DX LISTENING DIGEST 16-10, March 9, 2016 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 2016 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html [also linx to previous years] 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 1816 CONTENTS: *DX and station news about: Biafra non, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Canary Islands non, Chile, China, Congo, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, International Vacuum non, Ireland non, Korea South, Madagascar, Moldova, Myanmar, Netherlands non, Nigeria, North America, Saint Kitts, Scotland non, Uganda non, USA, Zambia SHORTWAVE AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1816, March 11-17, 2016 Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 Thu 2100 WRMI 13695 [confirmed] Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed] Fri 2130 WRMI 15770 [confirmed] Fri 2130 WRMI 13695 [confirmed] Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed] Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 1530 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM [confirmed from 0427] Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed] Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130.815v-AM Area 51 [confirmed from 0304] Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 [confirmed] Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed] Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Wed 1415 WRMI 9955 Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB 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 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS: Tnx to Dr Harald Gabler and the Rhein-Main Radio Club. http://www.rmrc.de/index.php/rmrc-audio-plattform/podcast/glenn-hauser-wor ALTERNATIVE PODCASTS, tnx Stephen Cooper: http://shortwave.am/wor.xml AND ANOTHER PODCAST ALTERNATIVE, tnx to Keith Weston: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GlennHausersWorldOfRadio Also via [but still not back in service]: http://tunein.com/radio/World-of-Radio-p198/ OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org DAY-BY-DAY ARCHIVE OF GLENN HAUSER`S LOG REPORTS: Unedited, uncondensed, unchanged from original version, many of them too complex, minutely researched, multi-frequency, opinionated, inconsequential, off-topic, or lengthy for some log editors to manage; and also ahead of their availability in these weekly issues: http://www.hard-core-dx.com/index.php?topic=Hauser NOTE: I have *resolved* to make DXLD leaner, more selective, as I seriously need to reduce my workload, much of which has been merely editing gobs of material into presentable form. This makes it even more important to be a member of the DXLD yg for additional material which may not make it into weekly isssues (gh) 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/ ** ALASKA [and non]. 9680, March 5 at 1537, two stations mixing about equally, Russian talk, and music. Russian is 300 degrees from KNLS; music is 270 degrees from Yamata, Radio Japan in Japanese (the China radio war on 9680 is all over at 1400). No doubt this collision is even worse in their Asian target areas; yet another example of self- defeating frequency mismanagement by World Christian Broadcasting (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. 7465, R Tirana English YL Newscast including talx re drug trafficking and the US State Department. Quick ID at 0242, into music. Modulation was a bit weak, not sure why they can BANG in a signal for CRI but have a hard time making this work here!? 2454+3 with LF Het & maybe something co-channel? 0234-0245 5/Mar (Ken Zichi. M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR-4 + 500 foot randomwire strung Westerly-ish + my own ears and in mostly real time; I did record some things for later review and decoding of digital stuff! MARE Tipsheet 11 March via DXLD) Mark Coady asked a similar question in ODXA YRX, to which I answered without any publication or reply, so now my effort is not wasted: ``Mark, China relays are via Cërrik site which was leased out to China years ago, and they have upgraded and maintained it. Radio Tirana uses one very old transmitter at another site Shijak, completely different situation, feed routing, etc. 73, Glenn`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Unscheduled transmission of China Radio International via Cerrik on March 8: from 1429 on 6175 CER 150 kW / 280 deg to SoEu English, not // on 9460, 9765, 9795, 9870 1438-1449 on 6175 CER 150 kW / 280 deg to SoEu French // 11920 CER, & 13670 CER off air The frequency 6175 CER 150 kW / 280 deg to SoEu is registered in winter B-15 of CRI 2200-2257 on 6175 CER 150 kW / 280 deg to SoEu Portuguese 2300-2357 on 6175 CER 150 kW / 280 deg to SoEu Spanish http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/unscheduled-transmission-of-china-radio.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 15345, Mar 3, 2016. 1753-1759, RAE, Gral. Pacheco. Talks in German. Station on air, but barely audible or unlistenable in certain moments of this log, 25331 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB] Brazil, Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) 15345, Mar 4, 2016. 1830-1835, RAE, Gral. Pacheco. News in English; ID and frequency in Spanish; Music. Good signal and distorted modulation, 45432 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB], Brazil, Sony ICF- SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. 4835, March 5 at 1358, no signal at all from VL8A, Alice Springs; yet 60m still has carriers or more on frequencies from all the usual Asian areas, East Turkistan, India, Tibet, Indonesia, China, an hour+ after sunrise here 1256 UT. Could ABC NT have reactivated night frequency 2310? Too late now even to bother to check for that; or just off. Earlier tomorrow, also need to probe alternate frequency 3230. 4835, March 6 at 1225, VL8A carrier is on, despite none 22.5 hours earlier. But it`s totally buried by the music sideband of 4840 WWCR. Also check 120m, and find 2325 and 2485 carriers for sibling NT stations, nothing on 2310 of course. After WWCR 1259*, 4835 in clear with continuing talk in English not // 9580 RA. WWCR has not yet posted DST schedule effective March 13, but HFCC B-15 registration is for it to close 4840 one UT hour earlier at 1159*, which will be good for VL8A listeners (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {Confirmed March 14} Also noted ABC NT on 4835 kHz with big signal at 1356 UT // 2325 kHz with `ABC Sunday Night`. 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, March 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Greetings From Nevada! Conditions here have remained fair-to-good in the mornings here (~1400z-1600z) the last few days in spite of recent geomagnetic storms. This morning (8 Mar ~1400z-1600z) There was no R. Australia on any of their frequencies on 31m and 25m. I was hearing other Asia/Pacific signals so I assume they were off the air for some reason (Rodney Johnson, NV, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BERMUDA. Hello groups. Does anyone know if Bermuda Radio (ZBR) 2582 kHz occasionally transmits a fax rather than the British sounding male about 0036z? Last nite (UT Friday) while monitoring them, a weak fax signal started till 0047z then another started about 0048z. I was able to decode a short slice before the signal degraded but only about 20 lines of fax which was a weather map of some type. The OM never appeared. Thanks for any help (Rich Near Chicago Ray, Drake R8 and Wellbrook 330s, 1948 UT March 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BHUTAN. NOTHING noted of Bhutan BS Thimpu on 6035v kHz at 0010 / 0040 UT. 6035.053 Bhutan BS Thimpu service was on air, when checked at 0150 UT S=6 signal, -84dBm, Himalaya hill people monotonous singer [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 5th) (Wolfgang Büschel, Log of March 5th at 0010-0155 UT, noted on remote SDR unit in eastern Thailand, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6035.05, BBS, 1144-1158, March 8. Mixing with PBS Yunnan; BBS with EZL pop songs and seemed to be in English (as noted in the past), while PBS was all talk; after 1158 unable to differentiate the two. Thanks very much to Dave Valko for the tip about this possible new schedule. He tentatively had BBS on March 6 with 1212*. For some time now BBS had been signing off fairly early. Needs more monitoring! (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BIAFRA [non]. BULGARIA: 11600, Radio Biafra (presumed); 2141-2301*, 4-Mar; English call-in program; most callers obviously had long prepared speeches to deliver; host intervened at times; calls focusing on Boko Haram, Nigeria & criminal counts against "our leader". SIO = 3+33 with ute trill that USB took out (Harold Frodge, M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 125' RW + 500' unterminated dogleg E-W.N-S beverage, --- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! --- WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SECRETLAND, SPL, The Global specialist for International Communications on shortwave and provided to you strong and quality signal around the world. SPL Secretbrod relay clandestine broadcast Radio Biafra on Sunday, March 6: from 2000 11600 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg WeAf dead air and off at 2023 UT. from 2053 11600 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg WeAf English, live transmission. http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/spl-secretbrod-relay-clandestine-radio.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11600, Mar 7, 2016. 2030-2035, Radio Biafra, SPL Kostinbrod. OM talks in English. Weak signal, barely audible modulation, 35431 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier (JRX), Cabedelo [PB] - Brazil, Tecsun S-2000, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) SECRETLAND, SPL The Global specialist for International Communications on shortwave and provided to you strong and quality signal around the world. SPL Secretbrod relay clandestine transmission Radio Biafra on March 8: from 2000 on 11600 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg to WeAf dead air/off-on/live http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/spl-secretbrod-relay-clandestine.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. Ian Wells, Mosgiel has been helping a broadcast staffer understand the hobby. “I received an interesting response from Mary Hurst of Radio Mosoj Chaski which I will count as a verification for 3310 kHz after emailing a number of follow-ups, and finally submitting my report on their ‘contact us’ page on the website . She admitted to not really knowing what a reception report was, and having no idea of what a QSL card was all about or why anybody might want a verification, but her email did indicate that my report provided details that sounded ‘accurate of our programming’. I replied, thanking her for taking the time to respond and providing some background about the hobby – hopefully reports they receive in future will get a better form of verification.” (I wonder where she’s located? It almost sounds like someone responding from off-site.) (March NZ DX Times via DXLD) QSL Radio Mosoj Chaski - Cochabamba, Bolivia - Quechua service - 3310 kHz --- NEW CONFIRMATION RECEIVED: Radio Mosoj Chaski - Cochabamba, Bolivia - Quechua service - Listened in Morrinhos, CE, Brazil, by DX- er José Maranhão, in October 05, 2015; between 2255-2310 UT, on the frequency of 3310 kHz (Tropical Waves) - SINPO: Poor (25111) (No interference detected) - Equipment utilized: Radio receiver Tecsun PL 660, and antenna long wire, with 12, 5 meters - Received e-QSL letter - Electronic response in 141 days after sent reception report, by e- mail.- V/S: Mary Hurst - QTH: mosojchaski@live.com José Maranhão / DX SOCIETY (The world of radio) http://dxbrazilsw.blogspot.com.br/2016/03/qsl-radio-mosoj-chaski-cochabamba.html (via Daniel Wyllyans, MT, HCDX via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6134.83, March 5 at 0207, weak Radio Santa Cruz ID in passing, as often happens, during music. Lucked out as this time there is no het from 6135.2, R. Aparecida being off (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. PREPARAN ALTERNATIVA PARA EVITAR EL CIERRE DE RADIOS EN BOLIVIA Ante el temor de que 500 radios puedan desaparecer del espectro radioeléctrico hasta 2019, con la vigencia de la Ley de Telecomunicaciones, desde Asbora regional Santa Cruz preparan una contrapropuesta que será presentada ante el Gobierno el 18 de marzo, víspera del Día del radialista. De acuerdo con el artículo 10 de la Ley 164 (Ley de Telecomunicaciones), las frecuencias se redistribuirán de la siguiente manera: el Estado tendrá el 33%, otro 33% está destinado para medios comerciales, mientras que el ámbito social-comunitario y los pueblos indígenas tendrán un 17% cada uno. “La contrapropuesta está basada en tres puntos, el primer es que las emisoras comerciales puedan mantener sus licencias, en virtud de que el Estado no puede mantener 22 emisoras abiertas en una ciudad; segundo, hay frecuencias sin ocupar y que los movimientos sociales tampoco están usando; y tercero, hay un vacío legal que permite la renovación de licencias, no la adjudicación de nuevas licencias”, indicó Juan Manuel Ijurko. Antonio Vargas, expresidente de la Asociación de Periodistas de La Paz, advirtió que esta normativa ocasionará que el 67% de las radios del país tendrán que cerrarse hasta adecuarse a las normativas del artículo 10 de la Ley 104. "Este año varios medios cumplen sus licencias, de cada 100 radios del país, 67 van a desaparecer. Esta normativa permitirá al Gobierno seleccionará a las radios que ingresen al categoría social- comunitario, y va a acaparar el 33% que le corresponde al Estado, en resumidas cuentas tienen un control sobre el 67% del espectro y sobre el 33% restante que corresponde a las radios comerciales, será el propio Gobierno que selecciones que operadores permanecerán y cuáles no, por lo tanto estamos ante un panorama en donde pudiera darse un monopolio a favor del Gobierno”, advirtió Vargas. La ATT ya anunció que hasta 2019 unas 500 emisoras de radio y televisión perderían sus licencias por el proceso de reordenamiento dispuesto en la Ley 164. De acuerdo al plan gubernamental, sólo se mantendrían al aire las emisoras comerciales que logren ganar una licitación. (El Deber via GRA blog via DXLD) ** BOUGAINVILLE. 3325, NBC Bougainville. On March 7 found rather an ironic coincidence. For the past two days RRI Palangkaraya had been well heard here and Bougainville had clearly been off the air; today heard NBC Bougainville, while RRI was clearly off the air. Heard Bougainville 1049-1204*; "NBC Bougainville" IDs at both 1103 and 1203; no news heard; pop Pacific Island songs with DJ in Tok Pisin/Pidgin; frequent time checks; only QRM was heavy QRN (static) and some CW; after 1204* the frequency was clear (no trace of RRI today). [and non] 3325, NBC Bougainville, 1038-1217*, March 8. Unlike yesterday, RRI Palangkaraya heard today mixing with NBC; resulting in a mess; most of the time both were unusable, but with RRI stronger. BTW - Clearly heard RRI at 1042 with Islamic call-to-prayer, the Maghrib (evening prayer, just after sunset), with their sunset at 5:39 PM WIB (1039 UT). 3325, NBC Bougainville on March 9. 1039-1105 did not have any RRI QRM; in Tok Pisin/Pidgin; 1101 listed their frequencies; heavy QRN (static). 1105 start of RRI Palangkaraya QRM (weak), which was only sporadically heard; tentatively NBC went off at 1151*; by 1158 positive was only RRI here, so NBC went off the air early today (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also note PNG for other sign off times for NBC stations today (rh) ** BRAZIL. SW Harmônico Verdadeiro, 7 X 820 kHz = 5740 kHz) do 820 kHz AM Rádio Bandeirantes, Goiânia / GO, OM CX Sobre jogos do campeonato goiano, ANN comercial do restaurante do calango. SINPO 35233 em 1222 UT Dia 04 de Março 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7PeDhBJIN4 RX: Tecsun S-2000, Antenna: Beverage simples NSSEA-21 (Daniel Wyllyans, Nova Xavantina MT, Brazil, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4885, Mar 3, 2016. 0123-0128, Radio Clube do Pará, Belém. Talks in portuguese; football tnx game. Fair signal and distorted modulation, 35432. 4985, Mar 3, 2016. 0153-0158, Rádio Brasil Central, Goiânia. Talks in Portuguese; Very very poor signal and tnx all blocked by CW or RTTY transmission. No SINPO valued. 9645, Mar 3, 2016. 0147-0152, R. Bandeirantes, São Paulo. Talks in Portuguese; football program; Fair signal, chronic spur transmitter and very poor or barely audible modulation, 33432/33431 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB] Brazil, Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 11934.91, ZYE958, Rádio Bandierantes; 2301-2308+, 1-Mar; M in Portuguese with many mentions of Brasil; 2306 read long list of stations throughout Brasil. SIO=453+; // 9645.42 ZYE957, SIO=453 & several seconds behind 11935; listed // 6090 well covered by presumably well-covered Rev. Barbi huxtressing via Anguilla (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, 5525 Whitehall St., Midland MI 48642-3156, Drake R8B + 185' & 60' RW + 125' bow-tie, --- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! --- DX LISTENING DIGEST) Harold, The station on 11934.9 is Radio RB2, and is // 9724.9, 6040.4. It`s mostly relaying Rádio Aparecida, which could lead to announcing a relay list. Yet if you had this // 9645.42 R. Bandeirantes (note spelling), it should have been on 11925v, the Bands frequency on 25m (which I haven`t heard yet but some Braz DXers say is reactivated: maybe daytime only?). But then it should have been synchronized. Maybe you were hearing outro of the 22-23 UT Voz do Brasil government program which is on most ZY stations, probably RB2 as well as Bands, and less likely to be synchronized (Glenn to Harold, via DXLD) [and non]. 11925, March 5 at 0246, no signal at all from R. Bandeirantes, despite some Brazilian DXers claiming this has been reactivated, along with 9645.4 which I do hear weakly with a Bandeirantes ID in passing, despite ACI from much stronger 9650 Turkey in Spanish. Yet, 11934.9, RB2 is audible as always off-frequency, and 11854.9, R. Aparecida itself (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 1610, CHHA, Toronto, Ontario. 1004 March 6, 2016. Spanish tropical vocal, CHHA ID by man in Spanish, back to Spanish vocals. Parallel chha1610am.ca stream, though a few seconds behind. Slight Anguilla co-channel. 1690, CHTO, Toronto, Ontario. 1048 March 6, 2016. Mid-east-sounding flutes (but turns out, really Greek), into Greek contemporary vocals, parallel http://am1690.ca stream. Fair but always under WMLB with their eclectic music mix (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 2749-USB, March 6 at 0242 UT, almost human neatly enunciating YL voice with marine weather at nice S9 level, gale warnings for numerous places. Canadian Coast Guard website shows VCS Halifax has just started at 0240 via Sambro site with ``Radiotelephony --- Technical marine synopsis, forecasts and wave height forecasts for marine areas: 201 to 214. Notices to Shipping in South Coast Nova Scotia area. Notices to Shipping revising the position of every reported offshore exploration and exploitation vessel`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. LA MAISON DE RADIO-CANADA OFFICIALLY FOR SALE by Maxime Bergeron Feb 19, 2016 This is an English translation. To view the original La Presse story, please click here. It’s official: CBC/Radio-Canada has put up a “For Sale” sign in front of its huge Montreal headquarters. Interested parties have until mid- March to indicate their interest in purchasing the property, evaluated at $104 million by the City of Montreal. CBC wants to sell “100% of its interest” in the building and surrounding land on René-Lévesque Blvd. E., according to the real estate brokers, Avison Young and Brookfield Financial, in a document that was being discreetly circulated last week. The public broadcaster’s objective is to find a single buyer for the entire site. “That would be the ideal scenario,” confirmed Louis Lalande, Senior Vice President of French Services, CBC/Radio-Canada, in an interview in Radio-Canada’s large brown tower. “We awaiting proposals.” The site offers enormous development potential. The buyer could develop up to 9.5 million square feet of residential, commercial and office space on the large parcel of CBC-owned land. It’s the equivalent of six times Place Ville Marie. The sale offering is appearing in parallel with another process begun last fall, in which CBC/Radio-Canada is looking to move its 3,000 Montreal employees and contractors. The public broadcaster has given Avison Young a mandate to identify different options, including setting up shop in existing downtown office space, or moving into a new building, yet to be built. According to our information, the public broadcaster has just selected a handful of finalists after receiving fifteen proposals from developers since last fall. Louis Lalande hopes that the final decision will be made next October. “We think that between now and the summer, we’ll have a good idea of the robustness of the proposals,” he explains. “We’ll know where we’re going: towards a new building on the existing CBC land or elsewhere in the downtown area. Will we be in new or existing space? We have set the objective of having a precise idea of the choice of proponent by the month of October.” Whatever happens, the sale of the Maison de Radio-Canada has caused some confusion among Montreal real estate developers, while the process of analysing a possible move is going full steam ahead. “A lot of people in the industry find this disturbing,” said a source close to the file. “In the middle of a tendering process, and at the same time, they put the entire property on the market. It’s certainly unusual.” The Radio-Canada boss thinks the two procedures are rather “separate, but con joined” and that they are part of the “same process”. “It’s two separate things,” said Louis Lalande. “The move or the reconfiguration of Radio-Canada in a new place, whether that happens here or elsewhere, is one thing. And the interest that a buyer might have in the building is another.” One thing is certain: the CBC/Radio-Canada buildings are now too large for the organization’s current needs. The big tower and its associated buildings, including enormous subterranean spaces, total 1.3 million square feet. The public broadcaster now evaluates its needs at 400,000 square feet. Management has been insisting for several years that the obsolescence of the tower also presents a major burden for CBC. The cost of managing and operating the building, inaugurated in 1973, is $20 million a year, and the accumulated maintenance deficit is more than $170 million. The tower needs a full-scale renovation, including ventilation, windows, plumbing and exterior cladding – an expenditure that the public broadcaster simply can’t afford. Radio-Canada is also seeking to organize its offices and studios in a more modern and open space, Louis Lalande emphasized. “The building’s floor plans are 50 years old. It was built according to the parameters of the radio and television industry of that era. Large areas of the space are empty and unused.” According to the most recent property tax database at the City of Montreal, the CBC/Radio-Canada lands are assessed at $43.7 million and the buildings at $60,1 million, for a total of $103.8 million. According to a copy of a document presented to the CBC board in 2013 and obtained by La Presse, the overall resale value was pegged at $65 million. The offering of sale distributed by Avison Young and Brookfield Financial ends on March 18. The two brokerage houses did not return calls from La Presse Affaires. While insisting on the independence of CBC/Radio-Canada, the new Minister of Canadian Heritage, Mélanie Joly, gave her assurance that she will be following closely as the public broadcaster reorganizes its Montreal facilities. “My principal concern is that the employees of CBC/Radio-Canada have access to a work environment that meets the needs of the new technologies,” she told La Presse Affaires yesterday. “It’s fundamental, because we are in a digital era and we need to ensure that workspaces respond to the needs of the era.” Mélanie Joly said she expects Radio-Canada to “consult and discuss this with the different stakeholders” before making a definitive decision. “We want to ensure that there is a good process that, in the end, will guarantee that the views, interests and concerns of the community are taken into account.” What about the reinvestment of $150 million into CBC/Radio-Canada’s operating budget, promised by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals during the election campaign? The minister affirms that she will keep the promise. “We will reinvest massively in CBC/Radio-Canada,” she stated. “I am working very hard to ensure that our electoral commitments will, to be sure, be honoured. The election platform called for reinvestments in year 1 and year 2 of the mandate, and I am working very hard for these reinvestments.” Ms. Joly hopes to be able to make these announcements at the time of the federal budget, at the end of next month (via March CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** CANADA [non]. GERMANY (non)[sic]. Interval signal of BVBroadcasting via MBR on March 6 1230-1245 on 21480 MDC 125 kW / 080 deg to SEAs instead of English Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/interval-signal-of-bvbroadcasting-via.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #942 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, March 7, 2016 via DXLD) i.e. via MADAGASCAR ** CANARY ISLANDS [non]. Atlantis FM Tenerife is now being relayed on 6205.1 kHz. 73's (John, Faversham Kent UK, Hoad, JRC NRD-525 + Wellbrook ALA1530LF. 2042 UT March 8, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) Via IRELAND? (gh) Good signal from Atlantis FM here on 6205 at 1700 tune-in, parallel with their web stream at http://www.atlantis.fm/ Presume the SW is being relayed from Ireland? 73s (Dave, Cavesham Berks, Kenny, Lowe HF225 / 25m long wire, March 9, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) ** CHILE. Radio Portales lucha por no desaparecer Es una de las emisoras clásicas de la radiodifusión chilena. Radio Portales, una de las más destacadas de la amplitud modulada nacional, está a punto de desaparecer; sin embargo hay un reconocido personaje que intenta salvarla: Omar Gárate. Con nueve radios en AM y una en FM, Gárate busca rescatar a esta emisora como arriendo de dos años para intervenir el inminente quiebre. Radio Portales de Santiago o Emisoras Diego Portales es una radioemisora de Chile, ubicada en el 1180 AM en la capital. Junto a Portales de Valparaíso inició sus transmisiones el 4 de junio de 1960. Creada por el empresario palestino Raúl Tarud Siwady, quien comenzó fundando Portales de Talca en 1957, es una de las radios más emblemáticas de ese país sudamericano. A inicios de 2010 y bajo la nueva administración, Radios Portales de Santiago y Valparaíso conforman una nueva red de emisoras (aunque ambas ya no tienen ninguna vinculación empresarial), separándose de la formada por las radios Corporación. Las que permanecen a partir de enero de este año son: Pukará de Arica, Salitre de Iquique y Pozo Almonte, Centro de Antofagasta, Portales de Valparaíso, Ilusión de Pichidegua, Bravo de Rengo, Soberanía de Linares, Canal 3 TeleCauquenes de Cauquenes (En su carta de ajuste), Interamericana de Concepción, Proyección de Curalinahue, Antares de los Álamos, Proyección de Lebu, Génesis de Curacautin, Nueva Radio de Valdivia, Concordia de la Unión, Libertad de Chonchi y Radio Nueva de Punta Arenas. Estas obtienen la señal de Portales de Santiago a través de su sitio web (de http://www.24horas.cl/ via GRA blog via DXLD) ** CHILE. RCW vuelve a la onda corta. Amigos: Desde el viernes 11 de Marzo comenzarán las emisiones regulares 2016 de RCW por Internet y desde nuestro pequeño pero querido centro emisor Rodríguez Erdoíza por los 6925 KHz en la banda de 43 metros. Este año nos esperan grandes metas, desde aumentar nuestra potencia y cobertura del centro emisor de San Francisco y el de Rodríguez Erdoíza, como así tambien emitir por 31 o 25 metros. Saludos cordiales de sus amigos de Chile!!! Fuente: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1144094295608958&id=578178758867184 (Claudio Galaz, Chile, March 7, condiglista yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) ** CHINA. new 5436-USB, VC01 (Chinese Military numbers station), ex: 3519-USB & 7878-USB, 1052 and subsequent checking till 1305, March 7; Chinese numbers; fair-poor with OTH radar QRM. Thanks again to Hiroyuki Komatsubara (Japan) for keeping me informed as to the activities of these number stations! 5436-USB, VC01 (Chinese Military numbers station), 1038 and subsequent checking till 1256, March 9. Fair with OTH radar QRM (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. EAST JAMMERSTAN: 9455, 2047, 3-Mar; Crash & bang music jammer with no other audio; at 2105 noted C&B plus weak audio; Radio Free Asia via Lithuania listed (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, 5525 Whitehall St., Midland MI 48642-3156, Drake R8B + 185' & 60' RW + 125' bow-tie, --- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! --- DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 7445, March 5 at 2019 in bandscan I see if anything is showing up this early on the 40m band? JBA carrier here is the OSOB -- - scheduled is RFA in Chinese via Kuwait, so it`s just as likely that I am detecting a jammeremnant. 9320, March 6 at 0225, JBA talk on a frequency lacking any HFCC registrations anywhen. Aoki shows a 0.1 kW Sound of Hope nuisance transmitter at 0057-1646, relaying Radio Free Asia, so this is another prime spot for the ChiCom to waste watts on a much more powerful *jammer. 9455, March 7 at 1607, fast SAH, one station with music, presumably CNR1 jammer if not Firedragon, as RFA has just started a 5-hour broadcast in Mandarin via SAIPAN; WRMIBS to Cuba is also here, but can`t detect it enough to match with another WRMI frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9410, Mar 8, 2016. 2008-2013, CNR1, in Mandarin. The best and stronger signal of the Firedrakes in 31 meter band, 55555. 9455, Mar 8, 2016. 1933-1938, CNR1, in Mandarin. Other "Authentic Firedrake", also blocking all RFA transmission. Very good station, 45544. 9860, Mar 8, 2016. 1820-1825, CNR1, in Mandarin. "Authentic Firedrake", blocking all RFA tnx in Korean, this time. Excellent signal, 55544 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB], Brazil, Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) I guess he means both CNR1 jamming and Firedrake jamming were on these frequencies. The ChiCom don`t normally block broadcasts in Korean; something new? No, in fact the 18-21 RFA transmission via SAIPAN is scheduled in Mandarin (gh, DXLD) Firedragon: see also EAST TURKISTAN ** CHINA. 4940, Voice of Strait, 1500, March 5. Saturday only English program "Focus on China"; started with pop song; news item about ESports, with an audience population in China that has grown to larger than 100 million players; many of the items presented by native speakers of English; many IDs - "You are now listening to Focus on China, Voice of Strait Broadcast Station"; fair (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. China Radio International vs China Radio International, March 3 1400-1457 on 11610 URU 500 kW / 270 deg to N/ME Chinese, very strong 1400-1457 on 11610 KUN 150 kW / 270 deg to SoAs Bengali, weak signal http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/china-radio-international-vs-china.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) CHINA vs PHILIPPINES, China Radio International vs FEBC, March 4 1400-1457 on 9430 KAS 500 kW / 308 deg to WeEu Chinese CRI 1400-1600 on 9430 BOC 100 kW / 345 deg to EaAs Chinese FEBC http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/china-radio-international-vs-febc-march.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) CHINA vs SAUDI ARABIA, China Radio International vs Radio Riyadh, March 7 0900-0957 17570 URU 500 kW / 308 deg WeEu English China Radio Int. 1000-1057 17570 KAS 500 kW / 298 deg CeEu Hungarian China Radio Int. 1100-1157 17570 KAS 500 kW / 298 deg CeEu Czech China Radio Int. 0900-1200 17570 RIY 500 kW / 070 deg SEAs Arabic Holy Qur`an R. Riyadh http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/china-radio-international-vs-radio.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO [NON]. Hi Glenn, For the second Saturday morning in a row while checking for Myanmar on 5985 kHz I have had African hi-life music and chat in French at around 1600 UT. Still listening to my recording but have anyone reported them on this frequency/time in a while? I see that reports for them on 6115 kHz but not this one. Carrier still detectable at 1707 UT today. Would be long path for sure and Somalia was all along this morning at 1600 on 7120 kHz so I suspect what I am hearing is Radio Congo. Your thoughts? 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, March 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Mick, Not sure whether you are aware of the discussion in DXLD a few weeks ago, when a listener in Italy thought he had Congo on 5985, but it turned out to be CRI in Swahili. Of course, Swahili is a lot different than French, but in case it could have been Swahili, one must ask why you could be hearing Congo and not 500 kW from China at this time? (The YAM entry must be an alternate for Shiokaze.) I suppose it is conceivable that CRI could be in French instead of Swahili by mistake or change, as they do have French at 16-18 on 7350 via Kashgar as in WRTH. Better check that for possible //. 5985 1600 1800 48SW,53NW BEI 500 257 0 218 1234567 251015 270316 D 8180 Swa CHN CRI RTC 2176-2177 5985 1600 1700 44,43N YAM 300 290 0 148 1234567 251015 270316 D Mul J JIC MIC 3879 Let me know of anything further about this, as if Congo can be confirmed using 5985 it would be news. 73, (Glenn to Mick, via DXLD) I suspect that you are correct Glenn with it being CRI. I have listened to my recording several times and as the strength was just above the noise table I can not even detect the language for sure. I will try again tomorrow before the TOH and see if there is a CRI IS followed by similar program. 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good morning Glenn, Stayed on 5985 kHz this morning for some nice reception of Radio Myanmar (tune in 1510 UT) including tho weaker at 1530 for the English segment. Covered at 1600 by CRI sign on and programming similar to what I had thought might have be Radio Congo. Got fooled by the African tunes. 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, March 6, ibid.) ** CUBA. 670, Radio Rebelde, Arroyo Arenas, Ciudad de la Habana. 1759 March 6, 2016. I recall Glenn Hauser recently hearing three time sounders in the overnight hour. I hear this when Rebelde dumps into Noticiero Nacional de Radio at Cuba local 1300, and sometimes when going out of the net-proper into a national special events feeds if top-of-hour. Today for instance, the usual 1800 exit Rebelde theme and ID, two short and one very long time sounders at 1800:20, into NNdR (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 4765, Mar 3, 2016. 0200-0205, Radio Progreso, Quivicán. Talks in Spanish, music. ID. Weak signal and very poor modulation, 35432. 5040, Mar 3, 2016. 0222-0227, Radio Habana Cuba, Bauta. Talks in Spanish; News. RHC presents a good signal, but a distorted modulation, 45432. 17730, Mar 3, 2016. 1420-1425, Radio Habana Cuba, Bauta. Talks news in Spanish; very poor broadcast, 25432 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB] Brazil, Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) 15700, March 4 at 1455, CRI English relay is dead air --- no, it isn`t; turn up the volume and can still hear it, into Chinese lesson end-of-hour dispensable filler. 