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Cuban radio signal interferes with WQAM
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Tuesday, December 21, 2004 You're in your car, heading out for a Monday night Dolphins game. You dial up a pre-game radio show. Reception is awful. What gives? Cuba is jamming the broadcast. It's not necessarily a government plot, but it is an irritant to international relations as far as many sports fans are concerned. The source of the trouble is a Cuban station over which American regulators have no control, and it's stepping on WQAM-560AM in Miami. Fans in Palm Beach and Broward counties suffer most. "There is a station at the same frequency as WQAM, and their power has increased," said George Corso, chief engineer at WQAM. "They're annoying the daylights out of us." WQAM has received dozens of calls and e-mails, mostly from Palm Beach and northern Broward counties, he said. WQAM's signal is weaker there, and more vulnerable to interference, particularly at night. The signal of the Cuban station on the same 560AM frequency has been measurably stronger since October, Corso said. The interference was noticeable at the beginning of the 2003 World Series, and then seemed to subside until it came back with a vengeance recently. WQAM has measured the problem and reported it to the Federal Communications Commission, but the agency has no jurisdiction over a station in Cuba. "We're telling people to write their congresssman," Corso said. A call to the Cuban Interest Section in Washington, the equivalent of a Cuban embassy, was not returned Monday. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/...lumn_1221.html |
On 27 Dec 2004 19:09:43 GMT, "Mike Terry"
wrote: WQAM has measured the problem and reported it to the Federal Communications Commission, but the agency has no jurisdiction over a station in Cuba. "We're telling people to write their congresssman," Corso said. Since many people believe the Cuban high power operation is in retaliation for the US' support of Radio and TV Marti, they should write their congressmen and suggest the interference might go away if Radio/TV Marti went away. Rich |
Since many people believe the Cuban high power operation is in retaliation for the US' support of Radio and TV Marti, they should write their congressmen and suggest the interference might go away if Radio/TV Marti went away. Lessee ... Cuba was a signatory of NARBA (but later abrogated that treaty). NARBA gave the United States 25 (count 'em) Class I-A clears, Mexco and Canada each 6 Class I-A clears, the Bahamas one Class I-A clear (and a U.S. Class I-B priority on that frequency), and Cuba one Class I-A clear (and a U.S. Class I-B priority on that frequency). All of this with no permissible foreign operations on any U.S. Class I-A clear with the exception of 830 and 1030 to Mexico (limited to 5 kW ND, and limited to Mexico, DF), for which the U.S. got 800 and 900 (limited to 5 kW ND, and limited to Alaska) plus 1050 and 1220 (limited to 50 kW DA-1, protecting the entire U.S.-Mexican border, and limited to New York City and Cleveland, respectively). The U.S. got many additional Class I-B clears, while Canada and Mexico got a few Class I-B clears, whereas neither the Bahamas nor Cuba got any Class I-B clears at all. In view of this apparent disparity, what do you think the reaction of Castro would, or should be? And, all of this goes way back to 1939 ... long before Radio Marti. |
Rich Wood wrote:
