DX LISTENING DIGEST 11-18, May 4, 2011 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2011 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html Searchable 2010 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid0.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn WORLD OF RADIO 1563 HEADLINES: *DX and station news from: Alaska, Angola, Antarctica, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador non, Gabon, Greece, Indonesia, International Vacuum, Kashmir non, Korea North non, Libya, Malaysia, Netherlands non, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Russia, Sri Lanka, Sudan non, Sweden, Ukraine, USA SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1563, May 5-11, 2011 Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 Thu 1500 WRMI 9955 Thu 2100 WRMI 9955 Fri 0330 WWRB 2390 5050 [from next week: 5050 only] Fri 1430 WRMI 9955 Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 [confirmed] Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 1600 WWCR2 12160 Sat 1730 WRMI 9955 Sat 1800 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 7290 1566 1368 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1530 WRMI 9955 Sun 1730 WRMI 9955 Mon 1130 WRMI 9955 Mon 2130 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 0100 WRMI 9955 Wed 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 2100 WBCQ 7415 [or 2115, or 2130] Latest edition of this schedule version, including AM, FM, satellite and webcasts with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html or http://schedule.worldofradio.org or http://sked.worldofradio.org For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://193.42.152.193/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN: http://www.wrn.org/wrn-listeners/world-of-radio/ http://www.wrn.org/listeners/world-of-radio/rss/09:00:00UTC/English/541 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg without delay. When applying, please identify yourself with your real name and location, and say something about why you want to join. Those who do not, unless I recognize them, will be prompted once to do so and no action will be taken otherwise. Here`s where to sign up: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ ** AFGHANISTAN. ONE OF THE AMERICANS KILLED AT KABUL AIRPORT WAS A RADIO AMATEUR AND FRIEND OF VOA'S STEVE HERMAN, W7VOA. eHam.net, 28 Apr 2011, Bill Pasternak: "James McLaughlin, WA2EWE who also held the call T6AF, was one of the nine Americans that lost their lives in a shooting at Kabul airport on Wednesday, April 27th. According to Voice of America reporter and fellow amateur Steve Herman, W7VOA/T6AD, all were killed when an Afghan military pilot opened fire in an operations room of the Afghan Air Corps. Reporting from Seoul, Korea, where he is chief of the Voice of America bureau, Herman said McLaughlin, who was also his friend as well as being a career U.S. military officer working as a contractor training Afghan pilots. According to Steve Herman, he first met Jim McLaughlin in August, 2009, when they were the only two radio amateurs operating from Kabul. Herman said that McLaughlin had put together a fine radio shack in his quarters. He said that it was obvious from spending time with McLaughlin that ham radio was an important morale booster and pastime. As such, T6AF usually spent a couple of hours a day on the air." See also Twitter, 26 Apr 2011, Steve Herman (Posted: 30 Apr 2011, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. US-BACKED AFGHAN RADIO EYES MOBILE FUTURE | Text of report by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) website on 28 April Kabul: RFE's Radio Azadi, Afghanistan's most popular media outlet, celebrated the opening of a new state-of-the-art broadcast bureau yesterday in Kabul. The move completes the rollout of a series of ambitious mobile news and citizen journalism projects, connecting Radio Azadi more directly with the growing number of mobile phone users across Afghanistan. "We have to reach our listeners where they are, and mobile technology is playing an increasingly important role in the daily lives of Afghans," says RFE associate director of broadcasting Akbar Ayazi. "This new facility provides our journalists with an upgraded multimedia infrastructure and is a great complement to our radio and web delivery systems." We have to reach our listeners where they are, and mobile technology is playing an increasingly important role in the daily lives of Afghans. In October 2010, Radio Azadi partnered with mobile service provider Etisalat to launch an interactive SMS news service allowing mobile phone users in Afghanistan to subscribe to free news updates and emergency alerts from the station. Five months since its launch, the new service has already attracted over 200,000 subscribers. In addition, mobile phone users can now send Radio Azadi photos and videos from their mobile devices, and the station has launched a new radio programme during which many of the hundreds of messages it receives are read on the air. Most recently, Radio Azadi and Etisalat incorporated a fee-based IVR (Intelligent Voice Response) technology into the mobile service, allowing on-demand audio streams of Radio Azadi broadcasts including breaking news, economics, sports and political satire via mobile phone. Afghanistan has an estimated 57 per cent penetration rate for mobile phone use - 17 million subscribers out of a population of 29 million. The opening celebration was co-hosted by Voice of America (VOA), which shares the Kabul bureau with RFE. Speaking at the event was David Ensor, director for communications and public diplomacy of the US embassy in Kabul, who said, "I know that a lot of important Afghan history that is yet to come will be reported superbly from this facility." Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website, Washington DC, in English 28 Apr 11 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ALASKA. KNLS is currently operating on only one transmitter. According to their web site the current English schedule is 1000-1100 and 1200-1300 on 11870, 1500-1600 on 9920. Presumably this is subject to change if/when the second transmitter becomes operational. 11870, 1020 8 April, KNLS, religious program, 1024 YL ID `New Life Station`, SIO 142 (Dave Kenny, May BDXC-UK Communication via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) Did they ever get #2 back on the air last year? (gh) ** ALBANIA. 7465, Very low modulation noted at 1701 UT Italian and 1730 French services today April 28. 13734.962, RT English very powerful signal with proper modulation noted at 1845 UT Apr 28. S=9+25dBm. 7519.984, RT English much powerful signal, excellent modulation, of S=9+30dB at 1855 UT Apr 28. 7464.982, RT in French powerful S=9+25dB, fair modulation level at 1903 UT April 28. 7519.984, RT In Italian powerful S=9+30dB at 1908 UT April 28, excellent modulation, much better than 7465 French! 7520 kHz channel has very excellent modulation from 1901 UTC, but 7465 kHz could be stronger modulated - still. Much stronger modulation noted now in 1900-2000 UT, compared to 1701 and 1730 UT outlets today. 7464.980, RT, Astrit heard on German service at 1932 UT, S=9+30dB, excellent strength level. "Local elections observers arrived in Tirana .... US-American and EU ambassadors observe elections on May 8th. New Interior Minister in Albania. 24 C temperature in Tirana today. EURO Song Contest singer from Albania" Excellent transmission now. regards de Wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, to R. Tirana, via DXLD) [and non]. 13735, R. Tirana, April 29 at 2020 in the 2000 UT English to NAm: averaging S9+12 and sufficient modulation, which shows it can be done, so why not all the time? Concluding `Outstanding Albanian Personality Profile` about a democratic leader who died of a brain hemorrhage in 2006y; 2022 music. The strongest station on the band from outside of NAm; Greece 15630 was even stronger, more so than usual, with Greek music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY --- Celebrating the young happy couple in Britain now, I have selected Edward Elgar's Land of Hope and Glory! If Enver Hoxha had known about Radio Shkodra's using this melody as its signature tune, used year after year from the late 1940'ies to end every morning and early afternoon broadcast...! Land of Hope and Glory (GREAT VERSION) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=podh1wht9RY&feature=player_detailpage [Later:] Here is an even better video and music performance. I guess we love the British because they are always true to themselves.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THYgeETrkPs&feature=player_detailpage (Ullmar Qvick, Sweden, via Drita Çiço, Albania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reminiscing: From the 1950's to the 1970's, and beyond, we all remember Radio Free Europe. I recall that they did not broadcast in Albanian, at least not since I began listening, late 1950's. Do you happen to know why? 73, (Tim Hendel, AL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No, and it seems to me they must have. Does anyone know the answer? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ANGOLA. R. Nacional de Angola external service confirmed on 7217v using Global tuner in South Africa, now with good audio but still off channel. Heard 9 April at 1955 starting French, English from 2100. ID ``Angolan National Radio International Channel``. Poor with splatter QRM, O=2. Schedule is 2000-2100 in French, 2100-2200 English. After 2200 carries domestic Portuguese but not // 4950 or 1088 (Dave Kenny, England, May BDXC-UK Communication via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) 4949.76, 2255-2305 29.04, R Nacional de Angola, Mulenvos, Portuguese talk, heterodyne, 23121 (Anker Petersen, here in Skovlunde, Denmark on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) 7216.76, 2/5 2135, Rádio Nacional Angola (presumed), music, weak, better in USB to avoid QRM from 7215 (Giampiero Bernardini, in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia, Liguria, Italy), RX: SDR-IQ - Ant: Wellbrook LFL 1010 loop, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA [and non]. Hi Glenn, I don't normally report negatives, but I have been trying to catch Antarctica since you said it was on air again. So far I have not managed to hear it at all, not even a trace of carrier (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15476, RN Arcángel, San Gabriel. April, 26 at 1400 no signal. April 27 1249-1300 Spanish Pop, female in Spanish “sensación térmica -23oC” [wind chill], well humored talks between two females “música para el continente”, Spanish Rap, Spanish Pop ballad; 33333. 73’s (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, SW40 - Dipoles and Longwire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15476, LRA36, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel almost certainly the source of the non-stop Latin music program here again 26 April at 1936 tune-in till 2004 closing, the best signal I've ever had from LRA36. This is exactly a week since I heard them on 19 April from 1908 till closing abruptly at 2050 - so perhaps a weekly schedule developing here? (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ - AOR7030+ and EWE antennas to the Americas, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Brian (and Everyone), Had them again, as I have been trying every morning since first reception, and as with you, nothing 'till now. But again, I had them prior to 1900 (26 April), as that's when I leave for work. Mostly Spanish pops and ballads, only a fair signal here, so you probably had them stronger at your location. Full logging to follow tomorrow (David Sharp, NSW, May 3, ibid.) April 28 at 1206 no signal, but at 1400-1412 Spanish Pop/Rock selections, female in Spanish “temperatura –20 oC; en FM 96,? MHz; ahora buena música”, back same kind of music played before. 34433. 73’s (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, SW40 - Dipoles and Longwire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15476, LRA36: Friday April 29 at 1304, S9 to S9+10 peaks but undermodulated talk by lively YLs; made out one word: ``micrófono``. Next check at 1314 had ACI from 15480 Greenville carrier until its 1315* [see USA]. As usual, RNASG weakened and by 1400 only trace, while ACI from other stations on both sides, 15470 and 15480 was stronger. Greenville back on 15480 earlier than usual at *1416:05 but cut off at 1435:30* after which there was no significant signal from Esperanza anyway. Roberto Scaglione in Sicily has more news about it early April 29: ``Hi Glenn, I know something more every week. Last week (Monday 18 and Tuesday 19) they had some trouble to power generators, with a general blackout for a few hours on Monday. They are on air with 2 kW (just like WRTH says), a 5 kW transmitter but the generator does not have enough power. Email still not working. Phone number is working ONLY from Argentina. Until the next`` In Benelux DX, Maurits Van Driessche in Belgium apparently has not been hearing it, unlike last year when he frequently got LRA36 when we did not. He points to a Youtube about it, which is a 7-minute 2009 Spanish DX segment from RAE, illustrated with stills of the station and the base: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2TZf-Ta_Mc From there you will also find linx to some others (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15476, LRA36 back on the air Monday May 2 following weekend off. At 1311, S9 to S9+10 peaks and going from easily heard music to talk at strain level. 1314 back to better-audible music again. The trio of XYLs should sing their announcements for much better projexion! At this time the Esperanza signal stood out, with nothing stronger on adjacents, but hardly outstanding. Also much better than Turkey 15450 during hi-latitude propagation degradation. By 1352, UK on 15480 could be heard, 250 kW eastward, but the 2 kW on 15476 holding its own! Altho LRA36 as usual weakening by now. 15476, no sign of LRA36 May 3 at 1309, 1358. It was audible 24 hours earlier. This timing is no good for Australia and NZ, but Bryan Clark in NZ has been hearing non-stop Latin music on 15476, two consecutive UT Tuesdays: 19 April at 1908-2050* and 26 April at 1936-2004*. I haven`t been looking for it at that hour, but we should all seek it again Tuesday May 3, and maybe other days. 15476, checked for LRA36, Tuesday May 3 at 1930 and 1957, but no trace of it. Something had been heard there the previous two Tuesdays in NZ and Australia; and it was missing from its usual earlier broadcast on May 3. 15476, May 4 at 1257, LRA36 is back at S9+8 level, undermodulated talk; 1300 said ``buena música`` audibly and then played some music. At 1346 Spanish talk mentioning some years, possibly a history of the base. 1409 now peaking S9+10 but little improvement to the ear, mentions ``casa blanca`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 25/04/2011, 2149, 13363.5, Argentina Armed Forces, LSB program relay "Continental" wx + id -Suff. Ciao e buoni DX! (- Mauro - Giroletti, -Swl 1510-, -IK2GFT-, -JRC525Nrd - Lowe HF150-, Filter PAR Electronics - BCST-LPF + BCST-HPF- DSP 9, -Eavesdropper SWL Sloper 11mt to 120mt Band- Loop LFL1010, -Lat. 45 25'0"N Long. 9 7'0"E - Locator grid. Jn 45 Nk- bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 15345, RAE, Buenos Aires. Very good 2147 with Radio Nacional relay, Spanish interview 2147. Gave ID and mentioned their Facebook page; am I the only one who doesn’t get the Facebook thing for commercial and government operations? Most of them already have adequate web pages, with avenues for listener feedback, 30/4 (Craig Seager, Bathurst NSW (Murphy B40C, Icom R75, Horizontal Loop, Dipole), May Australian DX News via DXLD) No, you are not. Apparently, ``social media`` fans are too lazy to go to real websites, so social sites become just another commercial vehicle, seeking them out (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ASCENSION. 6005, BBC WS. English Bay (// 1485 Radio Today), NOT // the usual 6145 relay from Meyerton (6145 is French today for some unknown reason - see South Africa). Aoki and HFCC list nothing French at this time, nor does Sentech. 2011/04/22 fri 0318-0330. 6005 is talking about Apple and I-phones. Fair - good. About 2 seconds behind 1485 Radio Today relay. Jo'burg sunrise 0427 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. RADIO SYMBAN on 2368.5 kHz, reports wanted. Yes, heard from Con on behalf of Angelo. Con says the power of the transmitter is around 400 watts. They have had a number of reports from overseas, but are trying to refine their reception within Australia. The power bills are starting to bite hard into finances, (as they are to most of us in NSW). So they are now on from 4 to 10 pm NSW time. That’s 0600 to 1200 UT. The transmitter is on an auto start each day. Now they do want reception reports from within Australia, also if there are any issues with the audio. To contact Radio Symban, you can on 0423 333 978 (Con) or prefer an email to symban @ radiosymban.com.au or you can email me johno on dxer1234 @ gmail.com or 29 Milford Rd, Peakhurst NSW 2210 or 0416 766 490 (Johno Wright, May Australian DX News via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) 2368.5, Radio Symban, 0945-0955, 30-April-2011, in Greek. Male announcer speaking to person on phone, female announcer at 0949 with station ID, fair signal (Ed Wlodarski, N2ED, New Jersey, Ten Tec RX340 & 100 Ft Long Wire, NASWA Flashsheet May 1 via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) Ed must have a pipeline from Sydney; is anyone else on the east coast hearing it every week? (gh, DXLD) 2368.5, Radio Symban, 1257-1319, April 30. My local sunrise was 1314; non-stop Greek music and songs except for a short “Radio Symban” ID; first time I have actually caught an ID. Excellent morning for down under reception! Audio clip of some music at http://www.box.net/shared/mb9la26e33 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2368.5, R. Symban, Sydney. A bit irregular lately and certainly not as strong. Fair 2030 with music and Greek announcements, 30/4 (Craig Seager, Bathurst NSW (Murphy B40C, Icom R75, Horizontal Loop, Dipole), May Australian DX News via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 3210, Ozy Radio, 2045 with old pop music with, // 5050 20/4 (Thwaites). 5050 Ozy Radio, Sydney. Playing old pop music nothing else, the odd time check etc., 2045. Heard on 20/4 (Paul Thwaites, Sunshine Coast QLD (Lowe HF-150, longwire sloping with balun), May Australian DX News via DXLD) Seems to be now regularly programmed, oldies music, occasional IDs and weather, very strong and consistent // 3210, 25/4 (Craig Seager, Bathurst NSW (Murphy B40C, Icom R75, Horizontal Loop, Dipole), ibid.) Ozy Radio 5050 kHz - Gov Records Change --- An official transmitter site change for 'Ozy Radio' on 5050 kHz has occurred within the last two weeks; is now listed as Schofields. For past two days, 5050 has been off during the local darkness hours (at some point) and resuming test transmissions during the early morning, as previously mentioned; it has been the intention for this frequency to be a daytime only frequency. 3210 kHz remains off air presently (Ian Baxter, NSW, April 29, Shortwavesites Yahoo Group via DXLD) 5050, Ozy Radio (tentative), 1320-1359, April 30. Seeing as R. Symban was doing so well, wanted to check here; certainly sounded like them mixing with a Beibu Bay Radio (in Vietnamese); played 1940s pop song, opera and Johnny Cash “Ring Of Fire”. I cannot rule out the slight possibility it was AIR Aizawl, but really think the format was consistent with R. Ozy; audio at http://www.box.net/shared/o3rcqmbp9n 5050, Ozy Radio (tentative), 1022, May 1. Seemed to be them with EZL pop song, but very weak even at this time just before BBR started to fade in. May 2 found no trace of them at all. Ian Baxter reminds me these are still test transmissions (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 2485, ABC Northern Territory, Katherine, 1158, May 2. “Hard Rock Cafe” by Carole King; ToH ID “105.7 ABC Darwin”; program about the life of blues performer Charley Patton and played “Down The Dirt Road Blues” which was recorded in 1929 (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 4770, ABC. Football (AFL), 0600 poor level as heard through call to John Wright 30/4. Poor level. John Wright thinks this is a harmonic (Chris Hambly, Mont Albert North, Vic. (Icom R75 dipole antennae), May Australian DX News via DXLD) Not heard here in Sydney (Johno Wright, ibid.) Or spur (Craig Seager, ed., ibid.) 4770 = 5 x 954, where there is 2UE in Sydney and a low-power in Queensland. Did anyone try // to 954? Did anyone try // to RA which carries silly ballgames around this time on weekends? In which case it could be a Shepparton mix, 2B-A or B-A (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Not likely to be 2UE 954 harmonic. There are regional football codes in Australia, and the AFL (Australian Football League) version Chris refers to is not prevalent in NSW or QLD, despite the best efforts of Victorian based marketeers to shove it down our throats. They even moved one of their teams up here (South Melbourne) and gave it a local name ("Sydney Swans"). Rugby League and Rugby Union codes are all that are likely to be broadcast on a metropolitan commercial radio station in these parts! All the same to an outsider, but tribal for us. RA a possibility, but more likely some obscure derivative of 3LO Melbourne (774 kHz), which is in the general part of town where Chris lives. Rgds, (Craig Seager, ADXN log ed., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AZERBAIJAN [non?]. 9677.5, Voice of Justice. In Azeri from Stepan[a]kert, Nagorno-Karabakh (they said Nagorno Karabakh Republic). Demodulated sound, only reading about the NK 0500-0527 on 23/4 (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF 2001, 16m Marconi), May Australian DX News via DXLD) ** BAHRAIN. 9745 usb, Radio Bahrain, 0038-0107 Apr 28. Arabic vocals hosted by a man announcer with brief Arabic talks between selections. Apparent ID at 0100 followed by several short news items and more music from 0402. Poor to fair and noticeably weaker from 0100 (Rich D'Angelo, Wyomissing PA 19610, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B, Eton E1, Eton E5, Alpha Delta DX Sloper, RF Systems Mini-Windom, Datong FL3, JPS ANC-4, NASWA Flashsheet May 1 via DXLD) 9745, Radio Bahrain, 0140-0205, May 4, carrier + USB. Call to prayer- like chanting. Poor to fair with adjacent channel splatter (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BANGLADESH. 4750, Bangladesh Betar, 1231, May 2 (Monday). Mixing with RRI Makassar; reciting from the Qur’an; 1235 “Assalamu alaikum. This is Bangladesh Betar”; Monday news in English with item about “Bangladesh”. Ashik Eqbal Tokon (Rajshahi, Bangladesh) kindly emailed me that this Monday news “No doubt it was Bangladesh Betar English National News”, but still I wonder about the Monday-only broadcast of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) news that is listed at the BB website for Monday at “1835” (BST) which is 1235 UT. Except clearly the languages are reversed, as in fact the news starts out in English, as I have also observed on past Mondays. Today I can confirm that the news in English went till at least 1244, but after that lost to QRM; not as strong as RRI, but able to make out a word or two here and there till lost (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS [and non]. 7255, 2/5 2122, Radio Belarus & Radio Nigeria. Belarus dominant in English, history of Belarus, fair. But some time Nigeria coming on, with music and also an ID (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia, Liguria, Italy), RX: SDR-IQ - Ant: Wellbrook LFL 1010 loop, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11930, Belarusskoe Radio, 0402-0433 Apr 28. Man and woman announcers with news items in Belarusian language. ID and website information at 0415 followed by several commercial (?) announcements. Talk by a woman announcer who was soon joined by several other people with a discussion. More commercials or announcements at 0428. Poor but in the clear (Rich D'Angelo, Wyomissing PA 19610, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B, Eton E1, Eton E5, Alpha Delta DX Sloper, RF Systems Mini-Windom, Datong FL3, JPS ANC-4, NASWA Flashsheet May 1 via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) Their only frequency above 6/7 MHz, especially helpful in the summer. 11930 not in WRTH 2011, but HFCC A-11 shows 250 kW, 75 degrees from Minsk at 04-07. They have a motley group of transmitters down to 5 kW, or the odd power of 75 kW, believed to be 15 x 5 kW former jammers (gh WORLD OF RADIO 1563,) ** BELARUS. MEDIA SITUATION IN BELARUS WORSENS --- Freedom House | Text of report by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website on 4 May Minsk: Sandwiched between Cuba and Myanmar on Freedom House's annual Freedom of the Press listing, Belarus has little to celebrate on World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. And the already dismal situation in the authoritarian country is definitely taking a turn for the worse. The New York-based NGO Freedom House this year lists Belarus among the 10 worst-rated countries on its index, states where "independent media are either nonexistent or barely able to operate, the press acts as a mouthpiece for the regime, citizens' access to unbiased information is severely limited, and dissent is crushed through imprisonment, torture and other forms of repression." Those 10 states are Belarus, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. And the Freedom House report was written before authorities in Minsk began court proceedings to shut down the country's two main remaining independent media outlets -- the newspapers "Nasha niva" and "Narodnaya volya." The Information Ministry has issued each of the newspapers three official warnings in recent months over "wrong coverage of events." 'Who Will Hear Us?' The stepped-up pressure on the independent media in Belarus is part of a general crackdown on political dissent following the disputed re- election in December of long-time President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The repression only got worse following the 11 April terrorist bombing in the Minsk subway system, which left 14 dead and scores injured. Andrey Bastunets of the Belarus Association of Journalists: "People are being deprived." Renowned actress Zinaida Bandarenka published an open appeal to Lukashenka urging him to end the persecution of the two papers. "I think he is acting as if he hasn't noticed our appeal," she says. "There is still a small hope, but then, when they really do shut down these papers... [Ellipsis as published] This is our last chance to address him. There is no other opportunity. If they close these papers, who will hear us? Will the official media publish our pain and our cries? Of course not." The government's steps against the two papers provoked criticism from the media freedom representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Dunja Mijatovic says the move will "further diminish media pluralism in the country." Minsk ordered the OSCE to close down its Belarus office at the beginning of the year, following OSCE criticism of the December 2010 presidential election. "They will close, of course" Opinions about what will happen next are divided on the streets of Minsk. "A lot of people read these newspapers. Everyone buys them. They are quite popular," one man says. "And they really write about what people want to hear, what they want to know. Apparently someone doesn't like that, and so they will close the papers, of course." "I don't think they will be shut down," another man says. "It would just give another reason to argue that the principles of democracy are violated in Belarus, that we have here the last dictatorship in Europe." "Narodnaya volya" Deputy Editor Marina Koktysh: "Hope dies last." The Belarusian Association of Journalists is calling on ordinary citizens to appeal to the Information Ministry and ask officials to withdraw their case against the newspapers. Association lawyer Andrey Bastunets tells RFE/RL's Belarus Service that the goal is to keep the case from making it to court. "If the case goes to court then, most likely, the verdict will not be in favour of the independent media," Bastunets says. "Therefore, it is important to morally sway the representatives of the organ that filed the case -- the Information Ministry -- so that they feel that we aren't talking about two independent publications, but about their readers, people who are being deprived of their chosen publications." The case is scheduled to begin on 11 May. For now, journalists at the two newspapers are impressed with the support they have received from readers and the general public. "Narodnaya volya" Deputy Editor Marina Koktysh says the paper has been targeted by officials before, when they barred the state newspaper- kiosk system from selling it and when their printer suddenly refused to print it. As a result, the paper's staff remains defiant and is preparing contingency plans to move underground or to publish from abroad. For now, Koktysh says, the paper is actively working the system. "You know, as they say, hope dies last," she says. "We don't plan to get on our knees before anyone, not before Lukashenka, not before any of his bureaucrats. But we think that now we need to knock on every door. Even if they are closed. And if there is even the smallest chance to save the newspaper, we have to grab it." Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website, Washington, D.C., in English 0000 gmt 4 May 11 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. Radio Nacional de Huanuni on the web: http://www.nacionaldehuanuni.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=32&Itemid=29 Excellent streaming (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 3310, Radio Mosoj Chaski, 0859-0905, 30-April-2011, in Quechua. Local music, with male vocals and guitars, female announcer at 0900 with station ID, followed by two female announcers with local announcements, fair signal (Ed Wlodarski, N2ED, New Jersey, Ten Tec RX340 & 100 Ft Long Wire, NASWA Flashsheet May 1 via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4795.87, Radio Lípez, Uyuni 2330 to 0000 CP music and very good signal on 26 April and several other days, same time. Also strong 0950 to 1020 on 25 April (Robert Wilkner, Icom 746Pro, Drake R8, NRD 535D, Noise Reducing Antenna, 60 Meter Dipole, 41 meter dipole, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, April 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 5952.38, Radio Pio Doce (presumed), 1030, May 2. Briefly noted their distinctive whistling of the River Kwai March and assume ID (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOTSWANA. 909, Voice of America relay. Selebi Phikwe. 2011/04/24 sun 1624-1701. "Nightline Africa", to "Studio Seven" at 1700. Several VOA IDs. Excellent - good, as usual at this time (our "local" VOA station). Jo'burg sunset 1545 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Do you not hear any Zimbabwean jamming? (gh) ** BOTSWANA. 1215, Radio Botswana. Mahalapye. 2011/04/24 sun 1550- 1606. SeTswana. Afro music. Strong signal but continuous buzzing interference (not my computer). Jo'burg sunset 1545 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOTSWANA. Re 11-17, reported on 7255 around 0530: Not completely unlikely. For European listeners: Just before 1700 the frequency 7255 is free of strong eurosignals for a few minutes; there was a weak carrier today April 29th. Eibi gives Xizang for that time, but WRTH indicates this as inactive. Eibi gives Belarus until 1700 and from 1705, but strong carrier appeared at 1659. 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.africalist.de.ms April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4815.00, 2305-2315 25.04, R Difusora, Londrina, PR Portuguese ann, hymns 24121 splashes from Xizang, 4820 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of antenna in 9 metres altitude, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4865, Brasil, Radio Alvorada, Londrina, PR 0950 to 1020 on several occasions noted "Palabras de Dios" en español (Robert Wilkner, Icom 746Pro, Drake R8, NRD 535D, Noise Reducing Antenna, 60 Meter Dipole, 41 meter dipole, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, April 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Spanish, really? Well, Londrina is only about 100 miles from Paraguay; and almost on the Tropic of Capricorn (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4915.00, 2305-2335 28+30.04, R Daqui, Goiânia, GO, Portuguese ann, Brazilian song, ID twice: "Rádio Daqui" and again 2334, new schedule, 44344, QRM Xizang 4920 (Anker Petersen, here in Skovlunde, Denmark on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 5939.85, Radio Voz Missionária, 0430-0500, April 30, Continuous Portuguese inspirational music. // 9665.11 - both frequencies weak, poor (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BRAZIL. 