DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-079, July 7, 2007 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 2007 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html 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 NEXT SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1365: ** tentative Sat 2130 WRMI 9955 Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1500 WRMI 7385 Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB [reconfirmed June 25] Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Mon 0530 WRMI 9955** Mon 0930 WRMI 9955** Tue 1030 WRMI 9955** Wed 0730 WRMI 9955** WORLD OF RADIO, CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL SCHEDULE: 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 For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN NOW AVAILABLE: http://www.wrn.org/listeners/stations/podcast.php OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** AFGHANISTAN. AFGHAN TALEBAN RADIO GAINS IN POPULARITY | Text of article in English entitled: "Shar'iat Ghag Radio's listeners increasing" by Afghan newspaper Kabul Weekly on 4 July A resident of Zormat district of Paktia province says that one night, as they were tuning into their radios, they suddenly heard the Shar'iat Ghag (Voice of Sharihat) radio programmes. The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said that since then, whenever they listen to the radio, they are reminded of the Taleban regime. He added that he had recently understood that a lot of people were listening to this radio station. The radio airs Taleban poems, massages and their propaganda against the government. The station can be heard until 8 or 9 pm on FM88.00, in Khost, Paktia, Ghazi and other provinces. Zabiollah Mojahed, a spokesman for the Taleban, speaking from an unknown place over the phone, said that their radio station started to broadcast two weeks ago. The Taleban are planning to expand their coverage to attract more listeners. Local officials in Paktia confirmed the existence of the radio station, but Rahmatollah Rahmat, the governor of Paktia, speaking to Kabul Weekly, said that he knows the station is operating but has not listen to it personally. Mr Rahmatollah Rahmat also added that he was trying to find out about the location of the radio and its staff, but is yet to have any findings. Officials at the Ministry of Information and Culture also corroborate the existence of this radio station. A spokesperson for the ministry, Naseri Wardag, told Kabul Weekly that they have ordered the police to ban the broadcasts of this station. "I do not think that the station has anything new to say because the massage that the Taleban want to give to the people are mostly broadcast through the media in Kabul. Therefore, I hope that the radio station will not be harmful," said Mr Wardak, adding that he believes that the police will close down the radio station soon. Some people who have listened to Shar'iat Radio say that they think the station is somewhere in Zormat district of Paktia province. They also claim that the station is mobile because sometimes it can be heard clearly in one location and sometimes in another. Source: Kabul Weekly in English 4 Jul 07 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ALASKA. HAARP UP TO FULL POWER --- BAE SYSTEMS COMPLETES MAJOR NEW FACILITY FOR IONOSPHERIC PHYSICS RESEARCH http://www.terradaily.com/reports/BAE_Systems_Completes_Major_New_Facility_For_Ionospheric_Physics_Research_999.html Earth's atmospheric layers. [caption; merely shows side-by-side that the E and F layers of the ionosphere and part of the D layer, are also part of the uppermost layer of the atmosphere, the thermosphere] by Staff Writers, Gakona, Alaska, June 27, 2007 BAE Systems has completed work on the world's largest and most capable ionospheric research facility. The facility will be used to study interactions between high-power radio signals and the earth's ionosphere. As the prime contractor for the U.S. Defense Department's High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) research station, BAE Systems designed and built the facility, operating software, and controls under a series of contracts valued at more than $250 million from the Office of Naval Research. The research station was dedicated on June 27 in a ceremony held at the Gakona site. Construction of the station was jointly funded by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It includes 360 radio transmitters with a combined power of 3.6 megawatts; 180, 68-foot-tall antennas covering an area of 40 acres; and five large generators providing more than 16 megawatts of power. "HAARP is a scientific project to study the properties and behavior of the ionosphere, with emphasis on using the ionosphere to improve communications and surveillance systems for civilian and defense purposes," said Rob Jacobsen, HAARP program director for BAE Systems in Washington, D.C. -- "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes an act of rebellion." --George Orwell (via M.C. "Mac" McCarty, WA8RN, July 6, DXLD) I didn`t recall that BAE Systems was running this; this company also came up in connexion with the mysterious tone tests on 1610 and 1020 from Virginia last year (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. 7216.77, R. Nacional, July 4, 1856-1927, Vernacular talks, music, also at 2042 in French and on July 5 at 0312 - all not // 4949.96 (poor, blocked by ROU at 1928) (Mikhail Timofeyev, local DXpedition near St. Petersburg, Russia, RX: Drake R8B, ANT: various directional aerial systems, HCDX via DXLD) ** ASCENSION ISLAND. Glenn, Re comments in DXLD 7-078 on wind power on Ascension which doubted whether wind power could generate enough electricity for the transmitting station: According to the website of the British Wind Energy Association, there are currently 1,866 operational wind turbines in the UK, capable of producing a total of 2,175 megawatts (i.e. the average turbine can produce at least 1 MW). There are 6 x 250 kW senders on Ascension. Even allowing for 1 MW per transmitter (to allow for transmitter inefficiency, ancillary equipment and a comfort margin), it is clear that a modest sized wind farm could easily power the whole station and have power to spare for other users on the island. Of course, there would need to be a backup supply for windless days, but there may not be that many