Since many people believe the Cuban high power operation is in retaliation for the US' support of Radio and TV Marti, they should write their congressmen and suggest the interference might go away if Radio/TV Marti went away. The administration and Congress are about as likely to remove Radio/TV Marti as George Bush is likely to resign next week. It doesn't make much sense to have programming which can't be heard easily in much in Cuba but I must admit that I prefer a war of radio signals to an actual invasion or US sponsored attempted coup in Cuba too. It is indeed shameful that the US can't just negotiate with Cuba and has Cuba hesitating to buy US agricultural products once againbecause they might be attached as assets by US Courts but that's life under the present political setup with no improvement in sight. The US probably would do just as well offering to broadcast Cuban broadcasts over some local stations in exchange for the Cuba doing the same for Cuban stations as it's doing now but that's probably also something to hope for in vain. |
"Peter H." wrote in message ... Since many people believe the Cuban high power operation is in retaliation for the US' support of Radio and TV Marti, they should write their congressmen and suggest the interference might go away if Radio/TV Marti went away. Lessee ... Cuba was a signatory of NARBA (but later abrogated that treaty). NARBA gave the United States 25 (count 'em) Class I-A clears, Mexco and Canada each 6 Class I-A clears, the Bahamas one Class I-A clear (and a U.S. Class I-B priority on that frequency), and Cuba one Class I-A clear (and a U.S. Class I-B priority on that frequency). All of this with no permissible foreign operations on any U.S. Class I-A clear with the exception of 830 and 1030 to Mexico (limited to 5 kW ND, and limited to Mexico, DF), for which the U.S. got 800 and 900 (limited to 5 kW ND, and limited to Alaska) plus 1050 and 1220 (limited to 50 kW DA-1, protecting the entire U.S.-Mexican border, and limited to New York City and Cleveland, respectively). The U.S. got many additional Class I-B clears, while Canada and Mexico got a few Class I-B clears, whereas neither the Bahamas nor Cuba got any Class I-B clears at all. In view of this apparent disparity, what do you think the reaction of Castro would, or should be? And, all of this goes way back to 1939 ... long before Radio Marti. NARBA is a moot point now. There are "gentlemen's agreements" allowing I-B stations in Canada and Mexico on U. S. I-A channels. The Bahamas operates a I-B on 810 khz, a U. S. I-B clear, in addition to its I-A clear on 1540 khz. (These are just a few examples). The question is whether there should be a new NARBA, or whether the gentlemen's agreements continue as they are. In this environment, Cuba would have all the clear channel frequencies it would need. Therefore, what is happening with WQAM, is that the Cuban station is not directional. However, in the case of WQAM, the jamming is not deliberate because WQAM does not broadcast in Spanish. The deliberate jamming is aimed at high power Miami area stations on 670, 710, and 1140 Khz broadcasting in Spanish, and also Radio Marti. |
"Peter H." wrote in message ... Since many people believe the Cuban high power operation is in retaliation for the US' support of Radio and TV Marti, they should write their congressmen and suggest the interference might go away if Radio/TV Marti went away. Lessee ... Cuba was a signatory of NARBA (but later abrogated that treaty). NARBA gave the United States 25 (count 'em) Class I-A clears, Mexco and Canada each 6 Class I-A clears, the Bahamas one Class I-A clear (and a U.S. Class I-B priority on that frequency), and Cuba one Class I-A clear (and a U.S. Class I-B priority on that frequency). All of this with no permissible foreign operations on any U.S. Class I-A clear with the exception of 830 and 1030 to Mexico (limited to 5 kW ND, and limited to Mexico, DF), for which the U.S. got 800 and 900 (limited to 5 kW ND, and limited to Alaska) plus 1050 and 1220 (limited to 50 kW DA-1, protecting the entire U.S.