Subj: NRC IDXD Vol 62-15.a Date: 95-01-04 00:35:17 EST From: JimRenfrew To: PlsBCBDXER To: wfunkenhauser@cs1.conestogac.on.ca To: MarkWA1ION, jburnell@kean.ucs.mun.ca To: whitt_s@bt-web.bt.co.uk To: bc@lexicon.com To: mrodrigu@dino.conicit.ve To: rmcvicar@mhs.hcjb.com.ec To: moore@acc.mcrest.edu To: kmacharg@mhs.hcjb.com.ec, TomBeaton To: djms@bear.com CC: 70614.3561@compuserve.com CC: DPHT10A@prodigy.com CC: bjohn@master.ceat.okstate.edu CC: bige@trackman.win.net CC: 73564.203@compuserve.com CC: fnordqui@erc.cat.syr.edu CC: hightext@delphi.com CC: fybush@world.std.com CC: Dave.Onley@p5.f725.n635.z3.fidonet.org CC: bwink@galstar.com ** The following is the electronic version of "International DX Digest" ** which appears 30 times each year in "DX News", the 62 year old publication ** of the National Radio Club. For subscription and other information about ** the NRC please write to: DX News Subscription Center, P.O. Box 118, ** Poquonock, CT 06064-0118 USA. ** ** Annual subscriptions (US funds only, please) ** USA: $24.00 new subscriber, $22.00 renewals ** Canada: $25.00 new subscriber, $23.00 renewals ** Mexico/Caribbean: $29.00 new subscriber, $27.00 renewals ** All other countries: $36.00 new subscriber, $34.00 renewals ** ** Items appearing in IDXD may be reprinted in other hobby publications ** provided that the original reporter or publication is credited. We ** also recommend that the date or issue number be noted. **** Release date: January 3, 1995 **** (in two parts) Many reports in my mailbox after a week in San Diego. I hope I can fit them all in during these two days before leaving town again. By next column I'll be back on schedule. Up-coming IDXD deadlines are JAN 14, JAN 21, JAN 28, FEB 4, FEB 11. Material arriving after the deadline may be held over for the following week. Only a few loggings of the recent HCJB Test, too much buzz from Cuba for most of us. Welcome back to John Bryant, adding Oklahoma to our list of IDXD reporting states and provinces. For those wondering, here's the full list so far for this DX season: NH, MA, CT, NY, NJ, PA, MD, DE, DC, VA, NC, FL, IL, IA, WI, LA, OK, KS, CO, OR, CA, HI; NF, NB, PQ, ON, MB, BC; Jamaica, UK, Sweden, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador. If your state/province doesn't appear here, drop us a line! PAN-AMERICAN DX 540 MEXICO XEWA San Luis Potosi SLP, DEC 27 0637 - Noted with "WA" IDs and music, with XETIN off (per IRCA log). [Renfrew*CA] JAN 2 0459 - Heard back home through CBEF with strong signal with frequent IDs as "WA", with Ottawa now on FM this one is easy again. [Renfrew-NY] 540 COLOMBIA R. Autentica HJKA Bogota, DEC 26 0830 - SS religious talk, SS version of "O Little Town of Bethlehem," ID, "Feliz navidad." [Yocis-CT] 540.3 NICARAGUA YNOW, Managua. Here most evenings as a het on blockbuster XEWA. Heard IDs at presumed +-0400 S/F on several occasions in Fall 1994. [Bryant-OK] 550 MEXICO XEPL Cd. Cuahtemoc CHIH, DEC 29 0128 - Heard through mess with "XE(PL) La Superestacion" ID and then mention of Chihuhua. [Renfrew*CA] 610 CUBA, R. Reloj, DEC 6 0349 - Standard code, chimes and SS news by man under WIP. First time heard on this frequency, WRTH lists two, both 1 kw. [Braun-DE] 640 CUBA Guanabacoa et al., DEC 24 0610 - Reloj program // 660. This