17580, March 5 at 1551, strong open carrier/dead air from RHC since not turned off at 1500 as scheduled, while 17730 & 17750 run until 1600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. Stumbled across RHC again after a long while on 16 m: 17750 on 2016-03-05 at 1429z with brief Int-Sig, ID and talk in Spanish. Finally the spring propagation seems to pick up again! I also noted RAE in German that same evening just above 15345 kHz which I had not heard since about fall last year due to winterly propagation (Tobias (T²), Germany, March 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15370, March 5 at 2005, RHC properly in Portuguese, while 11670 is in English as scheduled; on Feb 29 after 2030, JRX in Brasil had found 15370 in English instead of Arabic. It`s always something. 5955, March 6 at 0250, heavy pulse jamming against nothing, since R. República abandoned 5954+ via Costa Rica years and years ago. If R. Gazeta, Brasil were active on 5955, it would be a direct collateral victim; close enough is Radio Pio Doce, Bolivia 5952.5v which signs off earlier. 6000, March 6 at 0250, RHC English service music is rather distorted, more so than on // 6165; as is Spanish service talk on 6075, more so than on // 6060. 11880, Sunday March 6 at 2132, seamless transition from scheduled French to unscheduled Esperanto, heard for the third week in a row. If you go to the Radio Havano Kubo website, click on the Esperanto flag and get to the Esp`o page, eventually thru MENU > INTERESAJOJ > FREKVENCO you are merely led back to the complete transmission schedule presented in Spanish at embedded pdf: http://www.radiohc.cu/eo/interesantes/frecuencias which still doesn`t know about this fourth Espo broadcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. CLANDESTINE, 9490, Mar 3, 2016. 0205-0210, Radio República, Issoudun. Talks in Spanish, ID. Very poor or barely audible station, 35432/35431 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB] Brazil, Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard- Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) But I=5, so NO jamming heard? (gh) ** DJIBOUTI. Yet another MW log from Europe; this time it concerns Radio SAWA, broadcasting from Djibouti with a mix of news (H+15 and H45) and Arabic / English music. Accidentally heard on 1431 kHz Saturday 2016-03-05 around 2130z. Fades in and out, but quite a reasonable signal given a distance of over 5 megameters. Rated power: 600 kW (Tobias (T²), Germany, March 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) *1645- 0400* per WRTH, i.e. not worth the wattage in daytime from there (gh) ** EAST TURKISTAN. 4979.987, CHINA, CNR PBS Xinjiang Uighur service, from Urumqi site, S=9+5dB fair signal into Brisbane Queensland at 1345 5059.983, CNR PBS Xinjiang Chinese service, from Urumqi site, S=9+5dB fair signal into Brisbane Queensland at 1350 UT. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log March 3rd at 1300-1400 UT, noted on few remote units in Doha Qatar, Brisbane Australia, and Tokyo/Nagoya Japan, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 3, dxldyg via DXLD) ** EAST TURKISTAN. 9410, Firedragon jamming, 2110, 3/6/16. Chinese traditional music jamming loop vs unheard Radio Free Asia in Mandarin via Saipan. At 2200 jamming loop stopped, and immediately CRI IS started for Portuguese program opening from Kashi. The transition was seamless and quality of signal was exactly the same making me wonder if the CRI Kashi transmitter had been the jammer as well. Fair – good (Mark Taylor, Madison, Wisconsin, Perseus, SDRPlay, Eton e1, Grunding Satellit 800, Sangean 909X with clear mod, and various other portables; 40 meters dipole, 100’ long wire, Flextenna, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 9965.30, March 4 at 0139, R. Cairo apparent fundamental just barely Arabic modulated, but instead of the whine within a few kHz, it`s putting out multiple minor carriers from 9959.10 to 9971.50 (at least), both getting too close to WRMI and KVOH. They beat against each other. I tune across on NRD-545 and note their approximate spots: 9959.10 9960.65 9962.20 9963.75 9965.30 [center] 9966.85 9968.40 9969.95 9971.50 These all work out to be at 1.55 kHz intervals; how neat! But why? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More of this below Good signal, distorted audio of Radio Cairo on March 4 1600-1800 on 15345 ABS 150 kW / 196 deg to CSAf English http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2016/03/good-signal-distorted-audio-of-radio.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9900, Mar 4, 2016. 2020-2025, Radio Cairo, Abis. Program in French. Open carrier, dead air. 15290, Mar 4, 2016. 1950-1956, Radio Cairo, Abu Zaabal. Program in English; talks, American old hit (Unforgettable). Fair signal and barely audible modulation (distorted), 35331. 15710, Mar 4, 2016. 1906-1914, Radio Cairo, Abis. Program in Hausa language; Talks. R. Cairo presents a fair signal and very poor modulation; In certain moments, barely audible, 35432/ 35431 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB], Brazil, Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) 9965, R Cairo (presumed) with squeal in modulation (?) in addition to the usual mumblemouth disease and overmodulation. Signal appeared to be on BOTH 9965 & 9966 (which would cause the 1 kHz squeal -- they are 'self heterodyning', maybe?) and no matter what I couldn't notch or use SSB to get rid of that, making it all but unusable. I THINK there was a YL speaking English but I wouldn't even swear to that. 4+454+1, 2320-2330 4/Mar (Ken Zichi. M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR-4 + 500 foot randomwire strung Westerly-ish + my own ears and in mostly real time; I did record some things for later review and decoding of digital stuff! MARE Tipsheet 11 March via DXLD) 9745.05, March 5 at 0156, S9+30 open carrier, dead air, from R. Cairo, scheduled 02-07, 250 kW, 315 degrees from Abis to eastern North America and western Europe in Arabic, but probably not going to modulate much even after 0200. Anyhow, it`s a MUCH cleaner signal than the next one. 9965.30, March 5 at 0159, R. Cairo`s other Arabic service is much like last night, accompanied by multiple spur carriers on both sides, beating against each other, but now the separation is approx. 1.3 kHz instead of 1.55. And they are stronger, causing hets to 9955 WRMI despite its good signal. The one I measure is the sixth order, at 9957.50, i.e. 7.8 kHz away {from fundamental and 2.5 kHz from WRMI}. 9965 is on air 2300-0430, the first sesquihour in English, when I suppose the same stuff is spewed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. /GARBLESTAN: 15345.03, Radio Cairo (presumed); 1610, 5-Mar; Chant into W in Arabic. Chant relatively clean but vox very garbled. 9900, Radio Cairo (presumed); 2147, 5-Mar; Totally garbled talk; total waste of perfectly valuable kiloWatts (Harold Frodge, M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 125' RW + 500' unterminated dogleg E-W.N-S beverage, --- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! --- DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9900.052, Radio Cairo in French language, fair to understand little disturbed audio quality. At 2012 UT S=8-9 strength. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 5, dxldyg via DXLD) 9965.0, March 6 at 0207, the horrible R. Cairo transmitter which has been putting out multiple spur carriers the past few nights between 9955 WRMI and 9975 KVOH, now is MUCH worse. The center frequency running S9+25 has been adjusted from 9965.3 to 9965.0, but there are more and stronger spurs once again spaced 1.55 kHz apart, and they extend *past* WRMI and KVOH, which means each of those stations suffers from hets on both sides!!! All the way from Egypt, which is conveying no useful modulation of its own. This amounts to a continuous whine over ~70 kHz as they beat against each other, gradually diminishing toward the edges, but I can hear the whine out to 9928 and 10000 (yes, WWVH), i.e. over a plus/minus 35-37 kHz range. (Fortunately(?) Greece is not competing with a whiner of its own tonight from 9925, 9930 or 9935). I measure a few of the Cairo carriers to confirm their spacing: 9957.25, 9958.80 . . . 9966.55, etc., etc. These could be .01 off. This racket will presumably continue until scheduled closing of 9965 at 0430*. Not only are their SW broadcasts totally useless for their own benefit, but now they are ruining the band for reputable stations. KVOH and WRMI/Jeff/HFCC should get on ERTU about this! 9745.05, March 6 at 0216, the other Cairo transmitter is stronger, S9+30, making a low rumble with traces of music under that, but fortunately restrains itself to normal bandwidth without a panoply of parasitical spurs (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Strong signal and distorted audio of Radio Cairo, March 6 1800-1900 on 9435 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu Italian 1900-2000 on 9570 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu German 2000-2115 on 9900 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu French 2115-2245 on 9900 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu English http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/strong-signal-and-distorted-audio-of.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13580, Mar 6, 2016. 2105-2110, Radio Cairo, Abis. The Qur´an chant; YL talks in French. Barely audible station, 35331. 15290, Mar 6, 2016. 1910-1015, Radio Cairo, Abu Zaabal. Open carrier, dead air or unlistenable. 15710, Mar 6, 2016. 1859-1906, Radio Cairo, Abis. Open carrier; 1900 Time pips; 1901 OM talks in Hausa, presumed. Fair signal and barely audible modulation, 35431 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB], Brazil, Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) 9962.20, March 8 at 0359 check, R. Cairo 9965.30 transmitter still putting out multiple spur carriers, this one being 3.1 kHz away, i.e. 2 x 1.55 kHz. Another one on 9963.75, at first step 1.55 kHz down; etc., etc., but not at blasting level tonight vs innocent bysenders WRMI and KVOH (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9965 - R. Cairo, Abu Zaabal(?), There is actually some very listenable audio coming out of this frequency at 0125 UT. YL with telephone interview of OM re: some political matter, mention of Parliament heard. Of course this is in Arabic so this is only an educated guess. At 0130 there is some Arab music which continues past 0135. Signal is very strong, S9 +10 and the audio is pretty clear. There is a hum on the frequency somewhat similar to the one that Greece has been putting out on 9935 although more of a high pitched buzz. (Greece is on 9935 tonight with an even stronger signal than Cairo and their usual hum). No sign of the huge spurs this had been putting out a few nights ago (Stephen C Wood, Harwich, MA, Perseus SDR, 25 x 50 Variable terminated superloop antenna (Best signal off S/W end 225º termination), March 9, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. Laser Hot Hits currently coming in with a great signal on 4029 kHz (ex 4026) at 1805 UT with Gary Drew's Pirate Flashback programme. 73s (Dave Kenny, Caversham Berks, UK, Lowe HF225 / 25m long wire, March 6, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Weak signal of Scandinavian Weekend Radio, relay R. Verkko, March 5: 1111 & 1333 on 11689.9 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to WeEu Finnish, instead of 11720: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/weak-signal-of-scandinavian-weekend.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Scandinavian Weekend Radio --- Still audible at 1141 UT [Sat March 5] tune on 11689.9 in with some morse QRM but the signal strength is better; however the SWR schedule states 11720 kHz at this time. http://www.swradio.net/schedule.htm (Russ Cummings, AOR7030+, 60ft long wire, North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, UK, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Here are a few loggings made in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire. It was noted, that SWR in three cases did not follow their own schedule! 6170.00, 0615-0645 Sat 5.3, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat. Finnish short ann, English Hard Rock songs. _NB: Scheduled on 5980_ ! 24232 // 11720 AP-DNK 6170.00, 1130-1405 Sat 5.3, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat. Finnish debate, ann, pop songs 25222 improving to 35343 // 11690 AP-DNK 11690, 1130-1405 Sat 5.3, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat. Finnish debate, ann, pop songs. _NB: Scheduled on 11720_! 35243 // 6170 AP-DNK 11720, 0615-0645 Sat 5.3, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat. Finnish short ann, English Hard Rock songs. _NB: Scheduled on 11690_! 35433 // 6170 AP-DNK (Anker Petersen, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. Media Broadcast changing hands --- Most of Media Broadcast, owner of the Nauen shortwave transmitting site in Germany, to be acquired by Freenet. Will it affect the future of Nauen shortwave operations? ... (Kim Elliott, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) Viz.: FREENET TAKES OVER MEDIA BROADCAST March 3, 2016 11.22 Europe/London By Jörn Krieger http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2016/03/03/freenet-takes-over-media-broadcast/ 2015_fernsehturm_alexanderplatz-3 (Media Broadcast) [caption] The German mobile communications company Freenet has acquired the German technical services provider Media Broadcast through its subsidiary mobilcom-debitel, paying €295 million for 100% of its shares. Media Broadcast’s satellite business unit is not included in the transaction. If approval by the anti-trust authorities is granted, the acquisition is expected to be completed in April 2016 at the latest. According to Freenet, the takeover of Media Broadcast, in connection with its recently purchased 25% stake in eXaring, represents an important addition as part of the company’s strategic development to become the leading digital lifestyle provider in Germany. Entering the new area of linear and internet-based television will open up the possibility for the company to diversify further within the digital lifestyle business and cultivate new growth potential and sources of income, Freenet explains in a statement. In total, the company expects a positive contribution to group revenue, EBITDA and free cash flow from both transactions. Broadband TV Views: With the acquisition by Freenet, Media Broadcast will be owned by a strategic investor again, resembling good news for the company previously in the hands of private equity funds. French technical services provider TDF Group acquired Media Broadcast (then called T-Systems Media&Broadcast) from Deutsche Telekom for €850 million in 2007. The company’s key businesses include the operation of transmitter networks for DTT, FM and DAB+ and the provision of broadband networks for contribution and exchange traffic, for example between broadcasters. TDF’s shareholders – private equity investors TPG, Charterhouse, Ardian and French state bank Bpifrance – sold TDF’s French assets to Canadian pension fund PSP Investments and its partners in November 2014. The subsequent sale of TDF’s German subsidiary Media Broadcast doesn’t come as a surprise following the shareholders’ exit in France. Surprising, however, is the low purchase price paid by Freenet compared with the dimension of the Telekom/TDF deal in 2007. Media Broadcast’s satellite business is a key asset, but its value is not likely to constitute the huge price difference. For Freenet, the strategic value of the acquisition seems to lie less in synergies with its existing core business activity as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), but in growth potential through new ventures. Freenet’s experience in the B2C market, its online shops and local retail chains could constitute valuable assets for the brand building and sale of hardware and subscriptions for the nationwide DVB-T2 platform Media Broadcast will roll out from Q2 2016. Freenet’s recent investment in eXaring marks another new business area in which Media Broadcast’s assets could be useful. eXaring headed by Christoph Bellmer (formerly Unitymedia/Arena, ProSiebenSat.1/maxdome) wants to develop the first fully integrated platform for IP entertainment services in Germany based on a fibre-optic network reaching more than 23 million households. The planned services include cloud-based multiscreen TV, HD/Ultra HD, gaming and virtual 3D reality services as well as targeted and localised advertising. The launch is planned for the end of 2016. (via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) > Will it affect the future of Nauen shortwave operations? ... I don't think so. I understand that the shortwave operations have for years been on their own, left alone by management as long as they are not making losses. And it can, at least in theory, only get better with the company owned by a strategic investor and no longer by grasshoppers. The TDF logo had here in Germany been interpreted as the talon that grabbed the German broadcasting infrastructure... This of course in as far as Media Broadcast owns infrastructure at all. All the towers are owned by Deutsche Funkturm, still a Deutsche Telekom subsidiary, real estates have been sold off to the building company Strabag and so on. Media Broadcast has to lease almost anything from what are now third parties. It is understood that this was the very reason why Media Broadcast was no longer of interest for TDF and its strategy. That it has been sold for less than half the price of 2007 speaks for itself. What I find remarkable is that they split off the satellite operations, which simply means that Media Broadcast can no longer provide, at least not from own production, the full range of broadcast distribution services. Will Usingen etc. be kept by the current financial investors or be sold to someone else? Will it become a venture of its own or be swallowed by some foreign company? (Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. On 31 Jan I received a poor signal on 6045 kHz just before 0930. After fruitless searching on schedules, I tried a GlobalTuner’s online receiver at Rinnai, Italy, and there was a clear strong signal indicating a Euro station. I returned to listen to the last 10 minutes till closedown at 0959. The interval signal ruled out KBS World Service (even though they weren’t scheduled at that time); R. Sarandí was online at Tunein and it wasn’t them; European Music Radio emailed back to say it wasn’t them (they weren’t scheduled then either). Finally I entered ‘6045 kHz Nauen’ as a guess into YouTube’s search bar and discovered a clip of the same broadcast, posted just a few hours later giving the name as ‘Shortwaveservice’ which is in fact the name of the station. (Just add dot com to the name for their address.) I had a confirmation email back from them saying they ‘had a one-time broadcast on Sunday from 9 to 10 UT from Nauen, 6045 kHz at 100 kW’. A mystery solved! (Jonathan Wood, Mosgiel, New Zealand, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) And an example of using our latest info tech to grab the source. I bet a few people would’ve been envious if it had been Sarandí [URUGUAY] (Theo Donnelly, ed., ibid.) 6045, 28/2 0930-0950, R, Menschen & Geschichte, via Nauen(D), German, ID, music, talks, 44444 (Uwe Sennewald RX:DE 1103 /Satellit 500+telescopeantenne, very´s 73 and good DX Uwe via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Channel 292 (Germany) has been offering free airtime in March, as a result there are many more stations scheduled on 6070 kHz (Rohrbach 10 kW) in the next few weeks. Full schedule at http://www.channel292.de/schedule-for-bookings/ (Alan Pennington, UK, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) More Channel 292 changes --- Hi All, Interesting to see that a few more stations have been added to the Channel 292 line up, which continues with the 'free' air time offer until the 24th of March. There also seems to have been some slight programme time changes as well, so it's always worth checking the site ever day in case of late changes or additions: http://www.channel292.de/schedule-for-bookings/ Additional stations are: Friday 11th: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cool AM (Channel 292 programme) Radio North Sea International offshore historic programme. An 'Oldies' programme after DigiDX (well I assume it's not a DigiDX oldie show!) :-D Saturday 12th: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Geronimo Shortwave Cool AM Sunday 13th: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Geronimo Shortwave Monday 14th: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Radio Nova Awesome 80s has also been added with a 5 hour show on the 23rd. I'm still no wiser about what PTHP stands for even after last night's broadcast. I doubt there can have been too many programmes broadcast from a German TX site that started with an air raid siren, Winston Churchill, and the White Cliffs of Dover, but it did however give me a few theories about what the 'PT' might stand for! :-D The presenter's name was Peter, and I assume it was some sort of podcast since there was no station name or contact details given. They're on again on Thursday and Sunday as well. Authentic Rock Radio is on at 2000 UT this evening, so the channel should be nice and clear for that. Interesting month, nice to hear some many new stations on shortwave for a change, and I just hope that some more of these will continue to use their service after the free offer expires, DigiDX, Radio Northern Ireland, the Rarities Show, Broad Spectrum Radio and Mennonite Radio already seem to have decided to do that, and are listed with programmes after the 24tg (Alan Gale, UK, March 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Voice of Greece was back on shortwave on March 2: from 1245 on 9420*AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek tx#3 including English news at 1301-1305. No signal on 9935/11645. *strong co-channel from China National Radio 13 in Uyghur. http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/voice-of-greece-was-back-on-shortwave.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #942 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, March 7, 2016 via DXLD) 9420, Mar 3, 2016. 0135-0140, Voice of Greece, Avlis. Musics; talks in Greek; VOG presents fair signal, spur transmitter and very poor modulation, 35432 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB] Brazil, Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard- Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) spur transmitter? 9420?? (gh) 9924.96, March 5 at 0158, ERT whining transmitter is down here instead of 9935v, or another one tried a while ago, 9930v! It`s S9+25, the multi-tone whine atop the music, which is clear on VG // 9420 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Excellent signal this evening into New Brunswick on 9420 kHz. Noted starting around 0318 UT -- before that there was at least 20 minutes of open carrier. Nothing noted on 9935 kHz. Usual IS, Greek/English ID and national anthem starting the broadcast day around 0400 (-- Richard Langley, UT March 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of Greece was back on shortwave on March 7; from 1400 on 9420*AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek tx#3 *co-channel from CNR-13 in Uyghur. No signal after 1700UT! http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/greece-voice-of-greece-was-back-on.html Voice of Greece again on SW after 1930 UT, March 7 1954&2100 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek tx#3 1954&2100 on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to WeEu Greek tx#1 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/voice-of-greece-again-on-sw-after.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9935, March 7 at 2153, whine from ERT detectable in WTWW-2 9930 slop; OK on 9420 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9420.005, Nice clear audio from Avlis site, VoGreece played Greek folk music program at 0530 UT on March 8. S=9+15dB signal here in central Europe. Nothing parallel, neither on 9935v, 11645, 15630, nor 15650 this morning [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Morning log 0530-0615 UT March 8, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Morning reception of Voice of Greece on March 8: 0700 & 0800 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek tx#3 No signal on 9935/11645 and nothing on 9420 kHz at 1000UT http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/morning-reception-of-voice-of-greece-on.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of Greece again on SW after 1830 UT, March 8 from 1858 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek tx#3 from 1858 on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to WeEu Greek tx#1 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/voice-of-greece-again-on-sw-after_9.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 9420, Mar 8, 2016. 1952-2007, Voice of Greece, Avlis. Music; YL talks in Greek; music; 2000 ID, music; 2005 IS, ID. Very poor station with moderate to severe interference by CNR1 Firedrake [sic], on 9410 kHz, 33332 to 33331. // 9935 kHz, stronger spur transmitter signal (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB], Brazil, Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard- Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4055, March 5 at 0215, R. Verdad with cuckoos at tune- in, ticking leading up to ``la hora correcta`` of 8:15 mentioned at about 0215:15, but that`s fine as there was no specific timesignal; 0216 opening `Frecuencia al Día` DX program from Miami, which I thought was scheduled to start at 0200 UT Saturdays. Recheck at 0245: yes, FAD is just wrapping up after 29 minutes. Good signal and still not a trace of any additional ``injexions`` of Truth (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4055, TGAV Radio Verdad; 0238-0302+, 5-Mar; Tune-in to series of SWC [?] spots including Radio Martí, Italian B'casting Co., Argentina and several Frecuencia al Día spots; 0246 full info RV ID by M in Spanish; 0248 into classical piano music; another full ID 0302. SIO=2+33- with hiss QRM that LSB cut out and later trill QRM that USB cut out also pulse QRM (Harold Frodge, M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 125' RW + 500' unterminated dogleg E-W.N-S beverage, --- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! --- DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 9380, March 4 at 0131, S Asian music, announcement, S8-S9, i.e. AIR Vividh Bharati service, 250 kW, 188 degrees from Aligarh, per Aoki; // 9870 which is where I usually hear it, ChiCom QRM permitting (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 7550, AIR with "MusicBox" showcasing Indian music and English YL announcer between songs explaining what each was. (THAT by the way is how you SHOULD do ethnic music on SW for a foreign audience! Why do so few stations do this?!) ID at 2158 as GOS of AIR, into programme schedule. 2150-2200, 454+4+4, 5/Mar (Ken Zichi. M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR-4 + 500 foot randomwire strung Westerly-ish + my own ears and in mostly real time; I did record some things for later review and decoding of digital stuff! MARE Tipsheet 11 March via DXLD) ** INDIA. Special broadcasts heard for Shivaratri Festival --- Extended schedule noted (past 1740 UT) by AIR Hyderabad 4800 kHz carrying live broadcast in regional language "Telugu" on the occasion of religious festival "Shivaratri`` on 7th March, 2016 (Monday). Following MW stations are also carried this extended broadcast : 738 - AIR Hyderabad 837 - AIR Vijaywada 900 - AIR Kadapa 927 - AIR Visakhapatnam The following stations from Tamilnadu were also on with special programs in Tamil past 1740 UT last night: 720 Chennai 936 Tiruchirapalli 999 Coimbatore 1197 Tirunelveli 1269 Madurai 4920 Chennai Tamil FM stations from SriLanka also carry live relay of special program for Maha Shaivaratri. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India, Mobile: +91 94416 96043, http://www.qsl.net/vu2jos March 7, dx_india yg via DXLD) Dear DX-friends, This is very special, because my good Indian DX- friends Alokesh Gupta and Jose Jacob yesterday sent me e-mails about extended broadcasts the same night from AIR Hyderabad on 4800 SW, which I had the possibility to listen to after Voice of China signed off at 1805*. In addition three loggings from Kashmir. My receiver in Skovlunde is the usual one, an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire: 4800.00, 1835-1950 7.3, AIR Hyderabad. Extended broadcast in Telegu with an excited live report from the religious festival "Shivaratri`` with a choir often heard in the background. The male reporter in ten cases joined the choir by singing himself! 45344. Thanks to Gupta and Jacob for this information! (Anker Petersen, ibid.) ** INDIA. re AIR Kurseong 4895 kHz --- checked at 1310 UT March 3 on remote SDR unit in Australia: 4894.9955, accurate measured, S=8 but fluttery 'whipping' audio too. No spurious signals discovered yet via such large distance India vv Australia. wb df5sx wwdxc germany (Wolfgang Büschel, March 9, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Did here several Indos here this week. Here is a recording of RRI Palangkaraya. Interesting to note that the 5+1 time pips came at 1404 UT. This was yesterday. They were in this morning but not as well. 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, March 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 3325, RRI Palangkaraya, 1355 UT March 4 in Indonesian. Six plus 1 time pips at 1404 UT (just a little off!!), nice interval signal and local ID the presumed newscast. Very Good. They make at daily appearance at this time. (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Perseus SDR receiver, Wellbrook loop antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3325.0, Pro 1 RRI Palangkaraya, 1403-1422, March 4. RRI Palangkaraya jingle followed by ID "Programa satu RRI Palangkaraya"; theme music; 1404 time pips (a full four minutes late!); local Palangkaraya news; ending news at 1422 with usual patriotic song “Bagimu Negeri” (For You Our Country); reception well above the norm. My fairly clear five minute audio at https://goo.gl/oDjdMA (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 3325, NBC Bougainville, 1038-1217*, March 8. Unlike yesterday, RRI Palangkaraya heard today mixing with NBC; resulting in a mess; most of the time both were unusable, but with RRI the stronger. BTW - Clearly heard RRI at 1042 with Islamic call-to-prayer, the Maghrib (evening prayer, just after sunset), with their sunset at 5:39 PM WIB (1039 UT) (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 3904.981, RRI Merauke, proper S=9+10dB signal observed in Brisbane. At 1325 UT on March 3. Nice clean audio and excellent modulation noted in Queensland [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log March 3rd at 1300-1400 UT, noted on few remote units in Doha Qatar, Brisbane Australia, and Tokyo/Nagoya Japan, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 3, dxldyg via DXLD) 3905.0, RRI Merauke, 1157-1208 March 5. Wasn't sure I wanted to get out of bed this morning to check on the Asians, but glad I did, as this one was clearest I've ever heard them. Pop music at tune-in, patriotic song at TOH, followed by female with "Waktu Indonesia Barat" ["time"; I know Merauke is on Indonesian eastern time ("Waktu Indonesia Timur"), but this sounded like "barat," suggesting that the program was coming from Jakarta] and then "Warta Berita" (news). First news item was about the corruption scandal that has swept up former Brazilian President Lula. Fair to good; some ham QRM on the low side, but not really a problem (Art Delibert, N. Bethesda, MD, JRC NRD 545, Pennant antenna with DX Engineering preamp, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Art, That was indeed excellent reception from your Maryland QTH. BTW - I first started to listen to SW while living in Rockville & Gaithersburg. Yes, the 1200 RRI news is in fact the Jakarta news relay. If you have another good day of reception please check for // frequencies, as they all carry the Jakarta news then. At 1202 on March 5, I heard Pro 1 RRI Merauke // Pro 1 RRI Palangkaraya // Pro 4 RRI Makassar (Bangladesh Betar still off the air, which is nice!). RRI Wamena still silent. RRI normally ends the Jakarta news audio feed with the patriotic song “Bagimu Negeri” Youtube - https://goo.gl/eWzz1k which is fairly distinctive and easy to ID. Good luck with your Indonesian DXing! (Ron Howard, San Francisco, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3905, RRI Merauke 1450 UT March 6 in Indonesian with soft ballads time pips and local RRI ID just past 1400. Good but lots of lightning static (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Perseus SDR receiver, Wellbrook loop antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non-log]. 3904.96, RRI Merauke off the air March 9 at 1044 and subsequent checking (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA [and non]. 4749.949, RRI Makassar program. 4749.9925 CHINA, CNR1 Hailar Chinese program, \\ 4800 kHz. Nothing noted of Bangladesh Radio 4750 kHz even at 1342 UT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log March 3rd at 1300-1400 UT, noted on few remote units in Doha Qatar, Brisbane Australia, and Tokyo/Nagoya Japan, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 3, dxldyg via DXLD) 4749.95, RRI Makassar, 1315, March 4. Program of phone calls. As Wolfy noted yesterday, is nice to have Bangladesh Betar currently off the air, as normally they would be blocking RRI (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4750, RRI Makassar, 1405 UT March 6 light music then announcer taking phone calls. Very Good with lightning static (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Perseus SDR receiver, Wellbrook loop antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4749.95, RRI Makassar. March 9 was yet another day with no Bangladesh Betar on 4750.0, so at 1215 had decent reception of RRI here; only very light CNR1 QRM. Now is an excellent time to hear RRI without the usually strong BB QRM (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 4869.89v, RRI Wamena on March 4 with another day of not broadcasting (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. No signal from Voice of Indonesia, March 3-4: 1000-1100 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 135 deg to AUS English 1100-1200 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 010 deg to EaAs Chinese 1200-1300 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 010 deg to EaAs Japanese 1300-1400 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 010 deg to EaAs English 1400-1500 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 010 deg to EaAs Indonesian 1500-1600 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 010 deg to EaAs Chinese 1600-1700 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 290 deg to N/ME Arabic 1700-1800 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 290 deg to WeEu Spanish 1800-1900 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 290 deg to WeEu German 1900-2000 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 290 deg to WeEu English 2000-2100 on 9525 JAK 250 kW / 290 deg to WeEu French http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/no-signal-from-voice-of-indonesia-march.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9525, March 6 at 1230, no signal at all from VOI. Atsunori Ishida says not heard since March 2, at http://rri.jpn.org 9525, March 8 at 1407, JBA carrier from presumed VOI. Atsunori Ishida agrees that while it was missing March 3-6, has been back on March 7- 8, not necessarily at full hours (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of Indonesia was back on air March 8, after week of absence: from 1355 9525 JAK 250 kW / 010 deg EaAs English, QRM RVA 9520; VOA 9530 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/voice-of-indonesia-was-back-on-air.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. GOOGLE IS BUILDING A 100 KW RADIO TRANSMITTER AT A [NEW MEXICO] SPACEPORT AND NO ONE KNOWS WHY http://hackaday.com/2016/03/02/google-is-building-a-100kw-radio-transmitter-at-a-spaceport-and-no-one-knows-why/ 73s (via Bernhard Jatzeck VA6BMJ @ DO33FL, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) not HF, but SHF+, and that`s EIRP, not transmitter power (gh) ** IRAN. As to all their faithful listeners, IRIB World Service sent me four DVDs along with a QSL folder (Günter Jacob from Passau, Germany, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** IRAN [and non]. 