DX LISTENING DIGEST 18-33, August 14, 2018 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 2018 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 1943 contents: Antarctica, Australia and non, Bahamas, Brasil, Cuba and non, Indonesia, Korea South, Kuwait, México, Perú, Philippines non, Romania, South Carolina non, Tibet non, USA, convention, publication, and the propagation outlook SHORTWAVE AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1943, August 14-21, 2018 Tue 2030 WRMI 5950 7780 [1942 replayed?] Tue 2130 WRMI 5950 [presumably] Tue 2330 WBCQ 9330v [not aired] Wed 1030 WRMI 5950 [confirmed] Wed 2100 WRMI 9955 [confirmed from 2100:30] Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v [off the air] Wed 2330 WBCQ 9330v [not aired] Thu 2330 WBCQ 9330v [not aired] Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v [maybe] Sat 0630 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 1431 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sat 2130 WBCQ 9330v [maybe, or 2330?] Sun 0310v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sun 2130 WRMI 7780 [NEW] Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v [maybe] Mon 0130 WRMI 5850, 7780 [really 0130:30] Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v-AM Area 51 Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 Mon 0400 WRMI webcast only Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v [maybe] Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 Tue 2030 WRMI 5950, 7780 [or #1944?] 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 IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!! WOR IO GROUP: Effective Feb 4, 2018, DXLD yg archive and members have been migrated to this group: https://groups.io/g/WOR [there was already an unrelated group at io named dxld!, so new name] From now on, the io group is primary, where all posts should go. One may apply for membership, subscribe via the above site. DXLD yahoogroup: remains in existence, and members are free to COPY same info to it, as backup, but no posts should go to it only. They may want to change delivery settings to no e-mail, and/or no digest. The change was necessary due to increasing outages, long delays in posts appearing, and search failures at the yg. Why wait for DXLD issues? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our io group without delay. NEWISH! DX LISTENING DIGEST IN PDF, HTML VERSIONS Jacques Champagne in Ville-Marie, Québec, has developed programs to convert DXLD .txt into PDF and HTML versions for his own use, and now has made them available to the rest of us. Starting with 18-24, they have been posted as attachments to the WOR iog. He says it takes about an hour to do this, once each issue is published. Merci, Jacques! (gh) ** ALASKA. HAARP presentation at DEF CON 2018 --- A very interesting presentation by HAARP researcher and scientist Chris fallen KL3WX about the recent experiments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6ITlQYNVDQ Starts about 30 minutes in and lasts for an hour. Lots of interesting background info, very well done I thought (Don VE6JY Moman, Alberta, Aug 10, WOR iog via DXLD) The August 12 issue of Conexión Digital from Argentina includes a long unsourced story (in Spanish) claiming that the real purpose of HAARP is to cause earthquakes anywhere in the world and accusing it of having already done so. But don`t worry: the Russians have a similar program called SURA, capable of destroying the USA! What conspiracy nonsense, treated unchallenged by CD as if it were credible (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA [non]. 9395, USA, Radio Tirana [non-log], as Glenn Hauser and others have reported, Radio Tirana time slots on WRMI are being filled with music in recent weeks. Same tonight. - Aug. 7 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, parked overlooking Kalamalka Lake. CommRadio CR-1a and Sony AN-1 whip antenna, WOR iog via DXLD) i.e. 0230 UT (gh) ** ANGUILLA [and non]. 11775, Caribbean Beacon / University Network at 1615. Definitely on today, with a DGS lecture (Dr. Gene Scott from the beyond), going at 1623, to the request for some bread music. However, after a trip to make more coffee in the kitchen, I return to just some static. Switching on the BFO I AM getting a carrier here, but that is about it. Still the same on recheck at 1830. At 2020, VG now, with Pastor Melissa, and not the cigar smoking Doc. Still VG at 2100, this time with the Doc, tho cigar use unknown. 2200 recheck had it off the air. *NOTE: there was this from Glenn Hauser: "U S A. 12695.5-CW, Aug 11 at 2229, VVV VVV VVV CQ DE KFS --- it`s the OSOB heard with an ID marker --- as I have tuned the entire 12 MHz marine band which is mostly vacant now. So KFS, California....." I was hearing this marker all afternoon on 11775 as an image covering Caribbean Beacon Anguilla when checking with a couple of my portables. It was still on the channel after Anguilla closed. August 12 (Rick Barton, from Central Arizona. Grundig Satellit 205(T.5000) & 750; RS SW-2000629, & ATS-909X with various outdoor wires. 73 and Good Listening....! -rb, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s 920 kHz away, so those receivers must have IF of 460 instead of the more common 455 kHz; or maybe just too broad (gh, DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, LRA 36, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Base Esperanza, 1720-1903*, 13-08, only very weak carrier detected here in Lugo. Via remote receiver SDR Kiwi, Ticino, Switzerland, only carrier detected. Audible via remote receiver SDR Kiwi, Pardinho [SP Brasil], 15475.97, songs, Spanish, comments, female, "Base Esperanza, Esperanza Antártida", male, ID "Desde Esperanza Antártida, un programa de LRA 36" (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 558-6WA (Wagin, Western Australia) Recording Matched to ABC Podcast On the last day of my 9-day DXpedition to the Rockwork Ocean cliff the Western Australia station 558-6WA (9,154 miles, or 14,731 km) finally made its first appearance of the entire DXpedition, a few hours before I needed to drive back to Puyallup. The extreme long-range station had been heard at the Rockwork cliff for the past three August DXpeditions, but it certainly waited until the last moment to show up this time. At 1254 UT on August 9th I was set up at the Rockwork 6 ocean cliff, after having taken my chances in squeezing in between a couple of "squatter" vehicles in total darkness at 1100 UT (0400 local time). I set up one 15" FSL to record 531 kHz continuously, and another one to record 558 kHz continuously (531-6DL and 558-6WA had both been heard by Tom R. and me last August). Nothing at all was received on 558 until around 1253, when a station started breaking through the 560-KPQ splatter. I assumed that this would be Radio Fiji One, as it had been for the past 8 days-- but it wasn't. It was female-voiced DU English, which immediately got swallowed up by Radio Fiji One after about a minute. Fortunately, there was enough reception of the DU English station to record a modest MP3 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/dv5g0dc3k469p7upm5t92dy66fq34u8l Now came the fun part -- matching the recording to the byzantine, contradictory ABC website. The recording was a little too "challenged" to get the general theme of conversation, and Radio Fiji One's accompaniment didn't help much. My only hope was to dig out a few words of speech, and match it to an ABC Podcast. According to the ABC website the program being broadcast from 558-6WA at the time (2254 in Wagin) was "Nightlife," with Philip Clark and Sarah Macdonald. There were multiple female guests on the program, and it seemed like looking for a needle in a haystack. Concentrating on the time of reception I narrowed it down to one female speaker, who fortunately said "You have to be extremely careful of the vanity publishing area," which matched the same content as from :30 to :35 in my 558 kHz recording above https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/mw00oo69wdovircqi0q95cfr5db9ykok So 558-6WA has now been received for four years in a row at the Rockwork ocean cliff in August-- but it's too bad that my DXpedition partners Craig, Nick and Tom didn't get a chance to track it down this time. 73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (DXing at the Rockwork 6 ocean cliff near Manzanita, OR, USA), 7.5" loopstick XHDATA D-808 portable + 15" FSL antenna, Aug 13, nrc-am gg via DXLD) MUCH more at DX-PEDITIONS (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. Ozy Radio. Interesting development with regard to one of our domestic SW stations currently playing great Aussie hits from the last few decades. As per the attached image, [in] a post on the ARDXC Facebook page, Craig Allen is looking to lease Ozy Radio to a "national broadcaster or religious group" Regards, (Michael Cunningham, SW Bulletin Aug 12 via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) Hobart Radio International Facebook page: Pulse FM Kingborough and Huon, Australia, August 8, 2018 We welcome all of our new listeners across the Pacific on 4835 kHz Shortwave! In partnership with Radio Ozy [sic], Pulse FM Tasmania can now be heard across Australasia and surrounding continents on shortwave radio (4835) between 12 am and 6 am every day (Hobart Time) (1400-2000 UT). Tune in, and let us know where you're listening from! #alwayslocal #pulsefmtas FOR DX ENTHUSIASTS: Please send your reception reports to knh@pulsefm.com.au (via Mike Terry, Aug 10, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 5055, August 8 at 1146, JBA carrier from presumed 4KZ Queensland, despite storm noise level and switch to indoor longwire for safety. During July, Ron Howard had noted it cutting off the air by a timer, a few seconds earlier from one day to the next, reaching 1148:52* by July 31, so I am expecting carrier to vanish sometime during the 1148 or maybe 1147 minute --- but it does not! I am about to tire of listening to its JBA tone with BFO on 5054, when finally it stops at approx. 1157:11.5*, wouldn`t you know it, when I have glanced away from my watch. Perhaps Ron can confirm the new timing. 4835, that accomplished, still on the indoor longwire, I retune for the other low power Aussie, OzyRadio in NSW which Ron says had reactivated August 3 after a monthlong absence. 4840 WWCR has just closed at 1158, helping to audiblize the 4835 JBA carrier, but which here could also be Sikkim. Ozy normally stays on much later, far too long after sunrise here, so I am not going to log it by matching a cutoff time like with 4KZ. I shall be very lucky ever to hear something really identifiable from OzyR, such as the ex-RA version of ``Waltzing Matilda`` it plays at some set times (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. Unique Radio via WINB August 11th 2018, 1100 UT Unique radio via WINB Red Lion Pennsylvania USA --- Saturday night 9 PM AEST (Australia Eastern states) on 9265 from Saturday August 11th 1100-1300 UT (USA 7AM EDT, 6AM CDT, 4AM in Canada [sic] and west USA) also will include a brand new Hobart Radio International from 1200 UT for half an hour If you hear Unique Radio Australia I would appreciate a reception report to: nri3@yahoo.com.au Many thanks and best regards (Tim Gaynor, Unique Radio, Gunnedah NSW Australia, WOR iog via DXLD) [9265 WINB:] Started at 1111 UT, interrupting the religious program. Ran for the full two hours, ending at 1311. According to Tim Gaynor, might also be on again this evening, starting at 0300 UT (-- Richard Langley, 0259 UT Aug 12, ibid.) Nothing heard here in NB. Appears that WINB was not on the air at this time (-- Richard Langley, 1911 UT Aug 12, ibid., WORLD OF RADIO 1943) See also USA: WINB ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. CHINA CATCHING UP TO AUST-PACIFIC AID Australian Associated Press Angus Livingston and Daniel McCulloch 8 August 2018 https://au.news.yahoo.com/china-catching-aust-pacific-aid-140528763--spt.html Australia is still the biggest donor to developing Pacific nations but China is catching up fast. The Lowy Institute's Pacific aid maps show eight years of foreign aid given to island nations, with Australia leading the pack with more than $6.5 billion already spent. But China has climbed up the rankings in the past couple of years to sit second overall, overtaking New Zealand. There are long-held concerns China is "on the march" in the region by bankrolling projects including ports, roads and loans to small island nations. Observers fear some countries could end up ceding their sovereignty and be saddled with unsustainable debt. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia welcomed the role played by all donors including China to support development in the Pacific. "But the challenge for development partners is to ensure investments support sustainable economic growth and that they don't impose onerous debt burdens on regional governments," Ms Bishop told ABC radio. "Australia encourages investments that ensure local communities are sustained, that local labour forces are used, and don't impose onerous debt burdens on the local communities." The Lowy Institute has collected data on close to 13,000 projects in 14 countries, supplied by 62 donors from 2011 onwards. Ms Bishop and Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Malielegaoi will officially launch the institute's map in Samoa on Thursday. Australia has given almost $3 billion to its closest neighbour Papua New Guinea and $1.1 billion to the Solomon Islands. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull recently committed to building an undersea communications network connecting the two countries with Australia, rather than let China build it. Australia has expressed security concerns about letting China build the cables, while the Turnbull government has faced criticism for letting another nation dominate Pacific aid funding. New Zealand is the third largest donor, followed by the United States and Japan. The prime minister of Vanuatu asked Australia this week to resume shortwave radio broadcasting in the Pacific, warning lives could be lost during natural disasters without the service. The ABC switched off its shortwave services in the Pacific in January 2017, with a Chinese radio station since taking over some of the frequencies. Ms Bishop said the Australian government did not support the ABC's decision to end its shortwave service. She will on Thursday launch a radio transmission facility in Samoa paid for through Australian aid. "I clearly see it as a matter of significance," Ms Bishop said. (via Mike Cooper, Artie Bigley, DXLD) ABC'S SHORTWAVE CUTBACK 'WEAKENS THIN LINK' FOR PACIFIC, SAYS PMC Asia Pacific Report-21 hours ago By Leilani Sitagata of Pacific Media Watch. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's cutback in services to the Asia-Pacific region has “weakened the thin link” ... https://asiapacificreport.nz/2018/08/09/abcs-shortwave-cutback-weakens-thin-link-for-pacific-says-pmc/ (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Julie Bishop: 'We did not support the ABC closing its shortwave in the ... Radioinfo-6 hours ago Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has told RN's Fran Kelly that her party did not support the ABC's decision to switch off short wave services in the Pacific. . . https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/julie-bishop-we-did-not-support-abc-closing-its-shortwave-pacific (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) DIPLOMACY IN THE POST-BROADCASTING ERA The Interpreter-12 hours ago Shortwave radio broadcasting is no longer a viable option. As early as 2010, I led a team that investigated the prevalence of shortwave radio listening in China, ... https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/diplomacy-in-the-post-broadcasting-era (Via Artie Bigley, Aug 14, DXLD) Viz.: By Wanning Sun 14 August 2018 12:00 AEDT Share COMMENTS 0 The Department of Communications is now reviewing submissions on the issue of Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia-Pacific region. This is timely. As always, communicating Australia’s views and voices to the Asia-Pacific region is important. And, more than ever before, finding effective pathways for accessing audiences in this region presents the utmost challenge. It seems that the debate has so far focused on the role of the ABC. Implicit in this is the assumption that broadcast transmission will continue to be relevant as a means of content delivery. The future clearly lies in the effective online delivery of a wide variety of content in an assortment of different forms. Shortwave radio broadcasting is no longer a viable option. As early as 2010, I led a team that investigated the prevalence of shortwave radio listening in China, and found that the number of listeners there was negligible. Shortwave is often subject to deliberate disruption by the censorship mechanisms of receiving countries. The signal is also increasingly disrupted by the battery-powered bikes that are now ubiquitous in urban spaces throughout Asian countries. While public diplomacy through international broadcasting, such as the BBC, has been in operation for many decades, the broadcast transmission model – whether by satellite or terrestrial – is no longer viable. Public diplomacy in the digital era demands a very different suite of approaches from those of days gone by. The sooner we rid ourselves of a simple sender–receiver transmission model of communication and start to adopt a more flexible, agile, multi- platform, interactive, diffused model, the sooner we will begin to make progress in identifying suitable solutions to the challenges facing public diplomacy today. There are two main reasons that demand such a paradigm shift, the first of which is technological. We have now truly entered the post- broadcasting era. While many locations in the Asia-Pacific region still do not have extensive internet coverage, the most populous Asian countries – India, Indonesia, China – are highly digitalised. Most people nowadays typically access audio (including radio) and visual (including TV) content via online platforms delivered to mobile devices. The future clearly lies in the effective online delivery of a wide variety of content in an assortment of different forms, including written-word content, podcasts, vodcasts, and digital radio/television. The second reason that a new paradigm is needed is social. The size of Australia’s migrant population from the Asia-Pacific region has grown exponentially. Migrants now routinely and frequently travel between Australia and the Asia-Pacific for business and for pleasure. Moreover, the media consumption practices of these migrants have also changed. There is an unprecedented high level of interface and overlap between what these migrants consume in Australia and what people in their home countries consume. One important implication of these developments is the potential of diasporic ethnic-language media to function as de facto instruments of public diplomacy on behalf of Australia. The Australia Government’s Public Diplomacy Strategy (2014–16) rightly points to the importance of “diaspora diplomacy”, by making active use of “online and social media as public diplomacy tools”. The latest Foreign Policy White Paper also reinforces this point. In moving away from a transmission-based broadcasting model, we must also embrace something closer to narrowcasting, as the underlying philosophy of content development. This means that, while we will increasingly need to adopt a country-specific approach, we must also think about how to use multiple approaches, simultaneously, to target one particular country/region. This may involve setting up digital platforms that can reach these destinations directly. Ideally, there should be a public service–led digital strategy, plus good offline support and localisation. It may also involve partnership with foreign media organisations – government, commercial, or independent. Finally, we must take concrete steps towards making good use of the diasporic language media in Australia. For instance, China presents a most challenging case due to its censorship practices and a regulatory framework characterised by a suspicion and distrust of foreign media. At the same time, there is a vast and growing number of Chinese migrants in Australia, and a near- saturated uptake of the Chinese social media platform WeChat both in China itself and among PRC migrants all over the world. It therefore seems logical for Australia to explore how to access Chinese audiences through such subscription accounts, particularly those that are used by diasporic Chinese. In this way, the Chinese social media platforms are potential intermediaries for reaching Chinese audiences in China. Some may say that WeChat is subject to the Chinese government’s censorship – and indeed it is. But so are any other forms of foreign content going to China. Moreover, compared to broadcasting, digital platforms present more opportunities for dealing with, if not bypassing, censorship. Current thinking about Australia’s exercise of public diplomacy and soft power within the Asia-Pacific region has more or less ignored this sector. It is time we started regarding diasporic language media in Australia not only as isolated pockets of ethnic language media, but also as potentially powerful gateways for projecting Australia’s interests and values into the heartland of a number of Asia-Pacific nations. It is also time we went beyond the traditional understanding of public diplomacy and started exploring how people-to-people diplomacy can work towards the same goal as public diplomacy via media. Public diplomacy in the digital era requires not simply a rejigging of the current broadcast transmission model, it requires a complete paradigm shift. And the process of identifying strategies and solutions within this new paradigm should draw on research from fields such as business management, political communication (particularly theories of nation branding), and cross-cultural studies, as well as from international relations. This article is based on a submission by the author to the review of Australian broadcasting services (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) That`s it! Time to hang up our headphones, dispose of SW stuff (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. 9670, Reach Beyond Australia (presumed); 1234, 8/8; Religious program in S p e c i a l English about the development of Esperanto & its use to translate the Bible. SIO=353-; EiBi lists English on day 4; Aoki lists “NAG” (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHAMAS. 810, ZNS3 Radio Bahamas, Freeport, Grand Bahama. 1007 August 9, 2018. Accented English preacher. Checking ZNS1 1540 kc/s audio, WSJC, and WRSO streams, none parallel. Then at 1014, male "... here on Z(ed)NS 810 AM." More preaching segments with a couple gospel vocals until live, wonderful voice and presentation female announcer mentioning the previous program was sponsored by some business run by the Pinders (common name in the Bahamas). Parallel the Streema audio located, which included a hurricane tip sponsored by The Bahamas Department of Meteorology, greetings to out islanders and a reminder to turn your radio off when calling the station, then she read greetings to various listeners including, yep, someone with the Pinder surname. Male at 1050, Z(ed)NS 810 AM, blessing you with more programs and music that inspire." Completely faded by 1055. This one is almost never heard here, so they must have done something with their power or pattern. Sent an email with the inquiry about their signal gain, via their website, though I'm confident it won't be read much less responded to (Terry L. Krueger, All dates/times GMT, Clearwater, FL, NRD-535, IC-R75, broken longwires, active MW loop, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NRC Pattern Book shows it ND day and night; WRTH shows 10 kW, and now branded as the Gospel Station (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHRAIN. Fair to good signal of Radio Bahrain on August 11 from 0515 on 9745 ABH 010 kW / non-dir to N/ME Arabic CUSB: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/fair-to-good-signal-of-radio-bahrain-on.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 10-11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH. Bangladesh Betar in English/Bangla in 22mb, August 10 1745-1900 on 13580 DKA 250 kW / 320 deg to WeEu English, very good 1915-2000 on 13580 DKA 250 kW / 320 deg to WeEu Bangla, very good: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-bangladesh-betar-in.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reception of Bangladesh Betar in 19mb on August 13 1400-1430 on 15505 DKA 250 kW / 290 deg to WeAs Urdu, very good 1515-1545 on 15505 DKA 250 kW / 305 deg to SoAs Hindi-very good No signal of Bangladesh Betar on both frequencies on August 12! http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-bangladesh-betar-in-19mb.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOUGAINVILLE. 3325, NBC Bougainville (Maus Blong Sankamap), 1033- 1055, Aug 7. Unusually long non-stop monologue in Pidgin, till hit with VOI starting up at *1055 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL, Fair signal of Rádio Voz Missionária on August 9 from 2202 on 5939.7 CAB 0.5 kW / non-dir to BRA Portuguese http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/fair-signal-of-radio-voz-missionaria-on.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 9-10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 6010, 12 Ago, 2100, BRASIL, R Inconfidência em português. ID com divulgação de todas as frequências, inclusive da 15190 que eu não a ouço aqui há anos. Alguém ouvi a Inconfidência em 15190 kHz? Sinal razoável. 73 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W - Brasil, Tecsun PL-310ET, Antenna dipole of 25m, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL [and non]. 11735-, August 8 at 1846, two very poor carriers slightly apart making a LAH = low audible heterodyne between them, and a double-pitch het with offset BFO, i.e. Zanzibar and Rádio Transmundial. I have hastened to check following this via Daniel Wyllyans, HCDX: ``RTM OFF Shortwave 09 Ago 2018? --- "A Rádio Trans Mundial encerrou suas transmissões em Ondas Curtas no dia 09/08/2018. Durante mais de 20 anos a Rádio Trans Mundial investiu nesse meio com excelentes resultados em todo o Brasil. Devido, porém, aos avanços tecnológicos na área de comunicação e após muita reflexão e oração, entendemos que esta era a melhor decisão a tomar. Você pode nos acompanhar através de nosso site – Transmundial.org.br – aplicativo, e emissoras afiliadas, meios nos quais temos experimentado grande crescimento em audiência nos últimos anos. Agradecemos primeiramente a Deus pelo privilégio de comunicarmos a mensagem de salvação em Jesus Cristo pelas Ondas Curtas. Também agradecemos a você e todos os ouvintes que nos acompanharam durante este tempo. Que Deus nos abençoe e nos ajude a avançarmos cada vez mais. Contamos com suas orações e parceria". Grande abraço da RTM`` Google translation improved by gh: ``RTM OFF Shortwave 09 Aug 2018? --- "Rádio Trans Mundial closed its broadcasts on SW on 09/08/2018 [Google changed this to 08/08!]. For more than 20 years, Trans World Radio invested in this medium with excellent results all over Brazil. But due to technological advances in communication, and after much reflection and prayer, we understand that this was the best decision to make. You can follow us through our website - Transmundial.org.br - app, and affiliated broadcasters, media through which we have experienced great growth in audience. We thank God first for the privilege of communicating the message of salvation in Jesus Christ through the Short Waves. We also thank you and all the listeners who accompanied us during this time. May God bless us and help us to advance more and more. We count on your prayers and partnership." RTM's Big Embrace`` To which I replied: ``Says RTM closed down SW permanently on August 9 [sic] in past tense even tho it is still August 8 in Brasil. No more QRM to Zanzibar on 11735!! But try today in case it still be on until 2100v* one last time. Other frequencies 5940v and 9530 were not so well heard`` 11734.98 is approx. VP frequency of RTM; at 1857 Aug 8 it does sound like Brazilian intonation. Usual closedown of both is circa 2100, so I`m remonitoring at 2046, when both are stronger, but RTM atop, now measured on 11734.972. 