is normally a Progreso outlet (as is 660). [Connelly*H-MA] DEC 26 2330 - Good, "Radio Progreso, cadena nacional" ID and news over WNNZ. [Conti-NH] One of several Cubans who visit here most evenings. This channel often is equal with semi-local (1 kw) WWLS. Sounds to me like Progresso is running far more than the listed 150 kw. [Bryant-OK] (Given the serious energy crisis in Cuba, I doubt they are running any more than usual. This one does get out well, year after year - Jim) 660 CUBA Santa Clara, DEC 24 0609 - Reloj program with man & woman doing news in SS with timeticks every second and "RR" code once a minute. Signal was hacking up WFAN. [Connelly*H-MA] 690 CUBA R.Progreso, Jovellanos, DEC 24 0005 - Buzzing of defective xmtr dominant in CBF null, remained a nuisance 0515 thru 0545 ruining any chance of hearing the HCJB DX test. [Conti-NH] 690 ANGUILLA University Network, St.John's, DEC 24 0450 - Poor, jazz instrumentals and usual phone number announcements, this time // 1610, mixing with buzzing of R.Progreso-Cuba in CBF null. [Conti-NH] 690 ECUADOR, HCJB Quito, DEC 24 0515-0545 - Not heard over WMZK. [Less-OH] DEC 24 0515-0545 - No sign of them. Frequency was dominated by what seemed to be "good old fashioned jamming". Lasted 'til after 0130, then 690 was "clear again". No chance to hear HCJB, or anything else for that matter! Fortunately this was verified on last years DX test. Jamming was looped N-S and was best "heard" on south wire. Now who could be jamming from due south??? I don't think this could have been widely heard with all the extra noise on the frequency. [Tiara-NC] DEC 24 0515-0545 - CBF dominant, growl on channel, no sign of test. CBF included many renditions of "O Holy Night" after 0530. [Braun-DE] DEC 24 0525 - Salsa music, not // R.Progreso, fading in and out of buzzing and Anguilla, suspect R.Deportes-Colombia. [Conti-NH] DEC 24 0515- 0545 DX TEST - Not heard; CBF strong over buzz from Cuba, occasionally strong het from 693. Anguilla was heard before 0500. [Yocis-CT] (Buzzing is a bad transmitter, not a jammer, from Cuba - Jim) The three tones that you mentioned in Issue #14 were indeed part of CBF's "O Holy Night" marathon, I made a note of them while listening. [Braun-DE] Also reporting a reception of the HCJB Test was Mark Connelly, but I seem to have erased his report. He says that it was better received during the test in May, 1994. 700 VENEZUELA R.Sur, Puerto Ordaz, DEC 27 0010 - Good, Spanish reggae, rap, and merengue, over an unID Latin American station. [Conti-NH] 700 VENEZUELA R.Popular, DEC 29 0035 - Zulia beisbol with commercial announcements for a super mercado and peliculas from Video Wao, Radio Popular ID, briefly over R.Sur-Venezuela. [Conti-NH] 700 JAMAICA JBC R.One, Montego Bay, DEC 29 0140 - Radio One jingle and reggae music briefly over R.Sur/R.Popular, again at 0213 with announcement and Radio One-derful jingle, first time heard this season. [Conti-NH] 700.2 MEXICO UNID, DEC 29 0500, DEC 30 0501 - National Anthem heard here at sign-off, seemed off-frequency each time I heard it, with music strong and listenable, but announcements too shallow to cut through XETRA slop. Time suggests CST location. DEC 31 0422 - Heard partial announcement "Cadena Coper" (I think) and an ad for the "Lotteria