-Mexican border, and limited to New York City and Cleveland, respectively). The U.S. got many additional Class I-B clears, while Canada and Mexico got a few Class I-B clears, whereas neither the Bahamas nor Cuba got any Class I-B clears at all. In view of this apparent disparity, what do you think the reaction of Castro would, or should be? And, all of this goes way back to 1939 ... long before Radio Marti. Although....it was Castro who abrogated Cuba's commitment to NARBA. Before then, Cuba and the US got along famously, and there was no problems in Cubans getting U-S radio, or Floridians Cuban radio. And, Rich is right. When we make nice with Cuba, Castro throttles back the blowtorches, since the whole island does perfectly well with 5kW on most channels (which shoots down your point that Cuba is entitled to 1As or Bs). It's only when the U-S government starts up with some provocative propaganda intiative that Castro smokes Florida (and points north...I remember how hard it was to listen to Jean Shepherd on WOR when the fight was on between the two antagonists, as there was an operation on 710 which ran 250kW or some such in Cuba). -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there's nothing that offends you in your community, then you know you're not living in a free society. Kim Campbell - ex-Prime Minister of Canada - 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For direct replies, take out the contents between the hyphens. -Really!- |
In view of this apparent disparity, what do you think the reaction of Castro
would, or should be? And, all of this goes way back to 1939 ... long before Radio Marti. Since the other four NARBA-signatory nations appear to have no trouble obeying restrictions they agreed to 65 years ago, Castro ought to stop acting like a bully/crybaby and attempt to negotiate something better for his country. Oops, forgot: Castro is a Communist, and the other four nations won't negotiate squat with him. There goes that theory. |
The question is whether there should be a new NARBA, or whether the gentlemen's agreements continue as they are. I guess you have little real idea how broadcast allocations actually work. There are no "gentleman's agreements", but there are treaties, such as NARBA, and "Rio". Plus the U.S.-Mexican Broadcast Agreement and the U.S.-Canadian Broadcast agreement. All coordinated through the State Department, not through a "smoke filled" room. The Bahamas operates a I-B on 810 khz, a U. S. I-B clear, in addition to its I-A clear on 1540 khz. (These are just a few examples). Bad examples, as there are no more Class I-B stations. All Class Is were merged into Class A by "Rio". All Class IIs and Class IIIs were merged into Class B by the same treaty. There are no Class A (ex-Class I-B) stations in North America on 810 besides KGO and WGY. The Bahamas has two stations, a Class A (ex-Class I-A) on 1540, and a Class C (ex-Class IV) on 1240. |
Hello Gentlemen ... & Lovely Ladies:
1.) Are we sure that the interference is aimed toward the South Florida market? 2.) Is this a directional antenna used in Cuba? 3.) Is it a modification to the directional antenna in Cuba? 4.) Is it intentional? I have not noticed the change in Ft. Myers, but then again, it is not one of my button stations. Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta |
In article , wrote:
Hello Gentlemen ... & Lovely Ladies: 1.) Are we sure that the interference is aimed toward the South Florida market? No, but a lot of it gets there. 2.) Is this a directional antenna used in Cuba? 3.) Is it a modification to the directional antenna in Cuba? No, it's a single stick, I believe. 4.) Is it intentional? Depends on how you think about it. No doubt they are intentionally running higher power on 560, but whether they are doing it to try and get their signal out to the US or to jam US stations, I don't know. I'd rather doubt it in this case... I rather suspect that they are doing it in an attempt to improve coverage in Cuba without the expense and difficulty of a proper directional array. I think if they _had_ a proper east-west array they could get good coverage without the interference issues. I have not noticed the change in Ft. Myers, but then again, it is not one of my button stations. It comes in nicely here in Virginia. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
After reading this group, I decided to check it out for myself last night.
