(logs 24 JUN - 15 JUL 1997: file=DX970715.LOG) Report from Mark Connelly - Times / dates = UTC / 1997 *** SUMMER 1997 ROAD TRIP EDITION *** [Connelly*H-MA] = East Harwich, Cape Cod, MA (GC= 70.02 W / 41.71 N) (near junction of Routes 39 & 137: pitch pine forest 2 km from ocean) [Connelly*P-MA] = Plymouth, MA (GC= 70.68 W / 41.98 N) (Robbins Road - Holmes Field, N of Nelson Street Beach) [Connelly*R-MA] = Rockport, MA (Granite Pier) (GC= 70.622 W / 42.667 N) Receiver: Drake R8A Antennas-Harwich: 25 m northeast sloper, 25 m southeast sloper, 175 m south wire Antennas-Plymouth & Rockport: RL-1 remotely-tuned loop, RW-1 active whip Accessories-all sites: DCP-2 delay-line phasing unit, Mini-MWT-3 regenerative preselector ====================================================== *** TRANS-ATLANTIC DX *** ~ 153 ALGERIA, Bechar, JUL 7 0505 - a cappella male AA vocal; fair. + JUL 9 0432 - // 549 w/ woman in AA, then vocal; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUL 15 0119 - AA male vocal & strings; slightly over a classical music station that was likely Germany. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 162 FRANCE, Allouis, JUN 28 0224 - woman in FF; fair to good through static crashes. + JUL 9 0320 - jazz instrumental, then male vocal; fair. + JUL 11 0053 - very good w/ jazz-rock male group vocal. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 171 MOROCCO, Nador, JUL 7 0507 - AA vocal w/ rock instrumentation; to good peak. + JUL 11 0052 - modern AA music; good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 177 GERMANY, Oranienburg (t), JUL 11 0051 - operatic performance; poor to fair. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUL 15 0120 - apparent GG talk by man, then pop music; fairly strong, but hammered by static crashes. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 183 GERMANY, Saarlouis, JUN 28 0224 - FF teletalk mentioning Americans and English; excellent. + JUL 9 0319 - good w/ techno- Eurodisco music. + JUL 11 0348 - man & woman in FF; good. + JUL 13 0310 - FF pop/dance group vocal; loud. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 198 UNITED KINGDOM, BBC, Droitwich et al., JUN 28 0223 - discussion about the struggle for democracy in Albania; good signal. + JUL 11 0050 - BBC documentary; fair. + JUL 13 0309 - EE talk about South Africa; good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 207 GERMANY, Aholming / MOROCCO, Azilal, JUN 28 0221 - Germany ("dream-like" classical piano music) mixed w/ Morocco (AA teletalk // 819). [Connelly*H-MA] + JUL 15 0121 - classical flute music from Germany and AA talk from Morocco, in mix. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 207 MOROCCO, Azilal, JUL 7 0508 - Koranic chanting vocal; excellent. + JUL 11 0054 - man w/ AA talk; good. + JUL 13 0310 - AA male vocal & strings; over German station & "QI" beacon. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 216 FRANCE, R. Monte Carlo, Roumoules, JUL 9 0322 - man & woman FF teletalk; excellent. + JUL 11 0349 - FF talk by man, then FF vocal; good. + JUL 13 0311 - Afro-Caribbean music w/ FF vocal; to good peak. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 234 LUXEMBOURG, Junglinster, JUN 28 0225 - modern rock EE vocal; excellent. + JUL 13 0307 - very good w/ FF announcer who mentioned Albert Camus. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 252 ALGERIA, Tipaza, JUL 11 0048 - probably this w/ FF talk by woman and a 15-second clip of the Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" song. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 252 IRELAND, Atlantic 252, Kilmessan, JUN 28 0227 - female group soul / urban vocal "Just One of those Days"; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUL 15 0117 - "I Want You" by Savage Garden; good, way over the static. It's great to hear cool tunes on a signal with international reach: these days in the US, the hot hits are mostly on FM: stations whose typical reach is easily escaped by two hours of highway driving. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 531 ALGERIA, Ain-El-Beida, JUN 29 0034 - man in AA; just a bit over Madeira & Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 10 0136 - fair to good and dominant w/ AA music // huge 549. Algeria-531 was considerably stronger than R.V.C.-530 at the time. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 531 MADEIRA, RDP, Porto Santo, JUN 29 0041 - PP vocal // Azores-693; just under AA (Algeria) and over presumed Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 531 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, JUL 7 0110 - SS talk / joking by man & woman; very good, actually better than // 684. + JUL 10 0148 - woman in SS (// 684, 738); mixed w/ Algeria. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 531 SPAIN/ALGERIA/MADEIRA, JUN 28 0236 - "imbroglio" here w/ an even-strength 3-way battle w/ SS, AA, and PP audios. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 540 MOROCCO, Sidi Bennour, JUN 28 0238 - fragments of man in AA (// 207, 612); it and WLUX were both buried under a very strong CBT classical music presentation at the time. CBGA1 (FF) also started blending in towards the end. QRM would have been less of a problem at local sunset (about two hours earlier). [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 549 ALGERIA, Les Trembles, JUN 28 0236 - AA female vocal & strings; to good peak. + JUL 9 0432 - // 153 w/ woman in AA, then vocal; fair. + JUL 10 0136 - an absolute pipeline into Algeria on the east sloper with this one in at monster level, obliterating 550. Typical AA music // 531. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 549 ALGERIA / unID, JUN 25 0150 - Algeria w/ AA music slightly over a second station w/ talk that sounded AA (maybe the Saudi Arabian). [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 558 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, JUN 29 0114 - bits of SS talk by man; badly hacked by WGAN. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 10 0145 - // 684 w/ mellow male SS vocal; poor to fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 567 IRELAND, RTE R.1, Tullamore, JUN 29 0113 - political commentary by man in EE; fair over unID station (probably Spain) and CJEM slop w/ WMCA phased. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 9 0305 - EE folk-rock female vocal. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 576 SPAIN, RNE5, Barcelona, JUN 28 0235 - // 585 w/ orchestral music; poor, in slop. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 585 SPAIN, RNE1, Madrid, JUN 28 0234 - // 684 w/ light orchestral music; loud. + JUL 10 0145 - // 684 w/ SS vocal; very good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 603 MADEIRA, RDP, Pico de Arieiro, JUL 10 0400 - // Azores-693 w/ classical music followed by pips and PP talk. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 603 SPAIN, RNE5, Sevilla / Palencia, JUL 10 0144 - // 585, 684 et al. w/ man & woman in SS talking over background music; to good peak. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 612 IRELAND, Athlone, JUN 29 0117 - fast-talk EE DJ; briefly breaking over the jumble of Morocco/Spain/others. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 612 MOROCCO, Sebaa-Aioun, JUN 28 0237 - // 207 w/ man in AA; good. + JUL 6 0157 - AA violins & vocal // 207. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 621 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN, RNE1, JUN 28 0402 - // 774 w/ SS news & telephone interview; fair. + JUL 5 2338 - SS teletalk; good on pre- sunset fade-in. + JUL 7 0521 - still at fair quality (note late time for July DX): woman in SS. + JUL 9 0327 - fast SS teletalk; huge - signal still good when re-checked at 0440 UTC. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 639 SPAIN, RNE1, La Coruna et al., JUN 28 0351 - SS male folk vocal & guitar; good, // weaker 684. This one, because of its north-coast Spain location, fades out quite a bit later than higher-powered 684 that has more land in its way heading west-northwest. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 657 SPAIN, RNE5, Madrid, JUL 11 0403 - // 684 w/ SS news; poor to fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 684 SPAIN, RNE1, Sevilla, JUN 28 0234 - // 585 w/ light orchestral music; in mix w/ likely Serbia. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUN 29 0024 - man & woman in SS talking about "America Latina"; good w/ WRKO in easy northwest loop null. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 10 0144 - man & woman in SS, musical interludes; huge. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 693 AZORES, RDP, Santa Barbara, JUN 28 0358 - // 836 w/ PP folk vocal; good. