[HCDX]: Glenn Hauser's DX Report May 7

["Glenn Hauser" <wghauser@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

   GLENN HAUSER'S SHORTWAVE/DX REPORT 98-22, May 7, 1998

THIS WEEK ON WORLD OF RADIO 940. Armed Forces Day; MacHarg 
leaving HCJB; X-band action including Haitian in Massachusetts;
recording of AWR Madagascar; Malawi entering the TV age; Iraq
getting new transmitters; expanding the 75mb in Europe; how to
pronounce Milton Keynes, WRTH HQ; Why Women Don't Like DXing;
severe geomagnetic storm; and many of the stories below (Hauser)

BELARUS. I have been ignoring reports of English from R. Minsk, 
since the last I heard, it was nothing but paid religion from 
gospel huxters. Are they now actually producing their own English
programs, and how come they are spotted around the schedule at
various non-daily times like the huxters? Both R. Minsk and DXers
seem to have short memories, as only a few years ago the station 
was doing English to NAm, very well heard via Russian 
transmitters at 2330, as I recall (Glenn Hauser, OK, May 2)

CANADA. RCI has plans for a second site on the west coast, at
Cable Bay, BC, with 2 x 500 kW, 1 x 250 kW, 4 x 100 kW, to 
operate 20 hpd, with Thomcast ALLISS transmitters (Univ of Wash
student Hackett's webpage via Bill Matthews, TIAWR Wavescan May 4 via 
WORLD OF RADIO 940)

CHILE. Andrew Flynn, CE of Voz Cristiana was visiting Quito and
interviewed by Ken MacHarg on HCJB DX Partyline May 2. Besides 
the tests to Mexico on 21550, a second frequency has started
testing, 11890 mornings to Brazil--see below. Site is in a fruit-
growing area west of Santiago. The test tapes are played from
Stgo., not yet Miami, which they hope to have operational by
August. Licence was granted at Marchend. Will broadcast only in
Spanish [i.e. not English, but surely Portuguese -gh]. As soon as
more transmitters are refurbished, crystals, synthesizers are 
working, parts of this schedule will start appearing:

Mexico/CAm 1300-0100 21550, 0100-0600 11690
NSAm/Carib 1100-1400 15375, 1400-2100 17680, 2100-0600 9630
Brazil     0800-1100 11890, 1100-2100 21500, 2100-0500 11---
          (11890 seems to be working tho has VOA up 5)
SSAm       0900-1200 6070, 1200-2000 9635, 2000-0400 6070
          (6070 is being vacated by Cuba) [TS, CFRX -gh]

Minor frequency changes may be necessary. Voz Cristiana wants 
to occupy the chosen frequencies as soon as possible. Of the
eight transmitters, the final two could be sent to some other
location, or used to broker time for other Christian broadcasters
--not stations such as BBC, but only Christian stations. It may
take up to six months to get up and running. Will have a mix of
music and teaching like CV in Zambia, some programs in-house
productions, others from outside. Now replying by whatever means
is convenient, such as E-mail, fax, but plans eventually to have
new QSL cards. Flynn is the only non-Chilean technician at the
site, but there is a Swedish missionary dealing with the govt.
Site covers about 7 ha, has 5 towers of 73m supporting curtains,
and 4 towers of 50m with log-periodics. Working on a homemade 49
mb antenna which will also work on 31m once matched. Power is
from commercial source, but expensive, and during test period is
not on air in evenings at peak-power times. Possibly hydro-
electric later, but is 30-40 km from Andes up to 6 km high, in a
dry area. Will see how costs go the first year and then decide.
CV wants to reach the whole world, including English to Africa,
Spanish to LAm, Arabic to ME/NAf, Russian, Mandarin, Hindi. 
Looking for a new site to serve Asia, including one in Sri Lanka
already established. Plans to add local radio, but not TV, and 
has no plans for digital. Simpler URL will get to them:

http://www.christian-vision.org (via RIB via Hauser)

COSTA RICA. Due to HCJB QRM from 21470, RFPI is trying 21460
instead of 21465 starting May 7; reports wanted (Glenn Hauser, OK)

COSTA RICA. Once again this UT Monday May 4 at 0000, TIAWR had Wavescan 
on 9725; edition 175, and seemingly more rapidly 
delivered than before, containing some items already from WOR
938, rather than 4 weeks old. Bill Matthews did both the global
DX news segment and the North American (WORLD OF RADIO 940)

