DX LISTENING DIGEST 18-41, October 8, 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 1951 contents: Antarctica, Australia, Bhutan, Bougainville, Brasil, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, Guatemala, Indonesia, Korea South, Madagascar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Russia, USA; and the propagation outlook SHORTWAVE AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1951, October 9-15, 2018 Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 [confirmed] Tue 0100 WRMI 9955 Tue 2030 WRMI 7780 [confirmed] Wed 1030 WRMI 5950 Wed 2100 WRMI 9955 [confirmed] Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v [confirmed] Sat 0630 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio [not last 3 weeks] Sat 1231 WINB 9265 via Unique Radio Sat 1431 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio [not last 3 weeks] Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sun 0300v WA0RCR 1860-AM [nominal 0315-] Sun 1030 HLR 9485-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio [not last 3 weeks] Sun 2130 WRMI 7780 9955 Mon 0300v WBCQ 5130v-AM Area 51 Mon 0330 WRMI 9955 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) Thanks also to Jacques for assisting with formatting of .txt original ** ABKHAZIA. See GEORGIA ** AFGHANISTAN. Hi all, good signal of Radio Afghanistan on 6100 kHz (Urdu program - 1615 UT) with local music. 73's (Franck Baste, France, - (IC-756 pro III - Dipole 2 X 10m.), Oct 6, BDXC-news iog via DXLD) Radio Afghanistan from 1700 to 1730 broadcasts in Russian at a frequency of 6100 kHz. Site of the national radio and television of Afghanistan (English version). The audio stream with the name "93 FM" on the site works during broadcast hours. ftp://ftp.radio.ru/pub/2018/10/25.pdf (via RusDX Oct 7 via DXLD) ** ALASKA {and non]. HAARP's WSPR Research Campaign Yields Hundreds of Reports on 40 and 80 Meters Just-completed research at the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) transmitters in Gakona, Alaska, successfully took advantage of the WSPR digital protocol and the Weak Signal Propagation Reporter Network (WSPRnet) on July 30 through August 1. University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Space Physics Group researcher and HAARP Chief Scientist Chris Fallen, KL3WX, told ARRL that the research -- HAARP's fourth research campaign under management of the University of Alaska Fairbanks -- went well. The HAARP WSPR spots map. [illustration] "My 'citizen science' experiments were funded by the National Science Foundation and were conducted for approximately 30 minutes at the end of each campaign day," Fallen said. "They consisted of 2-minute transmissions using the WSPR digital mode in the 40- and 80-meter bands, with a 2-minute off period between transmissions." He said HAARP transmitted in full-carrier, double-sideband AM because it does not have SSB capability. HAARP operated under its Part 5 Experimental license, WI2XFX, with Special Temporary Authority (STA) from the FCC to transmit on amateur bands. "I systematically varied the HAARP transmission parameters, such as gain, net power, beam direction, and polarization, to see how they affected the reception reports collected in the WSPRnet.org database," Fallen said. "During the 3 days, we gathered more than 300 confirmed reports of signal strength and location from nearly 100 unique participants throughout Canada and the US." Fallen said the spots, collected along with the corresponding HAARP transmission parameters, are available online, (1) and (2). He said the spreadsheet at the second link is editable by the public, "specifically by citizen scientists who want to manually add their spot or other interesting data analysis," he added. "In this sense, the experiment continues." He said that HAARP's low-elevation transmissions on 40 meters resulted in the greatest number of spots. "The most distant spot was located at grid EL96xi, near Boca Ratón, Florida, reported by W1NEJ, from a distance of 6,154 kilometers," Fallen said. "Interestingly, HAARP was aimed in the magnetic west direction during that spot." HAARP and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico are planning to conduct heating campaigns this fall, Fallen noted, although not at the same time, as experimenters are shared (cr- ARRL, via Arctic & Antarctic DX, Oct CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** ANGUILLA [non]. Satellites: 97°W Galaxy-19 12115-V/22425 Msps ---University Network with Decidedly Deceased Dr Gene pontificating deep thoughts as only he could do. Remember when he sounded crazy? He’s downright SANE compared to the current crop of radio preachers! 480i SD signal. 51% and steady; QPSK/MPEG2 compression 0245-0300 as Gary and I took a break from radio – to be honest, we were hoping to catch PMS, but this brought back some good memories anyway! 30/Sep-(Kenneth Vito Zichi, Port Hope MI2, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. 15475.97, 1412-1447, 03-10 [Wed], on air again since I heard it last time on 24-08 [Fri]. No audio, and no carrier here in Lugo, but fair signal via remote receiver SDR Kiwi Pardinho, Sao Paulo, songs, female, Spanish, comments"Esperanza Antártida, estamos de vuelta", "Escuchamos una canción", "La Radio de todos", "Repertorio de chistes", 1436: " Nos despedimos desde nuestra querida radio LRA 36, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Esperanza Antártida, la radio de todos, chao, chao",1437: non stop songs. 35433.ANTARCTICA, LRA 36, 15475.97, closed at 1500 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Log via remote receiver SDR Kiwi Pardinho, Sao Paulo, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Manuel, Thank you very much for this updated info. Perhaps with the (new?) 1500 UT sign off time, it might be possible for me to again hear them. Years ago they also had a 1500 UT sign off time and reception was possible here in California (2010 log below). Worth checking for them again. Today my local sunrise was at 1402 UT. Ron - - - - My log from 2010: 15476.0, LRA36 (presumed), 1432-1500*, June 22 (Tuesday). Another day of above threshold level reception! In Spanish; LA pop songs in Spanish; 1457 rock & roll song in English; ToH seemed to be ID; transmitter off at 1502 (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 5055, Radio 4KZ, noted Oct 3, with 1152:18*. Last checked Sept 7, with 1154:31* (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) 5055, Radio 4KZ, Innisfail, 0715-0723, 05-10, very weak carrier detected, path via Pacific, America and Atlantic. Checked the signal via remote SDR Kiwi receiver in Brisbane, Australia, on air with songs and comments in English, fair signal (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5055, Radio 4KZ, 0918+, Oct 5. "Right here on 4KZ"; today able to ID most of the pop songs (John Denver - "Annie's Song" ["You Fill Up My Senses"], Foreigner - "Waiting For A Girl Like You," Beatles - "Obladi Oblada," Steve Winwood - "Higher Love," Kim Carnes - "Bette Davis Eyes," Gary Lewis & the Playboys - "This Diamond Ring," Dodie Stevens - "Pink Shoe Laces," etc.); at times the news segments and commercial announcements were almost semi-readable. 5055, Radio 4KZ, on Oct 7, noted cut off at 1151:57*; lasted checked Oct 3, with 1152:18* (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) So precessed 21 seconds earlier in 4 days from Oct 3 to 7, or averaging 5.25 seconds per diem. Over a much longer span, 26 days from Sept 7 to 33, it slipped 133 seconds earlier, or 5.115+ seconds per diem, so a very close match (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. Crisis at ABC Australia Excellent article in The Age (Melbourne) https://www.theage.com.au/national/the-barbarians-are-not-at-the-gate-they-re-in-the-building-20181001-p50728.html (via John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY (USA), Oct 6, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) The barbarians are not at the gate; they’re in the building' In the months before managing director Michelle Guthrie was sacked, the ABC was at war with itself. Then, all hell broke loose. By Jane Cadzow, 6 October 2018 https://www.theage.com.au/national/the-barbarians-are-not-at-the-gate-they-re-in-the-building-20181001-p50728.html Michelle Guthrie's sacking as ABC managing director followed months of fighting over how best to run the national broadcaster. Credit:AAP Michelle Guthrie wanted to make one thing clear. “I love my job,” she said when we met one winter morning at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s inner-Sydney head office. Granted, being managing director and editor-in-chief of the ABC at one of the most turbulent times in its history was a big responsibility. But the perks! “Had a conversation the other night with Laura Tingle,” she said, referring to the chief political correspondent for the ABC TV current affairs program, 7.30. “I mean, who gets to do that?” Guthrie laughed, and I looked at her closely, wondering for a moment whether she was sending herself up. I had asked her how she was coping with the stress. Even then, long before she was sacked by ABC board chairman Justin Milne, who then made his own dramatic exit, it seemed a reasonable question. In the more than two years Guthrie had been running the ABC, the national broadcaster had reeled from crisis to crisis – its budget slashed, its journalism slammed, its value to the Australian people questioned. But she dismissed any suggestion that she allowed this stuff to get to her, insisting that despite the ride’s bumpiness, she was having fun. She gave another example of an exhilarating encounter: a couple of days earlier, she had been leaving the office to catch a plane to Canberra when she spotted Dylan Alcott, champion wheelchair athlete and ABC Radio Triple J presenter. She introduced herself and chatted to Alcott for a few minutes before climbing into her cab. “I get energy from amazing people like Dylan,” she said, adding that she had a spring in her step for the rest of her journey. “I sort of skipped through the airport. It was fantastic.” Guthrie’s words now seem almost poignant. At the time, her exuberance just struck me as odd. It was as if the small and personable woman beaming across the ABC’s boardroom table was speaking to me from some other plane – one that was slightly out of kilter with reality. In May, the federal Liberal-National Coalition government had announced a three-year indexation freeze on ABC funding – in effect an $84 million cut to the broadcaster’s budget. This followed a $254 million funding cut imposed in 2014 under the then Coalition prime minister, Tony Abbott. More than 1000 ABC jobs had been scrapped over four years, along with many fine programs. I knew the mood of the remaining 4000 employees was considerably less upbeat than Guthrie’s. “People have never been more demoralised,” said journalist Matt Peacock, who left the broadcaster in 2017 after a long career. Gaven Morris, the ABC’s director of news, analysis and investigations, told me of the impact of the ongoing threat of redundancy: “People will say to you, ‘I love this place. I love what we do here. I think the ABC is crucial. But will I be here next year?’” Of course, none of us know for sure where we’ll be next year, or whether we will be here at all. I was reminded of that when I saw Guthrie at a memorial service in August for the brilliant ABC journalist, Liz Jackson. As Jackson’s friends and colleagues watched highlights from her two decades of award-winning reporting for the ABC’s flagship TV current affairs program, Four Corners, the sense of loss in the darkened auditorium was keen. If there was also despair in the air, it may have been because Jackson’s death in June at the age of 67 came less than a fortnight after the Liberal Party’s federal council voted in favour of privatising the ABC. Jackson, with her clear-eyed intelligence and courage, seemed the embodiment of all that was admirable about the ABC. Suddenly she was gone, and to some who had gathered to pay tribute to her, the existence of the ABC itself felt threatened. Jane Connors, the staff representative on the ABC board, told me a few days later that she got together with retrenched colleagues after the service, and found herself overcome by a wave of melancholy – “a sad feeling that we’d been mourning not only for Liz but for another time, when the ABC was more confident about its raison d’être and its place in the world”. Guthrie scoffed good-naturedly when I referred to low staff morale. “You’re not getting out and about enough, clearly,” she said, pointing to the creation of 80 new jobs in the ABC’s 40-something country offices. She had been visiting the regions, she said, and in Lismore and Kalgoorlie, for instance, employees had made plain to her that they couldn’t be happier. “I don’t think we have a morale problem,” she told me in a bright, firm voice. Michelle Guthrie was sacked halfway into her five-year appointment – and the "fire storm" at the top of the ABC would claim another victim. Credit: AAP [caption] A delegation arrived at Guthrie’s office on the 14th floor of ABC headquarters at 8.55am on the last Monday in September. Nine days earlier, the then-board chairman, Justin Milne, had suggested to her that she resign. She had refused. Now Milne – accompanied by three other people: fellow board member Jane Connors and two ABC executives – presented her with a letter of dismissal. The meeting was short, and within about an hour Guthrie had left the premises. Later in the day, she issued a statement saying she was devastated and considering legal action. After all, she was only halfway through her five-year term. In the community, the main reaction seemed to be a mixture of bafflement and exasperation: what, we’re toppling ABC managing directors now, as well as prime ministers? For ABC employees, Guthrie’s ousting triggered a jangling range of emotions: elation, sorrow, relief, wariness. A former senior staffer recalled an afternoon tea the ABC hosted in Canberra last year to launch the behind-the-scenes documentary TV series The House with Annabel Crabb. He said the invitation list included the half-dozen or so members of the ABC production team that made the series, as well as those denizens of Parliament House – from cabinet ministers to cleaners – who had appeared in it. Some time before the event, an edict came from Guthrie’s office: the ABC crew, apart from series star Crabb and its producer, were to be uninvited. Crabb protested, saying she would cover the cost of her colleagues’ attendance if necessary, but her offer was knocked back. The rationale seemed to be that, whoever paid, it would look bad: why hand politicians the opportunity to accuse the ABC of wasting taxpayers’ money on cups of tea and biscuits for its staff? “It gives you a bit of insight into the way Michelle thinks,” said the former staffer. The crew members ended up attending anyway, he added, because the order that they stay away was judged too insulting to be relayed to them. Not that Guthrie could be blamed for being jumpy. Ruling political parties traditionally have fractious relationships with the ABC. “Governments don’t like an independent broadcaster. Of course they don’t,” says Richard Glover, presenter of the afternoon drive program on ABC Radio Sydney. But longtime Canberra-watchers agree that the current government has taken hostilities to a new level. Besides cutting funds, it has subjected the ABC to a seemingly endless series of reviews and inquiries. “It’s harassment,” says Ranald Macdonald, national spokesperson for citizens’ support network ABC Friends. In addition, Coalition ministers have fired off a barrage of accusations of left-wing bias and shoddy journalism. “I don’t remember any government sustaining the onslaught so strongly for so long,” Michelle Grattan, chief political correspondent for news and commentary website The Conversation, has written. The day after Guthrie was fired, it was reported that she had been unable to rely on Justin Milne’s support in withstanding political pressure. In fact Milne, a close friend and one-time business associate of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, had reportedly ordered her to succumb to it on at least one occasion. In May, when still the holder of the nation’s top office, Turnbull had sent the ABC a list of grievances about an article exploring the government’s research and innovation spending, written by chief economics correspondent Emma Alberici for the ABC News site. Guthrie reportedly outlined the complaints to Milne, who replied in a leaked email: “They [the government] hate her … Get rid of her. We need to save the ABC – not Emma.” Alberici kept her job. Guthrie and Milne would not keep theirs. When I began researching this story, I expected to write a straightforward account of the ABC’s efforts to repel the forces arrayed against it. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield – whose office did not respond to requests for an interview – had denied that selling off the national broadcaster was on the government’s agenda, but it seemed to Geraldine Doogue, presenter of Saturday Extra on ABC Radio National, that the Liberals’ privatisation vote could not be more ominous. “I was depressed overnight and then I was furious,” Doogue said of her reaction to the ballot. “I thought, ‘My god, we are in new territory here.’” Adding to the sense that it was open season on the national broadcaster, newspapers in the News Corp stable were campaigning against the ABC even more energetically than usual, publishing a steady stream of critical articles. “You put all those things together,” said the ABC’s editorial director, Alan Sunderland, “and it looks like we are fighting battles on a number of fronts.” It turned out to be more complicated than that. “The outside attacks serve to deflect attention from the inside upheaval,” said veteran broadcaster Phillip Adams. An ABC TV executive producer blamed the funding cuts for some of the unrest: “When people are under pressure, and in competition for diminishing resources, that’s going to make them turn on each other to a certain extent,” she said. “My peers and I feel that we’re under siege from the government.” But the major source of internal tension? “We feel we are under siege from our own management,” the TV producer said. “So it feels very bunker-like.” A recently departed radio producer put it like this: “The barbarians are not at the gate; they’re actually in the building.” Guthrie, 52, had been appointed to the $900,000-a-year ABC post in 2015, after a stint as a Singapore-based Google executive. A lawyer by training, she had spent 14 years in Rupert Murdoch’s global pay-TV empire – working for BSkyB in London and for Foxtel in her home town of Sydney before taking over from Rupert’s younger son, James, as the Hong Kong-based chief executive of Asian network, Star TV. Heading the ABC made her a public figure for the first time in her career. People recognised her everywhere, she told me. “I get a lot of, ‘Thank you for doing your job. You’re doing a great service for Australia.’” She had fans within the ABC, too. “There are pockets within the organisation who think she is fantastic,” said Sinddy Ealy, secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union’s ABC section. But Ealy was aware of widespread disaffection: “There is just this really strong feeling that the leadership is not very good.” Her regretful tone was echoed by Norman Swan, presenter of Radio National’s Health Report and a recipient of Australian journalism’s highest honour, the Gold Walkley. “I like Michelle,” Swan said. “She’s a nice person.” But as managing director? “To be blunt, I just don’t think she is up to the job.” The ABC board was moving towards the same conclusion. As its members held meetings behind closed doors, past and present ABC staffers talked frankly to me about Guthrie and the corporate culture over which she presided. Few of those interviewed held the managing director solely responsible for the malaise afflicting the national broadcaster, but most agreed on one thing: in the lead-up to her removal, the ABC was an organisation on the verge of a nervous breakdown. ABC staff walkout of the Ultimo office over chairman Justin Milne's email to former managing director Michelle Guthrie telling her to sack senior reporter Emma Alberici. Credit: David Porter [caption] In the bunker, people gathered in dejected huddles, wondering which of them would be retrenched next and whether this or that program would survive into the new year. The conversation sometimes turned to ABC Life, a digital site cooked up in something called the Content Ideas Lab as part of a push to broaden the ABC’s appeal. Since its launch in August, headlines had included: “Ways to dress up if you hate (or can’t wear) heels”, “Chicken soup in under 30 minutes” and “Forget the house, who should get the dog after a break-up?” To Guthrie’s detractors, this kind of thing was evidence of her willingness to dumb-down the ABC. In the boardroom, she told me breezily she was giving the audience what it wanted: “When we asked Australians what mattered to them, guess what? It was things like personal finance and gardening and food and travel and ‘How do I have a better life?’” To Gretchen Miller, a radio documentary-maker and presenter who left the ABC last year, it came down to priorities. Staff were being hired for ABC Life even as senior journalists were being sacked from ABC newsrooms. “You take away people who are holding to account our politicians and businesses and the big end of town and you replace them with people telling you how to make pickles,” she said. “It’s a kind of travesty, actually.” Miller had spent 20 years at Radio National, known for its esoteric, thought-provoking programs. “I absolutely loved it,” she said, explaining that she and others tried hard to absorb hits to their budget, hoping to avoid the staff cuts that would inevitably reduce the quality and variety of output. “Management would say, ‘We need to save this money,’ and you’d turn yourself inside out trying to figure out how they could do it without losing people. This whole process would take months. And then the axe would fall.” As programs such as Into the Music, Poetica, Hindsight and 360 Documentaries were chopped from the schedule, Miller grew increasingly disillusioned. “The ABC has been taken over by people who lack imagination and intellect,” she said. “It used to be that you’d bust your arse for the ABC. You’d put in these massive long hours and you were proud to work for the organisation. I know people who destroyed their health for it – I was one of them – but people are less willing now.” Even so, what impressed me about the staff was how deeply they cared about the ABC. They spoke as if they were custodians of a national treasure – and, in a way, they were. The ABC is Australia’s largest and most influential cultural institution, required by its charter to inform, entertain and contribute to a sense of national identity. Having started as a single radio service in 1932, it is now a sprawling media conglomerate: five television channels and more than 60 radio stations – national, metropolitan and regional – as well as a range of digital services, including the ABC News and ABC Life sites and TV on demand. The ABC is in our homes and our cars, on our computers and our mobile phones. It sometimes feels like it’s in our bones. Some former employees were pleased to have escaped – “things are going really well on the outside,” said Miller – but most retained strong emotional ties to the broadcaster. “It’s so much a part of you,” said Marcus Kelson, who had been retrenched from his position as morning news producer in the Canberra bureau. For Kelson, who was adjusting to keeping normal hours after 24 years of setting the alarm for 3 am, working for the ABC had felt like a vocation: “It’s an organisation that attracts that kind of commitment.” He doubted that Michelle Guthrie fully appreciated this. “She doesn’t breathe the ABC,” he said. “She’s brought a business model to it.” Union secretary Sinddy Ealy knew what Kelson meant. “She doesn’t understand the ethos of public broadcasting,” said Ealy, “and I do think that is a really fundamental requirement of the person in charge.” From the start, friction had arisen between long-serving ABC employees and Guthrie’s recruits from the corporate world. “Many of the new regime seem to feel that if you’ve been a public-sector person, you’re a bit of a loser,” said an ABC middle-manager. “Their attitude is that if you’d had any nous and initiative and guts, you would have been in the private sector.” Ealy read it the same way: “A bunch of people have come in who see the ABC as this public-service monolith that needs to be reinvented in the corporate image.” Gretchen Miller said the newcomers’ predilection for “management psychobabble” won them few friends among journalists and program-makers: “There was eye-rolling in meetings, and the managers knew it. I was once told to stop rolling my eyes. I’m quite proud of that.” Guthrie had announced six months into her tenure that with the help of a group of executives known as Think-X – short for “Thinking Experience” – she was going to restructure the broadcaster. What was needed, staff were informed, was “a more strategic, pan-ABC approach to shaping and raising engagement across our three main stakeholder groups – staff, audiences and community”. Huh? Word then came down that the television and radio departments were to be abolished. Personnel would be reorganised into new divisions with puzzling names like “entertainment and specialist” and “regional and local”. I asked Jane Connors, the staff-elected board member and a senior editorial adviser, how the changes had affected her working day. “I’m going to far more meetings, and they’re bigger meetings,” Connors said. “You come out of them and you think, ‘So who does what now?’” A TV producer said: “The reporting lines are really confused. The place is in disarray, really.” For the Health Report’s Norman Swan, the most disturbing aspect of the restructure was the effective dismantling of Radio National, its programs hived off to various divisions, its manager left without editorial authority or budget. “That is not the way you run a broadcast outlet,” said Swan, himself a former manager of the network regarded by many as the jewel in the ABC’s crown. Guthrie prided herself on having thinned management ranks, freeing more funds for program-making and journalism. But to some, the organisation felt as top-heavy as ever. “I think I’ve got more layers of management between me and the managing director than in the past,” said Geraldine Doogue. A frustrated Radio National executive producer said: “There are people locked in offices on the ninth floor who never really appear and don’t seem to have ever got their hands dirty with anything. They just make decisions that you have to abide by. It’s like dealing with the Wizard of Oz.” ABC Economics correspondent Emma Alberici. [caption] Guthrie, too, was said to be next to invisible, rarely entering production areas or speaking directly to employees. She travelled a lot, giving speeches at conferences and attending international broadcasters’ meetings. Last year, she went to China, Sweden, Canada, the US and twice to the UK, at a cost to taxpayers of $62,000. In her own time, she headed frequently to Singapore, where her husband, Australian chef Darren Farr, has a restaurant, and where she sits on the board of a telecommunications company, StarHub. Even when physically present at head office, she often seemed to staff to be strangely disengaged. Several people told me they suspected she had taken on the job without realising exactly what it entailed. “She didn’t understand what an operational role it is,” said one. She claimed to adore leading the ABC but, up close, didn’t appear to embrace the challenge – at least, “not in that roll-your-sleeves-up-from-six-in-the-morning-till-midnight kind of way”. A former senior staffer spoke of Guthrie’s unpredictability: “Sometimes I would see her and ask how she was, and she would completely give me the cold shoulder. Other times she’d be practically embracing you and telling you all these funny stories about something that had happened to her. She was just sort of hot and cold. You never knew what you were going to get.” The same person said Guthrie’s leadership could be erratic: “I’ve seen her get angry about things, saying, ‘Who agreed to this? This is ridiculous.’ And someone would say, ‘Well, you did.’ And she would hit the roof.” As managing director, Guthrie was expected to be the ABC’s chief advocate and lobbyist, firmly focused on keeping funding flowing from the government. But by most accounts, she didn’t enjoy schmoozing the politicians who held the purse-strings. And she reportedly disliked going to Canberra to front the Senate estimates committee charged with keeping tabs on the way the ABC spent the $1 billion allotted to it each year. Under questioning from senators such as the gimlet-eyed Tasmanian Liberal Eric Abetz, apparently resentful of every cent that went the ABC’s way, she often seemed flustered and insufficiently prepped. Staff wistfully compared her to her predecessor, Mark Scott, a forceful champion of the organisation. “Mark knew how to defend the place,” said Geraldine Doogue, who thought those with a taste for ABC-bashing had felt unconstrained since Scott’s departure. “They just go for it, knowing there’ll be no real blowback.” Emma Alberici, one of the ABC’s highest-profile journalists, had been in the government’s sights since February, when she wrote an analytical piece critical of its policy to cut corporate taxes. The piece and an accompanying news story were the subject of complaints by Malcolm Turnbull, the then treasurer (now PM) Scott Morrison and Communications Minister Mitch Fifield. The news story, found to contain errors, was corrected and remained on the ABC News site. But the analytical piece was pulled down and not reposted for more than a week, after it had been substantially revised and Alberici had engaged a lawyer. “The way that was handled by ABC management sent a very bad message to the troops,” said an ABC TV executive producer. “It was a pre-emptory buckle – that’s what it felt like to us.” Radio National’s Norman Swan said the government attacks had put everyone on edge. “What you’ve got now are nervous managers editing really experienced journalists’ copy, and editing the copy in a risk-averse way,” Swan said. “They’re running scared.” On a cold July day in Canberra, I talked to news director Gaven Morris, who was visiting from Sydney to rally reporters in the ABC’s Parliament House press gallery. “I think they’re feeling anxious,” Morris said. “They’re feeling bruised. This recent period has taken a little bit of wind out of our sails.” Every now and then, someone reminded me that the ABC had been a divided and mildly dysfunctional workplace for as long as anyone could remember. “When I arrived, I expected a degree of camaraderie and unity,” said Phillip Adams, presenter of Late Night Live on Radio National for 27 years. “I never found it. There was always a high level of anxiety – people waiting for the next blow to fall and hoping it wasn’t going to be on them.” As ABC Radio Sydney’s Richard Glover said, “It is a media organisation. Journalists always hate the boss and think they’re living under the most miserable of regimes.” A Melbourne radio presenter pointed out that at the ABC, journalists didn’t just hate the boss, but each other. People in television hated radio, who hated news, who hated current affairs and so on. “You’ve got all these little empires,” he said. Doug Spencer, a radio producer who left in 2015 after almost four decades, said, “I’m sure I’m not the only former ABC staffer who at times idly thought to himself, ‘If only I were a satirical novelist. Because there’s so much priceless material here that I wouldn’t have to rewrite.’” Still, discontent had reached debilitating proportions in the past couple of years. An ABC survey in 2017 showed only one in five employees respected their top executives. When the Commonwealth and Public Sector Union conducted its own survey late last year, just 10 per cent of respondents said they trusted the direction in which senior leaders were taking the organisation. Melbourne journalist and academic Margaret Simons, who is writing a book about the ABC’s recent history, told me she had some sympathy for Guthrie. The digital revolution had completely disrupted the media industry, Simons said. “The way in which people consume media content has changed fundamentally. And exactly how to navigate all that is seriously difficult. Michelle could have been the best managing director in the world and she would still have had trouble.” A decade ago, 1.2 million people in the mainland capital cities watched Liz Jackson’s Four Corners report on the end of John Howard’s prime ministership. Earlier this year, Four Corners’ dissection of the end of Malcolm Turnbull’s prime ministership drew a mainland-capitals audience of only 780,000. Turnbull’s political demise was no less interesting than Howard’s, but so-called “appointment viewing” – watching shows at the times they are listed in the TV guide – is on the slide. Media analysts predict that within a generation, traditional TV watching and radio listening will have gone by the board, Australians instead tuning into all their favourite programs online. Michelle Guthrie arrives at her Pyrmont home in Sydney on September 26, the day after she was sacked. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer [caption] Understandably, Guthrie saw it as her urgent duty to refashion the ABC for the digital era. But some thought she acted as if the future had already arrived. Lucky Oceans is the Perth-based, Grammy award-winning musician who presented The Daily Planet radio program for 21 years. In late 2016, he learnt it was one of several music shows about to be dropped from the Radio National line-up, and that he was one of eight people who would lose their jobs. When Guthrie visited the Perth office a couple of weeks later, and concerned staff asked about the cuts, she reportedly said: “I hate to break it to you, but this is a very small decision for me.” Oceans told me he vividly remembered Guthrie “raising her voice and saying, ‘What would you do? AM radio is dead!’” The truth is, ABC radio – both AM and FM – is very much alive: five million Australians tune in to it every week. Even more of us – as many as 12.3 million – watch ABC TV each week. By comparison, the number who use the ABC’s digital services – visit an ABC site or use an ABC app – is modest: eight million over four weeks. Some ABC staffers told me they worried that adapting to technological change had become management’s priority, ahead of producing the highest quality content. A Radio National presenter said young, digital-savvy recruits on low wages and short contracts could not plug the gaps left by the exodus of skilled program-makers and journalists. “They know a lot about the digital world,” the presenter said of the new hires, “but they don’t know a lot about writing a story.” In Guthrie’s ABC, youth seemed to many to be favoured over experience. “There’s a lot of slagging-off of older staff,” said an editorial middle-manager. “If you’re over 45, ‘You just don’t get it. You’re not going to be up to it, and the sooner you’re shuffled off the better.’” When the Coalition government started lopping the ABC’s budget in 2014, management introduced a retrenchment method that became known as the Hunger Games, after the book and film series in which teenagers were forced to fight one another to the death. In the ABC version, which continued under Guthrie, employees with similar skill-sets and pay grades were grouped into pools and told that one or more of them would lose their jobs. “The way they were pitted against their colleagues was on their digital capabilities,” said Katelin McInerney, director of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) media section. “You had a lot of people who were shocked and hurt.” Guthrie’s response to en masse misery was to fly staff around the country to workshops on “ABC principles” and “leadership transformation”. She and her leadership team wrote group emails exhorting everyone to keep up their wonderful work. “Absolute fantasy,” marvelled a longtime employee. “It’s as if they’re on drugs, or refined sociopaths. They sack staffer after staffer, and send out emails as if they were Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.” Last month, employees were issued with thank-you cards they could give colleagues who demonstrated qualities valued at the ABC. The cards featured a fictional character called Larry wearing a delighted grin and a T-shirt with the ABC logo on the front. The range included an “Open & Transparent” Larry card, a “People-Focused” Larry card and a “Straight-Talking” Larry card. Matt Peacock had got to know Guthrie during his time as the staff-elected board member, and he had a lot of time for her. But when he learnt about the Larry cards, he was incredulous. “So stupid,” he said. “If you set out to deliberately alienate staff, you could hardly do better.” Gretchen Miller, appalled, fired off an email to Guthrie. “Your organisation is sick and someone needs to tell you this,” she wrote. As I was finishing this story, the pent-up angst I had seen inside the ABC burst into the headlines. Guthrie’s sacking was just the start. Justin Milne quit as board chairman a few days later, after reports emerged that he had urged Guthrie to appease the government by firing not only Emma Alberici but ABC political editor Andrew Probyn – orders which, if given (Milne denied it), Guthrie had not followed. As the drama unfolded, a friend at the ABC sent me a message. “We are all gobsmacked,” it said. In the end, Guthrie had lost the support of both her staff and the board, but perhaps somewhere deep down, beneath the corporate claptrap and the chicken soup recipes, she had more grit than anyone realised. I remembered something she said in our original conversation: “We’re not here to please governments of either side. We hold governments to account: that’s what we do.” It occurred to me that someone – maybe Laura Tingle – should send her a Larry card. To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald or The Age (via John Figliozzi, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) Don't miss to scroll down to the photo "Michelle Guthrie arrives at her Pyrmont home in Sydney on September 26, the day after she was sacked". It is a really great catch. (And in case someone finds such remarks displeasing: I'm sorry, but in my opinion is taking such a reception included in salaries like the almost full million per year that had been paid to Ms. Guthrie.) A key sentence in this article is the mention of ABC staffers being "worried that adapting to technological change had become management’s priority, ahead of producing the highest quality content". One does not need to foresee the future development of the media landscape to know one thing for shure: It needs highest quality content to survive in the digital world. And ABC management does not grasp this? Well, then: Good luck! So far I had also not noticed that yet another budget cut came in May. Consider this and the remark of Australia's new prime minister about the ABC websites now being blocked in China (he said that the ABC is financed "for broadcasting in Australia"): What in the world is the foundation of all the current hopes for revived shortwave broadcasts? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 6, WOR iog via DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. QSLs ============================ Bangladesh Betar 13580 kHz Full data card, letter & sked in 3 months for an e-mail report with audio file for a reception made in northern Russia on 6/21. Report sent to rrc@dhaka.net V/s Abu Tabib Md. Zia Hasan, Senior Engineer. First new country verified in a long, long time (Don Hosmer, West Branch MI, ICOM IC-7200, CommRadio Cr-1a &/or XHData D-808 radios with G5RV dipoles & W6LVP loop, MARE Tipsheet Oct 5 via DXLD) ** BHUTAN. Log 1130-1255 UT in remote New Delhi India rx SDR unit, on Oct 2nd. 6035.000, Bhutan BS from Thimphu in like Nepalese/Tibetan sing-sang language (not PBS Yunnan-CHN Vietnamese). S=9 up to +5dB strength signal carrier, but little low modulated audio [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6035, since Sept 24, the PBS Yunnan relay of FM99, has been silent on this frequency. Also PBS Yunnan on 7210 has been off the air since then. Are they really gone from SW? A week, I guess, is not enough time to tell? BTW - 7210 is now a mess, with the mixing of a fairly strong Sound of Hope (Taiwan), along with a weaker Voice of Vietnam 1, noted Oct 2, from 1127+ (Ron Howard, San Francisco, WOR iog via DXLD) Re 18-40: 6035, BBS, 1127 till cut off at 1142*, Oct 3. Just as I heard on Sept 26, today was in vernacular (definitely not in the scheduled English); searched the web and found the answer as to what I have been hearing 11+ UT; Bhutan will soon be holding the second round of the third parliamentary elections (national assembly), so BBS is having special broadcasts of the public debates; per http://www.bbs.bt/na2018/ "1st Debate Airing - 5.00 PM to 6.00 PM" (1100-1200 UT); corresponding to what I have been hearing. The PBS Yunnan relay of FM99 (China) remains off the air here. 6035, BBS, 1113 till cut off at 1148*, Oct 4. Continuing with pre-election coverage of the public debates; another day with no PBS Yunnan relay of FM99 (China); above threshold level audio. My poor quality audio at http://goo.gl/ifaJgB 6035, BBS, 1101+, Oct 5. Start of a pre-election debate, including a woman candidate; assume was Tshering Choden speaking, a candidate from Khar Yurung constituency, in the Pemagatshel District; better reception than yesterday; today with an earlier than normal cut off time. PBS Yunnan relay of FM99 (China) continues silent here, which is great for better Bhutan reception. 6035, BBS, 1053 till cut off at 1141*, Oct 7. Thanks very much to Rob Shepherd (Australia), for the alert to BBS's change of schedule for the segment in English; today confirmed English 1053-1100 (now must be in English 1000-1100, whereas formerly was 1100-1200); mostly playing pop songs (Lionel Richie - "Say You Say Me" and Berlin - "Take My Breath Away"); the change, which may just be temporary, is probably due to Bhutan's upcoming elections and BBS's special pre-election coverage of the various debates; taking the place of the former English from 1100+; today 1100-1141* was a debate in vernacular between two candidates, along with a moderator (only the three voices heard the whole time); today was one of their best receptions so far; PBS Yunnan relay of FM99 (China) continues silent here (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 3310, Oct 2 at 0127, M&W conversation, uncertain language, presumed R. Mosoj Chaski, Quechua? I had long given up hearing this one due to a local mixing product of KGWA 960 x 2 plus KCRC 1390, but now the audio does not match either one of them. To boot, has ACI from 3308-USB, probably MARS (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3310, Radio Mosoj Chaski, Cotapachi, 0153-0205, 05-10, Bolivian songs in Quechua, flute, Quechua comments. 