Nacional". [Renfrew*CA] 730 MEXICO XEEBC Ensenada BCN, DEC 30 1758 - With call letters, ID as "Radio Acir", power (mil vatios), and location. A new station on the air since I was last here. [Renfrew*CA] 760 COLOMBIA, HJAJ Barranquilla, DEC 24 0604 - good with RCN ID, folkish SS male vocal // 770. [Connelly*H-MA] 770 COLOMBIA RCN, Bogota (presumed), DEC 8 0400 - with news, many mentions of Colombia, Bogota, etc. In KKOB null. [Bryant-OK] DEC 24 0604 - RCN ID, folkish SS male vocal, // 760; under WABC. [Connelly*H-MA] 770 MEXICO XEIH Fresnillo ZAC, DEC 28 0624 - Heard with music, "La Mexicana" ID, and laser bursts between songs - just like my reception of NOV 14 in Rochester. [Renfrew*CA] 780 COLOMBIA R. Almirante, Riohacha, JAN 4 0047 - "Radio Almirante" shouted out in the mess. [Renfrew-NY] 810 COLOMBIA CARACOL, Bogota, DEC 15 0310 - Fair, futbol play-by-play, complete with jingles, "Caracol" mentions, and a "Goooooal!", // 5075, in WGY null. [Conti-NH] 820 MEXICO XEBA Guadalajara JAL, DEC 28 0635 - With "La Consentida" ID heard through XEYX Mexicali. [Renfrew*CA] 830 VENEZUELA R. Sensacion, JAN 3 2316 - Loud and clear, very early for this location. First sign of auroral night! [Renfrew-NY] 840 CUBA Dobleve, Santa Clara, DEC 15 0400 - Good, IDs as "Dobleve" and "la ritmo de la noche", followed by "la hora romantica" program, over WHAS. [Conti-NH] 24 0556 - Cuban anthem, then off. [Connelly*H-MA] 850 UNID, JAN 4 0100-0300 - Steady strem of merengue music, a few announcements, but none on the hour. WEAT (FL) also heard during this time. The only thing resembling an ID was a shouted "Super ???". Venezuela and Colombia were in strong tonight so probably Bogata or Caracas, but the "Super" may be Puerto Rico. [Renfrew-NY] 860 UNID, DEC 18 0550 - SS vocals, UNID anthem began at 0555 after brief announcement by man in SS and lasted until 0601, then carrier off. [Braun-DE] 885t MONTSERRAT ZJB, JAN 4 0108 - Island music, weak; still looking to ID this one. [Renfrew-NY] 890v UNID, DEC 18 0800-0830 - SS station on the high side of 890 with ID ad "Radio Cahr-ay-UNN". What is it? [Andres-PA] (Probably R. Galeon, Santa Marta, Colombia, whose name is pronounced "Hal-ay-OHN". This one is often reported on the high side of 890. 890 MEXICO XENZ Fiesta Latina, Culiacan, DEC 18 0719 - with mariachi-type music and caught a couple of "equis-e-enza" I.D.'s - fair signal, battling it out with WLS Chicago. (Chandler-ON in DX Ontario JAN 1995) 930 UNID DEC 28 0640 - SS station heard weak through KKHJ 930 null with "Radio Ideal" slogan. [Renfrew*CA] 1000 MEXICO R. Mil, Mexico DF, JAN 2 0738 - With WMVP off, Radio Mil with typical 4 note whistle ID. I was looking for Brazil to no avail. UNID C&W and woman with call-in program underneath. [Renfrew-NY] 1000 COLOMBIA RCN Cartagena, JAN 2 0739 - Noted with RCN ID and mention of Informe Radio Nederlandia. [Renfrew-NY] 1070 FRENCH GUIANA, RFO Matoury (Cayenne), DEC 24 0625 - FF talk by man; poor to fair, briefly atop SS station (presumed R. Zulia). CHOK was phased (with 2- loop cardioid pattern) and CBA had open carrier. [Connelly*H-MA] 1150 MEXICO UNIDs, DEC 29 0553 - Station with MST timechecks and ID as "Energia Once Cincuenta", looped slightly south of next logging. DEC 29 0558 - ID as "Radio Popular", end of "Linea