7400, Mar 4, 2016. 2027-2032, VoIRI, Sirjan. Program in Spanish; Qur´an chant; talks. Fair signal and very poor modulation, 35332. Note: Strong interference by CRI on 7390 kHz, in Hungarian, started at 2030 (VoIRI SINPO 32331). (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB], Brazil, Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) 9445.70, March 4 at 0133, new frequency ex-9445.60 for VIRI, Spanish at 304 degrees from Kamalabad. 9445.0, March 5 at 0153, VRII in Spanish on new frequency, ex-9445.7, ex-9445.6 9445.00, March 6 at 0220, VRII has failed once again to shift to 9445.6. or 9445.7; in Spanish discussing US/Mexico drug problem (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9710, V Justice/VoIRI with news items re Saudi protests over invasion of Yemen & MANY items re Syria and re Spanish gov't reorganization and political deadlock there since the December elections and Donald Trump and the Republican nomination process in the USA. Into roundtable talx re migrant crisis in Europe and at 0410 a Huffington Post article about the Apple/FBI tussle over unlocking the iPhone. ABRUPTLY off mid-sentence at 0420. Xmtr cut out a couple of times briefly around 0350 as well. 44+4+44 with a slight LF Het. Better than earlier in the season. 0332-0420* 5/Mar (Ken Zichi. M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR-4 + 500 foot randomwire strung Westerly-ish + my own ears and in mostly real time; I did record some things for later review and decoding of digital stuff! MARE Tipsheet 11 March via DXLD) 9710, IRIB English Radio, 0334 Mar 6, AM, Good, English, 0357 transmitter cycles off and on until 0358. Reviewing US President Primaries and Trump's appeal. Abrupt sign-off 0420 (Jack Amelar: Lowell MI, MARE Tipsheet 11 March via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. 7460, March 5 at 0229, open carrier at S9+10, sufficient vs adjacent Albania 7465 at S9+25; 0230 opening with fanfares and ``Payam-e Doost`` ID, i.e. the Baha`í service in Farsi for Iran where members of that faith are persecuted despite historical origins there. WRTH says the name means ``Message from a friend`` and files it on page 502 under USA, rather than under a C&OTB listing for Iran, where only Radio Rainbow qualifies; despite Payam-e Doost being ``jammed``, altho I am not hearing any. Site is PRIDNESTROVYE (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND [non]. Digi DX Full schedule for March 2016 (note changes to Channel 292 Friday broadcast and WRMI broadcast to North America). Episode 4 - Friday 11th March : 0930-1000 6070 (Channel 292-DE) Episode 4 - Friday 11th March : 1600-1630 6070 (Channel 292-DE) Episode 4 - Sunday 13th March : 1100-1130 6070 (Channel 292-DE) Episode 4 - Sunday 13th March : 1230-1300 6070 (Channel 292-DE) Episode 4 - Sunday 14th March : 2330-0000 11580 (WRMI-US) [*13* Mar] Episode 5 - Friday 18th March : 2000-2030 6070 (Channel 292-DE) Episode 5 - Sunday 20th March : 1100-1130 6070 (Channel 292-DE) Episode 5 - Sunday 20th March : 1230-1300 6070 (Channel 292-DE) Episode 5 - Sunday 20th March : 2330-0000 11580 (WRMI-US) Episode 6 - Friday 25th March : 2000-2030 3985 (Radio 700-DE) Episode 6 - Saturday 26th Mar : 2000-2030 6070 (Channel 292-DE) Episode 6 - Sunday 27th March : 1100-1130 6070 (Channel 292-DE) Episode 6 - Sunday 27th March : 1230-1300 6070 (Channel 292-DE) Episode 6 - Sunday 27th March : 2330-0000 11580 (WRMI-US) [DST starts in Europe, 27 Mar so really staying at same UT?] Stephen --- Best regards (via Adam Grzenia, Poland, http://dxadam.blogspot.com/ March 9, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {confirmed on 11580 WRMI March 13} ** JAPAN [non]. From Israel, DAVID CRYSTAL tells us that “9765 kHz between 1700 and 1759 and 1800 and 1859 NHK Radio Japan broadcasts in Japanese. Each hour begins with news and commentary, followed by music. In one hour, you have western pop songs sung in Japanese, followed by Japanese songs, almost traditional, softened for modern tastes.” David says he has been listening to Radio Japan since 1963 when, in those days, there were no relays, and reception was torture. With improved reception, he says “you will not be bored” (March BDXC- UK Communication via DXLD) 9765 at 17-19 is 250 kW, 140 degrees from Nauen, GERMANY. And as below also on 11945, 500 kW, 155 degrees from Issoudun, FRANCE (gh, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 11710, Voice of Korea; 1521-1525:41*, 3-Mar; M in French with rousing chorale & closing. *1530:01-1533+, 3-Mar; On with IS & M&W/English IDs; 1531 anthem; 1532:41 Brief English announncement into rousing chorale (made me want to run out and make tractor parts). SIO=353- (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, 5525 Whitehall St., Midland MI 48642-3156, Drake R8B + 185' & 60' RW + 125' bow-tie, --- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! --- DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. TAIWAN, Weak signal of Furusato no Kaze March 5 1330-1400 on 9950 TSH 100 kW / 002 deg to NEAs Japanese http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/weak-signal-of-furusato-no-kaze-on.html PALAU, Good signal of Furusato no Kaze & Nippon no Kaze via T8WH, March 4-5: Furusato no Kaze 1430-1500 on 9960 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg to NEAs Japanese 1600-1630 on 9975 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg to NEAs Japanese Nippon no Kaze 1500-1530 on 9975 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg to NEAs Korean 1530-1600 on 9965 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg to NEAs Korean http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/good-signal-of-furusato-no-kaze-nippon.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. TOUGH NUT: BBC PLANS A NORTH KOREAN SERVICE | USC Center on Public Diplomacy By Kim Andrew Elliott Mar 2, 2016 The BBC has confirmed its intention to create a radio service for North Korea, although, despite a recent report, a start date for this service has not been set. North Korea’s recent test of what it described as a hydrogen bomb, and its launch of a long-range missile, have instilled urgency to the BBC’s plans. BBC specifies that this will be a radio service rather than the multimedia operation that is typical in 21st-century international broadcasting. In North Korea’s tightly controlled media environment, there really is no alternative to radio to get information to all but the most elite layer of the country’s population. . . http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/tough-nut-bbc-plans-north-korean-service (via Kim, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. 4885, Echo of Hope - VOH, 1238, March 6. This continues to daily have a very good signal; very clean, with no hint of jamming during my receptions; still with occasional "V O H" IDs (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 5857.5, HLL2 Seoul, 1217, March 6. Good signal, but poor audio (distorted); in English with weather information; providing wind direction, wind speed in meters per second, air pressure in hectopascals and temperature in Celsius; 1218 changed language. My audio at https://goo.gl/WIQ9PU (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn - Here are some interesting comments made by Chris Kadlec (Seoul, S. Korea) in regards to my HLL2 Seoul reception. Ron "Haha, 5857.5 sounds the same here in Seoul, but your signal is far better than mine. I don't understand a thing they're saying though... in any language. This was the best recording I could get here in Korea on Sunday afternoon while just fooling around flipping through the band. http://goo.gl/yQc7nr I could understand nothing but "The weather is cloudy". And it wasn't cloudy anywhere! [WORLD OF RADIO 1816] "And here's 7220 Voice of Korea shortly after just before the TOH at 0530 GMT (1400 local Pyongyang time). I never knew this station was there and first time I heard a DPRK station in English (followed by Chinese). We have 621 VOK but it's Japanese and time shares with Pyongyang Bangsong most of the day. http://goo.gl/eTGyd1 " (via Ron Howard, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 6015, KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1, 1000, March 5. Start of the usual program "Pops Freedom"; mostly in Korean; many pop songs; "Everyday English" language lesson; poor with the usual white noise jamming from North Korea (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 6135, Voice of Freedom (clandestine), 1148-1202, March 6. A very rare occurrence with no white noise jamming from North Korea; the often heard theme music ("We Shall Overcome"); in Korean; almost fair. My eight minute audio at https://goo.gl/BdyDsW (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. 5960, Radio Kuwait-Kuwait, (Tentative), at 0205, on 6 Mar. A female announcer is speaking in Arabic as listed, and she is talking to another female who is speaking occasionally. A Middle Eastern sounding song came on with a female singer singing in Arabic. The song ended with a male and a female announcer speaking. The signal is strong but the audio is poor right now along with QRM from 5975 that is splattering. Poor-Fair (John Cooper, Lebanon, PA, Winradio-G33DDC, CommRadio CR-1a, SDR-IQ, GAP-Hear It-In Line Module, Wellbrook ALA- 1530S+, Wellbrook ALA1530LNPro, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) R. Kuwait left SW a few years ago; nothing in Arabic sked now (gh) ** KYRGYZSTAN. 4009.831, Kyrgyz Radio, from Bishkek Krasnaya Rechka, poor S=6 signal strength at Brisbane, at 1318 UT on March 3, \\ 4819.897 kHz. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log March 3rd at 1300-1400 UT, noted on few remote units in Doha Qatar, Brisbane Australia, and Tokyo/Nagoya Japan, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 3, dxldyg via DXLD) 4819.955, March 6 at 1300, low audible heterodyne from off-frequency station against something closer to 4820.0 --- presumed Birinchi Radio = net 1 of KTRK, 15 kW transmitter at Krasnaya Rechka (which means Red River, presumably a place rather than a literal waterway), as habitually reported off-frequency, like 4819.94 by Anker Petersen, Denmark, Feb 26 at 1730. 4820.0 would be Kolkata, Lhasa, or both (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. 6130.000, Accurate even frequency from Lao National Radio from Vientiane center. Female program talk presenter. Fluttery signal in morning 49 mb skip zone, S=9+10dB at 0052 UT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 5th) (Wolfgang Büschel, Log of March 5th at 0010-0155 UT, noted on remote SDR unit in eastern Thailand, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 1800-1900 UT - 9570 Russian. As I said Konstantin Chernushenko, the air station will call themselves not Madagascar World Voice, but something like "New Life Radio KNLS - broadcasts from the Indian Ocean. "Start broadcast from 27 March. Reports will be confirmed QSL-cards with the name of Madagascar World Voice, but will be expelled [sic] from the United States (Dmitry Kutuzov, Ryazan, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx" via RusDX March 6 via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) MADAGASCAR WORLD VOICE PLANS TO START AT THE END OF MARCH ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULE: 0100-0200 English 9665 0200-0300 Spanish 6190 0300-0400 Spanish 6150 0400-0500 English 9480 1800-1900 Russian 9570 1800-1900 English 17640 1900-2000 Arabic 11945 2000-2100 Arabic 13710 2100-2200 Chinese 11615 2200-2300 Chinese 9455 2200-2300 Arabic 11770 (Mauno Ritola, WRTH 10 Feb via March BDXC-UK Communication via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) Madagascar World Voice is expected to begin during April. The schedule will include English to Africa, Spanish to South America and Arabic to the Middle East (Allen Dean, ibid.) ** MALAYSIA. 9835, Sarawak FM via Kajang, 1306-1329, March 7. Series on 10 minute recitations from the Qur'an. The only major competition (Tilawah Al-Qur’an) this month in Malaysia was held last Friday (March 4), so this must have been a recording of that; "Majlis Tilawah Al- Quran Peringkat Wilayah Persekutuan 2016" (a competition at the federal level). About the only time I hear a woman with Qur'an recitation is during one of these competitions, as they have a division for women; fair (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALTA [non]. Radio Joystick today Sunday on air 1100-1200 UT on 7330 kHz via Moosbrunn, Austria. http://radiojoystick.de/ "Since 2013 we broadcast via Media Broadcast/TDF. The transmitters are standing in the small town of Moosbrunn near Vienna, broadcasting our shows on every first Sunday of each month at 12:00 h German time with 100 kW at 7330 kHz on shortwave to Western Europe! First Sunday of each month on shortwave 7330 kHz in Europe! On the Internet, the latest program is available at any time on demand for your listening pleasure. Our programs are produced for syndication as a free offer to stations that easily and efficiently may add their own jingles and commercials! The first broadcast was heard on the 7th of September 1985 via Radio Milano International (formerly lessor of broadcast times) after 1 month with tests! Since Voice of The Mediterranean has ceased its broadcasts, we’re spreading the following content: Malta: news from one of the most important EU external borders Media: news on radio, television and streaming techniques Music: selected songs of the seventies up to modern sounds Show structure: At the middle of the musical show max. two approximately five minute info blocks Talents: For 25 years on the air! 25 years of experience in radio, also collected at WDR! Target group: 180 000 German-speaking shortwave fans with purchasing power in Europe – at the age of 35 to 60 years Duration of transmission, broadcasting, frequency, time: 60 min, 100 kW from Moosbrunn near Vienna; 41 m shortwave band, monthly on Sundays at lunch time" (via Manuel Méndez, Spain, dxldyg via DXLD) GERMANY, Strong signal of Radio Joystick via MBR on March 6: 1100-1200 on 7330 MOS 100 kW / 283 deg to CeEu German 1st Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/strong-signal-of-radio-joystick-via-mbr.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MARSHALL ISLANDS. Members, This is from official communication by David Ricquish through the WRTH Facebook page. The station on 1098 kHz is now silent due to financial difficulties. I am struggling without a desktop so bringing full reports will be delayed for the next 7 days or so. 73 and 88 (Dan Goldfarb, March 5, mwmasts yg via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 620, March 7 at 0628, Mexican music is dominating Plano, from the SW, which is not unusual, presumably XEBU Chihuahua2; yes, soon ID mentioning Chihuahua, but can`t copy whether still called La Norteñita. 0630 a PSA for Cámara de Diputados – despite being voiced by a YL, she no longer calls it ``Diputadas y Diputados`` -- another policy change in nomenclature? Now there is a second SS on the frequency not so far west; probably one of the seven other XEs listed on 620 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 620, March 7 at 0646, Spanish slogan for ``el catálogo de - -- música`` then playing classic hit in English ``I`m a Believer``. IRCA Log has three 620 stations with music in E, probably the big`un, XENK in México DF, 50/5 kW. Checking website http://www.620.com.mx/programacion.php Now I`m certain: detailed program schedule shows: ``00:00 EL CATALOGO DE ORO DE LA MUSICA DE RADIO 6.20 --- con la música de la colección que nadie se puede perder, entre los que se cuentan “Café Concierto”, “Instrumentales de Siempre” y “Gracias por el Recuerdo”. Varios días en diversos horarios.`` Also watch out for `Retrospectiva 620`, slogan, or program title for Wed 20-22 local. XENK also counts upon significant newshour blox and even gospel huxters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 1530, XEUR Éxtasis Digital, México DF. 1100 March 7, 2016. Tune-in to Samantha Fox "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)", male canned, "XEUR, Éxtasis Digital... México, Distrito Federal..." at 1102, into Thomas Dolby "She Blinded Me With Science" and another slogan ID, into Queen "Your My Best Friend." Parallel the tunein.com stream. Excellent, obviously running 50 kW and not the 1000 watts night power (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 1650, XEARZ, ZER Radio, México DF. 1029 March 6, 2016. End of instrumental, male canned Spanish ID, back to smooth jazz instrumentals. Good, mostly over KSVE [El Paso TX!], the Tampa I-275 HAR, and the unidentified "beeper" HAR/TIS (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. RAYMIE`S MEXICO BEAT this week --- ...Well, since I'm getting crickets, this is probably XHQ-2 Guamúchil (I do not have a digital auth for this shadow). The IFT makes available an infrastructure table of TV microwave links in the 12750- 12850 MHz band. http://www.ift.org.mx/sites/default/files/usuarios-y-audiencias/radio-y-television-abiertos/infraestructura_banda_de_12750-12850_mhz_26-11-14.pdf There are three listed XHQ links. One goes to Guasave, another to Guamúchil (final coordinates near the Pemex station near that tower) and the third to La Cruz. The tower in La Cruz de Elota is a shadow XHQ-8. I remember seeing old Cofetel documents on XHQ as they originally planned a low-band build and were told that they could not construct the station on channel 2. The second-most powerful microwave link in Mexico has an ERP of 40 kW. It is the XHAS microwave link. The microwave transmitter coordinates are not in Mexico, of course — they're at Entravision's San Diego studios. (XHVTV has a 77 kW ERP link.) There are also some other links in there revealing shadow locations (Raymie Humbert, Phœnix AZ, March 2, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) Interesting stuff. Such data for U.S. stations should be available in the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau website. If you AM Query/FM Query/TV Query and return the long form results for a station, there's a link for pulling up related WTB facilities. I hope the "Ancho de Banda" is actually 25 MHz, not 25 kHz. Do they have other tables for other bands? Frequencies just above 7000 MHz are commonly used for this purpose in the U.S.. The high ERPs are the result of very directional antennas. Transmitter powers usually don't much exceed ten watts, but the antennas concentrate this power in a narrow beam. Of course, a studio- transmitter link only wants to reach one receiver! (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com March 3, ibid.) Here are services in the 13,000 MHz band: http://www.ift.org.mx/sites/default/files/usuarios-y-audiencias/radio-y-television-abiertos/infraestructura_banda_de_13000-13100_mhz_26-11-14.pdf The bandwidth on those is indeed in megahertz, so I suspect a typo (Raymie, March 3, ibid.) It's time for some IFT statistics on the digital television transition... http://www.tdt.mx/docs/avances/avances/Avances13012015.pdf There were 698 analog television stations in Mexico, of which... -238 shut off before December 31 -299 shut off on December 31 -149 were low-power noncommercial stations -12 failed to become public use concessions and thus were removed from the registry. (More info on these later) Of 884 shadow channels... -152 were new in digital -198 shut off before December 31 -186 shut off on December 31 -348 remained on air in analog So, we are losing 12 analog television stations from this as non- continuing permits: XHSFE-XHSFB-XHSFN San Felipe, B.C. XHCCP Copainalá, Chis. XHALC Aldama, Chih. XHBAL Balleza, Chih. XHOHH Ocampo, Chih. XHRPC Riva Palacio, Chih. XHMZE Zacatepec, Mor.* XHAZS Tamazunchale, S.L.P. XHRIG-XHRRZ, Río Grande, Zac.** *XHMZE did make the digital transition and is broadcasting, but it looks like it failed to change its concession type which could kill the station for good. They also have a new website and a logo that...is real cause for confusion. http://canal22morelos.com.mx/ **XHRRZ is going digital soon. https://www.facebook.com/tv7nuevavision/photos/a.393779370643576.89165.380058972015616/1062159520472221/?type=3 (Raymie, March 4, ibid.) So apparently Televisa swapped its Chihuahua and Durango stations' networks for some reason. Why do they even bother when these stations transmit from the same facilities at the same ERP? The only thing I can think of was that each case put CE on a lower channel (5) and C5 on a higher channel (13, 22). Speaking of Chihuahua and Durango, a new agreement http://oncenoticias.tv/index.php?modulo=interior¬a=142&dt=2016-03-07 between the SPR and the IPN will mean that cities in the IPN repeater network may get Una Voz con Todos, and that the SPR transmitters will continue to carry Canal Once (and potentially third- and fourth-wave SPR transmitters too). This is huge for expanding the SPR's coverage as the IPN holds the keys to markets where the SPR currently has no presence or facilities, such as the aforementioned state capitals, Culiacán, Los Mochis, Cuernavaca and Tijuana. The SPR will also become part of the IPN's 80th anniversary celebrations --- in part by helping Canal Once reach 80% coverage (Raymie, March 7, ibid.) Televisión Azteca has been slapped with a $266,000 fine (MXN 4,759,682.85) for failing to broadcast at full power at one of its stations. The fine is equivalent to 1% of its 2012 earnings. http://www.ift.org.mx/comunicacion-y-medios/comunicados-ift/es/el-pleno-del-ift-multa-television-azteca-por-incumplir-con-la-potencia-radiada-la-que-esta-obligada The case concerns XHLLO-TDT 33 in Saltillo, which was verified by the IFT in May to be broadcasting at an ERP of 3.314 kW instead of the authorized 8.74 kW (yes, that is the authorized ERP for this station which ran nearly 2,000 kW in analog). Azteca was using a lower-power transmitter. Staying in Coahuila, word of the third channel shuffle among Televisa stations this week, this time in Torreón. XELN to C5 and 40.1, XHTOB to Gala TV and 4.1. Last edited by Raymie; 03-08-2016 at 04:06 PM (Raymie, March 8, ibid.) Looks like at least one of the several new stations I covered lately is another permit wolf. The concessionaire for XHMVM Maravatío Mich. is owned by Pichir Estebán Silva, who was once the president of the state chapter of CIRT https://www.quadratin.com.mx/sucesos/Pichir-Esteban-presidente-de-la-CIRT/ and owns stations in Zitácuaro — XHLX and XHETA (Raymie, March 9, ibid.) More news from the IFT today: http://www.ift.org.mx/comunicacion-y-medios/comunicados-ift/es/el-ift-emite-el-programa-de-continuidad-para-las-estaciones-y-equipos-complementarios-de-baja -The IFT issued its program to transition shadow channels and analog stragglers to digital. Stations must be in digital by September 30 and shut off by December 31, according to penetration thresholds. -TV Azteca received approval to multiplex many of its stations nationwide. This should allow them to bring Proyecto 40 and perhaps other services nationwide. Previously P40 had been available on some transmitters that had been on prior to 2013 or so. -The Edomex state network will be clearing the 600 MHz band. Its main stations broadcast on channels 51 and 41. I suspect the 41 (XHPTP, almost-Mexico City) will move back to 34. Not sure what XHGEM Toluca — not to mention all its shadows — will do (Raymie, March 10, ibid.) ** MOLDOVA. A MW harmonic regularly heard in our local evenings on 2826 (= 1413 x 2) is tentatively from Vesti FM, Grigoriopol in Moldova. Modulation audible, often stronger signal than on the crowded MW channel. This seems to be a very consistent signal, since at least the carrier has usually been audible whenever I tried for it (Tobias (T²), Germany, March 8, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 5985, Myanmar Radio at 1456 UT Feb. 28, 2016 in local language. Talk between two female announcers and local language pop songs. AT 1530 they went into English music programs but the soft spoken announcer was difficult to understand. She did mention Myanmar Radio Facebook. Some of the tunes I recognized were John Fogerty live with "Bad Moon Rising" and Wings' "Silly Little Love Songs". China Radio came on at 1600. I could still make out Wings underneath though. Fair, peaked at 1510 UT (Mickey Delmage, Lamont, AB, Perseus SDR with various antennas; Collins HF-2050 Wellbrook Loop and KLM 7-30 MHz Log Periodic, March CIDX Messenger via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) And after 1600 on 5985, don`t you assume it`s CONGO, q.v. (gh, ibid.) 5985, MYANMAR Radio 1510 UT with local soft pop music and soft spoken female announcer in local language. 1530 Fanfare and welcoming of listeners to the English broadcast with a program lineup. News followed to 1536 UT, then a program of English soft pop songs with a few announcements. Some tunes heard: Meghan Trainor / ft John Legend "Like I'm Gonna Lose You", "Slow Dancing", Olivia Newton-John and "Guilty" Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb. China Radio International covered then at 1600 in Swahili. Fair (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Perseus SDR receiver, Wellbrook loop antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Date? March 4, 5 or 6 5914.992, Myanmar Radio from new capital Naypyidaw site, S=9+20dB signal at 0033 UT in eastern Thailand remote SDR unit. Local music singer, wideband 5.6 kHz transmission. March 5th. 5984.997, Myanmar R, from rather Yangoon Yegu site, 0047 UT on March 5th, S=9+10dB in eastern Thailand. Rather western pop mx style, of SoEaAsian presenter. At 0130 was replaced by 7200.114 kHz channel. 6029.993, Thazin Radio, from Pyin U Lwin northern broadcast center site, 0038 UT on March 5th, S=9+25dB proper signal heard in eastern Thailand remote unit. Local music at rather wideband 9.2 kHz bandwidth. 6164.997, Thazin Radio, from Pyin U Lwin northern center site, 0043 UT on March 5th, S=9+15dB proper signal heard in eastern Thailand remote unit. Pwo Karen hill tribe people language program, soft female singer song, like northern Thai folk music. 7200.0, nothing noted of Myanmar Radio of Yangoon Yegu site on that empty channel at 0010-0055 UT. 7200.114, When checked at 0130 UT again, Myanmar Radio of Yangoon Yegu site was on air, much distorted audio, seemingly older unit and final tube stage was wrong. At 0145 UT heard Burmese language presenter version of Beatles song of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" hit Close-adjacent 7210 kHz Dac Lac-VTN was much S=9+25dB strong. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 5th) (Wolfgang Büschel, Log of March 5th at 0010-0155 UT, noted on remote SDR unit in eastern Thailand, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9730, Myanmar Radio, 1130*, March 9. Weak underneath SOH (Taiwan) (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. LOG: 0255z, 6040 kHz KBC / Nauen O=3-4 [2 x] AM + S-AM, skipzone, backscatter --- "...nothing wrong with the voice." - only backscatter in nightly European skip zone. 100 miles away from Nauen. pure AM: http://www.rhci-online.net/mp3/2016-03-06_6040_kHz_KBC_backscatter_STUDIO1-AM-5k+3k-cut.mp3 (the voice sounds rough and distorted) S-AM: http://www.rhci-online.net/mp3/2016-03-06_6040_kHz_KBC_backscatter_STUDIO1-SAM-5k+3k-cut.mp3 (better) (roger, Germany, YT March 6, dxldyg via DXLD) GERMANY, Reception of Mighty KBC Radio via MBR, March 6: 0900-1600 on 6095 NAU 100 kW / 240 deg to WeEu English Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/reception-of-mighty-kbc-radio-via-mbr.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #942 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, March 7, 2016 via DXLD) The Mighty KBC on 6095 closes March 27th --- Due to the lack of new sponsors, The Mighty KBC will close down on 6095 on March 27th. We will soon announce if we continue on shortwave on 6040 to the USA. We will improve our 1602AM /DAB+ service. This will happen on April 1st (The Mighty KBC on Facebook, 7 March) [both frequencies 6095 and 6040 are via Nauen] Posted by: (Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK yg and Mike Terry, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD, and http://www.kbcradio.eu/index.php?dir=news/detail&id=426 via Hansjoerg Biener, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) Following from Eric van Willegen: "Due to the lack of new sponsors, The Mighty KBC will close down on 6095 on March 27th." At this time no decision about the final North America shortwave broadcast. Decision soon. 73, (Kraig Krist, VA, March 7, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. The final historic Radio New Zealand transmission mast has been removed from the Titahi Bay skyline near Wellington. The 220 metre structure above Owhiti Street, north of Porirua, was demolished on Tuesday 16 February following months of preparation. Though the weather was not ideal, Martin Wilson, managing director of Abseil Access, the company that removed the mast, said the mast came down as planned. “It was a big relief to have the job complete, with six months of planning coming down to one button,” Wilson said. “Nothing went wrong, that’s the main thing. The mast fell slowly north, although it didn’t quite land hit the target I marked for fun,” he said. The tower, along with another 50 metre mast demolished late last year, transmitted five AM radio stations, including RNZ National and Newstalk ZB. Built in 1937, it was New Zealand’s tallest structure until Auckland’s Sky Tower was opened in the mid-1990s. It was opened by Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage and allowed nationwide radio broadcasting for the first time. A 10-year-old 137 metre mast would now transmit all the radio frequencies. RNZ’s Matthew Finn said it was definitely an end of an era but it was always going to happen. “We had to establish future plans and this was one of them,” he said. Finn said the remaining mast also had an amount of rust and would have to be replaced in the future. As the towers were quite an iconic landmark, he said there could be a chance another mast would be built on the same site as the 220-metre mast – just not quite as tall. Last year, Justine Chalmers, a Dimock St resident, who had lived in the same house below the mast for 34 years, said she had mixed feelings about the demolitions. “You get used to them being there,” she said. “As kids we would get fluoro tubes and go up close to them and the tubes would light up in your hands. It was pretty cool.” Chalmers said she would miss them, but it was about time they came down (The Dominion Post via Paul Rawdon in DX Dialog, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) I’ve done that fluorescent tube trick too! The following photos of the initial stages of the dismantling of the 567 AM antenna at Titahi Bay on 11 December were taken by my cousin Garry Clark, watching the activity from Plimmerton. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcOkA0yb9Fs&feature=youtu.be has a video of the final few seconds of the mast (Bryan Clark, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. 9700, March 4 at 1400, RNZI timesignal has been adjusted to fire only about half a second late, instead of 3 seconds late as I logged at this same hour on February 29 and March 2. On to top news story, balcony collapse in Dunedin. 9775-9780-9785, March 7 at 1609, RNZI DRM Noise is S8 on the meter in AM mode, while 9700 AM is only S7-S4 by this late hour. DRM starts at 1551 except Sundays (meaning UT Sundays?) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGER. 8903/USB, Niamey, 0047, 6-Mar; ATC working KLM 504 & Martin Air 8561; please call Niamey-Niamey; sounded like "amey-amey" (Harold Frodge, M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 125' RW + 500' unterminated dogleg E-W.N-S beverage, --- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! --- DX LISTENING DIGEST) No SWBC 9705, 5020 ** NIGERIA. 7255, Mar 4, 2016. 1855-1905, Voice of Nigeria, Abuja- Lugbe. Program in English, talks, music; 1900: 8:00 pm in Nigeria. Good signal and fair modulation, 45433. 7255, Mar 4, 2016. 2006-2013, Voice of Nigeria, Abuja-Lugbe. Program in Hausa; talks, short music. Good signal and slight to moderate interference by CRI in Russian, on 7255, 43443 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB], Brazil, Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Having been unheard for several months, Voice of Nigeria - Lagos has made a surprise reappearance on SW during February using 15120, 11770 and 9690 kHz. Broadcasts from Voice of Nigeria - Abuja have continued on SW but are not so easily heard in Europe. Transmissions from Lagos have been very intermittent, some days on, some days off, and sometimes on different frequencies, but it has been possible to work out an approximate schedule for the two services as follows: Abuja 0600-0700 7255 Hausa (// 9690 currently unheard) Abuja 0700-0730 7255 French Abuja 0730-0800 7255 Fulfulde Abuja 0800-0900 7255 English Lagos 0900-1400 9690 English (alt 15120) Lagos 1400-1530 15120 English (alt 9690) Lagos 1530-1600 15120 French (alt 9690) Lagos 1600-1630 9690 Swahili Lagos 1630-1700 9690 Yoruba (alt 11770) Lagos 1730-1800 11770 Arabic Abuja 1800-1930 7255 + 15120-DRM English (ex/alt. 9690, DRM transmission irregular) Abuja 1930-2000 7255 Fulfulde Abuja 2000-2100 7255 Hausa It seems that Abuja operates the early morning and evening broadcasts, with Lagos filling the gap in the daytime. The presenters on the two English services are different and they always ID distinctly as “Voice of Nigeria, Lagos” or “Voice of Nigeria, Abuja” (Dave Kenny, March BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) or day of week variations: (gh) Voice of Nigeria Livestream [non] and SW-Lagos [almost non] Hallo world, there is new audio player on http://voiceofnigeria.org.ng/ marked as livestream. But it's actually a tapestream and broadcasts the same show of Nigerian Popular Music over and over. There is another stream at http://voiceofnigeria.org.ng/live-stream/ but this broadcasts only random international pop music, possibly the default feed from the provider. Regarding SW, despite regular (daily since Monday, several times a day except today, Saturday) checks, I caught the daytime transmissions only on Monday for a very short while and on Thursday from approx. 1400-1600 on 15120, first hour mostly carrier-only, afterwards regular programming. The whining noise was not as severe as it used to be the weeks before. Currently not on 11770 as scheduled. 73 (thorsten hallmann, 1733 UT March 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7254.925, March 9 at 0638, VON Hausa is good at S9+20 and still no // 9690-. In March Communication of the British DX Club, Dave Kenny says the 7255 transmissions are all from the Abuja studio and site, at 06- 09 and 18-21. All others, irregular between 09 and 18, whether on 9690, 11770 or 15120, are from VON Lagos studio and site, essentially two different stations, each identifying with the origin (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. FRANCE, Good signal of Manara Radio via TDF, March 4 1600-1700 on 17765 ISS 150 kW / 170 deg to WeAf Hausa http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/good-signal-of-manara-radio-via-tdf.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. The X-band list in the new March issue of NZ DX Times has ignored the extensive correxion research we made and published a month ago to the mis-listed slogan of KTIQ, nor has it moved CJRS to the correct frequency, 1650: ``1660 KTIQ Merced CA SS. Slogan ‘Radio Anvictio’ CJRS Montreal QU Radio Shalom - Hebrew, French, English`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PIRATE HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES Your editor was fortunate to attend this year’s Winter SWL Fest held at Plymouth Meeting, PA this past February. During the Pirate Forum, hosted by George Zeller, the annual inductees to the North American Hall Of Fame were announced. This year’s list is: Greg Bares – former editor of The ACE Al Muick – Free Radio Campaign editor Woody B. Serious – Op of “Up Your Radio” Radio Eclipse – Pirate active in late 90’s, early 00’s WREC Radio Free East Coast – pirate active 1993-1999, 2015- The Hall Of Fame has a very nice website hosted by Ragnar Daneskjold and John T. Arthur. The web address is: https://sites.google.com/site/napiratehof/home I highly suggest you check it out; there are former hall of famers listed along with lots of QSLs, pirate profiles, etc. (Chris Lobdell, Free Radio Scene, March CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. 