in the middle of the Atlantic! (Chris Greenway, UK, July 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, elsewhere in the WS Annual Report it mentions a major project to upgrade the station's fuel tanks, so they'll still have generators on standby (Chris Greenway, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4732, RADIO UNIVERSITARIA, Cobija, 0230-0300* Julio 1. Gracias a la información del colega y amigo Nicolás Eramo en la Lista Conexión logré escuchar esta nueva emisora boliviana presentando música pop en español. "...no olvides los detalles, siente la música en Radio Universitaria..." Hacia las 0252 con jingle de la emisora, oración y cierre: "...De esta manera el Sistema Universitario de Radio y Televisión llega al final de su transmisión, con la firme promesa de haberles emitido la mejor programación, y deseándoles un descanso reparador y buen comienzo de jornada... permiso..." luego el Himno de la Universidad Amazónica de Pando. Acá con un fuerte QRM de estación RTTY (Rafael Rodríguez, Bogotá, Colombia, condig list via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6134.81, Radio Santa Cruz, 0907-0930 July 6. Noted a male with ID and brief comments. This was followed with local type music. At about 0915 possibly news presented since male talks at length. Signal was fair with some fading while there was a het from the station on 6135, but easily notched out (Chuck Bolland, WinRadio G305e/PD, Clewiston, Florida, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4876.1 Radio La Cruz del Sur, La Paz silent for over a year (Robert Wilkner, FL, DXSFI July 5 via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 3374.97/3375.16v UNID, July 5, 0118-, it seems two Brazilian stations on one and the same channel (poor, UTE QRM) (Mikhail Timofeyev, local DXpedition near St. Petersburg, Russia, RX: Drake R8B, ANT: various directional aerial systems, HCDX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. A Cultura de SP, 6170 kHz, 49m, que retransmite a FM 103.3 MHz, está no ar com boa qualidade de áudio. Porém, sofre, como outras emissoras, o apagão interminável e as nuances da propagação deficiente (Luiz Chaine, Brasil, July 6, radioescutas yg via DXLD) use webcast ** CANADA. Applications for AM stations in Montreal all DENIED by CRTC http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2007/db2007-217.htm The three applications for new AM stations in Montreal (on 650, 1400 and 1410 kHz) have all been denied by the CRTC: 59. As regards the applications to operate ethnic AM radio stations that were considered in the current proceeding, the Commission finds that these applications did not meet its assessment criteria, either because of their general quality, or from a technical standpoint, in that the services did not seem to reach the communities that they proposed to serve. The Commission therefore encourages the applicants to reassess their plans so as to ensure that the coverage of their proposed stations will in fact reach the audiences that they are targetting. 73, (Deane McIntyre VE6BPO, July 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANARY ISLANDS. MANY TENERIFE RADIO STATIONS SET UP MASTS WITHOUT PERMISSION From all around the Los Cristianos and Guaza area of Tenerife can be seen a conglomeration of radio masts sited on top of a prominent hill. These masts have been serving up to 25 English, Spanish and German language radio stations that transmit to Tenerife and across the islands. But it transpires that many of the masts had apparently been placed there without permission from the owner of the land, and several of the radio stations had not only refused to pay rent, but were even tapping into a free electricity supply from a Telefónica installation located on the site. The abuse came to light when officials from the Reina Sofía airport, just 15 km away from Los Cristianos, complained about dangerous interference from the transmitters. Although several radio stations were acting legally, having the appropriate permissions and controlled transmissions, many were not, and their continued flouting of the law brought them fines of 4000 euros and notice to quit. At last count there were still several stations refusing to legalise their position. They are facing the possibility of further action. (Source: Tenerife News)(July 6th, 2007 - 13:32 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** CHAD. RNT, 7289v, 2227 11/6, African music, terribly distorted, rap music, closing announcements, NA, transmitter off 2230, French, SIO 555 (Steven Howie, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) I am still hearing it most days around 0500 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DXLD) ** CUBA. This is Radio Havana Cuba, we are now using our new East Coast of North America high gain curtain array on 6060 kiloHertz from zero zero hours UT in Spanish, a broadcast that ends at zero five hours UT. At that time the 6060 kiloHertz 100 kiloWatt transmitter is fed with our English language program until zero seven hours UT. So, if you want to practice your Spanish, be aware that a nice signal is available all along the East Coast of North America from 8 PM daylight savings time until one o'clock in the morning EST [sic] (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited July 7 via ODXA via DXLD) ** DODECANESE ISLANDS. These days I suddenly recalled that when I was a child (back in the 60's) I read in a magazine (most probably the Spanish version of Popular Mechanics) that the Voice of America used to have a ship equipped with several transmitters to broadcast to several countries. The article went on with stories about sailors lighting fluorescent tubes with their bare hands when the ship was "on the air". I wondered whatever happened to this ship, which the article named as "Correo". I reasoned that hardly an American ship could have a Spanish name so I speculated about its true name being Courier or something so and that the translator went too far with his/her job. Thanks to Google I could easily find the information I wanted: I just typed "voice of america ship" and the very first result was about the ship, with in fact was called the "Courier" as I suspected, and belonged to the US Coast Guard. Those interested may find the information on this ancestor of the "Commando Solo" airplanes, at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/webcutters/Courier_WAGR410_Photos.html Also many nice pictures of the ship and the balloons used to lift some of the antennas. More info on the ship can be found in the internet. See for instance: http://www.offshore-radio.de/fleet/courier.htm Enjoy. 