DX LISTENING DIGEST 16-51, December 21, 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 1857 CONTENTS: *DX and station news about: Angola, Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bougainville, China, Cuba non, Eritrea non, Ethiopia non, Europe, France, Germany, Iran, Korea North & South, Kurdistan non, Kuwait, Madagascar, North AMerica, Rwanda non, Sweden, Taiwan non, USA, Vietnam SHORTWAVE AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1857, December 22-28, 2016 Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 Thu 2130 WRMI 13695 [confirmed] Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed] Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed] Sat 0630 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 1531 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed] Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM [confirmed from 0419] Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v-AM Area 51 [confirmed] Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 [confirmed] Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed] Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 [confirmed] Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB 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 ANOTHER PODCAST ALTERNATIVE, tnx to Keith Weston: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GlennHausersWorldOfRadio NOW tnx to Keith Weston, also Podcasts via iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/glenn-hausers-world-of-radio/id1123369861 AND via Google Play Music: http://bit.ly/worldofradio 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 issues (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/ ** ALBANIA. 7475-, Dec 16 at 0026, JBA carrier, presumably all that R. Tirana can muster during its Albanian to North America hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7474.974 kHz, RT Shijak still same BUZZ audio tone when checked at 0256 UT Dec 20. Noted in Germany this Dec 20, pause interval signal at 0256 UT S=9+20dB signal, but 10 x 100 Hertz peaks BUZZ signals visible, either sideband (Wolfgang Büschel, 0332 UT Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) This is not mentioned in the WRTH 2016 [sic], so it might be news: The external service of Radio Tirana is also available online at http://rtsh.al/radio-tirana-3 and http://rtsh.al/radio-tirana-3-live The internet stream seems to be in parallel with the AM schedule. When checked at other times the stream was quiet. RTSH streams three radio channels as well as several TV channels http://rtsh.al/rtsh-live/rtsh-dixhital.html but only two working when checked at different times and on different web browsers). (Dr. Hansjoerg Biener 20 December 2016, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Hansjörg, actually it is mentioned in a way: "Webcast: L" means that live audio is available on the given web site http://www.rtsh.al Merry Christmas! (Mauno Ritola, WRTH, ibid.) ** ANGOLA. 4949.73, Dec 16 at 0022, RNA poor at S9 but good modulation in Portuguese talk. Still would like to hear it at armchair level (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4949.73 kHz -- Signal was completely absent in the early hours of 12/19 (i.e., evening of 12/18 on ECNA). In early hours of 12/20, there is a strong and continuous carrier on their frequency, but as of 0240, no audio that I can hear. Too bad; when they're on, they're a real treat to listen to. I assume their recently improved signal is not the result of a brand new xmtr, or they wouldn't still be on the odd frequency (Art Delibert, N. Bethesda, MD, 12/20/16, JRC NRD-545, Horizontal pennant antenna with DX Engineering pre-amp, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4949.73, R. Nacional de Angola, on Dec 21, very disappointed to find only a strong open carrier here with positively no audio; signal stronger than normal; noted at different time between 0337 to 0535 and always with solid signal strength, but never any audio (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 11710.865, Dec 16 at 0334, RAE ATTW S9 signal, but low modulation probably tango during alleged English hour. Hardly anything propagating on 25m besides this and Brasil at S9+20. Yet K-index 1, no storms and solar flux was 73 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARMENIA. 4810.00, 1655-1755 Monday 12.12, Armenian Public R, Noratus, Gavar. Kurmanji talk, song, IS, 1700 Turkish news, 1710 Armenian songs, IS, 1715 Anthem, Azeri ID, news, 1733 songs, 1744 ID, IS, 1745 Anthem, Farsi ID, schedule, news, 44333, QRM AIR Bhopal 4810.00, *1530-1540 17.12, Armenian Public R, Noratus, Gavar. Anthem, Assyrian ann, song 44233 QRM from AIR Bhopal 4810.00, 1705-1750 Sat 17.12, Armenian Public R, Noratus, Gavar. Turkish news, 1712 local song, ann: "Burasi. .." twice, orchestra music and songs, 1730 IS, Anthem, Azeri news, 1745 IS, Anthem, Farsi ann "Inja.. .", news, 44233. Turkish and Azeri has a different schedule on weekdays! (Anker Petersen, Denmark, my latest personal loggings from Skovlunde on the tropical bands made on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, wbradio yg via DXLD) ** ARMENIA. SM Radio International via NORATUS on Dec 25: 1000-1100 on 11690 ERV 100 kW / 078 deg to EaAs English 1200-1300 on 17695 ERV 100 kW / 100 deg to SEAs English 1800-1900 on 6145 ERV 100 kW / 305 deg to WeEu English 2100-2200 on 6005 ERV 100 kW / 245 deg to WeAf English 0100-0200 on 12020 ERV 100 kW / 245 deg to SoAm English 0300-0400 on TFWAL*ERV 100 kW / 330 deg to ENAm English *The Frequency Will Be Announced Later, 49 mb or 31 mb! [7305] http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/sm-radio-international-via-noratus-on.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. NEW STATION ON SHORTWAVE: 2368.5 kHz, Station X on the Gold Coast plans to shortly operate ex-1692 kHz. Peter Tate our member. He can be contacted through his website. 100 watts! admin@stationX.com.au Peter has a few issues he tells me with the ATU and the antennae itself, still he is having a go, we hope to hear you soon, Peter. Our member Peter Tate switching to 2368.5, needs reports in a week time. 100 watts now that's a DX Station! Reports by email, link from website http://www.stationx.com.au/ (Johno Wright, Dec-Jan Australian DX News via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) Nothing as of 11 Dec, from Central NSW (Craig Seager, ibid.) From the ACMA licence Database: 1000 watts, 6 kHz bandwidth (Dec-Jan Australian DX News via DXLD 16-50 via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD 16-51) ** AUSTRALIA. Check ABC - Alice Springs, 4835, they are coming in here with a pretty good signal. If it wasn’t for the Codar, they would be very listenable. Any idea if they are QSL’ing? (Stephen Wood, Harwich, Mass., 2047 UT Dec 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 9580. R Australia. 12/16. 1100. News magazine // with ABC television ("You're watching the world"). Top headline regarding Aleppo. Armchair (Rick Barton, from middle Arizona, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RA on Dec 17, found 9580 silent 1422 + 1448, when also unable to hear 12065 nor 12085, but at 1616 did hear 12065 (very faint) // 12085 (fair), with ABC program of pop songs; program ID "This is Double J"; 9580 still off the air. 4835 ABC Alice Springs NT well heard at 1422 with xmas songs. RA still with one transmitter off on Dec 18; noted 17840 was off the air; 15240 // 15415, at 0300, with poor reception, but by 0422 was readable; no RA IDs, only "ABC Local Radio" and many promos for "ABC news" & "ABC Grandstand"; 0513 interview with someone from "Double J." So both 9580 & 17840 are silent, which normally would be their strongest frequencies (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) At 0725 UT the 16mb 17840 kHz from RA SHP is OFF air. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 18, ibid.) 12085 & 9580, Dec 18 at 1440, oh-oh, Radio Australia is MISSING, a sesquimonth before its permanent turnoff, so maybe just another anomaly. 12065 still has a very weak S6 signal by 1511, presumably still RA (and there is a trace of a carrier just above 12085, something else? Nothing else is scheduled anywhen on either 12 MHz frequency). Propagation is certainly OK, with S9+10 7355 RNZI, et al. 4835 ABC Alice Springs is also still on, S9 at 1440. Stephen Luce in TX says it was also thus on Dec 17 (when I was not checking). Ron Howard in CA and Wolfgang Büschel in Germany say 17840 (same Oklahoma beam as 9580) was also missing earlier UT Dec 18 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I've heard nothing out of Radio Australia the past two days in the 13- 14 UT timeframe. However propagation seems extremely degraded, not hearing RNZI either. Eastward paths from Houston seem to be working, though (Stephen Luce, Houston, Texas, 1503 UT, Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glad I’m not the only one. I suppose we ought to start getting used to the “sounds of silence” on 9580 in the morning… (he said ruefully…) (John Figliozzi, Sarasota, FL, ibid.) Confirm, Nada on 9580 at 1615 check. RNZI is on 7285 in DRM. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Dec 18, ibid.) 2485 & 2325, Dec 19 at 1349, S9 Oz talk from doomed VL8 Shower Service stations, and natch 4835. 9580 > 12085 >> 12065, Dec 19 at 1405, RA is back on all three doomed frequencies after AWOL last two days. 9580 is S9+10/20 with discussion of women and food, gingerbread, condiments. By 1420 it`s reminiscences of watching movies in the 1940s on shipboard, with lots of background noise. RA online program schedule continues to show nothing during the 14 UT hour, on Mondays (unless `Conversations with Richard Fidler` from 1300 is now two hours long). But that show has just gone into summer repeats until January 23. Jerry Lenamon, Waco, calculates based on Victorian electricity documents, that power costs at Shepparton would have increased about 71% from 2006 to 2013, even more now, a possible factor in deciding to close it (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Shepparton Closure --- Following the maxim that no good deed goes unpunished it would be interesting to learn how renewable mandates that increase the price of electricity have affected the decision to operate large transmitter sites such as Shepparton. According to a study published by Victorian Electricity Distribution businesses in 2014, retail electric rates in Victoria have increased from about 21 cents per kWh ten years ago to about 36 cents in 2013, an increase of about 71%. I assume prices today would be higher than in 2013. Assuming an efficiency factor of 60% each 100 kw transmitter consumes about 4000 kWh per day which is a handy number since the study mentioned above assumes 4000 kWh to be the annual consumption for a typical household in Victoria. In 2006 the average household would have spent about A$855 annually for electricity, going up to about A$1441 in 2013. I'm sure that a large consumer would pay a much lower wholesale rate. If the wholesale power cost to operate a transmitter at Shepparton were half the consumer cost this would result in an annual power bill increase of about $320,000 over the period 2006 to 2013. A$ 855 x 50% x 365 (days) x 3 (transmitters) = $468,112 A$1441 x 50% x 365 (days) x 3 (transmitters) = $788,947 These numbers are approximate and and are my guesses but I think they're reasonably close to correct. The source document is at: https://www.powercor.com.au/media/1987/bill-component-movement-analysis-jan-2014.pdf (Jlenamon, Waco, Texas, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) Food for thought, a similar price arrangement occurs with the aluminium smelter in the south of the South Island in New Zealand. 13% of the country’s total output of electricity powers the smelter http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/70763839/tiwai-smelter-deal-signed-between-meridian-energy-and-nzas (Paul R, NZ, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) Hi everyone. We have seen similar rises in power prices here in Queensland, although the politicians have been playing games with this political "hot potato" for years. The Queensland solution was to NOT increase the "per kW/Hr" charge dramatically, and instead MASSIVELY increase the fixed "supply charge" - domestic rate from $16/quarter five years ago to currently $125/quarter - penalising small users to subsidise big/inefficient users. Meanwhile the politicians waffle on about "what a good deal we are getting". I suspect increasing energy prices definitely would have an impact on decisions regarding financial viability of a site - just HOW much of an impact we may never know, unless somebody decides to open their books and let us see exactly where all the money flows in the operation - VERY UNLIKELY I imagine (Calvin Melen, ibid.) I researched the hidden ABC streams. RTMP-streams with Flashplayer, so something is nowadays "very hip" ......... http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/VoA_Radiogram_2016-12-10.htm#ABC-SBS (roger, germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) "Legacy" Broadcasting vs. Digital The writer of this piece is Phillip Adams, host of the ABC-RN program “Late Night Live”. For more information in this vein, consult the web site of ABC Friends, an Australian grassroots organization defending the independence and funding of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, that nation’s public broadcaster. http://www.abcfriends.org.au The Weekend Australian Magazine, November 12-13, 2016 Viewpoint: Phillip Adams Legacy. Code for old-fashioned, redundant, non-digital. Hence Fairfax’s rush to dump legacy – that is, print – newspapers. And the ABC’s increasing impatience with legacy broadcasting. All those expensive transmissions to quaint wirelesses. Get with the program. Listen via podcast, social media or app. The Vatican has announced it’s going digital. Soon all those legacy churches and cathedrals will be sold off for condos. Get VatApp today. Marry, confess, christen or go to mass online. On your Vphone! Via godcasts! The National Gallery is digitising its art collection. Soon you’ll be able to tour the premises via VR. The actual “legacy” art will be flogged by Sotheby’s. And who needs legacy books in libraries? I also get the distinct impression that my beloved Radio National is in legacy limbo. Soon to be available anywhere, anytime, anyhow – except on the legacy wireless. I discovered RN 30 years ago, when working at 2UE with Laws, Jones, Zemanek, Hadley, the wrecking balls of “radioactive 2UE”. RN seemed miraculous to this trainee shock jock, with its breadth and depth of specialist programs in science, medicine, religion, arts, law, history, media, politics and long-form investigative journalism. It was 2UE’s antithesis. Where shock-jocks privately ridicule their listeners and grossly oversimplify every issue, here were broadcasters providing complexity and context – and talking to the audience with respect. That respect was mutual. When John Howard got Bob Mansfield to write the umpteenth report on the sins of the ABC, 11,000 viewers and listeners made submissions. Mansfield was astonished to discover that 7000 came from RN supporters – most making the powerful point that this ABC service was 100 per cent on charter. When joining RN to host Late Night Live, I discovered my audience demographics were dramatically different to 2UE’s. I had the best educated audience in Australian media: more than 70 per cent had a tertiary education. And they listened with a passion that boards and management found disconcerting. David Hill had warned me he’d love to shut the place down. Later, Brian Johns told me he planned to merge RN with Classic FM. (I pointed out that this would infuriate both audiences.) For 26 years I’ve watched RN narrowly survive new brooms and grim reaper’s scythes. Though usually involving budget cuts, RN’s ongoing crisis keeps taking new forms. Now the network may be doomed by digital. This despite the fact that business is booming. Old-fashioned “live audiences” have remained solid, despite ever-growing competition, including from the ABC’s News Radio. RN in general (and LNL in particular) does brilliantly in podcasts. Three cheers for apps and social media – but legacy media hasn’t been wiped out. It has a habit of doing a Lazarus – paper books and even some print newspapers are on the rebound. I live in the bush where people, still awaiting the mythical NBN, listen to the ABC as they worry about bushfires, bounce around in 4WDs and drive their tractors. And I’ve recently talked to large “live” audiences around Australia at ideas festivals, book launches and writers’ weeks. When I ask, “Who listens on the old-fashioned wireless?” 95 per cent of the hands go up. Ditto for print newspapers. Business models that ignore this simple, powerful fact are as wilfully ignorant as business models that ignore technological change. Legacy media has legions of legacy listeners. If there’s an appropriate aphorism for these turbulent times, it’s “hasten slowly”. Posted by: (John Figliozzi, FL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) There is much information about the conservative Liberal-National government and ABC management’s efforts to gut Radio National and efforts to combat it in the ABC Friends December Newsletter, which can be downloaded for free from here: https://www.abcfriends.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Update2016_12.pdf (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, Dec 20, ibid.) Don't be fooled. ABC Friends are nothing more than a lobby group, known for distorting the facts. The ABC's budget was actually cut more during the Gillard/Rudd Labour Government but the national broadcaster only complains when a Liberal (Conservative) Government whittles back the funds. Also, the ABC has an unfair advantage over private/commercial media. They have far more radio outlets and networks, a larger digital platform, and more TV channels. One would think some of the funds could be redirected to maintain a shortwave presence but the national broadcaster decided some time ago to emphasise their online and digital presence. Sent from (David Sharp's iPhone, NSW, ibid.) David - Not to get into a back and forth on this, but I think one’s opinion here is very much formed by one’s perception of the importance of (or disdain for) public service media and, unfortunately, one’s politics. Given that most of Australia’s commercial media is owned by less than a handful of conglomerates, I very much doubt that the ABC holds anything close to an unfair advantage. The fact is that every public poll I’ve seen for years and years finds the ABC more valuable, trustworthy and better value for money than any other institution in the country. That is the ABC's advantage and it is instructive perhaps that even with the backing of the virtually unlimited resources of a Murdoch, for example, that commercial media can’t seem to generate such a lofty opinion on the part of the public for itself. Of course being in the U.S., I have access only to ABC Radio. ABC-RN has been in the crosshairs this time—as it has in other years, including as you say when Labour was in office—and I know of no commercial media product anywhere that does what RN does with its specialist programs and appeal to higher intellect and reasoned discussion. For it to be sliced and diced as it is, is truly a mockery of the ABC’s supposed mission statement. Given that many of the recent managerial hires are refugees from the commercial sector, one wonders if they are smart enough to perceive that there is a difference in the respective raison d’être for commercial and public service media. As for shortwave, I understand the ABC’s view here. But I think their move is too dismissive of the many in their Northern Territory and the Pacific island nations that still have no affordable or actual access to broadband and are unlikely to gain any in the short term. That’s nothing new, of course, and this action is more due to the cluelessness of its proponents and perhaps some perceived financial advantage rather than politics or disdain for public service media. (John Figliozzi, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC DEFENDS DECISION TO AXE NT'S SHORTWAVE RADIO SERVICE AMID EMERGENCY UPDATE CONCERNS = ABC By Emilia Terzon 20 December 2016 Detailed article here: ABC RESISTS CALLS TO REVERSE AXING OF NT SHORTWAVE SERVICE http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-20/abc-defends-shortwave-axe-radio-nt-emergency/8134690 (via Mike Terry, dxldyg; and Bruce MacGibbon, DXLD) Viz: [original is illustrated with more embedded linx] ABC defends decision to axe NT's shortwave radio service amid emergency update concerns --- 105.7 ABC Darwin By Emilia Terzon Posted Tue at 5:18am a shortwave radio [caption] Photo: The ABC will end its shortwave radio service on January 31. (ABC Rural: Daniel Fitzgerald) Related Story: ABC's decision to end shortwave radio service criticised Related Story: Pacific loses radio service that evades dictators and warns of disasters Audio: ABC decision to halt shortwave broadcasts criticised (Pacific Beat) Map: NT The ABC has defended the axing of its Northern Territory's long- distance radio service, despite calls from federal representatives to reverse the decision. This month the broadcaster announced its HF shortwave radio transmitters at Katherine, Tennant Creek and Roe Creek (Alice Springs) would be switched off on January 31, ceasing ABC Radio coverage across the long distance radio transmission platform. The decision has attracted criticism from cattle station owners, Indigenous ranger groups and fishermen, who argue it was done without community consultation and would deprive people in remote areas of vital emergency warnings. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-08/abc-shut-shortwave-radio-service-met-with-anger/8103096 On Monday Senator Malarndirri McCarthy and Lingiari MP Warren Snowdon met with ABC management in a bid to have the decision reversed. "The result of that meeting is that they still stand by that decision. We did find the meeting quite disappointing really," Senator McCarthy told 105.7 ABC Darwin on Monday. "There really hasn't been any decency in terms of respect and consideration for the usage of shortwave, which has been a vital service and is a vital service across the Northern Territory. "People feel like the ABC forgot about them." Cutting NT shortwave service saves $1.2m On Tuesday ABC spokesman Ian Mannix told 105.7 ABC Darwin the decision to axe shortwave services "will only affect a very, very small amount of people". However, he conceded a formal survey had not been done about how many people would be impacted. ABC Radio will continue to broadcast across the Territory on FM and AM bands, via the viewer access satellite television (VAST) service, streaming online and via the smartphone app. There is also a separate Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) shortwave service that runs across Australia. http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/radio-sat/marine-weather-hf-radio.shtml Shortwave evades dictators and warns of disasters The ABC's decision to end Radio Australia's shortwave service has raised questions about who will fill the void. Mr Mannix said the majority of people affected by the loss of ABC shortwave radio, such as those living in remote Indigenous communities and on homesteads, would be able to access "the full amount of ABC services" through satellite links. "That's free and they can pay about $600 for a satellite dish," he said. Mr Mannix said people at sea who would soon be without ABC Radio shortwave should instead access very high frequency (VHF) radio, while those travelling on land should tune into the non-profit VKS-737 radio service. VHF and VKS-737 only broadcast a range of automated BOM updates and require specialised transceivers that cost thousands of dollars, however they allow two-way communication during emergencies. The ABC's shortwave service does not require costly transceivers, does not allow two-way communication, yet includes mainstream ABC Local Radio broadcasting and hourly bulletins. Mr Mannix said anybody travelling or working in remote parts of the Territory should not just be "heading out into the bush" and basing all their movements on ABC Local Radio weather updates. "They have to take responsibility for their safety as well and make sure that before an event they're well informed about prospective problems they might face." It costs $1.2 million to run the shortwave service, which Mr Mannix said would now be reinvested in the ABC's expansion of its digital radio services in Darwin and Hobart. ABC unlikely to reinvest in expanded AM service Listeners to 105.7 ABC Darwin said Mr Mannix underestimated the remote realities of the Territory, a place six times the size of Britain with a population of 240,000. "There's about 150 boats in the cyclone season across the Top End of Australia. Every one of those is listening to shortwave," a North East Arnhem-based fisherman said. "The local radio is much more comprehensive than what BOM does." Mark Crocombe from the Thamarrurr Rangers in Wadeye has previously said his group's VAST service did not work during cloudy weather, especially during monsoons and cyclones. He said he had previously found out about cyclone warnings through the ABC shortwave radio, without which he would have had no notice. Vision from Cyclone Lam hit Elcho Island Photo: Some people have raised concerns about missing out on emergency information in the cyclone-prone Top End. (News Video) On Tuesday Mr Crocombe added that apart from his ongoing emergency weather concerns, the decision would also further isolate people working remotely out bush. "We've used shortwave to listen to the Olympic Games, the AFL grand final, rugby union World Cup. We've listened to it all on shortwave." NT Cattlemen's Association president Tom Stockwell said the argument that other platforms could compensate for shortwave was "comparing blastard apples and pears", and that he was only able to access ABC Local Radio via satellite on his homestead while standing in his kitchen. Mr Stockwell called on the ABC to compensate shortwave listeners with an expanded AM radio service in the Territory, so that people travelling could more easily stay updated with weather and local news. "As far as I'm aware, the ABC isn't considering expanding the AM network because that would be a massive cost," Mr Mannix said. More information on the cessation of the ABC's shortwave service can be found on its website. http://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/shortwave-radio/ (via DXLD) THE ABC - YOUR LOCAL EMERGENCY SERVICES BROADCASTER? In regard to approaching January 31, 2017 closure of Radio Australia and ABC NT shortwave services, the question must be asked; is government acting in the best interest of all of its citizens and our Pacific neighbours in allowing the ABC to cull these services? ABC Local Radio frequently promotes itself as the nation’s Emergency Services broadcaster. Given the rationalisation of commercial radio local programs outside of the metro areas across the nation for reasons of costs and profit combined with the lack of focus and resources of community radio, the ABC certainly does live up to that title from my listening experiences, but to quote a common Aussie expression is the ABC fair-dinkim? That is, is the ABC doing all it can to live up to the title of an Emergency Services Broadcaster if it slaughters RA and the NT shortwave radio services? It is the informed opinion of the writer that for a country the geographic size of Australia and its isolation and remoteness that shortwave radio should be retained AND for a variety of broadcast / communication platforms utilised, as is currently the case with the ABC’s utilisation of MW and FM radio, Internet streaming and more - for ABC audio broadcasts. No single medium platform may be accessible for one reason or another in times of emergency and for this reason it is important to have redundancy for times when one broadcast medium fails for one reason or another. Let’s look at some examples and related issues. Bushfires, floods, cyclones, storms: Home ADSL internet services; this relies upon a hardwired telephone line and mains power. This is one medium in which ABC Streaming Services is accessible. This platform is however very vulnerable to the forces of nature. If mains power is cut, a PC with modem will instantly die, if not supported by a UPS. If a PC with UPS does exist, the live active time is usually limited to minutes depending on the size of the UPS. If the telephone line is inundated with water or cut by fire or local exchange is destroyed or damaged, then no service for a long while. Mobile Ph. 3G and 4G services; another popular medium to stream audio services. In times of emergency it is known that due to a surge in user demand that these services can fail due to heavy user traffic. Such that no streaming service is available, frequent drop outs. Additionally base station cell towers can fail due to prolonged power outages or tower destructions from strong winds, lightning or fire etc. Cell phones are usually recharged through mains power which is not ideal for prolonged periods without power at the location of the user. Coverage depending upon provider various and maybe limited. Satellite services for Internet and radio broadcasts; known to be unreliable due heavy precipitation, often expensive. Local ABC FM and MW Radio Transmission services; these have been known to have been taken off air due to the effects of fires, storms, cyclones etc. Shortwave; these services are resilient to local emergency events for usage of a portable battery powered radio receiver where the emergency event is not in the vicinity of the SW radio transmitter. The downside at the users listening location might be propagation disturbances and local noise. The ABC says only a small amount of people will be affected by the closure of ABC SW: Well, I guess the ABC are saying here that the majority of people don’t listen to shortwave and listen via other mediums – true. But they are implying that they are serving the majority of the people and that’s good enough and too bad for those small numbers of people who can’t access the local ‘ABC local’ radio service via AM/FM radio or the internet at their location, or as travellers in particular areas or off the coast at sea, well away from reception of AM/FM radio transmitters, or those people effected anywhere within Australia during a time of emergency. So it costs a small amount of money to keep ABC NT Shortwave alive each year and a bit more for Radio Australia on SW. But what price do you place on a person’s life or several over several years? The decision makes no sense when you look at the six Australians who died in the lost MH370 airline and the massive amount of money the Australian taxpayer invested in the search for the aeroplane in the Indian Ocean and for the people who (sadly) are already deceased. I’d rather see ‘relatively’ inexpensive and old technology kept alive to keep people alive rather than have much more expensive search and rescue emergency operations employed for people who could have otherwise avoided an emergency situation by retaining the ABC SW broadcasts beyond January 31st 2017. For the reason stated above, the federal government should intervene and supply the necessary funding to the ABC specifically for the retention of the ABC and Radio Australia SW services. I suspect however several members of the current federal government have little appetite for the ABC. It is seen by the current federal government as a biased leftist broadcaster and maybe they would rather sell it off to private interests. That said, whatever ones leanings, the ABC does provide an essential service. And for the record I also agree with John Figliozzi who quotes “…this action is more due to the cluelessness of its proponents….” Additionally part of the problem for the ABC (apart from funding) is the increasing shift to streaming services and the growing disconnect to radio services and sufficient knowledge of radio, especially shortwave by the younger age population. Personally if only for the emergency services obligations or interest of the ABC, I would still retain the ABC domestic SW services and RA services at either current broadcast levels or reduced. Alternatively keep these SW services in mothball status ready to be reactivated at a moment’s notice when imminent weather or emergency events warrant the reactivation of the ABC NT or RA SW services. Additionally the ABC in emergency times should announce SW frequencies to listen to on all broadcast platforms and have a webpage (for viewing at all times) that explains what shortwave radio is and SW receivers, where to buy and how to operate. I think the state based emergency services organisations should do likewise. If Australia was a small land-locked country adequately covered by a network of transmitters and local radio broadcasters supplying updated local news one could justify culling a shortwave service for its local population as a redundant technology for local coverage in that scenario – but that’s not the case for Australia. It wasn’t so long ago that PNG broadcaster ‘Radio Fly’ commissioned a SW broadcast transmitter in an era where supposedly the smart people were saying that SW is dead. Why did they do it? The reason came down to coverage in a mountainous country where employing numerous pocket- fill FM transmitters wasn’t feasible and there wasn’t sufficient mobile phone 3G coverage for adequate access. The key words here are access, coverage and low cost for user. SW does a great job at all three. So here we have a broadcaster, the ABC, wanting to close SW next month, ignoring the emergency services aspect of its service for an isolated country surrounded by sea and with much deeper pockets than its pacific neighbours. And yet our poor neighbours of Vanuatu, Solomons Islands and the Autonomous Province of Bougainville can still retain their national/provincial SW service? Does that not seem odd? All these nations including Australia suffer from cyclones and have fishing vessels and recreation boats out at sea and all nations suffer from one form of natural disaster or another. PNG’s NBC intends to reactive its SW service in the future, even though it has a growing platform of mobile Internet phone services. I also want to add to the mix of information the problem of mains electricity supply. Specifically redundancy, green energy and reliability of electricity supply and its privatisation. In the state of Victoria since the electrical grid and substations were privatised electricity supply has decreased in reliability that has become apparent during heavy user demand, bushfires and other emergencies. State governments focus towards green energy, at the expense of redundancy, has already caused a problem in South Australia with a recent long period blackout of mains power during a storm. It was reported that Wind turbines can’t operate during strong winds etc. It all makes me wonder where bureaucrats, governments and private interests are taking us? It seems backward in some respects and one of the reason why ‘radio rules’ when investment in power infrastructure and its maintenance fails. Several people have posted interesting comments and extracts regarding the closure of the ABC’s shortwave radio services. However I wonder just who many of you have sent your complaints to the people that matter? The people that matter are ABC management and federal and state based politicians and the state based emergency services. To the ABC SW listeners who are only complaining within this forum, your comments and concerns won’t get to the people who matter. There’s growing discontent within Australia that our major long established political parties aren’t serving us adequately as a nation. It’s one of the reasons in the last federal election that a large number of small parties and independents gained senate seats. Here’s a list to people to write that might have some influence on the ABC and government if you’re interested enough. Michelle Guthrie, ABC, Managing Director http://about.abc.net.au/talk-to-the-abc/feedback-and-enquiries/ +61-2-8333-1500 http://www.juliebishop.com.au (re Radio Australia) Federal Communications Minister https://www.liberal.org.au/member/mitch-fifield Federal Senators: http://www.onenation.com.au https://nxt.org.au http://www.bobkatter.com.au Emergency Services within Australia are state based and have state (rather than federal) ministers. Googling will find these ministers and organisations within: NSW, Victoria Tasmania, ACT, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia & the Northern Territory, e.g.: The Northern Territory Emergency Service provides a response capability for emergency events through its vast network of volunteers. http://www.pfes.nt.gov.au/Emergency-Service.aspx Clarifications: "Low cost for user" (re Radio Fly paragraph)' implies the listener, definitely not the broadcaster. Also the comparison with MH370 was vague. Australia has footed the majority of the bill even though the rest of the world contributed little and yet only 6 Australians died. Australia would and should always contribute, but government funds that could have gone toward the ABC from the operations instead went to many things like MH370 searching when China and others should have contributed far more to ease the financial burden on Australia. The point I was making is that it's better to retain a service that could save lives rather than spend more money from the future ramifications of not having that service. And better management of Australian taxpayers dollars by our Federal government. Already our government has wasted Billions on inferior submarines and ordered dud fighter jets and yet no money for the ABC. Lots of money for foreign aid, but no money to keep RA on air on SW for the benefit of our friendly pacific neighbours helping to keep them safe and informed in the isolated regions. As John said, "clueless" ({name withheld [AUS]}, Dec 21, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PINA ASKS ABC TO RECONSIDER SHORTWAVE DECISION -- RNZ 20 December 2016 http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/320866/pina-asks-abc-to-reconsider-shortwave-decision The Pacific Islands News Association has joined the growing number of voices opposed to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's decision to end shortwave transmission. Much of the Pacific remains dependent on shortwave but the ABC said it is old fashioned technology and it will stop using it from the end of January. PINA is a regional media umbrella group in the Pacific whose president, Moses Stevens said in the Pacific radio remains the most effective and efficient means of communication and source of information. He said the ABC shortwave has been a lifeline for many rural people in the Pacific for almost 80 years. The organisation has made a formal request for the ABC to reconsider its decision. Posted by: (Mike Terry, Dec 21, dxldyg via DXLD) ABC 'SHOULDN'T FORGET ABOUT REMOTE AUSTRALIA', SAY NT POLLIES National Indigenous Times The ABC's decision to switch off shortwave radio services in the Northern Territory could cost lives, according to NT federal Labor MPs Malarndirri McCarthy and Warren Snowdon. . . https://nit.com.au/abc-shouldnt-forget-about-remote-australia-say-nt-pollies/ (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. 