Directa" program, a short flute SID, then National Anthem, followed by ID again as "Radio Popular, XE??, Mexico DF", and then I think more stations were listed but I was losing the signal at this point. [Renfrew*CA] 1350 MEXICO UNID, DEC 30 0552 - Heard with R Centro whistle played on an organ, then National Anthem at 0556. I later found Tijuana 1270 here during the day as a spur, so perhaps them? [Renfrew*CA] 1370 MEXICO XEHF Nogales SON, DEC 27 0241 - IDing as "Radio Nortena", never caught location but this one was pretty regular at night. [Renfrew*CA] 1370 MEXICO XEHG Mexicali BCN, DEC 27 0241 - About even with XEHF and IDing as "HG". There was also SS KWRM to complicate these loggings. [Renfrew*CA] 1375 ST. PIERRE ET MIQUELON, RFO, DEC 23 0524 - Very strong signal, but, as usual here, no sign of the audio. [Braun-DE] 1380 MEXICO UNIDs, DEC 28 0500 - Possible sign-off announcement mentioning "XEQQ Colima". Nothing like this listed, so perhaps a network station. There is an "XEUU" in Colima on 1210 on the same network as 1380 Tecate, but the IRCA List shows them IDing as "XE doble U". DEC 28 0602 - Two Mexican National Anthems heard one after the other, one went off the other stayed on. Time suggests CST locations. [Renfrew*CA] 1540 MEXICO XEHOS Hermosillo SON, DEC 28 0326 - Weak through KXED with "La Poderosa" IDs. [Renfrew*CA] 1550 MEXICO UNID, DEC 28 0350 - Weak in XEBG partial null (I can see their Tijuana tower from the window) with whistle ID (just like Radio Centro 1030), so perhaps the ORC net, but which station? [Renfrew*CA] 1685 COLOMBIA, Mercaderes, DEC 19 0429 - MER beacon code ID's; fair. [Connelly-MA] Jim habla: "As usual, lots of fun DXing from San Diego in between family activities. Not as many spurs from Tijuana stations noted this time. 860 had a strong daytime spur on 885. 1420 had a strong spur on 1200. 1270 had a strong spur on 1350." TRANS-PACIFIC DX 738t TAHITI RFO, NOV 26 0635 - poor to fair (at times) but with long fades. alternating FRENCH female/male announcers prattling on about music selections and playing FRENCH vocals (and possibly a Tahitian on at 0645). Music sounded like Saturday night stuff, French ballads and vocals --- soft keyed though, not raunchy. I monitored this on-and-off to 0800, when they went into apparent news to 0805 (heard "Le Journal d'hier" or similar .... Yesterday's News or Newspaper?) Back to music a 0805. Very definitely FRENCH and not Spain (no Iberian TAs were heard e.g. 666, 684, 774, 1035 --- not even 621.) [Funkenhauser-ON in DX Ontario JAN 1995] NRC IDXD Vol 62-15 (part 2) TRANS-ATLANTIC DX 567 SPAIN RNE-5 Murcia etc., DEC 22 2335 - Fair with fem singer doing pop songs. [Dangerfield-PA] 585 SPAIN Madrid, DEC 24 0241 - energetic dialogue with several men & women in SS; excellent. [Connelly*H-MA] DEC 28 0012 - SS talk by man, fair. [Yocis-CT] 603 SPAIN Sevilla / Palencia, DEC 24 0242 - man & woman in SS; fair on peaks, 4 Hz SAH present. [Connelly*H-MA] 612 SPAIN Lerida, DEC 24 0245 - bits of SS talk, fast (10 Hz) SAH withother station (probably Morocco) under. [Connelly*H-MA] 612 MOROCCO RTM Sebaa-Aioun DEC 28 0015 - AA talk by woman, poor. [Yocis-CT] 621 CANARY ISLANDS Santa Cruz de Tenerife, DEC 26 0611 - SS talk by man & woman; excellent, strongest TA at the time. This one