year, the correspondent Anne O’Hare
McCormick recounted false reports in the Red Army newspaper in Vienna
that the locals were afraid to walk the streets at night lest American
soldiers rob and mug them — propaganda, she wrote, that “may not
convince, but it adds to the confusion between truth and falsehood and
fosters that darkness of the mind in which dictatorships operate.” In
a 1947 letter to George Marshall’s undersecretary, Robert A. Lovett,
William C. Chanler, a wartime Defense Department official, urged a
response, warning that “we are making the same mistake that was made
with Hitler.”
For the counterinformation campaign, the U.S. government enlisted
journalists, including the Washington Post Pulitzer winner Alfred
Friendly and the Christian Science Monitor’s Roscoe Drummond;
Hollywood filmmakers; and the top marketers of Madison Avenue,
including McCann-Erickson and Young and Rubicam. The new effort —
which eventually fell under a new United States Information Agency —
produced upbeat posters with slogans like “Whatever the weather, we
only reach welfare together,” which offered a bright contrast to the
Communists’ anti-Marshall Plan messaging. Operating on the theory that
local voices would have more credibility than American ones, it fed
news to foreign reporters about how well the Marshall Plan was
progressing in their countries and recruited top European directors to
produce hundreds of news features and documentaries that promoted
“Western values” like free trade and representative democracy.
America went into the propaganda war with distinct advantages. At the
time, the Marshall Plan was pumping $13 billion into Europe, while the
Soviets were taking $14 billion out in the form of reparations and
resource seizures; America’s image abroad was as squeaky clean as it
would ever be. “This was the time when finally the United States came
of age as an international power — when it still had its virginity, as
it were,” David Reynolds, a Cambridge University history professor,
told me.
RT International’s newsroom in Moscow.
James Hill for The New York Times [caption]
America’s midcentury propaganda success set the tone for the decades
to come. It was not entirely a matter of America’s having a better
story to tell, and savvier storytellers, than the Soviet Union did.
Soviet propaganda did, in fact, work on the people it reached. A
controlled study conducted by a professor at Florida State University
in 1970 found that Americans who listened to Radio Moscow broadcasts
developed more open attitudes toward the U.S.S.R. than those of
average Americans. The problem was that very few Americans did hear
Radio Moscow: It was available only on shortwave radio and on a
handful of American stations — including WNYC in New York — reaching
less than 2 percent of the adult population in the United States as of
late 1966. Meanwhile, Voice of America, the United States’ equivalent
service offering a mix of news, music and entertainment, was reaching
23 percent of the Soviet adult population by the early 1970s. Later
studies found that up to 40 percent of the Soviet Union’s adult
population listened to “Western broadcasting” of one sort or another,
in spite of aggressive Soviet signal-jamming efforts.
And unlike the Soviets, the United States benefited from the existence
of a vast ecosystem of nongovernment media that, even when it crossed
swords with the American government, still reflected an American
outlook and implicitly promoted American cultural values. The first
international, 24-hour networks to come online in the 1980s, like CNN,
were American, and they provided their audience — which eventually
included many behind the Iron Curtain — an unsparing view of the last
days of Communism: student protesters staring down tanks in Tiananmen
Square, protests and strikes in Poland, East Germans exulting on the
ruins of the Berlin Wall. When Mikhail Gorbachev signed his
resignation, ceding power to the new presidency of Boris Yeltsin in
the last official act of Soviet Communism, he invited CNN to capture
the moment in his Kremlin office suite. Finding his own pen out of
ink, Gorbachev turned to the CNN president at the time, Tom Johnson,
who lent Gorbachev the Mont Blanc he had in his breast pocket. After
making sure the pen wasn’t American-made, the last Soviet leader used
it to sign one of the most important documents in Russian history.
“You have built your empire better than I built mine,” he told
Johnson.
Mikhail Lesin, too, wanted to build an empire. Around the time of the
Soviet Union’s dissolution, he was in his mid-30s, running Video
International, an early big Russian ad firm, of which he was a
founder. Video International was credited with bringing modern,
American-style techniques to Yeltsin’s 1996 re-election campaign, and
after Yeltsin’s victory, the president rewarded Lesin by placing him
in charge of his presidential communications operation.
Lesin was a sharp-witted hard drinker who was concerned about Russia’s
image in the world. He had a vision for an international network that
would familiarize Russia in the same way that CNN familiarized
America. But the chaos of the later Yeltsin years, in which the ruble
collapsed and Yeltsin’s government foundered, made such a thing
impossible.
Lesin found a more receptive patron in Putin, who succeeded Yeltsin in
1999. Putin — who, as a deputy in the St. Petersburg mayor’s office
half a decade earlier, once chauffeured Ted Turner around the city —
was an attentive student of the power of television. At times, he
could not contain his frustration with the way the foreign media
covered Russia. “All they can talk about is crisis and breakdown,” he
complained to a nationalist youth group in 2005.
That year, with the Russian economy rebounding thanks to strong oil
prices, Lesin and Alexei Gromov, Putin’s press strategist, secured the
approval and financing to start the network, which they called Russia
Today. To run the new operation, they hired a 25-year-old TV reporter
named Margarita Simonyan.
President Vladimir Putin speaking with RT journalists in Moscow in
2013.
James Hill for The New York Times [caption]
When she heard she got the job, “I almost fainted,” Simonyan told me
recently. We were sitting on plush couches on an exclusive, dimly lit
floor of Voronezh, a fashionable restaurant in the Khamovniki district
in central Moscow. “Dr. No,” the James Bond film about a plan to
disrupt the American space program, was on a TV screen opposite us.
Before us was a spread of venison, oysters and shrimp, themselves an
unsubtle statement: They were imported from Russia’s far east, a menu
adjustment in response to the sanctions and countersanctions that had
cut off Western food imports.
Simonyan, who is now 37, is petite with a wide face, dark hair and
green eyes. Her name appears more times in the declassified U.S.
intelligence assessment than anyone’s besides Putin’s, but she seems a
somewhat unlikely candidate for an American national-security threat.
When the report dropped, she wrote on Twitter: “They are kidding,
right?” At the restaurant, she told me: “I never planned to be a part
of a weapon. I have two children, and I’m very, very peaceful. I don’t
like wars. Any wars.”
Simonyan grew up poor in Krasnodar, a southern Russia river town, and
was 11 when the Soviet Union collapsed. “We adored the fact that we
are now going to be like America and taught like America and to be
even patronized by America and be America’s little brother,” she told
me. “It didn’t feel in any way humiliating or contradictory to the
Russian pride.” Her infatuation with the United States led her to
apply for a slot in a new State Department “future leaders” exchange
program, which placed top students from the former Soviet Union in
United States high schools to “ensure long-lasting peace and
understanding between the U.S. and the countries of Eurasia.”
For one academic year, she attended a public high school in Bristol,
N.H. “She was fascinated with news,” Patricia Albert, whose parents
hosted Simonyan, and who remains close with her, told me. “Maggie,” as
the family still calls her, would sit transfixed every night when she
joined them on the couch to watch the local news, “60 Minutes” and
“CBS Evening News With Dan Rather.” But she also came to resent some
of her American classmates for what she viewed as their sheltered
naïveté. “?‘Do you have dogs?’ I remember that,” she told me. “I still
have a letter I wrote to my parents saying, ‘I can’t believe they are
seriously asking me whether we have dogs.’ They were grown-ups — 18-
year-olds — in a normal high school in New Hampshire, which is
supposed to be a sophisticated place.”
Back home in Krasnodar, her view of the United States, like many
Russians’, started to curdle after the 1999 NATO bombing campaign
against the regime of Slobodan Milosevic in the former Yugoslavia,
with which Russian had strong ethnic, cultural and political ties:
“Our Slavic brothers and sisters,” she told me, leaning forward for
emphasis. “You bombed them with no permission, with no reason,” she
said, “and in one day you lost Russia.”
As a journalism major at Kuban State University, Simonyan landed an
internship and, quickly thereafter, a correspondent position at a
local TV station. Her patriotism and feel for the American-style
production techniques she had seen on TV in New Hampshire — which had
not yet come to Russia — helped her rise quickly through the ranks of
state journalism. She covered the brutal Chechen military campaign in
1999 and 2000 that helped solidify Putin’s political standing as he
ascended to the presidency, and the 2004 Beslan school siege, which
earned her the government’s “Strengthening the Military Commonwealth”
medal.
When she took the helm of Russia Today the following year, Simonyan
modeled the new network on CNN and the BBC, and she hired TV
consultants from Britain to help give Russia Today a modern cable-news
look and feel. (The RT studios in Moscow, when I visited them this
spring, were as state-of-the-art as any I’d seen in the United
States.) “Nobody in Russia had experience of that kind,” Simonyan told
me. “Twenty-four-hour news had not been established yet.” One of her
employees, Andrey Kiyashko, who started at RT in his late teens, told
me: “CNN, BBC — we were watching it and taking notes on how to be
broadcast journalists.”
At the beginning, the network’s mission was to reverse the global view
of Russians “as bears that roam the streets and growl,” as Lesin put
it in an interview in 2001. (Lesin was found dead in a Washington
hotel room in 2015. The city’s medical examiner attributed his death
to blunt trauma to the head. While the incident remains the subject of
much speculation, federal investigators have said they believe Lesin’s
death followed a prolonged bout of heavy drinking.) An early BBC
content analysis found nothing all that remarkable in the network’s
Russia-centric coverage and noted that it even included criticism of
the Russian bureaucracy.
Russia Today — incorporated as an independent company with state
financing — was getting into hotels and even American cable systems.
But three years into its existence, the network still had not gained
much notice or had much discernible impact abroad. Simonyan says he
concluded that the network’s mission of solely focusing on Russia
needed revising. “We had basically too much Russian news,” she told
me.
So in 2008, Russia Today began to reposition itself. The network was
reintroduced with a new name, RT, and hired McCann — the same American
advertising firm that once helped the United States sell the Marshall
Plan. It soon debuted a new satellite channel in the United States, RT
America. Instead of celebrating Russia, Simonyan’s network would turn
a critical eye to the rest of the world, particularly the United
States. As Peskov sees it, the idea was: “Why are you criticizing us
in Chechnya and all this stuff? Look at what you are doing there in
the United States with your relationship with white and black.” He
went on: “RT said: ‘Stop. Don’t criticize us. We’ll tell you about
yourself.’?”
With that, he said, “all of the sudden, Anglo-Saxons saw that there is
an army from the opposite side.” RT’s new slogan, dreamed up by
McCann, was “Question More.”
RT America set up shop in a glass-fronted office building in
Washington a block and a half east of the White House. The new network
promised to feature stories that “have not been reported” or were
“hugely underreported” in the mainstream media, Simonyan told The
Times in 2010. In line with the Marshall Plan dictum that natives have
more credibility than foreigners, it was staffed by American hosts: an
incongruous mix of telegenic, ambitious but inexperienced broadcast
journalists like Liz Wahl, whom RT recruited from the local television
station in the Mariana Islands, and later-career itinerant expats like
Peter Lavelle, a banker-turned-reporter who previously worked as a
stringer for United Press International’s Moscow bureau and
contributed to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
From early on, the channel’s interviews highlighted Sept. 11
“truthers,” who believed the Sept. 11 attacks were an inside job,
including Alex Jones, whose segments, ranging freely across the
broader spectrum of conspiracy theories — from Osama bin Laden’s
staged death to the all-powerful machinations of the Bilderberg Group
— became regular occurrences on the network. When I asked Simonyan
about the Sept. 11 conspiracy theories, she replied: “Some guy in the
states who worked for us — he doesn’t have that position anymore — was
a bit into that. I didn’t pay any attention to that. When I did, I
almost killed everybody.” But, she said, it went with the territory.
“We do have our mistakes sometimes, like The New York Times does, like
everything does,” she said. “We correct them.”
To the extent that RT had any clear ideological bent, it was a sort of
all-purpose anti-establishment stance that drew from both the anti-
globalization left (the network hosted a Green Party debate) and the
libertarian right (it lavished attention on the Rand Paul movement).
Its news coverage emphasized poverty and racial injustice, and it
found its breakthrough story in the Occupy Wall Street protests. As
Wahl, who quit RT in 2014, wrote later in Politico Magazine, “Video of
outraged protesters, heavy-handed police and tents pitched in parks
portrayed America as a country in the midst of a popular uprising — it
was the beginning of the inevitable decline of a capitalistic world
power.” The coverage, which earned RT one of its International Emmy
nominations, brought the network into alignment with Julian Assange,
whom Simonyan brought on to host an interview show that ran for a
dozen episodes in 2012.
At the time, state journalism back in Russia was enjoying a kind of
renaissance under Dmitri Medvedev, who was elected president in 2008.
(Russian presidents are limited to two consecutive terms; Putin
endorsed Medvedev as his successor and served as his prime minister
before returning to the presidency.) The main Russian international
news service, RIA Novosti, hired journalists from The Moscow Times,
Agence France-Presse and Reuters, following the philosophy that Russia
served its interests best by providing traditional warts-and-all news,
with a Russian voice and perspective. “There was no talk about
censorship,” Nabi Abdullaev, a former Moscow Times deputy chief editor
who oversaw RIA Novosti’s foreign-language news service, told me. “All
they wanted from me was quality professional standards in reporting;
that was it.”
But that all changed shortly after Putin’s presidential re-election in
2012. The following year, with no warning, Putin signed a decree
effectively bringing together RIA Novosti and Voice of Russia, the
broadcast service previously called Radio Moscow, under the umbrella
of a new organization called Rossiya Segodnya. The Kremlin appointed
as its manager Dmitry Kiselyov, state television’s most popular host,
known for homophobic rants and his taste for conspiracy theories.
Kiselyov went to greet the shocked staff a few days later, delivering
a speech that one staff member surreptitiously recorded and posted to
YouTube.
“Objectivity is a myth,” Kiselyov said. “Just imagine a young man who
puts an arm around the shoulder of a girl,” he went on, “and tells the
girl, ‘You know, I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time that I treat
you objectively.’ Is this what she’s waiting for? Probably not. So in
the same way, our country, Russia, needs our love. If we speak about
the editorial policy, of course, I would certainly want it to be
associated with love for Russia.” Journalism, he said, was an
instrument of the country.
Three weeks later, Kiselyov announced that Margarita Simonyan would
serve as the new organization’s editor in chief. Simonyan renamed RIA
Novosti’s international branch Sputnik — “because I thought that’s the
only Russian word that has a positive connotation, and the whole world
knows it,” she told me. Kiselyov presented it as a defensive weapon,
saying it was for people “tired of aggressive propaganda promoting a
unipolar world” from the West. Meanwhile, Simonyan made new plans for
RT that included expansions in Britain and Germany. Together, RT and
Sputnik would be the nucleus of an assertively pro-Russian, frequently
anti-West information network, RT in the mold of a more traditional
cable network and Sputnik as its more outspoken, flashy younger
sibling.
At the time, Putin was angry about pro-democracy protests that had
attended his re-election, which RIA Novosti had covered. But the
Russian leadership was also thinking about information strategy in new
ways. In early 2013, Valery Gerasimov, a top Russian general,
published an article in a Russian military journal called VPK.
Gerasimov had observed Twitter and other social media helping spark
the Arab Spring. “It would be easiest of all to say that the events of
the ‘Arab Spring’ are not war and so there are no lessons for us —
military men — to learn,” he wrote. “But maybe the opposite is true.”
There were new means through which to wage war that were “political,
economic, informational,” and they could be applied “with the
involvement of the protest potential of the population.” Russia’s
military doctrine changed its definition of modern military conflict:
“a complex use of military force, political, economic, informational
and other means of nonmilitary character, applied with a large use of
the population’s protest potential.”
Military officials in America and Europe have come to refer to this
idea alternatively as the “Gerasimov doctrine” and “hybrid war,” which
they accuse Russia of engaging in now. When I asked Peskov about those
charges, he shrugged. Everyone was doing it, he said. “If you call
what’s going on now a hybrid war, let it be hybrid war,” he said. “It
doesn’t matter: It’s war.”
In the weeks after the 2016 election, the American political debate
was overtaken by suspicions that Russia had played a role in the
election in a significant way. There were the hacks of the D.N.C.
servers, which intelligence agencies pinned on Russia well before
Election Day. But there was also a sense that Russia’s media and
social-media machinery had contributed to the informational chaos —
the fake news and conspiracy theories that coursed through social-
media feeds — that characterized the final stretch of the election,
to, it turned out, Trump’s benefit.
In a handful of cases, picking through the tangles of information,
true and otherwise, that shaped the election, it was possible to
isolate a single strand that could be traced to Russian news sources.
One of the most striking cases came in late July 2016, when Sputnik
and RT reported that thousands of police officers had surrounded a
NATO air base in Turkey amid rumors of a coup attempt — a report that
turned out to be exaggerated (there was a planned, peaceful
demonstration, and the police were there to secure the area in
preparation for a visit the next day by the chairman of the U.S. Joint
Chiefs of Staff). Three internet-security analysts, now working
together at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall
Fund, followed the story’s progress through the social-media
landscape. Within the first 78 minutes, a large number of Twitter
accounts — many of which they identified as pro-Russian bots — picked
up the flawed story and blasted it out in some 4,000 tweets, one of
the researchers, a former F.B.I. agent named Clinton Watts, testified
before the Senate last spring.
Nahed Al Ali, an anchor for RT Arabic, reading a news bulletin in the
RT Arabic studio in Moscow.
James Hill for The New York Times [caption]
Some of the accounts added the hashtag “#Benghazi” and warned that
thousands of Muslims were on the brink of acquiring the nuclear
weapons held at the NATO base. Others included “#TrumpPence16”
hashtags, along with words like “America,” “Constitution” and
“conservative.” Large numbers of the tweets included accusations that
the “MSM” — mainstream media — wasn’t covering the attack. The RT
story racked up thousands of shares on Reddit and was picked up on
David Duke’s webpage. About two weeks later, in an interview with Jake
Tapper of CNN, Trump’s campaign manager at the time, Paul Manafort,
said: “You had the NATO base in Turkey being under attack by
terrorists.” He claimed the media had ignored it. Watts told me:
“That’s when we were like, ‘Whoa, this is a whole new level.’?”
But such clear-cut instances were rare. In other cases, the network
simply nudged along existing or nascent conspiracy theories: about
Hillary Clinton’s health, about a Google plan to rig the election for
her, about stock conspiracists’ obsessions like the Rothschild family,
the Bilderberg Group and the Illuminati. In general, the social-media
matrix is so opaque, with anyone able to set up an account under any
persona, that “you can only crack a piece of it,” Watts’s colleague
J.M. Berger told me.
After the D.N.C. staff member Seth Rich was, according to the police,
murdered in a botched robbery attempt on July 10, one of the first
inklings of the conspiracy theory that continues to swirl around his
death — that he might have been behind the leaked D.N.C. emails that
WikiLeaks distributed that summer — was a video posted to YouTube on
July 29 of the American RT host Lori Harfenist wondering aloud: “No
one in the media is reporting that one of the D.N.C.’s employees who
had ready access to the email servers was just mysteriously murdered
in the middle of the night?” But far-right media outlets, and the
Republican presidential nominee, had spent the election trafficking in
baseless conspiracy theories, too. As Simonyan pointed out to me, “Fox
raised similar questions” about Rich’s death.
And RT’s coverage of Trump had not been wholly uncritical. Chris
Hedges, the former Times correspondent, said Trump had “a penchant for
lying and deception and manipulation,” and Ed Schultz pleaded with his
guests: “Who’s going to stop Donald Trump?” Even the declassified
intelligence assessment seemed to struggle to describe what, exactly,
made the Russian outlets’ influence on the election so nefarious. It
described RT and Sputnik as sitting at the center of a sprawling
social-media network that included “third-party intermediaries and
paid social-media users, or ‘trolls.’?” But it provided no detail
about how that might have worked.
The best illustration I was able to find came from John Kelly, the
founder and chief executive of a social-media marketing and analytics
firm called Graphika. Kelly has been studying the movement of
information online since 2007, when, as a communications graduate
student at Columbia University, he became interested in the social
dynamics of political blogs: the ways in which different sites found
and related to one another and amplified one another’s work. He taught
himself how to code and developed a program to quantify and map the
flow of information within the blogosphere. That led to work on State
Department-financed projects at the Berkman Klein Center of Harvard
University, mapping the blog networks of Iran and, later, Russia. As
the gravitational center of online conversation shifted from blogs to
social-media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, he studied those
too. Eventually he built a searchable database that captures millions
of social-media interactions, stores them and analyzes them to
determine social neighborhoods in which users share ideologies and
interests, which he now mostly uses for private clients.
Shortly after the election, academic and corporate clients hired him
to track the proliferation of “fake news” — that is, unequivocally
false content. He confined his search to social accounts that shared
fake news at least 10 times during the last month of the campaign.
