NASWA Journal Columns · Tropical Loggings, November 2005

Dan Ferguson • 4205 Friendfield Trace • Little River, SC 29566 troplogs◊zerobeat.org

Tropical Loggings, November 2005

Please note the new postal address. The email address remains unchanged.

2310 AUSTRALIA VL8A Alice Springs 0948-1004, 9/26, in EE, lcl mx w/talk over, ABC promos, wx forecast for entire continent. Song “Midnite Moon” thru ToH, quick ID 1003, more mx. Fair using USB. // 2325-VL8T poor. (Barbour-NH) Also, 1111-1124 10/15 M w/interview of the “Rock Doctor” re. rocks and fossils. Music 1121 into interview re touring Gulf Coast. Fair. // 2485 – VL8K Katherine which I don’t think I have ever logged here in N.H. No sign of 2325 Tennant Creek; off for scheduled maintenance. (Barbour-NH)
3185 USA WWRB Manchester 8/10 0550 EE tlk by M; S2-3. (Fiora, Italy)

3220 ECUADOR LV Andes fair-poor @ 1058 with SP talk; TS and ID @ 1100 and into SP rel. prgm; best in LSB (Ronda – OK, 10/15)
3240 SWAZILAND TWR 0335 10/15 gospel songs, anmts in (listed) Ndau. (Ronda, OK) 0310-0336 10/8 lively Afr vocals. Talk by M in Shona taking phone call from listener. Studio talk by M&W. Series of IDs and closedown anmts plus address at 0327. Multiple IDs with change of languages at 0330. Good signal. (D’Angelo-PA)
3250 HONDURAS R. Luz y Vida 0345 popular vocal songs; then into long SS talk; fair 10/15. (Ronda, OK) 0153-0202 M SS hymn, talk, ID at ToH, hymn like song after. (Taylor, WI)
3280 ECUADOR LV Napo M&W SS talk, SS ID 0415; fair w/constant static crashes 9/24. (Ronda-OK)
3291.2 GUYANA V. Guyana-GBC 0407-0436 9/24, BBC pgmg in EE w/BBCWS ID 0432. Poor. (D’Angelo-PA) On 3291.28 0128-0147 9/27 M&W EE discussion on “family structure”. Prg. credits, W thanks guests, “3rd part of discussion next Monday”. Music bridge 0140 into PSA, ad re home saving plan. Brief anncr 0141, into a presumed recording of a live event w/ancr congratulating winners. Signal crushed by het tone at 0146. Poor/weak w/flux audio. (Barbour-NH) 3291.3 poor 0235 9/26 w/choral mx and individual voices just above QRN level; slow improvement 0255 to poor plus!; could not catch ID at TOH; back to vocal mx. Much the same on 9/30 in same time period. (Ronda-OK) 3291v 0325-0400 10/1 calypso type mx in EE w/M ancr in EE. YL in EE reading lists of obituaries with ments of several “Funeral Parlors,” viewing hours and burial arrangements. Pips and BBC anmts at TOH. Very heavy QRM from YL SS numbers station with SS numbers and EE phonetic alphabets from 0357-0400. First log in a long time. Poor. (Wood, TN).
3340 HONDURAS LV de Misiones Int. 0215-0300* 9/12 SS rel talk, SS rel mx. ID 0259 & off. Weak, poor signal. (Alexander-Pa) Poor 0053 9/30 with choral gospel mx. And poor 0315 10/13 SS preaching; rarely above QRN level most days (Ronda, OK)
3345 SOUTH AFRICA Channel Africa 0402-0411 9/26, M reading EE nx; ID 0408, then W w/nx feature. Fair. (D’Angelo-PA)
3350 COSTA RICA REE Cariari de Pococ 0552 9/25 M SS tlk. (Fiora, Italy) 0205-0215 9/30 SS; ID W w/with probable news. (Taylor-WI)
3889.8 IRAN V.O Communist Party 1602 7/10 Farsi talk by W, over jamming. (Fiora, Italy)
