[HCDX]: Glenn Hauser's DX Report, Nov 20

["Glenn Hauser" <wghauser@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

    GLENN HAUSER'S SHORTWAVE/DX REPORT 97-22, Nov 20, 1997

[items from these reports may be reproduced and re-reproduced
only provided full credit be maintained at all stages]

THIS WEEK ON WORLD OF RADIO 918. Recordings of new Miami station
on 1700 and Eritrean clandestine on 9230; Double Exposure badly
treated by CBC Radio, goes to Baton TV this week; FCC regulatory
structure ruled unconstitutional; KGEI making a comeback under
new name; France heard on very strange 7 MHz frequency; and many
of the items below (Hauser)

BELGIUM. RVI announced that its listeners' club has been closed,
and there is a new QSL policy: one per semester, instead of one
per month. Gee, I haven't got a QSL from Belgium since World's
Fair Radio in 1958, and I've survived (Glenn Hauser, OK, Nov 16)

COSTA RICA. I haven't heard AWR Wavescan for several weeks. On
Sun Nov 16 TIAWR did not air it at 1100 or 2300, but I heard a
promo for some other program during these hours, so perhaps it
is no longer scheduled then. Tho it was on WRMI 9955 for a 
couple of weeks, Sun at 2000, something else was running then
on Nov 16 (Glenn Hauser, OK)

CUBA. Latest RHC problems on the European service: on Nov 14 at
2100, 13715 no longer had the double-carrier problem, but the
audio kept rising to a peak, cutting back to nothing, and rising
again every few seconds. This continued into the French program
at 2130, where a new announcement mentioning //13605-USB still
called 13715 "FM" instead of "AM". But on Nov 18, 13715 had
resumed its previous problem at 2020 confirming my earlier
observations: there was a brief transmitter break, during which
the strength went down but the audio continued at a higher level.
I believe this was because once again two non-synchronized 
transmitters were in use, the stronger signal with weaker audio.
When the stronger one came back on it tended to blot out the
stronger audio on the weaker transmitter, and by 2025 there was
hardly any modulation audible, which continued into 2030 English
(Glenn Hauser, OK, REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING)

ERITREA [non]. I've been monitoring the new clandestines on 9230.
Signals are fair to poor from day to day, and modulation is fair,
could be better. Nov 15: 1415 Qur'an, weak and fluttery, 1417
anmt, mx and talk, mostly music with brief talks, dead air or
low modulation, 1436 anmt and into declamatory talk, off at 1446*
Nov 16: *1413 with open carrier, 1414 tone and undermod anmt, mx,
off at 1446:40*. Nov 17 ran 1415-1448:30*, including 1431 Arabic
ID "Huna..."; this date checked between 1500 and 1530 and nothing
on 9230 or 9300, the frequency BBCM says is announced. Nov 19: 
1414:50 3 plus 1 time signal 10 seconds early--on a previous
occasion it was more than 10 seconds late, so it's a phony time
signal; ID, Arabic, Qur'an; toward the end at 1445 the tape was
snagging badly causing awful wows in music, so cut off broadcast.
*1459 9230 was back on, with drumbeats, march beat, which BBCM
characterizes as machine-gun fire, "Huna Sawt ul...", adding 
vocal to the march music; 1503 bits of talk, 1510 mostly music,
fading, 1517 another Arabic ID, march music starts over, 1523
same tape-snagging problem, so must be not only from same
transmitter but same studio, 1532* with no ID. BBCM says the 
1415 transmission is V. of Free Eritrea, the 1500 V. of Truth,
believed to be from Sudan. I'm wondering why so much Arabic, 
since that is not a major language of Eritrea; is it becoming a 
second language instead of Amharic, of the former Ethiopian 
colonial masters? (Glenn Hauser, OK)

IRAN [non]. Democratic V. of Iran's latest sked: 1830-1900 on 
6210, 5835; sites not known (REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL
BROADCASTING Nov 18)

