[IRCA] finally a good log of marti 530

["Bob Foxworth" <rfoxwor1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I had a good chance to work 530 this evening for about
an hour from 1845 to 1935 EDT (2245-2335 Z) and
again at 2000 (0000 Z) Apparently last week's hurricane
did some damage to the big Rebelde 530 site in Cuba,
and I am not now hearing them with the same signal as before.
This is for the weekly Saturday Marti broadcast on 530, BTW.

Due to local inside noise (townhome living-bah) I get my best
results, so far, using the built-in Delco radio in my truck (1996
vintage) and stock whip antenna. Sitting there with the
engine off (for acoustics) in 90 degree heat, in a rainstorm,
well, that's what DXing is all about. Just part of the
nuttiness, I suppose. At least the only cops I risk
seeing would be called by the neighbors, if I stay out
too long.

Today,  with the severely weakened Rebelde, Marti was
actually atop the frequency for much of the time. Unfortunately
we were pounded with local T-storms and the incessant
static chopped up a lot of the audio. I was able to // some
of the other 530 audio with Rebelde-1180 which was clean
and loud, showing no sign of the night-time multiple-carrier
rapid fading on 1180 (this is well before local sunset).
I believe one of the 1180's is in Pinar or near CH, a solid
all-day signal here (Tampa) , as is 640 Progreso, and some
several others.

Generally (530) a man-woman long  telephone interview, bits
of bumper music, voices were heard when Rebelde carrying
music. At 2330z caught "...marti ... desde Miami, Florida..."
through static, at at 2359z, a good rendition of the hourly
"atencion, Cuba" ID with "desde avion de los EE. UU." etc.,
and mention of frequencies, television marti etc.

At one point, a tape of a speech from Don Maximo Lider
el Viejo, with a sentence by sentence commentary
spliced in, read by someone with a contrasting point of view.

Fortunately the T-storms backing off by 2345. Caught IDs on
handheld Micro-43 acoustically (for which I haven't taken the
time to find a speaker feed for direct patch, a major
surgical operation in this truck).

My location in western Hillsborough county is somewhat
inland and here I notice a definite slow variation in signal
which seems to really peak up 2 or 3 times per hour,
today ranging from near-inaudible to fairly strong (but
would have still been way under the normal big Rebelde
gasbag if they were optimum). My best guess is that this
slow variation (this is _way_ before sunset) is due to
slow orbiting of the EC-130 in airspace north of La Habana,
the trailing longwire (with the 500 pound stabilizer weight)
creating a distinctly non-symmetrical pattern which
varies for me as the plane turns. Or else, they fly east, and
then return, and go far enough to the east so that the
land projection near Venice/Sarasota starts shielding the
signal, compared to the all-water path from Pinar east
to Habana. All just speculation, for now. I'd guess,
though, that they try to stay close in to the capital area,
but well outside the 12 mile limit.

Interestingly, a report from a coastal area DXer near here
shows a solid nonvarying signal level on them tonight,
so perhaps a different polarization wavefront reaching me
and my car radio vertical whip antenna. I note the same 2 Hz
SAH as previously, when the signal was buried under
Rebelde, but with the same cyclic slow fading. No evidence
of RVC has ever been noted here during daylight of course.
If the T-storms has not been present I would have had an
outstanding quality recording of them (Marti) tonight..

- Bob Foxworth, Tampa FL   built-in Delco car RX, 1m. whip


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