DX LISTENING DIGEST 18-35, August 28, 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 1945 contents: Anguilla, Antarctica, Australia and non, Bhutan, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Cuba and non, Europe, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mauritania, Netherlands non, Nigeria and non, Norway, Perú, Russia, São Tomé, Solomon Islands, Spain, USA, unidentified, propagation outlook SHORTWAVE AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1945, August 28-September 4, 2018 Tue 2030 WRMI 5950 7780 [1944 replayed?] Tue 2130 WRMI 5950 [confirmed] Tue 2330 WBCQ 9330v [not aired] Wed 1030 WRMI 5950 Wed 2100 WRMI 9955 [confirmed from 2102, joined late] Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v [confirmed] Wed 2330 WBCQ 9330v [not aired] Thu 2330 WBCQ 9330v [confirmed] Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v [maybe] Sat 0630 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 1230 WINB 9265 via Unique Radio [NEW] 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 Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v [maybe] Mon 0130 WRMI 5850, 7780 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 #1946?] 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. Glenn, I just happened to be up, decided to check out KICY via my Amazon Echo Dot. Monitored between about 0735 and 0801 UT. All Russian programming. Format was music, sort of like what we call “contemporary Christian,” but less raucous than that music tends to be here in the [lower] US. All singing in Russian. At top of hour, 0800 (midnight in Alaska, I guess) canned ID in English, and a longer canned ID in Russian. Then, back to music. Actually, not unpleasant background music, if you don’t speak Russian and don’t care about the words. I don’t know what time Russian begins, and when it ends. I can check this out, if you think it would be of interest to MW DX-ers. I wonder how well this signal is heard in Russian Siberia, or if anyone bothers to listen. If they have any strong signals on 846, or 855, they may have problems. Wonder who sponsors this. Wonder if KNLS is involved. It looks as if KICY has Russian for most of the after midnight time, some music, as I described, some preaching. During the Russian, the hourly legal ID in English is very brief, “KICY, Nome.” Could be hard for a DX-er to confirm. 73, (Tim Hendel, Huntsville AL, Aug 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Tim, Tnx for the KICY info. No relation to KNLS. Their website has lots of info, including: ``KICY AM & FM are owned & operated by Arctic Broadcasting Association, Inc. which is an affiliated corporation of the Evangelical Covenant Church. KICY AM-850 & ICY 100.3 FM - P.O. Box 820 Nome, AK 99762 - (907) 443-2213`` About their Russian mission: http://www.kicy.org/?page_id=4 ``Spreading the Gospel to Western Alaska and the Russian Far East. Russian Mission At KICY, we’ve been broadcasting into Russia since 1960. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s that we realized we were reaching many Russian listeners at 5,000 watts. Today, KICY is the only [sic] commercial radio station in the United States licensed by the FCC to broadcast into another country in their language. When the people of western Alaska are sleeping from 11pm to 5am, it’s evening in Chukotka, our nearest neighboring region. It is then, that KICY turns all 50,000 watts westward into this often cold and dark part of the world. Our broadcasts are hosted by Russian Programmer, Luda Kinok, a native of the Chukotkan village of Sereniki. She brings current news, weather and music to the program, along with a Russian version of the popular program “CareForce”, where Russian pastors from the area pray over the radio. KICY Audio --- Download One of Luda’s songs from a recent recording session. Luda sings`` (via gh to Tim Hendel, via DXLD) Thanks, Glenn. Interesting! I never heard of that church. I just wonder how reception is in Siberia. Guess I'll never go there to find out. 73, (Tim to Glenn, via DXLD) Tim, Also there are very few MW stations left in Russia, none on 846 or 855. There are a few in China, Korea, Japan. Only significant one is 500 kW in Pyongyang on 855, but that`s still a long way from eastern end of Siberia (Glenn to Tim, ibid.) Glenn, thanks! Interesting to know that KICY has a clear shot. Wonder how many Comrades listen (Tim, ibid.) ** ALBANIA [non]. 9395, Aug 22 at 0230, S9+20/30, ``R. Tirana International`` via WRMI after IS and s/on claiming to be webcast only! No regular programming of news but instead a holiday special lexure about an Islamic holiday in honor of Abraham being willing to sacrifice not only himself but his family to the will of god (The seminal Big Mistake!!). This takes only 4 minutes, then nothing but music from 0235, no announcements for rest of broadcast, not even at s/off. At 0240 the mood changes drastically to good upbeat folk music. The IS loops at start and finish have a hum lacking during the rest of broadcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGUILLA. 11775, Caribbean Beacon at 2050 with lecture by the Doctor Gene Scott from beyond the grave. Kill time music at the ToH. Heard with SW-2000629, outdoor longwire - Poor/Fair August 26 (Rick Barton from Central Arizona, 73 and Good Listening....! -rb, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6090, UT Monday Aug 27 at 0048, no signal from Caribbean Beacon, which is normally active on UT Mondays and Tuesdays only. I think I did hear 11775 earlier during the day on Sunday Aug 26 as I tuned around, but not logged. That should also be on daytime Aug 27. See also USA: WWCR 5935. 6090, Aug 27 at 0626, Caribbean Beacon is still off like earlier this evening, even tho it`s UT Monday when normally active running all night. But who needs it? 5935 WWCR is VG S9+20. Day frequency 11775 also off at 1404 check. 6090 still off Aug 28 circa 0045 when it is normally on for a few more hours into UT Tuesday. Still no sign of it here on MW 1610, nor has anyone else reported it to my knowledge (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. 15475.97, LRA 36, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, 1402-1420, 24-08, nothing here in Reinante, no audio, no carrier, but via remote SDR Kiwi Pardinho, São Paulo, fair to weak signal, songs and comments by females in Spanish, “Base Esperanza”. Friday 24th the only day in the week detected LRA 36 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 4835, Ozy Radio, 1211, Aug 23. Mostly pop songs; the Australian rock and roll band Rose Tattoo, with "Angry" Anderson - "Born To Be Wild," etc.; frequent theme music ("Waltzing Matilda"), at 1214, 1219, 1228, 1240; weak with QRN (static); some news and ads; no QRM from AIR Gangtok (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4885 [sic; must mean 4835], Ozy Radio, 0631-0640, 26-08, only weak carrier detected here in Reinante. Via remote SDR Kiwi, New Zealand North, good signal, songs in English, tuning music “Waltzing Matilda”, id. “... Ozy Radio...” (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Must be long path to Spain. That`s awfully early, never reported that early from North America, but 1631 local time is close enough to winter sunset, and obviously making the first leg to NZ (gh, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 5055, 4KZ, 1005+, Aug 22, with cut off at 1155:54*. Yet another day of better than the usual reception; at times semi- readable; nice ID - "now operates on shortwave on 5-0-5-5 kilohertz in the 60 meter shortwave band, . . . frequency once again 5-0-5-5 kilohertz"; 1100 national news items, review of the conviction of Kathleen Megan Folbigg for killing her four children - a three year old boy and his one year old brother survived for two days in a wreckage of a car crash that killed their mother, the older boy was found wandering along a road, officers found the wreckage in a ravine - etc.; pop songs played today - Petula Clark with "Downtown," Ray Charles with "Georgia On My Mind," Sheena Easton with "For Your Eyes Only," Billy Joel with "Uptown Girl," etc.; would have been decent reception without the usual QRN (static). My audio at http://goo.gl/1dSbkG (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) Hi Glenn, Al Kirton, Group General Manager for NQ Radio Network, at Radio 4KZ, et al. http://goo.gl/aZ1NP6 responded to the email I sent him today: "I’m looking around for a 5kW transmitter." That would certainly result in a significant improvement to the 4KZ signal being received here in California, so I wish him good luck! Info from ACMA Register of Radiocommunications Licences (RRL) https://web.acma.gov.au/rrl/register_search.search_dispatcher Assn details: 2465379 Auth Date:28/Feb/2018 Frequency:5.055 MHz Band width: 6 kHz Emission: 6K00A3E Client No:57709 Licence No: 10194203/2 Ant Height: 10m (Ron Howard, Aug 23, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) But no power given there (gh) 5055, Radio 4KZ, 0913, Aug 27. Usual pop songs; Tennessee Ernie Ford - "16 Tons," 5th Dimension - "Last Night, I Didn't Get To Sleep At All," Donovan - "Catch the Wind," White Plains - "My Baby Loves Lovin'," Olivia Newton-John and Andy Gibb - "Suddenly," Andy Gibb & Bee Gees - "An Everlasting Love," etc.; 1000, with news item about assault on paramedics as the ambulance officers were treating an unconscious patient and sports item about the Belgian Grand Prix, along with marine conditions. Recently doing well and would call this just about semi-readable now. My audio of news and music at http://goo.gl/3MmxR4 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5055, Radio 4KZ, 0830, Aug 28. Even this early, was already able to ID the pop songs; "Mr. Tambourine Man" (not sung by Bob Dylan), Styx - "Babe," the Doors - "Riders On The Storm," The Lovin' Spoonful - "Summer In The City," etc.; commercial announcements (market that sell oranges, mangoes, etc.); usual news/sports segments; noted cut off at 1155:37.0* (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 9670, Thu Aug 23 at 1239, S9-S6 in special English, talk about BIOS promoted by a Richard Jefferson, pros and cons of GM foods; the part I hear seems even-handed; closing credits for `Spotlight`, http://www.radioenglish.net for more info and script on title ``Food technology for everyone``. 1244 sign-off by Reach Beyond, until tomorrow at 1115 = 5:45 pm Myanmar time, and off 1245* 11750, Aug 24 at 1311, fair signal with S Asian song, then YL lengthy contact info with lots of numbers, partly in English, including P O Box in New Delhi, e-mail, text?/phone. 1315 into another language. Aoki/NDXC shows RBA on day 6 = Friday going from Hindi to Gujrati (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. Hi Glenn, I would like to thank you for your continued support of Unique Radio and Australian shortwave news. I've been giving World of Radio a plug with the Aussie News stories you cover but after much thought would like to run the full 'World of Radio' program from Saturday September 1st, 1230 hrs UT on WINB 9265 kHz every week. I am quite happy to run it as the great program that it is and being independent in its own right. Please let me know if you are OK with this. As the signal (for North America) is also directed to the South Pacific, it will provide coverage into Australia and the South Pacific. Eventually Unique Radio will reactivate on 2368.5 kHz (Soon) and later on 5045 (Have to get a transmitter) and waiting on a new antenna in any case. Thanks again for your help and coverage of Unique Radio with also news of Australian shortwave :-). Best regards (Tim Gaynor, Unique Radio, Gunnedah NSW, Australia, Aug 24 to gh, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Tim, That would be fine; opportunities to hear WOR on Saturdays are rather sparse. So is WINB putting in a decent signal to your area during your hours? I have been wondering why you are not going back to 3210. Of course, we in NAm shall have a much better chance of hearing UR on 5045 than the lower two. How are the DRM tests on 15670 Fridays going, or are you still doing that? 73, (Glenn to Tim, ibid.) Hi Glenn, yes, would download your show and include with my package. I also want to extend the broadcast another half hour as well. WINB puts in a fair to good signal at present but during our summer the signal tends to get even better on a par with WRMI on 7730 which, by the way, is only on weekends apparently. 3210 kHz was obtained by Station X from Wee Waa further (as I was moving) north of me here in Gunnedah, so because it's so close, probably wouldn't be available, even though it's not on air. Yes, 5045 will probably be a better chance in North America for reception and contemplating getting a bigger transmitter and antenna for this frequency. According to Hans Johnson at WINB, the DRM is back on air, but at only 15 kW, I'm not sure it's being heard on 15670, as I've had no reports. I had a monitor in Northern Ireland check and nothing was heard and the receiver received no digital ID from WINB either. I hope they increase the ERP and my guess is they may well do that once the testing phase is over. Not much hope of many listening on DRM in any case due to limited receivers being available other than the SDR receivers being available, remotely in Europe. Best regards, Glenn (Tim Gaynor, ibid.) Re my not finding the Unique Radio website, which is about to carry WOR via WINB on Saturdays at 1230 on 9265V, Tim Gaynor explains: ``My site is http://www.uniqueradio.podomatic.com or go to google and search uniqueradio + podomatic``. Thence you can play 2-hour podcasts of the latest and previous broadcasts (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Unique Radio is adding another 30 minutes onto the Saturday broadcast, [via WINB 9265]. Therefore here are the program times, UT :- 1100 Unique Radio news and tunes from Sounds of your life 1130 International Radio Report - Sheldon Harvey and David 1200 Hobart Radio International - From Tasmania Australia 1230 World of Radio - Glenn Hauser 1300 Unique Radio & Sounds of your life (Special program occasionally added here) All reports to: nri3@yahoo.com.au Best regards (Tim Gaynor, Unique Radio, Gunnedah NSW, Australia, Aug 29, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHAMAS. 810, ZNS3, Freeport, Grand Bahama. 0914 August 16, 2018. Urban gospel vocal, Radio Bahamas cross-promo for 1540, 104.5 FM and 810. Still a decent signal here (Terry L. Krueger, All times/dates GMT, Clearwater, FL, NRD-535, IC-R75, longwires, active loop, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH [and non]. 4750, Aug 23 at 1223, two JBA carriers slightly apart making double het against BFO: i.e. Bangladesh Betar and CNR1 Hailar, with Makassar long gone (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH. Bangladesh Betar in English/Bangla on August 21: 1745-1900 on 13580 DKA 250 kW / 320 deg to WeEu English, good 1915-2000 on 13580 DKA 250 kW / 320 deg to WeEu Bangla, good: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/bangladesh-betar-in-englishbangla-on.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 21-22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reception of Bangladesh Betar in 31/41mb on August 22: 1315-1345 on 9455 DKA 250 kW / 320 deg to SoAs Nepali, good signal 1600-1630 on 7250 DKA 250 kW / 290 deg to N/ME Arabic, good signal http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-bangladesh-betar-in-3141mb.html Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 22-23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BHUTAN. 6035, BBS, on Aug 26, with greatly extended broadcast; 1207-1340+. Usual Yunnan QRM. Normal BBS format; 1215-1230, indigenous singing/chanting; 1230-1300 and 1315-1340+, with usual Sunday program of young children calling in and singing over the phone, but today with one difference - a few men called in and also sang. My local sunrise was at 1334 UT, with Thimphu sunset at 1228 UT. My audio, with some selections of the singing today, at http://goo.gl/Ji9dK1 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) Hiroyuki Komatsubara's YouTube video/audio of tentative BBS reception today - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63zHF3sj17g&feature=youtu.be His log at "Now On The Radio" - http://radio.chobi.net/DX/bbs/?res:3419#3436 : "-2105- 6035kHz UNID, fair signal, pop song, (QRM from China DRM on 6030kHz)" Listening to his audio, it certainly sounds to me like BBS (Bhutan), so perhaps a 24 hour broadcast today? (Ron Howard, CA, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BONAIRE. Trans World Radio --- While on Grassy Key (near Marathon, FL), I recorded TWR Bonaire on 800 kHz (using my PL-880 with its built-in ferrite-bar-loop antenna oriented appropriately). This was on 22-23 August UT starting before the scheduled 2130 UT sign-on, for over five hours. No audio was detected until about 2314 when some barely audible English could be detected. I think I heard mention of QSL cards. Reception gradually improved to a listenable level during the English hour, which runs from 2300 until 0000 with a listed power of 225 kW and the "Caribbean" beam (azimuth?). There was a significant increase in signal level when Spanish programming started at 0000. For this service, a listed power of 440 kW is used with a "North" beam (azimuth?). The transition seemed to take only a couple of seconds. Very good signal through to 0230 when I stopped recording. Published schedule: http://www.twrbonaire.com/files/394/2018-05-07_800AM%20schedule.pdf (-- Richard Langley, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BONAIRE [and non]. The Highest Powered MW Station in the Western Hemisphere --- TWR Bonaire Projected Locations On previous occasions here in Wavescan, we have presented the story of three mediumwave stations that have been at some stage, the highest powered mediumwave station in the Southern Hemisphere. These three stations were 2CO Corowa and 5CK Crystal Brook both in Australia, and 2YA in Wellington New Zealand. In our program today, we take a look at Part 1 in the story of another high powered mediumwave station, not this time in the Southern Hemisphere, but rather in the Western Hemisphere. This interesting station is located on the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean, and it is operated by TWR, Trans World Radio. It is true that there were several attempts at implementing super power on mediumwave in North America back during the 1930s. The most famous cases in the United States were KDKA in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania with 400 kW, WGY Schenectady New York with 500 kW, and the big daddy of them all WLW Cincinnati Ohio with even up to 1,000 kW, one megawatt. Several mediumwave stations in Mexico also shared in the superpower race on mediumwave back during that same era. However these days, the highest power on mediumwave in Canada and the United States is 50 kW, though in Mexico and South America there is a handful of mediumwave stations on the the air with a power of 100 kW and 250 kW. Above that power level, TWR Bonaire stands out with prominence. This is their story. Let’s go back to the beginning! It was back in the year 1954 that the Freed family embarked on a new venture installing and operating a Christian shortwave station in Tangier, North Africa. Six years later (1960) the project was transferred to a larger facility in Monte Carlo on the Mediterranean coast of continental Europe. Soon afterwards, their attention was drawn to establishing a similar station for coverage in Latin America. In fact at that stage, TWR purchased at a very good price an old shortwave transmitter that had previously been on the air with the Voice of America near Cincinnati in Ohio. This transmitter had been obtained by TWR apparently for installation somewhere in the Middle Americas. A comparison with known dates for VOA in the Cincinnati area reveals that this transmitter that TWR procured was either WLWK, a 50 kW composite unit installed in 1940, or WLWO a 75 kW Crosley unit installed in 1941, and probably the latter. These two transmitters were installed at what became the VOA relay station at Mason (not Bethany) Ohio in the Crosley transmitter building on the north side of Tylersville Road. These two transmitters radiated through two re-entrant rhombic antennas located on Everybody’s Farm on the south side of Tylersville Road, almost opposite the Crosley mediumwave station WLW. However, the WLW shortwave transmitter that TWR procured was never taken into service, and instead it was sold off and the funding was then used for the purchase of more modern equipment. It is not known who the new buyer was for this historic shortwave transmitter, nor if it was ever placed on the air again at another location. In 1962, TWR filed an application with the FCC for a 250 kW shortwave station near Vega Baja in the middle of the north coast of the American island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. Nothing else is known about this projected TWR radio station, though it is referred to in at least two historic references; one of Jerome Berg’s shortwave history books and also in the Australian monthly magazine, Radio and Hobbies. In Book 2 of his quadrilogy on shortwave radio history, the noted radio historian Jerome Berg of suburban Boston refers to the projected TWR shortwave station in Puerto Rico. Then also in the same paragraph, he also states that TWR gave consideration to establishing an international radio broadcasting station on Curaçao, a Dutch island in the Caribbean. A promotional brochure from Trans World Radio states that work had already begun on the construction of a radio building on Curaçao and that the delivery of all of the electronic equipment from Continental in Dallas Texas was expected in October (1963). A similar statement is made by Arthur Cushen in New Zealand in his monthly radio column in the June (1963) issue of the Australian magazine Radio & Hobbies. However, this reported information may have been more aspirational than practical, because an analysis of subsequent historic information reveals the fact that very little work on the TWR station on Curacao Island had actually been implemented. Due to the proximity of the international airport to the projected location for the new shortwave and mediumwave station, the TWR project on Curaçao was cancelled and transferred instead onto another of the islands in the Netherlands Antilles, Bonaire Island. That’s our story next week: TWR Superpower on Bonaire (Adrian Peterson, IN, script for AWR Wavescan Aug 19 via DXLD) TWR with Superpower on Bonaire The government administration on Curaçao Island had been very gracious and very generous to TWR, and the same courteous attitude was again demonstrated towards TWR by the government administration on the nearby island of Bonaire. In fact, a total of one square mile of island territory was made available for TWR usage. The studio and office building were erected near the west coast, a little north of the main town of Kralendijk, directly opposite the tourist hotel, Hotel Bonaire. The transmitter building was erected likewise near the west coast of the island, half way between Kralendijk and the southern tip of the island, right against the tidal salt flats with their Pink Flamingos. The first transmitter on the air at TWR Bonaire was the Continental 500 kW on 800 kHz. This massive transmitter was inaugurated at 1:00 am on Thursday August 13, 1964, as the highest powered mediumwave transmitter in the Western Hemisphere. Electrical power came from their own generators, two 16 cylinder diesels with Westinghouse generators each one weighing 45 tons, providing at a total power output of 3.2 megawatts. The programming came from the studio site via an FM program link, and over a period of time, programming in generally five languages was broadcast; English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and German. One important daily program on mediumwave was a local marine weather forecast, at 20 minutes past each hour. Then too, Radio Netherlands from Hilversum in Holland took out a regular program relay over TWR superpower mediumwave during the years 1965 to 1977, a total of twelve and a half years. Six months after the TWR mediumwave and shortwave complex was taken into regular service, an official opening ceremony was conducted at the Studio & Office Building complex on February 25, 1965. Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands was the official guest, and she honored TWR during the occasion of this, her official visit to the Netherlands Antilles. In June 1972, a new antenna system was installed on the 24 acre transmitter site, with a main tower surrounded by four smaller towers in a parasitic arrangement. The well known Arthur Cushen in Invercargill New Zealand reported a nicely enhanced signal from the superpower mediumwave station on 800 kHz in the Caribbean. In 1987, after a total of nearly twenty three years of on air service, the original 500 kW Continental transmitter was removed and replaced by another unit of similar power. However this newly installed unit was a used transmitter, manufactured by BBC in Switzerland and previously on air with Capital Radio in the Transkei republic in southern Africa for just a few years. Still superpower at 500 kW though and still on 800 kHz. Shortwave transmissions on TWR Bonaire ended six years later on June 30, 1993, though the super power mediumwave unit continued in regular service. Then four years later again (1997), a 50 kW Omnitronix from North Wales in Pennsylvania was installed. As an economy move, the new 50 kW was in use during the day and the 500 kW was on the air at night. Then a further two years later (1999), a 100 kW Nautel from Nova Scotia in Canada was installed as an economy replacement for the 500 kW BBC unit that had previously been on the air in southern Africa. We are informed that the BBC unit was shipped overseas, but where to? That’s an interesting question. However, that was the end of superpower on Bonaire, at least temporarily. According to James O’Neal, writing in the May 9 (2018) issue of Radio World in the United States, TWR on Bonaire procured a new 440 kW mediumwave transmitter, again from Nautel in Nova Scotia, Canada; and Kintronic in New York modified the existing antenna system. The electronic equipment was shipped to Bonaire in eight crates at a total weight of two tons. This brand new highly efficient superpower mediumwave transmitter at a total cost of $4 million was dedicated in a special ceremony on January 30 earlier this year (2018). Yes, TWR is back again, as the superpower mediumwave giant in the Western Hemisphere, with 440 kW on 800 kHz. TWR website sound English TWR 800 kHz 800 AM Dutch Spanish (Adrian Peterson, IN, script for AWR Wavescan Aug 26, via dXLD) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Cultura de Araraquara 3365 kHz (Ondas Tropicais de 90 metros) Locutora e comerciais com comentários. 2109 UT 21 Agosto 2018 https://youtu.be/z3ZPfIIdvkY RX: Yaesu FRG 8800 Antena: Beverage simples (Daniel Wyllyans, Sítio Estrela do Araguaia, Nova Xavantina MT, Brasil, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Litoral Norte OC 8005 News Test: 8005 kHz - 22:30 Time Camocim CE Brazil 0130 or 0230 UT? :-/10 watts to 15 Power. News Test: 8005 kHz - 22:30 horas de Camocim CE ("Daniel Wyllyans PT9008SWL", Aug 28, "Hard-Core-DX" via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 9630.5, Aug 27 at 0051, very poor signal in Brazuguese, R. Aparecida, one of few signals on band during propagation disturbance, stronger than 9395 & 9955 WRMI degraded to JBA carriers, but less than 9570, CRI via Albania at S4-S5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. São Paulo --- 9630. Ago 25, 2018. 2150-2300, Radio Aparecida, Aparecida-SP. Celebração da Santa Missa; 2207 Cassiano inicia o programa "Encontro DX", seguida de uma pausa dedicada a uma música interpretada por Jorge Ben (Santa Clara); 2213 Participação de Célio Romais e seus informes; Seguidamente, a participação dos demais colaboradores: 2216 Ulysses Galletti; 2222 Cassiano chama o Jailton, da ADXB; 2226 Antonio Avelino participa; 2234 Cassiano retorna e segue-se a participação de Francisco Braccini e seus informes sobre DRM; 2247 Francisco Jacson participa e fala sobre a história e atividadaes da RENER; 2254 Cassiano retorna para os finais da edição e encerra-se o programa com "Uma Casa no Campo", na interpretação de Elis Regina. Fiz essa escuta alternando entre 9630 e 11855, ora uma e outra se sobrepondo em termos de recepção, até que às 2240 desaparece o sinal em 11855, ficando a 9630 com recepção satisfatória, 35433 (José Ronaldo Xavier (JRX) - PR7036SWL (SWARL). Cabedelo-Paraiba, Brasil (UTC-3). Receptor: Degen DE1103 & Sony ICF-SW100. WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST ** BRAZIL [and non]. 11686, Aug 27 at 1955, approx. center of big dirty distorted FM blob spanning some 10 kHz --- I bet it`s RNA/RNB way out of whack again, and indeed missing from 11780-AM (but there is a JBA carrier, presumed VOA Botswana until 2000). R75 reads 11686 S5-S6 in FM mode, S7-S8 in AM mode. Even in FM tuning, it`s very distorted but partially readable, improving at fade-ups. At 2000 yes, it`s Brazuguese, mentions ``Nacional`` ID and news headlines; 2003 mentions Rádio Nacional Amazônia, 2004 listing a number of kHz of outlets, but certainly not this one!! 11686 is 94 kHz down from 11780, so I wonder if there will be another FM blob 2 x 94 = 188 kHz down around 11592? There is a noise peak, but probably unrelated, and no others found in or around 25m. Recheck at 2054, still 11686 and gaining strength, and still no 11780. 11686-FM not rechecked again until 0020 UT August 28, and is still there at S9. This time I`m on the NRD-545 which seems to demodulate the FM distortion a bit more clearly. At 0038 the DJs are greeting Boa Vista, Roraima (now overflowing with Venezuelan refugees), and also to camioneros all over Brasil (truck drivers; they should all be equipped with Motobrás SW radios). 0056 talking about Pará. RNA will probably remain on 11686 until s/off, circa 0300*? But what about tomorrow? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. UNIDENTIFIED. 11856.868, Aug 24 at 1308, JBA carrier, seems to be ionospherically propagated rather than local device. Could R. Aparecida, Brasil be active this far off 11855? 11780 RNA/RNB is on and quite audible now. 11856.9, Aug 26 at 0102, weak music vs stray pulse jamming, but tnx to OG&E AC power outage, blanking all household and area sources, noise level is low enough to make out some Brazuguese intonation, so presumed R. Aparecida now varied up to here on sporadic schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, PL-880 and interior reelout, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA. Shortwave test today for Africa --- Test transmission on Shortwave for listeners - primarily in Africa - today Thursday August 23rd 2018: *East African Time (Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia etc) 19.00-19.15 EAT: 11550 kHz(1600-1615 UT) 19.30-20.00 EAT: 9320 kHz(1630-1700 UT) 22.00-22.15 EAT: 9320 kHz(1900-1915 UT) 22.30-22.45 EAT: 11550 kHz(1930-1945 UT) *Central African Time (Egypt, Sudan, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa etc) 18.00-18.15 CAT: 11550 kHz(1600-1615 UT) 18.30-19.00 CAT: 9320 kHz(1630-1700 UT) 21.00-21.15 CAT: 9320 kHz(1900-1915 UT) 21.30-21.45 CAT: 11550 kHz(1930-1945 UT) The purpose of the test transmissions is to find out if signal strength is good enough for coverage in East Africa and possibly other parts of Africa and the Middle East. And if so - what frequency (9320 or 11550 kHz) - is the better. The transmissions will consist of non-stop reggae music. Please write and tell about the quality of reception for all four transmissions. Write to: swtest818@gmail.com. (No QSLs) (Aug 23, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Probably I should know but is this a general Babcock test? Cheers (Mike Terry, bdxc-news iog via DXLD) Secret tx site, probably Secretbrod (Ivo Ivanov, ibid.) Também recebi isso; eu não sei o nome da Rádio. Name of Radio? Secreto QTH TX? Aqui no Brasil não escondemos nada de transmissor; não temos medo ;-) ... todas tem cidades de transmissão. Vou olhar às 16 UT. Acho que talvez posso ouvir algo aqui. 73 (Daniel Wyllyans, HCDX via DXLD) 11550, Aug 23 between 1559 and 1600, JBA carrier comes on. It`s a test publicized to DX media by a secret broadcaster asking for reports especially from target Africa, to be music only and no QSLs. Few of us are in Africa and why should we help such an anonymous source refusing to ID itself? A good chance it`s a gospel huxter or clandestine. Ivo Ivanov says the site is 100% from his neighborhood, Kostinbrod a.k.a. Secretbrod (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Transmission at 1600 on 11550 being heard with reggae music from 1600 start. Fair-reception here (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, WOR iog via DXLD) 100 percent via Secretbrod (Ivo, 1608 UT, ibid.) Transmission at 1630 on 9320 is also being heard from 1630 start. Slightly weaker reception here than 11550 earlier (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, ibid.) 11550 kHz Test 1 received in Brazil, 1610 UT, Music, 23 Agosto 2018 https://youtu.be/RAGudy7t5nY 9320 kHz Test 2 in 1646 UT, poor and carrier in Brazil. 