5990, 2/5 2147-2202*, Radio Senado, long talks in Portuguese but also in Spanish! Great ID at 2200. End of broadcast, Sign-off 2202 (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia, Liguria, Italy), RX: SDR-IQ - Ant: Wellbrook LFL 1010 loop, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5990, Radio Senado, *0856-0910, May 4, sign on with jazz music. Brazilian romantic ballads. Opening Portuguese ID announcements at 0902. Good. Strong (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BRAZIL. R. Cultura Filadélfia, Foz de Iguaçu is back in operation on 6105 kHz (WRTH 2011 National section update May 2 via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) As in DXLD 11-13 ** BRAZIL. 9629.9, R. Aparecida, Aparecida SP, 2130-..., 30 Apr, unreadable talks due to their extremely weak audio level, which has only become worse: useless signal; 34443, adjacent QRM. See MALI 5995. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11724.92, Rádio Marumby presumed the Portuguese commercial operation here at 1935 UT 26 April until RNZI 11725 opens strongly at 1951 (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ - AOR7030+ and EWE antennas to the Americas) 11764.94, Super Rádio Deus é Amor, 0000-0015, April 29, emotional Portuguese preacher. ID announcements at 0002. Jingles. Fair to good. Very weak // 6060 under Cuba. Very weak // 9565.26 with adjacent channel splatter. Weak, unstable, drifting // 9594.1v (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11815, Rádio Brasil Central at 1947 with Portuguese talkback format 25 April. On the hour gave comprehensive ident as “Brasil Central” including frequencies and powers in kilowatts. Best on LSB to avoid interference from Voice of Russia [q.v., spur] in English on odd frequency 11818.6 (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ - AOR7030+ and EWE antennas to the Americas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11814.98, Radio Brasil Central, 0135-0145, May 4, Bazilian pop music. Portuguese talk. Jingles. Fair to good. Weak on // 4985. (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BRAZIL. 15189.95, Radio Inconfidência, 0045-0110, May 3, audible after WYFR sign off at 0045 with Portuguese talk. Classical music. Poor in noisy conditions. // 6010 - poor with adjacent channel splatter (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BULGARIA. Hi Glenn, I don't normally report negatives, but I can't receive here the Radio Bulgaria transmissions mentioned in DXLD 11-15. Probably not surprising since they are targeted in the wrong direction (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA. 11600, R. Bulgaria, May 3 at 0546, nice folk music interrupted by German announcement, good signal better than 9600, easy to // with a 2.0 MHz step downward on the FRG-7. 11600 is one of the transmissions RB wants us to monitor until May 15, since they are using the 100 kW Kostinbrod transmitter instead of the 300 kW Plovdiv. (Apparently the idea is to keep using the 100 kW if that`s sufficient.) Listeners were to compare this with reception April 18 to May 1 on the 300 kW. It would have been more obvious if they alternated during a single hour between the two, or day to day, rather than a fortnight on each, since longer-term propagation variations can be more significant than power variations. The full schedule of this test from Kostinbrod: ``to West Europe 0430-0500 in Bulgarian on 7400 kHz 0530-0700 in German, French and English on 11600 kHz 1300-1400 in Bulgarian on 15700 kHz 1630-1800 in German, French and English on 7400 kHz 1900-2200 in German, French and English on 7400 kHz to North America 2300-0300 in English, Bulgarian, French and English on 11700 kHz ``We expect your opinions on the possible difference in the strength and quality of the signal from the two transmitters. You can contact us by e-mail and send us sound files in the MP3 or MP4 format at the following address: . Thank you in advance and 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Frequency Manager, Technical Department, R. Bulgaria, DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 11 April via WORLD OF RADIO 1560, DXLD 11-15)`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CAMBODIA. A member over on Radio Reference just posted two photos of a shortwave site located in Cambodia. Can anyone help with an ID? http://forums.radioreference.com/shortwave-broadcast/210669-unidentified-abandoned-site.html 73! (John K9RZZ Wilke, May 1, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) + followups ** CANADA [and non]. 6070, no sign of a carrier from CFRX, May 1 at 0521, a time when it is normally audible. Altho propagation was degraded on higher frequencies, 49m was working from Spain on 6055, Sackville on 6080, etc. Abnormally, the highest frequency with any signal at all was 13630, very poor Australia. So has CFRX crashed again? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CFRX --- Is this off 6070 or does reception stink that bad? Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint! (Sheryl Paszkiewicz, 0028 UT May 2, NASWA yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) I heard it the other night, but not right now - 0037 5/2 (Dan Ferguson, SC, ibid.) 6070, CFRX Toronto still missing May 2 at 0542, and also at 1302. Time for its ODXA contacts to check up on it. Replying to my previous report, at 0029 UT May 2, Robert LaFore, Acworth GA wrote, ``No sign of CFRX here in Georgia, Normally it is in most of the day.`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Another check on May 4, 2011, No sign of CFRX-6070. Normally quite easy to hear at this time of day in North Georgia (Robert LaFore, Acworth GA, 2310 UT, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glen[n]: I'm receiving CFRX // CFRB 1010 Toronto. No problems with the signal in daytime, just as good as always. SINPO 55445. It normally degrades at night, but is still usually good copy up here. I'm in Barrie about 100 km North of Toronto, VA3SAJ (Julian Smith, 2212 UT May 4, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, ibid.) CFRX 6070 loud and clear, 22:39 UT, 6:39 EDST (Leonard J. Rooney, Delaware County, Springfield PA, ibid.) Weak with some flutter here at my QTH as of 2249 UT on Wednesday, May 4, 2011. 73's (Noble, BMSS, West, TN, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, ibid.) Coming in fine here in Detroit area at 2300 UT 5/4. "Newstalk 1010" ID and news with traffic report on the hour. Weather at 2304. Followed by Money Watch at 2305. Fair with some flutter (Don W8SWL Hosmer, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, there they are....seemingly not as strong as usual however. Maybe propagation (Robert LaFore, GA, 0014 UT May 5, ibid.) 6070 - CFRX, Toronto, Canada - back tonight, May 5, with an excellent signal at 0038 UT. Friendly Fire talk show with discussion of releasing Bin Laden cadaver photos. Local 1010 ID's, TC's and traffic report (Stephen Wood, Harwich, MA, Drake R8B, 50 x 25 NE Superloop antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CFRX putting a decent signal into Houston at a 0045 check UT Thursday May 5. Seems at normal level (Steve Luce, Houston, TX, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. New Canadian government and CBC/RCI --- Anyone care to speculate on what effect the new Conservative majority government in Canada might have on the future of the CBC in general, and Radio Canada International in particular? I have a feeling that more cuts are coming (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, May 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Canada International is a shell of its former self, cut by both Conservative and Liberal governments. There is a predisposition in some Conservative circles to dream about defunding CBC altogether. Mulroney with his massive majority 1984-88 couldn't bring itself to do it. I'm sure CBC cuts will be coming, probably inevitable in the economic climate regardless of who got in. The NDP surge is fascinating. Take away the seats won in Quebec and the NDP is at its all time high-water mark (about 44 seats). Add them in and they stand at over 100. Amusingly, some of the candidates that won only put their names forward so that they could say the party ran in all 308 ridings. One MP-elect is reportedly in a Francophone riding and can't speak French. One who had trouble finding her constituency on the map spent much of the campaign on a Vegas trip. The New Democratic Party is now the voice of Quebec in parliament. A (much) louder NDP will no doubt lobby hard for the CBC. RCI is easy to cut for the simple reason that Canadian taxpayers don't really pay attention to it and are not harmed by such cuts (unless they await a QSL card). `The House` on CBC Radio One should be interesting this week, as well as `Cross Canada Checkup`. CFRB/CFRX had interesting coverage too. To my knowledge John Tory was about the only media person to stick his neck out and predict a Conservative majority. I saw that about an hour before the polls closed in Ontario and assumed he was smoking something funny. Finally I noted on election night it was virtually impossible to find out results from the Atlantic region before the polls closed here. I used to tune in to CBA 1070 in Moncton or RCI but neither was available. (CBA went FM) Elections Canada put the fear of God into internet streaming stations and Facebook and Twitter to make sure the embargo on early results before the polls closed in western regions was respected. $25,000 fines threatened (Fred Waterer, Ont., ibid.) Fred: Well, that explains the continuous "we're having technical difficulties" message on all the CBC Radio One streams I tried prior to 10:00 eastern. I ended up watching the CBC TV coverage via C-SPAN 2 here. CBC Radio One Sirius occupies a prominent button on my car radio. Would hate to see it compromised even further by more cuts. But, as you say, that may be inevitable. Hopefully, the Tories will see some value in public radio that they obviously don't see in public TV (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) Considering what RCI is doing these days in terms of programming is it really worth it? Except for the foreign languages, all English and French programming is dull, un-exciting, no soul, and un-creative. It has less to do with budget and more to do with the producers and presenters. Certain ones at RCI in English for example, are more concerned about saving their job until they retire than producing interesting content. It would not matter if they got a budget increase you would still have the same people. Budget does not always mean good programming, if you have people who are un-creative. If I want to find out what is going on in Canada. I can get more new and information from listening to CBC Radio online than I can from listening to RCI whose only focus is on new immigrants. I think it's important for Canada to maintain an international service. But the only real way in saving it is by getting rid of the staff that they have and to create a new service with a target focused on news, information, politics and culture. The only program I listen to from RCI and if you understand Chinese I would suggest it, is the Chinese Service. The Chinese Service does a much better job (Keith Perron, Taiwan, ibid.) I would not blame the producers and presenters. Yes, they may want to keep their jobs until retirement, but it`s management which requires that kind of programming (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) I don't know where you're getting your information but you [Keith] couldn't be more wrong. The problem at RCI stems from the fact that it is managed as an adjunct to the SRC, a cost cutting move enacted some years ago that eliminated RCI's independent status. RCI was poised to be eliminated entirely unless a new raison d'être could be developed to justify its existence. That, and a last minute mandate (or reprieve if you prefer) from the Minister of External Affairs to the SRC to maintain RCI, resulted in the "new and imminent immigrant" focus that RCI has now. I know several of the long-term producers/staff and they couldn't be more upset with the creative shackles put on them by this mission statement. (I can't speak for the attitudes of the newer producers.) There has long been a movement within RCI, the RCI Action Committee supported by the union representing RCI staff, to oppose incremental government and management decisions that have reduced the institution to what it is today. That has been a noble but losing battle. And these efforts have not been without some risk for RCI's longest serving staff members; but union protection has staved off the more extreme reprisals and protected their continued employment. The RCI today is not the RCI the staff would develop, create and maintain. To blame them for this state of affairs is not only wrong; it's unfair. I have known RCI staff -- current and retired -- for over 25 years and they couldn't be more upset over what has happened to this once proud service (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) Regardless of the cause, the ultimate result on RCI is a program output that is lifeless and dull. Even the newscast readers sound bored. It is obvious that the staff is completely demoralized and is struggling to survive to the next paycheck. A sad state of affairs for a once proud international broadcaster. But RCI pretty much died in 2006 with the flip to "The Link" format. If the Canadian government pulls the plug, few will miss it, and many of us will in a strange way be relieved to see RCI put out of its misery (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, ibid.) For North America (read "USA"), what used to be provided to us by RCI has been effectively replaced by CBC Radio One on Sirius. Of course, it does not have the "international" focus of RCI in its prior form; but its content is more of what we were accustomed to when RCI was broadcasting programs like "As It Happens" to us on shortwave. Incidentally, "As It Happens" and "Q", CBC R1's daily program on popular culture in NA, are being made available to public radio stations in the U.S. via PRI. My local NPR affiliate carries "AIH" every weeknight at 11 (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) ** CANADA [and non]. 9625, CBCNQ Sackville still on the air with open carrier, April 29 at 0559 almost an hour after sign-off, vs stronger REE Costa Rica 9630; after 0600 both of them OC. 9625, May 2 at 0538, CBCNQ carrier is still on, and this time also with continuous tone, weaker than ACI REE CR 9630 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [non]. Bible Voice Broadcasting Network (BVBN) changes: 1800-1830 on 9435 WER 100 kW / 240 deg to SoEu in Spanish Sun, deleted from May 1 1900-1930 on 11750 ISS 250 kW / 141 deg to EaAf in ??????? Sat, new transmission from Apr 30 (Ivo Ivanov, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. NORTH AMERICA. Strange, but I hear a somewhat echoic/ ambient sounding KISM FM on 6668 LSB (0330z-0400z 20110425). Audio bandwidth is certainly "sideband phone" 2.6 kHz ish. Bootlegger? I'm in Salem, Oregon and the signal is weak but at times listenable with music, ads and ID. They are apparently in Bellingham WA. 0330z 20110425 (-Fibber, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hearing an unID now from before 0400 on the strange frequency of 6668.060 on LSB with non stop jazz music (a live recording). Any idea who this might be? Rather difficult to demodulate, and somewhat tinny sounding as well. Might this be one of those Argentinian LSB feeders? The recording is in English, though (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC (25 April, 2011, 0420 UT, dxldyg via DX WORLD OF RADIO 1563, LISTENING DIGEST) It is definitely KISM, Walt. I was able to hear the same content on their live web feed. How strong are they for you? About S3 here in Salem. Ditto on Tinny! (-fibber CN84lv, ibid.) 6668 unusual activity --- Checked this out after a post from Walt Salmaniw on IRCA: 6668.05a LSB, good signal here for the last half hour, now 0033 UT April 28 with many KISM and Classic 92.9 ids, ads etc. Seems unusually hard to tune the voice exactly - almost like it is fed into the transmitter at slightly the wrong pitch. No idea as to who or why. And my post the next morning: The signal seemed to be present at decent levels here all last evening. This morning (Apr 28th) I checked and I am hearing the same kind of hard to tune in music on 6668.25ish but in USB now, at 1554 UT certainly not // KISM internet, music ended, mostly an open mike with male voice swearing and cursing about being fired with long periods of silence between music. Music seems high pitched and tinny and not modulating well at the moment, can hear occasional swearing over the music. Some rant about it not being MacDonalds now but rather MacDougalls! Strange stuff. Now 1613, seems like he got a phone call from his boss, mentioning getting fired from MacDonalds, and describing an encouter with RCMP, mention of Chilliwack, drunk tank, HIV, his wife, etc., etc. Said he was upset but not planning to hurt anyone - this is getting even stranger! not hearing anything else here after that phone call ended, maybe he realized the mic was on (Don VE6JY Moman, Lamont, Alberta, 1618 UT April 28, --- all: DXLD 11-17 via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST 11-18) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. 3390, ICDI?? 2133 April 30, I found just a carrier of about S3 (i.e. no audio) (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nominal sign-off is 2100. Perhaps they leave carrier on (gh, DXLD) R. ICDI is broadcasting on 6030 between 0500-1100 & 1500-1600 and 3390 kHz between 1600-2100v (WRTH 2011 National section update May 2 via DXLD) That`s different from our recent info so far from ICDI, so really still on 6030, not 6040 as ICDI claims? (gh, DXLD) ** CHAD [and non]. 6165, RNT, *0427-0430, April 29, sign on with Balafon IS. National Anthem at 0430. Weak. Covered by Radio Japan sign on at 0429 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) NHK being in Russian via LITHUANIA at 0430-0500 only, not Bonaire (gh) ** CHINA. 6060, tentative Sichuan PBS, weak Chinese talk 1300 4/25, very slow 5+1 time pips spaced appx 2 seconds apart 6080, Hailar, Hulun Buir PBS, 4/25 1100 fair signal with time pips, apparent Beijing time check, man & woman in Mongolian with stringed music in background, then march music to open the next program. Better at 1130 with pop music, then man and woman alternating in Mongolian with with sounded like a news program. Also, 1300 fair but squeezed by 6075/6085 splash, 5+1 time pips, possible Beijing time check, a few seconds of talk, then interesting throaty male vocal folk music. Covered by Radio Australia after 1400. Sounded a bit too good for listed 7.5 kW, so perhaps there's been a recent power boost or other changes. Thanks to Mauno Ritola for confirming the language. 6185, China Huayi BC, tentative 1200 4/25 weak just after Radio Japan Russian service sign-off. Caught tail end of time pips, then man and woman in Chinese, including possible something Dientai ID but too weak to make it out (Bruce Portzer, Seattle, WA, Winradio Excalbur, K9AY Antenna, from unattended ToH/BoH recordings, and it took me a while to go through the files, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 9705, Voice of Pujiang (ex-5075), 1143, May 2. Their usual change to a higher frequency at this time of year; // 3280 and 4950; all fair in Chinese (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. Martedì 3 maggio 2011 - 2129 - 10000 kHz, BPM - Kinshan (Cina), Cinese, IDs CW e fonia YL. Segnale sufficiente- insufficiente. Observatorio Rio quasi nullo (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova), Italia, playdx yg via DXLD) ** CHINA. 14400, 1115 17 April, Firedrake jammer, usual music, poor (Tim Bucknall, Cheshire, May BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Used to be a regular around 14400, but not heard here in a long time; I`m usually not monitoring at that hour (gh, DXLD) 11500, Firedrake Jammer, 1140-1200 GMT, APR 26. Oriental instrumental music being played. At 1200 GMT Firedrake music ended with loss of broadcast signal. SINFO 44544 (Steven Handler, IL, Icom IC-7200, Yaesu FT-897, Sony ICF-7600GR all using horizontal dipole antennas, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Firedrake April 29: Did not start checking until 1256, so hustled to scan the bands before usual break at 1300, after which some but not all come back: 10970, VG at 1257; no 7970 or anywhere below 10970; poor at 1323 13920, VG at 1258 14700, VG at 1258 15900, VG at 1320, somewhat stronger than 15970 15970, good at 1319 16100, VG at 1259-1300*; back on at 1319 check 16980, VG at 1259, 1319 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15900 14900 14700 13920 13130 12600 12240 11500 10970 --- SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng from TAIWAN scheduled here, but observed rather China mainland Firedrake music jamming at 1135-1159 UT Apr 30. SOH on odd 12599.926 + jamming, and also - without jamming - on 14969.930 kHz (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Apr 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake April 30: not checked until 1325: 10300, good with heavy flutter at 1328 12600, fair with heavy flutter at 1329 13900, poor at 1330 // 12600 No others found up to 19 MHz. Propagation was quite degraded. Firedrake May 1: 7970, JBA at 1253, none higher found before 1300; propagation degraded. K-index 4 at 1500 10965, poor at 1335 12600, poor at 1335 13130, fair with flutter at 1334 13920, fair at 1358 14700, fair with flutter at 1332; still at 1418 15780, fair at 1418 and not fluttery, // 14700. 15780 a new frequency, so vs what? Nothing in Aoki here and now, but on 15775, SOH at 1430- 1500 via TAJIKISTAN, close enough? Firedrake May 2: all heard were // 7970, no sign of it at 1253 or anytime later 10300, poor at 1323; none on 10965/10970 or lower than 10300; 10300 very poor with flutter at 1434 11500, very poor with flutter at 1322; not positive FD in the mix 13130, very poor at 1319 13920, poor at 1320 with utility QRM. None in the 12`s 14700, JBA at 1318 14970, fair at 1318 15900, I tuned into good open carrier at 1315, and Firedrake music cut on at 1315:38. Is there now a standard 15-minute break at hourtops? 16100, as good as // 15900 at 1316; none higher (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Some Firedrake information for you. Today, May 3, 2011, I logged six Firedrake frequencies in use at the same time. However they were not all // to each other. Firedrake (group 1) The following four were // to each other 11500 Khz 1230 GMT SINFO 34543 12980 Khz 1229 GMT SINFO 45544 (Best overall signal) 13920 Khz 1229 GMT SINFO 44544 (Second best overall signal) 14700 Khz 1230 GMT SINFO 34544 with buzzing QRM Firedrake (Group 2) Following two frequencies were // to each other 10965 Khz 1224 & 1230 SINFO 24542 poor quality but readable 12600 Khz 1224 and 1230 SINFO 34533 I checked all known Firedrake frequencies and these six were the only ones I would hear from 1220 to 1240 GMT. The Firedrake broadcast for group one were a;; // to each other but not // to the frequencies in group 2. The frequencies in group 2 were // to each other but not // to the frequencies in group 1. All frequencies in group 1 and 2 were Firedrake, but group 1 and group 2 were not // to each other and were at different points in the music. Note that I have named them group 1 and 2 to differentiate the two different groups. The group number had no significance other than to keep the two sets of frequencies separate. You are welcome to use the information (Steve Handler, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake May 3, all presumed vs Sound of Hope, u.o.s.: 10300, good at 1254 10965, good at 1254 11500, very poor at 1256 but detectable with CCI, het, // 10300 12240, poor at 1257 12600, very poor at 1257 12980, fair at 1258 13920, fair at 1257, better than 12980 14700, good with flutter at 1259; no others before 1300 up to 18 MHz This time I will make a separate list for the next batch by time; I rechecked all the above frequencies and most were absent at first: 10300, good with flutter at 1331 10965, good with flutter at 1331 11500, poor at 1317 13920, good with utility QRM including CW at 1354 15430, poor at 1357 and also with grinding jammer, vs V of Tibet/UAE 15535, poor at 1310; switch to 15545 below; back to 15535 at 1358 // weaker 15430. May 2 Aoki shows V of Tibet/Tajikistan on 15537, 15543 15545, very poor at 1318, not 15535; vs V. of Tibet as above 16100, very good at 1359; not heard earlier 16980, very good at 1359; not heard earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. Martedì 3 maggio 2011: 1623 - 15970 kHz 1625 - 14900 kHz 1635 - 7970 kHz FIREDRAKE vs. Sound of Hope Taiwan, Segnale sufficiente-buono, Sound of Hope heard only on 7970 (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova), Italia, playdx yg via DXLD) [and non]. 15287 approx., May 4 at 1303, very distorted FMy blob in Chinese, no carrier to pinpoint, still same at 1333. At first I assumed the Babcock transmitter in Singapore with BBC Mandarin was out of whack, scheduled 1300-1530, 100 kW, 13 degrees, but now I think it was probably a filthy jamming technique by the ChiCom. Should have tried to // it with other CNR1 jammer audio. Firedrake May 4: not checked before 1300. All heard were //. 10300, JBA at 1325 11500, open carrier with flutter at 1328 and following semihour. Aoki shows Sound of Hope at 20-16, and V. of Russia via Tajikistan to India at 12-15. Firedrake previously audible in the mix here, but the OC today I suspect was defective Tajikistan 13130, good with flutter at 1328 13920, fair at 1331 14700, VG at 1333 14970, VG at 1332. Cut off a few sex after 1400* 15430, poor at 1340 plus noise jamming vs V. of Tibet via UAE 15545, poor at 1340, jumped down from 15560 following VOT 15560, poor at 1334, het from 15562 carrier = V. of Tibet, TAJIKISTAN 15970, poor at 1337; none heard higher up to 18 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. A report from Australia of R. Jordan in Arabic on 11775 at 0625 --- CRI via ALBANIA is also scheduled here in Arabic, so I check it out again a bit earlier. While some nights nothing but pointless DentroCuban jamming is heard, on May 3 at 0536 I am getting Arabic atop the pulses which do become more audible during fades. [Commies vs Commies!] Several ``Idha`at`` IDs go by but I am not sure what the Arabic name for China is. Clinched at 0552 when there is a Chinese lesson, 0600 CRI theme and IDs also in Chinese at hourtop. Jordan was a list-log, as both are in HFCC at 05-07! Trouble is, Jordan has lots of wooden registrations, having really curtailed its SWBC, not yet abolishing it altogether (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. KW: Da geht einiges Richtung Norden. 5910 kHz kommt wie ein Ortssender (der neue Name des Senders ist mir entfallen). So nach 2200 Uhr UT kommt nonstop Musik mit zahlreichen Ansagen (Sandro Blatter, Switzerland, on tour in Quito, Ecuador, A-DX April 30 via BC- DX 4 May via DXLD) I.e., Alcaraván Radio (gh) ** COLOMBIA. 6035.02, La Voz del Guaviare, the Unid LA station heard mornings very weakly, after 1000, turned out to definitely be LA VOZ DEL GUAVIARE, in Colombia. Long listed here, the programming (public praying of the rosary each morning, by a priest and a congregation) still threw me for a loop and I couldn't pull an ID out from the very weak signal, splattered by side-channel slop. Took a shot and emailed LV Guaviare to ask if this matched their programming and was delighted to get a quick response: “. . . I am the (female) announcer who announces the time checks on the air. What you reported to us was correct, from 05:00 to 05:30 am Colombia time, we are transmitting the Rosary every day, it is a program of the Catholic church. Our signal is weak in your receiver, due to a failure in our equipment, but are already improving this. We send a cordial salute for your report, which encourages us to work even harder so that listeners like you can enjoy our programming from this station called La Voz del Guaviare. “ (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, Drake R8B; Japan Radio NRD-545; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2 + Palomar P-408, Longwires (150' + 100'); Tuned Multi-Turn 20" Small Loop; Single-Turn Coax Loop, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See UNIDENTIFIED previously ** CONGO DR. April 29th, 5066.35, so likely CANDIP, relatively strong with some typical African programming, s/off at 1910! (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.africalist.de.ms April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR. Does anyone know if 6210 kHz, R Kahuzi, Bukavu is active? It`s listed in Africalist as being so, but I have not had a hint nor seen any logs (Mark Davies, Anglesey, Wales, May 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. 11880, REE relay, May 4 at 1327 is somewhat distorted and splattering up to 11895 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA [non]. 11675, V. of Croatia via Kranji [SINGAPORE; countries are not specified in this trail = log report, so one must know all the transmitter sites -- gh]. Quite good here at 1020 with a Croatian talk. New frequency heard on 14/4 (Dennis Allen, Milperra NSW (Icom R75, Realistic DX160, Dipoles), May Australian DX News via DXLD) TS 1000, then English ID and news, good 29/4 (Craig Seager, Bathurst NSW (Murphy B40C, Icom R75, Horizontal Loop, Dipole), May Australian DX News via DXLD) ** CUBA. 1020, Radio Guamá, Bahía Honda, Pinar del Río. 2304 April 27, 2011. Cuban ballads, female announcer. Very good and parallel slowly improving 1000 (no Radio Artemisa audio being fed on 1000 at this time). 1100, Radio Angulo, Banes (or Mayarí), Holguín. 0031 April 27, 2011. Presumed the one, parallel better 1110. 1110, Radio Angulo, Holguín, Holguín. 0031 April 27, 2011. Spanish pop vocals, Cuban-accented female announcer, parallel 1100. Recheck 1110, playing a brief portion of -- of all things -- Silent Night (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. Radio Havana Cuba-RHC, 11670, 2242 GMT, Spanish, 444, April 28, Two OMs with comments at a sports event (Stewart MacKenzie, WDX6AA, Huntington Beach, California, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I will not believe you heard RHC here unless you got an ID, none mentioned, and/or paralleled it to other RHC frequencies, such as 13670, which you also reported earlier in the same hour on the correct frequency this time instead of ``13760`` last time. 11670 is used for RNV relay at 22-23 only. Was it their screwup or yours? I checked this out May 2 at 2203: 11670 usual RNV announcer mentioned Venezuela as soon as I tuned in, while 13670 // 12040 [see also ``ECUADOR``] with RHC Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nueva web de Radio Habana Cuba http://www.radiohc.cu/ (José Bueno, Spain, May 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The new submarine cable to access worldwide web from Cuba via Venezuela and v.v. has been inaugurated now? 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, HCDX via DXLD) RADIO HAVANA CUBA CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY By Juan Leandro, Havana, April 29 (RHC) from the newly designed Radio Havana Cuba website http://www.radiohc.cu/ing/ Radio Havana Cuba celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding at an event at the José Martí memorial yesterday. Many of its founders and workers participated in the event, and the radio station´s director, Isidro Betancourt, said that the defense of the Revolution and international solidarity have been the premises maintained by Radio Havana Cuba for five decades. .. . http://www.radiohc.cu/ing/index.php/news/cuba/132-radio-havana-cuba-celebrates-50th-anniversary.html The newly designed RHC website also has an up-to-date frequency and programme schedule on its English language site, unlike the old site, though it seems a bit sluggish at present. It's still possible to listen online to English via the CH2 speaker icon on the new site also (Alan Pennington, UK, April 30, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) 11845, May 1 at 0515, DentroCuban pulse jamming against nothing, a frequency R. Martí uses only in the daytime. 