This September, in his airy, loft-style office suite on the West Side
of Manhattan, he called up the results of the study on a laptop
screen. They were visualized as a black sphere on which each of the
14,000 fake-news-spreading accounts appeared as a dot, grouped and
color-coded according to ideological affiliation. The sphere was alive
with bursts of purple (“U.S. Conservative”), green (“U.S. Far Left”),
pink (“Pro-Russia/WikiLeaks”), orange (“International Right”) and blue
(“Trump Core”).
Within the fake-news network, Kelly explained, RT was high on the list
of most-followed accounts, but it was not the highest — it ranked No.
117 out of roughly 12,000 accounts he was tracking. Its website was
the 12th-most-cited by the fake-news consumers and purveyors — ahead
of The New York Times and The Washington Post but behind Breitbart and
Infowars.
What was more interesting was who followed RT. It drew substantially
from all quadrants of Kelly’s fake-news universe — Trump supporters
and Bernie Sanders supporters, Occupy Wall Streeters and libertarians
— which made it something of a rarity. “The Russians aren’t just
pumping up the right wing in America,” Kelly said. “They’re also
pumping up left-wing stuff — they’re basically trying to pump up the
fringe at the expense of the middle.”
Nearly 20 percent of the fake-news-spreading accounts, Kelly’s
analysis determined, were automated bot accounts, of the sort the
American intelligence assessment claimed were working in tandem with
RT and Sputnik. But who was operating them was unclear — and
regardless, they were far outnumbered by accounts that appeared to
belong to real human beings, reading and circulating content that
appealed to them. In this paranoid, polarized and ill-informed subset
of American news consumers, RT’s audience crossed all ideological
boundaries.
In January, just a few days after the release of the declassified
intelligence report, RT hosted a party in New York. The occasion was
the United Nations’ decision to add RT to the internal television
system in its Turtle Bay headquarters. For nearly any other
broadcaster, this would have been a minor achievement, but in Moscow,
it was considered a coup and a rebuke of U.S. intelligence. There were
20 channels in the U.N. system, and as the network saw it, counting RT
among them was a new testament to its influence: It was sharing a
small dial with BBC World and CNN International, at the heart of the
diplomatic world.
RT flew in several members of its leadership team from Moscow for a
ceremony and held a cocktail party in the lobby of the General
Assembly building, with hot plates and canapés of shrimp dumplings and
meatballs and ham. Giant banners proclaimed “RT: Member Broadcaster of
the United Nations In-House Network.”
After some mingling, the crowd moved into an auditorium with long
pressboard tables and the standard-issue U.N. headsets and digital
clocks. A number of officials gave speeches, including Vitaly Churkin,
Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., who would die suddenly in the Russian
Mission in New York the following month. (The cause of death was
withheld according to diplomatic protocol, though the New York police
told The Times they did not suspect foul play.) Alexey Nikolov, RT’s
director general, also addressed the group. Nikolov is bald with a
kindly face and a lilting voice. He began by explaining that he was
reading from notes because he was emotional.
His speech was about his mother, who grew up under Stalin. She was
orphaned at 3, “when she was thrown out of her apartment in the middle
of Moscow winter together with her brother, when their parents were
arrested by the N.K.V.D., the Stalin secret police,” he said, speaking
haltingly. “My grandfather, her father, as she only found out many
years later, was tortured and executed. And my grandmother, her
mother, died in a labor camp. And similar stories happened to millions
of my compatriots back in the 1930s.”
He was building toward something. “What I see today is more and more
frequently people produce the highfalutin talk about using the word
‘propaganda’ that eerily echoes those dark days of the Soviet era,
when even thinking their own thoughts, not to mention speaking or
printing them, was a crime.” People, he declared, “must have the right
to know different news, coming from different sources, and then make
their own judgment.”
It was an addendum to “Question More.” Yes, question more, but also
consider more — more news sources, more versions of reality. It’s a
point that you really can’t argue with: Of course everyone should be
open to other perspectives and different takes on the news. In large
part, this is why outlets like RT and Sputnik have proved so vexing to
the West — and especially so in the United States. The far-right
media, and even the president, have embraced what a couple of years
earlier might have been the fringe of political discourse. Their
financing aside, how exactly do you draw a line between RT and Sputnik
and, say, Sean Hannity, the Fox News host and confidant of the
president of the United States, who has also trafficked in conspiracy
theories about Seth Rich and mysterious illnesses possibly afflicting
Hillary Clinton? Or Infowars, Alex Jones’s paranoid media empire, to
which Trump gave an interview during the campaign?
It’s hard to imagine Russia’s state-backed media getting any traction
in the United States if there wasn’t already an audience for it. For
some subset of Americans, the intelligence report singling out RT and
Sputnik was just another attack from the supposed “deep state” that
Breitbart, for instance, had been fuming about for months — and it was
less than surprising when, this spring, Sputnik hired a former
Breitbart reporter, Lee Stranahan, to start a radio show in
Washington. As Stranahan told The Atlantic, though his paycheck might
now come from the Russians, “Nothing about it really affects my
position on stuff that I’ve had for years now.”
When I asked Simonyan recently what she made of the proliferating
attempts to map RT’s influence in the Russian information network that
United States intelligence agencies describe as a hybrid-war machine,
she replied by email: “These projects simply blacklist all reporting,
including by American media, as some pro-Russian campaign if any facts
or views in them don’t support the right kind of narrative.” At the
moment, she said, that narrative was: “All world problems are Putin’s
fault.” In her view, “it’s the sad history of McCarthyism repeating
itself.” (These were arguments that echoed Trump’s own.)
It also reflected the genius of “Question More”: Every attempt to
contain or counteract the Russian state-backed media’s influence
simply validated it. Churkin, the ambassador, acknowledged as much at
RT’s U.N. ceremony. As he stood to speak, he seemed to be almost
bouncing on the soles of his feet, delighted at RT’s newfound
prominence. “Everybody watches them,” he said. “Diplomats do it,
ambassadors do it, foreign ministers do it, heads of state and
government do it.” In an oblique allusion to the recent American
intelligence report, he noted that some people had been criticizing
the network, but perhaps this was not such a bad thing. Grinning, he
said: “They sound as if they are P.R. representatives of RT.”
Jim Rutenberg is The New York Times’s media columnist and writer at
large for the magazine. Jaclyn Peiser contributed reporting from New
York and Alexandra Odynova contributed reporting from Moscow.
Listen to Jim Rutenberg discuss how the Kremlin built one of the most
powerful information weapons of the 21st century on “The Daily”
podcast. 211+ Comments [q.v.]
© 2017 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD)
I'm glad this story is making it out into the broader audience.
RT/Sputnik are not just "alternate " sources for news, but an arm of
the Russian military's hybrid warfare. Experienced first hand by many
nations bordering on that country, and full of fabrications, half-
truths and outright lies. A far cry from the "good old days" of Radio
Moscow. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, BC, dxldyg via DXLD)
** RUSSIA. HISTORY OF DX AND RADIO ===========
Data are published as the material is received.
We hope for your participation in the section.
1990 year. ------------- Journal. "Radioluybitel 2/91". The author is
Pavel Mikhailov. DX-editor of the World Service Moscow radio.
Very delicious first pancake [sic thruout]
Notes from the first in the history of the USSR conference radio DX-
Sith. From December 6 to 9, 1990, in Leningrad, the first in the
history of Soviet radio amateurship was the conference of the DX-
talent - lovers of long-distance radio reception. Guests from Finland
and Belgium took part in it. Before I tell you about how this historic
meeting passed without any exaggeration, I would like to briefly
remind the readers of the magazine of the very uneasy gloomy
"biography" of the Soviet DX.
In the twenties of this century, when radio instead of "Morse"
suddenly began to speak in a living human voice, and the authorities
published the famous "Law on Freedom of the Air," which allowed all
private individuals to have radio receivers, a real radio beacon began
in the country. Books, so I will not dwell on the "boom" in detail.
Radio amateurs collected literally from the "foot" materials the
simplest detector receivers and listened to the ether that was close
and available all day long.
Broadcasting stations in those years were very interested in how they
were heard in different regions of the country, and willingly received
letters from the listeners with messages about the reception. As a
token of gratitude for such reports and as an incentive to further
ethereal vigils, radio station receivers sent listeners cards with a
thankful text, which were the prototype of QSL cards, widely
known at the present time.
A lot of literature was published for the listeners: from technical
descriptions in radio amateur magazines to special "Guidebooks on the
air." Two words about these publications. "Guides" were published
annually and represented a list of radio stations in the world,
arranged in order of increasing their working frequencies. The name of
the radio station, the country, the time of work, the language of
broadcasting were also indicated. sometimes reported the power of the
transmitters. The constant author of these "Guides" was one of the
most active fans of long-distance broadcast reception. V. Chumakov is
the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Radio Front", whose legal heir
considers Itself is the current magazine "Radio".
In the spring of 1937, the "vigilant collective" of the editorial
staff of the "Radio Front" concocted slanderous denunciation of the
repressive and punitive organs with Chumakov's accusation in all
mortal sins: there was also "aiding international fascism and world
imperialism by involving Soviet citizens in listening to subversive
radio propaganda" (this concerned his publications on long-range
reception), and "squandering the people's property" (Chumakov helped
the needy to purchase decommissioned radios).
Unfortunately, to this day it is not known how the future fate of
Chumakov developed (most likely he was shot), but with a long
reception in the USSR was "safely" done away with great joy of those
who were panic-stricken that with the waves of the ether Soviet
citizens, whose ideological virginity had been so selflessly guarded,
would be able to join the independent information about life abroad,
with the interpretation of events that went against Stalin's
propaganda.
A little earlier - in 1937 - the bodies of the OGPU-NKVD established
so-called "black post offices", where perusal, selection and
censorship of letters of citizens of the USSR occurred. In these
"cher- (which functioned until 1988 inclusive), both domestic and
international correspondence were checked for content, those who dared
to write abroad, let alone foreign radio stations, immediately fell
under the definition of "unreliable" and were automatically suspected
of espionage the use of enemy intelligence services ...
Soviet "amateurs" were also among the "unreliable": they not only
listened to foreign radio, but also tried to inform "there" about the
quality of the reception - "a crime!"
Many have gone through these difficult trials just to get the
cherished QSL from some radio of Algeria or the radio of Indonesia! We
were called to talk to "very serious institutions," where they
"sincerely and ardently" argued that in Algeria behind each palm sits
a CIA resident who only waits for letters from Soviet radio amateurs
to immediately recruit them. Shipped by the imperialist special
services: they are teeming with them, so there should never be letters
and messages about admission there! ...
And those who did not agree with the "strong arguments" of this "law
enforcement" body were expecting trouble: many students were expelled
from higher education institutions and Some have lost their jobs, even
if it was not associated with any secrets. "Scared, blackmailed,
squeezed. (Continued in the next issue)(Rus-DX Sept 10 via DXLD)
** SAINT MARTIN. CARIBBEAN --- Radio France launched a temporary
station Sept. 10 for residents of the Caribbean islands of St. Martin
and St. Barthelemy affected by Hurricane Irma. "Urgents Info Îles du
Nord" broadcasts in French, Creole and English from studios in Paris.
It transmits on 91.1 MHz in St. Martin, according to the French
magazine Telerama, which said there had been technical problems with
the transmitter planned for St. Barts. An audio stream is available at
http://chai5she.cdn.dvmr.fr/fbevenementiel-lofi.mp3
http://www.telerama.fr/radio/urgence-info-iles-du-nord,-une-station-ephemere-pour-les-sinistres-des-antilles,n5199817.php
(Mike Cooper, GA, Sept 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Story also deals with the problem of contrevérités == fake news?
See also SINT MAARTEN below (gh)
** SAUDI ARABIA. UNIDentified with Arabic music, mentioned BSKSA in
Arabic on Sept 11
from 0800 on 11745*unknown tx / unknown to ???? Arabic, mentioned
Idhaa-tu Tibazan:
* strong QRM 11750 EMR 500 kW / 080 deg to CeAs Turkish TRT Voice of
Turkey
Videos will be added later today
-- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
Sept 11, This has been identified (on WRTH Facebook page, thanks to
Tarek Zeidan & Mauno Ritola) as a new Saudi Broadcasting Corporation
service for troops in the southern part of the Kingdom, Al-Azm Radio.
Their Twitter page is at
https://twitter.com/alazm_radio
and this gives their frequencies as 549 & 747 kHz; 94.9, 99.0, 107 MHz
FM and 11745 kHz and cites their broadcasting hours as "10am to 8pm
KSA time" [0700-1700 UT]. Some of this info, such as the satellite
details, is in image form so needs an Arabic speaker if further
clarification is needed (David Kernick, Interval Signals Online,
dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
UNID station probably BSKSA/Radio Tibazan on Sept 11
0818&0959 11745*unknown tx / unknown to ???? Arabic & clear ID at 1000
*till 09 QRM 11750 EMR 500 kW / 080 deg CeAs Turkish Voice of Turkey
*from 09 QRM 11750 EMR 500 kW / 120 deg N/ME Arabic Voice of Turkey
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/unidentified-stn-probably-bsksaradio.html
UNIDentified station probably BSKSA/Radio Tibazan, Sept 11
1459 & 1608 11745 unknown tx / unknown to ???? Arabic very good signal
1700 & 1800 11745 unknown tx / unknown to ???? open carrier/test tone
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/unidentified-station-probably.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 11 via DXLD) See also YEMEN
** SINT MAARTEN [and non]. With Hurricane Irma rampaging through the
Caribbean I am wondering how many radio stations have been knocked off
the air.
It looks like many islands have had major damage and I have seen TV
footage of one large tower on Barbuda flattened.
The Valley Anguilla was hit as were the stations on St Martin/St
Maarten and it sounds like they are all off.
Let us hope all the people are safe as the stations can be rebuilt.
Puerto Rico is next unfortunately. – (Shawn Axelrod VE4DX1SMA,
Winnipeg MB Canada, Remember on a Clear Day You Can Hear Forever, NRC
Am mailing list Sept 6 via DXLD)
** SLOVENIA. SVN 918 kHz switched off --- Hi! Radio Slovenija´s
transmitter in Domzale 918 kHz was switched off for financial reasons
on September 4th, 2017 at 1205 Local Time. Here´s the info I got from
the engineer at Domzale:
``Hello, Patrick! It's true, yesterday at 12:05 locally we switched-
off our central MW transmitter (918kHz), mainly due to economical
reasons. I'm afraid that it will stay switched off in the future, but
- for now - in a stand-by mode (ready for transmission in a short
time, if necessary).
Our FM and DAB+ network is already sufficient for practicly complete
coverage of the country, plus there are other ways of delivering
programme to our listeners abroad. This fact, relatively high costs of
energy and maintenance, and diminishing audience of listeners on MW
band led to the decision to cease with transmission on 918 kHz.
That said, a few other MW transmitters will continue to operate - on
location Beli Križ (549 & 1170 kHz) and Murska Sobota (558 / 648 kHz).
These are transmitters with lower power output and smaller coverage,
transmitting mainly radio programme for Italian and Hungarian
minorities in Slovenia. Best Regards, Primož``
73, (Patrick Robich, MWCircle yg Sept 5 via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, S.I.B.C. at 1145 playing oldie song, “Make
Me Lose Control” by Eric Carmen, 1153 Bible devotion by woman, 1156
hymn, 1157:40 suddenly off in midst of hymn with no ID. - Fair, Sept 6
(Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, listening in my car, parked
on a backcountry road. CommRadio CR-1a and Sony AN-1 active whip
antenna. Editor of World English Survey and Target Listening,
available at http://www.odxa.on.ca dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
9545, SIBC, 0449-0457*, Sept 11. In Pijin; pop songs (Sting - "Fields
Of Gold," etc.); cut off as their signal was improving (Ron Howard,
Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SOMALIA. Re: [dxld] Log Unid 7700 --- I think Warsan Radio was on
7750 when checking Sep 9th. Didn't write down the time, it was +/-
1700 UT. USB with a tiny carrier. I wish I had stopped to check 7700
;-). 73 (Jari, Kuusankoski, Finland, Savolainen, Sept 11, dxldyg via
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Yesterday presumed Warsan was OK on 7750 kHz with AM/U, while another
station signed on at 1537 and off at 1957 with AM, but way too weak
even to be sure about the language. 73, (Mauno, Finland, Ritola, 1419
UT Sept 11, ibid.)
I don't believe the transmitter I heard was the one of Warsan Radio
neither the one of Puntland Radio One as suggested by others before,
as it was straight AM. 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Germany, ibid.)
** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Strong signal from 7730, but dropped audio or
choppiness, making it unreadable. What I do hear must be live, as BS
speaks about the hurricane activity. // 7780 (fair/good), 7570
(excellent), and 5890 (good), 5850 (very good). You can flee the
hurricane, but you can't flee sin. On Sept 21-23, BS will welcome you
in South Carolina, etc., etc. Back to losing the audio feed again at
0515 UT, now back again. Wonder whether this is all weather related or
not? 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Sept 10, dxldyg via DX
LISTENING DIGEST) All WRMI except 5890 = WWCR (gh)
Bro Stair continues to be the best signal on 41m on 7355 at 0630++
[WHRI], while WRMI is also fair now on 7730 (I think I'm right with
that frequency). 73 from (Noel Green, UK, Sept 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SPAIN. 17715 REE en el aire --- Amigos, ha vuelto al aire para
Sudamérica los 17715 kHz, siendo las 1935 la evalúo con un 45544. Atte
(ce3BBC, Hugo López C., Santiago de Chile, 6 Sept, noticiasdx yg via
DXLD)
Re: [NoticiasDX] REE, sin señal en 17855 y 17715
REE tiene averiado un transmisor
5 Septiembre 2017 15:08
En respuesta a un correo mandado por la AER a la Secretaria Técnica de
Radio Exterior de España en el que se preguntaba por los fallos de
emisión en los transmisores para América, está es su respuesta:
``Saludos desde España, Desde el pasado mes de agosto permanece
averiado el transmisor utilizado para emitir en la frecuencia de 17855
kHz. Los materiales necesarios para su reparación han sido solicitados
de manera urgente para ponerlo en funcionamiento lo antes posible.
En cuanto a las emisiones a través de la frecuencia de 17715, hemos
tenido algunos problemas en los últimos días pero ya han sido
solucionados y se emite con normalidad a través de esa frecuencia
Gracias por su interés. Saludos`` (via Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España,
COORDINADOR GENERAL, ASOCIACIÓN ESPAÑOLA DE RADIOESCUCHA (AER)
noticiasdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
** SRI LANKA. Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation on 11905 kHz
Fair signal this evening at 0135 UT here in NB using Eton Grundig
Field BT with just its whip antenna indoors. Program of presumed Hindi
vocals. Dug out a QSL card I received from the Commercial Service of
Radio Ceylon ("The most powerful Commercial Radio Station in Asia")
with a postmark date of 13 March 1965. Back then, as a teenager, I had
a Knight Kit 2-tube Span Master regen receiver. Fond memories.
Also, good signal from All India Radio on 11670 kHz at 0234 UT in
presumed Pashto overpowering Radio Habana on the same frequency. –
(Richard Langley, UT Sept 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
11905, Sept 12 at 0114, SLBC S1 carrier, but I can make out the final
resounding pip of the mis-timesignal at 0115:06.5 (Glenn Hauser, OK,
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SUDAN. Fair to weak signal of Radio Omdurman, Sept 10
0530 & 0620 on 7205 ALF 100 kW / 210 deg to CeAf Arabic
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/fair-to-weak-signal-of-radio-omdurman.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 9 via DXLD)
Over here I don`t think I can hear it as late as 0620, but Sept 15 at
0546 I do still have a JBA carrier (gh, OK, DXLD)
** SYRIA. Members, Again through WRTH Facebook and in particular Rawad
Hamwi from Saudi Arabia I have had news (slightly surprising) that
Syrian Radio has just started broadcasting Sout Al Shabab FM from the
main Adra transmitting site on 666 kHz. The situation is obviously
fluid but it seems that the Assad regime is confident enough to be
willing to use both high power units at Adra and fund the running
costs! 73 and 88 (Dan Goldfarb, Sept 6, mwmasts yg via DXLD)
** TAIWAN [and non]. 7445, RTI at 1100. Opening, news by W to "Hear in
Taiwan". Better than usual reception. After 1130, had traditional
Chinese music. PR China came on with jammer early (1155), preparing to
jam upcoming Chinese service of RTI commencing at 1200. Fair/Good,
Sept 6 (Rick Barton, AZ, Equipment used was RS SW-2000629 and outdoor
vertical wire, Grundig Satellit 750 and outdoor Slinky; Zenith Royal
Trans Oceanic 7000, stock, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN [non]. Keith, I can`t find a place to listen to the half--
hour Media Network+ The last one here is July 8:
https://www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/PCJ+Media+Media+Network+Plus
Can you refer to some other accessible archive including the latest?
Please confirm you are still producing that show and with my
propagation. I see in the WRMI server you have a new MN+ file for 60
minutes which is really Happy Station. 73, (Glenn to Keith Perron,
Sept 6, via DXLD)
Hi Glenn, The programs now are being uploaded to a different service,
which at the moment is only available through the PCJ Radio phone app.