73 (Daniel Wyllyans, RX: Yaesu FRG 8800 Antena: Beverage, Sítio Estrela do Araguaia, Nova Xavantina MT, Brasil, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Reported to be via Bulgaria according to Ivo Ivanov. Noted here from 1640 tune-in on 9320 with nonstop reggae. Went off abruptly at 1701 UT. Poor audio quality, very distorted. 73s (Dave Kenny, bdxc-news iog via DXLD) Reception in Bernbug Saale in Germany, 11550: https://youtu.be/5FNJ8Ib1UAU (Wyllyans, hcdx via DXLD) Transmission at 1900 on 9320 was heard with reggae music from 1900 start to 1915 tx off. Fair-reception, improving during latter half of transmission (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, WOR iog via DXLD) I missed the first two transmissions, but could hear nothing at all on the 1900-1915, and same on the 1930-1945 (as of 1941). Not even a carrier to be found, on either receiver (Bill Bingham, Jo'burg, RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF 2001D, WOR iog via DXLD) 9320 kHz heard from 1900 to 1915, 35454. 11550 kHz from 1930 to 1945, 45454 (David J Morris, Lytchett Matravers, UK, bdxc-news iog via DXLD) Strong signal in Sofia, but Secretbrod is only on 20 km from my apartment. Poor signal in SDR Patreshko near Troyan, due to skip zone from Secretbrod http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/shortwave-tests-for-africa-probably-via.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 23, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. (810 kHz): „CKJS Winnipeg – Administrative renewal https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2018/2018-315.htm The Commission renews the broadcasting licence for the ethnic commercial AM radio programming undertaking CKJS Winnipeg, Manitoba [Dufferin Communications Inc., Winnipeg, Manitoba, 810 kHz, 10 kW], from 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2019, subject to the same terms and conditions as those in effect under the current licence. This decision follows from CKJS Winnipeg – Conversion to the FM band, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-423, 30 November 2017 (Broadcasting Decision 2017-423), wherein the Commission approved the licensee’s application for a new broadcasting licence for an ethnic commercial specialty FM radio station in Winnipeg [92.7 MHz, 35 kW] to replace CKJS. As stated in the appendix to that decision, the licensee is authorized to simulcast the programming of the new FM station on CKJS for a transition period of three months following the commencement of operations of the FM station. In Broadcasting Decision 2017-423, pursuant to sections 9(1)(e) and 24(1) of the Broadcasting Act and consistent with the licensee’s request, the licence for CKJS Winnipeg will be revoked at the end of the simulcast period. According to Commission records, the new FM station has not yet commenced operations. As noted in the appendix to Broadcasting Decision 2017-423, the Commission reminds the licensee that the new FM station must be operational at the earliest possible date and in any event no later than 30 November 2019, unless a request for an extension of time is approved by the Commission before then. In order to ensure that such a request is processed in a timely manner, it should be submitted at least 60 days before this date. Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2018-315 (24 August 2018 via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DXLD) ** CANADA. (Quebec): CFNV Montréal [940 kHz, 7954689 Canada Inc., Montréal, Quebec] – Licence renewal „The Commission renews the broadcasting licence for the French-language commercial AM radio programming undertaking CFNV Montréal, Quebec, from 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2023. The Commission did not receive any interventions regarding this application. [...] In AM radio stations in Montréal, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2011-721, 21 November 2011, the Commission approved an application for a broadcasting licence to operate this radio station. However, Commission records indicate that the station was not in operation for the majority of the current licence term. This short-term renewal will allow for an earlier review of the licensee’s compliance with its regulatory obligations over the course of the next licence term.“ Ottawa, 21 August 2018 Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2018-292 https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2018/2018-292.htm (via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, Aug 22, DXLD) ** CANADA. (Ontario): CKNT Mississauga [960 kHz, 8159203 Canada Limited, Mississauga, Ontario] – Licence renewal „The Commission renews the broadcasting licence for the English-language commercial AM radio programming undertaking CKNT Mississauga, Ontario, from 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2023. The Commission did not receive any interventions in connection with this application. [...] In English-language AM radio station in Mississauga, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2011-722, 22 November 2011, the Commission approved an application for a broadcasting licence to operate this radio station. However, Commission records indicate that the station was not in operation for the majority of the current licence term. This short-term renewal will allow for an earlier review of the licensee’s compliance with regulatory requirements over the course of the next licence term.“ Ottawa, 21 August 2018 Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2018-294 https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2018/2018-294.htm (via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, Aug 22, DXLD) ** CANADA. Staff at Swan River radio station begin night patrols after break-in attempts, threat [CJSB-FM, Manitoba, 104.5, 0.21 kW H&V] Facebook post says station's staff will patrol 'with at least 1 member who is licensed to carry firearms' --- Sarah Petz · CBC News · Posted: Aug 25, 2018 1:57 PM CT | Last Updated: August 25 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/swan-river-radio-station-vigilante-activity-1.4799190 (via Gerald T Pollard, NC, DXLD) ** CANADA. 15034-USB, Aug 24 at 1425, Winnipeg – no report received; Edmonton - no report received; ID twice as Trenton Military, correct timecheck. Next, Aviation Weather Report from Comox (BC) succeeds, timestamped earlier in this hour. Propagation is so poor with SF in the mid-60s that often this is barely/not audible (Glenn Hauser, OK DX LISTENING DIGEST) Very good signal here in The Keys [Florida?] when I checked one afternoon recently using the PL-880 with just its whip antenna. I wonder what the antenna beam direction is? [non] P.S. Also getting a good signal from WWV on 15 MHz (but not higher) in the afternoon and sometimes with WWVH in the background (— Richard Langley (on holidays), Aug 24, WOR iog via DXLD) ** CHINA. 4940, Voice of Strait. Yes, they now have a new Saturday schedule for the "Focus on China" program, as first noted last Saturday; 0930-0955, Aug 25. Started with pop song ("Remember Me"); intro with frequencies; 0937 ID "You are now listening to Focus on China, in Voice of Strait Broadcast Station"; started out poor; slowly improved; by 0950 semi-readable about the construction of the Grand Canal; 0952 closing announcement ("See you next week"), followed by another pop song. 4940, seems to have a new broadcasting time. Please note the following for more info. Thanks very much to Hiroyuki Komatsubara. His website "Now On The Radio" I find very helpful with my Asian SWLing. 4940 kHz. - http://radio.chobi.net/DX/bbs/?res:1707#3424 4900 kHz. - http://radio.chobi.net/DX/bbs/?res:1707#3423 Parallel programs (4900 // 4940) - http://radio.chobi.net/DX/bbs/?res:1707#3428 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach (near Monterey), CA, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 4900, Voice of Strait, *0938, Aug 28. Suddenly on; moderate CODAR QRM; not // to VOS on 4940; both frequencies with very different schedules, as noted on "Now On The Radio" website at http://radio.chobi.net/DX/bbs/?res:3424 and http://radio.chobi.net/DX/bbs/?res:3423 thanks again to Hiroyuki Komatsubara for his most helpful website. 6230, the jamming of SOH (Taiwan) by strong CNR1 programming at 0941, on Aug 28; also blocked reception of VMW (Australia Weather West), also on frequency, in USB. Is fairly rare now to find this frequency jammed by CNR1 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) ** CHINA. 6035, FM99 (Voice of Shangri-la) relay via PBS Yunnan, 1300, Aug 24. Time pips; a minute later with their singing station jungle, followed by a few words in English ("traveling . . . Shangri-la"?); in Chinese; played a lot of pop songs, some in Chinese, but some also in English; contemporary FM format of many short segments; sounded like a lot of commercial announcements; now that the N. Korea jamming on 6045 has ended, taking with them the 6035 spur, reception here is infinitely better; at times fair reception. FM99 strongly focuses on Yunnan tourism, per this item found online (via Google translation): original - http://www.zuiaishiting.com/radio/yn/19.html : "The frequency of tourism of Yunnan People's Broadcasting Station (call sign: Voice of Shangri-La) is a new set of frequency-type reforms of Yunnan People's Broadcasting Station in the Dongfeng of the province of national cultural tourism under the care and support of the provincial party committee and the provincial government. The new frequency was officially launched on January 1st, 2005. The frequency of use is FM99, which is broadcasted for 17 hours a day, mainly in the form of a cordial and natural live broadcast. The frequency is positioned to show Yunnan's rich tourism resources and national culture. It will be based on the dissemination of tourism culture, providing tourism information services, guiding the purpose of tourism consumption, serving tourists, promoting tourism, and providing a sound professional for the construction of a national cultural tourism province. Promotional platform. The voice of Shangri-La is broadcast at FM 99 MHz and currently covers some cities in Kunming and Yunnan. Within three years, it will cover the coverage of 15 cities, densely populated economically developed areas and important border crossings. In April 2005, Voice of Shangri-La, as the only broadcast media, represented Yunnan People’s Broadcasting Station with the Yunnan Provincial Radio and Television Week delegation of the Yunnan Provincial Government and signed with the world’s top 10 broadcast and television network platform WCETV. The cooperation agreement will deliver the voice of Shangri-La to the United States and Canada through Internet broadband. In the same period, the voice of Shangri-La also established regular program exchanges with radio jojo radio station in Berlin, Germany, and will exchange visits and exchanges with mainstream radio stations in the United States and other countries to seek closer cooperation and open up overseas publicity channels. At the same time, the voice of Shangri-La and the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Bureau joined the national broadcasting network, realizing the sharing of resources with more than 20 radio stations across the country and the linkage of programs. The local production of the program through the travel network has realized the simultaneous broadcast of more than 20 cities. Out, not only opened up the channels of remote communication, but also provided a new model for Yunnan tourism promotion. “Shangri-La” is not only a name for a ethnic area in our province, but also a paradise-like place that people yearn for. She is native and global, and extends to the world because of localization. Therefore, the "Singapore Voice" program is based on the mainland, facing the country, radiating ASEAN and Europe and the United States. In the creation of frequency brands, localization, personalization, and strong national culture, national tourism appeal and scarcity make it irreplaceable and become the most distinctive broadcast media in Yunnan. "Sound of Shangri-La" is broadcast continuously for 17 hours throughout the day, starting at 7 am and ending at 0 pm. The broadcast mode is mainly based on live broadcast. The live broadcast program can communicate with the audience in an intimate and natural way, and can provide people with food, accommodation, travel, travel, purchase and entertainment services in a timely and efficient manner. The key columns are: "Traveling for everyone", "Wang Hui tells the story", "Tourist Hotline", "Walking the Street", "Golden Travel Line", "Good Tonight", "Fashion Global Village" and so on. "Sound of Shangri-La" has a young, energetic team of high-quality, high-level hosts. The strength of mining, editing and broadcasting is strong, and the ability to plan and organize activities is strong. “Sound of Shangri-La” will attract those who love travel, chasing trends, energetic and economically capable listening groups, and open up a sky of tourism and entertainment for those who are good at finding life and knowing how to enjoy life and pursue quality of life. Frequency coverage Kunming: FM99, Chuxiong: FM106.9, Dali: FM106.9, Baoshan: FM104.6, Lijiang: FM104.6, Yuxi: FM99.2, Qujing: FM107." 7210, PBS Yunnan, Minority Service in local languages, 1042-1101, Aug 25. Amazed to find it very easy to ID this station which is rarely reported, even with tentative reports. 1042-1100, with the equivalent of their interval signal, which is a long playing, non- stop musical loop of all easy-listening instrumental music that is repeated over and over again; this same music I have listened to countless times over the years on 6035, whenever PBS Yunnan ran past their normal 1200 UT sign off, which they played till they turned off the transmitter. Today at 1100, briefly in Chinese and went to assume the Dehong Dai (also called Tai Nuea) language, which is spoken by the Dai people of southern Yunnan Province. Yunnan was much stronger than the weaker Vietnam (VOV1 was // 9636.0 // 11720 [which was not the VOV4 as scheduled]) also on frequency. Am very pleased to have confirmed reception of Yunnan here, after so many years without positive identification. My five minute audio of their music loop may help others to confirm positive reception - http://goo.gl/19Josm Reference made to Glenn's comments May 28, 2013: "There is also a very weak broadcast carrier on 7210, but not enough to demodulate him here without additional BFO. Per Aoki that could be either of two 20 kW non-direxional transmitters: PBS Yunnan, Kunming, in Kachinic, or VOV1, Daclac in Vietnamese (don`t they bother each other? [Glenn, yes they do mix together - Ron]). (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)." Also a fairly solid report of reception from Martien Groot (Schoorl, Netherlands) back on Nov 25, 2011, as well as my tentative report of it on May 9, 2011 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. 7730, Aug 23 at 1229, CNR1 emphatic talk // 11825, 1230 1+1 timesignal, second pip higher. Here to jam Sound of Hope, Taiwan, which Aoki/NDXC puts on 7730.057. 11900, Aug 23 at 1411, VG S9+10/20 in Chinese, rivalling Cubans on band; VOA via Philippines is scheduled this hour only, so likely another CNR1 jammer (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9660, CNR1 at 1144 // 11785 in Mandarin jamming RTI in Mandarin with a man and woman with talk – Fair in peaks Aug 23 9680, CNR1 at 1144 // 9660 11785 in Mandarin jamming RTI in Mandarin with a man and woman with talk – Weak but audible Aug 23 9845, CNR1 at 1142 // 9660 and 9680 in Mandarin jamming the VOA in Mandarin via the Philippines with a man with excited talk – Weak but audible Aug 24 11935, CRI (Shijiazhuang) at 1146 in Russian with a woman with talk and male and female ballads – Weak but audible Aug 24 – A regular beacon for Chinese stations for me. 15250, CNR1 at 1240 // 13830 in Mandarin jamming the VOA in Mandarin via the Philippines with two men with excited talk – Fair Aug 24 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) 15745, Aug 25 at 1359, Chinese, S5-S8 with very heavy flutter, 5-pip timesignal and off 1400*. It`s CNR1 jammer vs RFA Tibetan via Tajikistan at 11-14 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Figure it has to be the Chinese jammers that pop up as the world recovers from a geomagnetic storm. 11640, CNR3 (Voice of the Music Program) at 1216 // 11785 in Mandarin jamming RTI in Mandarin with a man with gentle talk and pop vocals – Fair Aug 27 11785, CNR3 (Voice of the Music Program) at 1220 // 11640 in Mandarin jamming the VOA in Mandarin via the Philippines with a man and woman with gentle talk and pop vocals – Fair Aug 27 [WORLD OF RADIO 1945] 11825, CNR1 at 1235 // 13830 in Mandarin jamming the VOA in Mandarin via Thailand with a man with excited talk – Fair Aug 27 11825, THAILAND, VOA at 1237 in Mandarin with a woman interviewing a man – Poor mixing with CNR1 jammer Aug 27 13830, CNR1 at 1240 // 11825 in Mandarin jamming RFA in Tibetan via Tajikistan with a man with excited talk – Weak but audible Aug 27(Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) ** CHINA. Funny: the Chinese regional radio station CNR 17, which broadcasts in Kazakh, broadcasts 10-minute Russian lessons daily from 0320 UTC ± 2 minutes at 11630 and 12055 kHz (Yuri Loburets, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx" via Rus-DX Aug 26 via DXLD) It's the Chinese that teach Kazakhs Russian (Alexander Golovihin, ibid.) They have been transmitting for years now. This transfer even in the directory of broadcasting in Russian, once, included :) (Victor Varzin, Leningrad Region, Kommunar, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx", ibid.) ** CHINA [and non]. Chinese State TV Mocks Trump in Sarcastic Video Image: President Trump has described tariffs as necessary to reduce the United States' trade deficit with China. A video by an English-language affiliate of China's state broadcaster, though, portrayed him as a bumbler indirectly advancing China's interests. Credit Al Drago for The New York Times By Javier C. Hernandez* Aug. 22, 2018 BEIJING -- The video released by the Chinese state media thanks President Trump for helping make China stronger. It shows him in unflattering poses, his brow furrowed and his mouth agape. Its sarcastic title: "Thanks Mr. Trump, you are GREAT!" . . . https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/world/asia/china-trump-trade-satire.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 5910+ & 6010v, Aug 25 at 0351, not even JBA carriers from the HJDH stations. Alcaraván Radio circa 5910.3 was better heard when sometimes on, early or late evening here. Last report of 5910.23 was July 23 from Bob Wilkner, FL as in DXLD 18-31. Another check, Aug 26 at 0040, no carrier around 5910, but a JBA carrier circa 6010. That could be Brasil, which has been reported active. No other broadcasters scheduled now, despite Aoki/NDXC still including long-defunct XEOI México! Just in time, as at 0042 neighborhood AC power failed; I immediately summoned OG&E and it was back on at 0155, so the full moon was nice but not required (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 950, Radio Reloj. 0722 August 16, 2018. One of the two audible of three listed -- the one about a second ahead the other -- still with spastic wobbling audio (Terry L. Krueger, All times/dates GMT, Clearwater, FL, NRD-535, IC-R75, longwires, active loop, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRTH 2018 lists four Relojes on 950: Camagüey-Isabel Hortensia CM; Arroyo Arenas, HA; Mayari Arriba-Il Frentel SC; Guantánamo-La Piña GU; all 10 kW except SC 1 kW (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. COMIENZA A TRANSMITIR UNA NUEVA EMISORA CUBANA --- 25/08/2018 En ocasión de las celebraciones por el aniversario 96 de la Radio Cubana, en la provincia de Artemisa será inaugurada este sábado, Radio Mariel, emisora número 99 del sistema radial en Cuba. Por la [sic] 93.7 de la FM, de diez de la mañana a una de la tarde, transmitirá la novel emisora, según informó su joven directora, Leticia Valdés Otero. Desde este sábado, Radio Mariel, cruzará el éter con una programación variada, informativa, musical e instructiva, que reflejará el quehacer de la ciudad portuaria, corazón de la Zona Especial de Desarrollo Económico. El personal que laborará por cubrir las expectativas de los pobladores en el costero municipio de Artemisa, recibió una capacitación integral en las especialidades de locución, realización de sonido, dirección de programas, como guionistas y redactores reporteros de prensa (source? via GRA blog via DXLD) Glenn, Pertaining to the *new* Cuban station on 93.7 in Mariel, it has been listed in the WTFDA FM database since July 14, 2017, when it was first announced they would be getting a new station. They are listed as CMCW-2, Radio Artemisa. The original information provided by Radiocuba said they would initially be a relay of CMCW when they signed on. IF they are originating all of their own programming as Radio Mariel, I can change the way it is listed. IS that YOUR understanding? (Jim Thomas, WTFDA DB editor, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Story says Radio Mariel is on the air 3 hours a day, so I suppose they are opting out of CMCW relay elsewhen (Glenn to Jim, via DXLD) ** CUBA. QSL: 6165 (sic), R Habana Cuba 45th Anniversary card (I got the same one in 2008 -- so presumably this would be the 55th anniversary of whatever this is talking about (the beginning of RHC?) 1963 sounds about right – I’d have to look at my 2013 logs to see if they were banging about the 50th anniversary of RHC then!) Full but INCORRECT data, card in +/- 4.5 months for email report of reception on new but poor choice frequency of 6180 on 9/Apr; they later changed back to 6165 Apparently. The 'there's always something wrong at RHC' lament now extends to the correspondence/QSL department! :o (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Aug 24 via DXLD) As Arnie frequently reminds us, RHC started in 1961, so by 2008, the 45th anniversary QSL card was already out of date (gh, DXLD) 6165 > // 6000, UT Wed Aug 22 at 0336 I happen to tune RHC just when Arnie Coro is starting `DXers Unlimited`. First topic sounds like ``ELBE``, some propagational apparition observed in Russia? Hard to follow so postponed to look up later, but no luck. It`s not about the river in WW II. Maybe not the right letters; did anyone get it? DXUL ends at 0347. 11670, Aug 22 at 0352, S7-S8 of dead air, or is it JBM? Maybe trace of RHC which is scheduled until 0400; weaker but louder RHC is on 11700, supposedly until 0500 per NDXC/Aoki. Earlier in evening, 11670 was inbooming in strength and modulation. 11670 is indeed off by 0400; didn`t notice exactly when carrier cut. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 5990, Aug 24 at 0138, S9+20/30 of dead air, obviously neglected to turn off CRI relay transmitter by 0100*. Something`s always wrong at RadioCuba. 6000, Aug 24 at 0236, RHC English is suptorted, // 6165 OK. At 0409, 6000 still suptorted, but 6060 is in English at least an hour earlier than scheduled, with sufficient modulation, instead of Spanish, but 6165 is best and S9+20/30. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 6100, Aug 24 at 0542, RHC English is JBA here; 6000 is S9 and still suptorted; 6060 is S9-S9+10; 6165 is best of the 49m, but 5040 is VG S9+20 best of all The Cuban Five. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 5040, Aug 25 at 0251, RHC Spanish is suptorted here and likewise English on 6000; 5025 Rebelde is even more suptorted, while 6165 RHC English and 6060 RHC Spanish are OK. Presumably a problem with one of the studio-transmitter linx. Something`s always wrong at RadioCuba. At 0606 after 5040 is off, 6000 remains suptorted while 6060, 6100 and 6165 are OK. 11840, Aug 25 at 2157, RHC Spanish is equally undermodulated here, along with plus/minus 10 much weaker parasites. Something`s always wrong at RHC. But see below 11880, Aug 25 at 2158, RHC Spanish instead of English they sometimes utter before 2200 here when into scheduled French. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 11830 & 11850, Aug 26 at 0104, parasitic spurs out of RHC 11840 transmitter are each 100% readable during AC power outage, on PL-880 and interior reelout. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 6000, Aug 26 at 0628, again tonight modulation on this RHC English frequency is suptorted, as AC starts his science bit about Cuba being concerned over rising sea levels caused by polar melting. Something`s always wrong at RHC. // 6060 is best at S9+10/20 with good modulation; // 6100 and 6165 middling mod but not suptorted (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13740, China R International (via Quivicán) at 1445. M and W in talk show, but modulation way way down for as strong as the carrier is. But this is via Cuba, and I think it has been said "Something is always wrong at Radio Cuba". -S-9 signal, poor modulation August 26 (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) 6100, Aug 27 at 0626, RHC English (presumed) is a JJBBA carrier, while 6165, 6060 and 6000 are merely JBA carriers, as major geomag storm has blacked out signals even as far south as 23 degrees north beyond the Tropic of Cancer, like all of Cuba. Not blaming RHC this time; or should I? TN signals on 5935 & 5830, further north and less than half as far, remain S9+10 to 20, while in some other less disturbed nightmiddles, they are losing out as Cuba remains. 11980, Aug 28 at 0035, JBA carrier with traces of talk, RHC spur? I try but just too weak, can`t make a modulation match to loud 12000; but I do compute that this could well be a leapfrog of RHC 11700 over 11840 (which are both confirmed on & strong), another 140 kHz higher; a new one for me. No fundamentals on 11980 are known at this hour to HFCC or Aoki/NDXC. 5040, Aug 28 at 0042, RHC is AWOL from this but 5025 Rebelde is VG with béisbol. Its only 5+ MHz companion is 5010 WRMI, always weak, as no US stations are to be heard on 5050 WWRB, 5085 WTWW, nor 5130 WBCQ! Something`s always wrong at RHC. 6000, Aug 28 at 0607, RHC English is very undermodulated here and somewhat distorted, while 6165 is as soft but not distorted; 6100 is JBA, and 6060 is very good strength and modulation. So at least one of them is working. Something`s always wrong at RHC(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13899, 13831, 13766, 13634, 13567, 13501, 13434, approx. frequencies of extremely distorted FM spurblobs out of the 13700-AM transmitter, August 28 at 1328, so RHC-FM has been reactivated at ~67 kHz intervals, first time heard in about a month. Not to be outdone by RNA-FM 11686 Brasil which appeared yesterday! Helps that 13700 fundamental is extremely strong at S9+30/40. All including 13700 still have that F# tone above C middle, and only the tone can be detected at the furthest ones out. The four closest and very strong ones are quite readable with FM tuning, altho hardly pristine. Recheck at 1320, just a trace at 13634 & 13766, tho 13700 is still S9+30. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. 11860, Aug 22 at *1400:35, Greenville carrier comes on late overriding jamming which has been running long earlier; not until 1401:30.5 is Radio Martí modulation enabled, the usual pattern. Latest HFCC A-18 of August 22 still lacks 11860 for OCB, really on air since August 13, M-F only. 11860, Aug 23 at 2030 check, R. Martí is atop RHC in Portuguese, and some jamming noise in third place. The collision continues. Let`s see if RM take Saturday and Sunday off 11860 like last weekend. 11860, Friday August 24 at 2202 check, nothing but wall-of-noise jamming, as Radio Martí and/or RHC must have just signed off --- but let`s keep jamming just in case! 11860, Saturday August 25 at 1409, still/again nothing but WON jamming, as Radio Martí is again absent this weekend. Or rather, any vestige of Saudi/Yemen is totally blocked instead. Tnx a lot, Arnie! 11860, Aug 25 at 2156, wall-of-noise jamming atop somestation with fair carrier but undermodulated, Spanish, or? Of course, it`s Cuban jamming Cuban, since R. Martí is not on today Saturday, as confirmed after 1400 when it appears on weekdays. And the broadcast signal soon cuts off about 2157, as RHC would do but not RM. Yet EiBi says RHC 11860 is supposed to stay in Spanish from 2100 to 2300. Something`s always wrong at RHC and the DentroCuban Jamming Command. 11930, Aug 25 at 2159, meanwhile, R. Martí is really here and way atop the JBA jamming level. 7435, Aug 26 at 0026, pulse jamming against nothing, since R. Martí switches 7365 to this frequency only between 03 and 05. Something`s always wrong at the DentroCuban Jamming Command (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11860, Monday August 27 at 1404, Radio Martí is running atop jamming, after another weekend off, as it starts its third week on this new frequency honoring Fidel. Recheck 2055, it is also *still* colliding directly with RHC which started 11860 in April, the two making a SAH of about 6 Hz, and taking turns fading up & down vs the other, and now not much noise jamming audible. Yet there are plenty of open frequencies on 25m. How much longer will this go on? A battle to the death --- or no one at either service notices and/or cares? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. USA with Plans to Disseminate Propaganda in Cuba through Facebook https://www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=32688&SEO=usa-with-plans-to-disseminate-propaganda-in-cuba-through-facebook Washington, Aug 22 (Prensa Latina) The United States has put together its own plans to use Facebook with the objective of disseminating propaganda and promoting clandestine dissidence in Cuba, the Miami New Times today reported. Quoting existing documents on the subject, the weekly newspaper published that at the center of these plans is the Office of Transmissions to Cuba (OCB), currently headed by the former mayor of Miami Tomas Regalado, and which operates Radio Marti, TV Marti and Marti Noticias. According to the media, these goals are detailed in the budget documents for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 of the Board of Governors of Broadcasting of the United States. While in this country there is a great stir for an alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections, the agency says there are plans to use Cuban 'native' and 'unbranded' Facebook accounts to disseminate content created by the US government without informing Cuban users of the social network. Faced with the effectiveness of the authorities of the Caribbean country to block the signals of Radio and TV Marti, which the island denounces as a violation of the international norms of the use of the radio electric space, the strategy of the OCB has focused on an offensive through of social networks. For this, they based themselves on metrics that place YouTube, Google and Facebook among the most visited sites in Cuba, and with the use of AVRA technology (Audio and Video for Radio), Radio Marti programs began to be transmitted through Facebook Live along with the TV Marti programming, said Miami New Times. According to the source, in fiscal year 2018, the OCB is being established with teams of people on the island who create native and unbranded Facebook accounts to disseminate information. 