can be loud even when stations from Spain aren't strong. [Connelly-MA] 621 SPAIN RNE1, DEC 26 2230 - Good, Radio Nacional ID and UTC+1 time check, man and woman with news. [Conti-NH] 639 SPAIN La Coruna et al., DEC 24 0246 - man & woman in SS; to good peak, slight CBN slop / het. [Connelly*H-MA] 657 SPAIN Madrid, DEC 24 0246 - excited SS talk, getting through the WFAN slop. [Connelly*H-MA] 666 PORTUGAL Lisbon, DEC 22 0420 - Very strong with pop and Christmas music, male vocals, and PP announcements by a man. [Dangerfield-PA] DEC 24 0247 - 2 men talking PP; good. [Connelly*H-MA] DEC 24 0430 - Fair, nostalgia and talk in Portuguese in WFAN slop. [Conti-NH] 684 SPAIN Sevilla, DEC 24 0410 - woman in SS; monster signal nearly equal to those of adjacent domestics WRKO-680 and CBF-690. [Connelly*H-MA] DEC 24 0443 - Music, talk by woman, quite strong. DEC 25 0329 - SS ballad, fair. DEC 28 0330 - SS talk by man and woman, best ever, S9+15. JAN 1 0206 - Beatles' "Michelle," good. [Yocis-CT] 693 AZORES Santa Barbara, Terceira, DEC 24 0250 - PP group discussion; loud, BBC was audible way under. DEC 24 0411 - excellent with classical music followed by PP talk. [Connelly*H-MA] 693 ENGLAND, DEC 24 0550 - BBC with EE talk & interspersed music; to fair peaks. [Connelly*H-MA] 702 unID's (probably MOROCCO & SPAIN), DEC 24 0251 - carrier with 4 Hz SAH was strongly hetting WLW/CHSJ-700. [Connelly*H-MA] 711 MOROCCO Laayoune, DEC 20 0113 - Very strong with man chanting the Koran, then a woman in AA. [Dangerfield-Pa] DEC 24 0252 - tentative, bits of AA talk, huge het against WOR/Cuba-710. [Connelly*H-MA] 738 SPAIN Barcelona, DEC 24 0253 - man & woman in SS; fair to good. [Connelly*H-MA] 747 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN, DEC 24 0256 - Christmas music, then man & woman in SS; over others & CBGY/WSB/YVKS-750 slop. [Connelly*H-MA] JAN 1 0218 - Presumed with US oldies, faded before end of song, but conditions, loop bearing favor this rather than Holland. Good on peak. [Yocis-CT] 747 HOLLAND Flevoland, DEC 24 0414 - "Feliz Navidad" by Jose Feliciano, then a female Dutch vocal; atop SS station. [Connelly*H-MA] 756 SPAIN Bilbao, DEC 24 0259 - SS vocal music; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] 774 SPAIN synchros., DEC 24 0301 - news by woman in SS; loud. [Connelly*H-MA] 783 PORTUGAL Miramar, DEC 21 0113 - Fair signal with soft orchestra music and female vocals. [Dangerfield-PA] 792 SPAIN Sevilla, DEC 24 0303 - SS news by man; fair through WLKW slop. DEC 24 0419 - SS teletalk; very good. [Connelly*H-MA] 837 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN, DEC 24 0421 - 2 men talking in SS; excellent signal. [Connelly*H-MA] 846 ITALY Rome, DEC 24 0304 - II news; poor in WEEI-850 slop. [Connelly*H-MA] 855 SPAIN Murcia et al., DEC 24 0306 - fast SS talk by woman; good. DEC 24 0601 - SS telephone news interview; excellent. [Connelly*H-MA] DEC 24 0446 - SS music // better 684. [Yocis-CT] DEC 28 0020 - SS talk by man // 585, 684, poor. [Yocis-CT] 873 SPAIN Zaragoza, DEC 24 0423 - fast SS talk in WLAM/WWL-870 slop. [Connelly*H-MA] 882 CANARY ISLANDS La Laguna, DEC 24 0426 - bits of SS talk getting through heavy WCBS-880 slop. [Connelly*H-MA] 891 ALGERIA Algiers, DEC 24 0309 - AA talk; good. [Connelly*H-MA] DEC 28 0025 - AA