2058 is talking about FM frequencies, website. By 2101, ZBC is off and RTM still on alone about FM, 2102 song, still past 2108. By 2229 no signal on 11735 (while much stronger 11780 RNA is still in well). (Glenn Hauser, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Meanwhile, Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain informed the WOR iog at 2009 UT: ``Rádio Transmundial, today still on air 11735 but announced will cease at 0000 Brazilian time --- 11735, Rádio Transmundial, Santa Maria, 1940-2006 , 08-08, today still on air, religious program, male, ID "Transmundial", at 2150 {? Must be local time = 1950 UT} they announced will cease short wave transmissions at 0000 hours 09 August. Slight interference from Zanzibar`` [which strangely had come back on] I reply: That would be 0300** UT, presumably meaning UT August 9 altho it could mean August 10, as ``midnight`` is always ambiguous as to which day it pertain. Why don`t people realize this in any language?? By 0155 UT August 9, no signal detectable on 11735 (but 11780 RNA is still in well, altho doubtless higher powered; 11735 per WRTH is the second-highest powered ZY at 50 kW). It would normally be off after 2100 unless they prolong it for a finale. The lower frequencies would be nightlier. But can`t hear any carrier around 5940v with heavy splash from 5935 WWCR. 9530 a JBA carrier which could easily be 4765 x 2, Progreso Cuba. Glenn. Jorge Freitas, Brasil replies to the WOR iog, here in my translation: ``Glenn, I heard them talking about this at 2036 on 11735. Broadcasts cease today 8 August. The programs will be presented by Bonaire on 800 kHz with 440 kW. They alleged that among the problems were adequate financing, low audience for SW programs compared to internet. Talked about the cost of electricity for radio and elevated cost of maintenance. One tube which burnt out cost 20 kiloreais. Lamented closing of broadcasts to DXers and said that if there were a much greater SW audience they would not close it. They get an average of 50 kiloconnexions daily for online radio. Their ANATEL license expired today and was not renewed`` So another SW station bites the dust, but look at the bright side: one less gospel-huxter. Manuel Méndez laments it and says in Google translation, improved by gh: ``Rádio Transmundial, for all the world to hear", as it used to be, every night, closed surprisingly at night, and treacherously. The emblematic Brazilian religious station left short wave on August 9 at 0000 hours in Brasília, 0300 UT. Only a few hours earlier, on the afternoon of August 8, Brazilian DXer Daniel Wyllyans had informed, through Hard Core DX, that, according to the station's broadcast, it would stop broadcasting on the shortwave on the 9th day of August The best time, here in Spain, to tune into Rádio Transmundial was around 1900 UT at its usual frequency of 11735 kHz. Before that time, normally it used to be very interfered with by Zanzibar on the same frequency, but after 1900 the signal from Zanzibar tends to decrease a lot and the Brazilian increases, and at 2000 hours, many days only hear Rádio Transmundial, and other days with slight interference from the African station. The undersigned was listening, for the last time, to Rádio Transmundial at 11735 kHz, between 1940 and 2020 hours on August 8, and, indeed, at 1950 they announced that at 0000 hours on August 9 they would leave short wave, giving thanks for our having accompanied them for more than 20 years and that, due to technological advances, it was the best decision they could make, because now many people listened to them through mobile devices and the internet. From 2000 on, the signal was good here in Lugo, heard loud and clear, SINPO 34433. "Rádio Transmundial, para todo o mundo ouvir", that's what the identification slogan says, but from now on, it will be heard by many fewer listeners. This station had strong coverage through short wave all over Brazilian territory and in other countries, due to the good quality of the signal, in comparison to other Brazilian stations, and the good quality of its programs, besides religious programs, always with moderate talk, broadcast news, music and other programs. Surely they will lose many listeners in many areas of Brazil and Latin America, especially in the immense rural areas where there is not easy access to the internet. "Rádio Transmundial, for all the world to hear", does not want us to hear it, as of now, at 11735 kHz, with its usual programs "Bom Dia RTM", "História das Missões" and many other programs, and follows the fashion by other stations to focus only on the internet, while shortwave, especially in many parts of the world, is still the most suitable means to reach a multitude of listeners. Below is the postal address, email address and web page through which you can send a message via a form, for all those who want to complain about the closure of the short wave Rádio Transmundial. I have already done so. Greetings. Manuel Méndez. Trans World Radio E-mail: rtm@transmundial.org.br https://www.transmundial.com.br/contato/ Rua Épiro, 110 - Vila Alexandria - São Paulo - SP CEP - 04635-030 Caixa Postal: 18.113 - CEP - 04626-970 Fone: (11) 3017-6600 What'sApp: (11) 97418-1456`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From 2136 ZBC is back on air on 11735 kHz and totally blocked Radio Transmundial -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGESET) That`s unusual; was ZBC aware of Brasilian happenings? (gh, DXLD) Uma se vai --- E ainda bem que tem outra para ocupar o canal :-) 73 DW (Daniel Wyllyans, Brasil, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Recording of the final transmission of Radio Transmundial: https://swling.com/blog/2018/08/dan-records-the-final-transmission-of-radio-transmundial/ (-- Richard Langley, WOR iog via DXLD) ???? Until 19 UT? The transmitter may have failed temporarily, but it was certainly NOT yet the final final transmission on 11735 as we and others were hearing it past 2100. On some frequency it was supposed to last until local midnight, 0300 UT, a time when 25m would normally have been off the air for 6 hours, not 8 (gh, DXLD) Dan records the final transmission of Radio Transmundial Portuguese 3 Replies Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following notes about the final transmission of Radio Transmundial. [Dan made this recording yesterday, but Internet woes here at SWLing Post HQ prevented me from posting this until now.] Dan writes: FYI — I am monitoring Radio Transmundial via [the PY2BS KiwiSDR in] Brazil. They are in the midst of a final discussion in Portuguese between two announcers, mentioning advances/changes in technology, Internet, etc. that are forcing the station off the air. Many mentions of shortwave. See attachments; audio files are of studio discussion in Portuguese about their decision to end SW; then another file going right up until 1900 UT or thereabouts when they went off. At about the 9:36 mark in the 1st audio file announcer introduces a technical person (sounded like someone from TWR, but also mentioned was “director of communications”) to begin a discussion about their decision to end shortwave — that discussion lasts until about the 34:30 mark when they go into full IDs. Audio Player 00:00 00:00 Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. Click here to download audio file. Second audio file you can hear Zanzibar gradually fading up and dominating the frequency, then in the clear after Transmundial goes off 11,735. Audio Player 00:00 00:00 Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. Click here to download audio file. Would be very interesting to translate this conversation for a post on SWLing. Perhaps SWLing Post readers with a knowledge of Portuguese could help us with any interesting details from this conversation? Please comment! UPDATE: Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fabiano Barufaldi, who has volunteered to help translate some of the key points from this broadcast! Dan, thanks for grabbing a recording of this final Transmundial broadcast. When my Internet connection is fully functioning again, I will add these recordings to the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. 3 thoughts on “Dan records the final transmission of Radio Transmundial Portuguese” Dan August 9, 2018 at 5:49 pm Just wanted to add that others, including the well-known Bulgarian DX’er, heard it after 1900 UT and apparently the station was to stay on until 0000 UT [sic] on August 9th Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fabiano Barufaldi, who kindly volunteered to translate an important conversation between the RTM Director of Communication and the Director of Studios and Technical Affairs in the final shortwave broadcast of Radio Trans Mundial (RTM). Click here to read our original post and listen to recordings of the final broadcast in Portuguese. Read Fabiano’s translation of the dialog below: <– BEGINNING OF TRANSCRIPT –> Hello Dear Listeners! It’s 2:46pm. [1746 UT] With us are André Castilho, our director of communication and also Samuel Marcos, director of studios and technical affairs, live. Good morning [sic] all. It’s a pleasure to be in front of such important microphones in the history of Brazilian gospel radio. First of all, I’d like clarify that we’re not the founders of Radio Transmundial, which was founded in 1970 in Brazil, initially transmitting from Bonaire in the Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, covering the entire Brazil’s territory in shortwave and mediumwave, reaching most of South America. They decided to discontinue the shortwave operation in the early 1990’s; they have recently resumed the 440 KW power transmission from Bonaire, now with better quality, reaching the Amazon region and even listeners in the southern Brazil in MW 800kHz. When the Trans World Radio (TWR) shut down its shortwave transmission, the Radio Transmundial (RTM) decided to invest in shortwave in the 1990s acquiring a transmission site in Santa Maria – RS, Southern Brazil, in three shortwave frequencies, covering up to 80% of the Brazilian territory. Recently, the Bonaire site increased the MW transmission power, reaching a greater territory share. Talking about the 1990’s, a new, powerful transmitter was acquired for the Brazilian Santa Maria site, we always have been praised because of the quality of the transmissions. Our site was built with great diligence and care, mainly by Mr. Walter Wilke, who did excellent work during 20 years of dedication to our shortwave site, with the best equipment and sound, using three shortwave frequencies during these years that are now coming to an end. That’s sad news, we’re not happy to say that but it’s an important, necessary announcement that the RTM shortwave transmissions are being shut down this midnight. We had ended the 31 meters transmission, now we’re ending the 25 meters, 49 meters also, and we are so sorry about that. We have been asked by our listeners the reason, and it’s important to notice that this decision wasn’t made yesterday. We’ve been studying this matter since at least an year ago, considering the reach and audience and, of course, the financial aspects of it. The RTM has been keeping the shortwave transmission site and the equipment in excellent condition and, until now, Lord has provided the financial ways to maintain the operation but considering the low audience, the return of Bonaire to shortwave in high power, and elevated power expenses; all those factors contributed to take the decision some time ago of ending the operations – a decision that was matured – and now comes the time that we are finally shutting down the shortwave transmissions. The summary of our decisions was that the audience was too low so it was not being worth to keep such expensive shortwave structure. To give our listeners a rough idea, when we increased the power (50 kW to 25 meters, 10 kw to 31 meters and 7.5 kW to 49 meters) we had to hire a custom, special grid with the local power company – and that costs!! We are a non-profit organization, funded by voluntary donations, so we need to be very careful with our budget. It’s sad to say that, because we love the radio, but the audience was very low, not being worth expending that amount of money. We are living a new tech era, so we as a mass media organization must be care[ful] about of our own survival, that’s why we took that decision and also because we’re experiencing over the years great increase in audience through the internet and by the local affiliates network as well. Still talking about costs, our transmission equipment is nearly 20 years old, although it was bought brand new and being well kept by Mr. Wilke, it’s an old equipment that demands expensive maintenance because it’s imported equipment running on valves. To give you listeners an idea, a burnt valve had to be recently replaced and costed nearly 5,300 USD, so that give us an idea of how expensive is to keep that, beside the monthly power costs. We have brainstormed on how to reach poor, isolated communities (Indian, forest people) with no access to new technologies for example by providing them our content stored in memory cards – we received reports of missionaries, social workers assuring that this is being welcomed. We’re also working to increase partnership with local stations to relay our content. …[now they list some of the local affiliates currently relaying content throughout the Brazilian territory]… There is a reason for us to be ending the shortwave transmissions on this particular day (August 8, 2018) – this is because our shortwave broadcasting license is expiring today, so due to the reasons explained above and also because the government’s bureaucracy, we are not going to renew it. We are sorry for the listeners who have in the radio the only way of getting our content, the DXrs as well, but that’s a cost vs audience matter. We’re having an average of 50,000 unique listeners over the Internet, some others through local affiliates, so we have to be responsible with our budget and focus on getting return over the investment, providing accountability to the donors. [… now they explain how to listen over the station website or from the mobile app.. “ask your nephew how to do it LOL :-)” ] [the host greets them by the detailed explanation on how the broadcast license process works, the costs and bureaucracy] We thank our listeners for the support, care and understanding. We’ve been passionate shortwave listeners forever and that’s probably the reason why we do this for a living today. New technologies arise in an incredible speed in these days– getting cheaper too, enabling more people to benefit from them. Some people understand that in a near future the technologies will be unified and we will end on having a single media device for all content (TV, radio, internet, communications, etc), mostly cheap or even for free. That will not be a happy day; that’s a sad day instead – we’d like to continue with shortwave broadcasting but we’re getting empathy and understanding from most of our listeners – we’re not stopping, the RTM keeps on going. Thank you all for understanding and for your care; keep following us over the Internet, we’ll also be broadcasting every hour the list of local affiliates network. Access our website at: https://www.transmundial.com.br/ … now they play the station’s identification jingle … resuming the regular programming… < END OF TRANSCRIPT > On behalf of the whole SWLing Post community, I’d like to thank you Fabiano for taking the time to write up this excellent translation. This commentary was insightful and without your help, I would have never been able to understand or appreciate it. Muito obrigado, Fabiano! (Thomas Witherspoon, swlingpost via DXLD) [and non]. BRASIL, Rádio Transmundial ZYE858 - final day on shortwave, August 8: from 2008 11735 CAB 050 kW / 060 deg to BRA Portuguese, good signal 2008&2027 11735 DOL 050 kW / non-dir to CeAf Swahili ZBC - no signal from 2036 11735 DOL 050 kW / non-dir to CeAf Swahili ZBC - is on air http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/radio-transmundial-final-day-on.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reporting about the closure of RTM, August 9 at 0150, I said ``But can`t hear any carrier around 5940v with heavy splash from 5935 WWCR``. However, I was misremembering its 50mb frequency – 5965 for RTM, not 5940-, Voz Missionária. I don`t think 5965 has been reported for some time, certainly not by me. However, via swlingpost, a lengthy translation of a discussion earlier in the day about quitting SW, said ``We had ended the 31 meters transmission, now we’re ending the 25 meters, 49 meters also, and we are so sorry about that.`` This seems to imply that 9530 had been terminated earlier, but 5965 was being turned off the same date as 11735. The latest report I can find of 5965 was from Claudio Galaz, Chile, this year: ``** BRAZIL. 5965, R. TRANSMUNDIAL. Mayo 7. 1013-2028 UT. Hombre predica en portugués. SINPO: 35343 con señal sin siseos de otra emisora. ¿EWTN, de 5970, fuera del aire?`` He probably meant until 1028 UT. Maybe they did not run it in the evenings when I am listening? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Nota de esclarecimento a impressa DX e ouvintes: Em atenção à imprensa e à sociedade, Informo que a Rádio Gavião mudou de nome. Será oficializada como Rádio Serra do Roncador., (Faixa de Ondas Curtas banda de 31 metros). O cristal do estado Paraíba está proposto para a frequência de 9925 kHz pelo o técnico da Cidade Oldies. Os testes iniciam ainda esse ano. Inicialmente vamos cobrir os Estados de Mato Grosso,Goiás, Sul do Pará,Oeste da Bolívia,Norte do Mato Grosso do Sul e talvez Acre e Amazonas. Eu pessoalmente estarei montando a antena em fios sobre postes. Não será torre. Todos os testes serão avizados em nossas redes sociais. Obrigado pelo aguardo e paciência. Daniel Wyllyans (Proprietário e técnico da Rádio Serra do Roncador) Sobre a Serra do roncador: A Serra do Roncador é uma região que se localiza no ponto mais central do Brasil, no estado do Mato Grosso, mais especificamente entre o rio das Mortes e o rio Araguaia a leste, e o rio Xingu e Kuluene a oeste, chegando a atingir até 700 metros de altitude em alguns pontos. A região da Serra do Roncador é, até hoje, a mais desconhecida da selva sul-americana. Uma imensa cordilheira da era plutônica que se ergue como divisor de águas do Araguaia e do Xingu. Estende-se por cerca de 800 km, aproximadamente, desde Vale Dos Sonhos, no Mato Grosso até as proximidades da Serra do Cachimbo, no estado do Pará (Daniel Wyllyans, Aug 9, hard-Core-DX mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) Undoubtedly very low power, but one might hear something on 9925 other than the two hours a week from The Mighty KBC via Germany (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 940 CJGX Off The Air --- According to their Facebook page, 940 CJGX Yorkton Sask. is on low power until further notice. I verified this afternoon, not a peep from them 100 miles away. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1315862941882210&id=215319648603217&_rdr (Terry Keyowski, Regina, Saskatchewan, Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone, Aug 7, IRCA at HCDX via DXLD) ** CHAD [non]. 11830, FRANCE, Dandal Kura Radio International at 1931 in Kanuri with indigenous instrumentals and two women with talk with mentions of “Dandal” - Fair to Good Aug 12 – The Kanuri are the dominant people in north eastern Nigeria but are also found in great numbers in the south eastern regions of Nigeria (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) See also NIGERIA [non] ** CHINA. 9200, Aug 8 at 1142, CNR1 jammer // echo jammer on 9660, and 9680. It`s here to block Sound of Hope, of course, per Aoki on 9199.907 but no het heard from that. I wonder how permanent, non- variable those exact SOH measurements may remain? CNR1 off after 1200 at 1205 check (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 9680, August 9 at 1244, RTI is being jammed by the double- whammy of CNR1 // 11785, and Firedragon music mix. 9660, August 9 at 1244, this RTI is being jammed by two CNR1s echoing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also TAIWAN [and non] ** CHINA. CNR-1 jammer vs Sound of Hope Xi Wang Zhi Sheng on August 11 till 1300 on 15800.1 unknown kW / non-dir to EaAs Chinese, very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/cnr-1-jammer-vs-sound-of-hope-xi-wang.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. The Chinese authorities switched their feed to jam western broadcasters between the 1100 and 1200 hours from CNR1 to CNR3 (news to classical music) which I find more entertaining. They have a wide range of legitimate networks that they can draw upon to jam western broadcasters rather than relying on the Firedrake program. The networks according to the WRTH are CNR1 – Voice of China (news); CNR2 – Voice of the Economy (or China Business Radio); CNR3 – Voice of the Music; CNR4 – Scripture Music Service (or Golden Radio); CNR5 – Voice of Zhonghua ( or Zhonghua Business Radio; CNR6 – Voice of Shenzhou (or Shenzhou Easy Radio); CNR7 – Voice of Huaxia (or Huaxia Radio); CNR8 – Voice of Minorities (or Ethnic Minority Radio); CNR9 – Voice of the Literary (or Story Radio); CNR10 – Voice of Old Age (or Senior Citizens Radio); CNR11 – Tibetan Service; CNR12 – Voice of Entertainment (or Happy Radio); CNR13 – Uighur Service; CNR14 – Voice of Hong Kong; CNR15 – China Traffic Service; CNR16 – Voice of China Country; CNR17 – Kazakh Service. All loggings in English unless otherwise specified. All times and dates in UT. 11640, CHINA, CNR1 at 1113 in Mandarin jamming RTI in Mandarin with a man with excited talk then Asian instrumentals and a number of promos – Weak but audible Aug 12 11785, CHINA, CNR1 at 1116 // 11640, in Mandarin jamming the VOA in Mandarin via the Philippines with a number of promos and a man with excited talk – Fair to Good Aug 12 11785, PHILIPPINES, VOA at 1117 in Mandarin with a woman and a man in interview and VOA news theme at 1119 – Fair under CNR1 jammer Aug 12 11825, CHINA, CNR3 at 1226 // 11785 in Mandarin jamming the VOA in Mandarin via Thailand with female opera vocals and a man with excited talk – Weak but audible Aug 12 11825, THAILAND, VOA at 1227 in Mandarin with two men in discussion – Weak mixing with CNR1 jammer Aug 12 13830, CHINA, CNR3 at 1248 // 11785 and 11825 in Mandarin jamming RFA in Tibetan via Tajikistan with opera vocals and a male host – Good Aug 12 15275, CHINA, CNR3 at 1310 // 11785 and 13830 in Mandarin jamming RFA in Tibetan via Tajikistan with classical instrumentals – Good Aug 12 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) ** CUBA. 15140, Radio Habana Cuba; 1937-1945+, 8/6; English “Focus on Africa” with peppy Kenyan music & many RHC IDs; 1945 into “Arts Roundup”. SIO=3+44- with wind whistle QRM (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) = I refer to as squealing out of same transmitter, not external interference (gh, DXLD) 6100, Aug 8 at 0605, RHC English is VP S9-S5 and also JBM; 6000 is S9+10 but JBM somewhat distorted; 6060 is S9+10/20 with good mod; 6165 S9+20/30 with good mod. 5040 is off by now, but 5025 Rebelde is also just barely modulated at S9+10 to S7. Something`s always wrong at RadioCuba. 6000, Aug 8 at 1201, RHC is S9+10 but JBM; // 6100.00 has good mod at S9+20/30, but fails to radiate from off-frequency-minus. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 13660, Aug 8 at 1323, RHC is S4-S6 here and mostly readable, despite being a leapfrog mixing product another 40 kHz lower of squealy S9+10 13740 over normal S9+20 13700. But there is *no* matching leapfrog the other side on 13780; what`s not with that?? Nor are there any extremely distorted FM spurblobs today out of the 13700 transmitter. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5025, R. Rebelde at 0545. Strong, solid signal, nearly NO modulation. Can hear a M in Spanish by turning up AF gain. What is it, There is still something wrong at Radio Rebelde, as this problem was noticed by me yesterday. August 10 (Rick Barton, from Central Arizona. Grundig Satellit 205(T.5000) & 750; RS SW-2000629, & ATS-909X with various outdoor wires. 73 and Good Listening....! -rb, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15140, RHC at 1501 in Spanish with opening music and a man and woman with ID and opening announcements and a man and woman with talk from 1503 – Fair to Good with no sign of Oman Aug 12 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) 15140, Aug 12 at 1500, squealy RHC is on this early with ID and 1501 introducing Sunday Esperanto // 11760. 15140 was not on at previous check circa 1430 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6100, Aug 13 at 0545, this RHC English is S9+10 but JBM; the rest of the Cuban Five are better to varying degrees: 6165, 6060, 6000, 5040. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 6000, Aug 14 at 0552, this RHC English is dead air, while 6165 and 6100 have some modulation, 6060 with full modulation. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Am 10.08.2018 um 09:13 schrieb Rémy Friess: Guten Morgen, Radio Marti meldete vor ein paar Minuten dass ab kommendem Montag neue Frequenzen eingesetzt werden. Meine Spanischkenntnisse sind eher gering und der Empfang war schlecht aber ich glaube verstanden zu haben dass es zusätzliche Kanäle sein sollen. Die Frequenz 11870 [sic] kHz wurde angegeben. https://av.martinoticias.com/flash/clips/CU/2018/08/07/e1709e66-acf1-40f9-b12b-270623069802.mp3 https://www.martinoticias.com/a/radio-televisi%C3%B3n-mart%C3%AD-pronto-entrar%C3%A1-cuba-alta-definici%C3%B3n-tomas-regalado/196882.html "El lunes 13 de agosto se inaugura una frecuencia más de onda corta para los oyentes en Cuba”, dijo. La nueva frecuencia estará en los 11860 kHz y “estamos al aire las 24 horas al día con tres frecuencias”, destacó el director de OCB. Also nicht: "setenta" sondern "sesanta" [sic], ja, manchmal schwer zu verstehen. Bei den "comentarios" darunter auch etwas Polemik: ".......van a lanzar la nueva frecuencia el dia del cumple del Fifo. Tremendo homenaje!..." Start der neuen Frequenz am Geburtstag von Fidel, quasi als eine Art "Hommage" (Roger, Aug 10, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) Ha! Hours not specified for 11860 (not 11870), but surely daytime only. Guess what? At 2100-2300 Radio Habana Cuba is already upon it. Also sure to QRM Yemen [non]. Neither that nor RHC in HFCC, where only two imaginary listings are found in our daytime on 11860, so how should IBB know about RHC or Saudi Arabia?: 11860 0600 1400 24,25 IRK 100 44 0 288 1234567 250318 271018 D Rus RUS RRS GFC 12081 11860 1700 1800 51,54 JAK 250 85 0 206 1234567 260318 281018 D Eng INS RRI RRI 4086 (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) USA, From August 13 OCB Radio Marti will be on air on 3 frequencies, 24 hours. Additional is 11860, 0700-1000 & 1400-2300 UT http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/ocb-radio-marti-on-additional-frequency.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 9-10, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Here is a related story via Artie Bigley. Merely adding 11860 is not going to accomplish what is claimed here, so what is the miraculous new platform? Is Havana Times really independent and from inside Cuba, or exile-operated? ``Open-minded writing from Cuba``. BTW, until cutbacks a few years ago, RM always ran three SW frequencies at once, and only recently added a third part-time (Glenn Hauser, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: https://www.havanatimes.org/?p=139478 RADIO AND TV MARTI’S NEW ATTEMPT TO PENETRATE CUBA --- August 10, 2018 Tomas Regalado, the director of Radio and TV Marti. File photo: miamiherald.com [caption] HAVANA TIMES – The Cuban government warned on Thursday against Radio and TV Marti’s new attempt to begin broadcasting its programming on the island starting on August 13, the birthdate of the late Fidel Castro, according to the official Cubadebate website. The government denounces that “radioelectric attacks affect the normal functioning of national telecommunications and directly violate the letter and spirit of numerous international agreements.” The warning responds to the announcement of the new director of the Office of Transmissions to Cuba (OCB, for its acronym in English), Tomas Regalado, that Radio and TV Martí will “soon” be throughout Cuba, without interference and in high definition, notes dpa news. “Millions of dollars of US taxpayers money is wasted every year to try to take the propaganda from Miami to Cuban territory. All the methods tried thus far clashed with the effectiveness of the authorities to block the signals, which constitute a violation of international standards for the use of radioelectric space,” says the article in Cubadebate. Speaking to the Miami Mega TV channel, Regalado said on Tuesday that the project represents a “technological revolution” that will allow within six months a total “penetration” of the entire island and a new shortwave frequency. According to the former mayor of Miami “it’s a technology that did not exist and since they [Cuban authorities] do not know it will be almost impossible to block.” He said Cubans would receive the signal even on mobile phones. He added that the first tests of its operation have already been carried out in Havana. For these new technologies, Radio and TV Marti have the support of millions of dollars in funds contributed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the support of the Cuban- American republican senator Marco Rubio. In Cuba, no national media that is not approved by the government, be it written, radio, TV or digital, can operate legally. Likewise, independent journalists are considered by the leadership of the all- powerful Communist Party as enemies of the regime. In today’s Cuba, many citizens still only have access to official information and rumors of the “Radio Bemba”. Radio Martí emerged during the mandate of Ronald Reagan and TV Marti began in March, 1990 under George H.W. Bush. The signal was sent from aircraft but was blocked by Cuban technicians. The OCB was also involved in a scandal of illegal payments to journalists in Miami between 1998 and 2002 to write “hostile and discriminatory” reports about Cuba and especially about the case of the five Cubans spies (known as the Cuban Five) imprisoned in the United States (via DXLD) Happy birthday, dead Fidel! As promised, OCB has activated an additional Radio Martí frequency today August 13, 11860. It`s VG S9+10 at 1421, no jamming yet, nor at 1620 recheck, unlike // 11930 below wall-of-noise, and // 13605 atop wall-of noise. Goodbye to any chance of hearing Yemen [non] on 11860, but which has hardly been more than a JBA carrier here lately at any hour. Probably started at 1400, but how long will it run? Will RM defer to RHC, which since April per EiBi has already been using 11860 at 1930- 2300 for Europe? RHC is never in HFCC, so how could IBB know that? HFCC A-18 just updated today Aug 13, and NO registration showing yet for GB on 11860. However, the other 25m frequency, 11930, runs all the way until 2400. If OCB were really serious about getting into Cuba on SW, they would employ multiple frequencies, diluting the jamming on any one of them. Besides more idle Greenvilles, they could buy lots of spare time on stations such as WRMI, WHRI --- not that I recommend it, which would lead to much greater collateral jampollution of our SW bands! 11860, further chex of the Radio Martí vs Radio Habana Cuba collision, Aug 13: at 1907, RM alone not jammed yet; at 1926 the RHC carrier is on, making a SAH of about 8 Hz – wonder which of them is further off- frequency? They add up to S9+10. At 1929, the RM theme and promo, periodically fading way down and back up. 1931, RHC French modulation starts late, JIP without IS or sign-on. 2004, still mixing with SAH; 2128 RM amid newscast from Televisión Martí minus the video, and RHC seems JBA underneath. 2300 recheck, everything is off. Ivo Ivanov says the new RM sked on 11860 is 14-23 & 07-10 UT, latter in the middle of the night, unconfirmed yet. 11860, next day May 14 at 1417, RM is on and now there is jamming, somewhat less than on // 11930. 2033, RHC is atop and no jamming; today they are much closer together than 8 Hz, making only a very slow SAH of less than 1 Hz. 2317 everything off except residual pulse jamming continuing vs nothing, also still at 0135 August 15. 