'The native pages increase the chances of appearing in the news of Cuban users of Facebook. The same strategy will be replicated in other preferred social networks.' According to the newspaper, the documents do not explain what the terms 'unmarked' or 'native' mean, but it is clear that they refer to pages that should resemble those of regular users of social networks to persuade Cubans to read the propaganda. Miami New Times pointed out that, according to budget plans, the OCB planned to disseminate the propaganda in a way that deceived the Cubans and make them believe that the information came from other nationals, not from the office of Regalado. If Facebook's propaganda plan really took off, it fits into a long history of trying to use modern technology to match propaganda to Cuba, said University of Pennsylvania professor John S. Nichols. For the co-author of the book Clandestine Radio Broadcasting (1987), there are certainly warning signs in what the newspaper revealed, while adding that Congress 'does not seem to recognize that both stations are a colossal failure'. It's sad because they're spending taxpayers' money. But what is really wasted is our credibility as a great nation in doing this kind of stupid and stupid things, he added. sus/mem/mar/gdc (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) See also USA ** DODECANESE ISLANDS [and non]. USCGC Courier/VOA alumni install new exhibit at VOA Museum [OHIO] - Southgate August 24, 2018 [illustrated] http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2018/august/uscgc-courier-voa-alumni-install-new-exhibit-at-voa-museum.htm#.W3_Y7-hKjIV While many Americans were driving big-finned cars and enjoying the prosperity of the 50s, the citizens of Rhodes, Greece were still digging themselves out of rubble remaining from their location as a Nazi stronghold during World War II. Then, in 1952, the Voice of America and USCGC Courier came to town as part of President Harry Truman’s Operation Vagabond. The deep Greek-American friendships formed there and dollars Americans brought helped rebuild Rhodes with an “unofficial” Marshall Plan. The USCGC Courier/VOA Alumni group shared stories of growing up in Greece during the Cold War at an Aug. 11 reception at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester. The group gathered with museum board members and docents to officially install a new exhibit outlining the story of the USCGC Courier, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter that acted as a floating Voice of America radio station from 1952 through 1964. The Courier was stationed in the port of Rhodes, Greece and broadcast VOA news into Russian territory to defeat Soviet jamming near VOA listener areas. It used a barrage balloon to hold up its medium-wave antenna aloft and contained the most powerful communications radio transmitter ever installed on board a ship. Maria Lowther of Southport, North Carolina, is treasurer of the alumni group. She was a teenage Rhodian in 1952. The Rhodians are a multilingual community made up from every country in Europe and a mixture of cultures and religions: Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Jewish, Turkish, Christian and Muslim. Both of Lowther’s maternal and paternal grandparents became radio and Morse code operators. They spied on their Nazi occupiers, transmitting from their shortwave radios in their kaikis (Greek sea sponge diving boats) or on the mountainous island of Symi, telling British and French intelligence on the mainland what the Germans were doing. One of Lowther’s grandfathers , George Fangiullo, was caught in 1944 by the Germans, turned in by a local mother who thought her son’s life would be saved by the Nazis if she reported a spy. Her son was shot anyway. On the day Fangiullo was sentenced to a German concentration camp, Lowther and the rest of her family fled to Turkey. Her grandfather survived the war and eventually returned home, but his health was broken and he died soon afterward. When the Germans invaded the island, they mined the fields and shorelines, so local Greeks couldn’t farm. The British, who liberated the island, cleaned up the minefields and shores. Lowther’s family returned after the war to a Rhodes devastated by war and occupation, with much of Rhodes in rubble after being repeatedly bombed by the Allies. “When we returned to Rhodes, it was not the same island it used to be,” she said. “I would walk in the neighborhood I grew up in, and there were houses standing, but they had no roofs. Or there were just walls standing. It wasn’t livable.” She said the situation was very similar to what was depicted on film in the 1961 movie, The Guns of Navarone. There was not much food to eat; cabbage soup was the special of the week, with a small loaf of bread to share with the entire family and sometimes a friend’s children. In 1952, when the Americans arrived, Rhodian families had few complete homes and even fewer jobs. Courier and VOA personnel and their families moved onto Rhodes and rented Greek houses. The Greek families who owned them doubled up with other Greek families and split the rent revenue. Americans used Greek maids and bought Greek clothing and food. Lowther’s brother, Yannis Kalafata, ended up working for the VOA for 28 years. “When the Courier came, it was like a miracle,” said Lowther. “The skies opened, because Courier families needed housing. Everything was so different after that.” Lowther said the Courier and VOA acted as a kind of mini-Marshall Plan for Rhodes, creating jobs and helping stimulate reconstruction. “Except the Marshall Plan didn’t work like the Courier did,” she said. “My grandmother applied for the Marshall Plan because the Germans destroyed my grandfather’s sponge boats. But you had to be local and a citizen of the island, and my grandmother held a British passport. But with the Courier, it didn’t matter what nationality you were or which passport you held. You were Rhodian.” The bonds between Courier/VOA alumni and Rhodes are deeper than mere economics. Lowther said the Americans who came to Rhodes were young, and many had three or four children, so employed Rhodian maids. The women were educated and polylingual because of the history of the nation, so relationships were equal. The Americans got involved with the community, the local orphanage, and people were suddenly working-- babysitting, providing household help, and making clothes for the new residents. New families were formed as well. Antonia Tsopanoglou Richardson worked as a cook at the Elli Club where most of the Courier people ate because it was right on the beach. That’s where she met her husband, Bill Richardson. The couple was one of the many American/Rhodian marriages. Courier/VOA alumni group president Bob Hickman of New Syracuse, New York, said many of the USCGC Courier/VOA alumni are now in their 760s, 80s and 90s and unable to travel, so their children attend reunions and take trips back to Rhodes for them. Attending the VOA museum’s reception were: Robert Haldi, a U.S Coast Guard junior officer from 1958 to 1961 of Vonore, Tenn.; Frank Evans of Tacoma, Wash., son of Paul Evans, an engineman aboard the Courier for two tours, from 1957-59 and 1962-64. (Evans’ wife, Georgia, is a native Rhodian); Clint McAuliffe of Bend Ore., son of the late Earl McAuliffe. McAuliffe was a U.S. Coast Guard Commander and served as the Courier’s executive officer from 1956 through 1958; Robert Hickman of North Syracuse, New York, son of the late Russell R. Hickman, who served as the Courier’s electronics officer from 1956 through 1959 ; and Lowther, who grew up in Rhodes and was married to John Lowther, one of the Courier’s electronic technicians. Alumni group secretary, Richard McDrew of Reno, Nev. did not attend the exhibit reception. The USCGC Courier exhibit will be viewed at the VOA museum’s new main exhibit hall at its third annual fundraiser, “Rock the Radio” dinner-and-dance party on Saturday, Sept. 22 from 6 to 11 p.m. at the VOA museum in West Chester. Jim Scott, 700 WLW-AM’s radio host for 47 years, will emcee. BlueStone Ivory, Cincinnati’s premier horn-driven classic rock band, will provide music from the Cold War era to help celebrate the 74 th anniversary of the VOA-Bethany Station. Sponsors include: Emery Federal Credit Union; Mr. Mechanic; Oak Tree Communications; Sebably, Shillito & Dyer; West Chester/Liberty Chamber Alliance.; and the West Chester/Liberty Community Foundation “We want to recognize our nation’s commitment to tell the truth in media and educate people in countries where media is censored about what’s going on in the world,” said Ken Rieser, president of the VOA museum board. “Here in the U.S., we remember radio as entertainment, but it was a crucial way the Voice of America communicated throughout World War II and the Cold War to our troops and allies overseas and to people who lived in countries without a free press.” For 50 years, the VOA-Bethany Station in West Chester transmitted Voice of America broadcasts to countries worldwide that lacked a free press. It was decommissioned by the federal government in 1994 (via Mike Terry, WOR iog via DXLD) ** EAST TURKISTAN. 15410.000, Aug 25 at 1404, Chinese with flutter, right on frequency. Aoki/NDXC shows CRI this hour only, via Kashi-Saiba, a.k.a. Kashgar. Not // 15110 Chinese since that`s a CNR1 jammer against VOA Philippines (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. 774.245, ERTU Abis, AUG 25 0200 - Het against 774 Spain; seemed to have a low frequency hum with distinct sidebands at +/- 300 Hz (Bruce Conti, WPC1CAT, Nashua NH; WiNRADiO Excalibur, Intona USB 2.0 Hi-Speed Isolator, MWDX-5, variable termination Super/Ewe antennas 15 x 23-m at 60° northeast and 180° south, CapeDX via Mark Connelly, nrc-am gg via DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 5005, Radio Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial, Bata, *0536-0545, 26-08, extremely weak, only carrier detected (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 6090, Radio Amhara (presumed) with instrumental music of a non-Barbi style, and OM talx in Amharic (listed/presumed -- sounded like it could be - it was not Portuguese!) at 0315. More vocal music with a Mid East twang at 0317. YL talx in Amharic (presumed) at 0323. More talk at BoH with the cadence of a newscast/interview show. 44443+ with my local noise creating issues during fades, but not bad really. Slowly fading as Arnold approached Ethiopia though. Down to S3+ by BoH. 0306-0335 24/Aug, SDRplay +SDRuno +Randomwire antenna (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Aug 24 via DXLD) ** EUROPE. FRS Holland on air tomorrow Sunday August 26th [time??] Mail received from FRS Holland: "Next Sunday FRS will be on 7700 and likely 6275. If not on 6275, check 6260, 6280 or 6285. 73s, Peter V." http://www.frsholland.nl "FRS on air on Sunday August 26th On August 26th FRS will go on air with (almost) full programming including all presenters beig Jan van Dijk (German), Bert van Leer, Dave Scott & Peter Verbruggen. It will be the inofficial celebration of our 38th anniversary. All shows will be thematic. In the past years various interesting themes were presented: Made in Holland, progressive rock from Dutch bands, Music & Radio Stories, music related to the 'Sea' topic. FRS will surprise you with new themes upcoming August! " (via Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, WOR iog via DXLD) http://www.frsholland.nl/20-latest-news/120-frs-repeat-on-sunday-august-26th-2018.html "Sunday August 26th. It will be the inofficial celebration of our 38th anniversary knowing FRS officially started its broadcasting life on Sunday August 31st 1980. In the past years various interesting themes were presented in our August broadcast: Made in Holland, progressive rock from Dutch bands, the 1967 Summer, Music & Radio Stories, music related to the 'Sea' topic, RNI Musical Memories etc. Also this time programmes will be thematic (see schedule below). Also this time we offer varied & interesting themes in the different shows! Attention: there may be - depending on SW propagation conditions - a repeat on Sunday September 2nd. If so, you will be informed by mail (for those who are in our address book) and via this very website. Next Sunday FRS commences transmission at 1752 UT/19:52 CEST; close down will be at approx. 2150 UT/23:50 CEST. We realize that close down is late but we feel this is the best option. Frequencies will be 48 mb (possibly 6275) and of course 7700 as well." (via Manuel Méndez, Spain, Aug 26, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) HOLLAND, 6275.4, FRS Holland, 1758-1930, 26-08, tuning music, English, ID “FRS Holland”, pop songs, comments, at 1845 German, comments and pop songs. At first very weak and only audible on LSB, but later good signal. // 7700 with poor signal (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. Upcoming frequency changes of Radio France International from Sept 2 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/upcoming-frequency-changes-of-radio.html 0400-0500 11700 ISS 500 kW / 137 deg ECAf French till Sept.1 0400-0500 9620 ISS 500 kW / 137 deg ECAf French from Sept.2 1200-1230 13730 ISS 500 kW / 198 deg WeAf Mandingo Mon-Fri till Sep 1 1200-1230 17815 ISS 500 kW / 198 deg WeAf Mandingo Mon-Fri from Sep 2 1200-1300 13740 ISS 500 kW / 200 deg NWAf French till Sept.1 1200-1300 15300 ISS 500 kW / 200 deg NWAf French from Sept.2 1200-1300 13855 ISS 500 kW / 180 deg NWAf French till Sept.1 1200-1300 15390 ISS 500 kW / 180 deg WCAf French from Sept.2 1600-1700 13690 ISS 500 kW / 170 deg WCAf Hausa till Sept.1 1600-1700 15670 ISS 500 kW / 170 deg WCAf Hausa from Sept.2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27S2J9KrACQ&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS3KeFWtIkY&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkwTQ2wj8Jc&feature=youtu.be ??????????? ?? Observer ? 3:52 PM (via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Unidentified station on 5905 AM heard from 2000 UT with German speaking female giving out the shipping forecast, mentions of North Sea + other routes. Abrupt ending at 2015. Reception good. Tecsun PL-660 + active ant (transmission was live) Aug 24. [later:] just sent unidentified station to you. Have found out what it is. Name of the station DWD. Meteorological station located in Offenbach-Main, Germany (Jon Collins, Birmingham, middle of the UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fair signal of DWD Deutscher Wetterdienst, August 23 0600-0630 on 5905 PIN 010 kW / non-dir to CeEu German AM mode 0600-0630 on 6180 PIN 010 kW / non-dir to CeEu German AM mode http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/fair-signal-of-dwd-deutscher.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Re: [WOR] ``New German language talk format programme on C292 at 2000 UT. Google translates name as ``creep speed`` --- there you have it! (Glenn Hauser)`` Hi Glenn, Must be a programme about the speed at which politicians work, then! :-D (Alan Gale, England, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) "Creep" defining politicians' speed, or personality traits? (Greg Hardison, CA, ibid.) Definitely personality traits! :-D (Alan Gale, ibid.) OK; we`ve had our fun. Perhaps one of our native speakers can provide a more nuanced translation? Or if it ever airs, what is it really about? (gh, DXLD) I have no idea who is behind it. From the vocabulary one can also associate this term militarily. It is very often used in conjunction with submarines. Submarines go on "Schleichfahrt" = "Silent running" to attack enemy ships, from ambush. So this has nothing to do with speed but to position and act secretly (roger thayer, germany, ibid.) ** GERMANY [non]. 11800, FRANCE, DW at 1822 in Hausa, two men with talk mentioning “Ghana” and “Hausa” then Newslink theme and a man and woman with talk at 1823 – Fair Aug 23 – How DW has changed over the decades I have been in the hobby. I remember when they used their full name of Deutsche Welle and broadcasted from West Germany and had a number of relay transmitters such as Sines, Portugal, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, and Montserrat, British West Indies, and Rwanda. Of their relay transmitters, only Trincomalee remains. It now belongs to the SLBC. And English language programs have been missing from the shortwave bands for a while (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) ** GREECE. Reception of Voice of Greece on 9420 kHz, August 22 0651&0655 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 0705 UT http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-voice-of-greece-on-9420_22.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 21-22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reception of Voice of Greece on 9420 kHz, August 23 0651&0655 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 0707 UT http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-voice-of-greece-on-9420_23.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 22-23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA. 9650, Radio Guinea, Conakry, 1940-2010, 23-08, French, comments, at 1945: “Le Grand Journal”, news. 33433. They announce three big bulletin news all days: 1445, 1945 and 2200 Guinean Time, which matches UT. 33433 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. Re: [WOR] Hurricane Lane --- I'm not hearing WWVH when checked at 1430 UT on 15, 10 MHz, but audible on 5 MHz still. Thought they may be off, but it is unusual not to hear them on 10 and 15 MHz at this time (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, 1437 UT Aug 23, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also USA: re WWV/WWVH threatened (gh) [and non]. At 3 minutes past the hour, WWVH gives an announcement that the same contents are available by phone (Area code 808). The next minute, the same woman gives the same information for WWV with a 303 area code. I wonder whether this is in preparation to a possible cessation of SW activities? 73, (Walt Salmaniw, BC, 0406 UT Aug 24, WOR iog via DXLD) [and non] ARRL Headquarters Monitoring Progress of Hurricane Lane, Radio Gear Available to Deploy --- ARRL 08/22/2018 [UPDATED: 2018-08-23 @ 1242 UTC]: ARRL Headquarters is in monitoring mode, as powerful Hurricane Lane — now a Category 3 storm — approaches Hawaii, ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, said on Wednesday, and Ham Aid Amateur Radio equipment is available for deployment. Corey said the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) has a team on standby to assist with communication between Hawaii and the mainland, if needed. Amateur Radio at the National Hurricane Center in Miami also is standing by to assist with communication between the Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the National Hurricane Center. The Salvation Army Team Emergency Network (SATERN) is also keeping an eye on the situation but has not activated. The VoIP Hurricane Net is currently monitoring the situation and will reevaluate tonight. As of 1200 UT on August 23, Hurricane Lane was 230 miles south-southwest of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, moving northwest at 7 MPH and on course to pass very close to or over the main Hawaiian Islands Thursday and Friday. It is a Category 3 storm, with maximum sustained winds 130 MPH. Hurricane-force winds extend out 40 miles; tropical-storm-force winds extend out 140 miles. A hurricane warning is in effect for Oahu, Maui County, to include the islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai, and Kahoolawe, and Hawaii County. A hurricane watch in effect for Kauai County, including the islands of Kauai and Niihau. Excessive rainfall is expected to affect portions of the Hawaiian Islands into the weekend, with total rain accumulations of 10 to 15 inches with localized amounts in excess of 20 inches possible. Large swells will severely impact the Hawaiian Islands over the next couple of days, and the combination of a dangerous storm surge and large breaking waves will raise water levels by as much as 2 to 4 feet above normal tide levels along south- and west-facing shores The ARRL Hawaii Section is engaged with Hawaii Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and on standby to assist with shelter operations, if that becomes necessary. Volunteers are also assisting the National Weather Service and state emergency managers. ARRL Puerto Rico Section Manager Oscar Resto, KP4RF, is visiting Hawaii this week and has offered to assist and share his knowledge from the response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico last year. Corey said that at this time, no personnel or equipment are needed. He asked that those in the affected area alert ARRL of any communication gaps that might evolve as well as any key information that could be shared via Amateur Radio networks. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released preparedness and safety information for the public during hurricane season. Local authorities are urging the public to be prepared with 14-day supply of water and non-perishable food items. Listen to NOAA Weather Radio, watch TV, and listen to the radio for official news and instructions as they become available. Be familiar with evacuation routes, have a family communication plan, keep a battery-powered radio handy and have a plan for pets. Visit FEMA’s disaster readiness planning page (English) (Spanish) to learn these and other preparedness tips for tropical storms. Know your evacuation zone and be sure to follow the direction of state, local, and tribal officials if an evacuation is ordered for your area. Download the FEMA mobile app (available in English and Spanish) for a customizable checklist of emergency supplies, maps of open shelters and recovery centers, disaster survival tips, and weather alerts from the National Weather Service. The app also enables users to receive push notifications reminding them to take important steps to prepare their homes and families for disasters. All businesses should prepare in advance of a potential disaster to prevent loss of life, property, or disruption to operations. Businesses can review and update their business continuity plans and ensure their workforce knows what to do before and during a disaster. Resources are available on web sites such as Ready.gov/business and SBA.gov/disaster-planning. Get to know the terms used to identify severe weather, and discuss with your family what to do if a watch or warning is issued. Know what to do for a tropical storm/hurricane or for flooding (via Mike Terry, WOR iog via DXLD) ** INDIA. 5010, AIR Thiruvananthapuram (presumed) in local language, 08.26.2018, *0104-0119 sudden strong S/on for some seconds, then man unclear talk in unid language (possibly news) with music breaks at times, men / woman talk with music breaks at times, then man talk only, heard in Lsb, moderate AC noise qrm, fast qsb and moderate qrn rustle, poor; (Gianni Serra - Roma-Italy, JRC NRD 525 receiver; Alpha Delta DX-SWL Sloper-S antenna; JPS NIR 12 Noise & Interference Reducer-Dual DSP outboard audio filter; DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR, 2245-0045, 7550 kHz back to normal shortwave transmission this morning, monitored in China. (LI MENG | ?? https://www.facebook.com/lenffant 0252 UT Aug 24, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGSEST) By ``normal`` not sure whether you mean DRM or not in this case (gh) Link to DRM Bengaluru schedule --- It is learnt that DRM transmissions from AIR Bengaluru - External Services is extended from 27 Aug 2018. Please see the link below: http://qsl.net/vu2jos/drm/swt.htm Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Aug 24, dx_india yg via DXLD) All India Radio : External Services in DRM on SW (Time wise) A-18 VU2JOS 27 Aug 2018 UTC kHz Channel A Channel B Target Area 0315-0415 15185(B) Hindi Raagam E. Af., Mauritius 0415-0430 ,, Gujarati ,, ,, 0430-0530 ,, Hindi ,, ,, 1000-1100 17895(B) English ,, Australia, NZ 1145-1215 15040(B) Chinese NE Asia 1215-1330 ,, Tibetan Tibet 1615-1715 11560(B) Russian Raagam E. Europe 1745-1945 7550(B) English ,, Europe 1945-2045 ,, Hindi French ,, 2045-2230 ,, English Raagam ,, 2245-0045 ,, ,, ,, NE Asia (B)= Bengaluru : Power 185 kW (via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) please avoid ditto marks (gh) ** INDIA. PM's Mann Ki Baat in All India Radio network across AP, Telangana on Aug 26 Posted at: Aug 23 2018 8:05PM http://www.uniindia.com/pm-s-mann-ki-baat-in-all-india-radio-network-across-ap-telangana-on-aug-26/states/news/1328855.html Hyderabad, Aug 23 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Mann ki Baat" programme will broadcast on August 26 at 11 AM through the entire All India Radio network encompassing Medium Wave, Shortwave, FM, Vividh bharati of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Telugu version of this programme `Mann Ki Baat" will be broadcast immediately after the PM's speech and repeat broadcast of Telugu version will also be made at 8 PM from all the stations of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states on the same day, said V Udaya Sankar, AD(P) & Programme Head-AIR in a release here on Thursday. UNI KNRJA SHK1940 Please log in to get detailed story (via Mike Cooper, GA, DXLD) ** INDIA. All India R Faithfully Yours [mailbag] confirmed broadcasting as expected in 2-weekly cycle on 27 August (1435, 1930, 2215) / 28 August (0015). Next scheduled airings are thus 10/11 September (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 7289.92, Pro 1 RRI Nabire, 0851-0912*, on Aug 24. Nice to find this one still active and with a semi-decent signal, even with QRN (static); 0851-0859, with non-stop EZL music/songs; 0859-0909, with combination of reciting from the Qur'an and call-to-prayer; sunset at Nabire was at 6:01 PM WIT (0901 UT), with the Maghrib prayer being soon after sunset; suddenly cut off shortly after their sunset. Didn't think to check the nighttime frequency of 6125 kHz. My audio at http://goo.gl/TN38UP 7289.92, Pro 1 RRI Nabire, 0824-0852*, Aug 27. Mostly pop songs; suddenly cut off; their closing time varies a lot. Very listenable! My audio at http://goo.gl/DqhG5A [non-log]. 7289.92, Pro 1 RRI Nabire, starting at 0752 and checking till 1017, Aug 28. Not heard at all, so must have been off the air today, or an especially early closing? (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. WHISKAS [cat food] launched cat's radio Cat Calm Radio [sic] --------------------------------------------- In fact, all people who ever had a cat as their pet, tried to entertain the animal, including meowing other cats. WHISKAS went further, creating a soothing radio for cats. The first cat's radio Cat Calm Radio became available for audition on August 22nd. Unlike music stations popular with people, absolutely different tracks are played on cat radio. A person is pleased to hear a rhythm that resembles a knock on the heart of a mother, and cats are interested in other compositions that remind of sucking milk. Developed cat music David Thie. According to him, music should act, even on a cat that is concerned about something, pacifying. Station on the Internet: http://catcalmradio.com http://onair.ru/main/enews/view_msg/NMID__70303/ 73! (Rus-DX Aug 26 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Some 'satellite' news update for anyone following along --- ARE there any other MAREs playing with "Free to Air" satellite? How about the NOAA and other weather birds? Why not report what you're hearing/seeing? While at the lake for a week last week, I decided to play, and adjusted the satellite dish by tweaking the ‘alt adjust’ turnbuckle, and especially on Ku band signals it helped a lot! What was marginal reception at 49% is now solid with 52+% on just about every signal. It just goes to show how a (very) little ‘tweaking’ can go a long way toward improving things! Don't be afraid to try things -- you can usually always go back to what was there before if the tweaks don't help! Just be careful out there, so to speak! ;) SHF Geo-stationary Satellite stuff: (Frequencies in GHz) So, what is hitting YOUR satellite dishes? Radio: 58° W Intelsat-21, 4.160-H/26590 Msps; NHK Radio five streams: SVC ID 51/audio PID 1520 Radio 1L chan JJ(24/7 Japanese) SVC ID 51/audio PID 1520 Radio 2R chan tuning sig/IS & ID in JJ/EE SVC ID 61/audio PID 1620 Radio 3L chan English service reading part two of a story about a fire: "The Trace" then closing with EE sked and into Hindi service at BoH SVC ID 61/audio PID 1620 Radio 4R chan English // to left channel SVC ID 71/audio PID 1720 Radio 5 stereo tuning sig/IS & ID in JJ/EE All this was in well after my dish re-adjusting, 53% quality and steady, all in QPSK/MPEG2 1816-1831, 18/Aug (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, for Satellite logs: Manhattan DJ-1997 FTA receiver +96" movable dish (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet Aug 24 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. Tony Hiller --- RIP Tony Hiller who died this Sunday evening 26th August 2018 aged 91. He wrote a huge number of hit records including in 1964 "Caroline" by the Fortunes which should have been a hit but the BBC denied it airplay at the time. It is of course still the station theme for Radio Caroline (Mike Terry, UK, Aug 27, WOR iog via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. ILLW wrap up Southgate 23 August 2018 http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2018/august/illw-wrapup.htm The International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend was, according to reports, another successful event with 440 stations which entered for the event from 49 countries. This was the 21st year the event has been held and 25 years since the Northern Lights Award came on the air in 1993. The ILLW evolved from that Scottish Award concept to become one of the most popular events in Amateur Radio. Band conditions were improved on last year but were still a long way from those of years ago. One of the main comments was the apparent lack of courtesy on the air by some of the larger stations running a lot more power than most of those at lighthouses. We continually point out that the ILLW is not a contest and there is no reason or benefit in accumulating a lot of lighthouse contacts. The objective is to talk to other stations and spread the word about lighthouses and their situation as an endangered species. Please remember that stations at lighthouses are running less than 100watts and with temporary antennas, usually wire. Another suggestion is that entrants not leave it until the last few days to enter as most stations would like to update their list before they leave for the lighthouse and internet connections are not always available at remote locations. The entrants list for 2019 already has 71 lighthouses listed for the weekend of 17th and 18th of August 2019 See you then. Kevin vk2ce https://illw.net (via Mike Terry, WOR iog via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. 12005, Aug 23 at 1412, Persian talk, pop song in English, 1413 two DJs with more chat. S9/S9+10 is much better than I would expect from scheduled Woofferton UK at this hour; maybe hitting target from the east instead? Latest HFCC of Aug 22 still shows Woofferton eastward rather than Tinang or Udorn westward (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND. During the pope`s visit to the Irish Republic, much improved reception from RTE1 during the day on 252 kHz, SIO 555 until around 1947 UT. Nothing much on shortwave at present except summer static and qsb. Tecsun pl-660 + active ant (Jon Collins, Birmingham in a rainy middle of the UK, Aug 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN [non]. NHK World R. Japan via Issoudun/Dhabayya/Tashkent, August 21: 1430-1500 13680 ISS 500 kW / 090 deg to WeAs Farsi, very strong signal 1515-1600 11775 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg to SoAs Urdu, fair to good signal 1530-16009600 TAC 100 kW / 163 deg to SoAs Hindi, very good signal: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/nhk-world-radio-japan-via.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 21-22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN [non]. See INTERNATIONAL VACUUM: NHK ** KIRITIMATI. 846, Aug 25 at 0604, JJBBA carrier. As explained before, can`t be anything but Radio Kiribati. BTW, this is not in WRTH 2018 as its reactivation came after presstime. It could be audible eastward an hour or sesqui earlier with local sunset, making much further NZ even unlikelier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 6165, Aug 23 at 1306, Sea Breeze earnest YL in English as Thursdays only from JSR JAPAN, on her latest QSY, only poor (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. UZBEKISTAN, R. Free No. Korea & Voice of Wilderness via Tashkent, August 22 Radio Free North Korea 1200-1300 on 15630 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg to NEAs Korean, very good Voice of Wilderness 1330-1530 on 7625 TAC 100 kW / 070 deg to NEAs Korean, fair/good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/rfree-nokorea-voice-of-wilderness-via.html No. Korea Reform Radio & Voice of Martyrs via Tashkent, August 22 North Korea Reform Radio 1430-1530 on 7580 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg to NEAs Korean, very good Voice of Martyrs 1530-1600 on 7505 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg to NEAs Korean, very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/nokorea-reform-radio-voice-of-martyrs.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 22-23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 5920, Voice of Freedom, 0755-0805* (a few seconds before 0806), Aug 28. Ending music with "Aleumdaun Nala" ("Beautiful Country"); audio ended, but carrier remained on till start of audio again at observed *0858, with opening music of "Frontier" by Mr. Yang Bang-ean (Japan name: Liang Kunihiko) (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. 5995.029, Aug 23 at 1225, Korean over noise jamming, from Echo of Hope (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. 11530, MOLDOVA, Radyo Denge Welat, Grigoriopol in Kurdish 08.25.2018 0751-0824 man long talk, other man brief talk, brief music pause at 0758, man chant with strings instrumental music, time pips at 0800, music break and woman announcement into presumed news with same music breaks,(till 0810), music pause into non stop music program, with man typical chant with strings instrumental music, woman only voice chant, men choral chant, heard inLsb, slow qsb at times with mild rustle, good; in // http://www.denge-welat.org in streaming with some seconds of delay from broadcast in shortwaves; (Gianni Serra - Roma-Italy, JRC NRD 525 receiver; Alpha Delta DX-SWL Sloper-S antenna; JPS NIR 12 Noise & Interference Reducer-Dual DSP outboard audio filter; DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. 