3925 JAPAN R.Nikkei 0914 10/1 JJ talk; JJ vocals w/ W ancr; first time here since last May. P/F. (Ronda-OK, 10/1) Decent 1025 10/7 talk by M&W with musical interludes; //6055 not as good. (Berg-MA)
3945 INDIA AIR Gorakhpur 1604 10/7 Urdu, tel. call. (Fiora, Italy)
4052v GUATEMALA R. Verdad 0402 marimba-like mx; SS anmts; best in USB; P/F 9/23 (Ronda-OK) 1113 EE gospel songs, organ mx, and EE prgm “Back to God,” occasionally overwhelmed by bursts of RTTY; fair/good 10/15 (Ronda-OK)
4650.03 INDONESIA-PAPUA RRI Serui 1103-1117 10/7 Arabic-?; continuos Koran chanting, presumably for Ramadan, w/ brief talk b/w chants. Still going at t/out. Poor. (Barbour-NH)
4775 SWAZILAND TWR 0347 choral gospel mx, some in EE; sometimes drowned out in pulsing QRN. By the time I went back to TWR 3240 to check if freqs were //, 3240 was gone; F/G 10/15 (Ronda, OK) 0412-0436 9/26, M w/long GG rel talk, some choir vocals mixed in. Singing ID & change to EE preacher at 0430. Fair. (D’Angelo-PA) 0434-0450 10/12 M in EE with reminisces of his military service First log of this station and country. Faint. (Wood, TN)
4779.97 GUATEMALA R. Cultural Coatan 0155-0232* local rel mx, ranchera mx, SS anmts IDs O158 & 0218. S/off anmts 0231 & off. Poor to fair with some rtty-ute QRM. (Alexander-Pa 9-10) 4779.98 1030 10/8 1030 full ID w/station name, village, department, country, frequencies, into religious program 1031, another ID 1035 (Brandi-NJ) 4780 poor 1052 10/15 w/group singing; better 1152 recheck; exceptionally strong 0019 10/16 (Ronda, OK) 4780 0050-0102 9/30 long talk by M, ID ToH, more by same M. (Taylor-WI)
4780 DJIBOUTI R. Djibouti 0314 9/28 AA mx, W talking 0329 including ID “Radio Djibouti”, theme music, into news report read by M, ending 0340, more music (Brandi-NJ) Strong 2145 10/7 animated talk, HoA mx; upbeat intro theme to nx at 2201. (Berg-MA) 2146 10/7 vern YLs & kids doing call response HoA mx. Touching. M DJ bantering w/ kids in studio. Ramadan related? f-g (CrislerSmith MD)
4783v MALI RDT Malienne Bamako 0557 10/8 IS, anthem, anmts by YL. (Fiora, Italy)
4800 GUATEMALA R. Buenas Nuevas 0203 10/13 SS ID, into call-in pgm; ancr complained that phone system was not working properly; audio quite tinny – usually better in local mornings around 1200. F/P 10/13 (Ronda, OK)
4819.1 HONDURAS HRVC, LV Evangelica Tegucigalpa 0536 9/25 SS, local mx. (Fiora, Italy) 4819.5 0202-0215 9/29 M&W SS ancrs w/apparebt nx or actualities. (Taylor-WI)
4835 AUSTRALIA VL8A Alice Springs 0820 9/24 live sports prgm with cmtry and conversation, poor but readable, and better than //4910-Tennant Creek which was also hrd. 4835 went off at 0829, 4910 followed a few secs. later. (Berg-MA)
4845 MAURITANIA R. Mauritanie 2330 10/10 brief flute mx, into AAR talk by M ancr; best in LSB often the only readable 60 meter station heard at this hour – local late afternoon. (Ronda, OK) fair 0040-0052 10/1; continuous ME mx w/o anmts. Hvy hum and RTTY QRM. Poor. (Wood, TN) 2339-2345 10/1 FF/AA; lots of typical mx at S9 most times with deep fades to S5 for short periods. ID presumed as ID not heard during my short listening period. Possible AA langauge w/ occassional FF heard. (Montgomery, PA)