4750, Bangladesh Betar - HS, suddenly on at *1235, on Dec 19, with the start of the Monday only SAARC (The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) news bulletin in English; mixing with CNR1; item about Friday's (Dec 16) national celebration of the 46th "Victory Day" festivities, with President Hamid and Prime Minister Hasina placing wreaths at the "National Memorial" to pay tribute to the martyred freedom fighters; 1242 "This is the end of the SAARC news bulletin" (did not spell out SAARC, but pronounced it as a word); into Bangla; at 1252 brief weather conditions in English ("partly cloudy" and gave temperatures), which is a daily feature. Any Monday that I am able to make out specific SAARC news items, is a very good day indeed! (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BIAFRA [non]. 15325, Dec 21 at 1508, poor S4-S6 carrier, presumably R. Biafra`s latest channel, as now scheduled approx. 15-16 and 18-20 via BULGARIA but Ivo Ivanov says there was nothing but music fill on Dec 7 and 10. Now I do hear some talk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Bolivia on Now --- Emisoras Pio XII, 5952.5 kHz, 0029 UT, Spanish OM and YL, news, 22322. Posted by: (Ed Sylvester, CA, UT Dec 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Indeed! Nice signal into Fallbrook tonight; I usually have better luck with SA stations, especially Bolivians from Scandinavian Perseus sites (Bruce Churchill, CA, 0119 UT, ibid.) ** BOLIVIA. 5953. R. PIO XII. Diciembre 15. 0044- UT. Mujer habla, en idioma español, de una directiva campesina de una localidad cercana a Oruro y de sentirse pasada a llevar en ciertos trámites burocráticos. SINPO: 44454. 6025. R. PATRIA NUEVA. Diciembre 15. 0158- UT. Música en español, luego hora local y un avance informativo. SINPO: 43444, aunque desde las 0204 con SINPO: 44444 con leve QRM de R. MARTÍ. RX: TECSUN PL-660, ANT: Hilo de 40 metros (Claudio Galaz Toledo, QTH: Ovalle, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 6025. RED PATRIA NUEVA. Diciembre 16. 0254- UTC. Música bailable moderna. I.E: Ricky Martin-Vente pa acá. Luego a las 03, noticias de la hora acerca de actividades políticas y de aplicación de beneficios sociales. SINPO: 43443 con QRM de varias emisoras. RX: TECSUN PL-660 ANT: Hilo de 40 metros, QTH: Ovalle, IV Región, Chile (Claudio Galaz T., ibid.) ** BOUGAINVILLE. 3325, NBC Bougainville, 1150-1156*, Dec 19. Very nice to have them back on the air again, after being off for awhile; DJ playing xmas song "Joy to the World"; suddenly off; did not hear RRI Palangkaraya; poor. 3325, NBC Bougainville. RE: My Dec 19 (1156*) log: "did not hear RRI Palangkaraya," now confirmed by Atsunori Ishida http://rri.jpn.org/ "-1100- (No signal at -1200-1700-)" (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, Dec 21,dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 5939.83, Dec 19 at 0627, Portuguese talk and music, from R. Voz Missionária, usually blasted away by 5935 WWCR but which is weakened at the moment, tho resurging later in the hour. BTW, this is the only ZY SW frequency in WRTH 2016 with a blank in the callsign column; why, and what is it, really? Maybe 2017 shows it. Reliable // 9665v is ZYE890 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9645.3, Dec 19 at 0614, no signal from R. Bandeirantes. This has been off for some weeks, but I may not have noted it. Meanwhile, numerous other off-frequency ZYs provide carriers at least now starting with 11925+ Bandeirantes; 11935+, 11855-, 11765-, 9819-, 9725-, 9665+, 9630, 9565, 5940- (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Radio Canção Nova em 9675 kHz --- Captei com boa qualidade de som e de sinal em Itiruçu na Bahia, a rádio Canção Nova na frequência de 9675 kHz, sua antiga na banda dos 31 metros (Ed Santos, 15 Dez, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. BRASILIEN, 15189.988, ZYE522, Rádio Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte MG Signal an der Grasnarbe, 1755 UT on Dec 18. S=5 oder -94dBm eher sehr schwaches Signal. Google translate: Grasnarbe = grass scarlet or maybe sod, I guess really meaning JBA (gh, DXLD) ** BULGARIA. UNIDENTIFIED. Unid 15.12.2016, 9600, 1710 UT --- Any idea what is the station ID? Movie in youtube https://youtu.be/sr1qWaQKViI (Adam, Poland, Grzenia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Farsi / Persian-Dari language. Now at 1747 UT also another Sofia Kostinbrod co-ch carrier switched on air, underneath heard many times Imbraham / Ismahil ... like western religious ministry? That's BVB now on 9600 kHz, formerly requested 11700 kHz by MBR FMO brokery via Sofia Kostinbrod sw tx site? 11700 1700-1715 38E,39,40W 1100602 141 616 1234567 SOF 150 BVB 11700 1715-1800 38E,39,40W 1100602 141 616 2 4 6 SOF 100 BVB 11700 1715-1745 38E,39,40W 1100602 141 616 3 SOF 100 BVB wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) BVBroadcasting via SPL Secretbrod from today Dec 15, 1700-1800 on new 9600 powerful signal in Sofia, ex 11600 -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, ibid.) Thank you very much for Big Help! Btw female say Radio Engi ? @gmail.com https://youtu.be/V6KyPscQjcs Best 73 es DX (Adam, Poland, ibid.) At 1758 UT both addresses given, Imbrahim Radio on Larnaca Cyprus, and BVB Ontario Canada too. wb (Büschel, ibid.) SECRETLAND, Frequency change of BVBroadcasting via SPL Secretbrod from Dec 15 1700-1800 NF 9600 SCB 100 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Farsi, plus 2nd harmonic 19200, ex 11600 Strong signal of another BVBroadcasting via SPL Secretbrod, Dec 15 1700-1715 on 11700 SCB 100 kW / 126 deg to N/ME Arabic Dardasha 7: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/frequency-change-of-bvbroadcasting-via.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) SECRETLAND, Powerful signal of BVBroadcasting via MBR Secretbrod, Dec 20: 1700-1800 9600 SCB 100 kW / 090 deg WeAs Farsi, plus 2nd hx on 19200 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/powerful-signal-of-bvbroadcasting-via.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via DXLD) ** BURUNDI [non]. MADAGASCAR, Radio Publique Africaine via MGB, Dec 14 1800-1831 on 11550 MDC 250 kW / 295 deg to SoAf Kirundi 1831-1858 on 11550 MDC 250 kW / 295 deg to SoAf French http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/radio-publique-africaine-via-mgb-on.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Equipment: Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, Web: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/ Dec 14-15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 1690, CHTO, Toronto. 1059 December 17, 2016. Greek vocals at very nice level but co-channel WMLB which nets to CBS news on the hour. CHHA with promo for program into Spanish vocals also good (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. I used to send tubes to engineer Kurt Arsenault, VE1TT at CHNS (CHNX SW) on 6130 kHz. They had a surplus Marconi transmitter. In fact I found some video on the web of people that went to the old AM site and took pictures inside the transmitter building. At the time, the old Collins 10 kW AM was there and the Marconi. I will try to find the link again. Thanks for your help. [Later:] On Google, type in CHNS transmitter. Up will come choices, look for Gallery: CHNS transmitter (like photos) as the first word. Click on that and up come a picture of a building with graffiti all over it. Right now they have Santa chasing you around but that is to get you to subscribe. Scroll down and on the left side it says "return to main menu" hit that, and then click on the title that says "Friday Evening Pt 2} Up should come 25 pictures, go to 20 of 25, right side, one up from the bottom, click on it and you see the Marconi FRT-501 which was built for the Canadian Navy, that is the 6130 kHz CHNX transmitter from long ago. If you go to the CHNS website, they have a history of the station including the shortwave. Kurt Arsenault, VE1TT was the engineer. QRZ lists him as living in Kentsville, N.S. but the email listed did not work for me. The Marconi was made for voice not music so was a little on the tinny side. 73 (Pete K4POR, Russell, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I can`t follow that search trail; if one link doesn`t work, you`re out of luck. Could you just link directly to the final objective? (gh) ** CANADA. 15034-USB, Dec 18 at 1432, CHR Trenton VOLMET audio is at peaks only, extremely distorted and unreadable, quite unusual for them. Probably on autopilot with no one at station monitoring from the air how they sound. Recheck at 1926: still distorted but more or less readable if you put up with it. Is there another frequency to compare? Yes, but not at same time. EiBi shows skeds as: 2310-1100 on 6754, 1010-2400 on 15034. With such a limited listed overlap, are there really two transmitters? Well, we still have NY and Gander time- sharing 13270, 10051, 6604, 3485. 15034-USB, Dec 19 at 1529, no signal from Trenton Military (nor did I hear it last night on 6754-USB). Must be off for repairs. Don Moman, Alberta, already replied Dec 18 to my original report: ``15034 was still very distorted at 1952 but seems back to normal at 2040 UT. I did send off a quick note at that time to our CFARS group (our equivalent to MARS) in case someone there might know someone in charge of that [to] forward it, but I suspect it was just coincidence that it was cleared up. Don VE6JY`` 15034, Dec 19 at 1835, CHR, Trenton Military is back with good modulation, but as too often happens, defaulting to ``no report received`` from places like Thule. At 1836 UT gives own time as 1735 zulu! So still not fully funxional (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15034-USB, Dec 19 at 1958, I'm hearing today with good modulation CHR Trenton Military. Very strong (19 Dec at 1958 UT). (Dino Bloise, FL, Miami, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. CHINA vs. CHINA. Voice of Jinling vs. PBS Xizang on 6200, Dec 11 1415&1445 6200 NJG 100 kW / 161 deg to EaAs Chinese Voice of Jinling 1415&1445 6200 LHA 100 kW / 085 deg to EaAs Tibetan PBS Xizang http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/voice-of-jinling-vs-pbs-xizang-on-6200.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #983 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, December 16, 2016 via DXLD) ** CHINA. 5979, Gannan PBS (ex: 5970). So for two weeks now they have continued to use this new frequency; Dec 16, 1331, sounded Chinese; best in LSB, but Cuban jamming of Radio Marti (5980) is a slight problem; ex: 5970 now a clear frequency. Dec 19, for the first time, able to make out 5979 // 3990, at 1317, in Chinese and playing EZL music. 7415, Firedragon, 1636, Dec 18; fair-good against R. Free Asia (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. INDIA/CHINA, 5050 kHz - Was out this afternoon / evening listening at the Paint Creek site and came across one that has me baffled. Someone was on 5050 kHz playing soft simple Chinese music from 2021 UT. At 2029 UT, the music ended, there was a little deadair, then what sounded like a piano IS played once, and then the signal was gone. The IS may have been the beginning of the next song and not actually an IS. I don't know. Kind of sounded like one of those old Soviet IS's. Please give it a listen and let me know if you have any ideas. Here's the link to the Box.com recording It was a little too early for Chinese on 60mb, and it wasn't strong enough for it to be WWRB. And I don't see anything listed there at that time anyway. Interesting (Dave Valko-PA-USA Dec 14, via wwdxc BC- DX TopNews, via DXLD) re 5050 kHz Chinese. see Aoki Nagoya list, or WRTH 2017 page 462 - 463 ... ``little too early for Chinese on 60mb`` ... Why not BBR Nanning #954 tx site technical test of nominal V of Beibu Bay Radio at different other hours on the day? Dark prop path at 20 UT in mid winter via Siberia, northern Scandinavia, Greenland into North America. Recently heard at 1750 UT: 5050even CHN V of Beibu R, light Chinese music, S=7-8 in Delhi remote unit Now 5050.000 even on Uwe's unit in eastern Thailand remote, at 1455 UT, time pips at 1500:04 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 14, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 17 via DXLD) Both are on exact even 5050 kHz -- AIR Aizawl, Mizoram, India, and Beibu Bay Radio Nanning China outlets. I cleared up all (5050 kHz) details of the two outlets around 1600 and/or 1630 UT today Dec 16, on much even 5050.000 kHz frequency this afternoon: Thanks help of the recently opened remote Perseus SDR unit again in eastern Thailand. Thanks of help to find-out the various Beibu China audio stream URL's, and I could comfortably compare the livestream audio out of Nanning via internet stream, and the SW signal of 5050 kHz taken from remote unit in eastern Thailand near the Cambodian border. a - Generally speaking is to be stated, the Beibu Nanning signal is always in range S=9+25 and +30dB like a local station during night path China towards Thailand - also bandwidth audio sound of smooth 5 - 6 kHz wide, b - and S-meter decreases remarkable after Nanning TX off at 1601:33 UT, to S=7-8 signal level. Also the audio width of AIR Aizawl is much smaller, and sound characteristic is rather 'rough / hoarse' like a very old WWII field telephone line. When checked 5050 kHz SW at 1454 UT on Dec 16, noted S=9+30dB signal in remote SDR location in Eastern Thailand, and \\ Beibu Bay Radio program on VLC player, some '4 seconds later delay' in internet, - than shortwave via remote server unit in Thailand, and signal path from Thailand to southern Germany via internet. Beibu Bay Radio FM 96.4 MHz [ source via webplayer ] and others of Beibu FM channels too, T-Radio 104.0 MHz Fashion Radio Traffic Radio aac 64 kbps Guangxi News FM 91.0 MHz Fortune/Hostess Radio 97.0 MHz STAR Guangxi FM 93.0MHz aac 64 kbps Music Radio 95.0 MHz aac 64 kbps or Classic Pop Music 97.4 MHz 128 kb ast/wma 48 kHz The other Beibu Bay Radio SW channel of 9820 kHz was totally covered by CNR 2nd national domestic sce from Xianyang #594 tx site, at 0900-1605 UT. 5050 kHz SW Beibu Bay Radio from Nanning-CHN was still on S=9+30dB signal at 1559-1601 UT - SWITCH OFF at 16.01:35 UT on Dec 16, leaving underneath AIR Aizawl, Mizoram, North East India program in the clear, also on 5050.000 ! exact fq., not even a single Hertz difference in between ... Listen to the enclosed recording, which taken of AIR 5050 kHz bcast between 16.02 and and 16.29:43 UT program end. AIR station ID given by lady announcer at {01.41m/s on recording} 1630:04 til 1630:26 UT, and finally AIR Aizawl tx switch OFF at 1630:54 UT. see also their language doesn't sound like Hindu language family, sounds rather different like Burmese, or wiki mentioned Sino-Tibetan langs ... "Mizo and the Burmese are of the same family..." (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 17 via DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. 9450, Firedragon music 12/14, 2345, crashin' and boomin' over M in Chinese lang, clearly heard. RTI Chinese service listed at this time (Rick Barton, from middle Arizona, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. During our mid deep winter in December 2016, China mainland heavy FIREDRAKE Chinese music jamming against RFA Mandarin, - all S=9+30dB powerhouse strong. RFA Mandarin (12 hours daily) 1500-2100 7415TIN 1700-2100 9455SAI 2000-2100 1098KOU-TWN 5965TIN 7445KWT 9590SAI wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENNG DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. 11820-, Dec 16 at 0012, CRI Cantonese at S9+20, and short/long path echo, unlike when heard 3 nights ago. Is 500 kW, 200 degrees from Xi`an. 6020, Dec 16 at 0012, CRI English via ALBANIA, no double-audio echo tonight, unlike 47 hours ago (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. B-16 season CHINA RADIO INTERNATIONAL as of October 30, 2016 0000-0057 Cambodian 11990/Nn, 9765/Nn, 684/dof-hai Cantonese 17490/Be, 11820/Xi Chinese 13655/Xi, 13580/Be, 12035/Xi, 11975/Kun, 11900/Be, 11780/Jin, 9435/Kun English 11790/Xi, 9425/Be, 7425/Kash Hakka 9860/Jin, 9610/Kun, 9550/Kun, 9460/Kun Mongolian 11875/Be, 9470/Xi Portuguese 9710/Kash, 6100/Be Russian 7405/Ho, 5990/Ho, 1521/htb-xin Spanish 15120/HAB, 5990/HAB Vietnamese 13770/Xi, 11770/Be, 603/dof-hai 0000-0157 English 15125/Be, 11885/Xi, 9570/ALB, 7350/Kash, 6180/Kash, 6075/Kash, 6020/ALB 0100-0157 Amoy 17490/Be, 15425/Xi, 11980/Kun, 11945/Kun, 9860/Jin, 9610/Kun, 9550/Kun, 9460/Kun Chinese 15160/Jin, 13655/Xi, 13580/Be, 11770/Nn, 11640/Xi, 9655/Nn, 7300/Kash, 7250/Ur English 9675/Kash, 9580/HAB, 7370/Kash Russian 13600/Xi, 5905/Kash, 1521/htb-xin Spanish 9710/Kash, 9590/Kash Urdu 7240/Kash, 6020/Kash 0130-0227 Nepalese 13780/Kun, 11860/Kun 0200-0227 Pashto 15435/Xi, 7350/Kash, 6065/Kash 0200-0257 Amoy 17490/Be, 15425/Xi Bengali 11640/Kun, 9655/Kun Chinese 15160/Jin, 15140/Be, 13655/Xi, 9825/Kash, 9580/HAB, 9570/ALB, 7330/Kash, 6020/ALB English 11770/Kash, 9610/Kash Russian 17640/Xi, 5915/Kash Spanish 9710/Kash, 9590/Kash Tamil 13715/Kash, 11870/Kash Urdu 7290/Kash, 6020/Kash 0230-0327 Nepalese 13780/Kun, 11730/Kun 0300-0357 Chinese 17540/Be, 15160/Jin, 15130/Be, 13655/Xi, 9570/ALB, 9450/Kash, 6020/ALB English 15120/Be, 13800/Kash, 13570/Xi, 11770/Kash, 9790/HAB Hindi 15350/Kash, 13720/Kash, 11700/Kash, 11640/Kash Russian 17710/Jin, 15435/Xi, 11710/Ur, 5915/Kash Tamil 13730/Kash, 13600/Kun 0400-0457 Cantonese 15160/Jin, 13655/Xi, 9790/HAB Chinese 15170/Kash, 15130/Be, 13640/Kash English 17855/Be, 17730/Xi, 15120/Be, 13570/Xi, 13590/Be Hakka 17710/Be, 17510/Xi, 15350/Kash, 13740/Kash Russian 17640/Xi, 15665/Kash, 15445/Kash Vietnamese 17740/Xi, 11650/Kun, 684/dof-hai, 603/dof-hai 0500-0557 Cantonese 15170/Jin, 13655/Xi Chinese 15130/Be, 15120/Be, 15110/Kash, 13570/Xi English 17855/Be, 17730/Xi, 17510/Kash, 15465/Kash, 15430/Kash, 15350/Kash, 11895/Kash, 7220/ALB Russian 15665/Kash, 15445/Kash Vietnamese 17740/Xi, 11650/Kun, 684/dof-hai, 603/dof-hai 0500-0657 Arabic 17485/Ur, 9590/ALB, 7210/ALB, 5985/ALB 0600-0657 Chinese 17740/Xi, 17650/Kash, 15170/Jin, 15120/Be, 13750/Kun, 13655/Xi, 13570/Xi, 11710/Nn English 17710/Be, 15465/Kash, 15430/Kash, 15350/Kash, 15145/Kash, 13645/Xi, 11895/Kash, 11870/Kash English-AF 17510/Kash, 11750/ALB Italian 15620/Kash 0600-0757 French 15220/Ur German 17720/Kash, 17615/Ur Spanish 15135/Kash 0700-0757 Cantonese 13610/Xi, 11640/Jin Chaozhou 15145/Xi, 17750/Xi Chinese 17740/Xi, 17650/Kash, 17520/Kash, 13750/Kun, 11875/Nn, 11710/Nn English 17710/Be, 13660/Xi 0700-0857 Chinese 11855/ALB English 17670/Kash, 17490/Kash, 15465/Kash, 15350/Kash, 15185/Kash, 15125/Kash, 11895/Kash, 11785/ALB 0800-0857 Chinese 17650/Kash, 17560/Xi, 15560/Xi, 15550/Kash, 13610/Xi, 11640/Jin, 9880/Be English 9415/Xi Hausa 7295/Mali Russian 15665/Kash, 15335/Kash 0830-0927 Indonesian 17735/Kun, 15135/Kun, 15115/Kun 0900-0957 Chinese 17670/Kun, 17560/Xi, 15560/Xi, 15440/Kun, 11895/Nn, 9440/Xi, 7430/Jin English 17690/Jin, 17650/Kash, 17570/Ur, 17490/Kash, 15350/Kash, 15210/Kun, 15185/Kash, 9415/Xi Romanian 9460/ALB, 7285/ALB Russian 15665/Kash, 15335/Kash 0900-1057 Chinese 15525/Ur, 15340/Xi, 15250/Kun, 13850/Be, 13780/Kash, 11980/Kun, 9460/Nn, 5965/Be 0930-1027 Malay 17680/Kun, 15135/Kun 1000-1057 Cantonese 17670/Kun, 15440/Kun Chinese 17650/Kash, 9880/Be, 7255/Xi English 17690/Jin, 17490/Kash, 15350/Kash, 15210/Kun, 15190/Kash, 13720/Xi, 13590/Be, 11635/Be, 7215/Xi, 5955/Xi Hungarian 17570/Kash, 15220/Kash Japanese 9440/Xi, 7325/Jin Russian 7390/Ho, 7290/Szg, 5915/Ho, 1323/htb-xin, 1116/har-hei, 963/hua-jil 1030-1127 Cambodian 17680/Kun, 15160/Nn, 684/dof-hai Indonesian 15135/Kun, 11700/Kun 1100-1157 Bulgarian 7220/ALB Burmese 9880/Kun Cantonese 13580/Kun, 9645/Be, 9590/Kun, 9540/Be, 7370/Nn, 603/dof-hai Chaozhou 11875/Kun, 9440/Kun Chinese 17650/Kash, 15440/Kun, 11980/Kash, 11750/Be, 9515/Kash, 7435/Be Czech 17570/Kash, 15225/Kash English 13720/Xi, 13590/Be, 11795/Kash Esperanto 9450/Xi, 7210/Ur, 1017/cah-jil Japanese 7325/Jin, 7260/Xi, 1044/hnl-jia Korean 5965/Xi, 1323/hua-jil Mongolian 7390/Ho, 6100/Ur Russian 7290/Szg, 6080/Be, 5915/Ho, 1521/htb-xin, 1323/htb-xin, 963/hua-jil Vietnamese 11990/Xi, 11785/Be, 9550/Be, 1296/Kun-yun 1100-1257 English 17490/Kash, 13665/ALB, 12015/Kash, 11650/Ur, 7250/Kash, 5955/Be, 1269/xua-yun 1130-1157 Filipino 12070/Xi, 11955/Kun, 7410/Jin, 5910/Be, 1341/hdu-gua 1130-1227 Thai 9785/Kun, 7360/Kun, 1080/xua-yun 1200-1227 Filipino 11955/Kun, 9720/Xi 1200-1257 Amoy 11910/Be Cambodian 11680/Nn, 9440/Kun Cantonese 9570/HAB Chinese 17650/Kash, 15110/Ur, 9655/Kash, 7390/Be, 7205/Kash English 13790/Ur, 11980/Kun, 11760/Kun, 11690/Xi, 9760/Kun, 9730/Kun, 9645/Be, 9600/Kun, 9460/Kash, 1341/hdu-gua, 1269/xua-yun, 1188/Kun- yun, 684/dof-hai Japanese 7325/Jin, 7260/Xi, 1044/hnl-jia Korean 5965/Xi, 1323/hua-jil, 1017/cah-jil Mongolian 5990/Ho, 5915/Ho Russian 9685/Ur, 9590/Szg, 7410/Szg, 7215/Xi, 6100/Be, 5905/Kash, 1521/htb-xin, 963/hua-jil Serbian 7345/ALB Vietnamese 11720/Be, 11640/Xi, 9550/Be, 1296/Kun-yun 1200-1400 Chinese 13810/Kash, 11790/Kash - News Radio Chinese 9855/Be, 9540/Kun, 7440/Nn French 15205/Kash 1230-1327 Lao 9785/Kun, 7360/Kun Malay 11955/Kun, 11700/Kun 1300-1357 Bengali 11610/Kun, 9600/Be, 9490/Kun, 1188/Kun Burmese 9880/Kun, 7400/Kun, 1188/Kun-yun Chinese 13855/Kash, 12015/Ur, 7215/Xi, 7205/Be English 13790/Ur, 13670/Kash, 11980/Kun, 11910/Be, 11900/Kun, 11760/Kun, 9870/Xi, 9765/Be, 9730/Be, 9655/Kash, 9585/Be, 9570/HAB, 7300/Kash, 5955/Be, 1341/hdu-gua Esperanto 11650/Be, 9440/Nn French 17880/Mali, 17650/Kash, 13685/Mali Hindi 9450/Kash, 7265/Ur, 1422/Kash-xin Japanese 7410/Jin, 7325/Xi, 1044/hnl-jia Korean 5965/Xi, 1323/hua-jil, 1017/cah-jil Mongolian 7285/Be, 6100/Ur Russian 9665/Xi, 7255/Szg, 5990/Ho, 5915/Ho, 5905/Kash, 1521/htb-xin, 1323/Ur, 963/hua-jil Vietnamese 9685/Xi, 9550/Be, 1296/Kun-yun 1330-1427 Indonesian 11955/Kun, 11805/Kun Thai 9785/Kun, 7360/Kun, 1080/xua-yun 1400-1457 Amoy 11650/Kun, 9655/Kun Bengali 11610/Kun, 9490/Kun Burmese 7400/Kun Cambodian 9880/Nn, 6055/Nn Chinese 11785/Kash, 11610/Ur, 9730/Kash, 9430/Kash, 7410/Be, 7235/Kash, 7210/Be, 6040/Xi English 13740/HAB, 13710/Kash, 11665/Ur, 9870/Xi, 9795/Ur, 9765/Xi, 9460/Ur, 7300/Ur, 5955/Be, 1422/Kash-xin English-AF 17630/Mali, 13685/Mali Japanese 7410/Jin, 7395/Xi, 1044/hnl-jia Korean 5965/Xi, 1017/cah-jil Mongolian 5990/Ho, 5915/Ho Nepalese 7435/Kun, 7220/Xi, 1269/xua-yun, 1188/Kun-yun Russian 7435/Szg, 7330/Xi, 5905/Kash, 1521/htb-xin, 1323/Ur, 963/hua- jil Sinhalese 9665/Jin, 7265/Kash, 1188/Kun-yun Tamil 9610/Kash, 9570/Kash Urdu 7285/Kun, 6075/Kash, 1422/Kash-xin Vietnamese 9685/be, 9550/Be, 1296/Kun-yun, 684/dof-hai 1400-1557 French-AF 13670/ALB, 11920/ALB 1430-1457 Filipino 11640/Be, 7325/Be, 1341/hdu-gua 1430-1527 Lao 9675/Kun, 7360/Kun, 1080/xua-yun 1500-1527 Pashto 9665/Kash, 7435/Kun Persian 9600/Kash, 6165/Ur 1500-1557 Bengali 9690/Kun, 9610/Kun Chinese 9705/Kash, 9590/Kash, 9560/Kash, 9455/Kun, 7255/Be, 7235/Kash, 5910/Be English 13740/HAB, 9880/Nn, 9870/Xi, 9785/Jin, 9720/Ur, 9525/Kash, 9435/Kash, 7395/Ur, 7325/Be, 6095/Kash, 5955/Be, 1323/htb-xin English-AF 17630/Mali, 13685/Mali Hindi 7265/Kash, 7225/Ur Japanese 7220/Jin, 5980/Xi, 1044/hnl-jia Nepalese 9535/Xi, 7215/Kun, 1188/Kun-yun Russian 6180/Ur, 6105/Szg, 6025/Xi, 5990/Ho, 5965/Be, 5915/Ho, 5905/Kash, 1521/htb-xin, 1323/htb-xin, 963/hua-jil Tamil 9730/Kash, 9490/Kash Turkish 9565/ALB, 7345/ALB Urdu 7285/Kash, 6075/Kun, 1422/Kash-xin Vietnamese 9550/Be, 684/dof-hai, 603/dof-hai 1530-1557 Pashto 9665/Kash, 7435/Kun, 6165/Ur 1600-1657 Arabic 17880/Mali, 15125/Mali English 9880/Nn, 9875/Kash, 9570/Be, 9435/Kash, 7435/Jin, 7420/Ur, 7255/Kash, 7235/Kash, 6175/Nn, 6060/Kun, 1323/htb-xin, 1080/xua-yun Hakka 7325/Ur, 6090/Xi Hindi 7395/Kun, 5915/Kash, 1422/Kash-xin, 1269/xua-yun, 1188/Kun-yun Russian 7265/Be, 7215/Szg, 6040/Ur, 5905/Kash, 1521/htb Swahili 7245/Xi, 5985/Be Turkish 7325/Kun, 6165/Ur Vietnamese 7315/Kun, 6010/Be 1600-1757 Arabic 11725/ALB, 9555/ALB, 7300/Kash French 7350/Kash German 7380/ALB, 5970/ALB 1630-1727 Hausa 9665/Kun, 9620/Kash 1700-1757 Cantonese 7325/Ur, 7220/Xi Croatian 9435/Kash, 7335/Be English 9880/Nn, 9570/Be, 7435/Jin, 7420/Kun, 7410/Kash, 7255/Kash, 7235/Kash, 7205/Be, 6175/Nn, 6165/Be, 6140/Kash, 6100/Be, 6090/Kun, 1323/htb-xin, 1080/xua-yun Esperanto 7245/Xi, 7205/Be Hindi 5910/Kun, 1269/xua-yun Russian 7410/Be, 7265/Ur, 6070/Xi, 6040/Ur, 5915/Kash, 1521/htb-xin Swahili 15125/Mali, 13645/Mali, 7400/Xi, 5985/Be 1730-1827 Chinese 9695/Kun, 7445/Ur, 7315/Kun, 7275/Ur, 6150/Szg Hausa 13645/Mali/11640/Mali from 1800, 9685/Kun, 9450/Kash 1800-1827 Persian 7415/Xi, 7325/Be 1800-1857 Chaozhou 7285/Xi, 6010/Ur English 7405/Be, 6100/Be Italian 7435/Jin, 7340/Kash, 1458/ALB Russian 7255/Szg, 7210/Ur, 6070/Be, 1521/htb-xin 1800-1957 French 7385/ALB, 7360/ALB, 6055/ALB, 5970/ALB German 9615/Ur, 7395/Kash, 6160/Xi 1830-1857 Bulgarian 9695/Kun, 7265/Ur, 6020/Szg Persian 7415/Xi, 7325/Be 1830-1930 Arabic 13685/Mali, 11640/Mali 1830-2027 French 9645/Kun, 7350/Ur 1900-1927 Czech 7415/Ur, 7325/Szg Hungarian 9560/Ur, 7440/Xi Portuguese 13630/Mali, 11640/Mali Romanian 6090/Ur 1900-1957 Albanian 7385/Kash, 6020/Szg Cantonese 9770/Kash, 7215/Be English 9440/Kun, 7295/Kash Portuguese 9730/Kash, 9535/Be, 7405/Xi, 7365/Be, 7335/Jin, 5985/Be Russian 7245/Be, 6110/Xi, 6100/Be, 1521/htb-xin Turkish 9655/Kun, 7255/Kun 1930-1957 Czech 7415/Ur Romanian 7440/Xi, 6090/Ur 1930-2027 Esperanto 9745/Ur, 7265/Ur 2000-2027 Serbian 9585/Kash, 7390/Xi, 7325/Ur 2000-2057 Chinese 9865/Kun, 7440/Be, 7405/Xi, 7335/Szg, 7245/Kash English 13630/Mali, 11640/Mali, 9600/Kash, 9440/Kun, 7415/Kash, 7295/Kash, 7285/ALB, 5985/Be, 5960/ALB Polish 7305/Ur, 6020/Szg Russian 7255/Be, 6155/Be 2000-2200 Arabic 7215/ALB, 6185/ALB, 6100/Xi 2030-2057 Bulgarian 9720/Ur, 7320/Kun Hungarian 9585/Kash, 7390/Jin 2030-2127 Italian 7345/Kash, 7265/Ur 2030-2227 French 7350/Ur, 6115/Be 2100-2127 English 13630/Mali, 11640/Mali Serbian 7445/Kun, 7325/Xi 2100-2157 Croatian 7225/Be, 6135/Be English 9600/Kash, 7415/Kash, 7405/Be, 7285/ALB, 7205/Xi, 5960/ALB, 1386/LTU 2100-2257 Korean 7290/Xi, 1323/hua-jil, 1017/cah-jil Spanish-EU 9640/Kash, 6020/Szg 2130-2157 Hungarian 7445/Ur 2130-2227 French 13630/Mali, 11975/Mali 2200-2257 Chinese 15505/Mali, 11975/Mali from 2230; 7430/Jin, 7395/Ur, 7325/Kun, 7305/Be, 7265/Kun, 6180/Kun, 6140/Kun, 6100/Kun, 5975/Be English 5915/Be Esperanto 9860/Kash, 7315/Kash Japanese 7440/Jin, 5985/Xi Portuguese 9685/Kash, 9410/Kash, 7260/Ur, 6175/ALB Spanish 6100/Be 2200-2357 Spanish-EU 7250/Ur, 7210/ALB 2300-2357 Cambodian 9765/Nn, 7395/Nn, 684/dof-hai Cantonese 11945/Kun, 9425/Jin, 7325/Kun, 6180/Kun, 6140/Kun Chinese 11975/Mali, 9555/Be, 7425/Kun, 7300/Ur, 7295/Mali English 11790/Xi, 9535/Kun, 7410/Kash, 7350/Kash, 6145/Be, 5990/HAB, 5915/Kash Japanese 9695/Jin, 9435/Xi Mongolian 7205/Xi, 6185/Xi Portuguese 13650/HAB, 6100/Be Russian 7405/Ho, 5990/Ho Spanish 6175/ALB Vietnamese 9415/Be, 7220/Xi, 603/dof-hai 2300-0100 Spanish 9800/Kash, 9590/Kash 2330-0030 Sinhalese 7260/Kash, 6100/Kun CRI MW relay stations /cah-jil - Changchun, Jilin /dof-hai - Donfang Gancheng, Hainan Island /har-hei - Harbin Xin / Xingfang Chenggaozizhen, Heilongjiang /hdu-gua - Hua / Xin Guangzhou, Guangdong Sheng /hnl-jia - Changzhou Heng-lin-chen, Jiangsu Sheng /htb-xin - Hutubi, Xiniang /hua-jil - Huadian Yumuqiaozi, Jilin /Kash-xin - Kashgar, Xiniang /Kun-yun - Kunming, Yunnan /xua-yun - Xuanwei, Yunnan (Tom Laobaixing + others; via Walter Eibl-D, DX Magazine wwdxc Dec 12, BCDX Dec 17 via DXLD) ** CONGO [non]. 97 W, Galaxy 19, 12.053-V/22000 Msps, Tele-Congo with vernacular programme sponsored by Ngok beer; some sort of festival featuring a LOT of twerking men & women, including one who had a bunch of ring-tailed lemurs strapped to her waist and was carrying two in her hands as she danced. This all started with a guy staring at the camera and speaking quite earnestly while holding a spear. I really want to know what it was all about, but I need to find someone who sells Ngok beer now! Audio was in vernacular language; the news crawl on screen was in French (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet Dec 16 via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. Re Harmonic alert: Radio San Carlos (Tent) 1430 x 2 --- Just an update on this one, I'm noting a weak carrier on 2859.8 right now at 2253 UT 12/14/2016. Threshold audio at best on peaks, presumed to be from the same station. Best on my South D-KAZ. 73, (Tim Tromp, West Michigan, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2859.82, Dec 16 at 0016, JBA music, tentative R. San Carlos, 2 x 1430v. It`s less than the noise level of S9+10 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2859.8 tonight at 2316 UT fair at times on peaks with Spanish talk. No ID heard but presumed this is still Radio San Carlos. 73, (Tim Tromp, West Michigan [timestamped 0114 UT Dec 17], harmonics yg via DXLD) See also UNIDENTIFIED 2900 ** CUBA. 1220, Radio Caribe, La Fe, Isla de la Juventud. 1233 December 17, 2016. Promo for news show, female canned reverb ID and URL followed by male non-reverb ID and FM, AM frequencies (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Reception of Cuban Spy Numbers HM01 on 9 MHz on Dec 11 xx52-xx18 broadcast 26 minutes; xx18-xx26 open carrier/dead air; xx26-xx48 broadcast 22 minutes; xx48-xx52 change of frequencies: 0652-0748 9330 secret / hidden tx ?Bejucal? Spanish Sun/Mon/Wed/Fri 0752-0848 9065 secret / hidden tx ?Bejucal? Spanish Sun/Mon/Wed/Fri 0852-0948 9240 secret / hidden tx ?Bejucal? Spanish Sun/Mon/Wed/Fri http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/reception-of-cuban-spy-numbers-hm01-in_11.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #983 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, December 16, 2016 via DXLD) ** CUBA. 5025, R. Rebelde, 1432 14 Dec. That NVIS antenna still throwing a bit of signal to Moonlight Beach today. Probably the latest I've ever had readable audio from Rebelde (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA, PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 5025, Dec 17 at 1816, S6 carrier vs noise at same level, as R. Rebelde manages to be detectable near noon at mid-winter. Also 5015, WRMIBS at S7 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 17580, Dec 15 at 1505, today RHC is already off this frequency, while still on 17750 and much louder 17730. 6060, Dec 18 at 0655, RHC open carrier/dead air, while other English frequencies with music are OK, 6165, 6100, 6000, 5040. At 0708, 6165 is still on but in Spanish, S9+20; 6060 still DA at S9+20, 6000 off. 9710 // 9535, Dec 18 at 0705, RHC Spanish frequencies are only S9 and S8, still on the air, and I bet they were in English before 0700. 5040, Dec 18 at 0709, RHC`s weekly Sunday Esperanto broadcast is on here, S9+30 in addition to only scheduled frequency 6100! Another mixup and who knows if they woke up and turned it off before 0730? 10345, Sunday Dec 18 at 0710, S9+40 Cuban Spy numbers and digibursts, first noted via the R75 on 11735! as mixture/overload with local KCRC, 1390 kHz above 10345. 6060, Dec 19 at 0253, RHC Spanish is S9 of open carrier/dead air! Just like it was last night, Dec 18 at 0655 check. So always? Yes, still OC/DA tonight Dec 19 at 0623 check just as `DXers Unlimited` is ending on all the other English frequencies; shux, missed it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15140, Radio Habana Cuba; 2039-2047+, 20-Dec; “RHC” after English commentary into “DXers Unlimited” with Arnaldo Coro. Clean S35 signal at tune, then at 2040+ transmitter? hum suddenly up and sig strength down to S20-30; 2042+ phone ringing in background and talk (xmtr op calling?) Brief break at 2045 to clean sig for ID which never came, then back to Arnie with hummy sig (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet 23 Dec via DXLD) 9490, Dec 21 at 0450, wall of noise jamming at S9+5 is still running, altho R. República via France must be off by now, no carrier amid the noise. 9565 also has pulse jamming at S8, long after R. Martí is finished with this frequency. 6100, Dec 20 at 0458, RHC open carrier at S9+35, while English on 6165 is OK; shortly 6100 starts modulating in Spanish, not English but before 0500 has switched to English (0500 is the start time for 6100). 6060, meanwhile, at 0459 is S9+30 but JBM in English. 6060, Dec 21 0538, RHC English is S9+40 of dead air, or straining, just barely modulated (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Hi Glenn, Pete here, K4POR, WPE1SH. Tried searching, there was a Canadian person on Radio Havana back some time ago His name was something like Langford Livingston?? Originally from Maine (Pete K4POR, Russell, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It was ``Langston Wright`` I found this comment about him by Keith Perron from 2009: << Some of you may remember the name Langston Wright (real name Mike Finney). He was someone who I had nothing but respect for. I remember all the times we would be hanging out in studio 2 when no one was around to have a smoke. The stories he told me about how he ended up in Cuba were amazing. I can proudly say that I knew someone who was on the FBI's most wanted list. Yes, the FBI was after him for his involvement of the shooting of a US State Trooper. I found this link about his story for all of you who are interested. http://www.miaminewtimes.com/1991-05-08/news/michael-finney-s-last-flight >> I don`t know that he was Canadian or from Maine. Keith Perron is in fact originally from Canada. Worked at RHC for a while. Now running PCJ Radio International in Taiwan. 