11860, May 15 at 2000 check now RM and RHC are equal strength and modulation making a horrible collision, without jamming, and SAH back to about 8 Hz. (SAHs in this range I estimate by counting the flutters over and over as each second tix away; could be plus or minus 1). It remains to be heard which station will give in first and move, if ever. The question is whether IBB really knew RHC was already on 11860 and went there as a deliberate provocation, also forcing RHC to jam itself at the same time, or quit jamming. Meanwhile, both stations lose their audiences (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also YEMEN [non] ** CZECHIA. CZECH SHORT-WAVE RADIO EXPERT OLDRICH CÍP DIES AT 87 Radio Prague-2 hours ago (via Artie Bigley, Aug 10, DXLD) See also HFCC obit for him C&C 18-32 Czech short-wave radio expert Oldrich Cíp dies at 87 Daniela Lazarová 10-08-2018 [illustrated] https://www.radio.cz/en/section/special/czech-short-wave-radio-expert-oldrich-cip-dies-at-87 [from this we can see proper spelling of his names: hooks over R of Oldrich and C of Cip, and acute accent on i of Cip --- gh] Oldrich Cíp, a world renowned expert on short-wave radio has died at the age of 87. He was associated with radio since childhood - first as an amateur radio hobbyist and later as a staff member of Czechoslovak and Czech Radio in the departments of international broadcasting. He cooperated closely with Radio Prague for many years, presenting a popular show for DXers. Oldrich Cíp, Horst Scholz and Jeff White, photo: archive of HFCC Oldrich was involved in radio since he was a child - first as an amateur radio hobbyist and later as a staff member of Czechoslovak and then Czech Radio in the international broadcasting departments. A college graduate in the field of Humanities, he spent most of his working life as a frequency manager and schedule planner. For a number of years he hosted a DX program on Radio Prague under the pen name Peter Skala. After the end of the Cold War, he believed that broadcasters from both sides of the conflict should come together and develop a new system of planning and coordination for shortwave broadcasting. This led to the establishment of the HFCC in 1991. Oldrich was Chairman of the HFCC until 2015. Since then, he was a Vice Chairman of the group. Oldrich lived in Prague, although he frequently spent time in his country house, where he enjoyed woodworking, guitar and country music, vintage graphics, photography and time with his family. His son Vladislav said he spent his last day there: "He enjoyed a quiet evening in the country house, with our families, all four grandchildren around, no symptoms of anything bad coming. All of a sudden, he suffered probably a heart attack or stroke. An ambulance arrived immediately but he died a few hours later." Oldrich Cíp (3rd from the left) at a HAM radio field day in 1950s, photo: archive of HFCC Oldrich was married with two adult sons, Oldrich Jr. and Vladislav. Vladislav is the HFCC Secretary who manages the day-to-day operations of the organization. From 1953 until 1997 Oldrich was an employee of Czechoslovak and later Czech Radio in Prague. He worked as a technical consultant for Czech Radio from 1998 to 2010. He specialized in planning schedules and frequencies, international coordination and distribution of shortwave radio programs for foreign countries. Beginning in 1959 and for more than 25 years, Oldrich produced a weekly English-language program "Radio Prague Calling All Radio Hobbyists," using the nom de plume Peter Skala. In the program, he answered questions from shortwave listeners in many countries and covered a variety of scientific and other topics from the radio industry. Oldrich Cíp in a studio of Radio Prague, photo: archive of HFCC During the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Oldrich used his technical expertise to aid the "free Czechoslovak Radio," putting himself in danger in an effort to provide factual news and information about the events taking place. Thanks to the large number of smaller facilities of Czechoslovak Radio scattered all over Prague and complicated infrastructure that connected them, they were able to continue broadcasting for quite some time. In the period of reforms around the year 1968, he established secret contacts with his colleagues from Western radio stations. He re- established the contacts after the fall of communism and started an initiative to eliminate interference on shortwave. He became the Chairman of the HFCC, which has continued to meet twice each year in different parts of the world for shortwave stations to coordinate their frequency schedules for the coming broadcast season, thus eliminating interference before each season begins. The principles of international coordination were incorporated into the ITU's International Radio Regulations during the 1997 World Radio Conference. Oldrich Cíp (4th from the left) at a coordination meeting of the Eastern Bloc in Hungary, photo: archive of HFCC Oldrich was also an adviser to the Government of the Czechoslovak Republic in the preparation of the first Radio and Television Broadcasting Act after 1990, as well as a member of several EBU and ITU radiocommunication working groups. At the HFCC, he spearheaded the International Radio for Disaster Relief project whereby shortwave stations have allocated specific frequencies in each band for the transmission of emergency information in the event of natural disasters around the world. Jeff White, Oldrich's successor as HFCC Chairman, said: "The shortwave broadcasting and listening communities have lost one of our most important proponents. The contributions of Oldrich over the years are simply unequalled. He was a humble man, but people in this industry realized the importance of his work. And he has left us a lasting legacy - an organization which has largely eliminated interference on the shortwave bands, and it has enabled stations to use less power to reach their target areas with a good signal. For that, he will always be remembered." (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Re: ``Teleantillas to leave channel 2 in the Dominican Republic --- No more 2 in the Dominican Republic. Teleantillas will move to channel 10 by year's end, according to a bunch of news articles from late June. …``(Raymie Humbert, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) Thanks info, Raymie, HIJB-2 at 1365 miles is, along with several Cubans, seen often here, always a quick ID with its TA logo. Possibly seen for the last time today! (Doug, Inman, SC EM85wb, near NC and GA borders, Aug 11, ibid.) Not only that, but also Primera 88.1 FM in Dom Rep makes it all the way to PA & NJ at 1600 miles with seeming ease/regularity! It doesn't work for me at that distance. If it did, Trinidad, Guyana, etc. would be regular visitors! cd (Chris Dunne, Pembroke Pines FL, ibid.) cd, Even here, as close or closer to many Central American ch 2-6 stations as to HIJB at 1365 miles, I have never ID'd any Central Americans (3 years TV DXing here), but HIJB-2, HISD-4 and several Cubans are in several days a week during E-skip season. Go figure? Even this morning while trying for Perseids meteor scatter, there was HIJB in on E-skip! (Doug, ibid.) I was told by a member who commonly gets 2200-mile Es, that the midpoint of the "second hop" is over water, and that is the cause. Still I would think *maybe* Newfoundland would then be a possibility for me. Absolutely no land between FL & NL!! Maybe that only works in one direction? cd (Chris Dunne, ibid.) ** EAST TURKISTAN. China’s Campaign Against Muslim Minorities [re RFA] https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-campaign-against-muslim-minorities-1533855077?emailToken=aa49d11379e6328f3a9cf1fcb5e62184sgSW5akx2oCIjR7YL859h3teK7TJk5DMvaYPWSIxBX153AKjdzpsxSH7R6W4XlPpAHoZHTRbyaxhsZcTDoNPVtO9indb6RhRzDcWafAxD9k%3D&reflink=article_email_share (via David Cole, OK, August 10, DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 5005, Radio Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial, Bata, *0508-0520, 10-08, African and pop songs. Very weak, barely audible. 15321. Also (presumed), 1840-1850*, 11-08, unusual time, extremely weak, carrier and some songs detected. Also *0508-0521, 12-08, songs. Extremely weak, barely audible. 15321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. Scandinavian Weekend Radio, Virrat, 11690 kHz, received in five days full detailed e-QSL card for a reception report send to: info@swradio.net Verification signer Tapani Hakkinen (Manuel Méndez Lugo, Spain, WOR iog Aug 10 via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. 9790, Aug 8 at 0545, RFI in French with OK modulation rather than humbuzz; 7220, Dandal Kura via Issoudun is very poor, carrier seems a bit rough on BFO, but too weak to tell if humbuzzy (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Slow Scan Radio & IBC Radio via Channel 292, August 8 1800-1900 on 6070 ROB 010 kW / non-dir to CeEu English Wed, fair 1900-2000 on 6070 ROB 010 kW / non-dir to CeEu Italian Wed, good 2000-2030 on 6070 ROB 010 kW / non-dir to CeEu English Wed, good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-slow-scan-radio-ibc-radio.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Reception of Voice of Greece on 9420 kHz, August 7-8 1900&0651 on 9420 AVL 150 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek*tx#03 Same time on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg via tx#1, no signal *Arabic/Serbian news & the transmitter switches off at 0700 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-voice-of-greece-on-9420_8.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 7-8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reception of Voice of Greece on 9420 kHz, August 10 0600&0651 on 9420 AVL 150 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek*tx#03. Same time on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg via tx#1 - no signal * news in Serbian & the transmitter switches off at 0703 UT! http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-voice-of-greece-on-9420_14.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. Has anyone ever logged 101.1 in Roatan, Honduras? I just “virtually” met the station owner who is an ex-pat American from San Diego. Their web site with stream is at: http://www.caribbeancloudradio.com HRTA 101.1 ROATÁN IB HND 0.0 2.5 0.0 138.0 16-16-56 86-35-26 TROPICAL ISLAND BUZZ RADIO Some English songs [WTFDA FM DB listing] 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, Maylene, AL 35114, WTFDA gg via DXLD) ** INDIA. Faithfully Yours was not scheduled in the Daily Cuesheet, and didn't air as expected on August 6th. Next likely airing will therefore probably be on 13 August (but will need confirming next week). (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Re: [WOR] All India Radio AIR 7550 kHz DRM Yes, you're right! Thank you, Alan! Just checked the livestream: http://raagam.airbengaluru.com/ And I have to admit that, while the stations label of Channel 2 says "VIVDH BHARATI", the DRM info box shows the following text: "RAGAM CLASSICAL MUSIC CHANEL FROM SPT BANGALORE". Coco Chanel? ;-) 73, (Alexander Busneag, Germany, Aug 7, WOR iog via DXLD) 7555, Aug 11 at 0027, weak DRM noise seems centered here, not 7550, but AIR has reactivated its DRM after a sesquiyear, allegedly on 7545- 7550-7555 until 0045 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good Evening, I'm noting All India Radio conducting tests currently on 7550 kHz switching from AM to DRM then to test tones. They are not noted to begin broadcasting on this frequency until 1745 UT. Signal strength in AM is far more superior with drop outs on DRM. Noted 11th August at 1713- 1720 UT. RSP1A - Random wire - Armagh, Northern Ireland. Best Regards, (Jordan Heyburn, UKOGBANI, 1721 UT August 11, WOR iog via DXLD) 7550 back in AM Aug 16 (Alan Roe, later) ** INDIA. QUESTIONS OVER FUTURE OF ALL INDIA RADIO'S EXTERNAL SERVICE Hindustan Times August 6 The external services division of All India Radio (AIR) is caught in a turf war between the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB), which runs it and the ministry of external affairs (MEA), which is expected to fund it. While the MIB wants the service to continue and even expand; MEA has been suggesting shutting down the programmes, pointing out that the service offered through short wave transmission has outlived its utility and does not attract listeners abroad, said an MIB official aware of the developments. Full article: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/i-b-ministry-and-mea-at-odds-over-all-india-radio-external-service/story-k8CDvm9gmYSJ4gDzuYrHiK.html (via Mike Barraclough, Letchworth Garden City, UK, August 9, WOR iog via DXLD; also via Artie Bigley) ** INDIA. Special broadcasts by AIR for Independence Day (15 Aug 2018) India is celebrating its 71st Independence Day on 15 August 2018. Details of special programs by All India Radio for the occasion is as follows: 14th August 2017 (Tuesday) 1330 UT (7.00 pm IST) onwards “Address to the Nation” on the eve of Independence Day in Hindi and English by Shri.Ram Nath Kovind, Honble President of India. All stations of All India Radio will relay this on MW, SW & FM. Look out on the following Home Service SW frequencies: 4760 Leh 4760 Port Blair 4800 Hyderabad 4810 Bhopal 4835 Gangtok 4910 Jaipur 4920 Chennai 4950 Srinagar 4970 Shillong 5010 Thiruvananthapuram 5040 Jeypore 9380 Aligarh 9865 Bangalore xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 15 August 2018 (Wednesday) 0135-0240 UT (0705-0810 IST) All India Radio will broadcast the running commentary in English and Hindi on the Flag Hoisting and Prime Minster's speech to be held at Red Fort, New Delhi between 0135-0240 UT (0705-0810 IST) on 15th August, 2018 on the following SW frequencies. English: 11740 Panaji 250 kW 15030 Bengaluru 500 kW Hindi: 6140 Aligarh 250 kW ? 7340 Mumbai 100 kW ? 7520 New Delhi 250 kW 9380 Aligarh 250 kW 11620 Bengaluru 500 kW (Note: External Services in Urdu on 6140, 7340, 7520 are replaced by running commentary at this time) The following External Services stands cancelled for that day: 9800: Nepali 0130-0230 News Hindi / English 0230-0300 11560: Pushtu 0215-0300, Dari 0300-0345 15030: Kannada 0215-0300 The Regional SW Stations will start using their daytime frequencies about 1 hour or more earlier than usual on 15th August as follows to relay the Commentary. This may provide enhanced reception of stations than on normal days. The sign on schedule for that day is as follows with normal sign on timings in brackets. 1. Bhopal - 0130 UT (Ex 0225) 7430 2. Chennai - 0130 UT (Ex 0300) 7380 3. Hyderabad - 0130 UT (Ex 0225) 7420 4. Port Blair - 0130 UT (Ex 0315) 7390 5. Srinagar - 0130 UT (Ex 0225) 6110 6. Thiruvanathapuram - 0130 UT (Ex 0230) 7290 Other frequencies operating as usual at that time but carrying the commentary is as follows: 4760 Leh 4835 Gangtok 4910 Jaipur 4970 Shillong 5040 Jeypore 7270 Chennai Check also 13695 via Bangalore All stations of AIR will relay the running commentary. LIVE STREAMING ON AIR: http://allindiaradio.gov.in/Default.aspx Reception Reports to : spectrum-manager@prasarbharati.gov.in or Director (Spectrum Management & Synergy) All India Radio, Room No. 204, Akashvani Bhawan, Parliament Street New Delhi110001, India Watch the events live on Doordarshan TV on all their channels. Try the following links: DD National: http://www.ddindia..gov.in/Pages/Home.aspx http://hellotv.in/play/livetv/DD-National_1893 DD News: http://webcast.gov.in/ DD Sports: http://hellotv.in/play/livetv/DD-Sports_1894 etc. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India, August 10, dx_india yg via DXLD) 9865, Aug 14 at 1333, this is the only AIR frequency JB audible for the Independence Day specials, vs local thunder forcing use of indoor longwire. 11620, Aug 15 at 0135, of all the possible AIR Independence special frequencies provided by Jose Jacob, this is the only one somewhat audible, VP with flutter around S6-S7 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. THE RADIO SCENE IN FLOODED KERALA INDIA In the closing announcement at the end of our program last week, we indicated that one of the topics for this week’s program would be a feature on Army Radio in the Red Sea. However currently, residents in the Indian state of Kerala are still reeling from the recent onslaught of monsoonal rains, and Jose Jacob VU2JOS in Hyderabad informs us that several of their major radio stations have been on the air nonstop 24 hours with relief programming. The state of Kerala, with its Malayalam language is the original home state for Jose Jacob. The state of Kerala is situated along the southwest coast of the Indian sub-continent. The annual monsoonal rains began there in Kerala on July 9 bringing in their wake flash flooding, landslides and fallen debris, together with massive damage to local crop production. Red Alert has been issued in several districts, in the worst flooding in more than 20 years. As the English language Hindu newspaper reports, almost all of the land areas are under several feet of water, with commercial properties flooded at ground level and cars stationary and submerged. A total of 35,000 people have been moved temporarily into 265 relief camps throughout the state. The state government in Trivandrum has appealed to the union government in New Delhi for relief funding. In an email alert, Jose Jacob advises that four major mediumwave stations in Kerala have been noted on air up into last weekend with special extended programming over night, consisting of music and relief announcements. These stations are located in Trivandrum, Alappuzha, Thrissur and Kozhikode. The state of Kerala is 360 miles long, ranging from 20 miles to 70 miles wide with a population approaching 35 million. The state capital is Trivandrum, or Thiruvananthapuram as it is known these days, with a population approaching two million. Trivandrum, built on seven hills, is both a very ancient city, and also a quite modern city in many respects. Local historians tell us that the ships of the Biblical King Solomon in Israel landed in a port called Ophir (now Poovar) in Trivandrum in the year 1036 BC. The first radio broadcasting station in Kerala territory, and in Trivandrum, was established in the MLA Palace Building under a standard British India callsign VUR on March 12, 1943. The transmitter was a new 5 kW STC unit from England, it operated on 658 kHz, and the transmission tower stood 250 feet tall. Three years later in March 1946, Travancore Radio VUR was removed from the Palace and re-installed into the YMCA facility with a new official callsign VUG, though it was also still well known as VUR. On April 1, 1950, station VUG-VUR was taken over by All India Radio and it was re- installed again, this time in the Diwan Palace in Trivandrum where it is still located even to this day. We might add, that the office for the Station Engineer was previously the palace bedroom. In 1966, a 1 kW mediumwave transmitter was installed for the local VB Vividh Bharati program service. This transmitter was installed at the studio location and it radiated on 1140 kHz through a 90 ft self- radiating mast. The VB service on mediumwave in Trivandrum was transferred to FM in 1999 and the small mediumwave unit, by this time on 1494 kHz, was retained for standby service. In the early 1970s a new mediumwave transmitter site was established in a heavily wooded area near Kulathur some 8 miles from the studio location. This new facility was officially taken into service with 10 kW on February 15, 1973. A 2011 list gives the callsign for this transmitter as VUT2. At the end of the year 2001, a 20 kW solid state Harris DX20, which can be run at 5 10 or 20 kW, was installed at this mediumwave location; and simultaneously, a 400 foot self-radiating mast was installed. The previous 10 kW BEL transmitter was retained for standby usage, and it was briefly energized each morning for a few minutes just before the main transmitter was opened for the regular daily broadcast service. It was back in the early 1960s that the first attempt was made to establish a shortwave transmitter in conjunction with the already existing mediumwave facility in Trivandrum. However due to rising tensions with China, the 20 kW shortwave transmitter intended for Trivandrum was quickly diverted to Kurseong in West Bengal where it was officially inaugurated on June 2, 1962. Two years later, All India Radio announced that a 250 watt shortwave transmitter would be installed in Trivandrum and that it would operate on 7280 kHz. However, this intended plan was never implemented either. Then twenty years later again, All India Radio announced that Trivandrum was again under consideration for the installation of a shortwave transmitter, a project that would be implemented under the next Five Year Plan. However, once again, and for the third time, Trivandrum missed out. However, comes the year 1992, and a 50 W transmitter was actually installed at a coastal location at Muttathura in suburban Trivandrum, some eight miles from the studios of All India Radio mediumwave. Test transmissions consisting mainly of test tones began in October 1992, and two years later on November 6 (1994), the station was taken into a regular schedule of on air service. The shortwave antenna system is readily visible on Google Earth and the three towers can be seen in close walking distance to the beach, a little south of the sewage farm which itself is a little south of the jetty. The three self supporting towers are in a straight line, at an angle of approximately 750 and they are supporting two simple curtain antennas. The main coverage area for AIR Trivandrum shortwave is towards the north from Trivandrum and across to the neighboring island of Sri Lanka. According to information from Jose Jacob, the AIR shortwave station at Trivandrum is not carrying the flood emergency programming that is heard on mediumwave. More from Kerala next week (Adrian Peterson, Indianapolis, script for AWR Wavescan July 29 via DXLD) AIR MEDIUMWAVE STATIONS IN REGIONAL CITIES OF KERALA In our program last week, we presented a major feature on the radio scene in Trivandrum in the Indian state of Kerala due to the recent monsoonal flooding. We pick up Part 2 in this topic in our program today, and on this occasion we visit all of the mediumwave stations in the regional cities throughout Kerala. One hundred miles northwest of the state capital city Trivandrum, or Thiruvananthapuram as it is known these days, is the regional city Alleppey or as it is known these days, Alappuzha. Under the rule of the British Raj), this city was known as Alleppey, but in 1990 the name was officially changed to Alappuzha which means River Water in the official state language Malayalam). This city is famous as the cleanest city in India, and history tells us that Alappuzha had trade relations with Greece and Rome during the Dark Ages. Local historians also tell us that Thomas, the doubting disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, landed nearby during the year 52 AD. The transmitter site for AIR All India Radio is located at Kalavoor some five miles from Alappuzha on a property of 32 acres. The original transmitter at this site was a 100 kW NEC Model 121B from Japan, which was officially inaugurated on July 17, 1971 on 580 kHz. In the mediumwave frequency shuffle that took place seven years later on November 23, 1978, the operating frequency for this transmitter was adjusted to 576 kHz. During the year 1999, two additional mediumwave transmitters at 100 kW each were installed in a different part of the transmitter building and they were taken into service on April 15. The output of these two Indian made transmitters Model BEL HMB140 were combined providing an effective 200 kW. During a visit to the station some years ago, Jose Jacob was informed that station personnel have given specific names to the two transmitters, which were manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangalore. They are known as Lakshmi and Parvathi. Another one hundred miles further north from Trivandrum is the city that was known under the British rule as Trichur, a name that was changed to the Malayalay style Thrissur also in 1990. This city was anciently the capital city for the Kingdom of Cochin. This regional city is located almost on the coast at the central coastline of Kerala and it was named in honor of an ancient Indian god. The ornamental gold trade is vibrant in Thrissur, with 40,000 gold workers processing a total of 90 tons of gold each year. Local historians say that Thomas, the doubting Christian apostle, also visited this area during the years 51 and 52 AD, and that the largest Christian Church building in India is located in this city where 40% of the population is Christian. The first Moslem mosque in India, the Cheraman Juma Masjid was opened here in 629 AD. The first broadcasting station in Thrissur was opened by AIR All India Radio with 20 kW on 630 kHz on November 4, 1956. Initially this station was a slave relay with programming from Trivandrum, though some local production began ten years later. A fully fledged studio was inaugurated at Ramavarmapuram, two miles from the city center another seven years later. During the following year, the 38 year old original Swiss made BBC 20 kW transmitter Model SM42A3 was replaced by a 100 kW Indian made BEL HMB140, which was installed eight miles outside the city at Avanoor. Jose Jacob in India informs us that this transmitter was production number 27 in the HMB140 series. During the past ¾ century mediumwave stations have been erected in only four cities throughout the Indian state of Kerala; one in the capital city and a further three in regional cities. We come now to the fourth mediumwave location in Kerala, Kozhikode or Calicut as it was known during the British years. Kozhikode is the second largest city in Kerala, after Trivandrum, with a population of two million. It is also listed as the second best city in India to live in. The well known Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed at Kozhikode on 20 May 1498, thus opening a trade route between Europe and the Malabar coast in India. This city Kozhikode was in the past the historical capital of Kerala and it has long been a major trading post for spices, sandalwood and ivory. This city was famous in colonial times for its finely woven cotton cloth which is known to this day as Calico, a name derived from the earlier Anglicised name for the city, Calicut. Even to this day, many of the merchants still use their fingers and toes for counting quantities of produce and payments of money. Back on May 14, 1950, All India Radio established its first radio broadcasting station in Kozhikode, just a 1 kW mediumwave station on 580 kHz. A quarter century later, there was a power increase to 10 kW, followed by another power increase, to 100 kW some thirty years later again. Their VB Vividh Bharati transmitter with 1 kW on 1090 kHz (later 1430 kHz) was also co-sited in this city. These days, there are four high powered mediumwave transmitters on the air in Kerala:- Kozhikode 100 kW on 684 kHz Thrissur 100 kW on 630 kHz Alappuzha 2 @ 100 kW on 576 kHz More about the Malayalam territories in India here in Wavescan next week (Adrian Peterson, IN, script for AWR Wavescan Aug 5 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 3325, Voice of Indonesia, via RRI Palangkaraya, on Aug 7, suddenly started at *1055; mixing with NBC Bougainville. Pro 1 RRI Nabire, Aug 8, on 7289.92 kHz: 0834-0858 - EZL Pop songs. 0858-0909 - Reciting from the Qur'an. 0912* - Suddenly cut off in mid-song. Without the heavy QRN (static), would have been fair reception. (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) [non]. 7290.00, Aug 8 at 1126, JBA carrier, not off-frequency, so not reactivated RRI Nabire, but rather after 1100, CNR1 Beijing site, per NDXC/Aoki. Window for Nabire is when I should stay in deep sleep. Aoki says it starts at 0500, but Ron Howard does not report it before 0742 and off as early as 0910 to as late as 1026*. FWIW, Nabire sunset is 0903 UT, varying little as almost equatorial. Would not hurt to check later the ex-night frequency 6125, which they stopped using long before 7289.92 quit a biyear ago (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, I have been detecting the 7289.92 carrier here in New Zealand from around 0540 UT. Tonight (9 August) it closed abruptly at 0920:30 UT (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai - NZ, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7289.92, Pro 1 RRI Nabire, on Aug 9. Poor to almost fair, but constant QRN (static). Highlights: 0738-0800: Music program; non-stop songs. 0800-0816: Starting with drums, the news; ending with patriotic song “Bagimu Negeri.” 0816-0859: Another music segment; non-stop songs. 0859-0909: Reciting from the Qur'an. 0920*: Suddenly cut off in mid-song, as Bryan Clark (New Zealand) has already reported (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) Is Nabire still on? No reports since these Aug 9 (gh, ibid.) ** INDONESIA. Wavescan NWS494 Youtube Video: Gili Islands Lombok Paradise A Go Pro video 2013 Opening Announcement - Our opening music in this edition of Wavescan today comes from the Island of Lombok in Indonesia which has been struck by two devastating earthquakes in just a few days. In this our opening feature in this edition of Wavescan, we focus on Lombok on the twin areas; their recent earthquakes and a run down on the radio scene on their island. Welcome to “Wavescan”, international DX program from Adventist World Radio Researched and written in Indianapolis, produced in studios of shortwave WRMI. TRIBUTE TO THE ISLAND OF LOMBOK Because of the two major earthquakes that have struck the island of Lombok in Indonesia within a few days, we interrupt the regular flow of our topics here in Wavescan, and we present instead this feature item as a Tribute to Lombok. Two major earthquakes have struck the island of Lombok just one week apart. The first major strike, rated at 6.4, occurred on Sunday July 29 (2018) with a death toll of at least 17. Several hundred tourists were stranded during a hike on the volcanic Mount Rinjani due to a massive landslide, though some found an alternate route down the slopes of the mountain while others were airlifted out by helicopter. This first quake which struck around dawn, was also felt on the neighboring island of Bali. American TV personality and cook book author Chrissy Teigen was on vacation with her husband and two children in Bali, and she tweeted about the initial impact of this first earthquake. She described it as a massive earthquake. Australian actress Teresa Palmer was vacationing in a treehouse also on Bali with her husband and their two children and she described the tremor as violent and scary. Teresa was noted for her recent role in the Mel Gibson block buster movie Hacksaw Ridge. She played the part of the wife of the film’s dramatic hero Desmond Doss. The second earthquake followed just a week later, on Sunday August 5 and it was even more violent than the earlier quake, and it measured at 7.0. More than one hundred people have died on this second occasion. A tsunami warning was issued, but the rise of ocean level was no more than six inches. At the time of the second quake, Indonesia and Australia were co- hosting an international conference on regional security and counterterrorism on both Lombok and Bali. Radio New Zealand International, or more correctly these days Radio New Zealand Pacific, reported that none of the delegates was injured in the earthquakes. The volcanic mountains in Indonesia make a dramatic scene as viewed from high in the air while the passenger plane passes over the active volcanic islands in Indonesia, en route from Perth in Western Australia to Singapore Island. The pilot ensures that the plane is high above any airborne volcanic ash, and that he chooses a route over the ocean in between whatever are the less active volcanoes. Indonesia’s second highest volcano, Mount Ranjani, at a little over 12,000 feet is located on Lombok. The shape of the island of Lombok is like a five sided pentagon with feet sticking out in the southern corners. The island is 43 miles across, and it is located about half way between North Queensland and Singapore. There is a shortage of fresh water on Lombok. During the year 1257 historians tell us, there was a massive volcanic explosion on Lombok that is described as one of the very largest ever recorded on planet Earth. As a result of this Mt. Samalas volcanic explosion, weather patterns all around the world were altered. Since the early days of settlement on Lombok, feuding among various rulers and ethnic groups has been a part of the local political scene. The colonial Dutch authorities were invited to intervene in 1894. Japanese forces arrived at 5:00 pm on Saturday May 9, 1942. When the Japanese left, the Dutch took over again; and then in 1958, the island of Lombok was incorporated into the newly independent Indonesia. These days, Lombok Island has a population of 3?rd million, people and the capital city of the island is Mataram with ?rd million. According to Alan Davies in England [sic] with his website Asiawaves, there are some 35 FM stations on the air on Lombok Island. Radio Republic Indonesia RRI operates two program networks on FM with a total of seven FM transmitters, and also one lone mediumwave transmitter. It is extremely hard to find any printed information regarding the history of radio broadcasting on Lombok Island (or all of Indonesia for that matter); accurate and reliable information is almost nonexistent. Annual entries in the WR(TV)HB provide a useful guide, though even here, the editors have been dependent upon the monitoring observations of just a few, though quite reliable, international radio monitors. After the end of World War 2, amateur and commercial stations began to appear on the broadcasting scene in Indonesia and like we say, reliable information regarding these stations is almost totally nonexistent. The amateur broadcasters were known in the national language Bahasa Indonesia as amatir stations. They were not licensed amateur operators known as hams elsewhere throughout the world, but rather they were small, irregular licensed or unlicensed stations doing their best to provide a needed local radio broadcasting service. These amatir radio broadcasting stations simply chose what they could find as an open channel in the tropical shortwave