(Keith to Glenn, via DXLD)
OK. Could you just put them on your own website, at least temporarily,
so anyone can hear them? (Glenn to Keith, ibid.)
** TAIWAN [non]. Re: PCJ Radio International Special Transmission
10/11 SEP17 --- Keith Perron has posted this update about this
weekend's Happy Station broadcast via WRMI:
Happy Station Show UPDATE - Hurricane Irma Sep 7 at 2:17am
Just to inform you everything is on schedule for September 10 and 11.
But there could be a break on the transmission, because of Hurricane
Irma is on track to pass right over our relay in Okeechobee, Florida.
If this does happen and we lose transmitter power we plan to repeat
the program a week later. The times and frequencies will remain the
same. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/14260878
(via Keith Perron on Twitter)(via Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK yg via
DXLD) In fact it could not air, so try again UT Sept 18 (gh)
** TAIWAN [and non]. Morning log of Taiwanese SOH Chinese outlets
towards China mainland, very few stronger 100 kW in use, but most of
these S=3 to S=7 signal level in 100 Watt amateur radio gear strength
level.
[I assume the precise frequencies are by wb, not NDXC --- gh]
A17 Shortwave Frequency list, acc Aoki Nagoya Perseus userlist table.
7309.973 S=3 0420 0000-2359 SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
7730.061 S=4 0340 1600-1500 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
9155.018 S=5 0342 0800-2255 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
9180.022 S=6 0343 2213-1711 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
9200.181 S=4 0344 2151-1530 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
9230.026 S=8!0345 0054-1610 * SOH rely RFA Chi ? 1-7
9279.834 S=5 0347 2212-1711 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
9320.006 S=7 0348 2357-1646 * SOH rely RFA Chi ? 1-7
9539.963 S=7 0351 2215-1800 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
9634.866 S=8 0352 2140-1710 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
9729.904 S=8 0354 2105-1705 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
9849.955 S=8 0400 2130-1600 * SOH rely RFA Chi ? 1-7
9919.958 S=5 0402 2150-1700 SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
9970.198 S=8 0404 2147-1702 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
10819.888 S=5 0406 2140-1700 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
10869.957 S=3 0408 2103-1705 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
10959.987 S=7 0409 2130-1705 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
11070.062 S=4 0413mx 2210-1710 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
11099.841 S=6 0425 2200-1610 * SOH rely RFA Chi ? 1-7
11150.150 S=3 0427 2150-1700 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
11300.086 S=5 0428 2110-1700 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
11409.961 S=3 0429 2120-1715 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
11440.005 S=6 0430 2041-1700 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
11459.879 S=6 0431 2100-1710 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
11499.820 S=7 0433mx 2030-1700 * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7
also
9519.985 S=9 0350UT CHN PBS Nei Menggu Chinese
9749.974 S=9 0356UT CHN PBS Nei Menggu, Mongolian CNR8
9779.990 S=6 0357UT CHN PBS Qinghai, Chinese easy listening mx
9834.922 S=6 0358UT CHN PBS Xinjiang(tent), Urumqi, Chinese
Sept 7 noted in remote SDR units at Hiroshima / Nagoya in Japan.
[selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz]
(wb df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Sept 7) dxldyg via DXLD
Hello Wolfie and Glenn, Thanks for this current list of SOH, etc.
transmissions. I'll try to see what - if anything - I can hear from
this one later this afternoon. But the local noise levels are high,
and I wonder if any but the strongest (100 kW) are likely to be
audible here. I would guess that I'm more likely to hear jamming. SOH
has been audible in the past occasionally, but not lately. Thanks
again Wolfie. 73 from (Noel Green, UK, Sept 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TIBET [non]. 11507, Sept 10 at 1256 past 1301, JBA carrier,
presumed V. of Tibet via TAJIKISTAN on signature split frequency
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
TAJIKISTAN, Reception of Voice of Tibet, Sept 11:
1235-1305 on 15527 DB 100 kW / 131 deg to CeAs Tibetan
1300-1305 on 11507 DB 100 kW / 095 deg to EaAs Chinese
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/reception-of-voice-of-tibet-in-tibetan.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 11 via DXLD)
** TURKS & CAICOS. Hurricane Irma radio coverage [and non]: See
INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]
** U A E. Trans World Radio Africa via BaBcoCk damaged tx Al-Dhabayya
on Sept 10
1300-1315 on 17680*DHA 250 kW / 230 deg to EaAf Afar Thu-Sun, strong
plus big hum.
*same damaged transmitter is used for transmission of Deutsche Welle
after 15 minutes:
1330-1430 on 13725 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg to WeAs Dari & Pashto, strong
plus big hum
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/trans-world-radio-africa-via-babcock.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, via DXLD)
** U K [non]. In my local morning I have been hearing increasingly
good signals from the BBC on 7345 till 0700, and then 9440 and 9915
after 0700. These are all ASCENSION, of course. But for some reason
7305 at 55 degrees is very poor until 0700 from the same site. 73 from
(Noel Green, UK, Sept 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U K [and non]. Updated SW sched BBC new language services, Sept 5:
Korean service are set to launch from this autumn; others will be
started later.
1530-1830 5810 TAC 100 kW / 068 NEAs (No.Korea) Korean, ex 1500-1900
1530-1830 9940 TSH 300 kW / 002 NEAs (No.Korea) Korean, ex 1500-1900
1700-1800 9585 SCB 100 kW / 195 EaAf Amharic, Afan Oromo & Tigrinya*
1700-1800 11625 KCH 300 kW / 163 EaAf Amharic, Afan Oromo & Tigrinya*
1700-1800 15720 WOF 250 kW / 122 EaAf Amharic, Afan Oromo & Tigrinya*
1930-2030 6155 DHA 250 kW / 230 EaAf Amharic, Afan Oromo & Tigrinya*
1930-2030 9780 SLA 250 kW / 240 EaAf Amharic, Afan Oromo & Tigrinya*
1930-2030 17745 ASC 250 kW / 070 EaAf Amharic, Afan Oromo & Tigrinya*
* 15-minute news in each language and also current affairs programme,
followed by a 5-minute BBC World Service Learning English programme
from Monday-Friday.
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/updated-shortwave-schedule-of-bbcs-new.html
(DX RE MIX NEWS # 1027 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Sept 7, 2017
via DXLD)
** U K. Member JIM FARRANT regularly drives along the A356 in deepest
Dorset and tells us
“After a pause of three years following the initial demolition of some
of the towers at Rampisham Down, the last of the giant lattice
structures have been demolished this week. I noticed that the skyline
on my daily journey to work was somehow different, and a check on the
West Dorset District Council Planning website confirmed that
permission for the redevelopment of the site has now been granted.
Shortwave transmissions to the world from Rampisham have been silent
for a long time, (it has not been listed as a working site in
'Broadcasts in English' for many years), and the vast wire arrays were
removed not long after it closed down, so all that now remains are a
single pylon that carries a few VHF and UHF repeaters and a modern
guyed mast with more of the same.
Nevertheless the towers have been the half-way marker on my journey
twice a day from home in Crewkerne to work in Dorchester and the
amount of tower that I could see or could not see under the clouds was
a good indicator of the weather forecast!
Ironically development of the site for a solar panel farm was not
permitted because of the sensitive grassland habitat so the solar
panels now live on the opposite side of the road, but the original
Planning Consent required the demolition of the towers, so down
they came!
It’s sad to see them gone, and still more sad to see them lying on the
ground and waiting for the scrap man's cutting torch. The felling of
the towers featured on the local television channel but readers of
Communication further afield may be interested to learn of this final
chapter in the history of Rampisham.”
Such is the way of the world in the name of progress. No doubt some us
will remember the visit made by a group of BDXC members some ten or
fifteen years ago to Rampisham when it was a name known worldwide.
There was a definite thrill in walking through the transmission hall
knowing that there were listeners all around the world benefiting at
that very moment from the engineering in this small Dorset village.
Does anybody have any photographs of that visit? If you look at
StreetView you can see the aerial farm in what appears to be all its
glory (Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD)
** U K. Well done to MIKE BARRACLOUGH who is able to answer a question
raised last month, and he says, in reply to Jonathan Kempster, that
“The 50 kilowatt transmitter at Orfordness was first used for the BBC
World Service broadcasts to Rhodesia from Francistown (in what was
then Bechuanaland, now Botswana) and was installed there in December,
1965. The transmitter was later returned to the Diplomatic Wireless
Service site at Crowborough as a reserve transmitter for World Service
broadcasts, then installed at Canewdon, Essex as an additional jamming
transmitter for broadcasts from the Mebo 2 (Radio North Sea
International, or Radio Caroline as it was temporarily re-named for
the election) for a short time starting on election night in 1970.
Many documents on the 1970 jamming of RNI, for a short period Radio
Caroline, including the reasons for reinforcing it with the 50
kilowatt Continental, are available at the Public Records Office and
have been published in Offshore Echos
http://www.offshoreechos.com
One of the engineers who installed the transmitter at Canewdon, one of
three sites considered, was Harold Robin. Not long after the election
the transmitter was switched off and the jamming continued just using
the BBC 10 kilowatt ex-Brookmans Park transmitter at Beacon Hill until
RNI sailed back to the Dutch coast. Having been returned to
Crowborough it was later used for the initial test broadcasts from
Orfordness. More on this transmitter can be found at
http://www.rossrevenge.co.uk/tx/othertx.htm
There was public discussion, including in the House of Commons, of
this second jamming transmitter at the time, particularly as it was
causing interference to local radio and television. The local MP Sir
Bernard Braine raised the matter” (Sept BDXC-UK Communication via
DXLD)
** U S A. 5000, Sept 8 at 1318, WWV is audible here with propagation,
but poorly. 10000 not making it, and in fact there are hardly any
Asia/Pacific signals on 49, 41, 31 or 25m. An hour later at 1418 on
5000 I copy the info: Solar Flux for 7 Sept = 129, planetary A index
38; K index at 12 UT Sept 8 = 5. Past 24h: G4, R3 blackout, S2; next
24: G3, S2 . . . She`s cut off before finished at 1418:45 as too much
info to fit into the 45-second slot! Here`s the e-mail version:
``:Product: Geophysical Alert Message wwv.txt
:Issued: 2017 Sep 08 1200 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction
Center
#
# Geophysical Alert Message
#
Solar-terrestrial indices for 07 September follow.
Solar flux 129 and estimated planetary A-index 38.
The estimated planetary K-index at 1200 UTC on 08 September was 5.
Space weather for the past 24 hours has been severe.
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G4 level occurred.
Solar radiation storms reaching the S2 level occurred.
Radio blackouts reaching the R3 level occurred.
Space weather for the next 24 hours is predicted to be strong.
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G3 level are expected.
Solar radiation storms reaching the S2 level are expected.
Radio blackouts reaching the R2 level are expected.``
10000, Sept 8 at 2016, WWV announces every hour during this minute
that since 2150z 6 September, the 25 MHz antenna is now a vertical
configuration and will remain so till further notice (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 6993, Sept 10 at 0002, JBA carrier as almost always audible
from presumed WH2XWF, experimental 164-watt transmitters with several
locations in Florida, to study ionospheric disturbances, never IDing,
nothing but dead air. We`ll see if this gets blown or flooded off
6993, Sept 12 at 0133, no JBA carrier from presumed WH2XWF, the
Florida ionospheric study transmitters, so maybe Irma-caused. But Sept
13 at 0200 the JBA carrier is reaudible. No pirates (Glenn Hauser, OK,
WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 14238-USB, Sept 9 at 2136, ``Route 66 on the Air, special
event station in San Bernardino, California``, CQ/QRZ a few times
without giving call or getting replies; eventually, it`s W6C, one of
the one-by-ones for this, but has ACI from stronger 14235-USB, Jim in
Barstow, W6E, so that must be a Rt 66 station too with such a call,
tho not mentioning it; QRMing each other. More info:
http://w6jbt.org/?page_id=15
with a frequency table including 14266 on 20m; so much for that. Event
runs Sept 9-17; finally found a call-sign roster under QSL info page:
http://w6jbt.org/?page_id=27
Further down, about 14228 someone is calling CQ Contest without saying
what contest (Glenn Hauser, OK, ex-Route 66 thru Santa Rosa NM, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
Glenn, I am quite sure this would be the WAE(Worked All Europe)
contest, SSB version, which is the major phone contest going on this
past weekend. Too bad it coincided with the horrible CME-caused
conditions.
FYI, if you are not already aware of it, a complete listing of all ham
contests, the WA7BNM Contest Calendar, can be found at
.
Best wishes, (Saul Broudy (W3WHK), Philadelphia, PA, dxldyg via DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. SPECIAL EVENT STATION OF THE MONTH
VOA Bethany Relay Station 73rd Anniversary – WC8VOA
23 Sept – 1300–2100 UT
West Chester Amateur Radio Association
Suggested Frequencies - 14275 14250 7285 7225 kHz. QSL via West
Chester Amateur Radio Association, 8070 Tylersville Road, West
Chester, OH 45069 (via Skip Arey, Ham Radio Report, Sept CIDX
Messenger via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
** U S A. 15185, Sunday Sept 10 at 1942, very strong signal in
English, but soon into French: oh it`s just VOA with a language
lesson, topix: ``would``, ``used to``. See
http://voalearningenglish.com
New frequency? No, HFCC shows it`s all-A17, but Sunday only at 2030-
2100, 250 kW, 94 degrees from GB (also Sat in Hausa); and then found
// 15730. 15185 succeeds 17530 on exactly the same parameters daily
until 2030 in French (so why not just extend 17530?) (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 13605, Sept 10 at 1310, Radio Martí is playing Jesus-praise
song in English! What the hell is going on there? 1312 segué to
another one and also on // 7405, lite jamming, while none audible on
strong 13605. Have the pentecostals taken over RM? Used to broadcast
Catholic masses, equally violating Separation of Church and State
(Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Terry, Hope you came thru all this OK! Will look forward to
your obs when possible about station outages, anomalies, in FL, Cuba.
Can you tell whether Marathon 1180 is on/off the air, or have any
media news about it? 73, (Glenn to Terry Krueger, Sept 11, via DXLD)
Some property damage here. No power and possibly for up to a week.
Spent most of the day cutting up neighbor's tree debris that landed in
my yard. Portable generator but freezer food for only so long. No
internet or wifi except spotty cell here. Unpleasantly hot.
No DX as a result. Suspect Martí held up. The site was upgraded from
my early 80s visit when it was still in the Cold War portable trailer.
Cheers (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, Sept 11, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX
LISTENING DIGEST) Can only hear Rebelde jammers here as usual on 1180,
See CUBA [and non] (gh, ibid.)
NOTE: I got a message from Bob Wilkner today that he is safe (Rick
Barton, AZ, Sept 12, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING
DIGEST) Pómpano Beach
** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1894 monitoring: confirmed
Wednesday Sept 6 at 1030 on WRMI 5850, VG S9+30/10; but JBA carrier on
// 9455. Not confirmed Wed Sept 6 at 1315 on WRMI 9955, which is a JBA
carrier during blackout. Next:
Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v-AM to WSW
Wed 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Thu 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 0630 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW
Sat 1431 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW
Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE
Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE
Sun 0315v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW
Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW
Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW
WORLD OF RADIO 1894 monitoring: not confirmed Wednesday September 6 at
2100 on WBCQ, 7490v-AM, which is a JBA carrier on portables G8 and
PL880, during propagation disturbance and I am away from web check.
Confirmed Wed Sept 6 at 2330 on S9 WBCQ, 9329.957V-CUSB, back to the
lower side. Next:
Thu 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 0630 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW
Sat 1431 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW
Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE
Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE
Sun 0315v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW
Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW
Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW
WORLD OF RADIO 1894 monitoring: confirmed Thursday September 7 at 2330
on WBCQ 9330.0v-CUSB, fair. Also confirmed Friday September 8 at 2330
on WBCQ 9330.0v-CUSB, poor. Not confirmed the Sat Sept 9 1431 on HLR
7265-CUSB; via UTwente, nothin` but noise. Next:
Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE
Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE
Sun 0315v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW
Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW
Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW
WORLD OF RADIO 1894 monitoring: confirmed Sat Sept 9 at 2257, the 2230
on WBCQ, 9330.0v-CUSB, poor. Also confirmed Sat Sept 9 at 2300 on WRMI
11580, VG, preceded by two notes of the Family Radio IS after the WRMI
ID. Missed checking at 0200 UT Sept 10. Confirmed UT Sun Sept 10 at
0333 on WA0RCR, 1860-AM, MO, fair at the Lithuania item 17 minutes in,
so started circa 0316. Next:
Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW
Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW
Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW
WORLD OF RADIO 1894 monitoring: Ivo Ivanov: GERMANY, Poor signal of
HLR relays on 9485 CUSB, Sept 10, World of Radio #1894: 1030-1100 9485
GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu English Sun
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2017/09/poor-signal-of-hlr-relays-on-9485cusb.html
Confirmed here Sunday Sept 10 at 2330 on WBCQ 9330.05v-CUSB, fair.
Also confirmed UT Monday Sept 11 from 0305 on Area 51 webcast; also on
WBCQ which I measured during JL, very poor at 0246 on 5130.309. Also
confirmed UT Monday Sept 11 at 0330 on WRMI webcast of 9955,
presumably still unbroadcasting on SW. Next:
Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW [if back on]
WORLD OF RADIO 1894 monitoring: confirmed Monday Sept 11 at 2330 on
WBCQ, 9330.034v-CUSB, very poor. Also confirmed Tuesday Sept 12 at
2355 on 9330.04v-CUSB, good (WOR 1895 was not quite ready).
WORLD OF RADIO 1895 contents: Anguilla, Armenia, Australia, Bahrain
non, Brazil, Cambodia non, Congo DR, Cuba, Ethiopia, Europe and non,
Germany non, Guatemala, India, International Waters non, Korea South,
Mongolia, Netherlands non, North America, Sa`udi Arabia, Slovenia,
Spain, USA, Zanzibar
WORLD OF RADIO 1895: WRMI is off the air due to power outage caused by
Hurricane Irma, maybe restored by Sunday Sept 17. We retain the full
WOR schedule here to be ready whenever it return:
Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW, 15770 to NE
Tue 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 to NW, 9455 to WNW
Wed 1315 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v-AM to WSW [presumably first broadcast this week]
[no, 1894 replayed so 2330 was first]
Wed 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Thu 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 0630 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW
Sat 1431 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW
Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE
Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE
Sun 0315v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW
Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW
Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE
Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 11580, WRMI, 2225-2331, Spanish, RAE, discussion with
personnel of the various Radio Nacional stations in Argentina; at 2300
English ID, then gh with WORLD OF RADIO 1889, recorded August 1; 2330
Hobart Radio International; very good 8/5 (Pamela Prodan, Wilton ME,
YachtBoy 400PE, Loggings, Sept NASWA Journal via DXLD)
That was a Saturday of course with WOR at that time. The previous hour
on weekdays is RAE in Italian, so a bonus in Spanish? (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No: see below
9395, 9455, 7780, 7730, 7570, 5850, Sept 6 at 1248, no signals from
WRMI during severe geomagnetic storm, but some could also be off the
air. 9955 is JBA carrier, 11580 algo probably FE station, 11825
Chinese ditto, 15770 VP carrier. (Instead of blasting in, The Power
Hour, poor S8 on 7490 from WWCR.) At 1306 I do get JBA carriers on
9395 and 9455 from WRMI.
WWV reported at 1245:
``Space Weather Message Code: SUMX01
Serial Number: 115
Issue Time: 2017 Sep 06 1245 UTC
SUMMARY: X-ray Event exceeded X1
Begin Time: 2017 Sep 06 1153 UTC
Maximum Time: 2017 Sep 06 1202 UTC
End Time: 2017 Sep 06 1210 UTC
X-ray Class: X9.3
NOAA Scale: R3 - Strong
Comment: Source was Region 2673
NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation
Potential Impacts: Area of impact consists of large portions of the
sunlit side of Earth, strongest at the sub-solar point.
Radio - Wide area blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication
for about an hour``.
7570 at S9+20, 7730, 7780, 9395, 11825, Sept 6 at 2324, open carrier,
dead air on all these WRMIBS frequencies. Other programming survives
on 9455, 11580, 5850, 5950.
9396, Sept 7 at 1308, rapid RTTY QRM again to 9395 WRMI with `The
Power Hour`
9955, no jamming, Thu Sept 7 at 1324, WRMI with `Informativo G24`,
wrapping up another report about the ``situación de caos en
Buenaventura``, Colombia with a paro of maestros, teachers` strike as
heard last time I ran across it, and which research showed started
(and ever ended?) last May. Is this new; or an old show rerun?
Yes! In fact the current/latest file on the WRMI System C server is
dated May 24, so ever since then, they have been replaying that old
show! Did the program soon crash out of existence, or simply not
manage to upload a new one every week? One of the unknown bonus
repeats replaced WOR, Thursday at 1130, but was then re-replaced by
RAE in Portuguese, so G24 was shifted to 1300.