13645-13650-13655, Aug 25 at 1714, DRM at S3 but shortly after I tune in, vanishes. R. Kuwait in Arabic supposedly from 1700 to 2000 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. 15540, Radio Kuwait at 1738 in Urdu with a woman with talk – Poor and noisy rising to Fair in peaks Aug 26 – If they can transmit in analogue at this hour why can't they after 1800 when they are in English rather than in DRM? (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) Answer: they can! But they won`t (unless DRM fails) (gh, DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. Konstantin Chernushenko sent a sample of a new QSL-card MWV. The card is printed, reports on the reception can be sent to:mwvradio@gmail.com You can see a sample of the new MWV card here - http://rusdx.blogspot.com/2018/08/mwv.html (Dmitry Kutuzov, Ryazan, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx" via QSL World, Rus-DX Aug 26 via DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. 783 must be off still? I'd be interested in what others are noting (Mark Connelly, MA, Aug 24, IRCA via DXLD) It has been quite a while since I've heard Mauritania 783. It doesn't show up either, not even at a "strong carrier" level (Sylvain Naud, Quebec, Aug 25, ibid.) Surprisingly R. Mauritanie replied to my Arabic speaking friend about this (machine translation): ``We apologize for the current interruption to broadcast on the medium wave MW, but the interests concerned are trying as quickly as possible to lift the malfunction`` (Mauno Ritola, Finland, IRCA via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) * MEXICO. 6185, Radio Educación, Ciudad de México, 0457-0515*, 24-08. Only carrier detected. Also 0457-0550*, 25-08, only carrier detected here in Reinante, strong carrier via remote SDR Kiwi receivers in Bonaire and Texas, but no audio. Also 0445-0501*, 26-08, nothing in Reinante, weak audio with music via remote SDR Kiwi in Texas (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Attached is a pretty good ID from a very seldom-reported station, XESJC-660, Los Cabos, BCS. Grupera music // XHSJC-93.1. Slogan "K-Voz." Hopefully this will help someone ID this station under KTNN. (NOTE: XEEY-660 is the more commonly heard Mexican under KTNN). This was found on a Perseus recording from home on 6/2/2018 at 1101 UT. They were on top of KTNN and KGSV for a while. 73 (Tim Hall, Alta California, Aug 24, ABDX yg via DXLD) ** MEXICO. XEWW-690 may be Spanish or Chinese --- Art Peterson's report last issue of XEWW-690 Rosarito, BCN in Chinese on August 1, appears to be a violation of an FCC temporary authority effective July 20 that restricts the station to Spanish language programming. A 1992 agreement gives the FCC authority to block the sale of Mexican stations that target US audiences. Both the FCC and the US Justice Department are investigating the sale, based on intelligence reports that the Chinese government has the potential to control XEWW's programming through the new owner. Formerly known as XETRA, XEAK and XEAC, the station’s current 77,500 watts during the Day has a directional pattern that equates to at least 100 kW to much of California, from a transmitter site close to the border near Tijuana. In the San Diego-Los Ángeles corridor, more than 600,000 people are fluent in at least one of the Chinese languages (author not specified, IRCA DX Monitor Sept 1, published Aug 28, via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 1190, XECT, Contacto 11-90, Monterrey, Nuevo León. 1055 August 18, 2018. Soft Spanish vocal, anthem (the male baritone-ish led chorus version) at 1100, female "XECT 11-90 AM Contacto... Contacto 11-90..." Slight WWIO "Relevant Radio" Catholic co-channel. 1500, XEDF, Grupo Fórmula 1500, México, DF. 1059 August 23, 2018. Anthem in progress, male at 1100 with calls, power, slogan (per WRTVH 2018) not copied, into news by female. Some WPSO co-channel (Terry L. Krueger, All times/dates GMT, Clearwater, FL, NRD-535, IC-R75, longwires, active loop, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Mexican AM migration --- Here is a list of 150 Mexican stations that have told me (via e-mail or Facebook message) that they have finished migrating to FM and have turned off their AMs. As always, this list cannot be guaranteed 100% accurate. It includes a few stations which I have logged in the past year (although none of those stations were found on a Perseus recording I made last week, so perhaps they really are off). I believe almost 600 Mexican AM stations have gone dark. These 150 are the ones that have specifically told me that they have done so. 73 Tim [Note: some state abbrs. are non-standard but should be recognisable] 550 XEHLL-OAX 550 XEKL-VER 560 XEIN-CHIA 560 XEQAA-QROO 570 XEUK-SON 570 XEVX-TAB 580 XEUE-CHIA 580 XEUAQ-QTRO 590 XEZZZ-CHIA 590 XECJU-NAY 590 XEBH-SON 590 XEOM-VER 600 XEZ-YUC 610 XEEL-ZAC 620 XEBU-CHIH 620 XECK-DUR 630 XEJR-GUER 630 XEOPE-SIN 640 XEWM-CHIA 640 XEHHI-CHIH 640 XEYQ-ZAC 650 XERCG-COAH 650 XECHH-GUER 650 XEZM-MICH 650 XEVSS-SON 660 XEYG-OAX 670 XEIS-JAL 670 XEQG-QTRO 670 XESIC-VER 680 XECHG-GUER 680 XEORO-SIN 690 XECS-COL 690 XEXL-MICH 690 XEST-SIN 690 XEAFA-VER 700 XERV-TAB 700 XEVC-VER 710 XELZ-COAH 710 XERK-NAY 710 XEPS-SON 720 XEQZ-JAL 720 XEVU-SIN 720 XEAVR-VER 730 XEVF-CHIA 740 XECW-SIN 760 XEEB-SON 770 XEREV-SIN 770 XEQRV-VER 780 XEZN-GJTO 790 XEBI-AGUA 790 XEUP-YUC 800 XEUI-CHIA 810 XESB-CHIH 810 XEMAX-COL 810 XEHT-TLAX 810 XEZC-ZAC 820 XEYN-OAX 830 XEIK-COAH 850 XERTM-TAB 850 XETQ-VER 860 XEPLA-AGUA 860 XEDB-CHIA 860 XEHX-SON 870 XEAMO-GJTO 870 XELY-MICH 880 XETC-COAH 880 XERTP-PUEB 890 XEFRT-CHIA 890 XEPC-ZAC 900 XEDT-CHIH 910 XEACN-GJTO 920 XEQD-CHIH 920 XEHQ-SON 930 XEU-VER 930 XEQS-ZAC 950 XECAA-AGUA 950 XETUG-CHIA 950 XECEL-GJTO 960 XEUQ-GUER 960 XEGB-VER 970 XEEZ-SON 980 XEJK-CHIH 980 XENR-COAH 980 XEXT-NAY 980 XEQO-VER 990 XEID-VER 990 XEFP-ZAC 1000 XEHPC-CHIH 1000 XEGQ-MICH 1000 XEMIL-SIN 1010 XEKD-COAH 1010 XEVK-DUR 1020 XEOU-OAX 1020 XEKH-QTRO 1030 XELJ-JAL 1030 XETEKA-OAX 1030 XEMPM-SIN 1050 XEDC-AGUA 1050 XEVUC-COAH 1050 XETAB-TAB 1080 XECN-GJTO 1080 XEXK-VER 1090 XELB-JAL 1100 XECAN-QROO 1100 XEHTY-VER 1110 XELEO-GJTO 1120 XEGV-QTRO 1130 XEMOS-SIN 1140 XELIA-MICH 1150 XEJS-CHIH 1150 XEXP-OAX 1150 XEQUE-QTRO 1160 XEVW-GJTO 1170 XEJTF-JAL 1170 XEZS-VER 1180 XEYA-GJTO 1190 XESOL-MICH 1200 XEAGA-AGUA 1210 XEITC-GJTO 1230 XEEX-SIN 1240 XELM-CHIA 1240 XEBN-CHIH 1240 XEBQ-SON 1250 XEJX-QTRO 1250 XETF-VER 1260 XEJY-JAL 1260 XEQL-MICH 1260 XER-NL 1260 XESA-SIN 1290 XEFAC-GJTO 1310 XEFH-SON 1320 XENM-AGUA 1330 XEBO-GJTO 1340 XECI-GUER 1340 XEQE-SIN 1370 XEUAA-AGUA 1370 XESV-MICH 1390 XERW-GJTO 1400 XEAC-AGUA 1400 XEOJ-MICH 1400 XEAB-SON 1410 XEZHO-GUER 1420 XEWE-GJTO 1420 XEAFQ-VER 1430 XEOX-SON 1460 XEJH-VER 1480 XEXU-COAH 1490 XESK-NAY 1540 XENC-GJTO 1580 XELI-GUER 73 (Tim Hall, CA, Aug 29, ABDX yg via DXLD) ** MEXICO. UNID 93.3 FM --- Trying to solve a mystery that has been bugging me for a few weeks. At night, I use several of my older modified FM tuners for meteor scatter DXing. One of them is a Denon TU-1500RD, which has been modified for MPX output. This feeds a Ray Dees RDS Decoder, which in turn feeds RDS Software on a computer. Several times now, I’ve gotten a decode of the infamous 3D44 (which equals bogus KRDS callsign). Antenna is a six element FM-6 yogi pointed North, and mounted low to the ground to reduce locals. Looking at the WTFDA FM DB, I see several stations listed with the 3D44 RDS PI Code, but none on 93.3. In addition to the text recovered by RDS Spy, the Denon display froze on the words, “LUTE A” which didn’t help me much. I’ve seen this same display several times during the summer. Any thoughts? 2018/08/21 09:13:34-09:13:52; 3D44 (Outstanding) [] 2018/08/21 09:18:44-09:18:45; 3D44 (Very poor) [] 2018/08/21 09:47:26-09:47:46; 3D44 (Outstanding) [ LU ] 0 % 2018/08/21 11:26:19-11:26:26; 3D44 (Outstanding) [] 91 % 2018/08/21 11:47:10-11:47:12; 3D44 (Poor) [] 2018/08/21 12:05:27-12:05:32; 3D44 (Outstanding) [] 96 % 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf, Aug 22, WTFDA via DXLD) XHEXZ-FM Zacatecas ZAC Mexico "La Lupe" ?? They are not shown to have RDS in the WTFDA FM db, BUT there are a lot of MX stations with RDS that haven't been identified yet in the db. And I can't imagine it being anyone else (Jim Thomas, MO, http://db.wtfda.org ibid.) Thank you Jim, very helpful. That tracks with a brief e-skip opening to Mexico yesterday. I wasn’t at the dials, but my meteor scanning setup feeds two separate audio channels to Total Recorder software and runs from midnight until 10 AM. I had some brief segments of Spanish language on 88.7 during this same time frame around 9:47—so a Mexican station makes sense. I’ll try to track it more closely as the e-skip season fades out—hoping to confirm your suspicion. If verified, I’ll update the WTFDA DB. 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, ibid.) ** MEXICO. NUEVA RADIO EN HERMOSILLO EN 101.1 MHz --- 26/08/2018 La empresa Larsa Comunicaciones presento el nuevo producto radiofónico que desde hace una semana se encuentra al aire con gran éxito. Omar Dávila, gerente de ventas del grupo informó que este nuevo producto cuenta con nuevos locutores, producto musical y una programación atractiva para sus radioescuchas. El esfuerzo y estrategia comercial han llevado al grupo radiofónico a posicionar sus marcas no solo en el estado de Sonora sino también en Baja California y Arizona (source? via GRA blog via DXLD) Already in the WTFDA FM Database as XHVSS-FM // AM 650, 25 kW H&V, ROMÁNTICA (gh) ** MEXICO. MÉXICO OTORGA MÁS CONCESIONES EN FM PARA USO COMUNITARIO 24/08/2018 El Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, IFT, autorizó cuatro concesiones para usar y aprovechar bandas de frecuencias del espectro radioeléctrico para la prestación del servicio de radiodifusión sonora en Frecuencia Modulada, FM, con sus respectivas concesiones únicas. Todas estas nuevas concesiones, destinadas para para uso social comunitario, beneficiarán a los pobladores de Santo Domingo Zanatepec, San Antonio Castillo Velasco y Tlacolula de Matamoros, Oaxaca. Con la autorización de dichas concesiones, se suman un total de 57 concesiones para uso social comunitario, las cuales, de acuerdo con lo establecido en la Ley Federal de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusión (LFTyR), se otorgan a organizaciones de la sociedad civil que tengan un vínculo directo o coordinación con la comunidad en la que se prestará el servicio y que estén constituidas bajo los principios de participación ciudadana directa, convivencia social, equidad, igualdad de género y pluralidad. http://www.tvyvideo.com (via GRA blog via DXLD) ** MEXICO. RAYMIE`S MEXICO BEAT this week --- including TDT = DTV A couple crumbs: -The IFT almost cleared a permit forest last month, and it would have been the second-largest forest to be adjudicated. The July 4 meeting was originally set to clear the permit forest of Saltillo, with six applicants (only Cancún had more). The item was removed with the goal of providing more information. -Multimedios must really like how La Lupe is performing, because they've replaced Hits FM with it in Linares, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc and Compostela-Tepic. In the case of XHPCTN, it's worth noting that Hits didn't last three months on the new station! (Raymie Humbert, Phoenix AZ, Aug 22, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) From the Unidad de Medios y Contenidos Audiovisuales came the periodic update to the multiprogramming and virtual channel lists, and there are some highlights worth noting. We're seeing the first activity from two IFT-6 stations. XHROSL San Luis Potosí will use virtual channel 4. XHRTTS in Tepic, Nayarit, will be on channel 15. (Note that XHRTNA does not have a virtual channel yet.) Formally, Multimedios got channel 6 for XHMTCH in Ciudad Juárez, and as had been previously revealed, the TV Mar stations (XHCPxx) will take channel 10 and XHICCH will be on 44. XHJGMI, the first IFT-6 station to sign on the air, began using 15.1, but it will instead be on 12. There were also three moves down by Televisa regional stations. XHL moves from 23 to 9, XHTPZ from 24 to 4, and XHLAR from 57 to 2 (Raymie, Aug 22, ibid.) News from a couple of places today... After I first revealed the news three months ago, it became official: Radio Educación is coming to Morelia on the new XHIAM-FM 95.3. The new station will be known as Radio Education, Señal Cultura Michoacán. https://twitter.com/RadioEducacion/status/1032728779813281792 There's also something going on with Acustik on a couple of fronts. First off, Javier Solórzano, the other high-profile talent acquisition that Acustik made at the start of the year, is out. https://www.facebook.com/AcustikNoticias/posts/360773927800123?__tn__=-R (Wow, that was fast — Brozo left less than two weeks ago.) More importantly, something is rumbling in Quintana Roo. It appears that Quequi is back in control of QFM 104.3. They even brought back Qué Pasa en Quintana Roo, https://www.quequi.com.mx/se-reinventa-que-pasa-en-quintana-roo/ their newscast. Acustik is promising a "return" soon to Quintana Roo listeners. https://www.facebook.com/acustikmedia/photos/a.1197456526961368/2315308931842783/?type=3&theater It's unclear what is going on with 95.3, but the comments hint it, too, is off the air (Raymie, Aug 23, ibid.) The high levels of transparency of internal communications at Radio Educación give us a window into the timeline for FM broadcasting in Mexico City. On August 16, https://www.radioeducacion.edu.mx/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/COMUNICADO_118_2018.pdf an internal bulletin stated that DICIMEX, S.A. de C.V., had the winning bid for the station. It has 70 days to build the FM facilities. Some prep work is already underway (Raymie, Aug 24, ibid.) The IFT made available some extended versions of documents from IFT-4, allowing us to learn a bit more about selected applicants. I've chosen a few that didn't win out in the auction. S7-120255 and M8-342432 Why two at once? Well, they're Stereorey México and MVS Radio de Mérida. These two wholly-owned MVS subsidiaries prepared bids for markets in different regions. Stereorey México was cleared to bid in La Paz, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta (MVS has one station in Vallarta already). MVS Radio de Mérida would seek stations in Campeche, Cancún and Playa del Carmen. F9-500401 Fórmula Radiofónica hoped to open the conversation in some touristy cities —*Los Cabos, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos and Tulum. R1-500354 and L1-442201 Radiodifusión del Mar de Cortéz, seeking Los Cabos, and Luz Comunicación y Medios, which sought La Paz, aren't familiar names, but they are part of Luz Network (XHMSL-FM and, through Energía Radial en Comunicación, the unbuilt XHPFRT-FM and XHPNAS-FM). I4-214004 Interamericana de Radio wanted Ensenada and Los Cabos. The name may seem unfamiliar, but it shouldn't be. This is the concessionaire of XEPRS in Tijuana. What we did learn, though, was who owns the company. The other BCA-operated stations are owned by (incoming senator) Jaime Bonilla's Media Sports de México, but Interamericana de Radio is owned by the Bichara Kawas family —*owners of NRM Monterrey, a stake in XHMM-FM Mexico City, and through a US subsidiary, KVJY AM and KJAV-FM in McAllen, Texas (Raymie, Aug 24, ibid.) The IFT has issued final tech sheets to more than 100 radio and 25 television stations https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/IFT-ha-autorizado-casi-100-proyectos-en-radio-y-25-canales-20180826-0128.html from the IFT-4 and IFT-6 auctions, respectively. This means that 70% of the IFT-4 radio stations and 78% of the IFT-6 TV stations have authorized technical parameters. But among the stations still tied up at the IFT is XHFAMX-TDT, the Grupo Radio Centro TV station in Mexico City; that could be approved in about four weeks, according to Alejandro Navarrete (Raymie, Aug 27, ibid.) The IFT today announced it is making available the Broadcast Coverage Viewer and Analysis Tool (what a name!). http://www.ift.org.mx/comunicacion-y-medios/comunicados-ift/es/el-ift-publica-el-sistema-de-consulta-y-preanalisis-de-coberturas-de-radiodifusion-en-linea This new tool will include information on station coverages as well as a tool to see what frequencies might be available in a given locality and what their coverages might look like, similar to the Canadian CRC tool I have used in several graphics here. It will be updated quarterly. The coverage viewer will go live tomorrow in beta. It should be available at http://mapasradiodifusion.ift.org.mx (Raymie, Aug 27 ibid.) Very cool tool. Lots of fun looking at different stations! Thank you for posting (David Eduardo Gleason, La Quinta CA, ibid.) I've spent an hour or two in it now that it's live. Oh my goodness. This is the data trove I've been waiting for for years. Just in TV, there were dozens of finds (the stations range in ERP from 100 to 170,000 watts). Here are a few summaries: -Stations that have yet to be built, public and IFT-6, have parameters. This includes XHZAE, unbuilt for three years, as well as fifth-wave SPR transmitters, two of the new Canal Once unbuilt stations, and more. -XHTDMX has a 10 kW ERP shadow in Tultepec. Now I'm combing through radio. The databases are gonna be pretty busy this week. IFT-4 coverage is incomplete, with some notable inclusions being the NTR radio network in Zacatecas Oh. And XHGBO is now 40 kW. That explains a lot. This has almost everything, from shadow XHZER to the technical parameters of XHCDMX. It's so good. A bit clunky, but good (Raymie, Aug 27, ibid.) Coverage Spotlight: XHRN-FM, Seeing Double The first in what will probably be a lot of Coverage Spotlights centers on a bit of a surprise. Some stations are erroneously double-listed in a similar way to double callsign stations. For instance, there's only one XHUACC, but there are duplicate entries for XHUACC and XHUACC_CAMP. But XHRN's double listing is no mistake. In fact, "XHRN" and "XHRN_VER" are two separate transmitters! [illustration:] http://forums.wtfda.org/showthread.php?9113-OPMA-is-changing&p=46658#post46658 They are listed as if they are two separate main stations (note both pins say P for Principal — many TV stations and FMs like XHZER also have C pins for their equipos Complementarios). The Veracruz transmitter of XHRN transmits at just 1.976 kW ERP (HAAT 52.44 m) from the transmitter site that is listed for XHRN in databases. The other transmitter is listed as Veracruz as well (most shadows list where they are located) but it is more accurately referred to as the Santiago Tuxtla transmitter. This is where the power is: 39.330 kW and a HAAT of 696.5 meters, perched atop Cerro del Vigía, also the primary television transmission site in the region (Raymie, Aug 28, ibid.) This is going to take a long time to mine -- like a nice vein of gold. Simply wow (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) Indeed. The IFT-4/6 information is perhaps the best, but there is so much stuff that we just didn't have at all before. There's already information for 52 IFT-4 FMs — nearly half the overall total — and 11 of the 32 TV stations (given Telsusa's 12 account for most of the missing, that's quite a bit), plus a number of previously information-less (XHFZC main) or completely unknown (shadow XHTDMX) facilities. Still no XHCTLP, though. There are also a number of second-wave migrants — not all, but enough to spark some interest. I just haven't had the chance to focus on those. I have yet to really go through the AMs, but I did see some listings for unbuilt IFT-4 AMs. If there's an AM database that wants information on IFT-4 AM stations, please let me know. [tagline] Este programa es público, ajeno a cualquier partido político. Queda prohibido el uso para fines distintos a los establecidos en el programa (Raymie, Aug 28, ibid.) ** MONGOLIA. Voice of Mongolia --- Unexpectedly, a QSL card was received from the English section of the Voice of Mongolia for a report dated December 7, 2015. A registered letter with a track number from Ulan Bator was sent on August 7. QSL can be found here http://freerutube.info/2018/08/20/qsl-voice-of-mongolia-mongoliya-2015-god/ (Dmitry Elagin, Saratov, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx" via QSL World, Rus-DX Aug 26 via DXLD) Received a diploma from the Ukrainian service of Interradio Romania for 10 years of constant monitoring. Last year, from the Russian service, the IRI obtained a diploma for 20 years (Dmitry Kutuzov, Ryazan, Russia / ibid.) ** MOZAMBIQUE. Afrika: 873, 17.8 2130, R Mozambique, Beira med “Ultima Jornal”. Blev ju tvungen att kolla i listorna efter Mozambiquestationer när 1206 gick så bra, och denna har jag inte noterat tidigare! Hyfsad peak här och kan ju finnas något lokalt i snacket just innan nx... JOB 1026, 17.8 2130, R Mozambique, Chimoio hade jag med musiken i bakgrunden sedan några minuter. Startade “Ultima Jornal” här men tror inte jag fick något lokalt ID innan tyvärr JOB 1179, 17.8 2131 R Mozambique, Quelimane även denna kravlade sig upp med “Ultima Jornal”, dock svag JOB 1206, 17.8 2103, R Mozambique, Inhambane riktigt fint denna kväll! Nämnde “Inhambane” i pratet här, sedan typisk musik. Bra i en halvtimme minst och drog på “Ultima Jornal” 2130 parallellt med de andra frekvenserna JOB 1260, 17.8 2131, R Mozambique, Lichinga är aktiv även den, men inget på 1224. Den har jag loggat tidigare men är kanske inte igång? (Jan Oscarsson, Umeå, Sverige, som lyssnat i sommarstugan i Petiknäs (Arctic Radio Club mv-eko 27 August via DXLD) European and NE American DXers are hearing plenty of Mozambique on MW, but why not Angola? WRTH shows it still has a number of active MW frequencies. Maybe because Angolans are mostly 10 kW; Mozambiqans mostly 50 kW (gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. Netherlands/offshore: Seabreeze AM observed on 747 kHz & 1395 kHz --- Radio SeaBreeze AM was observed on 747 kHz mediumwave at 0730 UT on 24 August 2018, announcing as coming live from the [LV8 lightvessel] Jenni Baynton. Format is mostly English pop oldies presented in Dutch. Reception was good via a web SDR in Groningen, Netherlands, and the station could also be heard in parallel with very poor reception amongst a clutter of low-power Dutch stations on their usual 1395 kHz. SeaBreeze can also be heard on a live stream from their website at http://radioseabreeze.nl. Other Dutch stations can be heard on 747 kHz at other times - Radio Seagull was observed there the previous evening (David Kernick, Interval Signals Online, Aug 24, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST LV Jenni Baynton 747 kHz --- Can hear oldies with Dutch presenter on 747 kHz (1500 UT 25/8) Weak signal, didn't catch the ID. Seems to be a persistent background buzz on 747 here. Suspect local industrial estate. Also audible at same time, Energy Dublin on 1395 kHz. Oldies & IDs. 73s (Nick, Buxton UK, Rank, Roberts R9924 E-W wire fence. Sent from Samsung Mobile on O2, 1543 UT Aug 25, bdxc-news iog via DXLD) At 1700 UT they went over from Dutch to English, I think it was Radio Sea Breeze but I didn't quite catch it? Maybe an Irish voice? Listening on a RSP1A and MA305FT on Mersea Island (Paul Golder, UK, ibid.) The 1-kW transmitter on 1602 in Harlingen, Friesland (page 296 of WRTH 2018) is now relaying Cyber Gold Radio (rather than KBC) at 0500-1700 GMT. According to Cyber Gold's website, this relay began on 1 July: https://www.cyberradio.co.uk/cyber-news/cyber-gold-to-launch Reception in Sheringham, north Norfolk, is weak-fair but very clear on ordinary portables. It's a 175-mile all-sea path from Harlingen to Sheringham. 1602 still relays Radio Seagull after 1700 GMT, heard in parallel with the 0.1-kW transmitter on 747, also in Harlingen. None of the other low-power Dutch transmitters on 747 are audible in the daytime here. (Chris Greenway, 1014 UT Aug 28, ibid.) I overlooked the fact that Dave Kenny had already noted the news about Cyber Gold on 1602 in July's Communication. The schedule of relays may be variable. Yesterday, 1602 was not in parallel with 747 in the evening (Chris Greenway, Aug 29, ibid.) I don’t know if it’s been mentioned but Radio Seabreeze which is currently being broadcast on 747 kHz from the Radio Ship “Jenni Baynton” (LV8) is also on its normal frequency 1395 kHz from Grou, The Netherlands with 100 watts. 1395 kHz is a few seconds behind 747, and here in Faversham, North East Kent, I am able to hear both frequencies with 747 kHz giving the best reception. 73’s (John, JRC NRD525 + Wellbrook (new) ALA1530 LNP, Hoad, ibid.) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 9925, UT Sunday August 26 at 0020, The Mighty KBC via Nauen, GERMANY, is missing! Oh, now I hear a JBA carrier, from that, or what? Might be propped out, except other Europeans are sufficient: 9420 Greece S5-S7; 9570 Albania S6-S8! Another check at 0136 during power outage, on DX-398 and internal reel-out: still JBA carrier. It`s almost time for KBC`s traditional QSY to lower band in September; HFCC has alternates reserved: 5960, 6040, 6145; which will it be? Have heard nothing about this year`s plans. Or had they already moved this week? I did not check these (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9925, EAST GERMANY, The Mighty KBC (via Nauen) at 0000 with opening music and ID of “Rocking across the ocean and all across Europe we are the Mighty KBC” and into DJ Dave Mason with oldies music and KBC Imports Ads – Very Good at first but completely lost to a geomagnetic storm by 0020 Aug 26 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) Hi Kraig, On 9/9 we move from 9925 to 5960 kHz. 0000-0200 UT. Please spread the word. Met vriendelijke groet, (Eric van Willegen, KBC Radio, Argonstraat 6, 6718 WT Ede, Tel. 0318 552491 (Aug 28 via Kraig W Krist, VA, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. 6224-USB, Aug 23 at 0554, marine weather emphatically enunciated numbers, very poor signal. It`s ZLM, Taupo Maritime Radio, per EiBi, in a 32-minute broadcast starting at 0533; also many others of same length beginning at :03 or :33 past certain hours. Seems a bit early for this, but not really, circa sunset there (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. 7425, Aug 26 at 0630, RNZ is S9+10/20 with heavy flutter! A rarity on this trans-equatorial signal, tnx to major geomag storm with K-index of 7 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 7255-, Aug 22 at 0629, VON is AWOL yet another day. 7255-, Aug 26 at 0629, again no signal from VON, still presumed off, altho current K index of 7 might be enough to take out even this low-latitude super signal aimed USward. But NZ`s in one minute later, q.v. 7255-, Aug 28 at 0605, VON is finally back on, with the bigsig Hausa hour, S9+20; had not been heard for at least a dekaday (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. Dandal Kura R Int heard from 1928 tune-in to sign-off at 2000 UT on 23 August on (new, I think) 11765 kHz in parallel with 11830. Good reception here. Transmitter site not known (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) Issoudun of course, registered as alternative (Ivo Ivanov, ibid.) ** NIGERIA [non]. 12050, ASCENSION ISLAND, Radio Ndarason International in Kanuri (as seen on its schedules), 08.21.2018 1820-1840 man talk, other men brief chatting, continuing man talk, man vocal solo chant, men chatting on the road, brief instrumental music sound pause, and continuing chatting, again vocal chant in brief, continuing man chat, mentioning ID at 1827 as Radio Ndarason International, other man talk (enhanced with reverberation), s/on only for some seconds from about 1832, then continuing long speech by same man, heard in Lsb and Usb with mild fast qsb and lite rustle, good; (Gianni Serra - Roma-Italy, JRC NRD 525 receiver; Alpha Delta DX-SWL Sloper-S antenna; JPS NIR 12 Noise & Interference Reducer-Dual DSP outboard audio filter; DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. Conexión Digital comes up with some interesting grafix, including this one which I retype: RADIO NIGERIA HAUSA SERVICE Yan Uwana Mutanen Arewa KUNA SAURARAN RADIO NA NIGERIA MURYAN GASKIYA A MITA 15110 KHz SHIRIN YANA FARAWA DAGA KARFE 7 ZUWA 8 NA DARE A YI SAUDARO LAFIYA THE VOICE OF TRUTH TUNE INTO SHORT WAVE 15110 KHz 19 METER BAND AT 7 TO 8PM DAILY (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. Pirates ======================= --- North American: No pirates heard since 8/6 despite MANY checks (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, August 23, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6770-AM, Aug 24 at 0141, JBA carrier on the characteristic frequency of the ``Old Time Radio pirate`` supposedly originating from a museum as part of their display. On almost eveningly chex of the shorter 43m pirate band, nothing had been heard since Wolverine, 6950-USB, Aug 18 at 0004 for Aretha. It`s vacation time? Harold Frodge, MI, says ``despite MANY checks``, as of August 23 he had heard no pirates since August 6 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 7470, Aug 24 at 0310, YHWH is JBA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 7470, USA (religious pirate station), R. YHWH at 0345, in progress at tune-in. Usual voice and topics. VG at tune-in, then went to some deep fading. Back up again, but at 0420, there was only a good level carrier but NO modulation. I left on the BFO, and, after a couple of minutes, the carrier went off. August 26 (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) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6959.94, Aug 26 at 0022, JBA carrier here is only trace of a possible pirate this Saturday evening, nothing else 6770-7000. Many 6960 logs here, one on 6959.95, say it`s Radio Illuminati between 2358 and 0051*: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,45436.0.html 6935-USB, Aug 26 at 0107, soul music, pause and 0108 ``Wolverine Radio`` ID. Finally some pirate axion! During AC power outage, on PL-880 and interior reelout (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. UNIDENTIFIED. 6870-AM, Aug 25 at 0256 S9/S9+10 open carrier. Could WRMI be thinking of resuming this WOOB frequency? Not in Jeff`s HFCC. Or pirate? or ute? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6870, Aug 28 at 0027, weak AM carrier, off & on, up to S7-S8, off & on again, 0028 song starts; still at 0050 hard rock. Only two reports here, https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,45484.0.html the first one saying it`s Mix Radio at 0125-0157+, no one having heard it earlier when I did --- if it`s the same one (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORWAY. Radio Northern Star now starting to become audible earlier on 1611 kHz. Full sung/spoken ID at 2030 UT tonight (25/8) Oldies, Cat Stevens, Bread, Dusty etc. Slightly better on 1611 kHz than 5895 kHz with me. Occasional Dutch QRM. 73s. (Nick. Buxton. SONY ICF2001D loops. Sent from Samsung Mobile on O2. Rank. UK. bdxc-news iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. 1020, Aug 23 at 1207 UT, KOKP Perry is promoting ``better-sounding`` FM frequencies just added, 93.1 in Stillwater and 93.3 in Ponca City [sic]. Still sloganned ``Triple Play Sports``. They already have a full-power FM on 105.1. This is a local morning talkshow not limited to sports. The trio can be split when necessary if too many silly ballgames simultane, but I suppose the new translators will always duplicate their AMs, so not to become ``Quintuple``. FCC Query shows: 93.1, K226CW, Stillwater, 170 watts for KOKP-1020 93.3, K227DK, Blackwell,250 watts for KOKB-1580 An hour later I try to hear them in Enid, but as expected, 93.1 remains dominated by Hutchinson KS, and 93.3 by Newcastle OK. (BTW, Enid`s 93.1 translator license, K226BR, remains dark; where are you, Donald Williamson?? 88.3, K202BY remains dead air in honor of Harold Camping?) (Glenn Hauser, OK, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. 15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman at 2144 in Arabic with a man and woman with talk at first over Middle Eastern instrumentals then a man with talk in the clear at 2146 then talk over Middle Eastern string instrumentals at 2147 – Fair to Good Aug 23 – I was surprised to hear them at this hour as they have been conspicuous with their absence during their English hour at 1400 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) Radio Sultanate of Oman in Arabic, instead of English Aug 24: till 1415 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg WeEu NO SIGNAL-TX IS NOT ON AIR from 1415 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg WeEu Arabic, instead of English http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/radio-sultanate-of-oman-in-arabic.