73, (Moisés Knochen, Montevideo, Uruguay, July 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) What? You haven`t seen my high-resolution QSL of this at http://www.w4uvh.net/voa1.jpg Also there have been previous discussions about this in DXLD (gh) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Re: ``Exiled Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Amharic: 1600-1700 on 15260 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg to EAf Mon, new from July 2 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) Missed it this week. Anyone confirm whether it was on?`` Hi Glenn, Yes, I heard something and the music played was of the Africa Horn style. First half-hour was just noisy and nothing was audible, so what I heard was 1630-1745 [sic] UT. Male talk (seemingly not religious in my ears!) and short pieces of HoA music. [Later:] Hi again, After having sent my message to you I listened briefly to the program on their website. I am really not sure about the identity of the station I heard. The music in the web program is not especially HoA, but more likely a kind of back sound track, more like the other Etiopians buying airtime on that frequency. Maybe there was another program that Monday? Well, I have written to the Orthodox church and asked them if the program really was on the air (if they know themselves???). My own recording is unfortunately very bad! Summer (Swedish summer it is) greetings 73 from (Björn Fransson, the island of Gotland, July 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15260, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Jul 02, *1600-1628, 35433, Amharic, 1600 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Talk and local music, New broadcasting station from July 2, Mon only. 15260, R. Freedom [Xoriyo], Jul 03 [Tuesday] *1600-1615 35433 Somali, 1600 sign on with opening music, ID, Opening announce, Kor`an, Talk. 15260, Andenet Ledemocracy, Jul 01 [Sunday], *1600-1610, 35433 Amharic, 1600 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** FAROE ISLANDS. Kringvarp Føroya, 531 kHz: They put in a nice signal here in Holland, but the language is quite something else. One of the most unusual dialects I have ever heard. Probably something similar to what the old Vikings spoke. Lol (David Onley, Rijswijk, The Netherlands, July 7, dxing.info via DXLD) Faroese does not differ very much from Icelandic; for a Norwegian to understand Faroese one really has to concentrate! Both are very cool languages though and they take pride in protecting them. More than Norwegians, Swedes and Danes can say. From the world's northernmost DXer (Bjarne Mjelde, http://www.kongsfjord.no weblog: http://arcticdx.blogspot.com ibid.) ** FINLAND. SWR from Finland with good clear signal on 11720 at start of their transmission tonight (6 July at 2100 UT). Strongest I think I've heard them so extra power seems to have had an effect! (Alan Pennington, Caversham, UK, AOR7030+, longwire, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Het Finse station SWR is momenteel (0600) te ontvangen op 11689.94. De andere frequenties (6170 en 1602) zijn niet hoorbaar in Delft. Het volledige zendschema van het station staat op http://www.swradio.net/schedule.htm Volgens dit schema schakelen ze over naar 11720 om 0700. Groet, (Alexander, Netherlands, July 7, BDX via DXLD) Ook maar even proberen dan: momenteel 0740 UT nog steeds op 11690 (waarom eigenlijk dat voortdurend switchen naar 11720, tenminste volgens hun schema?), vrij goed signaal, maar wel behoorlijke fading. Op 6170 hier ook niks, en 1602 ga ik niet eens proberen, hi. Vanmiddag nog eens luisteren (Jan Reint, Zwolle, Netherlands, ibid.) 11720 is om 0845 UT nog sterker dan 11690. Op beide frequenties heb ik geen last (gehad) van fading (Alexander, ibid.) ** FRANCE [non]. RFI via WRN: INTERNATIONAL VACUUM ** GEORGIA. 9479.75, Abkhazian R., July 4, 1530-1537, R. Rossii relay // 7120 (fair, bad modulation) (Mikhail Timofeyev, local DXpedition near St. Petersburg, Russia, RX: Drake R8B, ANT: various directional aerial systems, HCDX via DXLD) ** GERMANY. User survey Deutsche Welle DEUTSCHE WELLE (DW), Germany's international broadcasting service, targets a global audience with very diverse interests. We strive to provide a broad range of television, radio and online services and hope that you are happy with DW-TV, DW-RADIO and DW-WORLD.DE. Your feedback is essential to us and we highly appreciate your input. That is why we are inviting you to take part in our survey. All you need to do is take about fifteen minutes to fill in our questionnaire. Please click this link http://www.dw-world.de/interview or cut and paste it into your browser. The survey will be anonymous and the information you give us will only be used for the purpose of this DEUTSCHE WELLE survey and treated confidentially in accordance with the provisions of the German Data Protection Act. We are looking forward to receiving your response and would like to thank you for your participation. Yours sincerely, Werner Neven, Head of Media Research (DW English via Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Re Ismaning: My original comments on this matter are here: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/?p=8333#comments As pointed out therein, Ismaning is QRT already for more than two years, and for more than a year all transmission facilities are gone. The only thing that still justifies calling this post a "station" would be the satellite uplinks they are running. Shortwave from Ismaning (speaking about the IBB site only of course, not the Bayerischer Rundfunk facilities across the street) is gone since more than a decade ago. What I have at hand suggests that it ceased in 1993, and the last remaining frequency was 3980 which had been moved to Biblis then. This is remarkable in as far as the VOA and RFE/RL transmission resources had not been merged yet at this point if I'm correct. Re. Biblis and Lampertheim: What IBB does not mention is the circumstance that the BBG proposal for FY 2008 would deprive these stations of such a lot of airtime that I just can't imagine IBB to keep both sites in this