bands, and they were on the air with whatever programming they could find. From the available information, we would suggest that the first radio broadcasting stations on the island of Lombok were installed by government authorities, some time during the late 1950s. The first entry in the WR(TV)HB is for the year 1960, and the first and only station listed then operated with the callsign YDX with listed 1 kW on the tropical shortwave 90 m band frequency 3223 kHz. Though shown as 1 kW, the actual power of this transmitter was less than 100 watts. This original station carried the programming of RRI and the location is given as Mataram, the capital city. Subsequent editions of the WR(TV)HB show two shortwave channels in use on Lombok and at this stage, RRI Mataram is listed with new callsigns. The frequency 3223 kHz is shown as YDV5, and a new channel 3365 kHz is shown with the callsign YDV. Both channels are listed at the same 1 kW, so this additional outlet would seem to be the same transmitter with just another channel at a different time. The 1973 edition of WR(TV)HB shows the installation of an additional shortwave transmitter that was in use at either 1 kW or 5 kW. The 3223 kHz frequency continued at both power levels, with 1 kW during the day and 5 kW during the evenings. The 1975 edition lists the power on two additional channels, the new 120 m band frequency on 2390 kHz and on also on 3365 kHz as just 60 watts each. The 1975 issue also shows an additional new shortwave station on the air, this time at Selong on the other side of the island of Lombok, the east side. This new station was another government operated station with just 75 watts on the out of band frequency 2854 kHz with local RKPDK programing. There’s a note in the 1975 edition of the WRTVHB stating that all commercial stations in Indonesia were required to convert from shortwave to mediumwave by March 23, 1975. However, many of the local commercial shortwave stations were still heard on shortwave after that date. The usage of shortwave broadcasting by government stations on Lombok Island faded out around the turn of the millennium, with the 3225 kHz channel at Mataram as the final channel in use. Both power levels of 1 kW and 5 kW were still in use up to that time. The RRI mediumwave channel with 10 kW on 855 kHz was introduced in the mid 1970s and it is still on the air to this day. Supplementary RRI mediumwave stations were also on the air beginning in the 1990s on 1194 kHz and 1251 kHz, though these service have since been transferred to the standard FM band. Beginning in the 1980s, commercial and community radio broadcasting stations began to appear on the mediumwave band on Lombok Island, about half a dozen of them. All of these mostly low powered outlets have since also transferred to the FM band (Adrian Peterson, IN, script for AWR Wavescan Aug 12 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Like World Music? If your tastes in music are eclectic and like to take you all around the world in styles and genres of all types, then this station is for you. Sveriges P2 Varlden (Varlden --- to be precise with two dots over the ``a`` is Swedish for ``world``) Here`s a link to station`s web page which has a version in English. https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2619&artikel=6068466 Good listening! (John Figliozzi, Author and Editor, The Worldwide Listening Guide, Aug 7 internetradio at HCDX via DXLD) You might also like FIP Autour du Monde https://www.fip.fr/webradio-fip-autour-du-monde (Paul Webster, Sent while mobile, ibid.) ** IRAN [and non]. STATEMENT ON HARASSMENT OF BBC PERSIAN STAFF Date: 09.08.2018 Last updated: 09.08.2018 at 14.49 https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/statements/bbc-persian-staff Responding to comments made on the Mizan news agency, Francesca Unsworth, Director of BBC News, says: “These latest comments from the Iranian news agency connected to the judiciary in Iran represent a significant escalation of the threats made against named BBC Persian staff. In deliberately inflammatory language, this statement effectively incites violence against our journalists. "We call once again for all Iranian harassment against BBC Persian staff and their families in Iran to end immediately. This is an issue of press freedom, and of the rights of all journalists around the world to operate without fear violence or persecution.” Note to Editors In a lengthy statement issued yesterday (08.07.18) by the Mizan news agency, on the National Day Of Journalists in Iran, a series of allegations were made against named BBC Persian journalists. The most worrying passage says: “Without doubt, the mafia gang associated with the joint psychological operations HQ of overthrowing the system of the Islamic Republic, which has directly targeted the Iranian people and their security, are not free to carry out any counter-security measures against the Iranian people. "The members and employees of this gang, a number of whom have gathered in the BBC Persian propaganda-security apparatus, and even their internal colleagues who are following the same line, must be held answerable for their actions against the Iranian people. They will surely be exposed one day before the Iranian nation, and God’s hand of justice will manifest itself through the arms of the Iranian people, and they will be punished for their actions.” These comments were further amplified later by a statement from a spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards Corps, in a significant escalation of the type of language used against BBC Persian staff. BBC Press Office 9 August 2018 (via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DXLD) ** IRELAND [non]. I know there has been some speculation about which transmitter the IRRS broadcast on 7290 kHz comes from, but I noticed on last night's show that they actually mentioned that it was also receivable in CUSB, don't think I've ever heard them say that before, and their website just shows the following: A3 = AM Double Side Band (DSB), high power DCC (Dynamic Carrier Controlled) modulation. I'll check it more carefully tonight and see if they say it again, and try it out in USB, I had recorded last night's show as I was out, so wasn't able to do that (Alan Gale, England, August 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. NOMINATE A PRESIDENT - OVERSIGHT BODY TELLS RAI BOARD No president until agreement can be reached says Di Maio Redazione ANSA Rome 07 August 201815:32 News . . . http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2018/08/07/nominate-a-president-oversight-body-tells-rai-board_7ef4a50b-6413-4635-a7ca-8ed09aa750df.html (via Mike Cooper, Aug 7, DXLD) ** ITALY. 2600.0, 2114- 09/8, Mazara R, Mazara del Vallo. Ital/E, navig. warnings. Adjacent utility QRM. 24341 2628.0, 2112- 09/8, Augusta R, Augusta, Ital/E, navig. warnings. 25242 2632.0, 2113- 09/8, Napoli R, Napoli. Ital/E, navig. warnings, 15341 2719.0, 2209- 02/8, Porto Torres R, Porto Torres, Navig Warnings, 35342 (Carlos Gonçalves, SW coast of Portugal, JRC NRD-545DSP, PERSEUS & DRAKE R-E; Advanced Receiver amp.; raised, 4 loop K9AY, 30 m 180º/0º mini-Bev., 80 m 300º/120º Bev., 200 m 270º/90º Bev., 270 m 145º/325º Bev., 300 m 225º/45º Beverage, via radioescutas yg via DXLD) SSB, AM? ** KIRITIMATI. See DX-PEDITIONS (several other countries not cross- referenced) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. UZBEKISTAN, Radio Free North Korea & Voice of Wilderness via Tashkent, August 9 1200-1300 15630 100 kW / 076 deg Korean Radio Free North Korea, good 1330-1530 7625 100 kW / 070 deg Korean Voice of Wilderness, fair http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/radio-free-north-korea-voice-of.html North Korea Reform Radio & Voice of Martyrs via Tashkent, August 9: 1430-1530 7580 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg Korean N Korea Reform Radio, good 1530-1600 7505 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg Korean V of Martyrs, fair signal http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/north-korea-reform-radio-voice-of.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reception of North Korea Reform Radio via Tashkent, August 10 2030-2130 7495 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg Korean Daily, fair plus jamming http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-north-korea-reform-radio.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. Frequency change of Voice of Freedom on August 9: 0300-0800 on 5920 HWA 010 kW / non-dir to NEAs Korean, ex 6045 0900-1500 on 5920 HWA 010 kW / non-dir to NEAs Korean, ex 6045 1600-2000 on 5920 HWA 010 kW / non-dir to NEAs Korean, ex 6045 2100-0200 on 5920 HWA 010 kW / non-dir to NEAs Korean, ex 6045 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/frequency-change-of-voice-of-freedom-on.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Back on alternate frequency 5920.0 (stable), Voice of Freedom, ex: 6045, on Aug 9. Good reception and not jammed (ex: 6045 still with heavy N. Korea jamming). Thanks again to Amano-san for his excellent feedback as to the names of these various programs. Highlights: 1000: "Bodo gwangjang" ("News plaza"). My audio at http://goo.gl/EcBP7G 1010: "Nalssi ..."? ("Weather ..."). My audio at http://goo.gl/wC3ycK 1020: "Hanla-eseo Baegdu-kkaji" ("From Halla to Baekdu"). My audio at http://goo.gl/zyn4Uc 6015, KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1, at 1009, Aug 8. Still with N. Korea jamming, but somewhat readable; three IDs; first by native speaker of English ("Now you are listening to KBS, Pops Freedom"), second in Korean ("Yeoreobuneun jigeum, Daehanminguk Seoul-e seo bonaedeurineun Pops Freedom eul mutgogyesip nida." English translation: "Now, you are listening to Pops Freedom from Seoul, South Korea") and third again in English, this time by the program's host Kwak Young il ("Now you are listening to KBS, Pops Freedom"); mostly pop songs (Icona Pop - "I Love It - I Don't Care," etc.); at 1020 the usual intro to "Everyday English" ("Yeongeodaejang Gwag-Yeong il gwa hamkkehaneun KBS Hanminjok bangsong, Pops Freedom!" English translation "Together with English captain Kwak Young il, KBS Hanminjok Bansong, Pops Freedom!") language lesson ("Cigarettes are on sale. You can pay . ."). Website in Korean http://program.kbs.co.kr/scr/radio/popsfreedom/pc/ (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non non]. Radio Maria Erbil, Kurdistan iracheno, in FM Radio Maria ha aperto ufficilamente le trasmissioni a Erbil, Kurdistan iracheno, sui 104.9 MHz FM per la piana di Ninive https://playdxblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/radio-maria-on-air-erbil-nel-kurdistan.html (Giampiero Bernardini, Italy, 7 August, playdx yg via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. Reception of MOI Radio Kuwait in English 15529.8, August 7: 0500-0800 15529.8 KBD 250 kW / 310 deg WeEu English AM mode, very good Wrong frequency announcement: 11970 in 19mb, instead of 15530 in 19mb Plus second wrong frequency announcement: 15540, 25mb instead of 19mb http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-moi-radio-kuwait-in.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11970 kHz from R. Kuwait is still active in DRM at 0500-0800 UT! All scheduled DRM transmissions from Radio Kuwait are currently active. They were off-air as follows: 0500-0800 UT 11970 kHz 100 SoAs RKW_English off-air 14.Jun.2018-10.Jul.2018 0945-1325 UT 15110 kHz 310 WeEu RKW_Arabic off-air 20.Jun.2018-28.Jun.2018 1700-2000 UT 13650 kHz 350 NoAm RKW_Arabic off-air 13.Jun.2018-09.Jul.2018 1800-2100 UT 15540 kHz 310 WeEu RKW_English off-air 20.Jun.2018-27.Jun.2018 73, (Alexander Busneag, Germany, Aug 7, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reception of MOI Radio Kuwait General Service, August 12 2000-2400 on 17550 KBD 250 kW / 350 deg to ENAm* Arabic, very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-moi-radio-kuwait-general.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 12-13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) * target is C&W NAm, axually California, as I have already said (gh) ** LATVIA. HISTORY OF DX AND RADIO ------------ Undiscovered Secrets of Soviet Intelligence. In the remote Latvian forests, not far from the place where the colorful waters of the Baltic and the Gulf of Riga are connected, there is a unique man-made object, which in the Soviet times was completely secret and was absent on any maps. And for that there were serious reasons .... We must pay tribute to the skill of Soviet intelligence officers. More than 20 years have passed since the moment when the object "Zvezdochka" (also known as "Ventspils-8", also VCH51429, the same 649 separate point for the exploration of radio emissions of outer space) was handed over to Latvia, and its appointment is still used by the most different legends, sometimes - contradictory. The main - and the most secret - part of the object were three radars - with reflectors 12, 16 and 32 meters in diameter, respectively. This equipment allowed to search for objects in space to remove from them radio and electronic information, as well as to listen to phone calls and radio conversations of potential adversaries. All the data flowed to the Center - the headquarters of the GRU. The literature on this object most often mentions the wiretapping of the US State Department and the NATO submarine base in Norway, but for sure, this is not complete information, but possibly even a deza launched in order to withdraw conversations from the true possibilities of this technique. Be that as it may, the part has functioned successfully from the early seventies to the early nineties. Around the technical zone there was a guarded perimeter, next to it there was a military town with kindergartens, a school, etc. In the garrison lived more than 2,000 people - the military and their families, technical specialists, staff of the GRU and the KGB. After the withdrawal of the Soviet contingent from the sovereignty of Latvia, the military town quickly turned into a ghost town. Marauders plundered everything - there are not only metal pipes and railings, but even window frames. However, the abandoned military towns in our Trans-Baikal were sorted out by the locals more thoroughly - by brick, on concrete slabs ... but we will not be distracted from the topic. In the abandoned five floors - signs (or ghosts?) of a once prosperous Soviet life. When we flew into space, we went in formation, rejoiced in a single impulse, and glued wallpaper to the new newspapers that wrote about it. The town and the antennas connected an underground tunnel - now the entrance is immured, but only recently it was possible to get to any curious tourist. And here he is, the same "Saturn". The height is 47 meters. It is 32 meters in diameter. Weight is more than 600 tons. At the time of construction - the largest radar of this type in Europe. And now - the eighth in the world. Perhaps, among all post-Soviet neglect, its existence in time and space can be characterized as successful. Judge for yourself. Leaving, our military took with them the smallest, 8-meter radar, and all the remaining equipment was thoroughly spoiled. Cement was poured into the mechanisms, nails were hammered into the wiring, large cables were cut with axes. Acid was filled in all electronic devices. As a result, Latvians received a pile of very impressive externally, but completely dead iron. Hot national moods almost led to the destruction of telescopes, but in the end they were decided to hand over to the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Honestly, for many it was like a mockery. What can a scientist do with a heap of scrap metal? But the Latvian scientists succeeded, with the help of improvised tools, Soviet books (all studied in some Soviet universities!) And such and such a mother to partially restore the functionality of the radars. So the Soviet "Saturn" on the "citizen" became the Latvian radio telescope RT-32, and the secret Soviet object "Zvezdochka" became the Ventspils International Center for Radio Astronomy (also VIRAC). And the telescope soon began to work really - for example, on February 16, 2013, tracked the span of the asteroid D14. Until recently, inside the telescope were guided tours. But with the acceleration of the pace of reconstruction of the radar, they replaced the fully restored reflector and replaced the Soviet heritage with modern American and European equipment. Today, RT-32 is part of a large scientific project, having entered the pan-European radio astronomy network EVN. That is, excursions, probably will be held, but the telescope, most likely, now it will be possible to look only from the outside. It is possible that the RT-32 will have new dual-purpose tasks. But from a scientific point of view, this is in any case better than destruction and oblivion (Rus-DX August 12 via DXLD) ** LIBERIA [and non]. 6050, 12 Ago, 2111, LIBÉRIA, ELWA. OM fala, prega enfáticamente. Sinal razoável, mas sofre moderada QRM da PBS Xizang na mesma frequência. Predominância do sinal da ELWA. 73 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W - Brasil, Tecsun PL- 310ET, Antenna dipole of 25m, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. Madagascar World Voice African Pathways Radio August 10 1800-1900 17640 MWV 100 kW / 310 deg WeAf English tx#2, fair/good 2000-2100 17640 MWV 100 kW / 295 deg CeAf English tx#2, NO SIGNAL http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/madagascar-world-voice-african-pathways.html Madagascar World Voice KNLS New Life Station on August 10: 1800-1900 9570 MWV 100 kW / 355 deg EaEu Russian tx#1, very good 1900-2000 9755 MWV 100 kW / 355 deg EaEu Russian tx#2, very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/madagascar-world-voice-knls-new-life.html Reception of Madagascar World Voice Radio Feda, August 10 1900-2000 11965 MWV 100 kW / 355 deg N/ME Arabic tx#1, very good 2000-2100 13710 MWV 100 kW / 340 deg N/ME Arabic tx#1, very weak 2200-2300 11790 MWV 100 kW / 325 deg NoAf Arabic tx#1, fair/good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-madagascar-world-voice.html WCB Madagascar World Voice The Light of Life on August 10: 2100-2200 11610 MWV 100 kW / 325 deg WeEu Chinese tx#1, very good 2200-2300 9490 MWV 100 kW / 055 deg EaAs Chinese tx#2, fair/good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-madagascar-world-voice_10.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 650, Aug 8 at 1118, Radio 65 promo that it`s also ``en el cien --- 100.5 FM``. XETNT Los Mochis, still holding onto AM, and we hope for good, as Mexican AMers are dropping like flies, so we need to keep reconfirming the ones that remain. 810, Aug 8 at 1110, dominant signal from south, ID between songs as ``Radio Rey, la más [poderosa?], seis, nueve minutos``. Should not be claiming powerfulness, as IRCA Mex Log had it as only 1000/100 watts, XERI, Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and so does WRTH 2018. By now probably on hefty day power. On DX-398 vs heavy local storm noise. Our sunrise 1144 UT (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. The operators of XEMIL/XHMIL, Los Mochis, Sinaloa, did not answer my question about their move to FM, but they were very happy to tell me that I was selected as the winner of a free car wash... in Los Mochis! :) 73 (Tim Hall, CA, Aug 8, ABDX yg via DXLD) Lucky guy, Tim. Have you started you drive yet? Will go head down Baja and take a ferry? 73 KAZ (Neil Kazaross, IL/WI, ibid.) OK; I followed up and they confirmed the AM is gone (XEMIL-1000). 73 (Tim Hall, Chula Vista, ibid.) ** MEXICO. 640, XENQ La NQ, Tulancingo, Hidalgo. 1057 August 12, 2018. Mexi-tune, male at 1100 "La NQ, XENQ, 640 AM... 90 punto 1 FM... watts potencia..." into anthem followed by another ID. 660, XECPR, Radio Chan Santa Cruz, Philipe Carillo Puerto, Quintana Roo. 1037 August 12, 2018. Apparent sign on (this one pops up at variable timing) with maybe a slight low het atop strong XEDTL Radio Ciudadana. Abruptly up with instrumental fill, then male "Ésta es Radio Chan Santa Cruz..." at 1038. Quickly faded down. 709.92, UNIDENTIFIED, 1053 August 11, 2018. Weak, low het here, presumed Latin American. [typical of XEDP Chihuahua --- gh] 710, MEXICO, XEMP, Radio 710, México, DF. 1103 August 10, 2018. Anthem in progress, male at 1106 opening with "XEMP..." female mentioning "frecuencia modulada" then alternating same man and woman mentioning "watts de potencia," México, "Radio 710... Colonia... Ciudad de México... la Emisora Instituto Mexicano de la Radio..." into Mexi- tunes, cranky DJ from 1117, commercials, back to music through 1135 fade out. http://www.imer.mx/radio70 doesn't show an FM simulcast channel. 770, MEXICO, unidentified. 1058 August 10, 2018. End of song, into highly truncated anthem to 1059 but too weak to capture the ID. XEACH and XEANT both logged here previously. 1080, MEXICO, XETUL, Radio Mexiquense, Tultitlán, Estado de México. 1056 August 13, 2018. First time here, I think. Fast-talking announcer, then New Age/techno beat filler music, male at 1101 "XE... 1080 AM, Radio Mexiquense..." and seemingly parallel their stream at radiotvmexiquense.mx up to this point, but not after. Spanish tropical vocal, chatter, another "Radio Mexiquense" ID at 1120. Faded by 1126. KRLD and Radio Cadena Habana mostly nulled. Estado de México government owned. Interestingly, no national anthem near, on or after the 1100 hour (Terry L. Krueger, All dates/times GMT, Clearwater, FL, NRD-535, IC-R75, broken longwires, active MW loop, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. MEXICAN RADIO TO BEAM CHINESE PROPAGANDA --- U.S. PROBES LINKS BETWEEN BUYER OF TIJUANA STATION AND CHINA'S PHOENIX TV Bill Gertz August 13, 2018 5:00 am https://freebeacon.com/national-security/mexican-radio-beam-chinese-propaganda/ A large Spanish-language radio station in Mexico will soon begin broadcasting in Chinese in a deal critics say will bring Beijing propaganda to Chinese Americans throughout Southern California. A Federal Communications Commission filing on the sale of radio station XEWW AM 690 radio near Tijuana reveals the buyer has ties to Phoenix Satellite Television US, a subsidiary of Hong Kong's pro- Beijing Phoenix TV. According to government sources, signs that Phoenix is involved in the purchase of the radio station prompted the Trump administration last week to begin an investigation into the national security implications of the sale. Phoenix TV has been identified by U.S. intelligence agencies as a major overseas outlet used to spread propaganda and promote the policies of the communist government in Beijing. The Hong Kong television station also has close ties to China's intelligence service and military. The deal for XEWW, a 77,500-watt station capable of reaching all of southern California, was brokered by a New York financial company, H & H Capital Partners. The sale, if approved by the FCC, will turn the AM radio station from a Spanish broadcaster into a Chinese-language outlet capable of reaching over 600,000 Chinese Americans living in the San Diego-Los Angeles area with Beijing's propaganda themes. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) voiced concerns about the sale and urged the FCC to investigate. "The FCC must protect American security and economic interests, and deny any attempt by the Chinese government to broadcast Communist Party propaganda and other programming into the United States," Rubio said. Rubio added that he will soon introduce legislation requiring all media outlets owned, directed, or otherwise controlled by the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party to register as foreign agents. Even though the sale involves a foreign broadcaster, the FCC has a role because the Mexican radio station broadcasts into the United States. Under a 1992 U.S.-Mexico agreement limiting foreign broadcasts from Mexico that can reach the United States, the FCC can block the sale if the agreement will be violated. The FCC granted temporary authority for the station to continue Spanish broadcasts on July 20, pending a final review by the commission. The station was sold by GLR Southern California. GLR, or Grupo Latino de Radio, is the U.S. subsidiary of PRISA Radio, the world largest Spanish-language radio group. XEWW is located in Rosarito, Mexico, about 10 miles from the U.S. border. The FCC application by GLR states the new ownership will provide "a full range of Mandarin Chinese programming on station XEWW-AM including music, entertainment, weather report, local (LA) traffic report, and local Chinese community news." The new owners plan to produce programming in Los Angeles and transfer to programs to XEWW through the internet for broadcast by the radio's transmitters. H & H Managing Director Vivian Huo denied the company brokered the radio deal for Phoenix. "We purchased the radio station ourselves and there is nothing to do with Phoenix," she said in an email to the Washington Free Beacon. H&H has not operated a radio station in the past. According to Huo's LinkedIn page, the company "brings value to investors through its talent for obtaining the best possible strategic partners for its corporate clients, including cross-border M&A deals." Huo, a U.S. citizen, is H&H's founder and owns a 97 percent interest in the company. The FCC filing does not mention Phoenix and also states no foreign entities are involved in the purchase. However, a section of the FCC filing that requires identifying the location of where radio programing for the Mexican broadcasts will be produced lists the address in Irwindale, Cal., of Phoenix Satellite TV US. Asked about the listing of Phoenix's address, Huo said: "We have a rental office in Phoenix building. That's it." Additionally, a long-time Phoenix television reporter, Jackie Pang, was recently hired by H&H as a senior adviser. Ms. Pang said she is not involved in the radio deal, but she did not respond when asked if she is still employed by Phoenix, as indicated on her LinkedIn page. Huo said Phoenix will not be involved in producing programing for the radio station. The Justice Department probe into the radio deal reflects stepped up efforts by the administration to counter foreign influence operations. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced last month that both the department and FBI are targeting foreign disinformation and influence operations, through prosecutions, counterintelligence operations, and other legal measures. "Influence operations are a form of information warfare," Rosenstein said during a security conference in Colorado. "Covert propaganda and disinformation are among the primary weapons." Phoenix TV was blocked from an attempt to buy into the U.S. broadcasting market in Southern California in 2013. The Chinese broadcaster tried to purchase radio station KDAY, an FM station in Redondo Beach, Calif., and turn it into a Chinese language broadcaster. That deal was led by RBC Communications, a group of investors led by Phoenix and its editor, Anthony Yuen. The deal fell through in October 2013 after funding irregularities in the proposed $19.5 million purchase were discovered. Earlier this week, another Los Angeles radio that broadcasts in Chinese, the Chinese Sound of Oriental and West Heritage, filed a petition with the FCC asking the FCC to block H&H's purchase of XEWW. The Chinese broadcaster from the low power FM station KQEV said FCC approval would cause economic harm and "might allow the Chinese government to provide its own propaganda programming to air on the station." "If the programming of XEWW-AM is tainted by, or worse controlled by, the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese American community of Southern, California could be indoctrinated with CCP propaganda, and the American political and economic community could be damaged," the filing states. "An investigation of this issue is necessary." Former Chinese insider and billionaire businessman Guo Wengui said Phoenix TV was established under Chinese leader Jiang Zemin in the early 1990s specifically as a government and intelligence tool for overseas influence operations. All Phoenix personnel are required to undergo some MSS intelligence training, Guo said. "Phoenix TV is very close to the MSS and Chinese military intelligence," said Guo, who was once close to MSS Vice Minister Ma Jian before breaking with Beijing several years ago. Sarah Cook, a Chinese expert at Freedom House, said in recent congressional testimony that Phoenix TV is the second most widely viewed Chinese-language cable channel in the United States, and an example of a Chinese propaganda outlet not directly owned by the Beijing government. "Owned by a former military officer with close ties to Beijing officials, Phoenix TV's coverage is typically favorable to the [Communist Party of China]," Cook told the U.S.