25322. (Méndez) 6134.8, Radio Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 0153-0206, 05-10, Bolivian songs with flute music, Spanish, comments. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOUGAINVILLE. Log 0915-1120 UT Oct 2 in remote Brisbane Queensland Australia rx SDR unit: 3325.000, PNG, NBC Bougainville, Pidgin program at 0933 UT on Oct 2. S=9+5dB or -70dBm, wideband audio of 10 kHz range! [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3325, NBC Bougainville (Maus Blong Sankamap), Oct 3, from 1052+. Mixing very badly with Voice of Indonesia also on frequency; whereas Oct 4, at 1047 found the frequency clear of either station. 3325, NBC Bougainville (Maus Blong Sankamap), 1025, on Oct 5. "NBC Bougainville" ID; mostly in Pidgin; coverage from some "festival" with speech via loudspeaker (poor audio) and background sounds; important public service announcement in English from NBC and the health dept. - from Oct 1 to 14, all children under 15 must get vaccinated against polio. PNG polio info at http://goo.gl/xAMRdw and my audio of PSA at http://goo.gl/T6zjAN by 1137, NBC was off the air; today never heard Voice of Indonesia here, so no QRM. [non-log]. 3325, NBC Bougainville (Maus Blong Sankamap), Oct 7, heard no signal 1003+; clearly off the air today (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 3375 kHz, Rádio Municipal quer reativar ondas tropicais de 90 metros. Ainda em Outubro 2018!!!!!! Conversei com o senhor Anisio Gregori o novo gerente da Rádio Municipal; ele disse que queimou o transmissor más vai voltar!!! Anisio Gregori: "boa tarde, amigo, eu assumir a Radio municipal eu sou o novo gerente, ja estou tomando as providencias" . Anisio Gregori: "certo amigo agredito eu ate outra semana estaremos colocando no ar". https://youtu.be/HX_2OIF81Hg 73 (Daniel Wyllyans, October 5, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) i.e., 3375, ZYF276, 1 kW, R. Municipal, São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas as in WRTH 2018, not daggered as inactive. A little more text on the YT video says in translation that the tropical transmitter burned up a year ago and previous managers did nothing about it (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4895 kHz, Rádio Novo Tempo - Campo Grande / MS --- New broadcasting Rádio Novo Tempo 4895 Tropical Band 0900 UT at 2000 UT. (Day in Brazil). For Amazônia Legal States in Brazil. FM and Tropical Band . (MW Migration for FM). https://youtu.be/bvOQ-Ro91J8 73 (Daniel Wyllyans. Hard-Core-DX mailing list. via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Máxima 6940 is ON 24 times today and day 05 day 06 and day 07 (Daniel Wyllyans, 0320 UT Oct 5, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) times presumably means hours Presumably about a Brazilian pirate but not explicitly (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. News: Free radio and pirate from Brazil Paulo Rádio is ON in 16005 kHz of city São Mateus do Maranhão - Brasil App: Rádio Casa 8000 is ON in short wave and google play app. News photos free radio and pirate: https://dxbrazilsw.blogspot.com/2018/09/lista-emissoras-livres-ondas-curtas-do.html?m=1 (Daniel Wyllyans, Oct 3, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 9835 kHz, Rádio Global Hits - Cordeirópolis / SP Brasil Passando música do Scorpion. Rock recebido as 2208 UT, Dia 03 Outubro 2018 (Muitos horários tenho interferência da emissora da Malásia em ondas curtas em 9835) https://youtu.be/PJJJID1SB18 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. News: Rádios Livres Ondas Curtas Brasil Facebook: Rádio Fronteira 10240 kHz https://www.facebook.com/fronteira.estacao (Postam para amigos. Envie pedido de amizade) Facebook: Rádio Cidade Oldies 9290 kHz https://www.facebook.com/ramos.figueiredo.56 (Postam para amigos. Envie pedido de amizade) Facebook página: Curta e dê like para Rádio Máxima 8095 kHz https://www.facebook.com/116842288908623/posts/247300125862838/ Mais fotos adicionadas: Studio Rádio Máxima 8095 kHz, TX Rádio Rock 8065 kHz https://dxbrazilsw.blogspot.com/2018/09/lista-emissoras-livres-ondas-curtas-do.html?m=1 73 (Daniel Wyllyans, Oct 6, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 11780, Radio Nacional da Amazonia at 1102 in Portuguese with a man with sign-on announcements with mentions of “Radio Nacional”, “Radiobras”, and a full “Radio Nacional do Brasil” ID and mentions that they play “A musica do Brasil” - Fair to Good Oct 5 This was not on before 1100 and, since Glenn Hauser has noted they are not on after 0300, their broadcast day can be safely assumed to have returned to 1100 to 0300. Whether they stay on 11780 all day or revert to 6180 at some times, or take a break from broadcasting on shortwave, will have to be confirmed by DXers closer to Brazil who can monitor the station longer during daylight hours (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. [after the usual 4,5,6,9 MHz stations; fully in WOR iog] 11815, R. Brasil Central, Goiânia GO, 1216-1235, 03/10. Noticiário; 25442, mas isto reflecte o geral, não o áudio, que tem estado cada vez mais fraco. Algo de anormal corre para os lados da Brasil Central. 11856.9, R. Aparecida, Aparecida SP, 1125-1230, 03/10. Informações várias, propag. relig., campanha eleitoral, conversa; 25342, QRM adj. após as 1200. 11895.2, R. Boa Vontade, Pt.º Alegre RS, 1117-..., 04/10. Texto; 14341, QRM adjacente. 11934.9, R. Evangelizar, Curitiba PR, 2025-2035, 02/10. Canções relig.; 34342, QRM adjacente. 15190.1, R. Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte MG, 1312-..., 02/10. Informações, dedicatórias musicais, ..., noticiário de futebol; 35443 (Carlos Gonçalves, SW coast of Portugal, Oct 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11815, Radio Brasil Central, Goiânia, 0844-0915, 05-10, Brazilian sons, Portuguese, comments, “Brasil Sertanejo”. 24322. 11856.8, Radio Aparecida, Aparecida, 020-2035, 04-10, Portuguese, religious comments, ID “Radio Aparecida”. 23322. 11895.1, Radio Boa Vontade, Porto Alegre, 2010-2023, 04-10, Portuguese, religious comments. 13221. 11934.9, Radio RB2, Curitiba, 2016-2023, 04-10, Portuguese, religious comments. 23322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 15189.9, Radio Inconfidencia, Belo Horizonte, 1450-1508, 05-10, Portuguese, comments, ID at 1500: "Rede Inconfidencia de Radio", "Conexao Inconfidencia". 15321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Lugo, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So varies plus and minus from 15190; see logs above, below (gh) ** BRAZIL. 11856.86, Oct 7 at 0059, R. Aparecida is way off-frequency again, VP with Brazuguese talk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11856.8, Radio Aparecida, Aparecida, 0925-0947, 07-10, Portuguese, religious comments, “6 horas 30 minutos horario de Brasilia, Radio Aparecida”, Brazilian songs, “música setaneja”. 24322. 15190.1, Radio Inconfidencia, Belo Horizonte, 0925-0945, 07-10, program “Trem Caipira”, “O melhor da música de raiz”, id. “Rede Inconfidencia de Radio, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil”, “Inconfidencia, Trem Caipira”. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. "Brazil Postpones Beginning of DST --- Published 4-Oct-2018 https://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/brazil-postpones-dst-2018.html The Brazilian authorities have moved the beginning of Daylight Saving [sic] Time (DST) from November 4 to November 18, 2018 to avoid interference with a nationwide university exam. According to the announcement, the DST period in Brazil will begin at 00:00 (12:00 midnight) on November 18, 2018. The clock change was initially scheduled for November 4. Clock changes in Brazil Only some parts of Brazil have time changes (see below). Clocks in these areas will be advanced by 1 hour as DST begins. Avoid Interference with University Exam The deferral is designed to prevent the clock change from coinciding with the Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (ENEM), a nationwide high school exam scheduled for November 4-11. The beginning of DST shortens the night by one hour, resulting in less sleep, potential health risks, and putting even more strain on students trying to prepare for Brazil's most important university entrance exam. States Using DST in Brazil Only some Brazilian states observe yearly clock changes. They are: São Paulo Rio de Janeiro Distrito Federal Santa Catarina Paraná Goiás Rio Grande do Sul Mato Grosso Do Sul Espírito Santo Minas Gerais Mato Grosso (with some exceptions) Brazil has four time zones, stretching from UTC-2 to UTC-5 (standard time): UTC-2: includes areas such as the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. UTC-3: this is largest time zone, comprising eastern and central areas, and including all states bordering the Atlantic coast (except some islands), from Pará and Amapá in the north to Rio Grande do Sul in the south; includes the Brazilian Federal District with the capital Brasília. UTC-4: includes the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rondônia, Roraima, and most of Amazonas. UTC-5: comprises the state of Acre and the westernmost part of Amazonas (west of Tabatinga / Porto Acre)." (via Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, WOR iog via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. No more U.S. Super Bowl ads, but access to U.S. stations remains under USMCA trade deal -- CRTC impacts from new NAFTA New post on Fagstein Fagstein | October 2, 2018 at 1:32 pm | Tags: NAFTA, QVC | URL: https://wp.me/p3h6vJ-54W (via Eric Floden, Oct 5, DXLD) Viz.: I was a bit busy yesterday in the middle of a Quebec newsplosion, but fortunately people in the rest of Canada (Globe and Mail, Financial Post, CBC, BNN, Michael Geist, Cartt.ca) had time to read the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and notice an annex that directly impacts the CRTC and Canadian TV viewers. Annex 15-D of the agreement is very specific: “Canada shall rescind Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2016-334 and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2016-335.” It doesn’t use the words, but that policy is about ad substitution during the Super Bowl. It’s the policy (originally announced in 2015) that said Bell could not require TV providers in Canada [to] substitute its signal over those of U.S. border stations during the game because of Canadians’ strong demand for those high-profile U.S. commercials. Bell has been trying hard since 2015 to get that decision overturned, going all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada. The NFL has been on their side, because without simsub, the value of the Super Bowl rights in Canada plummets. Now, thanks to the NFL’s lobbying of U.S. trade negotiators, the Canadian government will step in and solve the problem for them. The annex doesn’t specify a timeframe, but presumably it would happen when the treaty is ratified, which may or may not come before the next Super Bowl in February. Putting this in the trade deal gives the Canadian government and the CRTC some cover. The Canadian government can say they were forced into this by the U.S. government, and the CRTC can blame the Canadian government when people go back to complaining to it that U.S. ads are blocked. This also could have ended much worse for Canadian TV viewers. This trade deal could have ended the entire practice of allowing U.S. over-the-air stations to be rebroadcast in Canada without their consent. There was lobbying from a coalition of U.S. border stations in favour of requiring retransmission consent. Instead, the existing simsub regime will be maintained, and rebroadcasting through TV distributors allowed (but only when the signal is unaltered and simultaneous). Assuming this deal is ratified, it could be decades before the simsub regime changes. And by then it could be completely irrelevant. UPDATE (Oct. 6): Donald Trump amazingly brought up this clause in a campaign rally on Thursday night, saying a “big big problem” with Super Bowl ads was fixed when he told his negotiators to fix it. He said he got a phone call thanking him from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. And let QVC in, too The annex also includes a provision related specifically to QVC: “Canada shall ensure that U.S. programming services specializing in home shopping, including modified versions of these U.S. programming services for the Canadian market, are authorized for distribution in Canada and may negotiate affiliation agreements with Canadian cable, satellite, and IPTV distributors.” In 2016, the CRTC denied an application by TV provider VMedia to allow it to distribute the American shopping channel in Canada. It argued that since QVC would be doing business with Canadians, and that’s the very basis for that channel, “QVC would be carrying on a broadcasting undertaking in whole or in part in Canada” and for that it needed a licence (which it couldn’t get because it’s not Canadian-owned). VMedia filed a request in court to overturn that decision, and the federal court sent it back to the CRTC. The commission opened a proceeding about its reconsideration, but has not published a decision (via Eric Floden, DXLD) ** CANADA. I have been checking 6030 kHz throughout the week for CFVP Calgary and found no trace of them. Not sure what is up? 73 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park Alberta, Rx: Perseus SDR, Ant: Wellbrook ALA 100 loop, Oct 7, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Too later for WOR: further reports say it`s on but at power reduced even below nominal 100 watts; details next DXLD, WOR iog ya (gh) ** CANADA. See also NEWFOUNDLAND [and non] ** CANADA [non]. Radio Canada International --- A programme, in fact a station, rather overlooked now on shortwave (by myself, as much as anyone) is the once-great Radio Canada International. After shortwave from Canada was cancelled (in June 2012), the weekly programme The Link continued (and still continues) online, and for some months now has been rebroadcast on shortwave from Kall in Germany. It is currently scheduled Sundays 1930-2000 UT on 3985 kHz [as corrected] and conveniently fills the slot left vacant by the Monday to Saturday programmes of Radio Tirana. I’m sure listeners to RCI in June 2012 will recall Marc Montgomery’s tearful farewell at that time (a video can be easily be found on YouTube). However, I’m sure you will all pleased to hear that, not only does the programme continue, but that it continues to be hosted by Marc Montgomery. The programme today consists of Marc as the host with three other RCI journalists discussing some stories of the week, including some listener feedback on topics discussed. The edition that I listened to on 16 September discussed: the growth of Google with the comments from a professor of computer science at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan; a report on a Canadian company operating in Australia finding gold whilst mining for nickel; a Russian military exercise in the Chukotka region of north-eastern Russia (noting that the Russians are only able to do this due to the retreating ice); and finally a short report of a visit to a Scottish music camp. It was an interesting programme; it was good to hear the Canadian “take” on some issues affecting Canada and is definitely worth a listen. Of course, once upon a time “back in the day”, we could enjoy rebroadcasts on RCI of CBC domestic programmes such as “As it Happens” (still aired on CBC domestic radio, but now long gone and much missed by international audiences), but at least RCI continues to retain a shortwave presence. The Link is recorded live at 1315 Montreal time and is streamed live via studio webcams at http://www.rcinet.ca/en/ and can be heard on shortwave on Sundays at 1930 UT on 3985 kHz via Kall (Alan Roe, Listening Post, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** CHAD [non]. Subject: Radio Ndarason Internationale --- Hi Gleen, I hope you are fine, I write for you help me, you know some address for Radio Ndarason International? I would like write for a QSL Card. Thanks ...73 (Williams López, Santa Isabel 361, Providencia, Santiago. Chile, Oct 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Williams, I do not know specifically, but you should find some contact info here: https://www.ndarason.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ndarason/ Let me know if you get a QSL and the address used (Glenn, ibid.) Also I find that the station website autolaunches audio; music before 1600 UT Oct 7, then 5 minutes of news? in Kanuri?, back to music (gh) ** CHINA. 17200, 0740, CNR 1, Jamming for Sound of Hope, 343, 16/09 (Franck Baste, St Bonnet de Rochefort, France, IC-756proIII, SDR Perseus /ALA1530, 2x10m Dipole, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 9660, CNR1 at 1226 // 11640 in Mandarin jamming RTI in Mandarin with a man and woman with excited talk and promos to 1+1 time pips at 1230 – Poor Oct 6 9680, CNR1 at 1235 // 9660 and 11640 in Mandarin jamming RTI in Mandarin with two men with excited talk – Fair to Good Oct 6 11745, Firedrake at 1803 with the usual cacaphony of percussion, string, and woodwind instrumentals jamming RFA in Mandarin via the Northern Marianas – Good Oct 6 11750, CNR1 at 2256 in Mandarin with a man and a woman with excited talk and into a number of promos to 5+1 time pips at 2300 – Fair to Good with some noise Oct 6 – This is a legitimate frequency for this broadcaster whose feed the Chinese authorities are known to use as a jammer against western broadcasters like the VOA, RFA, and RTI (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) 16160, CNR1 in Chinese, // 15940. SIO 434, October 6, 2018, 2325–2328. Listed language is Mandarin. This is likely jamming the “Sound of Hope” broadcast from Taiwan, but I could not hear SOH under the CNR1 signal. Listenable, but with increasing QSB/QRN (Vince Henley, Anacortes WA, WiNRADiO G39DDCe SDR, ICOM IC-R8600, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R8B, TECSUN PL-380, TECSUN PL-660, TECSUN PL-880. Antennas: whips on PL-380, PL-660, PL-880 and Alpha-Delta DX-Ultra installed broadside east west at 30 feet, NASWA Flashsheet Oct 7 via DXLD) ** CHINA. 4940, Voice of Strait, 0940-0955, Oct 6 (Saturday), with the weekend "Focus on China" program; as usual, with audio feed from some CCTV documentary, with native speaker of English; less than semi-readable (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) ** CHINA. 7200, CNR1, 1146, on Oct 3. Once again heard this prominent spur; // 6125 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) ** CONGO. 6115, Radio Congo, Brazzaville, 1743-1830, 04-10, French, comments, at 1801 “Radio Congo, le journal”, news, more comments, songs. 14321. Also 0555-0615, 05-10, French, comments, ID at 0600 “Radio Congo”. 14321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 11480, 2145, R Havana Cuba. OM with SS talk, not // 11760, 232, 03/09 (Michael L Ford, Newcastle-u-Lyme, Staffs, NRD515, NCM515, NRD545, 85' lw, Wellbrook 330ALA loop, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) A well-known Cuban numbers frequency, another slipup confirming there is really no difference between RHC and the spyagency DGI (gh, ibid.) ** CUBA. 4765, Radio Progreso, La Habana, 0444-0502*, 05-10, Spanish, comments, news, “Resumen de noticias”, ID “Radio Progreso, Cadena Nacional”, anthem and close. 35433 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ?? I thought this was closing at 0400 UT = local midnight during DST (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. 5025, Oct 2 at 1346, R. Rebelde is still S9-S6 an hour after sunrise here, and much more there, but dead air or maybe JBM. Something`s always wrong at RadioCuba (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 6060, Oct 2 at 0613, RHC English is VG but overmodulated so that it splatters up to plus/minus 10, bothering 6070- CFRX. 6165 is off; 6000 = 6100 at S9+10 and same undermodulation. At 0622, S9+30 open carrier is still on 5040. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Thanks to two PERSEUS installation units remotedly access heard some radio programs via VE6JY Don Moman's SDR in Edmonton Alberta. Noted also in 03-05 UT slot [Oct 3] there in Alberta and in Michigan state SDR 4765.000, R Progreso, probably Bejucal site, nice Cuban female singer program, and later trumpet orchestra performance around 0340 UT on Oct 3. S=8-9 or -73dBm strength. 5025.000, Radio Rebelde program Bauta in Spanish, at 0342 UT, Cultura Cubana nation, S=9+10dB or -62dBm. 5040.000, RHC from Bauta transmission center installation, S=9 or -73dBm signal strength at 0346 UT. 6000.000, RHC Quivican San Felipe "TITAN" site, with excellent audio quality this morning. English program with National Theatre announcement. S=9+10dB or -66dBm powerful signal. But always something wrong, suddenly some short breaks in their national electricity distribution grid, short breaks and TX down for 30 seconds or even a single minute. 0348 UT Oct 3. 7.4 kHz wideband very nice audio quality, real - they had repaired that Quivican 250 kW unit audiowise recently. 6060.003, RHC Bauta transmission, only S=8 or -76dBm signal, many electricity breaks between 0348 and 0400 UT time slot. English(!) language program heard at 0400 UT, seemingly should be 4-5 UT real in Spanish language instead? But later at 0420 UT heard at proper powerful S=9+30dB or -45dBm signal level in Alberta Canada. 6100v - their faulty transmission TX unit seems OFF air totally this morning in 03-05 UT log range. BUT surprisingly when checked again in 0513-0515 UT was on air by clear audio unit on exact 6100.000 kHz noted powerful S=9+20dB or -59dBm signal level, but much UNDERMODULATED, when compared against 5025/5040/6000/6060/6165 kHz. English language political commentary heard, what else against the enemy ... about US security organization CIA action scorn. 6165.000, RHC Bauta in English noted at 0357 UT, S=9+5dB in Michigan remote unit, but S=9+15dB or -60dBm powerhouse heard in Alberta Canada at 0410-0415 UT. News item of Okinawa Island Japan report, of US forces personnel killed a lot of Japanese woman over the year decades during their military occupation of the tropical island. Nice audio quality, much better than 6060v outlet level. [that of course is reprehensible --- but what about statistics of Okinawans killed by Okinawans/Japanese? -- gh] 7330.000. RHC Bauta outlet in Spanish program in 0355-0400 UT range, S=7-8 MUCH FLUTTERY signal noted in remote Michigan SDR unit. Scheduled off at 0400 UT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 6000, Oct 3 at 0604, again tonight, S9 of dead air from RHC English; likewise silence on the //s: 6060 & 6100 S9+20, 6165 S9+10; anyhow despite being useless, they amount to the SSOB, as TN-USA frequencies 5830 and 5935 are propped way down. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 6000, Oct 4 at 0531, RHC English frequencies differ markedly from other nights: this one is JBM at S9+10; 6100 likewise but S7; 6165 undermodulated but sufficient at S9+20; 6060 also S9+20 with usual loud modulation; 5040 is also on before 0600, now S9+20 but somewhat distorted modulation. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 11980, Oct 4 at 0043, RHC Spanish leapfrog of 11700 over 11840 another 140 kHz beyond achieves S9 on the meter and enough audio to // it, but suffers from overmodulation splatter out of another RHC transmitter, the fundamental on 12000. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 6020, Oct 5 at 0547, RHC music and English, leapfrog mixing product of 6100 over 6060 another 40 kHz lower, attains S8, very poor, but axually more audible than JBM and suptorted fundamental 6000 at S9+10! The rest: 6165 S9+10 & 6100 S8 very poor both undermod. 6060 is VG S9+20. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 13740, Oct 5 at 1400, RHC Spanish opening `Sonido Cubano` music show, in clear until *1401:30 other transmitter cuts on with China Plus CRI English relay in progress, now collaborating to make a SAH just over 1 Hz of 64 fades per minute. These two very strong signals take turns dominating as each fades slightly and independently from two different sites. Finally RHC signal and modulation disappear at 1406:40 after more than 5 minutes` collision, Commies vs Commies! Typical; something`s always wrong at RadioCuba. 5025, Oct 7 at 0047, R. Rebelde music is very suptorted at S9+25. Something`s always wrong at RadioCuba. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USA: WRMI about jamming; and USA: WWRB about spurs ** CUBA [and non]. 13740, Oct 3 at 1400, dead air from China Plus relay transmitter alone: RHC Spanish has managed to turn off its transmitter today! But CRI modulation does not start up until 1401:20, initially low, then building up but never reaching 100%. The ChiCom but American-accented newscaster (and/or his writer/censor) disdains regular verbs; instead everything is just ``-ing, -ing`` as they are trying to impose a sense of current motion or activity, rather than ``is -ing``, ``was -ing`` or simply ``-ed`` past tense as all news really is by the time it`s broadcast on the way to becoming olds. Many others are guilty of this ing-ing, notably David Muir on ABC`s `World News Tonight` [sic: in many timezones, especially summer, it runs during full daytime, first feed at 2230 UT], which is a factor in what makes him #3 for me, or worse, not #1 as ABC ratings claim (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 6100, Oct 8 at 0458, RHC poor signal already on in Spanish, typical sloppyration as not supposed to start until 0500 in English. It`s // 6060 which is still in blasting overmodulated Spanish, while 6165 & 6000 are properly in English before and after 0500. (Sometimes, 6060 is in English before 0500.) 6020, leapfrog mixing product is JBA at 0459 with RHC IS, i.e. // Spanish on 6100 over 6060 another 40 kHz beyond. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Radio Marti --- I’m not sure that I’ve written much, if anything, about Radio Marti previously. As I do not speak Spanish, I usually only ever listen for a short while, log the reception and move on. However, my attention was caught at 0100 UT on 10 September [UT MONDAY] on 7335 kHz by what was apparently a live recording of a radio comedy / sketch programme. A quick check of the Radio Marti website reveals the programme to be La Moderna Corte (or “The Modern Court”), and described as: “After sixty years, the grandchildren of the protagonists of La Tremenda Corte meet in the city of Miami, and they realize that nothing has changed. Like their grandparents, they come as accusers, defendants and witnesses and are again news in court cases. Among the protagonists of this show are Zulema Cruz (Luz Ángela Nananina), Manolo Coego Jr (The Awesome Judge) and Eddy Calderón (Rudesindo Caldeiro and Soliño, José Celedonio Trespatines III and the Secretary's grandson).” I’m curious now and check Wikipedia for background and find that La Tremenda Corte (or “The Awesome Courthouse”) was a radio comedy show produced in Havana, Cuba; written by Cástor Vispo and starring Leopoldo Fernández (Tres Patines) and Anibal de Mar. The show was aired live three times a week from 1942 to 1961 initially on RHC-Cadena Azul and later transferring to CMQ Radio and was generally critical of government policies and political leaders. Following Fidel Castro’s revolution, the Revolutionary Cuban government seized CMQ and cancelled all comedy shows that were on air. I assume therefore that La Moderna Corte is similarly critical of Cuban government policies and leaders. The programme has the feel of an old-time radio comedy and sounds as if it was recorded live (although it may just be well-executed sound effects to provide the live atmosphere). I would be interested if any Spanish speakers have heard the programme and can comment on the content. At 0200 UT was a programme called Postmoderno (or “Postmodern”) – described on Radio Marti’s website as: “M a musical adventure that includes all the genres and styles that helped to shape fashion, art, literature and film in the free world. [M] Postmodern will help you to know the music that was once censored, banned and discarded because of the narrow vision of yesteryear.” The programme consisted of a lively studio interview with many oldies (some familiar, some not so) which I think were chosen by the guest, and made for a very pleasant hour’s listening. Taking the programme description into account, I assume that the music choice will vary week by week, but I think that this programme is one that would be worth stopping by to enjoy from time to time even when you do not speak Spanish. Moving forward to 0300 UT, and still with Radio Marti, I heard the programme Interferencia (or “Interference”) - a programme of international pop music hits presented by Mike “El Niño” Vázquez. Not so much my sort of music, probably more suited to younger listeners – but it is never-the-less a lively listen. La Moderna Corte is aired on Sundays and Mondays at 0100 UT. Postmoderna is aired on Sundays and Mondays at 0200. Interferencia is aired Saturdays at 1800, Sundays 0300, 0700, 1800 and Mondays 0300 UT. All programmes are likely to be one UT hour earlier [sic; later!] from 4 November (Alan Roe, Listening Post, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** DENMARK. And perhaps it remained completely unnoticed in the English-speaking world: The budget of Danmarks Radio will be slashed by 20 percent. A first round of cuts will involve closing three of six TV and three of eight radio channels, a number of programme closures and a shift of priorities away from traditional broadcasting technologies (so don't be surprised if the 243 kHz transmissions suddenly disappear without a whimp).(Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 6, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 6050, HCJB, Spanish/vernacular religious programming and non-professional singing (a church service?) including songs like “Jesus Loves the Little Children” and “Yes Jesus Loves Me” in SS and vernacular. Continued past the ToH without a break, and at the BoH into OM mostly SS talk. T/c as “8 O’Clock” in Spanish at 0100 and mention of Ecuador and HCJB. 3+5443+ mostly listenable. 2350-0100 29-30/Sep SDRplay +SDRuno +randomwire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Port Hope MI2, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. 9799.57ish, R Cairo, YL English talk, then into Egyptian music at ToH. ID at 2204 “You are listening to...” just barely discernable. 4+5441+ REALLY muddy modulation, sometimes almost UN-modulated, other times way OVER modulated, and at times, both, as strange as that seems, but I could identify the language and gender of the speaker, so better than usual, actually! 2145-2205 29/Sep SDRplay +SDRuno +tun3 +randomwire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Port Hope MI2, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. 9799.58, Radio Cairo, Abis; 30 September 2018; 2240 UT ID by man, "This is the World Service of Radio Cairo signing off," into an traditional instrumental tune; 2245 UT 1 kHz test tone to carrier off a minute later; very good level and nearly "normal" modulation (for them) with minimal distortion and only a slight hum. 73, (Andy Robins, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA. Airspy HF+ with SDR Console v.3 and a 45' PAR EF-SWL end-fed wire at 20', WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FALKLAND ISLANDS [and non]. Chris Greenway writes: After a break of several months in adding anything to my blog, I've spent time in fresh research, and that`s resulted in recent weeks in posts about British psychological warrior Mariana Flores and "General Galtieri`s mystery decree`` https://radioatlanticodelsur.blogspot.com (Webwatch, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** FINLAND. 11689.9, Scandinavian Weekend Radio, Virrat, 0550-0610, 06-10, songs in English, ID at 0600 "Scandinavian Weekend Radio". Very weak. 15311. Also 1430-1440, 06-10, pop songs in English, some Caribbean songs. Weak. 15321. 11720, Scandinavian Weekend Radio, Virrat, 0820-0830, 06-10, songs in English, comments in Finnish. Weak. 14321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Lugo, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Monthly: next, 24 hours from 2200 UT Friday Nov 2 (gh) ** GEORGIA. {Abkhazia}, Apsua Radio on 27 Sep on MW 1350 kHz open at 1455 UT and ending at 1603 UT with Avto Radio Moscow, in other time: at 1458 UT IS & IS, ID in Abkhazian "Apsua Radio" by lady & man voices & news in Abkhazian, at 1512 UT ID in Russian "V ephire Abkhazskoye Radio "followed by news in Russian till 1522 UT and next in Abkhazian till 1603 UT. They NEVER don't announcements about what time is it there, which hour, minutes as is everywhere in the radio world. The link Avto & Apsua is probably via satellite that's why the transmitter is located outside Abkhazia (Rumen Pankov, BULGARIA, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 3, BC-DX Oct 5 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Hi All, 'Jazz from Poland' is the name of a new programme that starts on Channel 292 6070 kHz on Friday 5th of October at 1900 UT, and again on Sunday 7th at 2100, this looks like it will be a weekly programme for the next month at least. Atlantic 2000 will also be back again on the weekend of 13th and 14th of October. A slightly more alarming message was just seen on the C292 Twitter feed, which says that the new 7440 kHz antenna had been destroyed during the recent weatherstorms in the area. Their website was showing a 'Test' programme from 0300 to 2400 UT for the 28th of October on 7440, and an earlier tweet said a 6 hour broadcast was to be made on the 4th of November, but whether these will now happen remains to be seen. Fingers crossed for them (Alan Gale, Oct 2, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. 15195, FRANCE, DW at 1326 in Hausa with an interview between two men – Poor Oct 6 – With the amount of transmitting opportunities in their own country – Biblis, Lampertheim, and Nauen – you have to wonder why DW has to use Issoudun, France. Is it cheaper for them to do so? Do the operators of the German shortwave transmitters favour other, more profitable, customers? (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. 9420, Oct 4 at 0041, ERT, home of great Greek music, is now playing Dylan ``Times, they are a-changin```. VOG does surprise us at times with eclectic music choices; only fair, S4-S7 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREENLAND. 720, KNR Greenland into Michigan right now --- 0330 UT: 720 KNR Greenland is backgrounding WGN right now on my North DKAZ, man talking in unknown language, and now clear music matching KNR stream. Only the second time heard here in Western Michigan. 73, (Tim Tromp, West Michigan, Perseus SDR and North/South reversible DKAZ, 0333 UT Oct 7, ABDX yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** GUATEMALA [non]. 4055: Thu Oct 4 at 0531 UT, Dr. Édgar Amílcar Madrid sent this notice from Radio Verdad: ``See it in Spanish at the end. Véalo en Español al final. --------- Very Important Notice: Transworld Radio Truth (Radio Verdad) will be transmitting on test transmission tomorrow Thursday afternoon from 13:00 through 16:00 hours Guatemala time (19:00-21:00 hours GMT or UTC). [sic] The transmissions will be addressed to Africa, Europe (Spain, Belgium, Holland, France, Germany), China, and other countries. Our transmissions are via satelite, but you will pick up our signal on short wave, on 4055 Khz. There are many repeating short wave antennas over the world. It is a new and wondrous invention. We are not transmitting tomorrow to America, México, the Caribean, Central America and South America yet. We still have some difficulties with the equipment for this area, which we are on the effort to solve soon. We plan to transmit to the whole world soon afterwards. These are test transmissions. If we succeed fully, we plan to move all the equipment to Chiquimula, for permanente transmissions. We plead DX'ers, amateur radio men and other listeners to report our test transmissions on audio recordings. This will help to improve our Transworld Radio Truth future transmissions. The project has taken us about three years, due to the many technical and legal dificulties, which we have overcome. Praise God. Please spread the news. May God bless you. Dr. Édgar Amílcar Madrid, General Manager and Director ------------------------------------- Spanish - Español Noticia muy Importante: Radio Verdad Transmundial estará transmitiendo con transmisiones de prueba mañana jueves desde las 13:00 hasta las 16:00 horas, hora de Guatemala (19:00-21:00 horas GMT o UTC). [sic] Las transmisiones se dirigirán a África, Europa (España, Bélgica, Holanda, Francia, Alemania), China y otros países. Nuestras transmisiones son vía satélite, pero se sintonizará nuestra señal por onda corta, en 4055 Khz. Hay muchas antenas repetidoras de onda corta en todo el mundo. Es un nuevo y novedoso invento. No estamos transmitiendo mañana hacia América, México, El Caribe, Centro América y Sud América todavía. Aún tenemos algunas dificultades con el equipo para dicha área, y estamos en el esfuerzo de resolverlas pronto. Esperamos transmitir hacia todo el mundo luego después. Éstas son transmisiones de prueba. Si logramos todo el buen éxito deseado, planificamos trasladar todo el equipo a Chiquimula, para las transmisiones permanentes. Suplicamos a los Diexistas, Radio Aficionados, y otros oyentes, que nos reporten nuestras transmisiones de prueba con grabaciones de audio. Esto nos ayudará a mejorar nuestras transmisiones de Radio Verdad Transmundial. El proyecto nos ha llevado como tres años, debido a los muchos problemas técnicos y legales que hemos tenido que vencer. Gracias a Dios. Por favor divulgue esta información. Que Dios les bendiga. Dr. Édgar Amílcar Madrid, Director y Gerente General, Radio Verdad`` At 1507 UT Oct 4, I duly posted the above to the WOR iog and HCDX, with this introduxion: ``Here we go again. I shall be very surprised if anyone hear anything anywhere on 4055 during this time period, but give it a try. Prove me wrong. Note discrepancy in timespan, in both language versions, 3 hours in local time, 2 hours in UT. Dr M has never explained exactly how this can be accomplished. And has not provided any contact info to the agency allegedly providing this. Are there now legal or mini-power 4055 transmitters in all these countries?`` So I listened to UTwente SDR tuned to 4055 at 2005-2015, and spot chex later in the hour, UT Oct 4, getting: ``nothing but some kind of ute noise blob on the plus side of 4055``. Other monitors using own or remote receivers also reported negative results: Bill Bingham, RSA; Richard Langley, NB; Anker Petersen, Denmark; Manuel Méndez, Spain, who then got a reply from Dr M: "Gracias por su reporte desde España. Estoy investigando si realmente estamos en el aire o no"; and Jorge Freitas, Brasil, who adds, ``With all due respect to Mr. Edgar, this email has no logic and support. I agree with Glenn`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Nothing noted with the U. Twente SDR receiver at 1910 UT (-- Richard Langley, WOR iog via DXLD) Radio Verdad transmission test on 4055 to Europe between 1900-2100 UTC. As expected, nothing heard here in Friol, Lugo, and nothing via remote SDR receivers in Holland, Switzerland and Italy (checked since 1900 to 1935). (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, ibid.) Once again, nothing heard in Johannesburg. It may be "addressed to Africa", but it isn't reaching the south. At least, not whilst I was listening, Thursday October 4, from 1855 to 1935 UT. Not even a carrier. Maybe the scheduled UT provided by Radio Verdad is incorrect, but I won't be wasting any more time trying to find out (Bill Bingham, Jo'burg, RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF 2001D. WOR iog via DXLD) Dear Glenn and Manuel, I tried 4055 kHz here in Denmark on my DX-receiver today at 2020 UT, but not even a carrier was heard. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hola, Yo he probado con mis receptores y nada... así que lo he intentado con kiwiSDR ubicados en Europa (España, Italia, GB, Portugal, Suecia, Islandia, Suecia, Suiza, etc.) en América (EEUU, Brasil...) y nada de nada. Un saludo (Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España, 2011? UT, Oct 4, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) I sent this mail to Edgard Amílcar Madrid, Director of Radio Verdad: "Radio Verdad transmission test on 4055 to Europe between 1900-2100 UTC. Nothing heard here in Friol, Lugo, and nothing via remote SDR receivers in Holland, Switzerland and Italy (checked 1900 to 1935 UTC 04 October." And here is his reply: "Gracias por su reporte desde España. Estoy investigando si realmente estamos en el aire o no. Dr. Édgar Amílcar Madrid Director y Gerente General" (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, 2033 UT Oct 4, WOR iog via DXLD) With all due respect to Mr. Edgard, but this email has no logic and support. I agree with Glenn (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana Bahia, 12°14´S 38°58´W - Brasil, Tecsun PL-310ET, Antenna Delta Loop 8,5 meters, ibid.) If Dr M. does receive any seemingly positive reports of this from monitors unknown to us, he should seriously doubt their credibility; they could be ringers (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) New mail from Radio Verdad about its test transmission. It's all so strange...?????: "Apreciado Don Manuel: Me acaban de informar que la transmisión se llevó a cabo por la mañana, y ya la suspendieron porque se calentó un poco el equipo. Édgar Madrid Radio Verdad -------" (via Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, 0428 UT Oct 5, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) Translation: Thanks, Manuel. I was just informed that the transmission was carried out in the morning but was stopped because the equipment got a bit hot (via Ed Sylvester, ibid.) Estimado Glenn, lee el email que copio abajo y que me envió Édgar Ámilcar Madrid, de Radio Verdad, y que es la respuesta a un DX-ista italiano sobre un informe que envió de una de sus transmisones regulares pensando que era la emisión de "Transworld Radio Verdad", y sobre todo las explicaciones que da sobre el no salir al aire. Yo creo que al Sr. Édgar alguien lo está engañando, que está poniendo dinero en un proyecto que no existe, y que cada vez le piden más dinero con multiples disculpas de averías, problemas, etc. ¿Qué opinas? Un cordial saludo (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Manuel believes that Dr. M is being duped, putting money into a project that does not exist, time after time being asked for more money with multiple apologies for problems. I also received the reply from Dr M, a cc of his reply to this: ``Salve Dr Edgar, I send the signal of Radio Verdad that I receive with my radio in Italy, the signal is weak, even the audio, at 2230 UTC. Good Saturday and good Sunday, Davide Borroni`` (Glenn Hauser, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Aquí está el e-mail: "Dear Davide Borroni, from Italy: Thank you very much for you report of Radio Truth. I appreciate it very much. Sorry, the signal you picked up was NOT Transworld Radio Truth signal, but our regular short wave of Radio Truth. When you pick up Transworld Radio Truth, you will receive a very strong signal, but did NOT actually send our Transworld Radio Truth signal at this time, due to the fact that our satelite connection was not made correctly. There was an error with one of the several connecting apparatus. In order to correct the error, we are supposed to buy a new one, and our money is not enough at the present time. We'll advise you whenever we are ready to send out the signal to Europe. It is going to be a strong signal. Excuse us please. May God bless you. Dr. Édgar Amílcar Madrid General Manager and Director" (via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) I warned Dr M as soon as he first started to publicize this years ago that it was likely a scam, that he should demand proof and exact explanation of how it could be accomplished. And several times since (Glenn Hauser, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) Re: ``As of 2005-2015 nothing but some kind of ute noise blob on the plus side of 4055, at UTwente SDR (gh)`` This was centered on 4057 kHz. Some NATO STANAG transmission I think. And of course nothing on 4055 kHz. I have little doubt about what's going on here: A devout men has been taken in, and one can only hope for him that he has not transferred money to some swindler. I have to wonder about the guy, as reported from Canada, who repairs his transmitter if necessary: Did he really not try to explain some backgrounds? