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Did Cuba Have 500,000 Watt AM Stations?

SomeRadioGuy said:
and 670 isnt la poderosa anymore but im sure cuban is still jamming it..
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Yes, that is why I mentioned the former name. Once Cuba installs "blocking" stations from one of its networks, they don't change too much. Nearly all the AM stations are on towers with two to four stations on them; that means that a change in frequency means a lot of adjustments to the tuning and rejection networks.
SomeRadioGuy said:
they are very slow to change jamming stuff. ive heard them jamming themselves, like when marti was on 11860 awhile back, cuba would jam it, and then later in the day be on 11860 itself and the jammer was still on.
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No surprise there. The whole AM and FM system was designed and installed by China, and that "friend" is not as supportive any longer.
SomeRadioGuy said:
I've heard them jamming marti hours after it went off, so jamming nothing.

or heard them jamming a frequency marti no longer used
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I'm guessing that even they know that shortwave is not used by anyone much any more, so hearing things like this don't surprise me.

What those who don't dabble into SW or MW DX, those Cuban stations are not jammers in the old Russian style of just broadcasting tones, warbles or garbage... in Cuba they simply put one, two or twenty of their "normal" radio stations on the same channel as Radio Martí or one of the South Florida Spanish language talk stations.
 
davideduardo said:
Yes, that is why I mentioned the former name. Once Cuba installs "blocking" stations from one of its networks, they don't change too much. Nearly all the AM stations are on towers with two to four stations on them; that means that a change in frequency means a lot of adjustments to the tuning and rejection networks.

No surprise there. The whole AM and FM system was designed and installed by China, and that "friend" is not as supportive any longer.

I'm guessing that even they know that shortwave is not used by anyone much any more, so hearing things like this don't surprise me.

What those who don't dabble into SW or MW DX, those Cuban stations are not jammers in the old Russian style of just broadcasting tones, warbles or garbage... in Cuba they simply put one, two or twenty of their "normal" radio stations on the same channel as Radio Martí or one of the South Florida Spanish language talk stations.
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The SW jammers are noise machines, thats it..... jet engines/white nose and sometimes electronic pulsing buzzing
 
Checked the Miramar SDR again, no Enciclopedia/Rebelde on 530, no Reloj on 570 or 950, snd maybe the faintest of faint Rebelde on 1180. "Jose" from Havana, Cuba is using the SDR though. Interesting.
 
gr8oldies said:
Checked the Miramar SDR again, no Enciclopedia/Rebelde on 530, no Reloj on 570 or 950, snd maybe the faintest of faint Rebelde on 1180. "Jose" from Havana, Cuba is using the SDR though. Interesting.
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Enciclopedia has been online the last few days after missing nearly a week and then another day or so after a short return.
 
tvnut said:
Enciclopedia has been online the last few days after missing nearly a week and then another day or so after a short return.
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Just checked again now, no Enciclopedia or Rebelde on 530, no Reloj on 570 but Reloj's 950 is there, but weak on 950, and a weak Rebelde or two on 1180.
 
gr8oldies said:
Checked the Miramar SDR again, no Enciclopedia/Rebelde on 530, no Reloj on 570 or 950, snd maybe the faintest of faint Rebelde on 1180. "Jose" from Havana, Cuba is using the SDR though. Interesting.
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I wish Cuba would make those monster signals directional ... maximize the signal for their country and push them away from our airspace. WSCR should not be clobbered by a Cuban station in much of the Midwest, nor should WHAM. Other examples too but those are the first two I think of.
 
schmave said:
I wish Cuba would make those monster signals directional ... maximize the signal for their country and push them away from our airspace. WSCR should not be clobbered by a Cuban station in much of the Midwest, nor should WHAM. Other examples too but those are the first two I think of.
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It's not just one Rebelde on 670, 710 and 1180, but several Rebeldes, or what we call "Rebelde choruses". Cuba no longer follows NARBA, and hasn't since the 60s, but they've demanded all U.S. stations go directional to exclude Cuba, as late as the thawing of relations under Obama.
 
I wasn't aware of the last part for sure. They can demand that our stations go directional, but there are many nights I can't hear Chicago blasters from 300 miles away because of theirs. That's laughable.
 
schmave said:
I wasn't aware of the last part for sure. They can demand that our stations go directional, but there are many nights I can't hear Chicago blasters from 300 miles away because of theirs. That's laughable.
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I forget the guy's name---I'm sure someone can refresh my memory, but the engineering guy for Radio Havana Cuba was on an interview in the 80s, he and the host were tuning around the AM dial with said RHC guy complaining about all of the U.S. stations being able to reach Cuba.
 
gr8oldies said:
I forget the guy's name---I'm sure someone can refresh my memory, but the engineering guy for Radio Havana Cuba was on an interview in the 80s, he and the host were tuning around the AM dial with said RHC guy complaining about all of the U.S. stations being able to reach Cuba.
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Yet if you look at the National Radio Club "DX News" from the pre-Castro 1950's, you can see Cuban stations being widely reported all over the eastern and midwestern United States. That is nothing new. NARBA granted them positions on a number of 1-B clear channels and plenty of fullpower regional frequencies.
 
gr8oldies said:
I forget the guy's name---I'm sure someone can refresh my memory, but the engineering guy for Radio Havana Cuba was on an interview in the 80s, he and the host were tuning around the AM dial with said RHC guy complaining about all of the U.S. stations being able to reach Cuba.
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He was upset that too many U.S. signals were reaching Cuba? Ha! I guess there's no way around the problem while we still have AM radio. As David says, NARBA gave Cuba a number of I-B clear channel frequencies and allowed a number of 50,000 watt or more stations on regional channels as well. It's a two-way street.

And yes, around the Caribbean, plenty of powerful U.S. stations, and a few Mexicans, are heard. I heard AM stations from the U.S. mainland at night in Puerto Rico. 850 WFTL West Palm Beach was a surprise as a regular at night when I was staying in Isla Verde, a suburb of San Juan, more than 1000 miles away. But others came in and out, too.
 
For those following Radio Marti on shortwave, here is the A-26 frequency schedule as registered with the HFCC, effective March 29 through October 24, 2026. All times UTC and all transmissions are from Greenville.

0000-0100 on 7335, 11860, 11930, 13570, 13720
0100-0500 on 6030, 7335, 7365, 7435
0500-1000 on 6030, 7335, 7435
1000-1100 on 6030, 7335, 9805
1100-1200 on 6030, 7335, 9410, 9805
1200-1300 on 7335, 7365, 9410, 9805
1300-1400 on 7335, 7365, 9410, 11930
1400-1500 on 9410, 11860, 11930, 13570, 13720
1500-2200 on 11860, 11930, 13570, 13720
2200-0000 on 7335, 11860, 11930, 13570, 13720

With all the current chaos at USAGM it is possible some of these frequencies might not actually be in use.
 


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