13880, 13780 and 13680, May 1 at 1335-1349, RHC `En Contacto` celebrates 50th anniversary of RHC; after two birthday greetings to listeners, including Nicolás Éramo, Argentina, somewhere in his forties, rest of show consisted of prompted congratulations from some other broadcasters and listeners in their own voices, including: Dr. Édgar Amílcar Madrid, R. Verdad, Guatemala Antonio Buitrago, R. Exterior de España, `Amigos de la Onda Corta` Jeff White, on behalf of NASB! How generous from a jammee, WRMI Someone from AIR, Italy A listener in Costa Rica Pedro Sedano, Asociación DX Barcelona Manuel Castro --- Valentina --- of La Voz de Rusia Sergio Acosta, `Cartas@RN`, Radio Nederland David ---, Argentina Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina Paco Rubio of Asociación DX Barcelona Most of these were pro-forma and non-political, but RGM quoted Fidel about ``the truth carrying far``. I was listening on 13780, but include 13880, the leapfrog mixing product of 13680 over 13780, which was clearly audible to S9+8 at 1358 check, and is not formally reported as often as it should be. Also reconfirmed Esperanto on 11760 at 1502. See also VENEZUELA [non] RHC`s website http://www.radiohc.cu/ has changed, but GIGO. Altho the appearance is a bit more modern, and it`s now php, don`t you believe the frequency schedule in Spanish which includes outdated times/frequencies, introduces new errors such as ``11560`` instead of 17560 to Europe; English at wrong times 20 and 00 instead of 19 and 23, etc., etc. And where`s the link to it and to the Spanish program schedule? Under ``de interés``. Also note no linx to English or other language pages. What an improvement! O, there they are -- upper right of homepage. Now we have to click on the Union Jack to get to English. What`s that got to do with RHC`s primary English audience, in North America? Another anti-American insult. But who could imagine the Stars & Stripes on a DentroCuban website unless it`s being burned? I looked at the frequency schedule, http://www.radiohc.cu/index.php/de-interes/frecuencias.html again late May 3 to see if they had fixed it up? NO: still ``11560``, etc. (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9955, May 2 at 0537 vs WRMI in Spanish, DentroCuban Jamming Command producing a different sound than usual: not the wall of noise, not the pulsing, but a whine with intermittent oscillating tone rather like a phone ringing, but each lasting longer than a normal single ring. What`s being jammed? R. Praga, República Checa, scheduled daily at 0530-0600. Are the Cubans still so pissed at Czechia for overthrowing communism and going capitalist? More likely typical incompetence. 5955, May 2 at 0545, the jamming against R. República had a similar sound to 9955, but totally obliterating it. Meanwhile, at 0545, 6030 had normal lite pulsing against nothing, Cuba unwilling to observe a total weekly truce while R. Martí is off the air for 6 hours Monday mornings (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15360, RHC, May 3 at 1325 promoting ``all Cuban networks`` including RHC available on Hispasat, 11,884 MHz. Except inside Cuba, of course, where if you`re caught with a satellite receiver capable of getting TV from abroad, you`re in big trouble (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. RADIO/TV MARTÍ TRIES "GHOST" WEBSITES TO GET THROUGH TO CUBANS WHO HAVE INTERNET ACCESS. AP, 3 May 2011, Laura Wides-Muñoz: "The Office of Cuba Broadcasting in Miami has added several 'ghost' websites to its portfolio, allowing people in Cuba to view the U.S. government's Martí networks online without being detected by their government. ... The websites went up two weeks ago and received roughly 1,000 hits from Cuba, the U.S. and Ira[n]. It's a tiny number, though the launch was done with little fanfare. U.S. officials said they were unsure as to who is viewing the sites from Iran. The problem remains, though, that most Cubans don't have access to the Internet, and those that do have to negotiate a system that has a limited capacity, making online traffic extremely slow. Cuba Broadcasting Director Carlos García-Pérez said the agency is also texting in four messages a day to the island through online phone servers like Skype that do not identify the text message sender as being from the Martis." (Posted: 04 May 2011, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** EAST TURKISTAN. CHINA, 3950.00, Terrible audio quality like distorted satellite feed in Mandarin Chinese from PBS Xinjiang in Urumqi, noted at 1345 UT Apr 30 (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews 4 May via DXLD) 4980, *2330-0100, CHINA, 22+23+24+25+ 27.04 Xinjiang PBS, Urumqi. Anthem and ID in Uighur: "Sinkiang khalk radyo stan-shi, Sinkiang khalk radyo stan-shi", talks and local music. It is remarkable that they have not yet shifted to summerschedule which normally does not include this frequency! The same with 5060 in Chinese. 55444 slowly deteriorating. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of antenna in 9 metres altitude, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4980, *2300-2335, CHINA, 30.04+01.05, Xinjiang PBS, Urumqi. Uighur Anthem, news, 2305 ann, dialogue, 2330 orchestra music. New summerschedule! 45434 (Anker Petersen, here in Skovlunde, Denmark on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Besuch bei HCJB: Einen Besuch in Quito sollte man mit einem Besuch bei HCJB abrunden. Iris Rauscher hat mich durch die HCJB Studios gefuehrt, ebenso das neue Deutsche Haus - das nahe liegt - gezeigt. Allen Graham war auch dort. Ebenfalls Ralph Kurtenbach. Beide bekannt vom ehemaligen Englischen Dienst, bzw. der DX-Party Line. Angetroffen habe ich auch die neue Praktikantin Christina, welche gestern ihre erste Sendung (Ansage zur Sendung: Aktuelles aus dem alten Buch) gehabt hat. Per Zufall kam auch noch Martha Montenegro vorbei, welche ja pensionsiert wurde. Sie versteht noch relativ viel Deutsch, was die Kommunikation einfacher gemacht hat. Wenn man in die Studios der Deutschen oder Schweizer Sender schaut, hat es unzaehlige Bildschirme. Hier ist ist es anders. Grundsaetzlich ist die Einrichtung alt (mit Drehreglern), wird aber durch PC unterstuetzt. Ich habe nicht das Gefuehl, dass die Qualitaet darunter leidet. QSL-Karten: Die Deutsche Abteilung hat unzaehlige QSL-Karten von abgebauten Abteilungen uebernommen. Es lohnt sich also, die wirklich sehr schoenen Karten zu 'ergattern' oder die bestehenden Karten- Jahrgaenge zu ergaenzen. Ueberschlagsmaessig sollten es mehr als 200 verschiedene Karten sein. Eine Excel Liste kann angefordert worden. Die Bestaende gehen etwa bis 1970 zurueck. 3 Programme von HCJB in Quito: Diese werden ueber 89.3 MHz, 690 kHz und 6050 kHz betrieben. Oefters werden die Programme zusammen- geschaltet. Das kann FM und AM sein, aber auch AM und KW. Ebenso gibt es - taeglich(?) - Sendungen in Englisch (Analog dem Special Englisch der VoA [Spotlight]). Sie dauern 15 Minuten und betreffen vor allem Gesundheitsthemen oder aehnliches. Die Programme werden von HCJB uebernommen und nicht selber produziert. Lustigerweise gibt es noch ein Jingle, welches auf 80 Jahre HCJB hinweist. 1931 - 2011. Dieses ist oefters zu hoeren und enthaelt auch eine kurze Ansage in Deutsch. Sonstiges: Ab 14.00 Uhr ist regelmaessig Gewitterzeit. Das heisst Blitze, Donner und zum Teil starken Regen mit Hagel. Die Konsequenz ist, dass entweder die Sender ausfallen oder mindestens die Zuleitung. Da bleibt nur der Traeger. Noch ein Empfangstipp: Mein Lieblingssender in Quito war Radio Eres Softige Suedamerikanische Musik, zum Teil Easy Listening Titel in Englisch. Nicht vergessen darf man natuerlich 'Musica del Ecuador' von HCJB, welche im Internet auch abgerufen werden kann. Die Sendung hat allerdings seit dem Tode von Jorge Zambrano ein bisschen an Qualitaet verloren. Diese wird aber Montag bis Freitag fuer je eine 1 Std. ausgestrahlt und kann fuer jeweils 10 Tage von der Spanischen Seite abgerufen werden. Soweit meine Eindruecke aus der Radioszene in Quito. Gruss (Sandro Blatter, Switzerland, on tour in Quito, A-DX April 30 via BC-DX 4 May via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. HCJB, 12040, 2228 GMT, German, 333, April 28, Two OMs with comments (Stewart MacKenzie, WDX6AA, Huntington Beach, California, DX LISTENING DIGEST) First of all, HCJB does not broadcast from Ecuador on any frequency except 6050 with the national/regional service, not including German. Second of all, their German broadcast relayed from Chile is now at 23- 24 on 9835. Third of all, nothing but RHC is scheduled on 12040 after 2200 and fourth of all, only in Spanish. So how did he log this, and what did he really hear, if anything? I checked this out May 2 at 2203, and certainly heard RHC Spanish on 12040 // 13670. I don`t even bother trying to convince Stewart that he made a mistake any more, as he will just ignore or argue with me, refer to some unknown entry in his database. Nor will I try to chase down all the other places he has posted erroneous material, but instead wait for them to publish it without vetting. He may not ever see this in DXLD, as I have no evidence he uses it. Altho he does repost my log reports to some other lists I am not on, and others where I have already posted directly (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR [non]. HCJB'S DX PARTYLINE PROGRAM TO BE DISCONTINUED Allen Graham announced during 30th April edition of DX Partyline program that the final edition of the program will be broadcasted on 28/29 May 2011, the day this program celebrates its 50th anniversary. Here's the announcement recorded off HCA 15340 kHz on 30th Apr 2011 at 1526z : http://tinyurl.com/67a5ggu DXPL podcasts are available here : http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dx-partyline-from-hcjb-world/id263468711 http://www.hcjb.org/dx_partyline --- (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, April 30, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks for sharing this, Alokesh. HCJB is such a changed entity with its decision to go global with a network of FM stations and the closure of most of the Ecuadorian operations that us long-time DXers are familiar with. It stands to reason that DXPL should cease to be a part of HCJB's offerings. If not for Allen Graham the program may have wound down several years ago when HCJB abandoned their English service (Mark Coady, ODXA yg via DXLD) Yes, too bad that another long-time show about DX-ing and shortwave radio listening is going by the wayside. 50-years, that`s quite an accomplishment! The ODXA has been a part DXPL for possibly about half that time with the monthly `ODXA Perspectives` report. It was my privilege to host the program from 1991 until the fall of 2009 when the decision was made to discontinue the feature with the winding down of most club-like activities of the ODXA. Rich McVicar was the host when I started and DXPL was a full 30 minutes back then --- there was someone else that took over (name is on the tip of my tongue --- but escapes me at the moment) and then of course Allen Graham. It was always great back in the day when the names of new members were published in DXO/LI and every so often HCJB was listed as the source of the new member`s discovery of the ODXA (Greg Schatzmann, VE3CH, Former host: ODXA Perspectives, ibid.) Greg, was John Beck the name you were looking for? (Mark Coady, ibid.) I may be wrong, but wasn't Ken McHarg also involved with DXPL at one time as well? (Colin Miller, ibid.) I thought that the order (in recent years) was John Beck -> Ken McHarg -> Rich McVicar -> Allen Graham I've met both Rich & Allen through the SWL Fest. Great guys, both of them --- their dedication to both the radio hobby and to their ministry has been an asset to both. (I haven't had the privilege of meeting John & Ken...though I suspect I'd say the same about them too (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.) I was very sad to see the demise of DXPL. Probably one of the last "hold outs" from my teenaged DX'ing heyday of the 1970's. I always found the overall mood of HCJB in those days to be very positive, and although the religious aspects of most of their programming went over my head at the time, shows like "Unshackled" still stick out in my mind. The stations I really miss are, in no real order, HCJB, R. Luxembourg and R. Nederland. While HCJB and RNL are still with us, the overall mood and "hello world" attitude seem to be gone. And while I've just sent my 7030+ to Kiwa for a tune up, and have the new Alinco receiver on order...I find my iPad and Grace Radio app to be my greatest source of World Band listening these days...can't hardly call that DX'ing unless you consider the wireless hop from my router to where ever I might be at the time (Sean, VE3OZ, ibid.) The broadcasters I've spoken with over the years had varying opinions regarding "hobby specialist" programs like DXPL. Some broadcasters felt that encouraging listeners whose primarily motivations were to collect QSLs and check off a particular frequency / transmitter site was counter-productive: the effort would be better spent to produce more germane content about the country / beliefs / values / tourism etc, and the staffing required to check QSLs, design QSL cards, etc. could be redirected elsewhere. Other broadcasters recognized that if they didn't engage "hobby specialists" in dialogue via special programming, they'd get no mail and have few listeners. Back in the day, the radio programs served as a more immediate opportunity for news and feedback then monthly newsletters, club bulletins, or magazines. Now, with the Internet tools available, such news and feedback can be nearly instantaneous --- it then becomes a matter of which water cooler you hang out at. Back to Sean's point, the motivation then goes back to listening for content, for which an iPad or Grace Radio can be more useful. But it ain't DX (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, ibid.) Perhaps you can do a "miles per milliwatt" comparison of how far your wireless router is being "heard" versus the "miles per milliwatt" for HCJB and the other major broadcasters. :-) Still, it's just not the same. 73, (Curt Phillips W4CP, Raleigh, NC USA, ibid.) I wanted to monitor this week`s `DX Partyline`, where Allen Graham announces he is terminating at the end of May the long-running show he inherited. WRMI had it scheduled at 0415 UT Sundays on 9955, webcast, but not any more. See latest April 22 schedule grid via http://www.wrmi.net/pb/wp_d12a1732/wp_d12a1732.html showing its`s replaced by `Radio Líder Brasil` at 04-05 Sundays. Plenty of DXPL times, a baker`s dozen: Sun 0030, 1430, 2330; 0500, 1115, 1545; Tue 0330, 1500; Wed 1430; Thu 0515; Sat 1000, 1500, 2015. For the remaining DXPL times on IPAR, HCJB Australia [never HCJB Ecuador!], and WWCR, see the updated http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html Also for the other English DX programs on WRMI: WORLD OF RADIO, WAVESCAN, VIVA MIAMI (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 7110, New frequency at 0330 on 26/4 in vernacular // 7165, 7175 and jammed from 0400 on 7165, 7175 and 7210 with “white noise”. It seems Ethiopia is using DRM type signals vs some of Eritrean broadcasts (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF 2001, 16m Marconi), May Australian DX News via DXLD) April 29th, 1800-1856*, 4760//7165//7175, the latter very loud and clear, the others fair but weak modulation. No 4770, 5980, 7120 or 9700 heard recently. However, unusual sign-off, this channel / frequencies not heard later than 1800 this year so far. At 1630, 7165 and 7235 were noisejammed, 7175 no signal (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.africalist.de.ms April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non]. Martedì 3 maggio 2011, 1648 - 7110 // 7165 // 7180, Preventive hash jamming vs. Eritrea? Apparently no stations in background! (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova), Italia, playdx yg via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 7210, Radio Fana, *0256-0315, April 30, sign on with IS. Amharic talk at 0301. ID. Local music. // 6110 - both frequencies in the clear with fair signals (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** ETHIOPIA. 9705, Radio Ethiopia, *0258-0320, April 29, sign on with short IS on electronic keyboard followed by opening Amharic announcements and National Anthem at 0259. Three gongs at 0300 and Amharic talk. Some electronic music. Horn of Africa music. Poor to fair with some adjacent channel splatter (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9705, Radio Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, strong with Horn of Africa vocals at 2055 25 April. 2057 news headlines in local language followed by ident as "Ye Ethiopia Radio Naw", national anthem and closedown (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ - AOR7030+ and EWE antennas to the Americas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. Dear Glenn, I have decided to send you European Free Radio log for April 2011. I think that log will be interesting for listeners around the world. Free Radio Log for April 2011 - All times are UT: 2/04 6305 1822 R. Marconi, rock song, ID, c/d at 1831, NL, 35232 6370 1858 Black Bandit Radio, song, OM talk in E, NL, 35333 3/04 6140 0910 MV Baltic Radio, Oldies, ID jingles, D/E via Wertachtal, 100 kW, 45333 6380 1633 R. Marconi playing Polka, c/d at 1634, NL, 35222 5/04 6300 1746 UNID playing DM's song, c/d at 1755 45333 6305 1756 Bluestar Radio, Oldies, NL, 35333 6310 1830 Spaceshuttle R. Int'l, rock song, c/d 1844, FIN, 25222 6/04 6289 1819 Mustang Radio, dance mx, c/d at 1821, NL 35222 16/04 6305 1759 UNID playing song, only trace 15111 22/04 6300 1912 R. Merlin Int'l, song, OM singer, 25222 24/04 9480 0806 MV Baltic Radio, test broad., a lot of IDs, playing instrumental music, E/D, 25222 6140 1329 R. Gloria Int'l, rock song, Wertachtal, 100 kW, 45444 25/04 6390 1754 Black Bandit Radio, polka, c/d at 1757, NL, 35333 29/04 3905 1913 Skyline Radio Int'l, only visible, NL, 15111 30/04 3900 1950 Delta Radio (Gelderland) playing song, ID is given at 1953 by male voice: "Delta Radio", NL, 35222 RX.: Sony ICF-SW35 & ANT.: Degen-31MS, QTH: Lviv, Western part of Ukraine. My kindest regards and many DX, (Ihor Karivets' DX LISTENING DIGEST) NL must mean Dutch language; D = German (gh) ** FALKLAND ISLANDS. It was not until we were about 350 miles from the Falklands that I decided to check the Island station. This was at 1700 hours local (2000 UT) – local sunset 2003 hours. The station came in strong. I continued to check the frequency after visiting the Island and without exception it came in every evening as the ship cruised around Cape Horn to Ushuaia (where I took the picture of radio station LRA10 National Radio and Ushuaia Mal) and up the Chilean coast. The last evening I heard the station, we were 872 miles from Valparaíso. (Unfortunately I had to pack the loop antenna ready for disembarkation). (John Williams, Medium Wave News 57/02 10 May/June 2011 via DXLD) ** FRANCE. WRN English to North America has moved RFI to a one-hour block at 0400 UT daily, presumably live (Mike Cooper, Apr 29, DXLD) ** FRANCE. 9805, RFI, Issoudun. In English to Africa with new schedule. For example at 0400-0459 already daily(!) and 1 h duration (on weekdays 0400-0800 already in English!) – observed 21-26/4 (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF 2001, 16m Marconi), May Australian DX News via DXLD) Subject: averiguacion. Best regards; for days I listen for the 17605 kHz from 1600 to 1633 UT. This issue for me is Radio France International, Radio France now, the departamento Portuguese for Africa say they have no transmission, you will know something? Attached recording of today May 4, 2011 to 1615 UT (Ernesto Paulero, Argentina, May 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ernesto, Yes, that is certainly RFI and they give time as 1615 TMG. This hour 1600-1700 on 17605 was supposed to be in English, but they dropped all English broadcasts except 0400-0800. There was a Portuguese at 17-18 on 17600. Do you still hear that? Maybe they moved it to 16 on 17605. RFI website is not kept up to date (Glenn to Ernesto, via DXLD) ** GABON. THE PAN AFRICAN RADIO, AFRICA NO. 1, HAS LOST ITS SIGNAL http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/gabon-based-pan-african-radio-loses-signal-2011042910317.html Libreville, Gabon - The Pan African Radio, Africa No. 1, has lost its signal and is no longer being received in Gabon and elsewhere in Africa since Wednesday, PANA learnt from the radio's management in Libreville. According to the daily 'L'Union', the satellite operator Eutelsat might have stopped its services to the station over an estimated 200 million CFA francs in arrears of payment. The station has been experiencing serious financial problems since 2001, especially after Radio France Internationale (RFI) and Japanese Radio NHK stop shortwave broadcasting. The arrival of Libyan partners had restored hope among the workers, who are now threatened by the ongoing political crisis in Libya. The crisis, marked by the freezing of Libyan assets and the Western military intervention in the north African country, has impacted negatively on the station, which has a total debt of 1.2 billion CFA francs, according to the Management. A representative of the Libyan partners in Gabon, Abubaker Ali, the salaries of the station's journalists were paid only till the end of March 2011. Ali said that the crisis in Libya prevented Libyan-African Investment Portfolio (LAP) from having access to the required funds. Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting became the majority shareholder in Africa No. 1 with 52 per cent of the capital, the Gabonese government owns 35 per cent and the Gabonese private sector 13 per cent. The station started broadcasting in 1981. Pana 29/04/2011 (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) also: (Afrique Jet via Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, April 29, dxldyg via DXLD) I.e. 9580 kHz, so is that SW transmitter really off the air or merely unable to access usual programming? (Glenn Hauser, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9580 at 1720 playing afropops and 1729 "La Donna è Mobile". No ID atm (Jari Savolainen, Finland, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Still on the air at 1725 on 9580. Barely audible. Regards (JM Aubier, France, April 29, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) AFP report that the station closed at 1000 on Wednesday, Eutelsat closed the station as it had not paid its debt to them since September, full story in Media Network: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/africa-no-1-silenced-by-eutelsat-over-unpaid-debts At 1745 the only station on the channel is playing opera with no announcements, listed is Radio Australia English and BSKSA Arabic (Mike Barraclough, England, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Much better after 1800. Only music (song from the French singer Michel Sardou) (Jean-Michel Aubier, ibid.) Viz.: AFRICA NO 1 SILENCED BY EUTELSAT OVER UNPAID DEBTS Satellite operator Eutelsat has closed down the Africa No 1 radio station, which reaches 20 million people on the continent, after it failed to pay its debts, staff said yesterday. The Gabon-based network, which was founded in 1981, went off the air at 1000 UTC on Wednesday. “Eutelsat has indeed shut down the service because of debts. The two main shareholders have been informed. We’re trying to pay at least part of the debt to be able to resume our activities. We hope to be back on the air, perhaps tomorrow,” Bashir Abubaker, the station’s director general, told AFP. According to a management official, Africa No 1 has not paid its dues to Eutelsat since the month of September. The bill is a little less than 200m CFA francs (305,000 euros/450,000 dollars) including penalties for late payment. “Eutelsat sent us letters asking us to settle the debt and then cut us off unilaterally,” said the official, who asked not to be named. Following severe financial difficulties, in January 2008 Libyan Jamahiriyah Broadcasting (LJB) acquired 52 per cent of the shares in Africa No 1 with the aim of rebuilding the network to broadcast on different frequencies in several languages, including French, English and Arabic, as well as Bambara (widely understood in west Africa) and Swahili (an east African language). The Gabonese state retained 35 per cent of shares and the private sector held the remaining 13 per cent. However, touted investments never took place and the radio’s operations were interrupted by several strikes. Africa No 1 employs about 20 salaried journalists and about 50 freelance correspondents around the world. (Source: AFP)(April 29th, 2011 - 11:04 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) 9580, Africa No. 1 at 2250-2252 GMT, and 2256-2301*, APR 29. in French with music (YL singing). Occasional loss of audio (but not carrier) for a second or two several times while I was listening. At 2301 audio ended abruptly and carrier remained for about 30 seconds and then ceased. SINFO 43433 (Steven Handler, IL, Icom IC-7200, Yaesu FT-897, Sony ICF-7600GR all using horizontal dipole antennas, NASWA Flashsheet via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) I listened to the signal last night - an hour nonstop of Edith Piaf songs from 0505 to after 0600z, with only a single station ID at 0556. Excellent signal, however, here in California (Bruce Jensen, 1543 UT April 30, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Checked 9580 between 0540-0600 UT last night and heard continuous French music playing, featuring several songs from what sounded like Edith Piaf. No announcements at all during this period (Bill Flynn, Pennsylvania, 1413 UT April 30, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So, Bill and others, what transmitter did we hear playing Edith Piaf? I assume it was Gabon - Reception was typical of that station. I heard what sounded like a somewhat muffled announcement at 0556z. (Bruce Jensen, ibid.) I think ANO never left the SW band. Howewer, as I was listening "Africa Numero 1 - Paris" via the web, they said that only pre- recorded programmes can be heard in Africa. It could explain why we hear a lot of music on 9580 (Jean-Michel Aubier, France, May 1, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, ibid.) 9580, Afrique [sic] N 1, 2124 April 30 heard a playback of about 10 seconds played continuously. A problem with their CD or ?? Player!!! S9, 45544 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki Greece, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON [and non]. Press reports that Africa Number One has ``lost its signal`` were circulating April 29-30 and were published without question. See: http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/gabon-based-pan-african-radio-loses-signal-2011042910317.html http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/africa-no-1-silenced-by-eutelsat-over-unpaid-debts http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=11185 The trouble is, it has not! Upon my request, several DX Listening Digest monitors axually tuned to 9580 and were still hearing it, and so did I: 9580, May 1 at 0507, music in French reminding me of ``Lion King``, not to be confused with talk in Arabic from a similar station on 9575, Médi 1 from Morocco. Initially poor signal improved somewhat during following hour. 0510 song with English lyrix. 0511 YL announcement in French, OM promo for a program after 17 hours. 0524 mostly music. 0532 ID for Africa Numéro Un, more music. 0559 suffering some intermittent audio dropouts, which worsened, but between them, first caught mention of FM 94.5. No news on the hour, mixed with open carrier. 0605 long list of FM frequencies in different African cities, Africa No. Un mentioned multiple times. Sounds rather normal to me, altho as recently as April 23 I was hearing news during the previous semihour, and questioned how objective it could be since Libya is part-owner of ANO. The press reports confirm that Libya is majority owner, and failure to pay up has disrupted it satellite connexions, at least (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Last night (UT Sunday), tuned in to 9580 at 0510 and heard not French but African music and a few minutes later a muffled announcement in French. Could not decipher most of what the announcer said but she did mention Afrique [sic] No.1 and then shortly after African music resumed. So it is almost certainly Gabon but whether it means Afrique No. 1 is back to normal was unclear (Bill Flynn, Pennsylvania, May 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) i.e. during same hour as me above (gh) 9580, 1910-2134* 01+02.05, Africa Numéro 1, Moyabi, no ann, non-stop French songs for more than two hours! Back on the air. 54544, QRM Morocco 9575. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, here in Skovlunde, Denmark on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ? What do you mean? When was it off the air? (gh, DXLD) ** GERMANY. 6140, MV Baltic Radio, *0900-1000*, 01-05, Tuning music, identification in German and English, male: "MV Baltic Radio, Kurzwelle...", "This is MV Baltic Radio, we broadcast on short wave, 25 and 31 meter band", "It is first of May". Songs, song "Revolution" by The Beatles. Comments. 35433. (Méndez) 9480, MV Baltic Radio, *1230-1330, 01-05, The same program transmitted at 0900. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. 15640, April 30 at 2130, DW in English with VG signal for panel discussion about Syria, including two Syrians. 2155 outro as ``thanks for watching Quadriga``, and 2157-2200* nothing but fill music, jazzed-up version of ``Tarty``, cut off the air during part of the DW jingle. That`s good since some of the // SW frequencies cut off at :57. O, 15640 at 21-22 is 295 degrees via Kigali, RWANDA. But I wasn`t watching! This was radio, and I was only listening, which was sufficient, altho it would have been nice to see what the panelists looked like, and more easily tell which of them was speaking. I could, via the program page http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,7296,00.html?id=7296 which says it was on DW TV 23 hours earlier. Gimmick, as title implies, is that show always features a quartet of journalists. I admit that Quadriga is a new word for me; did DW coin it? No, the first four google hits on plain ``Quadriga`` say: ``Quadriga - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A quadriga (Latin quadri-, four, and iugum, yoke) is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast (the Roman equivalent of Greek Tethrippon). ... Quadriga is the leading provider of guest communications solutions for hotels with their Sensiq guest communications portal and hotel internet services. Quadriga Landscape Architecture and Planning, Inc. Quadriga is a seventy year old multi-faceted manufacturing, publishing, retail supply, full-service fundraising and direct mail marketing company. ...`` Plus many other applications, not reaching the DW show until #22. BTW, our cable access in Enid, Pegasys channel 12 has started to carry some DW TV shows, only on Tue/Wed/Thu, UT -5: 05:00 pm "ARTS 21" (29 min) 05:30 pm "GLOBAL 3000" (29 min) 06:00 pm "EUROPEAN JOURNAL" (29 min) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Correxion, re the music DW played on 15640 after `Quadriga` in previous report: ``I had parked my dial on that frequency just to enjoy the tunes and "Tarty", I believe, was actually "Dancing in September" originally done by Earth Wind and Fire. In the bridge there's a series of nonsense syllables at the beginning of the lines which do sound like "tarty" or "party" but official lyrics put them down as "ba-de-ya". For the longest time I thought it was "party" myself. Just sayin'. Clara Listensprechen`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. 11645, May 3 at 0543, V. of Greece not in English or Greek during the R. Filia hour, talk with a brief Greek music break, and not // 9420 and 15630 which was also barely propagating. At 0546 she is speaking about UBL, also mentions Kosovo, so I think it is in Albanian, which supposedly is scheduled at 0445-0515 Saturdays, 0455- 0530 Sundays per Aoki, but this was Tuesday. 11645 was off the air a few minutes before 0600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO FILIA PROGRAMS ON 11645 KHZ. (0500-0600 and 0800-1000 UT) DAILY [i.e. Mon-Fri! See below --- gh]: 0500-0600 Program in Albanian DAILY [Except Tuesday): 0800-0805 DW Satellite Link 0805-0830 Program in German 0830-0900 Program in Russian 0900-1000 With Rhythm SATURDAY: 0500-0515 Program in Albanian 0515-0530 Program in English 0530-0545 Program in French 0545-0600 Program in Spanish 0800-0900 Bangladesh or Praxis Humanitarian Organization (Alternating) 0900-1000 Filipino Community Program SUNDAY: 0500-0530 Program in Albanian 0530-0600 BBC Satellite English 0800-0900 Information Without Discrimination 0900-1000 Tranzit (John Babbis, Silver Spring, MD, May 4, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thank you. I suppose also 11645 kHz stops 10 minutes before the switch 16 mb ... 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) ** GUATEMALA. 