CUBA. RHC in English at 2230-2330 on new 9550 again clashes with
Ukraine this summer, when checked before and after 2300 May 5 in
anticipation of hearing DXers Unlimited around 2305. In fact, RHC
was way under RUI in Ukrainian. Way to go, Arnie! Why resolve a
frequency conflict that has gone on year after year? Back at 2100,
13715 was barely propagating and supposed new USB 13740 was 
inaudible in the aftermath of the major geomagnetic storm. At   
0130 check May 6 the USB frequency was 13605, not 13660 as Coro once 
predicted (Glenn Hauser, and WORLD OF RADIO 940)

ECUADOR. Since May 3, HCJB has greatly expanded usage of 21470 to 
*1815-2228*, despite knowing of the damage it causes to RFPI on 21466; 
meanwhile, dozens of other 13mb channels go vacant. BTW, Ken MacHarg 
writes supporters that he is quitting HCJB as of July 1 and moving to 
South Florida (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 940)

FRANCE. Since J98 began, RFI's English at 1200 via French Guiana
has been missing from 13625, tho 13640 in French is still there.
On May 6 at 1255 I found the apparent replacement, 15530, an
interview with Fr. Roy Bourgeois who is heading the effort to
close down the School of the Americas. 15530 had that typical
Guiana whine on it, and much weaker 15540 was in parallel, 
almost synchronized and not a satellite-hop apart--so could that
be some other relay, or are sites in France also taking satellite
feed? Why was there no advance notice of these changes? Not the
way to run an international radio station. Nor was there any
conclusion to the English hour--they just went to RFI IS without
any goodbye or even ID. 15530 went off around 1258 and 15540 
after the timesignal at 1300. However, May 7 at 1255 there was a 
standard closing announcement without giving any frequencies 
(Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR 940)

HUNGARY. On Sundays May 10 and 24, Hungary will go to the polls,
and on these days R. Budapest will air Election Specials in the
Hungary Today programme. Current English times are: Europe 1900-
1930 on 3975, 7170; 2100-2130 3975, 11700; NAm 0100-0130 6120, 9580; 
0230-0300 9840, 11910 (Edwin Southwell, England, April 20 via WORLD OF 
RADIO 939)

SERBIA. Radio Yugoslavia have moved to their summer freqs, just 
as predicted. I heard them poorly, under disturbed atmospheric 
conditions, May 4 0000-0030 9580 & 11870 (Ivan Grishin, WORLD OF RADIO 
940)

U K O G B A N I. Transmission sites for Merlin Network One:
 9645  2200-0100 Woofferton
 9780  2200-2400 Rampisham
11915  2100-2300 Woofferton
11985  2100-0100 Rampisham
13690  1900-0100 Skelton
15200  1700-1900 Woofferton
15590  1900-2100 Woofferton 
(Dan Ferguson, VOA, Cumbre DX)

It's nice to have this info at last, but this does not explain
why Rampisham 11985 and Skelton 13690 were far from synchronized at 2100 
as I previously reported. Is one of them using a multiple satellite feed 
"within" Britain? Or is the delay introduced for 
some other reason? (Glenn Hauser)

THE NEW HELLERUP, SOON TO BE WORLD-FAMOUS
Re the news of the appointment of a new WRTH editor, based in 
Milton Keynes, reported in last week's WoR: Please note that in 
this instance Keynes is NOT pronounced in the same way as the 
surname of British Liberal politician and economist John Maynard 
Keynes (i.e. rhyming with "mains"). Instead, it is is pronounced 
to rhyme with "means". Milton Keynes, about 45 miles northwest of 
London, is the largest of the so-called "new towns" built in the 
south of England over the last 50 years. It has some interesting 
radio connections. The city area includes Bletchley Park, the 
wartime HQ of the Government Code & Cypher School (later renamed 
Government Communications HQ, GCHQ, the British equivalent of the 
US National Security Agency) where the German Enigma codes were 
broken. Quite separately, various places around what is now 
Milton Keynes were used as studio and transmitter sites by 
British clandestine broadcasters during the war. Best wishes,
(Chris Greenway, BBC Monitoring, WORLD OF RADIO 940)         ###
                                         

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