[HCDX] the most recent LW-MW logs

[aurel chiochiu <acq@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Warm greetings to all of you !

While conditions are fairly lousy, it is quite surprising that a few Pan-Americans are still getting through as we are heading toward the end of April... If WABC-770 keeps it's IBOC crud silent at night, then off-season reception of LAs around its pesty channel such as Coro-780 would be expected around June. For whatever reason, I don't yet fully understand the nearly trans-equatorial path from Coro to Montreal is only viable, aside from the prime time fall and winter months, only on June and early July. During may and EARLY August, I never heard Coro-780, although starting from mid-August as the next season slowly begins they start to show.

Into the logs now:




Trans-Atlantic DX

162 FRANCE   France Inter, Allouis APR 18 0038 GMT - French talk badly chopped by computer growl. Very poor, but the only TA making the trip the last evening, so late in the DX season ! (Chiochiu-QC)

171 RUSSIA   Radio Rossii, Bolshakovo MAR 22 2230 GMT - Very tentative; threshold audio from a second station mixing with an equally weak Medi Un. Unusual considering the poor conditions and FIRST TIME HERE (if them, of course - I never saw the Radio Free Cecenia tx in Ukraine got logged in North America - at Sylvain Naud's QTH, Russia-171 is the subdominant behind Morocco) ! (Chiochiu-QC)


Pan-American DX

555 ST KITTS   ZIZ, Basseterre MAR 28 0310 GMT - Reggae music program with Caribbean English DJ. Pretty fair with some fades. SIO 343. The splatter is very minimal since adjacent-channel semi-local CHLN-550 went dark ! (Chiochiu-QC)

570 CUBA   CMDC, Radio Reloj, Pilón APR 18 0742 GMT - heard with a news segment regarding technological developpment followed by "Radio Reloj" spoken ID and a quick RR morse code ID. Fair signal and partially readable under WSYR and WMCA. The RR code IDs didn't had the usual punch despite the fairly good signal strength as if their CW machine has come out of age. The RR morse code ID was only SLIGHTLY stronger than the technological developpment voice segment caught at this time which is weird. Before, at local midnight, Radio Reloj was audible with dorbells through the QRM as the announcer was giving time checks around the world. Radio Reloj is doing this at both noon and midnight, as was noted during our trip to Cuba on the 2nd week of March, 2006. Overall SIO 422 due to QRM from both WSYR and WMCA. (Chiochiu-QC)

600 CUBA   CMKV, Radio Rebelde, Urbano Norris (Holguín area) APR 18 0750 GMT - atop WICC with a song done by Buena Vista Social Club. (Chiochiu-QC)

640 VENEZUELA   YVQO, Unión Radio, Puerto La Cruz, Anzoátegui APR 18 0330 - Presumed with Spanish news in mess. This has been heard on 2 or 3 occasions this season (and was regular back in 2002-2003), but I wonder where Guadeloupe has gone ? Only on FM ? I think I miss it ! (Chiochiu-QC)

670 CUBA   CMBA, Radio Rebelde, Arroyo Arrenas APR 18 0755 GMT - Cuban music atop the WFAN's HD QRM. Hints of it could be squeezed out of WOR on 710, but not good enough for a positive // confirmation. The past night was the first one in a while I got Rebelde-670 good enough to break through the WFAN's digital hiss ! (Chiochiu-QC)

750 VENEZUELA   YVKS, Caracas, Distrito Federal MAR 28 0300 GMT - heard, after the end of their previous talkshow and after several IDs prior to the top-of-the-hour, with the beginning of a passionated speech about the unity dream of Simón Bolivar. Fading during the course of a few minutes from poor to good and backwards. WSB QRM. SINPO 43523 (Chiochiu-QC)

760 COLOMBIA   HJAJ, RCN Cadena Basíca, Barranquilla MAR 28 0304 GMT - Woman doing news in Spanish noted in passing briefly in WJR null. (Chiochiu-QC)


Domestic DX

570 WMCA New York, NY APR 18 0400 EDT - "...WMCA, a service of Salem Communications" ToH ID suddenly faded on top of megapest WSYR Syracuse with Radio Reloj bubbling under. Rare here ! This and WNYC-820 are among the harder low-band New York City broadcasters at my QTH. (BC-QC)

Equipment test

760 WJR Detroit, MI APR 18 0001 EDT - briefly after local midnight and after a man with a serious voice giving a legal ID, the carrer was cut. Unfortunatly, NOTHING was really audible here in WJR's absence. With the radio's ferrite bar perpendicular to the E/W, I got moderate computer-like growl that was fairly slight with the radio's perpendicular to the N/S. No sign AT ALL of RCN Barranquilla which was very threshold at best BEFORE WJR's maintenance test ! Saying that, I suspect a dumb chief engineer who didn't knew the hiss the WJR listeners were hearing came from WABC-770 was because something was malfunctioning, so they decided to turn it off. This maintenance period couldn't happen at a worst time, propagation-wise ! (BC-QC)



Additionnal comments:
we are leaving for Romania around the 16th or 18th of May and I still didn't had time to contat Romania's top FM-TV DXer, but I'm looking forward doing it as my buzy schedule and romantic schedule permits. It appears in Romania, sporadic-E occur more often than in the Montreal area. Well...

I tried to listen tonight as well (APR 18 EDT / APR 19 GMT), but the conditions are abysmal. Well...

This repport is brought to you by:
Bogdan Alexandru Chiochiu DXing from Pierrefonds (Montreal's West Island), QC using a Sanyo MCD-S830 barefoot and a Sangean ACS-818 CST along with the PK's Shielded Magnetic LW loop

May the good DX be with you !
Bogdan Chiochiu
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