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) Here is my correspondence from 2016, 2017 with Ralph Wayne Borthwick: From: Glenn Hauser Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2016 12:05 AM To: w_dborthwick@hotmail.com Subject: ¿Verdad? Wayne, I wonder what you think of this SW Alliance Euro-USA that Dr Madrid has been telling us about??? Do you have any further info about it? It all seems very fishy and vague to me, and even Edgar does not seem to understand how it is supposed to work even tho he has put up money for it. I tried contacting them at the email address he mentioned, but surprise, no reply. 73, Glenn Hauser [The address Dr M mentioned, including the Mexican engineer involved: "Milton Nova Posadas" "SWNetWork Short Wave" ] Glenn, I agree it sounds fishy. I have never heard of it. I will be in Chiquimula mid Feb to fix a minor problem on the transmitter. Will hopefully learn more about it then. 73, Wayne Borthwick Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2017 12:09 AM To: w_dborthwick@hotmail.com Subject: Truth Worldwide Hi Wayne, Since Dr Madrid is again writing about Radio Verdad going out Transmundial, like heard in Japan on 4 MHz when it is 9:45 am in Guatemala, I ask you again from your intimate familiarity with Radio Verdad, how this is possibly accomplished? Thanks, Glenn Hauser Re: Truth Worldwide Sunday, June 25, 2017 2:53 PM Hi Glenn, I do not know what is going on with the R. Verdad trasmundial sig reports from Japan. While down there a year and I half ago to fix the transmitter Dr. Madrid talked briefly about it but I didn't get a good technical explanation. My wife broke her arm the second day there so we had to cut the visit short and head back to Canada and haven't discussed it since. Wayne Borthwick (via Glenn Hauser, Oct 6, 2018, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non non] 4055, Radio Verdad, Chiquimula, 0406-0500*, 05-10, English, religious comments and songs, ID anthem and close. 15311. (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ?? Sign-off has been circa 0610 after local midnight (except 2 hours earlier Sunday nights = UT Mondays) (gh, DXLD) ** HAWAII. Applications for CPs filed: 590, KSSK HI Honolulu – Applies to reduce tower height (due to proximity to Honolulu Airport) and to increase power to U1 7800/7800; triplexed with KHVH 830 and KIKI 990, which are also applying for CPs. 830, KHVH HI Honolulu – Applies to increase power to U1 11000/11000. 990, KIKI HI Honolulu – Applies to increase power to U1 5700/5700. (AM Switch, NRC DX News Oct 15, published Oct 6, via DXLD) ** HAWAII. Possible Closure: Chronohertz Stations WWV & WWVH - 2 [It seems that hardly anyone but AMP uses the term ``chronohertz``; searching on it finds some usage in India, Britain --- gh] Current news reports indicate that the two American chronohertz stations, WWV in Fort Collins Colorado and WWVH at Kekaha on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, are due to close next year. However, it is also true that significant efforts are underway, as they are spearheaded in the United States, to save these two shortwave stations and have them continue with their regular time and frequency transmissions. Two weeks back, we presented here in Wavescan the story of the continental station WWV at its six progressive locations in Washington DC, Maryland and Colorado. In our program today, we present the story of the Hawaiian counterpart, WWVH, at its two progressive locations on the islands of Maui and Kauai We go back to November 22 in the year 1948, which was then that the first of these two stations was inaugurated. The location was against the coastline near Kihei on the lower west side of the island of Maui. At the time, three transmitters were in use, all at 1 kW, and they radiated the time signal service on exactly 5 10 & 15 MHz. The antenna systems beamed the signals from this new Hawaiian station towards the west for the benefit of American interests in the Pacific. Interestingly back during that era, the station in Hawaii was turned off twice each day, around 0700 & 1900 UTC, so that the staff at WWVH could check the transmissions from the mother station, WWV, which was located at Beltsville in Maryland at the time. In this way, the accuracy of the transmissions from WWVH could be checked against the extremely accurate transmissions from WWV. The time distance between the two stations was just 27 mili-seconds. Eight years after its inauguration, the power level at each of the three transmitters in the station was doubled, to an output of 2 kW each, still on the same three channels, 5 10 & 15 MHz. And then ten years later again, another channel was taken into regular usage, this time 2.5 MHz with a power output of just 1 kW. However, at about this time, it was becoming very evident that a new station would be required. The shoreline at Kihei on Maui had been eroded by 75 ft and the waters of the Pacific Ocean were encroaching upon the station property itself. In fact, the ocean was now quite close to the main transmitter building, and also to the antenna tower in use for the 15 MHz transmissions. In addition, there was no air conditioning in the transmitter building and corrosion from the tropical salty air was taking its toll on all of the electronic equipment. During the year 1968, Congress in Washington DC gave approval for the allocation of funding for a completely new chronohertz station in Hawaii. This new station, with a whole set of new equipment, was installed into a new building located on a 30 acre property in the navy base at Barking Sands at Kokole Point, near Kekaha on the south western edge of the island of Kauai. A total of seven new transmitters were installed, all made by the AEL Company on Richardson Road in Colmar Pennsylvania, and all rated at 10 kW, except for just one at 2½ kW. The old station on Maui was progressively closed down as the new station on Kauai was progressively brought into operation in July 1971. These new transmitters at the new location operated on the same standard frequencies, with 10 kW each on 5 10 & 15 MHz. The power output on the low frequency 2.5 MHz channel was just 2½ kW at the time, though this was increased to 5 kW shortly afterwards. For each main transmitter, there was also a standby transmitter. In 1983, two of the AEL transmitters were removed and replaced by three Elcom-Bauer transmitters from El Paso in Texas. On at least two occasions, hurricanes have damaged the WWVH shortwave station. In 1982, Hurricane Iwa cut off the reticulated power supply, and the station operated on emergency power for a whole week. In 1992, Hurricane Iniki caused considerable damage and the station was on the air for several days with just one transmitter, 5 MHz at half power. Some seventeen years ago (2001), new antenna systems were installed at WWVH and these are described as fibre glass whip antennas from Valcom in Canada. Each antenna is encased in fibre glass and a copper wire runs the full length of the whip. In this way, corrosion from the salty air is minimized. Currently, there is a total of eight active transmitters, primary and standby, at WWVH Hawaii. The main transmitters are powered at 10 kW and the standby units at 5 kW and they can be heard almost worldwide on the four channels, 2.5 5 10 & 15 MHz. The modulation level of the various broadcast services is different for each feature. The BCD time codes are inserted at 25% modulation, the steady tones at 50%, voice announcements at 75%, and the actual time pulses, the ticking of the clock, are at 100% modulation. Back in the year 1977, it was announced that station WWVH received around 100 visitors each week and 200 reception reports. These days, they still receive many visitors, and they still receive a steady flow of reception reports. Station WWVH at Kekaha in Hawaii can be heard at least some time each day on at least one channel almost anywhere in the world. They readily verify all genuine reception reports with a three panel QSL card. You can identify the Hawaiian station by the voice of the announcer, a woman, speaking in English. If you have not yet verified each of their four channels, why not take the opportunity to do so while they are still on the air? (Adrian Peterson, IN, script for AWR Wavescan Sept 30 via DXLD) See also USA: WWVB ** HAWAII. Bob & I toured WWVH back in 1985 on our trip to Kauai. I sure hope they will continue (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KGED QSL Manager, Oct 1, IRCA via DXLD) Glad you got to visit the Hawaii site, Pat. I'd sure include that on my to do list. ms (Mike Sanburn, Sent from my iPod, Oct 2, ibid.) Unfortunately, at least for me, this is no longer possible. As an active military base, and WWVH is located within the facility, one can no longer just saunter on in for a visit! Tried and didn't get anywhere; although one work-around might be to go through the gates to gain access to the beach, which was available at certain times when I checked, but only to Americans. 73 (Walt Salmaniw, BC, ibid.) During my visit to Kauai, 1970 on the way back from Thailand, I believe I saw the WWVH site from afar, atop a ridge by Waimea Canyon (gh, DXLD) ** INDIA. (4800 kHz) - On 1 October 2018 (tune in 1628 h UTC, tune out 1643 h, http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ sinpo 13422), AIR Hyderabad was heard mixing with CNR-1. The music programme was in parallel with the Telugu webstream at http://allindiaradio.gov.in/Default.aspx (except for the noticeable time delay). 1630 ID „AIR Hyderabad“ followed by classical Indian music. Both the film music and the classical music was clearly distinguishable from the talk programming of CNR. When CNR started transmitting Chinese pop music the listening became less pleasurable. One hour later at 1724 h, CNR was the only programme audible. It featured light music and some talk. At 1805 the carrier cut off (Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA [and non-log]. 5040, AIR Jeypore, 1231, Oct 4. Found to be off the air again, whereas AIR Shillong (4970) was heard with the news in English (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) ** INDIA. A note concerning the Gujarati schedule 1515-1600: 13695 (B) 15175 (P) (according to https://qsl.net/vu2jos/ as of 26 September 2018) Trying to establish whether the AIR short wave service in Gujarati is in parallel with their web stream at http://allindiaradio.gov.in/Default.aspx I noted the following anomaly on 4 October 2018: 13695 kHz silent carrier throughout, interference from VoA Hausa 13700 kHz, sinpo 23442 with http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ 15175 kHz nothing audible, no string seen (Dr Hansjoerg Biener 4 October 2018, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. Via Facebook; Sanjay Sutradhar shared a link to the group WRTH World Radio TV Handbook. AIR will be scouting for partners in some countries to broadcast in FM; also, 80th year of external broadcasting marks beginning October 1, 2018 to October 1, 2019 https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/300918/air-to-kick-off-celebrations-for-80th-external-broadcasting-day-tomorr.html (MARE Tipsheet Oct 5 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 3344.862, Oct 2 at 1213, JBA carrier, surely the reactivated RRI Ternate, and much weaker than 3325. First measured here, and then find it matches exactly where Wolfgang Bueschel found it later that hour: (Glenn Hauser, OK WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Log 1130-1255 UT in remote New Delhi India rx SDR unit, on Oct 2nd: 3344.862, RRI Ternate mx program heard at 1247-1250 UT, just above threshold S=5 level, S=4-5 or -94dBm level much fluttery noted in SDR unit at Brisbane Queensland [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 2, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RRI Ternate, 3344.86, Oct 2, from 1215 to 1233 UT. By far the best reception since their reactivation; a phone-in show with a lot of chatting; yes, nicely above threshold level audio; also heard today by Glenn, at 1213. Hope this one continues to improve! (Ron Howard, San Francisco, WOR iog via DXLD) 3344.86, RRI Ternate, 1338-1503*, Oct 8. At a time I normally do not listen, heard the best reception since their reactivation; variety of music; segment of phone conversations; nicely above threshold level audio; 1445 starting to fade out; 1500-1503*, theme music, with assume a brief ID. My local sunrise was at 1408 UT (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) More about Ternate below ** INDONESIA. 3325, Oct 5 at 1250, open carrier at S6-S8, enough signal that I could axually hear programming if there were any, from NBC Bougainville, or VOI via RRI Palangkaraya. But continues dead air 1300-1302, 1309. More likely the latter as Ron Howard has observed: ``3325, Voice of Indonesia (presumed), via RRI Palangkaraya, 1208, Sept 13. Carrier heard at decent level, but with no trace of any audio; this is not the first time recently that I have noted the same thing (Ron Howard, Ocean Beach [San Francisco], CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD)`` However, Ron`s report for Oct 5 has now arrived, saying he heard NBC at 1035, but it was off by 1137, when there was nothing either from RRI (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3325, Oct 6 at 1233, I try again and like yesterday hear no signal, but recheck at 1301 now there is S7-S8 of dead air again! Is Palangkaraya turning on the transmitter in vain hope that there will be something from Jakarta to modulate it, like the scheduled 1300 English, ex-9526v? Propagation is certainly OK, as I again detect the JBA off-frequency carrier just below 3345 from RRI Ternate, which BTW is in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. (IIRC, Scott dismissed some Moluccas stamps as illegitimate; by a separatist movement?) You won`t find Ternate on the WRTH 2018 page 56 slickmap of SE Asia, but it does show Palu, on Sulawesi! I did not even think of trying to hear RRI Palu as it`s been off the air for many years, despite implication there that it`s an active SW site. WTFK? Last mentioned in DXLD 12-08 of February 22, *2012* --- ``INDONESIA. RRI Palu hasn't been reported on SW for a while as far as I've noticed, but I heard them a couple of days ago a little above 3967 kHz from tune-in around 2340 on 19 Feb UTC (morning of 20 Feb local time). The programming was current affairs talk and public service announcements with several mentions of RRI Palu, Pro-1 and "Kanal Inspirasi" until sign-off just before 2400. My listening location was Balikpapan, about 500 km west of Palu across the Strait of Makassar, and the signal was strong with good audio but a carrier instability problem. Regards (Alan Davies, Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST 12-08) Great! Ishida http://rri.jpn.org/ hasn`t caught this one yet as of Feb 22. Altho http://short-wave.info/?station=RRI%20Palu never noticed it was absent from nominal 3960, database probably derived from Aoki, which has the same schedule, no indication that it was inactive. When was it really last heard? It has been quite a while. According to DXLD 11-31, it was April 2009 per Ishida. But the last axual log of it in DXLD was 9-072 from Sept 18, 2009 by Barry Hartley in Australia. It was last listed in the WRTH 2010 and even then it was *inactive on 3961v with 10 kW. Palu is in the NW corner of Sulawesi, same `radio subcountry` as Makassar, Gorontalo and Kendari (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1605, DX LISTENING DIGEST 12-08) [short-wave.info] Database definitely derived from Aoki - the site states exactly that. Currently also states last update of the database was January 27. Since January 27 there have been well over 30 individual updated versions of the Aoki list (DanF, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST 12-08) At least once a day, which is why I always check the current online Aoki rather than some archived version (gh, DXLD 12-08)`` That DXLD issue is also referenced at http://rri.jpn.org under April 2009 as the silent date for RRI Palu. Altho Atsunori Ishida suspended his site at the end of 2017, let us hope it remain available as a valuable historical archive (Glenn Hauser, OK, October 7, 2018, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3325, Voice of Indonesia, via RRI Palangkaraya, 1257, Oct 7 (Sunday). Taken by surprise to catch the early intro to the English segment; they have finally updated their announced frequency; now "3 3 2 5"; "From Jakarta, R R I World Service, Voice of Indonesia, English Service, . . . You can listen to us on shortwave, on frequency of 3 3 2 5," so no longer giving "9 5 2 5 kilohertz"; news; 1312 "Today In History" (Oct 7, 2001, USA invaded Afghanistan to fight al-Qaeda, etc.); weekend segment "Highlights of the Week"; "News in Brief"; "Indonesia Wonders"; at times semi-readable. Oct 6, on 3325, I found no signal from VOI nor NBC Bougainville, from 1014 to 1206; Glenn made an interesting later observation: "Oct 6 at 1233, I try again and like yesterday hear no signal, but recheck at 1301 now there is S7-S8 of dead air again! Is Palangkaraya turning on the transmitter in vain hope that there will be something from Jakarta to modulate it, like the scheduled 1300 English, ex-9526v?" (Glenn Hauser, OK) Yes, it's not uncommon now to hear a decent level carrier (dead air) on 3325, after 1200, with no audio at all, that must be the VOI transmitter. Glenn must be right, seems Palangkaraya routinely turns on their local transmitter without checking as to whether there is actually any audio feed from Jakarta (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) 3325, Voice of Indonesia at 1414 UT Oct 7 in language (?) with what sounded like a news feature. Multi language ID at 1427. Re-tune at 1500 in what sound like Chinese with VOI ID's. Stayed in quite well past 1520. 73 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park Alberta, Rx: Perseus SDR, Ant: Wellbrook ALA 100 loop, Oct 7, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) 3325, VOI, via RRI Palangkaraya, 1336, 1428 & 1505, Oct 8. A day with only a carrier (dead air/no audio).(Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 7289.92, Pro 1 RRI Nabire, 0834 till cut off at 0841*, Oct 5. Mostly pop songs; ID “RRI Nabire” and frequency; glad to hear they still have a respectable signal. My audio of ID and music at http://goo.gl/jtBpuy (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Numbers Stations By David Harris davidharris@bdxc.org.uk A recent episode of Endeavour (a UK TV police drama set in the 1960s which is a prequel to Inspector Morse) was about a spy ring in Oxford. The police were able to catch the spies when they raided an allotment shed and found a radio that was tuned into a numbers station broadcast. The coded messages contained in the transmission were instructions for the spies. Numbers stations, that is anonymous broadcasts of strings of numbers and/or letters, became very prevalent from the 1960s and were commonly heard on shortwave bands right up until the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. Numbers station never went away and the diligent listener can still hear these broadcasts which now apparently come from Cuba, North Korea, Russia and other countries. Broadcasts by the BBC’s French Service were used to convey covert information to French resistance fighters during the Second World War. These broadcasts would contain innocuous messages including code words authorising agents to engage in sabotage. In the 1960s dedicated Numbers stations were established by the military and intelligence services of various countries. The key players were the West (USA, UK and Western European allies), The Eastern Bloc (USSR, Eastern European countries), China and Israel. The real strength of numbers stations is that they leave no audit trail. Postal communications, telephones, mobile phones, emails, text messages and other forms of electronic communication can be monitored and the location of the suspect be identified. The numbers stations work by sending a coded message which can be received by anyone with a SW radio receiver who knows when to tune into the broadcasts. The agent can then write down the message and using a “one time” pad decode their instructions. Without the “one time” pad the code is unbreakable. It is now believed that more sophisticated means of communications such as microwave transmitters and satellite communications are used to connect foreign agents and their handlers. If this is so, we do need to ask why are there are still so many numbers stations broadcasts around? My own view is that the vast majority of numbers stations broadcasts have never had any significance and were there for purely propaganda purposes. Country A would start coded transmissions and their enemy Country B would monitor them and start their own broadcasts. Country C would not want to be left out and would also start broadcasting. It is a bit like the arms race and was designed to give the impression that the broadcasting country had a large number of agents in the field. There is evidence that some spies who were caught did have short wave radios and the means of decoding transmissions. However, I believe that most transmissions had no purpose other than to tie up enemy resources in monitoring, transcribing and trying to decode the signals. When I first heard numbers stations it was very frustrating because in those pre-internet days there was no way of finding out about them. Books about SW listening and frequency guides such Klingenfuss did not mention them as their existence could not be verified. An early pioneer of numbers station information was English DXer Simon Mason who in 1991 published, Secret Signals: The Euronumbers Mystery. This book is now very collectable and offered for around £180 on Amazon. You can also read it free on Simon’s website http://www.simonmason.karoo.net My interest in numbers stations was revived recently when I was sent a review copy of, Shadows of the State by Lewis Bush, Bravo Books, Berlin 2018. 180 pp. Hbk. £40. This is a very arty book which comprises aerial photos of the supposed sites of numbers stations accompanied by a page of text about the station. It is a beautifully produced hardback book printed on quality paper and will probably become quite collectable one day. Each page has a barcode which if activated by a smart phone will play an extract of the numbers station. I thought the book could also have worked as an exhibition or as a film. The book also lists several websites which give more information about numbers stations. The most useful website for number station monitors is http://priyom.org This is a Russian website (????? or Priyom is Russian for reception). In the middle of the home page of this site is a frequency schedule which displays details of broadcasts for the day plus listings going back several months. A typical entry accessed on 17 Aug 2018 reads: 4.50 pm E11 14940 USB. This means at 1650 UT station E11 (which is called oblique and apparently located in Poland) will broadcast in English on 14940 kHz USB. I have tried monitoring numbers stations using this guide and it does seems quite accurate. Clearly, atmospheric conditions and the location of the station determine reception but that is the case with all SW broadcasts. Signal shed http://www.signalshed.com appears to be the new name for the Enigma 2000 website (Enigma is an acronym meaning, European Numbers Information Gathering and Monitoring Association). This is turn was the successor organisation to the original ENIGMA group which was active between 1993 -2000. From the website one can download their latest newsletter which has comprehensive listings of number stations broadcasts. The Dutch website Numbers and Oddities http://www.numbersoddities.nl also has comprehensive listings of stations in its newsletters. This website also contains audio clips of numbers stations which can be very nostalgic for a short wave listener. Another useful website is the American Numbers Station Research and Information Center http://www.numbers-stations.com This website also covers military transmissions which may sound like numbers stations but have a different purpose. The US HF Global Communication System (HF GCS) can be heard regularly broadcasting strings of letters and numbers on 4724 kHz, 6712 kHz, 6739 kHz, 8992 kHz, 11175 kHz, 13200 kHz, and 15016 kHz. These are test transmissions for radio circuits that could be used to authorise missile launches. Numbers stations occasionally pop up within SW broadcast bands. However they can appear anywhere in the SW spectrum, typically between 4 and 17 MHz. They are usually to be found in those sparsely populated areas where there is little other traffic such as 8-9 MHz. One of the things that makes DXing so interesting is the fact that there are still broadcasts out there that no one really knows much about. Ed: In my view, numbers stations are very much there to provide messages for sleepers and spies. In an April 1997 feature by John Walters for the BBC 1 programme ‘Here and Now’, the most interesting quote came from ex-KGB Station Chief Oleg Gordievsky. "The messages are a mixture of professional instruction, what to do next, and some personal messages from children, parents and friends. For example, Mr Gorbalov, next week please go to Vienna and use dead letterbox number 13. You will find US$8,000. It is your salary for the next month, and the rest for your operational expenses." Oleg Gordievsky was also featured in a BBC World Service Witness programme in 2015. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02vw6gn A 2014 article on the BBC website includes these quotes: "Nobody has found a more convenient and expedient way of communicating with an agent," says Rupert Allason, an author specialising in espionage issues and writing under the pen name Nigel West. "Their sole purpose is for intelligence agencies to communicate with their agents in denied areas - a territory where it is difficult to use a consensual form of communications." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24910397 (Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** IRELAND. 5505-USB, Oct 6 at 0605, YL with VOLMET, S7-S8 very poor vs storm noise, about the same level. EiBi shows only Shannon here 24 hours (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Ultra-orthodox Israeli radio fined for excluding women Digital Journal, September 21, 2018 via Radio World International An Israeli court has fined an ultra-orthodox Jewish radio station one million shekels ($280,000) for excluding women from its programmes over a two year period, local media said. Broadcaster Kol Barama's "total and deliberate exclusion damages dignity and self-worth, deepens perceptions of female inferiority and prevents the influence of women in public discourse," the court ruled on Thursday, according to the Times of Israel. Ultra-orthodox interpretations of Judaism forbid men from listening to women sing, and some of the most radical strands also oppose females appearing in public, particularly in broadcast media. A class action lawsuit was filed in 2012 by the Orthodox feminist association Kolech and the Israel Religious Action Center, the Times of Israel said. The complainants accused the radio station of failing to bring a single female voice to air during its first two years of operation, between 2009 and 2011. The court ordered Kol Barama to donate its fine to initiatives bolstering women's place in society, IRAC said in a statement. Kol Barama said had not given air time to women over the period in question because the ultra-orthodox community -- its target audience -- did not want to hear female voices. Since 2013, it has employed female broadcasters, but it still does not play songs sung by women. A 2012 survey by Kolech found 20 percent of the station's listeners were shocked by its exclusion of women. Kol Barama broadcasts current affairs programmes, music and discussions on Jewish faith and philosophy (via Oct CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** JAPAN. 13720, NHK World, 1815, with man in Japanese and cultural Japanese vocal music. Incredible audio and signal, sounding like a Greenville origin. (Brother Stair just up the dial at half the signal level). But - my references show direct from Japan. Heard on Grundig Satellit 205, whip - Armchair quality Oct 3 (Rick Barton, Arizona SW Logs, listed most recent first. Hopefully useful information for someone can be picked out of here. Times/Dates in UT. English used unless otherwise stated. Grundig Satellit 205(T.5000) & 750; RS SW-2000629, & ATS-909X with various outdoor wires. Use of portables noted where relevant for perspective on signal strength comments; WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non]. 6105, FRANCE. NHK World Radio Japan, 10/6, 0315-0335, in JJ. singing competition on a presumed variety show; each amateur singer gets about 30 seconds to perform before getting judged. Fair signal with deep fades, clear at times (Sives, PA, NASWA Flashsheet Oct 7 via DXLD) ** JAPAN [non]. Satellite: 103°W SES3 11.942-V/20000 Msps NHK TV (Srv_2) one of six streams on this transponder, this one with English NHK programming, focusing mostly today on Weather issues from typhoon Trami which is slamming into Japan as I watched. The in studio announcer looks a LOT like the actress Olivia Munn! The usual shots of rain and wind, but also useful info (for people in the middle of it) like amounts of expected rain and landslide risk etc.: [full illos appear in the WOR iog posts] Occasional break-aways to NHK’s domestic service with simultaneous translation of Japanese audio into English. Puts what US networks do for hurricanes to Shame — very well done coverage. 57% and steady, in well. 720p HD picture, H264 compression, QPSK encoded. 1530-1545 30/Sep (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Port Hope MI2, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA. Re: [IRCA] Where's the Korean Jammer When You Need It? Yes, Chris, I understand that Pyongyang switched to the UTC +9 system (from UTC +8 1/2) after the first inter-Korean summit this year. So now it seems that China (with the CNR stations having their 1+1 pip on the half hour) is one of the few TP countries still broadcasting pips at half past the hour. Last December in Kona, Hawaii it was easy to track down KCBS and Pyongyang BS stations on multiple frequencies because of their pips on the half hour, but next month on Kauai I guess I'll need to work harder on the busy frequencies. It seems like the Southern jammers on 801. 819 and 855 have also been turned off as a result of the summit. The S9+ signals from 819-KCBS every evening will probably be the same, though! (Gary DeBock, Puyallup WA, Oct 2, IRCA at HCDX via DXLD) Actually, all jammers on MW, SW, and FM are still on the air as normally in Korea. I would send you the SDR of them, but --- heck, this list can barely even handle its own text that we send it. There have been no changes in the radio situation. Just some hopeful people dreaming that it might change. Seoul and Hwaseong are still broadcasting on 657, 810, 819, 855, etc. with the coastal Incheon sites still on 855. Of course, 1053 Gimpo, 1053 Seoul, and 1080 Seoul have been off for two years now because Haeju is turned off. All the FM jammers for all the Echo of Unification stations on the outskirts of Seoul are still on as usual. All the usual SW jammers at Taereung and Haengjusanseong are operating as usual. 3970 (3965 actually at the moment) is still drunken on the SDR like 801 used to be in the DPRK, drifting around the dial. If you have not heard these stations, the reason must be poor conditions or poor luck. They are all there (-Chris Kadlec, Oct 3, ibid.) Thanks Chris, <<< Actually, all jammers on MW, SW, and FM are still on the air as normally in Korea. >>> Although I'm as interested in peace and reconciliation as the Koreans, those jammers are actually pretty interesting DX in Hawaii, where I heard two of them in December (801 and 855) that had apparently never been received in North America. The 621-VoK Japanese service from Chongjin (with its notorious buzzing transmitter) was also a big surprise at S9 in Kona, snarling with China and Tuvalu. I'll try to go after the weaker Pyongyang BS stations next month, and see how many jammers also show up. <<< If you have not heard these stations, the reason must be poor conditions or poor luck. They are all there. >>> Actually the reason is a poor DXing location, which is definitely in the minor league in comparison to Hawaii (which obviously has Asian propagation far superior to any place on our west coast). The Korean propagation into Hawaii reminded me of when I lived in Iwakuni, Japan as a teenager -- feeling like I was right next to the DMZ (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), Oct 3, ibid.) ** KOREA NORTH. DPRK ----- An envelope came from the Voice of Korea, and there was another envelope in it (for the first time I had such a case :)) They sent it in August, but the Korea and Korea Today journals were invested, for all that January (... I bought a magazine Korea is good there too .....) and the August issue of the Pyongyang Times, my English seems to be still alive, they also sent 3 QSL right away - if there are any suggestions. I’ll scan it (for March-April reports), I’ve been sent one before, no matter how many reports you’ll write) I sent reports by regular mail :) The date of sending on the envelope is: 2018.09.08, I suppose that the month that Americans put after ... just 2 weeks from the DPRK is too fast with our mail .... (Victor Varzin, Leningradskaya oblast, Kommunar, Russia / “deneb-radio-dx” via QSL World, RusDX Oct 7 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. Log 0915-1120 UT Oct 2 in remote Brisbane Queensland Australia rx SDR unit: 2850.000 KRE KCBS Pyongyang, Korean, singer program, at 0922 UT, S=7 or -83dBm signal in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. 3219.943 KRE also KCBS but much weaker in Brisbane, S=4-5 or -92dBm. 3319.996 KRE Pyongyang BS, S=4-5 poor -92dBm signal at 0931 UT. 3479.988 KOR VoPeople Goyang in Korean, and co-channel two jamming tones on centered 3479.581 and 3480.121 kHz. 0935 UT. 3909.966 KRE/KOR White noise jamming from KRE against VoPeople Goyang at 0940 UT, S=9 or -73dBm in BRisbane Australia remote SDR. 3929.992 KOR VoPeople? Goyang unstable fq, hops 2-3 Hertz up and down, S=9+5dB or -71dBm, at 0944 UT on Oct 2. 3985.014 KOR Echo of Hope Hwasong S=9 or -74dBm, and co-channel 3987v KRE white noise jamming too, at 0946 UT. 4450.000 KOR VoPeople Goyang powerful S=9+10dB or -67dBm, and accompanied by 4449.942 KRE White noise jamming from the North too at 0950 UT. 4557 kHz KRE 4 kHz wide jamming from Kujang-KRE against 'nothing' 5995.030 KOR Echo of Hope Korean from Hwaseong, - acc Aoki Nagoya list. At 1058 UT schedule, time, fq given S=9 or -73dBm signal strength in Queensland SDR site. 6002-6004 KRE broadband jamming station at 1059 UT S=9 or -73dBm. 6015.000 KOR KBS Hwaseong, + whistle tone jamming from KRE site at 1100 UT at S=9 or-73dBm signal level. 6044.990 KRE probably from the North, ditter tone fq hopping jamming S=5-6 or poor -97dBm level at 1101 UT on Oct 2nd. 6070.001 KRE Voice of Korea in Japanese language, fair S=8 at 1104 UT. and co-channel 6069.986 kHz seemingly CFRX Toronto Canada signal string visible, signal across the Pacific Ocean on dark path. 6100.001 KRE KCBS Pyongyang, mixed with similar strength of RHC Bauta Cuban Spanish signal. S=6-7 poor to fair. 1106 UT on Oct 2nd. 6135 KRE 2 kHz wideband jamming signal at S=8 level at 1107 UT, but against nothing / whom ? 6249.996 KOR Echo of Hope + KRE jammed some piccolo tone scale at S=8 at 1109 UT. Similar bcast outlet also on 6350.032 at 1111 UT. 6520.007 at 1114 UT, S=9+5dB or -70dBm, also on 6600.000 at 1116 UT, and 9100.000 KOR Echo of Hope at poor S=5-6 signal around 1118 UT. 6400.006 KRE Korean sce of Pyongyang BS at 1119 UT, S=8. 9665.000 KRE KCBS Pyongyang, Korean talk, S=9+5dB or -70dBm. 11680.000 CHN CRI Nanning in Khmer, mx program at 1120 UT, but NOT registered KRE transmission. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Replies to some items above: VOH, on 5995, Oct 2, at 1245. For several days have found no jamming of this frequency; // 3985 (jammed), 4885 (never jammed), 6250 (jammed), 6350 (jammed) and 9100 (not jammed at this time, but is often jammed). North Korea jamming has been on 6135 for a long time and was originally against Voice of Freedom (see 6045 - Ron), which a long time ago abandoned this frequency, but daily the jamming continues (Ron Howard, San Francisco, WOR iog via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. 5995, Echo of Hope VOH, 1222, Oct 4. This frequency recently noted with no N. Korea jamming. Nice reception now! 6045, Voice of Freedom, Oct 3, at *0858, with opening music of "Frontier" by Mr. Yang Bang-ean (Japan name: Liang Kunihiko); later at 1100, with the usual "Hanminjog tong-illo milaelo" program ("Korean people, to unity, to the future"). Oct 3 & 4 noted VOF with reception well above the norm, due to either no jamming or very light N. Korea jamming. A nice development with less than normal jamming from N. Korea. Look for VOF to be moving back to 5920 again, perhaps within a week? (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** KUWAIT [and non]. 15105-15110-15115, Oct 4 at 1325, weak DRM noise at S2-S3, as RK is scheduled to end just now, 0945-1325, 250 kW, 310 degrees in Arabic USward. Mixed with JBA AM carrier, as 15110 is also in use by ChiCom jamming and VOA Chinese via Thailand, 250 kW at 14 degrees also USward. 15105-15110-15115, Oct 5 at 1312, again today DRM noise from R. Kuwait in Arabic, but fluttery AM CCI in Chinese, i.e. CNR1 jammer and/or VOA Thailand this hour only. R. Kuwait has not diligently chosen a clear frequency: CRI is also on 15110 at 11-13 100/500 kW via Urumqi (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15540, Radio Kuwait at 1714 in Urdu with subcontinental instrumentals and a man with talk – Poor to Fair in peaks Oct 6 – They were broadcasting in old style analogue format, but, of course at 1800 they will be in English but in DRM mode. What a waste of bandwidth and resources! 11630, Radio Kuwait at 1519 in Arabic with Islamic Call to Prayer – Very Good Oct 7 – Another analogue transmission where they will use Doesn't Really Modulate at 1800 for English (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. 4010, 0000, Birinchi R, Kyrgyzstan – ID, opening anns in Kyrgyz, NA. 342 13/09 (Arthur Miller, Llandrindod Wells, Powys JRC NRD 525, NRD 545, G5RV 40m long wire, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 4010, 1600, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - relay BBC WS news in English till 1606, 252, 24/09 (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria, Sony ICF2001D & VEF201, Ant Folded Marconi 16m, ibid.) 4010.13, 0048, Birinchi R, Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyz ann, local songs (// 4820 not heard) 554 12/09 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, AOR AR7030+, Bonito RadioJet 1102S, 28m lw, ibid.) 4010.2, 1500, Kyrgyz R, Bishkek - BBC WS news in English at 1500 (weekends only at this time), "Birinchi Radio" ID at 1506 followed by story in Kyrgyz, then RFE/RL in Kyrgyz at 1530 (# Balkhash, Kazakhstan) 343 09/09 TR#* 4010.2, 1600, Kyrgyz R, Bishkek - BBC WS news in English (weekdays at this time), 1606 into Kyrgyz (# Balkhash, Kazakhstan) 343 11/09 TR#* Tony Rogers Birmingham Various online SDRs as indicated (mainly in British Isles), ibid.) BBC World Service News in English is aired on Kyrgyz Radio 1 on SW 4010 kHz and MW 612, 1404, 1431 kHz as follows: BBC Sport News - from Mondays to Fridays at 1005-1009, Saturdays & Sundays at 1000-1004 BBC News - Daily at 1600-1606 (confirmed at 1600 UTC on 7 Sep, but on 8 September it was at 1800 because a special event aired by TV & Birinchi Radio) (Rumen Pankov, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Further to Rumen’s observations, using the Kyrgyz Radio schedule at http://www.ktrk.kg/birinchi/broadcastsprogramm (translated using Google) and my own listening on the KiwiSDR in Balkash, Kazakhstan, the following foreign broadcasts are believed to be aired on Kyrgyz Radio’s Birinchi Radio service on 4010 kHz (and MW 612 kHz): UT Days Programme 0000 Daily Sign-on (0600 local time) 0330-0430 Daily Radio Liberty in Kyrgyz 0800-0900 Mon-Fri China (presumably in Kyrgyz but not sure if this is CRI or something else) 0900-0930 Daily Radio Liberty in Kyrgyz 0930-1000 Daily TRT (Turkey) in Kyrgyz 1000-1004 Sat/Sun BBC WS Sports News in English 1005-1009 Mon-Fri BBC WS Sports News in English 1300-1330 Mon-Fri BBC Kyrgyz 1400-1500 Daily Radio Liberty in Kyrgyz 1500-1506 Sat/Sun BBC WS News in English 1500-1530 Mon-Fri BBC Kyrgyz 1530-1600 Daily Radio Liberty in Kyrgyz 1600-1606 Mon-Fri BBC WS News in English [1601-? gh] 1600-1700 Sat/Sun China (presumably in Kyrgyz but not sure if this is CRI or something else) 1800 Daily Sign-off (0000 local time) (Tony Rogers, 29 Sep, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. 17640, October 5 approx. 