B C D X . O R G

Thanks to the timely tip from Glenn Hauser, I was able to record a local ID from the Caribbean Beacon. It appears that the local broadcast was stopped right after the local 12 o’clock ID and time check at 1601:30 UTC. Thanks Glenn!

Caribbean Beacon local ID audio

Female announcer with “.. listening to the Caribbean Beacon Radio, the time is now 12 o’clock …” heard underneath Pastor Melissa Scott.

** ANGUILLA. I have accomplished the impossible: I have heard a local ID on the Caribbean Beacon! Normally it`s 24/7 DGS/PMS with no local breaks built in or ever exercised. Here`s how I did it:

May 26 at 1329 tuned in 11775 to hear a hefty mix of three audio sources. On the bottom, something in Chinese, which disappeared at 1330. That`s CNR1 jamming against All India Radio`s Tibetan service via Goa, which also ends at 1330.

That left not one, but two preachers in English mixing at about equal level. One was certainly PMS, // WWCR 13845 where she was alone (almost, except for a bit of crosstalk), inbooming tnx to sporadic E.

The other: an OM with a Caribbean lilt to his accent. At 1332 his show was upwrapping so I strained to make out what was being said vs all the PMS QRM. Local YL announcer came on, said his next appearance would be Friday at 9-9:30 am, time check for 28 before 10, and ID!!!! “This is the Caribbean Beacon Radio“, and into next preacher, a YL.

Recheck at 1359: still a mix, jazz at the moment from the PMS service, and YL preacher, outroing at 1400; 1401 local live YL announcer again with C. B. ID, and saying “Music to Live By“ would come next, and then three other shows named starting at 10:10, 10:15 and 10:30, and into the music filling a bit of unsold time.

How could this happen? The Caribbean Beacon local audio, presumably what was supposed to go out only on 1610 kHz, was just about equal level to PMS, so not bleedthru like we get on WWCR, with the unwanted audio very much in the background. Probably not a transmitter problem, but someone left a pot open on the audio mixing board. How long would it last? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)