[HCDX] Glenn Hauser logs September 24, 2010

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

** CANADA. 6070, CFRX still open carrier only, Sept 24 at 0113 check. When will they notice at HQ and get around to going out to the transmitter site to fix it? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** COSTA RICA. After checking on R. Verdad, 4055+, see GUATEMALA, I looked for R. San Carlos on 2859.8, Sept 24 at 0200, but no trace of it. Up to its old trix, varying sign-off time considerably around 0200. The nominal sign-on at 1115 could be informative (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GUATEMALA. UT Sept 24 I checked for R. Verdad earlier than before, at 0200 UT. Music audible around 4055, and still at 0235, but lacking a reference carrier, it`s very difficult to get it to `sound right` with the BFO on, and once zeroed on Spain 6055, TGAV audio still is not clear, so it`s slightly off, I think to the hi side, and mushy sounding with some FM component rather than pure SSB. 

Dr Madrid confirms they are still running only 50 watts with the backup transmitter, but ``we`ll try to increase it a little bit tomorrow``, and assures us they will be back on 4052.5 when the big transmitter is reactivated, probably around the end of October (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

** U S A. As I was checking 90m, noise level not too bad, Sept 24 at 0207, found very weak signal on about 3199.5 and another like it on 3230.5; strained to make traces of audio // 3215 WWCR but could not, too weak. Nevertheless, these are surely the oft-reported spurs of the WWCR-1 transmitter, which does the same when on 7465. Maybe also when on 15825, but fundamental from that is rarely strong enough here to audiblize spurs so far down.

These have been reported periodically by Brian Alexander, PA, since Dec 8, 2007, and have varied slightly from 3199.38 to 3199.48, 3230.52 to 3230.62.

Furthermore, tnx to a tip from Sean Travers, who had been noting it previous two nights, WWCR quit 3215 and was opening with steel drum IS at 0358 Sept 24 on 3255 instead. I was not listening closely to what they said, if they axually mentioned why they were on 3255, but instead of programming, it became open carrier, still such until a country hymn singer started at 0454. The program listed for 04-05 UT Tue-Sat in the Sept schedule is Truth House with Dr. E.C. Fulcher. 0458 announced frequency change back to 3215, and off 3255.

I suppose this means when WORLD OF RADIO comes around UT Sunday at 0630, it will still be on 3215, but if not, check 3255 or vicinity.

Nothing about such a test or frequency change on the home page. It seems odd they would leave 3215 with no known problems (or has some military/government/utility user complained?), for a frequency already used by BBC via South Africa at 0300-0600. WWCR is certainly capable of overriding that in North America, but could cause problems for BBC in W Africa, and why risk collision when you don`t have to? 

So did it bring the plus/minus 15.5v kHz spurs with it? Seems so: at 0450 I was getting some weak otherwise unexplained carriers around 3239.5 and 3270.5. WWCR on 3255 could also be a problem for HRPC and its listeners on 3250; did not seem to be on after 0400 tonight but sometimes it is, and was hearing it earlier around 0210 when WWCR was still on 3199.5, 3215 and 3230.5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

** U S A. George McClintock of WTWW advises me Sept 23: switch from 9479 to 5755 has been moved forward an hour to 23 UT. The morning switch from 5755 to 9479 will also be moved an hour, later, sometime in October, 13 instead of 12 UT, to compensate for longer nights, shorter days. Registrations are flexible enough to accommodate such variations as needed.

How is transmitter #2 coming? A crew is coming shortly to do some work on it. Looks like it will not be on the air until next year. Transmitter #3? About 80% likely to be obtained this year, but it too will take some time after #2 to become operational. #1 has been working well, has run 30 days with very little downtime (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1531 missing from WWRB, UT Friday Sept 24 at 0330-0400. Too late, I discovered they had a corrupted file so could not air it; instead, big band music fill. I make a sad face. Now with the good file, perhaps they will be able to fit it in some open slot instead during the following week, and if so and notified in advance, I`ll let everyone know (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [non]. 9830, VG signal Sept 24 at 0154 in fraxured French --- must be Kriyol, then into instrumental music with religious overtones, 0158 ``Gott Sei die Ehre``, theme, so it`s Family Radio, but WYFR? Modulation unsounds like Okeechobee, and no Creole on their own schedule. 0158 says ``The Sound of the New Life, Family Radio en langue créole`` and off at 0158.6. 

This is a new service, started 27 August, really 250 kW, 306 degrees from Guiana French, at 01-02, tho hardly necessary with WYFR itself so close to Haïti (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 1521, het on KOKC 1520, Sept 24 at 0212, surely Saudi Arabia, which if nothing else penetrates the North Atlantic darkness. Reminds me that the night before I was also getting such a het at the very late hour of 0635 UT, which led me to dispense with SA as a source and look for another explanation, such as a spur or tone test from a domestic 1530 station, especially since there was another one like it on 1539. Now at 0212, there is no 1539, so putting that aside, I am rethinking this.

Early reception from East Asia or Pacific might be possible in winter, but now it just seems too early, and there are no powerful 1521 or 1539 transmitters in those areas.

0635 has to be long after sunrise anywhere in Saudi Arabia, but just where is Duba, the site of 1521? Would you believe it doesn`t rate a dot on the WRTH map of the Middle East? O yeah, that`s for SW sites only, but there is a lot of blank space in SA. One of my atlas collexion quickly locates it in the NW corner, just across from the tip of Sinai, and it`s right on the coast, which makes it the best possible site to reach Europe and beyond. 

So when is sunrise there? Little Duba is also unrecognized as of any significance by Gaisma.com but there is a listing for a city not too far away, Tabuk: http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/tabuk-sa.html
which shows 0623 local = 0323 UT. 

Considering that this is the most powerful MW station in the world, 2 megawatts, could it still be penetrating by skywave three hours after sunrise through sheer brute force? It is after all, routinely reported at least two hours before sunset along east coast North America, right?

The great circle path from Duba to Enid crosses Brussels, Manchester, Belfast, so in those locations of the UK or vicinity, just how late at this time of year can you still hear BSKSA on 1521? If it gets that far still at 0635 UT, then it could also reach here. Blocked by anything? WRTH frequency list has only: two stations under 1 kW in UK, one each 5 kW in Spain, 27 kW in Russia, 100 kW in Iran (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###


      

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