Then from 1326 into outro loop of program promotion, including canned
WRMI IDs by Dino twice, plugging their 92.9 outlet on Colmundo en
Colombia, also Radio Internacional, España, and all over the
hemisphere on WRMI, ``99.5 kHz``!! They promote SW but obviously don`t
understand the first thing about it. And only time given is the
original ``miércoles a las 9 pm`` --- which no longer exists, replaced
by `Creciendo en Gracia`. And no others on the sked, so it looks like
the Thu 1300 is an overlooked vestige of a gone-show which should have
been removed. Blurb about Informativo G24 still exists near the top of
http://wrmi.net/index.php/programming/
After a gospel-huxter break at 1330, and 1344 fado fill, Thu Sept 7 at
1345, yet another replay of Jeff`s July aircheck of 21525 for less
than 4 minutes, instead of a truly produced `Viva Miami`. Altho Jeff
no doubt now has more pressing Irma matters on his mind, I`ve notified
him about both these anomalies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Most WRMI frequencies were JBA or off(?) this morning during severe
geomag storm of another kind (gh)
5850, Sept 8 at 0538, WRMIBS is only S7 to S5, attenuated by
geomagnetic storm from usual inboom. Usually very strong all night
7730 and 7570 are JBA carriers. Remember that WRMI expects to lose
power when Irma is closest, but may remain on 9455 only. Lake
Okeechobee was predicted to flood/overflow, but that affects the south
end and WRMI is on the north side {in such case it would be nice if
WRMI could pre-empt Oldies or whatever and give us some live coverage
of the situation}
9955, Fri Sept 8 at 1345, WRMI is still playing the 21525 aircheck in
a `Viva Miami` slot (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Hurricane Irma Florida: Areas Near Lake Okeechobee Ordered
To Evacuate --- The same area was hit in 1928 by the Okeechobee
hurricane. The dikes failed then and at least 2,500 people drowned.
By Associated Press (Patch National Staff) - Updated September 8, 2017
12:04 pm ET
BELLE GLADE, FL — Communities around the southern half of Lake
Okeechobee are under a mandatory evacuation order because Hurricane
Irma's powerful winds will push water over the Herbert Hoover Dike,
federal authorities said.
Irma will not compromise the structural integrity of the dike though,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
The seven cities under mandatory evacuation orders are South Bay, Lake
Harbor, Pahokee, Moore Haven, Clewiston, Belle Glade and Canal Point.
The same area was hit in 1928 by the Okeechobee hurricane, which made
landfall with 145 mph winds. The dikes failed then and at least 2,500
people drowned, most of them farmworkers and their families. More than
1,700 buildings were destroyed by that storm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD)
Note: WRMI near the town of Okeechobee is NORTH of the Lake (gh)
WRMI PLANS FOR HURRICANE IRMA: WRMI have just written on Facebook:
Hurricane Irma: Thank you to all of our listeners who have inquired
about our hurricane plans. At the moment (early Wednesday local time),
it appears that the eye of Hurricane Irma will come right over or very
close to Okeechobee by Sunday or Monday. We will stay on the air as
long as possible and as long as it's safe. Our transmitter building is
quite prepared to withstand most hurricanes, and our antennas have
survived many hurricanes in the past with little damage.
However, electrical power generally goes out during or after most
strong hurricanes, and our generator will only power our lights,
computers and air conditioning. Unfortunately we don't have enough
generator power to operate 14 x 100-kilowatt transmitters. So if the
power goes out, we are off the air. We may have enough power to
maintain one frequency on the air even during a power outage, and it
looks like this will probably be 9455 kHz. At the moment, our Internet
is down, but we hope it will be back up soon, although it could go out
again later. We'll keep you informed as best we can. Thanks again for
your interest (via BDXC-UK yg 1438 UT Sept 6 via DXLD)
15770, Sept 9 at 2143, WRMI fair S9 with World Music, familiar Greek-
sounding tune; maybe just in pause because at 2148 recheck now it`s in
Italian and // 9455. Current schedule now shows two Italians Sat: 2130
Made in Italy; 2145 Startrek Italy, a new one. Didn`t listen long
enough to figure out what it`s really about. Is it on the Programming
page? Yes:
``Star Trek "Journey to the History of Music"
Since 1999, born from the concept of Andrea Mangiarotti, the title is
inspired by the Classical Series of Telefilm, the difference that we
will make a Journey into Music History and the Italian Movie History.
news..ecc. (Talk & Music in Italian language)
Reference Site Show: http://startrekonline.org
Reference Site DJ: http://andreamangiarotti.it
WRMI airtime: 2145-2200 UTC Saturday on 15770 kHz`` [only]
11580, Sat Sept 9 at 2258, WRMI is wrapping up `La Rosa de Tokio`,
historical media program from Argentina, not Japan. Someone had
reported hearing RAE in Spanish during this hour, easily confused with
the Argie accents. But LRT is scheduled only on 5950, while 11580 at
22-23 Sat & Sun is blank, and M-F that hour on that frequency is RAE
in Italian, not Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
7780, Sept 10 after 0001, WRMI instead of BS by TOM presents a
different kind of BS by some ``professional`` DJs gabbing at a
``Backyard BBQ``, spinning some discs, apparently live, briefly
serious for an Irma update, the closest to breaking news we are
getting about that from a FL SW station, even tho this apparently
originates with as, IDed in passing along with WRMI International,
WMEX-LP, 105.9, which is 41 watts in Rochester NH. Sufficient signal
on the NE antenna altho weaker than 7570 with TOM and 7730 with
Wavescan (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Great signal here in NB. The last "special" broadcast from WRMI before
the Irma-caused power outage. According to announcements, the program
originated from Bob Gilmore's home (and studio) in Shelton,
Connecticut. In addition to WMEX, the program also went out on "Rewind
Radio" and "70s Radio," presumably Internet stations. "Totally 70s
Radio Network" also mentioned (-- Richard Langley, dxldyg via DXLD)
Update Re: WRMI plans for Hurricane Irma
Dear WRMI Friends, Colleagues and Clients: I am writing this at 0400
UT Sunday, September 10. Here in Okeechobee the winds are starting to
pick up as Hurricane Irma heads to Florida.
The exact path of the hurricane continues to change somewhat, but it
appears that the eye of Hurricane Irma will be passing a bit to the
west of us, but we will still receive tropical storm force winds which
are to the east-northeast of the storm. We will remain on the air with
all of our transmitters as long as possible. However, once the winds
get to a certain strength, our transmission lines will start flapping
around and arching, which could cause serious damage to the
transmitters and components. If that occurs, we will probably shut the
transmitters down in order to avoid equipment damage until after the
storm passes.
Our transmitter building itself is quite strong, and several members
of our staff will be staying inside the building. But the hurricane
could of course do damage to our antennas. We will hope for the best.
After the hurricane passes and winds die down, we would hope to be
able to resume transmissions if we have electricity. However,
realistically, we know that power outages generally occur in these
situations, and they may last from hours to days or even weeks. We
have a generator at our transmitter site, but it is designed to
maintain our control room, lights and computers operational; it is not
large enough to maintain our high-power transmitters on the air. So if
the commercial power goes out, we will be off the air. We may be able
to maintain one transmitter on the air at low power; this will likely
be 9455 kHz, and this may not be possible until after the storm passes
and the winds die down. If our Internet service remains functional, we
should be able to maintain our live stream operational. This is the
programming that is on 9955 kHz shortwave. You can hear it on our
webpage, www.wrmi.net. Click on the audio player on the lower right
side of our home page. You can also hear this stream on services such
as TuneIn, Streema, Radio Garden, etc. (Just search for WRMI.)
We will try to keep everyone up to date on our status via our Facebook
page, http://www.facebook.com/wrmiradio
Thank you to everyone who has been contacting us with your thoughts
and prayers. We look forward to being able to resume normal operations
as soon as possible.
Best regards.
Jeff White
General Manager
WRMI Radio Miami International
10400 NW 240th Street
Okeechobee, Florida 34972 USA
Tel +1-305-559-9764
Fax +1-863-467-0185
http://www.wrmi.net
(WRMI Radio Miami International Facebook page, Sept 10)
(via Alan Pennington, 1035 UT Sept 10, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD)
7570 // 7730, Sept 10 at 1247, WRMIBS with double audio, seems two
completely different streams rather than one delayed. One is slightly
louder than the other. Louder is generic contact info announcement.
Also same on 15770 at 1252, but 9980 WWCR version, still a poor
signal, has only one, the underaudio as on WRMI. So the double audio
problem must be at WRMI rather than Walterboro. At 1320 I`m checking
11825 // 11580, when Brother HyStairical is re-re-re-re-replaying the
hateful attack upon yours truly from a sesquiyear ago, about Napoleon
not ruling Michigan; then plugs Pentecost Sunday coming up on June 12
--- not this year!
On FB, Jeff has said if WRMI loses power, only enough generator to run
the building and part of one transmitter, probably the one on 9455
(Oldies and // various others) but will keep streaming 9955. Even if
power is not lost, when winds reach a certain velocity, will have to
close down because of antenna wires shorting/arcing which would damage
the transmitters.
At 1820 Sept 10 I survey the WRMI frequencies: NOT audible even a
carrier now on: 9395, 9455, 9955, 11580, 11825, 15770, but definitely
still on 21525 with R. Africa network. However, other US stations are
very weakened: 15825, 13845, 12160, 9980, 9475.
We have storms not only in the troposphere, but ionosphere. WRMI
*could* still be transmitting, but blacked out. WWV had just reported:
``Space Weather Message Code: SUMX01
Serial Number: 117
Issue Time: 2017 Sep 10 1813 UTC
SUMMARY: X-ray Event exceeded X1
Begin Time: 2017 Sep 10 1535 UTC
Maximum Time: 2017 Sep 10 1606 UTC
End Time: 2017 Sep 10 1631 UTC
X-ray Class: X8.2
Location: S09W90
NOAA Scale: R3 - Strong
Comment: Flare originated from Region 2673, currently located just
behind the west limb.
NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation
Potential Impacts: Area of impact consists of large portions of the
sunlit side of Earth, strongest at the sub-solar point.
Radio - Wide area blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication
for about an hour``
BTW, a 2-hour `Happy Station` special has been planned by PCJ Radio
International for UT Monday September 11 at 0100-0300 on WRMI 7570, if
it`s still on; if not, will run it next week at same time. Keith
Perron says, ``There will also be a special program inside the
program, which will have a lucky draw of two Sangean receivers. But
you will need to tune in to find out more`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD
OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
WRMI still on the air at 2000 UT at least on some frequencies. Noted
here in NB on 11580 kHz but very weak (SW fadeout?). Also noted on
15770 kHz using the U. Twente SDR receiver (Richard Langley, Sept 10,
dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
WRMI 11580 kHz recovered to S9 (with significant fading) here in SW
Michigan at 2030 UT but the carrier drops periodically for a second or
so. Feedlines arcing in high winds? Uh oh, dropped and stayed off at
2032. 73, (Andy Robins, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA, IBID.)
9395, 9455, 9955, 11580, 11825, 15770, 21525, Sept 10 at 2035, all
WRMI transmitters are OFF, and remain off at further chex into UT Sept
11 as Hurricane Irma pulls by to the west of Okeechobee, too close for
comfort if not a direct hit (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Just posted on WRMI's Facebook page: "2140 UTC Sunday, September 10 -
The winds are extremely strong here in Okeechobee. Our generator went
out twice, but is back on at the moment. Our live stream is still
working at www.wrmi.net. It is still light outside, and we can see
that several poles holding our transmission lines have fallen down or
are leaning downward. There could be some major damage in the antenna
field, but we won't know until the storm passes and the morning light
arrives tomorrow." 73, (Andy Robins, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA, dxldyg
via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
The moment they lost mains power, even before they could decide to
turn off the transmitters as a precaution. Let's document also this
Facebook post:
``2045 UTC Sunday, September 10 - About 15 minutes ago we had sudden
tropical storm force winds at the WRMI transmitter site in Okeechobee
and our electrical power went down. We have a generator to power the
control room and essential operations, but all transmitters are off
the air. However, you can still hear our 9955 kHz programming on the
audio player on our webpage, www.wrmi.net and via services such as
TuneIn, Streema and Radio Garden. We'll have more information here on
Facebook as the hurricane develops.``
Any word from the Florida Keys? Radio Martí 1180 kHz etc., etc.? (Kai
Ludwig, Germany, ibid.)
UT Sept 11 at 0135, OFF: 5850, 7570, 7730, 7780 (so No Happy Station
special, postponed until next week), 9395, 9455, 9955, 11580. However,
there is a JBA carrier on 5950, typical of WRMI but now probably Iran
in Tajik co-channel. (BTW, HFCC shows RMI in Spanish via TDF on 5950
at 02-05: must be alternative to 9490 for Radio República.) (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
5850, Sept 11 at 0501, WRMI is off, and so are all higher frequencies
including 9455 which might have been kept on.
At 1250 UT Sept 11, all WRMI transmitters are off. Here`s the latest
from WRMI via FB:
``1430 UTC Monday, September 11 - Hurricane Irma has done extensive
damage at WRMI in Okeechobee, Florida. Two antenna towers are down and
many poles holding transmission lines are also down. Power went out at
around 2030 UTC Sunday, and it may not be restored for days.
Meanwhile, all transmitters are off the air. Our Internet service is
also down, which means that our live stream is down as well. All of
our staff are OK. We'll try to provide more information later today
here on Facebook. Thanks for all of your messages of support``
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
No signal detected on either 9395 or 11580 kHz this morning at about
1100 UT when checking just before I left for work.
P.S. Florida Light and Power website unreachable; must be overloaded.
Have been monitoring WINK News (WINK based in Fort Myers and serving
the southwest part of Florida where we frequently holiday) --
providing good continuous live TV coverage of the hurricane
http://www.winknews.com
also being simulcast on WINK-FM, 96.9 MHz; Arrow, 94.5 MHz; and Fox
News Radio, 92.5 MHz; apparently no AM relay. They occasionally make
the point that many people without power are relying on the radio
simulcasts to stay informed about conditions (-- Richard Langley, NB,
Sept 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
WRMI Hurricane Update --- Dear WRMI Clients, Listeners and Friends:
Yesterday evening, Hurricane Irma passed very close to Okeechobee, and
tropical storm force winds hit our transmitter site. I'm happy to say
that the transmitter building and the transmitters themselves survived
with no major problems. In the antenna field, one of our 44-degree
antennas beaming up the East Coast of North America and over to Europe
and the Middle East was knocked down, and may not be repairable.
Fortunately, we have four other antennas beaming in the same
direction, so we can continue those transmissions when the power comes
back on. There are also about 20 telephone poles holding our
transmission lines that are down or leaning, and they need to be
repaired.
At this point, Florida Power & Light has no estimate of when power
will be restored to our site. It could take days, or possibly even
weeks. But we should have a better idea about this within the next few
days. In the meantime, all transmitters are off the air, although our
webstream with the 9955 kHz programming is operating. You can find it
on our webpage, www.wrmi.net. There is an audio player in the lower
right corner which you can click on to hear the programming. This
stream is also carried by TuneIn, Streema, Radio Garden and other
similar services. So please continue to upload your programs to our
FTP servers as usual.
For WRMI clients, please be assured that we will put a credit on your
next invoice for any of your programs that do not air on shortwave.
We do have a generator at our transmitter site which powers our
control room, offices, lights and computers. Unfortunately it is not
powerful enough to operate our fourteen 100,000-watt transmitters.
All of our staff are safe. Half of them were at the station during the
storm (with some of their pets as well; we had two dogs, a bird and a
turtle), and the others stayed in their own homes throughout the area.
I want to thank everyone who has called, e-mailed and sent messages
with their prayers, best wishes and offers of assistance. We greatly
appreciate all of them, and I will attempt to answer all of these
messages personally in the coming days. The hurricane has dealt us a
serious blow, but we will recover quickly and we'll continue to
broadcast your programs to shortwave listeners around the world.
Thanks for your confidence in WRMI, and I will update you when we have
more news (Jeff White, General Manager, 2304 UT September 11, WORLD OF
RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
1730 UT Tuesday, September 12 - Florida Power & Light has announced
that most customers in our part of Florida should have their power
restored by the end of this coming weekend -- that is, by Sunday,
September 17. So there is light at the end of the tunnel!
La compañía de electricidad local ha anunciado que la mayoría de sus
clientes en nuestra parte de la Florida deben tener servicio de nuevo
para el próximo domingo, 17 de septiembre. Así hay esperanza! (WRMI FB
via Artie Bigley, DXLD)
Glenn: We have 9395 kHz on the air at very low power on generator.
Will be 24 hours a day. Would appreciate reports (Jeff White, WRMI,
2327 UT September 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Florida Power & Light Company has announced that most customers in our
part of Florida should have electricity restored by the end of this
coming weekend -- that is by Sunday, September 17. So we hope to be
back on the air here at WRMI by that date or before.
Meantime, we have one frequency on the air at very low power using our
generator: 9395 kHz. This will be on 24 hours a day with regular
programming.
We are making repairs in the antenna field so that by the time
electricity returns, we will be ready to resume our full schedule of
operations.
(Jeff White, WRMI Radio Miami International
10400 NW 240th Street
Okeechobee, Florida 34972 USA
Tel +1-305-559-9764
Fax +1-863-467-0185
http://www.wrmi.net
0033 UT September 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
9395, Sept 13 at 0051, WRMI QRP transmitter is surprisingly good; I
don`t have to strain to hear it, during Oldies, 0052 ID by Bob, more
Oldies, peaks S9, fades to S7; RAE is in luck to be on this sole WRMI
frequency, 0117 with tango but a bit weaker S8-S5, and weakening more
during the hour to 0156, still audible. So what is the power?
Meanwhile there is still pulse jamming by Cuba against nothing on
9955, Sept 13 at 0203 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
[to be continued; power back on Sept 14 and other frequencies started
comebacks, but hindered by lots of feedline and antenna damage]
** U S A. Uncle Bill's Melting Pot moves to Sundays on WBCQ 7490
Today, September 7, will be the last Thursday broadcast of Uncle
Bill's Melting Pot on WBCQ 7490 kHz. We are then moving to Sundays,
2200-2230 UT (6:00-6:30 pm Eastern Time US) on 7490, right after
Marion's Attic, another wonderful show that plays recordings from the
1890s to the 1950s. We think our listeners are mutually compatible and
look forward to the change.
WBCQ's schedule stays keyed to US time, so when the time changes, UT
will change to 2300-2330 Sundays but stay at 6:00-6:30 pm Eastern).
Our first Sunday broadcast will be September 17.
(William "Bill" Tilford, Owner/Producer
Tilford Productions, LLC
5713 N. St. Louis Av
Chicago IL 60659-4405
email: bill@tilfordproductions.com
phone: 773.267.6548
website: http://www.tilfordproductions.com
Sept 7, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
5130.316-AM, UT Thu Sept 7 at 0132, this WBCQ is poorly audible in
noise tho hitting S9+10, with another `Allan Weiner Worldwide`
playback, as he mentions WHVW. Still on the air this weeknight only,
as originally filled by BS knocked off 7490 by Hal Turner who remains
there after BS cut back (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Show started on time this evening. Allan is back at the helm this week
so must be feeling better. Dr. Becker came in during Allan's talk
about his illness and stayed for the rest of the show. This show is
airing on the nineteenth anniversary of the station. Very same day of
the week and time of day. Then some talk about the various storms out
there both solar and terrestrial. Even while ill Allan continued to
work on the 3250 transmitter. He managed to get it up to full power
last week but blew a capacitor. That has been repaired now. Allan said
that if he can get hold of TimTron before tomorrow and if Tim is going
to do the second half of his show live he will try a test broadcast on
3250 tomorrow evening at eight o'clock. Reading of email started at
0059. Show finished at 0125 and Allan played a short piece of music
for another minute or two (John Carver, Mid-North Indiana, UT Sept 9,
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
5130.3, Sept 9 at 2320, JBA carrier from WBCQ, and nothing on 3250,
which Allan was maybe going to test tonight, allegedly requiring 5130
to be off. I do find a carrier on 3252, varying down to 3251.8 as I
listen, so probably a NRDie (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
WBCQ 5130. Very poor signal from 2300. No TimTron Worldwide but
carrying Pirate Joe's Shortwave Saturday Night (John Carver, Mid-North
Indiana, 2313 UT Sept 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Switched to TimTron Worldwide at approximately 2322, I think. Signal
got worse and is impossible to copy at the moment (John Carver, 2325
UT, ibid.)
I'm sorry Glenn. Reading about the differences in the 5130 transmitter
and you asked if they were trying another transmitter. I thought I'd
reported that recently they had three weekends in a row that had
problems with the transmitter. One night it never came up at all. Next
night it was an hour late coming up. Three other times the service
went off the air a couple hours early because the transmitter went
down. Have no idea what was done to it but it was surely worked on at
least. Have heard nothing about it being changed out for another
transmitter.
