Messages

1711

North American Shortwave Pirate / Radio Ga-Ga mobile 6925U

« on: March 21, 2010, 0630 UTC »

3/21/10
6925 USB
0009z: Buffalo Springfield "For What It's Worth", Jean Knight "Mr. Big Stuff", Lou Reed "Walk On The Wild Side"
0019z: Bobby McFerrin "Don't Worry, Be Happy"
0022z: SSTV, Scottie 1 mode, mostly wiped out by regional t-storm crashes.

Fairly good signal for music, local noise kicked up by 0020z and wiped out both SSTV.

Received eQSL confirming this was a mobile transmitter test using a hamstick antenna.

1712

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: WTCR 6925u

« on: March 21, 2010, 0606 UTC »

3/21/10
6925 USB
0200z: Intro fanfare, WTCR ID, Cream "Deserted Cities of the Heart". The usual booming signal and great audio from WTCR.
0205z: Cream "Badge", sudden deep fades to barely audible, still very good peaks.
0209z: T-Rex "Jeepster" (thx, DB, for the tip!)

2:17 mp3 from first part of show: http://www.mediafire.com/?yzqydizxfmu

0212z: WTCR ID, Stones "Dandelion"
0215z: Traveling Wilburys "It's Alright"
0225z: Dylan "Maggie's Farm", Grin "White Lies"
0230z: Linda Ronstadt "Heat Wave", Patti Smith "Because the Night"
0233z: Romeo Void "Girl In Trouble"
0237z: Sting "Love Is The Seventh Wave"
0240z: Beatles "She Said She Said"

10 min mp3 w/ Romeo Void, Sting, Beatles, WTCR ID at end: http://www.mediafire.com/?yzj2rmgn5nd

0253z: Cars, The Cure, Pretenders
0303z: Sign-off ID, sounds like a new sign-off message.

SINPO - 44323, lots of ups and downs between S1-S9

1713

North American Shortwave Pirate / WMOM 6955 USB

« on: March 21, 2010, 0604 UTC »

3/21/10
6955 USB
0325z: Fungus Hut parody ad; Marlon Brando as fairy godfather parody movie ad

Was able to copy WMOM ID's via mp3 recording, seemed a bit more clear than when listening live. Deep voice (maybe pitch shifted), sounded like "You're listening to WMOM, your underground (news?) and entertainment station."

I've seen other DXers log this before, my first catch.

SINPO - 23312, lots of fades to inaudible, occasional fair peaks. Carriers occasionally audible on 6952.5 and 6955.5, but nothing else audible on those freqs.

2:30 mp3: http://www.mediafire.com/?itgymnjtwto

1714

North American Shortwave Pirate / Sitzkrieg Radio 6925 USB

« on: March 21, 2010, 0603 UTC »

3/21/10
6925 USB
0058-0109z: Cabaret theme music, announcer ID'd as "Sitzkrieg Radio" (and "look it up on wikipedia").

Interesting concept, first time I've heard this station.  Good signal too, SINPO - 34333

10 minute mp3 for most of show. A little intermittent RFI hash but not too painful: http://www.mediafire.com/?itgymnjtwto

(Gopher Stomp, TX - Palstar R30C w/ indoor fugloop)

1715

North American Shortwave Pirate / Radio GaGa 6925U "Stevie Saturday"

« on: March 20, 2010, 1232 UTC »

3/20/10
6925 USB
1149z: Radio Ga-Ga ID, Stevie Nicks "I Can't Wait"
1154z: "Edge of Seventeen", live version
1203z: "Stand Back"
1207z: "This is Radio Ga-Ga", more Stevie
1214z: Occasionally hitting S9 during "Landslide"
1217z: Live version of "Dreams"
1219z: "Rhiannon" live version
1228z: SSTV of Rolling Stone magazine cover with Stevie Nicks, RGG sign-off ID. SSTV looks like 1981 cover with white bird, very noisy copy due to sudden increase in local RFI.

SINPO - 32433. A little chuffing QRM that seems to be splatter from 6890, kicked up at top of hour 1200z.

1716

North American Shortwave Pirate / Wolverine Radio 6925 USB

« on: March 20, 2010, 0208 UTC »

3/20/10
6925 USB
0158z: One with "Testing 1-2-3", Barenaked Ladies, Wolverine Radio ID
0205z: "Ice Cream" New Young Pony Club

Only occasionally audible.  Very weak AM carrier near 6925 as well, but Wolverine seems to be USB as usual.

0222z: Still occasionally audible, not clear enough to tell whether there's a theme to tonight's show.
0223z: Wolverine Radio ID, right in the mud
0243z: Wolverine ID
0303z: Closing ID w/ echo fx, SSTV, very weak, noisy copy, can't tell what it is.