case. What they also do not mention is the fact that IBB shortwave broadcasts from Germany originate not only from these sites but also from Wertachtal and at present still Jülich, too. I'm curious if perhaps Nauen will start to carry IBB programming as well (Kai Ludwig, DX LISTENING DIGEST) VoA Munich A/B was the [former German Reichspost] SW and MW site at (Google Earth imagery) Shortwave 48 14 58.59 N 11 45 09.17 E from 1946 til 1993. Old Third Reich Reichspost area. [German telecom] During WW II housed Reichspost had up to 4 x 75[real] {nominal 100 kW} kW shortwave units and up to 15 rhombic antennas at their disposal. Was 2nd largest overseas broadcasting service station after Zeesen-Berlin site at this Nazi era. US Army took over the station after WWII in April 1945, AFN Munich opened their program in June 1945. In 1946: 2x75[1941y] / 2x100[1943y] kHz French and TeslaPrague-Czech made txs of Nazi era. Later 2x35 + 1x8kW kW Collins installed, also feeder services via rhombics from Munich to VOA relays at Thessaloniki in Greece, and Tangiers Morocco; in about 1945-1974 [before satellite feed era]. Few 35 kW Collins units fed the Greece and Tangiers sites, as well as VoA Radio ship on Rhodes shore on 1259 kHz. Old Reichspost tx building housed 4x75/100 kW for VoA/RIAS Berlin disposal, as well as some 5/35 kW Collins units for VoA English on 3980 kHz. One 75/100 kW unit did carry RIAS Berlin programme to Soviet Occupied Zone / then GDR on SW 6005 kHz in 1951 til 1990. Between 1988 and 1994 all VoA/RIAS Berlin SW installation dismantled. Former AFN Munich array, Continental 100 kW beast and 2/4 mast MW array, started 15 June 1945: 48 14 41.56 N 11 44 45.52 E MW 48 14 59.53 N 11 45 31.90 E from 1949 til 2005y. 1196/1197 kHz, MW 4-mast array - 120 meters height each, two 150 kW Continental beast til 1995, then Thomcast TM-2300-S7 300 kW of 1994y. VoA 1196 kHz two RCA tube units of 150 kW each and four mast antenna, erected in about 1949, moved from old Reichspost house on western side across the brooke to new tx hall on eastern side in about 1966y? History 1991: The Voice of America starts broadcasts in German on July 4th 1991 (American Independence Day). This 90 minute broadcast will be carried at 07:30 hrs local time on medium wave 1197 kHz from Munich. It will also be relayed on satellite by Radioropa, on Astra 1A on the Pro 7 transponder on 11.406 GHz, using the subcarriers on 7.74 and 7.92 Mhz, and on Kopernikus DFS-1 on the West-3 transponder on 12.658 GHz, using the subcarrier on 7.02 and 7.20 MHz. At present the stn consist IBB satellite dish feeder antennas [VoA, RFE/RL, RFA], 25 antennas of 4 ... 15 meters in diameter. German and American installations at Ismaning: http://members.aon.at/wabweb/frames/ismanf.htm Different VoA Munich-C longwave site at Erching: 173 kHz 1000 kW longwave beast of VoA Poro/Okinawa class, single mast 256 m, 27.4 dB max. power radiation, decrease towards 115-160 deg Caltanisetta-Italy 21.0 dB, 160-230 degr Morocco 20 dB. Former VoA Munich-C site was located 6 kilometers away northwest at Erching site: 48 17 56 81 N 11 42 59.78 E tx hall 48 18 11 20 N 11 43 15.26 E VoA on air from Sept 1953 til 1973, break in 1965-Sept 1969. 1973 til June 1979 off, but always service ready. June 1979 til Jan 1989 used for German Deutschlandfunk sce with half power of 500 kW, which means bad main power consumption of 1050 kW. http://www.lostplaces.de/cms/fernmeldeaufklarung-eloka-sigint/langwellensender-erching.html (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX July 4 via DXLD) ** GUYANA. GUYANA MAY NOT BE READY FOR END TO RADIO MONOPOLY - Prime Minister --- Wednesday, June 27th 2007 Prime Minister Samuel Hinds yesterday questioned Guyana's readiness for a liberalized radio broadcast sector, a move President Bharrat Jagdeo had promised during the 2006 elections campaign. Leaving the question unanswered, Hinds, who was performing the duties of President, cited the example of the United Kingdom, which, according to him, took some 53 years to de-monopolize radio. . . http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56523369 (via Robert Wilkner, FL, DXSFI July 5 via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 4819.21, La Voz Evangélica, Tegucigalpa has been silent for several months (Bob Wilkner, FL, Japan Premium July 6 via DXLD) ** HUNGARY. LETZTE WORTE DER DEUTSCHEN REDAKTION VON RADIO BUDAPEST Apparently the farewells were tearful in the German service unlike some of the others. It seems they named everyone who had ever worked for that service. A report on their last words in German with clips is at http://www.ratzer.at/ I am not sure if this will remain accessible after this web page is updated (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hallo, einen Zusammenschnitt der letzten Sendeminuten des deutschsprachigen Programms von Radio Budapest findet Ihr auf http://www.kurzwelle-historisch.de unter "Die letzten Sendeminuten..." Kurzwelle historisch: http://www.kurzwelle-historisch.de/ (Manfred Hueppelshaeuser-D, A-DX July 1) His farewell talk, which could not be broadcast, can now be found at http://www.ratzer.at (second item on this page). Very emotional farewell words of Mr. Csaba Banky, on behalf of 71 former staff member of German and Austrian section on Radio Budapest in service between 1957y and 2007y. . . (BC-DX July 7 via DXLD) ** HUNGARY. HISTORIAS DE RADIO PARA ESTE SABADO Bienvenidos a "Historias de Radio", un programa donde el pasado y el presente de la radio se dan la mano. Una idea y producción de Daniel Camporini. Realizado, íntegramente, en el estudio de diexismo y comunicación, Munro, Buenos Aires, Argentina. El programa de esta semana está dedicado a" LA HISTORIA DE LA RADIODIFUSION EN HUNGRIA" "Las transmisiones de radio en Hungría se inician oficialmente el primero de enero de 1925, pero desde antes se realizaban emisiones de radio experimentales ya desde 1893; los húngaros realizaban transmisiones por la red telefónica". Esta es una parte del inicio de la radiodifusión en Hungría; si desea conocer más, solo tiene que escuchar este programa donde Daniel Camporini nos cuenta, con todo lujo de detalles, la historia de la radiodifusión húngara, complementada con valiosísimas grabaciones y amenizada con canciones y música de este país europeo. Daniel nos informa sobre el reciente cierre de las emisiones de onda corta en lenguas extranjeras de Radio Budapest. Si quiere estar informado sobre la historia de la radiodifusión mundial, ya lo encontró, no se pierdan cada semana este fenomenal espacio. Para cualquier comentario sobre el programa se pueden dirigir a: diexismoarg @ yahoo.com.ar Pueden escucharlo, a partir del sábado, en su página: http://es.geocities.com/programas_dx/historiasderadio.htm También en Programas DX: http://es.geocities.com/programasdx/ Cordiales 73 (José Bueno, Spain, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ICELAND. 