[HCDX] Glenn Hauser logs July 18, 2010

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

** CUBA. 11760, at 2017 Sunday July 18, checking for RHC DXers Unlimited at its new Sunday time, but just open carrier with bits of distorted modulation. Wiggle that patchcord! It`s the only English frequency for this broadcast, so no Arnie, SOB. 2027, can recognize fragments of ``El Condor Pasa``; 2033 more bits of modulation, and I realize at 2037 that 11760 is attempting to emit in Spanish, not English anyway, since it matches 11730.

Things are SNAFU at RHC, since 12030 is not in Spanish but Arabic // 15370 at 2040 check, an echo apart. Arabic supposed to be on 15370 only. Furthermore:

13750, the frequency supposedly used only for ``Aló, Presidente`` when El Hugazo feels like doing a Sunday afternoon show from Venezuela, which after several week`s absence was confirmed on air at 1630 UT July 18, was still transmitting when next checked at 2019 but open carrier interrupted now and then for a few words of Spanish which proved to be an echo apart from RHC itself on // 11730, 15380, a bit of Andean music, and concluding a secret replay of ``Formalmente Informal`` concerning Ecuador. At 2021:30, audio stops on all three frequencies, and 13750 goes off at 2022*. Presumably that was just spillover after whenever Chávez finished (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

** FRANCE [non]. 17630, RFI Spanish, July 18 at 2125 marred by continuous hi-pitched hum, TDF Guiana French generator fault? YL host mentioned the burka issue, gay marriage, apparently listeners` forum show as then put on a Spanish caller from Montreal who was dedicating a song to family in Italy, but host talked over it as she despided herself, breaking into French for closing pleasantries, cut off the air already at 2128:15* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGESET) 

** OKLAHOMA. 1580, KOKB Blackwell, again/still with hours and hours of dead air all day Sunday July 18; did not have a chance to dig for underSpanish in the morning (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENIG DIGEST) See also USA, KGGF for remarx on KFXY 1640

** OKLAHOMA. See previous reports with linx to FCC notice, newspaper story. KEIF-LP FM, 104.7. Enid, hit with at $10,000 fine by the FCC, has been airing the following recorded announcement by YL at each hourtop, such as 1859, 1959 and 2059 UT July 18:

``Recent media attention concerning the legal status of radio station KEIF has caused concern among our listeners and supporters. The allegations levied against KEIF will be answered and dealt with in a professional and truthful manner as quickly as possible.

KEIF has been dealing with the alleged violations for many years already, and now we`re going to put this matter to rest by working closely with the local community, other media outlets and the Federal Communications Commission.

Many of the allegations you may have read or heard about will be resolved soon. KEIF appreciates our supporters and sponsors of programming who make your community radio station possible, and we will strive to abide by and follow all current and future requirements imposed by the FCC on radio station KEIF.

If you would like to leave a comment about our programming and your thoughts on how best that KEIF can further serve our community, please feel free to call us any time at [580] 242-6901.

KEIF is Enid`s local community station and we`ll do our very best to serve the public`s needs, necessities and convenience, now and in the future. KEIF is a service of the Enid Public Radio Association, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving the citizens of Enid, Oklahoma. [different YL voice:] KEIF, LPFM, Enid``

Immediately following at 01:30 past the hours, only ONE minute of IRN-USA Radio Network news, sometimes making a smooth cutaway right back to rock music, sometimes not. That`s usually just the hard news headlines, before IRN can get into far-right religious-slanted `news`, or commercials. The 19 UT newscast by Precious [sic] Watson included this gaffe, about BP ``keeping a careful eye on the pressure gouge``.

In the past, KEIF/KUAL would air BBC news at 8 am local, the closest it ever came to being a `public` radio station. The still don`t get it: note that ``sponsors`` are mentioned in the apologia. Let`s see them try to wiggle out of the FCC`s ``allegations``. The overheight of the antenna is surely indisputable. Perhaps they`ll be careful with the commercials henceforth, but I really cannot stand to listen to them, beyond the above dutiful monitoring (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SPAIN. REE makes for excellent listening on Sunday afternoons, 15110 and 17595 VG direct, and 17850 too via CR. July 18 in the 20-21 hour it`s world music on Mundofonía, apparently from Israel today. After 2105, scary narration and music about the Inquisition, and torture of heretix which went on long before that, in France as well as Spain, involvement of various popes. 