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 24-25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. "Info Minister proposes to introduce English Channel of Radio Pakistan for int'l community August 20, 2018 http://www.radio.gov.pk/20-08-2018/information-minister-proposes-to-introduce-english-channel-of-radio-pakistan-on-internet Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhary has stressed the need to upgrade Radio Pakistan and proposed introducing English Channel of Radio on internet particularly for international audience. Chairing a meeting in Islamabad today, he said Radio Pakistan has a significant and vital role in national development and promotion of culture. The Minister asked the Information Ministry to play a proactive role in promoting and projecting positive image of Pakistan at International level. He also underscored the need to transform traditional mechanism of disseminating information and news on PTV and expressed his resolve to make the corporation independent and depoliticized like BBC. Fawad Chaudhry directed the concerned organizations and attached departments particularly the PTV and PBC to make earnest efforts to generate revenue by improving their programming and content." (20 August 2018 via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PARAGUAY. Radio Nacional del Paraguay now transmits, completely, from the new site, across the Paraguay River from Asunción. There are two transmitters: one of 20 kW and one of 100 kW. They feed a quarter-wave vertical antenna. There is a Diesel-driven alternator for emergency electrical power, but the normal power supply comes from the ANDE, Paraguay´s electricity provider. There have been quite a few mishaps with the electrical grid, over the past few months. We had an unfortunate high-voltage/low-voltage swing, this last Friday, which damaged a few items. I always strive to isolate everything with double, or triple transformers, just in case. It is very possible that you caught Radio Nacional del Paraguay on the 20 kW transmitter, during an electrical emergency, and, then, on the 100 kW transmitter, following the restoration of normal electricity supply. Energy emergencies aside, Radio Nacional del Paraguay would likely use the 20 kW transmitter during the daytime, as the site is just across the river from Asunción, and the 100 kW transmitter, at night, the better to achieve national coverage. The choice of transmitters is normally driven by energy emergencies and maintenance requirements. If you are receiving the two signals, simultaneously, it may well derive from a matching circuit, intended to couple the transmitters to the quarter-wave antenna. That would be an acceptable explanation from a mathematical perspective. There would, of course, be a difference in phase between the two incoming feeds. It is also possible that there is damage to the primary oscillator of one of the transmitters. Many new transmitters down-divide a reference frequency, for better stability. It is totally possible that the new transmitters at Radio Nacional del Paraguay have a reference frequency of 7360 kHz, down-divided by eight, in order to achieve better stability. This technique may alleviate the need for crystal ovens, and other, special techniques, used in fundamental frequency generation. Please keep me posted as to any new developments. With every good wish! (Adán Mur in a mail to Tore B Vik, Arctic Radio Club mv-eko 27 August via DXLD) Hmmm, and maybe raise the possibility of SW harmonic radiation leak?? (gh, DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. NOVEDADES DE LA RADIO EN PARAGUAY --- 21/08/2018 La Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Conatel) finalizó la evaluación de las ofertas en el marco de la licitación para las licencias de radiofrecuencias, modalidad de amplitud modulada (AM). Teresita Palacios, titular del ente regulador, informó que se prevé hacer la adjudicación mañana, con un acto formal en el que se darán a conocer los montos propuestos por las emisoras, a fin de dar transparencia al proceso. Resultado de imagen para conatel - mapa de paraguay [caption] Son cuatro los permisos a ser otorgados: 1120 MHz [SICs], ubicada en la localidad de San Lorenzo; 1250 MHz (actualmente Radio Asunción), de Mariano Roque Alonso; 1360 MHz, de Yby Yaú, y 1450 MHz, de Vallemí. Vale remarcar que los aún propietarios de Radio Asunción habían conseguido una medida cautelar de parte de la Corte para que Conatel no innove en el proceso licitatorio sobre su frecuencia. El dueño de la licencia, Miguel Fernández, ya falleció hace tres años y sus familiares habían exigido heredar el permiso. La entidad reguladora señaló que las licencias de telecomunicaciones no se heredan, puesto que así establece la ley. Esa concesión se extingue con la muerte de su titular y se tiene que volver a licitar, remarcó la Asesoría Jurídica de la entidad. Al respecto, Palacios explicó que mientras se resuelva este impasse judicial, ya se acordó que Radio Asunción siga al aire con sus responsables actuales, en forma interina. Por su parte, la Conatel ya apeló la medida del Poder Judicial. “Somos respetuosos de la ley. Radio Asunción tiene un amparo y quieren seguir siendo administradores interinos y vamos a respetar hasta que se resuelva el fondo de la cuestión, ya que fue la Conatel misma la que les dio la administración interina. La administración interina tienen aquellos que no cuentan con la licencia oficial (por su extinción) hasta que se vuelva a adjudicar a los nuevos propietarios”, destacó. La presidenta de Conatel aclaró que la legislación es clara al señalar que una estación tiene que seguir al aire, pese a tener la licencia caducada, porque la intención es no perjudicar a aquellas personas que nada tienen que ver con la administración de las radios. El ente regulador también licitó 34 frecuencias FM y se espera tener más claro el panorama la próxima semana, ya que la idea es adjudicar antes del 15 de agosto (source? via GRA blog via DXLD) ** PERU. 4774.90, Radio Tarma, in Spanish 08.07.2018 2246-2306 music program with LA ballads, woman dj unclear announcements at times (with clear ID only in streaming), same woman & man talk over slow chorus chant, same man announcements with frequency quote (mostly unclear), clear ID at 2300 into sporting program (mentioning deportivo) with other man talk, heard in ssb with inter filter, strong qrn statics, fast qsb, poor; in http://www.radiotarma.com in streaming (Gianni Serra - Roma-Italy, JRC NRD 525 receiver; Alpha Delta DX-SWL Sloper-S antenna; JPS NIR 12 Noise & Interference Reducer-Dual DSP outboard audio filter; DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4920.83, Radio La Voz del Pueblo, Santiago de Chuco, 0445-0630, 25-08, only weak carrier detected here in Reinante, strong carrier but no audio via remote SDR Kiwi receiver in Pardinho, Sao Paulo. Past days out of air, and 26-08 out of air again (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 6173.92, Aug 27 at 0049, JBA carrier on the signature off-frequency of Radio Tawantinsuyo, Cuzco, which Anker Petersen recently confirmed active using a South American SDR (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. The Russian service of Interradio Romania (Radio Romania International) temporarily stopped broadcasting in digital DRM format at frequencies of 7390 and 9580 kHz due to malfunctions on one of the transmitters. At these frequencies, ether is broadcast in the classical standard. This is reported in the announcement of the Russian service announcer in the air blocks at 0430, 1300 and 1500 on the world time. Reception in the morning hours at a frequency of 7390 kHz in analog format in Moscow is more or less stable, there are no interfering stations, atmospheric noises of medium strength. "For technical reasons, one of the transmitters does not work in Tsiganeshti, which belongs to Radiocom, as a result of which the transmissions of the IRP in Russian will be broadcast only in analog format. The first transmission of the day at 7390 kHz will be output at the same frequency only in analog format, also the third day transmission at 9580 kHz will not be transmitted in the digital standard, but only in the analog standard at the same frequency. We will inform in our programs, as soon as this provision is corrected, "the announcement of the station says. https://kolkeradio.blogspot.com/2018/08/drm.html#more Interradio Romania has been working in analog mode for several days in the morning and evening programs. August 19 took them from 1500 to 1526 UT at the frequencies 7360 and 9580 kHz with a good signal at both frequencies. Today, on August 23, 2013, I received the morning transfer at 9770 and 7390 kHz in analog mode. At a frequency of 9770 kHz, the reception is more powerful than at 7390 kHz. The station itself declares that this is temporary, due to technical problems at the transmitting center (Dmitry Kutuzov, Ryazan, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx" via Rus-DX Aug 26 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Radio Sakha remains silent on SW --- [Ron Howard boldizes a few passages from the Yakutia story in last DXLD from Rus-DX:] ``Due to the cessation of broadcasting on short and medium waves in Yakutia, local reindeer herders are literally cut off from civilization. The released funds were directed to increase the volume of Yakut broadcasting in the FM-band. Since April 27, 2018, broadcasting on HF has been terminated due to the stoppage of funding`` (via Ron Howard, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) Had been on SW for about two years (gh, ibid.) ** RUSSIA. Short waves. Reference signals of frequency and time. RWM. Moscow, 56 degrees 44 minutes north latitude / 37 degrees 38 minutes of the longitude 4996 kHz / 10 kW 9996 kHz / 10 kW 14996 kHz / 10 kW On air 24 hours a day. Works simultaneously on three frequencies, except first Wednesday of the first month of the quarter for 4996; the second Wednesday of the first month of the quarter for 9996; the third Wednesday of the first month of the quarter for 14996 kHz is 08h00m - 16h00m. Program: Time of signal transmission - minutes and seconds / signal form 00.00-07.55, 30.00-37.55 / Signals NON 08.00-09.00, 38.00-39.00 / The transmitter is switched off 09.00-10.00, 39.00-40.00 / Signals of the radio station identification 10.00-19.55, 40.00-49.55 / Signals ?1?, containing second, minute labels and information DUT1 + dUT 20.00-29.55, 50.00-59.55 / A1N signals with repetition rate of 10 Hz The time signals 56, 57, 58, and 59 seconds following 9, 14, 19, 24, 29, 39, 44, 49, 54 and the 59th minute is skipped. DESIGNATION OF RADIATION In accordance with the Radio Regulations of the Russian Federation, the following symbols are given to the radiated signals: NON - unmodulated carrier vibrations; A1N (A2N) - radiation of type A1 (A2), which does not contain information of a changing character; A1X (A2X) - radiation of type A1 (A2) containing information of nonstandard form; (BULLETIN 16/2018, REFERENCE SIGNALS OF FREQUENCY AND TIME, Moscow, 2018 via Rus-DX Aug 26 via DXLD)) ** RUSSIA. In Russian. The history of the "Echo of Moscow". Live nail / Sergey Buntman // 08/22/2018 First Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the radio station Ekho Moskvy Sergei Buntman on the air of the "Morning Turn" https://youtu.be/rdzLF2p_aeY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdzLF2p_aeY&feature=youtu.be The time in the air is 20 minutes 54 seconds (Ruslan Slavutsky, Moscow region, Russia Rus-DX Aug 26 via DXLD) ** SAO TOME. The capture I took a few nights back had reasonable TA activity. Last night's 0000 and 0300 UT captures showed an auroral trend. São Tomé VOA 1530 was quite good at 0259 UTC sign-on, so if anyone reading this hasn't logged it yet, try tonight starting a couple of minutes before 11 p.m. EDT / 0300 UT (Mark Connelly, WA1ION, South Yarmouth, MA, USA, Aug 27, nrc-am gg via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 17614.969, Aug 24 at 1420, hardly anything is propagating on 16m, not even KVOH, but a JBA carrier here from off-frequency BSKSA; while slightly stronger JBA carrier on 17705.002 is another BSKSA. 15435, Aug 25 at 1710, BSKSA, S9 to S9+5 VG in Arabic talk; and 15205 Qur`an program at S7-S9; along with 15140 RHC extension they are the SSOB; quite a pipeline from SA. Also at 1714 on 13710 > // 15205 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11820, BSKSA at 2005 // 11915 in Arabic with a man with talk and Islamic Call to Prayer at 2009 – Fair Aug 26 – This and 11915 seemed to be the first stations outside of North America audible on this band as we recovered from geomagnetic storm conditions. 11915, BSKSA // 11820 at 2004 in Arabic with a man with talk and Islamic Call to Prayer at 2009 – Very weak Aug 26 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) 11820+ is noticeably off-frequency plus, unlike 11915 (gh, DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, SIBC. For a long time I have been checking SIBC before 1200 UT and always found their carrier at a decent level, but no modulation (no trace of any audio). Aug 26 for the first time in a very long time, actually did have audio above threshold level. Wow! Heard with Sunday religious programs 1114+, with reception slowly improving till 1148, when audio dropped down a lot. Still some audio, but not nearly as good as heard earlier. So seems they must have done some work on their transmitter? Today noted with 1201*. Aug 27, again with audio as early as 0951, so really doing better now (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. Antonio Buitrago is the new director of Radio Exterior de España http://guiadelaradio.com/antonio-buitrago-nuevo-director-de-radio-exterior-de-espana (via Kim Elliott, Aug 23, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) Viz.: Antonio Buitrago, nuevo director de Radio Exterior de España 22/08/2018 Profesionales Antonio Buitrago [portrait] El periodista Antonio Buitrago, director del espacio de Radio 5 Todo Noticias “Ondas de ayer”, dedicado a la radio, ha sido nombrado nuevo director de Radio Exterior de España, una de las cadenas que forman parte de Radio Nacional de España. También ejercía como redactor de uno de los programas de RNE de mayor prestigio: “Documentos”. Buitrago sustituye a Antonio Szigriszt, que venía ejerciendo esta responsabilidad hasta ahora. A partir de ahora, y durante el período transitorio hasta el nombramiento del nuevo presidente de la Corporación, surgido del concurso público en marcha, se ocupará de dirigir esta emisora que difunde la voz de España por el mundo, con un marcado carácter cultural. Si hubiera que definir a Antonio Buitrago habría que decir que es un auténtico enamorado de la radio. No en vano se ocupa, precisamente, de un programa que indaga en la actualidad del medio, así como en su pasado, e incluso en su futuro, con todas las incertidumbres que le acechan. En la entrevista que se publicó la web de Gorka Zumeta el pasado mes de marzo, Buitrago señalaba que “lo importante no es por dónde escucho mis programas favoritos sino lo que me dicen”. Destacaba así que lo importante es el contenido, y no el canal por donde me llega ese contenido. Y añadía: “Es lamentable que más de veinte años después de las primeras emisiones digitales en DAB en España no solo no se haya avanzado, sino todo lo contrario”. Respecto de la radio afirmaba: “Lo esencial de la radio es la relación que se establece entre quienes hacen radio y los oyentes” y concluía: “La radio va a seguir siendo importante en la vida de los españoles”. 53173 (via DXLD) As well as Adrian Korol (Director of RAE, Argentina), Antonio Buitrago has been is, an active radioguy, a DXer, and in the case of Adrian a ham!, One, two more of us!! Congrats!!! (Horacio Nigro, CX3BZ, Uruguay, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) ** SRI LANKA [and non]. 11904.9, August 27 at 0055, SLBC is S1 but some S Asian music audible, better than I usually hear it from *0031v. It also cuts off early during song at 0058:09*. Strange trans-polar propagation as not yet recovered from major geomag storm. Not much else on 25m except 11780 Brasil the SSOB at S5-S7 but undermodulated, and stronger than any attenuated Cubans (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 15714.872, Aug 25 at 1400, S4-S5 with flutter, music and Chinese. Aoki/NDXC shows at 14-15 it`s AWR in Chinese via Trincomalee. And it`s way off-frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. 11985, RTI tentatively at 1201 in Mandarin with a woman with gentle talk then a light instrumental music bridge at 1205 and a man also with gentle talk introducing a segment – Good Aug 24 – Not // to any of the usual Chinese jammers and CRI in Mongolian signed off at 1200 but I'll still call it tentative to be safe and sure (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. RTI Direktausstrahlungen aus Taiwan. Liebe Hoererinnen und Hoerer, RTI strahlt im August und September 2018 das deutschsprachige Programm an mehreren Tagen direkt von der Sendeanlage Tamshui in Taiwan aus! Empfangsberichte über die Direktausstrahlungen bestätgt RTI wieder mit einer Sonder-QSL-Karte. Die Ausstrahlungen erfolgen von 1700 bis 1800 Uhr UT auf der Frequenz 11990 kHz und von 1800 bis 1900 Uhr UT auf der Frequenz 9700 kHz. Termine: 24 August (Freitag) / analog 25 August (Samstag) / analog 26 August (Sonntag) / DRM 31 August (Freitag) / analog 1 September (Samstag) / analog 2 September (Sonntag) / analog 7 September (Freitag) / analog 8 September (Samstag) / analog 9 September (Sonntag) / DRM 27 September (Donnerstag) / analog 28 September (Freitag) / analog 29 September (Samstag) / analog Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Empfangsberichte! Mehr Informatonen: http://german.rt.org.tw/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rt.deutsch (German edition of the International Radio of Taiwan via Rus-DX Aug 26 via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. TAJIKISTAN, Frequency changes of Voice of Tibet, August 27: 1205-1230 NF 11645 DB100 kW / 095 deg to EaAs Chinese, ex 11644 1300-1305 NF 11624 DB100 kW / 095 deg to EaAs Chinese, ex 11623 1305-1330 NF 11626 DB100 kW / 095 deg to EaAs Chinese, ex 11614 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/frequency-changes-of-voice-of-tibet.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 27-28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) What? They got off a split frequency to 11645? A mistake? (gh, DXLD) ** TONGA. Re: ``TONGA'S TBC STRENGTHENED BY NEW DIGITAL [sic] TRANSMITTER --- RNZ 17 August 2018 https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/364329/tonga-s-tbc-strengthened-by-new-digital-transmitter [...] WTFK? Of course, we know it must be 1017 kHz, but RNZ are grossly deficient in never specifying it. Also, Digital???????? So it`s IBOC, or DRM??? Surely not. Must mean it`s a modern transmitter with digital components for ordinary analog transmission --- unless ``digital`` receivers are being handed out to all Tongans. A ``temporary frequency``? What was that, you mean from Nuku`alofa? Or you mean a temporary location? Or a temporary transmitter at same location? (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1944, DXLD 180821 [sic])`` Unfortunately the original press release of the Tongan government does not match Glenn Hauser’s criteria for accurate reporting either: http://www.mic.gov.to/news-today/press-releases/7453-minister-for-meidecc-commissions-tbc-new-am-transmitter- Minister for MEIDECC commissions TBC new AM Transmitter Friday, 17 August 2018 10:01 E-mail Print PDF 17th August 2018 --- The Minister for MEIDECC Hon. Poasi Mataele Tei commissioned a new AM Transmitter for Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC) at TBC’s studio yesterday afternoon. The AM Transmitter marked an important milestone for Tonga, as it connects the AM Radio frequency through a pipe line on air to their main transmitter at Popua. The new transmitter was funded by the World Bank under the Pacific Resilience Program (PREP) implemented under the Ministry of MEIDECC which cost NZD $685, 973.50 which equivalent to 1 million Tongan Pa’anga. CEO for MEIDECC Mr. Paula Ma’u said this is an important component of PREP which has four major components and one of them is strengthening early warning system and preparedness. “It is understood that this AM station is the only station that is accessible from anywhere in Tonga, which is the best and only medium to broadcast not only educational and informational purposes, but also deliver 24 hours free of charge warnings; awareness; and preparedness; during time of emergency and potential natural disasters.” Mr. Ma’u also expressed his gratitude to the World Bank for all the assistance given to Tonga, and the main contractor, Gencom Technology Ltd New Zealand in successfully completing this important component of the project. “I trust that both TBC and the people of Tonga will enjoy the improved quality of services, from today onwards, after the completion of this project. This marks an important stepping stone towards the implementation of an enhanced complete Early Warning System for the whole of Tonga, and hopefully we will then see a new Tonga Broadcasting Commission that continues to deliver its renowned services to our people, and even saving lives at times of natural disasters.” TBC’s AM Radio frequency was transmitted from the station in Fasi to the transmitter in Popua by an underground copper wire. TBC’s Acting General Manager Mr. Solomone Finau said that the copper wire was badly affected by TC Gita. “From then, we were using a temporary frequency which was given to us by MEIDECC, until this project came in. So today’s event marked a historic milestone in which we are moving from analogue to digital which is a pipe line on air.” In telecommunications, a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. Tonga Broadcasting Commission is Tonga’s National Broadcaster – which was commissioned by the Late Queen Salote Tupou III on the 4th July 1961, with a mission to inform, educate and entertain. (via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DXLD) The Tonga Broadcasting Commission has an informative website at http://www.tonga-broadcasting.net/ Unfortunately, I did not find any corporate info or list of stations. When I entered the site, a loop with the weather forecast started automatically. There is radio stream at http://www.tonga-broadcasting.net/?page_id=35 The TV Tonga stream at http://www.tonga-broadcasting.net/?page_id=26 was not available. http://www.tonga-broadcasting.net/?page_id=19 links to you tube for a replay of a long TV news programme. (Dr Hansjoerg Biener, 26 August 2018, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. TRT Voice of Turkey on odd frequencies 11675.7 & 11965.7 kHz on August 21 [all EMR 500 kW]: 0600-1155 11675.7 / 150 deg to WeAs Turkish, instead of nominal 11675 1300-1355 11965.7 / 020 deg to EaEu Russian, instead of nominal 11965 Voice of Turkey on another odd frequencies 13765.7/11795.7/9855.7 kHz on August 22: 0500-0655 13765.7 / 210 deg to CEAf Ha/Sw, instead of 13765 August 21 0830-0955 11795.7 / 105 deg to WeAs Farsi, instead of 11795 August 21 1000-1025 9855.7 / 032 deg to CeAs Tatar, instead of9855 August 21 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/trt-voice-of-turkey-on-very-odd_22.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 21-22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TRT Voice of Turkey on another very odd 9655.7, August 25 1000-1055 9655.7 / 072 deg CeAs Georgian, instead 9655 August 24 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/voice-of-turkey-on-another-very-odd.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TRT Voice of Turkey again on nominal 9655.0 August 26 1000-1055 9655 / 072 deg to CeAs Georgian, instead of 9655.7 August 25 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/voice-of-turkey-is-again-on-nominal.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TRT Voice of Turkey on very odd frequencies 13765.7/11795.7 kHz on August 28, all EMR 500 kW: 0500-0655 13765.7 / 210 deg CEAf Hau/Swa, instead of 13765 August 27 0830-0955 11795.7 / 105 deg WeAs Persian, instead of 11795 August 27 1000-1025 9855.7 / 032 deg CeAs Tatar is not on air today August 28 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/voice-of-turkey-on-odd-frequencies.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 27-28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. [Re 5833v pirate:] If the transmitter is near Mt Hoverla, then it's firmly in the far west of Ukraine, and happens to be the tallest mountain in Ukraine and popular hiking destination. Should be easy to be certain whether in Russia or Ukraine to avoid confusion. Wonder why Ivo insists on saying it's in Russia? 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, WOR iog via DXLD) When I insisted that the transmitter is in Russia, there is no such thing, Walter (Ivo Ivanov, ibid.) It is easily misunderstood if you call it a ``Russian pirate`` --- perhaps meaning Russian *language* (among others). Ivo did not head the entry as Russia (or Ukraine). (Glenn, ibid.) OK, sorry for the confusion (Ivo). In this day and age, one has to be sensitive to the area concerned. Russian language pirate is OK, "Russian pirate" is not, if it's positively from Ukrainian territory! 73, (Walt Salmaniw, ibid.) But even if the site is correct, it could also be an ethnically Russian operation by Russians; note that Ukrainian is not one of the languages reported (gh, DXLD) Didn't think of that. I suppose the content would tell whether it's a Ukrainian or Russian op. Should be easy to tell between the two by the content. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, BC, ibid.) ** U K [non?]. 9410, ENGLAND, BBC at 2114 // 11810 with “The Compass” feature “On the Black Sea” a journey around the Black Sea – Poor and noisy Aug 22 – Another frequency guide disagreement where the HFCC and Babcock list this as Woofferton but Aoki and EiBi say Ascension Island (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) ** U K [and non]. Larry Dean, a.k.a. Frank Laseter RIP --- He is missed not only by family but also by thankful radio listeners far and near. In May 1966, a new radio station with a big sound appeared on the AM dial noted very early by Rolf Mong and myself and created a mass appeal among young people throughout Europe. I was just 15 at the time and was hooked! That was Swinging Radio England (SRE), operating first on 845 and later on 1322 kHz. It operated from a former US Navy ship in the North Sea off Essex called the Olga Patricia. One of the presenters on the air was Larry Dean, who had left WPTR in Albany to become a very influential voice in the UK and Northern Europe. He is still fondly remembered. I got to know him at the 2006 Radio England/Britain Radio (BR) Reunion and enjoyed his company. I became the station's historian, and in my essay "The Radio Rose of Texas" (2004-) Chapter 4 there is a paragraph called "The Larry Dean Show". http://www.stellamaris.no/chapter4.htm http://stellamaris.no/olgapatricia1322845.html On my friend Jon Myer 's great website "The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame" there is a lot of interesting material about Larry Dean and his station, with bio and some great recordings that show what a really great broadcaster he was. http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/djsd.htm http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/sre7.htm http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/sre1.htm His last job in radio was as news director on Charlotte's WSOC-FM. I am proud to say that under his own name, Frank Laseter also appeared on our own station Radio Northern Star in promos from 2012 until 2016. Picture is from the website of Jon Myer and was taken at the twin stations' first HQ which was the London Hilton near Hyde Park at the SRE/BR Reunion in May 1966. From l-r Station Founder (the late Don Pierson)'s son Grey, fellow broadcaster Rick Crandall, myself and Larry Dean (Svenn Martinsen, Norway, ARC Facebook, via Arctic Radio Club mv-eko 27 August via DXLD) obit ** U S A. WWV/WWVB/WWVH BUDGET TO BE ELIMIINATED: WORLD OF HOROLOGY ** U S A. An excellent response to USAGM http://bbgwatch.com/bbgwatch/u-sag-m-u-s-agency-for-global-media/ (via Dan Robinson, Aug 28, DXLD) US GOVERMENT ADMITS IT`S MAKING FAKE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS TO SPREAD PROPAGANDA IN CUBA You probably saw this one: https://therealnews.com/columns/us-government-admits-its-making-fake-social-media-accounts-to-spread-propaganda-in-cuba (via Dan Robinson, Aug 28, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) see also CUBA ** U S A [and non]. 5950, WRMI at 1030, open of WoR broadcast, report from Glenn, confirmed on. Excellent reception. August 22 (Rick Barton, AZ, WOR iog via DXLD) Wednesdays 7490, WBCQ at 2109 with Glenn Hauser's “World of Radio” - Very Good Aug 22 [Wed] (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) WORLD OF RADIO 1944 monitoring: confirmed Wednesday August 22 at 1050, the 1030 on WRMI 5950, good. Also confirmed Wednesday August 22 at 2100.0 on WBCQ 7490.06v, poor --- but no signal on WRMI 9955! --- until cuts on late, JIP WOR at *2102:04 during Argentine/WRMI item; playout presumably started a sesquiminute earlier; poor. Such are the risks of being the very first program on any particular transmission. Not aired after 2330 Wed Aug 22 on WBCQ 9330v. Next: Thu 2330 WBCQ 7490v to WSW [NEW --- surprise airing last week, &?] Thu 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Sat 0631 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1431 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2130 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe, or 2330?] Sun 0310v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Sun 2130 WRMI 7780 to NE [NEWish] Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Mon 0130.5 WRMI 5850 to NW, 7780 to NE Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE Mon 0400 WRMI webcast only, non-direxional Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 5950 to WNW [or #1944?] Tue 2130 WRMI 5950 to WNW [or #1944?] WORLD OF RADIO 1944 monitoring: since a surprise airing occurred last Thursday August 16 at 2330 on WBCQ 7490v, I`m sure to check this week, August 23 --- NO, back to the previously scheduled show, `Camp Constitution Radio`, which is probably a bonus repeat of his original airing on Mondays (and I think he said this was at 7 pm instead of 7:30). Presumably changed last week only, since the regular Wed 2100 WOR airing on 7490 was missed due to lightning closedown. So much for that. And not on 9330 either, Thu Aug 23 at 2330. So far, WOR 1944 has not appeared anyday on 9330. Next: Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Sat 0631 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1431 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2130 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe, or 2330?] Sun 0310v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Sun 2130 WRMI 7780 to NE [NEWish] Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Mon 0130.5 WRMI 5850 to NW, 7780 to NE Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE Mon 0400 WRMI webcast only, non-direxional Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 5950 to WNW [or #1945?] Tue 2130 WRMI 5950 to WNW [or #1945?] WORLD OF RADIO 1944 monitoring: still not aired anyday at 330 on WBCQ 9330v, including Friday Aug 24 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GERMANY, 6190, Hamburger LokalRadio, Göhren, *0600-0700, 25-08, English, ID. Program “Media Network Club [sic]”, at 0630 Glenn Hauser’s program “World of Radio”. Very weak. 15311 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) GERMANY, Reception of World of Radio via HLR on 6190 CUSB, August 25 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-world-of-radio-via-hlr-on_25.html 0631-0700 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu English Sat, fair signal (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, WOR iog via DXLD) Not confirmed Saturday Aug 25 at 1431 on HLR 6190-CUSB Germany; on UTwente SDR, no signal, just noise, also at 1456 recheck. Off or just not propagating? Do hear some lightning crashes. Next: Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2130 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe, or 2330?] Sun 0310v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Sun 2130 WRMI 7780 to NE [NEWish] Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Mon 0130.5 WRMI 5850 to NW, 7780 to NE Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE Mon 0400 WRMI webcast only, non-direxional Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 5950 to WNW [or #1945?] Tue 2130 WRMI 5950 to WNW [or #1945?] NOTE: Tim Gaynor of Unique Radio, NSW, has invited WORLD OF RADIO onto his relay block via WINB 9265, starting next Saturday, Sept 1, at 1230-1300. Thanks, Tim! That will finally give SW listeners a chance to hear us on Saturdays. See also AUSTRALIA [non]; and USA: WINB (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1944 monitoring: confirmed UT Sunday August 26 at 0327 on WA0RCR, 1860-AM, Wentzville MO, but too much storm noise to calculate presumed start time; also seems somewhat undermodulated. Next: Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Sun 2130 WRMI 7780 to NE [NEWish] Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Mon 0130.5 WRMI 5850 to NW, 7780 to NE Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE Mon 0400 WRMI webcast only, non-direxional Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 5950 to WNW [or #1945?] Tue 2130 WRMI 5950 to WNW [or #1945?] WORLD OF RADIO 1944 monitoring: confirmed by Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria: ``GERMANY, Reception of World of Radio via HLR 9485-CUSB, August 26: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-world-of-radio-via-hlr-on_26.html 1030-1100 on 9485 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu English Sun, weak to fair; Wrong frequency announcement:"...HLR SW Sce on 7265 kHz", instead of 9485!