1717

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: 6267Khz

« on: March 19, 2010, 0502 UTC »

Could be Radio Cairo Egypt, on or near 6270 kHz AM.  Programming includes prayer several times a day, music and news.  Their signal typically has a strong carrier with poor modulation, ranging from weak (despite the powerful carrier) to overmodulated and distorted.  And their signal isn't always dead center on frequency but doesn't normally drift more than 1 kHz off nominal freq.

There are several slop-broadcasters in the general 49m band, between 5800-6200, so it's not unusual to pick up phantom carriers, heterodynes and images.  WYFR and some RHC transmitters are notorious slop-casters and it's possible that Radio Cairo's signal has some slop as well, which may account for hearing carriers or heterodynes that appear some distance away from nominal frequencies.

1718

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: 6239Khz

« on: March 19, 2010, 0456 UTC »

6240 AM is Voice of Russia in English between 0000-0500 UTC.  They feature a variety of cultural programming, including all kinds of music.  Their signal is usually dead centered on 6240 kHz, however, rather than 6239.

1719

Equipment / Re: Sony AN-LP1 active loop antenna

« on: March 17, 2010, 0542 UTC »

Looks loopy enough, but not nearly fugly enough.  Soaking it overnight in Mickey's malt liquor may help.  OTOH, it probably won't get you kicked out of respectable hotels, an unfortunate consequence of traveling with fugloops.

1720

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 6927.1 LSB UNID more odd loops and synth voices

« on: March 17, 2010, 0225 UTC »

Ditto, more soundboard madness, "Goooaaalll!!!", Special Ed stuff, others.  Not quite as strong as some recent nights.
0300z: Signal a little clearer now, bits with someone singing (badly) "Way We Were", "Let's Get Physical", along with other audio bits.
0450z: Shirley Bassey "Diamonds Are Forever"
0456z: Paul McCartney/Wings "Live and Let Die"
0507z: "For Your Eyes Only"

SINPO - 23312, some QRM from the religulator stations on 6875 and 6890 (overmod or spurs, dunno). Can't tell whether this 6927.1 LSB station is fading out to inaudible or only transmitting intermittently, but seems to be inaudible for about an hour at a time, then pops up again at the top of the hour.

1721

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 6927.1 LSB UNID more odd loops and synth voices

« on: March 16, 2010, 0404 UTC »

Heard some of this here as well, roughly around 0300z (wasn't watching clock).  Very weak signal, by the time I figured out it was around 6927 LSB it was off or faded out.  A little bleed-through to 6925 USB, unusual for my Palstar R30C with Collins narrow filter, which usually completely blocks the opposite sideband up to 5 kHz in either direction.

1722

General Radio Discussion / Re: Vast F.C.C. Effort to Widen U.S. Internet Access Sets Off Battle

« on: March 16, 2010, 0400 UTC »

This has been repeated (not the same thing as reported) by the local news.  I emphasize "repeated", because reporting would actually require some work to explain what it means, how it affects the region covered by the particular news media outlet, etc.  They did none of that.  Sounded like they simply regurgitated a press release from the FCC.

1723

General Radio Discussion / Re: Hello HF Underground!

« on: March 16, 2010, 0357 UTC »

Hiya, welcome aboard.  I visited your blog - good stuff, bookmarked it for future reference.

1724

General Radio Discussion / Re: FRN Seems to be down

« on: March 16, 2010, 0356 UTC »

Same thing happened in 2008 and 2009, the site was back up within a couple of days after someone took care of the admin chores to renew the domain.

1725

North American Shortwave Pirate / Wolverine Radio channeling George Gimarc

« on: March 15, 2010, 0315 UTC »

3/15/10
6950 USB
0240-0300z: Wolverine Radio channeling George Gimarc* with '80s alt rock classics.  Peter Murphy "Cuts You Up", INXS "Suicide Blonde", Replacements "Merry Go Round", Psychedelic Furs "House", other great songs.
0309z: Wolverine Radio ID, Johnny Rotten/PiL "Don't Ask Me"
0312z: Soup Dragons "I'm Free"
0316z: Eric Johnson!  A classic from his "Tones" album.  I remember seeing Eric live in Dallas during the peak of his guitar god big hair phase.
0320z: Off w/ Wolverine ID, echo/repeat fx, no SSTV this time.

Great show!

SINPO - 45333, great signal and top notch audio as always.

*George Gimarc basically pioneered the alternative rock format later adopted as "The Edge" by KDGE in Dallas/Fort Worth, with his "Rock and Roll Alternative" show on KZEW, a weekly show promoting New Wave, alt rock and, generally, a refreshing break from endless Led Zep, Skynyrd and Pink Floyd that dominated the Texas FM rock scene in the 1970s-'80s.  Good guy, too, chatted with him occasionally on the phone and around town.