1850 UT, surprised to hear African Pathways Radio in English via MWV, with a segment quoting verses from the Qur`an ---- referencing Surah-this and Surah-that by number. Evidently WCB has an ``outreach`` to Moslems, a fine example of ecumenism, or more likely trying to trick them into reverting to Islam`s progenitor. I am not certain of the date and time as I can`t find a note about this since I was driving in the car, but I am certain of the content. Could have been the repeat 2 hours later (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALI. 9635, R. Mali, Kati, 1752-1803*, 30/9. Portadora vazia [OCDA]; 45343. Por outras palavras, até cumprem o horário... em vão, já que o sinal está desprovido de áudio. Tem estado ausente dos 5995. 9635 idem, 1111-..., 04/10. Portadora vazia; 35443 (Carlos Gonçalves, SW coast of Portugal, Oct 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XEMIT-AM (540 KHz), "La voz de Balún Canán", en Comitán , Chiapas, escuchada en la ciudad de Mérida, Yucatán el 7 de octubre de 2018 entre las 0530 y 0540 UTC (0030 y 0040 hora local de verano) en una radiograbadora Emerson PD6721. Ausencia total de XEWA y de Radio Visión Cristiana (530 KHz). https://youtu.be/SN7vaCP13ow XEMIT-AM (540 KHz) escuchada en Mérida, Yucatán XEMIT-AM (540 KHz), "La voz de Balún Canán", en Comitán , Chiapas, escuchada en la ciudad de Mérida, Yucatán el ... Atte: (Ing. Israel González Ahumada, M.I., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. RAYMIE`S MEXICO BEAT this week --- including DTV = TDT So Impulso a la Música Mexicana is indeed the sister to Música de mis Recuerdos, and both are Radio Fórmula. This was confirmed by the document clearing the Chilpancingo permit forest — in which IMM and MMR were the only applicants. http://www.ift.org.mx/sites/default/files/conocenos/pleno/sesiones/acuerdoliga/pift250418324.pdf Both IMM and MMR are associated with Radio Fórmula, Luis Francisco Mondragón Río, as well as some names I had not heard, Oscar Rafael Aguirre Anaya and Promotora Hispanoamericana de Música. The former also works at Fórmula. The latter company, which primarily appears in Google searches in stories about royalties associated with old Mexican songs, has members of the Azcárraga Romandía family as shareholders. It apparently represented Mexican composers on the international market. Interestingly, Promotora Hispanoamericana de Música actually was founded by another famous Azcárraga—Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta—along with Ralph and Monique Peer. http://www.lavozdelnorte.com.mx/2013/03/03/un-editor-de-musica-de-los-que-quedan-muy-pocos-alfonso-garcia-santillana/ ——— A curious announcement by the municipality of Culiacán, Sinaloa, that it will have a new cultural radio station. This is being announced by the municipal president-elect of that city, Jesús Estrada Ferreiro, and being touted as a way for the municipality to save money on promoting itself on commercial stations, http://lineadirectaportal.com/publicacion/ayuntamiento-de-culiacan-tendra-una-radio-cultural-alcalde-400688 with Estrada declaring that he "will not be a hostage to the commercial media". http://www.vivavoz.com.mx/voz-urbana-menu/47381-no-sere-rehen-de-los-medios-estrada-ferreiro.html In Mexico, there are just three municipally owned radio stations. Last edited by Raymie; 09-30-2018 at 10:38 PM (Raymie Humbert, Phœnix AZ, Sept 30, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) Some of the press around the launch of the La Bonita del Norte stations reveals challenges that JFJ Comunicaciones (the trade name for the ownership, which is just Jorge Armando García Calderón) faced in getting them on the air. The AM facility in Juan Aldama posed site challenges. JFJ had to spend money on getting electricity to the site, including putting up power poles. http://eltrochilero.com/radio-operacion-frecuencia/ Additionally, the local electrical supply in Río Grande is not reliable, resulting in frequent power outages in town, according to JFJ director Ana Jimena García Calderón. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5clKWnuz1w At both sites, there is no adequate internet service. It looks like all these stations are being programmed from a central facility in the city of Zacatecas itself (Raymie, Oct 2, ibid.) Fifty years ago today, perhaps the darkest single moment in Mexican history took place — the massacre at Tlatelolco, in which hundreds were killed, a student movement was quashed by the military, and the country was left with a massive black mark on its reputation just ten days before the Olympic Games opened in Mexico City. Many of the cultural stations have had special programming. Radio UNAM is producing a recreation of what the events might have been like on the radio which is also being aired by Radio Educación. There are also plenty of roundtables and discussions to mark the occasion (Raymie, Oct 2, ibid.) The IFT met on September 19, and two more radio stations got the green light: La Monarca de Contepec, A.C. — Contepec, Mich. (community) La Voz del Canario, A.C. — Tiquicheo, Mich. (community) There were also a bunch of more snoozeworthy items and concession renewals. I also want to give the IFT props on timing. One of the items they tackled this time around dealt with giving a non-broadcasting concession set to Centro de Instrumentación y Registro Sísmico, A.C. CIRES operates Mexico's earthquake early warning system. And somehow they managed to have it approved...on the 19th of September (Raymie, Oct 2, ibid.) Two stories about frequency changes today. The first is in Sinaloa, where XHTNT-FM is now on 100.5 MHz. The move of this Los Mochis station leaves just two more stations to be cleared from the band in the whole state: XHGS-FM 106.1 Guasave and XHTLAN-FM 106.7 Mazatlán. The two stations have concessions that don't expire for a while, with expiration dates in 2020 and 2023, respectively. The second is in Guanajuato, where the TV4 state network has begun repacking activity https://www.facebook.com/tv4notioficial/videos/1740490439410519/?__tn__=H-R and advised viewers to rescan. 10 transmitters of the network were assigned new channels in March, including the main transmitter at León with its three dependent shadows. There's also a new TV station on test. XHCPPV-TDT 27 appears to be the first of CPS Media's TV Mar stations to put out a signal. It's also by far the most powerful, with an ERP of 90 kW (the BCS stations will transmit at 10 and 14 kW). https://www.instagram.com/p/Bofx6mzltgUVZZfMvMOHY0Nv2j0Qti5ux3KrjI0/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=16aygmqni8de6 (Raymie, Oct 3, ibid.) Coverage Spotlight: XHAMO, Channel...30? Colima's state TV station made history late in 2015 when it signed on its digital facility as an intermittent operation concern. Sharing the analog channel of 11, XHAMO-TDT (with an ERP of 1.15 kW) was just the second VHF digital television station to operate in Mexico and the first new one in years. So it's a bit of a surprise to see the Coverage Viewer has very different technical parameters for XHAMO. Namely, it's authorized to move to channel 30 with an ERP of 20.03 kW and a HAAT of 39.25 m. (The transmitter does not move in all of this.) The authorization for channel 30 must have been approved within the last 12 to 18 months, as the May 2017 concession for the station specifies channel 11. Colima does not have any other VHF TV stations, so between the power hike and the move to a UHF channel, this should improve reception of the station. Speaking of UHF in Colima, XHOPCO repacked today (it's now on RF 21) and reports are XHCKW is on its way to RF 23 (Raymie, Oct 4, ibid.) Re: ** MEXICO. XELBC-730, Loreto BCS --- I'm still trying to figure out what is going on with this very quirky station. . . Ow... Promomedios California, as I have said time and again, is a head-scratching mystery with a suffocating grip on most of the state's radio listeners. XELBC is a migrant with a continuity obligation. XHLBC-FM is indeed 25 kW. I believe some of these outstate Promomedios stations are actually some sort of simulcast network, along with stations like XHESR (Santa Rosalía). It's not a surprise to hear them simulcasting XHRLA or XHHZ — they are co-owned. XEBCS/XHBCP...yeah, that is a bit confusing. They have such a scant web presence that some stations we don't even know what they are running, including in La Paz. I even wonder if La Giganta might originate in the capital. ——— The IFT coverage viewer updated today and now has some of those missing Oaxaca details. I'll report if I find anything interesting. In news not from the Coverage Viewer, Fundación Guish Bac, Abriendo los Cielos, A.C., will be opening the skies on 93.3 XHSCCF-FM, one of two community stations authorized in August for Tlacolula de Matamoros, Oaxaca. This is the highest two-letter abbreviation yet assigned for a community station (CF). Last edited by Raymie; 10-05-2018 at 07:19 PM. (Raymie, Oct 5, ibid.) It's up. The four-bay FM antenna is in place for XHEP-FM 96.5 Mexico City, and it even has a nickname: La Libertaria. https://twitter.com/RadioEducacion/status/1048700437979774976 Test transmissions are very likely to follow soon, or at least after the transmission line goes in. That work begins tomorrow. There are a ton of cool tweets from Radio Educación showing the process of raising the elements onto the tower (Raymie, Oct 6, ibid.) A few news items from the last week to catch up on. The first is out of Hermosillo, Sonora. XHHER-FM 105.9 showed up late this week, and its signing on is generating more questions than answers for radio industry watchers. XHHER, the fourth station out of the Hermosillo permit forest, is owned by Organiden, A.C. Organiden is a wolf associated with existing radio station interests in Sonora. Its first station was XHGYM 103.7 down the road in Guaymas. That station signed on earlier this year as "Voz Sonora", operated by Radiovisa, a commercial radio station group operating in Guaymas and Caborca. Organiden also has pending applications in Ciudad Obregón and Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, and at one point it sought a station at Agua Prieta. The surprise was that Radiovisa was nowhere to be found. In fact, XHHER launched with romantic music and "Romántica" liners, including, most tellingly, an old "Romántica 101.1" liner. Those would come from Grupo Larsa's XHVSS-FM, which two months ago flipped to grupera as the controversially named "La Más Chingona". Larsa comes out of left field here, and there's no reason for them to be involved. There are few answers, as the document clearing this permit forest is still unavailable more than nine months after the fact. While there are signs of activity around XHRMO 88.1 and XHHMO 103.5, the other social stations awarded in the forest, apparently neither has yet to actually begin transmissions. XHRMO "La Voz de Pitic" has a Facebook page up and XHHMO was allegedly formally inaugurated recently. That leaves XHFLO, Radio Educación Señal Cultura Sonora, which is supposed to get going in the first half of 2019. [tagline:] Este programa es público, ajeno a cualquier partido político. Queda prohibido el uso para fines distintos a los establecidos en el programa (Raymie, Oct 8, ibid.) ** MEXICO. Heard the Mexican exotic low power station on our national holiday Oct 3rd: 6185.006 kHz, XEPPM, Radio Educacion on music performance at 0412 UT, S=8 or -76dBm signal strength on remote SDR in Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6185, Radio Educación, Ciudad de México, 0457-0525*, 05-10, classic music, anthem at 0500, ID “Cultura México Señal Internacional, una emisora de Radio Educación, 100.000 watts de potencia”, music, at 0505 news bulletin of Radio France International in Spanish. 15321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Anomaly to stay on past 0500*? (gh, DXLD) ** MONACO. 8728, 1000, Monaco R. NA, schedule for weather reports, French & English, NA, 433, 15/08 (Arthur Miller, Llandrindod Wells, Powys JRC NRD 525, NRD 545, G5RV 40m long wire, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** NEPAL. Log 1130-1255 UT in remote New Delhi India rx SDR unit, on Oct 2nd. 5005, Nothing heard/visible of R Nepal Kathmandu at 1250 UT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Nepal's normal sign off currently is close to 1115* UT, when they are broadcasting. Oct 2, at 1102, had no carrier today. Erratic low power/low modulation testing? Per WRTH Facebook, this station is looking into doing DRM broadcasting! (Ron Howard, San Francisco, WOR iog via DXLD) 5005, Radio Nepal (presumed), 1050-1110*, Oct 4. Definite carrier heard, so another day of testing; no trace of any audio (low modulation?) (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Germany, Eastern: 5960, The Mighty KBC with Uncle Eric’s Giant Juke Box oldies show, the usual oldies including Wilson Pickett’s cover of “Born to be Wild” (never heard his version before!) and a digital minute from Kim Elliot about a train webcam in KY: [screen capture] In well, despite QRM from both sides (some sort of noise below, ad EWTN in Spanish on 5970) hemming it in meaning a narrower bandwidth was needed. 44+444 0105-0135 30/Sep SDRplay +SDRuno +FLDigi for digital bits, +randomwire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Port Hope MI2, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5960, EAST GERMANY, The Mighty KBC (via Nauen) at 0000 with opening music and a man with ID of “Rocking over the ocean and all over Europe we are the Mighty KBC” followed by general silliness and into DJ Dave Mason with oldies music and KBC Imports ads – Very Good Oct 7 – Over the past few weeks, since the frequency change from 9925, I have noticed this one fading out during its second (final) hour sometimes as early as 0120. Tonight it had a solid signal right through to its 0200 sign-off so, as we get deeper into the winter DX season, it should perform much better (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, Oct 7, ODXA iog via DXLD) ** NEWFOUNDLAND [and non]. 2749-USB, Oct 7 at 0050, YL voice with presumed marine weather, S9 vs storm crashes up to S9+25 just east of here and a large area of north-central Texas. 2598-USB, Oct 7 at 0051, same thing about same level. Sounds like the same synthyl, but not //. Glad these Canadian MF stations are making it thru again as we get into fall. According to the 2018 Canadian Coast Guard schedule: http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/Marine-Communications/RAMN-2018/Part2#21 ``Table 2-24 - Sydney MCTS/VCO - Broadcasts [Nova Scotia] Sydney MCTS/VCO - Broadcasts UTC Site Frequency or Channel Contents 00:40 Port Caledonia 2749J3E Radiotelephony Technical marine synopsis and forecasts for marine areas 209, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 231 and 232. Wave height forecast for marine areas 209, 213, 214, 215 and 217. Notices to Shipping in areas Cape Breton Shore (covering Cabot Strait to Banquereau Bank), Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland South Coast, P.E.I. and Miramichi Bay. Notices to Shipping revising the position of every reported offshore exploration and exploitation vessel.`` ``Table 2-10 - MCTS Placentia/VCP - Broadcasts [Newfoundland] 00:48 St. Lawrence 2598J3E Radiotelephony Technical marine synopsis, forecasts and wave height forecasts for marine areas 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237 and 238. Weather and Wave height forecasts for marine area 213.`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Voice of Nigeria was observed on 9690 instead of its regular 7255 kHz frequency for its evening broadcasts for several days in September. The evening schedule is as follows: 1800-1930 English 7255 (or 9690) // 15120(DRM) 1930-2000 Fulfulde 7255 (or 9690) 2000-2100 Hausa 7255 (or 9690) I heard VON on 9689.9 with a weak signal in vernaculars on 6 September but when checked again on 23 September at 1805 it was back on 7254.9 kHz with news in English (Dave Kenny, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 9689.92, Voice of Nigeria, Ikorudu; 30 September 2018; 2005 UT Hausa service colliding with Radio France International via Issoudun in the same language (VON was significantly stronger); VON carrier dropped at 2007, leaving RFI in the clear. 73, (Andy Robins, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA. Airspy HF+ with SDR Console v.3 and a 45' PAR EF-SWL end-fed wire at 20', WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7254.937, Oct 2 at 0608, VON with two audios mixing equally, both Hausa? What a mess; but at 0611 I can tell one of them is in accented English; unseems a voice-over translation situation. If so, extremely clumsy and self-defeating (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6935.27, Man Cave Radio (pirate); 1 October 2018; AM mode; 0006 UT canned ID by man into "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings; several other IDs followed, including one that concluded, "Keep your critical remarks to yourself or we'll nail your tongue to the floor"; fair-good level with fading; ID and off 0018 UT. 73, (Andy Robins, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA. Airspy HF+ with SDR Console v.3 and a 45' PAR EF-SWL end-fed wire at 20', WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6950-USB, Oct 7 at 0035, strong unrecognized tunes segué, S9+25; finally 0040:30 break a ``Wolverine Radio`` ID as expected. Many logs here say the theme topic was ``Heaven`` https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,46617.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. 890, October 3 at 1821 UT, KTLR OKC is the first station I hear running the much-publicized nationwide EAS test (eclipsed by text version 2 minutes earlier I am not equipped to receive). It`s an impossible task to evaluate the 1-minute EAS, without recording the entire local AM and/or FM bands for later study as if they were DX --- did anybody do this? As zero-minute approached, I was set to scan up MW ASAP starting at 550. After KTLR, many others were heard, but nothing seemed to be synchronized. One station still playing music while others EASed, was 1130, KLEY Wellington KS, but moving on, I don`t know whether they did run it earlier, later, or never. At least they long ago solved the transmission breakup/noise pulsing which plagued KLEY most of the first half of this year. Notably, 930, WKY OKC ran a Spanish version of the EAS announcement circa 1822 UT. At least I did not hear any horrible echoes or distortions as has happened previously, due to too-lengthy relay chains! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See WORLD OF HOROLOGY ** PAKISTAN. Radio Pakistan’s workers protest against leasing out state-radio’s historic building --- Gulf News Pakistan, September 24 Islamabad: Workers of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) or Radio Pakistan on Monday took to the road against a government’s notification for leasing out the PBC building in order to generate funds. The building they said represented the voice of Pakistan and aspirations of millions of Pakistanis and was of historic importance as former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto inaugurated it back in early 1970s. The protest held in front of the Radio Pakistan’s main building was participated by not only the officers, staff and workers of the PBC but also by the retired employees, daily-wage workers and members of civil society. According to them the PTI-government’s decision to lease out a building of historic importance would be tantamount to disrespecting an institute that was born simultaneously with the birth of Pakistan. A former deputy controller of Radio Pakistan Safdar Hamdani was of the view that people of the subcontinent learnt about partition of India and birth of Pakistan through Radio Pakistan Lahore in 1947. Radio Pakistan has been quite instrumental in infusing spirit of patriotism and Ideology of Pakistan among the masses, he said. Another senior broadcaster and former Controller of Radio Pakistan Islamabad Mehmood Riazuddin also termed the PTI-government’s decision to lease out the Islamabad station’s building unfortunate. At present more than 1,500 staffers are working in the Islamabad station of Radio Pakistan, he said. A large number of others working in different shifts on daily wages and contract basis are besides the regular staffers, said Riazuddin. Referring to Information Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry’s statement that Radio Pakistan’s present building was quite huge and unnecessary, Mehmood Riazuddin said the building was home to not only a broadcasting house but it was also a of publishing house. Here offices of Radio Pakistan’s monthly Urdu newsletter “Ahang,” English journal “Pakistan Calling” and BBC newsletters are also set up, he said. It is because of Radio Pakistan’s news and analytical programmes that the former president Ziaul Haq was compelled to say that he won support of 146 countries of the world on the Afghan Issue because of the Radio Pakistan’s current affairs programmes, features and comments. Mehmood Riazuddin also said that at Radio Pakistan Islamabad building a Master Control Room (MCR) is set up that links the Islamabad headquarters with all the other stations during the address of the President or the Prime Minister to the nation. Questioning the federal government’s decision of accommodating hundreds of employees of Radio Pakistan to the Broadcasting Academy a much smaller building, Safdar Hamdani said half of the Broadcasting Academy building was already leased out to some educational institute. In the rest of the building China-Pakistan joint radio channel Dosti’s transmission is already working. It would not be easy to shift the huge infrastructure, machinery and instruments of the radio Pakistan Islamabad station to that academy, said Hamdani. Employees of the Radio Pakistan also condemned the decision of the government saying PTI had vocally criticised the previous government of PML-N for ‘selling’ the state institutes and offices and now its government itself is doing the same. They vowed to resist the government’s decision and continue their protest unless the notification for leasing out the radio Pakistan is withdrawn Oct (via CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Log 0915-1120 UT Oct 2 in remote Brisbane Queensland Australia rx SDR unit. 3259.995, Radio Madang played local pop mx sound, S=9+5dB or -71dBm proper signal into Queensland. 0929 UT on Oct 2nd. Pidgin language service [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NBC Madang, 3260, Oct 2 from 1110 to cut off at 1205* UT. Well above the norm, even with QRN (static); in Pidgin; mostly variety of music (pop Pacific Islands songs, Whitney Houston - "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," etc.). My music audio at http://goo.gl/dZWvA9 (Ron Howard, San Francisco, WOR iog via DXLD) 3259.993 kHz listen to attached mp3 format files, 1053 and 1112 UT, taken via Perseus remote and Audacity/LAME export encoding, small/narrow 1.8 kHz audio string/band though from the PNG TX, though Y.T. set bandwidth on the rx to 20 kHz! S=9 or -73dBm signal strength. Noted today Oct 3rd, via remote SDR at Brisbane Queensland Australia: [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3260, NBC Madang (Maus Blong Garamut), 1205*, on Oct 4. Cut off just after the news in English (unreadable) 3260, NBC Madang (Maus Blong Garamut), 1105, Oct 7 (Sunday). Usual religious programs of music and preaching; well above normal reception; cut off at 1213*; as it was the weekend, no news coverage at ToH. Oct 6 (Saturday), at 1015+ country & western songs; mostly sounded like impassioned religious preaching and religious music; good number of IDs, including one for "NBC Madang, Maus Blong Garamut"; noted cut off at 1206*; well above the norm; as it was the weekend, no news at ToH (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Re - Wantok Radio Light Billy Yasi informs as follows - "Our technicians are currently installing the Shortwave Radio. Hopefully installation will be completed by Thursday October 4th. Test transmission will be on Friday 5th October. Official launching into service will be on Saturday 6th October" Regards (Michael Cunningham, Working in New Ireland Province, PNG, Oct 2, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) Not ``yasr`` as I mis- spoke on WOR (gh) Wantok Radio Light reactivated. After initially noting some intermittent transmissions on 7324.91 at carrier level to 0639:30 UT and again at 0704 yesterday (6 October), I have finally caught audio from this reactivated station today 7 October. A local identification was noted at 0645 but otherwise the programming heard so far is mainly syndicated broadcasts and gospel songs in English. The frequency has drifted up to 7324.94 during today's monitoring (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, New Zealand, 0733 UT Oct 7, WOR iog via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) 7325 Wantok 7 Oct 0745 on air (John Wright, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 0745 UT Fade in --- remembering they hopefully send a QSL like 3 years ago, postage about 3 USD? (Johno Wright, ARDXC, Hard-Core-DX mailing list, 0818 UT Oct 7 via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** PERU [and non]. PERU RADIO NOTES – DXing from Karl D Forth in Huanchaco, Cajamarca and Chota, Peru, while traveling with DXers Don Moore and John Fisher. [sic, many but not all accents missing:] 540, Radio Santiago from Guayaquil good signal 0140. (Heard in Huanchaco 5/13) 540, Radio Lider de Puno, 0300 ID and time check, Andean mx. Not listed in radio database. (1150 in Puno listed) (Heard in Cajamarca 5/20) 570, ID sounded like Radio Narino, at 0433. Huamachuco, Lambayeque, Ica stations listed here. (Heard in Chota 5/23) 580, Radio Maria, Lima heard 0317. (Huanchaco 5/16) 600, UnID La Voz de Ponama (??) rustic vocals, female ID 0330. (Chota 5/23) 600,Local Trujillo station 0144, not IDed. Radio Ondas de Paz Trujillo listed. (Huanchaco 5/13) 610, Radio Santa Monica, Chota heard with religious program. Asociación Religiosa Cultural Santa Monica listed in database. (Chota 5/23) 650, Religious programs 2330, not IDed, Radio Benedicion Cristiana active. (Chota 5/22) 700, Religious station local or strong signal from Cajamarca. (Heard in Cajamarca 5/19) 710, Radio Turbo heard 0200. Grupo Turbo Mix listed in government database (Cajamarca 5/20) 730, Radio Maria heard 0145, not sure of location. (Cajamarca 5/20) 740, Radio Ilucan heard 2247. (Chota 5/22) 750, Radio Caravana in Guayaquil heard 0001. (Chota 5/23) 780, Bambamarca news items, time pips then off 0200*, no ID, Radio Coremarca in Bambamarca listed. (Chota 5/23) 790, Radio RPP 0247 strong with sports. (Huanchaco 5/14) 800, Religious station, not IDed. Cadena de Radio Vision listed in government database. (Cajamarca 5/19) 810, Caracol Radio from Bogota heard 0302. (Chota 5/23), Also 0000 (Huanchaco 5/16) 820, Continente Radio, good local mx 0210. (Cajamarca 5/19) 870, Guayaquil heard 0400, no station ID. Radio Cristal is online. (Chota 5/23) 880, Radio Sintonia in Trujillo, local station. (Huanchaco 5/14) 930, Radio Moderna, Lima, heard 0125 very strong. (Huanchaco 5/14) Henrik Klemetz to me that reported that slogan here is Moderna Radio Papa. 950, Radio Santa Rosa, 0310 fair signal, Peralta Barboza Elvis listed in Hualgayoc. (Cajamarca 5/20) 970, Radio Lider, news and ID 2230. Listed as Compania de Radio and Television Lider, Cajamarca. (Cajamarca 5/20) 980, Andina Radio in Chota, unlit tower seen about a mile southeast of our listening post, very loud uncontrolled, splashy signal. Off the air 0300 one night, heard anthem 0257 then off shortly after the next night. (Chota 5/22 and 5/23) 990, Radio Latina from Lima heard 0415. (Chota 5/23) 1010, Radio Cajamarca local music, cutoff and ID 0233*; (Cajamarca 5/20) Radio San Francisco in Cajamarca listed in db, but Radio Cielo also heard here 0314.(Chota 5/23) 1020, Semi-local Radio Bambamarca is listed. (Chota 5/23) 1070, Radio Vida heard ID 0245, Chiclayo listed. (Cajamarca 5/19) 1080, Guayaquil heard here 0226 with good signal but not IDed. Radio Sistema 2 is listed. (Huanchaco 5/14) Klemetz reported Sistema 2 is widely heard in northern Peru. 1100, Distant signal in Portuguese, mention of Brazilian cities, 0325. Likely Radio Globo, Sao Paulo. (A weak signal on 860 also heard.) (Cajamarca 5/19) 1120, Radio Paz with contemporary, digital, auto-tuned music, no ID 2145. (Chota 5/23) 1170, Religious program in Spanish 0315, not IDed, Radio Layzon in Cajamarca listed. (Cajamarca 5/19) Klemetz reported that La Voz de la Liberacons [sic] program could be carried here by Radio Jerusalén. 1200, La Voz de Cumbe, heard sign-off 0300*, Frecuencia Podagogia listed in database (Cajamarca 5/19) 1280, Radio Moderna ID heard 2230 in Cajamarca. (Cajamarca 5/20) 1290, News program, ID 0400, Trujillo? Radio Portales? (Local Chota also on 1290) (Chota 5/23) Klemetz reported this is probably RPP in Tumbes. 1290, Radio Estelar, upbeat music, ID 2259, Digitel S.A.C. listed as owner for Chota. (Chota 5/23) 1300, Radio Comas ID heard 0127, Lima listed. (Huanchaco 5/16) 1310, Radio Chota 2305 with good signal, local announcements, after visiting station. Radio Chota S.C.R.L. listed as owner. (Chota 5/23) 1340, La Voz de Dios mention heard while in Cajamarca. Radio Shalom listed in database. (Cajamarca 5/19) 1350, UnID, in Portuguese with Brazilian sports 0300. (Huanchaco 5/13) Porto Velho from Brazil was heard on Don Moore’s antenna and reported by Klemetz. 1380, “Radio 1380” ID heard, good music, having transmitter trouble, cutting in and out 2300, Radio Altahualpa listed. (Cajamarca 5/19) Klemetz reported that this is Radio Campesina in Cajamarca. 1400, Radio Agricultura heard 0255, Cortez Morales Francisco listed in database. (Cajamarca 5/19) 1420, Radio Positiva from Bambamarca heard with local ads 2300. (Chota 5/23) 1420, Radio Nor Peruana heard, Heredia Barbosa Juan Fernando listed. (Cajamarca 5/19) 1450, Radio Libertad heard 1215 news and sounders from Bambamarca. (Chota 5/23) 1470, Radio Capital ID heard 0300. Lima listed. (Huanchaco 5/14) 1500, Heard religious stations, Radio Bonenciar (?), or similar, did not hear listed Radio JCL ID. (Huanchaco 5/16) Klemetz reported that this is Radio Comercial in Trujillo. 1500, Radio Santa Rosa heard with Andean music 0155, Lima listed. (Huanchaco 5/13) 1540 Radio Mundial ID, religious program, Trujillo listed (Huanchaco 5/16) (Karl D Forth, Sangean ATS-909, DXing from Huanchaco, Cajamarca and Chota with Don Moore and John Fisher. Henrik Klemetz listened to Don’s SDR recordings and his past listening and research, IRCA DX Monitor October 6, published Oct 3, via DXLD) ** PERU. 4747. R. HUANTA 2000. Septiembre 2. 2240-2250 UT. Mujer y hombre hablan en quechua y anuncios yerbateros. SINPO: 45343 (Claudio Galaz, Receptor: TECSUN PL 660, ANTENA: Hilo largo de 30 metros + balun 9:1+ tierra; Lugar de escucha: Ovalle, IV Región, Chile, HCDX via DXLD) ** PERU. 5025. R.QUILLABAMBA. Septiembre 2. 2250-2311 UT. Programa de música de cumbias andinas, luego anuncios locales sobre atenciones médicas y de educación de adultos. Después prosigue la música. Desde las 2302, se emite un programa de las comunidades cristianas campesinas con informaciones sobre el reinicio de las labores escolares en la región, luego rezos y lectura del evangelio del día. SINPO: 55343, desde las 2301 con SINPO: 55444 (Claudio Galaz, Receptor: TECSUN PL 660, ANTENA: Hilo largo de 30 metros + balun 9:1+ tierra; Lugar de escucha: Ovalle, IV Región, Chile, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. Aha, thanks to Bruce Portzer and Bill Whitacre, we have a winner: My 576 unID was Bomba Radyo Davao, Philippines {DXMF]. Bruce had found https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcBukTt6XVM to help Bill identify an unid from Grayland in February, and that entertaining little song is what was being heard in Victoria at 1400 UT on 7 October. It's their sign off song. I wonder how many stations commission sign off songs? Not Myanmar, but a pretty nice consolation prize just the same. best wishes, (Nick Hall-Patch, BC, Oct 8, IRCA at HCDX via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. 13750, RRI at 1132 // 15130 (both beamed to Western Europe) and 15320 (very weak but audible but beamed to South-East Africa!) with a woman playing classical music and talk about the opening concerts for the fall season of the National Symphonic Orchestra – Very Good Oct 5 – Like Spain, Romania and Eastern Ontario must be perfectly aligned for reliable transmissions. Even during geomagnetic storm conditions they always seem to get through! 11810, RRI at 1659 // 9760 with IS to opening music at 1700 and a man with ID, target areas, and web platforms and a man with news at 1701 then a promo at 1707 for “Listeners' Day” on November 4th – Very Good Oct 7 – RRI's website lists 9760 at this hour in DRM but, the fact that I could hear it, it was in Does Really Modulate mode (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. RRI Bucharest Contest: "Radio Romania 90 and RadiRo-2018". Dear friends of RRI, you are once again invited to a prize winning contest: "Radio Romania 90 and RadiRo 2018". The contest is dedicated to 90 years of Romanian radio broadcasting and to this year's edition of the International Festival of Radio Orchestras, RadiRo, organized by the national public radio in our country. The first radio transmission in Romania was broadcast on Nov 1, 1928. Nine decades marked by special moments have gone by, moments that the national public radio celebrates together with you, by organizing a new contest. The month of November 2018 is, however - rich in cultural events, one of them being the 4th International Festival of Radio Orchestras between November 18 and 25, to which this contest is dedicated as well. The public radio service in Romania, the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, is the leader of the line industry, with a cumulative daily reach of some 4.5 million listeners and a cumulative market share of 30%. Radio Romania is made up of the channels Radio Romania Actualitatsi, Radio Romania International, Radio Romania Cultural, Radio Romania Muzical, Antena Satelor, a network of over 10 regional stations, the Radio3net online station, Radio Chisinau (based in the Republic of Moldova), but also of the National Radio Drama Department, the RADOR News Agency and the Radio Choirs and Orchestras. Radio Romania organises every two years, alternatively with the famous "George Enescu" International Festival, its own International Festival of Radio Orchestras, RadiRo, which reaches its fourth edition in 2018. Famous orchestras as well as prominent soloists and conductors will step onto the stage of the festival, just as every year. The main novelty of the 2018 edition is the series of jazz concerts. You are invited to follow RRI broadcasts, our website and our Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn profiles, and to answer correctly, in writing, a few questions, and you may be a winner. The closing date is November 30, 2018 mailing date, (namely 30 November, 24:00 hours Romanian time, for online contributions, respectively). The prizes and honorary mentions consist of items promoting Romanian culture, symphonic and jazz music, also promoting the public radio service. The contest is organized jointly with the "Casa Radio" Publishing House and the City Hall of Bucharest. And here are the questions: - How many years ago was the 1st radio transmission broadcast in Romania? - Name three channels under the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation! - What is the current edition of the International Festival of Radio Orchestras? - Who is the organizer of the RadiRo Festival? Please tell us what prompted you to participate in the contest and why you are listening to RRI's broadcasts and following RRI's content online. Our address is: Radio Romania International 60-64 G-ral Berthelot Street, Sector 1, Bucharest, P.O.Box 111, postcode 010165, Romania. fax 00.40.21.319.05.62 e-mail Please send your answers by November 30, 2018, mailing date (30 November, 24:00 hours Romanian time, for online contributions). The rules and regulations of this contest are available HERE and on RRI's F_B profile. Good luck! (via Gager Paul, Autriche, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 4, via BC-DX Oct 5 via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. ?????????? ???? (??????). RESPUBLIKA SAKHA (YAKUTIYA) -------------------------------------- So all the same - what will happen next with broadcasting on short waves from the Republic of Sakha? Let me remind you that the broadcast for the population of Yakutia was stopped on April 27, they were financed from the local budget. I cite a part of the answer received by the author of the rubric (with a few comments). The main thing that can be understood from it is that broadcasting on HF will not be restored. Quote from the letter: "Thus, the resumption of powerful broadcasting requires decisions and funding at the federal level. Today, development is proceeding within the framework of VHF broadcasting. Due to the moral and physical obsolescence of equipment, which caused frequent breakdowns, pauses in broadcasting, and the inability to update transmitters in connection with the cessation of their production, it was decided to turn them off in Yakutia since May of this year. The released funds were used to increase the volume of Yakut broadcasting in the UHF band. " The letter itself is great, there they told me about the advantages of VHF broadcasting. So I immediately introduced the antenna masts near each yaranga. There have been many publications on this topic, what information, from what sources do they draw from the edge of herders, for example: http://sakhaday.ru/news/pochemuolenevody-v-yakutii-vynuzhdeny-slushat-radio-svoboda/ (08.24.18) A little later, information appeared on the TASS website: "The Chukotka government developed a project to provide short-wave nomad camps for short-wave broadcasting, the cost of organizing which will be about 14 million rubles annually." The organization of shortwave broadcasting is proposed to provide with the help of a radio center in Yelizovo, Kamchatka Krai. The government of Chukotka intends to apply to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation with a proposal to co-finance the project (source - URL: http://tass.ru/obschestvo/5431535 (08.24.18)) Vasily Gulyaev, Astrakhan, Russia. ftp://ftp.radio.ru/pub/2018/10/25.pdf (via RusDX Oct 7 via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Radio reception technology - new technologies. Two digital broadcasting technologies will compete in Russia. The State Commission for Radio Frequencies has allocated bands for launching digital broadcasting networks of the DRM + standard. Earlier, the commission has already allocated frequencies for another digital radio standard, DAB +. The State Radio Frequency Commission (SCRF) decided to allocate frequencies in the 65.9-74 MHz and 87.5-108 MHz bands for digital broadcasting in the DRM + standard. This follows from the minutes of the meeting of the commission of September 11, 2018, published by the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media. The initiator of the allocation of frequencies was the state enterprise “Russian television and radio broadcasting network” (RTRS). The commission’s decision notes that “Russia's integration into the global information space is impossible without the use of digital technologies recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).” ITU, for its part, recommended the use of very high frequency (VHF) bands for a number of digital broadcasting technologies, including DRM +. Another name for VHF is ultrashort wave (VHF, 30 to 300 MHz). In addition, back in 2010, the Government chose the DRM standard as the first step to launch digital broadcasting, according to the decision of the SCRF. Frequencies in the specified ranges are allocated by the decision of the State Committee for Radio Frequency to launch DRM + networks to an indefinite circle of persons [sic]. The history of attempts to launch digital broadcasting in Russia is very controversial. The digitalization of broadcasting was started at the same time as the digitalization of broadcasting - in the late 1990s. It was originally intended to use for this purpose the DAB standard, focused on the VHF band. But the real work was not carried out. In the late 2000s, it was decided to use a different standard - DRM. It was originally focused on the ranges of long, short and medium waves, that is, up to 30 MHz. But in this standard work was not carried out. In 2015, RTRS returned to the idea of ??launching DAB networks and began testing its modified version - DAB + (it differs using more modern audio compression technology - MPEG-4 He-AAC v.2). In the summer of 2018, the SCRF allocated frequencies to the indefinite circle of persons in the range of 174–230 MHz for launching DAB + networks. Now frequencies are issued for DRM +. This technology is a kind of DRM standard that provides broadcasting at frequencies from 30 to 174 MHz (that is, in the UHF band). The “original” DRM standard is called DRM30. DRM + technology allows transmitting up to three sound programs on one frequency and providing a separate channel for low-speed data transfer. It also supports the ability to transfer sound programs in multi-channel MPEG Surround 5.1 format, to obtain additional information related to a specific sound program (Program Associated Data, PAD), and to receive multimedia information. This allows owners of DAB + receivers to see the name of programs, radio stations, countries, current time and date, electronic program guide, text messages in various languages, traffic messages, information for travelers, still images (photos, slides), etc. After the current decision GKRCH turns out that the ranges of VHF I and II in Russia are allocated for DRM +, the range of VHF III - for DAB +. The press service of RTRS told CNews that both the decisions of the SCRF - with respect to DAB + and with respect to DRM + - are in force and, according to international practice, can be used for different broadcast technologies. “Which standard to choose will be decided by the broadcasters themselves depending on the possibility of use in a particular region,” the organization’s press service said. Meanwhile, Russia has its own digital radio standard - RAVIS, created by Sad-com. Like DRM +, it is focused on VHF I, but also provides video transmission. Now there is a test broadcast in the format of RAVIS in Tatarstan and Udmurtia. General Director of “Sad-com” Alexander Dvorkovich notes that in terms of the DAB + and DRM + standards, there are only SCRF decisions on the allocation of frequencies to an indefinite circle of persons, and this is not enough to start broadcasting. The legal and regulatory framework required to launch a broadcast has been prepared only in part of the DRM30 standard. Igor Korolev, cnews.ru http://onair.ru/main/enews/view_msg/NMID__70805/ On the allocation of radio frequency bands 65.9–74 MHz and 87.5–108 MHz for use by radio electronic means of digital on-air sound broadcasting of the DRM + standard (SCRF decision No. 18-46-01) Having heard the report of FSUE “RTRS” about the results of work in the experimental zone of experimental digital sound broadcasting of the DRM standard in the radio frequency bands 65.9–74 MHz and 87.5–108 MHz (DRM +), SCRF notes. The integration of the Russian Federation into the global information space is impossible without the use of digital technologies recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). In ITU-R documents (BS.1660 and BS.1114) for use in the VHF frequency bands (30-300 MHz) allocated for terrestrial sound broadcasting (65.9-74 MHz, 87.5-108 MHz and 174- 240 MHz), DAB / DAB +, DMB, DRM, ISDB-TSB, IBOC HD Radio FM systems are recommended. The DRM system was chosen as the first step in introducing digital sound broadcasting by the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of March 28, 2010 No. 455-p. The DRM standard is characterized by flexible transmission parameters, which allows it to be used in the frequency bands below 30 MHz (operating modes A, B, C, D) and in the VHF bands (operation mode E in the bands 65.9–74 MHz, 87 5-108 MHz and 174-240 MHz). FSUE "RTRS" in conjunction with the St. Petersburg State University of Telecommunications. prof. M.A. Bonch-Bruyevich (SPbGUT) conducted a research work "Development of recommendations for the implementation in the Russian Federation of the digital broadcasting standard DRM +". In the course of the research and experiments, the characteristics of the DRM + system declared in the standard were confirmed, field tests were conducted in the fixed and mobile modes of receiving the DRM + signal in the radio frequency bands 65.9-74 MHz, 87.5-108 MHz, the service areas were estimated at the selected transmitter power, laboratory studies of the required radiofrequency protection ratios at the receiver input were carried out. Considering the above, the SCRP decided: 1. To take note of the results of the research work “Development of Recommendations for the Implementation in the Russian Federation of the Digital Broadcasting Standard DRM +”. 