-China Economic Security Review Commission. The chairman of the Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd. is Liu Changle, a former PLA propaganda official who is close to senior Chinese government leaders. "Moreover, over the past two years, it has been used as an outlet for airing televised confessions by various detained CCP critics, most notably all five Hong Kong booksellers abducted by Chinese security forces in late 2015," Cook said. According to Cook, China state television, CCTV, holds a 10 percent stake in Phoenix. As a result, Phoenix does not stray in its reporting from official propaganda themes set in Beijing. China is seeking to expand its influence operations in the United States from Chinese-language outlets to English-language media, she said. Lianchao Han, a former Senate aide who has studied China's overseas influence operations, said the attempted purchase of XEWW appears to be part of a larger Beijing global propaganda operation. China began spending over $7 billion 10 years ago to implement a global propaganda strategy, Han said. The goal of the propaganda is to garner support for Beijing's policies, and to play down or ignore nefarious Chinese activities, such as arms proliferation to rogue states and human rights abuses. "Today the Chinese government media's presence can be seen everywhere in North America. It has systematically taken control of nearly all overseas Chinese language media, bought English-language radio and TV stations, hired hundreds of American journalists to do their bidding," Han said. He added: "Phoenix TV's recent purchase of XEWW through H&H Capital shows the regime continues to carry out this strategy of brainwashing people in the free world to endorse Beijing's policy of global expansion and to re-write the current international rules and order." Phoenix also was linked to the case of Chinese spy Chi Mak who was convicted of illegally exporting defense technology to China in 2007. Mak's brother Tai Mak was revealed by investigators as a PLA intelligence officer working under cover as a broadcast engineer for Phoenix in southern California. Tai Mak was also convicted as a conspirator in the spy case (Washington Free Beacon via David Cole, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) MORE about this from Raymie, below ** MEXICO. RAYMIE`S MEXICO BEAT this week --- including TDT = DTV Scratch Grupo ACIR from the contest to buy Televisa Radio. ACIR is apparently unhappy about Televisa's asking price of $170 million. On Monday, a meeting was held at ACIR's offices with José Antonio Ibarra Fariña, and ultimately they agreed that Televisa was asking too much. One concern facing stations in this market is that the new government wants to cut by as much as 50 percent its advertising spend. Imagen is also currently uninterested at this time (Raymie Humbert, Phœnix AZ, August 8, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) A lot of us are scratching our heads at the emergence of XHVSS as a grupera station, not because of the format (more on that in a moment), but because of the name. As of yesterday, this Hermosillo station is now 101.1 La Más Chingona. If you're asking "what does that mean", that's...the problem. You see, chingón (or chingona in the feminine) is a popular Mexican expression to describe something that's pretty cool. But it also comes from the word chingar, which means...the F-bomb. Dictionaries include the word but note that it is vulgar. The official dictionary of the Real Academia Española, the authority governing the Spanish language, warns that the word is malsonante or offensive. Yet here we are with a radio station calling itself La Más Chingona. As to the grupera format, this too points to a development. It appears the on-again, off-again relationship between Larsa and Hermosillo's ratings king, XHHQ-FM "La Número Uno", has gone back off. XHHQ is no longer on Larsa's site. In December 2017, https://twitter.com/LARSAVISIONTV/status/941169026247680001 Larsa and XHHQ entered into some sort of operating agreement. XHHQ disappeared from the Larsa site in March, but as recently as May, https://twitter.com/LARSAVISIONTV/status/995455629753012224 it was being described as a Larsa station. Last edited by Raymie; 08-10-2018 at 12:43 AM. Reason: forum censoring, lost context (Raymie, originally Aug 9, ibid.; censoring???? - gh) Multimedios's multiprogramming authorization for 52MX on XHTDMX in Mexico City raised a lot of eyebrows for the significance of the move in the scheme of MVS's television ambitions. However, they also raised an eyebrow here because, upon adding the fourth sub, Multimedios applied for it and said it would convert the subchannels (6.2 through 6.4) to MPEG-4 compression. While 52MX is not on 6.4 yet, the MPEG-4 was turned on for the 6.2 and 6.3 subchannels, which had operated in MPEG-2 since being turned on. This makes Multimedios the first commercial user of MPEG-4 in Mexico since the failure of TV Azteca's HiTV subscription platform (this considering XEIMT, technically a commercial television station, as noncommercial). The IFT multiprogramming tables list all of the SPR transmitters with MPEG-4, though I believe in actuality it might only be in use for Canal del Congreso on the third wave of transmitters that went into operation in 2014-15. They also, correctly, list XEIMT Mexico City, which transmits its secondary channel Canal 22.2 in HD using 6 Mbps MPEG-4. MPEG-4 is necessary for one or both subchannels to transmit dual HD under the IFT-013-2016 technical guidelines for digital television stations because those guidelines prescribe minimum bitrates in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. (Notably, there are some exceptions end-running around the guideline, namely XEJ in Juárez and, starting this week for some unexplained reason, XHSFJ in Guadalajara which is transmitting a+ in HD 1080i.) To be defined as HD, a channel must transmit at 10 Mbps in MPEG-2 or 6 in MPEG-4. For SD, the minimum bitrates are 3 and 2.5 Mbps, respectively. XHTDMX-TDT will ultimately be multiplexed at 10 Mbps MPEG-2 for its main channel (programming looks to start August 27) and 2.5 Mbps MPEG- 4 for the other three subchannels. (MMTV is no stranger to doing this in MPEG-2, either, on stations like XHVTU and XHTAO, making the MPEG-4 choice even more curious.) Of course, all of this would be a footnote if not for the shaky track record of receivers in decoding MPEG-4. Because ATSC A/72 never was adopted in the United States for general use (outside of things like a controlled access LPTV environment in Minnesota https://www.mvtvwireless.com/ where all the STBs support A/70 Controlled Access and newer ones seem to support A/72), receivers sold on the Mexican market are hit or miss in whether you will get a picture. This was the problem that dogged the SPR when it built its third-wave transmitters — people getting blank screens, able to hear the normally transmitted audio but not see the MPEG-4-encoded video. For Canal 22.2, it's not so much of a problem because it has to be on every cable system, but for Milenio, Teleritmo and 52MX, it might be a problem that impairs their potential audience in the nation's capital (Raymie, August 10, ibid.) I've been kind of bothered that Mexico mandated bitrates when different encoding equipment will produce different results at the same bitrate, and variable bitrate encoders will greatly improve performance over static ones. It seems like the kind of thing that serves to discourage technology upgrades among stations. I'll be interested to find out how the MPEG-4 experiment goes though. - Trip Come visit RabbitEars for all your digital TV subchannel informational needs. http://www.rabbitears.info/ Comments are my own and not that of the FCC (my employer) or anyone else (Trip Ericson, Alexandria VA, ibid.) It's definitely not the wisest decision — it's probably led to a decrease of HD availability generally — but it was put in there, and when combined with the multiprogramming approval process, it has a good amount of bite (Raymie, Aug 10, ibid.) There's one more FM radio station in Mexico City. Testing began today on 105.3 MHz for the long-awaited XHINFO-FM, which will eventually become "Aire Libre", the city's newest—and last— commercial FM station. A source first reported, and another confirmed, that 105.3 was on air in the capital. It's not yet known if 1560 AM is transmitting again—remember, XHINFO is technically a second-wave migrant. However, it is not yet in HD (Raymie, Aug 11, ibid.) Can a jaguar be called a social wolf? You bet it can! On July 31, I pointed to the concession for XHICT, signed by Manuel Isaac Caballero Colli, and noted that he also owned XHACS. Well, the rumors are true, and there's also a third station in the mix. https://www.facebook.com/isacpotamo/posts/10156699849824314 We also know that XHICT will be known as Tulum Digital 104.7, and the other station is Jaguar FM 90.5 in Chetumal (XHCCE-FM). The concessionaires are Identidad Cultural en Tulum and Culturalmente Chetumal. Neither XHICT or XHCCE are on air. Jaguar FM will roar pretty loudly when it gets on air; it's an unusual Class B1 social award. (XHACS and XHICT are class A.) It's worth noting that neither of the two women who are the listed principals in Culturalmente Chetumal seem to show up in much of anything else, though Natalia Alcántara Ramírez is Facebook friends with Isaac Caballero Colli (she's a real estate agent in Playa del Carmen). (Raymie, Aug 12, ibid.) On March 28, in a meeting of the municipality of Concepción del Oro, Zacatecas, it was mentioned that NTR was seeking land for transmitter space for the future XHPORO-FM 101.3. http://concepciondeloro.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Reunion-Ordinaria-30-abril-30-2018-.pdf NTR sought to build a 36-meter tower on about 60 square meters of land on Cerro del Cobre (which I can't find anywhere). (Raymie, Aug 14, ibid.) The biggest weapon in Grupo Acustik's radio arsenal is out. The Informe Brozo is no more. https://la-saga.com/entretenimiento/el-informe-brozo-saldra-del-aire/ Launched just seven months ago amidst a major promotional campaign, the Informe Brozo was a sign of Acustik's sudden seriousness and its major investment in star power. But after apparently having to change studios to cut costs back in May, there appears to have been some sort of impasse between Víctor Trujillo and Acustik, but no reason was cited by Brozo in announcing the end (Raymie, Aug 14, ibid.) The proposed transfer of operational control of XEWW to a group that would broadcast programming in Chinese has hit an unexpected and highly unusual roadblock in the United States. The transfer of control, first filed for last month, from Grupo Latino de Radio (an outright subsidiary of PRISA) to H&H Group USA, 97% controlled by Vivian Huo and 3% by Julian Sant, would see the station remain fed from the United States. But the connections of the applicants are apparently raising alarms in Washington. The first report of interest came from the Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6056799/Chinese-investors-purchase-Mexican-radio-station.html which reported that Vivian Huo is tied to Phoenix Satellite Television, a wing of the Hong Kong-based, Beijing-aligned Phoenix TV. H&H and Phoenix share office space in Irwindale, California, which is also where the station's operations would be based. The conservative Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/national-security/mexican-radio-beam-chinese-propaganda/ reported the Trump administration launched a national security review last week. The FCC does have the right to block the transfer of US operational control of the station. The principal concern is that pro- government Chinese propaganda would be part of the programming carried on XEWW after the sale. Huo denied any connection between Phoenix and H&H in an email to the Free Beacon. The objectors also include other radio stations serving the Chinese community in Los Angeles, such as KQEV-LP, and according to the Free Beacon report, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), who said, "The FCC must protect American security and economic interests, and deny any attempt by the Chinese government to broadcast Communist Party propaganda and other programming into the United States". He also said he would soon introduce legislation requiring registration of any Chinese government- or Communist Party-owned media outlets with the government. If Phoenix is behind H&H, it would be their second attempt at buying a Southern California radio station. In 2013, Phoenix filed to buy KDAY 93.5 FM, https://www.laweekly.com/music/sources-kday-saved-4168752 sparking not only outcry from the Chinese community but also from listeners to LA's heritage hip-hop oldies station. That deal also fell through. In the American context, Chinese foreign investments have come under increased scrutiny amid concerns of strategic assets, and Chinese foreign investment in the United States has fallen 92 percent so far this year. https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/20/investing/chinese-investment-united-states-falls/index.html The new NDAA signed into law yesterday further strengthens the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) and expands its purview. https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2159552/donald-trump-signs-bill-named-after-john-mccain Concerns about governmental propaganda from foreign powers have also been issues in Mexican radio in the past; they were most prevalent with border blasters during World War II. Foreign investment in a Mexican radio station is subject to the provisions of the Ley de Inversión Extranjera, and the National Foreign Investment Commission (CNIE), which must as in other sectors approve foreign investment, also has the ability to block foreign investments for national security reasons. Additionally, Article 111 of the LFTR states: ``In no case shall the concession and the rights conferred therein, or the facilities, auxiliary or dependent services, and the assets attached thereto, be ceded, levied, given as a loan or in a trust, mortgaged or transferred, in part or in whole, to a foreign government or state.`` The RTC will also need to (and likely will) approve the station broadcasting in a non-national language, like for stations such as XEPRS or XETRA-FM (Raymie, Aug 14, ibid.) The FCC has the power to regulate the transmission of programming from studios in the U.S. to a foreign transmitter which is powerful enough and close enough to the border to be regularly received in the U.S.. They can't prevent Phoenix from programming XEWW from studios in Mexico (or China) but they can prevent it from using studios in the U.S.. Normally, applications for this permission are routine. All the ones I've seen involve Mexican stations, and usually Mexican stations broadcasting in Spanish but to a U.S. audience. I see several a year. See, for example, this application for The CW to feed programming to XETV Tijuana. http://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/download.do?attachment_key=656783 I believe programmers feeding at least two Canadian stations would have required this permission. CKLW AM 800 Windsor, Ontario was at one time an affiliate of the CBS and Mutual radio networks - those networks would have required permission. More recently, CFLZ-FM Niagara Falls was programmed from studios in Buffalo, N.Y.. Two AM stations in northern Washington State have programmed in South Asian languages for an audience in Vancouver -- I don't know if their studios were in Bellingham or Vancouver. If the latter, FCC permits would have been required. All three recent moves fell afoul of Canadian regulations and have been terminated. 47CFR325(c) and (d): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/325 ``(c) Broadcast to foreign countries for rebroadcast to United States; permit No person shall be permitted to locate, use, or maintain a radio broadcast studio or other place or apparatus from which or whereby sound waves are converted into electrical energy, or mechanical or physical reproduction of sound waves produced, and caused to be transmitted or delivered to a radio station in a foreign country for the purpose of being broadcast from any radio station there having a power output of sufficient intensity and/or being so located geographically that its emissions may be received consistently in the United States, without first obtaining a permit from the Commission upon proper application therefor. (d) Application for permit Such application shall contain such information as the Commission may by regulation prescribe, and the granting or refusal thereof shall be subject to the requirements of section 309 of this title with respect to applications for station licenses or renewal or modification thereof, and the license or permission so granted shall be revocable for false statements in the application so required or when the Commission, after hearings, shall find its continuation no longer in the public interest`` (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, Aug 15, ibid.) That makes a lot of sense. If the FCC blocks the deal on national security grounds, the American nationals could conceivably turn around, find Mexican silent investors to cover either 51 or 75 percent depending on how you read the reciprocity clause for broadcasting, incorporate in Mexico, and buy the station's concession outright. Given the whole business plan depends on programming from and for Los Angeles, however, that might not work. I don't think there's ever been a national security review in the US for one of these 325(c) authorizations. They are usually incredibly routine. There has been contestation — this is how XETV lost its ABC affiliation ultimately in 1972, because KCST made a ton of noise about the authorization in light of UHF policy. Some of the 325(c)s I'm pulling up are mighty interesting...some of these groups are sending the FCC outdated information on their Mexican ties. To put it mildly, I shouldn't be seeing mentions of "Best FM" in an MVS station list on a 2017 application (Raymie, Aug 15, ibid.) I need to make a technical (legal) correction. The "47CFR325" quoted above isn't. It isn't a FCC regulation, it's an Act of Congress -- part of the Communications Act, the law that created the FCC and gave it its powers. I should have titled it simply "325(c) and d". Yes, I've never seen a mention of national security in a 325(c) permit. There has been boilerplate text added in the last few years that makes the permit contingent on the station actually using the technical facilities that were approved by international agreement. Stations near the border must be coordinated between the U.S. and Mexican governments, based on the proposed technical parameters. (programming & ownership do not enter into consideration here, only engineering) I know some years ago there was a belief, backed up by some amount of evidence, that at least one 325(c) station had been constructed with a far higher ERP into the U.S. than had been coordinated. As Raymie mentions, in the past competitive considerations and UHF policy have entered into the equation when considering 325(c) permits for TV stations in Tijuana. (to my recollection it has never come up anywhere else on the border. Yes, there *are* 325(c) stations elsewhere on the border, primarily in Texas.) (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com Aug 15, ibid.) ** MEXICO. 6185, Radio Educación (?) at 0307. Somewhere — but I can’t find it now — I read a report that a flood in their building had knocked Radio Education off the air, but there was a weak station in Spanish here tonight. Hopefully them, back on. - Aug. 7 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, parked overlooking Kalamalka Lake. CommRadio CR-1a and Sony AN-1 whip antenna, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) 6185.002, Aug 12 at 0054, S8-S9 carrier but no modulation audible, XEPPM? Haven`t heard much from it lately, needs further chex. Aoki/NDXC shows nothing else on 6185 thruout our evenings, not even China. EiBi shows XEPPM span as 2200-0509. Don`t you believe HFCC listing Manokwari, Indonesia! in English!! at 01-05!!! XEPPM is a regular log for Manuel Méndez in Spain. His latest report: ``MEXICO, 6185, Radio Educación, Ciudad de México, 0457-0503, 05-09, music, extremely weak. 15311. (Méndez)`` I guess he meant 5 August like some other logs in the same report sent on that date (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Educación in Mexico has a new ID for their SW service, hitherto known as Radio Educación onda corta. Señal Cultura México, and/or Cultura México Señal Internacional is on the air on 6185, at 2300- 0555. There are several web pages giving further info on this service, one of them being http://www.radioeducacion.gob.mx/culturamexico/index.php The new slogan has been in use for about one year. They are interested in reports, which will be answered by online QSL, said Ms Pilar Cruz in the 24th Encuentro Diexista, held 27-28 July in San Luís Potosí, México. ”Sintonía libre” is a letterbox programme aired Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at times given at http://www.radioeducacion.edu.mx/carta-programatica-del-mes The international service can be heard online (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, SW Bulletin Aug 12 via DXLD) 6185, Radio Educación, Ciudad de México, 0502-0522*, 10-08, Spanish, comments, male, female. 15321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6185, Aug 13 at 0105 & 0147, JBM music, at S9+5/10. Must be XEPPM, on air but with usual modulation problem. Nothing else scheduled in our evening, no longer even Vatican, nor China. Henrik Klemetz reports in SW Bulletin Aug 12: [as above] `Sintonía Libre`: I.e.: martes 2100-2130; jueves 1915-1945; domingo 2245-2315 CDT/CST - now = UT: Wed 0200, Fri 0015, Mon 0345. That monthly program sked grid still dated July, shows span in UT as 2200- 0455, not as above. Normally 6185 would quit around 0500 UT during DST. On the same pages are program skeds for MW 1060, and new FM station Señal Kukulcán 107.9 FM, Mérida, Yucatán. And linx to more detailed daily programming. They also have 96.5 FM in CDMX, and Señal Cultura Sonora, Hermosillo, no frequency given. Why do we have to go to the WTFDA Database for basic info about them? 107.9, XHYRE-FM 3/3 kW, 104/104m in Mérida; As for Hermosillo, NO station listed as Radio Educación or the above slogan, but maybe this one? 107.5, XHUSH-FM, 107.5, 10/10 kW, 100/100 m, ``CULTURE VARIETY, RADIO UNIVERSIDAD, Universidad de Sonora-Hermosillo`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6185, August 13 at 2138, JBA carrier already, maybe trace of modulation, as XEPPM is suspected on air even earlier than skedgrid now acknowledges, from 2200 instead of 2300 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEWFOUNDLAND. 11336-AM, Aug 9 at 1316, YL ATC at Gander Radio is on AM assigning primary and secondary comms frequencies to some flight as 10021 and 8879 (or was it 2879 upon second hearing?), and selcall tones. Yet simplex replies from flights are in USB. 11279-USB, Aug 9 at 1317, OM ATC also at Gander Radio, with a United flight, selcalls (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 945.0, 2225-2235 05/8, Radio Kebbi, Birnin Kebbi. vernacular, tribal songs, talks. QRM STP, 34443 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal via Giampiero Bernardini, playdx blog via DXLD) 10 kW vs 600 kW from VOA São Tomé (WRTH 2018 via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. 7254.932, Aug 8 at 0532, VON is already on with song prélude, maybe in English? Cut off at 0557 for percussion IS runup to 0600 Hausa opening; VG S9+10/30 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. Dandal Kura Radio Int. & Radio International Aug. 7 Dandal Kura Radio Int. via MBR Issoudun [see also CHAD non] 0600-0700 11910 ISS 100 kW / 167 deg CeAf Kanuri, very good signal Radio International via BaBcoCk Woofferton 0700-0800 13810 WOF 250 kW / 165 deg WeAf Kanuri/French, very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-dandal-kura-radio-int.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 7470, USA (religious pirate), Radio YHWH at 0220 (in progress at tune-in), usual voice and monologue. Still there on recheck at 0300 (with SW-2000629 and outdoor wire), Poor/Fair August 7 7470, R. YHWH at 0320 (in progress at tune-in). Very strong reception tonight, monitored with Satellit 205 and its whip. Right in the middle of the "Ten Commandments of Yahweh" at tune-in. Everything disappeared at 0334 - VG August 8. 7470, R. YHWH at 0245 (in progress at tune-in). Usual host and the Yahweh or the Highway monologue. Signal level on wild rollercoaster ride here. Everything went off at 0304, but then Lazarus arose from the dead at 0310. Thought the station closed again at 0324, but amping up the volume at 0326 revealed the monologue was still going. S-1 to S9 August 9 (Rick Barton, Logs from Central Arizona, Grundig Satellit 205(T.5000) & 750; RS SW-2000629, & ATS-909X with various outdoor wires. 73 and Good Listening....! - rb, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Rick Barton's comments got me thinking about why YHWH has such fluctuations: I pretty much hear exactly the same thing here in Victoria. Overall, modulation is quite low. Signal will drop to nothing at times, and then suddenly jump back to a decent signal strength. This is not a gradual, propagation variability, but more like the op is in his shack, fiddling with his screwdriver trying to get a bit more signal. The signal seems pretty stable frequency-wise, although I haven't zoomed in on my Perseus SDR lately to be sure. Perhaps he's just having fun flipping the switch from 10, to 1, to 0.1, to 0.01 kW or the like. Who knows! 73, (Walt Salmaniw, BC, 0437 UT Aug 10, ibid.) 7470, USA (religious pirate), R. YHWH at 0255 (in progress at tune-in) with "Josiah on "Burnt Offerings", "The Ten Commandments of Yahweh" and related topics. Last night, condx were either bad, or he was having serious transmitter problems. Has anyone been hearing the creepy "Days of Hard Life" song? I haven`t heard YHWH play it for several weeks now. Seemed to just "pull the plug" at 0338. And, as usual, OTHR radar pulses showed up on the channel after he went off, which is common here for some reason. Good reception tonight. - heard on Satellit 205 and indoor wire (more local T-storms - !), & frequency verified with SW-2000629. VG, S-9 with some T-Storm. QRN. August 10 7470, USA (religious pirate), Radio YHWH at 0230. In progress at tune- in with familiar voice of "Josiah" in monologue. As usual, high highs and low lows. After 0400, Josiah really underwater and was completely gone under the static by 0404. But wait-! He is back with Good signal at 0408. Still there at 0430, gone on 0440 recheck. - Variable signal quality, August 12 (Rick Barton, from Central Arizona. Grundig Satellit 205(T.5000) & 750; RS SW-2000629, & ATS-909X with various outdoor wires. 73 and Good Listening....! -rb, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 88.3, Aug 9 at 1600 UT check, K202BY, Family Radio satellator in Enid is still dead air, ever since first noticed July 30 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Still dead air August 15 ** OKLAHOMA. RF channel 17, Aug 9 at 1415, K17JN-D satellator, Enid`s only local DTV signal, has been partially restored from six black screens. 17-1 the only one showing those call letters, LR bug as 3ABN. 17-3 AmFacts [Am=Amazing], LR bug as AFTV. 17-4 3ABN-ES, LR bug 3ABN [+illegible, probably Español to match the audio]; 17-5 as Hope201, bug UR arms raised in praise, and Hope Channel. 17-2 is dark, and so is 17-6, which had been that way long before the latest crash. I haven`t followed it closely, but I believe the 3ABN multi-network subchannel lineups are not always the same depending on time of day. 3ABN = Three Angels Broadcasting Network, an Adventist sub-sect which I think is distinct from e.g. Adventist World Radio. Re previous report on K17JN-D Enid, wondering about 3ABN, I found this website explaining the 3 Angels stuff, but apparently dedicated to debunking Adventism in general; surprise2, it seems the SDA have contempt for other Christians, but aim at sidetracking existing Christian converts rather than reaching the totally unchurched: BIBLE TRUTH VERSUS ADVENTIST TRUTH https://www.nonsda.org/study1.shtml As of 0301 UT August 11, K17JN-D is same as before, black screen on 17-2 and 17-6 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. Reception of Radio Sultanate of Oman English/Arabic, August 9 from 1400 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu English-distorted audio from 1500 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu Arabic, very good audio http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-radio-sultanate-of-oman-in_10.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Evidently he does not hear CCI from RHC now starting 15140 at 1500. Note 315 degrees is also USward, but hardly any signal propagates into deep North America any more (Glenn Hauser, OK, DXLD) Reception of Radio Sultanate of Oman English/Arabic, Aug 13 till 1426 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu NO SIGNAL, TX NOT ON AIR from 1427 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu English, distorted audio from 1500 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu Arabic, very good audio http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-radio-sultanate-of-oman-in_13.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Radio Pakistan (now) offers eleven streams at http://www.radio.gov.pk/live-streaming (as compared to ten when last checked in February for a listening project on the station): Saut-ul-Quran Islamabad Station Current Affairs Channel Dhanak (formerly VARSA-channel) External Service World Service FM 101 (Islamabad, Mirpur, Karachi, Peshawar, Mianwali, both separate and joint programming) All streams were active when checked. The new name Dhanak also catches attention. Internet research shows that on 11 May 2018 Radio Pakistan launched the Dhanak music channel (on 94 MHz for Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, so actually a reformatting of another channel). „The objective of the new music channel is to introduce young talent in the field of music besides promotion of music and cultural heritage of the country. The channel will broadcast Sufi music, qawalis, classical, semi classical, folk, ghazals, pop, rock, fast, soft, jazz and old and new film music.“ (Dr Hansjoerg Biener, 13 August 2018, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4921.0, Radio La Voz del Pueblo, Santiago de Chuco, 0428- 0650, 12-08, only very weak carrier detected today here in Reinante. Via remote SDR Kiwi receiver Pardinho, near São Paulo, strong carrier on 4920.98, but not audible audio. Past days seems to be out of air (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Los vengo captando en los 5820.00 kHz, en más de una oportunidad, ésta es una estación que la hemos venido escuchando desde tiempo atrás, en cadenas con otras estaciones del interior del país. La señal salía desde Lima 1380 kHz, pero ahora los escucho en esta frecuencia. Eso era parte de los reportes como R. Chaski anteriormente, pues solo decían el ID de la Radio al s/on y/o s/off (5980 kHz). 5820.00, PERÚ, R. Nuevo Tiempo, (?), 2300-2335 UT, 44444, música y programa religioso, ID "Radio Nuevo Tiempo" (escuchar grabación adjunta), solo dan el ID, mas no indican de qué lugar transmiten ni frecuencia alguna. Los he encontrado en Facebook https://www.facebook.com/radiontperu/ (Pedro Arrunnátegui in Lima via Tore B Vik, SW Bulletin Aug 12 via WORLD OF RADIO 1843, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 9794.98 approx., Aug 8 at 1133, ``O, Sole Mio`` in non-Italian language catches my ear; not CNR1 as not // 11785 jammer. EiBi shows FEBC Iba site this hour in Vietnamese, and indeed 1137 Viet announcement follows. So they probably turned the great tune into a hymn (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES [non?]. 