** BELGIUM. Made a point of tuning the very last SW broadcast from this
country, as RTBF was previously publicized to be silencing 9970 forever at 2215
UT Dec 31. Tune in at 2205 but signal quite poor in French talk; at least WWCR
was not blasting 9980, that fading down quite a bit. I wish I could have made
out whether RTBF was saying anything special by way of farewell, but just too
weak; at 2214 switched to a different announcer, 2215 still on the air with
music, which ceased at 2217 and then the carrier was also gone (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BULGARIA. 9400, R. Bulgaria, where 2010 had already begun, UT Dec 31 at 2241
in Spanish with NY greetings to listeners, march music, audio somewhat
distorted, M&W announcers alternating, poor with flutter, eventually mentioning
búlgaros. Separate programming on 7400 must have been English (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EGYPT. This is among the UT+2 countries, so I was checking Cairo just before
2200 UT Dec 31 for any signs of celebration. 6270, the English frequency,
should have been in an ideal position, as the transmission is in progress
rather than starting or ending at hourtop like so many stations, but at 2157 I
could barely make out some modulation, sounded like Arabic music. Up to 6290,
the Arabic service, which has plenty signal and modulation, but distorted, and
nothing special happening; turned out I was tuned to GREECE [q.v.] at hourtop
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GABON. 9580, Africa Número Un, Dec 31 at 2223 in French with phone calls,
during their final hour of 2009, and hoped for some NY celebrations by 2300 UT,
but at 2254 it was off or outfaded (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GERMANY [non]. Deutsche Welle should be a good source for Jahrwechsel
programming, but I was trying to hear it on 6075, Dec 31 at 2259 when the
signal was poor; could only make out a DW jingle and NY greeting at 2300.
Instead of 6075 which is Sines, PORTUGAL at 40 degrees, as uplooked later, I
should have tried other relays on 11865, 12025 or 15640, altho higher-frequency
propagation from eastward was not very good either (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** GREECE. Another UT+2 country which ought to mark the yearchange at 2200 Dec
31: separate programming on 7475 and 7450, the lower one stronger but always
with ute het. Music on 7475 seemed to keep going, so shifted to Macedonian
station on 7450 at 2200 and was hearing a countdown in Greek, but it was about
10 seconds late! Then applause. At 2224, 7475 V. of Greece was taking some
phone calls while 7450 was in music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RWANDA. 6055, like Xmas eve, RRR was on late NY Eve, but reception not quite
so good, Dec 31 at 2155 with party talk in presumed Kinyarwanda, perhaps some
French inmixed. 2201 a bit of yelling as 2010 had just arrived in Kigali. 2227
excited talk with (live?) music background (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** SPAIN. One can depend on REE for some the best pre-midnight entertainment on
NY Eve. 9640 had good signal Dec 31 at 2220 UT with presumably live pop music
in Spanish; 2244 amateur singers in Spanish, something about keeping you
well-informed with the news, so maybe that was the news department performing.
2250 into English song, ``O Baby, Oops, I Did It Again`` --- no, not Britney,
but really retro in the style of a 1930s cabaret.
That was the highlight, and it had just finished when at 2255, 5 minutes before
2010y, REE cut to the frequency-change/sign-off announcement it always runs on
ordinary nights at that time, grrr! By 2257 the IS was running on 6055, and
more weakly on 6125, but at 2300 6055 opened in French without a live NY
celebration. In fact, it sounded like a playback of the original French hour
earlier in the evening. So much for Spain. How about another UT+1 land,
GERMANY? q.v. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. 1700, KVNS Brownsville TX is about three times as far as KKLF in
Richardson TX, but periodically overcomes it, e.g. Dec 30 at 2200 UT with ID
like ``Playing the best of the 60s and 70s, Classic Hits 1700, KVNS Brownsville
and The Rio Grande Valley``; shortly fading back below an ESPN station,
presumably KBGG Des Moines IA. These three are close to collinear from here,
but caradio antenna is nondirexional anyway. Also heard KVNS some other times
peaking in the late afternoons before sunset (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** U S A. 3215, open carrier at 2227 Dec 31, no doubt WWRB wasting its watts
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
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