11428.3 approx., March 3 at 1435, I am tuning around for Indonesian USB QSO pirates, but instead detect an extremely weak CW signal. Seems like it is sending, C and Z and maybe K? No, the K is just a partial C. Finally with extreme narrow bandwidth I can copy it as CZ over and over, so it`s the beacon run by the pirate Channel Z, location unknown. There are several recent logs of this on HF Underground if you search on 11428, also dating back to 2012y and 2011, various decimals above 11428. Coincidentally, Rob Ross has reported this, never saying what the ID was, and got a QSL indicating the power as 380 milliwatts, to continue until the battery die (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Received this e-QSL for the CZ QRP beacon I heard on March 3 at 1435 UT on 11428.3: http://www.w4uvh.net/2016CZBeacon-Hauser.jpg accompanied by this message at 0120 UT March 5: ``Hi Glenn, Thanks for your logging on the Free Radio Weekly. It's very satisfying for me that you found my beacon just by tuning around. Attached is your e-QSL, and some photos. The rig is based around the versatile 74HC240 chip, and a design by N7KSB: http://www.qsl.net/kj5tf/n7ksb.html I've also attached the design of the keying circuit. This year the 380 mW beacon has been heard as far away as Utah and France. (At the moment it's off the air, as I have to recharge the 12 AH battery). Thanks, Z`` Thanks very much to Channel Z! I tried again March 5 at 1540 but was not hearing it (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) re: CW pirate? on 11.42805 MHz (not 11.4283 MHz) heard at 0930 EST in Indiana. About S0 but readable. Don't know what it is (RAH, 1519 UT March 4, ABDX yg via DXLD) Surely the same; frequency does vary more than that. If readable, you should eventually be able to copy CZ: -.-. --.. (gh, DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6925.05 & 6925.16 approx., two very weak AM pirates het-clashing, March 4 at 0115, at least one with music. A pity, as there are plenty of open frequencies now on the pirate band. Presumably one of them is Liquid Radio, always around this area, as was also concluded by two loggers here earlier between 2350 March 3 and 0016 March 4: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,26720.0.html Some more unID 6925 AM and USB pirates were reported even earlier that afternoon. Now at 0117 there are occasional interjexions from another station which turns out to be Brazuguese on 6925-LSB; furthermore on 6920-LSB, some Spanish 2-way (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6950.0-AM, March 6 at 0227, music at S6, very poor. This thread says it was Radio True North (``out west``), at 0158-0400* http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,26789.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6935.0-AM, March 6 at 0228, good S9+5 signal, soon surging to S9+20 with heavily produced drama I don`t recognize, lots of sound effects; 0234 [something] presents ----, screams, whispers. 0252 still going with monolog, pauses, then wild laughter. Also reported here as unID from as far away as Kyiv, Ukraine, 0227-0320* http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,26791.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 890, March 5 at 2021 UT quick check, KTLR OKC is indeed still in Spanish gospel-huxtering on a Saturday afternoon, as on various schedule segments, otherwise in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 1210, March 5 at 2020 UT, KGYN Guymon with country music is running S2.5 on the NRD-545 with E/W ALA-330S. I am noting this for baseline purposes, to compare later if it varies significantly over daytime groundwave (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. 11650, March 4 at 0146, poor S6~ signal with Qur`an, presumed R. Sultanate of Oman, registered at 22-02 among some other alternates; a sign of spring, like our apricot trees flowering too early. 11650, March 5 at 0237, hi-pitched woman`s or child`s voice in Arabish? very poor S4. Nothing listed at this time, but likely the HFCC-listed 22-02 R. Sultanate of Oman broadcast shiftily prolonged, as we have heard it recently before 0200; Aoki doesn`t list it at all (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Sultanate Oman, 11650, 0129 6 MAR - SINPO = 35222. Arabic, male singing/chanting a cappella. QSB=moderate-to-rapid rate. sf96.7, a4, k1, geomag: very quiet. 100kw, beamAz 315 , bearing 11 . Sangean ATS505 w/MFJ-1020C active antenna used to preselect Magic Wand Antenna hanging indoors on west wall. Received at Las Vegas, United States, 13972KM from transmitter at Thumrait. Local time: 1729 73s (Rodney Johnson, NV, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN [and non]. Re: ``Random transmission of Radio Pakistan (PBC) on December 29 0935 & 1000 on 15730 ISL 250 kW / 313 deg to WeEu Urdu and off at 1020 UT`` (Ivo Ivanov) It was not on air last Saturday (Feb 27) but is this morning, noted at 0935. However, it makes no difference because the modulation is extremely distorted. No trace of the alleged // on 16 metres, inmidst all the China in this band. And not very much else at this moment on 19 metres either. When tuning downwards one gets an echo effect when coming from 15210 to 15185, with CRI English from Kunming and Kashi, respectively, and the feed to Kashi having an additional delay of two seconds. Reminds me of the situation with 720 vs. 738 in 1992, when Polskie Radio was relaying RFE Polish on its fourth program. In this case it was of course only the classic third-second analogue satellite delay. And 13 metres? There's Indonesian from BSKSA on 21670, and that's the only station on the band (Kai Ludwig, Germany, 0951 UT March 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, Radio Pakistan was on air today until 1005 UT on 15730; Weak signal, but audible. Videos will be added later today -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, ibid.) Surprisingly random reception of Radio Pakistan March 3: 0830-1100 on 15730 ISL 250 kW / 313 deg to WeEu Urdu & off at 1005. Radio Pakistan is very rarely active on air during winter B15 period. http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/surprisingly-random-reception-of-radio.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #942 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, March 7, 2016 via DXLD) 15730, Radio Pakistan Islamabad, in regular 05-07 UT Urdu service to ME and Europe, noted here in Germany with distorted audio signal but S=9 signal, March 8 at 0609 UT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Morning log 0530-0615 UT March 8, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PALAU. 9930.0, March 5 at 1354, gospel music at S9, so T8WH is back on frequency, following previous log: 9929.928, Feb 28 at 1415 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3260, NBC Madang, 1043 and 1213*, March 9. Any day, like today, that I can make out what language they are using, is a day of good reception! Pop songs with DJ in Tok Pisin/Pidgin; 1201- 1205 NBC news in English; after news seemed to be "NBC National Radio" audio feed with pop songs till suddenly off. 3275, NBC Southern Highlands (presumed), 1230*, March 9. From 1053 onward only able to hear an open carrier; never reached the level of any audio. 7324.95, Wantok Radio Light, 1258, March 9. Brief opening without CRI, with religious music; above average signal for them (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU [and non]. 5980, March 4 at 0105, two JBA carriers beating at slightly different frequencies, until about 0108:30.5* when R. Chaski autocutsoff, leaving BBC UAE. This is 34 seconds later than last check 5 nights ago, Feb 28 until 0107:57.5*, averaging 6.8 seconds later per (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PRIDNESTROVYE. Maiac / GU-88A smuggling --- may be of interest to those who can understand Russian. Just a bunch curious pictures for the rest :) --- a video disclosing illegal import schemes of generating tubes for HF transmitters at Maiac/Grigoriopol, with high ranking transmitter center officials reportedly implicated.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tcQgoXMES4 Posted by: (Leo Barmaleo, Moldova, March 7, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. 15460, March 6 at 1236, good signal with keyboard music, 1240 RRI says ``open studio`` and starts `Listeners Letterbox` one after another with glowing comments about Romania and RRI, taken from entries to their latest quiz contest, starting with listeners in India and Ireland. 17765, March 6 at 1249 also audible with RRI Letterbox, resuming after music break, S7-S9, over at 1252 and music fill is ``Angels have their own demons``. Closing reveals that 17765 is to Africa along with 15150, and lookup shows the fourth frequency, to Europe was 13580. For one biweek from March 13 until the A-16 shuffle, we in the Central zone will have access to this at a more waking hour, 7-8 am = 12-13 UT; then it will revert to 6-7 am CDT = 11-12 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Romania English service to N America, 7325 at 0130 GMT. Very strong signal S7 with news and commentary. Eaton E5 radio, Arlington Hts, IL (Mike Stone, http://www.pixelxaos.com/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelxaos/ March 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST ** SAINT KITTS & NEVIS. Jim Bakker --- Have been checking once a week to see if there's any news about the SW project. I must say that they repeat a lot of segments on that show. He's still pushing membership in the SW radio group for twenty-five bucks. Still talking about the transmitter and antenna there. Still talking about it being an end times station for when the US is off the grid because of EMP but in the same breath talked about programming the station with the satellite uplink they have wherever he is. Guess no one told him that the uplink wouldn't work after an EMP either. Two minutes later he stated that he hired some "engineers" to do the project and they said he would have to get a new transmitter and build an antenna. It really seems he has no idea what he's getting into as over the course of ten minutes he said they would use existing transmitter and antenna and then said he has to use different ones. He also hasn't explained how the EMP event will be restricted to the continental US and not affect the island where his station will be (John Carver, Mid-North Indiana, March 4, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 9675, March 5 at 2000, S6-7 signal in uncertain language, pause, theme. HFCC shows it has to be BSKSA in a 3-hour Turkish broadcast 18-21, 340 degrees also USward. 15380, March 6 at 1235, open carrier at S3-S6. Per HFCC must be BSKSA at 12-14 in Arabic, 500 kW, 310 degrees USward. 11820.04, March 7 at 2215-2235+, on LSB tuning to reduce but not totally eliminate the BS from 11825, BSKSA is wholly Qur`aning at S9, good soporific music for my nap; 2236 briefly switched to a different vocalist; also // 11915 is only S2 at 2236. At 2237 I check 11860 and find a JBA carrier, maybe the Yemeni service, but why is it so weak now compared to the others if it`s really from Riyadh? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also YEMEN [non], transmitter history ** SCOTLAND [non]. Radio SIX International, special 5-hour broadcast March 19: see DXLD 16-09 from last week (WORLD OF RADIO 1816) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020 & 9545, March 6, I`m awake early at 1230, so check for SIBC: no signal on either (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Must have gone off earlier: Hi Glenn - SIBC (5020.0) with Christian religious program this Sunday (March 6); in English with preaching and a lot of religious songs (1110-1134). (Ron Howard, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALILAND. 7120, SOMALIA, Radio Hargeisa 1545 UT Mar 5 in language? All alone on the band. Fair until at 1610, then pretty much gone (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Perseus SDR receiver, Wellbrook loop antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. Radio Sonder Grense is a regional station from Meyerton South Africa in Afrikaans that can at times also be reasonably heard in the US and Europe during the local evening or night hours on 90 m, 3320 kHz. Now's the time to check for it before the static levels increase again and, along with the longer daylight hours, make listening more difficult again (Tobias (T²), Germany, March 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Always audible after sunset here (gh) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [and non]. 9980, WWCR Nashville TN (presumed); 1604- 1613+, 29-Feb; Bro. HyStairical told me that the Devil is the father of those who mock & scoff him. (The Mockers & Scoffers would be a good name for a punk rock band.) S25; //9955 via WRMI(p) S9; //9840 WHRI(p) S9 & many seconds behind 9980; //9455 WRMI(presumed) SIO=333- with co- ch QRM and a few seconds behind 9980. 11565, WHRI Cypress Creek SC (presumed); 1518, 3-Mar; Bro. HyStairical. S9; // 11580 WRMI(p), S9 & // 11825 WRMI(p) S9-10; B.S. also on 11600 via Bulgaria, but too buried to tell if .., probably not. 11920, WRMI Radio Miami Int'l; 2255-2301+, 1-Mar; Bro. HyStairical with the usual you're doomed claptrap. 2256 second shouting huxter came up = B.S.; 2259 B.S. disappeared; 2259+ WRMI ID spot & back to non-B.S. huxter. S10 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, 5525 Whitehall St., Midland MI 48642-3156, Drake R8B + 185' & 60' RW + 125' bow-tie, --- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! --- DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5850, WRMI with Brother HyStairics ragging on both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders because they are both evil and anti-Christian (Sanders is Jewish! And doesn't talk about it! He OBVIOUSLY is trying to trick us!) He didn't get into Trump until 0207 and he ragged on him too, saying God didn't raise up America to be great, he did it to raise HIMSELF up, etc. Apparently someone has been threatening to go after his 501(c)(3) status based on reading between the lines of what he's saying. Maybe Brother SCARE refers to his fear (of the IRS!)?... WRMI ID at ToH. BS seems to have really taken to being called Brother Scare. He repeats it often and seems rather proud of the moniker! 45544, 0150-0215 4/Mar, SB-310 +randomwire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet March 4 via DXLD) BULGARIA. 9500, Brother Swear/Overcomer Ministries with English BS 'usual stuff' including him acting as his own 'Devil's advocate' & mentioning that he's been saying the time is NOW for so long people don't believe it any more, but hey, the time is NOW because, well, because he's Brother Scare & he knows it! :) He also repeated the "Brother Scare" name and ragged on Glenn Hauser a bit for it but I really think he enjoys the moniker -- he wouldn't keep using it if he didn't like it! BS ID at ToH with his address and phone number and continuing on well past ToH even though Aoki says this goes off at 2200. Nice reception, 4+4+54+4 with slight rumble in the modulation and VERY slight splatter from 9490 that USB got rid of. 2150-2203 4/Mar (Ken Zichi. M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR-4 + 500 foot randomwire strung Westerly-ish + my own ears and in mostly real time; I did record some things for later review and decoding of digital stuff! MARE Tipsheet 11 March via DXLD) 11600, Overcomer Ministries live (?) church service with people coming in and moaning and wailing mournfully as they find their seats. If they dislike it this much, why do they go!? Piano tinkling in the background as people moan & shuffle, then at 1507 someone begins playing the organ to get things started. BS does not begin talking until 1521 though, then his mike was off! 24+443+ with RTTY splatter. 1501-1525 5/Mar (Ken Zichi. M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR-4 + 500 foot randomwire strung Westerly-ish + my own ears and in mostly real time; I did record some things for later review and decoding of digital stuff! MARE Tipsheet 11 March via DXLD) "Moan & shuffle" should become a standard log detail for this! (Harold Frodge, MI, ed., ibid.) ``Moan & groan`` has a better ring to it (gh) ** SPAIN. LA PLATAFORMA EN DEFENSA DE LA ONDA CORTA, PREMIADA POR SU LABOR La Fundación Biamar hizo entrega en Vigo del premio Internacional Voz del Mar a la Plataforma en Defensa de la Onda Corta de Radio Exterior de España por el trabajo realizado para que la flota y los demás oyentes de todo el mundo pudieran recibir la señal. Unas 30 personas se dieron cita en el Auditorio Mar de Vigo para una fiesta en la que la fundación, dedicada a crear hábitos de consumo saludables y difundir el respeto al mar, hizo entrega de los premios. Entre los galardonados también estaban la fundación Biodiversidad, Genaro Amigo, Ceimarnet y Sylvia Earle (tomada de Faro de Vigo via GRA blog March 4 via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. 11905, March 4 at 0115:17, SLBC mis-timesignal ends after musical prélude, flutter from S7 to S3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 12035, March 5 at 1545, South Asian song, heavy flutter, S9 to S5. Aoki shows at 1530-1600 it`s AWR in Marathi, 345 degrees via Trincomalee (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN SOUTH [non]. Voice of America "South Sudan in Focus" via BaBcoCk on March 8: 1630-1700 11900 MEY 100 kW / 020 deg English South Sudan Mon-Fri 1630-1700 13865 WOF 300 kW / 135 deg English South Sudan Mon-Fri // freq 15180 SMG 250 kW / 145 deg English, not heard in Sofia http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/voice-of-america-south-sudan-in-focus.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. 7502.0-AM, StarStar Broadcasting Station (Xing Xing BS) (V13), 1218, March 9. Chinese numbers; clearly in AM mode, although I occasionally see reports of it in just USB; fair; schedule here: 1200-1230 & 1300-1330 (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [non]. Transmisiones de prueba de RTI (Taiwán) para Marzo La Coordinadora del Servicio de Lengua Española de Radio Taiwán Internacional (RTI), Sra. Andrea Wang, nos hace saber de los planes de la emisora de realizar EMISIONES DE PRUEBA en la frecuencia 11920 kHz para los días 7, 8 y 9 de Marzo de 2016 (UT), en el horario de 0000 a 0100 Horas UT - (En Latinoamérica, las noches de los días: domingo 6, lunes 7 y martes 8 de Marzo)- Les solicitamos a los colegas y amigos radioescuchas y diexistas, monitorear estas transmisiones e informar los resultados a través del envío de sus reportes de sintonía a través de la Pagina Web de la emisora http://spanish.rti.org.tw/report/ o vía E-mail: esp@rti.org.tw Agradeceríamos su colaboración con esta querida emisora. [Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Buenos Aires, Argentina] RTI Logo (GRA blog March 4 via DXLD) TROTS: that`s WRMI-4 transmitter, whence the ordinary time for RTI relay has been 02-03 UT, with 00-01 like most of the night occupied by Brother Scare, 22-12 UT except FR at 01-02; 160 degrees (gh, DXLD) (A) Prueba del nuevo horario para la frecuencia 11920 kHz: 0000-0100: 11920, Mar 8, 2016. 0015-0100 (UT de pruebas), RTI, Okeechobee. Music; OM talks in Spanish. Good signal and moderate to severe interference by CNR1 in Mandarin, on 11925 kHz, Lingshi, barely total blocking RTI, 42432 (in certain moments of this tnx, 42431). Note: At this time, 0000-0100, RTI Okeechobee stays behind two Chinese stations: (1) 11915, CNR2, Baoji-Sifangshan, with very slight or zero interference on 11920 (RTI); (2) 11925, CNR1, Lingshi, with moderate to severe interference on 11920 (RTI), damaging, significantly, the RTI transmission. This commentary is valid to Family Radio, Okeechobee, 0100-0200 UT, also injured by CNR1 on 11925 kHz. (B) Horario regular de transmisión RTI on 11920: 0200-0300: 11920, Mar 8, 2016. 0200-0200 (regular sked), RTI, Okeechobee. IS, ID; OM presents News in Spanish; weather; RTI jingle. Good signal, no interference and fair modulation, 45433 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB], Brazil, Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. TAJIKISTAN, Frequency changes of V. of Tibet March 3-4 1215-1230 NF 15547 DB 100 kW / 095 deg EaAs Chinese ex 15543 1300-1315 NF 15568 DB 100 kW / 131 deg CeAs Tibetan ex 13582 1315-1330 NF 15573 DB 100 kW / 131 deg CeAs Tibetan ex 13583 1400-1415 NF 11512 DB 100 kW / 131 deg CeAs Tibetan ex 11513, March 3 1400-1415 NF 11513 DB 100 kW / 131 deg CeAs Tibetan ex 11512, March 4 1415-1430 NF 11513 DB 100 kW / 131 deg CeAs Tibetan ex 11518, March 3 1415-1430 NF 11507 DB 100 kW / 131 deg CeAs Tibetan ex 11513, March 4 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/frequency-changes-of-voice-of-tibet.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11507.0, March 8 at 1415, talk on very poor signal, no doubt V. of Tibet via TAJIKISTAN on signature split frequency, and also algo JBA carrier on 11505 which would be the CNR1 jammer (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY [and non]. 12035+, March 3 at 1420, VOT slightly on hi side, with English sign-off and 1422 into IS until 1426*, all the while marred by noise cutting on and off. At first I think it`s an Emirler transmitter defect, but it continues in the absence of TRT, so now I think it`s spurious junk out of 12050 WEWN at modulation peaks {which is habitually a mess closer to 12050} 9650.03, UT Sunday March 6 at 0221, VOT in Spanish // weaker 9410.03, matching offsets, quoting a professor, 0223 program theme and ID as `La Nueva Visión de Turquía` (like what, abolishing freedom of the press??). Same as in English, these program titles and themes never make it clear whether it`s opening or closing, so they can play exactly the same recording at beginning and ending. In this case it must be ending, since next item is the multi-lingual ID reel filler, including English near the head. ** TURKEY. 15350.05, March 6 at 1234, Turkish music at S5-S8. Nice to be getting some pre-sunrise propagation on 19m, finally closing in on equinoxial/springtime conditions. This is scheduled 07-14 toward WEu and NAm beyond. But in the A-16 season will be replaced by 11955 at 06-12 redirected to 150 degrees, not much use here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA [non]. UGANDA DIASPORA P10 RADIO --- "Will also try to archive one of the multi-hour election-day broadcasts." Finally done. Sorry for the delay. 13:00 UTC broadcast archived here: https://archive.org/details/UgandaDisporaP10Radio17.840MHz18February20161300UTC and here: http://shortwavearchive.com/archive/uganda-diaspora-p10-radio-february-18-2016-1 (Richard Langley, March 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Uganda Diaspora (France Relay), 15405, 1645 5 MAR - UGANDA DIASPORA P10 R. SINPO = 35231. (no modulation), // 17840 nothing heard. sf100.0, a4, k2, geomag: quiet. 250kw, beamAz 140 , bearing 37 . Sangean ATS505 w/MFJ-1020C active antenna used to preselect Magic Wand Antenna hanging indoors on west wall. Received at Las Vegas, United States, 8896KM from transmitter at Issoudun. Local time: 0845. 73s (Rodney Johnson, NV, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17840 was not // but a special transmission on elexion day only, Feb 18 (gh) FRANCE, No signal of Uganda Diaspora P10 Radio via TDF on March 7, deleted? 1630-1700 15405 ISS 250 kW / 140 deg open carrier/dead air on March 6: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/uganda-diaspora-p10-radio-via-tdf-open.html And again zero signal on March 8 from Uganda Diaspora, P10 Radio via TDF: 1630-1700 on 15405 ISS 250 kW / 140 deg to CEAf Eng/Swa, probably deleted http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/strong-signal-of-eritrean-forum-medrek.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FRANCE, Again no signal from Uganda Diaspora P10 Radio, March 9 1630-1700 on 15405 ISS 250 kW / 140 deg to CEAf Eng/Swa. My last videos: on Feb 26 - strong to poor signal and on March 6 - open carrier/dead air http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/oromo-voice-radio-eritrean-forum-uganda.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA [non]. Test transmission of new Ugandan clandestine Radio Lead Africa Media 0300-0400 5910 MEY 100 kW / 015 deg CeAf English Mon/Tue/Fri 0500-0600 15455 MEY 250 kW / 007 deg CeAf English Wed/Thu 0500-0700 15310 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg CeAf English Sat 1700-1800 9410 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg CeAf English Sat/Sun, not 05-07! 1900-2100 9430 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg CeAf English Sat/Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/test-transmission-of-new-ugandan.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #942 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, March 7, 2016 via DXLD) Hi Glenn, You are certainly correct about the language that we both heard on the March 1 broadcast of R. Lead Africa Media (5910 kHz). Thanks very much to Ralph Perry for the contact info! Sent off a reception report to Baker Mayambala at Radio Lead Africa Media. My report contained a reference to my recording of a portion of the March 1 reception. He listened to my audio https://goo.gl/hZWXLc and responded - "the language you heard is called Luganda. Mostly spoken by the Baganda tribe found in the central region of the country." Also indicated - "we shall be having more bi-lingo as we move forward." (Ron Howard, San Francisco, March 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn - Received a second email in response to my reception report to Radio Lead Africa Media (5910 kHz). "Mr. Howard, Thank you for the email. Yes we do broadcast in local languages in order to reach the wider audience in Uganda. We have some broadcasts in English and we will send you the list of them soon. I am personally in Canada where we speak English and French and believe you, I start a broadcast this coming Monday in my mother tongue Lumasaba. Mind you, I would rather have preferred it to be in English. Kind Regards, Martha Leah Nangalama Moncton, Canada Born and Raised in Uganda (Bududa District where our hospital has no water) BELIEVE! I wept because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet." Ancient Persian saying. I am a Social Justice and Human Rights Activist. Find me on Face Book. All my opinions are mine and do not reflect on any employer or organisation." (via Ron Howard, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DXLD) 5910, March 4 at 0151, HJDH COLOMBIA is on at plus offset making big het with ROMANIA, so I don`t check for the presumed UT Friday 0300- 0400 broadcast of Radio Lead Africa Media, via South Africa. However, Richard Langley in NB confirmed it was on tonite, hearing it with the het via Twente, not in English. Next chances for RLAM 5910 will be UT Mon & Tue. There are also some weekend broadcasts at other times and kHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5910, CLANDESTINE (to Uganda.) Radio Lead Africa, Uganda via Meyerton, *0258-0358*, Mar 4. Dead air as carrier turned on but no audio until 0303 when two men began speaking in an unidentified African language. A few English words but nothing that you could call English. A few brief music segments as breaks but no sustained musical features. Carrier cut midsentence so clearly some program coordination is needed. Good signal with slight heterodyne noted from Alcaraván Radio in Colombia. Thanks to Ralph Perry for starting information. Radio Lead Africa is on the air Monday, Tuesday and Friday (Rich D'Angelo, 2216 Burkey Drive, Wyomissing, PA 19610, U.S.A. Equipment: 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 via DXLD) Hi there, tonight from 1700, some broadcast is again on 9410, as in Meyerton schedule for new organisation, but not in schedule of Radio Lead Africa. Yet no language, as music only, like last Saturday, when this music was confirmed as Ugandan. But possibly a slot booked for a different organisation!? 73 (Thorsten Hallman, Germany, 1713 UT Sat March 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) re 9410.0 kHz, on most remote units S=9+15dB signal strength even on far away central Europe, powerful signal til 1740, but at 1746 UT only l o w modulation heard like underneath, another feeder mis-service at Meyterton! And heard also a like RTTY UTE dit-dit-dit sce at neighbourhood on 9413 kHz, but strings on SDR screen showed rather a digital ute service of 25, 75, 100, and 125 Hertz apart distance strings, is like jamming signal from someone? or rather coincidence? who knows wb (Wolfgang Büschel, March 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) LOG: 9410 kHz O=3-4 ab 1700 UT on March 5. Ineinander-gemixte Reggae- Stuecke, trotz gutem Empfang werden nicht alle erkannt. Klang des Senders super, schoen bassig. MIDOMI: Gregory Isaacs - Joy Is the One for Me Gregory Isaacs - Rumours Frankie Paul - Giving You the Benefit Gregory Isaacs - Ungrateful Woman Gregory Isaacs - Thank You Klingt alles etwas nach: "Rodigan's Rockers on BFBS" - hier allerdings ohne jegliche Jingles. ab 1724 UT wird es nun etwas "Afrikanisch": VjOj (feat. Lea Habz) - Chemical Reaction trotz O=4 werden die naechsten Hip-Hop-Stuecke partout nicht erkannt, zu Afrikanisch (Roger Thauer, Germany, A-DX ng March 5 via BC-DX 6 March via DXLD) I recorded the 0500-0700 UT broadcast on 15310 kHz from Radio Lead Africa today [Sat March 5] using the Twente receiver. The carrier came on at about 0457:30 with audio beginning at about 0502:30. First part of the broadcast was music followed by dead air for a bit and then talk in Luganda. It appeared that the speaker was using Skype either to deliver content or receive input as I could hear the familiar Skype tones occasionally. There was an additional period of dead air, all this indicating that perhaps not all of the kinks are out of these test broadcasts yet despite the testing period being over. The presenter switched to English at about 0602. He mentioned that the first part of the program had been in Luganda and that he was now going to speak in English for about 20 minutes. He mentioned that reports had been received from Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere and that soon they were going to have a schedule which would state the language of the broadcast, whether Luganda, English, or one of the other languages of Uganda and that particular topics would be announced. He talked about a number of current issues including the floods in Kampala and how to peacefully dispose of "the dictator" Museveni. The broadcast is a production of Uganda Federal Democratic Organisation, based in Australia, as the presenter gave their website as http://www.ugandafdo.com The e-mail address for correspondence is info@ugandafdo.com They are requesting donations as it is costing them "close $4,000 U.S. per month to keep the radio running." They are also offering air time to anyone who cares about Uganda. There was no specific announcement of the station or program name during the English portion of the broadcast. Just referred to as "the radio." The broadcast switched back to Luganda at about 0636 and sign-off occurred at about 0659 UT. Reception started out as fair but improved to a good level with no discernible QRM. I will post the recording to archive.org and the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive soon (Richard Langley, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "I will post the recording to archive.org and the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive soon." Done. It is archived here: https://archive.org/details/RadioLeadAfrica15.310MHz5March20160500UTC and here: http://shortwavearchive.com/archive/radio-lead-africa-march-5-2016 (-- Richard Langley, March 7, ibid.) Good signal also here in Finland on 9410. I think the whatever equipment they used to play the music just broke. There was for a while traces of that music in the background. I also heard that strange (but weak) sound after the audio feed died, but thought it came from that broken gear. Who knows. I didn't pay much attention to sign-off time, but was the plug pulled around 1757? 73, (Jari Savolainen, 1829 UT March 5, ibid.) 9430, Sat March 5 at 1956, no signal from Radio Lead Africa Media, as scheduled weekends at 19-21 via SOUTH AFRICA. However, at 2026 recheck, now there is a JBA carrier. So it`s doing better than Biafra- via-Bulgaria on 11600, still blank at 2018. We`ll have better luck with the RLAM 03-04 broadcast on UT Mon/Tue/Fri; if only HJDH will be absent from 5910+. Ron Howard has been in contact with RLAM, and they confirm Luganda language, plans to add others in addition to some English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9410, Sunday March 6, from 1708 after some minutes of empty carrier, talk by OM in unID language, about Tanzania, Museveni (Thorsten Hallmann, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It's interesting that the images they are using on their FaceBook page include what looks like a photo of the Parkes radio telescope in Australia. It's not used for uplinking to satellites. Artistic licence? (Richard Langley, March 7, ibid.) Reception of clandestine Radio Lead Africa Media, March 6 1700-1800 on 9410 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg to CeAf Various Sat/Sun 1900-2100 on 9430 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg to CeAf Various Sat/Sun, including English!! http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/reception-of-ugandan-clandestine-radio.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5910, UT Tue March 8 at 0247, I have Alcaraván Radio, COLOMBIA on 5910.027 making a LAH against 5910.0 station, presumably Romania, but very weak. That`s off before 0300, when I`m only hearing HJDH, but by 0303 there`s another weak signal about 5910.01 in non-Spanish, hard to separate and one or the other is varying slightly. Presumed clandestine Radio Lead Africa, via SOUTH AFRICA, as scheduled Mon/Tue/Fri during this hour. BTW, others report never hearing that name as an ID on air, despite online nomenclature, which is all in English unlike the broadcasts (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U A E. 15420.122, Very odd frequency, BBCWS English news via Al Dhabbaya-UAE relay site. Noted S=9 signal at 0602 UT March 8. Only sidelobe signal into Germany, regular 220degr service out of UAE, towards CAf, Sahel and WAf [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Morning log 0530-0615 UT March 8, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. The relay transmissions of DW and BBC via the UAE are most easy to identify, since their carriers keep wobbling in frequency (about ± 12 Hz), but not exactly the same on two 13 m channels: DW heard on 21780 on Saturday 2016-03-05 around 1349 has a wobbling cycle of about 0.13 second, while the BBC on 21470 is even faster at a cycle of 0.08 s (screenshot and soundclip attached, DW + BBC with BFO in USB from 500 Hz below the nominal frequency followed by DW in plain AM). While this helps tracing a signal back to these specific transmitters, it's detrimental when actually trying to listen to their programs using a synchronous detector (or a synchronized BFO) which both won't follow these fast carrier variations and thus instead modulate the audio accordingly, leading to unwanted whining effects in voice or music. Since this has been going on for a long time, it does seem to be some kind of transmitter fault that's simply accepted by the broadcasters using them; that is, if they were aware of the issue and, even farther fetched, cared about the actual audibility of their programs on shortwave (Tobias (T²), Germany, March 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. BBC WS Bow Bells IS --- Hearing them again recently (just before the 0500 UT WS English transmission on 7445 kHz from Ascension to Southern Africa -- via Twente), I note that the BBC WS continues to use the Bow Bells IS in advance of some of its transmissions. The bells are those of St. Mary-le-Bow in the Cheapside district of London. Various references on the Web state that the recording (which has been used by the BBC since World War II) was made in 1926. Is that recording actually still being used (digitized at some point if so)? Does anyone know for certain? (Richard Langley, NB, March 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi, According to this it is the same recording - http://www.redwaveradio.com/11_01f571be496cbb59_1.htm there is a downloadable version http://www.inspirewebdesign.com/home/mpaw/sounds/bow_lester_10.mp3 on that site which sounds the same as the one used on BBCWS. I hear it every night at 2200 on 6195 and 3915 from Kranji. I used to hear it on 15400 at 1700 from Ascension but it seems to just crash into the programme mid-trailer now at about 1658. The non-English transmissions use the B-B-C interval signal (my recording here - https://audioboom.com/boos/2861582-bbc-b-b-c-interval-signal Sadly, Lilliburlero is no longer played at all (Ste Cooper, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ask the guys at Babcock satellite feed control center in England. wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Hi Chaps, This is the reply below that I have had from a colleague who worked in Bush House. As regards the first recording well I guess 1926 would have been a bit early as the External Services were not in existence then and neither was any quality recording equipment. Like Big Ben the place was probably mic-ed up and taken live. Quality disc recording was in use by 1935 or so. Big Ben was recorded and played out during the war as the enemy could ascertain from live tonal quality what the weather condx were apparently. Here's his reply >>>> Hello Old Chap, The earliest Bow Bells that I knew came from a tape loop in the old Bush CR and was located on the row of bays just to he left, outside and ahead of the TOM's office door, this then migrated onto an early digital playback device that I think worked from a compact flash card located in bay 18 in the new CR. Now the int. sigs. are played out from the basement of Old BH from solid state playout devices. Bow Bells was opening note 5, BBC was 6 and V's was 7, you no doubt remember the schedules having these numbers in circles in the 15' segment prior to the network opening. Note 6 preceded foreign languages outside Europe and 7 for European languages. Hope this helps`` 73 (Dave G4OYX Porter, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1860-LSB, March 6 at 0655, another check of WA0RCR, still running ham news on AM, `Amateur Radio Newsline` at the moment, finds a 2-way ham right atop, calling CQ Contest, WB9JOX, 59, Illinois. Is this accidental or some kind of protest? Surely he can hear WA0RCR, closer to Wentzville than I am: ORANT, THEODORE A, WB9JOX, PALOS HEIGHTS, IL 60463 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 4041-USB, UT Sat March 5 at 0217, MARS net of mostly good S9 signals, abbr`d call IAX of one of them, calling for another one, JU (? Plus another letter/number?) to send a digital message, which lasts less than a minute. 