Re: [IRCA] Cubans on 530 kHz

[James Renfrew <jim.renfrew@xxxxxxxxx>]

Brian - Cuban call signs involve some degree of confusion, partly because
they are rarely if ever announced.  One exception is CMHW, which uses the
"W" slogan ("doble-veh").  I think this slogan predates the Cuban
Revolution.  Another difficulty is that there have been sometimes dual call
letters for a single station.  Take a look at the 2014 World Radio TV
Handbook and you will see even more confusion as it appears that the same
call letters are used for multiple stations sharing the same slogan.  And,
finally, note that many Cuban networks have multiple transmitters on one
frequency.  Sometimes you can hear a distinct echo that reveals at least
two stations on the channel, but which ones are you hearing?

I heard the 530 and the 1180 while visiting San Diego many years ago.  You
might also try 1620, as there a whole raft of Rebelde stations operating
there, and you can look for a parallel on 5025 shortwave.

Welcome back!

Jim Renfrew, Clarendon NY



On Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 9:44 PM, Brian Rachford <azswdxing@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I can imagine the Cuban stations causing big headaches especially farther
> east.  I tried for some of the higher power Cuban stations that night, but
> didn't seem to get anything.  For me, it's the Mexican stations that can be
> pests, although I'm reaching a detente in my own mind as I'm able to ID and
> log more and more of them.  (A webcast match and hearing their slogan over
> the air is usually good enough for me to log, but I keep working on hearing
> and recording call letters.)
>
> Brian Rachford - Prescott, AZ
> http://azswdxing.wordpress.com/
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 7:56 AM, Forrest Skaine <todftscytj7707@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> > Affectionately known as pests :)
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Todd Skaine
> > Woodbury, MN
> > Sony ICF 2010
> > Superradio 2
> > Grundig S350 &M400
> > Toyota car radio
> > On Oct 20, 2014 5:51 AM, "Brian Rachford" <azswdxing@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > New here, but have been recently checking out the archives for old and
> > new
> > > posts.
> > >
> > > I'm using a mix of new and old technology; a $10 DVB-T USB dongle with
> a
> > > Ham It Up upconverter to get BCB and SW frequencies, and fed with
> > > increasingly large tuned air core wooden loops.  My current "loopzilla"
> > is
> > > 6-foot on the diagonal and seems to perform better than my previous
> > 3-foot
> > > and 4-foot loops.
> > >
> > > Anyway...after getting hints of Spanish audio on 530 in the car shortly
> > > after midnight local time (MST) on the 15th, I set up loopzilla outside
> > and
> > > listened to variable quality Spanish broadcasting from two stations.
> > Using
> > > the mwlist.org site, I was able to get webcast matches for both Radio
> > > Rebelde and Radio Enciclopedia, and also get slogan matches from my
> radio
> > > audio.  (There's a post on my blog below with audio snippets if anyone
> is
> > > interested.)  Based on mwlist and http://www.bamlog.com/cubalist.htm,
> > I'm
> > > logging these as the following, recognizing that the call letters might
> > not
> > > be correct or meaningful:
> > >
> > > 530 CMBQ, Villa Maria CU, medium at 2:19am [0919UT], 10000W, webcast
> > match
> > > and "Radio Enciclopedia" (new, 1980 miles)
> > > 530 CTMO3, Guantanamo CU, medium at 2:28am [0928UT], 1000W, webcast
> match
> > > and "Rebelde" (new; 2478 miles!)
> > >
> > > I may have been assisted by the long path across the Gulf of Mexico,
> > > although I don't quite understand what attenuation or lack thereof
> > happens
> > > on the multiple ground "bounces" these signals must have made.  Still,
> my
> > > first AM BCB catches beyond 1900 miles since I seriously re-started my
> > > teenage DXing hobby from the 1980s again this August.  (247 total
> > stations
> > > at this location so far)
> > >
> > > I've checked out 530 a couple more times in the last few days and have
> > only
> > > found weak carriers with hints of audio.  Given the otherwise rather
> > clear
> > > frequency, are these stations fairly common out in the western US?
> > >
> > > Brian Rachford - Prescott, AZ
> > > http://azswdxing.wordpress.com/
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