`` Major geomagnetic storm and aftermath made the already weak 7780 WRMI a JBA carrier or less, for the scheduled WOR times, so unconfirmed Sunday August 26 at 2130 and UT Monday August 27 at 0130.5; but the latter also on 5850, still propagating very well and confirmed there. (The normally inbooming other 7s from WRMIBS, 7570 & 7730 are also quite weakened.) WOR also confirmed UT Monday August 27 starting at 0302 on Area 51 webcast; 0327 check of 5129.8 WBCQ finds a JBA carrier. 9955 WRMI was JBA carrier too, virtually inaudible, so not checked further, but 0330 WOR confirmed during WRMI webcast at 0345, and also at 0427 for the immediate webcast-only playback from 0400 --- but the webcast audio is way low, barely registering but quite audible with volume all the way up. Next: Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 5950 to WNW [or #1945?] Tue 2130 WRMI 5950 to WNW [or #1945?] WORLD OF RADIO 1944 monitoring: confirmed UT Tuesday August 28 at 0030 on WRMI 7730, VG S9+35. Next: Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 5950 to WNW [or #1945?] Tue 2130 WRMI 5950 to WNW [or #1945?] WORLD OF RADIO 1944 monitoring: presumed final play on WRMI, Tuesday August 28 at 2030 on 5950 and 7780 not checked here, but Mark Coady in Ontario says 7780 was ``extremely weak``. WORLD OF RADIO 1945 contents: Anguilla, Antarctica, Australia and non, Bhutan, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Cuba and non, Europe, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mauritania, Netherlands non, Nigeria and non, Norway, Perú, Russia, São Tomé, Solomon Islands, Spain, USA, unidentified, propagation outlook WOR 1945 ready for first airing Tuesday August 28 at 2130 on WRMI 5950, and this week I am barely able to confirm it, checked at 2156. Not confirmed Tue Aug 28 at 2330 on WBCQ, as BS played on. Next: Wed 1030 WRMI 5950 to WNW Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Wed 2100.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Thu 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Fri 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Sat 0631 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1230 Unique Radio via WINB 9265 to WSW [NEW] Sat 1431 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2130 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe, or 2330?] Sun 0310v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Sun 2130 WRMI 7780 to NE Sun 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Mon 0130.5 WRMI 5850 to NW, 7780 to NE Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 to SSE Mon 0400 WRMI webcast only, non-direxional Mon 2330 WBCQ 9330v to WSW [maybe] Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 to NE, 5950 to WNW [or #1946?] Tue 2130 WRMI 5950 to WNW [or #1946?] Full schedule for WOR on all outlets, not just SW; podcast linx: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ WBCQ: ** U S A. John Carver`s computer has been semi-repaired, so he catches up on Allan Weiner Worldwide monitoring WBCQ the past three weeks (gh) August 11: Listening on 7490 this evening. Show started on time. Allan, Angela, Tom Barna and TimTron in the studio. Broadcasting on 5130, 7490 and 9330. The whole town of Monticello has been rewired to enable them to bring three phase power to the new superstation. Will be the biggest power consumer in the entire county. First phone call at 0010 followed by a call from Freddie at 0012. Freddie was asking for the model number of the superstation's new transmitter and asked a few other related questions. Allan told Freddie that the new transmitter would also be capable of broadcasting in DRM and they might try that at some future date. Phone call from Ramsey at 0022 asking how TimTron was getting along with his Lyme disease treatments. X rated discussion about where Tim was bit by the tick followed. Further discussion about Lyme disease and various treatments and lots of jokes about Tim's case went on for nearly twenty minutes. Next a talk from Tom about the work he was doing for another station in Northern Maine, then a talk about lightning damage and protection. Reading of emails began at 0055 and show was off the air at 0105 after a quick prayer. John, Mid-North Indiana August 18: Listening on 7490 and show started on time this evening. Allan, Angela and Tom in the studio. Opening talk this evening was about a TV interview that the above three did concerning the construction of the superstation. The people in Monticello are upset about all the blocked streets and such in the town because of the powerline construction for the superstation. Rumors are flying about government secret projects or a flying saucer landing area so Allan called the local TV station to do a story about the superstation to calm the locals. Phone call at 0019. Caller asked about the closure of WWV and its sister stations. Allan refused to believe it until Tom said that he'd heard the same thing on a recent World of Radio broadcast. Allan stated that if it were true he'd have to get a cesium something and set up his own time station to broadcast as it was vital to so many things in the country. He speculated that it was part of the anti-analog movement in this country and wondered if Canada still had their time station on the air. At 0030 Larry Will called in giving all the frequencies for the Canadian time station. Allan commented that they'd had two straight days of heavy lightning strikes in Northern Maine this week and talked again about the help they were giving a FM station further North then they were that had been knocked off the air by a lightning strike. Tom, who is doing the work at the other station, commented that the automation software the other station was using required Windows 3.11 and DOS 6.6 to run which prompted a discussion about the old automation software that was no longer supported as the manufacturers were long out of business. Long talk about mixing boards, audio systems and lightning damage. Reading of emails began at 0052. Phone call at 0054 and then a phone call at 0057 from Dave in Indiana. A quick reading of the Free Radio Weekly, quick prayer and show was off the air at 0106. John Mid-North Indiana August 25: Listening on 7490 this evening and show started on time. Allan, Angela and Tom in the studio. Allan and Angela talked of traveling coastal Maine today and visiting a transportation museum. They also visited a lighthouse museum. Amusing story Angela told about driving on the interstate near Bangor and not noticing the sign warning of low flying aircraft from the Bangor airport. She thought they were about to be hit by a passing airliner. First phone call at 0027 from Canada with talk of the superstation. Another phone call at 0033 with a reception report. Some talk about the upcoming 20th anniversary of the station. Allan said there would be a special AWWW with clips from the first broadcast of AWWW along with some other clips of highlights over the years. Phone call at 0037 from Canada again with a reception report and comments on the Antique Wireless museum in Canada. Another phone call at 0044 from Ramsey with a reception report and then some more comments about Tim's tick bite. Allan stated that the new FM translator was working very well for them. Reading of emails began at 0055. Quick prayer and off the air at 0100 (John Carver, Mid-North Indiana, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5129.83, UT Wed Aug 22 at 0210, this WBCQ is back on for the weekly W5KUB ham show with call-in, presumably by telephone; it had been missing past days and off again at 0351 check. So the transmitter is OK. Maybe Brother Scare has withdrawn from 24/7 on this frequency, except for times reserved for other programs, only the latter continuing? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9330.126V, Aug 23 at 1234, dead air from WBCQ; exact frequency wavers slightly. 1235 Brother Scare starts resuming, cutting on with whine and off. 5129.8 remains off or at least inaudible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5130v, Aug 24 at 0140, this WBCQ remains off, no more duplicative BS. Vague Overcomer Ministry websked claims ``mostly 24 hours`` on WBCQ 9330, 5130 --- and 3265! (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Have noticed on Friday nights there has been no Brother Stair before or after AWWW on 5130. Have noticed that they shut off 5130 at 0100 even if AWWW is only on till 0103. Have noticed that on weekends there is no Brother Stair on before or after Area 51. And last night noticed that there was no Blalock on 7490 after AWWW and that 7490 was shut down after AWWW (John Carver, IN, August 26, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WBCQ/WRMI/WYFR/WNYW/WRUL/ --- There has been much discussion of a couple of domestic SW stations in the US amongst club members, and this bears sharing with everyone else, I feel! This started with MARE [Michigan Area Radio Enthusiast] Jack Amelar mentioning a local station in Maine had an item about WBCQ: https://tinyurl.com/WBCQ-expansion Also see the MARE Tipsheet # 991 from 5/18 for details on who is funding it (a 'flat earther' church who talks about spreading the word across the globe! -- You just can't make this stuff up!) That report led MARE Don Hosmer to comment that despite the transmitter fire that destroyed one of the kickers in Maine. Don commented that although there was a 'gofundme' campaign for people to donate money to Al Wiener, "he got a free xmtr from Jeff White of WRMI. Jeff told me (DH) he donated the old WRUL vintage xmtr (Radio New York Intl) from the 60's. [that was the WNYW era --- Worldwide, not International; RNI was AW`s pirate thing --- gh] WYFR bought that New York station years ago and moved the old xmtr down to Florida (from Scituate MA). Jeff White was cleaning house early this spring and gave it to Alan who hauled it north when he returned from his winter in Florida." Don continues "I saw that xmtr a couple of years ago and it is an antique, but knowing Alan's love of "tinkering", he'll get it on the air eventually. WBCQ's current xmtrs are converted medium wave units and this will be his first actual SW xmtr." This however, is not the transmitter that World's Last Chance will be using. THAT one is not going to be 'owned' by 'BCQ, but they'll just install and operate it for WLC (Ken Zichi, MARE Tipsheet Aug 24 via DXLD) Continued below at USA: WMLK ** U S A [and non]. From the Isle of Music, September 2-8: Our special guest this week is Roxana Iglesias, leader of Frasis, a very intriguing Fusion group in Cuba, plus some electroacoustic experimental music by Juan Blanco, one of Cuba's pioneers in that style. The transmissions take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100 kW, Sunday 1500-1600 UT on SpaceLine, 9400, from Kostinbrod, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK) 2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0000-0100 UT on WBCQ, 7490 from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9 PM EDT in the US). This has been audible in parts of NW, Central and Southern Europe with an excellent skip to Italy recently. 3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UT and Saturday 1200-1300 UT on Channel 292, 6070 from Rohrbach, Germany. Also recommended: 1. Jetzt geht's los! (Here We Go!), an excellent program of early German Jazz produced by Radio Ohne Nahmen, comes on right before FTIOM on Tuesdays 1800-1900 UT on Channel 292. Uncle Bill's Melting Pot, Sun, September 2 & Tue, September 4, 2018 Episode 78 presents modern music from Peru. The broadcasts take place: 1. Sundays 2200-2230 UT (6:00 -6:30 PM Eastern US) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe 2. Tuesdays 2000-2030 UT on Channel 292, 6070 from Rohrbach, Germany for Europe. If current propagation conditions hold, the broadcast should reach from Iceland to Western Russia, Scandinavia down to North Africa and the Middle East, AND a long bounce to parts of New Zealand. Also recommended: Marion's Attic, a unique program produced and hosted by Marion Webster featuring early 20th Century records, Edison cylinders, etc., played on the original equipment, comes on immediately before UBMP on Sundays at 2100-2200 UT on WBCQ 7490 (William "Bill" Tilford, Owner/Producer, Tilford Productions, LLC, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI: ** U S A. 7730, WRMI, FL, Okeechobee with English programming starting with ANOTHER repeat of BSR ham radio special program, then SW Radiogram #61 with the usual mix of digital text and photos including stories about the zero euro note: [illustrated: Karl Marx portrait, hee hee] and the Parker Solar Probe and Czech politics of the Soviet invasion from 50 years ago, an item re the Russian Cosmonaut's spacewalk from the ISS and budget cuts proposed for WWV/H. All in MFSK this week ranging from MFSK 32 to MFSK 128, and reception good enough to allow for nearly 100% copy. Then [0830] into the financial advice show, which had a full hour as expected, (on both this and 5850 kHz) and which the announcer still hasn't gotten the clue on the correct call letters of WRMI nor did he mention both channels, pretending this is the only one. // 5850 was stronger but no better: 4+5444 but the modulation here was clearer, a slight hum in 49 metres. In OK, 45444 with some fades down to O=3+ but mostly good. 0700-0901* 20/Aug SDRplay +SDRuno +FLDigi for the digital bits, and +Randomwire antenna (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Aug 24 via DXLD) WRMI skedgrid for System D shows 0800-0930 are also on 5950, much weaker in MI no doubt, and 5950 only continues until 1000 with Media Network+. By ``In OK`` he means received sufficiently, not in Oklahoma (gh, DXLD) 7730, UT Fri Aug 24 at 0412, VORW musing on how he has over a million YouTube followers, his main ``job``, and apparently how he finances all these introspective hours on WRMI. Skedgrid shows DX/ish programs Tue-Sat at 0400-0500 on 7730: Tue, Broad Spectrum; Wed, Frecuencia al Día (60 minutes??); Thu, La Rosa de Tokio; Fri, VORW; Sat, Media Net+ 9395, Saturday August 25 at 2200, WRMI opening VORW and // much weaker 7780, in this (still secret?) repeat (and 11580 remains off). Previously circa 2144, 9395 played Oldies, and 7780 VP sounded like Biermann with His Weekend Show; another gospel huxter on 9955. 9955, Aug 26 at 1334, WRMI playing ``Up2 & Away``, part of the World Music fill loop, so the scheduled Sunday 1330 program, `Word for the World` has failed to fire. 7570, Aug 26 at 2337, surprised to hear WRMI in Spanish here, gospel huxter. Supposed to be Overcomer from 2300, and has been only in English whenever on. Maybe Fámily Radio which this hour is supposed to be on 5010 only (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB: ** U S A. After over a month on the road I have returned to smoky Alberta. I only have one log to report as the massive CME has shut down the bands this far North. 9265, WINB at 1128 UT [Sat] August 25 with Unique Radio Australia playing the ABBA song Me and I. At 1130 they relayed the International Radio Report from CKUT introduced this week by some dude from Sherwood Park, Alberta. :-) After a station ID at at 1200 into Hobart Radio International. Fair improving as the Sun rose here (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Perseus SDR, Wellbrook ALA100 loop antenna, Aug 27, WOR iog via DXLD) 9265V, Sat Aug 25 at 1254, hit soft rock tune of long ago, 1257 Tim Gaynor from NSW signing off Unique Radio relay. Carrier is *really* wobbling, must listen on AM, not SSB; but it averages out to 9265.00. I had been looking for current website, unfound, but he says it: http://www.uniqueradio.automatic.com --- or so I thought, but that goes nowhere; or is it automagic? Not either. See also WORLD OF RADIO! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also AUSTRALIA [non] [non] WINB DRM M-F 1600-1700 on 15665-15670-15675 will be hit by 500 kW of analog CCI as Ivo Ivanov predicts: ``Upcoming frequency changes of Radio France International from Sept 1600-1700 on 13690 ISS 500 kW / 170 deg to WCAf Hausa till Sept.1 1600-1700 on 15670 ISS 500 kW / 170 deg to WCAf Hausa from Sept.2 ??????????? ?? Observer ? 3:52 PM`` (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHER: ** U S A. 5890, Aug 22 at 0214, WWCR is S9+30 of dead air, no modulation resuming until 0218 during this one-hour span of 5890. 5935, Aug 27 at 0045, WWCR with PMS from TUN, but mixed with crackling which splatters up to 10 kHz plus and minus. Meanwhile, Anguilla 6090 is missing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 7505V, Aug 22 at 0631, WRNO is S5-S9 of dead air instead of Chinese or English gospel-huxtering (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9475 & 5830, Aug 22 at 1406, WTWW-1 is missing both from day and night PPPP SFAW frequencies. 5830, Aug 23 at 0557, WTWW-1 is on at S9 but much weaker than neighbor 5935 WWCR at S9+20; why? WTWW underpowered? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5085, WTWW, TN with pop oldies such as "Summer in the City" and some classic Grace Slick. DJ was Steve Taylor, one of the many 'new' DJs turning this into a real radio station! GOOD stuff! Several SIDs [sudden ionospheric disturbances or station IDs?? gh] during the time I listened, and an ad for Icom SDR Transceiver, and into "Get Ready" by Rare Earth -- a song I haven't thought about in decades! The AUDIO of this station is just outstanding. A FULL 10k bandwidth (actually more -- probably closer to 14k looking at the SDR screen) and nicely modulated. I wonder if they could do AM Stereo .... I need to drop Ted Randall a line to see! :) 0335-0405 24/Aug SDRplay +SDRuno +Randomwire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Aug 24 via DXLD) 9475, Aug 24 at 1419, no signal from WTWW-1; instead is still on night frequency 5830 with PPPP, VG and the SSOB by far. 5830, Aug 24 at 1738, the BST-1 caradio memory scan stops on 5830 (why did I ever set it there?), i.e. WTWW-1 is *still* on night frequency at midday! I had previously noted it on late at 1419, instead of day frequency 9475. Ted must have failed to make the switch today, not that unusual. At 0254 UT August 25, neither 5830 nor 9475 is on, but 5085 WTWW-2 is with rock. At 0352, 5830 is on again, but 0601 off again, along with 5085; not due to propagation as neighbor 5935 WWCR is well audible. 15809.9, 12105, 9930, 9475, 5830, 5085, Aug 25 at 1706, all possible WTWW frequencies are off. (This will be a problem for Mark Taylor, NASWA Flashsheet editor, who, when I start a report with a frequency missing, for that entry pulls out another frequency from inside the report which is not missing, hi). Thus I am reporting *nothing*, but that`s the point: it`s totally off the air now (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ha, published sic by substitute editor (gh) 5085, Aug 25 at 2358, WTWW-2 as Bob Heil is wrapping up `Theater Organ in the Ozarx` really running at its new time I have almost forgotten again this week to check, 2330 Saturday. I wonder if he is keeping it to less than 30 minutes now? This early, strong signal is not enough to overcome storm noise from TX panhandle, NM, KS. 5085, UT Sunday August 26 at 0626, WTWW-2 is on with weekly talkshow, but VP reception, barely registers S9, same as noise level. Normally this blasts in the nightmiddle. Other TN frequencies in the megameter range: 5830 WTWW JBA; 4840 & 5935 WWCR also VP. 3215 might still make it, except WWCR made it dispensable overnight and silenced it months ago. We are in a major geomagnetic storm, G3 level past and next 24 hours, WWV reported, a rare K-index reading of 7 at 0600! 5830, Aug 26 at 1422, WTWW-1 night frequency still running with SFAW; K index eased to 5 by 1500. Back up to 6 at 1800, but now 9475 is propagating, not much on higher bands. 5830, Aug 27 at 0626, WTWW-1 is on at S9+10 despite blackout reaching Cuba; by 1405, has switched to 9475; by 0032 August 28, already back to 5830, in highly variable day/night QSY times (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 12050, Aug 25 at 1717, WEWN Spanish coverage of some live event with crowd applause, music in background, rather Irish --- of course, it`s the popal about-to visit, live coverage from the Croke stadium in Dublin. The anchors are pushing for listener e-mail response, plugging EWTN and Radio Católica Mundial. Furthermore, WEWN is splattering roughly 12040-12080! Later I watch EWTN cable TV for a bit to see that a bro in a monk`s habit and a normally dressed gal are co-hosting in English, with Catholic reverence. Set aside that many millions are being spent on this PR event to celebrate the corrupt, disgraced RC church, rather than compensate its victims. À propos, see this week`s lead editorial by William Falk, The Week: http://theweek.com/articles/791927/save-church (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5044/5056, UT Sunday Aug 26 at 0035, WWRB 5050 is putting noiseblob spurs peaking about plus/minus 6 from 5050 during anti-UN ranters. 5050, Aug 27 at 0059, dead air, then YL opening gospel huxter show from North Carolina, but hard to understand very lofi modulation, then cutting out and in. S9+50 signal anyway from WWRB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. And speaking of Ampegon, that led MARE Larry Russell to riff off memories of WMLK which is buying a new Ampegon transmitter: https://ampegon.com/news/?id=91 THAT led MARE Lorraine Kulbacka to run off on a discussion of Continental Transmitters (which is what most of WRMI's are in Okechobee) and their general good reputation. That 'reliability' talk led Larry R to comment about the Ampegon press release concerning WMLK https://tinyurl.com/WMLK-burns which suggested the old Ampegon kicker was 'reliable' until it burned, which WMLK's various comments suggest is not the case. Lastly MARE Paul Dobosz has the 'last word' here and suggests that Ampegon is unlikely to be the problem in Brother Meyer's world: "A good part of WMLK's problems stemmed from lack of engineering expertise and poor construction practices. They purchased the BBC (Ampegon's prior name was BBC [Brown Boveri Co.]) transmitter in Europe configured for European power distribution voltages. It was old and largely obsolete at the time of purchase. That meant a lot of adaptation to make it function. Adding to their woes was a lack of money to cover the expenses of installation and engineering personnel with limited ability and knowledge of the specifics of the transmitter. The technical documentation for the transmitter was all written in German so they had to pay a translator to translate the books into English." Paul continues, "The actual fire was caused by the aluminum open wire transmission line to the antenna overheating and burning their transmitter building down. This is the second insurance claim they have had in the past few years as an ice storm brought down their previous curtain/dipole array. They were able to erect a more robust antenna with the insurance money; they are now also getting a modern transmitter and building thanks to insurance money. I'm not sure I'd want to insure them after two major claims of that size within a couple of years, but I'll leave that to the bean counters and underwriters." Paul concludes with the observation that "Ampegon has gotten a bunch of business from the NE United States in the past year --- This despite everybody including most of the government broadcasters pulling out of shortwave." (Ken Zichi, MARE Tipsheet Aug 24 via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) ** U S A. 780, KKOH, NV, Reno on 8/24 at 0830 EDT [1230 UT]. News tag team of three, with time check "KOH news time five thirty seven" by unmistakable voice of Ross Mitchell. (Mitchell is the voice of Tony the Tiger, the Jolly Green Giant, and does the intro to Red Eye Radio). Good over all co-channel stations on SW-2999629, Terk loop (Rick Barton, central Arizona, WOR iog via DXLD) ** U S A. 810, TENNESSEE, WMGC, Murfreesboro. 1006 August 18, 2018. Mexi-tunes pointing NNW, then reverb "El Jefe" slogan several times, so certainly this one, as previously and occasionally heard here without the slogan but suspected. Surely not 6 watts night power, maybe 500 watts pre-sunrise, but I bet really the 5000 watts day power never switched off (Terry L. Krueger, All times/dates GMT, Clearwater, FL, NRD-535, IC-R75, longwires, active loop, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 830, UT Monday Aug 27 at 0108 UT, Spanish tropi-rap (real term for particular genre unknown), 0111 YL ID as ``Fabulosa, 830 y 97.5``, which means it`s the expected WFNO Norco LA (address in Metairie), 5000/750 watts U4, and the FM is mere translator K248BB. Totally dominating channel, no sign of WCCO MN, too far into the subauroral zone with high K-index (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 840, UT Monday Aug 27 at 0106 UT, opening headlines teasing `Perspective` from ABC, YL anchor, stingers. Haven`t heard this weekly newsmagazine in ages. Must be WHAS Louisville KY, perhaps a reliable time for it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 860, Aug 23 at 0604 UT, KKOW Pittsburg KS is blasting in network news, CBS? splattering 850 & 870, hardly normal for nightmiddle. Suspect it`s on 10 kW ND day power rather than 5 kW direxional night, circle tangent to SW (so we still get it, but much weaker) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1490, FLORIDA, WWPR, Bradenton. 1108 August 21, 2018. Puny signal at 800 watts, but if you hear a terrible version of the Star Spangled (Strangled?) Banner by an unaccompanied male voice around this time, it's this one. Ending at 1110, live male "AM 14-90, WWPR... right here on Bradenton Beach..." into local traffic report by same guy (Terry L. Krueger, All times/dates GMT, Clearwater, FL, NRD-535, IC-R75, longwires, active loop, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1540.04 approx., Aug 23 at 1215 UT, carrier looping SSE stix out, no doubt KGBC Galveston TX, still off-frequency beyond tolerance, making low het against Spanish KZMP 1540.0 in The Metroplex, and unless nulled, English KXEL Iowa. 1560 KGOW Vietnamese Bellaire from Houston market is also still propagating (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. HAR/TIS in Orange County CA Went through the HAR/TIS list that Phil recently published and found out there are only 7 HAR/TIS stations in Orange County. Over the years several have gone away and a few new ones came on the air. So here is an update of what I can here. Orange County is a small county between Los Angeles County and San Diego County. The north has older communities while the south is newer. 1620, WPMW407, San Juan Capistrano CA has been on the air for a long time. I think it was originally to inform motorists of construction on Highway 74, the Ortega Highway and run by CALTRANS. This is a two lane mountain road, part in Orange County and part in Riverside County. The Orange County side upgraded the highway to widen it slightly and then add better guardrails. The project was completed and then the overpass and on/off ramps at the 5 Freeway were completely redone. So the station had purpose. Now I don't know. It's currently running a quick test message without call letters. The recent Holy Fire closed Ortega Highway for a week but the message didn't change. 1620, WNZF285, Fullerton CA isn't heard here. I've heard it when I'm closer but not recently. This is run by Cal State Fullerton. 1640, WPKA209, Irvine CA is strong here, run by the City of Irvine. Long message, about 7 minutes long with ID in each message. You can listen to this on the city website at http://cityofirvine.org/AM1640 This station had an actual QSL card when I wrote to them years ago. 1680, WQUX625, Irvine CA run by the toll roads for the 73 Toll road. Toll Roads Radio gives a call ID in each message and is weak here. 1690, WQUX684, Anaheim CA is also run by the toll roads. I think it's for the 241 Toll road. I can't hear it here but heard it when it first came on the air. 1690, WQTB222, Irvine CA is run by UCI, University of California Irvine. Long message, about 5 minutes with ID in each one. Fair signal here. 1690, WQIZ328, La Habra CA run by the Firesafe Council. I have never heard this one and it's in the north of the county. The next time I'm in the north end of the county I'll try for the 3 stations I can't hear from home (Martin Foltz, Mission Viejo CA, Aug 25, IRCA at HCDX via DXLD) I remember when the Toyota dealer next to the 22 freeway used to have a low power station. ms Sent from my iPod (Mike Sanburn, ibid.) ** U S A. 96.3 MHz, FLORIDA, WPCQ-LP, Clearwater. Happened to think about this one, operated by Pinellas County. Today, mid-morning August 17, 2018. Just a pointless open carrier on every check. When running audio, it (was) airing a six-ish minute loop regarding (to) watch out for motorcycles, look both ways before crossing railroad tracks, stop at stop signs, it's hurricane season etc. and cheesy sound effects with IDs stating it's located at the Pinellas County Traffic Management Center on US-19 at Drew Street. Still just a carrier upon checks through August 24. Probably been in this mode for weeks and will be for more to come. Managed as well as the series of once-active 1690 kc/s transmitters were. **************************************** Florida Low Power Radio Stations: https://sites.google.com/site/floridadxn/florida-low-power-radio-stations (Terry L. Krueger, All times/dates GMT, Clearwater, FL, NRD-535, IC-R75, longwires, active loop, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Full Senate Approves Public Media Funding Glenn - Last night, the full Senate approved Fiscal Year 2019 public media funding. Read our blog for a recap on the bill and funding process. https://protectmypublicmedia.org/blog/2018/08/24/senate-approves-public-media-funding/ This is an important milestone in our effort to protect federal funding this year. Thanks to your ongoing outreach to Congress in support of public media funding, this positive step was possible. In September, we anticipate that the full House of Representatives will debate its bill to determine public media funding levels. We’re closely monitoring this process and will let you know if we need you to raise your voice again to secure vital federal funding for your local public radio and television stations. Thank you for your ongoing participation and support. We’ll be in touch in the coming weeks. Sincerely, (The Protect My Public Media Team, Aug 24, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Alphabet soup: Will the merger of PRX and PRI shift the competitive landscape of public radio (and podcasting)? Plus: A wave of new releases for the fall, an up-and-down week for My Favorite Murder, and SB Nation goes big on local sports podcasts. By Nicholas Quah Aug. 21, 2018, 10:15 a.m. Welcome to Hot Pod, a newsletter about podcasts. This is issue 174, published August 21, 2018. Notes on the PRI–PRX merger. “To me, both companies look like two halves of a new kind of whole,” Alisa Miller, PRI’s president and CEO, told me when we spoke over the phone last week. She was explaining how the merger came to be, how talks seriously began only late last year, and how the decision was the culmination of on-going discussions between PRX and PRI about potential collaborations. Kerri Hoffman, PRX’s CEO, concurred in a separate conversation, noting the organizations’ mutual interest in the same question: “Could we make good on our promise to become something much more beneficial to the public radio system?” The merger between PRI and PRX, announced Wednesday, is a big eye-catching development that, in theory, would combine the organizations’ respective expertise in linear broadcasting and on-demand audio into a new public media organization that’s better able to take on the American palate and media industry in 2018. The question, of course, is whether and how the two pieces will fit together neatly, and in a way that creates something more than the sum of its parts. At the risk of being so totally obvious, here’s why this move is significant: [MUCH more] http://www.niemanlab.org/2018/08/alphabet-soup-will-the-merger-of-prx-and-pri-shift-the-competitive-landscape-of-public-radio-and-podcasting/ (via Blaine Thompson, Indiana Radio Watch, via John Carver, DXLD) ** VATICAN. Very good signal of unscheduled broadcast of Vatican Radio, Tue August 28: 0630-0930 9645 SMG 250 kW / 026 deg to EaEu Ukrainian liturgy, A18 0605-0700 Sun 0630-0930 11740 SMG 250 kW / 062 deg to EaEu Ukrainian liturgy, A18 0605-0700 Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/unscheduled-broadcast-of-vatican-radio.