4007-USB, UT Sat March 5 at 0219, another MARS net, but mostly weaker than the 4041 one, S7 from AAR4KD in Alabama, but NCS AAF4FA is stronger (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Nota de falecimento --- Amigos: É com tristeza que informo o falecimento, ocorrido no dia de hoje, do radialista Pedro Kattah, que trabalhou no Serviço Brasileiro da Voz da América, onde narrou a chegada da Apolo XI à Lua, em 1969. Pedro Kattah residia em Washington até hoje. Sua foto ilustra há alguns dias o alto da página Antigas Transmissões em Ondas Curtas no Facebook, junto com antigos companheiros da VOA. A narração da missão Apolo XI pode ser ouvida no site do DX Clube do Brasil, no endereço: http://www.ondascurtas.com/audios/acervo/o-homem-na-lua/ Informação recebida de Luiz Edmundo de Souza. 73s, (Valter Aguiar, 6 March, radioescutas yg via DXLD) OBIT Que descanse em paz. Fui ouvinte assíduo da VOA; me lembro da emoção dele em 1969 quando narrou a descida do homen na Lua e demais lançamentos das missões da NASA. Tenho QSL da VOA assinado por Pedro Conforto à família (Renato Strauss, PY2EMI, Enviado do meu iPhone, ibid.) Renato, O rádio perde uma das mais notáveis vozes que no passado diariamente entravam nos nossos rádios! Inconfundível a voz do Pedro! Cumpriu sua missão como radialista! Muito grato ao Valter por informar-nos! (Wilson, ibid.) Boa tarde! Lamento muito saber do falecimento de Pedro Kattah. Meus sentimentos á toda família. Em Nov de 1982 em uma viagem que fiz a Washington DC, eu tive o imenso prazer e a grande oportunidade de visitar os estúdios da "Voice of America". Fui entrevistado por alguns dos personagens da época, dos serviços em Português para o Brasil e para a Africa, Inglês para Américas, e Frances para Africa. Me lembro bem de todos do serviço brasileiro da VOA. Muitas saudades de todos! Veja fotos da antiga equipe da VOA https://www.facebook.com/AntigasTransmissoes/photos/a.1458345371065377.1073741828.1458340911065823/1738674836365761/?type=3&theater Abraço a todos, (Wilson Siqueira, Jacareí SP, ibid.) ** U S A. On VOA Radiogram, 5-6 March 2016, all in MFSK32, each story accompanied by an image ... Ridding Bangkok of pythons and other snakes, by Steve Herman, W7VOA Astronomers locate source of a fast radio burst Distinguished visitors at the South Pole VOA Radiogram, 5-6 March 2016: W7VOA and a python http://voaradiogram.net/post/140447453847/voa-radiogram-5-6-march-2016-w7voa-and-a-python (Kim Elliott, March 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. DigiDX on 6070 kHz / Bavaria / good performance http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/VoA_Radiogram_2016-03-05.htm#DIGIDX KBC with vintage radio: http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/VoA_Radiogram_2016-03-05.htm#KBC VoA radiogram - as usual in good quality: http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/VoA_Radiogram_2016-03-05.htm#VOA (roger, Germany, March 6, ibid.) ** U S A. 7425, March 4 at 0143, the leapfrog mixing product from Greenville-B is back, after having been undetectable a few nights ago. First I am hearing only R. Martí audio // 7365 during ``las noticias como son`` (a play on words), and from 0144 the Vatican Radio IS is added to 7425, originating from 7305, whose very strong open carrier earlier has combined with 7365 transmitter to produce intermodulation, at 60 kHz intervals; {violating Separation of Church and State} 7425, March 5 at 0226, GB leapfrog mixing product is gone again, despite usual bigsigs from 7305 and 7365. I don`t think propagation is to blame, but something changing at IBB Greenville to cause or uncause it. see VATICAN ** U S A [non]. 17895, Sat March 5 at 1549, it`s Hyper Heather, so must be VOA with `Music Time in Africa`, but only poor-fair, listed as 100 kW, 100 degrees from SÃO TOMÉ during this hour. After 1600 switch to Vatican for another bihour of English, per Aoki, 17895 is *jammed, 250 kW at 145 degrees from SMG, but too much signal must be getting into ESL China, where the ChiCom do not credit their subjects with any freedom to listen to America. 17895, March 7 at 1600, VOA [world] news is S9+10, or SINPO 45534, 1605 into `Africa News Tonight`. Too much fading, but maybe would be enough to listen to on BST-1 caradio with 2-foot antenna, besides the R75 with 100 feet I am using now. This hour only is 250 kW, 144 degrees from SMG VATICAN site, violating Separation of Church & State. No more usage of 17895 at all by Greenville, nor is any planned for A- 16: in fact, no VOA at all on 17895. 15580, Tue Mar 8 at 2110-2138, VOA One music mix, i.e. Larry London presenting rock music during the only hour Greenville is currently on this frequency; what a waste of a VG signal even off the back from Africa beam. Artists mentioned included Ellen and Zed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. Correxion: A typo within a report of WOR monitoring, had WBCQ on 9429.93 instead of correct 9329.93. I didn`t notice it until the NASWA Flashsheet pulled it out to head a by- frequency log. Correct: ``WORLD OF RADIO 1814 monitoring: Sat Feb 27 at 0730 on Hamburger Lokalradio 6190 confirmed by Nino Marabello, Italy. I confirm UT Monday Feb 29 at 0030, good on WBCQ 9329.93-CUSB`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1815 monitoring: confirmed Thursday March 3 at 2100 on WRMI 13695, very good (and followed by `Blues Radio International` at 2130). Next chance, UT Friday March 4 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB --- no signal. Recheck 0035, circa 0040, still nothing. But at 0056, now it`s on with WOR about over. O well, we enjoy plenty of redundancy on this timing. At least the frequency is close to right on 9330.00. Next: Fri 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE Fri 2130.5 WRMI 13695 to NW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB to SW Sat 1530 HLR 7265-CUSB to SW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v-CUSB Area 51 to WSW [ex-5109.7-CUSB] Mon 0430.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW WORLD OF RADIO 1815 monitoring: confirmed Friday March 4 at 2130 on WRMI 15770, good; and at 2130.5 on WRMI 13695, very good. Also confirmed UT Saturday March 5 starting at 0029:44 on WBCQ 9330.2-CUSB. Next: Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB to SW Sat 1530 HLR 7265-CUSB to SW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v-CUSB Area 51 to WSW [ex-5109.7-CUSB] Mon 0430.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Glenn, How are you? I hope very well. Thank for your reply some weeks ago. Here is my reception report of World of Radio 1815: Listener - Nino Marabello, QTH - Treviso (Italy) E-mail address - yacht02003 (at) yahoo.it RX: SONY ICF SW7600G. Antenna: VHF outdoor aerial azimuth 090 Hamburger Lokal Radio 6190 kHz - D-Goehren, 0729-0759 UTC, March 5, 2016. SINPO 25433. I listened at 0729 UTC full info Station ID in German language, then a special program of DX and station news in English language, that is "WORLD OF RADIO 1815". I have attached an audio clip WMA 291 Kb. 73 from (N. Marabello, Treviso, (IT) http://acquamarina.blogspot.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1815 monitoring: confirmed Saturday March 5 at 2330 on WBCQ 9330.285-CUSB, sufficient. This is the Saturday-only timing instead of 0030 UT Sunday, while the other six days we are at 0030 (NOT 0300 as on the WBCQ online sked! [or is it both? I haven`t really checked at 0300, but Allan told me 0030]). WOR 1815 also confirmed on WA0RCR, 1860-AM, Wentzville MO, UT Sunday March 6 at 0428 about 10 minutes into show, so started circa 0418. Good but some QRM from K1KI calling CQ contest on 1859-LSB. Next: Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v-CUSB Area 51 to WSW [ex-5109.7-CUSB] Mon 0430.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW WORLD OF RADIO 1815 monitoring: confirmed UT Monday March 7 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330.345-CUSB --- but it`s JBA, so on reduced power again? At first thought it was off, as I was switched to LSB instead. Also confirmed UT Mon March 7 at 0400 on Area 51 webcast, and at 0425 check fair on new 5130.815, which may have reduced carrier but is ``AM`` since equally audible on LSB and USB. Also confirmed UT Mon March 7 from 0430:05 on WRMI 9955, good and atop pulse jamming; tnx a lot, Arnie! Next: Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW WORLD OF RADIO 1815 monitoring: confirmed UT Tue March 8 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330.315-CUSB, S9+10. Next: Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW WORLD OF RADIO 1815 monitoring: confirmed UT Wed March 9 at 0028, WBCQ on 9330.678-CUSB with The Planet IS & IDs; 0030 WOR 1815 at S9; recheck at 0225 during a g.h., still on same frequency! WOR 1815 also confirmed Wed March 9 at 1415.6 on WRMI 9955, good, no jamming. Also confirmed Wed March 8 at 2200 on WBCQ webcast of 7490 (this time in a couple seconds before 2200 there were a few bars of extraneous music, rather than words; where does this come from?). Also heard WOR audio on 7490 itself, fair before 2229. From next week, daylight shifting moves it a full real hour earlier into daytime absorption to start at 2100. Also confirmed UT Thu March 10 after 0030 on WBCQ 9330.29-CUSB. WORLD OF RADIO 1816 ready for first airings Thursday March 10: Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 to SSE Thu 2100 WRMI 13695 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Fri 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE Fri 2130.5 WRMI 13695 to NW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB to SW Sat 1530 HLR 7265-CUSB to SW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND [daylight shifted times start here:] Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1315.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Wed 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5130v, UT Thu March 3 at 0328 check, no signal from WBCQ. Previous 5109.7-CUSB (not on now either), was employed UT Thu 02-04 for Brother Scare, on the one night a week he`s bumped from 7490 (for reactivated Hal Turner). Altho the online sked has been updated to show this, and check all the other programming now for 5130: http://schedule.wbcq.com/main.php?fn=sked&freq=5130 BTW, there is already a WOOB 5130 SWBC station, Sedaye Zindagi, Christian programming via Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan but only at 15-18 UT on a sporadic basis, so no collision problem to WBCQ. 7490-, March 4 at 0127, WBCQ in an `Allan Weiner Worldwide` playback from six nights ago, as girlfriend Pam is again singing her song against the death penalty in Florida. 7490-, UT Fri March 4 at 0030, this part of `Broad Spectrum Radio` via WBCQ has James Branum`s monthly hobby radio segment, demonstrating what he can get on a remote SDR (and WOR on 9330 has bowed out so no DX program timing conflict there tonight); his has been reduced to only 15 minutes. 0045 on to another new monthly segment about the joys of biking (as in human-powered). Among his several personae, James even has an email to a .bike address, but another speaker presented this (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5130: Glenn, Tim talked tonight on AWW about grinding crystals again. So I assume he's at the station to handle the changeover on the transmitter. He mentioned that 5130 was on the BC-610 or whatever at reduced power. He also mentioned full AM but I'm not clear if it is full AM on the BC-610 or will be on full AM when the original transmitter is moved over to 5130. I had to leave the room a few times during the show and tried to listen in another room but found the batteries on the other radio were dead so not one hundred percent sure of all the details (John Carver, Mid-North Indiana, UT March 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5130.11-CUSB, March 5 at 0148 during `Allan Weiner Worldwide`, WBCQ`s new frequency found here. Remains to be heard if it will stay on the hi side unlike ex-5110 which stayed on the lo side. (It was not on yet at earlier check 0031). Now it`s reading S9+15 on the NRD-545, but quite undermodulated, tho // and synchronized with 7489.84 which is S9+40 with good mod. Allan is off this week and TimTron is substituting; 0155 he turns off the phone for an editorial starting with how Trump is scary; finished at 0203 and 7490- goes back to BS, while 5130+ keeps playing same music heard momentarily on 7490, still going with that past 0213. Meanwhile, 9330.34-CUSB was S9+20 at 0148 with Blalock the blaster, and continued with the next g.h. after 0200. 3250 was still not back on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5130: Caught the opening of Area 51 this evening and it sounds to me like they are up on the permanent transmitter finally. Very good signal. Slightly above 20 over and no noise (John Carver, Mid-North Indiana, 0004 UT March 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5130.02, March 6 at 0012, WBCQ new frequency is now in AM mode, or at least equal LSB and USB; hard to tell if the carrier be somewhat reduced, and modulation is somewhat under. That`s on the R75; next check at 0158 on the NRD-545 I put it on 5130.03, but really may be somewhere in between. Now it`s S9+20 and // 9330.56, S8 with `Radio TimTron Worldwide` ending. At 0201, 5130 modulation stops, resumes at 0203 for `Lumpy Gravy`, which at 0228 mentions being simulcast on 7490 --- no, it`s not: Brother Scare since 0200 there. May be an old show, or quoting a mailbag reference. 9330.285-CUSB was the initial reading March 5 at 2330 for WORLD OF RADIO. Recheck at 0011 March 6, has drifted to 9330.305. At 0158 it`s on 9330.56, S8 with program `Radio Timtron Worldwide`, switching error? Supposed to be amid two hour-long gospel huxters, with RTWW on 5130 only at 00-02; by 0201.5, 9330 is back to religionism. 7490, Sunday March 6 at 2252, WBCQ is S9+10 but not a VG signal during last few minutes of `Marion`s Attic`, something about Orange, NJ. From next week this Sunday 22-23 UT broadcast must shift to 21-22 UT, one real hour earlier just to keep it at the same local clock time, following the imposition of DST, which means abruptly one more hour of daylight absorption on this band, i.e. we can forget about decent reception until fall (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From the Isle of Music on 7490 - March 7 in the Americas (March 8 in Europe, Asia and Africa), our special guest will be Ethiel Failde, whose Orquesta Miguel Failde defends the Danzón, with an interview we recorded in Havana along with some music from their new album. The Danzón influenced the development of early North American Jazz. We also continue sharing the wonderful Cuban Classical album Piñera Concertante; we'll play 10-15 minutes of this each of the next few weeks. And, of course, more great music from Cuba including a taste of Los Latinos, a popular dance band from the 70s, some of the great Cuban Jazz album Estado de Ánimo and the great Timba album by El Niño y la Verdad (William "Bill" Tilford, Owner/Producer, Tilford Productions, LLC, March 8, via gh, dxldyg via DXLD) Starting March 14 we will be at 0000-0100 UT Tuesdays (8-9 PM EDT Mondays in the Americas). March 14 in the Americas (March 15 in Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania), our special guest will be Leo Garcia, leader of Timbalive, which just released a new Timba album, Gasolina de Avion; we'll converse with him and play some music from the album. We'll also play a new single by Haila Maria Mompie. We'll also share more of the Cuban Classical album Piñera Concertante, a great new Jazz release by Cesar López & Habana Ensemble, and some traditional music by Ecos de Tivoli. *** Every Monday night from 8 to 9 pm EDT in North, Central and South America (Tuesday morning from 0000 to 0200 UT in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania) on the short waves on WBCQ The Planet, 7.490 MHz: From the Isle of Music, a new radio program dedicated to the music of Cuba – Jazz, Fusion, Timba, Nueva Trova, Son, Classical, Folklórica, interviews with musicians, even a little history of the music now and then. Partly in English, en parte en español. “Like” our page to keep informed about what we will bring you. (For those without shortwave or outside of viable signal range, there are also a couple of ways to stream the frequency via Internet; see the instructions in our NOTES section). (William "Bill" Tilford, Owner/Producer Tilford Productions, LLC 5713 N. St. Louis Av Chicago IL 60659-4405 email: bill@tilfordproductions.com phone: 773.267.6548 website: http://www.tilfordproductions.com (via gh, DXLD) AMATEUR RADIO ROUNDTABLE === Subject: Hamfest reports and Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015. This week, March 8th, Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB, will share reports and photos of several recent hamfests, including the Yuma Hamfest in Arizona. This is your chance to experience these fine events, if you did not physically attend. We will also discuss HR1301, the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015. It is important to understand what this bill does for amateur radio operators and even the community, by allowing reasonable considerations for antennas in otherwise restricted areas. Our "AskRiley" segment is picking up speed as we have received a lot of new questions for Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, retired Special Counsel to the FCC. Riley will be on the show every few weeks answering your questions. In many cases, Riley will be contacting you directly to discuss and answer your questions. Send your questions to askriley@w5kub.com for discussion in the program. If you missed the March 1st show with Glen Popiel, KW5GP, and his Arduino projects, you can watch it here. Amateur Radio Roundtable, is a live weekly amateur radio and shortwave program, held every Tuesday night at 8 PM CDT (0100 UT Wednesday). The show can viewed at W5KUB.com or heard on shortwave radio station, WBCQ on 5130 kHz. To watch Amateur Radio Roundtable on Tuesday evenings, go to W5KUB.com. If you are listening on 5130, we would like to hear from you. Please send an email to tom@w5kub.com and tell us your location and signal report. We need help with topics. If you have a specific subject that you would like to present in a future show, send email to tom@W5KUB.com Forward this message to a Friend will allow you to share this message with your friends. Join us for fun and interesting discussions! Tom Medlin, W5KUB, Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB (ARR mailing list March 7 via DXLD) 5129.735-AM, March 9 at 0225 during `Amateur Radio Roundtable` from W5KUB.com, WBCQ is S9+10-20. Seems this new frequency varies over a range of about 1 kHz spanning both sides of 5130; apparently crystal- controlled (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. 11580, PCJ International (via WRMI) at 0211 with pop music and a man with “You're rockin' with Raoul on PCJ International” at 0217 – Very Good Mar 2 (Mark Coady, ON, ODXA YRX via DXLD) That was UT Wednesday, unscheduled time? That hour on the WRMI 11580 schedule grid remains: blank! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENINNING DIGEST) 13695, March 4 at 1922, I would normally have no reason whatsoever to listen to WRMIBS, but stepping thru the BST-1 caradio memory bank, I noticed there is CCI underneath this frequency, in French. HFCC shows there is a 3-way collision! Besides ``YFR`` at 1400-2300, there is also RFI in French, 185 degrees from Issoudun at 1900-1959, AND AIR in English at 1730-1945, 240 degrees from Bangalore, adding up to a megawatt vs WRMI`s 100 kW, but it`s NW toward us, while the other two beams are crossing somewhere in Africa, making a bigger mess there, no doubt. 11580, UT Saturday March 5 at 0234, this WRMI frequency has a Spanish interview about telecomms lines, mentioning Santa Teresita, San Clemente, CONFER and AFSCA, which pertain to Argentina, and combined with the Argentine accent, I suspect this is `La Rosa de Tokio`, but which is supposed to be aired at 02-03 UT Thursdays, not Saturdays, when RFI in English is shown. I check whether it`s // 9955. No: 9955, UT Sat March 5 at 0237, WRMI has Jeff talking with Jerry Plummer of WWCR at HFCC A-16 Istanbul about the upcoming NASB meeting on June 2-3, apparently in Nashville, to which SWLs are invited and will even be fed if not housed gratis; something about DRM transmissions and progress(?) reports from KVOH and WCB. More info at http://www.shortwave.org and click on annual meeting. Jerry keeps talking at the same time as Jeff, which is rather annoying. This is one of the many scheduled airings of Wavescan, rather than Viva Miami. WRMI is now being marred by those spur carriers from Egypt [q.v.] puking out of their 9965.3 transmitter. 11580, March 5 at 2004, WRMI with music, presumably fill, breaking away from the BS on nearby 11565 and several other frequencies. The ambiguous schedule shows 11580 with another program at 20-21 Sundays, but this is Saturday. 11580, March 6 at 0238, WRMI is very poor at S4, but it`s something in Spanish, suspect `La Rosa de Tokio` again at a time shown on the schedule for Radio France International in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRMI relay Brother Stair, instead of R Africa Network Mar 7: from 1400 on 21675 YFR 100 kW / 087 deg NCAf Brother Stair tx#07 // frequency 15770 YFR 100 kW / 044 deg WeEu Brother Stair tx#03 Very poor signal after 1530, but confirmed via SDR units in USA 1600 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/wrmi-relay-brother-stair-instead-of.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 21675, March 7 at 1559, Brother Scare interrupted by a Bob Zanotti WRMI ID, 1600 more B.S., on the Radio Africa Network frequency which supposedly finishes with its own BS segment at 1400, but frequently runs over, as pointed out repeatedly by Ivo Ivanov. Is this intentional, or default program fill when something else goes missing? Previously, BS via RAN via WRMI would not be in synch with BS via WRMI direct frequencies, but now it is, e.g. precisely // 17790, 11825, 9955. 9395, March 8 at 1359, unusually, no signal from WRMI-6 carrying the 24/7 SonPower Network (not just TruNews, its flagship program). 9955 is still on as normal, but no check of all the other frequencies. Would marginally help 9400 Kurdistan and 9390 Thailand reception, as 9395 never really strong here on 355 azimuth, and probably still the old max 50 kW ex-Hialeah ex-Santo Domingo Wilkinson transmitter. 9395 still off at 1412 and still inaudible at 1744. 9395, March 8 at 2108, SonPower Radio via WRMI is back on; had been unusually missing 7 hours earlier. March 9 at 1423 check, on, but very undermodulated talk about nuclear war (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WWCR heard with a nice dual path reception and their usual good modulation on 15825, Saturday 2016-03-05 at 1435z. How weak, in relation to this technically good US signal, the notoriously low modulation level of WRMI compares on 15770 (Brother Stair programming) - having a good carrier signal strength, too (last few seconds of the attached snippet, using a BFO). I keep wondering whether the ex-WYFR transmitters just don't have the capability of modulating adequately or whether Jeff's rather saving on modulator tubes and transmitting power. I'd bet if he lowered the carrier output of his transmitters by 50% but raised the modulation level to normal levels instead, the audibility would at least remain equal to what we hear (or don't) today, while saving him big bucks in his electricity bills. Speaking of low modulation: I have come to the conclusion that many stations suffer from "2KS", the "TWO KNOBS SYNDROME": when a station technician doesn't really have a clue about transmitters and modulation but has simply "inherited" some black box equipment to deal with, offering one "knob" to set the TX modulation and another one to hear the audio picked up from some local monitoring receiver (or the like), it just doesn't matter which one he increases or decreases in volume, they seem to have the same effect and so he's happy as long as he can hear the audio in his shack as required. So by keeping the TX volume setting low (maybe even motivated by less TX power draw and thus less of a hassle for him) but giving the monitor speaker a bit more oomph, everything appears to be OK from his point of view, but it's for sure NOT OK for the audience way out there, suffering from fading, noise, interference, and all the local electrical fields from today's insufficiently engineered cheap electronic devices. The reason I suggest this simple explanation to such ever variable modulation levels is that we are sometimes positively surprised by unexpectedly good audio from stations we had already given up hope that their modulator tubes even existed any more. Well, if it is OK from time to time, it can't be a true technical deficiency but I strongly fear it's rather due to bad staff training and inadequate understanding of the equipment concerned (and the audience way out there), leading to the loads of wasted hours of entirely unintelligible audio and thus frustrated listeners. Hoping I haven't frustrated you with these logs and thoughts, thanks and best regards (Tobias (T²), Germany, March 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I have the impression that some of WRMI`s 100 kW transmitters are really running at reduced power anyway, like 50 kW (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. 9275, WMLK Reactivated and in with an S8 to S9+10 signal. Modulation a little weak, but fairly clear audio none-the-less. Music was MUCH better modulation than spoken content. OM talx about Yahweh as would be expected. This may well have been Jacob O Meyer in an olde tape. At 2040 some piano music including "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and other familiar tunes, at MUCH better audio levels than voice. Gee, another posthumous preacher of proper prophesy pontificating profoundly. At 2045 there was an OM ID mis-announcing the frequency as 9475 (!) and then into a sermon by Jacob O Meyer (they said so this time) and lousy modulation again during both the ID and the sermon. I went out to shovel snow, but kept the tape running. at 2145 they appeared to just 'go off air' abruptly. Is their clock 45 minutes off and they think :45 is the top of the hour? I wonder if I have any of the old 'Sacred Name Broadcaster' magazines lying about the shack? .... :o 4+454+3 -- modulation so weak that it only rates a 'fair'! 2025-2045 using both the HQ-150 +ANC-4 / randomwire and the ccrane skywave +whip. About the same on both, but the crane DSP cleared up the audio a bit more. 1/Mar (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet March 4 via DXLD) WMLK is testing right now on 9275 kHz. WMLK heard here in Southern California on 9275 kHz at weak signal level (S2) with man announcer from 2035 UT tune to 2115 UT with improving level (S=2+) to tune out. Also heard from remote Perseus site in Australia (Brisbane Queensland) at much better level (S=3+ to S=4 but with co-channel local ute SSB QRM) with closing announcements by man and Israeli Nat'l anthem played on a keyboard from 2125 UT tune to carrier off at 2127:44 UT (Bruce W. Churchill-CA-USA, via BDXC-UK and DXplorer March 2 via BC-DX 6 March via DXLD) Re WMLK: "This will make them the strongest (single-transmitter) private SW broadcaster in the U.S., right?" Guess not. WEWN has 500 kW-capable transmitters that they run at 250 kW (Richard Langley, NB, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WHRI also has 500 kW units; who knows run at what real power (gh, DXLD) WMLK was testing today, March 3rd from tune-in around 1841 to 1846 UT abrupt switch off in the middle of programming. They were back 2 minutes later with same signal level. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orQAanrGYHc (Wojtek Zaremba, Legionowo, Central Poland with Icom IC-R75, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glen reported (88871 Glenn Hauser logs March 2-3, 2016): ``9275.03 approx., March 2 at 2040, just barely modulated talk past 2054, i.e. WMLK on the air again, so still testing, or in regular service? Nominally 17-22 UT, and off at 2222 recheck. Incredible that after years of work on the acquired 250 kW transmitter, they can`t get it to modulate at normal level.`` But I reported (88853 Re: Glenn Hauser logs March 1-2, 2016): ``At 2109 UT here this evening [2 March] in NB, WMLK on 9275 kHz seems fully modulated with a signal level peaking at about 45 dBµ ... WMLK about 60 Hz off 9275 kHz. ... A noticeable hum from time to time. Sign-off occurred at 2127:43 UT after a few refrains of an interval signal from the familiar Jewish tune Hatikvah (used as the national anthem of Israel) played on what sounds like an organ (clip attached).`` So, it seems that the modulation problem come and goes. Clearly they are still testing as the sequence of messages on their FaceBook page illustrates (-- Richard Langley, NB, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9275.03, March 3 at 2150* just as I tune in for a WMLK check, it goes off, having been undermodulated. I should have stayed with it as Liz Cameron, MI reported they went off at 2153*, back on at *2155-2157+, undermodulated (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WMLK, 9275.02 at 1953 with poor modulation. Definitely not running 250 kW. Jacob O. Meyer with usual scintillating religious spiel. Heard on Tecsun 880 with indoor whip. 73/Liz (Cameron, MI, 3 March, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WMLK just went off air at 2153 then back on at 2155 with barely detectable modulation. Maybe gone again. Strong carrier. Despite my last message, perhaps running higher power. ID at 2157. Still on 9275.02. 73/Liz (ibid.) Peaking at S9 + 20dB on the Twente receiver with a strong carrier but weak modulation except for the ID on the past hour. That "popped." WINB is only S7. So, while WMLK might not be at 250 kW, I think they are at high power (-- Richard Langley, 2005 UT March 3, ibid.) > https://www.facebook.com/www.wmlkradio.net Ha: https://www.facebook.com/www.wmlkradio.net/photos/pb.1406305023011521.-2207520000.1457041159./1493076804334342/?type=3&theater Until last night it indeed sounded as this picture suggests. This night at 2145 the audio is a bit louder but sounds very garbled and tinny. There is also a quite present hum accompaniment. I see no reason for insinuating that the pictures of the 200 kW meter readings are fabricated. The carrier is quite powerful, it's just the very low modulation that may create a different impression (Kai Ludwig, March 3, ibid.) I monitored WMLK for a fair bit of the afternoon while doing other things. They are quite obviously experimenting with audio levels and perhaps even transmitter power levels. Carrier went off and came back several times. The organ/piano music typically has reasonable levels while voice often not (but sometimes it does). Live testing for the day ended at about 2157:30 UT. Carrier did not come back on after that. By the way, no updates on their FaceBook page since 29 February. (Richard Langley, 0311 UT March 4, ibid.) I had no trouble seeing their spike, but couldn't dig out any audio here in Oregon on 3 Mar, the first time I had a chance to listen for them. Regards, (George, NJ3H, Redmond, Oregon USA, Perseus and Elad FDM-S2, Wellbrook ALA1530AL, ibid.) 9275, March 4 at 1930, I find WMLK is on and I`m adding it to the memory bank of the BST-1 SW caradio. It`s barely strong enough to break squelch and noise level, most of the time as I drive around, and modulation is not full, but almost sufficient. EJOM, deceased, is in a narrative about, what else, getting people to accept the Sacred Name of: Yahweh. Suddenly at 1940, he`s interrupted for an ID at this odd time, and the first one I myself have copied since reactivation: ``WMLK, Bethel, Pennsylvania, broadcasting to target areas Europe and Middle East. Please stay tuned``, and back to the narrative. I can`t tell whether it was paused or overridden for the ID. At 2131 back on the portable PL-880, 9275 is sufficient, and somewhat stronger on the meter than 9265 WINB (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Recorded WMLK for the whole five-hour-plus scheduled test period on 4 March 2016 on 9275 kHz using the Twente receiver. Sign-on seemed to occur at about 1653 UT but the signal was initially quite weak so a bit hard to tell. Still variations in the modulation levels between different talk bits and music pieces. Verbal IDs seemed typically to be at higher modulation levels. A couple of different hymn excerpts on a loop used as ISs. Carrier went off just a couple of times during the 5 hours and for just a couple of minutes. Sign-off occurred at about 2200 UT (-- Richard Langley, NB, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The big news is that WMLK from Bethel PA is back. See the logs below for more details, including a recording of their (rather hard to hear!) ID on 1/Mar. MARE Paul Dobosz has provided some details about their LONG struggle to get back on the air. He said: "Many years ago I drove past their transmitter site which is right along the interstate and noticed their transmit antenna. Not much to look at. They are a real shoestring operation so they are fortunate to have gotten back on the air. ... "Here's just a part of the long saga of the WMLK transmitter from hell. "They have been working on getting the transmitter up and running for more than 15 years now. They began the project in 2000 when they bought an old BBC [Brown Boveri] transmitter in Italy and had shipped it to the US. Their first attempt to power up the transmitter was in 2003 and it has been all uphill from there. The links below chronicle their ordeal. No wonder Huxter, errr, Elder Meyer 2003 needed boatloads of cash. Their antenna was also shredded by an ice storm. "Makes you wonder if there was a divine revelation they missed somehow?" http://wmlkradio.net/BBC%20TX%20Update%2006.htm http://wmlkradio.net/wmlk_radio_bbc_250kw_tx_update.htm http://wmlkradio.net/wmlk_workbench.htm http://wmlkradio.net/antenna_update.htm (MARE Tipsheet March 4 via DXLD) 9275, Sat March 5 at 1956 and later chex, no signal from WMLK. IIRC, during their previous incarnation, Saturdays were silent due to The Sabbath, altho that doesn`t stop other Saturdayists (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Log at remote SDR units in eastern USA, like Connecticut and Detroit MI: At 1950-2035 UT March 5th, heard nothing of WMLK transmission. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Perhaps they don't work on the sabbath (Richard Langley, NB, ibid.) Yes, Glenn recalls correctly (as he usually does). Picking up and old WRTH at random (1993), it says except Saturday for its daily broadcasts (-- Richard Langley, ibid.) 9275, March 7 at 2150, no signal from WMLK, and didn`t notice any earlier, so a Monday off? 9275, Tue March 8 at 2107 check, no signal from WMLK; nor was it heard Mon March 7 but only brief chex; may have been on sometime and off again. Re-on at 2047 Wed March 9 when EJOM is JBM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reception of test transmission of WMLK Bethel on Wednesday on March 9: from 1905 on 9275 MLK 250 kW / 053 deg to WeEu English, QRM carrier 9273, more video later http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/weak-signal-of-test-transmission-of.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 3185, March 4 at 0112 bandscan, WWRBS is off, nor on the day frequency 9370; but 3215 WWRB is on, playing hymn with piano. 9370, March 4 at 1930, WWRBS day frequency is gone again. But 3185, March 5 at 0224, WWRBS night frequency is on again (and 3195 is not). 9370, March 5 at 1956 check, WWRBS day frequency is gone again. 3185, March 6 at 0245, night frequency is on again; and now also 3195 with a different gospel huxter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Recorded nearly 5 hours of WINB on 9265 kHz starting at 2247 UT March 4 using the Twente receiver. Various religious programs all in English. I believe they used to have some Spanish but not on this evening. Mentioned at one point that you could listen to WINB by phone: 415-655-0846! Sign-off at about 0332 UT with a leaving-the-air announcement over an instrumental version of the "Stars & Stripes." This was followed by a tortuously slow a cappella version of the anthem. It was mercifully cut off towards the end in mid-song (Richard Langley, NB, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9265, March 5 at 1957, fair signal from WINB with strange language, then locking into English with heavy accent, with P O Box in Phœnix AZ, gospeldistribution.org --- nothing on their homepage about, or in, any language other than English, tho they are spelling-challenged (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 6220, March 4 at 0126 UT, still NO signal from the WWCR/WNQM/WMDB parasite, despite fundamental 7520 WWCR blasting in at S9+55, so it`s still been eliminated. Did they ever say thank-you to me for bringing it to their attention? Of course not! Next problem: 15650-15705, March 6 at 2124 raspy extremely distorted talk modulation spikes, which I know from experience are crap coming out of the 15825 WWCR-1 transmitter, and audible only when propagation strongifies it - -- yes, on second receiver the spikes are // on S9+20 15825. Centered approx. 15685, which happens to be WWCR`s original 19mb frequency. Do not hear a match on the plus side. Also means some HF sporadic E must have broken out, a hopeful sign for eventually reaching VHF (I continue to run my analog B&W TV much of the time on channel 2, just in case, so far shoveling huge mounds of snow) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9475, WTWW Lebanon TN (presumed); 2048...2105+, 3-Mar; Dead air; seems appropriate for the station that brings us Permanently Preposterous Paster Pete Peters. S30 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, 5525 Whitehall St., Midland MI 48642-3156, Drake R8B + 185' & 60' RW + 125' bow-tie, --- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! --- DX LISTENING DIGEST) This report which arrived later would extend the total deadair time by another 5 hours to 43, as below (gh, DXLD) 9475, March 4 at 0134, S9+20 open carrier/dead air from WTWW-1, oh SFAW! And not on night frequency 5830 yet either. Still OC/DA at 0150, when I also check 12105 to find WTWW-3 at only S2, seemingly in English. WTWW-2 is on neither 9930 nor 5085. Standard remark. 5830, March 4 at 0657, WTWW-1 is *still* open carrier/dead air, as earlier noted on day frequency 9475, at 0134 and 0150. Next check at 1410 March 4: back on 9475, and **still** OC/DA, ditto at 1535, 1723. So the frequency changes are being made, manually or automatically? Yet no one notices there is no modulation upon them. SFAW HQ back on The Radio Ranch in Laporte CO is so out of it that they probably haven`t even tried to hear their own SWBCs. Amazing that they allow this incompetence to prevail at the Lebanon TN site. But it gives us all a respite from the racist rantings of passé Pastor Pete Peters. Long live dead air! 9475, March 4 at 1927, WTWW-1 continues its festival of open carrier/dead air. Next check March 5 at 0031 and 0152, Still DA. Yet another frequency swap is accomplished, by 0212 check it`s back to 5830, and still DA of S9+50, ditto at 0250. WTWW-1 surpassed the 24- hour mark of broadcasting nothing at 0134 UT March 5, as we first noted it at 0134 March 4 --- no telling how much longer before that. Final recheck as I finish this report at 0537 UT March 5: STILL dead air on 5830, at least 28 hours and counting! Meanwhile, 12105, WTWW-3 is VG modulating Yoruba a sesquihour after Nigerian midnite, at 0031 UT March 5. At 0245, 12105 is still on but JBA at S2, as anyone but WTWW would expect, that long after sunset. Further dead air chex of WTWW-1: 5830, March 5 at 0653, still at 1355. After *another* day frequency QSY, 9475 is also DA March 5 at 1454 --- but finally at 1535 check, a rumbly PPPP has resumed modulating out of the grave. So that makes at least 38 hours of nothing, 3800 kWh wasted (axually much more as 100 kW is only the nominal output). Perhaps a human responsible for this should at least have his pay docked for the cost of that much electricity (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9474.98, March 8 at 1408, WTWW-1 is managing to modulate, in fact with a much bigger hum than usual, as some guy who sounds a lot like PPPP, same cowboy accent, but is obviously not deceased, makes a point of mentioning more than once the date March 5, 2016, on `Coffee with the Wranglers`, soon resorting to a Bible verse, as if that would enhance his credibility. March 5? That was just before the 38+ hours of silence was finished for the time being, so making up for lost broadcast, or ordinary repetition? The hum is self-inflicted, not caused by LAH as there is nothing else on 9475.00. 9475-, March 9 at 0646, oh2, WTWW-1 yet again has failed to transition to night frequency 5830, instead still on day frequency here achieving S9+10 but fading, PPPP and rumbling modulation. By next check 1350, has managed to switch to 5830 but only 10 minutes left for that, during `Rawhide` tune with replaced gospel-huxtering lyrix; sung by cowboy PPPP himself? Hear this frequently, maybe played every morning. Next night, UT March 10 at 0618, WTWW-1 has failed to stay on 9475, instead on 5830, but only fair non-solid signal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15555-USB, March 3 at 1543, the dead preacher on WJHR with anti-Catholic sermon, also criticizing US government for issuing a postage stamp years ago which had some Catholic content, violating Separation of Church and State. I wonder what that was? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15555/USB, WJHR, FL, Milton with good old boy talking about people wanting to give him money to preach and will contests and needing 14 witnesses to prevail in Probate if someone contests (that is NOT true by the way...14 kooks saying x doesn't make a sane judge believe them any more than if you have 2 kooks agreeing!) and about how some people like to brag about how bad they used to be. Short cut out at 2021, back at 2022 then stuttering a bit and gone completely at 2022. Didn't return during the time I hung around. I kinda wanted to know who this dude was! 2015-2022* (I listened to 2025 but they didn't come back. 354+4+4 while in. 5/Mar (Ken Zichi. M.A.R.E. DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR-4 + 500 foot randomwire strung Westerly-ish + my own ears and in mostly real time; I did record some things for later review and decoding of digital stuff! MARE Tipsheet 11 March via DXLD) As we explained long ago, WJHR is a memorial to only one dead gospel huxter, a.k.a. John Hill Radio, the only one ever heard on it, tnx to licensee George S Mock and his tape library. It would be VERY interesting to know how many total (different) hours are in their archive, even more so that of Dead Gene Scott! And eventually there will be dead Brother HyStairical, shudder (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. 17775, March 4 at 1458, KVOH in Spanish very undermodulated, compared e.g. to Cuba 17730 and 17580 (but not 17750 which is also undermod). How much longer before KVOH gets their ``new`` transmitter going with proper modulation??? BTW, both 2015 and 2016 WRTHs erroneously have KVOH on 11775, not 17775. Multiple times, not only in the USA - international listings, but also in SW Stations of the World by-frequency in the back. And what about their Zambia project, delay after delay there too? See ZAMBIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 690, March 9 at 0712 UT, big open carrier looping E/W, obviously KGGF Coffeyville KS an hour+ after normal local midnite ``sign-off``. Often left on, but not always; depends on humidity? BTW, 10/5 kW U4 KGGF is being bought by the cross-border Bartlesville OK station group including little KWON-1400 and KPGM-1500, so look for possible format change on KGGF; also getting three FM stations in the deal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Among many amazing trans-Atlantic MW DX catches in every issue of MW News, I am picking out this station, since we already reported on its appearance by running day power northeastward at night: (gh) 1380, KRCM, Shenandoah TX; call in show; "Radio Aleluya" insert; tnx to MV-Eko's Odd-Jørgen Sagdahl for the heads up; UK 1st? F 0705 28/1 BD 1380, KRCM, Shenandoah TX; SS “Radioaleluya” IDs; tnx to Mauricio Molano for help with the ID; personal first. 333 0625 30/1 MvA 1380, KRCM, Shenandoah TX; relay of 1590 KMIC with same announcement “Estás escuchando Radio Aleluya, KMIC Houston, 15-90 AM Esta es Radio Aleluya”; personal first, F 0700 30/1 AB 1380, KRCM, Shenandoah TX; “... Radio Aleluya KMIC Houston 15-90 AM. Esta es Radio Aleluya”; tnx AB for the tip; personal first, W 0700 30/1 mah 1380, KRCM, Shenandoah TX; "la nueva estación en la familia de Radio Aleluya 15-90 AM", 222, 0356 2/2, VC 1380, KRCM, Shenandoah TX; “Radio Aleluya, 15-90 AM”, W, 0557 2/2, PC 1380, KRCM, Shenandoah TX; SS mx, ID "Radio Aleluya", 222, 0439 16/2, SDC 1380, KRCM, Shenandoah TX; Radio Aleluya, 353, 0640 17/2, JLF *AB Andrew Brade, Holme-on-Spalding Moor, East Riding of Yorkshire. AOR AR 7030 plus and Perseus SDR, Wellbrook phased array 290 , 305m beverage at 220 . Recording on Sony MZ-NH1 minidisc + Total Recorder. *BD Barry Davies, Carlisle, Cumbria. Perseus, 3.7m x 10.0m Flag + FLG100 amp. *JLF Jean-Luc Fradet, Déols, central France. Perseus + Wellbrook loop. *mah Martin Hall, Clashmore, Sutherland. Perseus SDR, RPA-1 preamp, beverages: 290m at 187 , 460m at 236 , 490m at 276 , 630m at 342 , all terminated. *MvA Max van Arnhem; Hoenderloo, The Netherlands. Perseus, AOR7030plus, KAZ antennas 35, 70, 160, 250, 290 and 340 . *PC Paul Crankshaw, Troon, Ayrshire. Perseus SDR, EWE antenna at 275 , RPA-1 pre-amp. *SDC Saverio De Cian, Sedico (Belluno), Italy; Perseus SDR, DKaz + FLG100LN. *VC Valter Comuzzi, Pasian di Prato, Italy. Perseus, Single Delta Flag+FLG 100LN (March MW News via DXLD ** U S A. 1480, March 3 at 0801 UT, series of gospel tunes starting with ``Put your hand in the hand``, still at 0820 UT as I am dozing off. This may be reactivated KBXD Dallas, which NRC DX News says finally came back on the air Feb 20. Needs further chex here. 1480, March 4 at 0120 UT, big dominant signal from NNW/SSE with bluegrass, then classic country segués, next at 0121 UT being ``Hey, Porter`` about a train ride. It must be the reactivated KBXD in Dallas, whose new format is yet to be determined; stunting for now? After another tune or two, at 0129 UT, singing ID ``Wonderful K-Box in Dallas, Texas hits too, go-go-go``, then coal-mine song; several more songs, no announcements, let alone commercials. 0147 UT, ``Wonderful K-Box in Dallas, a-go-go, souvenirs, oh oh oh oh ----`` and a second one immediately, ``Super-hit go-go sounds of wonderful K-Box in Dallas``. Blowing away my closer 1480, KQAM Wichita, but occasionally pokes thru during Dallas fades, as it`s wrapping up a silly ballgame from the K- State Wildcats Network. KQAM gains more and more from 0155 UT to 0200 UT such that I can`t get a legal ID if any from the otherstation. Of course, this is not KBOX, but currently called KBXD, obviously in tribute to the heyday rocker of 50 years ago, which just reactivated a few days ago, after a rocky ownership transfer involving access to the transmitter site; it`s been upgraded to 50/1.9 kW, and I seriously suspect it must have been on 50 kW day power until 0155 UT. Official night hours in March for KBXD are: 0030 UT-1245 UT. 50 kW day pattern major lobe is to the NW but still plenty to the NNW: https://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/1547811-120922.pdf 1.9 kW night pattern has six lobes, major one still to the NW but tighter now with one of the six nulls toward Wichita: https://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/1547811-120923.pdf As for KBOX, those were the heritage calls of 1480 Dallas, but FCC callsign history only goes back to 1989, showing that KBXD is the seventh one since then. There is now no KBOX anywhere on AM, but FCC has a KBOX on FM 104.1 in Lompoc CA. pdfs of ancient history cards at FCC show that 1480 Dallas started in 1952 as KGKO, and became KBOX in 1959. During its previous period of reactivity a couple years ago, KBXD was making a heavy SAH with KQAM, but now the frequency has been adjusted closer, due to a Harris DX50 replacing the solid-state Nautel. KBXD was on for a few days in December to prove they existed in 2015y, so are they now on to stay? 1480, March 4 at 0700 UT, [see previous report] re-tune-in just in time to hear ToH legal ID as ``KBXD, 1480, Dallas`` (with a Spanish accent? Not sure), immediately followed by another jingle non-ID, ``Wonderful K-Box in Dallas`` 1480, March 5 at 0155 UT, C&W music dominating even on the ALA-330S oriented east-west, quick break at 0200.4 for KBXD Dallas ID, so suspect still on 50 kW day power even later than last night (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. [Re 1640, gh WTNI log under OKLAHOMA [and non], 16-09:]. Northwestern State are the Demons, not the Angels. The Pensacola mention is because Southern Miss is playing several games there in the coming week. http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/smis-m-basebl-sched.html Though, it seems they won against New Orleans (Raymie Humbert, AZ, March 3, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) ** U S A. WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED RADIO BROADCASTING IS ILLEGAL March 1, 2016 Enforcement Advisory No. 2016-02 Persons or Businesses Operating “Pirate” Broadcast Stations are in Violation of Federal Law and Subject to Enforcement Action Federal law prohibits operating radio broadcasting equipment in most cases without an FCC license. Thus, perpetrators of pirate radio stations, which by definition do not obtain FCC licenses or comply with Commission rules and requirements, are in violation of Federal law and FCC rules. This prohibition does not discriminate by size of operations, applying equally to the rebellious high school kid operating a radio station from his bedroom as it does to slick and sophisticated high-powered illegal broadcast operations. What is Prohibited? Section 301 of the Communications Act prohibits the "use or operat[ion of] any apparatus for the transmission of energy or communications or signals by radio" without a license issued by the FCC.1 Thus, in order to use or operate a radio station, the Communications Act requires that you first obtain a license from the FCC.2 If you run a pirate radio station, whether as owner or operator, you could be subject to enforcement action.3 Parties found operating radio stations without FCC authorization [continued after footnotes] [Footnotes:] 1 47 U.S.C. § 301. 2 There are certain limited exceptions. For example, the Commission has provided authorization by rule to operators of CB radio, radio control stations, and some domestic ship and aircraft radios. In addition, the Commission has authorized the operation of certain low power radios pursuant to Part 15 of the Commission's Rules. As a result, operators of these radio facilities are not required to have individual licenses. However, these operators are required to operate their stations in a manner consistent with the Commission's operational and technical rules for those services. 3 See Andrew O. Turner, Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, DA 15-1334 (Enf. Bur. Nov. 20, 2015), 2015 WL 7354027 (proposing a $15,000 penalty for unlicensed operation on 95.9 MHz in Broward County, Florida); José Luís Hernández, Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 30 FCC Rcd 11673 (Enf. Bur. 2015) (proposing a $10,000 penalty for unlicensed operation on 95.9 MHz in Passaic, New Jersey); Iván Ángeles, Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 30 FCC Rcd 10202 (Enf. Bur. 2015) (proposing a $15,000 penalty for unlicensed operation on 91.9 MHz in Passaic, New Jersey). [FCC ENFORCEMENT ADVISORY continued] could be subject to a variety of enforcement actions, including seizure of equipment, imposition of monetary forfeitures, ineligibility to hold any FCC license, injunctive relief, and criminal penalties. What is the Harm? Such illegal activity threatens the livelihood and sustainability of existing radio broadcasters and the health and safety of the listening public. Specifically, pirate radio stations can cause interference to other licensed broadcasters and non- broadcast services, not only preventing listeners from hearing the programming on those stations but also potentially preventing listeners from hearing important Emergency Alert System (EAS) warnings aired by those broadcasters. What Should You Do if You Discover a Possible Pirate Radio Operation? First, make sure the station is actually a pirate station. FCC rules require licensed broadcast stations to identify themselves each hour using their FCC-assigned call signs, as close to the hour as possible. If the station does not identify with a call sign, it may be a pirate operation. If it does identify with a call sign, you can look up the station using the call sign on the FCC’s Consolidated Database System.4 If you have reason to believe a station is a pirate station, please send as much information as you have to the FCC. To do so, you can visit http://www.fcc.gov/complaints Many pirates use false identities or are otherwise difficult to track down, so please provide as much information as possible. We are particularly interested in the location of the broadcast operations and transmitter, frequency, hours of operation, and any other information that would allow us to identify the person(s) behind the potential pirate operation. Please be advised that pirate radio operators also seek support from landlords or advertisers, including nightclubs, concert promoters and local merchants. Providing support for such illegal activity could not only damage the reputation of such businesses, but could expose them to FCC enforcement or other legal actions. Need More Information? Media inquiries should be directed to Will Wiquist at 202-418-0509 or will.wiquist@fcc.gov. For general information on the FCC, you may contact the FCC at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1- 888-225-5322) or visit our website at http://www.fcc.gov To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). Issued by: Chief, Enforcement Bureau (FCC Document via George McClintock, TN, March 3, DXLD) ** VANUATU [and non]. 3944.984, Radio Vanuatu from Port Vila, noted at 1330 UT on March 3 as S=6-7 signal in Brisbane Queensland Australia remote post. Hit by Japanese Nikkei-2 on even 3945 kHz til 1400 UT co- channel [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log March 3rd at 1300-1400 UT, noted on few remote units in Doha Qatar, Brisbane Australia, and Tokyo/Nagoya Japan, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 3, dxldyg via DXLD) ** VATICAN STATE: 3/5/16. I came across an interesting news release from the Vatican Radio's news app from 2/24/16. Here is a brief summary. Father Federico Lombardi has left Vatican Radio after 26 years of service, initially as Director of Programmes, and since 2005, as General Director. His position will not be filled, but he will continue to serve as Director of the Press Office of the Holy See. His stepping down is due to a major overhaul of the Holy See's media and communications. Fr Lombardi said, "cutting down on that rich diversity to save costs would be a real impoverishment of Vatican communications." His biggest regret at Vatican Radio was not being able to convince his superiors to start broadcasting in Hausa for the people in northern Nigeria. The Vatican news release also mentioned that the name "Vatican Radio" will cease to exist in coming months as it becomes more closely incorporated into a combined output of TV, newspapers, web and social media production. It has been Pope Francis' plan since June of last year that all Vatican media be consolidated (Larry Zamora, Garland, TX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN [and non]. 15545, March 3 at 1503, tune in to open carrier/dead air, going off by 1504*. This is when R. Tamazuj is supposed to broadcast to Sudan South, via SMG. I leave a receiver on with BFO to notify me if and when a carrier resume, which happens at *1524, but it too goes off at 1528*, so no feed from R. Dabanga to broadcast either! 15550 bears a JBA carrier at 1538, and by 1545 can also detect a ~1 kHz tone, i.e. the clueless Sudanese jammer is still protecting the long-abandoned PNW frequency. 13800.02, the other Dabanga frequency I check at 1539, and do find a fair signal with a conversation in Arabish. This is via MADAGASCAR until switch at 1600 to Vatican, which I also should have checked. Santa Maria di Galeria site has had a lot of problems just getting broadcasts on as scheduled. On Feb 27, Noel Green in England caught 15545 at 1505 with Vatican Radio in German! 1515 Polish, 1530 Bulgarian, 1545 music --- languages which are no longer on their SW schedule at all, only satellite. We may expect further deterioration as Fr. Lombardi just gave up his post as head of VR, and major reorganizations de-emphasizing SW are expected. After the messups previously on 15545, I`ve retuned March 4 at 1458: S9+10 open carrier; 1459, sign-on with multiple IDs, ``Huna Radio Tamazuj``, so far, so good. Also on the two other frequencies, 15400 via FRANCE at S9+10, and 13800 via MADAGASCAR, S9+10, but they all sound somewhat different; 15400 is 2.5 seconds behind 13800. OOPS, at 1500, 15545 goes to dead air! While the other two continue. 15545 gives up and turns off SMG transmitter at 1504:17.5*, much like yesterday. By 1524, 15545 carrier is back on, hopefully standing by for sibling PNW service Radio Dabanga. Just in time, adding modulation at 1526 for R. Tamazuj to sign off, and 1529 switch to R. Dabanga opening. But again, right at 1530, modulation stops, and carrier off at 1534:20.5*; while 13800 continues, and 15400 has gone off as scheduled. It seems like misprogramming of both the modulation input and the transmitter on/off timing. 15550, March 4 at 1529, now the weak Sudan carrier jammer against nothing is on, unlike a semihour earlier: totally on the sidelines. 7305, March 5 at 0226, Vatican Radio is wrapping up the half- sesquihour Spanish relay via Greenville, giving frequency as 9610 to Cuba. Oops, that`s the one at 1230-1300. I have to listen to 7305 since the leapfrog on 7425 is AWOL; see USA. 15545, March 5, I tune in early for another check of the messups SMG has been accomplishing instead of broadcasting R. Tamazuj and R. Dabanga. *1454.3 carrier on, and still no modulation past 1500 so I`m apprehensive as normal sign-on starts at 1459. But R. Tamazuj does speak up at 1500:50, opening with numerous IDs, and still going past 1510, so back in business today. 15545, 1530 March 5, still on now too, for Radio Dabanga (and the Sudanese tone jammer against nothing is JB reaudible on 15550). Dabanga also on // 13800 via MADAGASCAR but not synchronized. Recheck at 1613, having switched site to VATICAN as well, now 13800 is matching 15545 for the final semihiour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. EN VENEZUELA OPERAN UN MILLAR Y MEDIO DE RADIOS SIN AUTORIZACIÓN En Venezuela existen unas 1.500 radioemisoras clandestinas que traban el funcionamiento de las estaciones legalmente establecidas, denunció la presidenta de la Cámara de Radio, Enza Carbone. "Esas 1.500 emisoras piratas afectan a quienes ejercemos la radiodifusión de manera legal y a toda la colectividad, porque invaden el espectro, no pagan impuestos y, como no tienen control, dicen lo que quieren violentando principios de la comunicación", dijo Carbone en una reunión con la Comisión de Medios de la Asamblea Nacional. Un informe de 2015 de la estatal Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Conatel) señaló que en Venezuela, con una población de 30 millones de habitantes, hay 176 emisoras AM (amplitud modulada) y 752 FM (frecuencia modulada) legalmente habilitadas. Según William Castillo, director de Conatel, el sector privado controla más del 80 por ciento de las concesiones de televisión y más del 70 por ciento de las de radio. En los últimos 10 años el Estado animó el surgimiento de emisoras comunitarias de alcance local, y las más activas en las principales ciudades sostienen una programación identificada con el oficialismo. Carbone dijo que algunas emisoras clandestinas o piratas se camuflan como comunitarias para emprender negocios y saltarse regulaciones legales, sin control estatal. La dirigente sostuvo que más de la mitad de las 400 emisoras afiliadas a la Cámara "tienen vencida la concesión desde hace más de dos años y se encuentran en un limbo jurídico", a lo que se agrega la caída en ingresos por falta de anunciantes en el clima de recesión, y la falta de divisas para importar equipos y repuestos. Castillo, en una declaración a la televisora gubernamental VTV, dijo que cuando la Comisión de Medios del parlamento lo convoque acudirá "a señalar con nombre y apellido a políticos de la derecha, incluso diputados, que mantienen emisoras piratas". La Comisión de Medios de la Asamblea, donde la oposición es mayoría por primera vez en 15 años, estudia una posible reforma a la Ley de Telecomunicaciones que podría incluso modificar la composición de la actual Conatel (tomada de Sputnik News via GRA blog via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. 5925.000, VOV second program Xuan Mai, Vietnamese, S=9+10dB at 0030 UT. 5975.000, VOV first program from Son Tay, Vietnam, S=9+10dB at 0036 UT, seems a little LOW modulation. Both Vietnamese broadcast on accurate even frequency. 6020.000, V of Vietnam Dac Lac site 4th program, and as usual two symmetrical spurious signals either sideband 'always varying seen 2 Hertz wobbling, not real signal peak' as visible on 6006.616 and 6033.384 kHz centered. 7210.000, VoV 4th program, from Dac Lac, and two symmetrical spurious of 13.738 kHz apart frequency distance either side, on 7196.262 and 7223.738 kHz, varying a little bit of 5-10 Hz to the narrow side, at 0020 UT, female voice presenter in Vietnamese. Heard in eastern Thailand remote unit. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 5th) (Wolfgang Büschel, Log of March 5th at 0010-0155 UT, noted on remote SDR unit in eastern Thailand, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** YEMEN [non]. Rep. Yemen Radio Sanaa (Saudi Arabia Relay?) 11860, 1427 2 MAR - SINPO = 35323. Arabic, music with microtonal vocals. QSB=moderate-to-rapid, modulation occasionally mixing with noise floor but mostly well above it. sf96.4, a8, k2, geomag: quiet. 50kw?, Omni?, bearing 7 ?. Sangean ATS505 w/MFJ-1020C active antenna used to preselect Magic Wand Antenna hanging indoors on west wall. Received at Las Vegas, United States, 13045KM? from transmitter at Riyadh?. Local time: 0627. 11860, 1618 3 MAR - in ARABIC from RIYADH?. SINPO = 34222. Arabic, instrumental music fb music with microtonal vocals. QSB=rapid, ff. sf99.2, a7, k2, geomag: quiet. 50kw?, Omni?, bearing 7 ?. Sangean ATS505 w/MFJ-1020C active antenna used to preselect Magic Wand Antenna hanging indoors on west wall. Received at Las Vegas, United States, 13045KM? from transmitter at Riyadh?. Local time: 818. 11860, 1409 4 MAR - REP. YEMEN RADIO SANAA (YEMEN CLA?). SINPO = 35222. Arabic, male and female announcers conversing with musical interludes. 1415z music with microtonal vocals. QSB=rapid to ff rate, modulation usually well above noise floor. (Spot check: 1452z SINPO 45323 music). sf99.3, a8, k1, geomag: very quiet. 50kw?, Omni?, bearing 7 ?. Sangean ATS505 w/MFJ-1020C active antenna used to preselect Magic Wand Antenna hanging indoors on west wall. Received at Las Vegas, United States, 13045KM? from transmitter at Riyadh?. Local time: 0609 (Rodney Johnson, NV, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks to Mike Terry for posting the link to the Twente receiver. Tonight is the first time I have tried using a web SDR, and I obviously had to try it on Sana'a, 11860, at what I consider to be the normal transmitter changeover time. Reception via Twente was generally far better tonight than on the Drake R8 in Jo'burg. There was the usual echo at presumed transmitter changeover on 11860 heard on the Drake R8E in Jo'burg. But to my ears at least the echo was also audible on the Twente receiver. Did anyone else hear this, or record it, or am I now just programmed to automatically hear an echo on 11860 at that time whether it's there or not? Not sure of timing because I was dashing backwards and forwards from the Drake to the laptop (SDR) to compare, but would guess about 1750 to 1755, March 4. I will certainly have to try it again to confirm or disprove! (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Bill, If you think of it next time, you can record directly from Twente webSDR server. There's a little 'Record' button directly below the S-Meter. It records right on the server and offers to download after you stop recording. It really works well, I've used it several times. Cheers! (--Rodney Johnson, ibid.) Bill, I haven't been around the last few days to check 11860 in our mornings i.e. the 1730 to 1800 UT period, but will try tomorrow. I have been watching the 2 minute long second carrier coming up around 0110 nightly, also spot on 11860. Until tonite (Mar 5), that signal hasn't provided any new insight but this evening the new carrier was strong enough to affect the receiver AGC and quiet the regular 11860 audio until that new carrier went off at 0112. So just an open carrier it would seem. Still no idea who or why. It masks the 60 Hz hum bars on the Saudi transmitter but doesn't add any other hum signature, either 50 or 60 Hz. 73 (Don VE6JY Moman, 0244 UT March 5, ibid.) Hi Rodney, I saw the little record button and wondered how it worked, but hadn't got around to trying it; thanks for filling in the detail! To be honest I didn't even think of trying it last night (March 4). The echo period was quite brief. As soon as it started on the Drake I tried the Twente receiver, but by the time I had that going I was only able to hear about 10 seconds of echo before everything returned to normal; then right back to the Drake to confirm it really had stopped. I would guess 2-3 minutes at most. I was just so surprised to hear the echo in The Netherlands, because so far as I am aware no one in Europe has yet reported hearing it. Admitted, it was stronger than usual in Jo'burg last night, maybe that had something to do with it. Next time I hear it in Jo'burg I'll have another go! Regards, (Bill Bingham, RSA, ibid.) Hi Don, I managed to check 11860 around 1750 last night and around 0110 on March 2 and 3. The most notable characteristic was the deterioration in reception at both times, no doubt due to seasonal variations in propagation. The two checks around 0110 produced nothing of interest, no obvious hets or echos, just poor reception. Of course, I didn't check at the date and time where you spotted something interesting! I can only think of one logical explanation for your daily 2 minute carrier, and even that doesn't make much sense. How about the co-channel Nepalese service of CRI from Kunming (500 kW according to HFCC), giving their transmitter a run before they come on air twenty minutes later at 0130? But why? I often don't hear their broadcast at all, but sometimes it is just there in the background. I recall on one occasion (Jan 27) hearing a SAH with Sana'a at 0133 and assuming it must be caused by the CRI transmission which I could also hear. But I have never thought to look for a correlation between the presence or absence of the CRI broadcast at 0130 and any earlier SAH with Sana'a at 0110. At 3 a.m. I just don't think! Regards, (Bill Bingham, RSA, 0848 UT March 5, ibid.) 11860 - strong 2nd carrier on channel at 0110 UT. I've no doubts, the technician at CRI Kunming site, set the 500 kW beast powerhouse from 11975 kHz to 11860 kHz, in order to be matched the antenna tuning already for CRI NEPALI service on 11860 kHz starts usually at 0130 UT (maybe empty carrier ready at 0127-0128 UT?). 