73, (Glenn to Pete, via DXLD) Just checked: the New Times story from 1991 is still accessible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glen[n], thank you for the return, I was not even close. I guess in my email, I meant I was from Maine, former K1MJP (57 years a ham) got the Popular Electronics "certificate" prior, then the WDX1SH, and the WPC1SH. Too many stories (Pete K4POR, Russell, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from From the Isle of Music. Many thanks for your support, especially in this our critical first year of the program (we are a couple of months shy of our first anniversary, which we fully intend to celebrate). In January, our 0100-0200 Tuesday broadcast continues on WBCQ 7490 kHz Our new winter hours for Channel 292 will be adjusted slightly as the Voice of Turkey is interfering with us on Saturday at a time not officially listed for them. The new times will be Fridays 1100-1200 UT Channel 292 6070 KHz Saturdays 1200-1300 UT Channel 292 6070 KHz 73, (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: www.tilfordproductions.com Dec 20, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Newer version does not show the new time: (gh) From the Isle of Music, Week of December 26-31: From Mambo to Songo: A Special Cuban Dance Party For our final program of 2016, we bring you a special Cuban dance party without interview, plus a tribute to Pérez Prado, who was born 100 years ago on December 11, 1916. Three options for listening on shortwave: WBCQ, 7490, Tuesdays 0100-0200 UT (8-9 pm EST Mondays in the Americas) Channel 292, 6070, Fridays 1100-1200 UT (1200-1300 CET) and Saturdays 1600-1700 UT (1700-1800 CET)* *The Saturday broadcast may suffer significant interference from the Voice of Turkey in some areas but should be listenable in the UK and other areas outside of TRT's target area. We will have a new time for Saturdays in 2017. See our Facebook Page for more information. Happy New Year! (Bill Tilford, FTIOM, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Altho Channel 292 is registered for 24 hours on 6070, its 25 kW are not enough to dissuade several other stations from colliding. TRT *is* ``officially listed`` at 16-17, 500 kW, 105 degrees in Farsi. At other times, 6070 in HFCC: RRI Jayapura (imaginary), Vatican, Austria, China --- and not in HFCC but was there first by decades: CFRX also 24 hours (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DENMARK. DENMARK TO ADD NATIONWIDE DIGITAL RADIO NETWORK CAPACITY Radiomagonline.com December 21, 2016 By Doug Irwin, CPBE AMD DRB Copenhagen — Denmark’s Radio and Television Board has authorized new digital radio networks that will come on-air there in October 2017. There will be capacity for multiple radio stations to have nation-wide access, according to slks.dk. More here: http://www.radiomagonline.com/around-the-world/0020/denmark-to-add-nationwide-digital-radio-network-capacity/38474%20 Posted by: (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) DAB, or what? See also NORWAY ** EAST TURKISTAN. 1521.00, 1910-1920 21.12, CHINA, CRI, via Xinjiang, Urumqi, Russian comments about Ukraine, ID: "CRI", 44444 // 6100 (45444) AP-DNK Best 73, (Anker Petersen, I now also have time for MW DX-ing, so here are a few loggings heard in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, wb radio yg via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 9325, Dec 17 at 1812, S9 signal with suptorted just barely modulation, S9, 1826 a little better Qur`anish. Obviously R. Cairo Hausa service as scheduled, 18-21 UT, 250 kW, 241 degrees from Abis. 9540.24, Dec 17 at 1831, open carrier at S6. This is obviously R. Cairo in Italian at 18-19, 250 kW, 315 degrees from Abis USward, which I also had Dec 9, measured on 9540.158 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also UNIDENTIFIED 9330 Open carrier, probably from Radio Cairo on Dec 18: from 1103 on 9515.3 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu dead air from 1113 on 9570.3 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu dead air Winter B-16 schedule of Radio Cairo on 9515 & 9570a kHz is 1500-1600 on 9515.3 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu Albanian 1900-2000 on 9570.3 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu German http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/open-carrier-probably-from-radio-cairo.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 18, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ERITREA [and non]. 7174.988, Probably Asmara, signal in eastern Thailand at 1527 UT on Dec 15, and accompanied 7168.2 to 7180.5 broadband data noise jamming, covered by Ethiopian Jamming Service from NISS security service, at Gedja Jawe site. Made in China BBEF Beijing transmitter in data mode audio sound, white noise scratching outlet. NOTHING on air on 7146v kHz this afternoon (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7175, Dec 16 at 1523, JBA carrier, presumed VOBME-1 by long path. Also JBA carriers on 7120-Somaliland, 7205-Sudan, but not 7146+ for the other VOBME. There is one on 7195 where suspect VOBME-2 has shifted, but not confirmed elsewhere. (In fact, at a very different hour, 15-17 UT, 7195 has been identified by Ivo Ivanov as RFA in Korean via Tinian, ex-7210. Isn`t it unprecedented for IBB to invade the ham band like that??) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA/ETHIOPIA [n o n]. Nothing noted this morning from Asmara Eritrea on 7146v and 7175 kHz, no Ethiopian jamming either (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, dxldyg via DXLD) Time? before 0500 per adjacent logs (gh, DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. 5950, Dec 20 at 0501, WRMIBS has some CCI weaker talk underneath. Must be V of Tigray Revolution, from ETHIOPIA, in Aoki until 0530 (but not in HFCC) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. [Re UNID 11670] 11670, Fri Dec 16 at 1512, again no signal in Arabic as heard Wed Dec 14 but not Thu Dec 15 either. 11670, Sat Dec 17 at 1515, unID S9+10 Arabic is back! mentions Stockholm so suspected IBRA, but many more mentions of Al-Shabab in continuous M&M conversation; 1529 HOA song and announcement, 1531 switch to non-Arabic language, with schedule mentioning kHz and meter- band, 1532 finally catch ID as ``Radio Adal``. That`s the one which had been on 17580, 100 kW via Issoudun, FRANCE at 15-16. Confirmed by Ivo Ivanov, on Wed/Sat only sked, thus explaining the hiatus, and switching to Tigrinya at 1531 (plus R. Al-Mukhtar on Tuesdays) (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) in MBR operational fq schedule 17580 1500-1600 48NW HR 4/4/0.5 125 216 347 ISS 100 RAD 011216-250317 RAD = MBR internal customer name 17580 1500 1600 48NW ISS 100 125 0 216 347 301016 250317 Mul F MBR MBR 15831 feed line: A.eaer (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) R. Al-Mukhtar & R. Adal on new frequency via MBR Issoudun, Dec 17 Radio Al-Mukhtar 1500-1530 11670 ISS 100 kW / 125 deg EAf Arabic Tue, instead of 17580 1530-1600 11670 ISS 100 kW / 125 deg EAf Tigrinya Tue instead of 17580 Radio Adal 1500-1530 11670 ISS 100 kW / 125 deg EAf Arabic Wed/Sat ex-17580 1530-1600 11670 ISS 100 kW / 125 deg EAf Tigrinya Wed/Sat, ex-17580 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/ral-mukhtar-radal-on-new-frequency-via.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 17, dxldyg via DXLD) FRANCE, Strong signal of Radio Al-Mukhtar via TDF Issoudun, Dec 20 1500-1530 on 11670 ISS 100 kW / 125 deg to EaAf Arabic Tue 1530-1558 on 11670 ISS 100 kW / 125 deg to EaAf Tigrinya Tue http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/strong-signal-of-radio-al-mukhtar-via.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. SECRETLAND, BaBcoCk Dimtse Radio Erena via SPL Secretbrod, Dec 14 1700-1730 on 11965 SCB 050 kW / 195 deg to EaAf Tigrinya Mon-Fri 1730-1800 on 11965 SCB 050 kW / 195 deg to EaAf Arabic Mon-Fri 1700-1800 on 11965 SCB 050 kW / 195 deg to EaAf Tigrinya Sat/Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/babcock-dimtse-radio-erena-via-spl.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Equipment: Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, Web: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/ Dec 14-15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 7235 lower side: Noted in remote units in Doha Qatar and Madrid Spain, wandered signal of ? Radio Ethiopia in Somali language, 7-8 UT: 0702 UT 7233.950 kHz upwards to 0712 UT 7234.044 kHz, 0722 UT 7234.172 kHz (Wolfgang Bücschel, Dec 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ETHIOPIA is back on their very odd and always 'wandering' TX unit in 41 mb; at 1602 UT on Dec 21 on 7236.068 ... wandered up to 7236.087 kHz within 3 minutes time. S=9+20dB signal noted on remote SDR in Doha Qatar ME. 73 wb df5sx (Büschel, ibid.) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. GERMANY, New frequency of Bible Voice Broadcasting via MBR Nauen, Dec 17, ex-15525: 1600-1630 NF 11790 NAU 100 kW / 148 deg to EaAf Oromo Sat-Tue 1630-1700 NF 11790 NAU 100 kW / 148 deg to EaAf Amharic Mon/Wed/Fri 1630-1700 NF 11790 NAU 100 kW / 148 deg to EaAf Somali Sat/Sun 1630-1730 NF 11790 NAU 100 kW / 148 deg to EaAf Amharic Tue 1630-1800 NF 11790 NAU 100 kW / 148 deg to EaAf Amharic Thu 1700-1730 NF 11790 NAU 100 kW / 148 deg to EaAf Amharic Sat/Sun 1700-1800 NF 11790 NAU 100 kW / 148 deg to EaAf Tigrinya Mon/Wed 1730-1800 NF 11790 NAU 100 kW / 148 deg to EaAf Hadiyya Sat/Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/new-frequency-of-bible-voice.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. New frequency of Radio Xoriyo via MBR Issoudun from Dec 13 1600-1630 NF 11970 ISS 500 kW / 130 deg to EaAf Somali Tue/Sat, ex 17630 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/new-frequency-of-radio-xoriyo-ogaden.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. GERMANY, New frequency of Voice of Oromo Liberation via MBR Nauen from Dec 11, ex-15170: 1700-1730 NF 11810 NAU 100 kW / 139 deg EaAf Afar Oromo Wed/Fri/Sun 1730-1800 NF 11810 NAU 100 kW / 139 deg EaAf Amharic Wed http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/new-frequency-of-voice-of-oromo.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [and non]. ÄTHIOPIEN [GERMANY/THAILAND], Ein dicker Weisses Rauschen Jammer der Staatsicherheit aus Gedja Äthiopien auf 11829.5 bis 11841.2 kHz Block, gegen die VoA Udorn Thani Thailand relay in Amharisch um 18-19 UT. Udorn aus Ban Dung tx site, wie allgemein immer etwas abweichend auf 11834.970 kHz. \\ gab es noch das Signal aus IBB Lampertheim 12110 kHz S=8-9, aber ohne erkennbaren Jamming Blockstörer [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 18, via DXLD) ** EUROPE. HOLLAND, Free Radio Service Holland special on Dec 26 [NOT 25]: 0830-1430 on 7700 unknown tx / unknown to WeEu English 0830-1430 on 9300 unknown tx / unknown to WeEu English 1630-2230 on 7700 unknown tx / unknown to WeEu English 1630-2230 on 9300 unknown tx / unknown to WeEu English http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/free-radio-service-holland-special-on.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) ** FRANCE. Hello, It’s official, Radio France lost the licence to broadcast on LW from Allouis 162 kHz. Here is the text published this morning in the Journal Officiel. https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=4FA2972E06E57646366E6B684B82FA65.tpdila10v_2?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000033624133&dateTexte=&oldAction=rechJO&categorieLien=id&idJO=JORFCONT000033623160 (Christian Ghibaudo, Nice France, Dec 17, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Just to be clear, Radio France ``renounced`` it; it was not taken away from them (gh, DXLD) Although the licence for 162 kHz LW from Allouis will be revoked from 1 January 2017, it was announced on air this morning that France Inter transmissions on that frequency will cease on 26 December 2016. (David, Dec 21, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) TDF also closes. TDF is a time signal controlled by the LNE–SYRTE and broadcast by Télédiffusion de France from the Allouis longwave transmitter at 162 kHz, with a power of 2 MW. It is also known as FI or France Inter because the transmitter primarily broadcasts the France Inter AM signal (Wikipedia via Mike Terry, ibid.) Holy crap. Obviously this Wikipedia page urgently needs a visit from some nasty IP. TDF is the operator of the transmitter who, following a current corporate fashion, no longer uses the long form of its name but only the acronym. It was formerly part of France Telecom, which in itself emerged from the former state-run telcom operations. Nowadays TDF is in the hand of financial investors. Here the name of that company is frequently mentioned in connection with the Issoudun shortwave transmitters. (By the way, Allouis had until 1997 a few shortwave transmitters, too; 4 x 100 kW plus a 4 kW exclusively run on 3965 kHz.) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, ibid.) But, according to this report today, the time synchronisation signal will continue on 162 kHz? THE TIME SIGNAL WILL REMAIN ON THE 162 KHZ OF FRANCE INTER Wednesday 21 December, 2016 http://www.lalettre.pro/Le-signal-horaire-restera-sur-le-162-kHz-de-France-Inter_a12354.html The National Frequency Agency (ANFR) was commissioned by the Government to maintain the broadcast of the hourly signal after the stop of France Inter GO in late December. This service is widely used in key sectors of French industry to synchronize more than 200,000 clocks. France Inter on Long Wave, broadcasted throughout the metropolitan area on the frequency 162 kHz from the TDF site of Allouis (Cher), will stop at the end of December 2016. Since 1977, the frequency of France Inter transmits also a reference time signal elaborated from atomic clocks. This signal is inaudible but, when it is picked up by an appropriate apparatus, it provides French legal time. Some public service undertakings, such as SNCF, Enedis or Aéroports de Paris, but also local authorities, use this signal to synchronize clocks in public places, information panels, Public lighting or the synchronization of pay and display machines. This radio-synchronization service on the 162 kHz frequency provides a time reference of very high accuracy and reliability. It has the advantage of being better received in indoor spaces than other time bases, such as GPS or mobile phone networks. The Government wished to maintain the broadcasting of these hourly signals after the termination of France Inter's programs. In this context, it has mandated ANFR to organize the maintenance of this broadcast as of 1 January 2017. ANFR, in close association with TDF, the CFHM (French Chamber of Watchmaking and Microtechniques) , And the main users of the signal, will carry out tests from early 2017 to adjust the broadcast parameters of the time signal. (translated by Google) (Alan Pennington, ibid., WORLD OF RADIO 1857) Hello, Informations given by Alan are right. The time signal will remain on 162 kHz from January 1st 2017. Note, that relay of France Inter, will stop on December 26th. After the transmitter will broadcast a message with informations how to listen to France Inter until December 31st 2016, midnight. A Facebook page, is ready for maintaining the LW on the air: https://www.facebook.com/Maintien-de-la-diffusion-grandes-ondes-de-France-Inter-102914426773097/?fref=ts The Government (i.e. French people) will pay for the Time Signal, but Radio France (also paid by the Government and the French people) don’t have money to pay for the broadcast (Christian Ghibaudo, Nice, France, bdxc-uk yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) What happens is that they now insert every half hour an advice of the imminent closure. It seems to say that the regular program will no longer be heard here as of Dec 26, i.e. Monday. Have there ever been cases of 162 kHz breaking away from regular France Inter before? (Kai Ludwig, 1004 UT Dec 22, ibid.) So do we expect to get 2 MW of dead air with time signals? 73, (Günter Lorenz, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So does that mean firing up the 2 MW transmitter for one minute every hour?? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) See this post: http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2120727&page=49 Vectorsum Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Future EU Scottish Republic Posts: 817 The detection bandwidth for the digital time information is probably only a few tens of Hertz, so transmitter power could be massively scaled back from whatever it's set at now (claimed to be 2 MW). As an example, the actual radiated power from the time signal at Anthorn in Cumbria is just over 15 kW and probably reaches a couple of thousand km on 60 kHz. The antenna array at Allouis, if that's the site that will eventually be used, will be much more efficient than the 'T' at Anthorn but the frequency is higher and therefore more lossy, so probably 30-50 kW EMRP would do it for the time signal (via Mike Barraclough, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) No. The carrier is not only amplitude-modulated with program audio but also phase-modulated with the time signal in question. This phase modulation is inaudible. Thus 162 kHz will turn into a silent carrier, unless they choose to put whatever signal into the AM modulator. The speculations about the power that will still be used must consider the use of this signal. It still has to be decodable on existing equipment in the whole of France. A plain CW signal, as the mentioned 15 kW one on 60 kHz, is a different story than such a more complex signal. I think it should also be emphasized that this all is not about a licence revocation but about Radio France terminating the transmission contract. Certainly the poster at Digital Spy who wrote that "politically it would be impossible for them to be giving folk their books and at the same time continuing to pour cash into a transmission medium that they claim is only being used by a very small percentage of total domestic audience" is completely right. Cutting back on programming while keeping legacy AM transmitters is simply impossible. The story with the recent CSA announcements is another one that already circulates as a rumour: That 162 kHz, which has to be kept operational anyway, could be used by some other broadcaster. This could be RMC Info, replacing 216 kHz, maybe even prompted to do so by TDF (MCR is nowadays a TDF subsidiary anyway). As said this is a mere rumour, perhaps mere speculation without any foundation. It will turn out rather soon it seems. Meanwhile https://www.franceinter.fr/societe/la-fin-des-grandes-ondes still says that "France Inter va cesser d’émettre sur les Grandes Ondes à partir du 1er Janvier 2017". So first the vague reports that emerged today need to be followed up. By the way: 198 kHz contains an inaudible PSK time signal as well. If it is as widely used in the UK as the 162 kHz one in France a termination of that transmission contract by the BBC would be an interesting development as well (Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CSA website published today: "In order to determine whether the Commission should initiate the procedures necessary to appeal the 162 kHz frequency, it decided to issue a call for expressions of interest for the broadcast of a radio service on the 162 kHz frequency. Responses are expected no later than 16 January 2017." http://www.csa.fr/Espace-juridique/Decisions-du-CSA/Frequence-radio-162-kHz-appel-a-manifestation-d-interet (Mike Barraclough, ibid.) The time signal is continuous, not hourly (-- Richard Langley, NB, ibid.) ** GERMANY [and non]. Re: [A-DX] Digi Mode 6070 --- Am 18.12.2016 um 12:46 schrieb Norbert Baasner: Hi, Auf 6070 kHz höre ich gerade eine Sendung in Digi-Modus (Olivia 16-500), DX Italia DX NEWS, by I2MQP. Sonntag 1130 UT. Einen schönen 4.Advent wünsche ich Euch noch (Norbert aus Dresden via roger, dxldyg via DXLD) Here are pictures of my reception on this frequency: http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/VoA_Radiogram_2016-12-17.htm#6070 In this HDSDR screenshot, AM mix products of the IBC logo are clearly visible in the area of the carrier, at exactly 6070 kHz. These are intermodulation products of the third order 2 x f1 - f2 [f2 = 2xf1] (when f1 = 1500 Hz and f2 = AM harmonic x 2 of f1) This results in: 3000 Hz - 3000 Hz = 0 (the center of this intermodulation is in the carrier area, therefore there is visible "phantom-AF" in the spectrum. Otherwise in DIGIDX #41 the announcement, now also broadcast via IBC regularly from/for Europe, via 3975 kHz. http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/VoA_Radiogram_2016-12-17.htm#DIGIDX Where is this station location, "somewhere in Italy" .......?* I do not believe in Santa Maria di Galeria with 100 kW .... ;-) (roger, Germany, ibid.) ** GERMANY [and non]. Next Radio Mi Amigo special transmissions: This Christmas we'll present you with 2 extra high power Special Event broadcasts that will cover a large part of the globe! What better occasion than X-mas to celebrate the fact that in 2016 we became the fastest growing AM/Shortwave station in Europe - and possibly the world. Our special 2 hour broadcast on December 25th will come from the Armenian 100 kW transmitter - aimed at the larger European region - including Eastern Europe and large parts of Russia and the Middle East. On December 26th )* a very powerful 125 kW signal from Nauen in Germany will be aimed directly at North America, but with a large overlap in other regions as well. Our special Event show will be presented live from Amsterdam in the Netherlands, with contributions from all involved with Radio Mi Amigo, directly from studio's in Holland, The UK, Germany, Spain and Equador [sic]. We'll introduce ourselves to hopefully many new listeners, celebrate with the current ones, look back at our 2016 highlights and play some very special music. You'll get updates of our plans for next year and we'll talk DX and Shortwave. Please note the times and frequencies below and calculate UTC times to your timezone. (For instance: EST -New York- will be on December 25, 7 - 9 pm) Date: 25-12-2016 Time: 1900-2100 UT (20:00-22:00 hrs Central European Time) Frequency: 6145 kHz (49 meter band) - via Armenia (100 kW) To: the greater European region Date: 26-12-2016 Time: 0000-0200 UT (01:00-03:00 hrs Central European Time) Frequency: 6080 kHz (49 meter band) via Nauen, Germany (125 kW) To: North America )* Note that in the U.S. the broadcast date is still December 25! 7 - 9 pm [EST], 6- 8 pm [CST] and 4 - 6 pm [PST] (via Manuel Méndez, and Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD; also via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) And people in MST get dissed as usual, We are fortunate they even mention CST (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** GERMANY. Radio MiAmigo International via MBR Nauen on Dec.26: 0000-0200 on 6080 NAU 125 kW / 300 deg to ENAm English, special px http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/radio-miamigo-international-via-mbr.html (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via DXLD) [non]. I pointed out on WOR 1857 that this might be a problem: 6080 BRAZIL. Radio Marumby-Curitiba (Tentative), at 0040, on 17 Dec, in Portuguese. A male speaker sounds as if he is preaching based on the tone of his voice and words he is using such as “Cristo.” An instrumental hymn played next with a new announcer coming on and speaking with music playing in the background. Poor (John Cooper, PA, ODXA YRX via DXLD) I suppose it may be better further east (Glenn Hauser, OK, DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. Shortwaveservice Relays in the upcoming days Dear friends, please find included the relays of the coming two weeks via Shortwaveservice [all times UT; Noratus = Gavar/Yerevan, Armenia] 25.12.2016 0900-1000 06045 Nauen 233 Eu R. Menschen & Geschichten 25.12.2016 1000-1100 11690 Noratus 078 As SM Radio International 25.12.2016 1200-1300 17695 Noratus 100 Au SM Radio International 25.12.2016 1800-1900 06145 Noratus 305 Eu SM Radio International 25.12.2016 1900-2100 06145 Noratus 305 Eu R. Mi Amigo International 25.12.2016 2100-2200 06005 Noratus 245 Af SM Radio International 26.12.2016 0000-0200 06080 Nauen 300 NAm R. Mi Amigo International 26.12.2016 0100-0200 12020 Noratus 245 SAm SM Radio International 26.12.2016 0300-0400 07305 Noratus 330 NAm SM Radio International [note: earlier publicity as on WOR 1857 had the 03 frequency as TBA] 31.12.2016 1000-1200 06005 Kall 020 Eu SM Radio Dessau 01.01.2017 1900-2000 06145 Noratus 305 Eu R. Menschen & Geschichten 01.01.2017 2000-2100 06145 Noratus 305 Eu Radio Pushka 01.01.2017 2100-2130 06145 Noratus 305 Eu Golden 80s Rewind 14.01.2017 1900-2000 06145 Noratus 305 Eu ADDX Jubiläumsprogramm Best regards (Christian Milling, http://www.shortwaveservice.com Dec 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. 7260.004, AFS SenTec Meyerton, Swahili Program of DWL Bonn Germany, 0322 UT proper S=9+25dB transmission across the whole Africa continent into Germany. co-channel 7260 even kHz, Aoki list is wrong, PBS Xinjiang Urumqi still on air also 0325 UT. Probably missed in ITU list 0257-0800 UT !!! (Wolfgang Büschel, 0332 UT Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Voice of Greece on 9420 and 9935 kHz on Dec 14-15 from 2000 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek tx#3 from 2000 on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to WeEu Greek tx#1 0700-0804 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek#tx#3 0700-0800 on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 323 deg to ENAm Greek tx#1 # including several words in Arabic from 0804 UT & off air. http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/voice-of-greece-on-9420-and-9935-khz-on.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Equipment: Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, Web: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/ Dec 14-15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of Greece relay Proto programa* Dec 20: 0640-0940 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek#tx#3, off at 0935 0640-0940 11645 AVL 100 kW / 182 deg to NoAf Greek tx#1, off at 0935 * First program, without news in Serbian at 0702 UT and Arabic at 0804 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/voice-of-greece-relay-proto-programa-on.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GUINEA [and non]. Conakry, 9650.0015 exact measured at 0656 UT on Dec 18. Fast West African music program. at S=7 or -85dBm. To compare at same time slot 0700 UT: ASC BBC 9915 S=9+20dB TUR VoTUR 9700 S=9+35dB CVA VR SMG 9660 S=9+45dB powerhouse ALB CRI Cerrik Arabic, 9590 S=9+30dB MRC RMI Nador 9575 only fluttery S=8-9 GRC Voice of Greece, orthodox Sunday mass live transmission, S=9+35dB [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 18, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ICELAND [and non]. Hi Glenn, I am sitting here in a third floor apartment on the Seltjarnarnes Peninsula, Reykjavik, Iceland, and am listening to a Reykjavik (Iceland) test station on 666 kHz running 1 kilowatt and no IDs, just continuous pop, rock and oldies, including some Country oldies country like Johnny Cash. My friend here in Reykjavik and I think the play-list consisting of approx. 200 songs is quite hilarious and entertaining. When I first heard it the second night here I thought it was a pirate! Of course I am making a lot of recordings of this test. On Thursday 15 December 2016, my Reykjavik friend Kristjan and I met up with the fellow involved in the test - Bennie. Bennie is also a 6-meter buff as I am, and we had a lot to talk about including my time in September 1986 doing field-strength measurements for 1060 KAHU Hilo then testing; also: This Reykjavik 666 kHz test station presently running since March 2016 (via an old Bauer AM transmitter retrofitted with an sophisticated SCADA system) was built to determine whether a single or network of mediumwave transmitting-stations situated throughout Iceland could replace the aging longwave broadcast systems on 189 and 207 kHz (parallel 90.1 here in Reykjavik). Presently 189 kHz transmits from the tip of the Sneafellsnes Peninsula near Ondvertharnes Lighthouse, so about 50 km or so to the northwest of Reyk City. The transmitter is at half-power of 150 kW presently due to problems with the aging 450 metre-tall mast. The 207 kHz transmitter is in eastern Iceland and is running the full 100 kW power. This test station on 666 kHz (employing a Marconi "T" antenna with single cable uplead to the flat-top antenna much like an NDB) for the government of Iceland will run for a while longer but is not guaranteed to be on much past the Summer of 2017. I caught 666 kHz Reykjavik via skywave the early morning of 13 December on Hrisey (Island) north of Akureyri in the north of Iceland in the midst of Eyjafjorthur fjord. The 666 kHz Reykjavik station was fading under and over Portugal on my Sony ICF-SW7600GR barefoot. Recording(s) made of course. When the K-index finally dropped below 2 to 1 (we saw aurora a few partially clear nights) the AM/MW BCB came alive, and in the middle of the night North American 10 kHz stations hetrodyne UK and European stations. Moldova (1 MW) 1413 was solid every night up in the north Iceland. USA graveyarder stations on 1230 to 1490 were just warbly carriers and brief snippits of audio up north on Hrisey Island and also in Reykjavik, even past 11.00 local time morning dawn! 1449 UK stations below 1 kW hetrodyne USA 1450 graveyarders in the middle of the long night here but so lit up via the moon and Christmas lights. By the way, I made a lot of recordings of 1215 Absolute Radio UK with their many "synched" transmitters and never failed to be amazed at the complex selective-fading syndrome evident with them in Iceland (and as I recall in Russia and Finland in Sept. 2009, too.) It is NICE to not have Russia (V. of Russia) QRMing Absolute Radio 1215 kHz now, too). Greenland 650 is solid reception into Reykjavik past 11.00 also (// 720 weaker). 650 is a big signal now at 22.06 local/UT Iceland time. All being documented on several recorders I have. Most of my audio recordings of broadcast DX will be posted on Internet Archives sometime this winter once back home in California! BTW, I also visited the 355 REK NDB on the tip of the Seltjarnarnes Peninsula admidst a golf course. 73 from a very mild Reykjavik, Iceland - (Stephen P. McGreevy - N6NKS - 17 December 2016 at 22.13 UT. (Revised 22 Dec. 2016 in Keeler, California) http://www.auroralchorus.com Natural VLF Radio and Travel ===================== http://www.auroralchorus.com Natural VLF Radio and Travel DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ICELAND. EAST ICELANDERS COMPLAIN OVER WEATHER MAP By News from Elsewhere - as found by BBC Monitoring 20 December 2016 Image copyright RUV: Image caption Monday's forecast saw the presenter hovering over east Iceland... [caption] People living in the east of Iceland are complaining that they can't see where they live on the national broadcaster's weather forecasts. According to the Iceland Monitor news website, residents are annoyed that they never see the forecast on the RUV channel for their part of the island because the forecaster is invariably standing in the way... http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-38378782 (via Terry Krueger, FL, DXLD) We have similar complaints in Enid. OKC TV stations, (nothing local in Enid) tend to cover up Enid at the top of the screen on maps with their unnecessary self-promotional grafix. And: Just because it *can* be done, there is no excuse for *any* part of a weatherperson`s body to cover up any part of a weather map! Even if she is curvy, as almost invariably required for the female ones (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 5050, AIR (Aizawl) 1436-1440+ 13 Dec. Surprised to find AIR well over BBR with English news, sports (cricket results, information on the upcoming 5th Test match of India v. England on 19 Dec.) (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA, PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CHINA [and non] ** INDIA. 7430, 0225-0932 UT, AIR Mumbai Hindi Bhopal, 0314 UT. Bhopal is the best audio broadcast from India these days! (Wolfgang Büschel, 0332 UT Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 9526.049 exact fq at 1508 UT Dec 15, VoINS Cimanggis slow speed spoken Chinese. S=9+10dB. Heavy co-channel QRM noted in Uwe's remote unit in eastern Thailand. Co-ch even 9525 CRI English via Kashgar western China site (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. For those like me, plagued by QRM, go to http://radio.garden You’ll see a globe with greens dots on it. The dots are streaming radio stations from around the world. Click on them and they’ll play the location station, live. If you click on History in the upper left, it takes you through old historical programs from random stations, and the Jingles button will play old station jingles. It’s pretty slick - give it a spin! http://www.insideradio.com/free/radio-garden-site-allows-wide-world-of-streaming/article_15c2c944-c247-11e6-ad0f-6399fca0d288.html http://www.travelerstoday.com/articles/29584/20161215/radio-garden-site-makes-listen-stations-over-world.htm (Bill Carney, MARE Tipsheet Dec 16 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. See CONGO [non] ** IRAN. 9700, Dec 15 at 1424, Qur`an poor at S5. It`s VIRI Bengali service, 1420-1520, 100 kW, 98 degrees from Sirjan, per HFCC. And tnx to RNZI NOT using 9700 now despite woodenly registering it as alternative on both antennas (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7370.005, VoIRI Sirjan outlet in Arabic towards Saudi peninsula strait south at 198 degree azimuth. S=9+50dB or -21dBm POWERHOUSE! in Doha Qatar remote SDR unit. Male voice presenter in progress at 0503 UT on Dec 16, \\ from Zahedan outlet on 7380.002 kHz towards North Africa, Levante, Palestine, Sahel, West Africa; at S=9+40dB powerful signal too. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, dxldyg via DXLD) IRIB Arabic Arabic "Al-Quds TV" 7370.005 produce two spurious in 41 mb --- IRAN 7370.005 Noted in remote SDR unit at Doha Qatar: IRIB Arabic "Al-Quds TV" Sirjan site of S=9+55dB powerhouse signal, produces two accompanied spurious signal of S=8-9 strength, 6 kHz wide each side on 7254 to 7260 kHz and 7480 to 7486 kHz. Arabic "Al-Quds TV" program 0230-0530 UT. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, 0406 UT Dec 17, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. The FNA [German regulator agency] is aware of the overshoots coming from 6135 (Iran) and 6155 (China). According to their measurements on 6155 kHz: 14.4 kHz (99%-BW maximal) and Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran: 21.0 kHz (99%-BW maximal). The corresponding national frequency agencies are contacted to check and correct this. Tomorrow next chance to receive 6145 kHz again at 20 UT for the German broadcaster "FM Kompakt", a 60 minute media-magazine. Posted by: ("Christian Milling", 2127 UT Dec 17, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. MDA Grigoriopol Moldova, Persian 0230-0315 UT, R. Payem e-Doost Bahai religion, S=9+40dB POWERHOUSE at 0309 UT, 7460 kHz. 14.2 kHz wide wonderful audio outlet (Wolfgang Büschel, 0332 UT Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. LOG: 3975 kHz AM / MFSK32@1500 Hz DigiDX#41 20.00z..... ca. 5 - 12 dB SNR ==> http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/VoA_Radiogram_2016-12-17.htm#DIGIDX LOG: 3975 kHz AM / "FRECUENCIA AL DIA" / ===> "Radio Vaticano" 2030z. O=3 (Southern Saxony-Anhalt) (roger, Dec 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGESTE) ** ITALY [and non]. From ITALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION - IBC Auguri a tutti dallo staff di IBC! E con le festività arrivano anche le novità. Da mercoledì 21 dicembre infatti la trasmissione del mercoledì sarà ascoltabile anche in onde medie stereo su 1584 kHz grazie alla collaborazione con Radio Studio X; il nostro schedule completo per il mercoledì sarà quindi: - 1584 kHz 19-21 ora italiana [UT +1] - 3975 kHz 19-22 ora italiana - 6070 kHz 20-21 ora italiana Ricordiamo che la trasmissione delle 20-21 è replicata ogni sabato alle 14-15 ora italiana sempre su 6070 kHz. In quell'ora potrete inoltre ascoltare la rubrica "Permettete mi presento", già in onda nel 1979-80, dove daremo spazio alla vostra voce se vorrete condividere con tutti gli ascoltatori le vostre esperienze tecniche, radiofoniche, di radioascolto, radioamatoriali, di contest, di autocostruzione, oppure ad esempio se vorrete promuovere una vostra iniziativa o della vostra associazione. Attendiamo le vostre collaborazioni sottoforma di file audio di 10/15 minuti, che trasmetteremo nel corso delle prossime settimane. Ed ogni sabato alle 22-22.30 ora italiana, ricordiamo, siamo ancora su 1584 kHz. Come sempre troverete tutte le informazioni aggiornate sulla nostra programmazione sul sito http://www.ibcradio.webs.com. Potrete ascoltare le trasmissioni del mercoledì e sabato in onda su 1584 kHz anche in streaming su http://myradiostream.com/radiostudiox Ancora auguri, 73's Saverio, IBC - ITALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION mail: ibc@europe.com http://www.ibcradio.webs.com FB: @ITALIANBROADCASTINGCORPORATION TW: @RADIOIBC Season greetings from IBC! Our updated schedule: WEDNESDAY 1800-2000 UT 1584 KHZ AM STEREO ***NEW*** 1800-2100 UT 3975 KHZ AM 1900-2000 UT 6070 KHZ AM FRIDAY 0200-0230 UT 9955 KHZ [WRMI] SATURDAY 1300-1400 UT 6070 KHZ 2100-2130 UT 1584 KHZ AM STEREO SUNDAY 0030-0100 UT 7730 KHZ [WRMI] "IBC DIGITAL" schedule: - EVERY WEDNESDAY ON 3975 KHZ 2030-2100 UT in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500 - EVERY FRIDAY ON 9955 KHZ 0225-0230 UT in MFSK32 - EVERY SATURDAY ON 1584 KHZ 2125-2130 UT in MFSK32 - EVERY SUNDAY ON 7730 KHZ 0055-0100 UT in MFSK32 - EVERY SUNDAY ON 6070 KHZ 1130-1200 UT in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500 (VIA RADIO BCLNEWS) 73's Saverio, IBC - ITALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION mail: ibc@europe.com http://www.ibcradio.webs.com FB: @ITALIANBROADCASTIN GCORPORATION TW: @RADIOIBC (via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 2850 kHz North Korea Shortwave via Long Path Propagation Heard in Michigan --- KILOKAT7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C76wU5XjIjc (via Artie Bigley, OH, DXLD) Published on Dec 14, 2016 [Youtube caption from Tim Tromp] North Korea heard in Michigan during the early evening when the gray line terminator favors both Michigan and North Korea. Reception only audible on my South antenna and the signal almost disappeared when switching to the North antenna, so I assume this is long path propagation at work. Though a typical DX catch during my sunrise, it is somewhat unusual to catch 2850 during the evening here. 18,465 miles long path, Dec 7 at 2227 (via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. NEW ENCRYPTED DIGIT CODES VIA PYONGYANG According to the news of the German service of KBS World Radio that started at 2000 UT, North Korea transmitted new encrypted digit codes on Friday at 0115 South Korean Time (= Thursday at 1615 UT). These codes differ from those heard on December 11. It is suspected that these codes include instructions to North Korean agents in the South. KBS World Radio only mentioned that these columns were sent via "Radio Pyongyang". 