2. Allocate the radio frequency band 65.9–74 MHz, 87.5–108 MHz to an indefinite group of people to create in the Russian Federation digital broadcasting networks of the DRM + standard when the following conditions are met: - Compliance of the technical characteristics of the applied RES digital radio broadcasting of the DRM + standard with the technical characteristics specified in the annex to this decision https://minsvyaz.ru/uploaded/files/prilozhenie-k-resh - obtaining, in accordance with the established procedure, permission to use radio frequencies or radio frequency channels on the basis of the expert opinion on the possibility of using digital transmitters of the DRM + standard and their electromagnetic compatibility with existing and planned for use of civilian RES and radio-electronic devices used for the needs of state authorities, defense needs of the country, state security and law enforcement; - registration of RES of digital broadcasting of the DRM + standard in the prescribed manner. 3. The importation of a digital broadcasting RES of the DRM + standard into the territory of the Russian Federation should be carried out in the prescribed manner. 4. Establish the validity of this decision of the SCRF ten years from the date of its adoption. https://minsvyaz.ru/ru/documents/6230/ https://vk.com/vcfm2014 (via RusDX Oct 7 via DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA [non]. Radio Slovakia International --- To end this month, here are the programme topics covered in Radio Slovakia International’s daily Slovakia Today programme: • Monday with Anca Dragu: Economics, foreign policy, EU, NATO, sports, healthcare, minorities • Tuesday with Gavin Shoebridge: Science, technology, gadgets, research, environment, life in Slovakia • Wednesday with Zuzana Botikova: Education, tourism, social phenomena, politics • Thursday with Martina Simkovicova: The Arts, tourism, music, culture (including the culture of minorities) • Friday with Mojmir: People, sport, culture, regions, the Musical Crossroads segment • Saturday: Front Page News Review, the best features of the week • Sunday: The Sunday Newsreel, Listener’s Tribune, competitions As always, your comments are always welcomed for inclusion in the column. Until next time: good SWL and DX, (Alan Roe, Listening Post, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) WRMI relay schedule in English: daily 0030-0100 5850 7780; 0330-0400 9395 (gh, DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020.000, SIBC Honiara, S=7-8 level in Queensland, like news read in English by male at 1044 UT Oct 3, S=7 or -79dBm level. Via remote SDR at Brisbane Queensland Australia [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5020, SIBC, Honiara, 0713-0733, 05-10, weak carrier detected, path via Pacific, America and Atlantic. Checked the signal via remote SDR Kiwi North New Zealand receiver, on air with songs in English, fair signal (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 9330.13, WBCQ Monticello ME (presumed); 2105-2111+, 10/4; Bro. HyStairical on women ruling over men; “Am I against women; No, women should be helpmates to men.” 2008 switched to huxterage announcements in various languages; English, Dutch? & ??. S10 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN [non]. 15510, ENGLAND, IBRA Radio (Radio Sama) at 1802 in Sudanese Arabic with local instrumentals and a man with talk to 1806 and male vocals to 1808 and more talk – Fair to Good Oct 7 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, Oct 7, ODXA iog via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non-log]. 6280.15 and 7210, Sound of Hope, 1230, Oct 7. first day that both frequencies clearly are without SOH; with 7210, now no longer being a mess, as VOV1 (Vietnam) today had sole possession (PBS Yunnan continues to be off the air here) (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non]. Russian on 11955 kHz --- One site lists Radio Taiwan international and Radio France International in Russian, Both on 11955, both at 1700 UT and both from Issoudun. One site only lists RFI on this channel at 1700, other lists RTI on at this time on 9800. RTI’s own site lists 11955 and not 9800. Who is right and who’s broadcasting what? I hear half a dozen songs played with a female Russian announcer in between but I haven’t caught a station name. It signed off in the middle of a song with no closing announcement or station name (Paul Walker, Ridgway PA USA, Oct 5, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Presumably, this video gives an answer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcgaHAVDAd0 Shortly before 1700z the RFI-ID can be heard and afterwards without audible acoustical break, you can hear the ID of ????????????? ????? ???????. [Mezhdunarodnoye Radio Taivanya] (roger, germany, ibid.) Paul, The reason is that HFCC does not (cannot - for political reasons) include Taiwan. RTI broadcasts from Taiwan aren't registered with HFCC at all. RTI broadcasts via Issoudun are registered with HFCC, but under the RFI label. If some list editor forgets about this minor detail while harvesting HFCC data for their own list, they may just copy the HFCC entry for RTI's ISS broadcast and forget to manually correct the station name from RFI to RTI. Yes, it did happen to me once or twice. It's easier to note these days since RFI itself does not broadcast in Russian on SW any more. 9800 is the traditional winter frequency for this broadcast. 73, (Eike Bierwirth, ibid.) Then what`s this from a month ago, it's RFI on 11955 in Russian and not RTI? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcgaHAVDAd0 I'm confused; you said It's RTI not RFI.. but this video suggests its RFI not RTI (Paul Walker, ibid.) This video clearly states: It is the Russian program from Taiwan. Also the label of the YT channel owner says: this is ????????????? ????? ??????? / International Radio Taiwan. The explanation from Eike was very helpful. Now I can understand why there is such a kind of "fake ID" from RFI, before the RTI part. That should eliminate the last obscurities (roger, ibid.) Thanks guys; it was a bit confusing to me (Paul, ibid.) FYI: in A18 marked as 'RT' in HFCC remarks column, but in B18 281018 300319 marked as '55' 7220 1700 1800 18SE,19,28N,28SE,29,30,39N,40N ISS 500 55 0 216 1234567 281018 300319 D 8500 Rus F RFI TDF 11006 55 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Bueschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. Confirmed on 28 Sept their MW transmitters: at 0258 UT IS of radio Antalya on 630 \\ 891 kHz & from 0300 UT on 630 kHz in Arabic & on 891 kHz in Turkish, on 927 kHz Izmir s/on at 0255 UT with Izmir program from 0300 UT \\ 891 kHz, on 954 kHz s/on at 0255 UT with carrier (National Anthem played from 0259 UT on 891 & 954 kHz), and on MW 1062 kHz carrier from 0250 UT, crash start at 0302 UT relay MW 630 kHz with news in Arabic for couple of minutes, again empty & from 0320 UT program in Kurdish, mainly with native songs (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 3 via BC-DX Oct 5 via DXLD) ** TURKEY. 11615.67, Voice of Turkey, Emirler; 30 September 2018; 2000 French service at fair-good level. 73, (Andy Robins, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA. Airspy HF+ with SDR Console v.3 and a 45' PAR EF-SWL end-fed wire at 20', WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKMENISTAN. Log: Radio Turkmenistan Watan LW Ashgabat 279 kHz. Fuer mich ein neues DX-Land heute - und das sogar auf Langwelle: Turkmenistan meldete sich heute Abend {Sept 30} gegen 2000 UT mit geradezu erstaunlichen Signalen auf 279 kHz. Man muss zwar aufpassen, dass man sich nicht vom beliebten Geistersignal aus Polen verwirren laesst, doch das hysterisch-militaerische Schreien, Rufen und Marschmusizieren kommt eindeutig aus Asgabat, ist zudem noch mit dem Stream bei der turkmenischen Telekom unter identisch. Offenbar hat man dort die Antenne eingefettet und tatsaechlich 150 kW angesetzt? SIO 232, RX: ELAD FDM-S1 / MiniWhip, QTH: Kiel Germany. Bei aller Euphorie: Wenn man sich mal den englischen Nachrichtenblock aus Turkmenistan unter anhoert, fuehlt man sich fast schon an die Aussendungen aus Nordkorea erinnert (Daniel Kaehler-D, A-DX ng Sept 30 via BC-DX Oct 5 via DXLD) LW Ashgabat 279 kHz [ex198 kHz] 150 kW single mast. LW site seemingly moved away towards a north-eastern former Radio Moscow USSR external service site; before April 2015. See Google Earth images 2004 til 2014 year, move the date option slide. G.C. 37 51 14.65 N 58 21 58.48 E Bing Maps show still the old 2004-2014 image: Also some 6 SW curtains and 2 MW mast installation scrapped in the meantime. LW 279 kHz erected on former Radio Moscow USSR external service site, in 2014-2015year, at G.C. 37 57 54.96 N 58 44 02.00 E TX house; probably two LW masts at 37 57 48.69 N 58 44 43.22 E and 37 57 36.67 N 58 44 37.19 E and two MW masts at 37 58 17.04 N 58 43 18.95 E and 37 58 08.96 N 58 43 23.12 E former TKM_RV-932 R Moscow USSR ext sce Ashgabat, Bolshaya Zarya antenna MW 1125 kHz 1000 kW 110 degr towards AFG, PAK & IND, 27 masts 2.2 km length, at G.C. 37 58 10.45 N 58 44 13.30 E (Wolfgang Bueschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Sept 30, BC-DX Oct 5 via DXLD) ** U A E. Asianet Radio conducts test Transmission on 1539 kHz --- The Asianet Radio from Abu Dhabi in UAE usually broadcasts on 657 kHz MW in Malayalam and Tamil languages targeting the expatriates from South India. From 4 October 2018, It broadcasts on 1539 kHz MW. During May 2017, it did broadcast on the same 1539 citing the transmitter problem with 657 KHz. Its new broadcast is logged here in Chennai in South India fairly on 1539 kHz from 1700 to 2100 UT (Jawahar Shaikh, Chennai, India, Oct 8, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** U A E. {Abu Dhabi} New ID & program in Arabic on their MW 1170 kHz was heard on 27 Sept as follows: at 1555 UT ID "Idaatu Jumhuryia" & at 1600 UT "Idaatu Jumhuryia, nachshati akhbar" (=news) instead of previous ID "Huna Abu Dhabi" (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 3 via BC-DX Oct 5 via DXLD) ** U K. BIG BEN --- see WORLD OF HOROLOGY below ** U K [non]. BBCWS: See KYRGYZSTAN ** U K. London's Radio Pirates Changed Music. Then Came the Internet. By Annalisa Quinn * Oct. 3, 2018 LONDON -- In 1993, the illegal radio broadcasters at Kool FM came up with a plan to keep the regulators from raiding their studios. In those days, the rooftops of South and East London still bristled with unauthorized antennas. Installed by pirate radio stations on top of public housing blocks -- the city's tallest and least secure buildings -- they transmitted sounds rarely heard on the BBC or commercial stations. Kool FM was at the heart of the scene, broadcasting jungle, rave, and drum and bass music from the Hackney district of East London. All the pirates needed was a key to the building -- easy to buy off a building worker or tenant -- and a cheap transmitter. But they had a problem. Illegal broadcasting is, well, illegal, and, in Britain, pirates can face up to two years in prison, unlimited fines, bans from appearing on legal stations and equipment seizures. . . https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/arts/music/london-pirate-radio.html (via David Cole & Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Ron Schiller SK --- ?I'm sad to report that veteran DXer Ron Schiller passed away Sept 23. I just got the news from his daughter Holly. Ron was a very nice guy, a very seasoned graveyard DXer, and owner of an awesome verie collection. More importantly, he was a good friend and the only person who ever DXed at the Border Inn with me (where I am DXing right now). I'll miss him (Tim Hall, Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone, Oct 4, ABDX yg via DXLD) I met Ron in the early 1960s when we both lived in New Jersey. Ron lived in Monmouth Beach, just a few blocks from the Atlantic. Those were the days of exceptional overseas reception and Ron had a number of great catches. I was about 30 miles inland (in Freehold) and, while I had a wonderful location, it wasn’t nearly as good as Ron’s. He and I met a number of times, compared notes and talked about DX in general. I lost track of Ron when we both moved but reconnected just a couple of years ago. Sad news about his passing; he was a great DXer and person (John Sampson, ibid.) From the Publisher: Sad news to pass along that longtime NRC member Ron Schiller passed away in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on September 23 at the age of 79. Ron had been an NRC member for more than 50 years, and in recent years he has compiled the “From the Archives” column in DX News. Our condolences to his family and DX friends (NRC DX News Oct 15, published Oct 6, via DXLD) ** U S A. 15000, WWV at 1815 with time pips and male time announcements and a woman at 1816 with a notice that the National Weather Service will stop supplying WWV and WWVH with Marine Storm Warnings as of October 31st then a woman with solar indices report at 1818 – Good Oct 6 – Not being an ocean-going mariner, I'm not sure how private and commercial sailors feel about this curtailment of service. If the government can drop one warning, perhaps they can drop others such as the solar indices report at 18 and 45 minutes past each hour on WWV and WWVH respectively (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iog via DXLD) 5000, WWV, 1204, 1207, 1211, 10/3/18. As a follow-up to Glenn Hauser's WWVH report last week, I tried to copy the complete "marine storm warning" announcement from WWV that repeats several times at least during the first quarter hour. Fading and noise as well as the female voice made copy difficult but after several tries I got most of the announcement content saying, "Your attention please, commencing Oct 31, 2018, the National Weather Service will no longer provide radio stations WWV and WWVH with marine storm warning announcements... (identified the current timeslots for those warnings over WWV and then WWVH)… which will be discontinued Oct 31, 2018." She concluded that comments or questions could be sent by e-mail to the National Weather Service at >> marine.weather@noaa.gov. Sounds pretty "done deal" to me. And of course on a related note, the last I heard, the NIST proposed 2019 budget included shutting down WWV, WWVH, and WWVB altogether. Cheery news for SWLs, hams, and others - not! (Bob Dodt, VA, ICOM-750, Alpha Delta DX SWL Sloper, NASWA Flashsheet Oct 7 via DXLD) Long-Running U.S. Federal Radio Stations, Beloved by Hams, in Danger of Shutdown ---- IEEE Spectrum 21 Sepember 2018 (apologies if a re-post, this is a long-running subject) Starting in May 1920, the U.S. federal WWV radio stations have broadcast the official time without fail. For ham radio operators, hearing the friendly “National Institute of Standards and Technology Time!” announcement is a comforting old refrain. For others, it’s a service they’ve never heard of—yet in the background, it’s what keeps the clocks and appliances in their daily lives automatically ticking along on time. But after 98 years, this constant companion could soon go off the air. The proposed 2019 U.S. presidential budget calls for a 34 percent cut in NIST funding; in response, the institute compiled a budget-use plan that would eliminate the WWV stations. At first blush it might sound like the natural end to a quaint public service from a bygone era. Do we really need radio-broadcast time signals in an era of Internet-connected devices and GPS? Many would argue: Yes, we really do. More than 50 million devices in the United States—including wall clocks, wristwatches, and industrial appliances—keep time through the signal from NIST’s WWVB station, operating from a site near Fort Collins, Colo., where it reads the time directly from an atomic clock. These radio-equipped clocks are permanently tuned to WWVB’s low-frequency, 60-kilohertz signal. “WWVB is the pacemaker for the world around us, even if we don’t realize it,” says Thomas Witherspoon, editor of shortwave radio news site The SWLing Post. “It’s why factory workers and schools don’t need to drag out the stepladder every time we switch between daylight and standard time. Without WWVB, these devices won’t magically update themselves.” Those household devices and industrial clocks generally don’t have Internet capability, Witherspoon points out, so without WWVB “we’d likely be getting on ladders twice a year to manually have our clocks spring forward and fall back.” What’s more, the nonradio alternatives just aren’t reliable, says John Lowe, station manager for WWVB and its sister high-frequency stations WWV, also in Fort Collins, and WWVH out of Kauai. Internet connections aren’t available everywhere. And “GPS does not penetrate into buildings, which is an obvious problem,” Lowe says. “Plus, it’s vulnerable, as it’s prone to jamming as well as spoofing.” “WWVB is the pacemaker for the world around us, even if we don’t realize it” —Thomas Witherspoon, SWLing Post The WWV stations are more than perfect timekeepers, too. The stations emit a frequency that can be used by military personnel, mariners, ham radio operators, or anyone else to calibrate devices. Their operators also broadcast information like space weather alerts, GPS satellite health reports, and marine storm warnings. But, at least as written in the NIST budget plan, these airwaves are slated to go silent. So is Lowe worried about his job? “I am not,” he says flatly. Lowe points out that it’s only the presidential budget proposal that suggests cuts to NIST; the House and Senate proposals both leave the agency’s budget intact. Plus, the WWV stations have survived similar presidential proposals before, he adds. Still, the stations’ listeners are taking the potential loss seriously. Fans have circulated multiple Whitehouse.gov petitions, while outlets like Witherspoon’s SWLing Post are using their platforms to encourage supporters to contact their local representatives. Congress has until 1 October to finalize the budget for fiscal year 2019, at which point the fate of these stations will become clear. “As a one-way broadcast, typically it’s very difficult to ascertain our user base,” Lowe notes. “But when events like this come up, we get a lot of feedback. It’s a silver lining: We’ve received a lot of positive support, and it shows us this is still a highly valued service. https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/longrunning-us-federal-radio-stations-beloved-by-hams-are-in-danger-of-shutdown (via Mike Terry, Oct 8, WOR iog via DXLD) "Closed Petition --- This petition has been archived because it did not meet the signature requirements. It can no longer be signed." Maintain funding for NIST stations WWV & WWVH | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/maintain-funding-nist-stations-wwv-wwvh (via Mike Terry, WOR iog via DXLD) See also HAWAII Longwave Station WWVB will continue in service --- [continued from HAWAII] However, we should mention, that even if shortwave WWV and WWVH are silenced next year due to budget cuts, the longwave station WWVB in Fort Collins Colorado will still remain in service. It is stated that several million pieces of electronic equipment (clocks, watches, and operational electronics) throughout the continental United States are dependent upon the WWVB time signals for accurate operation (Adrian Peterson, IN, script for AWR Wavescan Sept 30 via DXLD) What is your source of this distinxion concerning WWVB?? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. 4102.9, Oct 2 at 1218, JBA CW sending W as ID, and several number sequences. HF Undergrounders refer to this beacon as Windy, since it allegedly broadcasts wind speeds from some remote southwestern desert. Frequency seems to vary in the 4102-4103 range (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOA streaming problem --- Listening to VOA English this afternoon and this evening, audio streams are messed up. Words are interrupted, replaced by other segments. At first, I thought it was a buffering problem, but no, different streams and different players result in the same, screwed-up audio stream. Trying to listen to a story about VOA dismissing half of its Hausa-language staff, the three-line report breaks up multiple times (Mike Cooper, Oct 4, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) VOA Hausa scandal, developing [DEVELOPING] VOA moves to terminate 15 Hausa broadcasters for violations involving acceptance of payment(s) from official in coverage area... separate investigation to determine "if any coverage by VOA was improperly influenced"... Bennett warns if "other instances of improper payments are discovered in any service anywhere in VOA, we are committed to investigating them thoroughly and dealing with them promptly as well." Unclear if any of this involved the heavily-promoted Boko Haram: Terror Unmasked reporting in 2017 https://twitter.com/DanRobinsonDC/status/1047887790053179393 https://twitter.com/DanRobinsonDC/status/1047890695401480192 https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-hausa-employees/4599712.html (Dan Robinson, Oct 4, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) viz.: VOA Fires or Proposes Removal of 15 Hausa Service Members Over ‘Improper Payments’ Last Updated: October 04, 2018 3:54 PM David Jones Dan Joseph A Voice of America sign is seen at the entrance to VOA's headquarters in Washington, D.C. [caption] WASHINGTON — The Voice of America announced Thursday it has fired or proposed to terminate more than half the members of its Hausa language service following an investigation that found the individuals had accepted improper payments from a foreign official in West Africa. Amanda Bennett, director of the federally funded news organization, notified VOA staff of the move in an agency-wide email. "It is therefore with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that we have terminated or (in accordance with all applicable Federal laws and regulations) proposed to terminate 15 members of the Hausa Service," she wrote. Bennett said the action was taken after simultaneous investigations by VOA staff and the Office of the Inspector General into "allegations of improper conduct by members of the service, which involved accepting improper payments from an official in the coverage area." The service reaches some 20 million people weekly, principally in Nigeria but also in Niger, Ghana, Chad and Cameroon. Remaining members of the Hausa staff said the 15 individuals, including the service chief (who is not suspected on personally accepting a payment) , were met at the front door of VOA headquarters on Thursday morning. They were stripped of their building passes and handed letters notifying them of the action. Individuals within VOA's Africa Division said the investigation produced no evidence that any programming was affected by the alleged payments. However Bennett said in her email that "a separate investigation has been launched to determine if any coverage by VOA was improperly influenced. If any such influence is discovered, we will deal with it promptly and transparently." A senior VOA official said all the alleged payments uncovered by the months-long investigation were made in or near the main VOA offices in Washington, and on a single occasion earlier this year. The official would not comment on the amounts that were paid. However it is not uncommon in Nigeria for senior officials to distribute "brown envelopes" stuffed with cash during press briefings, a practice that has been documented by the British Broadcasting Corp. and others. Africa Division director Negussie Mengesha said VOA staffers "clearly understand that that is not allowed." An official at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the firings and suspensions, saying it is an internal matter for VOA. The action leaves the service with only 11 permanent government employees and contractors to produce 16 hours of radio and 30 minutes of television every week. Mengesha said the agency intends to maintain its current programming schedule with the help of an extensive network of part-time contributors in Africa. A former Hausa Service chief, Fred Cooper, will return to run the service until a permanent chief is selected. Mengesha also said he will be moving quickly to replace the terminated employees and that the new hires will receive rigorous training in journalism ethics. Some of the employees cannot be replaced under federal regulations until a lengthy termination process is completed. Bennett said in her email that she was acting to protect the integrity and reputation of VOA, a federal agency which delivers news content on radio, television, internet and social media in more than 40 languages to more than 230 million people weekly. "If any other instances of improper payments are discovered in any service anywhere in VOA, we are committed to investigating them thoroughly and dealing with them promptly as well," she wrote. Asked in an interview how she will ensure that nothing similar happens again, she said, "Every person in this building knows the federal laws and the standards of ethical journalism. People will see [from Thursday's firings] that we take these things very very seriously. Everyone will see what we expect of them." In her email to the staff, Bennett commended "the leadership of the Africa Division who immediately and wholeheartedly backed the investigations and cooperated fully with these painful decisions. They, like all of us, are committed to the highest standards of ethical behavior and will not tolerate any infractions." (via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) The VOICE OF AMERICA is firing 15 staffers -- over half of its Hausa language service staff -- for allegedly taking improper payments from a West African official. The VOA's Director AMANDA BENNETT told staffers of the move in an email last week, and the staffers were terminated or notified of pending termination on THURSDAY morning (10/4). The Hausa service is targeted at NIGERIA and to adjacent countries including NIGER, CHAD, GHANA, and CAMEROON. The terminations followed an investigation into reports of the payments, and BENNETT said in the email that another investigation is looking into whether the payments influenced programming. The VOA reports that it intends to continue producing its weekly 16 hours of radio and half hour of TV in Hausa despite being shorthanded with 11 permanent government employees and contractors. FRED COOPER, a former Hausa Service Chief, is returning to oversee the service for now (allaccess.com via Brock Whaley, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1950 monitoring: 7490.16, 2110-2131+, 10/3 [Wed]; Glenn Hauser’s World of Radio #1950 to 2128:52 fill music; BoH Goddess Irina WBCQ ID & sales pitch into music from Hair. SIO=454 fady (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Confirmed Tuesday October 2 at 2056, the 2030 on WRMI 7780, JBA (and not on 5950, and not on either at 2130 despite outdated System D online schedule). Also confirmed Wednesday October 3 at 2100 on WRMI 9955 (after a pentaminute of IS & ID loop), S9 --- but pulse jamming also starts underneath at exactly same time --- tnx a lot, Arnie! Current WRMI 9955 System B sked, FWIW, shows Spanish at 2100 only on Mon & Fri, both DX, not counter-revolutionary programs. WOR 1950 on WBCQ 7490v simultaneously from 2100 Wed Oct 3 and almost synchronized, WRMI no longer delayed a semiminute. WBCQ reads S9, but more fading, to S5, and somewhat undermodulated by comparison. Next: [there is a long dry spell as I cannot get any US SW station to air WOR on Thu or Fri; I asked WBCQ if they could commit to any one time a week on 9330, but no reply] Next: 0629 UT Saturday HLR 6190-CUSB Germany to WSW [off last 2 weeks] 1231 UT Saturday WINB 9265V via Unique Radio to WSW 1431 UT Saturday HLR 6190-CUSB Germany to WSW [off last 2 weeks] 1930vUT Saturday WA0RCR 1860-AM non-direxional 0300vUT Sunday WA0RCR 1860-AM non-direxional [nominal 0315-] 1030 UT Sunday HLR 9485-CUSB Germany to WSW [off last 2 weeks] 2130 UT Sunday WRMI 7780 to NE, 9955 to SSE 0300vUT Monday WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW 0330 UT Monday WRMI 9955 to SSE WORLD OF RADIO 1950 monitoring: I have quit checking 9330 everyday at 2330 as originally promised by WBCQ, but since I`m bandscanning anyway, Friday October 5 at 2337, I run across it: Yes, there I am and there is Brother Scare too mixing in with me, both at the same time. This is the third or fourth occasion WBCQ has done this to us; are they having a little fun at our expense, since BS and I are not exactly friendly??? Enough, already (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, reports to the WOR iog: ``GERMANY, 6190, Hamburger Lokal Radio, Goehren, 0600-0710, 06-10, the habitual Saturday program in English, "Media Network Plus and "World of Radio" missed today - Out of air at this time. No signal here in Lugo and no signal via SDR Kiwi in Switzerland, Germany and SDR Twente in Holland, not even carrier detected.`` WOR 1950 confirmed on Unique Radio via WINB, Saturday October 6 from 1231 on 9265V, usual wobble but R5 in AM mode. I didn`t keep listening but Richard Langley, NB reports to the WOR iog: ``While trying to listen to Unique Radio via WINB on 9265 kHz this morning using the U. Twente SDR receiver (not surprisingly, reception was generally poor and only barely audible at times), a digital signal came up on the frequency at about 12:40 UTC and persisted until about 12:55 UTC. Was it heard elsewhere? Any ideas as to what this might have been? I can supply an audio recording if anyone is interested. -- Richard Langley`` ``I am interested, since this must have been QRMing WOR, which I heard starting OK at 1231. Glenn`` ``An mp3 file containing the full period of the digital signal plus a minute or so before and after is attached. It's rather large at about 15 MB but I've included the whole recording in case it is decodable and someone wants to try. Before the beginning of the digital signal, one can tell it's WoR by the sound of Glenn's voice even if you can't make out words very clearly. I checked a few previous Saturdays when I had also automatically recorded the Unique Radio broadcast using the U. Twente receiver but didn't notice any digital signal. When it occurs, this signal might only be audible in Europe but perhaps Tim can tell us if he's received any other reports of this co-channel QRMing signal. -- Richard Langley`` (WORLD OF RADIO 1951) Roger Thayer, Germany replies: It sounds like a (modified) slower robust OLIVIA 2k mode. The problem may be: you do not see and hear the complete spectrum. This is probably only 75% from an LSB / USB side ?? For decoding, the signal center should be at about 1500 Hz, here the edge is at 1500 Hz ...... https://www.dropbox.com/s/50x8wqr3pmnd88p/2018-10-06_QRM_Langley.png?dl=0 (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks, Roger. I was recording the signal in AM Sync mode with a total bandwidth of 5.08 kHz. To be honest, I didn't pay attention to confirm there was a stronger carrier trace in the waterfall (I don't think so; just the weak WINB trace). I had initially thought that perhaps Unique Radio had added a digital segment to the broadcast, not realizing it occurred in the middle of WoR even though the digital signal was stronger. So, the digital transmission could have been in USB or LSB and not properly centred. I'll try to pay more attention should it happen again. (-- Richard Langley, WOR iog via DXLD) Hi Richard. Sideband interference wouldn't sound like digital sidesplash I wouldn't think, as suggested in WOR but I do know the frequency suffers from pirate sideband splash, especially later in the broadcast around 1230 UT onwards as the signal starts to fade out around this time in Australia and New Zealand. I just wonder if someone else is on the frequency doing a digital test. Here at my QTH in Gunnedah NSW, I sometimes detect a dead carrier, usually when they are off air but sometimes when they are on air too, which can block the frequency, but more often around 2130 or so (My morning), usually an S9 and WINB might be an S5 to S7 at best. But this doesn't happen too often. I think the signal is emanating from somewhere in Asia but not sure from where, maybe China? Best 73's (Tim Gaynor, Unique Radio, via Langley, DXLD) GERMANY, 6190, Hamburger Lokal Radio, Goehren, 0600-0710, 06-10, the habitual Saturday program in English, "Media Network Plus and "World of Radio" missed today- Out of air at this time. No signal here in Lugo and no signal via SDR Kiwi in Switzerland, Germany and SDR Twente in Holland, not even carrier detected (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Lugo, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Next chance for WOR is 1431 UT Sat Oct 6 on Hamburger Lokalradio, 6190-CUSB. I`m unable to hear UTwente play, probably my recalcitrant computer, but there may have been nothing to hear anyway for the third weekend in a row, as Alan Gale, England, reports: ``No 6190 again today --- Hi Glenn, I've been monitoring 6190 kHz for HLR, but yet again no sign of it here; usually it gets better after the Equinox, so I have to assume that it's still off the air. Getting a great signal from Radio Emmeloord on 6095 kHz though. Alan`` Confirmed UT Sunday Oct 7 at 0326 on WA0RCR, 1860-AM, MO, about 7 minutes into, so started circa 0319; S9+20 but confronting S9+30 storm noise crashes east of here in OK. Next: 1030 UT Sunday HLR 9485-CUSB Germany to WSW [off last 2 weeks] 2130 UT Sunday WRMI 7780 to NE, 9955 to SSE 0300vUT Monday WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW 0330 UT Monday WRMI 9955 to SSE WORLD OF RADIO 1950 monitoring: 9485, Hamburger Lokal Radio, Goehren, 1000-1100, 07-10, the habitual Sunday program in English, "Media Network Plus and "World of Radio" missed today. Out of air at this time (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DXLD) That makes the third weekend HLR has been AWOL; no reply to the inquiries I have made! Also, we have had NO reports from Ivo Ivanov about anything, since Sept 30! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GERMANY. 9485, Hamburger Lokal Radio, Goehren, 1000-1100, 07-10, the habitual Sunday program in English, "Media Network Plus and "World of Radio" missed today. Out of air at this time (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Next WOR broadcast, Sunday Oct 7 at 2130 on WRMI not checked, napping here, but confirmed last week on both 7780 and 9955. Alan Gale, England reports this week: ``Hi Glenn, Just listening on the WRMI Live Stream, World of Radio has just appeared on there in place of the advertised 'Coming Home' at 2130 UT/5.30pm EDT. It was also audible on 7780 at the same time, it looks like they sent World of Radio straight after Wavescan on 7780, and before Wavescan on the Live Stream, the Live Stream I assume had 'System F' rather than the listed 'System B'. I also noted that 'Your Weekend Show' was on 7780 from 2200 to 2300 UT as well, even though that wasn't listed either. After 2300 it was Terry Blalock followed by 'Shortwave Radiogram' so back to normal at that time. Not that I'm complaining, I prefer Wavescan and World of Radio to the huxters any day! :-) Alan`` WOR 7780 also confirmed Oct 7 at 2130 by Richard Langley in his weekly check of this frequency span. WOR 1950 also confirmed UT Monday Oct 8 after 0300 on Area 51 webcast; WBCQ 5129.84 about S8 starting HRI at 0331, so WOR would have begun circa 0302. UT Mon Oct 8 at 0330, WRMI 9955 with JBA traces of my voice, confirmed on webcast; still no repeat on webcast only at 0400 which for a few weeks was occupied by Alameda Bible Fellowship in French or quelque chose, but this week filled by World Music, now mixing in some praise music in Spanish which I find very off-putting. WORLD OF RADIO 1951 contents: Antarctica, Australia, Bhutan, Bougainville, Brasil, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, Guatemala, Indonesia, Korea South, Madagascar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Russia, USA; and the propagation outlook WOR 1951 ready for first airing, and confirmed, UT Tue Oct 9 at 0030 on WRMI 7730, VG. Despite a very short pause after the Rudy Espinal ID and the start of WOR, a bit of fill-music interrupts. Also, the last few words of my despedida are obscured by fade down and fill music, as often happens on WRMI. Take it easy! Next: 2030 UT Tuesday WRMI 7780 to NE 1030 UT Wednesday WRMI 5950 to WNW 2100 UT Wednesday WRMI 9955 to SSE 2100 UT Wednesday WBCQ 7490v to WSW 0629 UT Saturday HLR 6190-CUSB Germany to WSW [off last 3 weeks] 1231 UT Saturday WINB 9265V via Unique Radio to WSW 1431 UT Saturday HLR 6190-CUSB Germany to WSW [off last 3 weeks] 1930vUT Saturday WA0RCR 1860-AM non-direxional 0300vUT Sunday WA0RCR 1860-AM non-direxional [nominal 0315-] 1030 UT Sunday HLR 9485-CUSB Germany to WSW [off last 3 weeks] 2130 UT Sunday WRMI 7780 to NE, 9955 to SSE 0300vUT Monday WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW 0330 UT Monday WRMI 9955 to SSE Full schedule including AM, FM, webcasts, satellite: 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. 7490.16, WBCQ Monticello ME; 2137-2142+, 10/2 [Tue]; Alan Weiner Worldwide; AW religihuxtering & lauding Bro. HyStairical; AW said he knows that B.S. is a prophet; into commentary re the WBCQ “Super Station”; said on 9395 & 7490; 9395 was not // running oldies. SIO=4+54 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7490.1, 2200, WBCQ, 1930 Jazz to 2200, OM with English ID, 242, 21/09 (Michael L Ford, Newcastle-u-Lyme, Staffs, NRD515, NCM515, NRD545, 85' lw, Wellbrook 330ALA loop, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 2.5 hours of jazz on a Friday afternoon? From 2100 it`s `Behaviour Night`, and 20-21 `Financial Survival`, nothing else scheduled (gh, DXLD) 7490.13v, UT Sat October 6 at 0050 I catch the last few minutes of `Allan Weiner Worldwide` on WBCQ; Says as a loss-leader in order to fill up the time on the 5130v transmitter, there is now a fall-special price of $15 per hour, from one hour per week on up, weekdays only except for a few hours already occupied. This is especially aimed at pirates, since they now risk fines up to $2 million per a House bill which has passed. More details on website, viz.: ``Fall Free Radio Special --- Get on the air on a real radio transmitter. Special fall offer. All Monday through Friday airtime on our 5130 transmitter is now available for the sale price of only $15 the hour. Why pay more? Prime time slots available now. Call and reserve today. Call 207-532-9180. Be heard on the shortwaves. 03. October 2018 by cosmikdebris Categories: Station News | Comments Off`` Also plugs Pirate Joe (who is on hold on phone, no time left), to be heard Saturday at 9 pm ET on 7490. That must be a change, as he used to be at 7-9 pm {rather 6-8 pm, I think}. Now the online sked shows, EST sic: 7490 Sa 2200 2340 UTC Sa 06:00PM 07:40PM EST Good Sounding Oldies 7490 Su 0100 0400 UTC Sa 09:00PM 12:00AM EST Shortwave Saturday Night John Carver files his summary of the whole AWWW this week: ``I believe the show started on time this evening although a power anomaly blew the clock on my radio last night. Listening on 7490. Allan, Angela, Tom and Robert in the studio this evening. Opening talk about the golden age of radio, the history of radio and RCA. First phone call at 0012 from Freddie. More talk about the superstation then talk shifted to a discussion about WLW and their experiments with high power and then back to the new antenna for the superstation. Phone call at 0031 with talk of noise on new radios and the danger of electrical shock when using old radios. Pirate Joe called at 0035 and moved the discussion back to the golden age or radio. Some more talk about the atrocious noise floor full of digital filth. Signal on 7490 starts to degrade around 0050. Allan announces a new fall special offer for 5130 Monday thru Friday for fifteen dollars per hour. Welcomes pirate operators. Reading of emails at 0055. Quick prayer at 0057. Show was off the air at 0100 and 7490 went into Dead Frog Radio. John, Mid-North Indiana`` 7490.17v, UT Sunday Oct 7 at 0102, ``Ride of the Valkyries`` theme on WBCQ signifying it`s `Shortwave Saturday Night` at new time, and J.P. starts right off discussing the SCOTUS situation. Only S8 fading to S5 and not sure it will remain listenable for the next trihour. What about 3265? When is WBCQ going to put that into regular service, which would be prudent with winter oncoming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7490, WBCQ at 2057 with musical IS and ID loop of music and “This is WBCQ, Monticello, Maine, the Planet” to 2059 and a man with full ID of “This is the world famous WBCQ, Monticello, Maine, the USA” and a plea for a donations and into “Marion's Attic” eclectic and really old music program at 2100 with Marion Webster and the fair and sweet Kristina – Very Good Oct 7 – Of the “free radio” programs this is one of my favourites! (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, Oct 7, ODXA iog via DXLD) Reception sux at that hour all summer out here; now it is starting to pick up and will gain an hour to 2200 once DST be over (gh, OK, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. From the Isle of Music, October 7-13: This episode presents a special broadcast of Misa Cubana. 