13865 AM/USB, Rikisútvarpið, heard at 1240-1249* on Jun 30 on their last day on SW, Icelandic talk by a man about fishery, closing announcement by a woman, 1248 UT symphonic music; SINPO 23322, QRM from Voice of Russia, Moskva, in Russian on 13870 kHz. Final broadcasts today [Jun 30] are scheduled: 1755-1825 to Eu on 12115, 1835-1905 to NAm on 13865, 2300-2335 to NAm on 12115 kHz. The latter was inaudible here in Denmark last night. That is unfortunately the end of another Nordic SWBCer! (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DXplorer July 1 via BC-DX via DXLD) BTW, in MS Word you can easily make a crossed d by ctrl-apostrophe-d, while ctrl-apostrophe-u gives you u-acute (gh) Heard the 1755 UT broadcast here in Ukraine, Europe. Absolutely terrible thin, less than phone quality audio. Don't know how anyone would listen to such a broadcast, in all honesty. Only heard fairly here in western Ukraine (Walt Salmaniw, Ukraine, DXplorer July 2 via BC-DX via DXLD) This service was never meant for the "general public", but was basically a "utility service" (in transmission mode R3E, i.e. AM- compatible USB -6dB carrier reduction) for reception onboard of Icelandic ships which have the necessary utility equipment to receive and "decode" it properly. One could add that this service started in 1973, but due to its utility character, it for example made it into the WRTH first in the 1978 edition. There it was correctly labelled "For Icelandic seamen" for many years (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DXplorer July 2, ibid.) The 1973 operation brought Iceland back on SW. The Iceland State Broadcasting Service had been on SW since at least the mid-1930s. It "officially" closed down on SW in 1965, though there were occasional reports of it even after that. Probably those pre-1965 broadcasts were mainly for fishermen as well (Jerry Berg-USA, DXplorer July 4, ibid.) 13865-USB, at 1229 UT on Jun 30, tuned in on last day at 1215, but signal didn't come up until 1229 UT when hrd Icelandic talk by man, maybe news items. Stayed with until arnd 1245, when barely a trace of signal left. Tried again 1410 UT, and much better with man talk at tune-in, interview at 1417 UT with English-speaking man. Music hrd at 1432 UT, then station disappeared (John Herkimer-NY-USA, DXplorer July 2, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL. THE WORLD GEARS UP FOR LIVE EARTH Live Earth, a worldwide series of concerts, will provide 24 hours of music across seven continents from eight cities, takes place on Saturday 7 July, and will feature performances by more than 150 of the world's top musical artists. But, technically impressive though it will be, this 24-hour event isn't primarily intended to show off the latest technology. There's a more pressing reason. The aim is to deliver a worldwide call to action, and find the solutions necessary to deal with climate change and global warming. Live Earth is just the beginning of a multi-year campaign to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take the necessary steps. http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/070705live (Media Network newsletter via DXLD) First concert is from Sydney, starting at 0110 UT Saturday. See http://liveearth.msn.com/about/factsheet Hey, why aren`t there any classical performers? Also be sure to read the response to the MN feature. If we really want to help we should turn off our TVs and computers for 24 hours (Glenn Hauser, July 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I'll bite. ;-) Most likely because those that listen to classical are older and are less likeley to change habits. Pop is listened to by a younger more impressionable audience (obvious answers, of course, and your question was likely rhetorical). Logic seems to dictate to me that the carbon footprint of this event will far outweigh any reduction it may generate to offset its impact for years to come, let alone generate any net reduction of greenhouse gasses. Has Global Warming jumped the shark? 73, de (Nate Bargmann, Wireless | Amateur Radio Station N0NB, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fortunately, many of our greatest classical performers are young people, up and coming or already there. I reject the stereotype that classical music only appeals to the elderly (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. WRN adds RFI to North American Service WRN (World Radio Network) service in English to North America, which has been going through some schedule adjustments of late, appears to have added Radio France Internationale to its line-up. I heard an hour broadcast this morning at 1000 ET (1400 UT), which was a direct relay of RFI's broadcast to Africa and South Asia at that time complete with time checks. There is no notice or update on the WRN web site as of yet. More recently, Radio Prague and Radio Sweden had occupied this slot. Both stations continue at their other times and perhaps appear at additional times once this apparent shake-out is completed. WRN lost Radio Budapest last week when that station shut down its English Service. I noted that the former Radio Budapest broadcast at 1630 ET (2030 UT) weekdays was replaced by a rebroadcast of KBS (Korea) English service the past week. WRN is on Sirius at channel 140. It also is available via http://wrn.org and sporadically via a few FM outlets in the US, on CBC Overnight, and -- at times -- via WRMI shortwave [7385] (John Figliozzi, NY, July 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. Iran is seeking to influence the international news agenda and has chosen to launch an English-language TV channel. Press TV launched on 2 July and is available on a number of satellites, but not on any of the world's DTH packages, such as Sky or Star. The channel draws its news presenters from Iran and the UK and all men appear without ties and women with their heads covered. News bulletins appear to be broadcast every two hours, lasting 30 minutes each. The presentation is, from initial observations, rather old-fashioned. The news studio has one fixed camera and there's none of the buzz that appears on other international channels that show the station's news room. Press TV is streamed on the Internet, and its website carries the main news stories of the day. The site looks remarkably similar to that of the BBC's news site, with almost identical layout. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, the saying goes. The channel's correspondents have come from a number of networks - the London correspondent, Amanda Burt, was with Russia Today TV for example (AIB Media Briefing July 6 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. BROADCAST DETACHMENT BIDS FAREWELL TO IRAQ The 356th Broadcast Operations Detachment, from Fort Meade, Md., transferred command of the American Forces Network to a group of US airmen during a ceremony at the US Embassy in the International Zone of Baghdad on 2 July. Members of the 356th arrived in Kuwait July 12, 2006, and have spent the last year operating the American Forces Network station in Baghdad. The unit was comprised of US Army Reserve soldiers from California, Utah, Texas, Maine, Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Washington, said US Army Major Gary W Sheftick, commander of the 356th. Their tour has been eventful, upon arrival they had to deal with complications from power outages to poor radio reception inside the International Zone. The 356th took action immediately by having the power in their office switched to a generator and by placing a new transmitter and antennae in the International Zone to strengthen the signal, said Sheftick. Throughout the course of the year members of the 356th went on more than 100 missions outside the International Zone. They broadcast more than 3,500 hours of live radio and filmed 250 episodes of Freedom Journal Iraq. Four of these episodes won Keith L Ware awards from US Army Reserve Command, said Rear Admiral Mark I Fox, commander of the communications division of MultiNational Force-Iraq, at the ceremony. The US airmen taking charge of AFN will be partnered with a detachment of US sailors. The new operators of AFN Iraq hail from stations in Japan, Italy, Virginia, Germany, England, Turkey and Hawaii, said US Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Leniel R Garner, station manager for AFN Iraq. The new operators of AFN Iraq have two goals they want to accomplish. First they hope to speed up the time between events in Iraq and their release to news agencies around the world. They will be working closely with major news organizations to catch up with the industry news cycle. Their second goal is to ensure that news with local ties in the United States makes its way to service members’ hometowns, Garner said. (Source: US Department of Defense) AFN Iraq http://www.afniraq.army.mil/ (July 6th, 2007 - 13:07 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. INTERESTED ONLY IN THEMSELVES --- By Daniel Gavron, Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/876343.html As a former staff member of the English News Department at Israel Radio, I am not in the least surprised at recent media reports that the English-language radio and television news operations might be closed down. Nobody outside our department has ever been in the least bit interested in this very important operation on behalf of the State of Israel. Cabinet ministers, Knesset members, public figures and senior executives of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) itself were all equally indifferent. In view of the fact that these illustrious people naturally listened to (and viewed) the news in Hebrew - and were always very anxious about how they were portrayed there - they virtually ignored the English broadcasts. The director of English news and his staff carried out their work with a clear sense of mission, but with next to no encouragement from above. In vain did we try to impress upon our superiors that the diplomatic corps, the neighboring Arab nations, the large foreign media contingent and listeners in the United States, Britain, South Africa, Australia and other locations around the world tuned in to every broadcast. We pointed out that the dissemination of intelligent, objective and credible news about Israel was a vital element of the nation's information effort. They could not have cared less. The same politicians and public figures, who sniveled and whined about the "lack of effective Israeli public relations, hasbara," were willfully ignorant of our highly competent operation. As they didn't listen to us - and consequently didn't hear about themselves in our broadcasts - they remained apathetic and uninterested (via Robert Wilkner, FL, DXSFI July 5 via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) This deplorable situation goes back as long as I can remember (gh, DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. Since 1st May, both Communist stations in Kurdish and Persian have been heard only on 4375v at 1500-1635 and 1725-1850 UT. Were previously heard on two or even three frequencies (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Now what are their names? ** LATVIA. Relays this weekend via 9290 Sat July 7th Latvia Today 0800-0900 UT Radio Joystick 0900-1000 UT Sun July 8th Latvia Today 1900-2000 UT Good Listening (Tom Taylor, UK, July 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LUXEMBOURG [and non]. Re 7-078: And I too thought I'd spend more time searching this band last evening (July 5) - until, that is, I found that the DRM had returned, and RTL did not close down on 6095 and 5990. Both were heard with 10+dB over 9 signals. If the off period was due to maintenance, then it appears to have been completed. But I think RTL should take another look at their 5990 transmitter - at 2200 UT the roar covered from 5975 (where the BBC was receiving some QRM from it) to 6005 where Berlin was strong enough to be free of it. The combined BRundfunk and RTL DRM signals on 6085 and 6095 blocked from 6075 (DWelle receiving no QRM) up to 6105. I could hear an AM signal on 6090 and something on 6100, but the noise was too intense to copy either. 