Here in Orlando, the Cuban signal on 560 is completely obliterating WQAM. The strength of the Cuban signal is such that it is receivable on my cheapest radio, a small AM/FM portable which I bought about 10 years ago for $10. Normally, WQAM puts a weak but listenable signal here both day and night. I have never before heard a Cuban on 560, either day or night. Now, the only way WQAM can be heard is by nulling the Cuban, using the excellent directional characteristics of my C. Crane Radio. Even so, the Cuban station mixes with WQAM, as the axis between Miami and Cuba from here is less than a full 90 degrees. I also noticed the Cuban station was overmodulated to the point of distortion. What makes this interesting is that this station seems to be a network affilliate. The other receivable Cuban stations on the same network (600, 620, and 640) are normally modulated and not distorted. This suggests the overmodulation on 560 could be intentional as this would cause maximum "tearing" and interference to WQAM. -Drew in Sunny Central Florida- |
"Peter H." wrote in message ... The question is whether there should be a new NARBA, or whether the gentlemen's agreements continue as they are. I guess you have little real idea how broadcast allocations actually work. There are no "gentleman's agreements", but there are treaties, such as NARBA, and "Rio". Plus the U.S.-Mexican Broadcast Agreement and the U.S.-Canadian Broadcast agreement. All coordinated through the State Department, not through a "smoke filled" room. And this could apply to Cuba as well, if that is Castro's desire. The Bahamas operates a I-B on 810 khz, a U. S. I-B clear, in addition to its I-A clear on 1540 khz. (These are just a few examples). Bad examples, as there are no more Class I-B stations. Sorry about the mistake in the classification. However I easily receive ZNS3, Freeport, Bahamas, on 810 khz day and night from Florida. The announcer says that the station's power is 10 kw. All Class Is were merged into Class A by "Rio". All Class IIs and Class IIIs were merged into Class B by the same treaty. There are no Class A (ex-Class I-B) stations in North America on 810 besides KGO and WGY. The Bahamas has two stations, a Class A (ex-Class I-A) on 1540, and a Class C (ex-Class IV) on 1240. Those are the two stations serving Nassau. The station on 810 is in Freeport. |
"Peter H." wrote in message ... There are no Class A (ex-Class I-B) stations in North America on 810 besides KGO and WGY. The Bahamas has two stations, a Class A (ex-Class I-A) on 1540, and a Class C (ex-Class IV) on 1240. Freeport has been on 810 for at least 25 years. |
"Drew A. Durigan" wrote in message ... After reading this group, I decided to check it out for myself last night. Here in Orlando, the Cuban signal on 560 is completely obliterating WQAM. The strength of the Cuban signal is such that it is receivable on my cheapest radio, a small AM/FM portable which I bought about 10 years ago for $10. Normally, WQAM puts a weak but listenable signal here both day and night. I have never before heard a Cuban on 560, either day or night. Now, the only way WQAM can be heard is by nulling the Cuban, using the excellent directional characteristics of my C. Crane Radio. Even so, the Cuban station mixes with WQAM, as the axis between Miami and Cuba from here is less than a full 90 degrees. I also noticed the Cuban station was overmodulated to the point of distortion. What makes this interesting is that this station seems to be a network affilliate. The other receivable Cuban stations on the same network (600, 620, and 640) are normally modulated and not distorted. This suggests the overmodulation on 560 could be intentional as this would cause maximum "tearing" and interference to WQAM. WQAM is in English. There is no need to jam it. |
"Bob Haberkost" wrote in message ... Although....it was Castro who abrogated Cuba's commitment to NARBA. Before then, Cuba and the US got along famously, and there was no problems in Cubans getting U-S radio, or Floridians Cuban radio. And, Rich is right. When we make nice with Cuba, Castro throttles back the blowtorches, since the whole island does perfectly well with 5kW on most channels (which shoots down your point that Cuba is entitled to 1As or Bs). Conductivity in Cuba is like much of Puerto Rico... horrible. The only net in pre-castro years that covered all of Cuba was Circuito CMQ, with about a dozen staitons, ranging from 50 kw to 10 kw. Today, the major networks have 5 or 6 staitons, but use 10 to 120 kw to fully cover the Island. There are a half dozen national nets, many regional nets and a lot of local stations. It's only when the U-S government starts up with some provocative propaganda intiative that Castro smokes Florida (and points north...I remember how hard it was to listen to Jean Shepherd on WOR when the fight was on between the two antagonists, as there was an operation on 710 which ran 250kW or some such in Cuba). Nope. It was a set of 50 kw stations in each "third" of Cuba, running regular programming. Now, there is a single 50 and two or three 10 kw stations. |