9645, Aug 11 at 0019, S9-S7 tonal SE Asian language, rustic music. Aoki/NDXC still shows RVA in Kachin at 0000- 0027, like in WRTH 2018, but RVA has supposedly self-destructed. Could it be that some services still remain? Only thing else at this hour would be CNR1 Beijing in Chinese, but this is certainly not Mandarin. Another possibility: Kachin, or whatever, moved to SMG VATICAN site, reception of which here and now at this level would be more likely than from Palauig (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Lienard Lifran from France commented on this and I also heard her here with a weak signal but an excellent signal in the Twente SDR. We also wondered if it would be Radio Veritas Asia. 73 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, WOR iog WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9645, PHILIPPINES? Radio Veritas Asia (Tentative, per EiBi), 0020, 8/10/18 in listed Kachin. Woman then man announcers, calliope like musical bridge to same woman including a list with distinctive declining tone, Southeast Asian style song, man starts talking and off mid sentence at scheduled 0027. Good. [+ same] 0015, 8/11/18. Man then woman, flute music, brief talk by man cut off at 0027. Good. Definitely not Mandarin of CNR 1 also listed. The language did sound like Katchin from selections of that language I looked up on the Internet. It was too good on two nights in a row to be likely to be from the Philippines at this time of day (about 40 minutes before local sunset on 8/10/18) with only a few CNR / CRI outlets were barely audible from Asia either day. So location is likely not Palauig if in operation at all. Radio Veritas Asia is reported to be off the air, so this may be a left over program broadcast from another location (Mark Taylor, Madison, Wisconsin. Equipment: Perseus, Airspy HF+, SDRPlay RSP1; ICOM R75, Tecsun PL 880, and various other portables; 42 meters dipole, 100’ long wire, W6LVP loop, NASWA Flashsheet via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) Could be that some of RVA`s subcontractors were not so eager to dispense with SW, made separate arrangement to continue (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. GONE AND FORGOTTEN: SHORTWAVE RADIO SEARV IN THE PHILIPPINES - Part 1 Our opening feature in Wavescan today is Gone and Forgotten: The story of shortwave Radio SEARV in the Philippines - Part 1. Today’s feature is a presentation of the first half of the story, about a low power facility in the Philippines that was a forerunner to a higher powered international shortwave station that was on the air for ten years. It was heard far and wide while it was active, and it honored reception reports with a QSL card that showed a large callsign in a bright cheery red. Strange as it may seem, this international shortwave station SEARV has been almost completely forgotten. It does not even appear among the other historic international shortwave stations in the Philippines that are listed in the series of booklets under the title, Transmitter Documentation Project, compiled by Ludo Maes in Belgium. Let’s go back now to the year 1901, the year of earliest beginnings for what is now Silliman University in the Philippines, or the Silliman Institute, as it was back then. It was originally established as an elementary school for boys, and it opened with just fifteen boys in a rented house by the sea at Dumaguete on the south eastern side of Negros Island. The pioneer educational staff were Dr. and Mrs. David Hibbard; the school was named in honor of Dr. Horace Brinsmade Silliman, a Christian businessman in Cohoes, New York who funded the original project; and back then it was also supported by the Presbyterian Church in the United States. The Silliman Institute was granted university status in the Philippines in the year 1938. On May 26, 1942 during the Pacific War, the Japanese army entered the university property in the southern Philippines, and they took it over as their headquarters for the local area. Several members of the university staff, together with many students, fled into nearby mountainous areas, where academic studies were continued under the informal title, Jungle University. Before the Pacific War engulfed the Philippines, Professor Henry Roy Bell had established his own amateur radio transmitter at the university, and when he fled into the mountainous areas, he took some of the radio equipment with him. In an isolated jungle location he reactivated the transmitter under the callsign KZCB, and he made direct contact in Morse Code with Hawaii, California and Australia. The Australian station that transmitter KZCB contacted was General Douglas MacArthur’s callsign KAZ in Darwin, which was in reality the Australian aviation aeradio station VZDN. The flow of regular communication from KZCB began in mid April 1943, and MacArthur himself responded to this Philippine station. Five years after the end of the Pacific War, a 1 kW mediumwave station DYSR was installed in Silliman Hall and it was activated on 840 kHz in August 1950. Soon afterwards, according to the WRTVHB, a 250 watt shortwave transmitter was activated under the callsign DYH4, and subsequently another shortwave transmitter, a 300 watt unit was activated on the tropical band channel 3277 kHz under the callsign DYB4. Programming for mediumwave DYRS was produced locally and all three transmitters carried the same programming in parallel. A 15 minute program from the Voice of America was on the air each Sunday and Wednesday. Occasionally the station administration issued statements regarding the planned upgrading of their station with higher power on both mediumwave and shortwave. These projected plans included an increase on mediumwave from 1 kW to 5 kW, and on shortwave an increase from 250 and 300 watts up to 1 kW and perhaps even 20 kW. However, only one of these projected power increases was ever implemented, and that took place in the mid 1960s when a new mediumwave transmitter at 10 kW was installed. Under this power increase though, the station was still on the air on the same channel 840 kHz under the same callsign DYSR. Apparently the usage of the two low power shortwave transmitters continued even when the 50 kW SEARV transmitter was inaugurated in 1968, and all three transmitters were closed at approximately the same time in the mid 1970s. The mediumwave unit was closed in 1976 in favor of an FM service. An interesting event transpired at Dumaguete in the southern Philippines during the evening of Saturday March 29, 1975. This is what happened. Back 43 years ago, there was a call from the police on Siquijor Island, stating that they needed reinforcements to ward off a band of pirates. Flight Lieutenant Eugene Malahay at Mactan Airbase on Mactan Island in Cebu province was asked to fly a contingent of forty security officers to the air strip at Dumaguete from where they would travel east by launch across the dozen miles to Siquijor Island. Air force officer Malahay flew a Fairchild C123K Provider plane with its contingent of enforcement officers for the 36 minute journey from Mactan Island to Dumagete. However, the air strip at Dumaguete had no runway lights, and even in the clear sky moonlight, the runway could not be seen adequately. The pilot made a few low passes over the runway, and local citizens became aware that a plane seemed to be in distress. The aircraft radio receiver was tuned to mediumwave station DYSR at the university and the travelers were surprised to hear an announcement from the local police office, asking nearby people to drive quickly to the air strip and to light it up with car headlights. Shortly afterwards, the plane landed safely, making this event the first night landing at the Dumaguete airstrip. That was Part 1 of our story on the early origin of Shortwave Radio SEARV in the Philippines. Next week here in Wavescan you will hear Part 2. * Postscript --- But as a quick a postscript to Part 1 of this Shortwave Radio SEARV article, we present now this additional information on the radio scene at these three locations: Mactan Island, Siquijor Island and Dumaguete. Mactan Island is the most densely populated island in the Philippines with nearly half a million people on its 21.65 square miles and it was already a thriving community when the Spanish settled there in the 1500s. It is located just a short distance away from Cebu City on Cebu Island, with two road bridges making a connection. There are two airports side by side on Mactan Island, the Philippine air force and also a civilian airport. On the radio scene, there are no radio broadcasting stations listed for the island, though with such a large population it would be expected that there should be at least several local community FM stations. There must also be several amateur stations on the island, and of course, shortwave communication stations for the twin airports. With an area of 35.02 square miles, Siquijor Island is slightly larger than the aforementioned Mactan Island, though with considerably less people, only some 26,000. A daily ferry service operates between Siquijor and Dumaguete. Likewise, there are no radio broadcasting stations listed for Siquijor Island, though there are communication stations, and of course amateur stations which come in useful for external communication in times of bad weather and other emergency occasions. According to the current official list, there are seven FM stations in the city of Dumaguete, including the university station DYSR, with the SR indicating Silliman Radio, with 5 kW on 95.1 MHz (Adrian Peterson, Indianapolis, script for AWR Wavescan July 15 via DXLD) Gone and Forgotten: Shortwave Radio SEARV - 2 In our program last week we presented the story of the early low power shortwave stations (and their parallel mediumwave unit) that were installed in Silliman University on the southeast edge of Negros Island in the Philippines back soon after the end of the Pacific War in the middle of last century. In our program today, we turn to the story of Gone and Forgotten - 2: The Story of Shortwave Radio SEARV at the same university location in the Philippines. During the early 1960s, three radio transmitters were constructed in an unnamed garage in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the United States; two mediumwave at 10 kW and one shortwave at 50 kW. We would suggest that these three transmitters, including the 50 kW shortwave unit, were all constructed by Mission Engineering which it is known was located at Hiawatha, a suburb of Cedar Rapids in Iowa. (Mission Engineering is these days identified as CEC, Communications Engineering Company, still located at Hiawatha in suburban Cedar Rapids.) All three transmitters were built under contract and they were destined for installation overseas, in Asia. It is not known these days which country received the two mediumwave transmitters. However, the shortwave transmitter was intended for installation in the Philippines at Silliman University in Dumaguete, for SEARV, the South East [ASIA] Radio Voice. In April 1964, a special ceremony was conducted at the dockside in San Francisco regarding the 50 kW transmitter that was ready for shipment to Asia. Then more than a year later (July 1965), the noted Arthur Cushen in Invercargill, South New Zealand reported in the Australian monthly magazine, Radio and Hobbies, that the transmitter had been received at Dumaguete in the southern Philippines. However as he stated, the station engineers at the time were uncertain as to what type of antenna system should be employed, though they preferred curtain rather than the proposed rhombic. The new higher powered shortwave station was planned as an extension of the lower powered DYH4 which was already on the air with a ¼ kW on 6055 kHz. For the new 50 kW shortwave transmitter, a total of five frequencies were approved with five new callsigns in the consecutive DYH series running from DYH5 - DYH9. The WR(TV)HB for 1965 stated that test broadcasts from a 75 kW or 100 kW transmitter were scheduled to begin in early 1965. The 1966 edition of the same WR(TV)HB stated that test broadcasts would be scheduled some time during that year. The 1967 edition listed the transmitter power as 50 kW. Finally, for the first time, test broadcasts from the new SEARV were on the air and they were beamed towards Thailand and Burma. This new station on the shortwave bands was noted in New Zealand on 15420 kHz in March 1968. Interestingly though, a different set of four callsigns were introduced, and these were in the DZU series, running from DZU5 to DZU8. Later in that same year September 1968, Polish language programming was heard in Europe from SEARV on the very low frequency 4980 kHz, though Arthur Cushen in New Zealand stated that he heard them still on their regular 15420 kHz channel. Two years later again, he stated that SEARV was on the air spasmodically with test broadcasts, and that they were playing classical music with test announcements in English every quarter hour. Programming was beamed towards India, Pakistan, China, and the countries of southeast Asia, and additional channels noted on air were: 9750 9770 11910 15145 and 17860 kHz. The callsign shown for 9770 kHz for example was DZU6. Unfortunately, Radio SEARV shortwave struck the same problems as did Radio Veritas Asia; a shortage of funding, a shortage of trained personnel, and insufficient programming from too few regional studios. Thus it was that the 1976 edition of the WR(TV)HB stated that the station was silent, and the equipment was for sale. However, by the time that this annual 1976 international radio directory was published, the station was already closed and the transmitter was already under installation at the aforementioned Radio Veritas Asia on the edge of Malolos, north of Manila. In fact, this 50 kW American made imported transmitter was first activated at its new location in May 1975. Due to technical problems with the two German made 100 kW transmitters at Radio Veritas Asia, the 50 kW SEARV transmitter from Dumaguete was the only unit on the air at RVA Malolos for the next couple of years. During its some eight years of on air activity, Radio SEARV shortwave was a very reliable verifier of listener reception reports. Only one card was ever printed and this identified SEARV in large red letters across the middle of the card. All were posted from a box address in the capital city Manila, not from the station location itself at Dumaguete in the southern Philippines. On Sunday and Monday February 23 and 24, 1986, insurgents burst into the RVA transmitter base near Malolos and deliberately destroyed all five transmitters in the building, including the more recently installed 50 kW shortwave unit. The 22 year old SEARV/RVA 50 kW transmitter was thus destroyed, and along with all of the remnants of the other damaged equipment, we would presume, were sold for metal scrap (Adrian Peterson, Indianapolis, script for AWR Wavescan July 22 via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 15715, VOA Goof, Special English to Myanmar, August 13 1130-1159 (heard via online sdr). A fairly unbiased feature on the history of Black Americans' struggle for civil rights ended in mid- sentence when the carrier went off abruptly at 1159, one minute short of the slotted time (Heath Hall, Albuquerque, DX LISTENING DIGEST) An encouragement not to listen on SW, but rather webcast where interruptions would not be the same. Unfortunately this is not too rare, example of lack of coördination between studio and remote transmitter site (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. Reception of FEBC - Radio Teos in Ukrainian, August 12 1529-1600 on 11650 BOC 100 kW / 323 deg to CeAs Ukrainian Sun, good: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-febc-radio-radio-teos-in.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND. I came across an interesting article describing innovative pirate radio from Poland in 1982: http://idlewords.com/2007/04/ balloon_pirate_radio.htm An excerpt: "On launch day we would drive the hydrogen-filled fire extinguisher, the balloons and transmitter to some out-of-the-way place far upwind from the city. [...] We would fill the balloons with hydrogen and attach a transmitter, which had a built-in timing device that would turn it on 15 minutes after takeoff. That way we could easily disappear without worrying about anyone pinpointing the signal. Despite its low power, the range of a balloon transmitter was enormous, several dozen kilometers. Broadcasting time was effectively limited by the kind of batteries we could get back then." Regards, Lw (Larry Will, Free Radio Weekly Aug 12 via DXLD) So could they then recover it? (gh) ** ROMANIA. 9760, RRI at 2157 // 7315 with IS to opening music at 2200 and a man with ID and target area and web platforms then a woman with news at 2201 – Very Good Aug 7 – How come they can have two transmitters for this broadcast but not for the North American broadcasts? 13650, RRI at 2027 with IS to opening music at 2030 and a man with ID and target areas and web platforms then a woman with news at 2031 – Very Good Aug 7 - // 11850 was not heard. I wonder if they are having problems with one of their transmitters as 9730 was not heard // 7375 last night at 0021 and // 11850 was not heard back on August 2 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, WOR iog via DXLD) 9730, Aug 10 at 0016, RRI in English, // weaker 7375, the latter with light pulse jamming, since last season it was in use briefly by Radio Martí; such are the risks of ever using an ex-Martí channel. One of the 300 kW Tsiganeshti transmitters had been off the air since July 28 with technical issues, and 9730 was reported as one of the missing frequencies at this and other hours to North America. See DXLD 18-32 for schedules and discussion. The frequency is back, but they could have switched transmitters around, or brought up the 100 kW at Saftica which was available. 7395, Aug 10 at 0017, the simultaneous Romanian service of RRI is still here, but sounds like a clash with something in English, not // 9730. The mix finally stops, leaving Romanian only, so I conclude it was a clumsy voice-over with the underaudio way too loud. For SW reception, there should be no underaudio once the v/o be established. Nominally during the 00-01 hour we have two frequencies in English, 7375 // 9730 via Tsiganeshti, and two in Romanian, 7395 // 9790 via Galbeni per EiBi. But next night August 11 at 0027 we have 7395 but 9790 is missing, while both English frequencies are on again (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Romania International: Tsiganeshti TX1 on air/Galbeni TX2 off- air Radio Romania International - regular schedule: http://ab27.bplaced.net/rri.pdf Since 09-Aug-2018, 1000 UT, Tsiganeshti TX1 is back in operation! Only the DRM transmissions from Tsiganeshti TX1 are still missing (and DRM 0530-0630 UT still comes via Saftica): http://ab27.bplaced.net/drm.pdf But --- since 09-Aug-2018, 2000 UT, Galbeni TX2 is off-air! The following transmissions from Radio Romania Int. are affected: 0000-0200: Ron 9790 0200-0300: Spa 9510 0300-0400: Eng 9740 DRM 0400-0500: Ron 7330 0500-0530: Fra 7330 DRM 0530-0600: Eng 17760 0600-0630: - 0630-0700: Ara 11790 0700-0800: Ron ????? /Sun 0800-0900: Ron ????? /Sun 0900-1000: Ron ????? /Sun 1000-1100: Fra 11650 1100-1200: Eng 17670 1200-1230: Ara 11700 1230-1300: - 1300-1500: Ron 11950 1500-1530: - 1530-1600: Ara 11900 1600-1700: Fra 11975 1700-2000: Ron 11975 2000-2030: Fra 6170 2030-2100: Eng 6170 2100-2200: - 2200-2300: Eng 7315 2300-2400: Spa 11800 Best regards, (Alexander Busneag, Aug 11, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I listened to the 0000 UT August 11 RRI English transmission on 9730, and signal strength seemed to be typical for this frequency, So I think the usual 300 kW transmitter is in use. Did not check // 7375 (Stephen Luce, Houston, Texas, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) But Aug 12 circa 0045, 9730 was unusually weak << 9925 KBC, over almost the same path, just a little further (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And these are the Sunday only broadcasts of Radio Romania International which are transmitted via RADIOCOM Galbeni TX2 (300 kW) which is currently temporarily off-air: 0700-0800 UT: Ron 11790 kHz/Sun 0800-0900 UT: Ron 11650 kHz/Sun 0900-1000 UT: Ron 11650 kHz/Sun (Alexander Busneag, Germany, Aug 12, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) And of course 11650 kHz is not on air right now (0910 UT), only 15200 plus both TIG frequencies, 13790 and 15130 kHz. Could it be that in fact they take down one transmitter after another for repairs? If so one must conclude that the third TIG unit is no longer operational. I understand that it was meant to be used as aux in such cases (Kai Ludwig, ibid.) 9730, Aug 12 at 0044, RRI English with mailbag, unusually weak and poor at S6-S8 with flutter, much less than 9925 KBC via Germany which is S9+10/20 without flutter. Almost the same path except Romania is a bit further. RRI should have 3 X the power of Nauen, but suspect it`s QRP. Romanian language transmitter on 9790 is still AWOL. RRI English // 7375 is still normally loud (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From August 9, 2000 UT RADIOCOM Tsiganeshti tx#1 300 kW is on air again. From August 9, 2000 UT RADIOCOM Galbeni tx#2 300 kW is off air due to technical issues. The following transmissions of Radio Romania International are affected http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/radiocom-galbeni-tx2-300-kw-is-off-air.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, Aug 11-12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: 0000-0156 9790 300 kW / 310 deg ENAm Romanian 0200-0256 9510 300 kW / 245 deg SoAm Spanish 0300-0356 9740 050 kW / 100 deg SoAs English DRM 0400-0456 7330 300 kW / 285 deg WeEu Romanian 0500-0526 7330 050 kW / 285 deg WeEu French DRM 0530-0556 17760 300 kW / 100 deg SEAs English 0630-0656 11790 300 kW / 140 deg N/ME Arabic 0700-0756 11790 300 kW / 140 deg N/ME Romanian Curierul romanesc Sun 0800-0856 11650 300 kW / 165 deg EaAf Romanian Curierul romanesc Sun 0900-0956 11650 300 kW / 285 deg WeEu Romanian Curierul romanesc Sun 1000-1056 11650 300 kW / 285 deg WeEu French 1100-1156 17670 300 kW / 165 deg EaAf English 1200-1226 11700 300 kW / 140 deg N/ME Arabic 1300-1456 11950 300 kW / 285 deg WeEu Romanian 1530-1556 11900 300 kW / 140 deg N/ME Arabic 1600-1656 11975 300 kW / 285 deg WeEu French 1700-1956 11975 300 kW / 285 deg WeEu Romanian 2000-2026 6170 300 kW / 285 deg WeEu French 2030-2056 6170 300 kW / 300 deg WeEu English 2200-2256 7315 300 kW / 300 deg WeEu English 2300-2356 11800 300 kW / 280 deg SoAm Spanish ??????????? ?? Observer ? 1:48 PM (via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. Fair to good signal of South African Radio League SARL, August 12 0800-0900 17760 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg EaAf Sun Amateur Radio Today: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/fair-to-good-signal-of-south-african.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 11-12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. SABC IN QUEUE FOR GOVERNMENT BAILOUTS https://mybroadband.co.za/news/government/271635-massive-government-bailouts-planned-for-sabc-post-office-saa.html?source=newsletter (Bill Bingham, RSA, Aug 13, WOR iog via DXLD) never loaded for me (gh) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 9395, WRMI Radio Miami Int’l; 1238, 8/8; Bro. HyStairical with old program moaning about people not listening to him & call from slow-speaking (common trait of B.S. callers) dude complaining about not being able to find him on the radio as much as in the past. Maybe he’ll run the [anti-] Hauser rant again. SIO=4+54; // 9330 via WBCQ(presumed) SIO=4+54 & unusually a tad better than 9395 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GERMANY, USA. The Channel 292 website at http://www.channel292.de/schedule-for-bookings/ is reporting that the broadcasts from The Overcomer Ministry on 6070z end next week, with the last day being August 14 (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) Later: back on Aug 16-19, at least, per Alan GERMANY, Brother HySTAIRical, final day via Channel 292, August 14 0400-1200 6070 ROB 010 kW / non-dir to CeEu English Tue, last 5 min: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/brother-hystairical-final-day-via.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 11904.9, Aug 10 at *0031:16.5, SLBC JBA carrier on, timesignal unknown, but then some JBA music. Seems this never gets started on time or even ahead of time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non] & SUDAN SOUTH [non]. Reception of FPU Radio Tamazuj and Radio Dabanga, July 20 [sic; long delay in reporting?] Radio Tamazuj 1459-1527 15150 MDC 250 kW / 340 deg EaAf Juba Arabic, very good 1459-1527 15550 SMG 250 kW / 150 deg EaAf Juba Arabic, fair/good Radio Dabanga 1529-1627 15150 MDC 250 kW / 340 deg EaAf Juba [sic] Arabic, very good 1529-1627 15550 ISS 250 kW / 138 deg EaAf Juba [sic] Arabic, very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-fpu-radio-tamazuj-and.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 9-10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11650, MADAGASCAR, Radio Tamazuj presumed at 0353 with talks by man and woman, sometimes sound bridges, to 0357 off. Sounded Arabic, so would be Sudanese Arabic. Sign off listed as 0430. - Good, Aug. 7 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, parked overlooking Kalamalka Lake. CommRadio CR-1a and Sony AN-1 whip antenna, WOR iog via DXLD) ** SUDAN SOUTH [non]. 11620, MADAGASCAR, Eye Radio at 0406 in Sudanese Arabic, talks, announcements, some sounded to be in local languages, heard mention of a website, mentions of Sudan and Juba. At 0425 began English with “Eye Radio” promo, followed by “Hello and welcome to our weekly program…”, woman talking about South Sudan. - Fair through noise, Aug. 7 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, parked overlooking Kalamalka Lake. CommRadio CR-1a and Sony AN-1 whip antenna, WOR iog via DXLD) FRANCE, Eye Radio in Juba Arabic & English via TDF Issoudun August 7: 1500-1600 15410 ISS 250 kW / 139 deg EaAf Juba Arabic/Eng/other* M-F * including other langs: Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Bari, Zande & Lutoho in varies time http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/eye-radio-in-juba-arabic-english-via.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MADAGASCAR, Reception of Eye Radio via Talata Volonondry, August 13: 0400-0500 11620 MDC 250 kW / 335 deg EaAf Arabic* Mon-Fri, very good * including other languages: English/Dinka/Nuer/Shilluk/Bari/Zande/Lutoho. http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-eye-radio-via-talata.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 12-13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FRANCE, Eye Radio in Juba Arabic & English via MGB TDF Issoudun Aug 13 1500-1600 on 15410 ISS 250 kW / 139 deg to EaAf Juba Arabic/English/other* Mon-Fri * including other langs: Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Bari, Zande & Lutoho in varies time http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/eye-radio-in-juba-arabic-english-via_13.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWAZILAND. ESWATINI, Reception of Trans World Radio Africa in 19mb on August 7: 1400-1415 on 15360 MAN 100 kW / 043 deg to SoAs Urdu Daily, very good 1557-1627 on 15105 MAN 100 kW / 013 deg to SoAf Kirundi Mo-Fr, strong http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-trans-world-radio-africa_7.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWAZILAND [non]. Trans World Radio Africa via BaBcoCk Grigoriopol, August 7: 1628-1629 11780 KCH 300 kW / 160 deg to EaAf TWR Eu Interval Signal, 1629-1700 11780 KCH 300 kW / 160 deg to EaAf Somali Daily, very good 1800-1845 9940 KCH 300 kW / 157 deg to EaAf Tigrinya Mo-Th, strong: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-trans-world-radio-africa_98.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. THREE SUCCESSFUL TRANSMISSIONS FROM SAQ GRIMETON ON ALEXANDERSON DAY 2018 On Alexanderson Day, July 1st, 2018, three transmissions with the old Alexanderson alternator SAQ at World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station, Sweden took place at 0845, 1045 and 1245 UT on 17.2 kHz CW. A video stream from all three transmissions was also broadcasted on our YouTube channel. https://alexander.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=521e9c51318e4c7f70e1e6b56&id=4b77891f83&e=a135588730 We have recieved 321 listener reports, whereof 5 was unheard. THANK YOU all listeners for your reports and for all your enthusiastic and positive feedback! A summary report with all listener reports can be viewed and downloaded here. https://alexander.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=521e9c51318e4c7f70e1e6b56&id=2ed0e2a080&e=a135588730 Explore our interactive listener reports map. Open the map here or click on the map image below. https://alexander.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=521e9c51318e4c7f70e1e6b56&id=af5e4f3178&e=a135588730 Use the menu to the left, to search through recent transmissions. Click on the individual dots for detailed listener information. Enjoy! (Please report any errors or change requests to webmaster@alexander.n.se) Best regards from The Alexander association team @Grimeton, Sweden. (via Mike Terry, Aug 12, WOR iog via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. Test transmissions of Radio Taiwan Int via Tamshui August 9 1700-1705 on 11990 TSH 300 kW / 325 deg to WeEu German AM mode, good, 1800-1805 on 9700 TSH 300 kW / 315 deg to WeEu German AM mode, good: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/test-transmissions-of-radio-taiwan.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. 9199.920, August 9 at 1241, JBA carrier, must be Sound of Hope escaping jamming. Aoki/NDXC has the frequency as 9199.907, pretty close. I wonder if all the .XXX exact measurements for SOH are from Wolfgang Büschel`s exhaustive SDR survey now several months old? Just yesterday I had only CNR1 jamming on 9200, but an hour earlier at 1142. [non] 9180, August 9 at 1241, today this is the SOH frequency obliterated by strong CNR1 jamming // 11785, while SOH is Aoki-listed on 9180.018 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CHINA 9730 (actually somewhat lower in frequency), Radio Free Asia relay via Sound of Hope, on Aug 7. Tuned in to hear IS at 0856, during which at 0858 had an ID in English ("You have been listening to Radio Free Asia"); decent reception for summertime (QRN/static), per attached brief audio clip. RFA audio clip also posted at http://goo.gl/7QMv6z (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) ** TIBET. 6025, 12 Ago, 2107, TIBETE (Relay), PBS Xizang em tibetano. Essa emissora é bastante eclética com respeito a música, toca muita música pop chinesa, claro, mas toca também música ocidental selecionada de boa qualidade. Há pouco tocava um Reggae. Gosto de ouvir as seleções musicais dela e sempre à noite tem bom sinal e como já disse gosto muito de ouvir música em ondas curtas com o característico fading. Às 211 [sic] YL fala. Segue com a boa seleção musical, agora mesmo. Às 2118 uma versão em chinês de uma música de Fred Mercury. Sinal razoável sem aparente QRM. 73 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W - Brasil, Tecsun PL-310ET, Antenna dipole of 25m, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET [non]. TAJIKISTAN, Frequency change of Voice of Tibet Aug 12 1205-1230 NF 11644 DB 100 kW / 095 deg to EaAs Chinese, ex 11646 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/frequency-change-of-voice-of-tibet-on.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TAJIKISTAN, Frequency change of Voice of Tibet Aug 13 1305-1330 on 11614 DB 100 kW / 095 deg to EaAs Chinese, ex 11616 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/frequency-change-of-voice-of-tibet-on_13.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 13, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Until now, VOT via DB was always on frequencies ending in 2, 3, 7 or 8, making them 2 or 3 kHz from ChiCom jammers always ending in 0 or 5. Now the jammers can be slightly more effective 1 kHz away (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TONGA. See DX-PEDITIONS (several other countries not cross-ref`ed) ** TURKEY. Another odd frequency 9655.7 kHz of Voice of Turkey Aug 7 0830-0955 on 11795.0 EMR 500 kW / 105 deg to WeAs Farsi, missing today 1000-1055 on 9655.7 EMR 500 kW / 072 deg to CeAs Georgian, instead of 0600-1155 on 11675.7 EMR 500 kW / 150 deg to WeAs Turkish on August 6& 1300-1355 on 11965.7 EMR 500 kW / 020 deg to EaEu Russian on August 6: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/another-odd-frequency-96557-khz-of.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Another odd frequency 11795.7 of Voice of Turkey August 7 0822-0825 11795.7 EMR 500 kW / 105 deg WeAs Bosnian, unscheduled px, 0827-0955 11795.7 EMR 500 kW / 105 deg WeAs Persian, back on the air http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/another-odd-frequency-117957-khz-of.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TRT Voice of Turkey on very odd frequency 9655.7 August 11: 1000-1055 9655.7 EMR 500 kW / 072 deg CeAs Georgian, ex nom. 9655.0 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/trt-voice-of-turkey-on-very-odd.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TRT Voice of Turkey on odd frequencies 13765.7/11795.7/9855.7 kHz, August 12, all EMR 500 kW 0500-0655 13765.7 / 210 deg CEAf Hau/Swa, instead of 13765 August 12 0822-0825 11795.7 / 105 deg WeAs Bosnian-unscheduled px shortwave 0830-0955 11795.7 / 105 deg WeAs Persian, instead of 11795 August 12 1000-1025 9855.7 / 032 deg CeAs Tatar, instead of 9855.0 August 12 1000-1055 9655.0 / 072 deg CeAs Georgian, x 9655.7 kHz August 12 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/voice-of-turkey-on-odd-freqs.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 11-12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Very odd frequencies 11675.7 & 11965.7 kHz of TRT Voice of Turkey, August 13 [ALL EMR 500 kW] 0500-0655 13765.0 / 210 deg CEAf Ha/Sw, instead of 13765.7 August 12 0600-1155 11675.7 / 150 deg WeAs Turkish, instead of 11675 August 12 0830-0955 11795.0 / 105 deg WeAs Farsi, instead of 11795.7 August 12 1000-1025 9855.0 / 032 deg CeAs Tatar, instead of 9855.7 August 12 1000-1055 9655.0 / 072 deg CeAs Georgian, same 9655.0 August 12 1300-1355 11965.7 / 020 deg EaEu Russian, instead of 11965 August 12 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/very-odd-frequency-116757119657-khz-of.