11975 0000 0100 49S,54W 500 177 216 Chn CHN CRI RTC moved to 11860 0130 0230 42S 500 283 216 Nep CHN CRI RTC channel. vy73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Wolfy, thanks, that would seem to be a plausible explanation. It doesn't account for why reception of Sana'a takes (or rather, perhaps, used to take) a dive immediately after 0112, but I guess that could be coincidental and related to propagation. Or could it perhaps be a function of the AGC system (or some other system) in the Sony ICF2001D? Regards, (Bill Bingham, ibid.) Republic of Yemen Radio - 5 March 2016 - Echo? I recorded, using the Twente receiver, the clandestine Republic of Yemen Radio (variously called Radio Sana'a and "Yemen Channel, the channel of all Yemenis") on 5 March 2016 starting at 1742 UT to see if I could hear an echo around 1800 suggestive of two transmitters carrying the same audio slightly offset in time. Well, I did hear some "echoey" audio starting at around 1755:10 while an OM was speaking. But I believe this is a studio effect to dramatize the speech. There is no echo on the music before or after the speaking. But I did notice a significant drop in audio level at about 1757:47. Didn't notice a gap in the audio, though. Analysis of the recorded audio is made difficult by the QRM from AWR in Kabyle from Nauen between 1730 and 1800 (nominally). Here is a link to my recording if you want to give it a listen yourself: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2s8lpwxyof8v9wj/websdr_recording_start_2016-03-05T17-42-00Z_11860.0kHz.wav?dl=0 By the way, 1800 UT might be a likely time for a transmitter and/or antenna change (if there is one) if the signals are actually coming from Saudi Arabia. BSKSA has a number of transmissions ending/starting at 1800. A quick and dirty analysis I did showed they were on 8 frequencies simultaneously up to 1800 and 6 frequencies after that time. But that still leaves them with enough capacity at both Riyadh and Jeddah to handle the 11860 kHz transmission(s). Have the four 250 kW transmitters installed at Jeddah in 2011 ever been put into regular use? (Richard Langley, March 9, ibid.) Hi Richard, Reception is now so poor in Jo'burg in the evenings that I hardly bother to tune in anymore at that time. As you say, there is so much QRM from AWR in that time slot, and I am now also plagued by extremely fast flutter every night. At first I thought it was a SAH between Sana'a and AWR, until I found it begins long before AWR comes on air. Presume propagation is changing with the seasons, we are now entering our southern hemisphere Autumn in Jo'burg. Yes, there is usually a slot a few minutes before 1800 devoted to the OM talking which is always accompanied by a studio echo. The real echo, before the transmitter change, is always much more pronounced, when it is audible at all! It is sometimes severe enough to make speech un-intelligible, but is less noticeable on music. Interesting that you found a drop in audio at 1757; Don Moman noticed a similar effect one day at 1759, but here in Jo'burg we see an increase (or rather, used to see an increase before the whole lot recently became un-intelligible). The change in audio level does not necessarily follow an echo or SAH, it can happen without either of them; presume it depends on the degree of synchronisation of the second carrier and / or its modulation. Regards, (Bill Bingham, ibid.) Bill, the morning of Mar 5 I did hear your echo; it went from 1755:10 to about 1756:30. It`s quite a long echo/delay of maybe half a word, at first I thought I was hearing 2 stations when the presumed AWR audio quit around 1755:10. AWR or someone started up again at 1756:30 covering it up. Audio is attached, if it comes thru. 73 (Don Moman, VE6JY, ibid.) Hi Richard and Don, I hate to commit myself because it is really difficult to tell what is going on. Sometimes I think imagination plays a big part! Don, from your recording it sounds like you caught BOTH of the echoes, superimposed, no doubt by chance! The OM talking in the second half of your clip would normally have a studio echo, but you have also caught a much more severe echo which begins before the OM starts talking. That severe echo is the one I associate with their transmitter changeover. Glad you caught it! 1755 is a bit late, but Richard noted a significant drop in audio at about 1757, so that fits. Richard, you were recording at the same time, but it seems the Twente receiver mainly caught the studio echo. I think the changeover echo is there on your recording, but much weaker; it starts just before the OM comes on air. Richard, 40MB is quite a chunk to download on Third World wireless broadband just to hear a 2 minute echo. It would help me, and no doubt others (judging from previous comments on dxld - from USA no less!), if you could convert to mp3 before posting, or just post the echo section by itself in future? Thanks, and Regards, (Bill Bingham, ibid.) Rep. Yemen Radio, Sana`a (Saudi Arabia Relay?) 11860, 1421 5 MAR - SINPO = 35323. Arabic, male announcer with many quotes from remotes, interview with male over the phone. QSB=rapid to ff rate, modulation mostly above noise floor. (Spot check @1649z music, SINPO25222 ff). sf100.0, a4, k2, geomag: quiet. 50kw?, Omni?, bearing 7 ?. Sangean ATS505 w/MFJ-1020C active antenna used to preselect Magic Wand Antenna hanging indoors on west wall. Received at Las Vegas, United States, 13045KM? from transmitter at Riyadh?. Local time: 0621. 11860, 1433 6 MAR - REP.YEMEN RADIO SANAA (YEMEN CLA?). SINPO = 35323. Arabic, instrumental music, music with microtonal vocals. QSB=ff, modulation mostly well above noise floor. sf96.7, a4, k2, geomag: quiet. 50kw?, Omni?, bearing 7 ?. Sangean ATS505 w/MFJ-1020C active antenna used to preselect Magic Wand Antenna hanging indoors on west wall. Received at Las Vegas, United States, 13045KM? from transmitter at Riyadh? Local time: 0633-0649. 11860, 1501 7 MAR - REP.YEMEN RADIO SANAA (YEMEN CLA?). SINPO = 15111. Arabic, music with microtonal vocals. QSB=ff, severe, modulation barely audible, mostly mixing with noise floor. (Spot check: @1614z SINPO 35323 music with microtonal vocals). sf95.4, a35, k2, geomag: quiet. 50k?, Omi?, bearing 7 ?. Sangean ATS505 w/MFJ-1020C active antenna used to preselect Magic Wand Antenna hanging indoors on west wall. Received at Las Vegas, United States, 13045KM? from transmitter at Riyadh?. Local time: 0701. 11860, 1416 8 MAR - REP.YEMEN RADIO SANAA (YEMEN CLA?). SINPO = 35323. Arabic, music with microtonal vocals. (Spot checks @1504z SINPO 35433 male announcer interviews female over the phone. Much clearer modulation. 1601z SINPO 35323 female announcer reading news). QSB=rapid-to-ff rate, modulation strong and always well above the noise floor. sf92.8, a24, k2, geomag: quiet. 50kw?, Omni?, bearing 7 ?. Sangean ATS505 w/MFJ-1020C active antenna used to preselect Magic Wand Antenna hanging indoors on west wall. Received at Las Vegas, United States, 13045KM? from transmitter at Riyadh?. Local time: 0616. 73s (Rodney Johnson, NV, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11860, March 8 at 1419, Republic of Yemen Radio, still S9 +10/20 during familiar triumphal music segment. See also SAUDI ARABIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [HISTORICAL ROUNDUP of SAUDI TRANSMITTER/SITE DISCUSSIONS:] And feels honored to once again show presence in Saudi Arabia. The transmitters will be manufactured in Turgi, Switzerland. Factory tests together with SBC engineers are planned for autumn and shipments before end of 2014. Commissioning by an Ampegon engineer will start afterwards. Noted old odd fq bcasts previously always odd and distorted 9 Aug 2014y on 17730.035 and 17739.957 kHz. later in 2015y and 2016y only f e w heard these OLDER SIX odd frequency bcasts from BSKSA Riyadh anymore. Only morning Swahili sce 15284.982 & 17659.974 similar little odd fq. At present. on 28 Oct 2014y some odd 9557.83 and 15208 (nominal 15205) kHz. on 12 Nov 2014y, 7239.980 kHz. on 14 Nov 2014y, 17659.974 and 17705.033 kHz on 13 Dec 2014y, 17614.929 kHz. on Dec 24 & 28 2014y, 17729.952 15379.969 kHz 13774.961 kHz. > Have the four 250 kW transmitters installed at Jeddah in 2011 ever been put into regular use? No odd frequency measurements occurred lately in spring 2015y on the 15380, 17730, or 17740 kHz broadcast outlets from Riyadh. on 16 March 2015y, 17614.974 kHz. on 14 June 2015y, 13774.964 kHz. on 19 Aug 2015y, 17614.975 kHz 11934.965 kHz 13774.962 kHz. At present for example 15380, 17730, or 17740 kHz broadcast on N E W E R units even frequency odd fq of o l d e r units on 15284.982 17614.975 11934.965 13774.962 and also A L W A Y S odd on 31 mb non-directional morning service to NE & ME on 9714.978v (formerly 9580v or 9675v / 11855v) kHz wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, ibid.) Wolfy: I'm not quite sure what you are intimating here. Let's back up: WRTH 2015 under Saudi Arabia lists 4 x 250 kW transmitters at Jeddah and 4 x 350 kW and 8 x 500 kW transmitters at Riyadh. WRTH 2016 doesn't mention the Jeddah transmitters as if they were mothballed. According to http://www.swcountry.be/ars.html the Riyadh Thomson (now Ampegon) TRE2330 350 kW transmitters date from 1973. Of the 500 kW units, 6 are Thomson TRE2355 and date from 1989-92 and 2 are Thomson TSW2500 and are from 1999. The 4 x 250 kW transmitters (Continental Electronics 419H) at Jeddah supposedly date from 2011 and are mentioned in http://www.hfcc.org/doc/HFCC_REP_2015-008-B15-CEC_presentation.pdf as MOIC SHORTWAVE PROJECT. Your quote is from this article: http://www.ampegon.com/news/?id=27 which refers to the purchase and installation of 4 Ampegon analogue/ digital (capable of DRM) 500 kW transmitters at Riyadh to replace existing analogue transmitters. They were supposed to have been on the air in 2015. Perhaps your frequency measurements refer to these new Riyadh transmitters. So, I think my question about the relatively new Jeddah transmitters still stands: Have the four 250 kW transmitters installed at Jeddah in 2011 ever been put into regular use? HFCC registrations http://www.hfcc.org/data/schedbybrc.php?seas=B15&broadc=ARS certainly include 250 kW Jeddah transmissions (Richard Langley, dxldyg via DXLD) > 4 Ampegon analogue/digital (capable of DRM) 500 kW transmitters at Riyadh to replace existing analogue transmitters. They were supposed to have been on the air in 2015. Perhaps your frequency measurements refer to these new Riyadh transmitters. Yes. > Have the four 250 kW transmitters installed at Jeddah in 2011 ever been put into regular use? No, never in regular use --- but after erection of the TXs and antennas, heard widely tests in in May to July 2011, see below. but after erection of the TXs and antennas, heard widely tests in June 2011. SEE BELOW monitoring test reports. Strangly with Croatian popular music songs played. {so my guess was in June 2011, that Croation National engineers from RIZ Zagreb, erected as co-technician that Continental 4 SW tx and/or TCI antennas at Jeddah new Algwizain site, wb.} SW transmitting Systems at Al-Khumra station (near Jeddah city): It has four SW TXs each of 250 kW output power, and four wideband fixed Curtain antenna systems with all other equipment. { Jeddah Al-Khumra, Algwizain PC22711, "Al Kurnayash South" SW site, TX house at 21 14 40.01 N 39 09 43.69 E } The systems are DRM ready with 20 kHz bandwidth for simulcast mode or full DRM mode in future. Preliminary acceptance tests will be performed for this project in the near future. {SAUDI ARABIA} The Continental presentation reveals (on slide 20) that the new Jeddah shortwave facility, once supposed to be ready in 2011, has now indeed been commissioned. Some monitoring of BSKSA shortwave outlets is due I think, but beware: Ampegon had announced another project, the delivery of four new transmitters for the Riyadh site, supposed to be ready by summer 2015. The infamous Buzzing Service, spilling over hundreds of Kilohertz, has not been reported for some time, but they still could just have repaired this old transmitter... (Kai Ludwig-D, dxld Sept 19, 2015) Re replaced Jeddah site on the beach site now New Jeddah Algwizain PC22711, "Al Kurnayash South" SW site, TX house at 21 14 40.01 N 39 09 43.69 E and some TCI high-gain #216 type antennas around azimuth at 260 and 310 degrees, as well as cross-dipole non-directional HQ Quadrant antenna. Visible in late 2012 year images on Google. Tests on air occurred in January 2012 (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Sept 19, 2015) ARS_new Jeddah TCI ants, 255deg (220-270) No+WeAF/Sahel Zone, SDN, TCD, CAF, MLI, CTI, LIB, at location 21 14'55.01"N 39 09'59.52"E ARS_new Jeddah TCI antennas 315degr (300-340degr), at location 21 14'42.58"N 39 09'55.96"E dimmly cross-dipole non-directional antenna erected in2010-2011y HQ antenna ITU #925 type at location 21 14'49.61"N 39 09'45.67"E ARS_Jeddah_MW 1512/1000kW +648kHz/2000kW location 21 14'38.78"N 39 09'41.03"E 2 MW masts 21 14'45.48"N 39 09'25.04"E 2 MW masts 21 14'21.43"N 39 09'45.78"E Some History items of 2011y: HISTORY. DRM: Al Khumra site - more details. Not so long ago we announced via the Continental Electronics website: 06-28-2010. Continental to Deliver four 250 kW DRM HF Transmitters to Saudi Arabia at the Al Khumra site. And that it would be ready by Mid 2011. Then: The DRM website announced in April: DRM station ready in Saudi Arabia. DRM member Continental Electronics has announced that a new shortwave DRM capable station is now ready in Saudi Arabia. Three 300 kW SW transmitters, fully DRM ready, and a number of curtain antennas complete this station, and are part of a comprehensive digitisation plan in the country. It would be nice if confirmed facts were known?? Probably 300 kW SW 419G transmitters fitted with Continental DRM Exciters? (Ian, SW TXsite May 28, 2011) 21 07 38.32 N 39 13 50.34 E (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews June 18, 2011) UNID on 17600 kHz. I have been listening for last 15 minutes (since 1440 UT) to an UNID station on 17600 playing back-to-back music. Sounds Greek/Balkan music, or similar, although at 1458 UT the song sounds more Arabic or Indian? I had heard a test / tuning tone on this frequency at 1410 to gone 1430 UT when I tuned away. Tuned back at 1440 UT and found the music playing. Strong signal with no other co- channel interference. There is no station shown as scheduled at this time in HFCC/AOKI/EiBi. It sounds exactly the same as the UNID station I heard and was widely reported by others on May 29 on 15400 kHz. I'm guessing it's the same station again, maybe? (Alan Roe-UK, BrDXC-UK ng June 5, 2011) UNID on 17600 kHz. It has cleverly identified the last few songs played as Kninska Kraljica by Anica, Na Obali by Jasna Zlokic (both Croatian) and Katar Khayre by Sherine (Egyptian). Thanks for the tip, Alan. It does indeed sound the same as the UNID transmissions which I heard last Sunday 29 May on 15400 kHz in the 1600-1800 UT period. That also carried back-to-back Arabic and Balkan- sounding music - same as what is currently on 17600 kHz. There is also quite a loud hum in the modulation today. I wondered last week if it might be the Croatian transmitter company RIZ testing a transmitter, just a guess. At least they are not causing interference to the BBC on 15400 kHz today! (Dave Kenny-UK, BrDXC-UK ng June 5, 2011) 17600 - recording of S=9+20dB both, on remote sdr units in Iceland and Regensburg-Bavaria-Germany. Sunday is a 'normal' weekday in the moslim world... (EGY, ARS, LBY). Re recording: Yugoslav nationals say, music originate from "Slavonia - Eastern Croatia". Eike had noted also irregularities on Riyadh's 21 MHz broadcasts this morning... GH reported 17480 tone test / 17600 / 15400 / 15100 kHz is all same origin. RIZ delivered a lot of txs to LBY, EGY, ARS, and to SDN/ETH/ERI too! Re UNID on 17600 + recording. I asked Dragan Lekic in Serbia and Zeljko Crncic in Germany: listen recording of 17600 kHz. Alles an einem Tag beobachtet: vor einem Vierteljahr gab es auch eine Meldung ueber neue DRM Sender fuer Saudi Arabien. Warum sollten die Continental Amis den Auftrag nicht 'unter-vergeben' haben, in Wertachtal steht auch ein 500 kW RIZ Zagreb Sender. Sogar zu FJS Zeiten in 1968 war der Ismaning 1602 kHz Sender aus Zagreb (ueber Siemens Wien) geliefert (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews June 5, 2011) Lieber Wolfgang, stimmt. Hier handelt es sich um Musik aus Slavonien (Ostkroatien), die HRT oft spielt. (Zeljko Crncic-D, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews June 5, 2011) Some of them were identified as being Croatian by Peter Wilde on BrDXC-UK ng list, so it might be RIZ tx company testing a new tx: "Playing the station into the SoundHound app on my iPod, it has cleverly identified the last few songs played as Kninska Kraljica by Anica, Na Obali by Jasna Zlokic (both Croatian) and Katar Khayre by Sherine (Egyptian). A useful tool, if not giving a definitive answer in this case! (via Mauno Ritola-FIN, June 2011) unid 17600 kHz. Very strong signal on 17600 kHz since 1709 UT, 5 June tune in, still continuing at 1855 UT. Non-stop Croatian pop vocals ... vy pleasant uptempo mostly. Brief man tkg, laughing, in Croatian, but was only a recorded intro to the song by the male vocalist, seemingly a recording of a live performance recording, not a radio annmt. Alerted to this by Jari, with a lot of additional info via Wolfy in Germany. Apparently has been heard, various frequencies in past week or so, similar pgming. Sources in Europe suggest that it is a test of an RIZ Transmitter Co. unit. RIZ is in Zagreb, Croatia. ... I have an inquiry out to RIZ but will they answer?? Interesting mystery. (Don Jensen-USA, DXplorer June 5, 2011) 15100 At 1540 UT June 6 quick check, sounded like the same stuff as before. Earlier at 1410-1415* UT this frequency had continuous 1 kHz tone test. (Glenn Hauser-OK-USA, dxld June 6, 2011) Balkan music today on 15100 kHz. This one is still on air at 1720 UT on 15100 kHz, and it's a very strong signal at my location in NW England 9+20db on peaks with some fading below S9. (Noel R. Green-UK, dxld June 6, 2011) Re Balkan music today on 15100 kHz. {Probably} RIZ Zagreb engineer plays music originate from "Slavonia - Eastern Croatia" [Kninska Krajina], tentatively from TX center in Egypt, Libya or Saudi Arabia? 15099.998 kHz at 1735 UT on sdr remote units S=9+15dB in Iceland, S=9+40dB in Styria, Austria. (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews June 5, 2011) 17870 From 1241 tune-in past 1331 UT, continuous 1000 Hz tone on 17870, but another station is underneath producing SAH. If pattern holds as on previous frequencies, later on this may present Balkan/Croatian music (Glenn Hauser-OK-USA, dxld June 7, 2011) Mystery test today on 17870 kHz. This one tuned at 1500 UT and still(?) with test tone only. It is not as strong as yesterday {June 6} - if still the same one - averaging S9 with occasional peaks to 10dB over and fades to below S5. Similar reception here from the great Jamahiriyah on 17725 kHz - now seemingly somewhat overmodulated with studio echo in English (Noel R. Green-UK, dxld June 7, 2011) Re: Mystery test today on 17870 kHz. Yes, just switched on at 1515 UT June 7 2011y, and when checked 16 mb noted also this 17870 kHz outlet, and two peaks on 17869 and 17871.000 kHz, when heard via remote sdr unit Greece noted S=9+25 ... +30dB. [S=+35dB in Vienna, same in Braunschweig; S=9+20dB in Holland] HFCC list: 17870 1215-1330 41,49 ABZ 250kW 90deg Eng EGY ERU My guess, RIZ engineers reshuffle overhaul the Jeddah site? (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews June 7, 2011) Re: Mystery test today on 17870 kHz. On July 9 at 1105 UT (tune in) 11850 kHz, 1125 UT 11950, 1200 UT 12000, 1230-1324* UT 12100 kHz. (Sei-ichi Hasegawa-JPN, dxld June 9, 2011) At present 1000 Hz tests on 11500 / 11500 / 11501 kHz, not much strong in Austria, 1615 UT June 9. Maybe 11500 kHz coverage of 1000 Hertz tone audio has something to do with jamming by Sudan against co- channel R Dabanga, latter in Sudanese Arabic from RNW Madagascar relay site (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews June 9, 2011) UNID tone on 19000 kHz. Just wondered if the Mystery Station is testing again today. Continuous tone heard on 19000 kHz since tune-in around 1230 UT. Will look out for Greek/Balkan-type music later, as heard previously on various dates over the last couple of weeks on 17870 kHz and other frequencies. [later] Checking back at 1330 UT, the tone is now heard on 18900 kHz. (Alan Roe-UK-USA, dxld June 19, 2011) I can receive the 1 kHz tone signal on 19000 kHz at 1300 UT in Japan. (Sei-ichi Hasegawa-JPN, dxld June 19, 2011) Re: UNID tone signal on 19000 / 18900 kHz had two peaks each of +/- 1000 / +/-2000 Hertz. Similar strong signal + BUZZ tone now from Saudi Arabia 17660 kHz. Switched OFF at 13.47:10 UT. Re 18900 kHz, yes noted at 1325 UT on various RFSPACE SDR IQ and Perseus remote units: S=9+10dB in Iceland, S=5 in Florida S=9+20 in Greece S=9+10 in Ireland S=8-9 in Blackpool S=8 in Cardiff S=9+10 in the Netherlands S=9+10 in Belgium S=9+20 in Paris area S=9+30 on technical university Braunschweig S=9+30 in Salzburg S=9+10 in Nuremberg S=9 in Zurich Switzerland S=9+25 in Munich S=9+25 in Udine Italy S=9+20 in Brescia and Genua S=9+40 db !!! in Rome Italy SAUDI ARABIA The UNIDENTIFIED {Serbo-Croatian music!} station heard in May to July 2011 with extended test transmissions on many broadcast meterbands is Jeddah site, see below. ARS new refurbished Jeddah shortwave site. In A-12 from March 25, the new 250 kW Continental {and in co-operation by RIZ Zagreb? too} txs will be on regular service from BSKSA Jeddah Al Khumra site. Latter site totally refurbished on old curtain antenna arrays, we heard a lot of Serbian-Croatian folk music and 1000 Hertz tones in May/June/July 2011 on various SW meter bands. 73 wb [END OF HISTORIAL REVIEW ABOUT SAUDI TRANSMITTERS/SITES, via DXLD] ** ZAMBIA. VOICE OF HOPE AFRICA PLANS TWO BAD FREQUENCIES --- Re KVOH: And what about their Zambia project, delay after delay there too? What info do we have about this? IIRC, planned frequencies were 6065 and 4965, the ``domestic`` ones used by former owner CVC, but these have not been registered in HFCC B-15 or A-16, and not retained in Aoki either, unlike countless other defunct stations. {Imaginary US station KIMF, however, continues in HFCC for 6065.} WRTH 2016 under the USA - KVOH listing, says, ``In the near future, SCG plans to start broadcasting also from its newly acquired SW transmitting station in Africa; see Voice of Hope - Africa, under Zambia`` --- BUT there is no entry for Zambia in the International sexion, and nothing about this in the domestic sexion either (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://kvoh.net now redirects to a completely redesigned website http://www.voiceofhope.com/ that reflects an expanded operation from two short wave sites. The site also links to live streams but these are still „coming soon“. Unfortunately, the site clearly aims at potential buyers of airtime but not at listeners. On-air schedules of both stations are not available at this point (Dr Hansjoerg Biener, Germany 7 March 2016, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [KVOH] --- And you can translate the site into 104 languages! Shows coverage maps of Americas, and Africa; further there will be two African services, 100 kW each: #1 on 6065 omni for S, C and E Africa; and #2 on 13555, 210 degrees for W, C, and N Africa. 210?? For those targets 310 would be more appropriate. Maybe this thing is full typos? 13555????? That`s in the ISM band, reserved NOT for broadcasting and currently also occupied by HIFER beacons, and medical machinery circa 13560. Great choice! Have they checked with HFCC? There are no 13 MHz band registrations below 13570. As for 6065, it was once a CVC Zambia frequency, but has hardly been reserved for an eventual successor. A-16 schedules are for various hours on 6065 from AWR MADAGASCAR, of all things, VOA BOTSWANA & SAO TOME of all things, also India, South Korea, China (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1816, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {later: Ray Robinson, now in Zambia, explains they will avoid other stations on 6065 and use 4965 at night; 13555 was an error, 13 MHz band will be activated later, and yes, it should be 315 degrees. Full reply already in dxldyg; next DXLD issue} Not just typos. Neither of the antennas is a log.-periodic. For 49/60 metres it's, at least acc. the former Christian Vision HFCC filings, some dipole system (CT1/2/0.3), for 22 metres a curtain (AHR(S)3/2/0.5), aiming at 315 deg. The frequency last used with this curtain by Christian Vision, when the 49/60 metres service for southern Africa was already closed, was 13590 kHz. It may or may not be planned to use it again, too (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re CVC Makeni Ranch Zambia site, 26 kilometers west of Lusaka. In order to match the antenna in 22 mb, they need a request near / close to 13570 ... 13650 kHz on lower 22 mb end, anyway they are not allowed to their technical disposal to use any frequency too short meter-band near 13800 - 13900 kHz upper end. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_wave_ratio > Screen reflector is optional only, not obligatory. No screen reflectors seen visible at all, only easy dipoles, which had not so bad CVC signals even monitored in Europe and North America too. > the satellite image doesn't match the description of a curtain array. There are no spreaders or support stuctures for the reflector screen. see below, Jerry's mail of November 2010. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [HISTORICAL info pulled up by WB:] Subject: Re: [SW BCB TX Site Archive] CVC Zambia Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:13:48 +0100 CVC Lusaka Makeni ranch SW 4965 6065 9430 9505 13590 13650 happened for the first time in 1994-1995 ... see screenshot of the various antenna masts. Use also the "show historical imagery" feature. In 2002 only 25 / 31 mb masts next to the TX house, as well as the 60 mb antenna/3masts on the below-southern site visible. 6065 0500 1800 52E,53W,57NLUS 100 0 755 Eng ZMB CVO CVI 13146 6155 1800 2200 48SW,53NW LUS 100 0 755 Eng ZMB CVC CVI 13147 9430 0400 0700 46SE LUS 100 315 186 Eng ZMB CVC CVI 2990 9505 2000 2200 46SE LUS 100 315 186 Eng ZMB CVC CVI 2992 13590 0600 2000 46SE LUS 100 315 186 Eng ZMB CVC CVI 10187 antenna type #755 --- Type 5: 750 - 799 --- Tropical antenna, arrays of horizontal half-wave dipoles arranged horizontally, without reflector. Designation: CT m/n/h m = number of half-wave dipoles in each horizontal row n = number of parallel rows spaced half a wavelenght apart h = height above the ground in wavelengths Possible slew and the design frequency are entered in separate requirement fields. Antenna Code Antenna Definition 755 = CT1/2/0.3 - - - - antenna type #186: Type 1: 100 - 299, Curtain antenna, half-wave dipole array, multi-band, centre-fed, aperiodic screen reflector Designated: AHR(S) m/n/h m = number of half-wave dipoles in each horizontal row n = number of rows spaced half a wavelength apart one above the other h = height above the ground in wavelengths of the bottom row of dipoles Possible slew and the design frequency are entered in separate requirement fields.` 186 = AHR(S)3/2/0.5 --- That means 3 easy stacked rows horizontal, could depend on the height of the mast. Screen reflector is optional only, not obligatory. The 22 mb antenna on the northwestern corner could also be a horizontal log-periodic, but further predication needs a far better image resolution in future. 73 wolfy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerry Lenamon" Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 3:17 AM Subject: [SW BCB TX Site Archive] CVC Zambia It appears to me that the satellite image of CVC Zambia is inconsistent with the information posted by the HFCC. The HFCC shows the CVC site as "LUS" which is listed as 15S30 028E15 (more precisely 15 29 40S 28 14 38E) but that is really the ZNBC site. CVC is actually at 15 32'20S 28 00'08E so the site info is definitely suspect. I don't know the correct site ID but the CVC site is about 26 km west of the ZNBC site. In addition, and even more to the point, the satellite image doesn't match the description of a curtain array. There are no spreaders or support stuctures for the reflector screen. Then there's the transmission line; it terminates far away from the support towers rather than at the foot of the towers as it should if it were really a curtain. Even though we can't see the wire of the antenna the image suggests a fixed horizontal log periodic rather than the curtain antenna listed by the HFCC. Jerry (all via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** ZANZIBAR. TANZANIA, 6015, Mar 3, 2016. 0402-0410, Zanzibar BC, Dole. Talks in Swahili; Music. ZBC presents a good signal and a distorted modulation, 45442. 6015, Mar 6, 2016. 0331-0340, Zanzibar BC, Dole. Tribal music; YL talks in Swahili. ZBC has a good signal but a chronic distorted modulation, 45433 or 45432 (DXer José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo [PB], Brazil, Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100S, Portable Telescopic antenna, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Reception of Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation ZBC on March 7: 1500-2100 11735 DOL 050 kW / n-d CeAf Swahili, no English news at 1800 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/reception-of-zanzibar-broadcasting.html Good signal of Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation in English, March 9: 1800-1810 on 11735 DOL 050 kW / non-dir to CeAf English and from 1810 in Swahili http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/good-signal-of-zanzibar-broadcasting.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 3325, March 6 at 1222, S5 signal with dialog, but too brief a check to decide whether Indonesian or Bougainvillean. Maybe Ron Howard will have noted which one was on at this time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn - Checking March 5 & 6, starting about 1030 and subsequently past 1230 found 3325 with only RRI Palangkaraya (in fact reception well above the norm for them!) and 6020 with only VOV4. NBC testing period is over? (Ron Howard, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4760, March 6 at 1227, 60m bandscan includes many JBA carriers on Indian frequencies, including this one, not 4765 or yesterday`s 4766. 4760 could be Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands; or Leh, Kashmir, back on frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn - Strongly suspect the daily open carrier I hear on 4760 is in fact AIR Port Blair. Believe AIR Leh is just too weak to overcome the stronger Andaman & Nicobar Islands signal (Ron Howard, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4766.0, March 5 at 1359, JBA carrier, not 4765. Obvious first guess would be Tajik Radio mispunch; Dushanbe sunset was at 1322, so grayline barely possible, an hour after sunrise here. But All India Radio has a far greater track record of wrong-frequenciness, so it might as well be one of their stations, the closests being 4760 Leh or Port Blair; 4775 Imphal. Hope someone else caught it. Many 60m JBA carriers still detectable on correct AIR frequencies, not including 4760 or 4775 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BTW - RE: 4766. Yes, I was hearing a strong open carrier on that off frequency March 4 & 5, but not there today (March 6). Occasionally I hear these odd open carriers with decent signals, that only stay around for a few days. Assume some type of utility? Was 4766 different? In Japan reception seemed to briefly be in Russian - https://goo.gl/Q403Zk A mystery! (Ron Howard, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4850, carrier + USB, 1220 and still on at 1256, March 7. Slow pips; routinely I monitor here and have never heard this before. My audio at https://goo.gl/159yVS 4850, carrier + USB. March 8 & 9 did not hear the pips again, so was a one day only event (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6105.33, March 4 at 0153, JBA carrier, intriguing. Never bothering with decimals, Aoki lists two Brazilians on 6105, R. Filadélfia and R. Canção Nova, both supposedly on the air at this hour; but Aoki does bother to retain XEQM in Mérida, Yucatán, which we know has been kaput for many years! Aoki doesn`t mention ``6105.3, Bolivia, R Panamericana, La Paz (very tentative), 2320-2330 UT, Nov 17, possibly relay of a sporting event?`` as Bob Wilkner, FL, reported last year. WRTH 2016 does list R. Panamericana as varying frequency and not inactive, tho it`s not been definitely reported in quite a while; it also has Canção Nova as inactive, but Cultura Filadélfia as active (yet seldom reported either). I`m just as suspicious that this is a spur carrier emanating from the 6115 WWCR bigsig, altho I do not find a match around 6125 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Later: yes, R. Panamericana UNIDENTIFIED. Glenn, FYI: Several of us heard a curious station on 6974.5 AM last night, starting 0119 UT. I heard music, and several IDs, although I could not decipher them. It sounded like a four letter callsign, and someone thinks they heard a mention of the Dominican Republic. The logging thread is here, and I have two recordings of the possible ID's in my post: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,26852.0.html Perhaps it was a relay of a domestic station? (Chris Smolinski, MD, Black Cat Systems http://www.blackcatsystems.com March 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Chris, Very interesting. Yes, on your second clip I hear Nacional, and later República Dominicana. Couldn`t make out a callsign on either. Let me know if anything further. 73, (Glenn to Chris, via DXLD) UNIDentified. Station with Arabic music was observed again, March 3 1030-1035 on 9550 unknown (secret/hidden) site, good signal today http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/03/unidentified-station-with-arabic-music.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #942 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, March 7, 2016 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 9879.50-USB, March 6 at 0218, Spanish 2-way mentioning a numerical quantity of something, INTRUDERS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 11425-USB, March 9 at 1402, at least two QSO pirates overlapping, Indonesians? 