New Frequencies and Times For Radio Exterior de España

Spain's shortwave broadcaster, Radio Exterior de España, has published new
scheduled and frequencies on its website. For us here in North America, REE
will be transmitting on 17855 khz, from 1800 to 2200 hours UTC on weekdays,
and from 1400 to 1800 hours UTC on weekends. The full listing (in Spanish)
can be seen here. Good to see this from a shortwave broadcaster that until
very recently was getting ready to shut down!

Deutsche Welle Closing Kigali Transmitter March 28th

Another one bites the dust, as Germany's Deutsche Welle will be shutting down
its relay site (their last one, actually) in Kigali, Rwanda. Apparently March 28th
is the final day of transmission from Kigali, so if you're never logged or QSL'd
this location, do so now! No budget cuts had been announced by DW, which
makes the closure somewhat of a surprise.

Shortwave Logs From Fort Worth, TX for 02/15/15

Country in brackets is the transmitter site and not  necessarily the 
country of origin, unless specified.  If two countries are in brackets, 
first one is transmitter site. After that, the date, time and frequency
in kHz is listed. All times in UTC and all stations heard on TECSUN 
PL-380 portable in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, with 25 foot reel wire 
antenna, on a first floor, unless otherwise noted.

[RWANDA/GERMANY] 02/15/15, 1828, 17800 khz -- Deutsche Welle
from Kigali, Rwanda, in Hausa language. Two males talk on unknown
subject. Decent signal for daytime, considering this is coming from 
East Africa. Listened for about five minutes. SINPO 33233.

[USA] 02/15/15, 1842, 15610 khz -- EWTN (Catholic) Radio transmitting
from Vandiver, Alabama. "Vatican Insider" program with female announ-
cer. Strong, clear signal with a little noise, as typical for this frequency. 
SINPO 44344

[CUBA] 02/15/15, 1845, 11635 -- Atencion Cuba spy station with short
set of numbers being read in Spanish by female ("tres, dos, ocho, 
siete, siete"), followed by data-like sounds for several seconds, then
more numbers, and so on. SINPO 45454, good signal. It seems like
Cuban spy activity hasn't slowed down since the beginning of thawed
relations with the US.

[USA] 02/15/15, 1858, 15825 -- Religious talk by male, then station ID
and new show at top of hour (Dr. James Blank [sp?]). Male prays while
female translates into Spanish. SINPO 44344. 

Postcards From Around The World: What Is A QSL Card?

A QSL card is what a radio station (or amateur radio operator) will
send a listener as confirmation of a reception report. For example,
if I hear ham radio operator KP4X3 on my receiver, I'll send him or
her a letter or e-mail letting that operator know that I heard their
transmission. Normally, you would specify what date and time you
heard them and on what frequency. It is also common to state what
equipment you were using when you heard the transmission. Sending
this information to the radio operator helps the operator know how
far his or her signal is travelling, how well it can be heard and
whether any tweaks or alterations need to be made to the equipment.

In turn, the radio operator will send a "QSL card", which is often
a postcard, to the listener. This card serves to confirm that what
the listener heard was indeed correct, and that the information
submitted by the listener matches details of the transmission. 'QSL'
is radio code for "do you confirm receipt of my transmission?" or
"I confirm receipt"...[CONTINUE READING]

Shortwave Logs For 1/29-1/30/15

Country in brackets is the transmitter site and not  necessarily the 
country of origin, unless specified.  If two countries are in brackets, 
first one is transmitter site. After that, the date, time and frequency
in kHz is listed. All times in UTC and all stations heard on TECSUN 
PL-380 portable in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, with 25 foot reel wire 
antenna, on a first floor, unless otherwise noted.


[CUBA] 01/29/15, 0410, 5025 -- Radio Rebelde in Spanish, with male
 and female announcer reading personal ads listeners have apparently
sent in from all over Cuba. Some looking for friendship, some looking
for men or women only. Reception was a bit noisy. SINPO 43344.

[CUBA] 01/29/15, 0413, 5040 -- Radio Habana Cuba in Spanish.
Latin music, with male announcer interrupting here and there. Recep-
tion much like Radio Rebelde: not great, not terrible. SINPO 43344.

[USA] 01/29/15, 0415, 5890 -- WWCR from Nashville, TN at 100
kw with good ol' Brother Stair ranting about the British Empire and
its evil (??). He then asks listeners for reception reports. 55455, very
good signal.

[VATICAN] 01/29/15, 0417, 7360 -- Vatican Radio in the Tigrinya
language of Eritrea and Ethiopia,  transmitting from Santa Maria de
Galera at 500 kw. Two males  talking, lots of noise and some inter-
ference. SINPO 43243.

[CUBA/CHINA] 01/29/15, 0420, 9790 -- China Radio International
in Cantonese, transmitted from Havana at 250 kw. Surprisingly bad
signal marred by interference and noise, unlike what I normally
receive on this frequency. Male announcer. SINPO 32233.

[GREECE] 01/30/15, 0100, 9420 -- Helliniki Radiophonia from
Avlis. Male and female talk in Greek. SINPO 33222.

[USA] 01/30/15, 0106, 8420 -- Ship-to-shore communication station
from Mobile, Alabama. Morse code usually heard on here, but
tonight just pulsing and other sounds. SINPO 33222.

[CUBA/CHINA] 01/30/15, 0108, 9580 -- China Radio Int'l from
Havana. Male announcer with news in English, mentions story of
Japanese hostage being held by Islamic State. 44344, good signal.

[BRAZIL] 01/30/15, 0112, 11780 -- Radio Nacional de Amazonia
from Brasilia at 250 kw. Latin music, followed by station ID and
chatter from male announcer in Portuguese. SINPO 43344.