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 KHz 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: 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, October 7 and 9, 2018 Episode 83 will feature music from Italy The transmissions 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, Oct 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI WRMI: ** U S A. USofA: 5850, WRMI with BSR Radiogram #20 -- again, an hour long show this one ‘celebrating‘ Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez’s address to the UN and his visits with Cuban solidarity activists and Cuban-Americans. This included: MD-CB at the UN and at Nelson Mandela UN Peace Summit [captions] There was also the full text of the speech he gave at the UN, translated into English, and then some more photos, one of James Branum in Cuba with Irma from the RHC correspondence department: Then at 0800 into SW Radiogram with the usual text and photos including stories about: Disappearing wetlands put planet life at risk; an MFSK128 encoded item about Invasive raccoons in Japan; an MFSK64 encoded stories about a New species of fish emerges from ocean depths with a really cool photo of 'the fish': . Then into ‘images of the week with photos of things like: Lake Michigan waves hit the pier at St. Joseph, Michigan An airplane flies in front of a full moon in Sydney Aust Then into a REPEAT of the 24/Sept broadcast of Business Growth Radio ‘marketing guru’ show. I wonder if that was intentional, or if someone played the wrong tape!? 4+4+4+4+4+ *0655-0930* 1/Oct SDRplay +SDRuno +ANC-4 +FLDigi for digital bits +Randomwire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI2, WOR iog via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9395, Tue Oct 2 at 0222, WRMI with Oldies including ad at 0228, NOT Wavescan, which had been stripped 7-days-a-week at 0200. Sked still shows it but a blank in the frequency box. 0230 abrupt switch to R. Tirana IS and opening English ``on internet only`` as scheduled UT Tue-Sun. 5010, Tue Oct 2 at 1226, WRMI S9/S9+10 Bibling in French, no doubt ABF; WRMI-14 supposedly on air only at 2200-0100 & 1100-1200 (Friday 1230). Recheck at 1237 is in Portuguese (not Brazuguese); rerecheck at 1345 is off. Also regularly found after 0100 often in French. On 181-degree antenna to Caribbean; reception of RMI`s lowest frequency has been improving seasonally. 5950, UT Thu Oct 4 at 0053, WRMI in Spanish, but not // 7335 Radio Martí, as allegedly scheduled at 2300-0200 UT Wed-Thu. The idea is to cover baseball games for the rest of season in October, perhaps evading jammers, but I suppose exact timings of games vary widely depending on zone, other local factors; not to mention real durations. 2018 dates for World Series [sic; North American Sequence] are Oct 23 until 31 if necessary. But would/could RM/RMI pay for rights to broadcast those on whatever days of week? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7570, Oct 6 at 0443, WRMI with TOM announcements of contact info including ``Walterboro`` --- by YL in Spanish, OM in Korean, YL in Japanese, YL in Russian, some of them sounding synthetic. 0446 back to BS himself in --- what else? --- South Carolinian English, and // 5850. 7730, WRMI has also been scheduled with TOM until 0500, so I check it at 0446 --- but not //, instead protracted sermon in Indonesian, presumably Alameda Bible Fellowship. NDXC/Aoki as of Oct 6 has 30 entries for ABF via WRMI; are these written in stone, with the very odd transition times? All are attributed to the #1 transmitter which cannot be correct. Final numbers are days of week starting with 1=Sunday; I assume ``1-57`` mean every day except 6 = Friday. Viz.: 15770 1630-1647 Eng Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1646-1700 Hin Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1700-1716 Eng Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1716-1730 Fre Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1730-1748 Spa Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1748-1805 Por Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1805-1824 Ger Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1824-1850 Pol Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1850-1907 Cze Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1907-1924 Rus Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1924-1943 Ara Okeechobee1 1-7 15770 1943-2000 Heb Okeechobee1 1-7 9395 2300-2313 Eng Okeechobee1 1-7 9395 2313-2328 Spa Okeechobee1 1-7 9395 2328-2342 Fre Okeechobee1 1-7 5850 0100-0116 Eng Okeechobee1 1-57 5850 0116-0132 Jap Okeechobee1 1-57 5850 0132-0147 Kor Okeechobee1 1-57 5850 0147-0200 Chi Okeechobee1 1-57 7780 0300-0316 Eng Okeechobee1 346 7780 0316-0332 Fre Okeechobee1 346 7780 0332-0400 Spa Okeechobee1 346 7780 0400-0416 Pot Okeechobee1 346 7780 0416-0434 Ger Okeechobee1 346 7780 0434-0450 Pol Okeechobee1 346 7780 0450-0500 Cze Okeechobee1 346 7730 0400-0416 Eng Okeechobee1 3457 7730 0416-0430 Fre Okeechobee1 3457 7730 0430-0446 Jap Okeechobee1 3457 7730 0446-0500 Ind Okeechobee1 3457 No such info has been found on the WRMI website itself. These do not include various other times and frequencies heard with ABF. Searching does not find the word Alameda anywhere on the WRMI website; nor on the Overcomerministry site (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 5950, UT Sunday Oct 7 at 0027, WRMI amid `Viva Miami` with Jeff in mailbag, rapidly mentioning only name, location and frequency from lots of reporters, a Latin American group as I tune in. Still going at 0030, so this transmitter is again running off-kilter scheduling, as the 14-minute VM should not be spanning a quarter-hour break. Recheck at 0041, now with gospel huxter concerned about Satan. No het from 5952.5 Radio Pio XII, Bolivia tonight; must be off. But there has been lite pulse jamming from the hi side, not I think vs WRMI despite its relay deal with Radio Martí at other times; but long leftover from years ago when Radio República via Costa Rica was on 5954.1v! Tuning down at 0031 I find the same lite jamming against nothing on 5890, which is a long-gone ex-frequency of VOA Spanish! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB WINB: ** U S A. 15670, 1559, WINB, OM with English propagation reports, ID at 1559, 343, 23/09 (Michael L Ford, Newcastle-u-Lyme, Staffs, NRD515, NCM515, NRD545, 85' lw, Wellbrook 330ALA loop, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ??? Supposed to be DRM, but not filed in the DRM sexion of this logbook. ??? OM with propagation reports in last minute of a programme? Who does that??? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. WINB SU 15670 kHz IN DRM --- Ho fatto un tentativo di ricezione in DRM del segnale della stazione WINB su 15670 kHz dalle 1500 alle 1530 UT. Durante il tenativo di ricezione ero consapevole della difficoltà di decodificare il segnale considerato il basso livello dello stesso rappresentato dall'S-meter del mio ricevitore, un Kenwood TS-440 usando, alternativamente, un dipolo accordato, una filare di 25 m e una Beverage di 69 m. Le mie previsioni sono state confermate. Ho potuto decodificare soltanto due volte esclusivamente la schermata identificativa della stazione ma l'audio è stato sempre assente. In tutti i casi ritengo un successo questo ascolto effettuato al limite del QRM. Alle 1530 sulla stessa frequenza si è annunciata la AWR in diverse lingue, comprese l'italiano. Allegati lo screenshot di WINB e l'identificazione di AWR. Buoni DX a tutti. 73 de (Giovanni Lorenzi, -- ITALIAN AMATEUR RADIO STATION I T 9 T Z Z ESCLUSIVAMENTE IN TELEGRAFIA Sito web> www.webalice.it/it9tzz [1] QRZ.com page> www.qrz.com/db/it9tzz [2] 1553 UT Fri Oct 4, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Says he could not get any DRM audio from WINB, but visible ID. 1530 blocked by AWR (which is Nauen). I also noticed the WINB DRM noise about then, not logged, but usual extremely rough different sound on the lower half than the upper (gh, DXLD) OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHERSW OTHER: ** U S A. 5970, Oct 2 at 1229, WEWN with *no* carrier but extremely distorted modulation, more to the lower side. No good with BFO either, but clearest when tuned in FM mode circa 5966-5967! S9+20. As usual after 1230 is live translation into Spanish of morning mass in English, voice under. Recheck at 1347, now back in whack, including 5970 carrier in AM (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5085 (and parasite spurs 5072.1 & 5097.9), UT Sun Oct 7 at 0000, once `Discover Oklahoma` and/or `PBS Newshour` are finished on TV, I tune in to tail of `Theater Organ in the Ozarx` on WTWW. Sure sounds familiar: ``I could have danced all night``, then Bob Heil chitchat just like heard 168 hours ago about having to get out as the janitor is coming, etc., etc. Closes with ``Why do you do me like you do?`` which does not end until 0012:40, so this repeat is running even later than last week --- so late, that Ted skips the canned program outro and gets right to his MFJ commercial (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good old radio on 5085 --- I'm really enjoying radio, as it used to be, via WTWW on 5085 tonight around 0400 UT with The Greatest Hits of All Time. What a breath of fresh air! Sounds a lot like what WNYW used to sound like. Thanks to the folks in Lebanon, TN! 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, 0428 UT Oct 8, WOR iog via DXLD) ** U S A. 5055.76 & 5044.22 approx., Oct 7 at 0042, WWRB`s gospel huxter modulation from 5050 is again blasting out intermittent matching spurs at S9+30. And second-order weaker scratch about 5038.4, so that poor RHC 5040 gets a triple whammy, from both sides, in addition to general splash out of 5050; and like last time, RHC may as well turn off, as it`s self-defeatingly undermodulated. Something`s always wrong at RHC --- and WWRB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 7505v, WRNO, on Oct 7, from 1004+, with no signal at all. On Oct 6, surprisingly in English during checks at 0835, 0914, 1108 & 1137; at 1144 finally in Chinese; recently well above the norm (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, WOR iog via DXLD) ** U S A. 17774.989, Oct 8 at 1433-1435 at least, KVOH is S9+10 of dead air except for some hum; so I take the opportunity to measure it: as usual, slight off-minus. Often this early it`s but a JBA carrier if any (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. UNKNOWNIA: 15825.04, 2116-2134+, 10/5; 2 women alternating in Spanish / English with religihuxterage. Best in LSB at QRN level. WWCR? Aoki shows WWCR off at 2100; EiBi shows Frecuencia al Dia in Spanish (which this was not) 2100-2130 on Mon & Fri (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time & without the aid of a computer! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1540 WDCD Albany Surrenders Its License By Lance Venta on October 2, 2018 1 Comment https://radioinsight.com/headlines/170921/1540-wdcd-albany-surrenders-its-license/ 1540 WDCD Albany WPTR --- At one time it was the 50kW Top 40 giant of New York’s Capital Region, now 1540 WDCD Albany is non-existent. Don Crawford Jr.’s DJRA Broadcasting turned in the license for WDCD to the FCC on Friday after being off the air for the past eleven months. In a previous STA application that was dismissed WDCD sought to operate at various power levels between 10 kW and 25 kW to see if a permanent downgrade was feasible, but against FCC rules. As one of four silent AM licenses in the Albany market and the 50 kW News/Talk powerhouse needing a full-powered FM simulcast the opportunity for revenue on the AM band was already limited. In its Silent STA filing last year Crawford wrote, “AM STATION WDCD, LIKE MANY AM STATIONS RECOGNIZED BY THE COMMISSION, IS CURRENTLY STRUGGLING TO ATTRACT REVENUE SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT STATION EXPENSES. IN AN EFFORT TO CONSERVE AND REDIRECT FINANCIAL RESOURCES WHILE CONTINUING BROADCAST SERVICE, WDCD RECENTLY APPLIED FOR AND WAS DENIED AN STA FOR REDUCED POWER. THE STA WAS DESIRED TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF REDUCED POWER ON THE STATION’S ABILITY TO SERVE IT CORE GEOGRAPHIC AREA AND THE COMMENSURATE RELATIONSHIP TO ELECTRICITY/OPERATING EXPENSE WHICH MAY BE SIMULTANEOUSLY CONSERVED THEREBY (SEE BSTA-20170925ADN). ALTHOUGH IT WOULD PREFER AN STA TO TEMPORARILY STUDY SERVING THE PUBLIC WITH REDUCED POWER, DUE TO THE RECENT DENIAL OF THE STA FOR THAT PURPOSE, WDCD IS SUSPENDING OPERATIONS FOR A PERIOD OF TIME DURING WHICH IT WILL STUDY ITS OWN AM IMPROVEMENT AND SEARCH FOR ALTERNATE WAYS TO CONSERVE FINANCIAL RESOURCES INCLUDING, AMONG OTHERS, OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE STATION EXPENSES AND THE POTENTIAL TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM FORMAT CHANGE AND REPOSITION ITS VOICE AND IDENTITY IN THE COMMUNITY AND WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY ATTRACT A GREATER NUMBER OF LISTENERS, ADVERTISERS AND REVENUE.” What was WDCD originally signed on as WPTR in 1948. It flipped to Top 40 in the late 1950s and would keep that format until 1980 when it handed the format over to then sister “Fly 92” WFLY. It would flip to Country for much of the 1980s before a steady string of failed formats prior to its sale to Crawford Broadcasting in 1995 and then Crawford Jr.’s DJRA in 2007. The station would alternate between Christian, Oldies and Talk formats from 1995 until the plug was pulled last year (via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) Original direxional pattern was batwing, major lobes to N and SE; and deep null WSW? Presumably toward KXEL. So never heard out here. It was really untenable to have three 50 kW 1540 stations so close together in Toronto, Albany and Philadelphia (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. AM X-Band Guide for 2018-19 DX Season This is a list of stations in the Americas believed to be using the extended AM band between 1610-1700 kHz. Transmitter powers for US stations are generally around 10 kW, with many of the stations listed required to reduce power at night, often to around 1 kW. Because this part of the AM band is relatively clear in Europe, apart from occasional pirates, it is possible to hear some of these stations here in the British Isles at night when conditions are suitable. ITU Call Station name Location kW Language/format 1610 AIA Caribbean Beacon The Valley 50 University Network ARG Radio Comunitaria Regional Laboulaye CO 0.5 Spanish ARG Radio Santa Fe (FM Sintonia) Canning BA Spanish CAN CHHA Radio Voces Latinas Toronto ON 6.25 Multilingual CAN CHRN Radio Humsafar Montréal QC 1 South Asian MEX XEUACH Radio Chapingo Texcoco MX 0.25 Spanish PRU OAU6O Radio Sol Paucarpata AQ 0.5 Spanish PRU Radio Inka Acora PU Spanish 1620 ARG Radio Italia Villa Martelli BA Spanish ARG Radio Sentires Parque San Martín BA Spanish ARG Radio Vida Monte Grande BA 2 Spanish ARG AM 16-20 La Radio Mar del Plata BA Spanish CUB CMBA Radio Bayamo Bayamo GR Spanish CUB CMBA Radio Rebelde multiple transmitters Spanish DOM HIC79 Radio Taina/Radio Planeta San Pedro Macorís PM Spanish USA KSMH Immaculate Heart Radio Auburn CA 10/1 Religion USA WNRP News R. 92.3 FM, 16-20 AM Gulf Breeze FL 10/1 News/Talk USA WDND America's Best Music South Bend IN 10/1 Adult Standards # USA KOZN 16-20 The Zone Bellevue NE 10/1 Sports USA WTAW News Talk 16-20 College Station TX 10/1 News/Talk USA KYIZ The Z Twins Renton WA 10/1 Urban Contemporary VIR WDHP Powerhouse of the Caribbean Frederiksted VI 10/1 News/Talk/BBCWS # 1630 ARG AM Restauración William C Morris BA 1 Spanish ARG Radio Unidad Alejandro Korn BA Spanish ARG LRI234 AM America San José ER 1/0.25 Spanish MEX XEUT Radio UABC Tijuana BC 10/1 Spanish USA WRDW ESPN Augusta 16-30 Augusta GA 10/1 Sports USA KCJJ The Mighty 16-30 Iowa City IA 10/1 News/Talk/AC USA KKGM 16-30 KKGM Fort Worth TX 10/1 Religion USA KRND La Jota Mexicana Fox Farm WY 10/1 Spanish/Regional Mexican 1640 ARG Radio Hosanna Argentina Isidro Casanova BA 1 Spanish DOM HIC80 Radio Juventus Don Bosco Santo Domingo NC 1/0.5 Spanish USA KDIA The Light for San Francisco Vallejo CA 10/1 Religion USA WTNI 103.5 Sports R., The Champ Biloxi MS 10/1 Sports USA KZLS 16-40 The Eagle Enid OK 10/1 News/Talk USA KDZR Talk 16-40 Lake Oswego OR 10/1 News/Talk USA KBJA K-Talk 16-40 Sandy UT 10/1 News/Talk USA WSJP Relevant Radio 16-40 AM Sussex WI 10/1 Religion/Catholic 1650 ARG Radio Las Estrellas Longchamps BA Spanish ARG Radio El Mensajero Rafael Castillo BA Spanish CAN CINA Cina Radio Mississauga ON 5/0.68 South Asian CAN CKZW Le son Gospel du Québec Montréal QC 1 Religion/French/some EE MEX XEAZR Radio ZER México DF 5 Spanish USA KFSW Life 98.7 Fort Smith AR 10/1 Contemporary Christian [in OK!!] USA KFOX Radio Seoul Torrance CA 10/0.49 Korean USA KBJD Radio Luz Denver CO 10/1 Spanish/Religion USA KCNZ 16-50 The Fan Cedar Falls IA 10/1 Sports USA KSVE ESPN Deportes 16-50 El Paso TX 8.5/0.85 Spanish/Sports USA WHKT Praise Radio Portsmouth VA 10/1 Religion/Gospel 1660 ARG Radio Revivir Gregorio de Laferrére BA 1 Spanish ARG LRI232 AM Ciudad de Nogoyá Nogoyá ER 5/0.25 Spanish PTR WGIT Faro de Santidad Canóvanas PR 10/1 Spanish/Religion USA KBRE 105.7 The Bear Merced CA 10/1 Album Rock USA WCNZ Relevant Radio Marco Island FL 10/1 Religion/Catholic USA KWOD 16-60 The Score Kansa City KS 10/1 Sports USA WQLR 16-60 The Fan Kalamazoo MI 10/1 Sports USA WBCN 94.7 Smoke Charlotte NC 10/1 Southern Rock USA KQWB Bison 16-60 West Fargo ND 10/1 Sports USA WWRU Radio Korea Jersey City NJ 10/1 Korean USA KRZI 16-60 ESPN Central Texas Waco TX 10/1 Sports 1670 ARG Radio Bethel Banfield Oeste BA Spanish DOM HIC81 La Voz del Yuna Bonao MN 3 Spanish CAN CJEU Radio Jeunesse Gatineau QC 1 French/Kids MEX XEANAH Radio Anáhuac Huixquilucan MX 1 Spanish USA KHPY Radio Catolica El Sembrador Moreno Valley CA 10/9 Spanish/Religion USA KQMS News Talk 16-70 & 105.7 Redding CA 1 News/Talk/C2C USA WMGE Fox Sports Radio 16-70 Dry Branch GA 10/1 Sports USA WOZN The Zone 16-70 & 106.7 Madison WI 10/1 Sports 1680 DOM HIC82 Radio Senda 16-80 AM San Pedro Macorís PM 1 Spanish USA KGED AM 16-80 The Answer Fresno CA 10/1 News/Talk USA WOKB Inspiration Radio 16-80 Winter Garden FL 10/1 Religion USA KRJO 99.7 My FM Monroe LA 10/1 Classic Hits USA WPRR Public Reality Radio Ada MI 10/0.68 News/Talk USA WTTM La Unika Lindenwold NJ 10/1 Spanish/Regional Mexican USA KNTS Radio Luz Seattle WA 10/1 Spanish/Religion 1690 CAN CHTO Multicultural Radio Toronto ON 6/1 Greek/Multicultural CAN CJLO Concordia's Underground R. Montréal QC 1 Student USA KFSG Radio Bamdad Roseville CA 10/1 Ethnic USA KDMT Denver's Money Talk 16-90 Arvada CO 10/1 Business Talk USA WMLB The Voice of the Arts Avondale Estates GA 10/1 Eclectic # USA WVON The Talk of Chicago Berwyn IL 10/1 Urban News/Talk USA WPTX America's Best Music Lexington Park MD 10/1 Adult Standards VIR WIGT WGOD Radio 97.9 FM Charlotte Amalie VI 0.92 Religion # 1700 ARG AM Selva González Catán BA Spanish DOM Radio Eternidad Santo Domingo NC 5/1 Spanish MEX XEPE ESPN 1700 San Diego Tijuana BC 10 English/Sports USA WEUP Huntsville's Heritage Station Huntsville AL 10/1 Religion USA WJCC Radio Mega 1700 Miami Springs FL 10/1 Haitian USA KBGG Big 1700 Des Moines IA 10/1 News/Talk/Sports USA WRCR Radio India Ramapo NY 10/1 Asian # USA KKLF Banda 13 Richardson TX 5/1 Spanish/Music/Inf/Sports USA KVNS Fox Sports Radio 1700 Brownsville TX 8.8/0.88 Sports # believed to be temporarily off-air at the time editing. 1620 WDHP Frederiksted VI has been silent since 20 September 2017 when the tower was destroyed by Hurricane Maria. Argentinean stations change quite often in the range 1610-1710 kHz. Those listed above are believed to be active at the time of editing, although there may be others on-air, whilst some may have closed or moved away. Many low-power Travelers Information Stations (TIS) also operate on the AM band in the range 1610-1710. IRCA has list of TIS/HAR stations available through its website and the latest edition from 2018 is free to download at http://www.ircaonline.org/editor_upload/File/TIS_2018.pdf Compiled by Tony Rogers, 27 September 2018. Please send corrections and updates to tony@bdxc.org.uk (Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** U S A. Parking information station for State Fair of Texas on 1650 All day and listening now at 8:15 pm [CDT] from about a half mile from the fair. I have been hearing a parking information loop from The State Fair of Texas, in Dallas, TX, on 1650 kHz. It must be a pretty small signal, not well heard beyond a few miles. Just thought I would share. ID's as "WQRV 693 on AM 1650 a special radio station all about the state fair of texas" "Howdy folks welcome to the State Fair of Texas" (Ward Elliott, Happy DX! Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android, 0119 UT Oct 4, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. 1710, LOUISIANA (Pirate), Radio Retén lo que Tienes, Baton Rouge. 1037 September 21, 2018. Thanks David Crawford for discovering that this one has reactivated after being shut down by the FCC (AM and FM) a few months ago. As David noted, the signal is much weaker. Only traces of Spanish Christian soft vocals and Spanish male preacher audible, and pointing NNW. Presuming from the same location. Again September 28 1110 with Spanish male preacher. All times/dates GMT (Terry L. Krueger, Clearwater, FL, IC-R75, NRD-535, longwires, active loop, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see UNIDENTIFIED 1710 ** U S A. WBUR BizLab Launches Open Call To Conduct Revenue Experiments For Sustainability In The Digital Age - October 01, 2018 http://www.wbur.org/inside/2018/10/01/wbur-bizlab-launches-open-call-to-conduct-revenue-experiments-for-sustainability-in-the-digital-age WBUR is pleased to announce that its innovation initiative, BizLab, has launched an open call to public media stations interested in designing and conducting revenue experiments for public radio in the digital age. Six public radio stations will be selected to participate in this 18-month initiative. In response to the shifting landscape of media consumption, WBUR launched BizLab in 2015 with support from the Knight Foundation with a mission to ensure public radio stays financially strong, vibrant, and relevant to our audiences. Under the leadership of Executive Director Dr. Joan DiMicco, BizLab is dedicated to evaluating new membership and revenue sources, identifying new markets for content, and developing new partnerships with business, education and tech communities. Thus far, BizLab has focused this effort on WBUR’s audience and market. BizLab received a grant of $750,000 from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to expand this work into a system-wide effort. This initiative will enable six additional stations to identify and evaluate revenue concepts in-market and together share their collective learnings across the network of public media stations. BizLab expects to announce additional support for this collaborative in the coming months. Each participating station will work with BizLab for six months, using lean, user-centered design methodologies to identify and test new sources of revenue for that station. By engaging audiences and quickly testing concepts in-market, each station will generate quantitative results to inform their near-term strategic investments. Collaborating stations will share results and best practices with each other and the broader public radio system. “We are extremely grateful to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for their support of BizLab,” said WBUR General Manager Charlie Kravetz. “This investment is critical for developing innovative and sustainable models of support that strengthen and grow public radio. BizLab will help WBUR and other stations uncover new avenues for revenue generation, distinct from traditional approaches including on-air drives, direct mail and telemarketing.” “CPB has been supporting journalism capacity building among public media stations for many years, and this project will find new, innovative ways to sustain that important work,” said Kathy Merritt, Senior Vice President of Journalism and Radio at CPB. “Keeping audience at the center of the project is exactly the right business approach and should provide valuable lessons for the entire public media system.” Applications are now open for stations across the country eager to conduct revenue experiments for sustainability in the digital age. Selected stations will be chosen from different markets, varied by station size, population and geography. Winners will be announced this Fall 2018 and collaborations will commence in January 2019. For more information, visit http://publicradiobizlab.org/ (via Blaine Thompson, Indiana Radio Watch, via John Carver, DXLD) ** U S A. Federal Communications Commission FCC 18-139 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Revitalization of the AM Radio Service ))) MB Docket No. 13-249 SECOND FURTHER NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING Adopted: October 5, 2018 Released: October 5, 2018 Comment Date: (60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register) Reply Comment Date: (90 days after date of publication in the Federal Register) By the Commission: Commissioner O’Rielly issuing a statement. I. INTRODUCTION 1. This Second Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (SFNPRM), as part of our ongoing effort to assist AM broadcast stations in providing full-time service to their local communities, sets forth revised alternative proposals regarding interference protection to Class A AM radio stations. The Commission, in the Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making in this proceeding,1 sought comment on technical proposals to reduce the nighttime protection afforded to wide-area coverage Class A stations, to enable more local AM stations to increase their nighttime service that is currently curtailed by the need to protect Class A stations’ service areas. While many commenters supported or rejected the Commission’s proposals as set forth in the AMR FNPRM, a number of commenters proposed thoughtful and evidence-based alternatives to the Commission’s proposals. 2. We therefore present one new proposal for the protection of Class A AM stations during the day, and two alternative proposals for critical hours protection, as well as two alternative proposals for protection of Class A AM stations at night.2 These alternative proposals are designed to preserve some of Class A stations’ wide area coverage, while relieving more local stations of their current obligation to protect Class A stations from interference. Our proposals should enable local stations to provide greater and improved local service to their communities, especially at night. In addition, we ask commenters to provide more detailed information regarding the effect of reduced Class A protection on the functioning of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). Finally, although we do not revise the Commission’s proposals with regard to daytime protection for Class B, C, and D stations, or for changes to nighttime root-sum-square (RSS) calculation methodology, we invite input on whether commenters’ positions on those proposals would change in light of our revised proposals to modify Class A protections... [31 pages] https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-18-139A1.pdf [H-D`s comments, from pdf page 5]: 9. Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers, LLC, likewise provides evidence that current rules protecting Class A AM skywave service are anachronistic, and the service being protected is nonexistent.31 H&D proposes that Class A AM stations should be protected against nighttime skywave interference to their 0.5 mV/m groundwave contour on an RSS basis, just as Class B stations are protected to their nominal 2.0 mV/m contour.32 H&D agrees with the Commission that Class A stations should be protected to their 0.5 mV/m nighttime groundwave contour from first-adjacent channel stations, but contends that Class A stations should be protected during critical hours to their 0.5 mV/m groundwave contours.33 (via Ben Dawson, Hatfield-Dawson, DXLD) AM Interference Protection Changes Proposed https://radioinsight.com/headlines/171024/fcc-report-10-7-am-interference-protection-changes-proposed/ Sent from my iPad (Dennis Gibson, IRCA via DXLD) viz.: FCC Report 10/7: AM Interference Protection Changes Proposed By Lance Venta on October 7, 2018 Comments Closed The FCC has proposed a rulemaking for changes to the protected contours of AM stations. The agency states the first group of proposals are designed to preserve some of Class A AMs wide coverage areas while relieving more local stations of their current obligation to protect Class A stations from interference with the goal to allow smaller stations to better cover their communities at night. The new proposal states that in daytime hours Class A AMs are protected to their 0.5 mV/m daytime groundwave contour, from both co-channel and first-adjacent channel stations. The FCC is also seeking comment on a pair of proposals for both critical-hours and nighttime protection. The first critical hours proposal says Class A’s are afforded no protection from other AM stations, while the second keeps the same 0.5 mV/m groundwave contour as the daytime proposal. For nighttime protection, option one says there may be no overlap between a Class A AM station’s 0.5 mV/m nighttime groundwave contour and any interfering AM station’s 0.025 mV/m 10 percent skywave contour (calculated using the single station method), while the second offers Class A AM stations are protected from other AM stations in the same manner as Class B AM stations are protected, that is, interference may not be increased above the greater of the 0.5 mV/m nighttime groundwave contour or the 50 percent exclusion RSS NIF level (calculated using the multiple station method). The FCC still intends to change Class B, C, and D stations to return to the pre-1991 0 dB daytime 1:1 protection ratio for first adjacent channels, change second adjacent channel groundwave protection to match the current levels for third adjacent channel protection, and eliminate third adjacent channel groundwave protection while changing the daytime protected contour to the 2.0 mV/m contour (via DXLD) FCC may trim some big AMs Radio News By Tom Taylor October 7 2018 Are the protected night signals of monster 50,000-watt AMs “an anachronism?” And is the FCC poised to do something that will frustrate late-night DX’ers? The Commission tries again to balance the role of Class A signals like KMOX St. Louis/1120, designed to serve listeners hundreds of miles away, with the desires of local AMs. The “skywave” debate is decades-old – but particularly urgent now, given the rising noise floor from all kinds of interference. The Commission just issued a “Second further notice of proposed rulemaking,” noting the rise of “FM stations, satellite radio and other media.” The first notice drew “a voluminous and diverse set of comments,” with some pointing out that “AM skywave service is sporadic and unreliable, often subject to overwhelming environmental interference, and unlikely to consist of programming tailored to the needs of distant communities.” But then there are questions about hurricane and other weather/safety warnings. In this notice, the Commission has ideas about changes to daytime, “critical hours” operation after sunrise and before sunset, and “nighttime hours.” One observer tells this NOW Newsletter says that cutting through the thicket of details, “It’s clear that there will be a further reduction in protection to the clear channel Class A stations, particularly at night. The main questions are how much protection they will retain.” But since this is so important to the Class A stations, here’s a quick summary of the FCC’s latest proposed rulemaking. First, during daytime hours (except critical hours, for those who have that restriction), Class A’s would be “protected to their 0.5 mV/m daytime groundwave contour, from both co-channel and first-adjacent-channel stations.” (For KMOX St. Louis, to keep using that example, that would mean only that much protection from 1110 and 1130 plus its own 1120 frequency.) Then for those critical hours, they’d get either “no protection from other AM stations” – called alternative 1 – or “protection to their 0.5 mV/m contour.” And at night, the most tricky part of this balancing act, alternative 1 is “no overlap between a Class A’s 0.5 mV/m nighttime groundwave contour and any interfering AM station’s 0.025 mV/m 10% skywave contour.” That would be calculated using “the single-station method.” Alternative 2 is being “protected from other AM stations in the same manner as Class B AM stations are protected – interference may not be increased above the greater of the 0.5 mV/m nighttime groundwave contour, or the 50% exclusion of RSS night-time interference-free level (NIF), calculated using the multiple station method.” This proposed rulemaking had several tech-savvy NOW readers chattering over the weekend, and you can read it here http://RadioNews@TomTaylorNow.com (via Mike Terry, WOR iog via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. VIETNAME, 9635.8, R. Voz do Vietname, Son Tay, 1112-desvan. total 1205, 03/10. Vietnamita; texto; 25331. A obs. foi, deliberadamente, feita antes do ocaso do sinal, com o intuito de verificar até que hora aquele poderia ser captado, mesmo se já imperceptível (Carlos Gonçalves, SW coast of Portugal, Oct 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. Received to the e-mail a reply from the English service “Voice of Vietnam” to the report on the reception of local broadcasting VOV-1 (630 kHz, via Dong Hoi): ``Dear Ivan Zelenyi, We have received your email. Your report is sufficient. We will send you a QSL card to verify it. We welcome you to your feedback and questions. Please keep in mind that you’re on the radio or at the www.vovworld.vn. Best regards, VOV staff`` It remains to wait for the QSL card. So, the reports on the reception of local broadcasting VOV confirms the English service, for others do not even try to send. Previously sent reports to e-mail addresses listed on the main (Vietnamese) site VOV - remained unanswered. English service email: englishsection [at] vov.org.vn (Ivan Zeleny, Nizhnevartovsk, Russia / “deneb-radio-dx”, QSL World, RusDX Oct 7 via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. 13680, Oct 6 at 1316, American accented English --- so most likely CRI? NO, not // 9570 via Cuba. O yes, Voice of Hope (Africa) as ID in passing a bit later; S7 peaks, deep fades to S2. This frequency active weekends only, aimed thisawayish. // 9680 ND is as usual buried under the China radio war (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Atlantic JBA MW carrier search, Oct 2 at 0133- 0138: 531, 549, 585, 621, 774(2), 837, 882, 909, 936, 954, 999, 1017, 1044, 1089, 1098, 1107, 1125(2, one of them minus, Belgium?), 1134(2), 1215 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Pacific JBA MW carrier search, Oct 2 at 1158-1202: 1098, 837(2), 774, 1035, 1548. Again at 1204-1209: 1017, 882(2), 828, 747, 702, 612, 594(2). Also something on about 1367.904 which I suspect is from a local device (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Pacific JBA MW carrier search, October 5 at 1221- 1240 UT: on the DX-398, the lower ones are definitely NW, like Japan, but above 900 they are generally difficult to get a DF null, as if they are coming both from FE and DU: 594, 666, 747, 774, 828, 837, 873, 882(2), 891, 936, 972, 1026, 1035, 1044, 1053(2), 1098-W, 1116 (2), 1134, 1143, 1197, 1206, 1224, 1242, 1287, 1296+, 1314, 1323, 1332, 1404, 1476, 1494, 1503, 1512, 1521, 1548-WSW, 1566, 1593, 1611- WSW. 747 & 774 were strongest at outset; and when finishing at 1240 I recheck 774 and find it still audible, but much weakened. LSR: 1230 UT (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Atlantic JBA MW carrier search, despite storm noise from KS & TX, October 6 from 0500 UT: 558, 585(2), 621, 639(2), 693, 729, 774, 837, 855(2), 882, 909, 936, 999, 1017, 1044, 1053, 1089, 1125, 1215, 1314, 1413, 1458 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1710, Oct 7 at 0604 UT, JBA talk vs noise level and CCI, TIS? I include this frequency in MW bandscans, and often there is a JBA carrier, but had not heard Radio Retén lo que Tienes, gospel huxter pirate in Bâton Rouge LA, for months after alleged FCC bust at least of its publicized FM side. Checking again, since Terry L Krueger, Clearwater FL, just reported this: [as above at USA] (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 3470-USB, Oct 7 at 0606, 2-way chat in English; they don`t sound like pilots, intruders? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 11610, Oct 5 at 1318, open carrier at S9+10, off* in less than a minute. Typical behavior of IBB, i.e. Tinang transmitter check for later 1600-1700 Chinese broadcast. Uncovers a JBA carrier, which would be 1300-1500, CRI in Bengali, due west from Kunming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 11960-USB, Oct 6 at 1311, 2-way in Spanish, Mexican accents, INTRUDERS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15745.65-USB approx., Oct 5 at 1315, 2-way in Spanish, whistling, intruders? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Happy Canadian Thanksgiving and Happy American Columbus Day! I hope you all have had time to spend at the radio dials this weekend. Let us know what you've been hearing. Rick Barton, Glenn Hauser, Harold Sellers, and yours truly can't be the only ones listening on shortwave, these days, if the amount of likes I receive every time I post loggings to the ODXA Shortwave Loggings Facebook group is any indication! Get on the bandwagon and support us with your loggings whether they be to the Yahoo Group, the io Group, or to the Facebook group, or all three like I do. We really do want to know what you are hearing! And so do a lot of other people. And, there's an extra incentive. If it's good DX news your name just might be featured in an upcoming DX Listening Digest, as compiled by Glenn Hauser, just like my loggings often are. Getting your name in print [sic]. What's better than that? OK, I'll give you winning the lottery, but seeing your name in print is still pretty neat! (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, Oct 7, ODXA iog via DXLD) Financial support for our non-commercial program, website and publication is always welcome, by MO or check in US funds on a US bank to: Glenn Hauser, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702; or via PayPal, not necessarily in US funds, to woradio at yahoo.com PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS Updated October 4: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html WORLD OF RADIO HITLIST by ALAN ROE, updated: http://www.w4uvh.net/hitlist.htm Status on DxWorld.com and pages http://dxworld.com/index2.html Hello All, The *shutdown clock has began ticking*. This is just a basic FYI to inform all readers that I received an email today from Janet Colyard, the wife of the late Bob Colyard. The email pertains to the status of DxWorld.com and all of its components. Janet informed me that the process for closing down DxWorld.com has began. She said this is due to the fact that the potential new owner of the website has been dragging his feet and there is evidence of a lack of commitment in taking over the website in a timely manner. This accompanies news that DxWorld.com has been the victim of hackers over the past couple of months, as well as repeated hits of spam-bots (no big news there). Janet said that she and her son are not equipped to deal with that activity of the website, as well as, they have no interest in managing it. I have no knowledge of a date of when DxWorld.com will end, nor any knowledge of how much longer it will exist. As I said, FYI (Jim Thomas, Springfield, Missouri, Oct 6, WTFDA gg via DXLD) ENGLISH WEBCASTS ON A MAP TO CLICKON Welcome to the October column. CIDX member Ivan Cholakov, ham operator NO2CW, of Hollywood, Florida, posted an interesting item on the CIDX Facebook page. FROM Ivan Cholakov, Hollywood, Florida: I realized that over 100 countries today still broadcast programs in English - they just mostly use AM and FM instead of Shortwave. I tried to compile a list of stations (real radio stations, not podcasters) that have English language programming and have their audio feeds on the internet. Obviously I only picked a couple of signals from countries like the UK and the USA so as not to drown the rest of the world. I loaded my quick and dirty website at http://www.RadioInEnglish.com I already have a bunch of pending updates and I hope to keep the map up to date. In the past I also loaded these stations into a Sangean Wifi radio. Many of the radio stations are mostly music but there is a good amount of news and local current affairs as well. Just like the old days. Simply click on a country on the map, scroll down, and see a list of selected radio stations in that country that have some English content. You’ll see the station name, their format, a link to the station’s website and a link to audio from each station. I invite you to join the Facebook group “Radio in English” and submit additional stations or updates. You’ll find “Radio in English” on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1279633055516650/ (Ivan NO2CW, CIDX NEWS & NOTES. Oct CIDX Messenger via DXLD) Needs a bit of work. e.g., Most Latin American countries have ``no English language stations``, including Mexico and Cuba! (gh) PTSW currently down and update From: Daniel Sampson Date: Sun, 07 Oct 2018 17:44:49 PDT Prime Time Shortwave is down temporarily while it gets moved to a new server. I hope to have it back up as soon as possible. This gives me a chance to do an update on the situation. If there isn't an interest in doing the database for PTSW I'm hoping to continue the website with links to the shortwave station schedules. I've fallen a little behind on that due to a bad cold that I had the past couple of days but hopefully can get it done before October 27. Someone has brought up the idea of splitting up the database duties among multiple people, I won't mention the name since I don't want to put anyone on the spot without their OK. They may be a couple of ways to do with if anyone is interested in doing part of the work but not all. Maybe it could be split by geological [sic] area or the religious stations could be a category by themselves or any other way that may work. If something like that would be of interest to you, let me know (Daniel Sampson, http://www.primetimeshortwave.com Oct 7, ptsw iog via DXLD) PTSW back up --- The Prime Time Shortwave website appears to be back up (Daniel Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave, 08 Oct, ibid.) ODXA WEEKLY DIGEST ON REQUEST There's a blind DXer who I send a weekly digest of the loggings that appear on the aforementioned [ODXA] Yahoo, io, and Facebook group sites. If you would like to receive this weekly update then drop me an e-mail at shortwaveloggings@gmail.com (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, Oct 7, ODXA iog via DXLD) CD 'Collecion Gruppo Radioascolto dello Stretto Italia Finally, the expected "QSL Collezione" is available, an initiative of GARS that aims to fill a gap in radio enthusiasts who have been active since the 70s. This collection is the result of professional work, full of patience, in which a team consis-ting of: a desktop computer has been used, applications such as Adobe PageMaker 7.0, Adobe Acrobat Pro, FastStone Ima-ge Viewer, Mustek ScanExpress A3 USB scanner) and the Sony Bloggie HD camera. The use of an A3 scanner, instead of the usual A4, allowed to obtain files ..jpeg (video files with the possibility of converting it into PDF), book covers and large-format pennants (including posters) with better quality and in its totality, everything like the original, like new, with bright, clear and true colors ... a feast for the eyes, with legible texts in the majority. In this collection QSL and confirmation letters have been included from 1972 to the present, as a reflection of our time of fun and evasion. A QSL, a pennant or a sticker are linked to specific radio stations that have built the history of broadcas-ting. This initiative includes many stations, some of which have already disappeared, others have moved to the OM or the Internet. On the other hand, the same technique has been applied to the RadioNotizie newsletter; so that all numbers have been con-verted to PDF since January 1981, page by page. So a cultural source, always alive and current, has been created and made available, which tells in detail the listening activity of many collaborating friends who justify the name "extended diary" given in the "RadioNotizie Collezione". The initiative also includes visits to radio stations, whether they are visits within trips won in contests or made during tou-rist trips or cruises. The texts and images emphasize the people who were before the microphones, making known facts, characters, situations, feelings, visions, environments and a lot of pleasant memories. RadioNotizie Collezione, QSL Collezione and visits to radio stations occupy a total of 5.89 GB, with large amounts of data, photos and movies. This content has been divided into two DVDs: 1) RadioNotizie Collezione + QSL Collezione (3.81 GB); 2) Visit to radio stations (2.08 GB). The requests can be made in two ways: For information about shipping costs contact gsergi5050@hotmail.com Mailing address: Giovanni Sergi; Via Sibari 34; 98149 Messina; Later, they hope to offer the content of the discs in USB memories (Dario Gabrielli via ListaCondig) (Google translation by TN), SW Bulletin Oct 7 via DXLD) New Klingenfuss products for 2019: More than 300 Kiwi-SDRs QRV! Dear friends, currently, around 300+ Kiwi-SDRs are available at and most of these cover the entire HF spectrum. Consequently, monitoring and decoding of professional HF digital data stations - from exotic locations all over the world! - is more convenient than ever before. Hundreds of screenshots will be published in our brandnew 2019 editions. See some samples on our hot frequencies website! With NOAA sunspot numbers around 20-40, we're now in the solar cycle minimum, However, we still experience good propagation conditions up to around 18 MHz: on 30 September we received the low-power transmitter of aircraft SU-GDZ, an Egypt Air B737 at an altitude of 36,000 feet enroute from Cairo to Lagos, sending automatic position reports every 15 minutes on 17928 kHz. HF radio continues to be fascinating! We're now working on our new products - 2019/2020 Guide to Utility Radio Stations - 2019 Shortwave Frequency Guide - 2019 Super Frequency List on CD - 2019 Frequency Database for the Perseus LF-HF Software-Defined Receiver to be published on 10 December 2018. Full-resolution title page graphics can be found at and and and If you are able to supply additional new frequencies and stations, your cooperation would be highly appreciated. Please let us have your data by 20 October 2018. The continuously updated product Digital Data Decoder Screenshots on USB Stick now covers more than 15,900 (fifteen thousand nine hundred!) screenshots from 1997 to today. Feed your PC or Tablet with this data, and the "slide show" will keep you busy for a few days - or weeks! Shortwave is dead? Well, we've been told so for 50+ years. More than 650 selected new digital data decoder screenshots will be published on our 2019 Super Frequency List on CD ;-)) - - - Latest references (see ) Richard Roush KA8BDD, United States of America - 16 May 2018: "2018 Super Frequency List on CD ... This is simply amazing! One does not have to travel the world for great DX, just tune a Kiwi-SDR from a remote spot. We have come so far in technology." John Palmer M0LCD, United Kingdom - 5 April 2018: "2018 Frequency Database for the Perseus Receiver ... I am most grateful and your service is the best I have ever had. I have used your books and CD's over the last 20 years. I have still got the books from way back in 1999. In those days I purchased them from the RSGB bookshop. I have used other books on the same subject, but never as good as yours. I will be ordering other titles in the next few days. Again many thanks for your first class service." Georg Wiessala, Editor of Radio User, United Kingdom - March 2018: "2018 Shortwave Frequency Guide ... meticulously researched ... The clandestine radio stations list offered here is unrivalled. The book is enriched by screenshots and is used by a number of professional monitors and services around the world. The contextual information on utility monitoring, modes in use and legal restrictions is one of the best I have seen. It will pave the way into this fascinating part of the hobby for many enthusiasts and readers of Radio User's new utility monitoring column. The publication, like others, has moved with the times and there is much of interest here for those interested in HF e-mail, short wave radiograms, web-SDR listening and automatic monitoring and recording techniques, in fact, the book is worth its price for its survey of the future of a range of radio transmissions alone. Unlike the other guides reviewed here, the Klingenfuss list makes no bones about the underlying politics of radio, the use of radio by extremists of all kinds and about the utter foolishness of leading international broadcasters to discontinue short wave transmissions at a time when the world needs them most. There are also a few home truths about DRM, internet censorship and radio and political repression world-wide. It is refreshing to find this kind of background made more explicit in a title of this nature. Like its predecessor editions, this title is, therefore, highly-recommended." Alessandro Bertoglio in Associazione Radioamatori Italiani's Radio Rivista, Italy - March 2018: "Non si offendano i BCL, essendo una questione di gusti personali, ma dopo una decina di anni d'ascolto delle stazioni BC ero veramente annoiato di ascoltare annunci pubblicitari, trasmissioni politiche o sportive in lingue che conoscevo poco ... Fu cosi che approdai nel mondo delle Utility, sconosciuto, intrigante, quasi, potrei dire, misterioso. Fu l'incontro con le pubblicazioni del Klingenfuss ad aprirci gli occhi: migliaia di stazioni, molto differenti dalle broadcasting, sparse su tutto il globo e tanti modi e protocolli di trasmissione. Un vero universo da esplorare!" Arnaldo Slaen, Argentinia - 12 December 2017: "... mis felicitaciones por vuestra publicacion anual la cual, en casi 40 anos como diexista, es la primera vez que adquiero." Glen Briden, Canada - 10 December 2017: "2018 Super Frequency List on CD ... I can not imagine listening to shortwave radio without your guide." Robert Dodt, United Kingdom - 8 November 2017: "2018 Shortwave Frequency Guide ... I have used your very excellent SW Frequency Guides for years." Mike Richards G4WNC, Decode Editor, in Radio User, United Kingdom - May 2017: "2017/2018 Guide to Utility Radio Stations ... 2017 Super Frequency List on CD ... Joerg Klingenfuss has been producing HF frequency lists for professional and hobby users for many years and his lists remain the most accessible and comprehensive ones available." Best wishes, Joerg Klingenfuss Klingenfuss Publications Klingenfuss Radio Monitoring Hagenloher Str. 14 72070 Tuebingen, Germany Phone +49 7071 62830 Fax +49 7071 600849 web mail (Joerg Klingenfuss-D, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 1 via BC-DX Oct 5 via DXLD) Commercial FYI, not endorsement by gh (gh) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ 25th Annual Madison-Milwaukee DX Get-together 8/18/18 The date was August 18 2018, the third Saturday of the month. It was a beautiful day in Madison, Wisconsin, sunny with calm winds and a temperature that peaked at 80 in mid-afternoon. People began gathering in Lake Farm Park at Shelter 3 as early as 11 AM for the annual one-day Madison-Milwaukee Get-together for DXers and Radio Enthusiasts, scheduled to start at 1:00 PM. Over the next several hours they kept on coming until we had a final count of 47 DXers and ten family members and guests for a total of 57 attendees. Our hopes for a great turnout had been realized. We had circled this date since our last Madison-Milwaukee Get-together in Oak Creek WI 52 weeks earlier, for this one would be a milestone. As hard as it was for even us to believe, this would be the 25th straight year we held this annual event. Madison-Milwaukee DX Get-Together 2018 [group photo caption] FRONT ROW (kneeling or sitting) L to R: Steve Gastreich, Mike Nikolich, Neil Bartlett, Bill Tilford, Willie Schrieder, Carlie Forsythe, Gary Cannalte, Rick Dau, Don Moore, Craig Menning, Mark Heleniak, Frank LaPin, Bill Dvorak SECOND ROW L to R: Dave Willow, Mike Piering, Mike Henke (leaning forward), Kevin McGill, Bev Schrieder, Randy Schrieder, Bob Brossell, Neil Kazaross, Ken Hawkins, Mark Draeger, Marv Shults, John Lentz, Al Hajny, Joe Olig, Ernie Wesolowski THIRD ROW L to R: (here's where the lines between second and third row get confusing) Chris Kadlec, Paul Noonan, Tim Noonan, Joe Farley, George Greene, Monica Thomas, Pete Ferrand, Jim Albrecht, Mark Taylor, Gary Siegel, Frank Merrill, Erik Berntsen, Dave Legler, Dave Hascall, Dave Whatmough, (further to the right) Jim Green, Curtis Sadowski A little background on the Madison-Milwaukee DX Get-together is appropriate here. The idea of an annual one-day mostly social get-together for DXers had its beginning from the experiences of Tim Noonan, Bill Dvorak and Joe Olig in hosting and attending various formal and informal DX gatherings over the years. We thought it would be a great idea to host an annual local gathering of DXers as a meeting point for area hobbyists, and worked to get such an event off the ground. One of our friends, Kevin Klein whose two hobbies were DXing and car collecting, would come down from Appleton WI every year on the third weekend in August to enter his car in a local car show, arriving on Friday night and leaving after the show on Sunday. In 1994 we decided to hold our first get-together on the Saturday of that weekend with Kevin as one of the first attendees, establishing the third Saturday in August ever after as a permanent date for the get-together. Tim, Bill and Joe co-hosted the first event. We invited every area DXer we knew and held it at Bill's house. The first year's attendance had a very modest turnout – only eight attendees including your three hosts (we almost had as many hosts as guests). Still it was a start. One of the attendees that first year was Rick Dau from Iowa City IA. Thus from the very beginning our local event took on not only a local but a regional dimension. The following year three Illinois DXers, Neil Kazaross, Norm Geuder and Mark Strickert, joined us. Then in the fourth year George Greene from Akron OH and Ernie Wesolowski from Omaha NE came, the first two attendees from non-adjacent states (in all we have had attendees from 16 states and the District of Columbia). Finally in 2006 we went international when world-renowned DXer Victor Goonetilleke from Sri Lanka, while visiting his son, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay at the time, attended GTG #13 held that year in Grafton WI. After our first get-together, Tim Noonan and Bill Dvorak began alternating host duties while Joe Olig hosted an annual winter GTG for locals only. By the 1998 get-together, our fifth, attendance had grown to 20. During this time our official name was the Madison Get-together for DXers and Radio Enthusiasts. That changed in 2004. The previous year Tim moved to the Milwaukee area to take a position as lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Tim wanted to maintain hosting duties, so we reinvented our event. Tim and Bill would continue hosting in alternate years, Tim's years in the Milwaukee area and Bill's in Madison. The name was changed to the Madison-Milwaukee Get-together for DXers and Radio Enthusiasts, with the smaller Madison getting first billing because that is where it all started. The first Milwaukee area venue was at Sheridan Park in Cudahy WI on August 21, 2004. We also started informally and unofficially referring to our event as the M&M DX GTG, M&M for Madison-Milwaukee. From that point on a bowl of M&M's became the centerpiece of our GTG snack table. This was about the time we started publicizing our event in club bulletins and on DX shows. With this publicity we began a period of growth, seeing our annual attendance climb from the upper 20's into the 30's and 40's where we have remained ever since. So there is a brief history of the Madison-Milwaukee DX Get-together. This brings us back to that beautiful day a few weeks back when we celebrated our milestone 25th event. Hosts for the day were Mark Taylor and Bill Dvorak. This is the second time that Mark and Bill have teamed up as co-hosts, the last time in 2016. Mark has played a significant role in the get-together for more than 15 years. In 2009 he hosted the 16th Madison-Milwaukee GTG at his home in Madison. He has been instrumental in introducing the antenna farm, the Lake Farm Park venue and the catered dinner into the get-together program (more on these later). The venue, Lake Farm Park, is a beautiful County park just south of Madison in what is known as the Capital Springs Recreation Area. The park itself is 328 acres and includes camping and campground facilities, bike and hiking trails, boat launches, play areas and other features. The park's three shelters are on the shore of Upper Mud Lake which despite its name is a very pretty lake. You can commonly hear sand cranes while in the shelter area. This day they were very bold, walking very close to our shelter. A beautiful site within a beautiful park. Camaraderie is a founding pillar of the Madison-Milwaukee DX Get-together, and there is plenty of time to catch up with others that you may see only once a year at our event. It is obvious to even the most casual of observers that this group enjoys each other's company. Plenty of snacks and beverages are provided to keep the good talk going. The antenna farm was introduced into our get-together several years back by Mark Taylor. Mark is always the first person on site on get-together day, stringing up longwires and other antennas. DXers are encouraged to bring radios and hook up to an antenna, and also to share their receiver with others. A tent is put up with a picnic table inside to protect both person and equipment from the elements. All lead-in cables end in the tent. Some exotic boat anchors have been brought to the GTG over the years for interested parties to try out. Recently we have introduced radio-related presentations into our program. Since this is just a one-day event, we limit our presentation time to one hour total and try to make them as interesting as possible. This year Don Moore, a frequent traveler to Latin America, gave a slideshow presentation on Peruvian radio, Steve Gastreich played a three-minute podcast of a WTMJ 620 Milwaukee reporter interviewing a Finnish DXer who had sent the station a reception report, and professional book narrator Pete Ferrand gave a talk about Project Elf, a very low frequency submarine communications system, as described in a chapter of a John Keel book. The hour was very interesting indeed. Dinner has always been a big part of our event. When we moved To Lake Farm Park in 2016 we decided a sit-down dinner at a local restaurant was logistically impractical. So we worked with a local caterer, Cranberry Creek, and came up with a dinner winner. The caterer delivers a meal directly to the shelter, sets it up buffet style and comes back later to tear it down. This year for $18.00 you could enjoy beef tips in burgundy sauce, cranberry chicken breast, pasta primavera, roasted red potatoes, island vegetable blend, tossed salad with assorted dressings, dinner rolls, non-alcoholic beverages, coffee and cake. After dinner we drew names for door prizes. For years Universal Radio has generously supplied us with several nice items to give away and we have been very thankful for their support. The last formal item on our program is what we call the "Passing of the Torch." It is our first announcement of next year's get-together, date, host and venue. Next year's event will be Saturday, August 17, your host will be Tim Noonan and the venue will be his home in Oak Creek WI. We were delighted this year to have as a first-time attendee Dave Whatmough of Hamilton, Ontario. Dave was our first Canadian attendee, and we are grateful to him to share his time with us. This is our open invitation to you. The plan is to continue the Madison-Milwaukee Get-together many years into the future. A lot of time and effort has gone into making this a great event to be enjoyed by those who have in common the wonderful hobby of DX. If you live within driving distance of southern and southeast Wisconsin or if you plan to be in the area around the third weekend of August, please consider joining us. We would be very pleased to extend our hospitality to you. For more information on next year's event, please contact Tim Noonan. Tim's e-mail address is dxing2@aol.com. He will be more than happy to put you on our invitation list and keep you informed as the date gets closer. We hope you have enjoyed this article. If you do make a future event, we look forward to meeting you. PS: we hope you enjoy the group photo courtesy of our get-together photographer Dave Legler. Other photos are here: https://tinyurl.com/mm2018gtg (Bill Dvorak, IRCA DX Monitor October 6, published Oct 3, via DXLD) Would be nice if there were similar GTGs elsewhere, e.g. Oklahoma (gh) Future HFCC meetings are scheduled for Tunis (A19), Buenos Aires (B19), Hainan, China (A20) and Sydney Australia (B20). More about HFCC at http://www.hfcc.org/group.phtml (per Jeff White at EDXC Conference Bratislava, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) WORLD OF HOROLOGY See also BRAZIL! HAWAII, USA: WWVH/WWV/WWVB! +++++++++++++++++ See also OKLAHOMA [and non] The IPAWS National Test American Sign Language (ASL) Public Service Announcement (PSA) regarding the IPAWS National Test on October 3, 2018 [video link] IPAWS National Test of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and Emergency Alert System (EAS) The National EAS and WEA test will be held on the backup date of October 3, 2018, beginning at 2:18 p.m. EDT. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and Emergency Alert System (EAS) on the backup date of October 3, 2018 due to ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence. The WEA portion of the test commences at 2:18 p.m. EDT, and the EAS portion follows at 2:20 p.m. EDT. The test will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether improvements are needed. The WEA test message will be sent to cell phones that are connected to wireless providers participating in WEA. This is the fourth EAS nationwide test and the first national WEA test. Previous EAS national tests were conducted in November 2011, September 2016, and September 2017 in collaboration with the FCC, broadcasters, and emergency management officials in recognition of FEMA’s National Preparedness Month. Cell towers will broadcast the WEA test for approximately 30 minutes beginning at 2:18 p.m. EDT. During this time, WEA compatible cell phones that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower, and whose wireless provider participates in WEA should be capable of receiving the test message. Some cell phones will not receive the test message, and cell phones should only receive the message once. The WEA test message will have a header that reads "Presidential Alert" and text that says: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” The WEA system is used to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations through alerts on cell phones. The national test will use the same special tone and vibration as with all WEA messages (i.e. Tornado Warning, AMBER Alert). Users cannot opt out of receiving the WEA test. The EAS is a national public warning system that provides the President with the communications capability to address the nation during a national emergency. The test is made available to EAS participants (i.e., radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers) and is scheduled to last approximately one minute. The test message will be similar to regular monthly EAS test messages with which the public is familiar. The EAS message will include a reference to the WEA test: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency an official message would have followed the tone alert you heard at the start of this message. A similar wireless emergency alert test message has been sent to all cell phones nationwide. Some cell phones will receive the message; others will not. No action is required.” The test was originally planned for September 20, 2018 but has been postponed until October 3, 2018 due to ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence. All sections collapsed. Click to expand all sections Expand All Sections This Section is Collapsed. Click to Expand Frequently Asked Questions About the IPAWS National Test This Section is Collapsed. Click to Expand Fact Sheet and PSA This Section is Collapsed. Click to Expand Still Have a Question? Contact Us About the IPAWS National Test Last Updated: 10/02/2018 - 12:45 (via Blaine Thompson, Indiana Radio Watch, via John Carver, DXLD) Local Radio Station Fails To Broadcast National EAS Test I was listening to one of my local radio stations between 1:20 PM and 1:40 PM Central, the period in which the National EAS Test was supposed to air; the only problem, it did not air! I will not release the name of the station until I have given their head DJ a chance to respond (I contacted them this evening). I will go ahead and say this station is owned by one of the top 3 commercial radio station owners in the USA (Rrrrzzzz419, Currently DXing In Colbert And Lauderdale Counties In AL, And Alcorn And Tishomingo Counties In MS, Oct 3, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) I've heard / seen a few News reports indicating that many cell phones also failed the test. 73, (Ed NN2E, Owner / Operator - Murphy's Law Test Site & Thunderstorm Proving Grounds, Thunderstorm KY, Oct 4, ibid.) I have heard there may have been problems with the test in some parts of the country (although I haven't heard of anything in the South). Our station [WSM] received it properly from FEMA over the Internet, as well as over both FM stations we're assigned to monitor; and the relay went off just fine as well (sounds to me like the announcer stumbled just a bit though). It also arrived properly over Verizon phones. Pretty much everyone in my workspace is on Verizon so I can't vouch for any other carrier (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) The audio quality I heard on an unnamed NYC metro FM station (I was on the road yesterday) sounded like it was undermodulated, recorded off the AM air during a T-storm. BTW, cell phones which aren't smart phones don't receive any alerts, local or national (Russ Edmunds, 15 mi NW Philadelphia, PA, WB2BJH -- Grid FN20id, ibid.) Do you think me and you need to let the FCC know about these stations? I don't what these stations to have to pay fines, I wish they could just find the problem with their EAS encoders and fix them. The station that I was listening to in my area at the time of the test that failed it to air it was WWKZ KZ 103. And it is weird because last time there was a severe thunderstorm warning in the area their encoder broke in like it was supposed to (rz419, ibid.) I think not. In my case, the message was still understandable - just much worse audio than I would have expected, also worse than what I'm used to for many weather alerts which I hear frequently during Es DX. This is a first test, I'm sure the stations know (Russ Edmunds, ibid.) Stations were required to file (online) three forms with the FCC regarding this test. Form 1 was due by August 27th & basically identifies the station's location, contact information, and monitoring assignments. Each station is required to monitor at least two Local Primary stations, and a FEMA website. The Local Primary assignments are made in the state EAS plan. In many cases, one (or both) of the Local Primaries may be AM. Luckily, both of ours are FM... Form 2 was due by the end of the day of the test. Basically it just asks "did you receive the test?" "did you rebroadcast the test?". The Commission wanted to know early if there were any significant problems. Form 3 is due by November 5th. It goes into more detail -- for example, they wanted to know when you received it from each source. Sounds like in Russ' case, one of the station's Local Primary assignments is an AM station, and that AM station received the alert (and was able to rebroadcast it) unusually quickly. Rrrrrzzzzz: I suspect WWKZ receives its weather alerts from the NWS weather radio. The NPT test should have arrived from FEMA and from two FM stations -- looking at the Mississippi EAS Plan, WWKZ should be monitoring WMBC 103.1 and WMAB 89.9. You'd think one of those three unrelated sources would have worked... (Doug Smith W9WI, ibid.) This was the fourth EAS test, I believe, in the series that the 2012 FEMA regulations called for. It was the first WEA test of the wireless portion of the system, though. And there was plenty of preparation time... the test was postponed due to the storms in the Carolinas because an alert could be confusing in that situation. A station would be "written up" and sanctioned only if it intentionally did not participate. If they have a reasonable cause for not participating and it is delivered with candor and a set of steps they will take to make it go better in the future, the FCC will consider it: after all it's a test to work out kinks! Much more critical is the failure of many AT&T areas to relay the WEA test. I did not get one, and a half-dozen other AT&T subscribers I know, from LA to AZ, did not get it either (David Eduardo Gleason, La Quinta CA, Oct 5, ibid.) Doug, in my case the station was WQXR-105.9 Newark NJ and there were no T-storms in the area. I'm not sure how the static and low audio of the test came about, but that shouldn't have occurred presuming their primary was an NYC AM. I wondered if the recording itself was of poor quality in the original (Russ Edmunds, 15 mi NW Philadelphia, PA, ibid.) The plan for northeast NJ calls for monitoring two Local Primaries. The one for state alerts is 94.7 Newark. (I forget what they changed the calls to. The EAS plan still calls it WFME.) For national alerts, they're to monitor either the nearest NJN station, or WABC-770. If I recall properly, there is no NJN FM station within reasonable range of NYC, where the WQXR facilities are. The EAS plan allows for monitoring NJN *TV*, but most EAS gear doesn't come with TV receivers. (many would allow for use of an external TV receiver. However, I'm not sure whether WNJN-50 reception is reliable in NYC.) In other words, I think WQXR received this test from WABC AM. I'm pretty sure every station nationwide aired the same recording. There was nothing wrong with the quality of what we received & rebroadcast (again, I think the announcer stumbled at one point though!) (Doug Smith W9WI, ibid.) That plan is old and outdated. WMBC 103.1 has problems due to Tupelo now having a full power station on 102.9 (WWMR). Tupelo should be given their own primary entry point station, the FCC should assign that to WFTA 101.9 due to them being the strongest signal there (Rrrrzzzz419, Oct 5, ibid.) WWKZ 103.9, right? Licensed to Okolona, in Chickasaw County. (trivia: while trying to find out what county Okolona was in, I learned Chickasaw County has *two* county seats. The other one is Houston.) According to the Mississippi EAS Plan as revised in September 2017 and available on the FCC website, Chickasaw County is in the "Golden Triangle Operational Area". For which WMBC and WMAB are still the monitoring assignments. Tupelo, in Lee County, is in a different Operational Area (the Northeast Operational Area). The monitoring assignments there are WZLQ 98.5 and WMAE 89.5 (the former is a blowtorch, I frequently hear it up here north of Nashville). EAS plans are a state responsibility. The FCC doesn't make the monitoring assignments (Doug Smith W9WI, ibid.) Who would I need to contact in order to potentially get that changed? (rz419, Oct 6, iid.) I suppose that would be the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency/. I would be EXTREMELY surprised if you could actually get an assignment changed. I've never heard of it happening other than at the motion of the state EMA itself, or the request of the station(s) involved (Doug Smith W9WI, ibid.) See also OKLAHOMA [and non] UKOGBANI --- Big Ben bongs for first time since New Year http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/big-ben-bongs-for-first-time-since-new-year-11364300013517 Big Ben sounded between 8pm and 10pm on Thursday to test the bell ahead of Remembrance Sunday and New Year's Eve. Press Association Last updated: 4 October 2018 - 10.40pm The famous chimes of Big Ben have rung out for the first time since New Year. Big Ben's world-famous bongs were temporarily silenced in August last year for the safety of workers involved in a four-year restoration scheme. The chimes are only being reactivated for special occasions until the work programme is completed, including over Christmas last year. Big Ben sounded between 8pm and 10pm on Thursday to test the bell ahead of Remembrance Sunday and New Year's Eve. Labour MP Stephen Pound, who has led a backlash against the silencing of the bells, was outside Parliament to hear the rare chimes. The Ealing North MP, who wiped away a tear as Big Ben was muted last year, said of hearing the bell again: "It's quite sort of an elegiac moment tinged with a certain sadness, because on the one hand it's absolutely right that the bells will chime on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month for the 100th anniversary of the ending of the Great War, it's entirely right. "But on the other hand, could we not have actually done the work a bit sooner, and if we can sound those chimes of freedom now, could we not have done it a wee bit sooner? "All I can say is all round Parliament Square, people were stopping and listening and turning their eyes up, and the smiles on people's faces. "It means such a lot. It may be sort of a melancholy sound, but really it's also the chimes of freedom, and people love to hear it." Mr Pound described the chimes as the "rhythm of Westminster life" and said they were the "soundtrack" of his life and work. "It's the single most impressive sound for London. It's the one that is more emblematic of London than any other sound you could imagine," he said. Listening to the bells ring out as he stood on Westminster Bridge, Mr Pound said: "It actually sounds a bit fresher. That sounds to me like the key of E, but earlier on the chimes seemed to be in F. "Maybe I have a tin ear, but that sounds a little bit sharper and a little bit fresher, but on the other hand, maybe she's had a scrub up." The Elizabeth Tower, home to the Great Clock and the Great Bell - known as Big Ben - is undergoing a complex programme of conservation works to safeguard it for generations to come. Parliament's team of clock mechanics temporarily disconnected Big Ben and the quarter bells from the clock mechanism and lowered the weights to the base of the tower in order to provide a safe environment for the people working in the Elizabeth Tower. A bespoke electric mechanism has been built to power the 200kg striking hammer in order to ensure the Great Bell can mark Remembrance Sunday and New Year's Eve. * The Great Bell (Big Ben), weighs 13.7 tonnes and is struck with a 200kg hammer. It produces musical note E when struck. It measures 2.7, across and is 2.2m high. * The Clock Tower was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012, to honour the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. * There are 334 steps to the belfry in the tower. * The Elizabeth Tower was constructed using 2,600 cubic metres of brick and 850 cubic metres of stone, which were transported to Westminster by river. *Each clock dial features a cast iron frame holding 312 pieces of pot opal glass, which is being replaced. * As the clock mechanism itself has been dismantled for conservation work, a modern electric motor will drive the clock hands until the Great Clock is reinstated. * The clock began keeping time for the nation on 31 May 1859 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Daylight saving [SIC thruout] can affect your health -- here's how The Conversation, By Oliver Rawashdeh, Posted October 07, 2018 06:41:02 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-07/daylight-saving-switchover-affects-our-health/10344600 A hand picks up an old-fashioned alarm clock Photo: The risk of heart attack and stroke increases in the two weeks after the time change. (Pexels) Related Story: Daylight saving time: the controversy that (still) divides a nation Map: Australia Australians who have switched over to daylight saving time get an hour less sleep as they move their clocks forward. Changing the clock causes a temporary state of misalignment in our internal biological time. We may not feel ready to go to bed an hour earlier and our alarms will wake us up before we've had enough sleep. Changing the clock alters the body's production of melatonin, the hormone produced when it gets dark, and cortisol, the stress hormone. These regulate when we feel like going to sleep, when we're hungry, and our ability to fight off bugs. This misalignment is a form of jetlag, and can upset the body's rhythms. It can affect our ability to think clearly and can increase the risk of heart attacks, depression and even miscarriage. Heart attack and stroke Several studies have shown your risk of having a heart attack (myocardial infarction) and stroke increases in the two weeks after the changeover, compared with the two weeks before. The risk is highest in the first three weekdays following the switchover. Researchers suspect the link is because an hour of sleep loss increases stress and provides less time to recover overnight. The good news is the increased risk of a heart attack only lasts two weeks. After that, our biological clock synchronises to the new time. When it comes to the increased risk of heart attack, women are generally more sensitive to the spring transition to daylight saving time, while men are more sensitive to the autumn transition from daylight saving time. The reasons are unclear but it could be related to the roles sex-specific hormones play in the adjustment. Video: Is daylight saving time bad for your health? (ABC News) Mood Research from Germany shows springing forward to summertime can have a negative effect on life satisfaction levels and feelings of anger and sadness, which can last a little over a week. The effect is largest among full-time employees. These workers must instantaneously shift their work schedule to a time that's in disagreement with their body's biological rhythms, while others may allow themselves to ease into their new schedule. Your risk of depression can also increase during the month after the daylight saving comes into effect. A 17-year Danish study of 185,000 hospital visits found the patient intake for patients diagnosed with depression rose by 11 per cent. This effect dissipated over a 10-week period. Miscarriage A 2017 study of IVF patients found a greater chance of pregnancy loss after embryo transfer in spring, when daylight saving time began: 24.3 per cent, as opposed to 15.5 per cent before daylight saving time. There was no significant difference in pregnancy loss rates during the transition from daylight saving time. Physical activity The transition to daylight saving time affects people's exercise patterns, but not in the way you'd expect. A 2010 Australian study found one in four people switched from morning to evening exercise sessions. But 8 per cent stopped exercising altogether after the changeover. A much larger study of 23,000 children from nine countries found that children spent an extra two minutes of outdoor play time -- at the end of daylight saving time. Night owl or morning lark? The effect of daylight saving time depends on our chronotype: whether you're a night owl or early rising lark. We switch chronotypes as we age; adolescents are predominantly night owls but many will eventually switch to being morning larks in adulthood. So the impact of the transition to daylight saving time also changes as we age. A 2009 German study showed daytime sleepiness was an issue for older students for up to three weeks after the transition to daylight saving time. This is why sleep experts urge schools not to test students in the three weeks after the transition. We all need time to adjust to daylight saving time -- but students and full-time workers might have a tougher time in the weeks after the changeover. So go easy on your kids and colleagues. Oliver Rawashdeh is a lecturer in biomedical sciences at The University of Queensland. This article first appeared on The Conversation (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) MUSEA +++++ N B C CHIMES The NBC chimes, named for the radio & television network on which they have been used, consists of a succession of three distinct pitches: G3, E4 & C4 (middle C), sounded in that order, creating an arpeggiated C-major chord in the second inversion, within about two seconds time & reverberating for another two or three seconds. The intervals of this progression are up a major sixth from G3 to E4 & down a major third from E4 to C4. The chimes were the first ever audio trademark to be accepted by the United States Patent & Trademark Office. The chimes were originally used as a cue for radio stations across the network to begin broadcasting their station identification or local feeds. After their use as a formal network communications signal ended around the 1970s as the result of automation, the chimes have been used ever since as an audio logo or signature for NBC. The use of the chimes as a formal network communications signal ended around 1971, the result of automation. However, the NBC television network's flagship station WNBC in New York City kept the sound of the chimes alive. In 1974, WNBC incorporated the sequence into the opening of its synthesized theme music for its local newscasts, NewsCenter 4 (sharpening the pitch by a half-step); the stinger was heard at the opens to the station's 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. newscasts. Eventually, NBC Radio adopted WNBC-TV's NewsCenter 4 stinger as its top-of-the-hour news sounder. With alterations (and a brief interruption in the early 1990s), WNBC has used a form of the chimes on its newscasts ever since. The music used on News Center 4, "NBC Radio-TV Newspulse" (composed by Fred Weinberg), was later used for NBC Nightly News in the 1970s and NBC News bulletins/special reports in the 1970s and 1980s. The usage of the NBC chimes continues in local newscasts on NBC stations to this day; in fact, many stations owned by or affiliated with the network play the chimes sequence during the extended forecast slide at the end of their newscasts' main weather segment. In 1976, the chimes were revived nationally in honor of NBC's 50th anniversary. Modern musical versions of the three-note chimes are still in popular use on the NBC radio and television networks (and are the opening and closing notes of the current version of the theme music for NBC Nightly News), as well as in the closing logo for NBC Universal Television Distribution, the television production arm of NBC's current immediate parent, NBC Universal (the orchestral variant currently used by NBCUniversal Television Distribution was first used in 1995 in the closing logo sequence for the NBC Studios production unit). From 1982 to the early 1990s, most voiceover promos heard during the end credits of NBC network shows would begin with the chimes. From 1982 to 1987, the chimes would blend into an instrumental version of the promotional slogan that NBC would be using at the time. Today made the chimes the centerpiece of its theme in 1978, resolving a legal dispute between the network and the composers of Godspell. https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/NBC_chimes.html (via Tom Schoen, MARE Tipsheet Oct 5 via DXLD) OLD TIME RADIO SOUND EFFECTS YouTube Video of the Month --- Back of the Mike - 1938 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ43UC5tIOY&t=422s This is an amazing Short Film on Old Time Radio Sound Effects. We get an insider's view of the 1930s radio studio showing the production of dramatic sound effects. A boy lies on his bed, listening to a radio western, imagining the pictures in his head, but we get a behind-the-scenes look at how the sound effects team created the images and sounds of what the boy heard through his radio. (Oct CIDX Messenger via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See also MEXICO ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CABLE NETS OVER THE AIR http://forums.wtfda.org/showthread.php?9643-Cable-Nets-Over-Air-in-the-90-s/page3 I am bumping this thread to provide some important information on the Granite Falls, Minnesota system. MVTV, the provider, has converted to financing its system by donations as of this month and has turned off the Conditional Access. They are telling their viewers to disconnect their STBs and destroy the CA smart cards. They also no longer feed any cable channels, and very likely have stopped using MPEG-4. Compare the new lineup of services to 2017: http://forums.wtfda.org/showthread.php?9643-Cable-Nets-Over-Air-in-the-90-s&p=46852#post46852 (Raymie Humbert, Oct 6, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC See also RUSSIA, mentioned in passing +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ All-Digital AM Grabs Automakers’ Interest. Oct 1, 2018 Updated Oct 1, 2018 http://www.insideradio.com/free/all-digital-am-grabs-automakers-interest/article_2dba8e0a-c552-11e8-b880-cb0bfa667809.html The fate of AM radio in the car dashboard may pass through Frederick, MD. That’s where the latest experiment on an all-digital AM signal is taking place, on Hubbard Radio’s adult alternative “The Gamut” WWFD (820). The project, in conjunction with digital radio developer Xperi and the National Association of Broadcasters’ PILOT program, is already generating interest from carmakers in the U.S and around the world. The Federal Communications Commission in July approved a proposal to