11455-USB is again occupied by the very hypo soft-spoken one standing out from the crowd (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED FUTURELY: Thanks to Kevin R Crouch, Northridge CA, for a check in the mail to World of Radio, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702. One may also contribute via PayPal, not necessarily in US funds, to woradio at yahoo.com Here`s what I have to put up with from an occasional individual, who doesn`t appreciate my devoting the last 30+ years to what amounts to an unpaid full-time job compiling SW & DX news and information and giving it away (Glenn Hauser) The constant criticizing of a stations technical mishaps, and programming content is getting old. And accusing them of fabricating or faking the 200kw meter readings is a real asshole move. I'd like to see Hauser fund and build his own shortwave station and see how easy, cheap and quick it is NOT. I'm all for reading logs, and using them for tips to log new stuff but he constant personal interjections are old, tiring, and frankly childish. I am SICK & TIRED of being told I or others are wrong when we don't submit our logs to a certain someone's exacting specifications or get something wrong (like a tome conversion from eastern to UTC) If Glenn Hauser had to pay for all the airtime himself to get World Of Radio on the air on all these shortwave stations he wouldn't be able to afford it. Why stations GIVE him the airtime or others pay for it is beyond me. I've spent $300 of my own money to broadcast 2 hours of oldies music that is completely and 100 percent devoid of personal opinion, politics or religion. I have not ONCE on air or online asked for/sought out donations, sponsors or money to pay for the broadcast. It's attitudes like Glenn and the way he says things which sour stations on doing ANYTHING for DXers. I will probably get tossed off the list for why I just said, and hats fine... I am sick and damn tired of the holier then tho I am a shortwave radio God attitude Hauser presents. Here is my contact information if anyone chooses to get ahold of me: (Paul Walker, March 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) After approving him, I have been exceedingly tolerant of Paul using this forum, even to blast me. OK, he wants to get banned, he is. He doesn`t give a damn about accuracy, and not only that, condemns those who do. Any other field of endeavor has its critics, and so does shortwave. I don`t know who suggested that WMLK`s meter readings were fabricated but it sure wasn`t me. I could demand an apology, if I gave a damn about Walker. May I point out something that I have restrained myself from mentioning: he obviously can`t hold a job in the broadcasting business he so loves. Could it be he can`t get along with people in person, not only online? Whatever became of the Beaumont TX gig he was so enthusiastic about? Then -- nothing. Next thing we know he`s a part- timer in Arkansas. A few weeks later he`s in Alaska. We`ll see how long that lasts! (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Well, I for one, appreciate Glenn's attention to detail and accuracy in the loggings. I can read thru the latest DXLD and feel like I've caught up on everything going on in SW (and more) even if I haven't been paying attention to the hobby for weeks or even months. He has managed, collated and published all the details for decades now and I certainly am grateful that he has. And I think we should be critical of stations, run by "professionals" who frequently or continually transmit a variety of overmodulated, undermodulated, muffled, wide, distorted, off frequency, off schedule signals. A waste of power, spectrum resources and programming - sometimes all 3 at once (Don Moman, VE6JY, Alberta, ibid.) I agree with Don. Glenn does good work. PS - Paul: relax & enjoy the hobby (Rich Ray Near Chicago, ibid.) I agree that Glenn does a good job. I don't know Glenn any more than listening to WOR whenever I can, but I do appreciate the information and attention to detail. A few months back Paul made a similar sort of outburst on a shortwave Facebook group, in which he very ceremoniously announced his exit because of reasons x, y, and z, all of which were similar to things here. I appreciated Paul's logs, in much the same way I enjoy any information pertaining to this wonderful pastime. But Rich is right. Sometimes just relaxing is the way to go. 73, (Max Heidel, Houston, TX, ibid.) If you are going to broadcast, you need to have a thick skin and to know that constructive criticism can make things better, but also a bit of a sense of humor about it all. Case in point --- in one of your log entries of one of my first shows, you said that there was singing of "Praise God from whom all blessings (allegedly) flow." I haven't laughed so long in ages. But I also got to say it is fair criticism of the viewpoint I was presenting in that program. So anyway, I for one appreciate your criticisms of my shows. Please keep it up. The rest of shortwave would be better with more of what you are doing. And as for the logs issue --- if you are going to post shortwave logs to a worldwide discussion list, it only makes sense to follow reasonable conventions, such as using UTC. I have my own shorthand which I use on my twitter-based SW log, but if I were posting here I would try to do what others are doing for consistency's sake. That's only reasonable. James, MennoniteRadio.org/BroadSpectrumRadio.com -- (James Matthew Branum, Contact Information Email: jmb@jmb.bike Cell/Text: 405.476.5620 Alternate: 405.494.0562 Facebook: jamesmbranum Web: http://www.jmb.mx - http://www.jmbranum.com Wearer of many hats: Legal Director/Media Program Co-Director: http://www.centerforconscienceinaction.org Radio Broadcaster: http://www.broadspectrumradio.com - http://www.mennoniteradio.org Peace Activist Attorney: http://JMBranumlaw.com - http://ConscientiousObjectorLawyer.com Peace Activist Minister: http://JoyMennonite.org - http://MennoniteRadio.org Amateur Radio Operator: KG5JST - http://www.qrz.com/db/kg5jst DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Last Nov I posted this to DXLD yg: "Sorry for the typo. Thanks to Glenn for pointing out it's "RNGE Bata." Always appreciate it when someone keeps me on the straight and narrow, as I hate to have any misinformation (typo or otherwise) posted with my name to it! Thanks Glenn! Ron, California" Frankly I had hoped that Paul would see this as a gentle hint directed at him. Think he missed it or ignored it. No one is perfect with their postings of logs. Even a long time DXer of 45 years like myself needs guidance from time to time to get the details correct. Whenever I get corrected, I find it to be a very positive thing. It means someone took the time to really read my log and paid attention to the details. Indeed I actually do appreciate Glenn or anyone else commenting and/or correcting my logs. So Glenn, please just keep on doing what you have been doing for many decades now - spending time bettering our hobby. In my opinion, a job well done! (Ron Howard, CA, ibid.) Let me add that I appreciate the attention to detail that Glenn has shown over the years. It is a good thing to have accurate and consistent reporting. I also appreciate that Glenn is opinionated, and I think he is entitled to be opinionated on his dxld Yahoo group (Mike Mayer, ibid.) Concur with Ron. Glenn - you are appreciated! (Ed Sylvester, Iraq) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ Updated as of March 13: DX/SWL/Media Programs: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html Alan Roe`s Hitlist of SW Stations: http://www.w4uvh.net/hitlist.htm WORLD OF RADIO schedule: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html THE FUTURE OF WORLD RADIO TV HANDBOOK Sean Gilbert published yesterday on the WRTH Facebook page in response to an enquiry: There seems to be a rumour going around about WRTH no longer printing. I do not know where this rumour started - The publisher has made no announcement, and it has not been the subject of any meetings we have had. At this time WRTH is considering adding more digitally downloadable material to its list of products. No decision has been made as to how long we will continue providing a printed edition. We will continue to do so for as long as it is financially viable. To summarise: WRTH has no plans to stop producing a printed edition. Even if, at some point in the future, we decided to go 'all digital', we would still offer a printed edition - albeit at an increased price - due to the costs of small print runs for 'print on demand' customers. I am writing this as both International Editor of WRTH, and on behalf of WRTH Publications Ltd. Sean added: Should anyone require further input on the matter, I will ask the publisher for a statement, which I will then post verbatim. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. I urge all dxers and swls to buy the 2016 edition of this invaluable publication (Mike Terry, March 8, dxldyg via DXLD) VIRTUAL RADIO SCALE: ILG WITH 31.000+ ENTRIES Hi - a very much welcomed feature of Elad's software is the popping up of station's information like that on an old-fashioned radio scale. ILG is the biggest list of it's kind, comprising 31.000+ data of broadcast as well as utility stations, see here: Elad’s Radio Scale & ILG: 31.000+ entries --- The original software for Elad receivers provides a very useful feature, resembling the old radio scale: it inserts some station data from a list on their proper pl... [shortened and = original URLs:] http://wp.me/p27XLr-9H http://dk8ok.org/2016/03/05/elads-radio-scale-ilg-31-000-entries/ VY 73 (Nils, DK8OK, Schiffhauer, Germany, March 5, dxldyg via DXLD) BDXC WEBSITE GUIDES There have been many updates to the BDXC website during the past month. As ever it's full of information which will we hope will aid and inspire you in pursuing this wonderful hobby of ours. After you have read Communication, why not head to http://bdxc.org.uk/articles.html to make use of new versions of the following guides: DX, media and mailbag programmes, Africa on shortwave, Afghanistan on sw, Middle East on sw, South Asia on sw, UK on sw, external services on MW, LPAM, RSL and community radio on MW (March BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) MUSIC ON SHORTWAVE UPDATE Rumen Pankov in Bulgaria sent the following observations on music broadcasts which add to the schedule in the Listening In section of January Communication: 1230-1300 daily CNR13 in Uighur with 2 DJs: pop and disco songs in Chinese and English - on 9420, 9890 kHz 1707-1757 Sun-Fri NHK evergreens in English, French and Japanese - on 9765 and 11945 1807-1857 Sun-Fri NHK evergreens in Japanese - on 9765 and 11945 1830-1900 Sat VOA in Amharic. Evergreens and new hits from the USA Billboard charts - on 12140 and other freqs (RP) Alan Roe’s Listening In column should be back in April Communication all being well (ed, March BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) His Music column is also available via the DXLD yg (gh) BOY SCOUTS RADIO MERIT BADGE To: Glenn Hauser, Rich Moseson (and hopefully Rich can forward this to Gerry Dexter), I'm presently working on revising the requirements for the Boy Scouts of America's Radio Merit Badge. As you may know, there are three options for a Scout to complete the badge (requirements attached) — amateur radio, broadcast radio, and shortwave listening. This last topic is why I'm reaching out to you. In my youth and into my 30s I was a very active shortwave listener. So I know and have watched this avocation. But apart from reading Gerry's column in CQ and watching the closure of many nation's overseas transmissions, I'm not in the best position to make recommendations for this part of the merit badge requirements. Would you be interested in advising me on any recommended changes to the requirements, or do you know others who would? Or, do you feel this is still a viable option for the merit badge given the decline in shortwave listening? I will note that the Boy Scouts do not have any information on what options Scouts select to earn this badge. It's my personal observation that the vast majority are following the amateur radio option as that can be completed in a half-day or full-day workshop. The other options take months of listening. You can see more about the history of the badge at http://www.k2bsa.net/radio-merit-badge/ I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for giving this your consideration. All the best, (Jim Wilson, K5ND, Chairman, BSA National Radio Scouting Committee President, K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, Member, World Scouting JOTA-JOTI Team, March 2, to gh, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Jim, My personal feeling, after reviewing the requirements, is that the SWL option is still relevant. Despite the large numbers of closures, I think there are still enough "big gun" broadcasters on the air to make this option worthwhile, especially since the candidate will be working with a merit badge counselor who presumably can guide him to resources for finding station schedules, etc., and discussing daytime vs. nighttime bands. As I see it, the unique benefit of the SWL option is the predictability of broadcasts, both in terms of time and frequency, which can help the candidate learn about HF propagation in ways that the randomness of amateur radio transmissions generally cannot. In addition, SWBC transmissions usually run for at least a half hour, as opposed to the on-off nature of amateur transmissions, and are on a single frequency vs. hams' frequency mobility. Shortwave listening, in my view, provides unique learning opportunities, even with a reduced number of "players." So my vote would be to retain it as an option. [One thing I notice is that the SWL requirements relate only to the technical aspects of monitoring stations, with nothing related to content. For me as a youth, one of the most fascinating things about SWLing was the ability to hear different perspectives on world news, discover music from distant places and learn about the people and cultures of different countries. I don't recall whether there were any content-related requirements in the SWL option when I was working on my Radio Merit Badge with ol' Eddie Armstrong, but I wonder if there might be some way to include that as well. I think learning about other cultures and other viewpoints is as important as learning about daytime and nighttime propagation. (This is what happens when you ask for my opinion on something, HI.)] Tnx for the opportunity for input. Vy 73, (Rich W2VU Moseson, ibid.) Rich, As always, I greatly value your feedback and insight. I like the angle on content of broadcasts, but need to determine if other merit badges address this concept. That would include Citizenship in the World, which is actually a required merit badge for Eagle. Looking forward to thoughts from Glenn and Gerry. 73 (Jim Wilson, K5ND, ibid.) I certainly concur with Rich`s reasoning that there ought to be such an option, SWBC monitoring better than ham for reliability, and that program content ought to be part of it. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ex-Scout) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ NATIONAL HURRICANE CONFERENCE AMATEUR RADIO SESSIONS TO BE LIVE STREAMED --- ARRL March 8, 2016 Sessions focusing on the role of Amateur Radio in major weather events will be a part of the 2016 National Hurricane Conference, set for later this month in Orlando, Florida. The goal of the annual conference is to improve hurricane preparedness. Attendance is free to all Amateur Radio sessions, which will take place Tuesday, March 22, from 1:30 until 5 PM ET (1830-2200 UT). Amateur Radio presentations will live streamed via YouTube and recorded. At the 1:30 PM session, National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb will discuss the importance of Amateur Radio surface reporting. Other presenters will include Bob Robichaud, VE1MBR, of the Canadian Hurricane Centre, who will speak on hurricane meteorology and give a brief overview of his center’s operation, and WX4NHC Assistant Amateur Radio Station Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, who will talk about activities at WX4NHC, the National Hurricane Center’s Amateur Radio station. The 2-5 PM session will feature presentations from Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, discussing the HWN, personal weather stations, and back-up power and antennas; VoIP Hurricane Net director of operations and ARRL ARES Eastern Massachusetts Assistant SEC Rob Macedo, KD1CY, on the VoIP Hurricane Net and best practices in SKYWARN tropical systems, and ARRL Assistant Emergency Preparedness Manager Ken Bailey, K1FUG, who will offer an ARRL beginner’s course in Amateur Radio hurricane preparedness. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentations. The National Hurricane Conference takes place March 21-24 at the Hilton Orlando. Some 2000 attendees are expected. Posted by: (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) INTERNATIONAL RADIO FESTIVAL APRIL 7–10 Radio World March 8, 2016 http://www.radioworld.com/article/irf-radio-city-milan-sets-speakers/278299 IRF Radio City Milan Sets Speakers: The countdown is on for the eighth International Radio Festival, which will take place in Milan for the first time. With just more than a month to go before the festivities kick off, IRF has unveiled its slate of speakers. The line-up of speakers includes Tony Prince, founder of Disco Mix Club and DJ magazine Mixmag, who is also a veteran of pirate radio in the 60s with Radio Caroline; Herbert Visser, founder and CEO of Radio 10NL in the Netherlands; Ed Hooper, co-founder of social media app Omny Studio; Dan Jones, founder of Hoxton FM Web-radio; and Rusty Hodge, founder of SOMA FM Internet radio platform. The conference has also announced that it will host a B2B Forum for the debate on the business of music radio content. The IRF B2B Forum will allow participants to showcase formats and productions and then broadcast them live on-air. The forum is scheduled for April 7, at 9:30 a.m. IRF Radio City Milan will take place at the Piazza Gae Aulenti in Milan’s city center from April 7–10. Posted by: (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) THE 29TH ANNUAL NASWA WINTER SWL FESTIVAL is history and a great time was had by all. A little over 100 people attended this year’s event. Many in attendance said that this year’s program of forums, displays and other events was one of the best ever. CIDX, as always, was an active participant with a display booth in the exhibit hall. CIDX members Kevin Carey, Thomas Witherspoon, Alan Roberts, Skip Arey and Eric Cottrell all presented forums during the two-day event. We were very happy to see many of our CIDX members in attendance, many of whom renewed their CIDX memberships on-site. CIDX also presented 5 free CIDX one-year memberships as prizes at the Saturday night banquet. Several of our members were winners of prizes at the banquet. In addition to the excellent program of forums presented, exhibits were set up by the North American Shortwave Association (NASWA), the National Radio Club, the Japan Shortwave Listeners Club, Ears to Our World, Radio HF and a pirate radio table. Chris Lobdell also unveiled the 2016 Winter SWL Festival t-shirts, as displayed on our front cover. Another highlight of the event was the Hospitality Suite, this year stocked with an incredible selection of receivers for everyone to play with. Photos of the equipment appear in this month’s Technical Topics column. A huge “Thank You” goes out to Richard Cuff, John Figliozzi and their team of volunteers for organizing another great event. The big news that everyone was waiting for was announced at the Saturday evening banquet. The 30th Anniversary Winter SWL Festival will be a three-day event and will be held on March 2, 3 and 4, 2017 at the same Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania location. Everyone is already excited at the prospect of a three-day event again; the last one being held for the 25th anniversary. 2017 will also mark the 55th anniversary of the Canadian International DX Club. We plan to mark the anniversary, with many of our CIDX members present, as a part of the 30th anniversary Winterfest. It should be a great celebration. We hope to see many of you there in March 2017. A Facebook event page has already been set up for the event at https://www.facebook.com/events/191252177909059/ Keep an eye out on the Winter SWL Festival webpage http://www.swlfest.com/ in the months ahead for information on the 2017 event (Sheldon Harvey, March CIDX Messenger via DXLD) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ Re: [dxld] IN DEFENCE OF DST I'm very sorry that you have to put up with this situation Andy and can understand the stress it causes. However I live in a state that didn't observe DST for close to fifty years and it was thrust upon us a few years back and all I want to do is ban it and never have to fool with DST again. I see no solution that will please everyone. I guess we could all agree to bitch about it no matter which side we take :) (John Carver, Mid-North Indiana, March 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Andy -- you miss the point of the objection. It isn't DST's time zone that most of us who despise DST are complaining about. It is the shifting back and forth. Pick one and stick with it. Shoot, I don't even care if you pick three or four hours different than 'mean solar time' would imply you should. Just STOP the silly switching back and forth! Interestingly enough, those who fly, schedule radio on SW or do other things that cross time zones typically do so in reference to UTC (or "Zulu") which also interestingly does NOT have DST. I wonder why? Because a single time zone with no shifting about is simpler and less likely to lead to issues? I wonder if there is a lesson there? Simple is better? Naw, couldn't be that straightforward could it? <|:o (Kenneth V Zichi Radioguy73@gmail.com D <== I'm not with stupid ==> R ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See NEW ZEALAND; NIGERIA; USA WRMI; YEMEN ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DAB See GERMANY; NETHERLANDS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See MEXICO ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ MUSEA +++++ WWJ, DETROIT NEWS BROADCASTING If you are the least bit interested in radio history and/or are from Detroit you might be interested in this book. It was originally published in 1922, two years after WWJ radio took to the air. For the uninitiated, WWJ was the world's first radio station with regular, daily programming (contrary to what the people at KDKA in Pittsburgh will tell you. Actually, KDKA was the first licensed radio station with regular, daily programming. WWJ was licensed later but began regular broadcasting earlier). It's a fascinating look with photos at the very early years of radio broadcasting with sections on engineering, programming, etc. I highly recommend it. http://www.amazon.com/Wwj-Detroit-News-Broadcasting-Information/dp/1332432700/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457126448&sr=8-1&keywords=wwj+the+detroit+news This is from a publisher of old book reproductions http://www.forgottenbooks.com Ken MacHarg, NRCer (via Wayne Heinen, NRC AM Log editor, NRC-AM via DXLD) Just (more than) a few words (IMHO) about primacy in broadcasting --- In the beginning, it was legal for hams to broadcast programs intended for the general public. It wasn't particularly *easy* -- Morse was hard enough -- but some of the better-qualified hams did program for the public. In August 1920 ham station 8MK was installed at The Detroit News. It held an amateur license but, as was legal at the time, broadcast to the general public. Around the same time, Frank Conrad had been doing essentially the same thing using amateur station 8YK (the letter Y indicated it was the station of an amateur club, not an individual ham). In November, 1920, a Presidential election was held; it is likely Conrad's station broadcast the election returns with the new Limited Commercial license KDKA (there is some thought the KDKA license, while approved, did not arrive in Pittsburgh in time for the election broadcast - that the returns were broadcast under experimental license 8ZZ. In any case, a broadcast is known to have happened under the KDKA callsign in early January, 1921). And: the University of Wisconsin had been broadcasting weather reports in voice mode (as opposed to Morse) since February 1920. These broadcasts had been under experimental license 9XM. In January 1922, a broadcasting license was issued with the WHA calls. At the end of 1921, the Department of Commerce decided amateurs and experimental stations would no longer be allowed to broadcast. KDKA didn't have to worry; they already held a commercial broadcasting license. WHA and WWJ, however, didn't yet hold commercial licenses. They converted. Point being, WWJ's claim to be the first broadcasting station is VERY thin. KDKA's, WHA's, and KCBS's predecessors all began broadcasting before WWJ did, and KDKA clearly took out a broadcasting license before WWJ. The definition of "first broadcasting station" depends on your definition of "broadcasting". But regardless of your definition, I don't think WWJ is going to have much of a claim. == (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, NRC-AM via DXLD) WATCH "SECRET LIFE OF MACHINES - THE RADIO (Full Length)" on YouTube Programa de TV da BBC 4 de 1980, chamado "A vida secreta das máquinas - o rádio". Achei bacana porque demonstra o transmissor e receptor usado por Marconi usando um carro, pipas e um coesor artesanal. https://youtu.be/2roG4jIjvEk (via Huelbe Garcia, Brasil, radioescutas yg via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ THE STUPIDLY SIMPLE SPY MESSAGES NO COMPUTER COULD DECODE The Daily Beast CLOAK & DAGGER 03.06.16 5:01 AM ET by SHANE HARRIS Every day, hour after hour, the world’s spies send top secret information you can easily listen in on. . . http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/06/the-stupidly-simple-spy-messages-no-computer-could-decode.html (via Artie Bigley, OH, DXLD) Excellent long article, with some audio clips (gh) ELECTRIC CARS DITCH AM Electric cars may be energy efficient Earth-saving futuremobiles, but their rise could also have a strange unintended consequence: killing off the oldest form of radio. Two popular electric cars, the BMW i3 and Tesla Model X, are ditching terrestrial AM radio because electromagnetic noise from the electric motor interferes with the broadcast reception, causing static, as the blog Music 3.0 recently pointed out. Electronics have always been a source of AM radio static, and electric motors are no exception. EVs are powered by a rechargeable battery, electric motor, and a frequency converter that controls how much power the car's electrical motors put out by turning voltage on and off thousands of times a second, basically chopping up energy. This process causes electromagnetic interference that gets picked up by the radio. AM radio has always been more susceptible to static than its partner on the dial. "AM" stands for amplitude modulation, which means the height of the radio waves are varied over time to encode the information, versus “FM,” frequency modulation, which varies their speed. Since amplitude, not frequency, is affected by electrical noise emitted by gadgets like smartphones, TVs, computers, even vacuum cleaners and hairdryers, AM signals are prone to distortion and crackling. That crackle apparently just doesn’t fly with luxury auto brands. BMW spokesperson Rebecca Kiehne told me, "Electric motors cause interference on AM which is why BMW decided to remove this option. While it could be offered, BMW's performance standards are very high and we don't offer a product that meets less than those high standards." But while BMW disabled AM radio in the i3 because the company was worried customers would complain about the poor sound quality, some customers have instead taken to complaining about the lack of AM radio. Consumers took to forums to bemoan the omission, a few even saying they wouldn’t buy an i3 without it. One BMW owner commented, “I plan to drag out my portable AM radio and leave it in the car.” Some owners are hacking the car to get AM radio back. Meanwhile, the new Tesla Model X also dropped terrestrial AM radio from its infotainment dashboard—a change from the Model S. Instead, you can get most AM stations via internet radio if you go menu diving through TuneIn, a service that aggregates internet radio and traditional AM/FM stations and is the standard radio option in Tesla cars. “AM radio stations are accessible through our internet radio service in Model X. Because AM audio quality can be very poor, we offer internet radio to give our customers considerably better sound quality and reception coverage,” a Tesla spokesperson told me over email. Apparently, finding the stations isn’t always easy though; there’s a Tesla forum devoted to figuring out how to locate AM stations on the Model X. At this point you may be asking, who cares? Isn’t AM radio a dinosaur technology with one leg in the grave? Does anyone even listen to it? The answer is yes: about 3 million people listen to it every day, and five of the ten most popular radio stations in the US are AM radio. “This narrative that somehow AM radio is dying is silly,” Dennis Wharton, communications executive at the National Association of Broadcasters, told me. Despite the higher sound quality of the FM band and the ascent of satellite and internet radio, the medium of FDR’s fireside chats and Rush Limbaugh is still cemented in American culture. AM signals can travel further distances, making it popular for talk radio and local programs like weather and traffic reports or emergency response information. It’s also more affordable to get on, so is home to lots of niche stations like foreign language radio, college radio, or religious programs. “It’s a haven for minority radio stations as well— particularly Latino and Hispanic radio has moved a lot to AM radio in recent years,” said Wharton. Not to mention some major sports franchises still broadcast games, sometimes exclusively, on legacy AM stations that have been around forever and have fiercely loyal listeners. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is asking BMW to reconsider its decision to drop AM radio, and NAB’s California branch has teamed up with engineers to devise a solutions to the static problem. A group of engineers in Germany are also working on a prototype for minimizing interference by shielding the engine’s cabling and insulating the motor, at a price point that’s affordable for automakers. Cars and radio have always been inextricably linked: about 90 percent of people listen to traditional radio over the airwaves (more than use the internet), and 40 percent of that listening happens in the car. So it’s worth raising an eyebrow if electric cars are zooming toward the future and leaving a historical technology behind (via Motherboard 5 February 2016 via March MW News via DXLD) "AM REVITALIZATION" project I'm of two minds about this --- on the one hand the problem identified is interference and allowing more stations to use higher power at night certainly won't help that, but the UNDERLYING problem is lack of compelling programming, and if the big guys like Clear Channel (Sorry I'm old, I just can't call it "IHeartMedia" with a straight face!) lose their monopolies, maybe they will sell off their stations to people who WILL create compelling local radio instead of the dreck they put out! I'm not sure this isn't such a bad thing all things considered. Of course, the REAL solution would be to reinstate ownership limits and force them to sell directly, but I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen! -kvz (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet March 4 via DXLD) FCC WEIGHING THE END OF CLEAR CHANNEL AM STATIONS Radio Survivor By Paul Riismandel March 7, 2016 As the first round of AM stations get a shot at having translator repeaters on the FM dial, the FCC’s AM revitalization proceeding is still not completely resolved. There are still several questions that the Commission is accepting comments on, until March 21. Broadcast attorney David Oxenford presents a very thorough rundown of these issues at his Broadcast Law Blog: http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/2016/03/articles/comments-on-fcc-proposals-for-more-am-revitalization-efforts-due-march-21-what-questions-are-on-the-table/ The top item of concern is a proposal to reduce the protections of the most powerful so-called “clear channel” class A stations. These stations–like Chicago’s WGN, Los Angeles’ KFI and Denver’s KOA–were originally intended to serve large swaths of the country, especially at night. As such, they have enjoyed protection from interference that might be caused by lower powered stations on adjacent frequencies, which are typically required to reduce power or even go off the air at night, when AM transmissions propagate farther via what are called skywaves that bounce off the ionosphere. This impact on local stations that have much reduced or nonexistent service at night is the reason why the Commission proposes to eliminate clear channel stations’ skywave protections altogether. In particular, the FCC is seeking comment on how listeners in rural areas without local stations, and therefore rely more on clear channel stations, might be affected. This is a very controversial proposal because, if adopted, it would effectively end the 75-year reign of clear channel stations. The stations themselves wouldn’t go away, but they would not have the same impact. Yet, there are serious doubts about how valuable such nationwide powerhouses are anymore. On the one hand the powerful clear channel stations continue to be amongst the most financially successful ones on the dial. Moreover, one of the chief complaints about the AM dial is that it is noisy and interference-prone, especially after dark. So, there are legitimate concerns that allowing local stations to up their power at night will only exacerbate the situation. On the other hand, the Commission suggests that local stations which power down or go off the air at night are being unnecessarily hobbled. At the same time, there’s a legitimate argument that in today’s media environment there is simply less of a need for clear channel stations that broadcast for hundreds of miles. Comments on this question should make for interesting reading. Also up for debate are other questions on power levels and interference, ending the ability of stations in the 1610–1700 KHz “extended band” to retain another signal below 1600, as well as a proposal to effectively allow more FM translators to rebroadcast AM stations by expanding the permissible distance from the main feeder station. Translators are only intended help fill in within a station’s expected reception area, not extend it, and the current rules for AM stations are on the conservative side. More here: http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2016/03/07/fcc-weighing-the-end-of-clear-channel-am-stations/ Posted by: (Mike Terry, March 8, dxldyg via DXLD) RETHINK OUR PROVEN SENIOR BAND http://www.radioworld.com/article/rethink-our-proven-senior-band/278258 Sent from my iPad (Dennis Gibson, CA, March 8, ABDX yg via DXLD) By definition, "revitalization of the AM band" would require something being done to the AM band. Simply making a license for an FM translator available to holders of AM licenses does absolutely nothing in that regard, does it? If the FCC is truly interested in doing something to improve the AM band, they would allow lower power AM stations to move to FM with low power, which is essentially what they are doing anyway with translators. By vacating the AM band and clearing the band for the few survivors that are still operating profitably, they would really being doing something productive to revitalize the AM band. Canada has been allowing AM to FM conversions for several decades. Why can't the FCC see the common sense in that? 73, (Kit W5KAT, CO, ibid.) Yes but isn't our FM band here in the US already overcrowded? (Neil Kazaross, IL, ibid.) Yes, but the FCC didn't have any problem overcrowding the AM band, and they haven't had any problem with allowing the FM band from becoming overcrowded, so why should they care if they make it even worse? The fact is that most AM station owners view their stations as white elephants, which they are in many cases. That is especially true of stations with multi-tower arrays that occupy a lot of land that is worth more than the station. They would dearly love to turn them off permanently and move to FM, but the FCC won't allow it. I worked for several stations like that. They went through numerous format and call letter changes just trying to make the AM pay for itself by breaking even, but they couldn't even do that. One station I worked for even tried to donate their AM to a local bible school, but the owner of the land the 4 tower array was on would not sell it and he would not renew the lease when it was due to expire soon, so the bible college wouldn't even touch it. The FCC wouldn't let them just turn it off and hand in the license, but they finally were able to once they lost their transmitter site after the lease expired. Allowing AMs to move to FM is the only option open. AM is dead and it was the FCC who systematically killed it. They limited the bandwidth to the point it sounded like a tin can on a string, then they broke down the clear channels and jammed up the band even more, then they blew their chance at AM stereo by not picking a standard. "Revitalization" a sorry joke because the damage has been done and there is no way to fix it. The only way out is to pack up and leave, which means moving to FM by default. And that is exactly what they started doing when they allowed AM signals on FM translators. Now they will kill FM the same way they killed AM, all in the name of AM "revitalization." If you need an example of how dead AM is, we have a new AM that is less than two years old. It was on a co-owned FM translator. Both were just sold separately. The AM sold for $25,000, but the 250 watt FM translator sold for $950,000. [Denver market] Sorry to be the voice of doom, but this has been coming for a long time. Banks quit loaning money to buy AM stations in the 90s because they knew they were a bad risk. If you want to buy an AM now, you'd better have cash, and you had better not be worried about losing it. Of course, you can get a great deal on a lot of AMs since there are some owners who have been donating them just to unload them. A lot of people have spent a lot of time and money trying to find some way to make AMs profitable again. Maybe you will be the one who is successful, but the odds are against it unless you discover gold or oil under the land the towers are on. 73, (Kit W5KAT, CO, ibid.) Re: AN UNHAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR WLW-AM http://wvxu.org/post/unhappy-birthday-wlw-am *“Revitalizing the AM band by allowing licensees a low powered FM translator frequency is not “revitalization.” It’s a white flag surrender, with the FCC and broadcast industry giving up on the AM radio. And could that be the ultimate goal? Freeing up the valuable AM (broadcast) spectrum space to be auctioned off for other uses, like wireless data?” he writes..."* As horrible as that sounds - it is not likely the AM dial would be useful for data transmission at all well. Because the very same thing that effects us radio listeners would impinge on the performance of the AM dial as a data carrier -- an endless orchestra of RFI from cheap wall warts, switching power supplies and poorly maintained power lines would render the AM spectrum as useless for wireless data as it is for the current crop of stalwarts still clinging to the notion of medium wave as an entertainment or experimental hobbyist medium. The fact that the FCC is actually taking the occasional glance (at the AM dial)- and recognizing its sad state of affairs --- brings me no end of joy. – (Colin Newell - Editor and creator *of *Coffeecrew.com