IRELAND [non]. Since the winter time for the NAm service of West
Coast Radio Ireland, UT Thu 0100 on 5905 via Germany, coincides
with a time when Michael Commins is doing his live show on
Mid West Radio, it is feasible to simulcast, making this WCRI
broadcast live rather than taped like the European service on
Sat. (Finbarr O'Driscoll, REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING
Nov 18) In fact, the Nov 20 broadcast was apparently live, taking
phone calls (Glenn Hauser, OK)

KOREA NORTH. An undated English schedule just received from R.
Pyongyang, if it is current and to be believed, indicates major
changes in timings for different target areas:

0000 C&SAm/SEAs 11845 13650 15230
0500 Eu 11740 13790
1100 ME/Af 9640 9975; C&SAm/SEAs 11335 13650 15230
1500 ME/Af 9640 9975; C&SAm/SEAs 11335 11735 13650
1800 Eu 6575 9345; NAm 11700 13760
1900 ME/Af 6520 9600 9975
2100 Eu 6575 9345; NAm 11700 13760
2300 NAm 11335 11700 13760 15130  
(via Gigi Lytle, REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING Nov 20)

NEW ZEALAND. RNZI's program sked has been partially updated on
their website, for example deleting BBC relay at 1100, but says
it makes no allowance for DST shifts of RNZ programming, so it's
quite a mess. Site also reveals that RNZI joined World Radio
Network on Nov 15 with a weekly program including Dateline
Pacific: Eu Sat 1500, Am Sat 1800, Af/As Sun 0500 (Glenn Hauser,
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING Nov 18)

PORTUGAL. RDP International, Sun Nov 16 sports broadcast found
on 17908, somewhat distorted and warbling carrier. Proved to be
//listed 17745, and matching spur which was even louder and
clearer than the other two frequencies, 17583. Also //21655
quite weak--with so many open frequencies still on 13m, why go
adjacent to BBC 21660? (Glenn Hauser, OK)

ROMANIA. I see in BC-DX that RRI has a new broadcast for NAm at
0600-0656 on 6155 and 5965. And the 1230 has resumed its former
time of 1300-1356. Nov 19 at 1353 check 17745 was the best by far
though announced as for WEu, while 17735 was under a het, 15390
very poor with co-channel, and 15250 absent. Nov 20 at 0600 I 
heard no sign of it on 5965, and 6155 was occupied by BBC English
lessons, tho something was underneath; when BBC quit at 0615, 
the other station was in German--of course, must have been
Austria, so Romania loses out again (Glenn Hauser, OK, and WORLD 
OF RADIO 918)

SPAIN. Distance Unknown has been missing from REE the past week
or two, formerly UT Suns around 0021 on 6055. Nov 16 I caught 
the re-opening at 0101 when they said "DUNK has been suspended
until Terry Burgoyne is back with us again" (Glenn Hauser, OK)

THAILAND. The 1230 broadcast on 9810 continues to be the best
heard here from R. Thailand, tho to As/Pac, not the evening bcs
allegedly for NAm. Thu Nov 20 at 1245 after lots of news had a
program on Thai culture with music--but it only lasted three
minutes until world news started; strong signal but considerable
flutter, actually better than Australia-9580 on this occasion.
Does anyone have a PROGRAM sked for this station? I've suggested
repeatedly to RT that they ought to beam the 1230 and/or 1400
English broadcasts toward NAm, if not get on VOA-USA relays 
Delano and Greenville like Greece (Glenn Hauser, OK)

U S A [non]. News this week of what is happening to former VOA
relay sites: Bethany, Ohio, 600 acres is worth $600 million, and
the government want to demolish what is left, turn it into a
golf course and recreational facilities and a high-tech learning
center to be shared by area universities. Some of the land would
be sold for commercial or light industrial development, but it 
is customary for such land to be deeded at little or no cost to
local governments (Kevin O'Hanlon, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer
via Jim Moats, and via David Alpert, REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL
BROADCASTING)
   And Monrovia, Liberia: Antennas still stand, but the grounds
are home to 27,000 people displaced by the civil war. Tiny huts
are open to cold winds from the nearby Atlantic and flooding at
high tide. People sleep on the bare ground and commonly die of
pneumonia. A former resident called "VOA a death trap, a hell on
earth." (David C. Butty, Detroit News via Mike Cooper, R.I.B.)

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