female vocal; fair. Low-band conditions were mediocre with a lot of domestic QRM. [Connelly-MA] 954 SPAIN Madrid, DEC 24 0319 - SS talk; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] 1035 PORTUGAL Lisboa, DEC 24 0327 - PP talk, then upbeat female Christmas vocal; very good. [Connelly*H-MA] 1044 SPAIN San Sebastian, DEC 21 0555 - fast SS talk by man; very good. [Connelly-MA] DEC 24 0325 - fast SS talk by 2 men; good over low-pitched growl. [Connelly*H-MA] 1044 MOROCCO RTM, Sebaa-Aioun, DEC 24 0020 - Weak with Arabic vocals under SER-Spain. [Conti-NH] 1107 SPAIN, DEC 24 0336 - excited SS talk, maybe a sports report; to fair peaks over slop from WBT/WHIM-1110. [Connelly*H-MA] 1107 EGYPT Batra, DEC 28 0147 - male AA vocal; to fair peaks over Spain. [Connelly-MA] 1197 MOROCCO Agadir, DEC 22 2130 - Classical music than FF talk by a man. [Beaton-MA] 1215 ENGLAND VIRGIN RADIO synch., DEC 22 0335 - Very good signal. Rock music (But I wouldn't know one song from another). [Dangerfield-PA] DEC 23 0537 - woman in EE, man in EE, then blues vocal; fair to good. DEC 26 0604 - song by the Cult, then man in EE; poor to fair. [Connelly-MA] 1224 BULGARIA Vidin, DEC 16 0443 - Opera-like soprano, then two men and a woman talking in what sounded like Bulgarian. [Dangerfield-PA] 1269 GERMANY Neumunster, DEC 28 0200 - GG talk; poor in CFGT/WTSN/CJCB-1270 slop. [Connelly-MA] 1278 FRANCE Strasbourg, DEC 16 0520 - Fair and // to other B net stations with man and woman conversing. [Dangerfield-PA] 1314 NORWAY Kvitsoy, DEC 23 0539 - woman in Norwegian; to good peak. [Connelly-MA] 1323 GERMANY Wachenbrunn, DEC 16 0510 - Good with man doing news in EE. [Dangerfield-PA] DEC 27 0527 - tentative, solemn Russian-style music; trashed by CKEC-1320. [Connelly-MA] 1332 ITALY Rome, DEC 27 0525 - II news // 1575; poor in WRCA-1330 slop. [Connelly-MA] 1368 unID, DEC 27 0522 - bits of classical music; in tough slop. [Connelly- MA] 1377 FRANCE Lille, DEC 16 0520 - Good and // to other B net stations with man and woman conversing in FF. [Dangerfield-PA] 1386 RUSSIA (KALININGRAD) Bolshakovo, DEC 22 0524 - fair with accented EE talk by man & woman. DEC 27 0459 - Midnight in Moscow theme; fair. [Connelly-MA] 1386 UNID, DEC 23 0517 - Music poor in domestic slop, vocals by woman. Best signal on this frequency I have heard here. [Braun-DE] 1395 ALBANIA Lushnje, DEC 16 0450 - Very strong with man and woman talking in (I think) Albanian. [Dangerfield-PA] DEC 26 0555 - US Black Gospel female vocal, then talk by man & woman in unidentified language; to good peaks. Another station, possibly Spain, was under. [Connelly-MA] 1404 FRANCE NET B synch., DEC 16 0520 - Fair and // to others with man and woman talking in FF. [Dangerfield-PA] 1422 GERMANY Heusweiler, DEC 28 0212 - classical piano music // 1539; fair. [Connelly-MA] 1467 MONACO TWR Monte Carlo, DEC 17 2145 - Good with soft music, man and woman speaking in AA. [Dangerfield-PA] DEC 27 0450 - choral religious music; poor. [Connelly-MA] 1494 unID / RUSSIA, DEC 27 0458 - a 2-station mix here. The first station atop had acoustic guitar & Middle Eastern - sounding vocal. This first made me think of Jordan, but then a woman started speaking FF. Maybe this is the Moroccan that used to be on 1492.7 or so. Russia then rose atop the