The second hour of TimTron Worldwide didn't air anywhere. Larry ran
some Firesign Theater on 5130 and when I checked there was nothing on
3250 which was to be expected if 5130 had to be off air for 3250 to
broadcast. Sorry if I forgot to mention about 5130 to you before (John
Carver, 0205 UT Sept 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Aside from the reported transmitter troubles, when there is an abrupt
shift in stable frequencies it raises the possibility that a different
transmitter is being employed. Either that or the original transmitter
got a workover, or a kick to bump it up (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
7490v-AM, Sept 11 at 0503, no signal from WBCQ. Is `The Other Side of
Midnight` gone again? Had been 04-07 UT Sun & Mon only, for a few
months, yet never made it to the online schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
WBCQ will be testing our new 3.250 MHz service this evening, from
about 0000 to 0200 UT September 12. Reception reports are most welcome
and can be sent to wbcq@wbcq.com (via Allan Weiner at WBCQ) Regards,
(Larry Will, 1810 UT Sept 11, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
Larry/Allan, Pretty steady S7-S8 here in upstate NY (I know not very
helpful --- too close!) playing what sounds like a Talking Heads tune.
(John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, Eton E1-XM, Alpha Delta DX Sloper, 0007
UT Sept 12, ibid.)
S5-9 here in SW Michigan with some QSB. 73, (Andy Robins, Kalamazoo,
Michigan USA, Icom R-75 w/PAØRDT active whip, 0019 UT Sept 12, ibid.)
Took some fiddling with the antenna tuner and the pre-selector here in
mid-North Indiana. Signal is hopping around from S7 to S9 but the
audio is a little muddy. Can copy without any major problem (John
Carver, 0036 UT Sept 12, ibid.)
More fiddling with the antenna tuner and have the peaks up to 10 over
now. Slight improvement in audio but still a little muddy. In general
a much better signal than what we've been getting on 5130 (John
Carver, Mid-North Indiana, 0054 UT, ibid.)
My catch at El Salvador, Central America: 3250 kHz WBCQ The Planet,
Monticello, Maine, USA 0119 UT 12 09 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBgC_13QiLo
(Humberto Molina, dxldyg via DXLD)
Excellent signal here in NB even indoors using a portable with a whip
antenna although the audio cuts out for a few seconds every now and
then. Because we are so close to Monticello and receive signals off
the back of the antenna beam, WBCQ is often difficult to hear here on
higher frequencies. Here are the signal strengths at 0145 UT of
audible 90-metre-band signals on the Eton Grundig Field BT, which has
a maximum signal strength indication of 5:
3185, WWRB: 2/5
3215, WWCR: 3/5
3250, WBCQ: 5/5
3330, CHU : 3/5
Also recording the test using a Tecsun PL-880 outdoors with a 7-metre
wire antenna (Richard Langley, 0158 UT Sept 12, ibid.)
Inaugural transmission using another MW50 transmitter as hinted at in
this FCC application:
https://swling.com/blog/2017/03/wbcq-files-application-for-a-new-transmitter-and-antenna/
Transmission included test tones, modulation adjustments, music
including "Shortwave Radio" by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and
various bits of silliness. Variously identified the broadcast programs
as "Radio Timtron Worldwide" and the "Lumpy Gravy Radio Show." Audio
cut out briefly from time to time. Said they were having trouble with
their Internet connection. Using Internet to connect the studio to the
transmitter? Furthermore to their Internet problems (for "Radio
Timtron Worldwide"), buffering problems were obvious as small segments
of the audio sometimes got repeated (Richard Langley, WORLD OF RADIO
1895, ibid.)
3249.99, Sept 12 at 0108, WBCQ test of new frequency / transmitter, as
warned at 1810 previously by Larry Will: S9 to S7 with sea chanty?
0110 announcement and dead air. 5130 is off as it has to be during
3250 tests on same antenna; unexpectedly, 3250 is better now than
5130.3 had been lately. At 0122, S9+10 peaks with music. Compared to
neighbors at less than half the distance: 3215 WWCR is S9+40; 3185
WWRB is S9+30. Checked next night during same hour, 3250 not on (Glenn
Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 7505, Sept 7 at 0130, no signal from WRNO, gone again.
BTW, I see a log in the Sept NASWA Journal by Cichorek NJ, of WRNO,
July 10 [UT Monday] at 0239-0258 with Classic Radio Theater, SF play
from 1950y. I`ve never run across any such secular programming on the
current WRNO. And did they stop sticking in newsbits from DW? (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
7505V, Sept 11 at 0142, WRNO is still AWOL; when did anyone hear it
last? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
7505v, Sept 12 at 0142, WRNO is still AWOL, and still still Sept 13 at
0201 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 3185 WWRB & 3215 WWCR, Sept 8 at 0549 still have good
signals while the higher ones, even 4840 WWCR are hit by near-
blackout, poor S5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 5935, Sept 6 at 0556, WWCR is very poor about S7, while 5890
is inaudible, off? 4840 and 3215 remain very good. WWV report at 0600:
``Geophysical Alert Message
#
Solar-terrestrial indices for 05 September follow.
Solar flux 121 and estimated planetary A-index 12.
The estimated planetary K-index at 0600 UTC on 06 September was 2.
Space weather for the past 24 hours has been moderate.
Solar radiation storms reaching the S2 level occurred.
Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level occurred.
Space weather for the next 24 hours is predicted to be strong.
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G3 level are likely.
Solar radiation storms reaching the S1 level are expected.
Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level are expected.``
4840, Sept 10 at 0024, big humwhine over ``patriot`` talk stuff, just
like last UT Sunday during this hour, also crackle. Horrible
modulation no one in his right mind would try to listen to, from WWCR;
who cares?
7520, Sept 12 at 0141, WWCR is blasting in at S9+60, one of the
strongest non-local signals registered on the NRD-545 (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
5980.005 kHz single spur of 45.005 kHz apart distance, noted of both
WWCR signals in 49mb, fundamental 5889.995 kHz/S=9+10dB and 5935.00
even/S=9+25dB. Nothing heard on lower symmetrical 5845 kHz though. At
0530 UT. Checked on remote Rochester NY-US east coast SDR unit
[selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang
Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Sept 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** U S A. 5829.986, WTWW sermon, S=9+20dB strong, but LOW modulated at
0532 UT. Checked on remote Rochester NY-US east coast SDR unit
[selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang
Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Sept 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING
DIGEST) Seems WTWW is always slightly off-frequency-low, which I
seldom bother to document (gh, DXLD)
WTWW elevation --- re: ``WTWW remained on. I wonder how far above
``the banks of the Upper Cumberland River`` [gh]
WTWW transmitters are on a hill and will probably never get flooded.
(George McClintock, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
9475, WTWW at 1520. Found with OC, waiting for something to happen at
BoH, but at 1540, still just open carrier. S-9, solid, Sept 10 (Rick
Barton, AZ, Equipment used was RS SW-2000629 and outdoor vertical
wire, Grundig Satellit 750 and outdoor Slinky; Zenith Royal Trans
Oceanic 7000, stock, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 15530, Sept 10 at 2040, S7 gospel huxter in English.
Contradicts WHRI`s HFCC A17 registration that this usage at 2000-2200
Sundays only, 250 kW at 47 degrees, would end on 03 September (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 17775, Sept 12 at 1427, KVOH carrier with heavy vibration vs
BFO and somewhat distorted in AM Mode (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** U S A. 620, Sat Sept 9 at 1209 UT, stupid football talk, about 7
seconds ahead of 640 KWPN OK; surely ESPN via KTAR Phœnix AZ, as also
loops WSW and usually heard, despite own schedule at
http://arizonasports.com/arizona-sports-987/
to which 620 AM is a mere unmentionable appendage, claiming
programming from 12 to 7 am MST Saturdays is merely generic `Arizona
Sports` rather than ESPN national network (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 870, Sept 7 at 0558 UT, KAAN Bethany MO is still running day
facility at night, audible with WWL nulled, as ``Regional Radio``,
promo some contest with text(?) number 67760; IDs as ESPN AM 870 and
FM 103.7 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 920, KYFR, IA, Shenandoah – Granted STA, U3 2500/2500 (night
pattern 24 hours); cannot switch between day and night facilities (AM
Switch, NRC DX News Sept 18, published Sept 10, via DXLD)
** U S A. 950, KPRC, TX, Houston – Granted STA, U1 5000/1250, Harvey-
related flooding (AM Switch, NRC DX News Sept 18, published Sept 10,
via DXLD)
** U S A. Question on the WFLI website? Artie, Thanks so much for your
interest. Our site is not set up yet, but, WFLI is streamed through
TuneIn. Search WFLI and you should find it very easily. Highest
regards...
Mike Powers
Operations Manager
WKWN/WFLI
Glenn, HERE IT IS:
https://tunein.com/radio/WFLI-1070AM-The-Legend-s28777/
``WFLI 1070AM The Legend - tunein.com
Listen free online to WFLI 1070AM The Legend - Chattanooga, TN.
50,000-watt news-talker in Chattanooga, Tennessee.`` (via Artie
Bigley, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1090, Sept 7 at 0602 UT, KEXS Excelsior Springs MO daytimer
is finally off in the nightmiddle, reverting 1090 dominance to Brother
Scare on KAAY, abetted by Alexander Scourby, ``the voice of god``.
1090, Sept 7 at 1222 UT, gospel huxter in English denouncing women in
the ministry or any other role not subservient to husbands, none of
this 50-50 equality stuff. He knows it`s not p.c., but God so ordains,
so there! This is not from NE so not Catholic KEXS, rather KAAY (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1120, Sept 7 at 1225 UT, nulling KMOX finds no Spanish from
10 kW daytimer KETU Catoosa OK, which ought to be on by now (September
official FCC sunrise: 1200 UT; October 1230 UT), and is regular during
full daytime, just noted yesterday. Its sign-ons have long been
irregular.
Instead an English station talking about Oral Roberts University ---
which is Tulsa, so KETU now in English?? No, goes on to mention
something ORU is doing ``here in central Austin``, i.e. 5 kW KTXW
Manor TX (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1160, Sept 7 at 1228 UT, Spanish M&W discussion looping
NE/SW, soon fades out, but KFAQ IBOC 1157 is apparently off for a
change with weaky 1170. Presumed 5 kW KCTO Cleveland MO, La Raza;
rather than 10 kW KRDY San Antonio TX, Radio Luz religious. However,
KCTO day and night patterns aim north from Kansas City market, while
KRDY is broader to its NW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1190, Sept 7 at 1229 UT, English references to Fayetteville
and Fort Smith, so KREB, 5 kW daytimer, Bentonville-Bella Vista, but
address in Fayetteville AR. Don`t think I`ve heard this one before.
Separable from KDMR Kansas City MO EWTN with RCC talk in English
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Stations informing the FCC that they are silent:
1440, KTUV, AR, Little Rock – Silent Aug. 28, Hurricane Harvey-related
flooding. Odd, as there hasn’t been Harvey-related flooding in Little
Rock. Station has same owners as KOLE-1340 [Port Arthur] and reported
KTUV’s silence in identical language; maybe a cut-and-paste error? Had
been off with transmitter problems before (David Yocis, AM Switch, NRC
DX News Sept 18, published Sept 10, via DXLD)
** U S A. 1490, Sept 7 at 1242 UT, ads for Carthage and Joplin, so
KDMO Carthage MO; at 1240 UT in the Graveyard jungle, an ID in passing
sounded like KAWG. Closest fuzzy match in the Log would be KVWC Vernon
TX which is just across the OK border in the opposite direxion (Glenn
Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1520, Sept 7 at 1245 UT, soul music mixing with KOKC,
inseparable by nulling and making slow SAH, surely all three traits of
KYND Cypress TX, 25 kW Houston market daytimer, not underwater. NRC AM
Log gives current format as UC:OLD/TLK (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** U S A. 1540, Sept 7 at 1247 UT, Galveston weather and Jerry Jay
signing off his show until 6 am tomorrow with Black-Eyed Peas. So KGBC
is operable too post-Harvey; not sure how long it may have been offed.
1248 UT overcome by much closer, but unfavorably direxional 32 kW KZMP
University Park (Metroplex) with ESPN Deportes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1600, LOUISIANA, KLEB, Golden Meadow. 1011 GMT September 10,
2017. Right at tune-in, male canned "You're listening to the Ragin'
Cajun, KLEB, Golden Meadow." Into Zydeco accordion track. WAOS Mexi-
tunes co-channel (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISITENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Hurricane Irma: Guide to storm prep in Delray Beach
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/local/hurricane-irma-guide-storm-prep-delray-beach/kXUwDt6OrJyDWVkCBYU5II/
. . . » Listen to city radio for updates. The city’s radio station,
1620 AM, will operate during the storm, giving up-to-date information
pertaining specifically to Delray Beach. The city also recommends you
follow their social media platforms for updates. . .
(via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
Strangely enough, no callsign given; IRCA TIS list shows:
1620, WQFL416, FL, Delray Beach, Palm Beach County, City of Delray
Beach (501 W Atlantic Ave), 26.462500, 80.079167, 08/09/16
http://www.ircaonline.org/editor_upload/File/TIS_2016.pdf
(via Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
** U S A. 1650, FLORIDA, (TIS) WQQJ297, Tampa. 1110 September 10,
2017. Partial generic compu-man loop, but compu-man inserted with
"Attention motorists... Sunshine Skyway [Bridge]... I-75... is closed
to all traffic. Please use an alternative (sic) route." Points almost
E/W, so presumably the usual westernmost I-275 Tampa transmitter, not
the one (once active?) with different calls on the north side of the
Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Florida Low Power Radio Stations:
https://sites.google.com/site/floridadxn/florida-low-power-radio-stations
(Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Irma radio coverage --- Many radio stations are unable to
respond to situations like hurricane Irma because they have no local
broadcast personnel anymore due the spread of syndicated satellite
programming.
Naturally we'd expect regular news/talk stations to cope (e.g WIOD 610
Miami) but some other stations are making a special effort.
For example Orlando Sentinel reports:
RADIO WILL PROVIDE CRUCIAL WAYS TO FOLLOW HURRICANE IRMA.
News 96.5 WDBO is offering continuous coverage with a singular focus
on Hurricane Irma.
"We've even brought in additional reporting staff from out of Florida
ahead of our airports shutting down this afternoon," news director Joe
Kelley said by email Saturday.
Genesis Communications, which owns and operates AM 820 News WWBA in
Largo and AM 1060 News WIXC in Titusville, will deliver continuous
coverage of the hurricane' s impact on Florida.
Genesis also will provide constant updates through its digital web
publication, News Talk Florida.
"This is a very dangerous situation," said Steve Kyler, director of
content. "Our obligation is to keep residents and visitors updated
with the latest news and information. "
Genesis said its stations cover 80 percent of the state's population.
(At time of writing, South Florida evacuation has ended, and overnight
curfew in Miami is due to be imposed. Thousands of homes are already
without power) (Steve Whitt, UK, 1933 UT Sept 9, MWCircle yg via DXLD)
By Scott Fybush - September 9, 2017
Hoping these all survive, sending very best wishes to all people
affected by the terrible weather.
SITE OF THE WEEK SPECIAL: THE TOWERS OF FLORIDA
https://www.fybush.com/site-20170909/
(via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD)
Linx to his numerous previous SOTWs concerning FL stations, by region,
not including any Keys (gh, DXLD)
FLORIDA: HURRICANE IRMA SPECIAL BROADCASTS
Many radio stations (even the big news talkers) lack the resources to
cover the hurricane 24/7.
For example last night WIOD in Miami dropped overnight George Noury
and simulcast audio off NBC News 6 TV.
The Orlando Sentinel reports imminent TV simulcasts
Many locals have lost power, and others soon will," a reader says. "If
possible, please place a list of Central Florida radio stations who
plan to simulcast weather and news broadcasts from local TV."
Here's what I have, and expect updates:
WESH-Channel 2: Magic 107.7.
WKMG-Channel 6: CBS Radio plans to simulcast the CBS TV affiliate
early this evening. Those stations are AMP 101.9, MIX 105.1 and SUNNY
105.9. WKMG also will be on WOLF 103.1.
WFTV-Channel 9: The Cox-owned TV station is on these Cox radio
stations:
WCFB 94.5, WDBO 96.5, WMMO 98.9, WPYO 95.3, WWKA 92.3, ESPN 580 AM and
107.3 Solo Exitos (Spanish). In Brevard on WA1A.com, NAShFM1027.com,
95ROCKBrevard.com and SportsRadio1560.com. In Volusia off and on
simulcast on WHOG (the "HOG" 95.7 FM), WVYB (the "VIBE" 103.3 FM),
WKRO ("Coast Country" 93.1 FM), WLOV (99.5 FM) and WNDB (1150AM &
93.5FM).
News 13: As the hurricane moves into the area, viewers will be able to
hear La Nueva AM 990 WDYZ, 1520 AM WBZW, 94.9 FM & 950 AM WTLN, 105.5
FM & 660 AM WORL and 1060 AM WIXC.
These latter stations were on my earlier list of target stations who
might be using higher night power under emergency conditions, perhaps
for one night only. If you hear these you probably won't get local
identifications - just TV audio.
PS: the only transmitters I've heard being taken out by Irma were two
weather service broadcast stations in the Keys; Sugarloaf Key (162.400
MHz) and Tea Table Key (162.450 MHz) (Steve Whitt, UK, MW News editor,
1544 UT Sept 10, MWCircle yg via DXLD)
IRMA KNOCKS MIAMI PUBLIC RADIO STATION OFF THE AIR
New York Post-19 hours ago
MIAMI — Hurricane Irma knocked South Florida's only public radio
station off the ... Most commercial radio stations in Miami are
simulcasting local TV newscasts.
http://nypost.com/2017/09/10/irma-knocks-miami-public-radio-station-off-the-air/
MIAMI — Hurricane Irma knocked South Florida’s only public radio
station off the air Sunday afternoon. WLRN tweeted that it was no
longer broadcasting at 1:22 p.m.
Editorial director Alicia Zuckerman said that the storm damaged the
station’s transmitter, and that it was too dangerous for workers to
venture outside and fix it. Engineers are doing what they can indoors,
she said, and restored the station’s online streaming service after it
also got knocked out.
“It’d be nicer to be on the air right now, but if you saw the
conditions we are under then you would be pleased with the response,”
Zuckerman told The Post.
Most commercial radio stations in Miami are simulcasting local TV
newscasts (via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
** U S A. RADIO’S BLANKET COVERAGE OF HURRICANE IRMA
RBR-TVBR September 11, 2017
https://www.rbr.com/radios-blanket-coverage-of-hurricane-irma/
Radio has had a definite weather theme lately, first with Hurricane
Harvey and then Hurricane Irma. Coverage of Irma by Florida stations
was virtually wall-to-wall. Here’s a brief rundown of their broadcast
activity as of Monday morning…
iHeart Media:
• News/Talk WFLA Tampa began its “Operation StormWatch” coverage on
Saturday, simulcasting across all of the company’s Tampa FMs.
• In Miami, News/Talk WIOD’s wall-to-wall coverage is simulcasting on
CHR “Y100” WHYI, Classic Rock WBGG, Sports WINZ, and Urban WMIB.
• Spanish contemporary WZTU is simulcasting coverage from “Telemundo
51” WSCV-TV.
• The company’s stations in Orlando, Sarasota, Ft. Myers, West Palm
Beach, and Jacksonville joined forces to provide wall-to-wall
coverage.
Cox Media Group:
• Miami stations broadcast TV partner WSVN-TV’s audio.
• In Tampa, CMG’s studios were closed on Sunday but carried audio from
TV partners.
• The company has also been preparing for the storm’s impact in
Georgia. CMG is headquartered in Atlanta and owns radio, TV, and
newspaper assets there.
Entercom:
• In Miami, Entercom’s daytime WAXY received FCC approval to broadcast
around the clock.
• Entercom had corporate staff on standby to come to Miami on Tuesday.
• All four of the company’s stations were simulcasting audio from a
local TV partner.
Beasley Media Group:
• Clusters in Ft. Myers and Tampa had round-the-clock storm coverage.
• In Ft Myers, WXKB, WJPT, WRXK and WWCN simulcast coverage from TV
partner “NBC TV2” WBBH-TV with local cut-ins from Beasley’s own team.
• As of Monday morning, all of Beasley’s Ft. Myers FM stations were
off the air, due to major flooding at their studios.
• Beasley stations in Boca Raton were also off the air, including two
having problems getting programming to the transmitter site.
• In Tampa, all Beasley stations were on the air Monday morning,
except for WLLD.
• All of Beasley Tampa’s English-language stations began wall-to-wall
news coverage Saturday at midnight.
CBS:
• In Miami, CBS Radio’s WQAM, WPOW, and WKIS were simulcasting TV
coverage on Sunday.