73 (Manfred Reiff, Dec 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. YouTube blocks North Korean channel By Anna Fifield, Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/youtube-blocks-north-korean-channel-to-avoid-breaching-sanctions/2016/12/14/12938986-dfcf-4ab3-8209-b8436396f810_print.html SEOUL -- YouTube has blocked North Korea's state television channel, which broadcasts news on everything from nuclear tests to Kim Jong Un's outings, to avoid breaching U.S. sanctions against the regime. The action was apparently taken not because of the content in the channel but because the North Korean government could earn money from YouTube through advertising. "This account has been terminated for violating YouTube's Community Guidelines," a message on the Korean Central Television channel's page reads. YouTube's community guidelines ban videos that include violent, sexual or harmful content, or breach copyright. Google, YouTube's parent company, also asks users to flag content that may violate the law. Google apparently blocked the channel last month to avoid violating sanctions, but the company has declined to comment. "We don't comment on individual videos or channels," said Taj Meadows, head of communications in Asia for Google, "but we do disable accounts that violate our terms of service or community guidelines, and when we are required by law to do so." Under sanctions imposed in March, the Treasury Department designated North Korea's Propaganda and Agitation Department as engaging in censorship on behalf of authorities. The measures ban any U.S. company or person from doing business with the department. Joshua Stanton, a lawyer and proponent of sanctions who founded the One Free Korea blog, said YouTube and Google probably realized there was a problem with money changing hands. "Having reviewed the sanctions in March, they would have said that this is risky, we are potentially in violation," he said. "It's good that they have done this, although it's a fairly small piece of the picture." Bruce Klingner, an Asia specialist at the Heritage Foundation, said North Korea had other options. "The Propaganda and Agitation Department is perfectly free to post the videos without making money on them or have one of their many supporters do it," he said. "Or they could stop censoring free expression inside North Korea." The channel showed North Korea's evening news broadcasts and other propaganda programs, and it featured breaking news at times. After a January nuclear test, Korean Central Television went live on YouTube, with an announcer declaring that the state had tested a hydrogen bomb, although this was disputed by scientists. The YouTube decision has disappointed analysts, who used the channel for insights into this most impenetrable of states. "While it provided daily news shows on events the regime wanted shown countrywide, it also helped give context to structures I would normally only see via satellite image," said David Schmerler, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif. Using the YouTube account for image collection, along with other sources, allowed North Korea watchers to have a much fuller sense of how something unfolded, Schmerler said. "This led to a better understanding of an event, even if the North Koreans tried to hide or spin a particular event as being a success when it may not have been," he said. Although other YouTube channels also broadcast North Korea's news bulletins, this one was the fastest and one of the most reliable sources of images. The channel's termination also means that the archive of videos that analysts pored over also has disappeared. Analysts estimated that the amount of money the channel was making was probably minimal. (c) The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. UNID probably clandestine in Korean on Dec 15 1530-1700 on 7195 unknown tx / unknown to NEAs, very poor/weak http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/unidentified-probably-clandestine.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7195.000 even fq maybe Unidentified Korean language broadcast sce? S=9+25dB. given ID, time and frequency at 1539 UT IDed 'gong gong ...' 11.8 kHz wide, likely Korean language? -- Tashkent UZB outlet of Babcock brokered Voice of Martyrs / North Korea Reform Radio, but different program 7510 kHz at same time. Ham Radio IARU Bandwatch wil NOT BE AMUSED (Wolfgangn Büschel, Dec 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENNING DIGEST) 7195.000, -> Radio Free Asia. Today, Dec. 17, ID as Radio Free Asia at 1500, programme in Korean (Thorsten Hallmann, Germany, 1502 UT Dec 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, fair reception at 1527 into Victoria, BC. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, ibid.) By Wolfgang Bueshel: 1500-1700 Korean on 7195 is Radio Free Asia via Tinian, instead of registered 7210 -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Frequency change of Radio Free Asia in Korean 1500-1700 NF 7195 TIN 125 kW / 329 deg to EaAs, ex 7210 parallel freq 5885 TIN 250 kW / 333 deg to EaAs parallel freq 9985 TIN 250 kW / 325 deg to EaAs http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/frequency-change-of-radio-free-asia-in.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 17, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. UZBEKISTAN, North Korea Reform Radio via RED Telecom Tashkent, Dec 14 2030-2130 on 7500 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg to NEAs Korean, weak signal: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/north-korea-reform-radio-via-red.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Equipment: Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, Web: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/ Dec 14-15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Voice of the Martyrs operates from 1530 to 1700 UT on 7510 kHz via a Tashkent transmitter. Reception is disturbed in Europe till 1545 because of Trans World Radio operating in Punjabi from 1515-1545 on 7505 kHz to South Asia, also via Tashkent. Reception till 1545 is best in USB. I heard the station on Monday [Dec 19] from 1530 to 1545 UT via a private receiver located south of Seoul. Transmitter was off-frequency yesterday using 7509.500 kHz. Today transmitter was on varying 7510.050 kHz. The transmissions on Monday and today were NOT jammed. I made a recording yesterday and sent the mp3 file to the address given in the WRTH 2017 (page 513). I sent the email yesterday at around 1630 UT and received an eQSL this morning at around 0200 UT. 73, (Manfred Reiff, Dec 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is not advisable for same transmitter site to broadcast twice only 5 kHz apart, rarely done. Are these really the same? (gh, DXLD) Hello Manfred! Today also received e-mail confirmation from Voice of the Martyrs. Link https://dxadam.blogspot.com/2016/12/voice-of-martyrs-korea-eqsl.html Thanks for your info (Adam Grzenia, Poland, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. JAPAN, Frequency changes of Shiokaze Sea Breeze, Dec 19 1405-1435 NF 5935 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Japanese Daily, ex 5910 1600-1630 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Chinese Mon, ex 6180 1600-1630 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Japanese Tue, ex 6180 1600-1630 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Korean Wed, ex 6180 1600-1630 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs English Thu, ex 6180 1600-1630 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Korean Fri, ex 6180 1600-1630 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Japanese Sat, ex 6180 1600-1630 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Korean Sun, ex 6180 1630-1700 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Korean Mon, ex 6180 1630-1700 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Japanese Tue, ex 6180 1630-1700 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Korean Wed, ex 6180 1630-1700 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs English Thu, ex 6180 1630-1700 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Korean Fri, ex 6180 1630-1700 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Korean Sat, ex 6180 1630-1700 NF 6110 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg NEAs Japanese Sun, ex 6180 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/frequency-changes-of-shiokaze-sea.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) 5935, Dec 21 at 1427, music and YL talk in Japanese, S5-S9 until 1435*, new frequency for Shiokaze, ex-5910 where I found nothing, and QSY confirmed by Ivo Ivanov. Chris Greenway forwards a Japan Times story that the government will be increasing funding for Furusato no Kaze in order to add more frequencies next fiscal year (from April 1, presumably), no details yet. This 1405-1435 daily broadcast of Shiokaze is believed to be a relay of FnK, in addition to its original broadcasts (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ** KOREA NORTH [non]. JAPANESE GOVERNMENT BOOSTS FUNDS FOR FURUSATO NO KAZE --- Japan to broadcast radio program for North Korea abductees on more frequencies | The Japan Times Kyodo Dec 19, 2016 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/12/19/national/japan-broadcast-radio-program-north-korea-abductees-frequencies/#.WFoBojVQDtl The government plans to broadcast its shortwave radio program aimed at Japanese abductees in North Korea on more frequencies in the next fiscal year, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. The program, “Furusato no Kaze” (“Wind from the Homeland”), is broadcast in Japanese and Korean, and includes information on Japanese policy on North Korea and the abduction issue, messages from relatives and friends of the abductees, and familiar Japanese songs, according to the government website on the issue. Suga told a news conference Monday that the government’s abduction issue headquarters has requested that the necessary funds to add broadcast frequencies be included in the fiscal 2017 budget. “The government values this broadcast as part of our efforts so that the abductees can return home as soon as possible,” Suga said. The program, updated weekly, consists of roughly 30 minutes of content in each language and is aired daily on a number of shortwave frequencies at alternate times (via Chris Greenway, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. 1566, Dec 19 at 1339, carrier looping NW on the DX-398 with internal antenna only, and at last I can pull some audio: talk, maybe Korean? and piano music. Could also get the carrier at 1343 but no audio on the R-75 with E-W longwire. At 1345 weaker, no audio audible. It`s FEBC, HLAZ from Jeju (Cheju) Island, 250 kW. WRTH 2016 shows 1345 is the time it transitions from Japanese to Chinese, no doubt also antenna change correlating with signal drop here, altho it`s already just after sunrise. Aoki also shows those times but no azimuth info. A few minutes earlier, I had sought TP carriers on lowband, 774 etc., but none audible. Then checked NK MW/low SW frequencies and found 2850 to be S7 at 1347, 3250 also audible, but nothing unusual (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, At 1339 UT, the man would likely be in Japanese. I had some audio there this morning at that time: http://www3.telus.net/public/shallpat/listen/1566_20161219_1340.wav but the man talking was terribly garbled, so language ID wasn't possible. However, at 1342 UT, a woman said, "FEBC desu", so at least she was in Japanese, hi. best wishes, (Nick Hall-Patch, Victoria, BC Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nick: The signal on 1566 kHz suddenly dropped out a few seconds before 1345 GMT. I wondered if it was the end of the Japanese transmission. The signal was the best thus far this season - peaking to fair briefly a few minutes after sunrise. I'm be glad when my R75 is returned from ICOM and connected it to the ALA1530LNP. Thank you for information and best wishes (Richard Allen, near Perry OK, IRCA via DXLD) Nick is correct. You are no doubt hearing them go off the air as they change programming and direction. Here's that exact time (2243 local / 1343 UT) as heard from Seoul with 1566 Pyongyang and Yanbian in the background. http://www.beaglebass.com/dx/external/FEBC_Change.MP3 (Chris Kadlec, IRCA via DXLD) 1566 kHz, Dec 20 at 1339 I`m chasing again FEBC, HLAZ Jeju Island, and there it is looping NW, 1342 music, and I am listening with offset BFO for a carrier break, which happens for a few seconds at 1344:34 as the beam is being changed from Japan to China. Distance from the 250 kW station is 10995 km or 6832 statute miles (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 5900, Numbers Station V24, 1606-1608*, Dec 18. Numbers given in Korean (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. KBS World Radio Gift! Hello to all, today received by mail beautiful letter from KBS World Radio. Inside was a 2017 Calendar - Masterpieces of Korean Cultural Heritage, Broadcasting schedule B16 Season, and new sticker! I am very happy :) You can see calendar on my blog http://dxadam.blogspot.com/ Best 73 (Adam, Poland, Grzenia, Dec 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. Radyoya Denge Kurdistane, at Doha Qatar remote unit S=9+20 or -48dBm heard at 0710 UT, but also two bundles of wobbling/hopping SPURIOUS signals of S=6-7 signal strength noted on center 11549.883v and 11650.091v kHz, either side visible 6 x 100 Hertz apart buzz peaks, like spurs at 11549.779, x.883, x.983, 11550.083 ... kHz. Is from Sofia Kostinbrod ?, Moldova or Armenia ? (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 15, HCDX via DXLD) 9400, Dec 15 at 1509, Kurdish talk at S7 from Denge Kurdistane. According to Ivo Ivanov, this is the last day that 9400 will be in use. Nothing yet on 11600, which had been their only summer frequency: (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Denge Kurdistan is on air with new start/end of broadcast 0330-2130 on 9400 various transmitters to WeAs Kurdish, ex 0400-2200 Upcoming frequency changes of Denge Kurdistan, effective from Dec 16: 0330-0600 NF 7400 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex 9400 KCH 0600-0800 NF 11600 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex 9400 KCH 0800-1200 NF 11600 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex 9400 ERV 1200-1400 NF 11600 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex 9400 KCH 1400-1500 NF 11600 SCB*100 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex 9400 KCH 1500-1600 NF 11600 SCB*100 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex 9400 SCB 1600-1700 NF 7455 ISS*250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex 9400 SCB 1700-2000 NF 7455 ISS*250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex 9400 ISS 2000-2130 NF 7455 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex 9400 KCH *SCB=Secretbrod/ISS=Issoudun not confirmed, registered as Grigoriopol (Observer 6:44 PM Dec 14 via WORLD OF RADIO 1856, DXLD) Reception of Denge Kurdistan on Dec 15 till 0800 on 9400 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish, and off air 0800-1200 nothing on 9400 and 11600 kHz to WeAs, except few minutes: from 0840 on 11600 ERV 300 kW / KCH 300 kW WeAs open carrier and off from 0850 on 9400 ERV 300 kW / KCH 300 kW WeAs open carrier and off At 1200 UT Denge Kurdistan was back on 9400 kHz as scheduled in B-16: 1200-1500 on 9400 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1500-1700 on 9400 SCB 100 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1700-2000 on 9400 ISS 250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish 2000-2130 on 9400 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish From tomorrow Fri Dec 16 Denge Kurdistan will be on air: 0330-0600 on 7400 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish 0600-1300 on 11600 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1300-1600 on 11600 SCB*100 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1600-2000 on 7455 ISS*250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish 2000-2130 on 7455 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish * SCB and ISS not confirmed, registered as Grigoriopol. http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/reception-of-denge-kurdistan-on-dec15.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LILSTENING DIGEST) MOLDOVA, 7400, Radyoya Denge Kurdistane, Kurdish program, BRB Ludo Maes Belgium brokered, noted instead of 9400 kHz now here in 41mb, requested as 0330-0600 UT. Via Grigoriopol Maiac site in Pridnestrovie Moldova. At 0506 UT on Dec 16, S=9+40dB or -38dBm powerful signal in NE/ME target. Talk on sultan Erdogan - many times mentioned, female voice phone-in talk-interview program (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, dxldyg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. UNKNOWNISTAN: 7400 UNID; 0331-0339+, 18-Dec; Tune-in to sung anthem, lasted till 0334 and right into vocal music. Poor in QRN. Nothing listed in Aoki/EiBi at this hour. +++ [same] Carrier at 0330 12/20 & only hint of audio. +++ [same] 0309, 21-Dec; no hint of a carrier (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet 23 Dec via DXLD) Harold, 7400 was Denge Kudistane on new frequency via Pridnestrovye, ex-9400, and new sign on time *0330 as of Dec 16. But as of Dec 22 changed to 7350 as 7400 is supposed to be reserved for IRDR emergency broadcasts. According to Ivo Ivanov. I had something on 7350 instead of 7400 last night (Glenn to Harold, via DXLD) 7400, Dec 16 at 0340, VP S8 signal with some music. Supposedly Denge Kurdistane on new frequency starting today per Ivo Ivanov, ex-9400, at 0330-0600, via PRIDNESTROVYE (and full sked copied in my last report). No matter that 7400 is one of the frequencies reserved at 23-12 UT, to all 85 CIRAF target zones for International Radio for Disaster Relief, as explained here: http://hfcc.org/humanitarian/ But yet to be implemented; no disasters needing radio relief yet? Hardly. Plus/minus 5 kHz channels are also supposed to be kept clear. SMG Vatican serves as placeholder transmitter site for IRDR (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11600, Dec 16 at 1401, Denge Kurdistane first day on reactivated `summer` frequency, with an echo, long/short path? S9 but much weaker than 11860 Yemen [non]. Ex-9400 where there is nothing. YL mentions Ankara, etc., mostly talk, but by 1455 music at S6. By 1512, 11600 is S9+10 in Kurdish talk. Ivo Ivanov thought the 14-16 bihour would be via BULGARIA, altho BRB misleadlingly registers all D.K. transmissions with HFCC as KCH = Kishinov, Moldova = Grigoriopol`, Pridnestrovye. However, on Dec 16 he notes for the 15-16 UT hour, both 9400 Bulgaria and 11600 Pridnestrovye; perhaps during incomplete transition. 11600 & 9400, Dec 16 at 1816 check, nothing audible on either, when 7455 is now supposed to be the only D.K. channel, 1600-2000 via France, then 2000-2130 via Pridnestrovye (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Denge Kurdistan in 1500-1700 time slot 1500-1600 on 9400 SCB and 11600 KCH 1600-1700 on 9400 SCB and 7455 ISS (Ivo Ivanov, 1613 UT Dec 16, HCDX via DXLD) Radyoya Denge Kurdistane, Kurdish program, BRB Ludo Maes FMO brokered. 11600 kHz noted at 0645 UT, Kurdish radioplay like a movie copy, martial soldier fighter sound. S=9+20 or -48dBm heard in Doha Qatar and in northern Netherlands remote units, rather poor signal noted in Moscow Russia remote SDR though. So, seemingly Yerevan Gavar Armenia relay signal ????? But look at very recent Grigoriopol Moldova HFCC request, from 161216 til 250317: 11600 kHz 0600-1300 UT to zones 39,40 KCH 300kW 130degr 0 237 1234567 161216-250317 Kurdish MDA BRB (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) At 1820 UT noted in Doha Qatar remote SDR unit: 7455 kHz S=9+25 or -47dBm signal strength. 7455 1600-2130 39,40 KCH 300 116 0 218 1234567 161216-250317 Kurdish MDA BRB 18086 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 16, ibid.) > 1600-2000 on 7455#ISS 250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish > 2000-2130 on 7455 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish Right now at 2000 there were no signs of a site change. No carrier break or obvious overlap, no change of signal strength either. (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 18, ibid.) 11600.14, PRIDNESTROVIE, Denge Kurdistan possibly the one at 1441 in Kurdish with a man with long talks then lively female vocals at 1453 then a man with talk over Middle Eastern instrumentals from 1456 to 1500 then a man with long talks – Fair Dec 18. Dan Ferguson's SW Skeds lists Broadcast Belgium via Pridnestrovie in Kurdish at this hour (Mark Coady, ON, ODXA YRX via DXLD) Updated schedule of R. Denge Kurdistan: 0330-0600 on 7400 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish 0600-1300 on 11600 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1300-1500 on 11600 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1500-1600 on 11600*SCB 100 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1600-1930 on 7455#ISS 250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1930-2130 on 7455 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish * ex 9400 on Dec.16 via SPL + 2nd harmonic on 23200 kHz # with typical audio tweet of Issoudun, not Grigoriopol http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/kurdistannon-updated-schedule-of-rdenge.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 18, dxldyg via DXLD) 11600, Dec 19 at 1404, Denge Kurdistane is S7-S9 with Kurdish talk (steadier than 11860 Yemen [non] ranging S5-S9). At 1411 recheck, there is an echo, caused by 3 possibilities: 1) long/short path from one site; 2) two sites overlapping with slightly different satellite feeds; 3) deliberately imposed effect on original modulation. Ivo Ivanov continues to update the schedule, showing 11600 at 06-15 is all via PRIDNESTROVYE. At 15-16 he hears second harmonic on 23200, so concludes that hour is from his nearby BULGARIA site (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) but not for long! Frequency change of Denge Kurdistan from Dec 22: 0330-0600 NF 7350 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex 7400* * 24 hrs same 7400 SMG 100 kW / non-dir to All World IRDR project http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/frequency-change-of-denge-kurdistan.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via DXLD) Denge Kurdistan via Issoudun not Secretbrod Dec 20 1500-1600 on 11600*ISS 250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish, ex SCB 100 *with typical audio tweet of ISS and nothing on 2nd hx on 23200 kHz Full updated winter B-16 schedule of R Denge Kurdistan from Dec 22: 0330-0600 on 7400 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish till Dec.21 0330-0600 on 7350 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish from Dec.22 0600-1300 on 11600 KCH 300 kW / 130 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1300-1500 on 11600 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1500-1600 on 11600 ISS 250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1600-1930 on 7455 ISS 250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1930-2130 on 7455 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Kurdish http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/denge-kurdistan-via-issoudun-15-16ut.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) ** KUWAIT. AMPEGON TO UPDATE SHORTWAVE TRANSMITTERS FOR KUWAIT RADIO Radio World December 21, 2016 http://www.radioworld.com/global/0007/ampegon-to-update-shortwave-transmitters-for-kuwait-radio/338855 Swiss-based company Ampegon has accepted a contract from Al Rashed to handle the upgrade of five analog shortwave transmitters that are more than 20 years old for the Kuwait Ministry of Information in Al Kabd station. The five transmitters were originally installed between 1992 and 1995. Ampegon will refurbish all of the transmitters, and in addition upgrade three of them to full digital DRM integration and converted to the new transmitter control system UCS; this will include new motor drives within the tuning circuits. Work on the transmitter is expected to start in January 2017 (via Mike Terry, Dec 21, dxldyg via DXLD; also via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) R Kuwait has been completely off SW for a few years (gh) ** LIBYA. MW 677.52, 1945-2005 21.12, LBY, Sawt ul-Libia al-Hurra, Benghazi. Arabic ann[ouncement or ouncer?], Arab songs, 2000 ID and news, 35333 AP-DNK. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, I now also have time for MW DX-ing, so here are a few loggings heard in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, wb radio yg via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. Madagascar? 5008.44 kHz. Tuned in at 0236 [sic] to hear singing that sounded like an anthem (although they are listed as signing on at 0200). At 0230, male and female announcers, with a clear mention of Madagascar. Then African pop music. Signal occasionally drifts enough that I hear a low het (in ECSS), and then it returns to 5008.44. Signal strength is OK, but there's a lot of QRN, plus QRM from an SSB signal on the low side and, of course, non-stop preaching on the high side. So I couldn't listen to this signal if I weren't obsessed with DX. Signal is starting to fade around 0245, which is consistent with sunrise in Madagascar (Art Delibert, N. Bethesda, MD 12/15/16, JRC NRD 545, Horizontal pennant antenna with DX Engineering pre-amp, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reads quite like Madagascar, considering recent observations of the drifting transmitter. Their sign-on is obviously a puzzle. Guess you tuned in at 0226, not 02,36 catching the anthem. Otherwise you wouldn't have caught the ann at 0230 ;-) I don't find a list that lists 0200 as sign-on; except Sender & Frequenzen. Africa on Shortwave by BDXC gives 0300 which seems to be old information. Eibi lists 0210, and looking into my own list http://www.muenster.org/uwz/ms-alt/africalist I found a vague 0215v - I don't know when I decided for this, but probably after I got a few logs of different sign-on times. Maybe there's simply a variable warm-up period before scheduled programming starts, depending on when the technician had his coffee finished or whatever. 73 (thorsten hallmann, Germany, dxldyg via DXLD) You're right about the time I tuned in on 12/15; my mistake. Last night, 12/16, I tuned just above 5010 kHz in LSB at 0200, so I could hear when they came on. At first there was a het right on 5010.00 kHz, which I assume was AIR Thiruvananthapuram, although the audio was lost to the Indian sunrise. That signal went off at 0206. At 0211, a signal appeared on 5008.40, drifting up and down. Initial programming was African pop music. Sounded as though there was a program already in progress and they began feeding it to the SW transmitter. At BOH, same routine as on 12/15. Tonight, 12/17, I arrived home around 0300, and found the signal on 5008.05, again drifting up and down. Audio seems to be holding up longer than the prior two nights, but maybe it's just that there's less QRN tonight. The listing for 0200 s/on comes from the website Short-wave.info. I don't actually know who maintains that site. Same site lists AIR Thiruvananthapuram as running until 0215 s/off. But what I observed last night, with AIR s/off at 0206, and Madagascar s/on five minutes later, makes me think the two stations may have cut a deal (Art Delibert, N. Bethesda, MD, 12/17/16, JRC NRD-545, Horizontal pennant antenna with DX Engineering pre-amp, ibid.) 5007.68-5007.75v, R. Madagasikara (presumed), on Dec 18, with moderate drifting; 1457-1600*. Thorsten Hallmann has recently noted *1700v, so it looks like they are just off the air for an hour (1600-1700). Checked if they went to another frequency, but 7105 was silent (last heard during the 2010 World Cup football/soccer matches on a regular basis, but not since then) and unable to hear 6135, due to the jamming by N. Korea and broadcast of Voice of Freedom via S. Korea (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) When checked the remote SDR unit at Doha Qatar and at Clabria Italy at 0208-0220 UT on Dec 20: NOT STABLE fq! peak visible, lower level 5008.063 kHz approx., but little stronger peak at -113dBm tiny level on 5008.153 -- 193 kHz center, hopping some 6-10 Hertz up and down continuously. Grayline between Oman/Qatar and Madagascar. Another ute two fast RTTY peaks at 5006.0 and 5006.1 kHz 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Madagascar, 5008.15+ kHz -- Heard well before 0200, with music (So much for the idea that they cut a deal with AIR Thiruvananthapuram about sharing the freq!), but not strong enough to hear any details of announcements. Much better toward 0230. The song played each night just before 0230 is the national anthem of Madagascar, which I confirmed by listening to the version on YouTube. Following the anthem, male and female announcers with light guitar music in the background. Clear ID for "Radio Madagascar" at 0231, brief talk, and back into pop music. Drifting up and down, as in prior reports (Art Delibert, N. Bethesda, MD, 12/20/16, JRC NRD-545, Horizontal pennant antenna with DX Engineering pre-amp, ibid.) Yep, still were still on air 2145+ yesterday, so possibly running all night. One of the odd days. Already heard at 1625. So not a regular break 1600-1700 as supposed, also. Drifting upward 5007.5 > 5008 during this time span. 73 (thorsten hallmann, 0555 UT Dec 20, ibid.) 5007.952vv, Dec 21 at 0250, S6 RNM is varying audibly as I tune it with BFO, 0257 a song, gradually weakening as sun rises down there, to a JBA carrier by 0324. Best on LSB tuning to avoid 5015 WRMIBSplatter; maybe that`s why RNM is varying lower and lower from nominal 5010, hi, as it used to be up as high as 5013. Tnx to tip from Stephen Wood in MA who was hearing it tonight as early as 0210 varying 5007.98- 5007.87. Also reported in this area last few days by Ron Howard in CA, Art Delibert in MD, Wolfgang Büschel & Thorsten Hallmann in Germany. On much earlier than 0300 sign-on as in WRTH 2017 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. Reception of WCB Madagascar World Voice, Dec 14: 1800-1900 9570 MWV 100 kW / 355 deg EaEu Russian tx#1 KNLS, New Life Station 1800-1900 17640 MWV 100 kW / 310 deg WeAf English tx#2 African Pathways Radio 1900-2000 9495 MWV 100 kW / 355 deg EaEu Russian tx#2 KNLS, New Life Station 1900-2000 11945 MWV 100 kW / 355 deg N/ME Arabic tx#1 Radio Feda http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/reception-of-wcb-madagascar-world-voice_15.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Equipment: Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, Web: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/ Dec 14-15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17640, Dec 16 at 1810, MWV APR in English, is VG with marital advice: wives, don`t let yourselves go, after a few children, but remain attractive, lest your husband lose interest in you. Repeat English hour audible but poorly at 2034. 17640, Dec 17 at 1759, VG open carrier S9, 1800 trumpets and APR sign- on, with guest host Jonah, and Terry, previewing magazine contents including African Children`s Choir from Uganda; righteousness; wife`s appearance (more); Thelonius Monk; this day in history. It`s almost the OSOB, only weak 17790 WRMIBS besides it, making MWV the SSOB by far, still at 1823 check. 17640, Dec 18 at 1829, MWV English is on, rather reliably now so far, ending an item about dandelions on `Creation Moment` capsule, anti- science nonsense as bad as Thump, which all true missionary stations must buy into (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17640, MWV WCB überraschend US pop Musik aus den 60zigern, eher 'Schlager' vergleichbar um 1821 UT, danach Kalenderblatt, z.B. 1777year über die US Constitution. S=9 oder -73dBm Signalstärke [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 18, via DXLD) 9495, December 19, 2016. 1927-1935, MWV New Life Station, Mahajanga, in Russian. Man annnouncer talks; Woman annnouncer talks; A song by child. Transmission with fair signal and modulation, 35433. 11610, December 19, 2016. 2110-2116, MWV New Life Station, Mahajanga, in Mandarin. Man talks; Woman annnouncer talks; Good signal, fair modulation, 45433. 11945, December 19, 2016. 1935-1942, MWV Radio Feda, Mahajanga, in Arabic. Man annnouncer talks and talks. Station with fair to good signal and fair modulation, 35333 (sometimes 45333). 17640, December 19, 2016. 1850-1858, MWV African Pathways Radio, Mahajanga, in English. Pastor makes a preaching; Man says ID and frequency; next, a song; 1857 Sign-off. Transmission with fair signal and modulation, 35433 (DXer: Jose Ronaldo Xavier (JRX), Location: Cabedelo-PB, Brazil (UTC-3), RX (s): Tecsun S-2000, Antenna: Portable Telescopic, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) 17640, Dec 19 at 1837, MWV is on but only poor carrier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 6050, Salam FM, 1510-1602*, Dec 17. Nice anomaly, as normally this is used as filler after 1500 till they suddenly pull the plug shortly after that; in vernacular; played a lot of EZL music; some phone calls; many IDs; better than fair (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MARSHALL ISLANDS. [re 16-51:] KHAQQ test transmission (not) Amelia Earhart special test transmission. As expected, nothing heard in Jo'burg despite presumed dark path all or most of the way. Thanks to Glenn for working out the UT time! 6210 Marshall Islands KHAQQ Mili Atoll Dec 15, 2016 Thursday. 1730-1811 Nothing heard. Jo'burg sunset 1656. 3105 Marshall Islands KHAQQ Mili Atoll Dec 15, 2016 Thursday. 1730-1811 Nothing heard. Jo'burg sunset 1656. (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ditto on 6210 from Global Tuner site in Sydney, Australia (Icom PCR- 1000 + Wellbrook loop) and Perseus site in Brisbane. Recorded the 1730, 1733, 1736, 1800, 1803 and 1806 times and reviewed all six times on both AM and LSB for any sign of life with no results. The 1800 path was a perfect gray line between Brisbane and Marshall Islands and even a 50 watt transmitter would have had a fair chance at getting to the East Coast of Australia. One wonders?? Will try again tomorrow for second day of broadcasting but not holding out much hope for this “test” ever being heard (Bruce Churchill, CA, ibid.) Likewise not a peep heard here in Northland, New Zealand on either frequency at listed times (Bryan Clark, 0305 UT Dec 16, ibid.) Too bad the test transmissions didn't include some significant harmonic energy, such as would have been present with the original set. The propagation of the harmonics around 18 mhz and higher are likely what were heard - or could have stood a good chance of being heard as per https://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/30_BettyHarmonic/30_Bettyharmonic.html (Don VE6JY Moman, ibid.) There are now 44 pages of discussion about this on the QRZ.com forum: http://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/marshall-island-and-amelia-earharts-sos-transmissions-sending-again.547307/ starting with lot of contention about whether the operation was legal or not. Later discussions of propagation, and speculation as Don brought up about possible harmonix. Apparently no one heard it. I`m just spot checking. Plowing thru all 44 pages is a bit much for me, but if anyone does and can pull out significant bits, have at it (Glenn Hauser, Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 600, XENK Radio 6-20, México, DF. 1043 December 18, 2016. Mexi-tunes, female announcer, slightly ahead of the station stream, with my local WDAE and Rebelde partially nulled. Wiki claims: "[It] was the first station in the Hispanic world to play The Beatles, late in 1962." They must still be proud of this alleged fact, as there's a question (in Spanish) on their website, asking which Beatles member wrote and dedicated a song to a dog. Scroll over for the answer: Paul McCartney, "Martha" the song (it was his sheep dog). And yet, no Beatles songs, not even Spanish Mexi-covers which could have been fun. 900, MEXICO unidentified. 