[HCDX] Glenn Hauser logs April 5, 2013

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

** ALBANIA. 9850, April 5 at 0129, R. Tirana again with VG strength and no QRM, but with IS which is extremely distorted (does anyone have a better quality recording of it from the old days before RT`s own tape wore out?). 0130 Klara signs on with completely correct English schedule including UT days of week, but instead of program summary a minute or so of music, then joining the news apparently in progress, first about numerous government ministers being dismissed and replaced with new ones: quite a shakeup in the Albanian government. Second story: USA recognizes Kosovo/a as an independent nation; just now? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BRAZIL. 11855-, April 5 at 0118, weak Portuguese sounds like a preacher, i.e. the 1 kW Catholic, R. Aparecida, seldom heard here, slightly on the lo side. 11765 SRDA stronger but too overshadowed by 11760 RHC while 11780 RNB/RNA is inbooming as usual (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

** CUBA. 6100, April 5 at 0058, RHC Spanish has finally moved here from 6120, as per their A-13 schedule supposedly effective April 1 when a few other changes were really made. No doubt assisted by my several reminders in reports surreptitiously viewed by frequency mis-manager Arnie Coro. So now WYFR and RTI have no ACI on 6115.

15200-15260, April 5 at 0105 checking the defective RHC transmitter on 15230: now center channel has some crackling, and the buzz field as follows on the hi side, probably matching on the lo side: this time there is no clear segment right next to the fundamental, but buzz out to a peak around 10 kHz, diminishing to just about gone by 20 kHz away; but as I listen, it must fade up a bit, as now I am hearing the buzz up to 25 kHz, to the margin at 30 kHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** DIEGO GARCIA. 12759-USB, April 5 at 0052, JBA broadcast talk and music, i.e. AFN. Still hoping for another opening boosting it to readable level (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** EGYPT. 13855, April 5 at 0111, huge hummy and fading open carrier, the SSOB, with some clix, occasional traces of talk or music modulation trying to break thru but to no avail. Of course, it`s another totally useless R. Cairo transmission, now per HFCC: 2330-0200 Arabic and Spanish, 250 kW, 286 degrees from Abis to Mexico, Central America and Caribbean.

13620, April 5 at 0113, another open carrier, with some fades and no modulation at all, quite weaker than 13855, but also of course, R. Cairo: 0045-0200 Spanish, 250 kW, 241 degrees from Abis to S America.

A few minutes later, however, there is some musical modulation on 9720, presumably also Spanish service which should have been //, i.e. 0045-0200, plus English 0200-0330, 250 kW, 330 degrees from Abu Zaabal to C & W North America (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ECUADOR. 6050, April 5 before 0100, I am standing by with BFO for the dead giveaway HCJB timesignal. Otherwise there is nothing readable on frequency, but something very weak --- yes, there it is, four plus one, the final pip prolonged. HCJB recently told its German listeners that because of some transmitter problem they were on reduced power. 

WRTH 2013 shows nominally it was only 8 kW, and it`s just another domestic station, #08 in Pichincha Province, furthermore with a blank in the callsign column, but HCJB in the station name column. Does that mean that HCJB is no longer its real callsign? Since it`s operated by Vozandes Media, not exactly the same corporately as the old World Radio Missionary Fellowship in Colorado Springs, now known as HCJB Global (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

** JAPAN. 9595, April 5 at 0129 poor signal with Japanese music, must be R. Nikkei, unusual time to be getting it here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** PAKISTAN. 17710, April 5 at 0109 as I am bandscanning 16m, there are a few signals, including a het on the hi side of strong RHC 17705; it`s very weak vs the heavy splash, with Qur`an or perhaps some other chanting. HFCC shows: R. Pakistan in Urdu at 0045-0215, 250 kW, 118 degrees from Islamabad. Nice springtime propagation; see also SRI LANKA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** PERU. 5980, April 5 at 0050, I start my eveningly ritual of Chaski-chasing on the porch with the DX-398 on battery power, few meters of external wire. It`s much more comfortable now with the rain over and clear skies, enough dusklight to see what I am writing in the log for half a sesquihour, not needing the porch light. 

However, again I am losing contact with Urubamba: no carrier audible at first and the noise level is unreasonably hi in this part of the band. I think residual off-schedule Cuban jamming against non-Martí is part of it, as there is some weak pulsing among it. At 0057 now I can barely make out a carrier with BFO. On to check other stuff, including the HCJB timesignal at hourtop, Cuba finally on 6100. But when I get back to 5980 at 0101, no more carrier vs the noise, and still nothing changes at 0102:33.5 when it is projected to cut off. 

Maybe R. Chaski has just reset their turn-off timer again to be closer to 0100, or off the air for some other reason, or just not propagating; however, the Bolivians on 5952+ and 6135- are at their usual sufficient levels. Until next night - (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SRI LANKA. 12115, April 5 at 0114, weak conversation in Burmese. HFCC shows IBB at 0030-0130, 250 kW, 57 degrees from Iranawila. However, this is not on the new VOA A13 schedule, which does have Burmese before and after this on other frequencies, ergo by elimination this hour must be R. Free Asia, a needlessly wasteful duplication of effort as I am sure Kim Andrew Elliott would agree (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

** SRI LANKA [and non]. 11905, April 5 at 0118, nice S Asian vocal music, fair with flutter; must be SLBC, Hindi service, which HFCC shows as the 300 kW Ekala transmitter at 350 degrees. Despite not being a low-power unit, it`s very nice to hear some programming originating in Sri Lanka, rather than all the relays of something else.

11620, April 5 at 0122 also has S Asian vocal music; it`s the All India Radio Urdu service with a stronger, clearer signal altho listed as 250 kW, 334 degrees from Delhi; but I`m still going back to 11905  (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** VIETNAM [and non]. 12005, April 5 at 0116, VOV English news by YL announcer with heavy accent, Woofferton UK relay to eastern N America, sufficient, but with ACI from the wall-of-noise jamming the incompetent DentroCuban Jamming Command still spews against 12000, formerly occupied by the defunct Spanish service of VOA, not even R. Martí. Serves Vietnam right for being a jam-country itself against various western broadcasts.

Which brings us to World Harvest Radio, happy to relay VOV via WHRI. Yet T8WH PALAU, a.k.a. Angels 3 & 4, a.k.a. HBN in HFCC, includes several broadcasts specified as in the Vietnamese language, which are surely religious or clandestine, on 9930, 9965, 15500, 17800, and the other WHR station is subject to being jammed by the same country it`s relaying to the Americas. So what? Clients pay the bills; the morality of this business is obviously not a problem. One broadcast to check for Vietnamese jamming is BRB`s Que Me Radio, scheduled Fridays only 1200-1230 on 9930 via Palau (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

UNIDENTIFIED. 5055-USB, April 5 at 0056, very poor Spanish two-way, YL saying ``adelante`` a few times, which means ``over to you`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

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