4055. R. Verdad, Chiquimula, Apr. 2 at 1059-1155 in Spanish & English. SIO 332-343. IS & national anthem at 1059, followed by religious program. ID in Japanese was heard at 1109 (Tetsuya OGAWA, Sapporo, Hokkaido, AOR AR7030P + ALA-1530S+, May JSWC Bulletin via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4055, Radio Verdad, 0600-0603*, April 29, just caught end of transmission with National Anthem at 0600 tune-in. Poor to fair (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA. 7125, 2/5 2050, Radio Conakry, Guinea, African songs, some talks in French, at 2108 also talks in vernacular by woman, fair (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia, Liguria, Italy), RX: SDR-IQ - Ant: Wellbrook LFL 1010 loop, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7125, RTG, good May 3 at 0613 with the lovely chanting they habitually air around this time. God is great, by definition, but likes to be reminded (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3290, Voice of Guyana, 0757-0810, 30-April-2011, in English. Sign on announcement with ID and frequency by male announcer, followed by a hymn, then "Ode to Joy" at 0801, prayer and a reading from the Bible at 0803, Good signal (Ed Wlodarski, N2ED, New Jersey, Ten Tec RX340 & 100 Ft Long Wire, NASWA Flashsheet May 1 via DXLD) Sign-on? They are supposedly on SW 24 hours, but one of the domestic services, R. Roraima signs on 760 at 0800, per WRTH 2011. However the SW service is supposedly relaying the other domestic service V. of Guyana on 560 kHz which is 24 hours; but the news on SW comes from R. Roraima. But 560 and 760 are reportedly inactive. But WRTH shows 09-22 on 5950, 22-09 on 3290, and we know that 5950 has really been inactive for a long time, staying on 3290 until they can get a better 49m channel. A rather confusing situation (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. All India Radio - Photos AIR Siliguri http://www.panoramio.com/photo/27584268 AIR Bengaluru http://www.panoramio.com/photo/620137 AIR Pasighat, AP http://www.panoramio.com/photo/36072440 http://www.panoramio.com/photo/36069916 AIR Calicut http://www.panoramio.com/photo/45638374 AIR Adityapur, Jamshedpur http://www.panoramio.com/photo/42838395 AIR, Mt.Abu, Rajasthan http://www.panoramio.com/photo/5247615 AIR Gangtok http://www.panoramio.com/photo/35420475 http://www.panoramio.com/photo/35420443 AIR Delhi http://www.panoramio.com/photo/42447733 http://www.panoramio.com/photo/39401077 AIR Khampur http://www.panoramio.com/photo/45726469 AIR Itanagar http://www.panoramio.com/photo/45113272 AIR Lunglei http://www.panoramio.com/photo/43886250 http://www.panoramio.com/photo/33960514 AIR Kolkata http://www.flickr.com/photos/humayunnapeerzaada/4222434002/ AIR Bambolim, Goa http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/100411460/ Museum at AIR Broadcasting House http://www.flickr.com/photos/58218164@N00/3068081724/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/58218164@N00/3067243901/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/58218164@N00/3067243999/ ------ (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, http://alokeshgupta.blogspot.com/ May 1, dx_india yg via DXLD) Websites of Regional AIR Stations (updated 2nd May 2011) All India Radio - Agartala (Tripura) http://www.airagartala.org All India Radio - Ahmedabad(Gujarat) http://www.airahmedabad.in All India Radio - Allahabad (UP) http://air.iiita.ac.in/ All India Radio - Aizawl http://airaizawl.in All India Radio - Bhawanipatna(Orissa) http://www.airbpn.org All India Radio - Cuttack http://www.aircuttack.com ex: www.airctc.com All India Radio - Haflong http://www.airhaflong.org All India Radio - Imphal (Manipur) http://cicmanipur.nic.in/html/air_imp.htm All India Radio - Jhansi (UP) http://www.airjhansi.com Domain expired All India Radio - Jaipur (Rajasthan) http://www.airjaipur.com All India Radio - HPT Malad, Mumbai http://www.airhptmalad.org.in/ (ex http://www.airhptmalad.com) All India Radio - Panaji (Goa) http://www.airpanaji.gov.in All India Radio - Rohtak (Haryana) http://www.rohtakakashvani.com (Domain expired) All India Radio - Rampur (UP) http://rampur.nic.in/air.htm All India Radio - Shillong http://www.airshillong.org All India Radio - Thiruvananthapuram http://www.airtvm.com All India Radio - Kolkata (Unofficial) http://www.freewebs.com/airkolkata/ Other websites : Govt. of India, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting http://mib.nic.in/ Broadcasting Corporation of India (Prasar Bharati) http://prasarbharati.gov.in/ All India Radio - News Portal http://newsonair.com/ All India Radio - Main Website http://www.allindiaradio.org All India Radio - Vividh Bharati Service http://www.vbs.org.in (Domain expired 21st July 2010) All India Radio - Vividh Bharati (Temp) http://vividhbharati.weebly.com/index.html All India Radio, Central Sales Unit, Mumbai http://csuair.org.in/ All India Radio, Civil Construction Wing http://www.ccwprasarbharati.nic.in All India Radio - Staff Training Institute (Tech) http://stitairdd.org/ All India Radio - Regional Staff Training Institute(Techl), Bhubaneshwar http://www.rstitbbsr.org/ All India Radio - Childrens Programme http://childrensection.tripod.com/ (Compiled by Alokesh Gupta & Jose Jacob) (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, India, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 7400, All India Radio Gen. Overseas Service. Delhi (Khampur) // 7550, 9415, 9445, 11935. 2011/04/20 wed *1743-1749. Indian classical music, flute and tamboura. ID at 1745 "General Overseas Service of All India Radio" for East Africa, followed by YL singing, then news. Fair - poor. Jo'burg sunset 1548. 7550, All India Radio Gen. Overseas Service. Delhi (Khampur) // 7400, 9415, 9445, 11935. 2011/04/20 wed *1743-1804. Indian classical music, flute and tamboura. ID at 1745 "General Overseas Service of All India Radio" for East Africa, followed by YL singing, then news. Good. Jo'burg sunset 1548. 9415, All India Radio Gen. Overseas Service. Delhi (Khampur) // 7400, 7550, 9445, 11935. 2011/04/20 wed *1743-1804. Indian classical music, flute and tamboura. ID at 1745 "General Overseas Service of All India Radio" for East Africa, followed by YL singing, then news. Very poor, weak with much QRM. Jo'burg sunset 1548. 9445, All India Radio Gen. Overseas Service. Bangaluru // 7400, 7550, 9415, 11935. 2011/04/20 wed *1743-1804. Indian classical music, flute and tamboura. ID at 1745 "General Overseas Service of All India Radio" for East Africa, followed by YL singing, then news. Poor. Jo'burg sunset 1548. 11935, All India Radio Gen. Overseas Service. Mumbai // 7400, 7550, 9415, 9445. 2011/04/20 wed *1743-1804. Indian classical music, flute and tamboura. ID at 1745 "General Overseas Service of All India Radio" for East Africa, followed by YL singing, then news. Very poor. Jo'burg sunset 1548 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9690, as I tuned in April 30 at 1323, telltale hum from AIR, then non- English talk, sounds Burmese rather than Tibetan; 1326 during music found it // 13710, both of which are Bengaluru for the 1330 AIR GOS English sesquihour. We had previously decided this prélude, instead of the AIR IS, was the Tibetan service scheduled on three other frequencies, 7420, 9575 and 11775 until 1330; while Burmese is scheduled only until 1315 on yet another triad, 11620, 11710, 15040 according to the printed A-11 AIR schedule folder via Ron Howard. Next time, need to try to make parallels if I can get any of those. The third frequency for 1330 English, 11620, is less audible here, and from a different site, likely without this defect (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Martedì 3 maggio 2011 - 2125 - 11670 kHz, AIR GOS - Bangalore (India), English, mx locale e ID OM. Segnale molto buono Per A11 databases s/off 2045 (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova), Italia, playdx yg via DXLD) No, to 2230 (gh) All India Radio on 11670 at 2200 UT with nice signal into Ohio (W8BTM, 1358 UT May 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) May 1? What about the collision with Venezuela via CUBA? Was it missing or late coming on? (gh, DXLD) 13710, May 4 at 1329 pleased to hear a bit of the AIR IS, so I quickly tune to 9690, but that frequency has non-English talk, presumed the usual Tibetan mistake, before switching to English AIR GOS opening at 1330. Both these are from Bengaluru, but apparently with different input feed routings (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 3325, RRI Palangkaraya, 1212-1231, May 2. As Atsunori Ishida indicates on his website, there was no Jakarta news relay here today. Was due to their being off the air during this time period, but was heard again by 1246. 3344.97, RRI Ternate did not carry the Jakarta new relay May 2; instead just had a conversation in Bahasa Indonesia. 4749.95, RRI Makassar, 1212-1231, May 2. In Bahasa Indonesia with the Jakarta news relay in progress; 1230 news ended with the usual patriotic song; // 9680 up till 1231; QRM from Bangladesh Betar. 9525.96, VOI. As Atsunori Ishida first noted late last month, this must be all in English now. 1120, May 2; still with audio hiccups (Glenn’s IADs). Why drop all the other languages? (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 7289.88, RRI Nabire, 0751, May 1. In Bahasa Indonesia; Christian religious show (children singing "Hallelujah", etc.); 0800- 0821 relay of the Jakarta news ending with the usual patriotic song; EZL songs; for a change they gave a sign off announcement before 0834* instead of just suddenly going off the air; started out poor and faded up to almost fair (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 9526-, VOI, April 30 at 1315, off-frequency carrier detectable but weak and unreadable beneath distortion or noise jamming which is not usually here. 9680, at 1320, RRI much better but fluttery with Indonesian `opera`. After 1400, the usual het with CRI Russian 9525.0 could still be heard. 9526-, May 1 at 1251 during Japanese hour, VOI has announcement in English with contact info. Sounded like `live` YL rather than one of their canned promos. 1308 check, same YL during real English hour. Poor with flutter; lately VOI modulation has been `thin`, not commensurate with signal strength. 9526-, VOI continues to be very poorly audible, just enough to detect the off-frequency carrier and bits of modulation, May 2 before and after 1300 English, a far cry from the big signal it usually had thru March into early April; a seasonal thing, or change in power/antenna? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9525.97, 2/5 2012, Voice of Indonesia, slow pop songs, ID at 2021, good, in USB to avoid QRM (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia, Liguria, Italy), RX: SDR-IQ - Ant: Wellbrook LFL 1010 loop, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. Exotic Indonesia – VOI and 100.9 Paradise FM Denpasar 9525.96, Voice of Indonesia. May 3 had a major change in their “Exotic Indonesia” Tuesday only broadcast. Not the long running co-production with RRI Banjarmasin, but is now VOI and 100.9 Paradise FM at RRI Denpasar (Bali). Checked the web to find that Paradise FM is a station that broadcasts in English, with tourist and cultural programming for Bali, along with EZL music. Frequent IDs for "100.9 Paradise FM". 0957 pop songs (just after the *0948 reported by Atsunori Ishida); 1003-1017 news and editorial about political parties; 1019 “This Day in History”; 1022 “Voice of Indonesia, let’s make the world green. You are still listening to Exotic Indonesia, our weekly network program jointly broadcast by Voice of Indonesia and 100.9 Paradise FM”; 1024-1025 dead air, lost phone connection. Assume this must have been repeated again from 1300 to 1400. Needs more monitoring on Tuesdays to find out if Paradise FM continues here. I feel somewhat guilty in reporting this, as it has been Glenn who has faithfully been monitoring the “Exotic Indonesia” show (1300-1400) for a long time. Audio of program IDs at http://www.box.net/shared/yfan8kuu13 RRI Denpasar website http://www.rri-dps.com/ 1109 + 1136 + 1210 + 1218, VOI is no longer carrying other languages; ALL in English now; as also confirmed by Atsunori Ishida’s website (May 3 - *0948-1503* in English). The first three hours I observed were all different segments, so the last two hours are probably a repeat of the first two hours. Played a lot of music with severe audio hiccups (Glenn’s IADs) (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks Ron, very cool, the link of RRI Denpasar doesn't work now. http://www.rri-dps.com Found this link for Paradise FM in Bali, however is just the Turistic Radio operated by RRI in the whole Indonesia PRO2 Program. http://paradisefmbali.blogspot.com/ However no chance to get real audio. May be old. Even WEB http://www.paradisefmbali.com doesn't work. Any guess?? 73's (Dario Monferini, www.playdx.com May 3, dxldyg via DXLD) Hi Dario, The RRI Denpasar website just worked okay for me at 1242 UT, so am not sure what the problem was. The site is in Bahasa Indonesia. Note that their "Galleri" has some interesting Bali performing arts pictures. The http://paradisefmbali.blogspot.com/ blog seems to have last been active in 2009. Also note: http://www.bali-tourism-board.com/bali-villas/764-radio-paradise-fm-1009-mhz-bali.html (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, USA, ibid.) The RRI Denpasar Program 2 "Radio Paradise" 100.9 stream comes and goes. It was working a few weeks ago, maybe try it in a few days (or weeks) time! Here is the direct URL: http://61.8.65.194:8000/live.m3u Cheers, (Mark Fahey, Sydney, Australia, May 4, ibid.) ** INDONESIA. 9680.3, RRI Jakarta (Cimanggis), 1006-1016, 4/29/2011, Indonesian. Interesting, rather strange sounding local music. Occasional talk by a man over music. Good signal with some distortion on the audio, possibly adding to the unique musical sound (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, 90' Wire, Wellbrook ALA100M Loops, NASWA yg via DXLD) Really? Had not realised it was 300 Hz off frequency, as never hear more than a SAH with co-channels (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. South Herts Radio update --- Now every Sunday, sometimes just on FM. Two schedules on rotation every other week. Fantastic tuner updated - hear other stations via SHR. Check out the latest updated pages... http://www.southhertsradio.com/live.html http://www.southhertsradio.com/progs.html http://www.southhertsradio.com/freq.html http://www.southhertsradio.com/tuner.html Join Gary Drew on a radio near you! http://www.laserhothits.co.uk - Europe`s hottest free radio station. http://www.southhertsradio.com - SHR - A radio station dedicated to the real 'free radio' enthusiast with some local programming for the South Hertfordshire community (Gary Drew, SHR, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. WRN / BBC - SiriusXM channel changes For anyone listening to WRN, BBC WS or other programming, SiriusXM has announced that as of May 4, they are reorganizing their channels, so that similar programming is grouped together. So, on both Sirius and XM, WRN will be on channel 120 and BBC World Service will be on channel 118. XM full channel listing http://www.siriusxm.com/pdf/11-1524_XM_WebLUs_5_4.pdf Sirius full channel listing http://www.siriusxm.com/pdf/11-1524_SIR_WebLUs_5_4.pdf (Doni Rosenzweig, May 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRN North America new channel on Sirius/XM Dear All, Please note that SiriusXM is changing channel numbers in order to realign the channels on the separate Sirius and XM services. This change will take place at 0400.01 UT tomorrow morning (one second past midnight Eastern Time tonight). WRN North America will change to Channel 120 on both services. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know, Kind regards, (Fleur Nittolo, WRN, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That affects WORLD OF RADIO, Saturday and Sunday at 1730 UT, Sunday at 0830. Is WRN still subject to pre-emption for stupid ballgames? (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, As far as I know this is not the case, but I have checked with Sirius and am waiting for their confirmation. Kind regards, (Fleur Nittolo, WRN, ibid.) ** IRAN. 9605, VOIRI, ‘Voice of Justice’ vgd with Qur`an, 22 April // 11920 strong. Opening announcements in English with program summary 0337. Audible past 0400 but 11920 blocked by Rumania from 0400. Newly sked time for Iran in English to North America since mid-April (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ - AOR7030+ and EWE antennas to the Americas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND. 4709-USB, RAF Shannon Volmet 0100 to 0120 on 30 April [Wilkner, XM Cedar Key] (Robert Wilkner, Icom 746Pro, Drake R8, NRD 535D, Noise Reducing Antenna, 60 Meter Dipole, 41 meter dipole, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, April 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RAF? That would be in the UK (gh, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. 15850, Galei Zahal (presumed); 1714-1731+, 26-Apr; M&W in Hebrew with pop music, chit-chat & taking phone calls; only English pop tune was Beatles' ``Can't Buy Me Love``. Fanfare at BoH with brief announcement by M -- may have been ID, but couldn't copy, then W into news. SIO=252+, fady (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. In order to deal with the electric power shortage caused by nuclear power plant accident, Radio Nikkei 2nd broadcast has stopped its weekday transmission from March 24 through May. At present, they air from 2300 through 0900 UTC only on Saturday and Sunday on 3945, 6115 and 9760 kHz. Radio Nikkei’s first broadcast is aired from 2225 through 1500 UT on weekdays, and from 2155 through 1200 or 1300 on Weekends. The first broadcast frequencies are 3925, 6055 and 9595 kHz. This is all for this month. Toshi Ohtake, Japan Short Wave Club JSWC, P.O.Box 44, Kamakura 248-8691, Japan (May JSWC Bulletin via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** JAPAN. 3925, R. Nikkei, Apr. 4 at 1000-1100 in Japanese. SIO 454. "?????????" [Japanese garbled], folk music program of Okinawa produced by Ryukyu Broadcasting Corporation (Chiaki SHIMADA, Higashimurayama, Tokyo, YAESU FRG7700 + YAESU FRA7700, May JSWC Bulletin via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** JORDAN. 11775, R. Jordan, Al Karanah. Excellent reception of Arabic news about the middle-east at 0625, 11/4. NF (Dennis Allen, Milperra NSW (Icom R75, Realistic DX160, Dipoles), May Australian DX News via DXLD) ?? HFCC shows both this and CRI via ALBANIA in Arabic at 0500-0700 on 11775. If I were list-logging without an ID, it would be CRI, which has been heard previously, whilst Jordan has wooden registrations following curtailment of actual SW usage, as explained previously in DXLD. Jordan has been heard on 11960 at 04-05 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not 11970 as in my original report. See CHINA [non] (gh) ** KASHMIR. Radio Kashmir, Srinagar is noted now sign on at 0030 UT (ex 0025) on 4950. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, May 3, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non]. PAKISTAN, Azad Kashmir R. is operating on 3975 kHz via a new 100 kW transmitter in Islamabad between 0045-0425, 0900-1215 & 1330-1815. The 10 kW transmitter in Rawalpindi on 4790 kHz has been closed (WRTH 2011 National section update May 2 via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. SATELLITE PHOTOS OF A NORTH KOREAN SHORTWAVE TRANSMISSION SITE. North Korea Tech, 29 Apr 2011, Martyn Williams: "If you’ve ever listened to The Voice of Korea on shortwave, you’ve probably heard broadcasts from this transmitter site. Kujang is one of the largest transmitter locations in the DPRK with, according to official records, 5 shortwave transmitters each capable of delivering a 200kW signal. That’s powerful enough to reach most corners of the world, given a clear frequency and good conditions. ... Shortwave remains an important means of radio transmission for the DPRK. It’s used both domestically to relay state-run Korea Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) and for international services of The Voice of Korea." With Google Earth photos. http://www.northkoreatech.org/2011/04/29/kujang-shortwave-transmitter-site/ (kimandrewelliott.com Posted: 30 Apr 2011 via DXLD) Thanks Glenn, Wolfgang spotted this find from the 'North Korea Uncovered' site some time ago & immediately recognised it as the formerly elusive Kujang SW site of VOK. It is the only confirmed SW antenna site in North Korea amongst 8 SW sites from North Korea. We've spotted many MW sites from North Korea, but the rest of the SW BCB sites & their SW antennas are so far either undiscovered or 'unconfirmed'. There's some Panoramio images throughout North Korea now, but nothing around the Kujang SW site. I haven't checked the MW or select possible domestic SW sites as yet. Regards (Ian Baxter, NSW, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) More about VOK sites in DXLD 9-065 (Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Hi folks, Here are some harmonics from North Korea heard/detected since Easter in the 0000-0357 UT period: 23470 (2 x 11735) 29190 (3 x 9730) 35205 (3 x 11735) 38920 (4 x 9730) heard once, 3 May 40950 (3 x 13650) heard once, 3 May: 27.300 (2 x 13.650) is lost under CB QRM. Regards, (Tony Mann, Perth, Australia, May 3, harmonics yg via DXLD) See also SINGAPORE ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 7220, Korea / Philippines --- Korean Central Broadcasting Station off at 0950. Radio Liberty, Philippines in for ten minutes until Pyongyang Broadcasting Station 1000 s/on [XM-Cedar Key] (Robert Wilkner, Icom 746Pro, Drake R8, NRD 535D, Noise Reducing Antenna, 60 Meter Dipole, 41 meter dipole, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, April 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. KOREA D.P.R./KOREA Rep. Of --- 3985, Echo of Hope-VOH Hwaseong-KOR in Korean and accompanied buzz noise jamming, noted on remote SDR in Japan at 0950 UT Apr 30. S=9+5dB. 4450.000 / 4451.050v Tentative, Korean National Democratic Front from Pyongyang - or opposite Voice of the People Kyonggi-do - with brass music and men`s chorus, accompanied by 1050 Hertz interference tone. Time pips at 1000 UT, female announcer April 30. 3480.975, very odd frequency of Korean National Democratic Front from Wonsan at 1343 UT Apr 30, S=9+5dB in Japan. 3959.014, KCBS Pyongyang with light music singer in Korean noted around 1018 UT April 30. S=9+5dB on remote SDR rx in Japan. 3959.002 at 1350 UT Apr 30. 11679.800, KCBS Pyongyang in Korean, light music and army? Men`s chorus noted 1120 UT April 30. S=9+10dB in Japan. On May 1st at 1735 UT noted in CA-USA on 11679.731 kHz. 3970.540 ... .549, KBS Wonsan with symphonic violin music at 1905 UT, May 1 heard on remote unit in Japan, S=4-5 poor. Odd frequency wandered upwards a lot (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Apr 30/May 1) 9665.500, KCBS Pyongyang in Korean, symphonic female singer, 1705 UT May 1, S=8 on remote Perseus-USA. 11709.985, KCBS Pyongyang in Korean at 1740 UT S=9+15dBm, hit by AIR Delhi in Arabic, May 1. 9705, KBS Radio World Seoul at 1710 UT May 1, noted terrible jamming on remote-SDR in CA-USA. S=6-7 level (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Apr 30/May 1) 3968.530 (nominal 3970), Pyongyang BS Wonsan played light music, in \\ at 1815 UT May 2nd on much stronger 3250 and 6250.520-odd from Pyongyang-KRE. Same program noted also in distorted audio on 3979.500 kHz (Wolfgang Büschel, May 2, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews May 4 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 6135 (ex-6020), Shiokaze/Sea Breeze via Yamata, 1402, April 28. They have already switched frequency after being on ex-6020 for only about 32 days. The good news is that it helps clear up 6020 for RA for their last half hour (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST 11- 17 via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST 11-18) 6135, Shiokaze/Sea Breeze reported by Ron Howard on this alternate frequency since April 28, out from under R. Australia on 6020, so I try to hear it May 2: with BFO at 1328 I am hearing a weak TADIL-A 5+1 bonker on the lo side, and at 1329 a carrier comes on 6135 from JSR, but that`s all I can get this far into the dayside, so can`t expect to listen to it again until autumn, as they never switch to a higher band (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. 21540, 1149 26 March, R. Kuwait in Arabic on nasal polyps and cortisone treatment, SIO 455 (David Gascoyne, Kent, May BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Wow, your Arabic must really be good (gh) 15540, R. Kuwait again on the air late after closing English at 2100, in Arabic at 2108 April 28, better than // 17550 [not 17750 as typoed in original report] which is supposed to be on until 2400 but much more subject to fading and fadeouts (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. 15540, R. Kuwait again on the air late after closing English at 2100, in Arabic at 2108 April 28, better than // 17550 [not 17750 as typoed in original report] which is supposed to be on until 2400 but much more subject to fading and fadeouts. 15540, May 3 at 1930-1942, R. Kuwait in English with `Today in History` (or whatever title they use), year-by-year chronology of world events on May 3. Since it lasted 12 minutes, more comprehensive than your typical TIH segment on other stations such as Indonesia. If one heard 366 of these, might have a fairly good history text. I wonder if RK compiles this itself, or pulls it off some website. At 1942, notice from the government about procedures for residing in the country, leaving and getting back in, or not. Sufficient reception but not solid (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KYRGYSTAN. 4050.1, Radio Rossii relay from Bishkek presumed the Russian-language program here, 1850 24 April with solid carrier but poor audio. Closes at 1900 after time signals (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ - AOR7030+ and EWE antennas to the Americas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA. 17725, VOAf from the GJ, April 29 at 1417, fair signal and modulation with YL talking about the beginning of the revolution in 1973, but nothing about the current counter-revolution! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA [non?]. 10405 24.4 0131 Kommando Solo (gissar jag) med Arabiska följt av Engelska (antar att det är översättningar av vad som sades på Arabiska). USB. Bra hörbarhet. (AN) 10405-USB, 24.4 0131, Commando Solo (I guess) in Arabic followed by English (I reckon it is translation of the Arabic speech). Good audio (Arne Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 1, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA FREE. Interesting article in yesterday's Guardian here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/29/radio-free-libya-gaddafi-misrata (via Mike Terry, UK, April 30, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) Geez, spare us the `Good Morning, Vietnam` tie - in; for starters, this is not run by Americans. Viz.: RADIO FREE LIBYA SHAKES UP GADDAFI REGIME FROM MISRATA Rebel radio station offering mix of information, uncensored debate and revolutionary songs is a thorn in loyalists' side Xan Rice in Misrata guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 April 2011 15.06 BST Good Morning Libya being broadcast on Radio Free Libya from Misrata. Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP It's not Saigon, it's 40 years on, and there's desert rather than jungle all around. But there is a war and there is a radio station and a breakfast show with a familiar name. Instead of Good Morning Vietnam, it's Good Morning Libya, broadcast from rebel-controlled Misrata every day. It's the flagship programme of Radio Free Libya, a station seized in February from Muammar Gaddafi, who has permitted no dissenting voice on the airwaves since taking power in 1969. The station, staffed by volunteers, symbolises the defiance of the people of Misrata – and is an object of fury for Gaddafi. His forces shot up the studio, forcing the presenters to move. They also made three unsuccessful attacks, including one by helicopter, on the broadcast tower. "It's driving Gaddafi crazy that we are still on air," says Ahmed Hadia, the station's general manager. "We want to make him even crazier." Unlike Vietnam, there are no Beach Boys or James Brown on the morning programme. "When we took over my first challenge was to find a song in the library that did not mention Gaddafi," says Hadia, 37. "That was not easy." The hour-long show kicks off not with a Robin Williams-style holler but a singsong jingle offering a "good morning to the mothers and the fathers and the sisters and the brothers, from the desert to the sea, from the mountains to the mountains". There's a weather report (17C in Misrata), a summary of what the world's newspapers are saying about Libya, and a few traditional Arabic songs. Then follows a discussion on nationalism, hosted by two university students who read out listeners' emails or Facebook messages and offer wise words from Socrates. Still, considering how Radio Misrata – as it was called – operated before February, it marks a radical change. Then, everything revolved around Gaddafi, from the content to the green studio curtains and windowsills. On the first day, 21 February, Hadia broadcast for 10 hours non-stop, starting with the message: "This is Free Misrata and we now own the radio." Almost immediately came knocks on the studio doors from city elders and ordinary civilians, desperate to speak openly after 42 years of holding their tongues, Haida says. Around the same time, the city's newspaper al-Jamahir, The People, published its first – and only – uncensored edition, featuring pictures of the revolution and of the civilian dead, as well as a crude cartoon of Gaddafi. "Before, that would have put us in jail," says Mohamud Mloda, the paper's editor. Then the Egyptian print workers fled the country, and the presses were unreachable due to heavy fighting in the city centre. Soon the mobile networks were cut, leaving the radio station as the only reliable source of information in Misrata. To warn civilians and help rebel fighters, Hadia and his team broadcast alerts of where Gaddafi's forces have been attacking. They also direct messages at government soldiers, saying that they have been lied to, and that there are no al-Qaida terrorists in the city. In a move designed to antagonise Gaddafi as well as inspire Libyans across the country, one of the engineers has added an AM channel alongside the FM signal, so that on clear days the station can be heard as far away as Lebanon and southern Europe. It is dangerous work. Snipers have the studio entrance in their sights, so the Radio Free Libya volunteers have cut a small hole in a side wall to allow them to enter secretly. "Gaddafi called those who oppose him rats, and for 10 days we were rats," says Hadia. With interview guests afraid to visit the studio, the presenters set up in a shipping container. Shells started landing nearby – live programmes frequently feature gunfire in the background – forcing another relocation, to an empty girl's school. The station operates 24 hours a day. As well as the morning show, there are also live religious programmes and a segment aimed at young people. Reporters send in clips from rebel checkpoints, the frontline and the hospital. Special requests are aired, such as a plea from the rebels for people not to return to the heart of the city, now free of Gaddafi forces, until unexploded ordinance has been cleared. There is also advice. On a night of heavy shelling over the weekend, one of the presenters quickly consulted the internet before offering tips on the best places in a house to seek shelter. There have been tensions about content, with the younger people – the generation leading the revolution and the fighting – objecting to attempts by older, more religious, men to make the station programming more conservative. The youth appear to have won the debate, with the station broadcasting some hip-hop style songs about the revolution. The producer, Ali Almani, who worked for the old radio station for 10 years, is revelling in the freedom of no longer having to get permission for every song he plays. "We would have to break our programming every time Gaddafi made a speech," he says. "No more. This is a taste of freedom." The downside is the danger, with Almani arriving at work every day carrying a gun. Just how free is Radio Free Libya? In the early days, one or two people called in support of Gaddafi, and were allowed their say. Much innocent blood has been spilled since then. "To be honest, nobody has really criticised the revolution, but if they did I am not sure if we would allow them on air now," says Hadia. "After Gaddafi goes, that's when we can be really democratic." (via DXLD) WTFK? Who cares (gh) ** LIBYA [and free]. MW situation: 675, 1125 and 1449 kHz are controlled by the Libyan opposition and identify as Radio or Voice of Free Libya, all with different programming. 1449 kHz is in Misrata, not Al-Assah. 711 kHz is in Al-Assah and transmits irregularly Vo Africa and other programming in parallel with 1251 kHz, which is running on low power. 972 and 1053 kHz are on the air, both carrying own programming. All other MW transmitters are off the air. [i.e. still Q`Daffy outlets] Benghazi 675 kHz station has also web site at: voicefreelibya.blogspot.com (WRTH 2011 National section update May 2 via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) A live internet stream of Voice of Free Libya in Misrata is at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/misurata I hear it being in parallel with 1449 kHz. Audio quality of the stream is excellent - either direct from the studio or taken from FM reception. The internet stream of the separate Voice of Free Libya in Benghazi is still going at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/benghaziradio but is clearly an off-air relay from 675 (Chris Greenway, UK, 1745 UT May 4, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1842 UT: Misrata stream in Qur`an. A bit less than excellent, with a ringing sound in background. Rather uninformative, continued with some long deadair pauses until finally normal Arabic talk at 1902. 1930 ID and back to Qur`an, but now a lower-fi recording. By 1939, the reciter is breaking up, sobbing and crying, so maybe not strict Qur`aning; with crowd responses interspersed (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) ** LITHUANIA. 