Univision:
• Univision Miami planned continuous coverage through the storm and
its aftermath, simulcast on UnivisionMiami.com, Facebook Live, and its
local radio stations including WAMR, WAQI, WQBA and WRTO.
Sun Broadcasting:
• Ft. Myers stations – WFSX, WXNX and WARO – were also carrying TV
coverage.
Genesis Communications and Charter Communications:
• The two companies teamed up to provide radio coverage throughout the
state. Genesis’ AM 820 News, WWBA Tampa, and AM 1060 News WIXC
Melbourne-Titusville carried the all-news cable channel Bay 9 News to
supplement their local reporting over the weekend (via Mike Terry,
dxldyg via DXLD)
** U S A. Hurricane Irma’s winds temporarily blow WIOD down [sic] the
dial === By Howard Cohen September 12, 2017 4:10 PM
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172894841.html
Update: WIOD went back on the air at its regular 610 AM frequency
Wednesday morning [Sept 13]
Larry King remembers when he was on hurricane duty at the start of his
broadcasting career in the early 1960s on WIOD 610 AM.
“We were the only station with a generator so you either listened to
us or heard nothing,” he told the Miami Herald in April when he
visited the site of WIOD’s former studios in North Bay Village. “I
would take the mic, walk it downstairs and say, ‘I can give you the
latest report on the hurricane but why don’t we listen to it?’ I stick
my hand out the window. ‘The wind’s going 100 miles-per-hour, all the
trees are blowing.’ Boy, those were some wild days.”
Today, WIOD is part of the iHeart Radio conglomerate and its studios
are in Miramar. But the station still uses its transmitter in North
Bay Village. Some 60 years later, King wouldn’t have been able to pull
his hurricane sound effects stunt for listeners.
Hurricane Irma blew out the transmitter in North Bay Village during
the height of the storm on Sunday and the station went silent.
The station is once again broadcasting for radio and online on
iHeart.com and the iHeart radio app. If you want to hear WIOD on
radio, you’ll have to temporarily spin your way a bit right on the AM
dial.
For the time being, head over to WINZ 940 AM.
“We do have technical problems with our transmission on 610. We are
currently broadcasting on 940 WINZ,” the station said in a Facebook
message chat. WIOD — its call letters stand for “Wonderful Isle of
Dreams” — will resume broadcasting on its longtime 610 frequency but
no ETA yet.
Repairs are ongoing, WIOD said (via Artie Bigley, DXLD)
** U S A. Long List Of Stations Off The Air Courtesy Of Irma
By Radio Ink - September 12, 2017
https://radioink.com/2017/09/12/long-list-stations-off-air-courtesy-irma/
The FCC is reporting the number of radio stations off the air due to
Hurricane Irma to be in excess of two dozen. Meanwhile, the Commission
has included 18 counties in Georgia and three in Alabama in its
Disaster Information Reporting System, in addition to those in
Florida.
The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau reports at least 26
full-power radio stations and FM translators off the air:
Miami: iHeartMedia’s “News Radio 610” WIOD and sports sister WINZ
(940).
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton: iHeartMedia’s talk “Real Radio 94.3” WZZR;
Alpha Media’s AC “Sunny 107.9” WEAT; JVC Media’s talk WSWM (900); and
the Seminole Tribe’s ethnic WTIR, Brighton Reservation (91.9).
Ft. Myers-Naples-Marco Island: iHeartMedia’s classic hits “95.3 The
River” WOLZ; iHeart’s rhythmic CHR “105.5 The Beat” WBTT; iHeart’s
“Cat Country 107.1” WCKT; and Starboard Network’s religious WMYR/WCNZ
(1410/1660) and its Ft. Myers-licensed translator W294AN at 106.7 FM.
Orlando: iHeartMedia’s tropical “Rumba 100.3” WRUM; JVC Media’s
country “103.1 The Wolf” WOTW; and the Orlando-licensed W227CP at 93.3
FM that airs Central Florida Educational Foundation’s gospel “G-
Praise” format.
Ft. Pierce-Stuart-Vero Beach, FL: Cumulus Media’s “95.9 Rock” WROK-FM
and iHeartMedia’s classic hits “Oldies 103.7” WQOL.
Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa, FL: Cumulus Media’s CHR “A-1-A 107.1”
WAOA-FM; Cumulus’ country “Nash 102.7” WHKR; and Cumulus’ “Sports
Radio 1560 The Fan” WLZR.
Gainesville-Ocala: JVC Media’s CHR “Q-92” WFMQ; JVC Media’s country
“US-102.3” WXUS and JVC Media’s talk WYCG (104.9).
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL: the Lakeland, FL-licensed W300CL at 107.9
FM which relays Central Florida Educational Foundation’s contemporary
Christian “Z-88” WPOZ from Orlando.
Tallahassee: the Bloxham, FL-licensed W222AW at 92.3 FM which
simulcasts Faith Radio’s Spanish-language religious “Radio Fe 1070”
WFRF (via Artie Bigley, DXLD)
WE WILL REBUILD; IF YOU CAN FIND US
By Lance Venta on September 13, 2017 1 Comment
Hurricane Irma decimated many broadcast facilities as it moved up
Florida and into Georgia.
The FCC stated on Tuesday that at least 51 stations or translators
were off the air (a few others are not even listed here) due to
flooding or other damage caused by the storm. While some of these
stations have since returned, what has quickly struck out is that not
a single one of these stations has acknowledged being off (or in one
case where they moved temporarily) on their websites.
Some of them have posted notices on Facebook directing listeners to
stream the stations if possible. . . [examples follow]
https://radioinsight.com/blogs/lance/119720/will-rebuild-can-find-us/
(via Artie Bigley, DXLD)
** U S A. Oh wow, I shoulda notified all of you.
97.3, WSKY Micanopy/Gainesville FL & 98.5 WKTK Crystal River had been
simulcasting the last few days, getting the word out (via callers) as
to who has gas, electricity, etc. Radio is coming through big time, at
a time when many were without cell service. The hosts have been very
upbeat/positive (sometimes quashing the grumblers calling in), and
having an excellent sense of humor when it's needed the most.
WKTK was playing music this evening, so the simulcast might have
ended. If you can grab a WSKY stream (not the TV in NC!), listen for
compelling radio (for a change). c d (Chris Dunne, of Pembroke Pines,
after? hunkering down in Ocala FL, Sept 14, WTFDA Forum via DXLD)
** U S A. THE DIVERGENCE BETWEEN REALITY AND FCC MEDIA OWNERSHIP
REGULATIONS --- Opinion #Regulation Sep 6, 2017 @ 12:12 PM
Steve Pociask, Contributor --- I cover regulatory policies that affect
consumers and the economy. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors
are their own.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevepociask/2017/09/06/the-divergence-between-reality-and-fcc-media-ownership-regulations
Robert Kyncl, global head of content at YouTube Inc., speaks during
the company's unveiling of the new television subscription service on
Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
[caption]
The Internet revolution is changing our lives in terms of how we shop,
where we work, how we bank, how we communicate and get local news, and
where we receive music and video content. However, while there has
been an explosion of local news and content sources online, the
regulations that govern related markets have been very slow to change.
As I will explain, this regulatory inertia has a real impact on
consumers.
Many decades ago, the average community might only have local news
coverage coming from a handful of radio broadcasters, TV broadcasters
and maybe a city newspaper or even two. Back then, cross-ownership of
broadcasters and newspapers raised some concerns with regulators and
policymakers, who saw the potential for anticompetitive risks stemming
from increased market concentration in the distribution of local news,
music and TV programming.
As a result, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the chief
regulator for the TV and radio broadcast stations, kept a watchful eye
on market structure and concentration. Their decades old concern was
that having only a few broadcasters per market would lead to too few
“voices” in the community from which consumers could get their news
and content.
While the FCC began imposing cross-ownership rules as far back as the
early 1940s, various market ownership rules remain today. For one
example, a single TV or radio station cannot own a newspaper in the
same market. Additionally, regardless of the number of stations in the
market or their specific market shares, a major top-4 TV station is
barred from merging with another top-4 station. Similarly, any cross-
ownership between stations is prohibited unless there are more than 8
local TV stations in the market (the so-called 8-voice test). The idea
was that these cross-ownership regulatory prohibitions would “preserve
localism” and give consumers alternative “voices” – essentially, the
rules were designed to give consumers access to many sources for news
and information. That was fine for the 1940s.
The problem, however, is that these rules are comically stuck in time,
ignore basic economic principals, leave consumers worse off and work
to undermine the preservation of localism – the very thing that these
rules were set out to preserve.
The FCC’s 8-voice test is completely arbitrary and a stellar example
about how poor these rules are; it is not supported by any well-
accepted economic theory or by any empirical evidence. The fact is
that the FCC does not know what the correct number of broadcasters
should be in any given market (a concept sometimes referred to as the
minimal efficient scale). That determination is the role of
competitive markets.
What we do know is that less populated and concentrated markets
require fewer stations in order to attract enough ears and eyes to
justify advertiser support. The current cross-ownership rules make it
much harder for broadcasters to achieve the economies of scale that
would allow them to operate profitably and most efficiently. Because
these rules may require more broadcasters than a local market can
support, it paradoxically puts more broadcasters out of business,
which means consumers are made worse off and localism is undermined.
In addition, the FCC is responsible for regulating more than TV and
radio broadcast stations. Their jurisdiction includes Internet
services, as well as wired and wireless telecommunications, satellite,
cable and other services – all of which compete for the same eyes and
ears of consumers. At the same time, the Internet doesn’t count as a
single voice under the 8-voices test. Yet, the FCC cross-ownership
regulations have seemed to have missed this obvious fact.
President and CEO of the American Consumer Institute (ACI) Center for
Citizen Research. For more information, visit
http://www.TheAmericanConsumer.org
and follow him on Twitter @ConsumerPal.
(via Indiana Radio Watch via John Carver, DXLD)
** VANUATU [and non]. 3945.00, Sept 7 at 1252, R. Nikkei not off-
frequency and in Japanese, no sign of Vanuatu; 7260 at 1306 has the
usual off-frequency-low JBA carrier, presumed Vanuatu (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** VATICAN. Reception of Vatican Radio Holy Mass on Sept.8
1130-1200 on 15595 SMG 100 kW / 107 deg to N/ME English Fri
1130-1200 on 17590 SMG 100 kW / 112 deg to N/ME English Fri
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/good-signal-of-vatican-radio-holy-mass.html
(Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, September 8-9 via DXLD)
** VIRGIN ISLANDS BRITISH. ZBVI 780 is off but miraculously their 300
foot tower IN Baughers Bay, Tortola is still standing (Paul Walker,
0323 UT Sept 11, ODXA yg via DXLD)
** YEMEN [non]. Re: YEMEN/SAUDI ARABIA - DXLD Sept 5 - SW transmission
Discussion
http://www.w4uvh.net/dxld1736.txt
Any further enlightenment/discussion welcome (Ian, shortwavesites yg
via DXLD)
Well, what do you want to clarify?
One thing is the current state of SWBC facilities in Saudi Arabia. It
appears that transmissions are now shared between two facilities, a
completely new station near Jeddah, built by Continental, and new
equipment at Riyadh, delivered by Ampegon. And HFCC does not appear to
be a source to find out about this.
Another story is 11860 kHz. I fear it is a successfully established
propaganda narrative that this is "Republic of Yemen Radio". Such an
ID may be presented (and could qualify the whole thing, in old-time
terms, as a black clandestine), but all further questions remain
unanswered: Where is this program being produced, where are the
editorial offices, who is in control of the program content? Any kind
of evidence on these essential details?
I also wonder if BBC Monitoring now strictly confines all its findings
about such matters to its paying customers or just does not care about
these things anymore. Indeed one could say that this 11860 kHz signal
is just irrelevant, but I suspect that it is not the whole story. And
further research is hindered by the circumstance that it can not be
done from Europe: Most DTH satellite services for the Middle East use
spot beams that prevent a reception here (Kai Ludwig, shortwave sites
yg via DXLD)
These are just some of the very questions I have. And I too have been
wondering if this station was as speculated; a Black Clandestine.
Surely some of the Arabic language DXers who've been listeners to
Middle Eastern SW radio stations for the past 2 decades or familiar
with program from San'a & Aden would have idea from the difference in
memory recalled programming of these stations to the present station
on 11860 kHz? There's probably some archived Youtube recordings to
compare out there, but probably all too brief? (Ian, ibid.)
There was a discussion some 2? years ago in Oct 2015 in this yg,
about support the two fractions of Yemen radios:
Saudi-Arabia and most Muslim countries, Sunnis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni_Islam
and Iran, Shiites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shia_Islam
It was about the support for the elected leader of Sana'a Yemen and
the rebel coup leader, who is supported by Iran.
Saudi Arabia can pay for the service on the shortwave 11860 kHz
channel from the petty cash. wolfie df5sx, (Wolfgang Büschel,
shortwavesites yg via DXLD)
The big thing going on here. Thus I'm so surprised that no
professional monitors care for this matter, unless they now keep all
their findings for themselves.
> According to an online source the pro-Hadi transmission on shortwave
is from Aden
Which source in fact, how trustworthy is it? The possibility that this
is plain fake news must certainly be considered.
And here's the latest development (do they meanwhile call Yemen "the
southern part of the Kingdom"...???): (Kai Ludwig, ibid.) Re: SAUDI
11745
Republic of Yemen Radio with echo, Sept 6
0300-0900 on 11860 JED 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME Arabic
0900-1800 on 11860 unknown tx / unknown to N/ME Arabic
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/republic-of-yemen-radio-via-two.html
(DX RE MIX NEWS # 1027 via DXLD) So the echo briefly before 0900? (gh)
** ZANZIBAR [non-log]. 6015, ZBC Radio. Had not checked on this one
for a long time, but thanks to an alert from Bill Bingham (RSA),
indicating he believes he last heard Zanzibar here about July 20, I
randomly checked 0300-0415, on Sept 11, only to confirm Bill's
observations - no trace of any signal here! So seems ZBC has indeed
been silent for quite some time on this frequency.
African conditions not all that bad today, as clearly heard Voice of
Hope (Zambia), on 9680, at 0504+, in English and was semi-readable. So
I think if Zanzibar had been on the air, I would have had something on
6015, no matter how faint (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón
E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DX
LISTENING DIGEST) ZBC still active on 11735 until 2100v*? (gh, ibid.)
** ZANZIBAR [non]. BRASIL, Surprisingly reception of Radio
Transmundial in Portuguese on Sept 6:
2024 & 2054 11735*CAB 050 kW / 060 deg BRA, good signal & off at 2059
* NO SIGNAL 11735 DOL 050 kW / non-dir to CeAf Swahili Zanzibar
Broadcasting Corp
http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/09/surprisingly-reception-of-radio.html
(DX RE MIX NEWS # 1027 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Sept 7, 2017
via DXLD)
UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Pacific JBA MW carrier search September 9 at 1155-
1207: 1548, 828, 882, 1512 from WSW. 1098 from west. At 1204 also
surprised by a carrier on 1449 from WSW, or rather less than 1449 so
probably a US 1450 off-frequency or a local device. Nothing more than
5 kW on 1449 from Australia/NZ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 1480-, Sept 9 at 0602 UT, something is off-frequency to
low side, low het vs KBXD TX Spanish gospel huxter, this one with
music in English; loops roughly WNW/ESE, implying WBBP Memphis TN,
5000/41 U1 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 1629.91, 1107 GMT September 10, 2017. Who's hetting KKGM
here? Points N/S, fairly weak, measurement approximate (Terry Krueger,
Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. But another observation was more interesting. As
reported by Ivo Ivanov in the past, there's a station playing Arabic
or similar music on 7700. Tonight I was able to catch some audio via a
SDR in Belgium. Carrier with undefinable bits of modulation at 1820,
but at 1830 slow song in Arabic, sign-off must have been already
around 1845, after a few minutes of dead air. 73 (Thorsten Hallmann,
Germany, Sept 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
7700 has also been used by Europirates (gh, DXLD)
Thorsten, If I remember correctly, 7700 is (might be) a Somali
government station of some kind, Warsan Radio, altho I believe also
that Warsan's frequency was 7750, not 7700. I logged that station in
July 2016 (Bruce Churchill, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED [non]. 9610, at 1115. Strong OC, CRI underneath. Loud
beep tone at 1119. Carrier good S-9, not sure what is going on here.
Recheck had only the weaker station at S-4 level. Sept 6 (Rick Barton,
AZ, Equipment used was RS SW-2000629 and outdoor vertical wire,
Grundig Satellit 750 and outdoor Slinky; Zenith Royal Trans Oceanic
7000, stock, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Greenville testing/warming up for Vatican relay in Spanish from 1130,
which surely you would have heard by then, violating Separation of
Church and State (gh, DXLD)
UNIDENTIFIED. 11410-USB, Sept 6 at 1245, presumed Indonesian QSO
pirates, spirited talk but no singing, whistles, tones, talking over
each other. Often there are multiple channels heard in the 11.4-11.5
MHz range, but the only one this time. 25m is dominated by E Asian
signals, hardly anything from nearby. RHC 11760 with heavy CCI from
CRI English SE out of Kunming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 12331-USB, Sept 10 at 1305, 2-way poor in language,
sounds sort of Greek, in maritime band (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 13560, Possible pirate? 1405, 9/4/17, in English. Man
and woman in indistinct talk; later an old time radio program. No
information available in EiBi, Aoki or HFCC. Poor (Mark Taylor, Lake
Farm Park near Madison, WI, 9/4/17 (Labor Day), 1100–1615 UT. With
Bill Dvorak, Carlie Fosythe and Neil Bartlett. Equipment: Tecsun
PL880, Kaito K31 antenna, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) part 15 frequency
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Again this week no new contributions to be thankful for, not
necessarily in US funds via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com or by MO or
check in US funds on a US bank to Glenn Hauser, P O Box 1684, Enid OK
73702 (WORLD OF RADIO 1895)
PUBLICATIONS
++++++++++++
SHORTWAVE GOLD
Mike Barraclough writes: Mikes Movies has uploaded Shortwave Gold, a
two part series to YoouTube. Part One features 27 minutes of shortwave
recordings he made from a Vega 206 in
the 80's. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAOw9Xu-hqs
(Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD)
AM DX AID - WEB SITES, LIVE STREAMS AND FACEBOOK PAGES FOR (MOSTLY)
WESTERN US AND CANADA [1 Attachment]
1 Files 247KB
XLSX Thall_Radio_Links_West_20170905.xlsx
Attached is a spreadsheet containing as many links as I could find for
AM station web sites, live streams and Facebook pages in the following
states and provinces:
- All 22 continental states west of the Mississippi, plus AK and WI
- All 7 western Canadian provinces and territories plus ON
I've collected this data over the past 2 months so it should be pretty
useful. Additions/corrections welcome. I'll work on Mexico next.
DISCLAIMER: Web sites continue to change (mostly due to ownership
changes, but occasionally due to rebranding), and stations often do a
terrible job of maintaining these pages (forgetting to add keywords
and tags to make their CURRENT web site show up first in search
engines, failing to take down PREVIOUS web sites and FB pages, etc.).
I've tried to note if a web site or FB page is particularly "stale" or
otherwise problematic. Hope folks find this useful. I find it makes it
very easy to check the live streams while DXing with the Perseus.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ABDX/attachments/1022013169
73 (Tim Hall, Sept 6, ABDX via DXLD) frequency order, 2223 entries!
CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
MONTREAL CIDX BARBECUE
This year’s is now in the books. I’d like to thank everyone who
contributed to making it another success. We were particularly pleased
to have some out of town CIDXers participate again this year including
John Fisher and Eric Cottrell from Massachusetts and CIDX VP Mickey
Delmage who incorporate a Montreal stop-over into his eastern Canada
vacation this year in order that he could attend the event. We were
also pleased to have a special guest in attendance; Amanda Dawn
Christie,
http://www.amandadawnchristie.ca/
an artist working in film, video, performance, photography, and
electroacoustic sound design, but to radio enthusiasts, perhaps best
known for her film “Spectres of Shortwave”, an experimental
documentary film about the Radio Canada International shortwave radio
towers in Sackville, New Brunswick. She captured images on 35mm film
accompanied by personal stories told by people who lived near the
towers.
Others in attendance at the barbecue included Alan Roberts, Stan and
Sharon Asher, Beta Wayne, David Asselin, Jim Hay, Janice Laws, Wojtek
Gwiazda, and Gilles Michaud.
We must also thank CIDX member Gilles Letourneau of Montreal for
setting up a live YouTube broadcast from the barbecue this year. His
two-hour broadcast reached CIDX members and other radio enthusiasts,
over 100 in total, literally around the world, who were able to see
the goings-on live streamed and interact with us via a chat room. You
can watch the full broadcast on Gilles’ “OfficialSWLChannel” on
YouTube. It’s also this month’s YouTube Video in the HQ Report.