1122 December 18, 2016. The Beatles "Paperback Writer" (XENK please take note) into "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond duet, with Progreso nulled. Earth Wind & Fire "September" at 1139. Not parallel streams of XEW (news program) or XEWB (Spanish pop), so who? XEDT? National anthem from 1157, but too weak and in WSWN co-channel by now (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. 6185, Dec 21 at 0328, XEPPM music mixing with VATICAN. Clear at 0339 and sometimes the music modulation surges above usual low level. Checking because Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, had asked me at 0029 UT, ``What`s with 6185? Blowing in with real modulation? Nice ancient Mexi-folk tunes`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. RAYMIE`S MEXICO BEAT this week --- [including DTV] There are moments of beauty in radio. One of them is seeing a document, neatly typeset in Avant Garde, with a callsign you haven't seen before. A warm welcome to Mexico's newest community radio station: XHOLP-FM Santa Rosalía, BCS (Radio Kashana under the concessionaire Ondas en la Playa, A.C.) is the first social broadcast station in the entire state, and even better yet, it is social-community. The concession was delivered yesterday and was 16 months in the making. It'll probably be a few months before we see this one in the RPC. We don't even have XHDCP Michoacán! (Raymie Humbert, Phœnix AZ, Dec 15, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) http://vehicular.cadpe.michoacan.gob.mx/licitaciones/file/BASES%20LPE-033.pdf 337 pages? Well, it can only be a call for bids for something, and in this case, it's a request for bids to build the Michoacán state network in digital issued back in July. SMRTV is the last network with zero digital presence, so this is important. It's downright detailed (Doug might enjoy this) and calls for equipment to build 13 new stations. "But wait, the SMRTV only has 12!" You're right. They only have twelve stations. But they've talked about expanding to Huetamo before, and in here they explicitly call for a 13th facility to be built in Huetamo, at Col. La Nopalera, on RF channel 34 (which is being used by most of the SMRTV stations). A 300- watt transmitter is specified, and so are some coordinates (that instead lead to Cd. Hidalgo). The antenna would be 30 meters high. My (probably bad) calculations using the available technical information say the ERP would be 2.673 kW. Avetronic emerged the winning bidder on July 27. http://vehicular.cadpe.michoacan.gob.mx/licitaciones/ver.php?path=FALLO%20LPE-033-2016.pdf Last edited by Raymie; 12-16-2016 at 09:32 PM. (Raymie, Dec 16, ibid.) Oh, sure, that's going to keep me busy for awhile Morelia: Ch. 49 19-41-55N 102-08-16W 40m AGL DA Uruapan: Ch. 34 19-25-55N 102-03-41W 35m AGL DA Lázaro Cárdenas: Ch. 29 17-58-05N 102-14-06W 35m AGL DA Apatzingan: Ch. 26 19-05-05N 102-08-16W 29m AGL DA Zitácuaro: Ch. 29 19-25-51N 100-21-08W 29m AGL DA Zamora: Ch. 34 19-58-05N 102-15-17W 29m AGL DA Zacapu: Ch. 34 19-49-00N 101-47-12W 29m AGL non-DA Tacambaro: Ch. 34 19-14-06N 101-47-12W 25m AGL non-DA Puruandiro: Ch. 34 20-05-06N 101-31-00W 30m AGL non-DA La Piedad: Ch. 51 20-21-23N 102-02-03W 45m AGL DA Jiquilpan: Ch. 21 20-00-17N 102-43-04W 30m AGL non-DA Cd. Hidalgo: Ch. 34 19-41-24N 100-33-12W 30m AGL non-DA Huetamo: Ch. 34 19-41-24N 100-33-12W 30m AGL non-DA Note that Huetamo is listed with the same technical parameters (including coordinates) as Cd. Hidalgo. Morelia specifies twenty times the power of any other site. 2.67 kW is probably a decent figure for the ERP of the other sites. I don't see a specification for the feedline losses, which makes it impossible to calculate an accurate number. (They specify 60m of feedline at all sites but I wouldn't bet they use all of it - which means the ERP will vary slightly from site to site - unless the IFT doesn't allow them to operate the transmitters are maximum output power) Otherwise the equipment lists are pretty standard. There's one set of portable test gear, assigned for some reason to Zitacuaro. It looks like the PSIP will be the same at all sites as I only see one PSIP generator in the bid (to be located at the uplink site). For some reason they specified *100* extra satellite receivers, beyond the one specified for each transmitter site & one (probably for QC monitoring) at the uplink site. The 100 IRDs are less capable (and presumably much less expensive) than the "good" ones specified for the transmitter sites. If I were to guess I'd say they're for distribution to schools for direct pickup of the satellite feed? (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com Dec 16, ibid.) I have no idea as to what the state government was thinking. In fact: What's odd here is that we actually have full technical parameters for the operating (read: not Huetamo) stations. Those report ERPs between 112 and 151 watts for most of the xmtrs (with 50-watt transmitters). Morelia's listed ERP is 2.951 kW which is roughly 20 times the average (but still a low, low ERP for a TV station). They're going to need to talk to the IFT on that one. Puruándiro at 34 is correct — the auth has 34, the tables have 22 (and I already believed the former over the latter). 34 is almost being used as an SFN for the state network except in Morelia (XHCTMO) and some other areas. The VC will be 16 which is shared by the network. Huetamo will be a new build. SMRTV doesn't even have an FM transmitter there, nor does it hold a TV concession. A public use TDT channel was set aside in Huetamo in the 2016 PABF. With XHABC and XHUS managing digital, I'm very much paying attention to Michoacán because they could be the biggest loser in the apagón (aside from the QR state network whose problems were permit-related). I'm also worried about parts of Veracruz, Chiapas, Nuevo León and Sonora in terms of transition. Guanajuato had its act together and actually managed to bring its transmitters down on the 15th; so did Oaxaca, for the most part, although their site is dead thanks to the December 1 change in government. The other worry I have is Guerrero — we know they're operating in digital, we now know on what channel in Acapulco (33), but I don't have an auth or some recognition from the IFT that they're on air. As RTG is based in Acapulco (the only state network completely based outside of its state capital - the Chilpancingo xmtr has been known to be out of commission a lot anyway), the future of XHHCG is at risk. They do have a December 31 apagón PSA up (which is correct given the DOF publications). I don't see anything about the apagón from Veracruz, Chiapas, Hidalgo, Sonora or Nuevo León, which does make me worry. A lot of these are rural transmitters that provide the only noncommercial or even the only outright TV service in tiny towns (Raymie, Dec 17, ibid.) Is it possible these are plans for an upgrade? During the U.S. rollout it was common for a station to launch at greatly reduced power & later install a full-power transmitter. Maybe the IFT has already authorized the higher powers? (or at least acknowledged that they're technically acceptable) ERPs on the order of 150 watts make sense for a 50-watt transmitter. I did a bit of exploring on Google Earth & found a Colonia La Nopalera on the northwest side of Huetamo. I'm apparently not parsing "patio e aviación" properly as I don't see any sign of any kind of airport anywhere near Huetamo. There's a large athletic complex and a calle sin nombre (though there are a fair number of calles sin nombre around there). I don't see anything that looks like a tower but the resolution isn't high enough to be certain. The "official" Google coordinates are 18-38-40N/100-54-08W. I also did a bit of digging elsewhere on Google and found a typical loss figure for 7/8" feedline. By my figures if the 300-watt transmitters are operated at 250 watts (a reasonable safety margin) the relay sites should be able to achieve an ERP on the order of 2.4 kW (which of course compares well with the 2.673 kW figure you posted). I might expect the Morelia site would be a bit more powerful than 20 times that, because they specified a lower-loss feedline (the feedline specified for the relay sites can't handle a 6kw transmitter) (Doug Smith W9WI, Dec 17, ibid.) That's happening to some extent in Mexico. Look at Azteca, which implemented a power hike on its stations the summer before the apagón (XHTVM is the nation's highest-powered TV station, 513 kW ERP). Here though, the technical parameters would have to be changed with the IFT. Huetamo would be a new concession entirely and that has not happened yet (we will know when it does). "Patio [d]e Aviación" (a letter is missing) means something, and I even see a few addresses in Michoacán and Guerrero related to it (in Tiquicheo, "COLEGIO DE BACHILLERES. ANT. PATIO DE AVIACION S/N. TIQUICHEO"). (Raymie, Dec 17, ibid.) More multiprogramming is on the way for: Jalisco state network (XHGJG, XHGZG and XHGPV) XHTTG Tuxtla Gutiérrez XHOXO Oaxaca (Surestv?) XHPNW Piedras Negras (already operating a -2 timeshift channel as their DT2) (Raymie, Dec 18, ibid.) The Mexico City radio dial could be ending the year with yet another format flip. That's because it looks like Imagen's secondary news station, Reporte 98.5, http://radionotas.com/desaparece-reporte-98-5/ appears to be on the way out, according to RadioNotas. Indications are that a flip to the RMX rock format (such as on XEDA-FM HD2, XHAV, and part-time on several other Imagen stations) is in the cards. It would mark a return to rock for the 98.5 frequency, which famously was Radioactivo in the 90s and early 2000s, and would be the first format change for Imagen in Mexico City since Radioactivo closed in 2004. The radio stations have also moved to Ciudad Imagen https://twitter.com/_sanchezvera/status/810709718792568832 from their longtime home in Col. Polanco, at a Camino Real hotel. On another note, somehow Imagen landed the Cowboys https://twitter.com/PoetaPitufo/status/810530645764087809 for XHDL. The rights in Mexico City were previously held by Radio Fórmula under a time-buy agreement from the team's Mexico marketing company. There appear to be a few other changes related to the NFL on radio in Mexico, one of which is not surprising... The Houston Texans have landed on the Mexico radio dial via Grupo Radio Centro. XEN, XESTN, XEDKR and XEJ http://domingosdelanfl.com/nfl/texans are the affiliate stations. These stations, along with some added FMs in each area, also carried the Texans-Raiders MNF game. http://domingosdelanfl.com/nfl/partido-cdmx (Raymie, Dec 18, ibid.) You'll never see this again...an analog shadow! https://www.google.com/maps/@19.5626929,-99.1774486,3a,72.4y,172.18h,105.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sq4N_xj_UhP362F2leg0fZA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 That is shadow Televisa (all four Mexico City stations) Col. El Tenayo, Tlalnepantla, State of Mexico, which has since been converted to digital with 40 watts ERP (Raymie, Dec 19, ibid.) I've been digging for Mexican radio and TV tidbits in border town newspapers via Newspapers.com. Here's one: The first broadcast TV station in Ciudad Acuña came to the city around Thanksgiving 1972. The station was operated by a local Patronato Pro- Televisión Mexicana and featured week-old taped programs from Canal 13. The facilities were co-located with XHPL-FM 99.7 (Raymie, Dec 20, ibid.) Apparently some of those Imagen stations we know of aren't on air: The 12th issue of the flashy, sorta clunky IFT Gazette (a monthly magazine-type publication) mentions that of the state capitals, only Chilpancingo, Chetumal, Tijuana [sic, Mexicali is the actual capital of BC], Tepic and La Paz were missing. That's a surprise given we've had the first one on the books: Also, the IFT chowed down on broadcasting matters at its most recent Pleno meeting... http://www.ift.org.mx/comunicacion-y-medios/comunicados-ift/es/resuelve-pleno-del-ift-diversos-asuntos-en-materia-de-radiodifusion-comunicado-1462016 -Televisa's repacking moves in border cities continue to grow. This time, various transmitters including Cd. Delicias, Piedras Negras, Nuevo Laredo (38 to 29) and Cananea are moving. -New social community stations at Iguala, Salina Cruz and Bahía de Kino, Sonora. The latter is getting its first radio station of any kind. (I suspect that this is what the FCC has listed as Puerto Kino and that the frequency will be 107.3 as one of the town's allocations and the only one in the Article 90 reserved band.) -The SQCS got the digital TV concessions mentioned back in March and will resume television broadcasts to Cancún and Chetumal. -The CDI will embark on its second station expansion this decade with three new station concessions. (Where, who knows!) -The UDG radio network in Jalisco will add a ninth station in San Andrés Cohamiata. This will be an oddball in the network — it will be bilingual with programming in the Wixarika language. http://www.udg.mx/es/noticia/en-2017-udeg-continuara-creciendo-en-infraestructura-y-programas (Also, that is one small town!) -A permit discontinuity in Jalisco has been resolved as the Jalisco state network will receive two new AMs, in Guadalajara (XEJB) and Puerto Vallarta (XEJLV). Of course, I don't expect those to be the actual callsigns. -Four new social (untyped) FMs, for Tuxtepec and Santiago Juxtlahuaca, Oaxaca, as well as Agua Prieta and Guaymas, Sonora. Another set of meeting minutes adds a fifth social untyped FM, for Rate Cultural y Educativa de México, A.C. at Guadalupe, Zacatecas. I am not sure what Rate means - potentially RAdio/TElevisión? Este programa es público, ajeno a cualquier partido político. Queda prohibido el uso para fines distintos a los establecidos en el programa. [taglines] Read the Mexico Beat | VC-Day is October 27. Follow all the new virtual channel assignments http://forums.wtfda.org/showthread.php?10958-Mexican-virtual-channel-assignments-after-VC-Day Last edited by Raymie; 12-22-2016 at 05:35 PM (Raymie, Dec 22, ibid.) ** MYANMAR. 5985, Myanma Radio, 1528-1545 14 Dec. Very nice signal this morning, closing Burmese program at 1528, opening their 30-minute English program with ID/frequencies and national news until 1539, "This news comes to you from Myanma Radio", review of headlines, "That is the end of the news from Myanma Radio." Beginning the Wednesday VOA Special English segment about independent musicians using non-standard venues to showcase their music -- hair salons, house parties, etc. (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA, PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Radio Netherlands Archive Material. Over the past few months PCJ Radio International has been contacted by a number of individuals concerning what is PCJ's plans with the Radio Netherlands archive material that is now in our possession. Hopefully this will answer some of the questions. First question: Will PCJ create a website where the programs will be available for download? Short answer is yes. Clips of various Radio Netherlands programs from 1947 to 1997 will be available. Second question: Why will only clips be made available for download? The answer is simple. Over the last year PCJ Radio International has been very active to remove youtube videos of Radio Netherlands content that is now our property. By having this content uploaded onto youtube the value of the archive diminishes. The other reason is 8 months ago we had to bring action against an ebay seller who was selling a CD of Radio Netherlands material that is now the property of PCJ Radio International. We are well aware that if the archives are made available online there is a risk this will happen. Third question: Will anyone be able to access the full archive of material? Yes. The Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid (Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision) in Hilversum, Netherlands will be able to request material for their own research. Those who are doing research will also be able to access the material. Fourth question: Will concerts, radio shows and films be available for license by second parties? If audio or visual items will be used for commercial purposes, there will be a licensing fee. The fee will depend on the item. Fifth question: What will happen is anyone publishes material from the archives without written consent or licensing from PCJ Radio International? A cease and desist letter will be sent, and the individual or organization will have 14 days after a written warning to remove the copyrighted material. If after 14 days the material has still not been removed, PCJ Radio International will have no recourse but to take legal action. Sixth question: Why is PCJ Radio International being so controlling of the material? It has to do with cost. There is a cost of a climate controlled room for the tapes, discs and films, and a full time staffer whose job it is to catalogue the tapes, discs and films. The most expensive cost is the digitizing of the films. Some of these films are 40 + years old and need to be sent to a special lab for colour correction and to make any repairs necessary before a new print can be made and digitized. Just to give you an example, the cost for one 25 minute film can be between 300 to 500 Euros, depending on the condition. Many of the tapes and discs are also sent to a special lab to be preserved. For more information contact Robert de Weers in the PCJ Archive Department - pcj@pcjmedia.com (Keith Perron, Taiwan, Dec 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEWFOUNDLAND. CANADA, 6159.985, Probably CKZN St. John east coast program heard in southern Germany at 0423 UT Dec 17, S=7 and -82dBm. Heard 30 year old popular song, "Charlie Brown". 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. RNZI on 7355 was also S9 or so here, both mornings, though yesterday it was accompanied by a fairly loud pulsating buzz and listening was not pleasant. 73, (Jim K5JG, Dec 17-18, ptsw yg via DXLD) Confirm, Nada on 9580 [AUSTRALIA] at 1615 check. RNZI is on 7285 in DRM. A surprise, as I haven't heard them in DRM for a while. Decent decode, although with a weird echoing. Not sure whether on my end, or transmitter end. Oops, had the reverberation turned on DReaM software. Now choppy decode. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 7254.922, Voice of Nigeria Hausa program, S=8-9 or -74dBm at 0648 UT on Dec 18. Hit QRM heavily by Vatican Radio SMG morning prayer in Latin on adjacent 7250 kHz, latter S=9+35dB powerhouse. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 18, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, dxldyg via DXLD) DRM Modus aus Nigeria. Der Gap im Datenblock ist bei 15119.890 kHz um 1850 UT Dec 18 sichtbar. V of Nigeria aus Abuja in DRM, ein Block von S=9 Signalstärke im Bereich 15115.15 bis 15124.65 kHz, knallrot eingefärbt im Perseus Screen [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 18, via DXLD) 7254.922, V of Nigeria French service, female presenter at 0710 UT, S=9+10dB, clear excellent audio, new Thalès Ampegon Abuja unit? (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Dec 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. 7415, Dec 18 at 0554, at tune-in mentions ``25 and 31 meter bands`` as if in English, S9+20. Maybe really said 41mb? It`s Dandal Kura Radio, the USAID-backed service for NE Nigeria`s Boko Haram territory, in Kanuri, 05-07, 250 kW, 55 degrees via ASCENSION. 0600 in the language, 0601 adding hum on audio, opening with `Salam Aleikum` but this is not Arabic. Still good at 0615 (Glenn Hauser, oK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 7405, "Religious pirate" 0520-0545* 10 Dec. Joshua's mild, yet disturbing, rants & reading from Psalms, Daniel, Jeremiah. Severe fading doesn't help reception -- propagation or the Forces of Darkness-tm? Also heard 0453-0533 12 Dec. on 5870, repeating the 10 Dec. program (Dan Sheedy, Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) YHWH on 5790 tonight at 0325 UT. Discovered him on 5790 right now, generally poor copy but with some decent peaks into Michigan. 73, (Tim Tromp, West Michigan, UT Dec 15, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5790, Dec 15 at 0339, JBA carrier, presumed [Station YHWH] as tipped by Tim Tromp, MI at 0325 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5790, Dec 16 at 0341, VP S7 signal with talk, barely recognizable at occasional peaks to be [Station YHWH] as expected since first reported on this available channel 24 hours earlier. Still on past 0428, slightly better (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7410-AM, religious pirate (formerly known as "Radio Station YHWH"). Dec 18, first noted at 0312 with just open carrier; 0355 able to tell was Joshua, but unreadable; 0440 sudden and dramatic improvement in the signal, from unreadable to readable; still on at 0453 (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5792.00, Dec 21 at 0503, [Station YHWH] is here instead of 5790, S9 vs Xmas noise level of S8. Off at 0535 recheck (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 5125, PIRATE (No. Am). UnIdentified, 0242, 12/18/16. Small carrier with music occasionally poking through for a few seconds until 0242. The suddenly the signal popped in at S6. Eventually I was able to // with WBCQ on 5130. Shortly thereafter, Radio Free Euphoria was played on 5125 and WBCQ continued with other programming, so probably a pirate rather than something connected with the WBCQ transmitter. 5125 varied a great deal from good to threshold (Mark Taylor, Madison, Wisconsin. Equipment: Perseus, SDRPlay, RTL2832 V3 dongle for SDR’s; Eton e1, Grunding Satellit 800, Tecsun PL 660, and various other portables for physical radios; 40 meters dipole, 100’ long wire, Mini whip, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Like gh heard on 5120? ** NORTH AMERICA. SEKIO RADIO: 6925/USB, 2137-2144*, 14-Dec; Ballad at tune-in to SSTV 2138:42-2140:30, then two repeats of the Canadian National Anthem and off. At QRN level. ID per JoeFLIPS post on the Free Radio Net. “Different” pirate #754 heard, a sordid achievement (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' & 125' bow-tie, ---- - All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! ---- DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. WHYP: 4070/USB, 2145-2158:40*, 17-Dec; Pop tunes & olde WHYP IDs by James Brownyard; “WHYP AM & WHYP FM Northeast”. Terrible windhowl QRN/M at tune-in, which gradually abated; SIO=3+33 by 2155. Tnx to JoeFLIPS post on the Free Radio Net. Report sent to whypradio@gmail.com WHYP-SW; Full data e-QSL in 2 hours 24 minutes via whypradio@gmail.com with reception data imposed on an original 1967 WHYP license record (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet 23 Dec via DXLD) Microfilm negative as in FCC archives --- but was there really ever a licensed WHYP?? Currently WHYP-LP is a CP in Corry PA, 0.1 kW ERP; any relation? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. UNIDENTIFIED. 6949.96-AM, Dec 16 at 0024, JBA pirate music. Strangely, nothing at all yet posted on the HF Underground board for UT Dec 16 by 0455. BTW, re my previous log on 6950.90-AM of ``Lee County Radio``?, Chris Smolinski replies: ``Looks like it was indeed Lee County Radio based on the QSL, but no confirmation as to which Lee County :)`` https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,31589.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORWAY. NORWAY MAKES RADIO HISTORY Media.info 15 December 2016 11th January 2017 is a historic day for the medium of radio. Norway becomes the first country in the world to move towards fully digital radio transmissions. As a result of this, the national FM network will be switched off. The FM networks will be switched off region by region, starting in Nordland 11th January. The event will take place in Bodø and the final switch-off will be done at 11.11 pm CET. The heads of NRK radio and commercial radio will be in Bodø to represent the Norwegian radio industry. Also, head of BBC radio, Helen Boaden, and head of radio at EBU, Graham Dixon, will attend. An international seminar for European broadcasters will be held the day before the historic move to FM switch-off and an international press-conference will be broadcast on radio.no at 2 pm CET. The final program will be published nearer to the event. (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ?! This story never mentions exactly what replaces FM! Presumably DAB, or DAB+, not IBOC or DRM. So what will the VHF/FM band be used for from now on, surely not going to waste? DAB usually occupies hi-VHF ex- analog TV channels, a.k.a. Band III (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Wrong kind of radio history (from a DX perspective)! (Sent from David Sharp's iPhone, NSW, ibid.) Note: If Helen Boaden does attend the ceremony in Norway next month it won't be as head of BBC Radio. She resigned from that post in September and was succeeded by James Purnell. (Chris Greenway, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Official Updates from the FCC: Applications to extend STAs received: 930 WKY OK Oklahoma City – Applies to extend STA, U1 5000/1250 (AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 18, via DXLD) This continues to put a very solid signal into Enid 24h, altho somewhat nullable at night (gh) ** OKLAHOMA. 4600, Dec 15 at 1357 UT, weak but clearly audible signal matching 1390 KCRC Enid sportstalk, again making appearances. Not a plain old harmonic, and previously logged early this year: ``4600, Jan 28 at 1352 UT, JBA talk, which on a hunch I match to local KCRC 1390, ESPN, so it`s some kind of local mix, not a harmonic`` Had I researched my archive further then, I would have found this strange computation from 2014y: ``4600, May 18 at 0112, JBA modulation from local Enid mix // 1390 KCRC ESPN audio. But our other strong signal, 960 KGWA has to be involved. Formula: 4 x 1390 = 5560, minus 960 = 4600`` No longer with ESPN. But there is no sign of audio on 4600 from KGWA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. 15140.5, Dec 15 at 1511, no signal from RSO here nor on 15140.0. 15140.505, Dec 16 at 1528, RSO is still split off from 15140.0, S5 carrier, just barely modulated. Also Dec 17 at 1510 check on 15140.5, not precisely measured further, but slightly closer to 15141.000 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Poor signal of Radio Sultanate of Oman on odd 15140.5 Dec 17: 1400-1500 on 15140.5 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu English, low modulation http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/poor-signal-of-radio-sultanate-of-oman_18.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 17, dxldyg via DXLD) 15140.012, Dec 18 at 1430, JBA carrier from RSO, back on frequency (almost) after several days on 15140.50. English news should be airing at this very moment (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15140.0 even, Radio Oman, Thumrait in Arabisch wieder zurück auf dem Mittenkanal, nach dem Tastatur Ausrutscher auf +500 Hertz. S=8-9 um 1840 UT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 18, via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3260, R Madang heard 20 Dec from VE6JY Perseus site at 0825 tune with nice S4 signal and quiet conditions with ABC news (English) by man – reports on Russian Ambassador assassination in Turkey, evacuation in Aleppo, Syria, ending at 0832, commercials and announcements to 0839, NBC sports news with woman announcer and remote reports to 0850.5, comls at 0853-55, woman to 0856 and music to 0900. Man in Pidgin at 0900. NBC news including sports by man (English) at 0902-12.5. Man in Pidgin at 0912.5. Posted by: ("Bruce Churchill", CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PARAGUAY. Members, I was pleased to hear from Adán Mur and the following brings us up to date. The new site is still unknown but delays gives us more time to locate the facility. "Radio Nacional del Paraguay is still finalizing the definitive move to Chaco-í. Both transmitter sites now exist, and RNP has a new 20 kW transmitter, to be used at Chaco-í, with the new 1/4-wave tower, as well as a new, PCM radio link to the studios. This will facilitate a more graceful move of the 100 kW Transmitter, from Capiatá. [920 kHz] There are problems, obviously, associated with such a move. First, and foremost, have been the number of ferocious storms which have whipped our region. Just now, the Paraguayan Government is asking for bids on insurance policies, protecting the new transmitter site. Chaco-í is an area exposed to the possibility of severe flooding, as well as other, storm-related damages. The probability of unfortunate accidents, in the area of Chaco-í, is very high. There are also political tealities, which lessen the urgency of the move, and allow for a more graceful transition. This is very good. The government wishes to make use of the Capiatá site for an industrial park. It is a superb location for such a park, with easy access to suppliers and to customers. I hope that this information will be useful. Another station with tower-related problems is 760 AM, Encarnación. They received permission to resume operations, but with a directional, two-tower array. Owing to the cost of property and the second tower, the station managed to wriggle a temporary authorisation from the CONATEL, for omnidirectional operation, but with highly vociferous results from other users of this, and adjacent frequencies. The station will have to abide by the original, two-tower, directional array plan, or face a sea of complaints and interventions by the neighboring countries." 73 and 88 (Dan Goldfarb, Dec 17, mwmasts yg via DXLD) ** PERU. 4747. R HUANTA 2000. Diciembre 15. 2347- UT. Huaynos serranos y saludos correspondientes a la ciudad de Huanta y localidades de los alrededores. SINPO: 45444. 4955. R. CULTURAL AMAUTA. Diciembre 15. 2338-2347 UTC. Hombre entrega informaciones sobre Huanta y entrega de planes sociales de la Iglesia Católica. SINPO: 45343 con ruido atmosférico marcado y baja modulación. 5025. R. QUILLABAMBA. Diciembre 15. 0035-0044 UTC. Música de villancicos y mensajes de navidad, tanto en castellano y quechua. SINPO: 55444. RX: TECSUN PL-660, ANT: Hilo de 40 metros. 6174. R. TAWANTINSUYO. Diciembre 15. 0020-0030 UTC. Música de huaynos serranos, luego hora local y reflexiones. SINPO: 45444 RX: TECSUN PL-660, ANT: Hilo de 40 metros (Claudio Galaz Toledo, QTH: Ovalle, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 4775. R. TARMA. Diciembre 17. 2350-2359 UT. Avisos de las autoridades de la ciudad de Tarma y localidades rurales cercanas. SINPO: 45343 con mucho ruido atmosférico. 5025. R. QUILLABAMBA. Diciembre 18. 0005- UTC. Música andina de carácter navideño y avisos de comienzo del festival de coros navideños. SINPO: 54544 con leve QRM de R. Rebelde en la misma frecuencia. 4747. R. HUANTA 2000. Diciembre 19. 2314-2325 UT. Programa de un consejero esotérico. SINPO: 45343 4775. R. TARMA. Diciembre 19. 2325-2333 UT. Locutor relata un partido de fútbol o al parecer, un programa deportivo. SINPO: 32342 con QRM marcado de R. Congonhas de Brasil. Aunque mejora el SINPO: 34343, al avanzar la hora. RX: TECSUN PL-660, ANT: Hilo de 40 metros (Claudio Galaz Toledo, QTH: Ovalle, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** PERU [and non]. 5980. R. CHASKI. Diciembre 15. 0031- UTC. No hay señal de R. Chaski. No obstante, se oye de modo muy claro, una emisora en chino o un idioma del oriente asiático. RX: TECSUN PL-660, ANT: Hilo de 40 metros (Claudio Galaz Toledo, QTH: Ovalle, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 5980, Dec 16 at 0014 & 0034, again no signal from R. Chaski, but a JBA carrier on 5979 from PBS Gannan, China. Last report of Chaski from Claudio Galaz, Chile was Dec 10 at 2210, and then at 2305, no carrier. 5980, Dec 17 at 0041, no signal from R. Chaski --- either closing much earlier than 0105*v now, or more likely completely off the air. They had been having issues, per Claudio Galaz Toledo, Chile. (5979 CHINA carrier not audible now either, poor propagation; to make matters worse, elevated noise level especially on 2 MHz band at S9+20, probably blamable on neighborhood Xmas displays/lighting for the duration) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CHINA. 5980 [sic]. UNID. Diciembre 17. 2331-2339 UTC. No hay señal de R. CHASKI, solamente una emisora en chino o algún dialecto asiático, que llega con cierta claridad. [Viz.:] CHINA. 5980. UNID. Diciembre 17. Monitoreada en varios horarios: 2234-2239 UT: Interferencia de CRI en chino desde 5975. Aunque no se percibe alguna portadora en la frecuencia. ¿R, CHASKI fuera del aire? 2328-2334 UT: Mala propagación desde China. Sin embargo, no hay señales de R. Chaski ocupando la frecuencia. // 700 am, Red Radio Integridad (vía Lima), a las 2330 con ID. SINFO: 33333 sin alusión a R. Chaski como anteriormente lo realizaba. Mientras tanto en internet, la página: http://www.radiochaski.org/ marca problemas de DNS, junto a la página de Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/radiochaski/?fref=ts que se encuentra desactualizada. 2355-2359: Mejora el audio de la emisora china, en donde habla un varón. SINPO: 34323. CHINA. 5980. UNID. Diciembre 19. 2307-2313 UT. Se escucha muy bajo una emisora en chino. No hay rastros de R. CHASKI. RX: TECSUN PL-660, ANT: Hilo de 40 metros (Claudio Galaz Toledo, QTH: Ovalle, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** PUERTO RICO. Roosevelt Roads - New SV Imagery https://goo.gl/maps/1DdPWZrj7gx https://goo.gl/maps/1DdPWZrj7gx The above link shows the transmitter site of the former AFRTS SW transmissions. The SV imagery is new & other vantage points along Highway No. 2 are available. The blue SV lines aren't viewable (yet) in GE, but the imagery is via GE (Ian [AUS], Dec 15, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** PUNTLAND. Puntland or whatever on 13800 at 0550. Got up too early. Just a carrier observed here from 0550, already gone by 0558. No hints. Not heard Puntland recently, nothing else listed there at that time. 73 (thorsten hallmann, germany, Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. RRI all on French language program at 0200-0257 on 5910TIG 7340TIG, and 5960GAL 7410GAL, not Romanian (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. HOW TRUMP CAN BEAT PUTIN AT HIS MEDIA GAME Opinions By Jeffrey Gedmin and Gary Schmitt December 13 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-trump-can-beat-putin-at-his-media-game/2016/12/13/3f31db2a-bf14-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.541356761bb1 Employees of the RT television network wait for the arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Yuri Kochetkov/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images) [caption] Jeffrey Gedmin is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a senior adviser at Blue Star Strategies consulting firm and former president and chief executive of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Gary Schmitt is co-director of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Donald Trump clearly views himself as master of the deal. When will the president-elect catch on that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been taking the United States to the cleaners in the media and information game? Putin has engineered a deal so profitable to his interests and so disadvantageous to the United States that it ought to become a business-school case study. In 2005, Moscow decided to rebrand Putin’s Russia by establishing the Kremlin-directed and state-funded television network Russia Today. Its product and intended customer were clear: flattering news and information about Russia for a global audience. Russia Today hired young, attractive on-camera talent from the ranks of unemployed American and British journalists. Such upstart talent thrived at Russia Today, where Bernie Sanders-style rabble-rousing meets a youthful, edgy culture supported by high-end production values. Like any good business, Russia Today showed agility and adapted to market conditions. When network executives discovered that the name was a liability, they changed Russia Today to RT (just as Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC around the time popularity of fried foods began to fade). It also became clear that audience size would be driven not by good news about Russia, but bad news about the United States. An emphasis on the woes and hypocrisies of U.S. politics and society would dovetail nicely with Putin’s vision of making Russia great again and delegitimizing the U.S.