Sorry about the mistake in the classification. However I easily receive ZNS3, Freeport, Bahamas, on 810 khz day and night from Florida. The announcer says that the station's power is 10 kw. ZNS3 isn't in the FCC database, but what else is new. Even if it was 50 kW, it would be a Class B as the Bahamas has no Class A priority on 810. ZNS1 operates 50 kW DA-1 mainly because after "Rio" any Class I-A had to operate with 50 kW (U.S. and Canada, et. al.) and "at least 50 kW" (Mexico) in order to retain Class I-A status. Before, ZNS1 (a Class I-A) operated with 10 kW, and Canada's 1580 Class I-A also operated with 10 kW. Class I-Bs and Class I-Ns can be grandfathered at 10 kW , but Class I-As can't be. This, not withstanding XERF operating with 10 kW for decades now. The U.S. isn't going to force the issue with Mexico and demand that XERF operate with its "notified" 250 kW, simply becuase there is not that much utility power available in the area, and, anyway, the 250 kW transmitter doesn't exist anymore. But, the Bahamas' 1540 and Canada's 1580 were indeed forced to move to 50 kW, which required both to install directional antennas to protect stations of lower class in the U.S. |
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Sorry about the mistake in the classification. However I easily receive ZNS3, Freeport, Bahamas, on 810 khz day and night from Florida. The announcer says that the station's power is 10 kw. ZNS3 isn't in the FCC database, but what else is new. Even if it was 50 kW, it would be a Class B as the Bahamas has no Class A priority on 810. ZNS1 operates 50 kW DA-1 mainly because after "Rio" any Class I-A had to operate with 50 kW (U.S. and Canada, et. al.) and "at least 50 kW" (Mexico) in order to retain Class I-A status. Before, ZNS1 (a Class I-A) operated with 10 kW, and Canada's 1580 Class I-A also operated with 10 kW. Class I-Bs and Class I-Ns can be grandfathered at 10 kW , but Class I-As can't be. This, not withstanding XERF operating with 10 kW for decades now. The U.S. isn't going to force the issue with Mexico and demand that XERF operate with its "notified" 250 kW, simply becuase there is not that much utility power available in the area, and, anyway, the 250 kW transmitter doesn't exist anymore. But, the Bahamas' 1540 and Canada's 1580 were indeed forced to move to 50 kW, which required both to install directional antennas to protect stations of lower class in the U.S. |
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"Bob Haberkost" wrote in message ... Although....it was Castro who abrogated Cuba's commitment to NARBA. Before then, Cuba and the US got along famously, and there was no problems in Cubans getting U-S radio, or Floridians Cuban radio. And, Rich is right. When we make nice with Cuba, Castro throttles back the blowtorches, since the whole island does perfectly well with 5kW on most channels (which shoots down your point that Cuba is entitled to 1As or Bs). Conductivity in Cuba is like much of Puerto Rico... horrible. The only net in pre-castro years that covered all of Cuba was Circuito CMQ, with about a dozen staitons, ranging from 50 kw to 10 kw. Today, the major networks have 5 or 6 staitons, but use 10 to 120 kw to fully cover the Island. There are a half dozen national nets, many regional nets and a lot of local stations. It's only when the U-S government starts up with some provocative propaganda intiative that Castro smokes Florida (and points north...I remember how hard it was to listen to Jean Shepherd on WOR when the fight was on between the two antagonists, as there was an operation on 710 which ran 250kW or some such in Cuba). Nope. It was a set of 50 kw stations in each "third" of Cuba, running regular programming. Now, there is a single 50 and two or three 10 kw stations. |
"Drew A. Durigan" wrote in message ... After reading this group, I decided to check it out for myself last night. Here in Orlando, the Cuban signal on 560 is completely obliterating WQAM. The strength of the Cuban signal is such that it is receivable on my cheapest radio, a small AM/FM portable which I bought about 10 years ago for $10. Normally, WQAM puts a weak but listenable signal here both day and night. I have never before heard a Cuban on 560, either day or night. Now, the only way WQAM can be heard is by nulling the Cuban, using the excellent directional characteristics of my C. Crane Radio. Even so, the Cuban station mixes with WQAM, as the axis between Miami and Cuba from here is less than a full 90 degrees. I also noticed the Cuban station was overmodulated to the point of distortion. What makes this interesting is that this station seems to be a network affilliate. The other receivable Cuban stations on the same network (600, 620, and 640) are normally modulated and not distorted. This suggests the overmodulation on 560 could be intentional as this would cause maximum "tearing" and interference to WQAM. WQAM is in English. There is no need to jam it. |