YouTube Video of the Month
Live Shortwave Radio Show – CIDX Montreal BBQ – August 19, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb5A6nO8SIE
CIDX Montreal member Gilles Letourneau offered up his services and
technical know-how to create a special event at this year’s annual
Vernon Ikeda Memorial CIDX Barbecue. Through his YouTube channel
, Gilles hosted this two-hour broadcast live on-
line from the event. He interviewed many of the participants at the
barbecue and welcomed over 120 viewers from around the world on the
channel who watched in and interacted with everyone through the chat
room. To date the broadcast has received over 1,400 views and
succeeded in bringing CIDX to the attention of many shortwave radio
enthusiasts around the world, even resulting in some new CIDX members.
Thanks to Gilles for his efforts. If you weren’t there live, take some
time to view the video. It’s almost as good as being there!
(Sept CIDX Messenger via DXLD)
50TH EDXC CONFERENCE IN TAMPERE
Alan Pennington reports from Finland
[Hi Glenn, Yes, it’s fine to use my Tampere report in DXLD. However,
as there are references in the text to some photos, maybe you’d prefer
to link to our club website – the report was uploaded there this
afternoon
http://bdxc.org.uk/edxc17.pdf
The website version includes some additional photos at the end that
didn’t make it into the print or pdf versions of September’s
‘Communication’. There will be a Part 2, covering the road trip 12 of
us from the conference made north by car through Finland, then Sweden
to Nordkapp in Norway and back. 73, Alan Pennington]
The 2017 European DX Council (EDXC) conference was held in Tampere,
Finland between 18th-20th August, hosted by the Finnish DX Association
(FDXA) (Suomen DX-Liitto (SDXL) in Finnish).
Local FDXA member club is the Tampere DX-listeners club (TreDXK). Both
EDXC and TreDXK, were celebrating their 50th anniversary this year,
having been founded in 1967. On 6th December this year, Finland will
also celebrate 100 years of independence from Russia. So lots to
celebrate!
Helsinki Central railway station. Risto outside FDXA office in
Helsinki [captions]
Those delegates staying in Helsinki on the day before the conference
started were kindly invited on a short walking tour of some of
Helsinki’s city centre attractions, led by Risto Vähäkainu of the
FDXA, which ended with some welcome local refreshments at the FDXA
office in Annankatu.
The city of Tampere is in southern Finland, a 160 km 90-minute express
train ride north of the capital, Helsinki. It is sited between two
lakes which are linked by the Tammerkoski, a 1 km channel of rapids
whose power was harnessed by the textile industry in the 19th century,
and whose heritage red brick mills still line its banks. As a result,
the city is often compared to Manchester (UK), but today the old
industries have gone, and it is a thriving modern technology and
university city, the third largest in Finland with a population of
around 220,000. The conference venue was the modern Varala Sports
Institute
https://varala.fi
sited in a lakeside forest, 3 km from Tampere city centre.
Before heading to the conference venue from the railway station,
Chrissy, Dave and myself visited two of Tampere’s museums: The Lenin
Museum
http://lenin.fi/?lang=en
and the Spy Museum
http://www.vakoilumuseo.fi/en/spy-museum/
Whilst the Spy Museum did have some radio-related exhibits, more
impressive was The Lenin Museum, housed in the building in which Lenin
first met Stalin in a secret meeting of Bolsheviks in 1905, so
claiming to be the birthplace of the Soviet Union. The museum was
established in 1946, when Finland and the Soviet Union had close
friendship. The exhibits are both serious, balanced and sometimes
humorous, e.g. take a selfie with Lenin and Stalin on their motorcycle
and sidecar! At the museum shop (also online) you can buy Soviet era
posters, model Lada cars, Leonid Brezhnev earrings or Karl Marx dolls!
The conference opened Friday afternoon with the traditional flag
raising ceremony and welcoming address in the sunshine outside the
entrance of the Varala Institute. Around 120 delegates (and some
partners) attended the conference over the weekend, some from Finland
just on Saturday as the event also doubled as the FDXA’s Summer
Meeting. Apart from Finland, there were delegates from 12 other
countries, namely Algeria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Sweden and United Kingdom.
In the first talk in the auditorium, Anker Petersen from Denmark, told
of the formation of the EDXC and its early history, illustrated with
some photos of the first meeting 50 years ago. The idea for the EDXC
originated in Norway, but the EDXC was actually founded in Anker’s
house near Copenhagen on 4th June 1967 with representatives from
Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden there.
Anker was its first Secretary General, to be succeeded by Claës-W.
Englund from Sweden later in 1967. At first, each country selected one
EDXC representative – this changed to each member club having a
representative in 1969.
In the heyday of DX clubs, Anker told us there were 116 clubs listed
in the 1966 WRTH, though 54 of those were from Sweden! He also
described the work of one of the early committees set up in 1968 - the
EDXC Reception Report Committee - who sent questionnaires to 50
worldwide radio stations to establish what information the stations
found most useful in listener reports, their replies to be the basis
of the EDXC Reporting Guide.
Following a break for dinner, Risto Vähäkainu, a former EDXC Secetary-
General himself, continued telling us of the EDXC’s history. By
accident, this 50th conference coincided with the 50th anniversary
year as a conference had been held every year since 1967, apart from
in 2004.
EDXC Secretary-Generals had usually held office for 1-2 years, but
Michael Murray from the UK held the office for a 16-year term (1979-
1995). A brief history of the EDXC listing all the past conference
venues and officials is at:
https://edxcnews.wordpress.com/history
Finland has hosted the most EDXC conferences in the past 50 years (6)
- past conferences were held here in 1971, 1987, 1992, 2002 and 2008.
The most well-attended conferences had also been held in Finland, in
Espoo in 1987 and in Tampere in 1992, with nearly 300 delegates at
each!
Next, top Finnish DXer, Jim Solatie (left) took us on a visual and
audio DX journey around the world, accompanied by a rather difficult
quiz, having first mixed the audience into teams of three. It
disproved the theory three heads are better than one. It did help to
have a knowledge of MW DX for the quiz and the winners certainly
deserved their prize!
The evening ended in true Finnish summer style, down by the lake, with
sauna and lake swimming for those who wanted, and chat until late over
beer, wine and barbecued sausages!
I was surprised to see an original 1964 Radio Caroline T shirt being
worn at the barbecue, by Antti Marvia (right)
The Saturday morning session in the auditorium focussed on AM
listening and was hosted by Ismo Kauppi. He introduced director of
SDRplay Ltd, Jon Hudson who presented his company’s range of Software
Defined Radios (SDRs) to us. SDRs are receivers in which traditional
radio components are replaced by software run on your computer. The
company currently have three products (they call Radio Spectrum
Processors or RSPs): RSP1, RSP2 (photo right) and RSPpro (the latter
identical to RSP2 but in a rugged steel case). You just need a
computer and antenna to operate.
They are true general coverage receivers: RSP1 10 kHz-2 GHz; RSP2 1
kHz-2 GHz enabling you to visualize up to 10 MHz bandwidth on screen,
use brickwall filters, have multiple VFOs, record large bandwidths (up
to 10 MHz) and record and playback. He said the company had sold
around 20,000 RSPs in the past 3 years.
The RSPs come with SDRuno software, though they work with all popular
SDR software such as HDSDR. Full details on their website:
http://www.sdrplay.com/
Then active Finnish MW Dxer Tapio Kalmi spoke about AM DXing in the
Information Age, introducing us to various data sources useful to AM
DXers. One such resource is the KOJE online lists
http://www.tapiokalmi.net/dx/koje/koje1.html
which Tapio edits. KOJE is short for “kuultavissa olevat jenkit” and
was a list began in 1978 which has now migrated online showing all
North American MW stations (including Greenland and Bermuda) that can
be heard in Sweden, Norway and Finland. Similar lists are prepared for
Hawaii and Mexico. Tapio’s homepage has lots more useful links to
tools to aid the MW DXer, such as propagation reports, aurora charts
and Greyline map – see:
http://www.tapiokalmi.net/dx/am/
He told how he heard Maldives on 1449kHz in February 2014 aided by the
Greyline map. His presentation is online at:
http://www.tapiokalmi.net/dx/am/EDXC2017_Tapio_Kalmi_AM_DXing_at_Information_Age.pdf
The final talk on Saturday morning was about Space Weather by Kirsti
Kauristie from the Finnish Meteorological Institute. She explained the
latest research into the layers in the ionosphere affecting radio
reception, looked at solar cycles past and future and why forecasting
space weather is so difficult! I have to admit, some of her talk was
over my head, but was listened to keenly by the scientists in the
auditorium!
After lunch, the Finnish DXers celebrated 50 years of the Tampere DX
Club. The still very active TreDXK club has published its Kantoaalto
(Carrier Wave) bulletin for 42 years and has a QRM-free DX cabin in
Niihama, southern Finland. Matti Karstinen and Jarno Fält received
FDXA awards at this afternoon session, especially for work with this
DX cabin, which apparently can be accessed remotely. Congratulations
to TreDXK on their 50th anniversary!
Above: City of Tampere and lakes, with TV tower, viewed from Pynikki
Observation Tower. [caption]
Meanwhile, the non-Finnish speakers enjoyed a coach trip to visit some
sights in the city of Tampere. We set out in a torrential shower as
the coach first took us to a high ridge, where we enjoyed a good view
over the city. We then stopped at the nearby transmitter site and
tower used by local Pispalan Radio (729 kHz and FM) which we would
learn more about in a talk on our return to Varala. The tower was
originally used in the manufacture of lead bullets!
Our guide, Risto, then took us a short walk by the rapids in the city
centre including the former site of 3NB, Finland’s first regular
broadcasting station. Tampere Radio made its first broadcast in
November 1923, and moved a year later to a wooden cabin sited next to
the Tammerkoski rapids, its aerial wire stretched over the fast-
flowing waters. Already in 1924, it was heard over 1000 km away! Many
of the pioneers at Tampere Radio would later work at YLE when they
opened their station in Tampere in 1930.
Next stop, Tampere Cathedral, built in the National Romantic style and
completed in 1907 where we were able to view its stunning interior
with frescos and stained glass by artist Hugo Simberg.
Another radio site was our final stop, where we climbed the 26 m high
Pynikki observation tower, which gave a great view of Tampere city and
its lakes. The Pynikki Ridge was the site of Tampere’s former YLE’s MW
station which began broadcasting in 1930. There is a modern guyed
communications mast still next to the tower, but sadly it’s not a MW
aerial nowadays, as YLE Tampere left MW 1421 kHz in the 1970s.
Returning to the conference centre, we heard Pasi Komsi, director of
Tampere-based Pispalan Radio, talk about his station, which plays old-
time Finnish music, much of it from the 1920s and 30s. It broadcasts
across Tampere on 99.5 MHz with 100 W and also has a MW licence for
729 kHz. Pasi said that it was the first private station in Finland to
get a permanent MW licence for 80 years (SWR in Virrat is only part-
time).
Initially the AM transmitter was radiating 20 Watts and could be heard
up to around 100 km, but the transmitter has burnt out and currently
there is no money to repair it. The station is run as a hobby but
still has to pay royalties, so funding is difficult. When we visited
the transmitter site earlier in the Pispalan district of Tampere we
could hear the 729 frequency, although it was only audible in close
proximity to the tower supporting the aerial - maybe up to 150 m away.
Programming is automated with IDs between every song. You can listen
online at
http://www.pispalanradio.fi
and it has on occasions been relayed on SW.
FM enthusiast Jukka Kotovirta reviewed the 2017 FM DX season in which
the best DX openings had been in June when loggings had “sky-
rocketed”. Since June, 2017 had been fairly flat, so was only voted an
average year in the end (in recent years 2010 was judged the best
season, 2014 the worst).
June 2017 coincided with 8-10 day DX camps on Utö island (SW Finland-7
DXers) and further east at Poroniemi near the Russian border (3 DXers)
which enjoyed openings almost every day to Europe with also “double-
hops” to North Africa, Middle East, Russia and even China (double hops
increase the distance heard: Yining FM 90.5, China is about 4000 km
from Poroniemi!). Jukka also told us about the phenomenon of “e-cloud
to e-cloud hops” as well as some Sporadic E theories. His entertaining
talk had many recordings of DX catches to drool over! There is a blog
about the DX camps with photos at:
http://utofmdx.blogspot.co.uk/2017/
Right: Vesa-Jussi Rinkinen and Tapio Kalmi at Poroniemi [caption]
The Saturday session concluded with two quizzes – the first involved
IDing some of the best 2017 FM DX catches from audio clips, the second
IDing radio-themed songs and their artists from audio snippets. Dave
came second in the ID quiz, Alan joint first in the song quiz (though
losing on the tie-breaker). So definitely not a case of Great Britain
“nul points”!
On Saturday evening the EDXC Banquet began with a welcoming drink and
speech from the Mayor of Tampere. The proceedings were expertly
compered by Vesa-Jussi Rinkinen and after the excellent meal,
traditional FDXA banner awards were presented to their active board
member Ismo Kauppi and to overseas DXers Tibor Szilagyi, Toshi Ohtake
and Dave Kenny and Alan Pennington. The special award of FDXA (given
for extraordinary work for FDXA and the DX community) was awarded to
Torre Ekblom, long-time ambassador for DX, living and working in
Sweden, Denmark and Holland, who started DXing in 1952 in Helsinki and
was a founder of the EDXC. The evening concluded with the traditional
fun auction, hosted by Jukka Kotovirta and Jarmo Salmi where some
bargain radio-related items, including receivers, aerial wire, novelty
radios, coins, books and stamps were sold to the highest bidder!
On Sunday morning, Kari Kivekas (Secretary-General) presented an
update on the EDXC, together with Jan-Mikael Nurmela (Assistant
Secretary-General). After reading out greetings to the conference from
around the world we heard that the EDXC blog now has a new mobile-
friendly layout at:
https://edxcnews.wordpress.com/
The EDXC Facebook page is growing, now with 666 ‘likes’. Historic
material has been received from Torre Ekblom (Finland) and Anker
Petersen (Denmark), both of whom were at the first EDXC meeting 50
years ago in 1967. This will help in the writing of an EDXC history,
but a writer is needed still.
At 10 am, delegates stood for a minute’s silence in memory of those
killed and injured during the attack in the Finnish port of Turku on
Friday 18th August. The Finnish flag outside the conference venue was
flown at half-mast also, in common with flags across the country.
Further EDXC topics also discussed included the proposed EDXC radio
programme, the future management of the EDXC (Kari and Jan-Mikael have
been in their roles since 2013), a DXers’ ‘Hall of Fame’ and the venue
for the 2018 conference – suggestions were Vienna/Bratislava, San
Marino and Monaco. Member clubs were asked to consider these topics
and respond to Kari.
Mika Mäkeläinen next gave an enlightening talk on “How to get a QSL
from a Chinese station”. This considered the best source for addresses
and email addresses of stations in China, how to trace website
registrants, Foreign Affairs Offices in China and social media in
China (Weibo and Wechat). He showed us a QSL he’d received in the mail
from Hengyang PBS, actually in a wooden box (see below)!
And Mika (left) made video contact with friend Liu Hengyi at Anhui
Radio (936 kHz) on his mobile ‘phone so audience members could see her
and ask questions! Remember Mika has an excellent article on “How to
Identify Chinese radio stations” online at:
http://www.dxing.info/articles/identifying_Chinese_radio_stations.dx
Dan Goldfarb then updated us on progress on his impressive project
documenting all medium wave masts around the world (with transmitters
> 1 kW), including their coordinates. There are two very detailed
spreadsheets for active and inactive (or closed) transmitter sites.
The project, now in its 6th year, of course relies on reliable input
from DXers around the world. There is a Yahoo Group:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mwmasts/info
and the main website from where you can access the spread sheets is:
https://mwmasts.com/
Toshi Ohtake from the Japan SW Club (JSWC) gave a very informative
talk on Radio Listening in Japan: Past Present and Future. Toshi, born
in 1937, began his radio listening in the 1950s and his talk included
details of the “BCL Boom” in the mid-1970s and early 1980s in Japan.
Today the JSWC has 350 members, but peaked at around 1600 members
during this boom. The club is the 2nd oldest in the world and
celebrates its 65th anniversary this year. It was interesting to see
the club’s DXpeditions in local parks, where members make great DX
catches in electrically quiet locations reachable by public transport,
but still not far from home.
Toshi’s talk was sadly the final one of the conference and the
ceremony to lower the flags and bid farewell to everybody followed. A
wonderful 50th EDXC conference had ended, with thanks due to all the
organisers from FDXA, TreDXK and EDXC in Finland.
The FDXA website now includes some of the conference presentations and
the programme, with history of Radio Tampere etc. Plus some conference
photos, at:
http://sdxl.fi/edxc/
Above: Delegates outside Varala Institute at the close of the
conference [caption]
Twelve of us then began our 5-day road trip north in three cars,
through Finland, Sweden and Norway, with most northerly point reached,
Nordkapp above the Arctic Circle. Our first destination on this road
trip north was Scandinavian Weekend Radio’s studios and transmitter
site, near Virrat, a two-hour drive north of Tampere (see photos front
and back pages). (Alan Pennington, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via
DXLD)
DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See BAHRAIN [non]; KUWAIT
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DAB See SLOVENIA
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC See CUBA [non]; USA 1160 both re KFAQ
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See MEXICO; OKLAHOMA
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM
+++++++++++++++++++++
CROSS COUNTRY WIRELESS SDR-4+ SPECIAL EDITION GENERAL COVERAGE
RECEIVER
The SDR-4+ Special Edition brings all the changes together in one high
performance SDR receiver combining a high IP3 push pull RF amplifier
and switching mixer with improved RF filtering and a new low
distortion and noise IQ amplifier
http://www.crosscountrywireless.net/sdr-4.htm
(Tony Molloy, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
WHY DO WE RELY ON RADIOS DURING STORMS AND EMERGENCIES?
https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/9/16271110/radio-cellular-technology-emergency-broadcasts-storms-hurricane-explained
(via Artie Bigley, DXLD)
HERE'S WHERE COLD WAR 'NUMBERS STATIONS' BROADCAST SPIES' SECRET CODES
WIRED --- If you tuned into just the right shortwave radio frequency
in the 1970s, you might hear a creepy computerized voice reading out a
string of numbers. . .
https://www.wired.com/story/heres-where-cold-war-numbers-stations-broadcast-spies-secret-codes/
(via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Viz.:
If you tuned into just the right shortwave radio frequency in the
1970s, you might hear a creepy computerized voice reading out a string
of numbers. It was the Cold War, and the coded messages were rumored
to be secret intelligence broadcasts from "number stations" located
around the globe.
Photographer Lewis Bush is obsessed with these stations to “an almost
irrational degree" and hunts them down in Shadows of the State,
featuring 30 composite satellite images of alleged number stations
from Germany to Australia. The series took two years and endless
research. “It’s a difficult project to quantify in terms of man hours
wasted on it,” he says.
Numbers stations go back as far as World War I. During the Cold War,
there were hundreds of secret broadcasts. Intelligence agencies
sometimes started a transmission with a bit of music (one UK station
was dubbed the "Lincolnshire Poacher" because it began with a few
notes from an English folk song), then recited the code five numbers
at a time. Operatives with the key listened and transcribed top secret
messages. By the '70s, regular folks were picking up the frequencies
on ham radios and geeking out on their possible meanings. Numbers
stations even found their way into pop culture, with references in TV
shows like The Americans, movies like Vanilla Sky and songs by Moby.
Evidence suggests number stations are still used in countries like
Cuba and North Korea.
“If you’ve listened to some of the transmissions, it’s slightly like
listening to a voice from the past, and yet these things are still
broadcasting,” Bush says. “So while on the face of it the Cold War has
been over for decades, these stations are a reminder that it continues
to rumble on below the surface in all kinds of ways.”
Bush read about the stations online in 2012 and began tracking them
down, but got distracted with other work. The project languished on a
hard drive until two years ago, when a curator asked him to submit a
project for a show. He picked up where he left off, triangulating
possible locations from research done by radio enthusiasts, hints in
Cold War memoirs and information in declassified documents. “I’m not
sure if it’s ever happened that you find a smoking gun for one of
these sites that absolutely says ‘Yes, this is where a number station
is originating from,’ but there are some that come quite close,” he
says.
Once Bush locked into the general location, he often spent hours
scouring Google Earth for transmitters and sites of former
transmitters, keeping an eye out for clues like antennas, discolored
grass, and metal rods poking out of the ground. “You can compare year
by year, see what’s changing, or if in winter something is revealed by
trees losing their leaves,” he says. When Bush finds what he believes
to be a station, he takes up to 50 close-up screen grabs and stitches
them together in Photoshop to create one high-resolution image. He
also listens to frequencies where broadcasts supposedly still happen
on radio listening software, taking screen shots of the software's
spectrograms, graphics depicting the sound spectrum.
The final images try to visualize something largely intangible. No
government has ever confirmed the existence of numbers stations, and
Bush himself isn't completely certain of their locations. No one can
be sure what these scratchy codes really are. And that's precisely
what makes them so intriguing.