-led liberal order. Bolstered by substantial resources from the Kremlin’s coffers, RT expanded with Arabic- and Spanish-language services and launched RT UK in 2014. French broadcasts are expected in 2017. There was one more thing RT needed to do to be successful: tilt the playing field to its advantage. RT’s American competitors, taxpayer- funded Voice of America and Radio Liberty, have evolved since the Cold War into multiplatform media companies comprising television, Web, social media and radio. Both provide reliable news and information, and both help ordinary Russians better understand their own country and the United States. And here’s the rub. The Kremlin decided it wouldn’t do to just jail U.S.-sponsored journalists and expel VOA and Radio Liberty. Putin decided on a shrewder approach. First, he disrupted their indigenous network of partner stations. Russian authorities used health and fire inspectors, tax collectors and anti-corruption police to harass VOA and Radio Liberty affiliates and drive up the cost of doing business with the Americans. In short order, Radio Liberty’s local partners, for instance, shrank from several dozen to a handful. Second, the Kremlin blocked the Americans from important airwaves, refusing them access to the Russian television market. Russian regulators have steadfastly rejected their efforts to obtain a license. (The BBC has faced comparable harassment and constraint.) As a result, Russian-sponsored rants about America get airtime in America, while U.S.-underwritten attempts to fairly and honestly inform Russians are massively curtailed. That’s not an uneven playing field; that’s our adversary owning the field and using America’s own liberality to attack U.S. policies and discredit Western values. The new administration needs to push back. Under U.S. law, there is a standing presumption that foreign ownership of broadcast companies or broadcast licenses may exceed 25 or 20 percent, respectively, only if the Federal Communications Commission determines that allowing it is in the public interest. However, while the law has not changed, the FCC has adopted more lenient rules for assessing that interest and indicated that it no longer frowns upon 100 percent foreign ownership. Given the proliferation of broadcast mediums today, it was probably appropriate to widen the licensing aperture. And, of course, the United States’ ethic of free speech inclines us to take a relaxed approach to voices other than our own. But that very principle, if we take it as seriously as we should, ought to make us demand reciprocal treatment abroad. When it comes to much of our foreign policy, Trump has argued that U.S. negotiators have failed miserably. We’ve been made chumps by other countries. Free trade is not necessarily fair trade, or so many now believe. And while one can have doubts about that argument’s economic merits, it has certainly been true enough when it comes to government-sponsored broadcasting. The Kremlin has put hundreds of millions of dollars into its broadcasting and propaganda efforts, and the United States, along with other allies, has provided an open door for it to pursue its illiberal agenda. The least Washington should do is insist that, in exchange for access to U.S. airwaves, the favor be returned. Either the FCC can broaden its “public interest” assessments to include equal access, or Congress can mandate it through amendments to the Communications Act of 1934. Fair play may be more important than ever. Recent reform legislation passed by Congress aims to make U.S. international broadcasting more effective by streamlining bureaucracy. If we resist the temptation to abuse the opportunity — Kremlin-style dissembling and deceit can never be America’s game — and stick to the highest standards of journalistic integrity, we can advance our interests with renewed energy and purpose. With the end of the Cold War, the hope was that the competition of ideas might end as well. Russian revanchism has put it squarely back on the table, and Washington needs once again to take it seriously. (via David Cole, OK, DXLD) +58 comments so far ** RWANDA [non]. Frequency & time changes of R. Itahuka via MBR Madagascar from Dec 3 1800-1900 15420 MDC 250 kW / 315 deg CeAf Kirundi Sat, ex 17-18 on 17870 ISS http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/frequency-time-changes-of-radio-itahuka.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via DXLD) Again no signal from R. Itahuka via MBR Issoudun, Dec.10 1700-1800 on 17870 ISS 100 kW / 144 deg to CeAf Kinyarwanda Sat http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/again-no-signal-from-radal-and-ritahuka.html Again no signal from R. Itahuka in Kinyarwanda via MBR Issoudun, Dec.17 1700-1800 on 17870 ISS 100 kW / 144 deg to CeAf Sat, probably change time & frequency 1600-1700 on 17605 ISS 100 kW / 144 deg to CeAf Sat Kinyarwanda 1700-1800 on 15180 ISS 100 kW / 144 deg to CeAf Sat Kinyarwanda 1801-1900 on 17605 MDC 125 kW / 310 deg to CeAf Sat Kinyarwanda http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/again-no-signal-from-ritahuka-in.html (Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) He already had the correct new time and frequency as of Dec 3: 15420, confirmed here Dec 24 after 1800 (gh) Re Ivo: ``GERMANY(non) Frequency & time changes of R. Itahuka via MBR Madagascar from Dec 3: 1800-1900 on 15420 MDC 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAf Kirundi Sat, ex 17-18 on 17870 ISS`` Seems this has not been reported so far: Radio Inyabutatu has quit shortwave and continues via http://radioinyabutatu.org only, for lack of listeners it seems. The shortwave slot has been taken over seamlessly, effective Nov 6, by another group of anti- Kagame exiles, this time in New York. http://www.radioitahuka.org (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAO TOME E PRINCIPE. See UNIDENTIFIED 4960; WORLD OF HOROLOGY ** SAUDI ARABIA. At 1520 UT on 9695.037 kHz BSKSA Pashto on Dec 15. S=9+15dB in eastern Thailand remote SDE, near Cambodian order, thanks Uwe (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Exactly same frequency I had it 25 hours earlier as in DXLD 16-50 (gh) SAUDI ARABIEN, 15204.970, BSKSA Riyadh, Arabisch Holy Quran programm, transmission broadcast end at 1758 UT, S=6-7 nearly fair signal [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 18, via DXLD) ** SCOTLAND. Radio Six programmes for Christmas (This includes an attachment which I have not attached here as it`s on the website radio six international - Mike) http://www.radiosix.com radio six international *TONY CURRIE* Director of Programmes, *radio six international* 21 Sherbrooke Avenue, GLASGOW G41 4HF, Scotland +44 141 427 0531 radiosix.com https://facebook.com/radiosixinternational On FM, AM, Shortwave and DAB Digital radio on 55 affiliate stations around the world and online at http://radiosix.com:8000/radiosix.mp3 Posted by: (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) If these specials include any SW transmissions, they are well-hidden on the website (gh, DXLD) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. U.K.(non), FEBA Radio on 9775 kHz via Trincomalee [SRI LALNKA] at new time in winter B-16 1400-1430 on 9775 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs vary, ex 1330-1400: 1400-1415 on 9775 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Kannada Mon/Fri/Sun 1400-1415 on 9775 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Telugu Tue/Wed 1400-1415 on 9775 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Malayalam Thu 1400-1415 on 9775 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Tamil Sat 1415-1430 on 9775 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs English Mon 1415-1430 on 9775 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Kuvi Tue 1415-1430 on 9775 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Malayalam Wed/Fri/Sat http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/feba-radio-on-9775-khz-via-trincomalee.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SOMALILAND. SOMALIA, 7119.999, Radio Hargeysa Somalia, S=9+20dB signal noted at 0445 UT on Dec 16 in Doha Qatar remote SDR unit. HoA music [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. [Re 16-50] SABC - COMMS MINISTER GETS FRIED [sic] Minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi, the state’s key representative as stakeholder in the public broadcaster and who has featured as one of the main players in the drama surrounding the implosion of the SABC under Hlaudi Motsoeneng, puckered the hot seat at Parliament’s ad hoc committee inquiry into the SABC on Wednesday. She gave a sterling performance, side-stepping awkward questions and tossing the ball right back at the collective – Parliament as well as MPs – for allowing the rot to fester under their watch. By MARIANNE THAMM. . . http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-dkhdhuy-bhjjhurn-n/ Posted by: (Bill Bingham, Dec 17, dxldyg via DXLD) `Fried` is correct ** SPAIN. 9690, Dec 18 at 1523, REE Spanish to North America, poor with long/short path echo, while much better, anechoic on // 15390 aimed oppositely! 9690 should not be used for us as early as 1500 on weekends, I keep pointing out. It will gradually improve as hours go on, however, under wintry conditions (low here was +2 F this morning). 9690, Dec 18 at 1845, now it`s up to S9, and 15390 is down to JBA carrier with silly ballgame. Contradictory skeds are on the big three sources: dismiss HFCC which includes lots of wooden entries; Aoki shows 15550 on the 230 degree beam to S America, which must be a plain mistake for 15500 which is not listed there. But neither one is audible now at 1845. EiBi is probably closest to correct: Daily 19-23 on 9690 NAm, 11685 WAf, 15390 SAm, 15500 ME. Same for Sat/Sun extension 15-19 except 17755 instead of 11685 for WAf, the only target area which gets a different early frequency, sorely needed also for North America. But then, sometimes one or two transmitters are down. 11685 is not audible at 1905 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SPANIEN, Die Fussball Liga Direktübertragung von REE Noblejas hoerte ich heute [Sonntag] nur auf 2 Frequenzen 9690 und 15390 kHz, direkt aus dem Gran Canaria Stadion. Um 1815 UT am Dec 18 beide mit S=9+10 oder -64dBm signal [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 18, via DXLD) ** SUDAN. 7205 even frequency. Sudan Radio, Omdurman, very low modulation signal noted in Doha Qatar, only 5% mod, but strong S=9+20dB carrier at 0452 UT Dec 16 [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, dxldyg via DXLD) 7205. SUDAN RADIO. Diciembre 20. 0430-0439 UT. Se percibe una portadora con baja modulación. RX: TECSUN PL-660, ANT: Hilo de 40 metros (Claudio Galaz Toledo, QTH: Ovalle, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. VATICAN STATE. 7315, Radio Dabanga, Sudanese Arabic service, via SMG Santa Maria di Galeria, Vatican Radio relay, at 0500 UT S=9+25dB or -52dBm signal level. 2 male voice presenter [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SUDAN SOUTH [non]. FRANCE, 7250, Eye Radio in Arabic from TDF Issoudun, male presenter read like machine gun, S=9+20dB -53dBm strength, in Doha Qatar remote unit. 0457 UT on Dec 16 (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SWAZILAND. Reception of TWR Africa via Manzini on Dec 10: 1802-1902 on 9500 MAN 100 kW / 013 deg to EaAf English 1905-1935 on 9940 MAN 100 kW / 343 deg to CeAf Lingala 1935-1950 on 9940 MAN 100 kW / 343 deg to CeAf French http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/reception-of-twr-africa-via-manzini-on.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #983 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, December 16, 2016 via DXLD) 9585, Dec 18 at 1413, tnx absence of Australia from 9580, S9 signal in French with strange accent, keeps referring to ``with me in paradise``, red flag as gospel huxter. Yes, it`s TWR Africa at 1455- 1525, 100 kW, 64 degrees from Manzini, in French only on Day 7 = Saturday per Aoki, but this is Sunday! Other days in Malagasy. EiBi`s version must be more accurate: 1455-1525 M-F in Malagasy, 1440-1525 Sat & Sun in French. HFCC doesn`t break down the languages, but alleges it start at 1455 daily. Thus we have a 3-way contradixion (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. Grimeton Radio/SAQ Transmission on Christmas Eve December 24, 2016 News from the Alexander Association Grimeton SAQ Veteran Radio Friends http://www.alexander.n.se We are now planning for the traditional transmission with the Alexanderson 200 kW alternator on VLF 17.2 kHz on the morning of Christmas Eve, Thursday [sic; like it was last year?], December 24. The message transmission will take place at 0800 UT and the transmitter will be tuned up from around 0730. Since the plant is old, there is always the risk that the transmission will be cancelled with short notice. An updated information will be published on our website http://www.alexander.n.se There will be activity on Amateur Radio Frequencies with the call SK6SAQ. Frequencies: - 7035 CW or 14035 CW QSL-reports on the SAQ transmission or SK6SAQ are kindly received via: - E-mail to: info@alexander.n.se - or via: SM bureau - or direct by mail to: Alexander - Grimeton Veteranradios Vaenner, Radiostationen Grimeton 72 SE-432 98 GRIMETON S W E D E N The radio station will be open to visitors. Welcome! Yours, SM6NM/Lars Like Grimeton Radio/SAQ Transmission on Christmas Eve December 24, 2016 on Facebook (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA [non]. RADIO ALWAN The radio station giving hope to listeners in Syria By Emma Jane Kirby BBC News, Istanbul 21 December 2016 From the section Magazine As horrifying war reports are beamed out of Syria, a tiny radio station sends broadcasts in the other direction from Istanbul. Made up of Syrian exiles, the team gathers news from citizen journalists on the ground and has branched out into dramas and comedy shows. But they say the most important thing they provide is hope. .. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38378108 (via Terry Krueger, and Jon Collins, DXLD) Says it broadcasts out of Istanbul on FM and internet; WTFK? (gh, DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non]. Keith Perron "Disses" Old DXers in Latest Media Network Plus --- Teaming up with Paul Walker and prompted by comments on the recent Radio Australia closure announcement, Keith said that old DXers specifically (implicating most people on this list) are basically not "with it" when it comes to modern broadcasting. Could be an example of politically-incorrect ageism. Listen yourself if you didn't catch the WRMI broadcast: http://www.radio4all.net/files/kperron@gmail.com/3101-1-Media_Network_Plus_December_3_2016.mp3 (-- Richard Langley, NB, Dec 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENIING DIGEST) But, isn’t the whole point of SWDXing the antithesis of “modern broadcasting”? The latter is for those who don’t even know what shortwave is, and I can only say more power to them. To each their own (Bruce Churchill, CA, ibid.) Both Mr. Perron and Mr. Walker are what used to be known as "controversialists." They like to stir things up. That is not automatically a bad thing. I've found past comments from both to be thought-provoking and infuriating in turn. However, it is curious to me that both are invested in producing programs for exclusive shortwave distribution at the same time they (sometimes) pan the medium as being moribund. But, as one of my high school teachers was fond of saying, consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. It should be noted that both are professional broadcasters (as am I). I'm at the point where other aspects of life are so fraught with controversy and conflict that I'm just enjoying the "Golden Years" of shortwave broadcasting for what they are without worrying too much about the opinions of others. When the last SWBC station signs off I'll shed a few tears and move on with other arcane hobbies. If I get nostalgic, I'll just switch on the online Shortwave Radio Audio Archive or dip into my own collection of off-air recordings. 73, (Andy Robins, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA, ibid.) That’s why I have recorded every logging since 2002 – I have enough shortwave audio to last me and my offspring (who may not give a rip J) for two lifetimes just from the past 14 years! In fact my audio collection is so big that I may never have the time to get it organized – some recordings were not given my standard (by today’s process) file names so I will have to laboriously go through paper records to identify frequencies, times and or dates of certain recordings, not to mention xmtr locations and even some station ID’s. But that’s what we get to do after the final SWBC station leaves the air, Hi! Another way of looking at this situation is to imagine being in the 1930’s (before I was born!) when SW was still embryonic and not that many stations were on the air by comparison to the “golden” age of the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s (Bruce Churchill, CA, ibid.) The link is actually: http://www.radio4all.net/files/kperron@gmail.com/3101-1-Media_Network_Plus_December_10_2016.mp3 (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, ibid.) If anyone is having difficulties, try this link: http://tinyurl.com/DissSWL (Rodney Johnson, ibid.) Yahoo is screwing up the link URL by removing gmail.com after the @ sign. So, simply replace the "..." in http://www.radio4all.net/files/kperron@gmail.com/3101-1-Media_Network_Plus_December_10_2016.mp3 with "gmail.com" (without the quotes). (Richard Langley, ibid.) Geez, that's not even the right show! Try this link if you want to hear the show mentioned in the original post: http://tinyurl.com/SWLdiss which leads to: http://www.radio4all.net/files/kperron@gmail.com/3101-1-Media_Network_Plus_December_10_2016.mp3 (Rodney Johnson, NV, ibid.) Listened to the show, and I'm none the wiser. Actually, the only people that touched on the important effects and/or side effects of the closure, were the former ABC people, whether you agree with them or not. The rest of the conversation covered things that don't really matter, for example DXers. Actually, you could say they were condescending towards the people with differing opinions. Being a professional, and paying for airtime, will give you the privilege to say whatever you want, I guess. As the old saying goes: opinions are like armpits, everybody has got two, and they both stink. And yes, my opinion is one of the two. :^) Regards, (Vince Ferme, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) The discussion between Perron and Walker, 33, starts 17 minutes in. I guess Keith must still be under 50? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I guess many of us are riding the same oblivion train of the golden age of radio, not only SW, altho my fondest memories are from the dawning of the 1960s when, most of all interested in the good pop music, I kept listening WRUL's Worlwide Hit Parade every weekend, including its reprise on Saturdays and the voice of Hill Edell was a regular visitor to our Philco Tropic receiver. I found that V.O.A.'s Willis Cannover Jazz Hour was too high for my taste, by then. During my high school days I used to remain glued late night as I discovered powerful incoming signal of WLAC from Nashville on 1510 with John R. and even became a customer of Buckley's Record Shop at Gallatin after our 45 r.p.m records packages. Through the years I became an avid listener of such shows like D.X. Juke Box, The Two Bobs and SW Listening Digest and of course Glenn Hauser's World of Radio. You know what folks, altho the latter is the only that remains, I prefer to dream they are still on the air. That's why I kept many recordings of the Golden bygone era. 73s and good DXing, while still is possible (Raúl Saavedra, COSTA RICA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Keith and I have been in some lively conversations on Facebook about this, which doubles my confusion as he presumably know that I'm not old (unless one counts 40 as old). Certainly a lot of dxers are older but not all of them (James Branum, KG5JST, OK, BroadSpectrumRadio.com ibid.) I know all about modern technology since I am also a broadcaster. But I have been DXing for over 40 years. Hearing a station via the internet does not give the same thrill, as when I heard it on HF. There was something about the challenge, the unpredictability of reception, what you could hear on a good opening. Newer broadcast modes just don't "tick the boxes" for me. Sent from (David Sharp's iPhone, NSW, ibid.) I also loved WRUL's hit parade (later WNYW) and DXing Worldwide, Willis Conover's Jazz, DX Jukebox, Media Network, Two Bob's, Sweden Calling Dxers, Superstation Saipan, DX programmes from Sines, AFRTS pop music, BBC World Radio Club, Radio Australia, Radio Canada, HCJB from the Andes, RNI when AM was jammed, so much more. And of course Glenn Hauser's World of Radio - a great survivor from the golden days of shortwave. And there was much more on shortwave - happy days! Happy Christmas to all WOR listeners and contributors, and of course the main man - Glenn. 73s (Mike Terry, England, ibid.) PCJ Radio International to Quit Shortwave --- As announced on the PCJ Radio International Facebook page on 11 December: "Last ever PCJ Radio International program on shortwave coming December 31, 2016." This was subsequently amended with: "It should be mentioned that this will be the last shortwave program for North America. ... PCJ Radio International Asia will continue as normal." What are the times, frequencies, and transmitter(s) for "PCJ Radio International Asia"? -- (Richard Langley, Dec 17, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Keith later clarified that two weekly airings of Media Network Plus would be continuing on WRMI --- gh] Punishment? :) (John Figliozzi, FL, ibid.) Who is being punished? :^) We have reliable, affordable, universal, broadband internet access even in dog houses here in North America, who needs shortwave? It's a different story in Asia, I guess. LOL. Regards, (Vince Ferme, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) Actually this is a myth. Much of North America has worse internet than Asian nations like South Korea and Taiwan. My cottage has internet via satellite (slow and VERY expensive) or through the cell network if you stand on one leg facing east with one hand up while wiggling your ears. (And that too is pricey). These myths keep popping up because people in large metro areas think the rural areas don't count. Life is short. Buy a better radio. Posted by: (Kv Zichi, MI, ibid.) You beat me to it! At my cottage, even satellite is not an option. The company who services that states that they are taking no new customers. The satellite is "full". So, I do have to stand on one leg, while down on the beach to get a cell signal! 73 (Walt Salmaniw, BC, ibid.) Paisano Zichi, You missed my sarcasm completely! This all started when professionals claimed that shortwave was not up to modern times, and displayed very little charity towards DXers, and yet, the show I heard seemed targeted to DXers using shortwave. There was then a posting saying that the shortwave broadcast to NA was being cancelled, while the one to Asia would continue. I found it ironic, since by all accounts, the Vietnanmese campesino gets all his news from a Wi-Fi internet radio. In case he is out tendering his rice fields, there is always the smartphone in his pocket. I'm getting old, paisano, and my BS detector triggers at a much lower threshold these days. I think I should follow your advice regarding companies to avoid. LOL. All the best (Vinny, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) Agreed, similar situation in South Africa. Leaving aside the exorbitant cost of cellular data, I live just a few miles from the centre of Johannesburg, well within the metropolitan boundary. That is, one of the supposedly most modern, best developed and richest cities in Africa. Yet Vodacom's own coverage map shows that I am right on the edge of their 3G coverage in this area; from about 100 yards away coverage is only 2G over a rather vast area. Needless to say, it seems that at my location cellphones and laptop dongles switch back and forth between 2G and 3G according to the weather, and cellular data is really unreliable (as are voice calls, come to that). Even WhatsApp messages can take several hours to arrive! So in my area at least, cellphones can not replace shortwave. I just laugh when I read Vodacom's boasts that they have begun to roll out 4G in certain (ultra rich) areas (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I agree there is less thrill in internet radio but the choice is mind boggling!! I love listening to the world with ease. If there is a world event and I want a local perspective I "tune in" a local news station to get more details, its an incredible resource. Shortwave and analogue radio generally still have a place in my heart, radio of all forms has been my passion since the exciting days of the 60s, it always will have. But the world constantly changes (Mike Terry, ibid.) Not true and really a generalization of perhaps your internet. When I lived in Annandale, VA, I was unable to get DSL (this was before FIOS). Verizon informed me the substation was too far to support DSL. I was forced to use slow dial up. Listen to things via the internet? Ha ha. Not possible. Annandale is a big suburban city. Annandale isn't out in the country or cut off from society. Recently met an Australian citizen visiting the US. I discussed R. Australia, et al, leaving shortwave. Originally person was from Queensland, but has lived in many different parts of Australia due to their job. I was told, based on their experiences around Australia, without shortwave, they now have nothing to hear on the radio. When I asked about listening via the internet I received laughs and a strange look in return. I guess, according to Keith, this person is old (over age 50) and really doesn't matter. Surprise, surprise. The person I met from Australia is in their early 30s. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, ibid.) Or to put it another way, even if we have outstanding Internet (I am blessed with that resource), I doubt I will be spending much, if any time listening to Internet-based international broadcast stations given Amazon Prime, Pandora Classical Music Radio, etc., etc. There are people in the world (a majority, actually) who do “need” shortwave radio to get their news and other vital information…for many of us shortwave itself as the medium was the attraction, more than the content – the challenge of the “chase” as it were (Bruce Churchill, CA, ibid.) So true. I feel that in some respects DXing is rather analogous to fishing - the thrill of that elusive catch. Internet radio is rather like fishing in a fish farm, but you do get more fish there with ease and in superb condition! 73s (Mike Terry, ibid.) ** TAJIKISTAN. 4765 even, Tajik T1 from Yangi Yul BACK on old strength now! S=9+15dB -61dBm at 0231 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET [non]. TAJIKISTAN, Reception of Voice of Tibet on Dec 18 1200-1230 on 11512 DB 100 kW / 095 deg to EaAs Chinese 1230-1300 on 11512 DB 100 kW / 131 deg to CeAs Tibetan 1300-1400 on 11507 DB 100 kW / 131 deg to CeAs Tibetan http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/reception-of-voice-of-tibet-on-dec18.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 18, dxldyg via DXLD) ** TURKEY. 7240.004, Voice of Turkey, Emirler, English service 04-05 UT to NE/ME target, POWERHOUSE S=9+50dB or -27dBm (!) observed at 0455 UT, Turkish folk mx string instrument music [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, dxldyg via DXLD) // 6080 for North America, poor (gh) Hi Glenn, Just to confirm that VoT Letterbox heard today Sat 17 Dec and confirming current two-weekly cycle (Alan Roe, England, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) V of Turkey has just signed-on on 5960 kHz at 2300 announcing (and I'm sure this is what he said) "... today is Sunday November the 13th ....". Huh?? Seems it was just the opening announcement that was incorrect - the rest of the programme continued with the correctly scheduled programme (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, Friday Dec 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12035, Dec 19 at 1404, no signal from VOT English to Europe and USward, but 1408 recheck, it`s on, at S4-S6 with Turkish music. A very late switch from preceding German until 1325 on 15270? Or just being intermittent. 1418 modulation cuts off and on, dead air, then carrier off. 1422 it`s back on with closing IS, off again at 1426. 12035, Dec 20 at 1409, VOT English service is not in English, but Turkic language with stingers as if amid headlines, S4-S9; 1413 music, 1418 losing to 12050 WEWN splatter. Maybe discombobulated in aftermath of assassination right there in Ankara? Assuming crossed feeds, only other languages scheduled this hour in WRTH 2017 are Russian on 9410, Turkish on 11815, and Uighur on 13685. 12035.02, S3-S8, Dec 21 at 1405, Turkish songs so can`t tell yet if English, Uighur, Turkish or Russian service. Finally at 1423, news headlines indeed in English, less than one play of IS and off at 1425*. 11815.039, Dec 21 at 1530, Turkish talk at S9, as this is really TRT at 14-17 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA [non]. 15240, Sat Dec 17 at 1659, VP carrier, 1700 music? Presumably Radio Munansi opening via WWRB Tennessee. About equal to 15825 WWCR signal, both of which could really use some sporadic-E enhancement. Where is it as the winter peak season should be underway? A 16-MHz MUF isn`t much to ask, no need to reach VHF. By 1755, 15240 is slightly better, JBA at S6. 15240, Sun Dec 18 at 1702, JBA carrier from presumed R. Munansi via WWRB; at 1829 a tiny bit better. Despite sporadic E opening into the FM band earlier this morning per DX Map (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) USA, 15240.005, WWRB Morrison TN, Radio Munansi, in Luganda Sprache sehr dünnes Signal um 1810 UT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 18, via DXLD) dünnes = thin ** U A E. This very odd frequency Al Dhabbaya transmitter unit: 7285.097 kHz, BBC Arabic 03-04 UT, at 0317 UT. S=9+10dB in Germany (Wolfgang Büschel, 0332 UT Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. I certainly agree with your comments about Radio Australia and the Conservative government/Murdoch Empire, the neo- Liberals hate public broadcasting or anything that doesn't make a profit for their friends. They've tried to kill the CBC in Canada and the ABC in Australia, and if the UK conservatives thought they could get away with killing the BBC, they would do that as well. Thankfully the biggest supporters of the BBC are Conservative voters, who don't want a race to the bottom and the bland brain dead crap that passes for commercial TV and radio here nowadays. Sadly the public service/not for profit ethic is under severe pressure in many countries now thanks to neo-liberalism (Alan Gale, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Policy paper --- BBC Charter https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577829/57964_CM_9365_Charter_Accessible.pdf and Framework Agreement https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577847/57965_Cm_9366_Agreement_Accessible.pdf (via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DXLD) ** U K. BBC MONITORING: MPS RAISE FEARS OVER SERVICE'S FUTURE BBC News 20 December 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38372067 BBC Monitoring, the UK service that translates and analyses global media, is in danger of becoming a "hollow shell", MPs have warned. The government has moved responsibility for its funding to the BBC, which the Defence Committee said had "entirely predictably" led to cuts. It added that BBC Monitoring was "vital" to diplomacy and business. The BBC said it was "confident" the service would continue to meet the UK government's needs. The government directly funded BBC Monitoring until 2013, when responsibility passed to the BBC under an agreement announced by Chancellor George Osborne in 2010. The cross-party committee said this had left the service exposed, with around 100 jobs set to go under a re-structuring programme. It expressed concern at plans to move Monitoring out of its current Caversham Park headquarters in Berkshire, where it operates alongside US counterpart Open Source Enterprise, because of potential disruption to information-sharing. 'Catastrophic decisions:' Currently, Monitoring covers 25% of the globe, while Open Source Enterprise covers the remaining 75%. [OSE?? Is that successor to CIA`s Foreign Broadcast Information Service – FBIS? gh] The committee's report said: "The government uses open-source information for indicators and warnings of areas of instability and potential threats to UK security. "The decisions made concerning the funding and governance of BBC Monitoring over the past decade or so have been woefully short-sighted and catastrophically ill-thought-out. "A service that has the potential to be a vital tool in opening the world to UK diplomacy and business is in grave danger of becoming a hollow shell of its former existence." A BBC spokeswoman said: "The media landscape has changed vastly since the creation of BBC Monitoring in the 1930s and we believe our planned restructure is vital to equip us for a world in which digital skills are far more important than physical location. "We are confident that we will continue to meet the UK government's needs for open-source monitoring and they have told us they are happy with our changes." What is BBC Monitoring? BBC Monitoring was set up in 1939 to tap into foreign broadcasts and propaganda during World War Two The service was independent from the BBC, and paid for by the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Office and the BBC World Service Since its inception, it has provided coverage of the Cold War, the Yugoslav War and most recently, the Arab Spring The service translates communications in 100 languages from 150 countries, with offices across the globe In 2013 the service began being paid for by the licence fee Since 1943, Caversham Park in Berkshire has been the home of BBC Monitoring but after a £4m funding cut, the remaining journalists, academics and translators are to leave the country estate for offices in London (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) OPEN SOURCE STUPIDITY - THE THREAT TO BBC MONITORING SERVICE Just published by Jonathan Marks: ""we asked John Fertaud, who has worked at BBC Monitoring in the past, to analyse and comment on a new UK government report about the future of the service. Here is his analysis." https://medium.com/@jonathanmarks/open-source-stupidity-the-threat-to-the-bbc-monitoring-service-deaaa9a393b4#.kdn5dvstv Posted by: (Mike Barraclough, Dec 21, dxldyg via DXLD) The report's title alone was worth the 'price of admission', so to speak. Ahh --- a world without additives, preservatives, political correctness, and generous doses of BS. But wait a minute: the 'professionals' say information is available 24/7 at the click of a mouse. If they say so, it must me right. My apologies then. LOL Regards, (Vince Ferme, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) ** U K. Enjoy a series of treats from the BBC Proms 2016 on radio and online --- Dear Proms Fans, This festive season BBC Radio 3 will be repeating 21 Proms concerts from the 2016 festival. Relive the John Wilson Orchestra celebration of dynamic song-writing duo George and Ira Gershwin on Christmas Day, enjoy the good times on Boxing Day with the popular Quincy Jones Prom, revisit Daniel Barenboim’s Proms as both pianist and conductor with the Staatskapelle Berlin on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 December and the colourful sounds of Latin America with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra on Friday 30 December. And, don’t forget to toast the New Year with the Last Night of the Proms in its traditional spot on New Year’s Eve. Explore the full listings now! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b086vdlk/broadcasts/upcoming?ns_mchannel=email&ns_source=inxmail_newsletter&ns_campaign=bbcproms_radio__&ns_linkname=na&ns_fee=0 (Proms mailing list via gh, DXLD) ** U K [non]. 