channel briefly with the Midnight in Moscow theme music. [Connelly-MA] 1530 SAO TOME, DEC 20 0403 - In well with VOA news, Newsline than Daybreak Africa show. // 7405 [Beaton-MA] 1530 VATICAN, DEC 27 0505 - Slavic-sounding talk over/under WSAI. [Connelly- MA] 1539 GERMANY Mainflingen, DEC 28 0208 - classical piano music; excellent, tearing up WPTR/CHIN-1540! [Connelly-MA] 1557 FRANCE Nice, DEC 16 0520 - Very clear with man and woman speaking in FF, // to other B stations. [Dangerfield-PA] DEC 19 0652 - FF talk by woman, fair with WQEW on regular MM SP and nothing else in well on 1560, didn't even need to use LSB! [Braun-DE] 1557 MALTA Cyclops, DEC 20 2355 - Good with man in GG. Only once have I heard Nice and Malta at the same time. [Dangerfield-PA] 1575 ITALY Genova et al., DEC 27 0511 - mentions of "Radiotelevizione Italiana" and "RAI" (pronounced "rye"), II talk by man; to good peaks over Spain. [Connelly-MA] 1575 SPAIN SER, DEC 30 0200 - Good, telephone talk and news // 1044, heard possible local ID as "Radio... ?" at 0205, on tape but couldn't decipher, and it didn't sound like R.Cordoba or R.Pamplona listed in WRTH. [Conti-NH] 1584 SPAIN, DEC 20 0440 - echoey talk by man in SS. [Connelly-MA] Armchair strength with woman in SS giving the news. [Dangerfield-PA] 1593 GERMANY RFE Holzkirchen, DEC 16 0407 - Man making announcements in a Slavic language, interspersed by choir music. [Dangerfield-PA] 1593 unID (GERMANY or UKRAINE), DEC 20 0439 - Slavic-sounding talk; in bad slop. DEC 27 0514 - possible Slav talk; fair. [Connelly-MA] 1611 VATICAN, DEC 21 0604 - talk, then classical music. DEC 23 0410-0425 - Finally audio here for a new country. Low level of talk by male in Eastern European language (Ukrainian scheduled), followed by well heard Vatican Radio interval signals and into scheduled Byelorussian. Really exciting here! [Bryant-OK] DEC 23 0506 - Talk by woman in Russian-type language (WRTH says Latvian), interval signal at 0511, good signal, all //5882. [Braun-DE] DEC 24 0510 - Man and woman talking in unknown language // 5882. [Yocis-CT] DEC 26 0547 - part of a Latin Mass, "Silent Night" played on organ, then there was Slavic talk by a woman; signal was loud. DEC 27 0516 - LOCAL-LIKE with female Slavic talk, then soft music. This one gets out like a shortwave station and should have no trouble reaching western USA / Canada. It's often stronger than Anguilla on 1610. [Connelly-MA] John speaks: "I've not had much luck hearing audio from Europe this year. I've had three bursts of Euro het evenings this fall: Latter two weeks in September, latter two weeks in November and scattered evenings in December. Nary ANY useable audio. The usual visitors here are 531, 585, 666, 774, 855,1134 and 1611." UNIDS, ETC. After reading Renfrew's report about possible Arabic chanting on 684, I thought about it and came up with the following possibility: Perhaps it was Spain, and the music was from the group Azucar Moreno. Their music has the flavor of Arabic chants, and I've heard their music on stations from Spain before. Sometimes Azucar Moreno appears on various Univision TV programs too, such as Onda Max, Siempre en Domingo, or Super Sabado Gigante, so you can keep an eye out for them in the local TV or cable listings. [Conti-NH] (I suspected it