6105 was relatively clear to hear Jordan's ID at 2200. This by using the narrowest filter on my R75, and using sideband brought marginal improvements (Noel R. Green (NW England), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 3287.66, R. Madagasikara, July 4, 1820-1830, Malagasy talks, song // 5010.01 (poor - but good on 60 m.b.) (Mikhail Timofeyev, local DXpedition near St. Petersburg, Russia, RX: Drake R8B, ANT: various directional aerial systems, HCDX via DXLD) ** MALTA. MW 999 DRM, Radio Malta - Schon in den vergangenen Tage als ich vergeblich versuchte, eine Audiosignal vom DRM-Test zu bekommen, ist mir neben dem Spanier ein weitere Station aufgefallen, die nonstop Oldies spielte. Heute morgen habe ich mir auch mal den Audio-Stream von Malta im Netz angehoert, und siehe da: Volltreffer - auch wenn der Audiostream gegenueber dem MW-Signal fast eine Minute nachhinkt. Schoen, denn ich habe den Sender schon seit Jahren nicht mehr gehoert - und es ist ja die letzte verbliebene Moeglichkeit eine Station von der Mittelmeerinsel bei uns zu hoeren. (later) Um 0333 UTC war dann auch eine Identifizierung auf "herkoemmliche" Weise auf der MW moeglich. ID und Nationalhymne (Patrick Robic, Austria, A-DX July 1 via BC-DX July 7 via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Radio UNAM, 9600 kHz, Full data logo card and 2 CDs of classical Mexican music in 3 Months for $1. V/S Teófilo Huerta Moreno (John M. Fisher, MA, DXplorer July 5 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** MEXICO. CERCO INFORMATIVO PROVOCA CIERRE DE NOTICIERO EN MÉXICO... Hola Glenn, Te envío esta nota acerca de un medio mexicano. Desconozco si alguno de los colegas ya te la ha hecho llegar con anterioridad. Sería bueno saber la opinión - acerca de este caso - de la Sociedad Intergaláctica de Prensa, la Federación Interplanetaria de Periodistas y demás ULTRADEFENSORES de la libertad de expresión. 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Another less detailed story on this, with a somewhat different take, was in 7-076 --- gh] MUERE "MONITOR" A CAUSA DE BOICOT DESDE EL GOBIERNO MEXICANO Nota de: ROSA ELVIRA VARGAS y CAROLINA GOMEZ Fuente: Aporrea.org El periodista José Gutiérrez Vivó, director general de Grupo Monitor, anunció ayer la salida del aire del noticiario radiofónico que transmitía en las frecuencias 1320 y 1560 de modulación de amplitud (AM). Expuso como razón la insolvencia económica de la empresa originada por un bloqueo publicitario impuesto desde el gobierno de Vicente Fox, que, añadió, se ha mantenido durante el de Felipe Calderón. Durante la última emisión, la 41 mil 100, Gutiérrez Vivó hizo un detallado relato de las circunstancias que desde hace poco más de tres años condujeron a Monitor Radio a la quiebra, debido a lo cual ha incumplido desde hace casi tres meses con el pago de salarios y prestaciones de 96 trabajadores sindicalizados y unos 250 de confianza. De ese modo llegaron a su fin 33 años de transmisiones ininterrumpidas, realizadas en diversas emisoras del cuadrante. En ese lapso, Monitor ocupó los primeros lugares de audiencia y obtuvo diversos reconocimientos. Los informativos de Gutiérrez Vivó fueron considerados innovadores e impusieron un estilo noticioso que fue imitado en todo el país. En su última transmisión el periodista informó que la salida del aire se precipitó debido al emplazamiento a huelga interpuesto por el Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria de Radio y Televisión (STIRT). "Mañana (este sábado) a las tres de la tarde se inicia una huelga por parte del sindicato (...) motivada porque Monitor no ha cumplido con sus deberes económicos con sus trabajadores. Y no ha cumplido porque la publicidad no llega, y no llega (...) porque hay indicaciones de que no llegue. Recuerde que es un boicot económico", esgrimió Gutiérrez Vivó. "Acto funerario" Agregó que quienes han conspirado contra Monitor encontraron "la manera" de desaparecer la empresa, y realizó un largo relato para exponer su convicción de que desde la presidencia de Fox se alentó el boicot publicitario y se realizaron maniobras para favorecer a la familia Aguirre en el litigio entre Grupo Monitor y Grupo Radio Centro. En todo este panorama, abundó, gravitó siempre la acusación expresa de que, según el ex mandatario, Gutiérrez Vivó era "perredista" y apoyaba a Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Sin embargo, más allá de las denuncias contra la anterior administración federal, el comunicador ha señalado que desde el gobierno de Calderón también se han hecho partícipes de la asfixia económica que ayer lo llevó a declarar "muerto" su proyecto radiofónico. Apenas el pasado 6 de diciembre, Gutiérrez Vivó denunció en el Club de Periodistas de México haber recibido - aun antes de la llegada del nuevo equipo gobernante - el siguiente mensaje: "Están castigados. Vamos a ver cómo se comportan. Si quieren difundir nuestra información, bien; si no, también. Cuando consideremos que hay un buen comportamiento, entonces se arreglará una entrevista con el presidente Calderón". Ayer en su larguísima despedida, el periodista no aludió a ese mensaje y sí, en cambio, reseñó una conversación con Calderón como presidente electo, en la que el panista le dijo: "bueno, ¿cómo va tu caso?", a lo que Gutiérrez Vivó le respondió que los Aguirre "están protegidos" por Fox. Ante eso, añadió, Calderón "pidió el laudo, lo leyó; se quitó el saco, pidió lápiz, pidió papel blanco (y) estuvo revisando un buen rato el paquetazo, con conclusiones, y me dijo: 'no hay la menor duda, ustedes ganaron; no tiene vuelta de hoja, los señores (Aguirre) tienen que pagar, te lo digo como abogado que soy'. El solo lo dijo, está grabado", refirió el titular de Monitor. En el litigio que existe desde 2004 entre Monitor y Grupo Radio Centro, el primero ha sostenido que diversas instancias han fallado a su favor. La propia Corte Internacional de Comercio de París emitió una resolución que establece que la empresa de la familia Aguirre violó el contrato que tenía con el Grupo Monitor y ahora el conflicto se dirime en la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN). A propósito de ese diferendo, en otro pasaje narrado ayer, Gutiérrez Vivó dijo que en las postrimerías del régimen foxista el entonces vocero de Los Pinos, Rubén Aguilar, le ofreció mediar en su favor ante la SCJN, lo cual él rechazó, ratificando su confianza en la imparcialidad de las decisiones que toma el máximo órgano del