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Strong signal of Voice of Turkey on nominal 11675 August 14 0600-1155 11675 / 150 deg to WeAs Turkish, instead of 11675.7 Aug 13 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/trt-voice-of-turkey-on-nominal.html Strong signal of Voice of Turkey on nominal frequency 11965 August 14 from 1300 11965 / 020 deg EaEu tx on/off & on/off + 80 sec dead air, 1301-1355 11965 / 020 deg EaEu Russian, instead of 11965.7 August 13 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/voice-of-turkey-on-nominal-frequency.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. PIRATE RADIO, Russian Pirate Radio Europe on 5832/5856 [sic] kHz, August 9-10: from 2209 5832 unknown tx / unknown EaEu, non-stop Music, good from 1207 5836 [sic] unknown tx / unknown EaEu, non-stop Music, fair http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/russian-pirate-radio-europe-on-58325856.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 9-10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Got an eQSL Radio Pirate Europe --- 10 August 2018 / 2100-2125 UT / 5835 kHz / E-mail: serg104-130 @ rambler.ru Quote from the letter: "Thank you for accepting us. Also have sent the report. We work from two points, Western Ukraine on the ridge of the Carpathians, and southeast 200 km from the city of Donetsk. Bazooka Antenna; Transmitter power from 400 W to 1.5 kW » You can see the confirmation here - http://rusdx.blogspot.com/2018/08/blog-post_11.html http://rusdx.blogspot.com/2018/08/blog-post_89.html (Anatoly Klepov, Moscow, Russia, QSL World, Rus-DX August 12 via DXLD) Radio Pirate Europe - Ukraine --- Received the first e-QSL for me from the pirate Radio Pirate Europe from Ukraine for the report of August 10, 2018. Cards without data from the report. The station broadcasts a diverse music collection and jingles with identification. Replica from Radio Europe: "Good afternoon, No problem." With Ser. The guys with Radio Pirate Europe thank you very much for confirming and it's good that the pirate radio does not die! e-QSL can be found here http://freerutube.info/2018/08/11/e-qsl-radio-pirate-europe-ukraina-avgust-2018-god/ (Dmitry Elagin, Saratov, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx", via QSL World, ibid.) Within an hour, after sending the report, Radio Pirate Europe sent a response with photos and four versions of QSL. Apparently you can choose to your taste, the more they are without details. Their page in the VC: https://vk.com/radioevropa (Pavel Ivanov, Belgorod, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx", ibid.) 5833, 11/8 1630, Pirate R. Europe - English music sufficient (Roberto Pavanello, Vercelli / Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) He does not put it in Ukraine (gh) PIRATE RADIO, Russian Pirate "Radio Europe on Shortwave" on 5832v kHz, August 11 1212&1505 5832v unknown tx/unknown EaEu Music instead of 5836 Aug 10: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/russian-pirate-radio-europe-on_11.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ivo does not place this in Ukraine or Russia (gh, DXLD) PIRATE RADIO, Russian Pirate "Radio Europe on Shortwave" on 5832.3 kHz, August 12: from 1100 on 5832.3 unknown tx / unknown to EaEu announcing in English/Russian/Polish/German http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/russian-pirate-radio-europe-on_12.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 11-12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PIRATE RADIO, Russian Pirate "Radio Europe on Shortwave" on August 14: 1203&1305 5832.5 unknown tx / unknown EaEu, non-stop Music, fair http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/russian-pirate-radio-europe-on_14.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. THE FUTURE OF BROADCASTING IN THE UK By David Harris davidharris@bdxc.org.uk Two recent announcements have led to resumed media interest in the future of broadcasting in the UK. Firstly, the BBC, in March 2018, stated that they do not intend to pursue the FM switch off in the immediate future. Global Radio, the biggest commercial operator in the UK have also backed this stance. Secondly, the RAJAR figures, released in May 2018 show that for the first time more than 50% of people access radio via a digital platform. For the past 15 years we have been told a series of untruths about how wonderful DAB is and how important it is to switch off the obsolete medium of FM and replace it with shiny new digital DAB. Back in July 2016 I wrote an article for Communication which debunked some of the specious claims of those who promote DAB. These claims continue to be promulgated but no one has really owned up to the reasons why commercial stations, i.e. Bauer, Global and News Corp (Wireless Group) who control well over 50% of all commercial radio, wanted to switch off FM. Here are the real reasons behind the campaign to switch off FM and why it received tacit support from various governments. To save money. This is the main driver in any business. An FM transmission network is expensive to operate and DAB with its multi-station streams is more cost effective. To saturate the market. FM is a scarce resource whereas DAB offers many channels for the big operators who can saturate the market with Absolute 70s, 80, 90s, Heart 2, and so on. To sell off the FM spectrum. A huge amount of money has been made by the government in selling off UHF bandwidth to mobile phone companies. The idea of selling off the FM band to data operators may have gained the support of the Treasury. Even if this is feasible then it would require FM to be switched off in most of Western Europe, otherwise there would be huge interference issues in the summer when enhanced propagation brings in foreign FM signals. To end pirate radio. It does not seem to be feasible for a pirate station to operate on DAB. However if computer hackers can break into government computer systems then hacking a DAB transmitter cannot be that big of a challenge. Although pirate FM stations only seem to be a problem in the London area, governments would like to put an end to these unregulated stations. For many years we were threatened with the prospect of the FM switch off when the magic figure of 50% DAB listening was reached. When it became clear that this was not going to happen the goalposts were move to include “all digital platforms”. The Q1 2018 Rajar figures show that for the first time the digital listening share passed the 50% mark. However, only 36.8% was DAB, with 9.3% online/app and 4.8% digital TV. This means that 49.1% still prefer AM/FM. www.rajar.co.uk In the beginning there was AM (MW and LW). From 1922 when the first broadcasts began in the UK until 1955 when the first FM trials started AM ruled supreme. FM was very slow to be rolled out across the UK and it was not until the launch of BBC local stations in 1967 that there was anything new to listen to on this band. It was the launch of commercial radio in the UK from 1973 onwards that really gave people an incentive to buy an FM radio in order to enjoy good reception of music stations. It took a long time for the whole of the FM spectrum (88-108 MHz) to become available for broadcast use as police and utility companies still occupied some frequencies. It was not until 1995 that Radio 1, the BBC’s flagship pop music station was available on FM across the UK, some 28 years after it was first launched. For the last 30+ years we have lived in an AM/FM world, in common with most other countries around the world. Although DAB was first trialled in 1995 it was not until 2000 that the first, very expensive, DAB receivers became widely available. The DAB lobby has been pursuing its war of attrition for the past 15 years although there are now signs that it has given up the fight. Firstly, the technology that was the selling point of DAB has now been superseded. DAB+ offers even more cost savings to broadcasters than the original DAB and appears to offer a more resilient signal. However, having persuaded millions of people to buy hugely overpriced DAB radios they are not going to switch over to DAB+ broadcasting and alienate those who bought DAB radios before 2012 which were not DAB+ compatible. Secondly, online listening has increased with many people using Smartphones to access radio broadcasts. The rise of smart speakers such as Amazon Echo has also transformed radio listening for gadget lovers. No one could have foreseen these technical advances a few year ago. Who is to know how music and radio broadcasts will be accessed in years to come? I think it is inevitable the online/app share will continue to rise but with many Millennials abandoning conventional radio it is unlikely that DAB listenership will increase much beyond 40%. The way forward is to accept and support a new plurality of FM/DAB. I suspect that AM will slowly wither away and hopefully become a platform for community stations. We have seen AM slowly disappear across Northern Europe with the Dutch allocating frequencies for low power local stations. The FM switch off in Norway was a disaster with huge numbers of people abandoning radio completely. In the UK if TalkSport, Absolute Radio, and Smooth Radio were moved from MW it would be no loss to anyone especially if their frequencies were made available to low power community stations. I am confident that FM with its superior audio quality and ease of tuning will continue to be the most popular way in which people access radio for the foreseeable future. OFCOM should encourage the migration of commercial stations from AM and FM to DAB. This could be incentivised by letting commercial stations drop any requirement to broadcast news, weather and traffic information. FM would become the gold standard for high quality stereo broadcasting and the preferred platform for the BBC, community stations and Classic FM. BBC Radio 5 Live could move from AM to FM in place Radio 1, which as a “youth“ station should be on digital only. I suspect that with Brexit, crisis in the NHS, housing shortages, escalating Cold War and a host of other major problems any talk of switching off FM is going to be very low down the list of priorities for any future government (via author David Harris for DX LISTENING DIGEST; originally published in August Communication of the British DX Club) ** U K [and non]. TAJIKISTAN, Reception of BBC via Dushanbe August 8: 1530-1830 on 9900 DB 250 kW / 072 deg to NEAs Korean, good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-bbc-via-dushanbe-on-august.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC WS Audible in Eastern NA --- One of the very few hours when BBC WS can be picked up here in NB. Noted this afternoon (9 August) between 20 and 21 UT with portable receiver indoors on its whip antenna (would likely be better outdoors especially with external antenna): 9410 kHz from Woofferton: poor to fair signal with deep fades 11810 kHz from Ascension: poor to fair with deep fades 12095 kHz from Ascension: inaudible (-- Richard Langley, NB, 2026 UT Aug 9, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) And, in the east, if you stay up late, the BBC WS uses the Madagascar relay to west Africa between 04 and 05 on 9915 kHz. I’ve noted fair to good reception most days (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) ** U K [non non]. The HFCC schedule has just been updated: http://www.hfcc.org/data/schedbybrc.php?seas=A18&broadc=BBC 7345 kHz, 0600-0700 UT, BBC Worldservice English, Woofferton (!), 170 , 300 kW, since 08-Aug-2018. So this reception was not via Ascension, but via Woofferton: BBC Worldservice in English on 7345 kHz, 0600-0700 UT ... Excellent reception here in Germany, 12-Aug-2018 (Alexander Busneag, Germany, Aug 13, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The change to Wooferton at 0600 on 7345 simply extends the 0500 transmission on the same frequency and site to two hours. This has been one of the better times/frequencies for me in Houston (Stephen Luce, Houston, Texas, ibid.) BBC Worldservice in English on 11810 kHz, 1800-2200, via Woofferton, talking about "huge satellite dishes to receive scientific data from a spacecraft at a maximum data rate of 555 kbit/s". Very good reception here in Germany, 14-Aug-2018 (Alexander Busneag, Germany, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBCWS: See also IRAN [and non] ** U S A. 418 kHz, Aug 10 at 0545 UT, I brave the storm noise level on MW to detect an NDB, ID as IY --- that`s Charles City, Iowa; I am really tuned to 417-USB where it`s best copied (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5000; Whenever precise timings are needed, such as with Sri Lankan sign-ons, I have to calculate a correxion factor to my watch which keeps gaining little by little, and is difficult to reset; so of course I tune to WWV, its most important funxion among many. Now WWV, WWVB and WWVH are threatened with extinxion thanks to the corrupt, incompetent, anti-science, Drumpf budget request for next year, as revealed on the NIST website (which has been up for six months), just discovered by Richard Langley: https://www.nist.gov/director/fy-2019-presidential-budget-request-summary/fundamental-measurement-quantum-science-and ``Illustrative program reductions in FY 2019 -$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii`` Maybe that`s why they have started announcing their phone numbers every hour? But why haven`t they been sounding the alarm on the air about closing down the broadcasts??? It`s *time* to get on congress- critters about this threat. Other vital NIST services are also under the gun (Glenn Hauser, OK, 0255 UT August 11, WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DX LISTENING DIGEST) End to WWV, WWVB, WWVH? Trump budget request: "-$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii" See: https://www.nist.gov/director/fy-2019-presidential-budget-request-summary/fundamental-measurement-quantum-science-and (-- Richard Langley, Aug 10, WOR iog via DXLD) Viz.: Budget Request NIST requests a total of $127.0 million to support core measurement science programs advancing the precision, accuracy and comparability of the measurements that underpin the U.S. economy and innovation ecosystem. The FY 2019 request is a net decrease of $49.0 million from FY 2018 levels. The proposed reductions will allow NIST to consolidate and focus on narrower core SI measurement programs while meeting budget levels. NIST will focus on basic research while reducing funding for efforts applying some of its breakthroughs into new measurement applications. FY 2018 Annualized CR: $176.0 M Lab Programs: $129.8 M Corporate Services: $4.3 M SCO/SPO: $42.0 M FY 2019 Request: $127.0 million (-27.8%) Lab Programs: $103.2 M Corporate Services: $2.3 M SCO/SPO: $21.5 M Two bar graphs showing the numbers outlined in the FY19 budget request vs. FY18 annualized CR Illustrative program reductions in FY 2019 -$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii -$3.5 million for Lab to Market, which seeks to accelerate technology transfer from federal laboratories -$6.6 million in environmental measurements projects across NIST laboratories, including work measuring the impact of aerosols on pollution and climate change, and gas reference materials used by industry to reduce costs of complying with regulations -$5.8 million eliminating the NIST Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Measurements program, including Urban Dome research grants to advance the direct measurement of GHG emissions on the scale of cities or regions. -$6.7 million in forensic science, reducing the program size to $7.3 million by prioritizing measurement science in the NIST labs and eliminating program management functions and external grants for the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science and the Forensic Science Center of Excellence -$4.1 million in R&D targeting application of NIST quantum breakthroughs to applied measurement needs, including temperature and atmospheric gas metrology (via DXLD) Thus the corrupt, incompetent, minority-``elected``, anti-science Trumpence regime also wants to cripple several other vitally important funxions of NIST. This page has been up for six months, apparently not noticed until now: ``Created February 09, 2018, Updated February 12, 2018`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The National Institute of Standards and Technology is the parent agency maintaining the Federal "atomic clock", which measures time with accuracy approaching a variation of one second every million years. Of course Trump and his henchmen want to completely dismantle this somewhat vital function, along with many others (stated below) handled by the NIST. So far there has been virtually NO publicity of this ridiculous move; Trump continues to cripple and/or completely eliminate anything and everything that doesn't directly benefit the top 1%, certainly including himself and his corrupt family, along with military-defense contractors, and whomever else is on the "approved" list, as dictated by Vladimir Putin. Please look into this, and help spread the word of continued destruction by the Nazi-inspired Trump regime! (Greg Hardison, CA, WOR iog via DXLD) From someone (Tom Van Baak) on the leap second list I participate in: "From what I understand the same 'threat' occurred in 2017 with the FY18 budget. In the end, the budget ended up greater even than what was asked. So no cuts were made. Who knows what will happen this time. Still, it's always a concern; for the staff, for the time service, for the users. The greater issue is to maintain a comprehensive national or global time dissemination system, with deep and multiple levels of accuracy, redundancy, security, and resiliency." And from a USNO employee (Demetrios Matsakis): "I note that the deregulation of power-line-time makes the WWV-series even more critical. So far, though, I haven't seen super-large changes in the timing of the 60 Hz signals coming into the USNO. Seems like there was a net 30 second drop in June." (Richard Langley, NB, ibid.) There also is the Telephone service at (303) 499-7111, which at least I use pretty regularly. Whither that??? -- (GREG HARDISON, CA, ibid.) The shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii Solution: Sell them to (anyway bankrupt) iHeartMedia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CpsPgXyIm8 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, WOR iog via DXLD) Ha, ha (gh) My first thought was to wonder if Blump's looking for a way to monetize the whole thing. "Trump Time"... (Greg Hardison, CA, ibid.) [and non]. I could see WWV shutting down some frequencies, as what happened back in the 1970's when 20 and 25 MHz were dropped. Perhaps 2.5 MHz could also be a victim. WWVB is probably the least likely to get the ax, as there are a large number of consumer clocks that use that as a reference. Wonder how safe CHU is? (Stephen Luce, Houston, Texas, ibid.) CHU's a continuing option. They're probably safe since Trudeau has infinitely more good sense than Blump. Does CHU have a phone service? (Greg Hardison, CA, ibid.) Yes, in two languages: English: 613-745-1576 French: 613-745-9426 See: https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/services/time/talking_clock.html (Richard Langley, ibid.) Ah! Good to know -- thanks! (Greg, ibid.) NIST FY2019 BUDGET INCLUDES REQUEST TO SHUT DOWN WWV AND WWVH SWLing Post Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post readers who have pointed out the NIST 2019 Presidential Budget request which has now been posted online and includes a desired reduction of: “$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii“ I’ve always considered WWV and WWVH to be the heartbeat of the shortwaves here in North America–a constant, timely companion and brilliant gauge of HF propagation. Indeed, on a personal note, WWV was actually the first station I ever remember hearing on shortwave. I assumed both stations would be some of the last to go silent on the shortwaves. No doubt, I find this budget request very disappointing. Let’s hope, somehow, this does not come to fruition. We will certainly post any/all updates here on the SWLing Post. https://swling.com/blog/2018/08/nist-fy2019-budget-includes-request-to-shutdown-wwv-and-wwvh/ WWVH is the callsign of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's shortwave radio time signal station in Kekaha, on the island of Kauai in the state of Hawaii. Coordinates: 21 59'16?N 159 45'47?W WWVH is the Pacific sister station to WWV, and has a similar broadcast format. Like WWV, WWVH's main function is the dissemination of official U.S. Government time, through exactly the same methods as found on WWV's signal. To minimize interference with the WWV broadcasts on the same frequencies, WWVH's broadcasts on 5, 10 and 15 MHz are directional, pointed primarily west. Despite this strategy, in certain places, particularly on the west coast of North America; and at certain times, due to ionospheric conditions, the listener can actually hear both WWV and WWVH on the same frequency at the same time. The information modulated on the carrier is modified to reduce confusion if both are received simultaneously. In particular, voice announcements on one correspond to silent periods on the other. WWVH uses a female voice to distinguish itself from WWV, which uses a male voice. WWVH time signals can also be accessed by telephone. (Wikipedia via Mike Terry, bdxc-news iog via DXLD) Fwd: [LEAPSECS] no more listening to leap seconds? Hi Glenn: Discussion about impact of possible termination of NIST radio services is ongoing on the LEAPSECS list. Interesting post related to SW appended below. -- Richard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (| Richard B. Langley, Geodetic Research Laboratory, Web: http://gge.unb.ca/ || Dept. of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering | University of New Brunswick | Fredericton, N.B., Canada E3B 5A3, DXLD) Begin forwarded message: To: Leap Second Discussion List Hi everyone, I have noticed that if you look at the display of the XHDATA D-808 under a low-angle light you can see everything that can be displayed. But some of these indications don't ever light up. One of these hidden words reads "SYNC", which could mean that the set actually has a hidden synchronous detector, just like the Tecsun PL880. Have any of you guys out there managed to activate that function? 73, (Rémy Friess, France, Aug 7, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good morning Remy, I have seen this on the display and maybe it`s really in the chip. Also "DAB" btw :-) However, the "secret SYNCH" in the PL-880 you mentioned is not very useful and rather a step back. Based on that experience I am not very hopeful concerning a useable SYNCH in the D-808 - even if it´s hidden somewhere. vy73 (Harald Kuhl, MWcircle iog via DXLD) A step back, yes. But only a small step back. The PL880 being a catastrophic receiver altogether, it can't step back very much or it falls into absolute nothingness. .. ;-) ;-) ;-) And as the D-808 beats the PL880 on all aspects, maybe the sync will be better too. Don't say wishful thinking, I know it probably is. Regards, (Rémy Friess, ibid.) Recently, a lot of KiwiSDR (0-30 MHz) receivers have been deployed in BRASIL and SAm. Some WebSDR may also cover broadcast bands - http://sdritajai.ddns.net:8081 comes too off my head (Huelbe Garcia, Brasil, PU3HAG, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NEW XHDATA D-808 PORTABLE ROCKS AT ROCKWORK! Judging by the 50+ recent purchasers of the new XHDATA D-808 AM-LW-FM- SW-AIR portable (according to eBay records), the Chinese-made model is quickly becoming one of the hottest new SSB portables on the planet. Despite the fact that much of its circuitry was "inspired" (to use a generous term) by the C.Crane Skywave SSB model, the radio is in fact a highly sensitive, selective and versatile model that excels in both AM and FM-DXing. Although direct shipments to North America from China seem to be forbidden (apparently to avoid a copyright lawsuit), a single eBay seller has come up with a scheme to ship the model through Israel, resulting in a booming business by finally welcoming American and Canadian customers (at a somewhat higher price than the rest of the world). As reported previously the D-808 model is based on the American- designed Silicon Labs Si4735 DSP chip, and is the first such model. to fully utilize its multiple DSP filtering capabilities. The previous technical report described its 3 7/8" (96mm) loopstick, which gives it AM sensitivity superior to that of the Skywave SSB (or any other Ultralight-sized radio), and also its relatively powerful audio amp, which improves upon a serious issue in the Skywave SSB. The SSB circuitry seems to be directly "inspired" by the Skywave SSB, and operates in an identical manner. Finally, XHDATA offers the D-808 to most of the world at a price about half that of the $169.99 Skywave SSB, although North American customers pay a slight premium at $112.87 (+ $10 shipping). For the past 9 days I was DU-DXing at the Rockwork ocean cliff near Manzanita, Oregon-- an enhanced-propagation site with a reputation for wild weather, Murphy's Law accidents and (recently) squatter proliferation. I brought along two hot-rodded (7.5" loopstick) D-808 portables for the extended trip, with the full intention of giving them the "acid test" of all-out DU-DXing for 9 days straight. They would be my main transoceanic DX receivers on all frequencies except 531 kHz, providing 90% of all MP3's recorded during the trip. Most of these recordings would be made with the assistance of 15" and 17" FSL antennas, but the hot-rodded D-808 models would still be given plenty of chances to chase DU-DX as stand-alone receivers. So what is the D-808 verdict? The models were drenched with drizzle, bumped around with moderate shocks, left in 103 degree (43 C) car trunks and even endured a couple of hard stares from the "squatters"-- without missing a beat. Once you get used to D-808's tuning and volume controls being on opposite sides, and memorize the key pad functions so that you can use the model in total darkness, you will be quite thrilled with its performance. Changing the frequency in total darkness causes the display to blind you temporarily with its intense light, so you will need to memorize the key pad numbers if you wish to change frequencies well before sunrise. Make sure you memorize the AM bandwidth (DSP filter) control on the keypad, since you will use it frequently. The 3.7v lithium-ion battery has superior run time once it is fully charged, giving you a lot of flexibility in extended DXing sessions. On occasion the D-808 panel display would show the battery charge with only two bars instead of the full three, but the radio didn't seem to suffer any loss of performance on such occasions. Inductive coupling boosts from a large FSL antenna or other tuned loop can easily be peaked by listening for the sudden gain rush in the D- 808 audio when the frequencies match. As a stand-alone portable the "supercharged" D-808 can provide a lot of DU-DXing excitement at an enhanced-propagation site like the Rockwork ocean cliff. "Big Gun" DU's like 531-PI, 603-Waatea, 657-Star and 1017-Tonga can manage very good signals on the hot-rodded D-808, and you can also track down multiple weaker DU signals if you have some determination, patience and perseverance. Four such recordings made last week at the Cliff demonstrate the hot-rodded D-808's potential for Big Gun DU reception-- 657-Star (a.k.a. "Stah") and 1017-Tonga: 657 Star Wellington, Tauranga, New Zealand (50/10 kW at 7,106 miles/ 11,436 km) Star news and weather at 1301 on 8-7 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/o23o52mcz3zn00cf9hc2a8tacx6fwlje Christian music at 1307 on 8-7 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/r0agerz997km3jwoihei39j292ccge2f 1017 A3Z Nuku'alofa, Tonga (10 kW at 5,632 miles/ 9,064 km) Station ID and female-voiced island news at 1301 on 8-8, followed by island music at a good level; some co-channel audio from 2KY in Sydney, Australia (5 kW at 7,630 miles/ 12,279 km) is in the middle of the recording https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/tp3i89vky6p7hbylgkk1bp4pa5nvnuku Island music at good level at 1323 on 8-8 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/xc2vsdzrlc84id81vcbsmgpqknkc5b1j As previously reported, a ""supercharged" D-808 was given a chance to go up against a D-808 + 17" Monster FSL antenna combo in the reception of 1017-Tonga at 1304 on 8-8. The D-808's reception of the station is posted at https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/xw0vuzpbqyg2gc0ekh7s2tdzm5n6r7l0 while the D-808/ Monster FSL combo's reception of the exact same segment is posted at https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/r6yrwe7pzze6kw59qnzrbg8c704kg1l2 Although the huge FSL does provide a lot of gain, the "supercharged" D-808 can generally track down most of the same DX, although at a weaker level. But even a 3.5" "Baby FSL" model (like Craig Barnes used at the Rockwork cliff last week) can dramatically boost a D-808's DXing performance, whether it is a stock D-808 or "supercharged" D- 808. Craig was able to receive about 90% of the DX that I did when we chased DU's side-by-side. Someone with a D-808 and a TSA-friendly Baby FSL would make out like a TP-DXing Bandit in a place like Hawaii, or the Cook Islands! Photo of stand-alone "Supercharged" XHDATA D-808 portable in action at Rockwork 6 on August 9th is posted at https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/x5pt2lpigce6ww1s1spyjga1qqc4bso4 73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), Aug 13, nrc-am gg via DXLD) AMAZING NEWS: DIRECTION & QTH LOCATING OF SW TRANSMITTER SITES The advent of affordable SDR technology for the hobbyist radio enthusiast/listener/dxer has been an amazing breakthrough in recent times. Couple that with remote receiver access via websites like http://sdr.hu which carries the KIWI branded SDR network of global KIWI SDR's and your whole world opens up for listening & possibly roughly determining where some radio stations might be located. Recently another giant leap of brilliant programming has been undertaken (credits yet to be determined & allocated, Andras HA7ILM is obviously one) & it's freely available at the website. Specifically it enables users via the website to direction find or pinpoint the location of a transmitter site for a frequency, be it known or unknown via a very simple procedure of selecting preferably at least 3 SDR receivers that surround (if known) a known or suspected transmitter site. This morning I trialled this technique via the website on the Voice of Turkey transmitter site for their English broadcast on 9830kHz between 2230 & 23 UT with 3 Kiwi SDR rxer locations that surrounded the known Emirler. Within 2-3 minutes the website had sampled & computed the exact location via a displayed heat map of the exact transmitter site, so very precisely, that I almost fell off my chair. Wow this technology is brilliant. It is a fun time to be alive & active with this kind of technology in place & it's freely available for us users. Pity so little left on SW bands to listen to & discover, but we all know that, best to focus on the positive. Full details on just how to use this technology is available on this webpage (below), that I periodically browse every few months or so (as I did today). https://www.rtl-sdr.com/kiwisdr-tdoa-direction-finding-now-freely-available-for-public-use/ I'll be creating a photo album folder & maybe files folder on our Yahoo Group webpage for users to paste their transmitter site heatmap finds & other associated research material for SW broadcast frequencies that we have not been able to determine until the advent of this accessible technology; i.e. to allocate a frequency to a mystery transmitter site location. Think of it, we, in theory, should be able to now pinpoint the hidden location (QTH) of once unknown transmitters. Locating jamming sites however may not be reliable due to the fact that more than one audible transmission would most likely be in use on the frequency. I would really be interested in peoples discoveries & have them report their discoveries in our message area. We've often been frustrated as DXers in the past at not being able to precisely locate a transmitter site or determine exactly which transmitter is in use for a particular frequency. Now we have the accessible technology & if more people purchase these KIWI SDR's & add them to the network with GPS reference clocks we should to able to determine the transmitter sites of many more mystery transmissions globaly. Have fun guys and remember to report your finds & add comments here. More soon (Ian, SWSites Yahoo Group via DXLD) TDoA ON KIWSDR NET: DIRECTION FINDING FOR ALL! Neues von Nils Schiffhauer: Seit Juli dieses Jahres kann man die KiwiSDR-Netz auch peilen - kostenlos und sehr komfortabel. Diese Funktion wird schon vielfach von Funkamateuren wie Kurzwellenhörern genutzt, die von dieser neuen Werkzeug begeistert sind. Gelegentlich ist Kritik zu hören, dass manche Ergebnisse (ziemlich) danebenliegen. Das liegt zumeist daran, dass dieses so genannten TDoA-Tool nicht optimal bedient wird. Deshalb hat Nils, DK8OK eine 22-seitige praxisbezogene Einführung geschrieben, die an 13 konkreten Fallbeispielen zwischen 2.6 MHz und 15.6 MHz erläutert, wie man dieses neuartige Werkzeug bedient - und wie nicht. 