5910 [sic], THAILAND, BBCWS, 12/14, 1330. News magazine, human rights issue, mixing with monks singing, organ music. Obviously BBC and WEWN (USA/AL) acting as CCI for each other (Rick Barton, from middle Arizona, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) must be 5810 (gh) ** U S A. COMMEMORATIVE FESSENDEN CHRISTMAS EVE 600-METER TRANSMISSIONS "Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, of Forest, Virginia, will once again put his 600-meter experimental station on the air for a Christmas Eve commemorative transmission. The transmissions from WI2XLQ on 486 kHz will mark the 110th anniversary of Reginald Fessenden's audio broadcast on the airwaves, which may have been the first ever. ... "Justin will use a MOPA-design transmitter built largely with vintage parts to replicate early vacuum-tube equipment; not a Fessenden-period transmitter, it uses a UV-202 tube for the power amplifier. He will conduct a run-up to the event starting at around midday Eastern Time on Friday, December 23. The "official" event will begin on Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24, at 0001 UTC (the evening of December 23 in US time zones) and will continue for at least 24 hours. Justin plans to repeat the commemorative transmissions on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. ... "Justin's WI2XLQ on-air operations coincide with dates in early radio history as a way to recognize and honor some of the earliest wireless pioneers and their achievements. Send listener reports directly to Brian Justin, WA1ZMS" (via Paul D, MARE Tipsheet 23 Dec via DXLD) ** U S A. 2500, Dec 16 at 0016, WWV announcing that a LEAP SECOND will be inserted Dec 31 at 2359:60 UT. First I had heard of this: will make our NYE celebration much more exciting! Besides the 61-second minute from WWV, we`ll be pulled to BBCWS for full strike of Big Ben (or not; is it back in live broadcast service?). Another fun thing to do would be immediately after this, check the few other SW timesignal stations, whether they have also leaped or become out of step with WWV and real World Time (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15000/AM, WWV, Fort Collins CO; 1804, 14-Dec; Announced that at 23:59:60 on 12/31, a leap second will be added. (Why note it as 23:59:60 12/31/16 rather than 00:00:00 1/1/17?) WWVH also audible (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' & 125' bow-tie, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Why not? (gh) See also WORLD OF HOROLOGY below ** U S A. 7457-USB, Tue Dec 20 at 1406, AFA4LH calling Florida stations, lots of replies and relays, ``closing time 1445Z``. I last logged this AF MARS frequency Tue Jan 12, 2016 at 1405, also involving Florida. Also 10 previous logs of 7457 going back to 2008. Believe it or not, the only Google hit on call AFA4LH MARS is in the March 1993 issue of PopComm (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. VOA Radiogram is a Voice of America program experimenting with digital text and images via shortwave broadcasting. It is produced and presented by Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott. http://voaradiogram.net/post/154558494352/voa-radiogram-17-18-december-2016-reorganizing VOA Radiogram, 17-18 December 2016: Reorganizing the organization Near-winter-solstice propagation has made reception of VOA Radiogram more problematic, especially in the higher frequencies (15670 and 17580), while opening up opportunities for reception south of the Equator. In recent weeks, the Saturday 0930 UT on 5865 kHz show has delivered a signal to Europe via the gray line, though usually not good enough for successful decoding. If you are in Europe, keep trying this transmission, at least into February. For European listeners, this time of year the best opportunity for reception might, ironically, be the Sunday 0230 UT broadcast on 5745 kHz. It’s nominally beamed to the Caribbean, and in the middle of the night in Europe. Audacity’s timer record feature can be helpful here. Just leave your radio on all night – and sleep well! This weekend’s VOA Radiogram has some interesting items, including a story about the future of US international broadcasting, including VOA. If reception is difficult – a likely scenario – one item is in Olivia 64-2000. It might decode successfully even if you can barely hear the signal through your speaker or see it on the waterfall. For best Olivia 64-2000 performance, turn Fldigi’s squelch (SQL) off. And to keep the center audio frequency from wandering, Configure > IDs > RsID > turn off Searches passband. Set your audio frequency to 1500 Hz, and it will wander no more than +/- 200 Hz. Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 194, 17-18 December 2016, all in MFSK32 except where noted: 1:36 Program preview 2:42 Reorganization of US international broadcasting* 11:53 Off-grid solar power in Africa* 18:00 Olivia 64-2000: Shortwave greetings for sailors 25:30 MFSK32: Closing announcements* * with image Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com. VOA Radiogram transmission schedule (all days and times UTC): Sat 0930-1000 5865 (To Americas, try also in Asia-Pacific and Europe) Sat 1600-1630 17580 (To Europe, try also in Americas and Asia-Pacific) Sun 0230-0300 5745 (To the Americas, try also in Europe) Sun 1930-2000 15670 (To Europe, try also in Americas and Asia-Pacific) All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina. The Mighty KBC broadcast to North America will be Sunday at 0000-0200 UT (Saturday 7-9 pm EST) on 6145 kHz, via Germany. A minute of MFSK32 will be transmitted at about 0130 UT. Reports to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com See also http://www.kbcradio.eu/ and https://www.facebook.com/TheMightyKbc/ DigiDX has a new transmission schedule, both via WRMI Florida: Sunday 2030-2100 UTC on 11580 (Targeted at Europe) Sunday 2330-2400 UTC on 11580 (For North and South America) See http://www.digidx.uk/ and https://www.facebook.com/digidx/ Italian Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) has digital modes as follows: EVERY WEDNESDAY ON 3975 KHZ 2030-2100 UT in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500 EVERY FRIDAY ON 9955 KHZ 0225-0230 UT in MFSK32 [WRMI] EVERY SATURDAY ON 1584 KHZ 2125-2130 UT in MFSK32 EVERY SUNDAY ON 7730 KHZ 0055-0100 UT in MFSK32 [WRMI] EVERY SUNDAY ON 6070 KHZ 1130-1200 UT in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500 (VIA RADIO BCLNEWS) For the complete IBC transmission schedule, including voice broadcasts, visit http://ibcradio.webs.com/ Dolan in the Outer Hebrides had a mostly legible gray-line decode of the Radio Australia logo, from VOA Radiogram, 10 December at 0951 UTC, 5865 kHz … December 16, 2016 (3:07 pm) (via Kim, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn: Below is a link to a podcast about the VOA. The story begins approximately 36 minutes and 46 seconds into this week's podcast. Best. Charlie ON THE MEDIA: SPY VS. SPY http://pca.st/episode/4fb6cfb0-a615-0134-1060-25324e2a541d?t=2208 Sent from my iPhone (Charles Harlich, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Link above is cued almost to that point. Its own URL merely shows: http://pca.st/p0do#t=2208 really starts at 38 minutes in, with this info about it: ``The saga over Russian interference in the election has been marked by secrecy, rumor, and contradictory evidence. We try to bring some clarity to a cloudy narrative. Also, the CIA says Russian hackers deliberately helped Donald Trump win the election but the FBI wasn't initially convinced. We consider the long and tumultuous rivalry between the two agencies, and how spies and G-men have been depicted in popular culture. Plus, how the US propaganda agency [sic] “Voice of America” might function under President Trump`` In two segments, the second one starting at :48 in, 2003y interview with Alan Heil, when VOA had 54 languages! (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) See also RUSSIA [and non] ** U S A. MORE PANIC FROM POLITICO AND THE POST http://www.weeklystandard.com/article/2005903 Sent from my iPhone (via David Cole, Goodwell OK, Dec 17, DXLD) ** U S A. KFKB-1490 Forks WA to go dark this month Programming is moving to one of the HD channels on KBDB-96.7: https://forks1490.com/forks-broadcasting-moving/ 73 (Tim Hall, CA, Dec 20, ABDX via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) ! KFKB 1490 has been a WORLD OF RADIO affiliate for several years. The website says Sunday 3 am (PT) but I was told months ago that it changed to 4 am PT (=1200 UT winter/1100 UT summer). November 29, 2016 News --- Forks Broadcasting Moving Forks Broadcasting is moving its studios and offices to a new location this week – and Forks 1490 radio is moving to a new location on the radio dial. CEO Mark Lamb says the station’s move to 51 Spartan Avenue in Forks means a shift in programming as well. Most new cars are already equipped with HD-radio – and the signal has a better range and sound quality than the old AM terrestrial signal. Both moves are expected to take place at the beginning of next week. For information on how to tune in FORKs 1490 on HD, or on how to get your own HD radio go to HD.Forks1490.com (via DXLD) Above -moving page includes an audio clip about this. Will be on KBDB, Twilight 96-7, HD2, with better signal, by Thu Dec 6. https://forks1490.com/forks-broadcasting-to-be-back-on-air-thursday/ And this page says 1490 is off *temporarily*. There are also three other HD program streams. Appreciate it if anyone can confirm hearing WOR at above time on KBDB HD-2 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 7490, WBCQ, Monticello ME; 2215-2230+, 14-Dec [Wed]; Glenn Hauser’s World of Radio #???? to 2228:16 into classical music to WBCQ ID at 2229:22 into Xmas music. S10 at tune-in, but steadily deteriorated to S4 before BoH; hiss/pulse QRM from downfreq (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' & 125' bow-tie, --- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! --- DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13695, USA / (FL) WRMI, 12/15 [Thu], 2130, Hauser's World of Radio broadcast, on sked, and with ARMCHAIR reception (monitored mobile on SW-2000629 portable and Wilson roofmount CB antenna). note: SW-2000629 is identical (except for color) to Sangean ATS-505 (Rick Barton, from middle Arizona, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1856 monitoring: confirmed Thursday December 15 at 2130 on WRMI 13695, excellent. Not confirmed UT Friday December 16 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB, but a JBA carrier on by 0031, so should be with WOR, propagating to anywhere? (9265 WINB is VP at S5; 7490 WBCQ with `Broad Spectrum Radio` about ND pipeline is only S9 and fading). Next: 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 Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to SW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW WORLD OF RADIO 1856 monitoring: not confirmed UT Saturday Dec 17 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB: No signal at all, nor from 9265 WINB, as 31m propagation almost gone, only very weak signals except for 9395 WRMI (7490 WBCQ with Fred Flintstone music is still S9, but 5130 is admittedly off even after 0100). (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Glenn, How are you? I hope always well. Here is my audio report of World Of RAdio 1856 on SW for B16 period. Hamburger Lokal Radio, Goehren, 7265 kHz, 17 December 2016, 1529-1532 UT in English, SINPO 13532. My listener details are: Nino Marabello, Treviso, Italy Receiver: TECSUN PL-365; Antenna: indoor aerial of wire 9 mt. I have heard two minutes of program World Of Radio 1856 by Glenn Hauser. Before some comments of male announcer of HLR. I have attached an audio report 584 kB in MP3 format. Thank you in advance. 73 from Treviso, Italy (N. Marabello http://acquamarina.blogspot.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nino, Many thanks for this. Glad to know it was audible for you. Checked circa 1544, UTwente could hear nothing but CRI in S Asian music (Glenn to Nino, via DXLD) Sat Dec 17 at 1544 check, on 7265-CUSB via HLR via UTwente, nothing but South Asian music audible from CRI Kashgar. However, Nino Marabello in Treviso, Italy, sends me a clip of WOR opening at 1531, where it`s weak but atop CRI! Next: Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to SW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, I just thought you'd like to know that World of Radio is currently on 9485 kHz via HLR at the moment again (Sunday 18th December). It was almost a repeat of Saturday afternoon on 7265 kHz, Media Network Plus first, then World of Radio (be interesting to see what happens next week re: MN+). I couldn't help noticing that your usual propagation spot at the end of MN+ was missing this week (Alan Gale, 1139 UT Dec 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1856 monitoring: not confirmed Sat Dec 17 at 2330 on 9330, WBCQ, but there is a JBA carrier, so presumably on with WOR (likewise JBA is closest other SW station, 9265 WINB). Confirmed UT Sunday Dec 18 at 0426 on WA0RCR, 1860-AM, MO, 6 minutes into show so started at 0420. Confirmed Sunday Dec 18 after 1130 on HLR, 9485-CUSB, by Alan Gale in England. Next: Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW WORLD OF RADIO 1856 monitoring: confirmed UT Monday December 19 from 0403 on Area 51 webcast, and also on WBCQ, 5130.079-AM as measured an hour earlier. Also confirmed Mon Dec 19 from 0430 on WRMI webcast, JBA carrier on 9955. Next: Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW WORLD OF RADIO 1856 monitoring: confirmed UT Tuesday December 20 at 0030 on WRMI, 7730, VG S9+30; not confirmed at same time on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB, no signal (while 9265 WINB is a JBA carrier). Also confirmed Tue Dec 21 at 2130 on WRMI 15770, good; also confirmed Tue Dec 20 at 2300 on WRMI 9955, fair more or less over jamming; tnx a lot, Arnie! Not confirmed UT Wed Dec 21 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB, no signal, (while 9265 WINB is JBA carrier; 7490 WBCQ is audible, and 9955 WRMI is now VP). Also confirmed Wed Dec 21 at 1415.5 on WRMI 9955, S9+10, no jamming. Also confirmed Wed Dec 21 at 2200 on WBCQ 7490 and webcast (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7490, WBCQ, Monticello ME; 2215-2230+, 21-Dec; Glenn Hauser’s World of Radio #185? (last digit cutoff at program end) to 2228:53 bumper to BoH WBCQ spot. S20 peaks till suddenly fady at about 2226 down to S7 troughs (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet 23 Dec via DXLD) WORLD OF RADIO 1857 ready for first airings December 22: Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 to SSE Thu 2130 WRMI 13695 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW 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 Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to SW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, We will begin to carry World Of Radio on WQCS 88.9 FM HD-2 beginning on Sunday, January 8th at 11 pm [EST = 0400 UT Mondays] We are having issues with our streaming audio but hope to have it corrected by then. We are streaming currently but the audio is distorted. Thanks, and welcome. All the best, (Juan Gualda, Traffic Production Specialist & Operations Support, WQCS 88.9FM, Fort Pierce FL, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 7730 // stronger 5850, Thu Dec 15 at 0709, WRMI with an Xmas story involving a mouse and an organ, Dutch accent, so something from the RN archives, via PCJ Radio International?? No publicity about this, and only `World Music` on the 7730 grid for this hour Thursdays (but `Media Network Plus` on Fridays, yet to be heard instead of `Viva Miami`, last weeks). The transmission grid continues to show Xmtrs 12 & 13, 5850 & 7730 both with `Worship in Your Home` this hour, only on Sundays. 11580, Thu Dec 15 before and after 1430, this hour continues to be a reliable source {except Sundays} for `World Music` on WRMI, altho never specified as such in schedules. 5850 // 7730, Friday Dec 16 at 0700, WRMI again duplicating `Viva Miami` about the Everglades, instead of `Media Network Plus` which is on the schedule this hour Fridays, for 7730 at least. BTW, Keith Perron says PCJ Radio International is dropping SW to North America as of yearend, i.e. WRMI. 7730, Dec 17 at 0034, WRMI is VG with hymns, unseems `Wavescan` as scheduled UT Sat 0030 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11580, WRMI "World Music" also heard Sat Dec 17 from 1410 tune in, with fair signal here (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7730 // 5850, December 19 at 0708, WRMI in church service with choir and organ. Scheduled on 7730 at least on Mondays is `Your Weekend Show`, squeezed out of the TruNews disservice, but unseems to be that (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11580, WRMI Radio Miami Int’l (presumed); 2013-2021+, 20-Dec [Tue]; “Jazz from the Left” program with cool jazz versions of Xmas tunes — No B.S.! (who was on 11565). S9+ peaks (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet 23 Dec via DXLD) 9955, Dec 21 at 2136, WRMI World Music hour is now confronting moderately heavy Cuban jamming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 7490, French Dog Radio (via WBCQ) at 1633 [sic] with several live recordings of rock groups like The Who then a woman with ID of “You have been listening to French Dog Radio” and gave the recent playlist and into a version of “Mr. Bojangles” – Very Good Dec 18 (Mark Coady, ON, ODXA YRX via DXLD) Mark, WBCQ is never on the air at that hour --- until now? HFCC registrations show WWCR on 7490 available 09-16; WBCQ only at 19-04. Was this really a pirate? Did you hear a WBCQ ID? WBCQ schedule, not necessarily up to date, does not show anything before 20 UT on 7490, and F.D.R. at no time (Glenn to Mark, via DXLD) I assumed it was via WBCQ. French Dog Radio was the only ID heard (Mark Coady, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Later: Hi Glenn. I now realize the error of my ways. I cited local time rather than UT. It has been corrected for the next update and I mention that you pointed this out. With my wife's continuing health issues I am bound to make mistakes. I'm amazed at how few I am making. Thanks for pointing this out. Merry Christmas and a very happy new year to you and yours (Mark Coady, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Mark, O, it didn`t occur to me that the time might be wrong/not UT. WBCQ does not normally start 7490 until 2200 UT on Sundays, so it was probably an unpublicized special/one-off program booking, as they also sometimes do on Saturdays before regular programming. But need to check next Sunday too. Best wishes to you too and for her better health in the new year (Glenn to Mark, via DXLD) No recur Dec 25 (gh) 5130.055-AM, UT Mon Dec 19 at 0632, Area 51 is still on! I often check frequency in case this happen, yet Dec 18 sked at http://zappahead.tumblr.com/ shows nothing after 0500 as usual. Really off-the-wall scatter-brained stuff, like a pirate gone wild; talk mixed with music, mentions KPFA, Jeffrey Dahmer story, Bob, standing in line, hamburger. 0647 song ``Roll Out the Pork Barrel``, 0648 mentions WCSB(?) Cleveland, still going past 0700. A P O Box address I can`t copy at 0703. Confirmed not a pirate, by AW quick WBCQ ID inserted at 0705, still going at 0720 when I can`t stay awake any longer. Ad-hoc Hours of Slack? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. What kinda got me into radio, I was given a Ramco plastic crystal set for Xmas. Big plastic case, very little inside, I even bolted it together, had a tuned coil and a diode, ran on an earphone. I put up a 75 foot long wire. I received two local 1 kW daylighters, a 5 kW full time and two others when the daylighters went off. The odd thing was during the day, I could hear Radio Moscow in English!! No idea, must have been the cut of the antenna?? In the small world department, my wife and I go to a flea market in Deland, FL. All kinds of tailgaters, some electronics. I was walking along and spotted a Panasonic SW radio, there was a fellow back too, looking at it. I heard him speak to the seller, and it was Allan Weiner. So I went up behind him, and said, Are you a SW listener??" He said "Sometimes" I replied, "That radio will not pick up WBCQ." He turned around, first not quite recognizing me. He lives 4 miles away from the fair ground where it is held, we travel 96 miles to get there. Tim Smith, who is Allan's engineer for WBCQ and has a show, told me that the converted Harris MW-50 AM transmitter (as so many MW's do) had a meltdown and the fiberglass burned up sending these black particles all over which clogged up the air filter on the intake, causing the transmitter to shut down. I used to enjoy WJCR and WRNO when they simulcasted (Pete, K4POR, Russell, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More from Pete below concerning WCSN/WVHA/WHRI; and under CANADA: CHNX ** U S A. WMLK Radio was back again on shortwave on Dec 11: 1700-1732 on 9275 MLK 250 kW / 053 deg to WeEu English 1732-1822 on 9275 MLK 250 kW / 053 deg to WeEu dead air 1822-2200 on 9275 MLK 250 kW / 053 deg to WeEu English http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/wmlk-radio-was-back-again-on-shortwave.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #983 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, December 16, 2016 via DXLD) Fair to good signal of WMLK Radio (Assemblies of Yahweh) on Dec 14: 1700-2200 9275 MLK 250 kW / 053 deg to WeEu English, at 1830 dead air Wrong frequency announced, 9475, instead of 9275 and wrong morning program: 0400-0900 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/fair-to-good-signal-of-wmlk-radio.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Equipment: Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, Web: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/ Dec 14-15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Obviously DEJOM has nothing new to say, nor anyone on WMLK, just playing very old recordings including wrong frequency, times; why should they care? (gh, DXLD) 9275.035, Dec 15 at 1656, WMLK open carrier, 1700 sharp starts music and talk modulation, presumed sign-on but too weak to copy (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Very good signal of WMLK Radio Assemblies of Yahwe) Dec 16 1700-2101 on 9275 MLK 250 kW / 053 deg to WeEu English and off air http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/very-good-signal-of-wmlk-radio.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 16, dxldyg via DXLD) 9275, Fri Dec 16 at 1816, WMLK is on, good signal and even good modulation from DEJOM, still so at 2034 (when 9265 neighbor WINB is still not on yet); will WMLK be able to keep this up (after Sabbathday off), or will something else break down? 9275, Dec 18 at 1830, carrier from WMLK is back now that it`s Sunday, an ordinary secular weekday, but no sacred-name modulation audible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9275, WMLK, Bethel, PA, 1947, Dec 18, 2016 - Very strong, S9+20, clear signal today. Fundamentalist preaching with emphasis on wickedness and end times (Stephen Wood, Harwich, MA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also good reception in Poland, 18 Dec. 2007 UT https://youtu.be/4CFuth2E2YE Best 73 (Adam http://dxadam.blogspot.com/ Grzenia, ibid.) 9275, Dec 19 at 1837, WMLK is on with a very poor carrier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9275, WMLK Bethel PA (presumed); 1947-2001+, 19-Dec; English “Almighty Yahweh” huxter; mentioned “Assemblies of Yahweh”; kept huxtering thru ToH without break or ID. SIO=352+ on about 9275.05. Still huxtering at 2133. +++ [same], 2050, 20-Dec; “Yahweh” stuff. S20! MUCH better than about same time yesterday (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet 23 Dec via DXLD) 9275.049, Dec 21 at 2114, WMLK is still on with DEJOM intoning, P-F S9+10 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15549.92ish, WJHR, OM Bible bumper with calm discussion of huxterage topics. Most boring. :o 4554+4 with a NASTY 1 kHz ‘tone’ that appears to be a transmitter artifact, 1715-1730 10/Dec. SDRPlay + CubicSDR + Randomwire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI2, MARE Tipsheet Dec 16 via DXLD) Really, instead of 15555ish? IIRC, WJHR was originally on 15550, but has been on 15555 for long time now. Note later same date report below on usual frequency, where I always hear it, if at all (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) 15555, WJHR Milton FL (presumed); 1911, 10-Dec; USB; Never-takes-a- breath huxter said, “The U.S. is beyond revival.” (He probably went to the Overcomer School in International Diplomacy) SIO=354 (Harold Frodge, MI2, MARE Tipsheet Dec 16 via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. 17775, Dec 15 at 1505, no signal yet from KVOH; is it on and just not propagating? Still nothing at 1655, so apparently off. 17775, Friday December 16 at 1516 and 1816 chex, still no signal from KVOH, AWOL. 17775, Dec 19 at 1526 and 1854, KVOH is still AWOL when it should be back on a weekday. Did however note without logging, VOH-Africa, ZAMBIA on 11680, poor circa 0630. 17775, Wed Dec 21 at 1505, KVOH is still missing. 9975 evening English has been gone since last spring, so now KVOH is totally off the air. Maybe they are in final stages of activating long-delayed replacement transmitter? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Back Dec 22 (gh) ** U S A. 9930, Dec 16 at 0030, WTWW-2 is on day frequency at night instead of 5085, and --- in a commercial break during Dave Ramsey Show! Which had been running at 19-22 UT weekdays. 9930 is S9+10 but fading, about same as 9475 WTWW-1 with SFAW white supremacy show. Not rechecked until 0339, when 9930 is *still* on, now with distorted Xmasmx, 5085 off, but WTWW-1 has successfully QSYed to 5830. Time for another gander at the WTWW schedule page, which does have some new info but not all correct: http://wtww.us/pages/schedule.php ``Transmitter 2 QSO RADIO SHOW SATURDAY 1 PM CENTRAL ON 9475 THEATER ORGAN FROM THE OZARKS SATURDAY 1 PM ON 9330 AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE SATURDAY 1:30 PM ON 9330 QSO RADIO SHOW SATURDAY 1:30 PM ON 9330 QSO RADIO SHOW LIVE TUESDAY 8 PM CENTRAL ON 5085 HAMNATION LIVE WEDNESDAY 8 PM on 5085 AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE WEDNESDAY 9 PM ON 5085 QSO RADIO SHOW WEDNESDAY 9:30 OR FOLLOWING NEWSLINE ON 5085`` Hey Ted, transmitter 2 is NOT the one on 9475, and it`s on 9930, NOT 9330 (which is WBCQ; let`s hope this error x3 is not extended to the transmitter tuner where it would blow away weak WBCQ). Dave Ramsey not mentioned at original or strange time tonight. Repeat of Organ/Ozarx Sat 8 pm not mentioned (if it still exists: dead air last week). As a matter of fact, fails to mention ALL the times when dead air is broadcast. BTW, I was once told that Mrs. Ted is in charge of the website provider for this, ``powered by tux-support.com``, but just try hitting the hotlink to it at pagebottom (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5830. WTWW. 12/16. 1130. PPP on government mind control, mark of the beast. Loud 60 Hz hum like an antique filter cap failure. Excellent signal (Rick Barton, from middle Arizona, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5085, Fri Dec 16 at 0656, WTWW-2 is on, Ted with a radio ad. You never know whether it will be or not, and the wtww.us program schedule page is no help, full of mistakes and omissions. 5830, Dec 16 at 1522, WTWW-1 is still on night frequency instead of 9475, screaming gospel huxter. 9930, Fri Dec 16 at 1922 & 2033, Xmasmx from WTWW-2, distorted as usual, no `Dave Ramsey Show` which had been airing 19-22 UT weekdays, and still shown as 1-4 pm CT on homepage. Unchecked UT Dec 17 whether that appeared circa 0030 like yesterday with 9930 still on at night. Dec 16 afternoon, 9475 and 12105 are nominal. 9930, Sat Dec 17 at 1859, Xmasmx from WTWW-2, 1901 plug Santa Net nightly at 7 pm CT thru Xmaseve on 3916-(LSB?), allegedly allowing patches from kids to Santa at North Pole. At 1902:30 `Theater Organ of the Ozarx`` starts late with, what else? Xmas carols; outro at 1931 mentions being on Saturday nights (does Heil know that both times were no-shows last week, Dec 10-11?) and refer to program sked, but where? This does not end until 1935:30, so ran 33 minutes, inconvenient for a tightly-scheduled station, not WTWW! Then to non-organ Xmasmx. This contradicts WTWW`s own attempt at a program schedule which already shows a conflict of two other programs on ``9330`` [sic] Sat 1:30 pm: ``AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE SATURDAY 1:30 PM ON 9330 QSO RADIO SHOW SATURDAY 1:30 PM ON 9330`` 9475, Dec 18 at 1516, WTWW-1 fails to broadcast on wrong frequency 5830 unlike 48 hours ago. 9475, Dec 19 at 0255, JBA carrier from WTWW-1, not yet switched to 5830 night frequency, but which has happened by 0302 recheck; yet propagation is such that even 5830 is very poor (like 5890 neighbor WWCR). WTWW.us website says transition time is 9 pm CDT on one page, merely 9 pm Central on another. 9475, Dec 19 at 1424, WTWW with frequent IADs during harangue by a pre-deceased Pastor Pete Peters, who is in no position to complain. This of course is before the nominal 9 am CT QSY from 5830. 9930, Dec 21 at 2114, WTWW-2 again with distorted S9+30 Xmasmx instead of Dave Ramsey show (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 7504.969 not stable frequency, varying 5 Hertz up and down, at 0435 UT on Dec 17, S=8-9 in Germany SDR installation. WRNO Mandarin Chinese pastor prayer, 2 x 5.3 kHz wide signal (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRNO English! not Chinese, 7504.879, Unstable frequency, wandered (Wolfgang Büschel, 0332 UT Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENNG DIGEST) ** U S A. 4840, Dec 19 at 0645, WWCR is S9+40 of dead air, still at 0658. Can`t let WTWW and RHC get all the dead-air attention! 3215 is nominal with WWCRBS. Mon program missed at this hour is `Inspirations Across America`. Refund? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. In the 70's had a Class D 10 watt NCE [non-commercial educational] at a high school. Sold some equipment to Allan Weiner who then was going to Ricker College in Houlton, ME. He later had the pirate ship off of N.Y., now has WBCQ in Monticello, ME, with Tim Smith, WA1HLR, AKA Timtron, who I know and helped him put on an LPFM station. Got to visit the Christian Scientist SW transmitter in Greenbush, Maine when it was there [WCSN]. They ID'ed the station as Scott's Corners, Maine which was near where they were located, but that was not a town of license. I called them and explained that Greenbush was the actual town, they changed it. They had a Brown Boveri Corp. (called the BBC) 500 kW transmitter. They were down for maintenance, so got to go inside of the unit. Good safety procedure, everyone took a paddle lock, and put it through a hole in the arm of the AC power main box. You took the key with you. Until everyone unlocked their paddle lock, the transmitter could not be turned on. They had PDM with 28 modules in a cabinet. Most of the engineers were hams. The had a curtain antenna (I think they were on the cover of Popular Communications) When they first went on the air, the antenna tuner kept going off loading on them, especially when it rained. They finally figured it out. To keep people away from the towers and antenna, a METAL chain link fence had been installed. The high RF was reflecting back into antenna. A wood fence solved the problem. I think the station went through several other religious broadcasters [WVHA, Voice of Historic Adventism, HQ in Florida – gh] and then the transmitter was moved to South Carolina?? [WHRI] 73 (Pete Russell, Dec 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 680, NORTH CAROLINA, WPTF, Raleigh. 1100 December 18, 2016. ID into CBS News. Interestingly, live announcer coming out of the news, announcing that they deviate from News-Talk every Sunday from 6- 7 a.m. for "an hour of faith music" with all-Christmas music today, into Anne Murray's "O Come All Ye Faithful" for the first. Excellent in tight local WGES null (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Official Updates from the FCC: STAs granted: 1020 KCKN NM Roswell – Granted STA with U4(?) 1000/1000; bad tubes in main transmitter (AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 18, via DXLD) 1020, Dec 21 at 0528 UT, Spanish pentecostal gospel huxter overcoming KOKP Perry OK, especially if I null it, typical of what KCKN Roswell NM used to accomplish before it crashed. Making 3.5 Hz SAH = 210/minute. At 0531 UT, KDKA makes it thru with ID and CBS News Update. AM Switch in NRC DX News post-dated Dec 26 reports: [as above] (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Official Updates from the FCC: CALL CHANGES 1020 WURN FL Kendall – Call change to WLVJ (Dec. 6). 1040 WLVJ FL Boynton Beach – Call change to WURN (Dec. 6). (AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 18, via DXLD) Why swap? ** U S A. 1080, FLORIDA (Part 15) "WUTT" University of Tampa. 1751 UT December 16, 2016. Techno-ish instrumentals, live "The University of Tampa's one and only radio station." Recheck at 2005 with Classic Rock program (Kinks, Pink Floyd), same slogan. First audible just west of Kennedy Blvd.(SR-60) at Dale Mabry Hwy. (US-92) on a brief forced business excursion to south Tampa. Florida Low Power Radio Stations: https://sites.google.com/site/floridadxn/florida-low-power-radio-stations (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1080, FLORIDA, WHIM, Coral Gables. 1202 December 17, 2016. Weirdly accented guy with live Christian talk show, 305-644-1080 for callers which top Googles to the former call letters (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WVCG? (gh) ** U S A. 1130, Dec 21 at 0524 UT, S9+40 signal in silly sports talk, overcoming any co-channel and KMOX IBOC circa 1133. Playing ``Spanish Flea`` song in background. Must be KWKH Shreveport LA on 50 kW ND day pattern, much more signal than we normally get at night when it`s supposed to be a wide blob centered on SSW, essentially nothing to the north (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Official Updates from the FCC: CPs fully licensed and on the air: 1190 KQQZ IL Fairview Heights – CP for U4 10000/650, ex-CoL DeSoto MO, is on the air. (Legal ID for Fairview Heights heard on webstream 12/10 1503 ELT.) (AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 18, via DXLD) ** U S A. 1250, Dec 21 at 0519 UT, strange rappish song of syllables, including ``konichiwa`` a couple times, but not sure rest is Japanese; then songs in Spanish and English, but more than one station mixing. 0521 UT fades in strange language again, 0522 UT Spanish announcement re navidad, and English ad for tickets at Little Rock Center, a venue? Or Little Rock Central, referring to the notorious historic high school? So I will tentatively ID this one as KPZK, 2000/1200 watts U4, UC:AC format from Little Rock AR, per NRC AM Log (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1480, Dec 20 at 1355 UT, KBXD Dallas, Radio Salam Namaste W&M chattering in Hinglish, something about banana chips (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Official Updates from the FCC: Applications for CP received: 1540, WNWR, PA, Philadelphia – Applies for U4 50000/250. (AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 18, via DXLD) ** U S A. Official Updates from the FCC: Applications to extend STAs received: 1560, KGOW, TX, Bellaire – Applies to extend STA, U3 15000/15000 from licensed night site (AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 18, via DXLD) ** U S A. 1590, Dec 20 at 0513 UT, HPRN Sports report, including a Nazarene girls` team, forecast hi today 56, lo 29 (obviously stale from previous morning hours), fishing license PSA, 0515 UT ``High Plains Radio Network, AM 1590``. Therefore it is KDAV Lubbock TX, 1000/1000 watts U4. Some QRM from S Asian music, KMIC Houston or WCGO Evanston IL? Also a low audible het (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1590, FLORIDA, WRXB, St Pete Beach. 1617 December 18, 2016. Well look who's back -- kind of -- from what had to have been months at a watt or less power. Big carrier, but no audio being fed until 16 CBS News top of hour. CHHA in well at the same time with Spanish vocals, program promo (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Official Updates from the FCC: CALL CHANGES 1380 WMGE NH Portsmouth – Call change to WPLA (Dec. 14; station is silent). 1670 WPLA GA Dry Branch – Call change to WMGE (Dec. 14). (AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 18, via DXLD) Why swap? ** U S A. WOCO on 2520 (2 x 1260) --- Strong signal right now on 2520 // to 1260 kHz (also heard here) and confirmed with a clear TOH ID at 1300 UTC with local talk and Christmas music. 