9770: Correct time will be 1300-1400 UT May 14 instead? I asked chairman Dr. Harald Gabler already, no answer yet. c.f. BC-DX #1012: RMRC Rhein-Main-Radioclub in German again on SW. RMRC-Sendung via Litauen am 14. Mai 2011. Der RMRC sendet wieder am 14. Mai 2011 ueber Sitkunai (Litauen). Sendeplan Richtung Europa Zeit: 1400-1500 UT. Frequenz: 9770 kHz. Sprache: Deutsch BUT according to A-11 of SIKUNAI relay 1430-1528 on 9555 SIT 100 kW / 079 deg to EaEu VOIROI/IRIB in Russian Maybe RMRC correct time is 1300-1400 or 1330-1430 or 1530-1630 UTC ??? (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX 4 May via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010.02, 2310-2335 Friday 29.04, R Nasionaly Malagasy, Ambohidrano, Malagasy ann, Afropop, another late broadcast, 35233 (Anker Petersen, here in Skovlunde, Denmark on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. Re 11-17: RNW MOVES HÖRBY SW TRANSMITTERS TO MADAGASCAR RNW management has confirmed the purchase of the three 500 kW shortwave transmitters from the recently-closed shortwave site at Hörby in Sweden. The transmitters are currently being dismantled for shipment to RNW’s station in Madagascar. Recently, RNW management announced that it intended to speed up the process of replacing shortwave with other distribution platforms, including the closure of its relay stations in Bonaire and Madagascar. The Bonaire facility is scheduled for closure at the end of October 2012, but no closure date has yet been decided for Madagascar. However, late last year RNW decided it was time to replace the nearly 40-year-old Philips transmitters at Madagascar. Rather than invest in new transmitters, the opportunity was taken to purchase the three ABB transmitters from the Swedish station at Hörby which was closed at the end of last year. These were installed in 1993. There are two reasons for buying these transmitters: Firstly, in order to guarantee the reliability of existing services from Madagascar it is necessary to replace the current 40-year-old transmitters as soon as possible, and secondly the “new” ABB transmitters are much more energy efficient, so that the relatively small investment will be recouped in a short time. (Source: RNW Programme Distribution)(April 29th, 2011 - 16:10 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) Tnx to our sources, we scooped RNW itself about this, as in 11-17 (gh) I seem to recall that the third current 250 kW unit at Madagascar is an ABB, so perhaps similar to the Hörby transmitters? Not listed on tdp.info (and neither is the 50 kW unit.) I had thought that at least the two new Thomsom units from Bonaire would have gone to Madagascar. Wonder where those transmitters will wind up? They will only be five years old when Bonaire is closed in October, 2012 (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, April 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. QSL: Asyik FM relay, 6050 kHz, personal e-mail verie in 25 days, v/s Mariama Uda Nagu (Head of Asyik FM). QTH: mariama62 @ gmail.com (Vashek Korinek, South Africa, via Dario Monferini, May 1, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. 6100 has changed their relay programming. Not Wai FM today, but instead was Sarawak FM; 1153, April 28 with reciting from the Qur’an; // 5030 and 9835 (which was off the air yesterday). So of course NOT // 11665 nor 7270.49v; both Wai FM (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DXLD 11-17 via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST 11-18) 6100, Kajang, 1100 4/25 good with Wai FM IDs, talk in unknown language. Also at 1300 good over CRI with time tone, Malaysia mention, and news in vernacular (Bruce Portzer, Seattle, WA, Winradio Excalbur, K9AY Antenna, from unattended ToH/BoH recordings, and it took me a while to go through the files, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6100, Wai FM, 1300-1312 Apr 26. Two pips, then news // 7270 and 11665, not sure of language. 6100 fair/good, topping co-channel CRI; 11665 clobbered by co-channel (11664.9 actually) Chinese station; 7270 weak with co-channel QRM. Tnx to Ron Howard for tip on new frequency. 6100, Wai FM, 1300+ Apr 27. 6100 weaker today, about equal to co- channel CRI; 7270 barely readable but did note two pips at 1300; 11665 covered by strong Chinese station with multi-path echo. 7270 jumped suddenly to 7270.51 at 1329 but still nearly unreadable. 7270 is now much weaker than previously; 6100 is equal to or better than the other 49 mb Malaysians on 5965v and 6050v (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) 6100.02, RTM Kajang on new frequency 26 April at 1919, strong with non-stop Asia-pops till 1927 when Malay idents for "Sarawak FM" and later "Radio Malaysia Sarawak" heard. // 9835 very good (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ - AOR7030+ and EWE antennas to the Americas, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6100, 2/5 2220, Wai FM, songs, commercials, talks, lot of IDs, good. No signal on 11665, bad propagation (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia, Liguria, Italy), RX: SDR-IQ - Ant: Wellbrook LFL 1010 loop, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 7270.4, RTV Malaysia (Wai FM) (Kuching) (presumed), 1151- 1200, 4/29/2011, Iban. Pop music with announcements in vernacular (Iban, per schedule). Talk by woman at 1200. Poor signal with some fading, and occasional heavy ARO interference (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, 90' Wire, Wellbrook ALA100M Loops, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. 7295, Traxx FM, Kajang (RTM site), 1657-1722, 30 Apr, English, music, news bulletin at 1700, then into more songs; 35433. (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7295, Traxx FM via RTM, 1041-1052, May 1. In English with the weekly Sunday “Jazz Kitchen” show; played jazz vocals; IDs; fair (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7295, 2/5 2115, Traxx FM, nice songs, fair (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia, Liguria, Italy), RX: SDR-IQ - Ant: Wellbrook LFL 1010 loop, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Martedì 3 maggio 2011, 1645 - 7295 kHz, RTM TRAXX FM - Kajang (Malaysia), English, jingles e mx pop-dance. Segnale sufficiente-buono (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova), Italia, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. Re 11-17: 9835, Sarawak FM Apr 21 ("Sembilan" [waktu?]); means "nine"[time]. (Tony Ashar, West Java, Indonesia, May 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9835, Sarawak FM, Kajang (RTM site), 1702-1719, 30 Apr, Malay, newscast, local pops; 34432, adjacent QRM. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Martedì 3 maggio 2011 - 2133 - 9835 kHz, RTM SARAWAK FM - Kajang (Malaysia), Musica locale e annunci YL. Segnale sufficiente-buono, Per A11 schedules s/on 2200 (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova), Italia, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MALI. 5995.00, 2345-2355 29.04, R Mali, Kati, Bamako. French ann, Afropop, low modulation 45342 (Anker Petersen, here in Skovlunde, Denmark on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 5995, R. Mali, Kati, 2148-..., 30 Apr, local pops; extremely weak audio, like Brazil's R. Aparecida on 9629.9; 44433, adjacent QRM. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9635, ORTM, *0800-0835, May 4, sign on with flute IS and opening French ID announcements. Vernacular talk at 0801. Local tribal music at 0827. Poor in noisy conditions. Weak modulation (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** MEXICO. Sporadic E analog TV DX opening in progress at tune-in May 4 at 1424 UT, Spanish mix of networks on channels 2, 3, 4, 5, peaking SSW; including cartoons on 3 from net-5, Lotería Nacional PSA from another. 1428 Net-5 cartoons as `El Chavo`; opening almost gone by 1500, but at 1504 a bit of ch 2, bug in upper-right looks like Azteca 13. There was NO indication of any activity from Mexico (and very little in the USA) on the 6m QSO map during this period (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nothing seen here this morning. There is, however, a tone on analog channel 4 with no video and no fading (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, 1501 UT May 4, ibid.) ** MYANMAR. 7200, R. Myanmar. Left 5986 presumed on around April 1st and heard regular after 2330–2355 on their old frequency On 2/4 and 24/4 with pop songs and talks in Burmese (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF 2001, 16m Marconi), May Australian DX News via DXLD) 7200.06, Myanmar Radio (Yangon) (presumed), 1140-1145, 4/29/2011, Burmese Dialect. Music heard from a very weak, slightly off (up) frequency signal fading in and out at noise level. Talk by a man at 1145 in an oriental dialect. Interference from a similarly weak het just below on 7200. This is a very tentative log, but possibly Myanmar Radio on a morning with much enhanced E and SE Asia reception (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, 90' Wire, Wellbrook ALA100M Loops, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Radio Nederland Wereldomroep websites are down right now due to a DDoS attack which has brought their servers "to their knees". (Facebook via Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, May 4) Checked and down: http://www.rnw.nl/english http://www.informarn.rwn.nl/ (Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1058 UT May 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The servers are suffering a DDoS hacker attack apparently from Russia. The attack is caused by a bombardment of 300.000 visits per minute. The following chart illustrates more: http://www.dumpyourphoto.com/files2/58083/7KQ.jpg (via cartas@RN, RNW e-mail message) (Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1200 UT May 4, ibid.) CYBER ATTACK BRINGS DOWN RADIO NETHERLANDS WEBSITES | Text of report by Radio Netherlands website on 4 May Since around 2000 UTC [gmt] on Tuesday 3 May, all sites of Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) were unreachable due to a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack. RNW director-general Jan Hoek said: "A cyber attack demonstrates the vulnerability of new media. Fortunately, as an international organization for which free speech is very important, we still reach the bulk of our worldwide audience with independent information through our 3,000 media partners worldwide." The cyber attack was launched on the domain rnw.nl which covers all 10 language sites of RNW. Traffic was automatically redirected to the mobile site of RNW. But on Wednesday morning it too was inaccessible due to the intensity of the attack. The cyber attack is still ongoing, but due to some technical measures taken today, our websites and this weblog [Media Network] are back in operation. In a DDoS attack a website is bombarded with large amounts of data, causing it to crash. It is still unknown who launched this attack. Source: Radio Netherlands website, Hilversum, in English 4 May 11 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. RWANDA: 9500, Radio Netherlands; 2206-2213+, 26- Apr; `Earth Beat` English feature on water. SIO=4+54-. In 4-15 A11 EiBi but not in 4-16 A11 Aoki update (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is in HFCC, and supposed to be in Dutch, not English; their mistake? There is never any English after 2100. But there is now: 9500, May 2 at 2159 weak signals, language uncertain, perhaps R. Australia direct scheduled to end English via Shepparton at 2200. After 2200 clearly one weak station, and it`s R. Netherlands ID opening English, still English past 2202, but too poor to copy. Trouble is, this transmission via RWANDA is supposed to be in Dutch, per HFCC and RNW`s own schedule, 2159-2227, 250 kW, 280 degrees to WAf. (Not listed at all in Aoki.) 9500 certainly not // VG 15540, RNW really in Dutch via Bonaire. Shhh, don`t tell anyone, as we need to keep all the English we can get from RNW before it self-destructs. They haven`t had any intentional English on SW after 2200 for years, but there must be some on the wrong satellite channel. Tnx to Harold Frodge in MI, who had reported same in English on 26 April (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGESTS) ** NEW ZEALAND. 9615, just as I tune in May 2 at 1257, I hear Guam mentioned in a down-under accent before the carrier cuts off. I seriously suspect it was RNZI, which per its own schedule at http://www.rnzi.com/pages/listen.php is supposed to be on 9655 until 1258: 1059-1258 9655 AM Timor, NW Pacific Daily but poorly heard here as it is on the NW antenna toward Timor. As soon as the carrier went off at 1258, I could hear a weak YFR theme, i.e. due south from Irkutsk, RUSSIA. By the time I got to 6170 at 1302 during news, RNZI was on there as normal, but weakening into the dayside. At 1330 I could tell that `Mailbox` was starting with theme and right into utility DX report, but too poor; will have to demand it online. If they had stayed on 9615 this time, would have been readable. 9615 is on the current RNZI schedule only at 1836-1950, so apparently their computer control messed up again. 9655, May 3 at 1247 I deliberately look for RNZI on scheduled frequency since the day before it was on 9615 by mistake. Yes, there is a station in English, poor vs KBS/Sackville on 9650, and nothing on 9615. Re Wrong 9615, again and again: Hi Glenn, Yes I have located the problem. Human error this time. Regret to report there was an incorrect command in the schedule. We do appreciate being told as it has avoided a re-occurrence as the PC runs on a 7 day rotate. Regards (Adrian Sainsbury, RNZI, May 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RNZI A11 UPDATE Radio New Zealand International A11 04 May 2011 - 29 Oct 2011 UTC kHz Target Days 0459-0650 11725 AM 11675 DRM Pacific Daily 0651-0658 11725 AM 13730 DRM Pacific Daily 0659-0758 6170 AM 15720 DRM Tonga Daily 0759-1058 6170 AM 7440 DRM Pacific Daily 1059-1158 9655 AM 7440 DRM Timor, NW Pacific Daily 1158-1258 9655 AM Timor, NW Pacific Daily 1300-1550 6170 AM Pacific Daily 1551-1835 7440 AM 6170 DRM Cook Islands, Samoa, Fiji Daily 1836-1850 9615 AM 9890 DRM Cook Islands, Samoa, Fiji Daily 1851-1950 9615 AM 15720 DRM Cook Islands, Samoa, Fiji Daily 1951-2050 11725 AM 15720 DRM Pacific Daily 2051-2150 11725 AM 11675 DRM Pacific Daily 2151-0458 15720 AM 17675 DRM Pacific Daily (via Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) ** NIGER. 9705, La Voix du Sahel, Niamey. Frequency is about 20 Hz high as reported by Sharp/Pankov in Apr. 2011. Regular in mid- afternoon to early evening local (~0500~0830Z), mostly French. Signal variable-zero to good but not bad given that Oz is "behind the beam" on long path (Azimuth listed as 36 degrees). Note: There is sometimes (times need more work) a fairly strong, separate carrier on 9704 (stands out on spectrum display and not a spur) which might explain reports of LV Sahel there, especially when tuned by ECSS and maybe some implementations of S-AM. Seems to be some modulation but unable to extract anything intelligible, so far (Ian Johnson, Acacia Ridge, QLD (WR-G31DDC Excalibur, T2FD ant), May Australian DX News via DXLD) ‘Excalibur’ looks like an interesting bit of gear, Ian. There have been enormous advances since the first WR. Now, if they would only make a valve version! (Craig Seager, ed., ibid.) ** NIGERIA [non]. 21810, 1400 5 April, R. Hamada International via Wertachtal, to Nigeria, phone calls in Hausa, SIO 244 (Dave Kenny, England, May BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ?? AFAIK it was always on 21480; an additional or test frequency that day? (gh, DXLD) Via Wertachtal, Germany, 9610, Hamada Radio International, *0530- 0559*, April 29, sign on with local music and opening ID announcements. Hausa talk. Good. Weak // 11970 - via Nauen, Germany. 9610 running about 1 second ahead of 11970 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sunday 1 May, 9610. Hamada. 0557 OM with continuous talks or mentions of Nigeria, Mohammad; 0558 lengthy ID by YL …. R Afrika waka sinaka” … S8 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 1380 now on with Spanish programming: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=52&articleid=20110429_52_0_RadioL784858 This should be "Tulsa's fifth Spanish-language station" -- 1270 KRVT, 1340 KJMU, 1380 KMUS, 1530 KXTD, and 1570 KZLI (Bruce Winkelman, Tulsa, OK, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: TULSA’S FOURTH SPANISH-LANGUAGE STATION GOES LIVE By KYLE ARNOLD World Staff Writer Published: 4/29/2011 12:39 PM Last Modified: 4/29/2011 12:39 PM Radio Las Américas launched Tulsa’s fourth Spanish-language station Friday morning with a “Muy Buenas [sic] Dias” from general manager Carlos Raúl Paredes. “This is historical for the Hispanic community,” Parades said in Spanish as he leaned into the microphone during the station’s opening segment. The station took over the AM 1380 broadcast channel after the Disney Radio Group gave up the station last year and sold the rights to local entrepreneur Antonio Pérez. Radio Las Americas officially went live at 9:42 a.m. The station will air a local news broadcast in Spanish daily at 7 and 10 p.m., the only programs of the kind in Tulsa. During other hours, Radio Las Americas will air a variety of Spanish- language pop music. Perez said he hopes the station will build on his broadcast television station, TeleTul digital channel 51. Pérez is also the owner of the Las Américas chain of Hispanic grocery stores as well as Gateway Market in North Tulsa (via Bruce Winkelman, DXLD) gh had to add the accents. Those illiterate in Spanish too often make the mistake of assuming Dias has to be feminine since it has an a in it, thus modified by `buenas` instead of correct buenos (gh, DXLD) Longer versions adds, plus foto of Pérez: RADIO LAS AMERICAS NEW STATION IN TULSA http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=46&articleid=20110430_46_E1_RadioL372898 . . .Pérez is also the owner of the Las Américas chain of Hispanic grocery stores as well as Gateway Market at Pine Street and Peoria Avenue. Pérez said he hopes the new station will provide more options for companies hoping to reach Hispanics, who now number one in 11 people in Tulsa County, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. The new station is based at the TeleTul television station building at Second Street and Peoria Avenue. Paredes will serve as head of both the TV and radio stations. The radio station's news broadcast will be the same program as the TeleTul nightly newscasts, just in an audio-only version. However, Radio Las Américas will do some live reporting, which the television program cannot do, said Maricarmen Mitchell, a reporter with the stations. The number of Spanish-language radio stations has quadrupled since the beginning of the year after Gaytan Broadcasting, owner of Que Buena AM 1530, bought two AM stations and converted those to Spanish-language formats. Radio Las Américas AM 1380 • Sperry Former format: Radio Disney New format: Spanish-language music and news Radio Las Américas personalities Carlos Raúl Paredes Paredes works as anchor, general manager and on-air personality for TeleTul's radio and TV stations. He started in the radio industry in Perú in 1981 and transferred to television in 1986. He moved to the United States in 2004 to serve as news anchor for a group of Univisión stations. He'll have a busy schedule at the new station. He hosts radio programming during the morning and early afternoon hours, and his voice will again go on the air with news broadcasts at 7 and 10 p.m. Ingrid Carola Munos de Cote [correct accentuation unknown] She honed her radio voice in Guadalajara, Mexico, before moving to Tulsa three years ago. In 2008 she started hosting a daily television show "SuperÚtil" (super useful in English) on TeleTul before moving to the news department and doing interview shows. Carola will host radio shows from 3 to 7 p.m. Maricarmen Mitchell Mitchell is a veteran of Tulsa news and will be featured on air during Radio Las Américas news broadcasts nightly as well as during live news clips throughout the day. She grew up in Lima, Perú, and started working in media with La Semana, a Spanish-language newspaper serving Tulsa. Mitchell moved to TeleTul when the station launched in 2008 and has since been the broadcaster's lead reporter. Original Print Headline: Radio Las Américas goes on air Friday (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Re: KMUS AM 1380 Sperry/Tulsa This source reports that 1380 went live with Spanish earlier today - and they claim that there are four, not five, such stations in the Tulsa market: http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=52&articleid=20110429_52_0_RadioL784858 (DToTheJ, April 29, radio-info.com via Artie Bigley, DXLD) I don't know where they came up with their number or which one they missed... but actually there are SIX: KRVT-AM 1270, Claremore KTOW-AM 1340, Sand Springs KMUS-AM 1380, Sperry KXTD-AM 1530, Wagoner KZLI-AM 1570, Catoosa KIZS-FM 101.5, Collinsville All of these signals (with varying degrees of success) get into the Tulsa metro. The Sand Springs signal might be the weakest, followed by Wagoner --- although both stations have been programmed to Tulsa in the past and can be picked up on the side of town closest to them. Daytime is also better than nighttime, of course, for the AMs. Smiley (NightAire, ibid.) Maybe it's just me, but I don't see how it's necessary for Tulsa to have more than 1 FM and 1 AM programmed Spanish (ionosphere, ibid.) Spanish is a language and not a format. With that being said, it's a nitch of formats based on the language limitations of who would be interested in listening. There seems to be too many AM Spanish- language fomats in Tulsa, yes indeed! I'm afraid several have jumped on that bandwagon in hopes of being able to make their little AMs viable again. Too much of anyting is a bad thing though. My guess is the FM makes most all the money and the little AMs are just barely treading water, if that (OKCRadioGuy, radio-info.com via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Antenna TV, the début of which on KFOR-TV 27 had been delayed and delayed since network startup in January, first noted April 24 on 4.3 subchannel. It`s mostly reruns of old sitcoms, judged not to be a significant threat to the ratings of the main channel. 4.2 continues with weather. Antenna TV has already been running in several other markets, via spare DTV capacity only as the name implies, but hardly nationwide. After deleting lots of recent cookies, I am still hooked into nothing but the Antenna TV schedule when I go to zap2it on my Firefox. How to get that back to normal? I warn everyone not to click on the program schedule link at the Antenna TV website (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Later: my zap2it magically recovered after a week or two. Antenna TV is not a total loss since on Saturday night they have (had?) a bunch of Benny Hill eps, followed by Three Stooges of variable lengths (gh) ** OKLAHOMA. 91.7, KOSU apologized at 1819 UT May 2 that for the past two weeks, transmissions have been disrupted on the relay 107.5 KOSN Ketchum-Tulsa, due to the storms at the transmitter site near Nowata, also interrupting the T1 line (apparently that is how programming is fed to it). Nothing about this found on the KOSU website. Since purchasing this failing commercial transmitter, KOSU has had continuing problems with it (Glenn Hauser, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BTW, standard canned IDs attribute ``HD1 and HD2`` to KOSU, and its new fill-in low-power but stronger-locally relay inside Stillwater itself, KOSR 88.3, but never in connexion with KOSN 107.5. They also never mention 101.9 translator in Okmulgee, or 107.3 translator in Tulsa proper. I wonder if all those are still on the air? The website does not even mention 88.3, or 107.3 (Glenn Hauser, May 6, ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA. 89.5, as I was parked at the Braum`s dairy store at 4202 W. Owen K. Garriott in Enid, May 2 at 1850 UT, stepping thru the FM channels, came to a quiet 89.5 -- a signal strong enough to muscle aside the semi-local on 89.7. No modulation whatsoever, but the STereo icon is displayed. This rules out a spur from a security system, garbage which infects the FM band around many stores, e.g. Walgreens. I drove a block or two in each direxion, and the signal certainly peaked at Braum`s, not even at the adjacent stores. Less than a mile to the east, 89.5 instead had Radio Kansas, which must have been in a hotspot (and no sign at the moment of KWGS Tulsa 89.5 which sometimes makes it to Enid). IIRC, in the same general area some months ago I was hearing a music loop on 89.5. Apparently someone is operating (or forgetting) a part 15 very low-power FM transmitter around there. Next time I should take my DX-398 with a signal meter into Braums and see if I can locate it, tho eyebrows may rise if I try to get behind the counter. Re yesterday`s report of an open stereo carrier on 89.5 from the Braum`s store on W Garriott in Enid --- I went back 24 hours later May 3 with my DX-398 to track it down, but no signal. I now think it was probably an RF feeder in someone`s parked car, which did not occur to me before. If it were an employee, it could happen again; less likely if from a transient customer. Never mind (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. New QSL address of Radio Sultanate of Oman. Salem Al Ghamari vom Radio Sultanate of Oman bestaetigte einen Empfangsbericht nach dem vierten Versuch mit einem undetaillierten Brief und zwei Aufklebern nach 72 Tagen, wobei der Brief aus dem Oman 24 Tage benoetigte. Auf dem Umschlag wurde die Adresse, die auch im WRTH 2011 zu finden ist, durchgestrichen und durch folgende Adresse ersetzt: Radio Sultanate of Oman English FM P. O. Box 397 P.C. 113 Muscat, Oman. Der fuer das Rueckporto beiliegende US-Dollar wurde mit zurueckgesandt (Sebastian Arndt, Germany, ntt Dr Hansjoerg Biener-D, May 1, via BC-DX May 4 via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. R. Pakistan confirmed today, 29 April, with news in English at 0905 on 15725 and 17720 kHz. News in Urdu was at 0900 UT, and back into Urdu programming at 0910 UT (Alan Roe, UK, April 25, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews 4 May via DXLD) 15265, New frequency of R Pakistan Islamabad in Urdu at 1700-1900 UT to EUR, with English news segment at 1700-1710 UT. Replaces 9350 kHz which suffered by Chinese jamming on 9355 kHz. \\ 11590 kHz. 15265 kHz very weak tonight, at 1705 UT May 2nd only S=4-5, not positive for the "average listener". 11590 on S=9 level, much better than 15 MHz. 9 MHz works excellent from Asia tonight, so my advice is still to use 9340/9345 kHz channels instead of 9350 kHz. 15 MHz 1700-1900 UT will NOT work from mid August til end of October ! (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews May 2) Radio Pakistan on new 15265 kHz. Noel R. Green in England received this message from Pakistan. "I am glad to know that the frequency 15265 kHz propagate well through out the service time. Therefore it is being replaced from tomorrow (3rd May). (Iftikhar Malik, Radio Pakistan, May 2nd via NG) The official changeover date therefore is the 3rd of May, but I heard 15265 kHz on air on Sunday evening, and perhaps it will also be used tonight (May 2nd) too (Noel R. Green-UK, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews May 2) Radio Pakistan on new 15265 kHz instead of 9350 kHz. Radio Pakistan Islamabad broadcasts on Test this night May 1st, 15265 kHz, transmitter started already from 1638 UTC on air on both channels. 15265 peaks up to S=9+5dBm at 1700, but little less at S=8-9 at 1800, increased signal at 1830 to S=9+15dBm again. 11590 peaks up to S=9+15...20dBm signal level here in Stuttgart Germany. Urdu language program from 1700 to 1900, but English language news at 1700-1710, read by lady. Both channels stopped broadcasting at 1805-1810 {main power?} break in between, but 15265 and 11590 kHz remained - were back both at 1810. The audio disqualification is always sooo bad in Islamabad - like the Egyptian Radio Cairo ones, no surprise. We wait i m p a t i e n t l y for new 2 x Thomcast transmitter and new revolving antennas at Karachi Landhi site, plans and dismantling action of old curtains since about 2005/2006 on its way, but not finished yet. But I fear, that audio feeder line from Islamabad bc house to new Karachi TX units will be in the same bad quality then (Wolfgang Büschel, May 1, all: wwdxc BC-DX TopNews May 4 via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3205, Radio Sanduan (Vanimo) (presumed), 1103- 1120*, 4/29/2011, Tok Pisin. Man talking in what appeared to be Tok Pisin. Very poor signal, just above the noise, with fading. Down into the noise most of the time after 1113. Carrier disappeared at 1120 (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, 90' Wire, Wellbrook ALA100M Loops, NASWA yg via DXLD) 3205, R. Sandaun (West Sepik), 1047, May 2. Much poorer reception than last month; conversation sounded to be in English; 1101 clear “N-B-C” and into perhaps local news; pulsating noise QRM blocked them about 1107 and their sign off was perhaps 1108* or so. May 1 found no trace of a carrier here (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3385, Radio East New Britain (Rabaul), 1106-1120, 4/29/2011, Tok Pisin. Talk by woman. PNG ballad style pop music at 1115. Initially a very poor signal, improving by 1115. Possible PNG carriers heard today on 3260, 3275, and 3325. The only other PNG audio heard was on 3205. This has been a very poor year for PNG reception from SW TN (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, 90' Wire, Wellbrook ALA100M Loops, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. QSL from Radio Fly 5960: Roseanne Kulupi sent a friendly e-mail confirming my tentative reception in about a day, and included a studio quality MP3 of the ID I had included with my report. She mentioned "the QSL cards which the station has designed are being printed at the moment. We will try to send you one as soon as we receive them from the printing company. Our 3915 kHz frequency has been out for a while due to a faulty transmitter. The transmitter has been serviced and is on its way back to site so we are hoping to get 3915 back on air in the next week or two. I will let you know when we have 3915 back on air so that you can compare frequencies when you can." (Bruce Portzer, WA, May 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Have received another informative email from: Roseanne Kulupi Radio Fly Technician Ok Tedi Mining Limited PO Box 1, Tabubil, Western Province Papua New Guinea P +675 649 3032 F +675 649 3023 roseanne.kulupi @ oktedi.com Last Friday (April 29) she drove from Tabubil, the headquarters of Ok Tedi Mining Limited, down to the SW transmitter site for Radio Fly at Kiunga. She traveled via the all weather Kiunga-Tabubil Highway which is maintained by the mining company. It’s about 85 miles long and a major portion of the highway runs parallel with the Ok Tedi River. She had to drive for about 3 ½ hours to get to Kiunga. While at Kiunga she installed a 500VA UPS (Uninterruptible Power System) for the shortwave input equipment. “The 3KVA that was initially installed with the equipment had a fault last month so we sent away to the supplier for servicing and let the input equipment run off the mains power supply. The 500VA UPS that I put in on Friday won't last for long during power outages but at least it'll act as a last resort for protection should there be a surge. I'd rather the UPS goes than have a number of equipment blown due to power surge.” Roseanne always writes an interesting email! (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, May 3, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5960, Radio Fly (presumed), 1208-1335, May 4, back to back songs seemingly in blocks, first 70s pops (e.g. “Daniel” by Elton John), some rap or more modern songs after 1300, 1325 a couple songs in presumed Tok Pisin; announcements heard at 1230 and 1259 but couldn’t catch content. Poor-fair, with best reception around 1300 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, Listening from my car at sunrise with Eton E1 and Sony AN1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 7324.95, Wantok Radio Light. 0902-0912, May 1. Slightly distorted audio; PNG birdcall; NBC National News (many missing in a landslide, etc.), sports and weather in English; 0912 local ID with “Wantok Radio Light” thanking NBC for providing the news and gave time for the next NBC news broadcast; poor to almost fair; news was // 3385 (poor) (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 3329.53, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco noted regularly 1000 and 0000 [Wilkner - XM- Cedar Key] 4986.467, Radio Manantial, Huancayo noted 0050 with fair signal, seem irregular 30 April [Wilkner] 5459.747, Radio Bolívar, Cd. Bolívar 2330 to 0000 on 25 April 6047.2, Radio Santa Rosa, Lima noted at 1120 to 1130 on 25 April 6173.962, Radio Tawantinsuyo, Cusco 0050 to 0100 om and yl en espanol, solid signal with no cochannel slop. 30 April (Robert Wilkner, Icom 746Pro, Drake R8, NRD 535D, Noise Reducing Antenna, 60 Meter Dipole, 41 meter dipole, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, April 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 9400, FEBC (Iba), 0946-1000, 4/29/2011, Chinese. Talk by woman, occasionally over religious music. Announcements by man and woman at 1000. Moderate signal strength with minimal fading. (Evans, TN) 9430, FEBC (Bocaue), 0950-1000, 4/29/2011, Chinese. Religious music. Talk by man over music at 0951. Announcements by man and woman at 1000, then talk by woman. Moderate signal strength with only a little fading (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, 90' Wire, Wellbrook ALA100M Loops, NASWA yg via DXLD) Not //, right? As I note later (gh) 15300 FEBC Manila Iba, in UNID language, at 0915 UT, May 4, S=6-7 signal on remote rx in CA. http://www.hfcc.org/data/schedbyfmo.php?seas=A11&fmor=FEC 15300 kHz at 0900-0930 UT to zones 43S,44S IBA 100kW 330deg Mvf (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews May 4) Help, which program language used at 0900-0930 UT ? 