Shadows of the State will be published by Brave Books in December
2017. Bush is also raising funds on Kickstarter for an interactive
companion website (via DXLD)
with Slide show of 9 starting with aerial transmitter site captioned
1/9 This site in Kajung [sic], North Korea is thought to be the main
transmitter [sic] for Voice of Korea, the secretive state`s foreign
broadcaster, which broadcasts numbers traffic alongside its main
programs. LEWIS BUSH photo
WTFK? NK is not known as a numbers source currently. Also views of
Cyprus, Cuba, Poland, shortwave spectrograms . . . (gh, DXLD)
TIP FOR GETTING PAST ANNOYING ADS WHEN LISTENING TO WEB STREAMS
Most stations with web streams can be heard via tunein.com, and some
stations use tunein.com as their main streaming site.
This can be frustrating while DXing, because almost every time you
pull up another station on tunein.com, you're subjected to a 30-second
ad (sometimes even 2 of them!) that can't be turned off. HOWEVER...
You can get around this as follows (this works for Google Chrome; I
assume a similar solution may exist in other browsers):
- Open the station's web stream and let the ad start playing for a
split second.
- Right click the tab (at the top of the browser) and select the
"Duplicate" option.
- Quickly close the original tab.
When the duplicate tab opens, tunein.com perceives that the ad has
already run, and doesn't play it again. So you can listen to your
station right away, instead of sitting through the same ad over and
over. This is a big time-saver!
Try it with this URL:
https://tunein.com/radio/La-Uni-K-1057-FM-s284784/
73 (Tim Hall, CA, ABDX via DXLD)
PROPAGATION
+++++++++++
GEOMAGNETIC INDICES -- GEOMAGNETIC SUMMARY AUGUST 2017
Via Phil Bytheway – Tabulated from email status daily (K = 0000 UTC).
Flux A K Space Weather
1 74 6 1 no storms
2 74 5 1 no storms
3 75 12 4 no storms
4 74 23 3 no storms
5 74 16 3 no storms
6 74 13 2 no storms
7 73 5 1 no storms
8 71 5 1 no storms
9 72 4 2 no storms
10 71 5 2 no storms
11 70 7 2 no storms
12 70 11 3 no storms
13 68 7 2 no storms
14 73 5 2 no storms
15 74 4 1 no storms
16 77 6 2 no storms
17 77 29 4 minor, G1
18 80 21 3 minor, G1
19 87 31 4 minor, G1
20 86 22 3 minor, G1, R1
21 87 10 3 no storms
22 90 22 3 moderate, G2
23 85 25 3 minor, G1
24 79 11 1 no storms
25 81 5 2 no storms
26 78 5 1 no storms
27 78 10 3 no storms
28 82 4 1 no storms
29 84 10 3 no storms
30 87 5 0 no storms
31 92 31 3 minor, G1
Sx – Solar Radiation Storm Level / Gx – Geomagnetic Storm Level / Rx –
Radio Blackouts Level (NRC DX News Sept 18 published Sept 10 via DXLD)
DON`T YOU BELIEVE INTERNET SHORT-CUT PROPAGATION PREDIXION GIMMIX
Lou, VK5EEE sent this, which I edited:
"Do not believe modern-day short-cut internet-gimmicks such as this
(he included a reference to an online tool predicting propagation
titled "HF Conditions").
"Have a listen to the propagation beacons, tune around the bands!
Remember there is NO SUCH THING generally speaking as a GLOBAL HF one-
size-fits-all-situation in spite of the modern trend to paint that
picture into their systems. Part of the world is in darkness, part in
light. There are many grey areas. The K index varies from location to
location. East-West and North-South paths are affected differently by
events.
"Nor should we rely on advanced real-time programs such as VOAProp by
G4ILO. While useful, these also give sometimes wildly false readings.
For example, as I write this, bands including 10m are having great
propagation to all of America and to Asia, and perhaps to other places
too, while showing that even with 4 kW and a big high up Yagi at most
S1 signals from a few isolated places north of Australia would be
possible. NOT. I just need to tune in to 28200 to hear all the beacons
coming in so nice and clear and they are running 100 W to simple
Ground Plane antennas.
"What does the Australian government have to say about conditions
right now on the SWS website? 'Disturbed!'
"Again we may be tempted to take that at face value. 20-10m has not
been open much from VK in recent times with very low solar flux and no
sunspots at times. However right now, 10m is open. 12m is open, 15, 17
and 20m. Little activity but the beacons are clear, and Costa Rica
booming in on SSB on 20m even though the local time here is high noon
with the Sun high in the sky.
"If we look at the regional T index map,
http://www.sws.bom.gov.au/HF_Systems/1/6/1
"we see that in Australia and New Zealand conditions are actually
enhanced.
"If we look at the world map,
http://www.sws.bom.gov.au/HF_Systems/6/9/1
"we see that conditions in most of the world are ENHANCED, most of the
rest is NORMAL and only a few areas in parts of the Central Pacific
and near to the North Pole (parts of Canada, part of Greenland) and
northern Siberia are depressed. So why is there so much alarm and
DEPRESSED shown as a 'one size fits all' on simple condensed gimmicks?
Well, it is true for those few parts of the world. And somewhere the K
index is indeed 8, somewhere it is worse, somewhere better.
"Bear in mind that while over today and tomorrow there is a
possibility or even a probability of short wave fade-outs (not
worldwide but generally on the Sun side of the earth) but the Solar
Activity being high to very high means that when there is not a
fadeout conditions are most likely to be enhanced! We should be SO
HAPPY that solar flux is now well above 100, as that means HF openings
occur on higher bands more often.
"With the current predicament of those few radio amateurs who are not
hampered by various distractions, the LOCAL NOISE levels are
prohibitive on lower frequencies. When bands above 20m open up, we
should not be scared off by a glance at the RED/POOR prediction and
miss out on all the easy DX with simple antennas and low noise to be
had while the higher HF bands are wide open. Let us not forget the IBP
beacons, and to tune around and call CQ even when predictions would
encourage you do to otherwise."
Lou makes some excellent points. The various propagation models used
in the tools for predicting HF success are based on mean predicted
sunspot numbers for the month, and cannot predict real time HF
propagation. Lou included this URL:
http://30cw.net/
(QST de W1AW, Propagation Forecast Bulletin 36 ARLP036, From Tad
Cook, K7RA, Seattle, WA September 9, 2017, To all radio amateurs via
DXLD)
MAJOR X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE
On Sept. 6th, huge sunspot AR2673 unleashed a decade-class solar
flare, registering X9.3 on the "Richter Scale of Solar Flares."
Space Weather News for Sept. 6, 2017
http://spaceweather.com
https://www.facebook.com/spaceweatherdotcom
X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: On Sept. 6, 2017, at 12:02UT, active sunspot
AR2673 unleashed an X9.3-class solar flare--the strongest solar flare
in more than a decade. The explosion also hurled a CME into space, and
possibly toward Earth. Analysis of the event is still underway. Visit
Spaceweather.com (http://spaceweather.com) for updates and more
information about the historical context of today's remarkable flare.
Remember, SpaceWeather.com is on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/spaceweatherdotcom
http://spaceweather.com/
Above: The extreme ultraviolet flash from today's X9-class flare as
seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. More snapshots of the flare
may be found in the Space Weather Photo Gallery
http://spaceweathergallery.com/
(via Dario Monferni, Sept 6, playdx yg via DXLD)
SOLAR FLARES INTERFERED WITH RADIO NETWORK’S ABILITY TO WARN PEOPLE
ABOUT HURRICANE IRMA
space weather An M8.1 solar flare on Sept. 8, 2017. Image: NASA
Kate Lunau Sep 8 2017, 6:20pm
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/5997ea/solar-flares-interfered-with-radio-networks-ability-to-warn-people-about-hurricane-irma
“It’s sad, knowing you’re trying to get the information out, or maybe
someone out there is trying to talk back to you."
A series of massive explosions on the Sun caused a radio network
designed to warn people of hurricanes in remote regions, including the
Caribbean, to go on the fritz during the time period when it would
have been issuing information about Hurricane Irma, both the manager
of the network and a NOAA representative confirmed to Motherboard.
Solar flares like the ones reported this week are known to interfere
with high frequency radio signals. "When that solar flare happens,
it's like static frying," Bobby Graves, Net Manager for Hurricane
Watch Net (HWN), told me over the phone. This group of licensed
amateur radio operators, based across North and central America and
the Caribbean, works with the National Hurricane Center to disseminate
information about storms. When a solar flare happens, "it's like they
just turned the radio off," Graves, who lives in Brandon, Mississippi,
told me.
Bob Rutledge, lead forecaster at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction
Center, confirmed receiving "isolated" reports from the Caribbean
about radio blackouts related to the series of solar flares observed
on the Sun this week, including from HWN. "It's truly a complete
[radio] blackout," Rutledge said. "That signal can't get through."
HWN also gathers data from people on-the-ground and sends the
information back to the NHC in Miami, according to Graves. He said
that blackouts this week lasted from 20 minutes to up to four hours.
Geomagnetic storms make everything sound "gurgly," like you're talking
"underwater"
"It's sad, knowing you're trying to get the information out, or maybe
someone out there is trying to talk back to you," Graves told me.
Radio operators have to wait out the solar storm, and "hopefully [the
people] still there when the frequency is recovered."
Starting on September 4, a series of solar flares belched radiation
and solar plasma at Earth—including three of the largest and most
powerful types of solar flare, which are called X-class, Rutledge told
me. (Many more were M-class, a lower designation.)
One was an X9.3 flare, the largest recorded in about a decade,
according to NASA. NOAA's space weather agency issued warnings for
geomagnetic storms, which are major disturbances in our planet's
magnetosphere that can meddle with all kinds of technologies we rely
on, including satellites, radio communications, and GPS signals.
According to Graves, these storms make everything sound "gurgly," like
you're talking "underwater."
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Rutledge told me that the worst of the geomagnetic storm's effects are
now "in the rearview mirror." It's impossible to predict this
perfectly, he said, "but I think we're at the end."
No major impacts have been seen on the North American power grid,
Rutledge noted, which can be vulnerable: A particularly bad bout of
space weather caused the entire province of Quebec to black out in
1989. In the years since, governments like the US and Canada have been
assessing the risk to infrastructure from solar storms with an eye to
making it more resilient. Agencies like NOAA, NASA, and Natural
Resources Canada are responsible for putting out space weather
forecasts to provide advanced warning.
Read More: How Space Weather Can Influence Elections on Earth
Induced electric currents related to geomagnetic storms can also cause
corrosion in oil pipelines, Rutledge said, as well as problems with
GPS navigation signals, another worry. A geomagnetic storm like this
likely would have "degraded" the precision of GPS signals in some
places, he said, and reports of disturbances could still come in.
I phoned Ljubomir Nikolic, space weather forecaster for National
Resources Canada. He told me that no reports of disturbances have been
submitted there, but he also said it's possible reports are still to
come, as the storm's effects are ongoing and private companies like
satellite operators might take a few days to alert his department to
outages.
As for what's next, Rutledge told me we could see more solar flares
over the next day or two, but we probably won't see anything as
explosive as what was observed earlier this week. As the active region
of the Sun rotates from view, it won't be a concern anymore.
For Graves and his network, not to mention people in the Caribbean who
they're attempting to reach, this bout of bad space weather can't pass
too soon (via Artie Bigley, DXLD)
:Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts
:Issued: 2017 Sep 11 0813 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction
Center
# Product description and SWPC contact on the Web
# http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly.html
#
# Weekly Highlights and Forecasts
#
Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 04 - 10 September 2017
Solar activity was at moderate to high levels. Moderate levels were
observed on 09 Sep while high levels were observed for the rest of
the period. Region 2673 (S09, L=119, class/area Dkc/1060 on 08 Sep)
quickly overtook Region 2674 (N14, L=103, class/area Fhc/930 on 03
Sep) in terms of area and magnetic complexity. Region 2673
maintained a very active beta-gamma-delta magnetic group from 04 Sep
until it rotated onto the western limb on 10 Sep. This region
managed to produce a total of 54 C-flares, 26 M-flares, and 4
X-flares. On 04 Sep, there was an M5/3b flare (R2-Moderate) at
04/2033 UTC with an associated 2100 sfu Tenflare, Type II (estimated
velocity 1,472 km/s) radio sweep, and an asymmetric full halo CME
first observed in SOHO/LASCO C2 imagery at 04/2048 UTC. On 06 Sep,
there was an X9/2b flare (R3-Strong) that occurred at 06/1202 UTC
with an associated 14,000 sfu Tenflare, Type II (estimated velocity
1,765 km/s) and Type IV radio sweeps, and an asymmetric full halo
CME first observed in SOHO/LASCO C2 imagery at 06/1224 UTC. On 10
Sep, an X8 flare (R3-Strong) occurred at 10/1606 UTC with an
associated 1,900 sfu Tenflare, Type II (estimated velocity 928 km/s)
and Type IV radio sweeps and an asymmetric full halo CME first
observed in SOHO/LASCO C2 imagery at 10/1600 UTC. A magnetic crochet
was observed on solar-facing magnetometers during the X8 flare as
well as an EIT wave propagating across the solar disk in SDO/EUV 193
imagery beginning at 10/1557 UTC. The CMEs observed on 04 and 06 Sep
was determined to have Earth-directed components. The 10 Sep CME had
an estimated plane-of-sky speed around 2,100 km/s; however the bulk
of the CME was not Earth-directed. Analysis is still on-going for
the event.
The M5 flare on 04 Sep and X9 flare on 06 Sep caused an enhancement
in the greater than 10 MeV proton flux above the 100 pfu
(S2-Moderate) threshold. The enhancement reached the 10 pfu
(S1-Minor) threshold at 05/0040 UTC, crossed the 100 pfu threshold
at 05/0715 UTC, reached a maximum of 844 pfu at 08/0035 UTC, crossed
below the 100 pfu threshold at 08/0620 UTC, and ended at 09/0005
UTC. Another enhancement in the 10 MeV protons and 100 MeV protons
occurred with the X8 flare on 10 Sep. The greater than 10 MeV
protons increased above the 10 pfu threshold at 10/1645 UTC, crossed
the 100 pfu threshold at 10/1705 UTC, and crossed the 1000 pfu
(S3-Strong) threshold at 10/1840 UTC. The 100 MeV proton event above
1 pfu began at 10/1625 UTC and reached a maximum of 68 pfu at
10/2215 UTC. The greater than 10 MeV protons are currently above the
1000 pfu threshold at the time of this report.
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached
high levels throughout the period with a maximum flux of 15,800 pfu
observed at 04/1805 UTC.
Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to severe (G4) storm
levels. Solar wind parameters began the period under the diminishing
influence of a positive polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH
HSS) from 04-06 Sep. Solar wind speed ranged from 430 to 680 km/s
with total field between 3-9 nT. The geomagnetic field was at Quiet
to G1 (Minor) storm levels on 04 Sep and quiet to active levels on
05-06 Sep. Late on 06 Sep, the first of two CMEs were observed. The
first CME, associated with the M5 flare on 04 Sep, was first
observed passing the DSCOVR spacecraft at 06/2308 UTC. Total field
increased to 16 nT at 06/2324 UTC and solar wind increased to a
maximum of 610 km/s at 06/2309 UTC. The Bz component was mostly
north for this event with minor fluctuations to -10 nT. Then on 07
Sep, the second CME reached the DSCOVR spacecraft further increasing
total field to a maximum of 34 nT at 07/2254 UTC while the Bz
component deflected southward for nearly 5 hrs. reaching a maximum
of -32 nT. Solar wind increased to a maximum of 842 km/s at 08/0848
UTC before slowly decreasing to near 530 km/s by 10 Sep. Total field
increased once more at 08/1121 UTC to a maximum of 18 nT while the
Bz component went southward to a maximum of -17 nT. The Bz component
stayed mostly negative throughout the rest of the day on 08 Sep.
Geomagnetic sudden impulses of 21 nT (Fredericksburg magnetometer)
were observed at 06/2348 UTC and 70 nT at 07/2304 UTC with the
arrival of both CMEs. The geomagnetic field responded with quiet to
G4 (severe) storm levels on 07 Sep, active to G4 (severe) storm
levels on 08 Sep, quiet to unsettled levels on 09 Sep, and quiet to
active levels on 10 Sep.
FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 11 SEPTEMBER-7 OCTOBER 2017
Solar activity is expected to be at R1-R2 (Minor to Moderate) levels
on 11 Sep as Region 2673 rotates further around the west limb. A
decrease to very low to low levels is expected from 12-21 Sep.
Another increase to R1-R2 levels is likely with the return of old
Region 2673 on the visible disk on 22 Sep-05 Oct followed by a
decrease to very low to low levels on 06-07 Oct.
The greater than 10 MeV proton event in progress is likely to
continue through 14 Sep while the greater than 100 MeV proton event
is likely to drop below the 1 pfu threshold by 12 Sep barring any
further enhancements. There is a chance for another greater than 10
MeV proton event above the 10 pfu (S1-Minor) level from 22 Sep-06
Oct due to the return of old Region 2673 to the visible disk.
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is
expected to be at high levels on 11-12 Sep, 14-20 Sep, and 28 Sep-07
Oct due to CH HSS influence.
Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active
levels on 11-17 Sep and 27 Sep-02 Oct with G1 (Minor) levels likely
on 13-16 Sep and 27-29 Sep due to recurrent CH HSS activity. G2
(Moderate) geomagnetic storm levels are likely on 13 Sep due to a
combination of CH HSS activity and the possibility of a glancing
blow enhancement from the 10 Sep CME.
:Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt
:Issued: 2017 Sep 11 0813 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction
Center
# Product description and SWPC contact on the Web
# http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html
#
# 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table
# Issued 2017-09-11
#
# UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest
# Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index
2017 Sep 11 85 10 4
2017 Sep 12 83 12 4
2017 Sep 13 81 40 6
2017 Sep 14 84 34 5
2017 Sep 15 83 30 5
2017 Sep 16 83 20 5
2017 Sep 17 83 10 3
2017 Sep 18 84 5 2
2017 Sep 19 85 5 2
2017 Sep 20 85 8 3
2017 Sep 21 88 5 2
2017 Sep 22 90 5 2
2017 Sep 23 92 8 3
2017 Sep 24 95 5 2
2017 Sep 25 98 8 3
2017 Sep 26 105 5 2
2017 Sep 27 110 20 5
2017 Sep 28 115 20 5
2017 Sep 29 120 20 5
2017 Sep 30 125 18 4
2017 Oct 01 125 15 3
2017 Oct 02 120 12 3
2017 Oct 03 115 8 3
2017 Oct 04 110 5 2
2017 Oct 05 100 5 2
2017 Oct 06 95 5 2
2017 Oct 07 90 5 2
(SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1895, DXLD)
GLENN`S PROPAGATION OUTLOOK FOR MEDIA NETWORK PLUS AS OF SEPT 14, 2017
Keith, From Spaceweather Services Australia, the global HF propagation
forecast thru Sept 16: normal at low latitudes, normal to fair at
middle latitudes, fair to normal at high latitudes.
From Spaceweather South Africa thru September 16, magnetic conditions
minor storm to active; shortwave fadeouts unlikely, MUF unstable.
From Met Office UK thru September 17: solar activity very low.
Geomagnetic activity Unsettled to G1/Minor Storms (K index of 3-5)
through September 17); most likely on the 16th.
From F K Janda in Prague, Geomagnetic field will be:
quiet to active on September 15, 17 - 18, 23, 26 - 27, 30, October 1
active to disturbed on September 16, 28 - 29
quiet to unsettled September 19, 22, 25, October 2 - 4
quiet on September 20, 24
mostly quiet on September 21
From Space Weather Canada, the magnetic activity forecast: greatest
DRX nanoteslas in the polar, auroral and subauroral zones September
16, 27 and October 4.
From the Space Environment Predixion Center, China: planetary A index
declining from 26 September 15, to 3 on September 21, up to 22 on the
27th. 10.7 cm solar flux rising from 64 September 15, to 88 on the
23rd to 25th.
From SWPC in Boulder: Solar flux rising from 83 on September 15 to a
peak of 125 September 30 and October 1.
Geomagnetic field unsettled to active September 11-17 and 27 to
October 2, with G2 moderate to G1 Minor levels likely thru September
16 with A and K indices declining to 30 and 5 on the 15th. Another
peak to 20 and 5 on September 27 to 29. Lowest A`s and K`s of 5 and 2
or 8 and 3 on September 18-26.
William Hepburn`s VHF UHF DX Maps show extreme tropospheric ducting
along the east and west coasts of Baja California September 16 and 17;
increasingly off the northwest coast of Africa at least thru September
19;
As we are entering equinoxial conditions, All week at least thru the
19th as follows: across the central and eastern Mediterranean and
Black Sea; the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea; between
Mozambique and Madagascar, and off the northwest coast of Australia:
all week (via DXLD) ###