7493 khz 2350 UTC 5/11/2017

[staticlistener]

Tuned in to WBCQ on 7490 around 10 til 8 this evening and their transmitter went off (crapped out, power issues in Monticello, who knows). Anyway, while waiting to see if it would come back on I noticed that I was hearing another station really far down in the noise and slightly off frequency. Sure enough, I was able to hear a carrier and get some bits and pieces of audio on 7493. Figuring it was probably from somewhere like Europe or the middle east, I pulled up the Twente websdr on my laptop and did find a station on 7493, with a female announcer speaking in some language that I couldn't quite identify. Unfortunately I was also having internet issues and the audio from the websdr was coming through very choppy so I rebooted my modem here but by the time everything came back up, the station was gone, this would've been like right at 0000 UTC. Does anybody have any clue what this station might've been?

[R4002]

Looks like 7490 kHz is used by WBCQ and WWCR only.  However, 7495 kHz is    VOA RADIO ASHNA (transmitters in Kuwait and Udon Thani) and Radio Algeria - see http://www.short-wave.info/?freq=7495

[staticlistener]

This was exactly on 7493, both on my receiver and the sdr, I thought at first maybe someone way off frequency but neither of those other stations you listed would've been on at that time. Only other things I could think of were either a pirate or a clandestine station, have to listen again tonight on the websdr and see what I hear.

[staticlistener]

Tonight the mystery station was back on the websdr (WBCQ was on so I couldn't check here) but on 7487 khz this time, listening closely I heard several mentions of Tibet and Tibetan, so I looked up the Voice of Tibet to see what the frequency they are on and sure enough on their website they have listed as being on 7495 khz (with a note to tune around since slight frequency changes are made regularly) from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM Tibetan time, which is 2300 to 0000 UTC. So I'm almost certain that's what I was hearing.

[Swede P]

I am listening to that station at this moment in Berlin. UTC 2300 on 11 January 2018

Very odd. It began on 7487 at 2300, and then by 2310 is switched over to 7493! We'll see if it switches again.

It is on other side of WBCQ, which is not coming in right now anyway. Oriental/exotic music in between longer stretches of dialogue in a language I don't recognise (perhaps Tibetan, if you fellows are correct).

[Swede P]

Yep, at UTC 2339, they switched back to 7487. What gives??!

[fpeconsultant]

Radio Tibet has a practice of jumping around frequencies sometimes as often as every 7 or 8 minutes but I've not known them to be on those frequencies but they absolutely may be!
Congrats
FPE

[Swede P]

Thanks, FPE.

Now, the obvious question is: Why would it jump frequencies like that? Is it on purpose or just bad equipment?

[Swede P]

Answered my own question, or rather the Voice of Tibet webpage did.

" Tuning and re-tuning is needed due to “jamming” from China. "

vot.org

The webpage confirms that they broadcast on 7490 officially, but actually oscillate between 7487 and 7493 to counter jamming.

Now, if only I can find out where the transmitter is located. Shortwave info puts it in Dushanbe.

[ChrisSmolinski]

Yes, this sounds exactly like Voice of Tibet. Check out our own Clandestine forum here for other loggings of this station: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/board,18.0.html

[fpeconsultant]

This is from A17:

2300-2305 on  7492 db to CeAs Tibetan
2305-2335 on  7493 db to CeAs Tibetan
2335-2400 on  7487 db to CeAs Tibetan

FPE