GLENN HAUSER'S SHORTWAVE/DX REPORT 99-72, Dec 11, 1999 {Items from this and all our reports may be reproduced and re- reproduced only providing full credit be maintained at all stages. If excerpting, that means adding the line above to the item.} CONTINENT OF MEDIA 99-09. The new edition started airing on RFPI Dec 10. For topic summary see http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/com9909.html For schedule see http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wormassw.html ** AUSTRIA [non]. This week, ORF's DX show in Spanish, Sat Dec 11 at 1651 on 17865 via Canada, had at least 3 minutes of two simultaneous Spanish tapes playing at same level, one of which was the DX program. Would it be too much to ask for operators at ORF to pay attention to what they are sending out? (Glenn Hauser, OK) ** BRAZIL [non]. Sat Dec 11 between 21 and 22 Brasilia time [2300- 2400 UT] R. Transmundial will have a live broadcast via satellite from TWR Bonaire on 800 kHz. Rudolf Grimm, and Carlos Felipe da Silva of the Amigos do Radio program will be participating. The objective is to reach listeners who call an 0800 toll-free number during this hour, and determine where they are calling from, since changes are being made in the antenna pattern toward South America. So people are invited to listen and call the 0800 number which will be announced. (Grimm, radio-escutas Dec 10, translated by Hauser) Karl Leite in Natal added that he had not heard PJB 800 for quite some time. As I recall, TWR is turning off its 500 kW transmitter to be replaced by 100 kW with more directive antenna pattern (Hauser) ** COSTA RICA. On this week's RFPI Mailbag, James Latham wondered if others were hearing some data QRM to 6975. Yes, I did, at 0541 check Dec 11, when 3-second data bursts came on precisely every 39 seconds for the several minutes I listened with watch in hand. Strong enough to be annoying, but not totally overriding; after a while one tended to tune them out mentally (Glenn Hauser, OK) ** ISRAEL. Dear Kol Israel, please a d j u s t your 50 kW tx at Jerusalem transmitter site, which is registered for 9390 kHz channel on the ITU list. The latter mentioned tx unit is wandering today, Dec 11, towards variable 9393.04 kHz. Hetting Radio Pakistan which is co- channel carrying the French service on 9395 kHz (exact 9394.91]. 73 de (Wolfgang DF5SX Bueschel) 9390 1900-2200 2-10,27,28 ISR 50 318 0 28 D HEB ISR KOL 30-3 9395 2200-2359 2-10,27,28 ISR 50 318 0 28 D HEB ISR KOL 30-3 9390 2359-0500 2-10,27,28 ISR 50 318 0 28 D HEB ISR KOL 30-3 ** PORTUGAL. December 11, 1999. This item comes from CIDX member Larry Dolan, of Pierrefonds, Quebec. While checking out some opening in the low VHF spectrum, on Saturday, December 11, 1999, around 1400 UT, Larry came up with the following catch: 31080 kHz at 1400 UT- PORTUGAL: RDP Radio Portugal in Portuguese. Second harmonic of 15540 kHz with Portuguese programming for North America. Larry is using an Icom IC-R7100 with outdoor mobile magmount antenna. He also monitored the fundamental 15540 on his Drake R8B with a random wire. (Sheldon Harvey Greenfield Park, Quebec) ** SUDAN. 6965 has been noted here with good reception at 1430-1610v; no religious program has been heard but mainly talk in Arabic on neighbouring countries - Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Uganda and Arabic songs of European Style went off Dec 1O at 1600 and on Dec 11 at 1611 after News and ID as Ida.......Sudani (Mahendra Vaghjee, Mauritius, Dec 11) But which station, exactly? (Hauser) Mahendra was kind enough to send along a RA file of this one. He's right, it is an anti-Sudanese clandestine. It's Voice of Freedom and Renewal, which is reportedly based in Eritrea. Heard in Arabic with military action reports and news headlines. Sudanese government referred to a 'terrorist regime' and IDs as Sowt al-hurriyah wa al- tajdid. Did hear one new slogan after an ID, Sowt al-Sudan al-jadid, Voice of the new Sudan. The backer of this station recently reported that they were operating a bit "below" their announced frequency of 7000 kHz. This one has been heard as far as East Coast North America, so check out 6965 at 0400. (Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX Special) ** TURKS & CAICOS. Dear Glenn, My apologies for not giving the Turk & Caicos item from your SW-report full source-information in ARC's MW- Echo. It was a mistake and I'm sorry for that. I take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2000! 