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) According to: http://data.febinfo.org/enq4a.php It is in Mongolian, 0900-0930, from tx site "IBA". 73, (Erik Koie, Cph, Denmark, ibid.) The link above seems not to work properly. Instead go to: http://www.febcintl.org/home/ - click 'Our broadcasts' -> 'Search radio broadcasts' -> Choose 'sort order', for instance Time. Then just click 'Search International'. 73 from Copenhagen, (Erik Køie, ibid.) Thanks to all, Noel says Mongolian is a new program language at FEBC Manila. http://data.febinfo.org/p_stations.php and klick on 15300 kHz http://data.febinfo.org/enq4a.php?targ_input=All+Countries&orgcode_input=FEB+International&lang_input=All+FEB+Languages&tx_input=&freq_input=15300&serv_input=IBA&order_input=Frequency%2c+Time 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) See also SAIPAN ** PHILIPPINES. 9615, Radio Veritas Asia, 1155, May 4, trumpets then woman giving ID in English and off, presumably closing of their Mandarin broadcast. Fair (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, Listening from my car at sunrise with Eton E1 and Sony AN1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. Re 11-17, RDPi Shortwave suspension Steve, You got it right: - the government may eventually let them go ahead with it, and maybe the future is even too grim; - the radio authority must be notified, but has no power to decide on whether they should keep on transmitting. The date; I'm afraid one ought to presume the RTP wants it the sooner the better. As long as jobs, good cars and good air conditioned offices for all concerned, amenities, you name it, remain untouched, HF may go, even if it meant recent investments - this is roughly the way those ignorant pedants, in the RTP & elsewhere, actually reason. I bet you could learn a lot more on all that in my text, should you be able to read Portuguese. By this time, I know the referred Petition as well as my (long) text of commenting & counter-arguments are being digested at the RTP, and I'm convinced they weren't expecting such a double and prompt reaction either. I tried to give it [the national HF sce.] as much publicity as I possibly could, which is why the article was also sent to the news agency that came up with the sad news, and by doing so I also chose to write it the way I did, which shows no leniency towards those RTP top bosses, quite the opposite. The importance is chiefly because of listeners, Portuguese speaking or otherwise, and, above all, our language - a language what was even used as a lingua franca for so long in many places of the world. English may be one now, but these decades in the 20th & 21st centuries account for only a small fraction of the time span during which ours was used as such. ____________________________ The CEU-CEOC (I prefer to use the old name, CEU) may have new antennae along with many others that are still there, may have new and more powerful txs and now even a system that allows it to work almost unmanned, but it gradually became a shadow as compared to its heyday when it was about to include MW, viz. a phased pair of 100 m monopoles for beaming 100 kW into Europe. I am still to find out when the tests took place. Apparently this unit was taken away and sent to São Tomé e Príncipe, then probably "died" there or was returned [most likely in bad shape] again after 1974. Now that I mentioned it, I recall a similar information I was given re another 100 or 200 kW MW tx to be installed near Faro, in the Algarve province, which would be used for foreign lang. prgrs incl. Arabic, together with other HF txs & antennae to operate in the site that's still being used; it is in fact an unusually large piece of real estate kept by the RTP just to operate its local 10 kW MW tx (720 kHz). Their monopole actually uses a capacity hat consisting of 3 radials. This never materialised because of two main reasons: a) the new airport in the vicinity caused the EN to halt the building of the high tower or towers; b) the April, '74, coup d'état. Back at the CEU, the RTP/the state even chooses not to take material advantage of the real estate (as well as of what was built on it) that's still public property and was intended to house the number of employees that took care of the site but also to provide some housing during holidays: the "Bairro de São Gabriel" is well visible in GoogleEarth. Everything remains there, and little or no maintenance is done. What is this riff raff waiting for?, I dare ask. (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, April 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Portugal did have MW broadcasts to Europe during the 1960's. I have some old "Radio Portugal Listener Magazine"s from that period and they show broadcasts in English, French, Spanish and German on 755 and 1061 kc/s late at night. After the 1974 revolution, the foreign language broadcasts lost all relevance for both the new Portuguese government as well as EN/RDP. It was no longer necessary to defend the colonial wars which was the main reason these services existed at all. As the years past, these programs were left to slowly die on the vine until the late 1990's when the remaining services in English and French were cancelled. By that time, I believe the English service had only one full-time announcer left, that being Winnie Almeida. Quite a sad change from the old "Voice of the West" days (Bill Flynn, Pennsylvania, ibid.) Those broadcasts you mention, which only ended some time after 1974, not earlier, were intended for home coverage, for tourists & foreign residents, and consisted of 45 minute daily segments of English, French & German programs in this order, starting at 2300 local time, and were available via both EN 2 on MW and VHF-FM. Maybe EN also included Castilian and even Italian in earlier years. The other MW tx I referred to has nothing to do with those MW fqs emanating from the Castanheira do Ribatejo site, which is still active, and the Azurara site, up north, near Vila do Conde, dismantled. That unit and directional antenna was to be used together with the HF service. ___________ The voice of Goan-born Winnie Almeida, whom I knew personally during the very late 70s, was more often heard during the HF broadcasts while it was her American (I think) colleague Connie Frey who was often heard in the national programs. ______________________________ You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion when you say "It was no longer necessary to defend the colonial wars which was the main reason these services existed at all." (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, ibid.) I recall that Winnie Almeida was also doing an AWR DX program. Sines to be closed: see next issue, or dxldyg (gh) FIM DAS EMISSÕES EM OC DA RDP INTERNACIONAL Caros colegas, Segundo informações da agência LUSA, a RTP pediu suspensão temporária das emissões da RDP Internacional em Ondas Curtas. Após uma avaliação da empresa de que o baixo número de audiência é um dos principais motivos. Segundo a LUSA não vale a pena manter emissões com um alto custo sem ter um retorno satisfatório. As emissões da RDP Internacional, rádio pública em onda curta, dedicadas à todos os portugueses espalhados pelo mundo, podem ter um fim à vista. A RDP diz que há cada vez menos ouvintes servidos por esta plataforma de distribuição. Embora não se saiba muito bem como foi possível chegar a tal conclusão. Após questões do Jornal PÚBLICO dirigidas ao director da RDP Rui Pêgo, a estação afirma que ``tem estado a analisar as emissões da RDP Internacional distribuídas em onda curta``, invocando, no mesmo comunicado, ``o cada vez menor número de ouvintes servidos por esta plataforma de distribuição`` e a necessidade de investimento nos emissores de onda curta, localizados no centro emissor de São Gabriel, em Pegões, perto de onde nascerá o novo aeroporto do Montijo. A decisão, diz a RTP, já tem luz verde do ministro dos Assuntos Parlamentares Jorge Lacão, e espera um parecer da Anacom: ``A suspensão ainda não tem data marcada, por serem necessários procedimentos de consulta prévia à Anacom. Só no final do prazo da suspensão provisória será feita uma avaliação das consequências da mesma e tomada uma decisão definitiva``, diz a nota. Mário Figueiredo, provedor do ouvinte da rádio pública, conta que só teve conhecimento desta decisão depois do processo já ter sido desencadeado. ``Sou frontalmente contra, como representante dos ouvintes``, afirma, adiantando que pretende dedicar o programa do provedor a esta problemática que tem gerado já queixas ao provedor e uma corrente de opinião nas redes sociais. Mário Figueiredo lembra que as outras plataformas de emissão da RDP no mundo, referidas no comunicado da RTP, como o satélite, cabo ou DTH e Internet, implicam custos. E programas da RDP Internacional, dedicados, por exemplo, a camionistas, deixam de fazer sentido. Já em Janeiro a emissão em onda curta tinha sido reduzida, com corte da emissão ao fim-de-semana para o Brasil e alguns pontos de África, que perderam assim a possibilidade de acompanhar o campeonato nacional de futebol. No site da própria RTP a RDP Internacional é definida como ``o grande elo de ligação dos portugueses no Mundo. Através das suas emissões, todos, em qualquer ponto, podem aceder instantaneamente ao contacto com Portugal``. As emissões em onda curta começaram ainda antes das emissões regulares em AM, ou seja, ainda antes de 1935. Não faz qualquer sentido terminar com as emissões da RDP internacional. Certamente poderão ser feitas economias em outros sectores e emissoras da RTP. Porque não privatizar a Antena 3, emissora sem o mínimo de qualidade? Porque não acabar com uma emissora para uma elite que pode ouvir música clássica por outros meios e até com melhor qualidade? E os carros de luxo, os cartões de crédito, os ordenados milionários de alguns? Nenhuma outra plataforma substituirá o rádio. Não há internet ou satélite numa boa parte das aldeias de África. Mesmo em países europeus onde existem grandes comunidades de portugueses, estas plataformas tecnológicas não estão disponíveis ou não são práticas. É, em meu entender, mais um crime contra um país, uma língua e milhões de pessoas que, por não conseguirem ver garantidas as suas condições de subsistência no país que as viu nascer, tiveram de abalar para outras paragens e, no entanto, contribuem com os tostões que amealham para o progresso do país que os esquece, abandona, ostraciza. Alguma da história da Emissora Nacional aqui: http://www.aminharadio.com/radio/portugal_anos30 (António Manuel Silva, Visite: http://www.aminharadio.com April 30, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL [and non]. 17605 kHz idioma portugués ??????? Por favor ¿alguien sabe qué emisora es? necesito identificarla, 17605 KHz a las 1605 UT, muy buena señal, comentando la muerte de Bin Laden, gracias (Ernesto Paulero, Argentina, 1913 UT, condiglist yg via DXLD) Sin duda suena como portugués de Portugal, pero esa frecuencia al parecer no es usada por RDP (Moises Knochen, Montevideo, Uruguay, ibid.) Gracias, Moisés, yo pienso lo mismo y me parece que ante la urgencia de cobertura por la noticia de Hoy la hayan usado, pero para mi es Radio Portugal Internacional. Espero que alguien más lo escuche a ver si confirman (Paulero, ibid.) France is scheduled in English on 17605 at 1600; mixup at RFI? RFI is also scheduled in Portuguese on 17600 at 1700; this item was not posted until 3 hours later (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also FRANCE! PORTUGAL SUSPENDERÁ TRANSMSIONES DE ONDA CORTA? La consulta de Ernesto Paulero me motivó a buscar en el sitio web de RDP para ver si podía encontrar la grabación del noticiero en cuestión. No lo logré ya que al parecer pocos programas son subidos al sitio web, por lo que me pasé a la versión on-line de la RDP. Para mi sorpresa comencé a escuchar en el momento en que comenzaban a discutir sobre la decisión (que no me quedó claro si es de firme o está bajo estudio) de suspender las emisiones de RDP en onda corta por los motivos económicos frecuentemente esgrimidos, considerando que la emisión se puede recibir por internet. Para mi resultó una absoluta novedad ya que no había leído nada de esto. En el programa se leyeron numerosos mensajes de oyentes de todo el mundo quejándose fuertemente por la decisión. En este momento (0038 UT) sigue la discusión del tema. El programa en cuestión se llama "En nome do ouvinte, o programa do provedor do ouvinte". En fin, otro más (Moisés Knochen, Uruguay, ibid.) Provedor = ombudsman; other SW stations should have them! IIRC, Moisés, who speaks English, originally got hooked up with condig thru DXLD, but apparently he didn`t read our latest issue (gh, DXLD) Enjoy RDPI while we can: there are moves in Portugal to close down the SW service as too expensive for too little audience. A petition against this has been set up online; of course, only Portuguese- speakers need participate. This has been discussed extensively in DXLD. 17575, May 3 at 1322 with pop music; 1401 weather introducing multi- network combined newscast, into item about Finlândia, vis-à-vis Portugal`s economic crisis. Somewhat distorted modulation. 13m`s 21655 not making it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTTENING DIGEST) RDP PLANS “TEMPORARY SUSPENSION” OF SHORTWAVE Portugal’s National Communications Authority (ANACOM) sees “no problem” in the temporary suspension of international shortwave transmissions by the national public broadcaster, RDP. The decision has already received the green light from Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Jorge Lacão. According a source at parent organisation RTP, the request for temporary suspension “was based on several factors: the dwindling number of listeners served by this distribution platform, the increased costs in recent years and the growth of investment needs.” Moreover, he continued, “the RDP Internacional transmissions can be alternatively provided via satellite, cable and Internet, with lower costs and higher quality, serving the vast majority” of listeners to RDP Internacional. “Only at the end of the period of provisional suspension will there be an evaluation of the consequences thereof, and a final decision,” he added, noting that “many international operators have chosen in past years” to end or reduce transmissions on shortwave. Italy, Holland, England and Germany are countries that have taken steps in that direction, the source told the Lusa news agency. However RDP’s Listener Ombudsman Mário Figueiredo said he was “totally opposed” to the temporary suspension of shortwave broadcasts. He told the newspaper Público that he was only made aware of this decision after the process had already been initiated. “I’m totally opposed, as a representative of the listeners,” he said in a statement to the public in April. Mr Figueroa points out that the other platforms, such as satellite, cable or Internet come at a cost to the listener as opposed to shortwave. And programmes of RDP Internacional dedicated to groups such as truckers, for example, would no longer make any sense. (Source: Público)( May 4th, 2011 - 16:15 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) And here is the silly quote of the day: "Mr Figueroa points out that the other platforms, such as satellite, cable or Internet come at a cost to the listener as opposed to shortwave." This is total delusion. Does this Mr. Figueroa understand that it costs money to distribute RDPi on shortwave? And where does this money come from? Oh, yes, a Portuguese government that is drowning in debt and having to accept an international bailout of over 100 billion dollars just to keep the country afloat. Do some people have no understanding of budgeting and finance? Yes, it has been nice to have all these "free" shortwave services for all these decades. But these services cost large amounts of money, and given the current economic climate, are no longer affordable given the dwindling size of the SW audience and the availability of alternate platforms. Is there a Portuguese equivalent of "There is no free lunch"...? (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Gee, Steve, why don't you just shut down the whole hobby on economic grounds? :-)) (Well, I guess we'd still have the religious stations. They certainly have money.)(John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) ** ROMANIA. 9770, Radio Romania Aktualitatias [sic], Galbeni. Their ID in Romanian, 0400-0457 on 22/4. It is not Radio Romania International as is delivered in several publications and schedules (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF 2001, 16m Marconi), May Australian DX News via DXLD) Or rather RRI just carries some domestic relays (gh, DXLD) ** ROMANIA. 17600, RRI opening in Chinese, May 3 at 1301, in the clear thanks to stronger Spain [q.v.] not coming on 17595 until 1302:15; RRI remained audible with ACI. HFCC shows 1300-1330, 300 kW, 67 degrees from Tiganeshti (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Frequency change for Voice of Russia in French from May 1: 1600-2100 NF 13850 KCH 500 kW / 235 deg to NWAf, ex 9410* * to avoid BBC in English/Somali/English from 1700 73! (Ivo Ivanov, May 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. St. Petersburg ------------------------- Dear Colleagues, In connection with the two anniversaries - the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network - 10 years and 80 years - television broadcasting in Russia, our branch will release a new commemorative card QSL, as well as the pennant. In view of this some time ago I decided to suspend delivery of the old cards in response to reports about the reception received in the past few months, until the advent of the new QSL (the "old" reports are confirmed already a new card). In addition, our plans for the coming months - the organization of a special SW broadcast by analogy with EDXC-2006, at a minimum - of 1 an hour, to the maximum - 24-hour "SW-marathon" of local radio stations in St. Petersburg. It is clear that the last - almost from the realm of science fiction, but try ... 73! (Mikhail Timofeyev, Site Editor http://spb.rtrn.ru "open_dx" via RusDX 1 May via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Recent photos of the existing radio transmission center in Taranovke laid out in photo gallery transmitting center at Novosibirsk DX site at: http://www.novosibdx.info Thanks to Andrew for Ehrlich predostavlnnye photos! (Igor Yaremenko, Novosibirsk / "deneb-radio-dx" via RusDX 1 May via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. 04/29/2011 accept the "Voice of Orthodoxy in Russian from 1430 UT on frequency 9950 kHz (transmitter Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan - 200 kW). Reception - 45433. Fading in frequency (Dmitry Kutuzov, Ryazan, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx", Receiver: Degen 1103, Antenna: Internal, ferrite (MW), telescopic (SW), via RusDX 1 May via DXLD) ** SARAWAK [non]. 15420, R. Free Sarawak via Palau. Apr. 3 at 1116- 1159* in Iban. SIO 454-453. Some pop music ("Knockin'On Heaven's Door", "I Shot The Sheriff", etc.) were played frequently. Closing announcement and ID by male at 1156 (Hirokazu MITSUMOTO Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Pref. AOR AR7030 PLUS + Apex Radio 303WA-2, May JSWC Bulletin via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) Re 11-17: There is a new comment on the post "Radio Free Sarawak back on the air". http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/radio-free-sarawak-back-on-the-air OK, the programme on the website is only 60 minutes (actually 60'01") so presumably it was played out twice at 1000-1100 and 1100-1200 UT. This may well be the normal procedure. But the website appears to be down (probably blocked) at the moment. I wonder if the 'jamming' will start up again (Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Re 11-17: BSKSA address was valid on getting my QSL of 24.11.1997. But WRTH 2011 also said "no longer issues QSL-cards" (Tony Ashar, West Java, Indonesia, May 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SINGAPORE. [continued from KOREA NORTH, harmonix] Also, before sign off at 0200 UT, BBCWS 35250 (3 x 11750) from Singapore. Regards, (Tony Mann, Perth, Australia, May 3, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA. RADIO SLOVAKIA INTERNATIONAL PAGE LAUNCHED ON FACEBOOK! Dear friends, We have reached the limit of what this group can offer to our growing number of listeners and supporters; therefore we have prepared a brand new page for you on Facebook. It's called Radio Slovakia International_English and you can find it at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Radio-Slovakia-International-_English/211157745569330 On the new page you can listen live to our flagship programme "Slovakia Today" without having to go to the main website, check what's on offer in the upcoming days, access the archive, interact with our hosts, take part in competitions and so on. Please switch to Radio Slovakia International_English as this Group will cease to exist on June 1st. Thank you very much and we are looking forward to explore the new page together! Regards, RSI team (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, April 28, DXLD) What is `this group`? And why is it limited? (gh) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5019.88, Honiara with a fair signal at 1045 on 4/30 (Ralph Perry, Illinois, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5019.9, Solomon Islands B.C., 0952-1000, 01-May-2011, English. C&W, bluegrass music, female announcer at 0958 with song titles, followed by a song by Dolly Parton, fair signal when Rebelde splatter not too bad (Ed Wlodarski, N2ED, New Jersey, Ten Tec RX340 & 100 Ft Long Wire, NASWA Flashsheet May 1 via DXLD) ** SOMALIA [non]. 11650, 2/5 2023, Radio Damal, clandestine to Somalia, long talks, fair/good (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia, Liguria, Italy), RX: SDR-IQ - Ant: Wellbrook LFL 1010 loop, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 576, Radio Metro. Meyerton. 2011/04/23 sat 1432-1435. Interview about advertising and branding. Good. Jo'burg sunset 1545. 657, Radio Pulpit. Meyerton. 2011/04/23 sat 1428-1429. Afrikaans, Christian religious. Good, but annoying background hum. Jo'burg sunset 1545. 1287, Ligwalagwala FM. Welgedacht. 2011/04/23 sat 1417-1425. Venda ? Football commentary, Vasco de Gama vs? Poor. Jo'burg sunset 1545. 1422, Pan Hellenic Voice. Bedfordview, Johannesburg. 2011/04/23 sat. 1415-1417 Greek, and greek music for the local Greek community. Excellent. Jo'burg sunset 1545. 1485, Radio Today. Marks Park, Johannesburg. 2011/04/23 sat 1412-1415. "Solid Gold" pop classics (weekends). Excellent. s9+20. Jo'burg sunset 1545. 1548, Radio Islam. Lenasia, Johannesburg. 2011/04/23 sat 1408-1412. Arabic recitation. Fair - good. Jo'burg sunset 1545 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 6100, Family Radio. Meyerton. 2011/04/24 sun 1610- 1624. Malagasy ?? Bad audio distortion, sounds like plates rattling (presumably oscillation) with each word spoken, but not on music. Different type of distortion to that reported on 3955 in March 2011. ID at 1619 "Family Radio". Jo'burg sunset 1545 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ??? 6145, Radio France International ??? Meyerton ??? 2011/04/22 fri 0320-0400*. Should be BBC WS English from Meyerton, but is French, news & current affairs. ID at 0400* "Paris", with what sounded like RFI jingle, couldn't make out specific RFI ID. New schedule, wrong switch at Meyerton, or something quite different? They do relay RFI at other times, but not on this frequency. Very good, seems like local transmitter, but French not listed by Sentech. Jo'burg sunrise 0427. (Whatever the reason, back to normal BBC english at early morning check on 2011/04/26, 0300-0330). (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. As I was bandscanning MW on the caradio, Sunday May 1 at 1933 UT, came across Brother Scare on KTLR 890 OKC, just as he was pontificating on the ``beautification`` of PJP2. Wish I had heard him say that more than once, whether it was just a tongueslip or real ignorance of which he is so capable. Has anyone else heard him say that? What a difference one letter makes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN [and non]. 9665, 1930 30 March, REE presumed, under PMR, English, SIO 252 (Edwin Southwell, England, May BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) HFCC as of May shows KCH = Pridnestrovye not registered before 2200, but they are apparently using it from 1700, at least on weekdays. 9665 does show REE at 17-21 in Spanish or French, not English. And if TDF were ever to start carrying Libya, that`s also on 9665 in Arabic at 20-22 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 21610, 1535 29 March, REE brief news in English, SIO 444 (Jonathan Kempster, London, May BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ?? This should have shifted to 1435 on 28 March, when it has been heard eversince (gh, DXLD) Hi Glen[n], "Amigos de la onda corta" is broadcast every Saturday – 0500[really 0505]-0530 UT on 9780 kHz for Europe in DRM. Have a nice weekend. Best regards, (Hans-Jürgen Püttmann (from Essen, Germany), DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15110, REE, Saturday April 30 at 2205 opening `Mundofonías` world music show following `En Cinco Minutos` filler when a real newscast is lacking. This week the music was from regions of Spain, Asturias, Catalunya, etc., so not exactly `world`. Usual excellent reception direct from Noblejas. 11815 via COSTA RICA, REE, May 2 at 1305 opening weekdaily `Españoles en la Mar` program with standard Morse code ID; just copied the last three letters, MAR, mixing with Japanese speech and SAH from NHK direct. Much better on // 11880 northward. Next time, listen earlier for a special character you won`t hear in English, the Ñ. Wikipedia says: ``When the Morse Code was extended beyond English, a symbol was allotted for this character, though it is not used in English ( — — — — ).`` Lots more about Enye at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%91 Yes, the original URL has that single strange letter at the end. 11880, Monday May 2 at 1435, REE is amid token English news headlines by OM announcer, not Justin Coe, with a somewhat British accent, mostly about Bin Laden; says another victim of Al-Qaida terrorism, Spain approves of killing him. 1438 handed over to Arabic YL without outroing himself. After less than a minute, the closing in Castilian plays, as she starts to cough; must have hit the wrong button, as then she resumes with a bit more Arabic news, also about Bin Laden, before the closing plays again to conclude by 1440. See also COSTA RICA 17595, looking for REE, May 3 at 1300, but nothing there, audiblizing ROMANIA [q.v.] on 17600. Finally cut on the air late at *1302:15 amid news about, what else, UBL. Also with token English news at 1435 by same announcer as yesterday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 11905, SLBC, *0022-0045, April 29, abrupt sign on with local music. Hindi talk at 0025. Religious recitations at 0026. Hindi vocals and local instrumental music at 0030. Fair to good. 11905, SLBC, *0020-0031, April 30, sign on with local music followed by National Anthem. Local music at 0023. Hindi talk at 0025. Religious recitations at 0026. Time pips at 0030. Local instrumental music. Good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX Listening Digest) 15745, SLBC, Ekala. Longtime ending of “Morning Show” of SLBC from 0350 interrupted at 0400 with religion in English read by Tony Alamo and another end of program in English at 0458 with a melody ‘Chariots Of Fire’, ID of SLBC and playing the NA of Sri Lanka and close/down at 0502 on 24/4 (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF 2001, 16m Marconi), May Australian DX News via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) No doubt SLBC carries this sort of tosh in order to help supplement their meagre budget. Google this guy & you'll see why that is ill- advised (Craig Seager, ed., ibid.) 15745.01, SLBC, 0145-0230, May 4, English religious programming with talk and music. Time pips and English news at 0200 followed by country music, music dedications and inspirational messages. Surprisingly good signal (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. 7200, SRTC, 0305-0430*, April 29, Arabic talk. Local chants. Local Arabic music. Poor to fair in thunderstorm static (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. 7200, SRTC, *0236-0318, April 30, sign on with Arabic talk. Local chants at 0238. Arabic talk. Local music at 0250. Chirping birds. Mostly Arabic talk. Fair to good but occasional HAM QRM (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** SUDAN [non]. via Slovakia, 9670, Radio Miraya, via IRRS, 0310-0415, April 29, IDs. Arabic talk. “Miraya” jingles. Pop music. English talk at 0400 about oil production in Sudan and teaching the youth about chemical science, English news at 0403:30 about southern Sudan. Radio Miraya IDs and mention of Mirayafm.org website. Arabic talk at 0414. Poor to fair with some adjacent channel splatter (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 13730, R. Dabanga via Dhabbaya. Good in Arabic on 20/4 at 0430; outlet from Madagascar on 13620 suffers a horrible het (John Adams, Beech Forest Vic (JRC NRD-535 Ewe and Folded Dipole), May Australian DX News via DXLD) Service directed to Darfur region. Good level signal except for rapid fades. Speakers in listed Sudanese Arabic 0436, 28/3 (Charles Jones, Castle Hill NSW (Sony 2001D plus preamp with 70 m long antenna), Dx-Pedition at Ellalong in Hunter Valley NSW [with same equipment? Never specified], May Australian DX News via DXLD) No mention of jamming there on 13730, which is all we hear here. And the `het` on 13620 is actually an almost co-channel carrier with tone. Germany, 13730, Radio Dabanga. Wertachtal // 11500. 2011/04/29 fri 1600-1730 Arabic. The first sign of jamming on this frequency, sounded like an alarm in a movie-style nuclear reactor about to blow up, but at low level in the background. By 1650 the alarm had gone, but was replaced by the same (but almost inaudible) continuous tone as heard on 11500. You would not hear it if you were not listening for it. By sign off at 1725* the tone had gone as well. Jo'burg sunset 1540. Madagascar, 11500, Radio Dabanga. Talata Volondry // 13730. 2011/04/29 fri 1600-1720 Arabic. Interfered with by a slightly wavery continuous tone of about 1 kHz. By 1640 Dabanga was fading out, it had gone by 1650 leaving only the tone which was itself beginning to fade. Jo'burg sunset 1540 (Bill Bingham, South Africa, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13620, R. Dabanga via MADAGASCAR, good signal with yelling, May 4 at 0515, with continuous tone jamming. Other frequency via UAE, 13730, only had the weaker noise jamming described previously (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 15540, 1544 1 April, Sudan Youth Radio via Moldova (presumed), two OMs in Arabic dialect mentioning Somali. Off abruptly at 1600, no sign-off, SIO 343 (Alan Pennington, May BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. RADIO NORD REVIVAL TESTS TO NORTH AMERICA Hello, A small contribution to the list: Radio Nord Revival will be back on the air on May 27-29 and we intend to run a SW test from around midnight UT until the morning towards North America. Do any of you have any suggestions for useable frequencies over there? Transmissions will be in the 31 or 41 metre band but we have to get them approved by the Swedish Telecommunications authority PTS first. Power is 10 kW. Any suggestions you may have are welcome by mail to ronny @ ronnybgoode.se We will also broadcast for Scandinavia and Europe and this time we will be broadcasting from the museum ship S:t Erik, a former ice- breaker with much of the programming being live. Further information as usual on http://www.radionordrevival.blogspot.com Reception reports will be verified by our QSL card and return postage is appreciated (Ronny Forslund, Stockholm, Sweden, May 1, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. Nigel Holmes has sent along some links to YouTube videos showing the destruction of the log periodic antenna at Horby. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNw53c0mxsI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DbWx9weaY0&feature=related According to Nigel, the log-periodic was operated at 500 kW carrier plus modulation. It was also used in the LOIS/LOFAR deep space radar tests (Craig Seager, ed., May Australian DX News via DXLD) ** SWEDEN [and non]. On March 21 2011 Håkan Widenstedt died. Håkan Widenstedt was chief engineer at Teracom (the Swedish transmitter operator). Håkan Widenstedt was responsible for maintenance and development at the Hörby SW transmiitersite and the Sölvesborg MW site. While working on one of the antennas at a height of 60 mtrs Håkan was struck by a heart attack. Not too long ago both stations were switched off. Meanwhile on you tube several videos can be found showing the demolition of the transmittertowers in Hörby. Unconfirmed rumours tell that the 3 ABB 500 kW SW transmitters are bought by Radio Netherlands for use at their Madagascar transmitter site. [later: confirmed] To commemorate Håkan, Kelly Lindman of the DxTuners network produced a video documentary about Håkan`s work. This 30 minute docu shows beautiful pictures of the maintenance of the 500 kW ABB transmitters in Hörby and the AEG/Telefunken S4006 in Sölvesborg. Subtitles are in English Download link for the docu: http://www.mediafire.com/?w6u537402uost Have Fun! (Jan Oosterveen, Netherlands, April 28, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) Hi Jan. It's confirmed by Mr. Bengt Meijer at Teracom in Hörby that the transmitters are sold to RNW. I got an email from him just a week ago. 73's de (Chris Stödberg, SM6VPU, Sweden, ibid.) See MADAGASCAR There is a new comment on the post "Håkan Widenstedt of the Hörby SW station R.I.P.". http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/hakan-widenstedt-of-the-horby-sw-station-rip Dear friends. I have completed the documentary about Håkan Widensted that you can either watch live over the Internet or download directly in pretty good quality. The file size is 206 MBytes. Here you will find the documentary: http://www.hamsphere.com/rshw/ Kind regards (Kelly Lindman, Paphos, Cyprus, April 28, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. Martedì 3 maggio 2011, 2154 - 7970 kHz, SOUND OF HOPE TAIWAN, Mandarino, talk OM. Segnale sufficiente-insufficiente. Firedrake not heard! Nothing heard on 8-9/10-11 MHz. - Qualche piccola scarica temporalesca (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova), Italia, playdx yg via DXLD) ** TIBET. CHINA. Xizang PBS Tibetan Sce has replaced 5240 kHz with 6025 kHz (WRTH 2011 National section update May 2 via DXLD) CHINA. 6025, Xizang PBS, Lhasa, 2230, April 27, English "Holy Tibet" on recent NF // usual 4905, 4920, 6110, 6130, 7385 also heard. Could not trace 5240 (which I see has been deleted from Aoki userlist) so is this a replacement? Now solidly blocks co-channel R Amanecer resulting in persistent het. 73, (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. 15520, V. of Turkey. Apr. 1 at 1630-1720 in English. SIO 353. News, "Review of Turkish Press", "The Balkan Agenda" and "The Turkish Album" (Mitsunori KAWAZOE, Tsu, Mie-Prefecture, SONY ICF- SW7600G + SONY AN-LP1, May JSWC Bulletin via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) New time as in A-11 schedule, ex-1230 (gh) 9830, May 2 at 2201 check, weak broadcast signal obliterated by RTTY which is constantly on this frequency. V. of Turkey still hasn`t caught on that they have such a problem with their preferred summer channel in English to North America, this being at least the third year they have stuck to it. Do they do any monitoring, or even look at reception reports, let alone DX publications??? 15450, May 3 at 1304 VOT filling time with multi-lingual IDs during what should be the English broadcast; 1308 `Question of the Month`, but poor reception and I could not copy anything but the deadline of 31 May. Found it on website: http://www.trt-world.com/trtworld/en/newsDetail.aspx?HaberKodu=71aff990-a2d1-4c4a-8b0b-75fd89a20ab3 which is for January! Altho ``posted 28.04.2010, updated 31.12.2010``. Anyhow, three listeners get a small present, not just by answering correctly whatever the May question is, but also by being luckily drawn. I`d rather win a trip to Turkey, but the essay contest is kaput (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA? April 29th, 1830-1853, mainly danceable music, announcement in unID language at 1853, off before 1857. If this was Dunamis, surprisingly strong signal! 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.africalist.de.ms April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) must mean 4750; Indonesia on late?? Or Bangladesh? Or China? (gh) ** UGANDA [non]. 15410, R. Y'Abaganda via Germany, Apr 23 *1700-1715*, 25432-35433, Swahili, 1700 sign on with pops music, Pops and afro pops music, National anthem or Uganda from 1711, ID at 1712, Talk, 1715 sign off (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium April 30 via DXLD) I don`t think it`s Swahili. WRTH says language is, as you should expect, Luganda (gh, DXLD) ** UKRAINE. 30.04.2011 listened VSRU the Ukrainian language from 1630 UT on 9420 kHz. Can just make out that the station is present in the air. But because of strong interference from other stations to hear what is being said is not possible (Dmitry Kutuzov, Ryazan, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx", Receiver: Degen 1103, Antenna: Internal, ferrite (MW), telescopic (SW), via RusDX 1 May via DXLD) Ended the era of World Service Radio Ukraine. As the saying goes "all the steam the whistle had gone." Soon, Ukrainian edition VSRU cease existence and not only on the air, where not so long ago worked 24/7. Foreign-language version of RUI will continue to work at least Internet and on satellite (Alexander Yegorov, Kiev, Ukraine / "deneb- radio-dx" via RusDX 1 May via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) ** U K [and non]. Radio 5 Live: monitoring the Arab uprisings --- I was interviewed for this week's edition of the Radio 5 Live programme "Outriders" about the work of BBC Monitoring in covering the Arab uprisings. Of course I also gave a plug about shortwave listening. A recording of the programme is at the Outriders website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/pods (Chris Greenway, May 3, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** U K. Chris Patten, chair of the BBC Trust, was interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning from 07:47 BST for ten minutes. He gave no great revelations, talked about the budgeting, cuts, pay levels etc including the comment that the BBC "has to do less but do it better" and mentioned "tough choices" but spending "more on quality". Regarding the World Service and shortwave he felt it would be "safer in the hands of the BBC". Quite predictable comments, really (Mike Terry, May 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Old BBCWS music shows on you tube --- A gentleman in Bulgaria has posted a number of BBCWS music shows from John Peel, Dave Lee Travis, etc, from the 1980's, recorded off shortwave. http://www.youtube.com/user/krasteff#p/a (Tom Roche, GA, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. 648, BBC World Service is now dead, and it was a useful frequency. Evening/night reception was very good across much of Europe, even in SE Spain (fights with RNE Burgos at times though). Soon it will be nigh impossible to hear the World service at all on HF. What a shame to end such a fine service so. The computer nerds and bean counters have finally silenced it, shame on them. The Chinese regime must be laughing. Could not the BBC be left to use a few clear frequencies with 10 or 20 kW that could be heard across Europe? We don’t all have Internet / iPhone connections or want it. We want to hear the BBC whilst on holiday, or when out walking or at the beach etc., Think of the constriction in using a PC to listen, and all the power used instead of a watt or two with a HF radio. Has anyone done a power evaluation on the loss of shortwave? Plus the Internet can break down, or worse be jammed, or shut off (cf. Haiti, Libya, China, Japan, etc.). Shortwave has proved particularly useful in many areas when all other systems have broken down. Yet the idiots want to drop it completely. Some modern designers and planners have no common sense whatever (Des Walsh, Ireland, Making Contact, May World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** U K [non]. 9740, SINGAPORE. BBC (Kranji), 1014-1016, 4/29/2011, English. Live coverage of the British royal wedding, which had reached the "I Do" stage. Poor signal with moderate fading. Why watch it on television when you can hear it via a less than optimal signal from a Singapore transmitter? (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, 90' Wire, Wellbrook ALA100M Loops, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** UNITED KINGDOM? 4026, Laser Hot Hits tentatively the very weak signal with pops, DJ announcements at 1910 24 April (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ - AOR7030+ and EWE antennas to the Americas) 6295, Reflections Europe at best level I’ve ever heard them, 1934 UT on 24 April. Heard past 2000 but fading fast. Best on East EWE. Carries English religious programs, local ident with frequencies 1937. Announced // 12255 only a weak carrier. DRM-type interference around 6295 seems to lessen after 1930. Sunday-only transmission (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ - AOR7030+ and EWE antennas to the Americas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also had Reflections Europe, prior to 1900, but not on 6295 (as you reported), I had them on 12255. The 49mb freq is sometimes covered here by a ute (David Sharp, NSW, May 3, ibid.) ** U S A. LET’S SUPPORT TALK RADIO THAT MATTERS http://www.radio-info.com/programming/newstalksports/lets-support-talk-radio-that-matters Voice of America --- "We are in an information war, and we are losing that war." That was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifying before Congress on plans to cut the already lean budget for Voice of America, which delivers news and information to some of the most repressed populations in the world. Unbelievably, the proposed cuts would result in reduced service in most of the areas where the US has crucial interests, including China and the Middle East, according to Wall Street Journal columnist L. Gordon Crovitz. China, meanwhile, is spending an estimated $7 billion on a global propaganda machine, including a 24-hour English-language news channel and broadcast studios in Times Square. How influential is Voice of America? Despite aggressive jamming by the Chinese government, 12% of Chinese are aware of VOA, more than CNN and the BBC combined. (The British are also contemplating serious cuts to the BBC’s legendary World Service.) When the proposed VOA service cuts were discussed on one of its Chinese-language shows, listeners from China called in and volunteered to pay to keep the programs on the air! Some have argued that it’s OK to reduce the VOA’s radio programming because its target audiences can get a lot of the same info from the Internet using VOA-supplied software that circumvents government firewalls. But, as Crovitz notes, radio remains an essential medium in China where impoverished rural populations don’t have access to the web. I’d like to think that protecting – even bolstering – VOA is a cause that all talk radio professionals can support, regardless of their political views. Yes, government spending is out of control, but as radio broadcasters we understand our medium’s ability to convey information and make emotional connections. Radio is a powerful and affordable weapon that America should not abandon in the middle of an information war. One talk radio host suggested that perhaps VOA could be privatized. I’m not sure how that would work. I can’t imagine that many companies would want to underwrite programming that alienates the governments of some of their largest growth markets. Read the Crovitz piece and think about how you can help VOA. Remember, your colleagues at Voice of America are helping to protect your right to express yourself on the radio. About the Writer --- Display Bloomquist is the editor of News Talk Edge, and president of consulting firm Talk Frontier Media. A former programmer and trade industry journalist, Bloomquist is the newest member of the Radio-Info.com editorial team (Thursday, April 21, 2011 via Dale Park, HI, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. 9760, 1338 27 March, VOA via? Music Mix, Jazz America, English, SIO 343 (Edwin Southwell, England, May BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Via Tinian (Stephen Howie, ed.) Yes, per HFCC in May, TINIAN now for the Sat/Sun 13-14 segment, and Tinang after 1400 weekdays, Udorn daily after 1500 (gh, DXLD) 17545, Saturday April 30 at 1432, very good signal with VOA`s `Encounter` interview show, still registered with HFCC as 124 degrees from São Tomé, altho we know there is now an available transmitter at Greenville (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17545, VOA good with talk instead of `Music Mix`, maybe because it`s Sunday, May 1 at 1423 with Hollywood reporter Allan Silverman on ``Jumping the Broom`` new movie. HFCC still lists this as 100 kW, 124 degrees from São Tomé, but I still suspect site has switched to Greenville. Higher bands were quite degraded, with only comparable signals on 16m being 17680 Chile and 17690 Guiana French (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15130 is normally dominated here by WYFR, all the way from 12 to 24 UT, mostly in Spanish, tho only 50 kW at 285 degrees. But April 30 at 1432 I am getting a stronger signal over it, first guess Farsi, but scheduled as VOA Kurdish, 500 kW, 95 degrees from Rampisham UK. Unusual propagation today, with many regular signals missing or degraded, following a G1 geomagnetic storm, K-index 4 at 1500, and a G2 predicted to follow per WWV. 17750, May 4 at 1410, quite good signal and modulation from Denge Amerika = VOA Kurdish, 250 kW, 120 degrees from Wertachtal, GERMANY at 14-15 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. [GERMANY/SRI LANKA/THAILAND]. Radio Liberty - new programs in Russian instead of the Central Asian languages. Special thanks to Andrei Erlich, Ukraine for his observations also. Sundays 1330-1400 12005IRA, 15360UDO (instead in Kazakh) 1430-1500 12075BIB, 15650WER 1530-1600 9830BIB, 15650WER 1630-1700 7350BIB, 15650WER Mondays 0330-0400 9550LAM, 15560UDO (instead in Turkmenian) Sundays 1630-1700 7485UDO, 9790LAM (i-d in Tajik) 1500-1530 11780IRA, 15185IRA (i-d in Kyrgyz) and maybe more. (April 24 & 25). (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, April 28, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews 4 May via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. 15480, R. Sawa monitoring April 29: pre-test caught at 1314-1315* concluding as usual with a weak tone. Apparently not back on until *1416:05, earlier than usual, but by then LRA36 is about gone from 15476 anyway [see ANTARCTICA]. Open carrier, until 1429:25 cut on modulation of YL rock song in English; 1430 cut to a different YL rock song in English --- presumably as before going from VOA Music Mix to Sawa feed. 17545 after 1430 as usual now in International Edition, news. However, 15480 dumped off the air at 1435:30* before we could hear any Arabic announcements or news. Still off at 1500 and final check 1552, so apparently never came back before scheduled 1600*. Let us hope this means that GB received late word that the transmission had been cancelled, rather than another transmitter breakdown. We shall see, tomorrow (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17530, May 3 at 1320, R. Sawa going from Arabic news back to music, still here with good signal via KUWAIT. The schedule changes at least every week. The latest from Ivo Ivanov as of May 1: [as below] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Or reconfigured into consolidated transmission times, minus sites: 08-11 17880 08-13 15780 11-13 17840 13-1430 13690 13-15 17530 1430-16 17785 15-16 17540 (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15480, no sign of Greenville April 30 at 1430, so our guess was right that after six days, this R. Sawa (more or less) transmission was canceled. Yesterday it stopped at 1435.5*. Washington net control was responsible for mixing up English and Arabic until then. As I tuned in at 1429 today, some music briefly until that went off, presumably the end of the Poland via Rampisham transmission (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No signal of Radio SAWA in Arabic, April 29 and 30 0800-1000 on 11725 LAM 1000-1200 on 11680 LAM 1200-1300 on 11890 LAM 73! (Ivo Ivanov, 1051 UT April 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) New schedule of Radio Sawa: 0800-1100 on 15780 LAM 100 kW / 132 deg 0800-1100 on 17880 KWT 250 kW / 285 deg 1100-1300 on 15780 LAM 100 kW / 132 deg 1100-1300 on 17840 KWT 250 kW / 285 deg 1300-1430 on 13690 LAM 100 kW / 132 deg 1300-1430 on 17530 KWT 250 kW / 285 deg 1430-1500 on 17530 KWT 250 kW / 285 deg 1430-1500 on 17785 BOT 100 kW / 350 deg 1500-1600 on 17540 KWT 250 kW / 285 deg 1500-1600 on 17785 BOT 100 kW / 350 deg Cancelled freqs from Apr. 29/30 & May 1: 0800-1000 on 11725 LAM 100 kW / 132 deg 1000-1200 on 11680 LAM 100 kW / 132 deg 1200-1300 on 11890 LAM 100 kW / 132 deg 1430-1600 on 15480 GB 250 kW / 055 deg 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, May 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Farda vs Radio Sawa? Frequency changes of Radio Farda in Farsi from May 3: 0430-0500 NF 17880 IRA 250 kW / 316 deg to WeAs, ex 17845 0500-0600 NF 17880 UDO 250 kW / 304 deg to WeAs, ex 17845 0600-0830 NF 17880*UDO 250 kW / 304 deg to WeAs, ex 21715 * But what is the situation 0800-0830 on 17880: 0800-0830 on 17880 UDO 250 kW / 304 deg to WeAs Radio Farda in Farsi 0800-0830 on 17880 KWT 250 kW / 285 deg to NEAf Radio Sawa in Arabic 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. 9455 // 9690 in Chinese, April 30 at 1827, both scheduled as R. Free Asia in Mandarin, via SAIPAN and TINIAN respectively. I first checked the higher bands and was not hearing much at this hour, degraded propagation following geomag stsorm, so a bit surprised to be getting these at mid-day. Could have been CNR1 jamming, but programming lacked that over-the-top hype (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1562 monitoring: our best early airing, UT Friday April 29 on WWRB 2390 and 5050, was missing from both frequencies! Instead, preaching or Bible reading. WWRB later answered my inquiry on what happened? ``Our Microwave link to charter cable was knocked out by the storms.`` I guess that means they could not download the program. Better luck next week? On WRMI 9955: confirmed Friday April 29 at 1437; as usual, free of CCI during this semihour, but weaker than adjacent 9960 music and RTTY, no jamming below 9965. Next WORs: on WRMI, Saturday 0800, 1730, Sunday 0800, 1530, 1730. On WWCR: Friday 2030 on 15825, Saturday 1600 on 12160, Sunday 0630 on 3215. On IPAR: Saturday 1800 on 7290 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1562 monitoring: confirmed April 30 at 1613 with usual excellent signal here on 12160 for the WWCR broadcast at 1600 Saturday; I checked on a portable during the Tri-State Music Festival parade, a yearly event in downtown Enid. How is 12160 reception further east and west? Next repeat is Sunday 0630 on 3215. Also on WRMI: Sunday 0800, 1530, 1730 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5745, 0801 24 March, WHRI, IS, then man in Spanish with hymn `How Great Thou Art`, SIO 222 (Kevin O`Daly, North Somerset, May BDXC- UK Communication via DXLD) What IS?? No, 5745 at that time was WYFR, if you consult the schedules, such as FCC B-10 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Family Radio to close? It`s going to be interesting listening to this station on May 21st! http://www.familyradio.com (Mike Terry, UK, April 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I'm looking forward to hearing stations presently covered by Family Radio broadcasts. :-) (Harold Sellers, ibid.) Sooner or later seems that almost every major or medium HF broadcasters "will be swallowed by the Black Hole in the Shortwaves galaxy" ;-( (Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, ibid.) Family Radio to close? Yesterday's not soon enough. Camping is usually wrong but if Family Radio goes, I for one will dance in the street (Clara Listensprechen, ibid.) Sounds like a bunch of loons. Just like Oral Roberts (Keith Perron, Taiwan, ibid.) Not exactly, Oral`s big gimmick was faith-healing, not doom (gh, DXLD) I was going to say all the same things you guys and gals are saying, but allow me to echo your sentiments! Bye - bye Family Radio! You will not be missed! (Dan Hensley, ibid.) ATHEISTS EXPAND BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN -- NO APOCALYPSE, NO RAPTURE... Countering "2000 Years of 'Almost Any Day Now' Deception AMERICAN ATHEISTS PRESS RELEASE http://www.atheists.org April 18, 2011 For Immediate Release Dave Silverman, President 732-648-9333 Blair Scott, Communications Director 256-701-6265 American Atheists has launched another round in its "MYTH billboard campaign with signs going up this week in Oakland, Houston and Ft. Lauderdale. The message declares: "THE RAPTURE -- You KNOW it's Nonsense. 2000 Years of 'Any Day Now'." That's because some terrified Christians believe Saturday, May 21 2011 is The End Of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI). Jesus is supposedly set to return, and when he does, the souls and bodies of the saved will go flying off to heaven in an event known as the Rapture. This colorful and highly imaginative scenario is based on predictions culled from the Bible by a minister named Harold Camping who runs Family Radio. Camping's warning is being taken seriously by a rapidly growing and surprisingly large segment of fundamentalists and evangelicals, and is being fueled by a lavish billboard campaign throughout the country. "This is nothing new," said American Atheists President Dave Silverman. "Self-declared Christian prophets have a long track record predicting the end of the world. What distinguishes this latest round of warnings, though, is the sheer scale, and the cultural backdrop of 'gloom and doom' over everything from the economy to the environment." Mr. Silverman added: "Every time someone has predicted the rapture they've been wrong, but most of the time the preachers make a lot of money in the process. In my opinion, it's an excellent scam -- if you can handle the complete lack of ethics involved. " So, the atheists are countering what they see as hysteria and foolishness. Atheists will be hosting "Rapture Parties" in cities like Ft. Lauderdale, Oakland and Houston. They are also linking the rapture to other teachings of religion. Last Christmas, the group erected an enormous billboard at the entrance to New York City's Lincoln Tunnel with a depiction of the nativity scene and star of Bethlehem and the statement: "You KNOW It's a Myth." "We know from the response to our campaign that there are large numbers of 'closet atheists' and religious skeptics who are afraid of 'coming out' to their families and friends." added Silverman. "We hope to encourage and support them by revealing the fact that, yes, they are atheists, and proud of the fact." Blair Scott, Communications Director for American Atheists, said that Camping and other Christian extremists have every right to make such predictions, "they should be aware of the fact that there are emotionally-troubled individuals who might take these warnings seriously and cause harm to themselves and others." "There are already reports of people selling their property, quitting jobs, and taking other reckless actions because they believe Jesus is returning and their problems will disappear." "We could be looking at another Heaven's Gate," Scott warned. The reference is to a 1997 religious cult that committed suicide to free their souls and join an alien spacecraft trailing Comet Hale-Bopp) (AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for non-believers; works for the total separation of church-mosque- temple and State; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.) (American Atheists April 29 via DXLD) In all seriousness, does anyone know if Family Radio has made financial arrangements to continue its many relay stations after May 21? As I understand it, Mr. Camping has taken the position that anyone who doesn't 100% agree with him that Judgment Day is May 21 lacks faith in the Bible and therefore is going to hell. Setting aside the obvious theological questions, if Family Radio is being run by those it considers believers, it would seem Family Radio would not have paid for relay arrangements after that date. Even if it turns out that they were wrong, in addition to figuring out what to say on the transmitters that they own, they'll also need to get relays organized and funded, which should take some time. Or, perhaps Family Radio has made contingency plans to operate past May 21, in which case Family Radio is consciously being run by those it deems non-believers. That ought to cause a different problem for their listeners and donors (David Yocis, Shannondale, WV, USA, April 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Altho God knows I don`t follow this Rapture nonsense closely, I read somewhere that while May 21 is The Big Day, Harold thinx it`s merely the start of the rapture process, which lasts conveniently most of the rest of A-11 into October. Glenn Watch for a last minute "reprieve" to be interpreted and announced near the "end" date. By then everyone will have given their worldly goods to Camping and a new "event" can be milked another day (Carl Mann, ibid.) Or, they'll say they "miscalculated" and that the End Time is actually another day. That's what happened when someone predicted the Rapture back when I was in high school (Nathan Adams, ibid.) I asked certain person I've recently met who lives in Brazil and believes in this and what they argue is the following that I've translated: "Jesus will return in May. In 21 days will be the return of Christ and the Rapture. The Last Judgement will remain for five months until October 21, 2011, when the world will be annihilated, "And they were allowed, not to kill them, but be tormented for five months," (Revelation 9:5 a); "And his power was to hurt men five months." (Revelation 9:10 b). The five months starting from the date from May 21 until October 21. For a detailed study [in Portuguese] visit: http://worldwide.familyradio.org/pt e http://cristovem21052011.com/ Gosh, seems they are really convinced! (Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, ibid.) [non] Frequency change of WYFR Family Radio in Farsi from Apr. 28: 1600-1700 NF 13615 NAU 500 kW / 095 deg to WeAs, ex 11670 WER 500 kW / 090 deg * to avoid AIR in English from 1745 (Ivo Ivanov, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9615, April 30 at 1359, ``Gott sei die Ehre`` orchestral theme of Family Radio, 1400 into other version as trumpet IS, and English introducing `Open Forum`, pre-rapture. At the outset, the musical notes and voice briefly went sour as if someone were tuning an SSB feed input. No sign of New Zealand, remnants of which were still on proper 6170. On April 25 only, I heard RNZI on 9615 during this hour, as previously reported, and on that occasion there was no sign of YFR, which HFCC says is 500 kW, due south from Irkutsk, RUSSIA. 15670, April 30 at 1406, S Asian language mentions `Open Forum`, ergo Harold Camping YFR nonsense, confirmed by YFR riff. HFCC says 500 kW, 85 degrees from Issoudun, FRANCE in Hindi; before 1400 this frequency has ChiCom jamming against IBB Tibetan (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That master mathematician and prophet, Harold Camping, has refined his Rapture schedule --- it will start at 6 pm local time around the world on May 21. All eyes on Tonga at 0500 UT, where there are plenty of Christians! But are they that gullible? I was listening to him for a few LOL minutes at 1334 May 3 on WYFR 11910 // 11830 over RHC. He was also talking about 5 foolish virgins and 5 other (wise?) virgins, and Rev. 18:8 onward. Bonus: *another* non // Harold Camping on 11865 with other Bible stuff. I`ll really be disappointed in God if he recognizes DST, since God`s real time in Tonga is UT +12, not +13 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, yesterday Mr. Camping said on a direct question by a listener, that he does not know God 's plans but as a true believer he expects to be raptured too. It is quite daring and I am very anxious to see what happens after May 21 - if we are going to hear Mr. Camping still after this day or if he disappears as one of the raptured believers... Is not it a bit risky by Family Radio? Or what is the next scenario? (Karel Honzik, CZECHIA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Perhaps Mr. C will go into hiding in, say, Abbottabad, so at least he will appear to have been Raptured (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) ** U S A. 9955, Monday May 2 at 1434, Roberto Scaglione`s `Studio DX` in Italian is audible, poor WRMI signal but not jammed for a change. See also CUBA [and non], ECUADOR [non] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. QSLs: Acontecer Venezolano via WRMI, 9955 kHz, card, WRMI brochure in 34 days, v/s Jeff White. Gospel of The Kingdom via WRMI, 9955 kHz, card in 77 days, v/s Jeff White. HCJB/DX Party Line via WRMI, 9955 kHz, card, sticker, fridge magnet in 58 days, v/s Iris Rauscher (Vozandes Media). Jesus Christ Our Only Hope via WRMI, 9955 kHz, card in 77 days, v/s Jeff White. La Voz de La Asociación via WRMI, 9955 kHz, card in 77 days, v/s Jeff White. La Voz del C.D.H.D. - Brigada 2506 via WRMI, card in 77 days, v/s Jeff White. Zion Teacher via WRMI, 9955 kHz, card in 77 days, v/s Jeff White. (Vashek Korinek, South Africa, via Dario Monferini, May 1, playdx yg via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. 15420-usb, strongest S=6 signal of English sermon of WBCQ The Planet Monticello, at 1825 UT May 1, heard on remote receiver in CA-USA. But heard politic program in background underneath, it was undoubtedly BBC Seychelles in English, co-channel! So 15420 kHz is extended now by 2 hours at 17-19 UT daily/ (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews May 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Wolfy, No, Cyprus just started. See latest BBC schedule at HFCC: 15420 1700 1900 48,52NE,53NW BBC Worldservice BAB English Limassol 34N43 033E19 173 250 1234567 25-Apr-2011 30-Oct-2011 (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** U S A. 9330-CUSB, WBCQ with dead air May 4 at 0529, 0534 and still at 0545. Next check when I awoke briefly at 0828, GFRN/R2:11 modulation had resumed. 23/7 customer, turn it on and forget it; their fault if the feed fail (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9370, WTJC had been behaving itself lately, adequate modulation, not too distorted, and not spurring. But after the last fix, I prophesied it would eventually go out of whack again, and now it has: April 30 at 1315, fundamental is overmodulated and distorted, plus extremely distorted spurs circa 9345 and stronger 9395, as has happened before. 9370, WTJC still out of whack, May 2 at 0540 with modulation spikes around 9345 and 9395. Worse than ever at 1300 with ID, requesting reception reports! And into IRN-USA slanted `news`. Now the spurs are as strong as the fundamental. By 1339, the spur field has increased to bother WBCQ on 9330, IBB on 9355, WWRB on 9385, and most points in between, as far out as 9320 and 9420. 9385 WWRB had usual very strong signal with BS, but the scratchy spur from WTJC could be heard underneath, tsk2. 9370, WTJC still spurring, May 3 at 0545 with spikes audible around 9345, 9395 at music modulation peaks; 0556 noticed a song about Jesús in Spanish, tho I am not aware of a definite Spanish broadcast from them at this time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15825, WWCR, May 3 at 1311 has VG signal during black gospel music hour, S9+15, but not enough to audiblize the plus/minus 15.6 kHz spurs. A sporadic-E boost, but weakened again at 1326. The 6m QSO maps a couple hours later showed Es openings over SE USA. Nothing seen on channel 2 here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WTWW-2 test frequencies --- George McClintock forwards this May 2 which he presumably sent to the FCC, so apparently transmitter #2 is about ready to start up (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz: WTWW requests the following frequencies and times for equipment tests at 40 degrees, 100 KW. 12.1 Mhz (coordinated) at will testing due to no other station listed on frequency. 