was something like this - Jim) STATION NEWS AUSTRIA: This weekend AM radio dies, in Austria. The state broadcaster ORF will turn off all it's AM transmitters as they now cover the whole country on FM. [Internet via Doug Smith and Bill Hale, DEC 30, 1994] CUBA: Regarding Rich Dau's question about Radio Reloj appearing on channels listed for Radio Rebelde: "According to e-mail from Arnie Coro [of Radio Habana's "DXers Unlimited"] some time ago, they will switch format "on-the- fly" where coverage of one service is adequate and they need to provide the other. This, on account of power shortages." [Funkenhauser-ON] CUBA: "Radio Metropolitana Havana CMBL moved from 860 to 950 kilohertz. Now using a new Czech built 5 kilowatt into a nice 300 ft. tower. Should be a good catch for AM MW Dxers in the US and Canada. The station is located in Havana, the capital city and has a pararell FM outlet on 102.9 mHz. Radio Ciudad de la Habana CMCH is still on 820 kHz running its 1977 vintage NEC 10 KW rig. They have a lot of music programming in the evenings. Also a parallel FM on 98.7 mHz. Radio COCO (still uses the CO callsign, grand- fathered because it was the first Cuban station on short wave with 5 kw back in 1937 ) they are on 980 kHz with a 5 kW Czech by Tesla SRV-5 and 300 ft tower. They also have a pararell FM on 97.7 mHz. QSL requests written in Spanish are easier to answer for them. Hope this little info will help fellow AM and FM band DXers. The postal service is very,very slow and sometimes correspondence is simply lost." [Arnaldo Coro (R.H.C. DXers Unlimited) via FidoNet in Tropical Tuning #33, DEC 28, 1994] CONTRIBUTORS (@ = via e-mail) Bill Andres, Frackville PA; 1954 Zenith. @Tom Beaton, Manchester MA; Drake R8, MWDX-5X Mini phasing unit and a couple of sloper antennas. @Dave Braun, Wyoming DE; R-5000, Quantum Loop. [DPHT10A@prodigy.com, 73520,657@compuserve.com] @John Bryant, Stillwater OK; NRD-525/ Sanserino air-core loop and Beverage array. @Bob Chandler, Cannington ON; Select-a-tenna, GE Superadio, DX-392. [from DX Ontario, JAN 1995] @Mark Connelly (WA1ION), Billerica MA; Drake R8, two noise-reduced slopers (approx. 37 m each) with 50 m single-turn horizontal loop used as floating ground for noise reduction; antennas are phased with MWDX-5 phasing unit to MWT-3 regenerative tuner/preamp. Also DXing from Harwich, Cape Cod, MA; Realistic DX-440 ant = two RTL-2 remotely-tuned loops (at a right angle); phased with DCP-1 dual controller/phaser. @Bruce Conti, Nashua, NH; ICF-2010 with Kiwa filter upgrade, MWDX-5, 30-m longwire, 23-m southeast sloper. [bc@lexicon.com] @Ben Dangerfield, Wallingford, PA; HQ-180 with KIWA Loop. @Werner Funkenhauser, Cambridge ON; Modified Icom R71A with ESKAB PLAM, Mediumwave Loop & 50 foot longwire. [from DX Ontario, JAN 1995] Jeffrey Less, Toledo, OH; Panasonic RF 5000A (via e-mail from Dave Braun) @Jim Renfrew, Rochester NY; HQ-180, Radio West Loop; also from San Diego CA, Sony ICF-2010 and Radio West Loop. [JimRenfrew@AOL.com] Robert Tiara, Hendersonville, NC; R-5000, 24" amplified ferrite loop, many longwires. (via e-mail from Dave Braun) @David Yocis, Darien CT; R71A, Kiwa loop [73564.203@CompuServe.COM] Note: We will print your e-mail address if you request it with each submission. *** END, PART 2 ***