allow WWFD to turn off its analog signal for the next year while remaining an all-digital operation. The aim is to use the real-world environment to conduct experiments designed to improve the all-digital AM service. WWFD has 4,300-watts day (non-directional) and 430-watts night (directional) and the company proposes to operate with roughly the same output when it goes digital-only, 24-hours a day. Dave Kolesar, Hubbard’s senior engineer overseeing the project, said it’s an ideal station to use for a test case since it’s non-directional by day and directional at night. For Hubbard the risk to WWFD is minimized by the fact that the AM simulcasts on the Frederick, MD-licensed translator W232DG at 94.3 FM. The switch has already been flipped and Xperi senior manager of broadcast technologies Mike Raide said preliminary results are encouraging. “We haven’t had any problems with OEM receivers,” he said, noting he drove 70 miles from the transmitter site and still picked up WWFD without any problem. In fact, one DX listener in the Pittsburgh area, roughly 300 miles away, said they were able to hear the station during the daytime. “That’s a testament to how robust all-digital is,” Raide said. “I’m not saying it’s going to increase the coverage of your station, but it will make it a lot more listenable out along the fringes.” The experiment has already piqued interest with several carmakers already asking questions. “Up to a dozen car manufacturers have approached us, either German, Japanese or American, and said they want to come out and test and see the system in operation,” Raide said. “They want to be able to understand and characterize how it works in their cars.” So far, no car company has actually pulled into Frederick. Raide said they first want to have the digital-only system up and running and to make sure there are no transmitter “hiccups” before that happens. But by the end of the year, it is expected carmakers will begin giving the project closer inspection. “At a time when we’re all hearing rumors about car manufacturers cutting AM from their factory offerings, something like this could come along and show the auto manufacturers that AM still matters and AM has a digital solution as well,” Kolesar said. Xperi and the NAB have already conducted a handful of all-digital tests for FM, most recently in Las Vegas last April. If adopted, it would allow FMs to provide additional services. But National Association of Broadcasters VP of advanced engineering David Layer acknowledged there’s less of a push to do something on that dial. “FM broadcasters are not in the same position of needing a real improvement to their service—FM is very good,” he said. Turning Off Analog Xperi reports about 50 million cars on the road in the U.S. are now equipped with digital radios, including more than half of new cars that are being sold today. One factor for selecting the Frederick, MD, market for the all-digital test is that HD Radio receiver penetration in the greater Washington, DC metro area has grown. Xperi says 20.4% of cars there are now equipped with digital radios. “As the program director of a music station on AM,” Kolesar said, “I would rather take my changes with that 20% than try to convince people they should hear the format on analog AM. But Layer said even as the goal is to eventually switch over all stations to HD-only broadcasts when digital receiver penetration is high enough, that day remains down the road. “We are certainly progressing in that regard, but I don’t think anybody would suggest the industry as a whole would want to do a switch to all-digital, based on where we are at the present time,” he said. Meanwhile, switching to an all-digital radio dial has already begun to take place in Norway. “It’s a much different country. I would never suggest what happens in Norway is analogous to what would happen in the U.S. since it’s a much smaller market,” Layer said. But he noted the results have also been “mixed” to date. Surveys show a majority (56%) of Norwegians aren’t happy that the powering down of the analog signals has made most receivers useless when trying to hear about 700 FMs around the country. Of greater concern to broadcasters is that listening to Norway’s national radio network has dropped 20% since the switch. At the same time, the local FMs that are still airing an analog signal have seen their listening more than double. “So, I guess the guys who kept their stations on the air are happy about that,” Layer said. Back in the U.S., Layer said the answer when a similar all-digital move eventually happens may be different for the AM and FM bands—and FM translators may figure into that equation. “Well over half of the AM stations in the U.S. now have FM translators,” he said. “So, there may be a strategy where an AM station can take their AM signal all digital but still continue to reach listeners with analog radio using their FM translators.” “In many ways we think of this as the next step in AM revitalization, where the translator is the intermediate step,” Kolesar added. “It’s a place you can park an analog audience and then promote the increased coverage and better sound quality of the AM.” Kolesar hopes WWFD becomes more than just a test site, but in fact, the first to make such a leap. “One way or another I intend to keep it going,” he said. “At this point forward, we’re all-digital and we’re going to do what it takes to remain all-digital.” Layer hopes other operators have a similar ambition, saying, “If you have a translator and it makes sense, it would be great if more AMs broadcasters could consider this.” (via Dennis Vroom & Scott Fybush, IRCA via DXLD) Thanks, Scott. This isn't really new news. One thing I've noticed is that some car makers who initially provided digital radios when it started out have now either withdrawn or perhaps made it a paid-for option. But bottom line, customers have to want it, and that's been a very tough sell on the FM side, and will probably be harder on the AM side as there's a whole generation or more who barely know AM exists (Russ Edmunds, ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DAB See RUSSIA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See KUWAIT; NEPAL; NIGERIA; ROMANIA; ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RUSSIA; USA: WINB; PUBLICATIONS RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ Re: [WOR] Icom IC-R8600 review I agree with Ron about location and electrical interference. However, the e1 remains a favorite of mine and performs very well for both SWL'ing and whatever DX might be still on the shortwaves. A great portatop receiver! 73's, (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, WOR iog via DXLD) END OF CHEAP NON-COMPLIANT VHF/UHF 2-WAY RADIOS? Technical Topics welcomes any input in the form of technical articles, equipment reviews, technology updates, or your technical questions. Information on equipment modifications, antenna designs or projects is also appreciated. Welcome to the October 2018 column. This month we have an article that appeared recently on The SWLing Post, submitted to them by Dave Zantow, N9EWO, regarding issues with low-end, non-compliant VHF/UHF two-way radio. Many amateur radio operators have been using these radios for some time now, attractive because of their very low price. However there are major issues with these radios. Read on! The end of cheap non-compliant VHF/UHF two-way radios? Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO) (Don Moman) FCC ENFORCEMENT ADVISORY TWO-WAY VHF/UHF RADIOS MAY NOT BE IMPORTED, ADVERTISED, OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES UNLESS THEY COMPLY WITH THE COMMISSION’S RULES The Enforcement Bureau (Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has observed that a growing number of conventional retailers and websites advertise and sell low-cost, two-way VHF/UHF radios that do not comply with the FCC’s rules. Such devices are used primarily for short-distance, two-way voice communications and are frequently imported into the United States. These radios must be authorized by the FCC prior to being imported, advertised, sold, or operated in the United States. Many of these radios violate one or more FCC technical requirements. For example, some can be modified to transmit on public safety and other land mobile channels for which they are not authorized, while others are capable of prohibited wideband operations. Such radios are illegal, and many have the potential to negatively affect public safety, aviation, and other operations by Federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private users. Because these devices must be, but have not been, authorized by the FCC, the devices may not be imported into the United States, retailers may not advertise or sell them, and no one may use them. Rather, these devices may only be imported, advertised, sold, or used only if the FCC first has approved them under its equipment authorization process (or unless the devices operate exclusively on frequencies reserved for amateur licensees or they are intended for use exclusively by the federal government). Moreover, with only very limited exceptions, after being authorized, the devices may not be modified. Anyone importing, advertising or selling such noncompliant devices should stop immediately, and anyone owning such devices should not use them. Violators may be subject to substantial monetary penalties. What Should You Know? The Bureau has noted an increase in the manufacturing, importation, advertising, and sale of two-way VHF/UHF radios that are not authorized in accordance with the Commission’s rules. Generally, electronic devices that intentionally emit radio waves are required to be certified by the FCC or an authorized third-party certification entity (Telecommunications Certification Body) prior to importation, advertising, sale, or use. Two-way VHF/UHF radios require FCC certification to show compliance with our rules, unless they qualify for a limited exception (see Amateur Radio Exception, below, and Federal government exception at footnote 4). This certification requirement ensures that equipment complies with technical requirements to avoid causing interference to federal government operations, private licensed operations, and other authorized operations or equipment. Equipment that does not comply with the technical requirements cannot be certified and thus cannot be imported, advertised, sold, or used. Amateur Radio Exception. There is one exception to this certification requirement: if a device is capable of operating only on frequencies that the FCC has allocated for use by Amateur Radio Service licensees, it does not require FCC equipment authorization,8 and an amateur licensee may use his or her license to operate such radios. However, many two-way radios that purport to operate on amateur frequencies also operate on frequencies that extend beyond the designated amateur frequency bands. If a two-way VHF/UHF radio is capable of operating outside of the amateur frequency bands, it cannot be imported, advertised, sold, or operated within the United States without an FCC equipment certification. Even if a two-way VHF/UHF radio operates solely within the amateur frequencies, the operator is required to have an amateur license to operate the device and must otherwise comply with all applicable rules. The Bureau will take very seriously any reports of failures of two-way radio operators to comply with all relevant rules and requirements when using devices in the amateur bands. What Happens If Manufacturers, Retailers, or Operators Do Not Comply with the FCC’s Rules? Violators of the Commission’s marketing rules may be subject to the penalties authorized by the Communications Act, including, but not limited to, substantial monetary fines (up to $19,639 per day of marketing violations and up to $147,290 for an ongoing violation). What Should You Do? The FCC rules governing two-way VHF/UHF radios are designed to minimize interference to all authorized spectrum users, including important government and public safety operations. Manufacturers, importers, retailers, and radio operators should take the time to learn the FCC rules governing equipment authorization and comply with them. When manufacturing, importing, advertising or selling two-way radios and accessories that either are electronic or have electronic components, manufacturers, importers and marketers should ensure that such devices or components are properly certified and labeled as FCCcompliant and cannot be easily modified to operate outside its grant of certification. Prior to purchase or operation, individuals should ensure that a device is either labeled as FCC-compliant or operates solely within amateur frequencies. Need more information? For additional information regarding equipment marketing and amateur radio rules, please visit the FCC website at https://www.fcc.gov/engineering-technology/laboratory-division/general/equipmentauthorization and https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service respectively. Media inquiries should be directed to Will Wiquist at (202) 418-0509 or will.wiquist@fcc.gov. To file a complaint, visit https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov or call 1-888-CALL-FCC. Click here to download the full advisory including footnotes (PDF). https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-18-980A1.pdf I can’t imagine how many of these non-compliant HTs are floating around on the market. I’m guessing this could also affect the sale of used non-compliant radios–? I’m sure there are a number of amateur radio retailers that have a vast inventory of non-compliant radios that they can no longer sell, without potentially facing serious fines by the FCC (Oct CIDX Messenger via DXLD) WTFK??? (GH) EXPERIMENTING WITH SDRs Gary Vance and I decided to make a weekend get-together in a quiet location & experiment with our SDRs to see if there might be new ‘tools and techniques’ to make these things work better. Sure enough, we planned this & SW conditions were in the dumper all weekend, but we still had a good time & also found new stuff, both in the former (I found a ‘neato’ utility called CSVUserlistBrowser that allows you to ‘integrate’ lists like EiBi, Aoki, the ClassAxe NDB database & your own databases or lists into SDRuno & several other SDR platforms) so that it will automagically look at where & when you are tuned & suggest the possible stations you might have or conversely, tell you what is on & where & allow you to tune the radio to find something new, check parallels, or whatever. Well worth the learning curve to get it to work!) & the later (I will let Gary explain what he learned about techniques in using the different antenna inputs on the SDRPlay 2 etc.), so despite the lousy SW conditions, it wasn’t a total bust! (Spoiler alert, the software requires a “virtual COM port” & installing that is a bit of a challenge. I learned what a “UAC” or User Account Control is all about in Windoze 10 and how to disable it so you can install a virtual COM port, and almost forgot to re-connect it, but all I can say for sure is WHY are software authors so adamant about not including things in a ‘readme’ file? Seriously, there was a readme file for the CSVUUserlistBrowser software that DIDN’T MENTION the need for a virtual com port, or make suggestions about what you need to do to configure the software once installed. Not one peep. Oh sure, there’s a 20-30 minute YouTube video that talks about these things, but the task could have been done with a one page ‘bullet point’ list of steps integrated into the ‘readme’ file. REALLY guys – RTFM only works if there IS a manual! Sigh.) OK – more fun stuff: I also got to futz with my satellite dish because it was being flakey, and figured out what was going on with it, and it now works again. True to form, this started with a failure that seemed easy – a fuse had blown, but when replacing the fuse it became obvious that there was more than just a fuse – things were still acting funky. I determined the problem originated from the connection between the ‘stepper’ and the sensor in the house being unstable because of oxidization & some judicious scraping & retightening the screw connections made it reliable again. NOW, I need to ‘permanently’ fix it but at least I now know what is needful! All that & we ate well, had fun shooting the breeze, slept too little & of course, had a good time playing radio for the weekend too! What more can you ask? ;) (Ken Zichi, MARE Tipsheet Oct 5 via DXLD) FSL Antennas -- Truth and Fiction The development of modern Ferrite Sleeve Loop antennas has been one of the most remarkable antenna breakthroughs of the 21st century, but since none of these have ever been mass produced for commercial sale, a lot of questions and misconceptions about their function and effectiveness persist in the general AM-DXing community. This brief message is an attempt to clear up some of the more common misconceptions. Modern FSL antennas are based upon an experimental article published by the U.K.'s Graham Maynard in February of 2011, describing a cylindrical collection of ferrite rods wrapped by a wire coil, and tuned by a variable capacitor to resonate with (and provide an inductively coupled gain boost for) a nearby portable radio tuned to the same frequency http://www.zen22142.zen.co.uk/Media/fsi.htm Graham's original article included quite a bit of "unusual" scientific theory (for which he was roundly criticized) and provoked accusations of design plagiarism and exaggerated performance claims. Flying "under the radar," however, three dedicated antenna experimenters in the relatively new Ultralight Radio enthusiast group (Steve Ratzlaff, Kevin Schanilec and yours truly) began extensive, all-out experimentation in the new FSL design to test it out in the "real world" of ocean coast transoceanic DXing-- both on Longwave and Medium Wave. Steve, Kevin and I shared information on which components were the most effective, and which designs seemed to provide the highest gain. For a brief time we all worked toward the goal of maximum gain, purchasing huge lots of 200mm x 10mm ferrite rods from the Ukraine (to the delight of the eBay sellers, who must now be enjoying early retirement). Of course we didn't all agree on the design factors influencing maximum gain, but one thing was becoming very obvious-- this new antenna had a compact gain advantage like none other in radio history. Given the fact that this new antenna could provide tons of gain from an extremely small "footprint," I knew that this innovative antenna finally provided an ideal chance to test out a fascinating new theory that I've always believed in-- that an ocean cliff's flat shape could enhance transoceanic DX reception far beyond that possible on a nearby flat ocean beach. In early 2011 this idea was laughed off by almost all of the transoceanic DXers, who had routinely set up their huge broadband antennas on flat ocean beaches for decades. Nobody had ever tried a serious DXpedition on a plunging ocean side cliff, since there wasn't enough space at such sites to set up a "serious" broadband antenna-- or so they thought. But they were about to be proven wrong. An early 8" (20cm) diameter FSL antenna was set up at two plunging Oregon coast cliffs in the summer of 2012-- at Rockwork 4 (near Manzanita), and at Cape Perpetua (near Yachats). Immediately the new FSL antenna began receiving multiple New Zealand stations that had never been heard on the North American west coast, including 531-More FM, 585-Radio Ngati Porou, 765-Radio Kahungunu and 828-Trackside. Perseus-SDR DXer Chuck Hutton was interested enough to join me for a July 2014 Rockwork 4 DXpedition, during which the all-time Grayland record for New Zealand reception was completely shattered-- 88 Kiwi stations (compared to 61 at Grayland). Chuck's broadband antenna was a tiny version of the Grayland monsters, but ocean cliff propagation enhancement more than made up the difference. A side effect of the ocean cliff "Monster FSL" development was, unfortunately, the "expensive and heavy" reputation that currently ligers in the AM-DXing community. It was commonly joked that these new antennas could "shut down an airport without really trying," that a body builder would need to deploy them, and that they were far beyond the means of the average DXer. In late 2016 a new type of compact, lightweight FSL was designed to dispel all of these misconceptions, however -- the "Frequent Flyer" FSL antennas. Even though the new antennas had proven to be the ultimate compact gain performers, it was a radical design concept to shrink the antenna down to a miniature size for TSA acceptance, while retaining enough gain performance to be a real thriller on exotic ocean beaches. The construction cost would need to be acceptable for the majority of DXers, and the design would need to survive a lot of travel abuse. In late 2016 two new "Frequent Flyer" FSL designs were finally built, and throughout 2017 Craig Barnes and I tested them out in thrilling Hawaii DXpeditions, tracking down all sorts of exotic Pacific island DX. Pete Taylor took one of the models on European and Caribbean cruises, and in April I had the hobby thrill of a lifetime in the Cook Islands, tracking down long range AM-DX stations in India (at over 8,000 miles), Bangladesh, Mongolia, Cambodia and Brazil-- all with a radio and antenna that easily fit within hand carry luggage. In an effort to make these compact, TSA-friendly FSL antennas available to more DXers there were 10 models given out last year, and a full "Heathkit-like" construction article for the 3.5 inch "Baby FSL" model was written, and posted at http://www.mediafire.com/file/pnfm8909c77zjoy/3.5inch-FF-FSL.doc/file More resources and refinements will be devoted to these "Frequent Flyer" FSL antennas this year, with the goal of making these breakthrough models accessible to all interested DXers. Whether your preference is to chase long range DX on an exotic ocean beach or simply have thrilling portable DXing sessions close to home, this new type of antenna may be your ticket to increased hobby excitement. 73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), Oct 4, nrc-am gg via DXLD) Thanks for the great FSLs and the great article. I attended a superb Grayland TP DX session in 2006 after the Seaside, OR IRCA Convention hosted by Pat Martin. I packed copious lengths of wire which were used for BOGs. I anticipated returning to the PNW for subsequent TP DXing sessions for some time before it happened. I attempted to set up what I thought was a temporary corner-fed loop friendly VRBO. After I reserved the oceanfront cabin, on a nice cliff overlooking the Pacific, it turned out the neighbors were intolerant of anything obstructing their views. Then the Grayland motel closed, shortly before I planned my return. I appreciate the efforts of Guy Atkins and Bill Whitaker [sic] identifying three wire antenna-friendly locations on the Pacific coast. Guy also provided me with excellent information on a portable tent pole loop which I plan on putting together and testing. While I was in Lincoln City, I tried an indoor corner-fed loop with an FLG-100. The QRM from the room rendered the attempt futile. The issue I am faced with is the power source for the FLG-100. I don't fancy the thought of explaining Gel Cells to TSA. I fear I would wind up on the 6 O'Clock news should I attempt air travel with those. Driving out to the Pacific Coast is a long two day trip, each way. I can attest to the effectiveness and portability of the TSA-Friendly FSLs. My first taste of FSL-enhanced travelling DXing was at Kalaloch, WA then at Rockaway Beach, OR. The FSL I used at the time was a smaller 3.5" unit which made the difference of decent DX vs. extremely limited DX. The FSL was used in conjunction with a stock Tecsun PL-310. Gary then generously provided a 5" Bar TSA-Friendly FSL which I took to Kalaloch, then to Kauai and the Big Island, Hawaii. TP DX at Kalaloch was decent. TP DX at Princeville, Kauai was a jaw-dropping experience for me. Using an azimuthal map centered on Princeville, I suspected that Princeville might be a decent northern Asian TP Dxing location. Asian DX there wildly surpassed my expectations. Having read the DU TP DX reports from other TP DXers I figured the west side of the Big Island might also be decent for DU TP DX. Gary's TSA-Friendly FSLs fill a major need in that they are transportable via air and require no additional power source. Gary went above and beyond again providing me with a Supercharged Tecsun PL-380 which, when used in conjunction with a TSA-Friendly FSL makes for an extremely potent DXiing combo. On both of my Hawaii trips, the FSLs were easily positioned on an outdoor picnic table near the water's edge. I use Google maps to try to identify vacation rentals equipped with strategically placed outdoor picnic tables as I do not travel with the excellent FSL stands Gary constructed for Rockworks DXpeditions. Speaking of Rockworks, I brought my 5" Bar FSL to Rockworks this past August. Depsite my efforts to carefully pack the unit, it began to demonstrate some effects from the mileage it had traversed resulting in degraded low band performance. Gary came to the rescue with a spare 5" Rod TSA-Friendly FSL which worked very nicely at Rockworks. I highly enjoyed hearing More FM on 531, as well as Chinese Radio on 936, among many other DUs. Using the Supercharged Tecsun PL-380 in conjunction with the 5" TSA-Friendly FSL has resulted in getting much more from long distance DXpeditioning. At Rockworks Chuck Hutton asked me if I got my money's worth from the trip. Thanks to the Supercharged Tecsun PL-380 and the 5" Rod TSA-Friendly FSL my answer was a resounding YES!! I have already reserved my room near Rockworks for the first week in August next year. Many Thanks Gary for Your Hobby Enhancing Efforts! (Craig Barnes, Wheat Ridge, CO, ibid.) Thanks, Craig, You deserve a lot of credit for your own Kalaloch, Rockwork and Hawaii DXing success with the "Frequent Flyer" FSL's, especially your breakthrough Asian TP-DX results in Princeville, Kauai in April of last year. Guess who is going to the same island next month, in an attempt to share in the bounty? I think that we've only scratched the surface in enjoying the new world of exotic ocean beach DXing opened up by the "Frequent Flyer" FSL's, especially in the forward Pacific areas like Hawaii, Tahiti, the Cook Islands and other South Pacific venues. When John Bryant went to Easter Island in 2007, he remarked that it was "more fun than I've ever had with my clothes on." I wouldn't dare use such a colorful description, but the April trip to the Cook Islands definitely was more fun than I've ever had in the radio hobby! (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), ibid.) When Interference Occurs Before the Ball Is Snapped https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/05/sports/football/nfl-headsets.html Image: Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, center, with the offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, right. Their on-field communication, through a receiver in Darnold's helmet, has been disrupted several times this season. Credit Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press By Zach Schonbrun Oct. 5, 2018 Josh McCown knows the stomach-plunging feeling of approaching the huddle, anticipating a play call to come in through the two orange earphones inside his helmet, and hearing ... nothing. "You're waiting, and waiting, and waiting," McCown, the veteran Jets quarterback, said. "Then, after a certain amount of time, you're like, wait a minute -- something's wrong." Even in today's N.F.L., with its pylon cameras and sidelines stocked with tablet computers, technical glitches can still hamper one of the game's most straightforward networks -- a one-way radio connecting the offensive coordinator to the quarterback and the defensive coordinator to a designated defensive player. It happened to the Giants coming out of halftime in the season opener at MetLife Stadium; the team had to burn a timeout after quarterback Eli Manning's radio had gone dead. It happened to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and to Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard this season as well. But no team has had more frequent battles with frequency failures than the Jets, who have experienced regular communications breakdowns (in more ways than one) this season, and who hope to have them resolved when they look for their second win, against the Denver Broncos, on Sunday. Three times in the Jets' first three games, the headset transmission to quarterback Sam Darnold stopped working, prompting the offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates to remark last week, "You can FaceTime to China, but our headsets go out." In fairness, electronic coach-to-player communication has improved markedly since George Sarles and an engineer from General Electric named John Campbell invented a radio system connecting Cleveland Browns Coach Paul Brown with his quarterback in 1956. The original configuration was kept secret until the Detroit Lions noticed a transmitter on the Browns' sideline; the league banned the technology until 1994. Image A green dot on the back of Darnold's helmet marks it as one equipped with a wireless headset. Credit Elsa/Getty Images When it returned, the need for subterfuge diminished, but problems persisted. In the early years, it was not unusual for a quarterback to hear the sounds from a nearby taxi dispatcher or the team's radio broadcast instead of his coordinator. In 2012, the transmissions switched from analog to digital, reducing the recurrence of other phonic intrusions, to McCown's chagrin. "I wouldn't mind a little easy listening in there every once in a while," he joked. But even as the technology has advanced, it is not foolproof. The audio flow from a coach's headset to the radio transmitter on his belt to the antenna on a nearby cart to the quarterback's earpieces is still loaded with potential hazards, according to Michelle McKenna, the N.F.L.'s chief information officer. Beginning in 2015, the league licensed enough bandwidth for two exclusive frequencies from the Federal Communications Commission that are assigned on game day specifically for the use of coach-to-player and coach-to-coach interactions for each sideline. Frequency coordinators hired by the league are responsible for maintaining the integrity of those signals, but it is a difficult task. The frequencies are low, and thus heavily trafficked by microphones, cameras and other hand-held radios. The F.C.C. also only assigns the frequency for the N.F.L.'s use inside the stadium and its surrounding area, but outside that radius other users can inadvertently interfere. In a telephone interview, McKenna said the frequency the N.F.L. uses is encrypted to prevent spying. Coordinators are constantly monitoring the signals for signs of tampering or blocking. And if one sideline loses its radio connection, the other one is automatically shut off to maintain competitive balance. But unintentional interference is almost unavoidable. Frequency coordinators are responsible for registering any device entering the stadium that operates on a frequency near that of a two-way radio, and every stadium is outfitted differently. Occasionally a microphone will get too close, or a radio will turn to the wrong channel, momentarily jamming the signal -- and leaving the frequency coordinators scrambling. "They're constantly eliminating interference that no one ever hears about," McKenna said. "But then occasionally it hits at a critical moment." Image Darnold and Bates said they had no trouble communicating last week at Jacksonville. Credit Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press In Super Bowl LI, for instance, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had to use a timeout after it appeared he was having difficulty hearing the calls in his helmet. McKenna said removing interference entirely and ensuring a flawless signal is not a possibility, unless the F.C.C. was willing to hand over its spectrum. "We all experience it every day on our cellphones," she said of brief signal dropouts. "As long as you use any kind of spectrum for a cellphone or a hand-held radio, there could be interruptions. What you can do is try to get yourself into a spectrum that's not crowded, meaning it's not typically used by everyday devices. That's what we try to do to make it better." Recently, for coach-to-coach headset communication, the league moved to a higher frequency, which has been helpful in decluttering the interference. But for now, the coach-to-player headsets remain on the lower frequency. The league investigated the cause of the Jets' malfunctioning equipment, including whether it had something to do with Bates, who calls the game from the sideline using a wireless headset instead of being hard-wired in a booth, the way most coordinators work. A culprit has not yet been identified, however, although McKenna said she was confident the problem was caused by interference and not the headsets themselves, which are made by Bose. While the head coach and others on an N.F.L. coaching staff can listen to the feed, only the offensive coordinator's headset is equipped to communicate directly to the quarterback. (Likewise, the defensive coordinator can speak to one designated defensive player.) The helmets with the green sticker -- indicating they are outfitted with the radio receiver -- do not include a microphone, meaning players cannot speak back to the coaches. Regardless of interference, the radios are designed to automatically cut off when the play clock gets down to 15 seconds. But teams have learned to anticipate the occasional moments when it does not work at all, and all have developed strategies to circumvent them. The Jets have hand signals, which operate much like a third-base coach's one-way communications with a batter in baseball, to deliver the play call in the event of a headset malfunction. "You have to go to signals because you get in that comfort zone of being able to communicate with the quarterback and all of a sudden the button stops working," Bates said. Both Bates and Darnold said the headsets worked smoothly again at Jacksonville last Sunday. The Jets (1-3), however, are still working out the kinks in the rest of their play. A version of this article appears in print on Page SP6 of the New York edition with the headline: Headsets Work, Until They Don't. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ VHF Prop Map ( Mountainlake ) I received an email yesterday from Jon Harder, the webmaster for the APRS VHF Propagation Map website. He told me he is working on OpenStreetMaps with OpenLayers to layer the polygons on top. He mentioned that once he gets that figured out, the rest should come together and he will have the website back up (Jim Thomas, Springfield, Missouri, Oct 3, WTFDA GG via DXLD) Maybe you could suggest to him that he change the tropo paths to eliminate that darn extra 50% that is always added on the end of red paths. I have always wanted to tell him that. It iss unrealistic and unnecessary to have an extra 50% added onto a path all the time unless perhaps it is an Es path. I figured it was a good time to mention it since the site is entirely offline at the moment! Maybe it can be a good time to tweak things! (-Chris Kadlec, ibid.) Chris, I agree. Let's all contact Jon Harder, thank him for the maps, and ask him to show something closer to the actual path (both length and width) than he has in the past (Doug Allen K4LY, ibid.) Okay, so here is Jon Harder's email address..... jon@mountainlake.k12.mn.us IF you email him about his APRS Tropo Map website, PLEASE tell him you got it from Jim Thomas and you are a member of the WTFDA or on the WTFDA mailing list. Thanks! (Jim Thomas, Springfield, Missouri, ibid.) Unless you`re not (gh) But remember that some of the "impossible" blobs we see could be modes other than tropo. Since we know that some reported to other map sites aren't as familiar with the characteristics and limitations of various modes, this is a distinct possibility. So unless he has something behind the scenes to filter that, we could be seeing logs which could be Es or MS (Russ Edmunds, WB2BJH. Blue Bell, PA. Grid FN20id. ibid.) It's not about bogus blobs -- it's about their shape. The long ones are too wide. Narrower "blobs" would be more helpful. wrh (William Hepburn, ibid.) Exactly. I'm not talking about the bogus ones or the other modes like Es, because they have their own issues and are not overly common to run into (though the Es ones do exhibit the same problems). During a tropo opening, if you click on the red paths, you can see the actual path from point A to point B. Let's say that is 100 percent of the actual path. An additional 50% is always added onto the end at the end of the path. When you've got a bigger opening that is 300, 400, or 500 miles, that extends the opening - as it is shown anyway - a good 100 or 200 miles into areas that are not at all affected by the opening. People in those areas expect something to happen when the activity is actually 200 miles away from them and their band is totally dead. It's inaccurate in that case. I pay a lot of attention to the maps and save screenshots of all the big tropo openings (if anyone needs to see a past opening they were impressed by, especially in the Midwest, send me an e-mail), and I always measure this difference. Narrower paths would help as well, paired with ditching that extra length or at least cutting it down to 10 or 15% to be more realistic (-Chris Kadlec, MI/ROK, ibid.) Mountainlakes APRS site Hi Jon, Sure miss your site that I've used constantly from almost day one. Thank you for all the time, effort, and money you've put into it over the years. Count me in as one willing to contribute to its continuance. I've operated weak signal VHF/UHF (2M, 222, 432, and 1296 MHz) and been a TV/FM DXer for many decades. Your site has been extraordinarily valuable. I've used it from both CO where I lived for 19 years and from SC where my wife and I retired 10 years ago, and I can say that your site definitely helped me work VHF tropo and Es DX on 144 MHz which led to a rare 144 MHz Worked All States accomplishment (on CW) from Colorado on that band (states beyond 1400 miles worked on EME). Likewise, I worked Columbus, Ohio, and Detroit, MI, areas on 144 tropo which were tropo DX records from CO. On the 88-108 MHz band, your site helped me log stations in IL or KY most years from CO on tropo from a place that most DXers said lacked tropo possibilities! Others have their own stories about how helpful your site has been! While your site is looking for a new map venue, maybe you have time to make it even better by reducing the length and width of the red blobs to reflect the actual paths. Although the blobs probably often represent the path possibilities, we can better do that "extrapolation" in our heads knowing the topography and characteristics of our own region. Also, much smaller path lines and/or transparent path lines would not obscure the map itself and be more helpful. I mentioned to the TV/FM DX community at WTFDA that we should contact you and offer to help in any way we can. vy 73, (Doug Allen K4LY (ex-W0AH). Inman, SC EM85wb, ibid.) GEOMAGNETIC INDICES – Compiled by: Phil Bytheway E-mail: phil_tekno@yahoo.com Geomagnetic Summary September 1 2018 through September 30 2018 Tabulated from WWV on-line status daily (K @ 0000 UTC). Flux A K Space Wx 1 68 4 1 no storms 2 68 5 2 no storms 3 68 5 1 no storms 4 68 9 3 no storms 5 68 11 1 no storms 6 67 6 2 no storms 7 68 5 1 no storms 8 39 5 2 no storms 9 68 7 3 no storms 10 69 21 5 minor, G1 11 69 35 2 moderate, G2 12 70 8 3 no storms 13 70 17 3 no storms 14 69 16 3 minor, G1 15 69 8 2 no storms 16 69 6 2 no storms 17 68 11 3 no storms 18 68 6 1 no storms 19 68 4 0 no storms 20 67 2 0 no storms 21 67 8 5 minor, G1 22 68 27 4 minor, G1 23 68 12 2 no storms 24 69 7 2 no storms 25 68 11 3 no storms 26 69 8 3 no storms 27 67 7 2 no storms 28 69 8 2 no storms 29 69 10 3 no storms 30 68 6 2 no storms Gx – Geomagnetic Storm Level Rx – Radio Blackouts Level Sx – Solar Radiation Storm Level (IRCA DX Monitor Oct 6, published Oct 3, via DXLD) :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2018 Oct 08 0135 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 01 - 07 October 2018 Solar activity was very low this period. Region 2723 (S08, L=357, class/area=Dso/30 on 01 Oct) was the only active region with sunspots, but was quiet throughout the period. No Earth-directed CMEs were observed during the summary period. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at moderate levels throughout the period. Geomagnetic field activity reached G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels on 07 Oct due to the influence of a positive polarity CH HSS. Active conditions were observed on 01-02 Oct and quiet to unsettled levels were observed on 03, and 05-06 Oct. Quiet conditions prevailed on 04 Oct. Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 08 October-03 November 2018 Solar activity is expected to be very low throughout the outlook period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 08-25 Oct with moderate flux levels expected throughout the remainder of the outlook period. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to reach G1-G2 (Minor-Moderate) geomagnetic storm levels on 08 Oct and 03 Nov due to the influence of a positive polarity CH HSS. G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels are expected on 19 Oct and active levels are expected on 09-10, 18, 20, and 22 Oct, due to the influence of multiple, recurrent CH HSSs. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2018 Oct 08 0135 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 2018-10-08 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2018 Oct 08 69 35 6 2018 Oct 09 69 15 4 2018 Oct 10 69 15 4 2018 Oct 11 69 10 3 2018 Oct 12 69 8 3 2018 Oct 13 69 5 2 2018 Oct 14 69 10 3 2018 Oct 15 69 8 3 2018 Oct 16 69 5 2 2018 Oct 17 69 5 2 2018 Oct 18 69 10 4 2018 Oct 19 69 25 5 2018 Oct 20 69 14 4 2018 Oct 21 69 8 3 2018 Oct 22 69 12 4 2018 Oct 23 69 8 3 2018 Oct 24 69 8 3 2018 Oct 25 69 8 3 2018 Oct 26 69 10 3 2018 Oct 27 69 5 2 2018 Oct 28 69 5 2 2018 Oct 29 69 5 2 2018 Oct 30 69 5 2 2018 Oct 31 69 5 2 2018 Nov 01 69 5 2 2018 Nov 02 69 5 2 2018 Nov 03 69 22 6 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1951, DXLD) ELIMINATING SUN SPOTS This morning I was listening to a local AM radio station and I heard an ad that made me take notice. The ad was pitching a product to eliminate Sun Spots. Well, I was dum-founded [sic]. Aren't solar flux numbers already too low as they are? Now someone wants to further mess up HF radio propagation by seeking to eliminate Sun Spots entirely. We radio enthusiasts should contact the folks at Chamonix & tell them Solar Flux Indexes are already too low & they can shove their insidious product. What do youse say? How about another Tea Party? Except this time, we'll throw Genucel Sun Spot Corrector into the harbor. BTW, does anyone know what the heck Genucel Sun Spot Corrector is? (Gary Vance, Grand Ledge MI, MARE Tipsheet Oct 5 via DXLD) ###