4885 BRAZIL R. Clube do Para Belem 9/25 PP, local mx. (Fiora, Italy) 0427-0432 10/12 really nice dance club mx. Fair. Also 0054-0100 10/1 M PP ancr w/mx from KC and the Sunshine Band and other selections of up tempo brass oriented pop mx in both EE and PP. Partial ID 0055. Fair with static. (Wood, TN) 0427-0432. Really nice dance club mx. Fair. (Wood, TN).
4885 BRAZIL RDif Acreana 0102-0135 9/30 PP sports, ID 0134. (Taylor-WI)
4905 CHINA Xizang PBS Lhasa, surprisingly good at 1100 10/7 with talk by M&W and background mx, 4905 slightly the better than 4920. (Berg-MA)
4915 BRAZIL R. Anhanguera Goiania 0541 9/25 PP, local mx. (Fiora, Italy)
4915 GHANA R. Ghana 2209-2230 9/23 M EE nx, ID, continuos C & W style ballads thru t/out. Fair at t/in becoming unusable as co-channel Brazil f/in. (Barbour-NH) 2141 10/4 vern M&W in heated discussion (politics/rel) p-f (CrislerSmith MD) 4915.05 2118 9/25 EE rel pgm, ending around 2135-2140, into soft R&B music, occasional anmts by M about world news coming up, time pips, ID “This is Radio Ghana. The news.” Starting to mix with Brazil by 2200 (Brandi-NJ)
4930 BOTSWANA VOA 0421-0426 10/12 M EE political cmtry; stock market nx and ments of Nigerian LNG. ID at 0424. Fair. (Wood, TN)
4950 ANGOLA RN 0240-0304 10/8 PP, various hilife and pop-like music selections w/ “Nacional” zingers. Pips/ID 0300 into (p) news headlines then back to mx. Fair. (Barbour-NH)
4965 ZAMBIA Voice Africa 0358-0420 10/12; first log of this station. W EE nx, TC as “South African Time.” Several ments of Zambia. Following prgm sounded like a US morning “drive time” prgm with IDs as “The Voice” and “The very best of gospel music.” Tk of Angola. Skeds and freqs. Faint. (Wood, TN)
4985 BRAZIL R. Brasil Central Goiania 0544 9/25 PP, M talk, local mx. (Fiora, Italy)
4999.7 COSTA RICA R. Buenos Nuevas 0047-0051 9/30 M SS talk, ID 0050. (Taylor-WI)
5005 EQ GUINEA R. Nac. Bata; *0458-0530+ 9/12 s/on with long NA followed by continuous Af folk mx, hi-life mx & Afro-pop mx. Fair. (Alexander-PA) 2215-2301* 9/24, lively pgm of vocals until 2230 SS ID by M, nx. Many mentions of Malabo. Nice “Radio Nacional, Bata” ID 2236 prior to returning to lively vocals. Closedown ID & s/off anmts 2256, then long orchestra NA from 2257. Fair to good signal. (D’Angelo-PA) 2209 9/25 long talk in vernacular language w/musical accompaniment; music, closing anmt (at very low modulation), followed by EE NA. (Brandi-NJ) 2130-2145 10/8; first noted 2130 with fairly clear signal but soon began to fall apart with noise problems by 2145. Lots of fades. M SS ancr w/long talks and interludes of some really nice mx. Recheck 2210, reception much better with a S7 signal level with some fades. (Montgomery, PA) 2155-2300 10/1, first noted on air at 2115 but too weak to really copy much. By 2200 male announcer in SS with news items. S5 signal level but audio modulation a bit low. Have checked prevous evenings and appears to be getting better as the days pass. Rapid or freq fades from S5 to S9 at times, 2200. News over at 2207 and then to SS mx prg. Some fantastic mx at 2217. Excellent listening. Back to news items at 2227 by same male announcer in SS. NA at 2249. Usually on longer. NA off and carrier gone at 2252. (Montgomery, PA)