5.080 " " " 5.765 " " " 9.990 1100-2300 UT --- George McClintock, President and General Manager, WTWW, Leap of Faith, Inc. (via DXLD) 9479, WTWW missing May 4 at 1421; it had been on 5755 as usual the night before. Perhaps needed to turn off in order to work on new rhombic antennas for #2 and #3 transmitters. Back on at 1555 check. George McClintock has notified FCC that he intends to test the 40- degree antenna soon at will, anytime on 12100, 5080, 5765, and between 11 and 23 on 9990. George McClintock phoned May 4 at 1915 UT to advise that WTWW #3 transmitter is now testing on 12100, about 20 kW and 50% modulation. We checked and it was VG here, S9+22 or so, and sufficient modulation, noticeably less than the over-modulation on 9479. Still going past 2030. Says he is working out the bugs and will continue testing 12100 on and off the next week, not on the other three frequencies, and work up to full 100 kW. Yes, #3, as the #2 transmitter is held up by some parts problems, so #3 on the 40 degree antenna toward Europe will be operational before #2. May change to a 15 MHz channel in the daytime. Modulation was gospel music, but when fully programmed, 12100 et al. will be carrying nothing but scripture reading from Spoken Word of God, in English, Arabic, German, French, Portuguese, perhaps Spanish; plans to add Chinese later on the other transmitter. In English the SWOG is by Alexander Scourby, whom I used to respect as a secular narrator, heard on several other stations, even giving Brother Scare an occasional breather. Now he is remembered mostly for his Bible readings, having died in 1985, so yet another dead SW broadcaster, 25 years and counting (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DX LISTENING DIGEST) QSL: WTWW, Nashville [sic], TN, 9480 kHz, card in 56 days after follow-up, v/s Dan Dixon (Vashek Korinek, South Africa, via Dario Monferini, May 1, playdx yg via DXLD) ** U S A. 13570, WINB, May 3 at 1313 is signing off with ID, contact info including phone number, big hum also goes off at 1313:40*. This is the usual closing on weekdays, and I have not discovered when they come back on, contrary to their still displayed schedule claiming 24/7, including `Good Friends Radio` at 12-19, but GFR seems to have escaped from WINB. Maybe the resumption is at 19 for `Global Spirit Proclamation` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 11715-, Sunday May 1 at 1356, KJES catechisms in English by OM, repeated by YL zombie, one each. Modulation sufficient for a change, but slightly distorted on peaks, VG strength. This one is often inaudible, not even a carrier, so presumably irregular (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15385.300, KJES Vado in English at 1820 UT, Sunday May 1, very poor signal, just above threshold, noted on remote receiver at CA-USA (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews May 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11715-, no sign of KJES, Monday May 2 at 1322, unlike Sunday at 1356 in previous report. However, at 1405, S9+12 carrier but just barely modulated with singing, eventually recognizable as `Ave Maria` with guitar accompaniment. Much better reception from the fellow zombies in P`yongyang on 11710. As usual, KJES frequency slightly on lo side, compared to something on 9715, listed as IBB TINIAN in Vietnamese (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. ETWN [sic] e a doação não feita --- Olá amigos, Estive com problemas para acompanhar as respostas aqui na lista Radioescutas, mas estou mandando alguma novidade. Recentemente chegou para mim uma carta curiosa da ETWN: Gastaram $00.98 em postagem para me agradecerem por ter feito uma doação de 1 dólar à emissora. Na carta de tamanho médio uma assinatura de Deacon Bill em caneta de tinteiro. No conteúdo uma mensagem sobre Páscoa, a Quaresma. A questão é que não fiz a doação de um dólar e ainda que tivesse feito, eles a teriam gasto com a própria carta de agradecimento. Faz já algum algum tempo que não reporto as transmissões deles. Não é mesmo curioso? eles devem receber tanta correspondência que acabam se embaralhando, também já recebi cartas duplicadas (NHK faz muito isso) ou com o meu nome errado no cabeçalho. 73 a todos e boas escutas neste fim de semana! (Rodrigo de Araujo, SWARL: PY4004-SWL, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil, April 29, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Says he got a letter from WEWN with 98c postage thanking him for a $1 donation he did not make (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. ALABAMA TORNADO DAMAGE TO BROADCAST STATIONS thread: http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=189867.0 http://www.radio-info.com/news/tornadoes-in-the-deep-south-and-broadcasters-respond (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. More on the KTRU case, Rice selling it to KUHF Houston: Prior to Jesse, this was what was played: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh60xe0ff3E No, it wasn't edited for broadcast. How classy. Must have come up with a lot of creative thought to write those lyrics. Now the professionals can take over. Well, it was on during safe harbor. Smiley Seriously, I'm hoping that college stations are learning from KTRU and KUSF that you remain aloof from your fellow students and the administration at your peril. You can still be free form and edgy, but you can do student dances where you can play your more accessible music like dance and world music, you can offer coverage of campus activities and do interviews with faculty and students, you can be more open in recruiting students and not just brgining in indie rock types and you can cover campus sports. KTRU seemed to care more about the Houston music community than the campus community and that's where they got in trouble. I still think that the incident in the late 90s where a @#!*% -off DJ played punk rock over a PBP broadcast of a Rice softball game and management's refusal to discipline the DJ was the beginning of the end and that any attempts to patch up things with the administration seemed to be insincere (s, radio-info.com April 28 via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. VERMONT PUBLIC RADIO -- Main Network, all with cj, $, HD: VT Bennington WBTN-FM *94.3 adds HD. VT Rutland WRVT *88.7 adds HD. Other stations in that web: WVPS *107.9 Burlington, WVPA *88.5 St. Johnsbury, WVPR *89.5 Windsor. VERMONT PUBLIC RADIO, Classical, all using the identifier "VPR Classical": NY Schuyler Falls WOXR *90.9 HD, c, $[tereo], ID with Burlington VT, drops "The Wave 90.9." VT Brighton WVTI *106.9 adds $. VT Norwich WNCH *88.1 adds c, $. VT Randolph WVXR *102.1 c. VT Sunderland WVTQ *95.1, HD, c, Manchester added to its ID. Also in that network: WOXM *90.1 Middlebury. (Bruce F. Elving, PhD, FM Atlas, April 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WSM AM TOWER NAMED TO HISTORIC REGISTER More technical detail on the tower can be found at http://www.oldradio.com/archives/stations/ccs/wsmtwr.htm Nashville Business Journal Date: Thursday, April 14, 2011, 7:07am CDT - Last Modified: Thursday, April 14, 2011, 7:24am CDT WSM AM’s unmistakable, elongated diamond of a radio tower has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. The red-and-white, 808-foot tower is located just off Interstate-65 in Brentwood and was built in 1932. “Although WSM is best known for its 85-year association with country music and as the radio home of the Grand Ole Opry, WSM was also an invaluable source of news and rural public service programming in its early days and even assisted our military’s defense efforts during the Cold War era,” said WSM operations manager and program director Joe Limardi in The Tennessean. “Since 1932, the WSM tower has been one of the most recognized structures in Nashville, and we’re thrilled that it is now recognized nationally as well.” (via David Hodgson, TN, April 29, DXLD) WSM Tower Added to National Register of Historic Places The legendary radio station 650AM WSM [Nashville] has been added to the National Register of Historic Places The 50,000-watt WSM radio tower and radio transmission complex qualified for the National Register in the Communications, Architecture, Music, Engineering and Military categories. "WSM is extremely proud to be included in the National Register of Historic Places," said WSM Operations Manager and Program Director Joe Limardi. "Although WSM is best known for its 85-year association with Country music and as the radio home of the Grand Ole Opry, WSM was also an invaluable source of news and rural public service programming in its early days and even assisted our military's defense efforts during the Cold War era. Since 1932, the WSM tower has been one of the most recognized structures in Nashville, and we're thrilled that it is now recognized nationally as well." The 808-foot WSM broadcast tower was first built in 1932 and enabled the station to broadcast to as many as 38 states and Canada as a federally-designate d, AM clear channel station. The station's range contributed to the success of its Grand Ole Opry program. Today, the tower is the oldest and tallest Blaw-Knox Diamond Radio Tower in the world. From http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/04/nashville-radio-station-added-to-national-register.html (via Richard Gedye, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** URUGUAY. 6045 captada no RS --- Ontem a tarde por volta das 1630 às 1700 captei em Lajeado a Rádio Sarandi 6045 kHz em ssb no meu DE1103, porím o sinal era regular! (William Viu, May 1, radioescutas yg via DXLD) UT - 3 = 1930-2000 UT (gh) ** VENEZUELA [non]. For the third week in a row, no `Aló, Presidente` on May 1. At 1417, RHC has turned off 13680 early, as it does on Sundays only because the transmitter is needed later on 13750 for A,P, but there is no carrier on 13750, 17750 or 15370, other A,P channels. El Hugazo`s excuse this week is that his `space is being ceded` to Labor Day celebrations. Next Sunday I suppose it will be because of Mothers` Day. See http://www.alopresidente.gob.ve/ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. 7220, Voice of Vietnam, *1230-1233 Apr 25. Beginning of Russian with "Govorit Golos Vietnam" and into talk. Poor, with severe 7225 splatter (presume VOA Tinang). (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. Beginning May 15th, 2011 Foundation For Democracy Of Vietnam will broadcast a daily program from 1430 to 1500 UT on 1503 kHz. This time slot had been used by the BBC Vietnamese Service until it was vacated because of the restructuring measures that have been taken by the BBC World Service. The 600 kW transmitter and directional antenna azimuth of 247 degrees is located in Fangliao, South Taiwan (Pingtung County). This site is also used by Radio France Internationale in Khmer, Radio Chan Troi Moi (New Horizon Radio) in Vietnamese, Family Radio in Vietnamese, Thai, Burmese and English. This relay was arranged by Jeff White at WRMI (Radio Miami International) and Keith Perron at PCJ Radio. 73, (Keith Perron, PCJ Radio, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. Giovedì 28 aprile 2011, 2106 - 6297 kHz. RASD RADIO inattiva. Mi sembra da più di una settimana (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova), Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) CLANDESTINE, 1550, Polisario Front, Rabouni, ALGERIA, 2309-2330*, 28 Apr, Castilian, talks, interviews & music; 54444, adjacent QRM. The parallel 6297.15 outlet remains off during their evening broadcast. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. 13590, April 29 at 0606, gospel rock with VG signal toward Michigan, and fair at 1321 in English, so 1Africa is now back on its proper frequency after a few days on 13599.8 for the 06-20 broadcast. I suspect this is what happened: main transmitter broke down, and it was replaced by a different lower-powered backup unit, incapable of operating on the proper frequency. It might not even have been in Zambia. I heard 13599.8 April 25-27. Bill Bingham in South Africa had logged CVC using 13590 on April 22-23 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13590, 1 Africa / CVC International. Lusaka. 2011/04/22 fri 0809-0823. Religious talk and songs for "this special day" (Good Friday). Poor. Jo'burg sunrise 0427. 13590, 1 Africa / CVC International. Lusaka. 2011/04/23 sat 0759-0821. Christian songs. SA phone number and postal address at 0815, Id at 0816 "1 Africa". Fading in by 0759, too poor for normal listening. Much better by 0810. Jo'burg sunrise 0428. 13590, 1 Africa / CVC International. Lusaka. 2011/04/23 sat 1348-1406. Christian songs. SA phone number at 1349, God has great plans for me. Id at 1356 "1 Africa". E-mail address at 1403. Good, slight fading. Jo'burg sunset 1545 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This was just before its deviation to 13599.8 I heard (gh) April 29th, 1830...1910, 4965 // 13590, 1Africa, both strong, the latter ever stronger. Recent odd observations do not seem unlikely, maybe some minor technical troubles, as also 4965 seemed to be off for some evenings right before Easter. 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.africalist.de.ms April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) My observations of 1Africa on 13599.8 for a few days were not ``not unlikely`` but definite (gh, DXLD) 13590, R Africa 1 [sic], 0604 May 1, as per last loggings in the lists (mostly as read in DXLD, that they tuned off to 13600), they are back in their main frequency! For this time with pop songs and ID S0-1 (Zacharias Liangas , Thessaloniki Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. 4828, Voice of Zimbabwe. Gweru. 2011/04/20 wed 1733-1740. YL talking about climate change. Constant repetition of the word "Zimbabwe" in background music. The presentation style of this programme, with short bursts of talk interspersed with music, is beginning to sound like the Voice of Africa FTGJ. Is this the way Voice of Zimbabwe is going? Probably not surprising, since Bob is an admirer of Brother Leader. Poor. Jo'burg sunset 1548. 4828, Voice of Zimbabwe. Gweru. 2011/04/22 fri 1801-1806. OM talking about the first chimurenga (war of liberation). At 1803, news. Poor. Jo'burg sunset 1546. 4828, Voice of Zimbabwe. Gweru. 2011/04/23 sat 1455-1504. Unmodulated carrier (hum only), presumably Voice of Zimbabwe warming up for *1630. Jo'burg sunset 1545 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. via Madagascar, 9870, Radio Voice of the People, 0425-0457*, April 30, vernacular talk. IDs. English at 0441 with news about Zimbabwe. Closing English ID announcements at 0456. Poor to fair in noisy conditions. Difficult to understand due to thick accents (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) UNIDENTIFIED. 4711-USB, Volmet 2330 to 0020 with mentions de Kandahar, twice Ashgabat, 29 April [XM-Cedar Key] (Robert Wilkner, Icom 746Pro, Drake R8, NRD 535D, Noise Reducing Antenna, 60 Meter Dipole, 41 meter dipole, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, April 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 5580.736, 1000 possibly Bolivia, Radio San José, San José de Chiquitos, but not previously heard during this time period. 26 April (Robert Wilkner, Icom 746Pro, Drake R8, NRD 535D, Noise Reducing Antenna, 60 Meter Dipole, 41 meter dipole, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, April 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 30th April 2011, 5875 kHz 0823 - 0902hrs UTC / 0923 - 1002hrs BST Listening location: Bristol, England UnID (clandestine?) station. Music in an unknown language which was interrupted shortly after I tuned in by a long beep. TX returned carrying reggae-style music (some of the words of which were "I will be free" but the rest sounded foreign) which was interrupted by a longer beep. TX returned with talk in unknown language (I thought it to be Chinese but am unsure). TX cut out completely at 0828 UT but returned at 0832 with a continuous beeping noise. It then cut out again but returned almost immediately at 0833 with the continuous beeping noise that, a couple of times, varied in tone. Music returned 0834, more continuous beep at 0835, music returned at 0836 with, over the music, some sound effects which were similar to a vehicle with a high-powered motor having a road accident. Brief talk before the TX cut out at 0837, returned 0845 with music, then the continuous beep at 0846, then music & voices at 0847. More continuous beep 0848-0849 then brief music, then TX cut out at 0849. TX returned 0851 with vocals under heavy noise (SINO at this point 3522). Yet more continuous beep 0854 followed by vocals (talk). TX cut out again but returned 0858 with vocals (and music?) under heavy noise again. Music 0901 under heavy noise but TX cut out 0902 and didn't return thereafter. No clue as to what this station was. The WRTH 2011 edition that I have mentions nothing clandestine on 5875 but my thinking tells me that this must have been a clandestine station that was being frequently, and quite heavily, jammed. Or, dare I suggest it, in view of the SFX at 0836, a mobile broadcasting vehicle? Any ideas please? Audio Clip 1 (10 seconds): http://www.btinternet.com/~dcharries/unid1.WAV Audio Clip 2 (33 seconds): http://www.btinternet.com/~dcharries/unid2.WAV (Dave Harries, Bristol, England, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dave, The language in your 2nd recording does sound like Arabic related, possibly emanating from the Horn of Africa; maybe ETH, ETH, SOM. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, ibid.) 5875 is a Woofferton frequency at 6-8 UT. As this is a usual behaviour of engineers on Rampisham and Woofferton sites to check transmitter and antennas "ON AIR" in 7-9 UT slot - for many years in 49 to 31 mb. I guess the puzzle could be doing usual hardware check, using an available program from Babcock control room at this time, for example Pashto program to Afghanistan or similar ? 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. LA - 6035.02, Weak unid LA noted several mornings this week from 1006 earliest tune-in 4/29. Also 4/27 and 4/30 but no signal Sun morning 5/1. Programming during 1000 hour is consistently some kind of religious service, possibly a group recitation of the rosary led by priest and assistant (YL). Deep-voiced OM in what I think is Spanish (but unsure since so weak) as in prayer, YL sometimes interjecting, and then group regularly responds in prayerful chorus. Seems to fade up a wee bit toward bottom of the hour but then disappears altogether underneath QRM splatter from both sides, which seems to crescendo daily at 1030, killing this signal). Very poor QSA at best and continuously pounded by splatter from both sides. Only able to hear after 1030 on 4/30, when a quick announcement by a different speaker (possibly a live ID) at 1030, and then into a new program of mellow, generic LA guitar baladas / canciones. Very intrigued by this. One possible candidate is HJ station LV Guaviare, but that's not scheduled till *1100 from some older info . . . so could be something else, much more interesting. Anybody help? (R Perry, Illinois, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nothing but Guaviare known to be active (gh, DXLD) UNID LA - 6035v, Latin only heard briefly this morning around 1025 when for two minutes, an instrumental theme song 'Ave Maria' was heard, with YL Spanish announcer talking over the music. Horrendous side-channel splatter making copy nearly impossible. Would make sense if this was the ending musical theme for a daily morning rosary show, as previously reported. Am a bit doubtful that this is the HJ, Guaviare, but will need more work to sort this out (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, May 2; Drake R8B; Japan Radio NRD-545; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2 + Palomar P-408, Longwires (150' + 100'); Tuned Multi-Turn 20" Small Loop; Single-Turn Coax Loop, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See COLOMBIA: he later IDed it (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 6925-USB, PIRATE (No. Am.), UnId Spanish Pirate, 0225– 0250, 5/1/11. Started almost immediately after Wolverine ended. Barely audible talk by OM & music, 0931, song with animal sounds (including chicken & goat), YL, skit or part of a soap opera, song, talk by OM, maybe ID, chant, more talk by OM, apparently off 0250. As best I could tell, the whole program was in Spanish. Poor to very poor (Mark Taylor, Madison WI, Winradio g313e, Eton E1, Satellit 800, Kaito 1103; Flextenna, EWE, attic mounted Eavesdropper, NASWA Flashsheet May 1 via DXLD) It`s about time (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. Has anyone noticed a lot more illegal RTTY transmissions in the 6 and 7 MHz bands lately? I often put on a BFO a kHz off centre frequencies to see if there are any completely clear frequencies in these bands. A very few unoccupied channels, lot of unidentifiable Asiatic languages, very weak signals but they`re probably not heard in noisy urban locations (Des Walsh, Ireland, Making Contact, May World DX Club Contact via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 7145: April 27, 28, 29: carrier appearing around 1830, off around 1853...1855, likely East European/Asian spur/mixing product (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.africalist.de.ms April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 9910: Aoki now shows an entry on 9910 for RFI at 1630- 1733 in Portuguese, no site data. Inaudible here in SC. Anyone else? (DanFerguson, May 1, NASWA yg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 13600, Unidentified Chinese program 1100-1130 UT close- down Apr 30. SOH from Taiwan? (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews 4 May via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Intruder, 17656.0-SSB, May 4 at 1413, two-way in Spanish, engine noise in background, still going at 1422, between broadcast signals on 17650 and 17660 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Country??? 17860, Station??? Location??? 2011/04/24 sun 0847-0900*. I'm confused. German, Christian church service. Bell peal at 0858, heard mention of "Deutschlandfunk" then ID and jingle at 0900* "Deutsche Welle". Only time-fit from HFCC is listed as station ADM ?? from Dhabbaya, UAE, language not specified. No suitable listing at this time in Aoki. Can find no listing for this frequency on the Deutsche Welle A11 schedule. Fair - good. Jo'burg sunrise 0428 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. On 8th and 9th March I noted HF propagation up towards 28/29 MHz for a couple of hours each day. 21 MHz broadcast stations improved in strength and number, there being 10 frequencies in use at 1205. Even the 25 MHz time pips from Finland were S7; they have an unusual pattern of various long and short pips, and the absence of one every minute. But what was very interesting was the existence of very many short r/t transmissions which sounded very like taxis in a Slavic language (Moscow or some other big city) in AM or NBFM, mainly on frequencies ending in 5 kHz, spread right from a low of 25685 to the edge of 27 MHz CB, a few in the 27 to 28 MHz CB range but then encroaching into the 10 metre Amateur band, i.e. around 28055 to 28305 kHz and a few higher. Now and then a telephone could be heard ringing in the background of transmissions. It would be interesting if anyone was on holidays in Russia or other former Soviet lands could take a listen in the 25-30 MHz areas to see what could be heard. No doubt if sunspot activity increases we will hear much more of these unauthorized transmissions (Des Walsh, Ireland, Making Contact, May World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ [Sign-up by a new dxldyg applicant] Apr 29, 2011. Spent my time on-air in radio, and have been a SWL/HAM for many, many years. How can I NOT want to be a part this?! I've been following your material inside the SWL/HAM world for many a year, and use many of your charts and lists myself when DXing in locales from Singapore to St. John's, and appreciated every gem. My name is Randolph Eustace-Walden I live (for the moment) in North Vancouver, British Columbia, although I find myself many times a year DXing from the west coast of Vancouver Island in Tofino (which is a hotbed for everything from Japan to Finland - who knew?!). I am practising as we speak to regain my HAM license from millennia ago it seems. A Yaseu FT-817ND is in my near (and dear) future. Should you require any further information, please let me know. Cheers! (Randolph Eustace-Walden) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ALASKA TEST PRODUCES LOWER AM POWER COSTS When Chuck Lakaytis, director of engineering for Alaska Public Broadcasting Inc., saw energy bills for his half-dozen 10 kW AM rural transmitter sites jump to around 50 cents per kWh, he knew something had to be done. “We questioned whether we could afford to continue the AM service.” Lakaytis had an idea. He called his FCC attorneys as well as transmitter manufacturers Nautel and Harris. Soon, the commission had granted experimental authorization for APB’s KOTZ and KDLG to use energy-saving modulation schemes not legally available to U.S. broadcasters. His presentation “Dynamic Carrier Control,” on Thursday morning at the NAB Broadcast Engineering Conference, describes his experiences with this green technology. These images are from a past presentation by Tim Hardy of Nautel about energy conservation in AM broadcast transmitters using carrier control algorithms. At KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska Public Broadcasting installed a Nautel XR-12 with amplitude modulation companding, or AMC. In Kotzebue, a Harris DX-10 was installed at KOTZ. It uses dynamic amplitude modulation, or DAM. Both of these systems were developed in the early 1980s in response to rising energy costs in Europe. Amplitude Modulation Companding was developed by the BBC and is used both domestically and in all international shortwave transmitters. Dynamic Amplitude Modulation was developed by AEG Telefunken. Although both systems are accepted and deployed widely elsewhere, their operation is not allowed in the United States because they violate FCC rules on carrier shift and maintenance of licensed power levels. With DAM, the carrier is suppressed in relation to the modulation level. Both carrier and amplitude voltage are reduced in a linear fashion during low modulation, and increased at higher modulation levels. AMC takes the opposite approach. The carrier is suppressed as modulation increases, and then rises to 100 percent of signal level during lower modulation periods. Even though signal-to-noise is compromised with lower carrier levels during modulation, the theory is that the increased modulation will mask the increased noise level, so there will be no perceived difference. Lakaytis said a two-month trial of AMC at KDLG showed a 27 percent reduction in electricity costs. “We may be able to get it up to 30 percent by tweaking the audio processor.” Several glitches and the severe Alaska winter delayed the installation of the DX-10 at KOTZ, so no data on energy savings were available at press time. What surprised Lakaytis most was the high audio quality. “It was no different than the old system.” He adds that public radio listeners are a fussy group, yet there have been no complaints about audio quality or signal level. According to Lakaytis, it is also a bit disconcerting to see the transmitter’s power output meter jumping from 60 to 100 percent. The experiment has not gone unnoticed by other Alaska broadcasters. Lakaytis has fielded inquiries from engineers at some of the local 50 kW commercial stations about the success of the new systems and how they can get in on the action. “It all depends on how quickly the FCC can take action and make a change in the rules,” Lakaytis said. The FCC says it’s okay for non-commercial AM stations in Alaska to install Dynamic Carrier Control with no further authorization; they just need to send in a notification, according to Nautel. The commission will modify the license accordingly. Previously, those stations needed experimental authorization to use DCC. Nautel DOE Tim Hardy has been championing this technology, which uses carrier control algorithms in AM transmitters to save stations money on operating costs by reducing the carrier without reducing overall transmitter power. “This technology has been an option on our high-power AM transmitters (>100 kW) since the mid 1990s,” said Hardy. He said it originally was developed in Europe in the 1980s. “We made it a standard part of our NX series transmitters which are available at 25 and 50 kW in the U.S. DCC offers a tremendous power savings advantage for broadcasters willing to implement it.” Reference; Nautel presentation on Dynamic Carrier Control (via Medium Wave News 57/02 5 May/June 2011 via DXLD) BACKGROUND NOISE LEVEL RISING I must admit that in urban locations there has been a tremendous increase in background noise making reception on any AM band, LF, MF or HF very difficult. With a myriad of electronic devices around and most with switching power circuitry, and noisy CFL bulbs, plasma TV, etc., the background noise floor has increased many dB compared to the transformer and valve days. Even rural areas have not escaped. The scourge in the countryside is noisy hissing spikey HV lines, 10/20 kV with dirty insulators and poor connections. The long lines make nice aerials to transmit the interference a couple of km to sensitive receivers. It seems no place is safe from QRN these days (Des Walsh, Ireland, Making Contact, May World DX Club Contact via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See ERITREA; NEW ZEALAND; SPAIN; U K ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ UK Ofcom PLT statement Southgate, April 29, 2011 Ofcom was recently forced to release a report on the radio interference caused by PLT devices, a report it had denied even existed. Ofcom has now issued a statement on PLT. One radio listener has described this statement as: "The same old gobbledegook, double standards, and salami slicing, but this time all in one place". Which many will think sums it up very well. Read the Ofcom PLT statement at http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/enforcement/spectrum-enforcement/plt/ The Register - Ofcom and PLT http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/31/ofcom_plt/ Read about the damming [sic] PLT report at http://www.ban-plt.co.uk/truth-lies.php UKQRM is a group fighting the radio interference caused by PLT devices http://www.ukqrm.org/ http://www.southgatearc.org/news/april2011/ofcom_plt_statement.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AmateurRadioNews+%28Southgate+Amateur+Radio+News%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ GEOMAGNETIC STORM ON APRIL 30TH Space Weather News for April 30, 2011 http://spaceweather.com GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field during the early hours of April 30th, sparking a G1-class geomagnetic storm. Northern Lights descended as far south as Michigan in the United States. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras (http://spaceweatherphone.com) tonight as the solar wind continues to blow. Photos of the April 30th display are highlighted on today's edition of http://SpaceWeather.com (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Geomagnetic field activity was generally quiet from 25-28 April. An increase to unsettled to active levels (with occasional storm periods at high latitudes) occurred late on 29 April and persisted through 01 May in response to a favorably positioned negative polarity coronal hole. The high speed stream followed a clear solar sector boundary crossing at 1445 UTC on 28 April. Solar wind velocity began to increase at 1600 UTC on 29 April and reached peak values around 740 km/s. The north-south component of the solar wind Bz turned negative after 1600 UTC on 29 April and persisted at generally negative values for the remainder of the week. Typical values were in the range between 0 and -5 nT with peak values reaching -10 to -12 nT. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 04 MAY - 30 MAY 2011 Solar activity is expected to be very low to low. There is a chance for isolated periods of moderate levels due to the possible emergence of new regions as well as the return of old Region 1195 on 15 May. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels for 04-07 May in response to the sustained high solar wind speed mentioned previously. Normal background levels should resume for 08-09 May but another increase to high levels is expected for 10-12 May in response to another high speed stream. Normal background levels should return for the remainder of the outlook interval with the exception of 19-20 May and 28-30 May due to recurrent high speed streams. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be quiet to unsettled for 04 May and generally quiet for 05-08 May. An increase to unsettled levels with possible active periods is expected for 9-10 May in response to a recurrent coronal hole. Quiet levels should prevail until 17 May when another recurrent high speed stream is expected to increase activity to unsettled to active levels. Quiet levels should return for 18-25 May, followed by an increase to unsettled to active levels with a chance for storm periods at high latitudes for 26-30 May in response to a recurrent coronal hole. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2011 May 03 2027 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center # Product description and SWPC contact on the Web # http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2011-05-03 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2011 May 04 110 8 3 2011 May 05 110 5 2 2011 May 06 110 5 2 2011 May 07 110 5 2 2011 May 08 110 5 2 2011 May 09 110 15 3 2011 May 10 110 15 3 2011 May 11 115 7 2 2011 May 12 115 5 2 2011 May 13 115 5 2 2011 May 14 115 5 2 2011 May 15 115 5 2 2011 May 16 115 5 2 2011 May 17 115 15 3 2011 May 18 115 5 2 2011 May 19 115 5 2 2011 May 20 115 5 2 2011 May 21 115 5 2 2011 May 22 110 5 2 2011 May 23 110 5 2 2011 May 24 105 5 2 2011 May 25 105 5 2 2011 May 26 105 12 3 2011 May 27 105 22 5 2011 May 28 105 18 4 2011 May 29 110 18 4 2011 May 30 110 15 3 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1563, DXLD) ###