GLENN HAUSER'S SHORTWAVE/DX REPORT 99-73, Dec 12, 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, this means adding the line above} ** CHILE. Here's a pirate I had not heard about before, Dark Pampa Radio, with some interesting QSLs to see: Visit our web! http://www.srs.pp.se/fr/darkpampa/index.html (DPR Dec 12 via Hauser) ** COLOMBIA (?). 4955.0 is a good clear frequency (except for static crashes -- in December?!) and the signal was fair, but the modulation was weak and distorted. So much so that I listened for minutes Dec 11 from 2340 off and on past 2418 and could not decide if it was Spanish, Russian or maybe Quechua? Lots of low-key M&W talking and songs in unID language. Possibly was a cultural program from Rdif. Nacional, not in Spanish. A couple hours later the modulation was a little better and 4955 was definitely in Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK) ** FINLAND. DXer Mika Makelainen recently went on an Arctic Dxpedition, and produced a piece about it for CNN World Report. This has already appeared on CNN International, and is expected to show on the US domestic CNN, Monday Dec 13 in the second half of the 0800- 0900 UT hour. (various postings from him in hard-core-dx, summarised by Hauser) http://www.makelainen.com/dx/lem132.htm ** GREECE [non]. The Sunday evening Greek music show on VOG via VOA 17705 and 17565 (both still synchronized and overpowering, so presumed both Delano as of Dec 12) at 1900-2000 is live per announcements, and requests may be made to tel. 606-6184 or to the host, who sounds a bit like Tom Meijer, senexus@hotmail.com BTW, the crosstalk was at a much lower level today, tho still audible in pauses and the Optimod is always pumped way up. With that kind of signal one ought to be able to enjoy hifi music at 15 kHz bandwidth, but no way since it is so clipped: the time pips at 2000 were barely audible, I think because their audio frequency was above the passband imposed upon this (Glenn Hauser, OK) ** KOREA SOUTH. On RKI Multiwave Feedback Sun Dec 12 at 1138 on 9650 via Canada, Han Hee Joo previewed plans for special programming, too fast for me to copy accurately, but more details are to be given next week. Dec 27-30 there will be a 4-part series on the year in sport, culture, economics, politics. Then Adieu 1999, Welcome New Millennium two parter. For the one-hour broadcasts (and who cares about the half-hours which are all we can hear well?) the 0800 transmission is normally repeated five times at 1300, 1600, 1900, 2100, 0200, but on Dec 31 Adieu 1999 will air only twice at 0800 and 1300, and Welcome to New Millennium, after local midnight, will appear at 1600, 1900, 2100 and 0200 (Glenn Hauser, OK) ** KOREA SOUTH. Dear Sirs, Please visit the new contents of our web site; "New Logo Songs of Radio Korea International" http://www.246.ne.jp/~abi/rkisj-e.htm Radio Korea International launched some new logo songs on November 1st, 1999. RKI provided the audio files of these new logo songs to us. FB DXing! (Toru Yamashita, Dec 12) I hear some of these on 9650; really quite nice (Hauser) ** MACAU [non]. Some western classical music caught my ear on the secret Cuban relay of CRI, 5990 Sat Dec 11 at 2348, outro as Piano Concerto No. 1, with the Macao Chamber Orchestra – no composer mentioned, but who cares? Then went into bits of Transfigured Night by Schoenberg, on Music From China. That reminds me, Chinese Imperialism finally gets its mitts on Macau in a few more days, to considerably less hoopla than Hong Kong. But I expect CRI will be presenting more Macao-themed programmes for the occasion. BTW, I’ve been to Macau and it was a fascinating place even though in my limited time I could not get into Emissora Vila Verde. But I found the denizens were more likely to speak Cantonese or even English than Portuguese. I for one mourn the loss of harmless tiny colonies like this. I can assure you Macao will remain on the list of Countries I Have Visited, just like NASWA, once and forever! Tho the Cuban relays have existed since April or May, CRI still does not know about them, or want us to: the closing schedule announcement at 2355 only gave the six broadcasts to East and South Africa at 1400, 1500, 1600, 1700, 2000, and 2100. I suppose they tape the 2000 for playback at 2300. Carrier stayed on and opened Spanish at 0000 as R. Internacional de China. Then I noticed one DX bulletin claiming that English is at 0000 and 0100 on 9570, but I think it is only at 0100, which I also reconfirmed, and carrier still blocking Romania at 0157 IS; 0200 Chinese. Another Cuban relay of CRI in English was reconfirmed Dec 12 at 1300 on 9570, and the direct broadcasts at 1400 and 1500 on 7405. So the complete schedule of CRI in English to North America as best we know it, but not known in Beijing is: 1300 9570 Cuba 1400 7405 direct 1500 7405 direct 2300 5990 Cuba 0100 9570 Cuba 0300 9690 Spain 0400 9730 French Guiana 0500 9560 Canada (Glenn Hauser, OK) ** SWEDEN. Monday morning and back on duty I have to inform you that due to hurricane over the southern part of Sweden, where we have our transmitters, the antennas have blown to pieces. We have not yet got any definite time or day when we will be on air again. In the Stockholm area the storm was not that bad and we have not been out of electricity or anything, but a new storm is on its way and we have to wait and see. (Adler of Radio Sweden via Peter Lee) Date, Dec 6? (Johnson, Cumbre DX) ** SWEDEN. The above story was also on DX Partyline Dec 11, attributed to Karl Kruger. Hurricanes don't hit Europe, let alone Sweden in December, tho there certainly could have been a bad storm - perhaps some bad translation. I believe remnants of tropical Atlantic hurricanes occasionally reach Britain, but I find it hard to believe that there was a hurricane hitting Hoerby in December, and that R. Sweden's antennas were ``blown to pieces'' -- especially since I was hearing SCDX/MediaScan as usual last Tuesday Dec 7 around 1445 on 18960 and 21810. Also checked Sunday Dec 12 when the same two were audible before 1300, and at 1430 as usual with Sounds Nordic. BTW, opening announcement at 1430 still claimed to be on summer frequency 15240. A sesquimonth into the B-99 season, would it be too much to ask for R. Sweden to update their announcements? Oh, oh - it was just the MW 1179 facility : (Glenn Hauser, OK) ** SWEDEN. 1179 Solvesborg tx was off the air from Fri afternoon Dec 3rd until Sat Dec 4th 1630, due to powerfailure and strong winds. The tx is located just at the Baltic Sea-side. (Bengt A. Ericson, Sweden, Dec 5 via BC-DX) [600 kW unit of R Sweden foreign sce and dom sce relay. Directional two mast antenna. ed. Bueschel] ###