The electronickish music evoked souls wailing in torment, background for most of the hour. 2152 closing credits including locutor Luís García Sapinal(?). I think this must have been ``La Costa de las Tormentas`` tho never heard the program title given. See http://www.rtve.es/radio/20100122/costa-las-tormentas/313677.shtml
altho it does not appear on the schedule
http://www.rtve.es/radio/radio-exterior/programacion/
at this time, instead ``Tablero Deportivo``, missing as usual.

At 2155, 17595 sign-off announcement until 2300 with a new set of frequencies for America, while 17850 continued with REE promos, 2200 timesignal two seconds late, and ``En 5 Minutos`` introduced by Antonio Buitrago, something about the between-wars Residencia de Estudiantes. This apparently fills time for missing hourtop newscast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

** U S A. Add another station ruined by over-reliance on automation: KGGF, 690, Coffeyville KS. Sunday July 18 at 1926 UT I notice open carrier, no modulation. Finally at 1928.5 to 1929.5 a couple of local commercials, more dead air, and 1930, ID as KGGF with Royals Baseball. Back to dead air. For the next two hours I amuse myself by leaving one receiver on 690. There never was any baseball coverage, just silence interrupted occasionally by local commercials.

I compared to Enid`s 1640, KFXY which also knows how to unmodulate, having broadcast mostly open carrier for 2-3 days last week. But now they are really running with Royals baseball, and the sporadic awakenings by KGGF match the local spot times on KFXY. As soon as they`re done each time, KFXY resumes live baseball, and KGGF resumes dead air. Some of these times were: 1940.5-1941.5, 1953-1954; 2004 ID as ``your home for Royals baseball in the four states``; 2013.5-2014.5, 2030-2031; 2031.5 ``The sports powerhouse for the four states, KGGF, 690, Coffeyville-Independence``; 2100 another ID; 2108-2109. 

At 2112 UT, KGGF outros its Royals coverage, with list of about a dozen local sponsors. Wonder if they think they got their money`s worth, since their ads did air, just no programming to go with them. And will they be due a refund or make-goods? Did they even notice what happened? 

However, there was one more wrapup segment on the Royals net, giving scores for others games finished or still in progress. Finally as heard on 1640, Royals net signs off, and immediately 690 comes to life, joins some other sports talk in progress about golf, and presumably now stays modulating as I outtune.

BTW, KFXY IDed at 2014 as ``The New Faith 1640`` as that remains its prime format, but blown away for silly ballgames.

>From this behavior, KGGF was obviously getting cue tones from the network about when to cut away for local ads or IDs, and when to rejoin --- yet in between, no audio of programming or network ads for at least two hours. (Many of the mandatory network ads are really local for Kansas City, of no interest anywhere beyond.) 

Did anyone else notice? Such as people in the 4-state coverage area who would really like to have heard the game? Maybe someone(s) tried to phone or e-mail the station, but obviously there was no one there to pick up on a summer Sunday afternoon, let alone monitor their own output. No doubt there were several other stations audible, really carrying the game, such as from KC itself.

These days, many stations run unattended, but someone can be remote-controlling it from anywhere. Of course, it helps to be in the broadcast coverage area so you can tell if anything is wrong, like say, no programming. Ever hear of a silence alarm? There is really no excuse for this, but shows how low the commercial broadcast industry has sunk, when something like this can go on from a 10-kW wide-coverage station and no one at the station knows or cares.

When I quit the fulltime broadcasting biz in 1984, some automation was beginning to creep in, but axually having a live person in control at the station was still standard practice. Now most stations, especially commercial, would not dream of paying even minimum wage in order to have somehuman oversight 24/7.

Later that evening, 690 did have another baseball broadcast, including the game, Cardinals? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###


      

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