73's (Tore Larsson editor of ARC's Caribbean and Central American column, Dec 11) Same to you! ** U S A. On Dec 11 I checked the WRMI website http://members.xoom.com/wrmi, and found the program schedule updated as of Dec 1, and FINALLY presented in tabular rather than paragraph format! And you get to the schedule at first step after the home page. WRMI is on 7385 at 0200-0930 except UT Mon from 0300. Since I have not heard WRMI on 9955 in MONTHS – literally, nothing but jamming whenever I check, I will pick out only the few programs worth listening to which are on 7385. Note that Wavescan is presented ONLY in the middle of the night for your convenience, as is Viva Miami with one exception. Daily 0300-0330 R. Prague Spanish Daily 0330-0400 R. Prague Czech Daily 0400-0430 R. Prague English UT Sat 0430-0445 UN Radio UT Sun 0445-0500 Viva Miami English UT Sun 0500-0600 Scream of the Butterfly UT Tue 0830-0900 AWR Wavescan UT Tue 0900-0930 Viva Miami English UT Wed 0830-0900 AWR Wavescan UT Wed 0900-0930 Viva Miami English UT Thu 0900-0930 Viva Miami English UT Fri 0900-0930 Viva Miami English Let us hope the UT days here are correct in the 0830-0930 period, since WRMI presents its schedule in UT but ``local days'' and apparently 0830-0900 is still considered the day before since it is at the end of the previous day's schedule rather than the beginning of a new day, a la the dolts at TV Guide, even tho it is the next day both by UT and EST! (Glenn Hauser) ** U S A. Tnx to a tip last week from Glenn Hauser, I checked Sat Dec 11 for the ``Worldwide Space Support Net'' on 13985 USB. It started at 1600 sharp, not 1500 as he thought they had said. First-time NCS was AGA5MC at McChord AFB, WA, with last week's NCS, AFA4BR, helping out as alternate NCS. It is a USAF directed net, meaning everybody takes orders from the NCS, no free-for-all. First there was setting the net frequency. Roll call took at least 15 minutes, then propagation tests with various stations called upon to radio-check others. This was marred by some exact co-channel QRM which came up, referred to by one participant as PACTOR. At 1636 it was time for phone patches, but no one had adequate quality for that. Proclaimed that maximum effort is expected on 1 January to exchange Y2K info between command posts and to clue in the command posts about this. 13985 was finally referred to as Wisdom 3, in discussing QSY after 1643* to Wisdom 7, and later down to Wisdom 6. (Does anyone know what frequencies these are?) As far as I could tell all the participants were within CONUS, not Worldwide at all, and nothing whatsoever was said about space, or supporting it. Some were at various AFBs, identified with calls, or in outlying areas such as AFA6CG in Deming, NM, ``supporting Holloman AFB''. An exercise, in futility? (Glenn Hauser, OK) ** U S A. From Allan Weiner Worldwide, Dec 11 at 0100 on WBCQ 7415: His malady is a mild case of viral encephalitis, and herbal remedies his M.D. would never even think of prescribing, have been helping. He would rather have this than Lyme disease. Plans are firming up for the summer radio-ship in Boston harbor. He was talking about what a lightship is, but I did not catch whether this vessel is to be one. Earlier I checked for Jean Shepherd on WBCQ 7415 at the scheduled time Dec 11 of Fri 2130. There was Gary Bourgois carrying on a conversation with someone, almost as if not on the air. At 2139 Gary realized he had forgotten that it was time to play Jean Shepherd for WBCQ, and was hunting around for the tape, which would run late at 2140-2230, but evidently he never found it as at recheck after 2205 it was still Gary gab. Geez, it is possible to be too informal as an international satellite and shortwave broadcaster. (Glenn Hauser, OK) ** U S A. Kim Elliott expects me to do another Shortwave Year in Review special feature, to appear on the C-segment timings only of VOA Communications World Dec 25, i.e. 0736, 1536, 1936, 2336, as well as in the half-hour deluxe edition (Glenn Hauser, OK) ###