5010 MADAGASCAR R. Madagasikara *0254-0310+ 9/11 s/on w/IS, choral NA at 0257; opening anmts in Malagasy 0259. Rel pgming with rel choral mx & talk. Fair. (Alexander-Pa 9-11)
5019.87 SOLOMON IS. SIBS better-than-usual signal at 0915 10/7, but blocked by strong carrier opening on 5019.94 at 0933. Carrier was probably Horizonte, but never had any prgmng and SIBS was back on top after 1000, still there at 1100. (Berg-MA)
5025 CUBA R. Rebelde 0100 10/1; three M in SS with live sporting event. Lots of crowd noise and stadium ancr in background. G-VG. (Wood, TN)
5030 BURKINA FASO R. Burkina 2300 10/4 FF ID (I presume)…into vocals. (Davisson- OH) 2250-2305 10/5 Afr pop mx w/short FF anmts by W; 2259 M w/anmts & talk. Moderate signal with heavy low side interference. SINPO 32322. (Jim Evans, TN) 2338-0001* 10/14, information program hosted by two M in FF w/short musical segments. Program close with postal mailing address for Radio Burkina at 2358. After that M gave brief anmts with instl mx at closedown. Fair to good. (D’Angelo-PA) 5030.01 2100-0002* 9/30 FF talk, phone talk, Afro-pops. Fair. Gene Scott not on this freq lately. Scott still noted on their other freqs. (Alexander-PA)
5035 BRAZIL R. Aparecida 0021-0045 10/15, M&W PP talk, soft vocal selections, ID 0030. Poor to fair and //9630 which was poor. (D’Angelo-PA)
5050 USA WWCR 0103 10/1 M w/EE talk of the Torah and Book of Deuteronomy. In my part of the South, the M would be referred to as speaking with a “Mush Mouth.” VG (Wood, TN)
5054.58 COSTA RICA Faro del Caribe semi-normal audio when hrd 9/30, a little low and sometimes swallowed up by the carrier, but better than usual. Hrd at 0845 with mostly talk, ID 0859, still there at 1015. (Berg-MA) 5054.6 0500 10/10 rel pgm “El Camino de la Vida”, address in Mendoza, Argentina; ID as Faro del Caribe 0502 w/MW frequency 1080 kHz, rel mx; nice signal (Brandi-NJ) 5054.6 0051-0115 9/28, M long SS talk, then light instl mx 0057, more alk & vocal to 0100 ID. Next program was mainly vocals hosted by M&W Poor to fair. (D’Angelo-PA)
5055 CUBA R. Habana 0115-0130 9/29 W SS, bridge music, M ID, same YL talking at length. (Taylor-WI)
5446U USA AFRTS (Key West) 0105-0113 10/1; baseball game with 2 M ancrs in EE. The Red Sox of Boston were playing the Yankees of New York. The Red Sox were winning handily. ID at 0107. F-G. (Wood, TN) 5446.5, 2214-2225 10/8 EE talk show on investments; pgm called “Money” ID as National Public Radio. Job hunting the next topic on the talk show. S3 signal level with slight fades (Montgomery, PA)
5469.9 LIBERIA R. Veritas Monrovia 2120 9/30 two M talking. (Fiora, Italy)
5755 USA KAIJ Frisco, TX, 0114 10/1; the late Dr. Scott with prayers and explanation of Biblical Greek. VG. (Wood, TN)
5900 BULGARIA R. Bulgaria 0120 10/5 M in EE w/skeds, freqs; then thanks to listeners in several languages; good. (Wood, TN)

Again, please note my new postal address: 4205 Friendfield Trace, Little River, SC 29566. The email address remains the same: troplogs@zerobeat.org.

DanF

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