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 27-28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN [non]. PHILIPPINES, Frequency change of Vatican Radio via IBB Tinang from August 19 1230-1300 NF 9610 PHT 250 kW / 349 deg to FERu Russian, good, ex 9890 to avoid at same time on 9885 DB 100 kW / 071 deg to NEAs Korean CLAND. National Unity Radio // frequency 11875 PHT 250 kW / 332 deg to FERu Russian Vatican Radio, good signal http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/frequency-change-of-vatican-radio-via.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 22-23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN [and non]. Faith and radio. Journalist Nikolai Syrov: "Pope Francis, in one of the sermons, said that Christianity is not an ideology and not a system, it is grace. And grace is a surprise, and he means on that side a heart, ready to be surprised. If today we turn our attention not to the secular, but to the majority of Christian radio stations, then I hardly can imagine a man who turned on the radio to be surprised "... Full text in Russian - https://www.svoboda.org/a/29434030.html https://vk.com/dxing (Rus-DX Aug 26 via DXLD) See also USA: WEWN ** VENEZUELA [and non]. [re 18-34] Glenn, Just to let you know that the long article on early FM in Venezuela (essentially, in Caracas) surely brought back some memories for me. I still have a photo of central Caracas I took from the Exitos 107 tower at Conejo Blanco on the refrigerator in my kitchen (along with several other scenic transmitter site photographs from around the world). I did the original engineering for the Cusco family's Union Radio group (Inversiones Bescasinas) for 107.3 as well as picking the sites for their stations in several other of the cities in VZ. The Cusco brothers are the majority owners of the Actualidad group in Miami whose 3 stations we just did the frequency swap for to get 50 kW on 1040 in Miami, and the late Sérgio Gomez was a very good personal friend for many years. So thanks for including the article in DXLD. ben -- (Benj. F. Dawson III, P.E. Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers, LLC 9500 Greenwood Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103 USA 206 783 9151 206 789 9834 Facsimile dawson@hatdaw.com Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. 7315, Aug 26 at 0027, WHRI with hymn and free-Bible offer, inserted during VOV relay block; 0030, back to its stilted LVV Spanish. Strange bedfellows (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. TANZANIA, Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation English Aug22 1805-1814 on 11735 DOL 050 kW / non-dir to CeAf English, good signal http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-zanzibar-broadcasting_23.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 22-23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11735, ZBC Radio at 1919 in Swahili with East African pop vocals and instrumentals and a woman with talk at 1930 mentioning “wimbo” – Fair Aug 27 – Wimbo means “song” in Swahili. It's what my Italian father-in-law used to call my cat “Wimpy”. He was a prisoner of war in WWII in South Africa. Wimbo is one of the few Swahili words he remembered (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 1550, Aug 26 at 0635 UT, continuous piano jazz amid the CCI. Not KUAZ AZ which is 50 kW but daytimer; unlikely WZUM PA which is 24h jazz format but only 4 watts at night! Last March 24 at 0607 UT I also had unID 1550 scat, and guessed maybe CBEF = CBC French Windsor Ont. Of all nights, nothing from north to be expected now with K index of 7. Unlikely any of the Mexicans. 1550 is full of Rebeldes all over Cuba (and a few Progresos) to block WRHC, so I should have compared to 5025. Any other ideas about US stations? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, anything is possible from WAZX Smyrna, GA. Remote monitoring has shown this thing to be on one day, silent the next, then on again, et al. -- with programming in Spanish, Vietnamese, continuous Classic Rock, et al, et al. Nothing is keeping WAZX from trying its hand at Jazz (which would be a notable improvement to the highly religious / right wing Atlanta AM dial); the 50 kW daytime authorization does get out rather well. Just sayin'. - GREG HARDISON, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. The listening was made by Xico Luiz, in the city Caridade CE, Brazil. I would like the help of colleagues for radio identification. Thank you https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N7Gxc1bDIJITtbBlEBBvflwpJJlgSKKe (Jorge Freitas, Brasil, Aug 28, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Korean, so maybe WWRU Jersey City NJ? Regards, (Mauno Ritola, ibid.) Are there any other Korean language stations on 1660 anywhere? (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. Hello, Unid station on 4770.0 in DRM mode last night (24/08 19h40 UT) only datas "DRM Service A", no audio, bandwidth 10 kHz at 5.00 kbps. This morning (25/08 05h00 UT) same frequency but bandwidth 5 kHz. Very good signal (s9+10-20 dB near Paris in France). Receiver NRD525 (without modification, but I use CW method) and Dream software. For information about receiving DRM with NRD525: http://geip.pagesperso-orange.fr/NRD525.htm (Nicolas ``Philby``, France, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4810, Aug 26 at 0039, still getting a JBA carrier vs the huge utehash from the plus side. So is it Radio Logos, Perú? Please check in South America (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. PIRATE, Reception of European (German?) Pirate, Aug 24: from 0900 6050.3 unknown tx / unknown to Eu Music, nothing at 0930 UT http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-unidentified-european.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 23-24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. utility transmission in Russian language on Aug 25 from 0600 on 6053 kHz USB mode in Russian, weak to fair signal: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/unidentified-utility-transmission-in_25.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 24-25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. EGYPT, Mystery Egyptian Music Station on 9400, Aug 23 0900-0910 on 9400 unknown tx / unknown to ????, good signal: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/mystery-egyptian-music-station-on-9400_23.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. EGYPT, Mystery Egyptian Music Station on 9400, Aug 25 0802-0812 on 9400 unknown tx / unknown to ????, dead air and 0812-0815 on 9400 unknown tx / unknown to ????, 1000 Hz tone 0815-0820 on 9400 unknown tx / unknown to ????, good signal: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-mystery-egyptian-music_25.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 24-25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. EGYPT, Mystery Egyptian Music Station on 9600, Aug 25 0930-0940 on 9600 unknown tx / unknown to ????, good signal: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-mystery-egyptian-music_44.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. EGYPT, Mystery Egyptian Music Station on 9400, Aug 26 0925-0930 on 9400 unknown tx / unknown to ????, good signal: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-mystery-egyptian-music_26.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) EGYPT, Reception of Mystery Egyptian Music Station on 9550, August 27 0905-0915 9550 unknown tx / unknown to ??, very low modulation today http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/reception-of-mystery-egyptian-music_27.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, August 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Shortwave test today for Africa Le 23/08/2018 10:15, SWtest818@gmail.com --- Who R U ? Babcock? 73, Rémy Friess, France, Aug 23, not cleared by HCDX until Aug 27, via DXLD) still unknown ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS See also AUSTRALIA [non] ++++++++++++++++++++++++ TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED FUTURELY: Hi Glen[n], I`m a returning SWL and ham radio operator N8XD, now in my 50's; I used to listen to your DX show when I was a teenager. When heard your show last night it was like hearing an old friend --- nice job, keep up the great work! (Keith DeLong, Freeland MI, joining the WOR iog and then a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com Thanks to Chuck Ermatinger for another PayPal contribution. One may also contribute by MO or check in US funds on a US bank to: Glenn Hauser, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 Glenn, Thanks for the usual assortment of shortwave DX listening tips. You manage to continue to stay active week in and week out which is quite an accomplishment. Thanks. 73, (Rich D`Angelo, PA, Aug 26, NASWA Flashsheet co-editor) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ BEGINNER'S CLASSROOM FOR September 2018 Mediumwave DXing in Fall and Winter It’s that time again... time to check connections, secure all outdoor antennas and prepare for another Fall/Winter season of DXing the LW, MW and SW bands. This month’s classroom will discuss the basics of DXing the Mediumwave band. In the Americas, the MW Band covers the area from 530 – 1700 kHz inclusive, in 10 kHz increments. In Europe and other parts of the world, MW stations occupy the frequencies between 531 – 1602 kHz, in 9 kHz increments. The best times to listen for DX on Mediumwave are twilight, sunset, evening/night time and sunrise. Because we have more night hours in Fall/Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, DXing is more prominent on MW during these seasons. One of the main reasons for hearing DX in the twilight/evening/night/sunrise hours is that the F-layer of the ionosphere is available (thanks to the near disappearance of the D-layer) for signals to bounce back to earth and be heard over greater distances. Yes, DXing still depends on propagation conditions to some extent, but there are very, very few evenings/nights when there is little to no MW DX to be heard. There are basically three major types of MW broadcast stations: clear, regional, and local (graveyard) channels. Clear channel stations usually operate on the lower portion of the band at a maximum power of 50 kW. There are usually no more than 2 or 3 clear channel stations on these frequencies, although a number of regional broadcasters may also utilize the clear channels. Regional stations usually operate between 1 – 50 kW on MW, and have at times also been called more powerful local stations. The six graveyard frequencies are 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 and 1490 kHz, and these stations usually operate between 0.25 and 1 kW and many station formats here are for local communities. Please note that although these designations are mainly for broadcasters in the U.S., most Canadian stations follow the same general rules. There is another class of MW stations which usually operate very low power, and have a listening area usually not more than 10 – 20 meters from the station or transmitter. These are normally operated by high schools, colleges and universities. One of the best assets that you can assemble yourself is a MW Bandscan. I compiled one using Microsoft Excel which is arranged by frequency. The columns show the station call letters, the broadcasting location and the format of the station. The best way to compile a bandscan is to first do a daytime scan of all the stations you normally hear from your location. Then begin a scan of the night time DX that you hear, first by stations normally heard during evening/night hours, then stations you can truly call DX. I’ve arranged my bandscan by colour: yellow for daytime stations, dark blue for more powerful night stations, and light blue for DX (I have to use these colours as I’m red-green colour blind; I would go crazy trying to figure out which colour is which!). Most portable receivers come with a built-in ferrite loop antenna for MW reception. If you know this to be the case with your radio, do not attach a SW longwire or similar antenna as it will not work well on MW. One of the more popular antenna types for MW is a home or commercially made loop. These can be mounted so that they can be turned for directional reception, and can null out unwanted signals from another direction as well as keep out some unwanted noise. In a pinch, a built-in telescopic antenna will work well with some receivers. If you are interested in building your own antenna for MW reception, there are numerous websites that offer detailed instructions. Below is a list of important and informative websites on MW DXing: National Radio Club: http://www.nationalradioclub.org The NRC is a true leader in providing information for both the casual and serious MW DXer. They have a publication entitled DX News, an information database, loggings, and other timely items for MW listeners. You can join the NRC in order to receive their publication and be able to take part in their activities. Go to the NRC website for more info and/or a sample copy of their magazine. Ydun’s Medium Wave Info: http://www.mediumwave.info/index.html This site keeps MW DXers around the world up-to-date on news, tests, loggings and other important items. Ydun, who operates the site, hails from Denmark, and she is serious about keeping the MW DXer informed of all things Mediumwave around the world. Canadian Radio Directory: http://www.canadianradiodirectory.com This is a great website which lists all the MW/FM/SW stations in Canada by Province/Territory, Location, Frequency and Band, Station Name, Format, Call Sign and Power. Andy Reid keeps this invaluable site up to date with the latest info and changes that occur both on MW and FM in Canada. The Canada/US AM Station Information Search Page: http://www.topazdesigns.com/ambc/ On this site you can input known or inferred information on a frequency, call sign, format and/or location, and find a station or stations that match your search. You can also input your latitude and longitude, and find the distance between your location and a particular station. Wikipedia Offerings: http://www.en.wikipedia.org You can find a listing of MW and FM stations for any state in the USA or any province/territory in Canada just by searching in your browser for “List of radio stations in ______”. You can then order the list by Call Sign, Frequency, City of License, Owner or Format. I have found that these lists are kept fairly current and provide some good info, especially for stations in the USA. There are other good Internet websites out there as well for MW DXing. If you have a favourite not listed in this column, let me know and I’ll mention it in a future Classroom. Good luck and best of DX with all your Mediumwave endeavours! Until October... 73, keep smiling and keep listening (J O E Robinson, Beginner`s Classroom, Sept ODXA Listening In via DXLD) WORLD OF HOROLOGY WWV: See also top of USA sexion in 18-34 +++++++++++++++++ DRUMPF TRYING TO ELIMINATE WWV/WWVB/WWVH AND MORE OF NIST If you haven't already heard, as a part of the war on science, the latest US government budget proposal has targeted the NIST. Yes, WWV/H/B are on the chopping block as well as all the basic measurement and technology services needed to support development of next-gen batteries, solar panels and other things that threaten fossil fuels. Politics aside, this has severe implications for everything from radio stations (that use WWV as a frequency standard) to Air Traffic Control and railway co-ordination (trains and aircraft don't occupy the same space at the same time well, and without a single standard, you're only guessing at time!) and basic science and research that need what the NIST does to advance the art and science of technology. There is a petition on whitehouse.gov that you need to sign, https://tinyurl.com/NIST-petition You know what to do. Now go do it! (Ken Zichi, MARE Tipsheet Aug 24 via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) A second try, I do not get an e-mail back to confirm my ``signature`` --- are we just spinning our wheels? Anyone else with this problem? Evidently the whitehouse petition thing was set up in the Obama admin, so could be running automatically now, no one at current WH caring about it, yet not having abolished it (gh, DXLD) Concern Rising within Amateur Radio Community over WWV-WWVH Shut Down Proposal --- ARRL 08/21/2018 http://www.arrl.org/news/concern-rising-within-amateur-radio-community-over-wwv-wwvh-shut-down-proposal ARRL members and Amateur Radio clubs are expressing increased concern over the inclusion of WWV and WWVH on a list of proposed cuts in the White House’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Fiscal Year 2019 budget request. The proposed cuts also would include the Atomic Clock signal from WWVB used to synchronize specially equipped clocks and watches. Online petitions soliciting signatures include one established by Tom Kelly II, W7NSS, of Portland, Oregon, who would like to see funding for the stations maintained. At this point, the budget item is only a proposal, not a final decision. That would be up to the Congress to decide. ARRL is among those worried over the possible loss of WWV, WWVH, and WWVB and is suggesting that members of the Amateur Radio community who value the stations for their precise time and frequency signals and other information sign Kelly's petition and/or contact their members of Congress promptly, explaining how the stations are important to them, beyond government and military use. Kelly’s petition, which may be signed by US residents, notes that WWV is among the oldest radio stations in the US, having been established in 1920. “The station has transmitted the official US time for nearly 100 years, and is an instrumental part in the telecommunications field, ranging from broadcasting to scientific research and education,” his petition says. “Additionally, these stations transmit marine storm warnings from the National Weather Service, GPS satellite health reports, and specific information concerning current solar activity and radio propagation conditions. These broadcasts are an essential resource to the worldwide communications industry.” NIST’s full Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget request to Congress http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY19CBJ/NIST_and_NTIS_FY2019_President's_Budget_for_508_comp.pdf calls for the agency to “discontinue the dissemination of the US time and frequency via the NIST radio stations in Hawaii and Fort Collins, Colorado.” The agency noted, “These radio stations transmit signals that are used to synchronize consumer electronic products like wall clocks, clock radios, and wristwatches, and may be used in other applications like appliances, cameras, and irrigation controllers.” The specific cut, which would come from the NIST Fundamental Measurement, Quantum Science, and Measurement Dissemination budget, would amount to $6.3 million. In its budget request, NIST said that it plans to consolidate and focus work on its efforts in quantum science while maintaining essential core capabilities in measurement science research and measurement dissemination, as well as eliminate “efforts that have been replaced by newer technologies, measurement science research that lies outside NIST’s core mission space, and programs that can no longer be supported due to facility deterioration.” WWV and WWVH broadcast time and frequency information 24/7, including time announcements, standard time intervals, standard frequencies, UT1 time corrections, a BCD time code, geophysical alerts, and marine storm warnings. Transmissions are broadcast from separate transmitters on 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz. An experimental 25 MHz signal is also currently on the air. WWVB transmits standard Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) signals on 60 kHz to appropriately equipped timekeeping devices. NIST Public Relations Director Gail Porter told Tom Witherspoon, K4SWL — editor of The SWLing Post, which has been tracking developments — that NIST “is proud of the time and frequency services we provide through our radio stations, and understands that these services are important to many people.” NIST Director Walter Copan has supported the overall budget request. “This budget request ensures that NIST can continue to work at the frontiers of measurement science by preserving investment in core metrology research,” Copan said. “Through its constitutionally mandated role, NIST performs work that only the government can do, and produces enormous return on US taxpayers’ investment. Translating measurements into technically sound standards across all industries enables effective international trade and US competitiveness.” (via Mike Terry, WOR iog via DXLD) Like many traditional services that use RF, they are viewed as archaic and are deprecated because of the perception they can be better provided on the internet. That said I would think that they would at least maintain WWVB (Bill Harms, Aug 26, ABDX yg via DXLD) What will you do if WWVB goes silent? Southgate August 24, 2018 http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2018/august/what-will-you-do-if-wwvb-goes-silent.htm#.W3_TDehKjIU In an article on the popular website Hackaday, Tom Nardi writes: Buried on page 25 of the 2019 budget proposal for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), under the heading “Fundamental Measurement, Quantum Science, and Measurement Dissemination”, there’s a short entry that has caused plenty of debate and even a fair deal of anger among those in the amateur radio scene: NIST will discontinue the dissemination of the U.S. time and frequency via the NIST radio stations in Hawaii and Ft. Collins, CO. These radio stations transmit signals that are used to synchronize consumer electronic products like wall clocks, clock radios, and wristwatches, and may be used in other applications like appliances, cameras, and irrigation controllers. The NIST stations in Hawaii and Colorado are the home of WWV, WWVH, and WWVB. The oldest of these stations, WWV, has been broadcasting in some form or another since 1920; making it the longest continually operating radio station in the United States. Yet in order to save approximately $6.3 million, these time and frequency standard stations are potentially on the chopping block. What does that mean for those who don’t live and breathe radio? The loss of WWV and WWVH is probably a non-event for anyone outside of the amateur [sic] radio world. In fact, most people probably don’t know they even exist. Today they’re primarily used as frequency standards for calibration purposes, but in recent years have been largely supplanted by low-cost oscillators. Read the full Hackaday article here: https://hackaday.com/2018/08/20/what-will-you-do-if-wwvb-goes-silent/ (via Mike Terry, WOR iog via DXLD) NPR interview on WWV WWVH closure threats NPR "Weekend Edition" interview with Thomas Witherspoon on budget cuts that could close WWV and WWVH: What closing a government radio station would mean for your clocks August 25, 20188:22 AM ET. Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday Many clocks sync with a government radio station that's been proposed to be closed. Scott Simon talks with Thomas Witherspoon of the website The SWLing Post. . . https://www.npr.org/2018/08/25/641835302/what-closing-a-government-radio-station-would-mean-for-your-clocks?t=1535204894213 (via Alan Pennington, bdxc-news iog via DXLD) 4:01, no transcript yet Glenn, Found the NPR WWV radio report after hearing about it on the IRR on Ckut radio here: http://archives.ckut.ca/128/20180826.10.30-11.00.mp3 (Artie Bigley, OH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ August Rockwork Cliff DXpedition-- Overall Summary A group of 5 determined DXers once again set up on the plunging Rockwork ocean cliff on the Oregon coast near Manzanita this month, tracking down multiple South Pacific stations-- especially those for which the Cliff is famous for providing a potent propagation boost. This summer there was a little added excitement thrown in as we competed with an expanded group of "sleeping squatters" for antenna setup space, often pushing our luck by setting up in total darkness right next to total strangers in junk vehicles at 0400 local time. The crowded real estate forced us to spread out from the usual Rockwork 4 location to four additional turnoffs, providing not only the chance to test out our antennas at new DXing sites, but also a chance to test out our psychological skills in dealing with bizarre squatters having multiple issues. "Frequent Flyer" Craig Barnes accompanied me (with his Baby FSL) to four different turnoffs in seven days, while Nick was busy setting up relative signal strength tests all around (and below) the cliff. Somehow Tom was able to set up at Rockwork 4 during all his sessions, while Chuck seemed to alternate between Rockwork 4, 3 and 2. There was little or no chance of DXer interaction when set up at different turnoffs, although we usually gathered for a debriefing session after the DU propagation had fizzled. As usual the Rockwork cliff provided its famous "Kiwi Magic," with obscure New Zealand stations coming out of the noise in droves. 531-More FM seemed to have some kind of antenna upgrade as it gave PI some serious competition each session, and both 558-Radio Sport and 576-Star sounded pretty healthy on a couple of occasions. The extremely rare 585-Radio Ngati Porou made its first appearance in five years, while 594-Star and 639-RNZ managed their best signals ever. A special occasion was the S9+ appearance of the 1 kW 936-Chinese Voice on August 3rd, surprising everybody who heard it. After the recent antenna upgrades for both 558-Radio Fiji One and 1017-Tonga they managed to pound in with awesome signals on several occasions, hitting S9+ peaks for their best performances ever. Several Australian stations like 585-7RN and 639-2HC also did their best to tap into the Kiwi propagation pipeline, and on 8-9 there was an interesting station on 855 that wasn't // 774 and whose music sure didn't sound like Rhema. During my 9-day DXpedition the Western Australian stations were MIA for the first 8 days, and it seemed like they might not show up at the Rockwork cliff in August for the first time in four years. Strangely enough, on the very last day (August 9th) at 1253 558-6WA in Wagin did manage to break through the Fiji QRM for about 40 seconds-- just barely strong enough to get adequate material to match with the ABC website's Podcast. Overall the DXpedition proved to be the usual, habit-forming thrill that has made this wacky cliff a center of DU-DXing activity. Tom mentioned that he once again had record-breaking Longwave NDB-DX results from the South Pacific, NZ and Australia, while Craig certainly seemed to be on Cloud Nine as used the cliff's propagation boost to track down multiple DU's with his 3.5" Baby FSL. Nick , Tom, Craig and I have already made our reservations for next August-- wild weather and sleeping squatters notwithstanding (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), Aug 27, nrc-am gg via DXLD) Exceptional Longwave NDB-DXing Results from the South Pacific Congratulations to my Rockwork cliff DXpedition partner Tom Rothlisberger for once again making out like a bandit in tracking down multiple low power Longwave beacons from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands. This past DXpedition produced a record haul for Tom, who ended up will 55 of these beacons -- including 6 which had [allegedly] never been heard previously from North America (such as 332-BHI in Broken Hill, Australia). On my PL-380 and 12" Longwave FSL I was able to track down one of these on August 8th (260-NF from Norfolk Island, Australia), which was my first Ultralight South Pacific NDB reception in five years. Great work, Tom! 7 years ago (in August of 2011) a newly minted NDB DXer first had the wacky idea of setting up for South Pacific NDB reception on the plunging ocean cliff with an Ultralight and 6" FSL, as detailed in the wild DXpedition report posted at http://www.mediafire.com/file/xpr8ltrxekb39sh/August_2011_Oregon_Cliff_Ultralight_LW.doc/file (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), Aug 28, nrc-am gg via DXLD) Viz.: Session Report for Tom Rothlisberger, K7WV Listening Location: Rockwork 4 (Manzanita, OR), CN85ar (45°44'37"N 123°57'30"W) Report Created On Aug 27, 2018 Receiver(s): Perseus SDR Antenna(s): Portable Flag using 60 ft/18.2 mtrs #16 wire / FLG100LN Software: Perseus V5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- YYYY-MM-DD UT kHz Call Location ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018-08-07 12:54 238.0 KT Kaitaia - Waimanoni - Awanui, NZL 2018-08-07 12:50 260.0 NF Norfolk Island - Anson Bay, NFK 2018-08-07 12:55 269.0 CV Charleville, QD, AUS (NEW) 2018-08-07 12:51 270.0 FA Apia (Upolu Island), SMO 2018-08-08 12:07 278.0 CG Coolangatta, QD, AUS (NEW) 2018-08-07 12:52 282.5 RT Avera (Rurutu Island), AUI 2018-08-07 13:04 284.5 MH Manihi Atoll (Tuamoto Archipelago), TUA 2018-08-08 12:59 293.0 COM Cooma, NW, AUS (NEW) 2018-08-07 12:26 315.0 HO Hihifo Apt - Wallis Island, WAL (NEW) 2018-08-08 12:51 316.0 MAJ Majuro Atoll - Amata Kabua IAP, MHL 2018-08-07 12:37 320.0 AI Aitutaki - Amuri, CKS 2018-08-07 12:38 322.0 CI Chatham Islands, NZL 2018-08-07 12:45 326.0 WR Whangarei, NZL (NEW) 2018-08-07 13:05 327.0 VYI Valley Island - Kahului, HWA 2018-08-07 12:46 327.5 RE Reao Apt, TUA 2018-08-04 12:13 332.0 POA Pahoa - Hawaii Island, HWA 2018-08-07 12:53 332.0 BHI Broken Hill, NW, AUS (NEW) 2018-08-07 12:53 338.0 MA Mount Isa Apt, QD, AUS (NEW) 2018-08-08 12:50 339.0 FN Fangatau, TUA 2018-08-07 12:28 340.0 FU Funafuti, TUV (NEW) 2018-08-07 12:52 343.0 ML Minami Torishima, JPN 2018-08-07 12:46 346.0 TG Tauranga Apt, NZL 2018-08-07 12:52 347.0 TB Tubuai Apt, AUI 2018-08-07 13:06 348.0 HN Honiara, SLM 2018-08-07 12:24 349.0 TP Takapoto Apt - Fakatopatere, TUA 2018-08-07 12:35 352.0 RG Nikau - Rarotonga IAP, CKS 2018-08-08 13:00 353.0 LRE Longreach Apt, QD, AUS (NEW) 2018-08-04 12:14 353.0 LLD Lanai - Lanai Island, HWA 2018-08-07 12:27 355.0 NI Nauru - Nauru IAP, NRU 2018-08-07 12:35 358.0 OA Rangiroa Apt, TUA 2018-08-07 12:54 359.0 AMB Amberley RAAF Base, QD, AUS (NEW) 2018-08-07 12:24 364.0 MI Momi - Nadi, FJI 2018-08-07 12:35 366.0 SF Springfield, NZL 2018-08-07 12:34 366.0 PNI Pohnpei - Pohnpei Island, FSM 2018-08-07 12:54 370.0 HAO Tuamotu Archipeligo, TUA (NEW) 2018-08-07 12:55 372.0 UK Ua Huka, MAR 2018-08-07 13:05 372.0 RU Raiatea Apt Uturoa, OCE 2018-08-07 12:25 373.0 HHI 'Wheeler' Wahiawa, HWA 2018-08-08 12:21 376.0 NP Napuka Apt, TUA 2018-08-07 13:06 377.0 ROM Roma, QD, AUS (NEW) 2018-08-07 12:27 377.5 MO Moorae - Temae Apt, OCE 2018-08-08 12:52 380.0 SU Maroochydore/Sunshine Coast Ap, QD, AUS (NEW) 2018-08-07 12:34 382.0 WU Wanganui, NZL 2018-08-08 12:07 383.0 MK Makemo Apt, TUA 2018-08-07 13:05 383.0 HV Hiva Oa - Oa Island Apt, MAR 2018-08-07 13:04 384.0 BB Bora Bora IAP, OCE 2018-08-07 12:45 390.0 HN Hamilton, NZL (NEW) 2018-08-07 13:04 393.0 UKS Kosrae IAP, FSM 2018-08-07 13:06 393.0 FK Fakarava (Iles Gambier), TUA 2018-08-08 13:09 395.0 PMQ Port MacQuarie Apt, NW, AUS 2018-08-08 12:48 398.0 BOU Boulia, QD, AUS (NEW) 2018-08-07 13:05 400.0 MDY Midway - Henderson Field, MDW 2018-08-07 12:52 402.0 OA Ouvea Apt, NCL (NEW) 2018-08-07 13:04 403.0 TUT Pago Pago IAP, SMA 2018-08-07 12:34 1630.0 TM Taumarunui Apt, NZL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Output Generated By WWSU 6.4 (2013, Alex Wiecek - VE3GOP, http://www.ve3gop.com) 55 stations logged during this Session (16 new) -73- Tom R K7WV -- (via DeBock, nrc-am gg via DXLD) Rockwork Ocean Cliff DXpedition Loggings & MP3's (Part One) Wednesday, August 29, 2018 9:06 AM [hasn`t he posted all about this before? maybe not same details -- gh] A plunging ocean cliff, an innovative compact antenna, great DXing companions and thunderous DU signals-- who could ask for more? Listed below is the first group of South Pacific signals from New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Tonga, along with a 500 watt Longwave beacon from Norfolk Island (in between NZ and Australia). All of these were recorded at the Rockwork ocean cliff near Manzanita, Oregon from August 1-9 with 7.5" loopstick portables (CC Skywave SSB and XHDATA D-808) and "Airport Unfriendly" 15" and 17" FSL antennas. Signals which reached an S9 level at some point in the recording are marked with a double asterisk (**). A detailed ocean cliff setup