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUN 29 0041 - // Madeira-531 w/ PP vocal music; slightly over BBC UK. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 10 0400 - // Madeira-603 w/ classical music followed by pips and PP talk. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 711 WESTERN SAHARA, Laayoune, JUN 29 0022 - male group AA vocal; poor to fair over 50 Hz rumble; WOR phased. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 6 0151 - AA man over growl & some WOR slop. + JUL 7 0525 - AA violins; poor, fading into the slop. + JUL 10 0142 - this and possible Libya mixing to create a raucous 50 Hz growl that was stronger than WOR-710 at times. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 729 SPAIN, RNE1, Oviedo et al., JUN 28 0252 - // 684 w/ mellow SS vocal; poor, slopped by WJTO & residue of phased CKAC. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 738 SPAIN, RNE1, Barcelona, JUN 29 0103 - man in SS w/ news; over other station that sounded Middle Eastern, some CHCM slop present. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 6 0202 - fair w/ SS teletalk / news interview. + JUL 10 0148 - // 684 et al. w/ woman in SS; good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 756 SPAIN, R. Euskadi, Bilbao, JUN 28 0403 - SS news by woman; good, alone on channel. + JUL 11 0404 - news by man in SS; fair to good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 765 SWITZERLAND, RSR, Sottens, JUN 29 0102 - classical music; fair to good. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 9 0242 - good on peaks w/ classical music. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 774 SPAIN, RNE1 synchros, JUN 28 0402 - // 621 w/ SS news & a telephone interview; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUN 29 0059 - SS male/ female duet in a C&W style; slightly over Egypt. WABC splash was held off by a tight cardioid phase-null; CFDR-780 slop was the main QRM problem here. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 10 0151 - // 684 w/ woman in SS, then big-band jazz followed by "Torna a Sorrento" operatic vocal; very strong peaks, ripply fades, some CFDR slop. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 819 EGYPT, Batra, JUN 29 0120 - man in AA briefly over Morocco & Spain. Tough WNYC slop held off by careful phasing. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 819 MOROCCO, Rabat, JUN 28 0220 - AA teletalk // 207; slightly over Spain/Egypt/others. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 819 SPAIN, EI, San Sebastian, JUN 28 0220 - talk by man in SS popped up quickly before fading under Morocco. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 836 AZORES, RDP, Pico da Barossa, JUN 28 0358 - // 693 w/ plaintive PP folk male vocal; good. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUN 29 0121 - cheery PP male vocal somewhat in the style of Maurice Chevalier's FF songs; excellent signal. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 7 0324 - rock music; fair over 837 het. + JUL 10 0154 - dance-rock; good, killing 837. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 837 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN, COPE synchros, JUN 28 0217 - SS panel discussion; very good, better than Azores-836 at the time. + JUL 6 0023 - monotone-delivery SS talk by man, over unID station & Azores-836 het. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 846 ITALY, Rome, JUN 28 0216 - classical music; strong, noticeably better than it had been about 20 minutes earlier. + JUN 28 0257 - loud w/ female operatic vocal. + JUL 10 0155 - classical music hitting a good S9+5 dB peak. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 855 SPAIN, RNE1, Murcia et al., JUN 28 0216 - // 684 w/ mellow acoustic guitar & SS vocal; good. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUN 29 0053 - excellent w/ SS cocktail-lounge style vocal & guitar. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 10 0156 - // 585, 684 et al. w/ operatic-style SS male vocal; good to excellent. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 864 EGYPT, Santah, JUN 29 0150-0152 - usual Koranic male vocal. Initially this was mixed w/ several others including something that had wild Afro/Berber/AA screaming & stick-banging stuff (Morocco ?). Then the Egyptian came up to a very strong level, blasting in well over the rest of the pack. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 10 0157 - male AA Koranic a capella vocal; very good at S9+10 on the Mediterranean (east) sloper. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 873 SPAIN, SER R. Zaragoza, Zaragoza, JUN 28 0214 - // 1044 w/ SER SS newstalk; fair through WLAM-870 slop. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 882 UNITED KINGDOM, BBC Wales, Washford, JUN 25 0116 - man in EE; poor to fair. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 882 UNITED KINGDOM / CANARY ISLANDS, JUN 28 0217 - EE talk and SS talk exactly equal in strength. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 891 ALGERIA, Algiers, JUN 25 0113 - AA talk by man; good. [Connelly*R-MA] + JUN 28 0212 - usual monster signal w/ AA violins & vocal. + JUL 6 0005 - flutes, then AA talk by woman; good. + JUL 10 0159 - massive S9+25 signal, but audio not as clear as on // 549. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 909 UNITED KINGDOM, BBC R.5 synchros, JUN 28 0211 - EE talk; over a mix of others. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 918 SPAIN, R. Intercontinental, Madrid, JUN 28 0210 - man in SS; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 936 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, JUN 28 0208 - // 684 w/ romantic SS vocal; good, over others. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 954 SPAIN, R. Espana, Madrid, JUN 28 0207 - SS teletalk w/ man & woman; excellent. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1026 SPAIN, SER synchros, JUN 28 0204 - SS news // 1044; poor to fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1035 unID, JUN 28 0154 - unID pop or C&W vocal, not // Italy-846 so possibly England or Scotland instead (or is Portugal active ?). Jumpy signal: fair peaks but often in the muck. + JUN 28 0340 - somebody playing a recent re-make version of the 1964 "Shoop Shoop Song" hit. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1044 SPAIN, SER synchros, JUN 25 0109 - SS news; fair to good. [Connelly*R-MA] + JUN 28 0150 - SS talk w/ several different people on the phone (apparently a conference call); good. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUN 29 0010 - SS teletalk; fair to good. Something else noted under: Morocco probably closed before this, so subdominant is unID. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 7 0328 - SS teletalk; good. + JUL 13 0323 - very good w/ man & woman SS talk // 1575. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1053 UNITED KINGDOM, Talk Radio synchros, Start Point et al., JUN 28 0148 - EE teletalk over Spain; poor to fair in WEVD slop. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUN 29 0127 - // 1089 w/ EE teletalk about cars; fair to good w/ WEVD phased. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1089 UNITED KINGDOM, Talk Radio synchros, JUN 28 0145 - male talk show host & a woman on the telephone; to fair peak w/ WBAL phased. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUN 29 0129 - // 1053 w/ car discussion; to excellent peak (way over other, SAH evident). [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1098 SLOVAKIA, Nitra, JUN 25 0208 - mellow instrumental; good, well over Spain. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1098 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, JUN 28 0142 - // 1107 w/ SS teletalk; fair, well above presumed Slovakia which had music. + JUL 10 0219 - fair (over growl) w/ emotional SS male vocal, flamenco guitar, & piano: was // 1107. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1107 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, JUN 28 0138 - SS teletalk by man & woman; to good peaks, but jumpy fades. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUN 29 0131 - local- like w/ SS talk by man. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 10 0219 - // 1098 w/ SS male vocal, flamenco guitar, piano; to good peaks, but w/ bouncy fading pattern. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1116 SPAIN, SER synchros, JUN 29 0132 - excited SS talk; fair to good. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1134 CROATIA, HR, Zadar, JUN 29 0134 - techno/Eurodisco instrumental influenced by "La Bamba"; loud, mixed w/ Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1134 SPAIN, COPE synchros, JUN 29 0134 - SS talk by man over/under Croatia; strong. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1179 SPAIN // CANARY ISLANDS, SER synchros, JUN 28 0331 - fast SS newstalk (w/ synchro echo) in Cuba-1180 slop. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1197 LESOTHO, BBC relay, Lancer's Gap, JUL 15 0050 - man & woman in EE w/ BBC documentary mentioning Tories and Conservatives; to fair peaks (over static crashes and co-channel jumble). WKOX-1200 put in loop/whip cardioid phase null. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1215 SPAIN, COPE synchros, JUN 28 0315 - fast SS talk by man; dominant. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1215 UNITED KINGDOM, Virgin R. synchros, JUN 29 0136 - EE talk about music and sporting events next week in London; good, over Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1251 LIBYA, Tripoli, JUN 25 0053 - AA talk by man, then flutes, AA talk by woman; excellent. [Connelly*R-MA] + JUN 28 0315 - man in AA initially loud, then faded. [Connelly*H-MA] + JUN 28 2359 - AA talk by woman already up to powerhouse level prior to local sunset. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1305 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, JUN 28 0314 - // 855 w/ emotional SS female vocal; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1314 NORWAY, NRK, Kvitsoy, JUL 15 0159-0200 - bouncy C&W style music, then Norwegian talk by man; fair. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1349 MAURITANIA, R. Mauritanie, Nouakchott, JUN 24 2342 - AA vocal at low modulation on S8 carrier: sun still shining brightly at time of reception. [Connelly*R-MA] + JUN 28 2351 - flutes, screaming-type vocal fading up; het had become audible at least 15 minutes earlier. In late spring and summer, this and 1544 are often the earliest audible pre-sunset Trans-Atlantics. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1359 SPAIN, Arganda, JUL 10 0229 - SS newstalk; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1395 NETHERLANDS, Lopik, JUL 15 0202 - Dutch teletalk; to fair peak. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1422 GERMANY, Deutschlandradio, Heusweiler, JUL 15 0204 - good w/ news by man in GG. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1485 SPAIN, SER synchros, JUN 28 0309 - man w/ SS talk / teletalk; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1530 SAO TOME & PRINCIPE, VOA, Pinheira, JUN 28 0300 - Yankee Doodle theme / interval signal, then EE VOA news w/ lead item about accident at the Mir space station; atop WSAI. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1544 ALGERIA - CLANDESTINE, Tindouf, JUN 28 2356 - female, then male, AA vocals & strings; pushing past WDCD/WMYF/WADK slop during pre-sunset fade-up. Better than 1349 at the time. [Connelly*P-MA] + JUL 5 2334 - emotional a capella female vocal starting to fade in at this time. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1548 KUWAIT, VOA, Kuwait City, JUL 15 0022 - VOA news commentary (man in US EE); poor to fair w/ the 1550 blob (CT, others) in an approximate phase null. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1566 SWITZERLAND, R. Eviva, Sarnen, JUN 28 0304 - Alpine folk instrumental w/ classical influences. Yodelling vocals followed. To good peaks but w/ jumpy fades typical of high-band high-latitude stations heard in the summer. This has since left the air and has thereby improved everyone's chances to hear India, Iran, etc. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1575 SPAIN, SER synchros, JUL 13 0323 - // 1044 w/ man & woman in SS; poor. High-band DX not impressive lately. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1608 GERMANY, DHJ59, Wilhelmshaven, JUL 15 0206 - RTTY utility station; good strength. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1619.5 NETHERLANDS, Scheveningen, PCH, JUL 15 0207 - repeated cycle of "PCH" Morse code ID and 8 data bursts; excellent. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ *** PAN-AMERICAN DX *** ~ 526 BAHAMAS, ZLS, Stella Maris, JUL 11 0303 - "ZLS" code beacon; fair w/ some R.V.C.-530 slop. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 530 TURKS & CAICOS, R. Vision Cristiana, JUL 7 1658 - SS religious talk on daytime groundwave; fair through static crashes. At night this comes in at local quality. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 535 GRENADA, GBC, St. George's, JUN 28 0400 - Carib-EE talk by man, then religious-sounding music & talk; fair. + JUL 5 2340 - soca w/ influences from '60s soul hits by Wilson Pickett & Otis Redding; already good pre-sunset on SE sloper. + JUL 7 0310 - oldies including "Take It Easy" by the Eagles; fair to good. + JUL 11 0356 - "Secret Garden" by Bruce Springsteen; good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 555 ST. KITTS & NEVIS, ZIZ, Basseterre, JUN 25 0149 - fair w/ calypso / soca vocal. [Connelly*R-MA] + JUN 28 0359 - reggae vocal w/ strong drum beat backing; good. + JUL 11 0357 - end of a teletalk show; good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 570 CUBA, R. Reloj, JUL 13 0103 - R. Reloj SS news & time show w/ on-the-minute "RR" code beeps; mixed w/ WMCA and hetted by Ireland-567. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 600 CUBA, R. Rebelde, CMKV, Urbano Noris, JUL 7 0340 - // 670 w/ ragtime jazz piano; good / dominant. + JUL 9 0518 - over growl; classical music // 620, 670, 710. + JUL 13 0109 - rambling SS talk by man & woman extolling the virtues of the Cuban revolution, corny '50s type reverb was used, then a mellow patriotic folk vocal was played. Initially huge, then it faded into a jumble w/ likely Venezuela/Colombia/WICC. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 620 CUBA, R. Rebelde, Colon / Moa, JUL 9 0518 - // 600, 670, 710 w/ classical music; to good peak over WZON/WVMT mix. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 630 PUERTO RICO, WSKN, San Juan, JUL 13 0318 - "Super Cadena" jingle, then Puerto Rican news in SS; in mix w/ CFCY/CHLT/WPRO. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 640 CUBA, R. Progreso, Guanabacoa / Las Tunas, JUL 13 0432 - to good peak w/ SS news about Cuba, // 660. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 640 GUADELOUPE, RFO, Pointe-a-Pitre, JUL 7 0515 - man & woman in FF; atop jumble of Cuba/WNNZ/others. + JUL 13 0434 - man in FF talking about military and business issues. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 650 COLOMBIA, RCN Antena Dos, HJKH, Bogota, JUL 5 0132 - good / dominant w/ SS news mentioning trade partnerships between Colombia and European nations such as France. + JUL 6 0204 - national sporting event coverage // HJAJ-760 at the time; good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 660 CUBA, R. Progreso, CMHG, Santa Clara, JUL 13 0435 - // 640 w/ bits of music; poor, way under WFAN. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 670 CUBA, R. Rebelde, CMQ, Arroyo Arenas, JUL 7 0340 - // 600 w/ ragtime jazz piano; under others. + JUL 9 0518 - over others w/ classical music // 600, 620, 710. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 670 SURINAME, RADIKA, Paramaribo, JUL 7 0019 - dominant w/ Hindi (or similar language) dramatic presentation or political harangue. Radio Rumbos was audible slightly behind. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 670 VENEZUELA, R. Rumbos, YVLL, Caracas, JUN 25 0035 - SS baseball game coverage w/ crowd noise. [Connelly*R-MA] + JUL 12 0218 - Venezuelan league baseball; good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 673.4 CANADA, CKXB, Musgravetown (NF), JUN 28 0243 - noted in passing on this freq. Is this heard in Europe ? [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 690 COLOMBIA, HJCZ, Bogota, JUL 7 0318 - SS talk w/ several Bogota mentions; mixed w/ other Latin American, both stations were under CBF. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 710 CUBA, R. Rebelde synchros, JUL 9 0518 - // 600, 620, 670 w/ classical music; under WOR. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 720 VENEZUELA, YVQE, Porlamar, JUN 25 0155 - old-fashioned SS group folk vocal, ID "R. Oriente, la senal de Venezuela"; good w/ CHTN looped. [Connelly*R-MA] + JUL 12 0021 - Oriente mention and SS talk by two men; over CHTN and second SS station. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 750 VENEZUELA, YVKS, Caracas, JUN 25 0033 - SS talk about Venezuelan baseball; loud. [Connelly*R-MA] + JUL 5 0140 - SS discussion about social-service agencies in Venezuela and cooperation with similar organizations in the USA; very good, over others. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 760 COLOMBIA, RCN, HJAJ, Barranquilla, JUL 6 0204 - national sporting event coverage in SS // HJKH-650 at the time; good. + JUL 7 0100 - SS political talk, RCN & R. Suceso ID's; huge. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 770 COLOMBIA, RCN, HJJX, Bogota, JUL 7 0100 - // HJAJ-760 w/ bits of SS talk; under WABC. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 780 BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, ZBVI, Roadtown, Tortola, JUL 12 0010 - man in Carib-EE mixed w/ two SS LA's on the southeast sloper that side-nulled CFDR. On other antennas, CFDR dominated. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 810 COLOMBIA, CARACOL, HJCY, Bogota, JUL 6 0207 - Colombian sports coverage in SS; sometimes over CJVA/WGY. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 830 ST. KITTS & NEVIS, TBN, Basseterre, JUN 25 0127 - // 7510 w/ EE talk by John Haigey (?) about prophecies and a Bible study guide; mixed w/ WCRN, CFJR. [Connelly*R-MA] + JUL 9 0150 - // 7510 w/ preaching, hymn; huge, killing WCRN. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 840 CUBA, CMHW, Santa Clara, JUL 13 0211 - Cuban folk music; huge / dominant. Next to no sign of WHAS. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 840 ST. LUCIA, R. Caribbean International, Castries, JUL 5 2350 - soca music then Carib-EE announcer; poor in jumble. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 840 unID, JUL 15 0102 - someone w/ a "R. Noticias" ID or slogan briefly popped out of the stew. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 840 VENEZUELA (t), probably YVMY, JUL 5 0144 - SS advert in jumble seemed to be for the "primer banco venezolano". [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 860 BRAZIL, ZYJ459, Rio de Janeiro, JUN 25 0130 - PP talk by man briefly over SS stations w/ CJBC looped. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 860 unID, JUL 5 2359 - merengue / salsa music, ID or slogan "Tropical Ocho Sesenta" somewhat over mess, not sure if real DX or an ethnic domestic such as WTEL-PA. Use of callsign at top of hour not noted, but possibly lost to QRM. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 895 ST. KITTS & NEVIS, VON, Bath Village, JUN 25 0040 - Caribbean soca music w/ definite African highlife influences; excellent. [Connelly*R-MA] + JUL 8 0015 - fair w/ news & sports report by Carib-EE man. + JUL 12 0007 - soca song w/ refrain "If You Want It"; excellent. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1000 COLOMBIA, RCN, HJAQ, Cartagena, JUL 13 0250 - // 760 w/ SS news; poor, under CKBW/WMVP. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1020 TURKS & CAICOS, Caribbean Christian Radio, JUL 5 0153 - preacher in EE on the subject of the importance of the message of the Cross. Strong dominant signal, well over KDKA / Latin Americans. + JUL 7 0020 - "Superpower 1020" ID and words "from Grand Turk Island in the British West Indies"; huge, atop YVRS. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1039.61 COLOMBIA (t), JUN 28 0200 - at this time mostly just het w/ audio fragments. + JUL 11 0124 - SS talk, horserace trumpet fanfare, possible Barranquilla mention; occasionally splittable from HION/ YVLB/WZNA mess on 1040. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1040 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, HION, Santo Domingo, JUL 7 0046 - fast SS Dominican Republic newstalk, slogan "Noticias de Santo Domingo", frequent timechecks; briefly over Venezuela / others. + JUL 11 0126 - SS newstalk, "Cadena de Noticias" ID, Santo Domingo mentions; mixed w/ other SS Latin Americans. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1100 BRAZIL, ZYK694, Sao Paulo, JUL 12 2358 - PP football (soccer) w/ excited announcer and crowd; this topped the channel briefly (over a growl & something in SS) during a lucky fade of generally-dominant WHLI-NY. Reception was just before local sunset from a south-facing beach near the Harwich / Chatham town line. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1110 VENEZUELA, YVQT, Carupano, JUN 25 0043 - SS talk w/ Porlamar & Margarita mentions, R. Carupano ID; loud / dominant. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1140 VENEZUELA, R. Margaritena, Porlamar, JUL 15 0055 - salsa song w/ "bailando" refrain, then SS talk w/ timecheck ".. minutos hora margarita"; peaking over CBI/WRVA. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1140.5 unID, JUL 15 0056 - very weak het against Venezuela / domestics on 1140. Is this Cuba's anti-WQBA thing ? [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1170 COLOMBIA, CARACOL, HJNW, Cartagena, JUN 25 0100 - Colombian news in SS; dominant. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1170 unID (maybe Venezuela ?), JUN 25 0058 - classical music initially good, then it faded under Colombia by 0100; WWVA a poor third. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1205 CAYMAN ISLANDS, R. Cayman, George Town, JUN 28 0322 - bits of female pop vocal followed by man in EE; poor. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1680 unID, JUL 12 0451 - bits of Latin American music, then SS talk by man; poor. Probably a harmonic of a 560 kHz or 840 kHz South American. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ *** UTILITY "OTHERNESS" - FISHING BEACONS ? *** (DX column editors may include or delete this section as they see fit) I'm not sure where all these "birds" are coming from, but many exhibited signal variations consistent with skip rather than groundwave. Some of the same ones could be heard from several Massachusetts locations. Here's a list taken from Harwich between 0420 and 0450 UTC on JUL 12 (order is chronological): A363-1633, NA97-1631, 9?258-1717, B524-1723, B537-1736, 9WT174-1773, 94W371-1785, 95W152-1797, 94S109-1793, 93W172-1781, SS45-1781, 94W407-1757, 2DKL-1758, BX42-1691, VH09-1689, 9W134-1684, and BH79-1674. Usually you get about 4 or 5 CW ID's followed by what seems like a lengthy silent period before the ID cycle occurs again. Some of the beacons sharing the same frequency seem to have their operating and silent times coordinated so as not to "step on" each other, but that's not always the case. I think I've just scratched the surface on possible loggings. It would be nice to know the exact geographical locations. Any help will be appreciated. ***** (logs 26 JUL - 7 AUG 1997: file=DX970807.LOG) Report from Mark Connelly - Times / dates = UTC / 1997 [Connelly*P-MA] = Plymouth, MA (GC= 70.68 W / 41.98 N) (Robbins Road - Holmes Field, N of Nelson Street Beach) [Connelly*R-MA] = Rockport, MA (GC= 70.60 W / 42.636 N) (Pebble Beach: Penzance Road, E of South Street) Receiver: Drake R8A Antenna system - Plymouth: 27 m wire at 70 deg. (s. Europe), 27 m wire at 160 deg. (Caribbean); wires phased with MFJ-1026 phasing unit. Antenna system - Rockport: RL-1 remotely-tuned loop, RW-1 active whip, DCP-2 dual controller / phaser ====================================================== Reports this time include the Plymouth MFJ-1026 Field Test and a trip to a new Rockport site having good Latin American exposure. *** TRANS-ATLANTIC DX *** ~ 549 ALGERIA, Les Trembles, AUG 7 0215 - man in AA w/ news interview or teletalk show; good. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 567 IRELAND, RTE R.1, Tullamore, AUG 7 0214 - man & woman in EE; in slop at first, then it got better. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 612 MOROCCO, Sebaa-Aioun, AUG 7 0016 - man & woman in AA; poor to fair over presumed Ireland. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 621 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN, RNE1, AUG 7 0022 - news in SS delivered by man in a monotone "just the facts" style; slopped. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 684 SPAIN, RNE1, Sevilla, AUG 7 0029 - male SS vocal & guitar, the announcer talked about the performer, then teletalk followed. Good w/ WRKO-680 phased. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 711 WESTERN SAHARA, Laayoune, AUG 7 0033 - AA violins, drums, & vocal; to good peak w/ WOR in easy phase null. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 747 NETHERLANDS, Flevoland, JUL 27 0115 - mellow Dutch female vocal; fair over others. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 756 GERMANY, Deutschlandradio, Braunschweig/Ravensburg, JUL 27 0114 - excellent w/ classical violins & piano. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 7 0043 - classical music; fair to good, bouncy fades, bits of Spain under. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 765 SWITZERLAND, RSR, Sottens, JUL 27 0114 - classical music; good to excellent. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 774 EGYPT, Abis, JUL 27 0113 - Koranic vocal; good, initially over Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 774 SPAIN, RNE1 synchros, JUL 27 0113 - woman in SS; starting to overtake the co-channel Egyptian. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 819 EGYPT, Batra, JUL 27 0112 - Koranic male AA vocal; very good, bulldozing the 820 domestics. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 836 AZORES, RDP, Pico da Barossa, AUG 7 0109 - Steely Dan style jazz-rock song, then man in PP; fair to good, better than adjacent Canaries-837. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 846 ITALY, Rome, JUL 27 0112 - talk by woman, then light classical music; good. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 855 SPAIN, RNE1, Murcia et al., JUL 27 0111 - SS talk by man & woman; quite strong, but only slightly over a second station that had operatic vocals. The music station was most likely Romania; I couldn't find anything to parallel it to, though. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 864 EGYPT, Santah, JUL 27 0110 - typical male a cappella AA vocal; to good peak. There was a weak het of undetermined origin on the low side (approximately 863.8). [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 882 UNITED KINGDOM, BBC Wales, Washford, JUL 27 0107 - EE talk, atop Spain-Canaries; in tough WCBS slop. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 891 ALGERIA, Algiers, JUL 26 2348 - flute & string music; fair w/ WBPS phased. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1017 GERMANY, Rheinsender, JUL 27 0104 - GG news by man; fair to good, over others. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1026 SPAIN, SER synchros, JUL 27 0013 - SS news mixed w/ unID other station; in tight phase-null of local WBZ. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1044 MOROCCO, Sebaa-Aioun, JUL 26 2352 - AA male vocal; to good peak, dominant over Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1044 SPAIN, SER synchros, JUL 27 0102 - scratchy-audio SS telephone interview, then announcer in studio with much better audio fidelity; good signal. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1053 UNITED KINGDOM, Talk Radio synchros, Start Point et al., JUL 27 0101 - LOUD ! (stronger than // 1089): news about a Jordanian test pilot killed at an air show. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1088 unID, probably ANGOLA, JUL 27 0100 - weak to fair het appeared against Talk Radio; it jumped around in strength in a way that suggested that the transmitter or antenna was being adjusted (rather than the signal just fading up and down). [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1089 UNITED KINGDOM, Talk Radio synchros, JUL 27 0100 - man in EE talked about proposals to change some laws, then news was read by a woman; fair to good signal. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 7 0157 - man & woman in EE talking about police issues; fair. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1098 SLOVAKIA, Nitra, JUL 27 0054 - "Eurodisco" dance music in the style of Technotronic; loud, well over Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 7 0157 - "Muzak" type instrumental; fair. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1107 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, JUL 27 0053 - SS talk; poor to fair in slop. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1125 CROATIA, HR, Deanovec, JUL 27 0052 - // Zadar-1134 w/ female group folk vocal w/ balalaika or mandolin accompaniment; slightly over Spain and just making it through the residual splash from tightly-phased WBBR. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1134 CROATIA, HR, Zadar, JUL 27 0015 - Slavic male folk vocal in a somewhat operatic style (Italian-influenced); huge signal, well over Spain w/ WBBR-1130 phased. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 7 0158 - '40s-era female vocal; atop Spain SS talk. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1143 SPAIN, COPE synchros, JUL 27 0049 - SS teletalk; atop an unID music station. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1179 SPAIN // CANARY ISLANDS, SER synchros, JUL 27 0013 - fast SS newstalk; killing WHAM-1180 on the Euro-wire. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1197 UNITED KINGDOM, Virgin R. synchros, JUL 27 0044 - this one w/ rock // 1215 was among several stations piled up on this channel. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1215 UNITED KINGDOM, Virgin R. synchros, JUL 27 0019 - hard rock, then EE talk; over Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 7 0201 - woman in EE, then R.E.M. song; fair. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1251 LIBYA, Tripoli, JUL 26 2358 - AA vocal; slopped. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 7 0204 - AA shouting (political or religious speech). [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1269 GERMANY, Neumunster, JUL 27 0040 - GG talk; in tough CJCB/WTSN slop. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1278 unID's, JUL 27 0039 - jumbly mix of audios here w/ France & Ireland most likely, based upon previous logs. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1287 SLOVAKIA (/ CZECH REPUBLIC ?), JUL 27 0038 - Slavic- language rock vocal, overriding Spain's SER SS talk; low growl present. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1296 SPAIN / unID, JUL 27 0021 - a jumble here w/ SS talk slightly over several other stations, one of which had decidedly Middle Eastern sounding music. That unID may have been Sudan or perhaps Radio XL, UK. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1314 NORWAY, NRK, Kvitsoy, JUL 27 0036 - man in Norwegian, then song "Return to Innocence" by Enigma; good. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 7 0205 - oldies music; fair. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1341 NORTHERN IRELAND, BBC, Lisnagarvey, JUL 27 0021 - woman in EE; poor to fair, in slop. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1349 MAURITANIA, R. Mauritanie, Nouakchott, JUL 26 2359 - AA talk by woman at poor audio level on a strong carrier. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1395 NETHERLANDS, Lopik, JUL 27 0007 - man & woman w/ teletalk in Dutch; fair to good. Hearing this was quite an achievement in phasing: WPLM-1390 is less than 3 km from the receiving site used. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1422 GERMANY, Deutschlandradio, Heusweiler, JUL 27 0004 - man w/ news in GG; fair. Likely Algeria was slightly under and a 1.6 Hz SAH resulted. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1530 SAO TOME & PRINCIPE, VOA, Pinheira (t), JUL 27 0026 - EE talk sounded like typical VOA news, channel very messy at the time. This is routinely audible from 0300-0430 UTC, seldom earlier. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1531.3 unID (Middle East clandestine ?), JUL 27 0024 - het and a hint of music. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1544 ALGERIA - CLANDESTINE, Tindouf, JUL 26 2359 - shrill AA female vocal; fair through WDCD slop. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1548 KUWAIT, VOA, Kuwait City, JUL 27 0031 - VOA program w/ man in US EE; fair on peaks, but taking long fades into the "mush". [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1575 SPAIN / ITALY, JUL 27 0033 - SS talk & II vocal evenly mixed. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ *** PAN-AMERICAN DX *** ~ 535 GRENADA, GBC, St. George's, AUG 7 0014 - excellent (near local sunset) w/ VOA-produced program discussing the recent cooperative business arrangement between Microsoft and Apple Computer. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 550 VENEZUELA, Mundial, YVKE, Caracas, AUG 7 0123 - // YVYM-880 w/ man & woman in SS; in co-channel mess. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 555 ST. KITTS & NEVIS, ZIZ, Basseterre, AUG 7 0019 - fast soca music; to good peak. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 670 VENEZUELA, R. Rumbos, YVLL, Caracas, AUG 7 0026 - salsa music, ID "Rumbos, la Emissor de Venezuela"; good / dominant. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 720 VENEZUELA, YVQE, Porlamar, AUG 7 0037 - booming ID "R. Oriente, Musica de Venezuela", then energetic group vocal, xylophone, drum; good w/ CHTN in loop null. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 750 VENEZUELA, YVKS, Caracas, AUG 7 0039 - Caracas news in SS; over second SS station (probably Colombia) that had sports. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 760 COLOMBIA, HJAJ, Barranquilla / VENEZUELA, YVQQ, Puerto la Cruz - AUG 7 0044 - even "dogfight" between these two; both had sporting events in SS. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 770 COLOMBIA, RCN, HJJX, Bogota, AUG 7 0045 - SS sportstalk; over (!) WABC. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 800 NETHERLANDS ANTILLES, Trans-World Radio, PJB, Bonaire, AUG 7 0100 - SS announcer mentioned "la biblia dice" ("the Bible speaks"), then a Miami address and the ID "Esta es Radio Transmundial"; huge, crushing CJAD/others. A slight Spain-801 het was present. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 810 COLOMBIA, CARACOL, HJCY, Bogota, AUG 7 0055 - program entitled "Esta es su casa." (= "This is your house."); economic issues were mentioned; atop mix of CJVA, WGY, & others. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 860 CUBA, R. Reloj, CMBL, Arroyo Arenas, AUG 7 0115 - code "RR's" and SS newstalk; in a big Latin American pile-up on this channel. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 860.2 unID, AUG 7 0113 - Colombian-style accordion music, SS vocal; somewhat splittable from the 860.0 crowd, but the 200 Hz growl garbled things up badly at times. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 880 VENEZUELA, Mundial, YVYM, Puerto Ordaz, AUG 7 0123 - // YVKE-550 w/ man & woman in SS; over second South American and under WCBS. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 895 ST. KITTS & NEVIS, VON, Bath Village, AUG 7 0125 - mellow US soul vocal by man; good. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 940 CUBA, R. Reloj, AUG 7 0128 - Reloj SS news / time show; slightly over a mix of likely Venezuela & Colombia; CBM phased. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 960 CUBA, R. Reloj, AUG 7 0131 - Reloj SS news, code "RR's"; mixed w/ Colombia, CHNS, others. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1000 COLOMBIA, RCN, HJAQ, Cartagena, AUG 7 0130 - RCN ID; over others w/ CKBW in loop null. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1020 TURKS & CAICOS, Caribbean Christian Radio, AUG 7 0134 - US EE preacher w/ talk about Adam & Eve and "the devil's junkyard"; way over YVRS/KDKA. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1040 VENEZUELA, R. Carabobo, YVLB, Valencia (t), AUG 7 0137 - probably this w/ Venezuelan news in SS; over others. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1060 CUBA, CMDX, Baracoa, AUG 7 0140 - usual mushy and overdriven audio on this one, noted at the time w/ a combination of traditional Cuban folk music and some more modern uptempo pop selections; atop KYW. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1100 COLOMBIA, CARACOL, HJAT, Barranquilla, AUG 7 0140 - was // 1170 w/ SS talk about Colombia; in jumble w/ other Latin Americans. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1110 VENEZUELA, YVQT, Carupano, AUG 7 0155 - brassy music, Carupano mention; over CKTY w/ WBT in loop null. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1160 BERMUDA, VSB3, Hamilton, AUG 7 0151 - // 5975 w/ BBC documentary about the history of a wartime naval convoy; poor to fair in a mix w/ SS Latin Americans and assorted domestics. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1170 COLOMBIA, CARACOL, HJNW, Cartagena, AUG 7 0148 - // to 1100 w/ SS talk about the political situation in Colombia; excellent / dominant. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1375 ST. PIERRE ET MIQUELON, RFO, AUG 7 0206 - FF version of Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man". [Connelly*R-MA] ~ (logs 16 AUG - 8 SEP 1997: file=DX970908.LOG) Report from Mark Connelly - Times / dates = UTC / 1997 [Connelly-B-MA] = Billerica, MA (home) (GC= 71.221 W / 42.532 N) [Connelly*H-MA] = East Harwich, Cape Cod, MA (GC= 70.02 W / 41.71 N) (near junction of Routes 39 & 137: pitch pine forest 2 km from ocean) [Connelly*P-MA] = Plymouth, MA (GC= 70.68 W / 41.98 N) (Robbins Road - Holmes Field, N of Nelson Street Beach) [Connelly*R-MA] = Rockport, MA (Granite Pier) (GC= 70.622 W / 42.667 N) Receiver: Drake R8A Antenna systems: RL-1 remotely-tuned loop, RW-1 active whip, DCP-2 dual controller / phaser - Also used MFJ-1026 with internal whip phased against Q-spoiled Quantum Loop at Harwich; MFJ-1026 w/ east & west slopers at home. ====================================================== *** TRANS-ATLANTIC DX *** ~ 162 FRANCE, Allouis, AUG 27 0038 - pop music, then woman in FF; very good. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 171 MOROCCO, Nador, AUG 27 0037 - AA talk by man. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 177 GERMANY, Oranienburg, AUG 27 0036 - rousing GG beer-hall male group vocals; good. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 189 ICELAND, RUV, Gufuskalar, AUG 17 0056 - mellow pop vocals w/ no announcements; good strength (similar to LW TA's on 162, 198, 234, and 252). Some QRN from T-storms in NJ (about 300 km distant). [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 27 0056 - LOUD w/ non-stop US oldies including "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 198 UNITED KINGDOM, BBC, Droitwich et al., AUG 27 0040 - man & woman in EE w/ news interview. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 207 MOROCCO, Azilal / GERMANY, Aholming, AUG 27 0041 - fast AA talk over slow GG talk. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 531 ALGERIA, Ain-El-Beida, AUG 31 0424 - // 549 w/ AA male vocal & strings; mixed w/ Spain. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 531 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, AUG 31 0254 - // 684 w/ operatic- style pop SS vocal; poor to fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 549 ALGERIA, Les Trembles, AUG 17 0053 - AA vocal; to fair peak. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0338 - excited AA vocal, strings, drums; good to excellent. + AUG 31 0416 - piercing violin & flute music; huge. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 558 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, AUG 31 0252 - // 684 w/ SS talk, light music; poor. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 567 IRELAND, RTE R.1, Tullamore, AUG 31 0428 - EE man & woman talking about workers; good, atop Spain. + AUG 31 0525 - good w/ classical music. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 567 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, AUG 31 0415 - // 684 w/ SS interview; completely dominant at the time. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 576 SPAIN, RNE5, Barcelona, AUG 31 0337 - // 855 w/ showtune- style vocal; fair to good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 585 SPAIN, RNE1, Madrid, AUG 17 0049 - // 684 w/ SS female vocal, then SS talk; through static & tough WEZE-590 slop. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0250 - // 639 w/ woman in SS; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] + SEP 8 0432 - SS news by man & woman, part of a political speech was played; loud. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 585.06 TUNISIA (t), AUG 31 0355 - growl / bits of audio, 60 Hz above Spain-585.0. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 603 SPAIN, RNE5, Sevilla / Palencia, AUG 31 0337 - // 855 w/ showtune-style SS female vocal; very good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 612 IRELAND, Athlone, AUG 17 0048 - pop music, bits of man in EE; poor, barely over jumble. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0354 - EE talk / teletalk mentioned a rock concert; to fair peak, over others. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 612 MOROCCO, Sebaa-Aioun (t), AUG 31 0530 - huge unmodulated carrier over Ireland, presumed to be this. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 621 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN, RNE1, AUG 17 0045 - SS talk over likely Egypt; somewhat noisy w/ T-storm QRN. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0336 - // 855 et al. w/ showtune-style female vocal; good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 621 EGYPT (t), AUG 17 0045 - AA music; under Canaries-Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 639 SPAIN, RNE1, La Coruna et al., AUG 17 0044 - man in SS; just getting by tough CBN slop. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0249 - LOUD w/ clear Radio Nacional de Espana ID, then SS talk by man & woman. Spain stations were the strongest and most numerous of the European signals coming in at the time. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 648 SPAIN, RNE1, Badajoz et al., AUG 31 0349 - // (huge) 855: operatic female vocal, then woman in SS w/ "R. Nacional Espana" mention; poor to fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 657 SPAIN, RNE5, Madrid, AUG 31 0430 - woman in SS; to good peak w/ WFAN phased. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 666 PORTUGAL, RDP, Lisboa, AUG 31 0412 - classical music (at low audio level); over apparent SS & AA stations. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 675 NETHERLANDS, R. Ten Gold, Lopik, AUG 31 0410 - "As Tears Go By" by Marianne Faithfull: good tune & good signal. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 684 SPAIN, RNE1, Sevilla, AUG 17 0043 - man in SS; fair w/ WRKO looped. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0248 - Enya-type female vocal; excellent. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 693 UNITED KINGDOM, BBC, Droitwich et al., AUG 17 0041 - EE talk; slightly over Azores / Spain mess. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0405 - news about Princess Diana's fatal car accident in Paris. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 711 unID's, AUG 17 0038 - about 3 audios battling it out under a huge W. Sahara open carrier. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 729 SPAIN, RNE1, Oviedo et al., AUG 17 0037 - // 855 w/ man in SS; poor, slightly over others, pestered by static crashes and WJTO slop left over after nulling CKAC. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0333 - // 855 w/ emotional SS vocal, SS talk; to fair peak. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 738 SPAIN, RNE1, Barcelona, AUG 17 0034 - man in SS; poor to fair through tough CHCM (NF) slop. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0419 - // local-like 855 w/ woman in SS; good during CHCM fades. [Connelly*H-MA] + SEP 8 0430 - // 774 w/ SS news by woman, Estados Unidos mentions, and pips on the half hour; strong. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 747 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN, AUG 17 0032 - woman in SS; fair, over others. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 747 NETHERLANDS, Flevoland, AUG 31 0401 - Dutch news by man, slightly over Canaries-Spain. The signal was stronger than the jumble of stations on 750. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 756 GERMANY, Deutschlandradio, Braunschweig/Ravensburg, AUG 17 0031 - opera; over / under Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 756 SPAIN, R. Euskadi, Bilbao, AUG 17 0031 - SS talk; mixing w/ Germany. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 765 SWITZERLAND, RSR, Sottens, AUG 17 0030 - "spring like" classical music (similar to Beethoven's "Pastorale"); excellent. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0359 - concert piano music; excellent. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 774 EGYPT, Abis, AUG 16 0027 - AA female vocal; huge, totally burying Spain ! [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 774 SPAIN, RNE1 synchros, AUG 16 0339 - old-time "torch song" style SS female vocal in a somewhat operatic style. [Connelly*H-MA] + AUG 17 0028 - bits of Elvis Presley song (// 855); way under Egypt. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0254 - // 684 w/ operatic SS vocal; good, over other. [Connelly*H-MA] + SEP 8 0430 - // 738 w/ SS news by woman; loud. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 783 SYRIA, Tartus, AUG 17 0029 - AA vocal; mixed w/ 2 others. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 792 SPAIN, SER, Sevilla, AUG 31 0438 - man & woman w/ SS teletalk; over others. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 801 JORDAN, R. Jordan, Ajlun, AUG 17 0025 - AA vocal; under Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 801 SPAIN, RNE1 synchros, AUG 17 0025 - // 855 w/ "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley. Jordan was slightly under. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0358 - woman in SS; poor, over AA station. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 819 EGYPT, Batra, AUG 17 0022 - typical Koranic vocal; over apparent Morocco / Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 836 AZORES, RDP, Pico da Barossa, AUG 17 0020 - PP teletalk; fair to good, splittable from 837. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0440 - solemn PP talk mentioned Princess Diana's death. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 837 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN, COPE synchros, AUG 17 0020 - woman in SS mentioned a trip to Miami; excellent. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0418 - fast SS talk by man; loud, stronger than adjacent Azores-836. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 846 ITALY, Rome, AUG 17 0019 - old-time Otis Redding soul song, then man in II; excellent. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0418 - II talk; to fair peak. [Connelly*H-MA] + SEP 8 0433 - II teletalk; poor to fair. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 855 SPAIN, RNE1, Murcia et al., AUG 17 0017 - man in SS; excellent. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0255 - // 684 w/ operatic SS male pop vocal; excellent. This was actually 10 dB stronger than Boston's WEEI-850 (and it was much clearer because 850 had co-channel QRM from PQ and VA stations). + AUG 31 0516 - still excellent w/ SS talk at this late time. [Connelly*H-MA] + SEP 8 0435 - SS talk, then female vocal; very good. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 864 EGYPT, Santah, AUG 17 0015 - man w/ Koranic vocal, sermon; huge signal. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 864 SPAIN, RNE1, Socuellamos, AUG 31 0351 - // 855 w/ fast SS talk by woman; poor to fair, over others. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 864 unID, AUG 17 0015 - C&W style vocal (France ?) briefly surfacing over generally-dominant Egypt. Was not parallel to Spain-855. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 873 GERMANY, AFN, Frankfurt, AUG 17 0024 - bits of US EE talk slipped out from behind Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 873 SPAIN, SER R. Zaragoza, Zaragoza, AUG 17 0013 - SS newstalk by man & woman; well over pop music station that was probably AFN Germany. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0031 - SS news by man; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 882 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN, AUG 27 0127 - SS talk, slightly weaker than co-channel BBC UK. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 882 unID, AUG 27 0127 - AA-sounding vocal; mixing w/ UK & Canaries-Spain. There are several possibilities, but Dammam, Saudi Arabia looks like the only one running serious power. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 882 UNITED KINGDOM, BBC Wales, Washford, AUG 17 0011 - EE talk, then '70s oldies including Elton John; good, atop Canaries-Spain SS. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 27 0127 - man & woman in EE; over Canaries-Spain and an unID AA-sounding station. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 891 ALGERIA, Algiers, AUG 17 0008 - AA guitar & violin, then talk by woman followed by flute music; excellent. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0255 - female AA vocal; was S9+20 just using the MFJ-1026 phaser's short built-in whip ! [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 907.8 GAMBIA, R. Syd, Banjul, AUG 17 0007 - het only. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 909 UNITED KINGDOM, BBC, Moorside Edge et al., AUG 17 0005 - EE talk mentioning the United States; to fair peaks over others, some WABI slop. [Connelly*P-MA] + SEP 8 0427 - EE discussion by man & woman; over unID violin music station. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 918 SPAIN, R. Intercontinental, Madrid, AUG 31 0330 - SS pop-rock female vocal; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 927 BELGIUM, BRTN, Wolvertem, SEP 8 0425 - bits of FF male vocal; in slop. This is a tough split w/ three strong stations (CFBC, WZNN, and CJYQ - 930) on bearings similar to those of European DX stations. Two additional 930 pests (WPAT and WBEN) come in off the back of the phased antenna array. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 936 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, AUG 16 0339 - old-style semi-operatic SS female vocal; good, actually better than // 774. [Connelly*H-MA] + AUG 17 0002 - SS news by woman; to good peak. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0248 - // 684 w/ female vocal; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 954 SPAIN, R. Espana, Madrid, AUG 17 0001 - SS news by woman, then teletalk; fair to good, over other. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0259 - woman in SS; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 954 unID, AUG 17 0001 - Middle Eastern sounding music (Qatar or Turkey ?); under Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 963 PORTUGAL, R. Renascenca, Seixal, AUG 16 2359 - woman in PP; to good peak (but audio somewhat mushy), some CHNS-960 slop, WZAN-970 QRM was held off by N-S loop null. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 981 ALGERIA, Algiers, AUG 16 2356 - Koranic-style AA music; good to excellent at S9+20 dB. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0512 - serious- sounding AA talk by man, Allah mentioned; to strong S9+20 peak (but the audio level was somewhat light); WTRY phased. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 999 SPAIN, COPE, Madrid, AUG 16 2355 - SS news / discussion; to good peak, some QRM from fiddle music on CKBW. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0240 - fast SS newstalk; good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1008 CANARY ISLANDS, R. Las Palmas, AUG 16 2350 - SS teletalk (non-SER); atop SER-Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1008 SPAIN, SER synchros, AUG 16 2350 - // 1026, 1044 w/ female vocal; under the non-SER Canary Islands station. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1017 SPAIN, RNE5 synchros, AUG 16 0342 & AUG 31 0448 - SS talk; poor. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1026 SPAIN, SER synchros, AUG 16 0458 - // 1044 w/ SS teletalk; poor. [Connelly*H-MA] + AUG 16 2348 - SS vocal // 1044; in tight null of WBZ. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1044 MOROCCO, Sebaa-Aioun, AUG 16 2345 - AA vocal; evenly mixing w/ Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1044 SPAIN, SER synchros, AUG 16 0458 - // 1026 w/ SS teletalk; fair. [Connelly*H-MA] + AUG 16 2345 - fast SS talk by man; in even mix w/ Morocco. [Connelly*P-MA] + AUG 31 0301 - rapid-fire SER net SS news; fair to good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1053 UNITED KINGDOM, Talk Radio synchros, Start Point et al., AUG 17 0114 - // 1089 w/ mention of overseas embassies, "good morning, you're on Talk Radio", then a listener talked about how much he missed the great Top 40 shows from Radio Luxembourg. Mixed w/ Spain, others; good w/ WEVD phased. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1062 DENMARK, Kalundborg, AUG 31 0310 - jazz instrumentals & vocals; to good peak. [Connelly*H-MA] + SEP 8 0358 - "Eternal Flame" female pop vocal; loud. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 1071 FRANCE, France-Inter, Lille et al. (t), AUG 16 0455 - bits of FF vocal that seemed // 1206; poor w/ severe CBA slop. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1071 SPAIN, EI, Bilbao, AUG 16 2343 - SS folk male vocal & guitar; fair w/ some CBA slop. [Connelly*P-MA] + SEP 8 0507 - SS news; fair through CBA slop. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 1080 SPAIN, SER synchros, AUG 17 0113 - // 1044 w/ disco-revival female vocal music; under WTIC. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1089 ALBANIA, Durres, AUG 17 0111 - Tirana mention, eastern European language talk by man, trumpet flourish; coming up to a strength comparable to strong co-channel Talk Radio. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1089 UNITED KINGDOM, Talk Radio synchros, AUG 17 0110 - promotions for upcoming programs "on Talk Radio", then mentions of economic issues; very good. [Connelly*P-MA] + SEP 8 0421 - news headlines mentioned that Elton John's re-done version of "Candle in the Wind" (for Diana) will soon be the largest selling song of all time and that all proceeds will go to charity. Sports and weather followed, then the announcer said "Talk Radio news time is 5.21". Good signal. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 1098 SLOVAKIA, Nitra, SEP 8 0356 - folk-style female vocal; over Spain. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 1134 CROATIA, HR, Zadar, AUG 16 2338 - mellow vocal; mixed w/ Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1134 SPAIN, COPE synchros, AUG 16 2338 - woman in SS; mixed w/ Croatia. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1179 SWEDEN, Solvesborg, SEP 8 0352 - man in Swedish, then female choral vocal (almost religious-sounding), more talk, then a dreamlike New Age instrumental; to good peaks over SER Canaries-Spain. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 1206 FRANCE, R. Bleue, Bordeaux, AUG 16 0446 - female FF vocal (a version of the 1966 ecology hit "Tar and Cement"); very good. Faint Caymans-1205 het in the background. + AUG 31 0503 - old-fashioned FF group vocal; good. [Connelly*H-MA] + SEP 8 0512 - Caribbean- influenced FF song; very good. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 1215 UNITED KINGDOM, Virgin R. synchros, AUG 17 0107 - metal / hip-hop fusion music; strong. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1251 LIBYA, Tripoli, AUG 16 2327 - sedate AA talk by man, then an excerpt from an emotional speech; excellent / huge, way over S9. There was a very weak low het from something on 1250.8. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1296 SPAIN, COPE, Valencia, AUG 16 2325 - fast SS talk; to fair peak during fade-up. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1314 NORWAY, NRK, Kvitsoy, AUG 17 0103 - news by man & woman in Norwegian; good, over Spain. [Connelly*P-MA] + SEP 8 0405 - church-type organ music; excellent. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 1341 NORTHERN IRELAND, BBC, Lisnagarvey, AUG 17 0102 - bits of EE talk; over other (SS ?); murky audio w/ necessary 1.8 kHz filter in use. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1349 MAURITANIA, R. Mauritanie, Nouakchott, AUG 16 2315 - a cappella AA vocal, then talk by man; strong carrier, weak audio. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1395 NETHERLANDS, Lopik, AUG 31 0320 - Dutch news interview; fair, over other. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1422 GERMANY, Deutschlandradio, Heusweiler, AUG 17 0101 - woman in GG; fair. [Connelly*P-MA] + SEP 8 0406 - man w/ news in GG; fair. [Connelly-B-MA] ~ 1458 unID, AUG 17 0101 - strong mess / growl. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1521 SAUDI ARABIA, BSKSA, Duba, AUG 31 0316 - AA Koranic male vocal; good w/ WWKB phased. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1530 SAO TOME & PRINCIPE, VOA, Pinheira, AUG 16 0435 - // 7370 w/ dance music, then PP talk by man; atop Vatican / WSAI mix. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1544 ALGERIA - CLANDESTINE, Tindouf, AUG 16 2317 - shrill female vocal popped up over WMYF/WDCD/WADK-1540 slop. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1548 KUWAIT, VOA, Kuwait City, AUG 16 2318 - US EE talk by man & woman; coming up in strength. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ 1566 IRAN, IRIB, Bandar Abbas, AUG 27 0026 - Koranic vocal came in well, atop 2 others (India / Belarus ?). It took a while to null the WQEW slop down to a manageable level. [Connelly*R-MA] ~ 1611 VATICAN, R. Vaticana, AUG 16 0410 - religious music, Slavic talk by man & woman; loud. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 1619.5 NETHERLANDS, Scheveningen, PCH, AUG 17 0100 - repeated cycle of "PCH" Morse code ID and 8 data bursts; excellent. [Connelly*P-MA] ~ *** PAN-AMERICAN DX *** ~ 526 BAHAMAS, ZLS, Stella Maris, AUG 16 0317 - "ZLS" code beacon; good. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 530 TURKS & CAICOS, R. Vision Cristiana, AUG 16 0329 - SS sermon about God and family, then "alleluia"; loud. Weakly hetted on the low side by "F9" beacon (New Brunswick). [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 535 GRENADA, GBC, St. George's, AUG 16 0315 - reggae song "All I Want is You"; excellent. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 540 MEXICO, XEWA, Monterrey, AUG 16 1003 - phone numbers given, then slogan "la grande cadena W". [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 670 CUBA, R. Rebelde, CMQ, Arroyo Arenas, AUG 16 0325 - woman in SS (// 710); dominant. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 710 CUBA, R. Rebelde synchros, AUG 16 0325 - // 670 w/ woman in SS; over WOR. [Connelly*H-MA] ~ 750 VENEZUELA, YVKS, Caracas, AUG 16 0332 - SS baseball report including mentions of "Mets de Nueva York" and "Rockies del Colorado"; also "grande liga venezolana". Ad for "Banco Provincial" followed. Huge / dominant signal. [Connelly*H-MA] ~