"Peter H." wrote in message ... There are no Class A (ex-Class I-B) stations in North America on 810 besides KGO and WGY. The Bahamas has two stations, a Class A (ex-Class I-A) on 1540, and a Class C (ex-Class IV) on 1240. Freeport has been on 810 for at least 25 years. |
"David Eduardo" wrote in message ... "Drew A. Durigan" wrote in message ... After reading this group, I decided to check it out for myself last night. Here in Orlando, the Cuban signal on 560 is completely obliterating WQAM. WQAM is in English. There is no need to jam it. David....wouldn't Cubans looking to get propaganda-free radio from the U-S (not that this ideal is as easy to attain, anymore) be willing to learn English so as to listen to it? I think you're a bit too dismissive of the suggestion. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there's nothing that offends you in your community, then you know you're not living in a free society. Kim Campbell - ex-Prime Minister of Canada - 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For direct replies, take out the contents between the hyphens. -Really!- |
Freeport has been on 810 for at least 25 years. Interesting that it isn't in the FCC database. |
"Bob Haberkost" wrote in message ... "David Eduardo" wrote in message ... "Drew A. Durigan" wrote in message ... After reading this group, I decided to check it out for myself last night. Here in Orlando, the Cuban signal on 560 is completely obliterating WQAM. WQAM is in English. There is no need to jam it. David....wouldn't Cubans looking to get propaganda-free radio from the U-S (not that this ideal is as easy to attain, anymore) be willing to learn English so as to listen to it? I think you're a bit too dismissive of the suggestion. Since the very early 60's, it has been necessary to have a permit to learn English, and such permits are only delivered to those that have a government-mandated need to learn. Russian was the second language in Cuban schools since that time, and only recently, in the last decade, has been abandoned. Listening to US radio or TV is punishable by being declared an anticocial element, which reduces one's rations, makes many types of unemployment unattainable, and even affects where and whether one gets housing. While many will make the effort to hear Radio Marti, as proven by surveys of emigrants who have left Cuba, it is really unlikely that many know enough English to understand the very colloquial English of WQAM, would risk doing so if they could, or would find anything at all of any interest to them even if they did listen. Cuba is a totalitarian dictatorship. |
"Peter H." wrote in message ... This, not withstanding XERF operating with 10 kW for decades now. Back at 100 kw this year. The U.S. isn't going to force the issue with Mexico and demand that XERF operate with its "notified" 250 kW, simply becuase there is not that much utility power available in the area, and, anyway, the 250 kW transmitter doesn't exist anymore. There is plenty of power. There is just no need. |
The U.S. isn't going to force the issue with Mexico and demand that XERF operate with its "notified" 250 kW, simply becuase there is not that much utility power available in the area, and, anyway, the 250 kW transmitter doesn't exist anymore. There is plenty of power. There is just no need. However, the U.S. DID force the issue on one Mexican Class A, in which an unreasonably and impossibly high efficiency was notified. In order to achieve the (formerly) notified efficiency, that station would require a 1,100 foot tall radiator. ELEVEN-HUNDRED feet! The actual radiator height is about 800 feet. The newly notified facility purportedly has an 850 foot radiator, but its efficiency is still too high to be believed, unless the ground system is intentionally overbuilt. |
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Peter H. wrote:
Freeport has been on 810 for at least 25 years. Interesting that it isn't in the FCC database. This is because the US has not annexed them yet. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
QRM or not, they still sound better on 96.5 HD3.
Another argument for putting all the AM's on FM HD3s & 4s. |
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