photo showing the XHDATA D-808 portable boosted by the 17" FSL antenna is posted at https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/shkdipy66ka1g0udrbdvw67ncvjnrm64 260 NF Norfolk Island, Australia, 500 watts The low power air navigation beacon made its first appearance in 7 years during a superb Longwave propagation opening at 1209 on 8-8. Received with a Tecsun PL-380 and 12" Longwave FSL, the same propagation opening was used by DXpedition partner Tom to track down an awesome total of 55 beacons from Australia, NZ and the Pacific https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/209sk7dvhkfglpqv50gs1ehypgmxz2m2 531 2PM Kempsey, Australia, 5 kW Call-in talk on the "Help Line" with the Super Radio Network mentioned (at the 22 second point) at 1245 on 8-1; also showed up on most sessions with the Australian lottery numbers around 1320 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/gmu21imwglr0rdtgn38cwjgi7r6qrzs6 531 4KZ Innisfail, Australia, 10 kW (presumed) Classic soft rock format at good strength matching the website info at 1252 on 8-8, but no ID's showing up for me or Tom; there isn't much doubt about identity, however https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ajq981vqp28k3dyoobhvje7mc334k6qn **531 More FM Alexandra, New Zealand, 2 kW The obscure modern rock station usually managed at least one S9 peak each morning, and was fully competitive with Kiwi co-channel PI for the first time. This TOH recording at 1300 on 8-8 demonstrates its potent capability at the cliff https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/wlkl8yrxvxfblqytpee4wmp8l1oh0haj **531 PI Auckland, New Zealand, 5 kW Pacific island music at a huge level at 1248 on 8-7 was typical from this low band powerhouse, which was frequently in an all-Kiwi snarl with its overachieving co-channel More FM https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/c2y4uqb809exw7lqm2evdjzzcxie3mce 558 6WA Wagin, Australia, 50 kW Last chance reception on the final day of the DXpedition (at 1254 on 8-9) before being immediately swallowed up by Fiji; this was its fourth appearance in four years at the cliff. Although this was a somewhat dicey recording, the operative words (from 30 to 35 seconds) are "you have to be extremely careful of the vanity publishing area") https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/dv5g0dc3k469p7upm5t92dy66fq34u8l ABC website Podcast material matching the "operative words" on the Nightlife program (proving 6WA reception) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/mw00oo69wdovircqi0q95cfr5db9yko **558 Radio Fiji One Suva, Fiji, 10 kW The donated Japanese transmitter still puts out awesome signals for this native-language powerhouse, including this S9 island music with a Song Medley ID ("Radio Fiji One, na domoiviti") at 1:38 into this recording at 1252 on 8-1. This was its strongest signal ever at the cliff https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/vhwdviemmimdxervjaoe1qqci7a59dqj 558 Radio Sport Invercargill, NZ, 5 kW One of the tougher Kiwis came through with Yankee-accented Fox Sports News relay // 792 at 1307 on 8-5, showing up for the first time in three years https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/dnkj6fqkviu8g57hw5mzcm00xae62ibr **567 RNZ National Wellington, New Zealand, 50 kW After demolition of its old tower the RNZ big gun has sometimes sounded anemic on the west coast, but certainly not at 1320 on 8-3 with Indian-accented English https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/kbx6rp6asp7v89hb08yhknjfp5cklhre 576 2RN Sydney, Australia, 50 kW The RN network big gun sounded pretty anemic on the "Kiwi Cliff" throughout the entire trip, such as at 1253 on 8-5, when it was barely stronger than the "dwarf Star" https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/lyeyyegyq8n5a068fpwzwdpyte90flnw 576 Star Hamilton, NZ, 2.5 kW The "dwarf Star" managed music under 2RN at 1253 on 8-5 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/xekx5gb4chsdr1njlc4kkd4mlxw630h3 which is parallel to 657-Star at the time https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ipl15obsn5w55qtdgdjzyit65h6918lb **585 7RN Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 10 kW The RN network Tasmanian must have somehow hacked into the Kiwi propagation pipeline at 1306 on 8-6; at the time it was much stronger than its 576 parallel https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/santvgc0qi9txyz0pbzn93d9h72jczmo 585 Radio Ngati Porou Ruatoria, NZ, 2 kW One of the rarest possible catches from NZ. During the 7RN recording some choral music is audible under Tasmania, and after about a minute I decided to check for a Maori net parallel on 603-Waatea (at 2:08 into the recording). Much to my surprise 603 had the same choral music, nailing down reception of this station with legendary weakness (for the first time in 4 years) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/wpqm0pjh1f1cj8nlzzo93jclvrd46clg 594 3WV Horsham, Australia, 50 kW This Oz big gun was mostly cannon fodder for the Kiwi co-channel Star, rarely even managing a decent signal. One more victim of the cliff's preference for New Zealand! **594 Star Timaru/ Wanganui, New Zealand, 5 kW/ 2 kW Another Kiwi overachiever, this low powered network was socking it to the Oz big gun 3WV all week, including with this powerful Christian music // 657 at 1326 on 8-3 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/j80d4a3hbktpk5284v2tr26sq284faf2 603 2RN Nowra, Australia, 10 kW Mostly MIA or way under Radio Waatea, it did manage a very rare moment of dominance at 1256 on 8-1, // 576 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/7z0mv5gjb60hwwyxjmm5ni8y4u0qhr0a 603 Radio Waatea Auckland, NZ, 5 kW This Maori net flagship station was one of the stronger Kiwi signals, but never quite reached the blistering levels of 531-PI, 567 and 657. This beautiful music at 1318 on 8-3 was typical of its strength https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/gjn4w89yxz0p98lb3tb9fhoz0q0iw095 (TO BE CONTINUED) (Gary DeBock, nrc-am gg via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC See also [TONGA] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I have a few HD Radio radios in my possession. The FM portion of HD Radio works pretty well, but the AM portion, in terms of stations broadcasting in the format, is almost nonexistent. The only two stations that I know of that transmit in HD are WBBM AM-HD in Chicago and WSCR AM-HD in Chicago. I think that digital HD AM signals do not broadcast as far as CQUAM AM. A couple years ago, I visited Memphis, TN and I tried to tune in both WBBM AM-HD and WSCR AM-HD getting as close a windows as I could. Both stations were able to lock onto the HD signal, but after 10 minutes I gave up because the HD signal would not sync with the HD signal. St. Louis is much closer to Memphis; I should have tried KMOX, which I heard transmits in HD as well. Also, it seems like most other AM stations have ceased broadcasting in HD, especially the stations from iHeart Radio. I guess the transmission power outputs of those stations were too small, and it was just too expensive to transmit in HD considering the royalties all stations had to pay to iBiquity (Kenneth S Armstrong, Aug 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DAB See SPAIN; RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM: QRM ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See AUSTRALIA [non]; [BHUTAN], [BRAZIL], ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INDIA; KUWAIT; ROMANIA; TAIWAN; [TONGA]; USA: WBCQ; USA: WINB; UNIDENTIFIED: 4770 DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See also MEXICO ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CASCADING CHANNEL CHANGES AS REPACKING GETS UNDERWAY Northeast Indiana --- The impending spectrum impact brings changes to the Fort Wayne TV dial on September 1, when WFWA (Channel 39) moves its RF channel from 40 to 18. The move is being made early (in "phase 0") at the behest of T-Mobile, which bought the 600 MHz spectrum WFWA formerly occupied and is paying the costs for the new antenna required for the early move. In order for WFWA to move to 18, that channel's current occupant, CW affiliate WISE-TV (Channel 33), must also move to its new RF channel, 34, by September 1. While WISE-TV and sister station WPTA (Channel 21/RF 24) complete construction of their new tower at their Butler Road studio/transmitter site, WISE-TV will light up its RF 34 signal at reduced power from a side-mounted antenna on the stations' old tower. Both WPTA and WISE-TV will move to a new top-mounted antenna when the new tower is completed in a few weeks, after which the 1957-vintage tower right next to it will be removed. The moves should all be transparent to viewers, who will continue to see WFWA on "39" and WISE-TV on "33" after rescanning on September 1 (Blaine Thompson, Indiana Radio Watch 23 August via John Carver, DXLD) A typical(?) example of the disruption caused by all this DTV repacking --- and it will only get worse across the country (gh, DXLD) Question about DTV and the FCC I have an unusual scenario that was told to me today regarding the FCC and the channel repacking and *what comes next*. Someone is spinning a story that the FCC has mandated that TV's in the US will eventually have to be manufactured so that IF your TV receives an *out of market* station, it will block the reception. Their explanation was that the data information received by the TV would tell it where the signal was from and IF your TV isn't in that stations zip code region, the reception would be blocked by the TV. The person saying this said it would bring an end to DTV DXing. Does the FCC really have such a thing on their docket? But I thought the NTIA was the organization that regulated how TV's in the US are manufactured? This is the first time I have ever heard such a thing. ???? (Jim Thomas, Springfield, Missouri, August 25, WTFDA gg via DXLD) Sounds like a hoax to me (Russ Edmunds, WB2BJH, Blue Bell, PA, Grid FN20id, ibid.) That would be news to me (- Trip Ericson, (FCC), www.rabbitears.info ibid.) If you think about it, the sale of spectrum from ch36 upward and the repacking of channels is already killing off reception of out of market stations and bringing an end of TV Dxing for many people. Whatever open channels, if any, are left will be used for rural internet. So why would the FCC need to put out of market blocking on new DTVs when it's already happening right now. An end to DTV DXing? Sure. Nothing lasts forever (Mike Bugaj, CT, ibid.) That rumor also flew before the DTV conversion. I know nothing of it. I've read what I believe are the relevant parts of the Communications Act in the last few days (for other reasons) and I don't recall seeing anything that would give the FCC that power. I think the rumor most likely came from the decision by many cable systems to drop out-of-market stations, stations which in many cases had been carried for years. PSIP has provisions for Directed Channel Changes, which allow a station to tell a receiver to switch channels for a specified period based on a number of criteria. One possible criterion would be the receiver's Zip Code -- switch the TV from 4.1 to 4.11 if it's located in Zip Code 37130, to display a specific commercial for Murfreesboro. However, your TV has no way of knowing you're in Zip Code 37130 unless you tell it --- and I've never seen a TV that asks. In practice the only use of Directed Channel Change I'm aware of is Comcast, which uses it for EAS alerts. They run an *unconditional* Directed Channel Change, switching *all* cable boxes to C-Span; then run the EAS alert on that channel; then (hopefully) switch all the boxes back to whatever channel they were last tuned to. There is also a provision for Conditional Access. It's a pretty loose standard which pretty much assumes the firm with material to protect will write their own criteria. Cable operators use it to ensure only those who subscribe to HBO/ESPN/??? can receive those channels. I know of nobody using CA over the air, especially as there is no standard for doing so (Doug Smith, TN, ibid.) NTIA is indeed the agency that has authority over TV receivers. But the FCC governs the broadcast and cable TV industries. Cable systems do not necessarily carry off-air stations on the same channels as their broadcast channels. The distinction between in-vs.-out of market signals would be irrelevant no matter what the PSIP data says. The FCC rules do not specify cable TV channel assignments but they do impose regulations in such matters as signal quality, signal leakage ("radiation"), and equal opportunity employment. A "cable ready" TV set connected to cable TV would receive TV signals on the channel numbers used by the cable company. These channel assignments may not be the same as the off-air channel assignments. Back in the analog days they probably would not be the same. The TV sets of the day were poorly shielded, and would pick up off-air signals even if connected to cable TV. If, for example, the cable company carried a Channel 3 station on Channel 3, a poorly shielded TV set would receive both signals. The cable signal would be several milliseconds later than the off-air signal with unpredictable results. Depending on the relative strengths of the two signal, the off-air signal may appear as a ghost image a few inches offset from the cable signal. In an extreme case the picture wouldn't even sync properly. Link to the FCC explanation: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/cable-signal-leakage Link to cable TV channel assignments http://theoldcatvequipmentmuseum.org/300/304/CATV_Channels/index.html (Neal McLain, Brazoria, Texas, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ Clear Channel & RDS I never fully understood why Clear Channel continued to use PI Codes to identify their stations that all begin with the number “1”. That is until I stumbled onto a document about RDS Standards in the United States published by the National Association of Broadcasters. Thought I’d share with the group: Clear Channel Media and Entertainment is using RDS for a large variety of functions. In 2002, Clear Channel began to dynamically update the Program Service (PS) field to allow for display of Title and Artist to receivers which did not support the display of RadioText. This was in response to research showing that satellite radio subscribers (whose satellite radio receivers always display this information) found this function to be highly desirable. Subsequently, Clear Channel purchased hundreds of RDS encoders and worked to custom-develop firmware that would allow for enhanced service. Clear Channel also connected all of these devices to a centralized portal so that the consumer experience would be identical across all Clear Channel stations. In 2004, Clear Channel launched RDS-TMC (Real Time Traffic) in cooperation with Siemens. Garmin, BMW and others soon followed. When Clear Channel looked to bring RDS-TMC to the U.S., it had never been done before in North America. Unfortunately there was a conflict between the RBDS Standard at that time and the RDS-TMC standard that was primarily European.11 [sic: page number? footnote? gh] The RDS-TMC standard required that when a device was tuning to find an RDS-TMC station, it would first look to find a station with a PI code whose country code matched the country code of the map data being used. About 2 years after Clear Channel’s launch of RDS-TMC service, a few radios began to implement backward calculation of call letters from PI code. This created a problem since stations transmitting the RDS-TMC data with the “1” in the PI code (as just described) would likely not have their call letters calculated correctly. Primarily, these initial devices were test equipment like the Audemat Golden Eagle and not mainstream devices that were consumer focused. Then Microsoft launched ZUNE which also used back calculation to display call letters. Clear Channel had worked with Apple on implementing song tagging over the HD Radio system. Later, Clear Channel worked with Jump2Go, Zune and Apple to develop song tagging over RDS using a combination of RadioText+ and another ODA for sending specific song IDs over the air in an encrypted format. While this song tagging ODA was being developed, Clear Channel inserted the ability to transmit the correctly calculated PI code data over the air. While a “1” is still transmitted over the air as the first digit of the PI code, the extended country code and the calculated first two nibbles of the PI code are also transmitted in the ODA packet. This allows new devices to correctly decode and display the call sign for Clear Channel stations using the modified PI code calculation method. Clear Channel also employs RT+ tagging of StationName.Short, and in this document, the NRSC encourages receivers to use this field to display the station name instead of back calculating PI codes. Currently, Clear Channel operates about 450 stations with RDS. Of those stations, the vast majority are broadcasting RadioText+, Apple song tagging, MediaBase tagging (Zune and others), RDS-TMC, dynamic PS and RadioText with up-to-date Title and Artist data. Clear Channel also has a few experimental applications running. 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, 121 Mayfair Park, Maylene, AL 35114, EM63nf, Aug 28, WTFDA gg via DXLD) RADIO INTERFERENCE FROM CONSUMER DEVICES RAISED IN BUNDESTAG Southgate August 22, 2018 German magazine Radioszene reports the issue of electromagnetic interference from consumer devices, e.g. switched-mode PSU's and LED lighting, is being raised in the Bundestag (Federal Parliament) Bundestag Member Ralph Lenkert of the political party Die Linke (The Left) has submitted 21 questions on "Protection of the resource electromagnetic environment" to the Federal Government. The Federal Government is expected to provide answers about the state of the electromagnetic environment. The questions include (Google translation): What is the Federal Government's knowledge of general development of "Human-made Noise" (unwanted electromagnetic noise) in the field of shortwave, the VHF range, in DAB applications and in particular in the field of amateur radio service respectively in rural and urban areas (please for each application individually describe)? The federal government shares the concern that the electromagnetic environment with the implementation of the DOCSIS 3.1 method in insufficiently shielded Cable networks due to broadband radiated Electromagnetic Interference on FM, DAB and frequencies of the Amateur Radio Service as well as radio applications no longer as intended Will be available (please explain)? 359/5000 In view of the reports in its report (see http://www.teltarif.de/radio-kabel-internet-stoerungen/news/63267.html or CQ DL amateur radio magazine, Issue 5-2018) in the implementation of the DOCSIS 3.1.-method a general monitoring about the condition of the affected cable networks? If not, why not? Electronic devices whose distribution has been prohibited The number of personnel with which the testing and measuring tasks are carried out at the Federal Network Agency Read the Radioszene article in Google English at https://tinyurl.com/Radioszene-EMI-Bundestag Original text in German https://www.radioszene.de/124771/radio-empfang-gestoert.html Die Linke Bundestag submission - Protection of resource electromagnetic environment https://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/19/036/1903641.pdf http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2018/august/radio-interference-from-consumer-devices-raised-in-bundestag.htm#.W324u-hKjIU (via Mike Terry, WOR iog via DXLD) US Coast Guard Warns of LED Lighting Interference to Marine Radios, AIS Reception --- ARRL 08/21/2018 http://www.arrl.org/news/view/us-coast-guard-warns-of-led-lighting-interference-to-marine-radios-ais-reception The US Coast Guard says it’s received reports from crews, ship owners, inspectors, and other mariners regarding poor reception on VHF radiotelephone, digital selective calling (DSC), and automatic identification systems (AIS) when in the vicinity of LED lighting systems. This could include interior and exterior lighting, navigation lights, searchlights, and floodlights found on vessels of all sizes. “Radio frequency interference caused by these LED lamps [was] found to create potential safety hazards,” the Coast Guard said in an August 15 Marine Safety Alert. “For example, the maritime rescue coordination center in one port was unable to contact a ship involved in a traffic separation scheme incident by VHF radio. That ship also experienced very poor AIS reception. Other ships in different ports have experienced degradation of the VHF receivers, including AIS, caused by their LED navigation lights. LED lighting installed near VHF antennas has also shown to compound the reception.” ARRL has determined a wide range of interference-causing potential from consumer lighting devices. “While some are relatively quiet, other devices — even those that meet the required FCC emissions limits — can still cause harmful interference,” said ARRL Electromagnetic Compatibility Engineer Mike Gruber, W1MG. “My best recommendation is to try LED lights before you buy, especially if there is a possibility that the device will be used while you’re operating. “Once you have determined that a particular LED device is quiet, then purchase as many as you need from that same store.” Over the past few years, ARRL has provided the FCC with reports of LED and other lighting systems that are not in compliance with FCC regulations. In several instances, these devices greatly exceeded the FCC's emissions limits, in one case by as much as 58 dB, creating as much noise as 650,000 legal devices. “Several recent FCC enforcement actions involving LED manufacturers have been encouraging,” Gruber said. “These actions can and will make a difference. I would also like to emphasize that the ARRL remains committed to working with both the FCC and manufactures help facilitate that positive difference in any way it can. It is possible for LED and other lighting technologies to coexist with both amateurs and other users of the radio spectrum.” The Coast Guard said that, while radio interference from LED sources may not be immediately evident, it’s possible to test for it through several steps, including turning off all LED lighting systems on board to see if the interference disappears. The Coast Guard suggested adjusting the VHF radio’s squelch just to the point where it cuts the audio on a vacant channel. If the noise returns, LED lights have raised the noise floor. If this is the case, the Coast Guard said, it’s “likely” that shipboard VHF radio and AIS reception are being degraded by LED lighting. The Coast Guard has asked mariners experiencing this problem to report their experiences to the Coast Guard Navigation Center, selecting “Maritime Telecommunications” from the menu on the left and providing details on the online form. — Thanks to gCaptain.com and Frank Smith, WS1MH (via Mike Terry, WOR iog via DXLD) It’s interesting to see that the FCC has suddenly become interested now that the Coast Guard is complaining. For several years now, amateur radio operators have been the canaries in the coalmines, telling them the same thing endlessly. Hopefully this will bring about some initial small changes but it’s likely far too late for most hams to experience a quiet listening environment at home ever again. (Steve McDonald, VE7SL, WOR iog via DXLD) And also SWLs!! (gh) This Empty TV Factory Keeps Catching Fire, And Neighbors Are Fed Up By Heather Cherone, Alex Nitkin and Tanveer Ali | August 24, 2017 5:59am | Updated on August 24, 2017 6:15am The former Zenith plant in Belmont Cragin. Inset, a Zenith television. View Full Caption - Chicago Fire Department BELMONT CRAGIN — For more than two decades, a hulking former Zenith television factory has sat empty and neglected on the city's Northwest Side. Neglected, that is, until it catches fire, as it did again Tuesday evening, bringing scores of firefighters to Austin and Dickens avenues. Flames shot through the roof, and TV news choppers captured billowing smoke filling the sky. Weary neighbors said the four-block, 300,000-square-foot former plant attracts trouble and presents a danger to the area. On Wednesday, 29th Ward Ald. Chris Taliaferro agreed with them, saying the old factory needs to be torn down. . . https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170824/belmont-cragin/zenith-belmont-cragin-fire-chris-tailaferro-alonso-zaragoza-belmont-cragin-united/ (via Kevin Redding, Crump, ABDX yg via DXLD) LOOP COMPARISONS / SUGGESTIONS Quite a long thread about the ALA`s and others, primarily for MW, appeared Aug 26-27 at the IRCA archive under above and similar headings: https://www.mail-archive.com/irca@hard-core-dx.com/maillist.html (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ STEVE Maybe "STEVE" is late-night sporadic E-skip? (which is more common in the northerly latitudes). They don't give any indication of time of year (William R Hepburn, WTFDA gg via DXLD) CONDITIONS SO BAD For at least the third week in a row, no pirate activity was heard, and not for lack of trying. Conditions have been so bad that even strong utes usually heard on 43-metres are barely detected in the persistently energetic static levels. Even WWV and CHU time stations are struggling to get through. So, for the time being, I'll blame solar minimum and see what may pop -- or peep -- through next week. (John Sedlacek-NE, Free Radio Weekly Aug 25 via DXLD) Miserable conditions on shortwave the past couple of weeks. Even the usually dependent daytime stations in the 9-10 MHz range have had trouble getting through. On the other hand, the tropo season on FM has been very good (Larry Will, MD, ibid.) Rapidly growing sunspot Two days ago, sunspot AR2720 didn't exist. Now it sprawls across the more than 75,000 km of the sun's surface and has two dark cores as wide as Earth. "Sunspot AR2720 has metamorphosed since yesterday and it is now as large as the Earth!" says Legault. "I photographed the region using a Celestron C14 EdgeHD telescope and an Astrosolar filter." The magnetic canopy of AR2720 is crackling with B-class solar flares--minor explosions hardly befitting a sunspot of its size. However, this is what we expect during solar minimum. Even large sunspots tend to be quiet, and so far AR2720 is no exception. Stay tuned for update (Spaceweather.com Aug 25 via Mike Terry, WOR iog via DXLD) Reverse polarity sunspot New sunspot AR2720 is not only large, but also strange. Its magnetic polarity is reversed. The North and South ends of its enormous magnetic field are backwards compared to the norm for sunspots in the current solar cycle, decaying Solar Cycle 24. What does this mean? AR2720 appears to be the first big sunspot of the next solar cycle, Solar Cycle 25, popping up now in the middle of solar minimum. http://spaceweather.com/ (via Mike Terry, Aug 26, ibid.) Shortwave Loggings for August 25 and 26, 2018 Late Saturday afternoon I got home from the annual BBQ of the Victoria-Haliburton Amateur Radio Association and settled in for an evening of SWLing. The reports of a tear in Earth's magnetic field, allowing the solar wind in, were spot on and a major geomagnetic storm ensued. By 0020 even the always-reliable Mighty KBC (via Nauen) was lost to noise. It was late Sunday afternoon before the shortwave bands finally started to show some signs of recovery. But all is not lost. From spaceweather.com we have a report of a new sunspot, AR2720, which is not only large, but also strange. Its magnetic polarity is reversed. The North and South ends of its enormous magnetic field are backwards compared to the norm for sunspots in the current solar cycle, decaying Solar Cycle 24. Could AR2720 be the first big sunspot of the next solar cycle, Solar Cycle 25, popping up now in the middle of solar minimum? While this new sunspot is decaying it may be the herald of better propagation conditions in the years to come (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2018 Aug 27 0539 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 20 - 26 August 2018 Solar activity was at very low levels. Regions 2719 (S07, L=131, class/area Cro/040 on 23 Aug) and 2720 (N08, L=136, class/area Dao/100 on 25 Aug) developed on the solar disk on 18 Aug and 23 Aug respectively. Both regions were responsible for several low level B-class flares. The largest was a B4 flare at 25/1048 UTC from Region 2720. Other activity included two coronal mass ejections (CME) observed on 19 and 20 Aug. The first was a narrow CME off the SW limb at 19/0812 UTC in SOHO/LASCO C2 imagery. The CME originated from a filament eruption near S09W06 at 19/0542 UTC. The latter CME was caused by a filament eruption at approximately 20/1100 UTC from the NW quadrant. An associated faint partial halo CME was observed off the W/SW limb at 20/2136 UTC in C2 imagery. WSA/ENLIL modelling of the events showed only weak effects from possible glancing blows late on 21 Aug and late on 24 Aug. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached high levels throughout the period. The largest flux of the period was 10,300 pfu observed at 21/2150 UTC. Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storm levels. The period began under the influence of a negative polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS). Solar wind speeds were elevated to near 670 km/s with total field initially at 12 nT on 20 Aug. By 21 Aug, solar wind speed was in decline while total field was at 5 nT or less. Solar wind slowly decreased over the next few days as nominal conditions were reached by 23 Aug. The geomagnetic field responded with quiet to active levels on 20 Aug, quiet to unsettled levels on 21-22 Aug and quiet levels on 23 Aug. By 24 Aug, a small discontinuity could be seen in the total field. A small increase to 7 nT was observed at 24/1116 UTC while the Bz component deflected southward to -6 nT, however the solar wind speed continued to decrease to near 325 km/s by the end of the day. As a result, quiet to unsettled levels were observed on 24 Aug. By 25 Aug, solar wind speed increased briefly to 460 km/s at 25/1305 UTC before declining once again, however total field began to increase beginning at 25/1210 UTC as effects from the 20 Aug CME were beginning. By 26 Aug, total field increased to 18 nT and remained there for approximately 12 hours. The Bz component was mostly negative reaching a maximum of -17 nT for approximately 24 hours beginning at 25/1600 UTC. Solar wind speed once again showed an increase at 26/0730 UTC from 370 km/s to near 550 km/s by the periods end as the solar wind stream was transitioning into a positive polarity CH HSS. The geomagnetic field responded with quiet to active levels on 25 Aug and unsettled to G3 (Strong) storm levels on 26 Aug. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 27 AUGUST-22 SEPTEMBER 2018 Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels with a slight chance for C-class flare activity on 27-29 Aug and again on 11-22 Sep as Regions 2719 and 2720 return to the visible disk. Very low levels are expected for the rest of the forecast period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 27 Aug-03 Sep, 12-15 Sep, and again on 17-19 Sep due to recurrent CH HSS influence. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels on 27-30 Aug, 01-02 Sep, 07 Sep, 11-17 Sep, and 22 Sep with G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels expected early on 27 Aug due to CH HSS activity. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2018 Aug 27 0539 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 2018-08-27 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2018 Aug 27 69 18 5 2018 Aug 28 69 8 3 2018 Aug 29 69 8 3 2018 Aug 30 67 8 3 2018 Aug 31 67 5 2 2018 Sep 01 67 8 3 2018 Sep 02 67 8 3 2018 Sep 03 67 5 2 2018 Sep 04 67 5 2 2018 Sep 05 67 5 2 2018 Sep 06 67 5 2 2018 Sep 07 67 8 3 2018 Sep 08 67 5 2 2018 Sep 09 67 5 2 2018 Sep 10 68 5 2 2018 Sep 11 68 15 4 2018 Sep 12 69 15 4 2018 Sep 13 70 12 4 2018 Sep 14 70 12 4 2018 Sep 15 70 10 3 2018 Sep 16 70 12 4 2018 Sep 17 70 8 3 2018 Sep 18 70 5 2 2018 Sep 19 70 5 2 2018 Sep 20 70 5 2 2018 Sep 21 70 5 2 2018 Sep 22 70 12 4 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1945, DXLD) The storm is over Earth's magnetic field is quieting, finally, almost 48 hours after a surprisingly strong [illustrated, big green auora] https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2018/08/27/surprise-geomagnetic-storm/ geomagnetic storm sparked auroras seen from the Arctic Circle to the continental USA. http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=147628 [gallery of a few blue-green aurora shots] Arctic sky watchers should nevertheless remain alert for auroras. Earth is passing through a stream of high-speed solar wind, and according to NOAA there is a 40% chance of renewed minor storms on Aug. 28th. SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids (via Mike Terry, 0620 UT Aug 28, WOR iog via DXLD) ###