73, (Tim Tromp, West Michigan, Dec 18, harmonics yg WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) 2520, Dec 19 at 1348 UT, S6 carrier with some fading to S5, no modulation audible which ought to be, if any; 1355-1402 UT monitored continuously in case about to sign-on. Likely a second harmonic, and Tim Tromp in West Michigan had just reported yesterday to the harmonics yg: ``WOCO on 2520 (2 x 1260), Strong signal right now on 2520 // to 1260 kHz (also heard here) and confirmed with a clear TOH ID at 1300 UT with local talk and Christmas music``. WOCO of course is close to him in Oconto, Wisconsin, 1000/29 watts U1 plus 500-watt PSRA. WOCO official sunrise is 1315 UT in Dec, 1330 UT in Jan (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WHEELER WILL STEP DOWN JAN. 20 Radio World By Paul McLane December 15, 2016 http://www.radioworld.com/article/wheeler-will-step-down-jan-/300057 The FCC chairman will step down. The news ends recent speculation about a possible muddied transition between a Democratic-led commission into a GOP administration. “Today, Chairman Tom Wheeler, after more three years at the helm of the agency, announced he intends to leave the Federal Communications Commission on January 20, 2017,’ the commission announced. There had been some speculation that Wheeler would not leave immediately; his term on the commission was to run to 2018. Meanwhile fellow Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel has not been reconfirmed; according to some accounts, Republicans indicated they would not reconfirm Rosenworcel if Wheeler insisted on staying on, making it harder for the new administration to put its stamp on the commission right away. It quoted him: “Serving as F.C.C. Chairman during this period of historic technological change has been the greatest honor of my professional life. I am deeply grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity. I am especially thankful to the talented Commission staff for their service and sacrifice during my tenure. Their achievements have contributed to a thriving communications sector, where robust investment and world-leading innovation continue to drive our economy and meaningful improvements in the lives of the American people. It has been a privilege to work with my fellow Commissioners to help protect consumers, strengthen public safety and cybersecurity, and ensure fast, fair and open networks for all Americans.” He was the 31st chair of the FCC, taking the position in November 2013, appointed by President Obama. His departure makes it likely that one of the Republicans currently on the commission will succeed him at least in an acting capacity; they are Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly. Wheeler came to the FCC with a background in telecomm networks and services; according to his official bio, he is the only person to be selected to both the Cable Television Hall of Fame and The Wireless Hall of Fame. The bio noted that President Obama nicknamed him “The Bo Jackson of Telecom.” Prior, Wheeler was managing director at Core Capital Partners, a venture capital firm investing in Internet Protocol (IP)-based companies; he was as president/CEO of Shiloh Group LLC, a strategy development and private investment company. He is former president/CEO of the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) and the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA). (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) MARE Mike Vitale passes along word that Tom Wheeler is resigning as FCC head. This means that Republicans will hold the majority on the FCC next year. Mike adds: "Don't know if that's good or bad." DON'T get me started on the politics of the FCC. This is something like the EPA -- it SHOULD be beyond politics, we're dealing with physics and making sure the PUBLIC gets a fair shake, but lately both parties have been playing money games (like the 'spectrum auction' silliness!) and monkeying with the politically popular interwebs instead of dealing with their real job: Protecting the electromagnetic spectrum for the Public Interest Convenience and Necessity. And doing favors for the political cronies and lobbyists instead of protecting radio! And the public is suffering. --kvz (Tell us how you REALLY feel Ken, right? :) ) (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet 23 Dec via DXLD) ** U S A. EFFORT TO ELIMINATE BROADCAST/NEWSPAPER CROSSOWNERSHIP BAN A bipartisan effort has been launched to force the FCC to eliminate the broadcast/newspaper crossownership ban that has been in effect since 1975. The bill was introduced by incoming House Energy & Commerce Committee chair Greg Walden (R-OR) and Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) today to take action after the FCC failed to address the rule in its 2010/2014 quadrennial review this past summer. The National Association of Broadcasters announced its intention to sue the agency last month over the ban and lack of adjustments on the station ownership caps. The ban was introduced in 1975 prohibiting the ownership of a daily newspaper and a “full-power broadcast station that serviced the same community” in order to prevent a single entity from becoming too powerful a single voice. Many companies have continued to have waivers such as Cox Media owning the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WSB-TV, and six radio stations in the Atlanta market. NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith released the following statement in regard to the proposed bill: “NAB applauds Chairman Walden, Rep. Yarmuth and their bipartisan cosponsors for introducing a bill to eliminate the broadcast-newspaper cross-ownership rule. This legislation is an important step towards aligning outdated broadcast ownership rules with Americans’ 21st century information needs. For too long, radio and television broadcasters have been saddled with archaic regulations preventing them from investing in newspaper ownership. Striking this cross-ownership ban would save journalism jobs, create more investigative reporting and provide communities with greater local news.” (Radio Insight via NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 18, via DXLD) ** VANUATU. 7259.95, R. Vanuatu, 0540-0701, Dec 21. 0540-0615 long interview in vernacular; pop Pacific Islands songs, C&W songs, etc.; 0630 ID & drums; started poor, but slowly improved (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN [and non]. Frequency changes of Vatican Radio from Dec 25 1430-1450 NF 9510 PUG 250 kW / 285 deg to SoAs Hindi, ex 15470 // frequency 11695 PHT 250 kW / 283 deg to SoAs Hindi 1450-1510 NF 9510 PUG 250 kW / 285 deg to SoAs Tamil, ex 15470 // frequency 11695 PHT 250 kW / 283 deg to SoAs Tamil 1510-1530 NF 9510 PUG 250 kW / 285 deg to SoAs Malayalam, ex 15470 // frequency 11695 PHT 250 kW / 283 deg to SoAs Malayalam 1530-1600 NF 9510 PUG 250 kW / 285 deg to SoAs English, ex 15470 1530-1600 NF 11940 SMG 125 kW / 090 deg to SoAs English DRM, ex 15775 // frequency 11695 PHT 250 kW / 283 deg to SoAs English http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/frequency-changes-of-vatican-radio-from.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. 6020, Voice of Vietnam, 4th mountain domestic service from Dac Lac site at 1223 UT on Dec 10. Usual two SPURIOUS signals noted, - even in Colombo Sri Lanka remote SDR installation, wobbling signals centered on 6006.610 and 6033.39 kHz (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, Dec 10, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 17 via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) ** YEMEN [non]. SAUDI ARABIA; 11860 Republic of Yemen Radio; 1532, 14- Dec; Arabic vocal into M in Arabic with commentary over plucked music and several mentions of Yemen. SIO=353. QTH per Aoki and recent posts in Glenn Hauser’s DXLD (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' & 125' bow-tie, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! ---- DX LISTENING DIGEST) Note we are still not totally sure of the transmitter site, and there seems to be more than one depending on the time (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. 5915, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation – Lusaka, 2052-2204*, Dec 11. woman announcer in one of their local language hosting program of vocals. After 2100 she began talking phone calls from listeners. This continued until 2200 when a man joined the woman for closing ID and announcements followed by choral National Anthem. Fair. Noted again at 2142-2203* Dec 12, with woman announcer hosting music program. Man with prayer before choral National Anthem. Fair. Finally caught the Fisheagle IS at *0248-0305 Dec 13 followed by choral National Anthem and seemingly choir vocals and organ music. A man began talking (preaching? Prayer?) as I tuned out. Fair (Rich D’Angelo, French Creek State Park DXpedition No. 52 (December 11, 12 and 13, 2016). Equipment: Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) 5915, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation – Lusaka, 2148-2157*, Dec 15. Caught last few minutes of program with discussion by a man and woman on local language. Off suddenly. Poor to fair (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) 5915, R. One/ZNBC at 0328, Dec 21 tuned in to hear my favorite African Xmas song in English: "Happy Christmas, Happy New Year." A fun song with nice African accents. It's almost like a theme song for them, as they play it so often. My audio of the Xmas song, recorded in 2015, at http://goo.gl/vmeGn0 This is the third year in a row that I have heard Zambia playing this special song. Noted 0346*, going off suddenly in mid-sentence (Ron Howard, San Francisco, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. TANZANIA: 11735, Radio Tanzania-Zanzibar; 1919-1932+, 1951-2002+, 15-Dec; Arabish instrumental and vocal music; no BoH break, music continued. Backtuned at 1951: Arabish music continuing; Brief announcement by M in Arabic at 1958+ mentioning Dar es Salaam (but not Zanzibar); ToH pips tone, into W in non-Arabic (Swahili?) with commentary, also mentioning Dar es Salaam (but not Zanzibar) and took a call. SIO=3+53+ with crackly QRN (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' & 125' bow-tie, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! ---- DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Pacific JBA MW carrier search, December 15, UT: 594-NW at 1335 747-NW at 1335 774-NW at 1338 - this one is now tougher due to continuous music splash instead of talk from 780 KSPI Stillwater OK 1098-W at 1340 1566-NW at 1341, strongest of the lot, but still no audio Enid sunrise today: 1336 UT; will reach latest circa January 6 at 1343 (meanwhile, earliest sunset already passed a week ago at 2316, creeping later now) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Pacific JBA MW carrier search Dec 20, UT: 1098-west at 1336, presumed V7AB Marshall Islands; only other is 1566, see KOREA SOUTH (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1710.03, 0143 UT December 17, 2016. Presumed one of the New England or the W807 Chicago pirates, but no audio and frequency reading too approximate to confirm which in comparison to others waterfall measurements (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 2317 UT now, and up the dial a bit [from 2859.8 COSTA RICA, q.v.], there's a carrier on 2900 kHz with occasional threshold audio but nothing I can make out. This one seemed dead-on 2900 kHz. Switching between north and south, both were considerably better on the South antenna. 73, (Tim Tromp, West Michigan [timestamped 0114 UT Dec 17], harmonics yg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4864+, Dec 19 at 0645, open carrier at S4-S6, also past 0710. Slightly on the hi side but not measured. Maybe Brasil? 4863.97, Dec 20 at 0645, JBA carrier; Brasil? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4940-USB, Dec 19 at 0643, intermittent 2-way, very poor in French? Maybe Canadian; only one side of contact audible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4960, Dec 19 at 0642, open carrier ranging S5-S7, still past 0700, when I am alert for something to start. Weakening a bit by 0710. Another of these 60m mysteries (which is really a fixed utility band around here). I think it`s a bit late for VOA São Tomé to be incoming, but it is indeed scheduled until 0730, switching from French to Hausa at 0700. There is certainly enough signal for modulation to be audible if there be any. 4960 is also a frequency used recently by [YHWH], but he would surely not leave transmitter on for no reason. 4960, Dec 20 at 0643, open carrier at S5-S7. I guess it must be VOA SAO TOME, again failing to modulate. Sunrise there is circa 0530 UT, almost on the Equator, so could still be propagating, and nothing else audible on frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 5131.44-USB approx., Dec 16 at 0033, 2-way in Spanish, very poor while checking for 5130+ WBCQ but which is not on. Can`t call them intruders, in fixed band where broadcasters intrude (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6780, Dec 18 at 1436, JBA carrier. I believe this is an ISM frequency, half of 13560, subject to unlicensed low-power industrial, scientific and medical devices as well as pirates and Part 15 beacons (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. [Re 16-50, 7155:] Probably Russian patriot from eastern Ukraine Lugansk canton state (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 9330, Dec 17 at 1811, S7 open carrier; 1826 up to S9. What could it be? WBCQ transmitter on testing? Cuban Spy Numbers/RHC transmitter? --- seems too weak for that and normally active only in nightmiddle. Only other station which has been on 9330 in recent years is Damascus, Syria, long inactive. Could that be attempting a comeback?? Probably more pressing matters over there. Note that 9325 and 9540+ Cairo in the other part of the ex-UAR, are indeed propagating, see EGYPT. No, it`s not WTWW, q.v., which imagines it broadcasts on 9330 instead of 9930 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. EGYPT, Unidentified station with Egyptian music Dec 20 1020-1036 on 9550 unknown tx / unknown to UNID, poor/weak http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2016/12/unidentified-station-with-egyptian_20.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 20, dxldyg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 11670, Dec 15 at 1506, NO signal except maybe trace of a carrier, unlike 24 hours ago when there was a strong signal in Arabic. (11860 YEMEN non is still very good S9+20 now). Maybe it was a mistake or a test. Unless someone have an SDR recording covering this on Dec 14, we may never know whence (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non] By Glenn Hauser: 1500-1600 Arabic on 11670 is R. Adal Wed/Sat & R. Al-Mukhtar Tue, instead of registered 17580. Videos will be uploaded later today -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More at ERITREA [non] UNIDENTIFIED. 12182-12205, Dec 19 at 1415, approx. 23-kHz range of OTH radar clicking, with the upper boundary merging into CODAR swishes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACKNOWLDGED ON WORLD OF RADIO 1857: Thanks to Gerald T Pollard, NC, for a generous quarterly contribution to P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED FUTURELY: Being a part of your group makes feel like a participant to the history of Radio rather than just a simple peripheral observer to it. Your efforts are always appreciated. (Anon with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com) Happy Holidays Glenn: Really appreciate all that you do through the WOR site - a great source of info! 73, (Mike Beu, KD5DSQ, Austin, Texas (with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com) Keep up the good work! (Henning Vahlbruch, Germany, with a contribution via PayPal, not necessarily in US funds, to woradio at yahoo.com) GH ON A QSL View Item: QSL "Radio Nederland" 15425 kHz DX Juke Box via Hilversum Shortwave DX SWL 1970 (link opens in new window or tab)' http://www.ebay.com/itm/QSL-Radio-Nederland-15425-kHz-DX-Juke-Box-via-Hilversum-Shortwave-DX-SWL-1970-/172440368568 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) This is the one with portraits of contributors to DX Juke Box, including yours truly. Can be enlarged, and then paged on to reverse side with verification info (gh, DXLD) See also Mike Terry`s comment under TAIWAN PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ BROADCASTS IN ENGLISH B-16 British DX Club`s handy booklet has now been published, 32 pages to keep by your radio rather than having to look stuff up online. Comprehensive schedule by time showing targets, frequencies, transmitter sites is the main portion of the first 18 pages; also: Music on Shortwave, broadcasts in English, 6 pages; BIE available online, 4 pages; DX programs by day and time, 2 pages. While stox last, prices including postage: to UK 3GBP. To Europe 4GBP or 5 Euro, US$6, or 5 IRCs. Rest of World airmail: 5 GBP, US$7, 6 IRCs. Pdf version also available on request at UK price. http://www.bdxc.org.uk or British DX Club, 10 Hemdean Hill, Caversham, Reading RG4 7SB, UK (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TROPICAL BANDS MONITOR Owners of our Domestic Broadcasting Survey No. 18, please note that http://www.dswci.org/tbmonitor was updated with the November worldwide loggings on December 02, as an extra service to their purchase. Any DX-er can download from http://www.dswci.org/tbm the complete view of monitoring of stations heard broadcasting on tropical bands during 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. From 2017 these will be published on the public DSWCI website: http://www.dswci.org DSWCI website http://www.dswci.org Rolf Wernli will continue this for four more years, but the amount of news will be limited (Anker Petersen, ed., DSWCI DX Window Dec 14, 2016 via DXLD) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ LEAP SECOND 2016/2017 "WWV announcing that a LEAP SECOND will be inserted Dec 31 at 2359:60 UT. First I had heard of this: will make our NYE celebration much more exciting! Besides the 61-second minute from WWV, we`ll be pulled to BBCWS for full strike of Big Ben (or not; is it back in live broadcast service?). Another fun thing to do would be immediately after this, check the few other SW timesignal stations, whether they have also leaped or become out of step with WWV and real World Time." The leap second was announced about six months ago. Already programmed into the GPS satellites, etc. Google and others will be "smearing" the leap second to prevent hiccups. The clock in Elizabeth Tower hasn't gone down yet for repairs according to this report today from BBC News: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-38341089 So we should be good for New Year's Eve. Also, on the BBC, there should be 7-pips for the Greenwich Time Signal at midnight rather than the usual 6. The attached audio file is what the last New Year's Eve leap second sounded like on BBC Radio 5 Live (31 December 2008). There have been an additional two leap seconds since but they were both June leap seconds. And a reminder that France Inter on 162 kHz is scheduled to go off the air (at midnight CET?) on 31 December 2016 (despite an online petition) and with it, the continuously broadcast TDF time signal. (-- Richard Langley, NB, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USA logs of WWV, WWVH NIGERIA, BENIN AHEAD OF SAO TOME E PRINCIPE I am surprised to see that ST&P are on UT, rather than UT+1. But UT/0 is correct as they are west of 7.5 degrees east, where should be the true boundary between 0 and +1. All of Nigeria, extending much further west than ST&P, is on UT+1, while in reality only the eastern portion beyond Enugu and Kaduna should be. And so is Benin on UT+1 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MUSEA +++++ COMMEMORATIVE FESSENDEN CHRISTMAS EVE 600-METER TRANSMISSIONS SET http://www.arrl.org/news/commemorative-fessenden-christmas-eve-600-meter-transmissions-set Sent from my iPhone (Dennis Gibson, IRCA via DXLD) 487 kHz DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See MEXICO ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DAB See DENMARK; NORWAY; SCOTLAND ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC See NORWAY incidentally; USA: 1130 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See also KUWAIT; NEW ZEALAND; NIGERIA; ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NORWAY incidentally; VATICAN OFFICAL DRM SCHEDULES OUT OF DATE Ciao a tutti gli amici del gruppo. In questi giorni ho provato a testare le stazioni che trasmettono in DRM sulla base dello schedule diramato dall'organizzazione http://www.drm.org Segnalo che gran parte delle trasmissioni segnalate non sono attive mentre ne ho registrata una non presente nello schedule. Nella tabella allegata qualche ascolto riservandomi di indagare più a fondo durante questo periodo di festività. Le mie condizioni di lavoro: Kenwood TS 440/Yaesu FRG-7000 con antenna dipolo. Downconverter per DRM Autocostruito. Allegato un file audio e qualche screenshots. Approfitto del post per augurare a tutti buone feste. Giovanni STAZIONE DATA ORA UTC FREQUENZA LINGUA SEGNALE VARIE BBC 18.12 1545 5845 ENGLISH OTTIMO MUSICA RRI 18.12 1600 6030 RUSSO BUONO NEWS AIR 18.12 1610 11620 ** RUSSO OTTIMO NEWS RRI 18.12 1700 5935 FRANCESE OTTIMO NEWS RFI 18.12 1710 3965 FRANCESE PESSIMO --- ** NON IN SCHEDULE http://www.drm.org -- ITALIAN AMATEUR RADIO STATION I T 9 T Z Z ESCLUSIVAMENTE IN TELEGRAFIA [sic] Sito web> http://www.webalice.it/it9tzz [1] QRZ.com page> http://www.qrz.com/db/it9tzz [2] from (Giovanni Lorenzi, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Says most of the entries in the official DRM schedule are not active, as we have noticed for a very long time (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ NANORADIO 91.7, Dec 19 at 1428 UT on KOSU, Caught most of a report about a ``tiny diamond radio``, on NPR Morning Edition, viz.: This Christmas Song Brought To You By The World's Tiniest Radio Receiver 2:35 [with audio] http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/19/506151375/this-christmas-song-brought-to-you-by-the-worlds-tiniest-radio-receiver (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) December 19, 2016 1:35 PM ET Heard on Morning Edition Rebecca Hersher A tiny radio receiver built from components the size of two atoms. It emits a signal as red light, which is then converted into an electrical current and can be broadcast as sound by a speaker or headphone. Eliza Grinnell/Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Physicists at Harvard have built a radio receiver out of building blocks the size of two atoms. It is, almost certainly, the tiniest radio receiver in the world. And since it's a radio, it can play whatever you want to send its way, including Christmas music, as this video by the Harvard team that designed it makes clear: This tiny radio has building blocks the size of two atoms. The radio is extremely resilient, thanks to the inherent strength of the diamond. The team successfully played music at 350 degrees Celsius — about 660 Fahrenheit. Credit: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences YouTube Electrical engineering professor Marko Loncar and graduate student Linbo Shao applied basic radio engineering principles to a very small- scale machine. As Leah Burrows, spokeswoman for Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, explains: "Radios have five basic components: a power source, a receiver, a transducer to convert the high-frequency electromagnetic signal in the air to a low-frequency current, a tuner, and a speaker or headphones to convert the current to sound." With those five components as a starting point, let's consider the inner workings of the tiny radio, where there is a diamond crystal made of carbon atoms. The researchers replace some of those carbon atoms with nitrogen atoms, and leave a hole next to each one. That nitrogen atom/hole pair, called a nitrogen-vacancy center, basically creates the first two parts of the radio: the power source and the receiver. A green laser pointed at the nitrogen-vacancy center excites the electrons in the diamond. That's the power. When a radio wave hits those excited electrons around the nitrogen- vacancy center, it's converted into red light. That's the receiver. It's also one of the reasons nitrogen-vacancy centers are so compelling as a building block for tiny machines — they are natural light emitters. An electromagnet near the receiver can change the frequency to which the receiver is sensitive. That's the tuner. But at that point, your "radio" is just a glowing red light. It still hasn't made any sounds. For the last step, a common device called a photodiode converts the red light back to an electrical current, and a speaker or pair of headphones grabs that current and broadcasts it as sound. And voila: Christmas music, if that's what you choose to play through your tiny radio. The team published its work in the journal Physical Review Applied. Loncar and Shao are not the first to use nitrogen-vacancy centers for small-scale engineering. Other research groups are working on harnessing the natural light-emitting ability of the diamond imperfections to create quantum computers. One benefit of a radio so small you can barely see it is that the machine works at extreme temperatures. The Harvard team tested its radio at up to 662 degrees Fahrenheit. "Diamonds have these unique properties," Loncar said in a Harvard announcement of the findings. "This radio would be able to operate in space, in harsh environments and even the human body, as diamonds are biocompatible." (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) MARE Paul Dobosz passes along an interesting article from Wireless Design magazine with a URL as long as your arm (thus the shortening!) about a VERY tiny 'radio' ... two atoms in size! http://tinyurl.com/2-atom-radio Good grief, sometimes I lose my CCrane Skywave -- I can't imagine finding this on my DX Desk or in my DXpedition carry-all! :) –kvz (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet Dec 23 via DXLD) Viz.: WORLD'S SMALLEST RADIO RECEIVER HAS BUILDING BLOCKS THE SIZE OF TWO ATOMS --- 4 days 3 hours ago by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences https://www.wirelessdesignmag.com/news/2016/12/worlds-smallest-radio-receiver-has-building-blocks-size-two-atoms?et_cid=5737816&et_rid=207561102&type=headline&et_cid=5737816&et_rid=207561102&linkid=World%26%23039%3bs+Smallest+Radio+Receiver+Has+Building+Blocks+the+Size+of+Two+Atoms Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have made the world's smallest radio receiver - built out of an assembly of atomic-scale defects in pink diamonds. This tiny radio — whose building blocks are the size of two atoms—can withstand extremely harsh environments and is biocompatible, meaning it could work anywhere from a probe on Venus to a pacemaker in a human heart. The research was led by Marko Loncar, the Tiantsai Lin Professor of Electrical Engineering at SEAS, and his graduate student Linbo Shao and published in Physical Review Applied. Deeper Insights Material Advances Enable New Generation of Power Inductors The radio uses tiny imperfections in diamonds called nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers. To make NV centers, researchers replace one carbon atom in a diamond crystal with a nitrogen atom and remove a neighboring atom—creating a system that is essentially a nitrogen atom with a hole next to it. NV centers can be used to emit single photons or detect very weak magnetic fields. They have photoluminescent properties, meaning they can convert information into light, making them powerful and promising systems for quantum computing, phontonics and sensing. Radios have five basic components — a power source, a receiver, a transducer to convert the high-frequency electromagnetic signal in the air to a low-frequency current, speaker or headphones to convert the current to sound and a tuner. In the Harvard device, electrons in diamond NV centers are powered, or pumped, by green light emitted from a laser. These electrons are sensitive to electromagnetic fields, including the waves used in FM radio, for example. When NV center receives radio waves it converts them and emits the audio signal as red light. A common photodiode converts that light into a current, which is then converted to sound through a simple speaker or headphone. An electromagnet creates a strong magnetic field around the diamond, which can be used to change the radio station, tuning the receiving frequency of the NV centers. Shao and Loncar used billions of NV centers in order to boost the signal, but the radio works with a single NV center, emitting one photon at a time, rather than a stream of light. The radio is extremely resilient, thanks to the inherent strength of diamond. The team successfully played music at 350 degrees Celsius— about 660 Fahrenheit. "Diamonds have these unique properties," said Loncar. "This radio would be able to operate in space, in harsh environments and even the human body, as diamonds are biocompatible." (via DXLD) FCC ``COMMUNITIES OF LICENSE`` AMBIGUOUS Looks like the license-to-cover was filed last Friday. File number 19183 (plus a bunch of leading zeros) in LMS. As Trip says, no COL requirements for LPTVs (or FM translators). I can only speculate as to the reason but I think my speculation is probably accurate: - Most of the other COL-related requirements are meaningless for translators. A translator *can't* provide programming intended to serve the needs of its COL, as it's a 100% relay of some other station that's obligated to serve *its* COL. - A COL must be an actual community (the FCC used to be stricter about what they regarded a "community"*). The FCC anticipated situations where a translator might be needed to serve an area that doesn't include an incorporated community (or that includes only a small portion of an incorporated community). For example, eight translators in Utah are authorized to serve areas of rural Sevier County. The attachment shows the coverage area of one of them. You can see a couple of houses in the coverage area (I think I could count them with the fingers of one hand) but no communities. I suspect the station is intended mostly to serve a campground located at the northeast corner of the coverage area, adjacent to the lake. Click image for larger version. Name: k45ft.jpg Size: 221.7 KB - The LPTV service arose out of the translator service, so some rules that might have made sense for LPTVs were never enacted (that's why the "FrankenFM" stations on channel 6 are legal). So Ed, yes, a LPTV station could potentially be licensed to Miami and have its transmitter in LA. Chris: good question, as to why have a COL for a LPTV. I suppose because they have to put *something* in there for a location in the database. Why Matecumbe? W43CB was initially authorized as W32AB - for a location on the north end of Upper Matecumbe Key. It moved (physically) to the current site when it moved to channel 43. * that said, "Moose Wilson Road" -- the COL of KXJN 97.7 -- is an actual community (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com Dec 20, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) NOISE FLOOR: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? http://www.radioworld.com/article/noise-floor-where-do-we-go-from-here/300031 (Dennis Gibson, Sent from my iPad, Dec 15, ABDX via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Re: [A-DX] Digi Mode 6070 I would still have an interesting story to offer. Back in the last days of October 2016, lousy HF conditions. Ch 292 [6070 kHz, Rohrbach, in SE Germany] had a huge skipzone in the evenings, even over WEB-SDRs in the UK were the signals only to guess. But then the surprise: A WEB-SDR in Western Poland brought amazing signals - I was very perplexed. But, in the middle of the transmission path there was the IONO probe station Pruhonice near Prague, which reported increased reflection values at 110 km altitude - that means sporadic-E in the 49-meter-band! Here are a graphical overview and the two comparative audio recordings: http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/VoA_Radiogram_2016-10-29.htm#DIGIDX "The path is the goal"..... (roger, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Very interesting. Exploring the lower HF occurrences of sporadic E, usually associated with MUFs into VHF. Some of my daytime MF DX I also attribute to Es (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION OUTLOOK FROM P I G Geomagnetic field will be: quiet to active on December 20, January 6 - 7 active to disturbed on December 21 - 22, January 4 - 5 quiet to unsettled on December 23 - 25, January 1 - 3 mostly quiet on December 26 - 29, January 8 - 9 quiet on December 30 - 31, January 10 - 11 Amplifications of the solar wind from coronal holes are expected: on December 17 - 23, January 2 - 7 (Petr Kolman, OK1MGW, Czech Propagation Interested Group (OK1HH & OK1MGW, weekly forecasts since 1978), e-mail: kolmanp(at)razdva.cz via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2016 Dec 19 0057 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center # Product description and SWPC contact on the Web # http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly.html # # Weekly Highlights and Forecasts # Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 12 - 18 December 2016 Solar activity was at background levels through the period. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached high levels on 12-17 December and moderate levels on 18 December. A maximum flux of 10,187 pfu was observed at 14/1610 UTC. Geomagnetic field activity was at quiet to unsettled levels during the period. The period began under the waning influence of a negative polarity CH HSS with unsettled conditions early on 12 December. The remainder of the 12th through late on 17 December saw quiet conditions. During this time, solar wind speeds slowly decreased from about 550 km/s to near 350 km/s. Bt was less than 5 nT while the Bz component varied generally between +5 nT to -4 nT. Phi angle was in a mostly negative orientation. By midday on 17 December, winds speeds indicated a general increase to about 500 km/s while Bt increased to about 10 nT and Bz showed rotation from +6 nT to -7 nT. Phi angle rotated to a mostly positive orientation. This increase in wind parameters signaled the arrival of a co-rotating interaction region ahead of a weak, positive polarity CH HSS. The geomagnetic field reacted with quiet to unsettled levels. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 19 DEC 2016 - 14 JAN 2017 Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels with a slight chance for C-class flare activity throughout the outlook period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels on 19 December and moderate to high levels for the remainder of the outlook period (20 Dec - 14 Jan). Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels on 19-25 December, 03-07 January and again on 14 January, with minor storm (G1-Minor) conditions likely on 21-22 December and 04-05 January; all due to recurrent CH HSSs. Mostly quiet conditions are expected for the remainder of the outlook period. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2016 Dec 19 0057 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center # Product description and SWPC contact on the Web # http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2016-12-19 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2016 Dec 19 73 15 4 2016 Dec 20 73 15 4 2016 Dec 21 73 25 5 2016 Dec 22 75 28 5 2016 Dec 23 75 12 4 2016 Dec 24 75 12 4 2016 Dec 25 75 8 3 2016 Dec 26 75 5 2 2016 Dec 27 75 5 2 2016 Dec 28 77 5 2 2016 Dec 29 77 5 2 2016 Dec 30 77 5 2 2016 Dec 31 77 5 2 2017 Jan 01 79 5 2 2017 Jan 02 79 8 3 2017 Jan 03 79 10 3 2017 Jan 04 77 20 5 2017 Jan 05 77 22 5 2017 Jan 06 75 16 4 2017 Jan 07 75 14 4 2017 Jan 08 75 6 3 2017 Jan 09 75 5 2 2017 Jan 10 75 5 2 2017 Jan 11 77 5 2 2017 Jan 12 77 5 2 2017 Jan 13 75 5 2 2017 Jan 14 75 10 3 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1857, DXLD) URSID METEOR SHOWER PEAKS DECEMBER 23/24 The Ursids meteor shower is active annually between December 17 and December 24. The shower usually peaks around December 23. At its peak, observers may be able to view as many as 10 meteors in an hour. The shower is named the Ursids because the meteors seem to radiate from the direction of the constellation Ursa Minor in the sky. The Ursids are associated with the comet, 8P/Tuttle, also sometimes known as Mechain-Tuttle's Comet. The Ursids can only be seen from Earth's Northern Hemisphere in late December. More information here: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/ursids.html (via Mike Terry, before it peaked, dxldyg via DXLD) ###