37 instruktive Illustrationen zeigen mit einem Blick, um was es jeweils geht und wie man zu optimalen Ergebnissen kommt. Das PDF kann kostenlos und diskriminierungsfrei von seiner Website heruntergeladen werden: https://dk8ok.org/2018/07/25/direction-finding-first-experiences/ 73 (Christoph Ratzer via A-DX, via SW Bulletin Aug 12 via DXLD) [map showing triangulation convergence near Montpélier, France] Four receivers are nailing Saissac as transmitter site of STANAG 4285 transmission on 12666.5 kHz on July 16th, 2018, 1545 UT. A dream has become true: direction finding (DF) in the range of 0 to 30 MHz for all! The method is “time difference of arrival”. This is a speaking term, and it works exactly like it says: measuring the different times of arrival of a signal at at least three different receivers and calculating the position of the transmitter. Base is the net of KiwiSDRs. https://sdr.hu/?q=kiwisdr If connected to GPS, each of this SDRs is able to deliver an I/Q stream with time stamps of a very high resolution. If you compare the recordings of different receivers tuned to the same station at the same time, you will find a slight time difference from receiver to receiver. This is due to the “time of flight” from transmitter to receiver. HF is traveling 300 km per 1 millisecond – so time is distance. However, you don’t know the absolute transmitting time on transmitters other than time signal stations. So “Time Difference on Arrival”, or TDoA, measures the time differences of arrival. The first step is to compare the I/Q streams to find at which time difference their content does correlate. From these time differences, there are calculated curves onto a map. They cross in that region, where most likely the transmitter is located – see the screenshot at the top which I did to locate the STANAG 4285 transmitter on 12666.5 kHz. Due to concept, most reliable results (and, hence: sharp regions where the curves meet) are achieved only with the same propagation mode prevailing at all receiving stations. This is most strictly the case on VLF and long wave, where we mostly have one and stable waveguide- like propagation. As soon as we approach skywave propagation, you must care for more or less the same propagation mode, of which a one-hop propagation (e.g. 1 x F2) should be preferred. The software has been developed by some smart people around Christoph Mayer who also provides detailed information on the concept of this approach on his website. https://hcab14.blogspot.com/ It quickly has become an extension of the KiwiSDR net. This makes it very comfortable to use – if you take care of what is said above (DK8OK, Nils Schiffhauer via A-DX via SW Bulletin Aug 12 via DXLD) Re: [A-DX] Time-Difference-of-Arrival (TDOA) - plugin bei Kiwi SDRs, Beta test version. Seit einigen Monaten arbeite ich zusammen mit dem KiwiSDR Entwickler an diesem Thema. Hier einige weitere relevante Links: * http://kiwisdr.com * http://valentfx.com/vanilla/categories/kiwisdr-tdoa-topics * http://81.93.247.141/~linkz/directTDoA/ * http://hcab14.blogspot.com TDoA code: http://github.com/hcab14/TDoA 73, (Christoph Mayer via A-DX, ibid.) [TDOA story summarized briefly on WORLD OF RADIO 1943, referring to here for more info] SANGEAN WR-22 Mr. Hauser, I wrote a little review on the Sangean WR-22 and thought I’d send it over. The thing is at http://sixgunsiding.blogspot.com/2018/08/my-new-radio.html but I’m pasting the text below. Feel free to use all or part or none of it, as you see fit. The blog is mostly about Southwestern history, but I liked the WR-22 so much, I wrote it up. The radio is AM/FM, no shortwave, but the reception out of the box makes me think it would make a good radio for the casual MW DXer, and an excellent family radio. I’ve been a fan of WOR since the early 90’s when I got my first world band receiver, a Radio Shack DX-390. You are high on my list of good friends I never met. Regards, Michael Lijewski, Clovis, NM. I guess I’m a little old timey, but I don’t like listening to the radio from the internet or cable. I like my radio on radio. So when my old Radio Shack DX-390 gave up the ghost after 24 years, I was downright mournful. I wondered, “Do they still even make radios?” Turns out they do. Not only that, but the table (or tabletop) radio, a type that went out of style in the early 70’s has made a big comeback. I started looking at Bose radios, but they were too expensive, and real ugly. Then I browsed the Tivoli tabletop models. I don’t think you’d find a better looking radio out there, but the tuners, along with the rest of the controls, are mostly analog. I may be old timey, but I love digital tuning and volume control. Finally, I looked at what Sangean had to offer. Sangean manufactured my faithful old Radio Shack model and it was the best all-round radio I ever owned. Sure enough, Sangean had jumped on the tabletop bandwagon and produced some great looking radios that also had the modern specs I wanted. I ordered a Sangean WR-22, which was delivered yesterday. It’s a beauty, wood cabinet and a jet black control panel, with a big bright (and dimmable), display. Heavy too, I bet it weighs more than a dozen iPhones. The audio quality is great right out of the box, though I turned the bass way down.* It amazes me how these new tabletop radios can fill a room with music. It also has RDS (radio data system) on the FM, which tells you what station you're listening too, and sometimes the song or program as well. It can also set the clock automatically, but only if the station keeps its time correctly. (Are you listening, KENW?) The radio has 5 preset buttons, just like the car, so everybody can have their favorite station in an instant. (I like National Public Radio, but my girlfriend prefers Cow Country Radio.) It also has a remote control, perfect for when you are across the room and the old swamp cooler kicks in, or when somebody starts snoring and you just don’t have the gumption to get out of bed to turn up the volume. A word of caution, like so many things these days, this is a microprocessor controlled device and you’d be wise to use it with a surge protector. Out here on the High Plains, the biggest issue in a radio is often reception. Either you’re 50 miles from the nearest broadcast tower, or you live in a canyon, or your house is covered in stucco on chicken wire making reception difficult. Fear not, the WR-22 has powerful tuners (some have compared it favorably to the legendary GE Super Radio) and also has AM and FM antenna jacks in the back if you need to upgrade. It also has a clock (RDS or manual) with alarm settings, snooze, nap, Bluetooth, and a USB port for MP3 listening from a thumb drive, and probably some other good stuff too. The radio costs $128.00 ($22 cheaper than my DX-390 cost in 1993), before taxes and delivery. Whether you listen to “All Things Considered” or “Unshackled!”, country or Tejano, rock or R&B, this is the radio for you. Be sure and tune in for my next radio review, in about 25 years. * The overabundance of bass was due to the LOUDNESS setting being turned to ON. I turned it to OFF and that solved the bass problem. I have also read that placing the back of the radio too close to a wall can exaggerate the bass as the woofer is on the back. Anyway, the audio quality has risen from great to perfect (Michael Lijewski, Clovis NM, DX LISTENING DIGEST) JK ANTENNAS. THE ULTIMATE, VERSATILE, REVERSIBLE, RECEIVE ANTENNA SYSTEM --- FOUR Receive Antenna Designs in ONE Package 1. Classic Beverage 2. Beverage on the Ground (BOG) or Beverage in Sod (BIS) 3. FLAG 4. Inverted EWE ? New unique design ? Uses low cost RG-6 cable ? Flexible feed-point can be located at any position along antenna length (Beverage & BOG/BIS) ? All passive high-reliability design ? Termination resistors can be adjusted from shack to optimize directivity and S/N The JK BevFlex-4 is actually four antenna system designs in a single package and is based on our earlier BevPro-1 reversible Beverage antenna design that has been deployed worldwide. All four designs allow you to maximize your low frequency receiving capabilities based on your particular physical space constraints. All system designs are totally passive, provide 180 degree reversibility, and allow termination optimization from your operating position [diagram illustrations]: SWB latest issue/archive: http://www.hard-core-dx.com/swb/archive.htm More information here: https://jkantennas.com/rx-antenna.html Manual & FAQ: https://jkantennas.com/assets/jk-bevflex-4-manual.pdf https://jkantennas.com/assets/jk-bevflex-4-faqs.pdf BevPro - 1: The Ultimate Reversible Beverage Antenna System More info here: http://www.nakatoyo.com/pixeltec/BevPro-1-Information-for-Web-site1.pdf (SW Bulletin Aug 12 via DXLD) ANIMALS & INSECTS IN RADIO In our program today we present another episode in the story of Animals and Insects in Radio. Today’s program is Episode 3 in this three part mini-series on the story of Animals and Insects in Radio, and on this occasion, we begin with a visit to the one-time Deutsche Welle Relay Station which is located near Trincomalee on the northeast coast of the island of Sri Lanka. It was back in the early part of the year 1985 that our DX editor Adrian Peterson teamed up with the well known shortwave radio personality Jonathan Marks from Radio Netherlands and his wife Marian for a five hour journey by car across the island of Sri Lanka from Colombo to Trincomalee. The purpose for this journey through the sometimes dangerous insurgency areas was for a visit to what was the Deutsche Welle relay station which had been installed in what had previously been a Royal Navy wireless communication station. Following our inspection of the shortwave and mediumwave equipment in that very modern international radio broadcasting station, our tour guide at Deutsche Welle took us out into the massive antenna field. He explained that there were occasions when a tribe of wild Asian Elephants had broken down the protective fence surrounding the antenna field and they then encroached onto the station property, sometimes causing damage to an aerial system. Then too he added, from time to time, a troop of wild monkeys has come parading through the area, swinging from the structural wires of the huge curtain antenna systems, though thus far, they had caused very little damage, and neither had any of them become electrocuted. We should add that SLBC, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, now operates the Trincomalee radio station, and that this our DX program Wavescan is regularly heard on shortwave from one of their four powerful 250 kW transmitters. Then too, VOH the Voice of Hope in Zambia Africa has experienced a similar problem with monkeys invading their station property. There are many wild monkeys that live in the trees surrounding the antenna field of their isolated shortwave station. Sometimes they get so bold that they come right down onto the ground surrounding the transmitter buildings looking for food. A few months ago, the engineering staff discovered that the air temperature in the main transmitter building itself was getting dangerously high; and in addition, the industrial air conditioning unit was no longer working. When they investigated, they found that much of the insulating material surrounding the ducts from the compressors outside the back of the building had been stripped bare by the monkeys; and in addition, some of the electrical wiring had been broken off also. Needless to say, when all had been repaired and replaced, they were careful to ensure that all of the outer surfaces were monkey-proofed. Over in nearby India, Manosij Guha tells us in the 2002 edition of Larry Magne’s now defunct annual publication Passport to World Band Radio that a shortwave radio station in his country had a similar animal problem. Manosij tells us that All India Radio AIR established a shortwave relay station near the small town of Aligarh some 60 miles east of New Delhi in 1971. Initially this station, on its estate of more than 800 acres, contained two shortwave transmitters at 250 kW each, together with 39 antenna systems and 15 miles of feeder lines. Manosij Guha stated that on several occasions nilgais, the large brown Indian antelope, have invaded the antenna farm and been electrocuted in the antenna field. On two separate occasions in two widely separated countries, sheep have been the culprit in causing strange sounds in a radio transmission. The now silent shortwave station operated by Radio Australia in Victoria was installed on a property of 600 acres located at 490 Verney Road in what is now North Shepparton. Although the property is located in what is described as sheep grazing country, currently the area is becoming somewhat built up with local housing. At the height of its operational capacity, Radio Australia Shepparton contained seven shortwave transmitters; 4 @ 100 kW, 2 @ 50 kW, and 1 @ 10 kW. On the antenna farm were 15 steel towers standing 210 ft high supporting 24 curtain antennas, with an additional 4 rhombic antennas for use in emergency occasions. In its earlier usage in the postwar years, the growth of high grass in the antenna field became a problem due to the likelihood of fires during the hot dry summer. So a flock of 850 sheep were obtained, Border Leicester cross with Merino, and they kept the grass down. On one occasion way back, apparently there was a meter in the transmitter hall at Shepparton that gave a strange erratic reading. When the staff investigated outside, they discovered that one of the sheep was scratching an itch by rubbing itself against a feeder line pole. Back towards the end of the year 1993, a similar event occurred in England. It was reported that a government communication radio station at Scarborough in Yorkshire, Northern England was emitting strange high frequency noises. An investigation revealed that sheep were rubbing against what they described as an aerial pole. Back towards the end of the year 1993, Jonathan Marks (again!) in his DX program Media Network from Radio Netherlands shortwave told the story of how a school of shrimp put their station on the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean off the air. The concentration of shrimp in the water pond clogged the water intake for the cooling system and the station had to be closed until the fish were cleared from the cooling equipment. The abundance of shrimp in the wetlands and shoreland areas of Bonaire attracts the Pink Flamingo for which the island is quite famous. The March 1999 issue of Contact, the monthly magazine from the World DX Club in England, tells us another interesting story. They state that the National Rivers Authority in Great Britain inserted a tiny radio transmitter into 450 salmon fish so that they could be tracked as they migrate up the River Hirnant in Wales. At one stage, their mobile radio detector indicated that one of these fish had leaped out of the water and was moving across dry land. The authorities tracked the mobile salmon with their radio receiver to the home of a fisherman, who confessed that he had been fishing without a license. And finally, one for the birds! This item happened back during the 1940s, and it is taken from a 1995 issue of the American radio journal, Radio World. The incident that we refer to occurred at mediumwave station WBAA, which is still located at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. At the time, the station was located in the Electrical Engineering Building, and the antenna was suspended between two towers that were part of the steel framework of the building. These towers extended 88 feet above the top of the building and they supported a cage antenna made up of several parallel conductors each about seven inches apart. One summer afternoon back in the 1940s at about four o’clock, the meter on the transmitter indicated a gradual change in the antenna current. The operator checked all systems, and everything seemed to be OK. After half an hour with very low antenna readings, the meter reading began to improve until it slowly returned back to normal. Next day, and on the following days, always at about the same time, the antenna reading began to deteriorate to a dangerously low level, and then gradually return to normal. Now on Sundays station WBAA was off the air, and on one occasion the operator happened to drive past the station at about the same time, four o’clock in the afternoon. He was amazed to discover that the antenna was literally covered with Blackbirds, perched on the cross bars from one end of the antenna to the other. In spite of the heavy construction of the antenna, it was sagging noticeably, enough to change the level of capacitance with the ground. In addition, the effective increase in the size of the antenna with all of the birds upon it changed the impedance factor of the antenna. This then was the cause for the low meter readings and the deterioration of the level of the transmitted signal. Indeed that cage antenna was in reality, a bird cage antenna! (Adrian Peterson, IN, script for AWR Wavescan Aug 5 via DXLD) HOW FM STEREO CAME TO LIFE https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/how-fm-stereo-came-to-life (via Kevin Redding, Crump, Aug 10, ABDX yg via DXLD) Great article about how stereo broadcasting came to the FM Band, including a bit about the hybrid AM-FM stereo system used briefly. Great stuff! 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, WTFDA gg via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ SOLAR MINIMUM CONDITIONS ARE IN EFFECT The sun has been without sunspots for 38 of the past 41 days. To find a similar stretch of blank suns, you have to go back to 2009 when the sun was experiencing the deepest solar minimum in a century. Solar minimum has returned, bringing extra cosmic rays, long-lasting holes in the sun's atmosphere, and strangely pink auroras. http://spaceweather.com/ (via Mike Terry, Aug 7, WOR iog via DXLD) PARKER SOLAR PROBE LAUNCHED AT 3:31 EDT THIS MORNING https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/08/09/this-nasa-spacecraft-is-about-to-probe-one-of-earths-scariest-threats-the-sun/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.72b4fe458355&wpisrc=nl_az_most&wpmk=1 (via Gerald T Pollard, NC, Aug 12, DXLD) THE PERSEID METEOR SHOWER IS UNDERWAY Southgate August 6, 2018 Earth is entering a stream of debris from giant comet 109P/Swift- Tuttle, parent of the annual Perseid meteor shower. Although the shower is not expected to peak until next weekend, NASA all-sky cameras are already detecting dozens of Perseid fireballs every night over the USA. This early activity may be a good omen for the nights ahead, especially Aug. 11th-13th when Earth is expected to pass through the densest part of the comet's debris zone. Visit Spaceweather.com for more information and observing tips. http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2018/august/the-perseid-meteor-shower-is-underway.htm#.W2nq-dJKjIU (via Mike Terry, Aug 7, WOR iog via DXLD) VIRGO: RADIO METEOR RADAR I’m wondering if any of you are regular users of the online Java application, “Virgo”? It’s useful for determining the best direction to point your antenna for meteor scatter contacts. You simply enter your grid square, and it displays the active meteor scatter, and shows you which direction to point your antenna. I regularly used this for about three years, but stopped using it about two years ago. Security updates to both web browsers and Java itself made it increasingly difficult to find ways to “white list” the application and get it to run successfully. If anyone has figured out an easier way to get this application to run successfully, I’d love to hear it. It’s a great app, and completely safe. Haven’t been able to find anything else similar that is accessible to amateurs involved in meteor scatter work either. 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, 121 Mayfair Park, Maylene, AL 35114, EM63nf, Aug 7, WTFDA gg via DXLD) I used to use it a couple of years ago - then it stopped working for me when I upgraded my PC. I'll try it again (Bill H[epburn], ibid.) Sabine, DL1DBC and author of the “Virgo” meteor scatter radar page respond to my plea for help in getting this Java based, web application to run last night. He announced that Alexander, DL8AAU, and Bastian, DB1BM, made a redesign of the software and it is now available in a standalone version. It can be downloaded here: It runs perfectly on my Windows 10 64 bit machine. YMMV. No joy on my MacBook Pro so far. All you need to do is enter your Maidenhead Grid Square in six-digits, and the software will show you the direction of the radiant for all currently active meteor showers. It also has some great real-time data about rates, etc. Wonderful tool for those chasing meteor scatter DX. Highly recommended! Thanks to Sabine, Alexander, and Bastian for their hard work on this. 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 89.3, Aug 12 at 0550 UT, I select this open frequency to listen for meteor bursts at the annual Perseid peak. The best one comes at 0551, minor ones at 0556, 0559, 0600 with some talk but no ID, 0610. Nothing further as I am dozing off. This on the PL-880 with telescopic antenna only. Also let the DX-398 run all night on 92.1, but no RDS capture to be seen. From http://spaceweather.com/ via Mike Terry, WOR iog: ``The Perseid meteor shower is expected to peak this weekend with 100 or more meteors per hour. The best time to look is during the dark hours before sunrise on Sunday, August 12th, and again on Monday, August 13th. At those times, the shower's radiant will be high in the sky, spewing meteors in all directions`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2018 Aug 13 0125 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 06 - 12 August 2018 Solar activity was very low throughout the period. No Earth-directed CMEs were observed in available satellite imagery. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was normal background levels throughout the period. Geomagnetic field activity was ranged from quiet to active. Quiet levels were observed on 06 Aug, 08-10 Aug and 12 Aug; unsettled levels were reached on 07 Aug and active levels were reached on 11 Aug. Mostly nominal solar wind conditions were observed through the period. A SSBC followed by very weak influence from a negative polarity CH HSS occurred on 11 Aug. Total magnetic field strength briefly reached 11 nT around 11/0400 UTC but no significant periods of southward Bz were observed. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 13 AUGUST-08 SEPTEMBER 2018 Solar activity is expected to be very low 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 range from normal to moderate levels over the outlook period. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to range from quiet to active levels over the outlook period. Unsettled levels are expected on 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 04 Sep and 07-08 Sep; active levels are expected on 16-17 Aug, 20-21 Aug and 03 Sep. All increases in geomagnetic activity are anticipated in response to multiple, recurrent CH HSSs. The remainder of the outlook period is expected to be at quiet levels. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2018 Aug 13 0125 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 2018-08-13 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2018 Aug 13 68 8 3 2018 Aug 14 68 5 2 2018 Aug 15 68 5 2 2018 Aug 16 68 12 4 2018 Aug 17 68 15 4 2018 Aug 18 68 8 3 2018 Aug 19 68 5 2 2018 Aug 20 68 15 4 2018 Aug 21 68 12 4 2018 Aug 22 68 5 2 2018 Aug 23 70 5 2 2018 Aug 24 70 5 2 2018 Aug 25 70 5 2 2018 Aug 26 70 5 2 2018 Aug 27 70 5 2 2018 Aug 28 70 5 2 2018 Aug 29 70 5 2 2018 Aug 30 70 5 2 2018 Aug 31 70 5 2 2018 Sep 01 70 5 2 2018 Sep 02 70 5 2 2018 Sep 03 70 12 4 2018 Sep 04 70 8 3 2018 Sep 05 70 5 2 2018 Sep 06 68 5 2 2018 Sep 07 68 10 3 2018 Sep 08 68 8 3 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1943, DXLD) GEOMAGNETIC INDICES - GEO Compiled By: Phil Bytheway E-mail: DXM.EiC@gmail.com Geomagnetic Summary July 1 2018 through July 31 2018 Tabulated from WWV on-line status daily (K @ 0000 UTC). Date Flux A K Space Wx 1 68 3 1 no storms 2 67 3 0 no storms 3 68 4 1 no storms 4 68 5 1 no storms 5 68 17 4 minor, G1 6 71 7 2 no storms 7 72 5 0 no storms 8 72 4 1 no storms 9 73 2 1 no storms 10 72 7 1 no storms 11 73 8 2 mo storms 12 72 8 2 no storms 13 73 6 1 no storms 14 72 5 0 no storms 15 72 4 1 no storms 16 72 9 3 no storms 17 71 8 2 no storms 18 71 4 1 no storms 19 71 4 1 no storms 20 71 7 2 no storms 21 70 11 2 no storms 22 68 5 1 no storms 23 67 4 1 no storms 24 67 17 4 no storms 25 66 9 2 no storms 26 66 4 1 no storms 27 67 4 2 no storms 28 68 5 1 no storms 29 68 5 1 no storms 30 68 5 2 no storms 7/31 68 6 3 no storms Gx – Geomagnetic Storm Level Rx – Radio Blackouts Level Sx – Solar Radiation Storm Level (IRCA DX Monitor August 18, published Aug 14, via DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ FAHRENHEIT 11/9 Friends, Amazing news! The World Premiere of our film, “Fahrenheit 11/9”, will be Opening Night at the Toronto International Film Festival! This is the 2nd time we've been picked for opening night at North America's biggest and most prestigious festival! This is an incredible honor. After its world premiere in Toronto, it will open in theaters everywhere on September 21st, 6 and 1/2 weeks before the midterm elections. And the official trailer is out! Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRQv9xMQ3E0 I'll be sharing ideas and updates as we approach the world premiere, but for now, here is a Q&A I did with HuffPost yesterday about the film (Click here for the full article). https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fahrenheit-11-9-trailer-michael-moore_us_5b6b6256e4b0bdd062061ed6 Thanks for all of your support throughout this process. See you at the movies! Michael Moore mike@michaelmoore.com (via DXLD) Viz.: HuffPost Q&A In starting “Fahrenheit 11/9,” what was your intention? Did it change at all during the course of production? Donald Trump is an evil genius. He has no intention of leaving the White House. Whenever he hears that another country has a president for life, he perks up and thinks, “I like the sound of that!” And he has an obedient political party that holds every seat of power backing him up. American journalism schools have not trained students how to cover an authoritarian leader. Our media has no idea what it is up against. They're getting steamrolled by a tyrant because Trump understands media and understands the country he lives in more than those that cover him do. This puts us all in grave danger. If nothing else, I hope this film exposes that grave danger and shows people the way out. Has your approach to chronicling American politics shifted over the years? At what point does a documentary like this risk preaching to the choir? The majority of Americans agree with me on the issues. I'm part of the majority. Our choir is much bigger than Trump's choir or Fox News' choir. Unfortunately, our choir is out of tune, and it's hard to hear our voices through all the sobbing and despair. That all ends on Sept. 21. The choir needs a song to sing. Once we come together in beautiful harmony, the Trump crime family will be prosecuted, law and order will be restored, we'll have Medicare for All and we'll declare that “Game of Thrones” must remain on the air for at least three more seasons. On opening weekend, “Fahrenheit 9/11” was the number one movie in every red state in the country. It was a hit in military towns and on military bases. My choir is the American people. The old guard of the Democratic Party has failed to speak to them. I will at least give them a song they can belt out. Given the title's connection to “Fahrenheit 9/11,” what's your assessment of American politics today compared to when you made that film? When we started making “Fahrenheit 9/11,” George W. Bush had a 70 percent approval rating, 29 Democratic senators had voted for the Iraq war, and The New York Times and the liberal establishment were all aiding and abetting Bush and his war. Every TV network was waving the American flag, and those of us who dissented were in a lonely minority and called unpatriotic. Outlets like HuffPost didn't exist and MSNBC was trying to out-Fox Fox News. It was a dark, dark time, and America and the world has paid a very steep price for it. Now we live in even darker times. So that hasn't changed! However, we now live in a very liberal country. Most Americans may not label themselves as liberal, but if you look at almost every major issue, the majority of Americans support the liberal position. They want Medicare for All. They believe in women's equality and equal pay. They believe immigration is good for America. They believe in LGBQT rights and marriage equality. They want gun control. They want to break up the big banks. They want universal pre-K and free public college for all. They want to tax the rich and corporations. And on and on and on. It's amazing how liberal the American people are when you look at it issue by issue. What is the most startling revelation you found in meeting folks for this project? The revolution is happening in the most unlikely of places. The resistance - the true resistance - is not coming from the Democratic Party or from the liberal establishment. I can't reveal too much right now, but there is a real insurgency taking place. I don't know if it will succeed or not. It might be too late. Conversely, did you discover anything that offered a glimmer of hope? *uck hope. Seriously, f*ck hope. Fu*k despair, too. But fuc* hope. Hope is passive. Hope gives you permission to let someone else do the work. Hope leads people to believe that tax returns, or a pee tape, or the FBI or an adult film star will save the country. Hope, and the passivity that comes with it, is what helped get us here to begin with. It's the lazy way out. We don't need hope. We need action (Michael Moore, Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###