Poder Judicial. Ante eso, Aguilar Valenzuela, siempre según Gutiérrez Vivó, le pidió: "¿Oiga, me podría usted dar chance de trabajar aquí en Diario Monitor?", cuando terminara su periodo en Los Pinos. Convencido hasta ayer a las 10 de la mañana de que la huelga es inminente, si bien hasta anoche los trabajadores hacían gestiones ante su sindicato para suspenderla, el periodista concluyó que en tanto para algunos grupos económicos esa cadena informativa no es grata, "bueno, pues qué hacemos aquí; no tenemos nada que hacer porque finalmente los clientes no quieren comprar, las estaciones las tiene secuestradas el señor Aguirre (...) está medio difícil, ¿no? Pero lo lograron (...) Este es un acto funerario para nosotros. Se nos murió Monitor". ANTECEDENTES Monitor es un programa que lleva 33 años al aire, su conductor Jose Gutierrez Vivó se caracterizó siempre por ser imparcial y objetivo aún en tiempos que en teoría eran mas peligrosos. Cuando el PRI gobernaba. Su audiencia en radio era de las más elevadas estando siempre entre las primeras dos estaciones más escuchadas del país. Hubo un pequeño incidente con los dueños de la estación de radio en que trabajada, principalmente por diferencias editoriales lo que dió lugar a una separación y una demanda que terminó ganando GV. En tiempos de Fox, GV relata que se reunió con el presidente y le dijo; ¿por qué eres perredista? Fue acusado de ser partidario del PRD y de apoyar a su candidato AMLO. Después de un par de incidentes con Fox, GV asegura que se empezó a gestionar ante las empresas en general que YA NO SE ANUNCIARAN CON ÉL porque era un periodista que apoyaba a López Obrador. Como antecedente se conoce de un gran escándalo sobre una gran parte de la iniciativa privada que pagó una gran campaña de publicidad para decir que López Obrador era un peligro para México, que era como Hugo Chávez y Fidel Castro, que iban a perder su casa, etc.; estas campañas fueron pagadas entre otros por el Consejo Coordinador Empresarial y hubo empresas como Coppel (tienda local) que instruía a sus empleados a no votar por AMLO, también la empresa Sabritas, Coca, Bimbo pusieron su granito de arena de manera ilegal ya que según la ley solo los partidos pueden hacer campaña. En México se pudo observar la verdadera fobia que se creo ante AMLO y que en verdad cualquiera que fuera relacionado con él, podía sufrir el desprecio de los grandes anunciantes, GV desde hace tiempo culpó al presidente Fox de querer cerrar monitor y de promover que sus anunciantes dejaran de anunciarse con el por no alinearse como la mayoría de los otros medios. GV dio una entrevista a CNN donde relato todo esto después de ser condecorado por el premio de periodismo más importante en México, esto fue a principios de diciembre. Hoy día, la publicidad que por años gozó, la preferencia de sus anunciantes, que toda la lógica indica que elegirían dentro de su plan de medios al noticiero mas importante de la radio, pues no sucedió así, fue abandonado, la estación que por su importancia contaba con muchos recursos, empleados, equipo, etc, dejó de tener para pagar hasta lo sueldos y debido a las múltiples presiones que tenía, fue cerrada. Lo que más indigna a los mexicanos es que esta noticia parece no importarle a las mismas voces que pusieron el grito en el cielo por el cierre de Radio Caracas Televisión en Venezuela. GV no era ningún novato en esto, era de los mejores, periodista galardonado de 33 años de carrera y caracterizado por decir la verdad. Si el dice que Fox y Calderón participaron en un boicot para obligarlo a cerrar, millones de persones le creen además que la lógica también lo indica así (via Adán González, Venezuela, DXLD) ** MYANMAR. Radio Myanmar, 7185 kHz. Full data folder Map/Globe card and friendly letter in 6 Months via registered mail. V/S KoKo Htway. Thus ends an almost 20 year epic battle to get a verification out of this station. NASWA Country 202. Very Happy with this and all the QSLs received here (John M. Fisher, MA, DXplorer July 5 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. HOLANDA. Hoy 7 de julio se inicia el Tour de Francia; me pregunto si Radio Nederland va a poner en marcha Radio Tour como en años anteriores. Si es así, ¿en qué frecuencias y horarios? 73 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It's scheduled through 29 July at 1200-1500 UT (possibly later as required). But shortwave coverage is only to Europe on 5955, 9895 and 13700 kHz. For other parts of the world there's a daily Tour Journal during the scheduled Dutch transmissions (Andy Sennitt, RN, ibid.) Only 3 hours a day? The cyclists are peddling almost continuously, aren`t they? Besides mandated rest periods. What if something happens the other 21 hours? (gh, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. 3935.06, presumed ZLXA, at 1153-1214 UT on Jun 30, lite vocal music to 1200 UT, then pips and YL with possible news; seemed to go back to music at 1210, but signal had already started to fade out. Respectable S-9 carrier at tune-in, but poor copy due to apparent undermodulation. Best on USB to avoid the hams below (John Wilkins, CO, DXplorer July 1 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. 5080.15, 1759 22/6, R. Pakistan news and current affairs channel, Islamabad, time signal at 1800, then talk (news?) in presumed Urdu until 1805 when fell silent; SIO 142 (Alan Pennington, England, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. Has anyone heard Radio Nacional, Paraguay in recent months? Is it gone from shortwave? (Harold Sellers, Ont., DXplorer July 2 via BC-DX via DXLD) According to the worldwide monitoring of the DSWCI Domestic Broadcasting Survey, it was last heard on 9737 in October 2005 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, ibid.) On the contrary, in DXLD 6-033 of Feb 20, 2006, there was this report, which obviously now contained an error in the year which must have been 2005, but still heard a month later than Anker thinx: Otra emisora que lleva tiempo inactiva, Radio Nacional del Paraguay, 9737 kHz: aproximadamente desde el 20 de Noviembre de 2006, se nota en falta en el dial, con sus bonitos programas de música paraguaya, noticias, deportes, etc. Acabo de recibir un mail de la emisora, luego de interesarme por su inactividad, que me dice lo siguiente: "Gracias por escuchar Radio Nacional del Paraguay; le avisaremos cuando estemos al aire nuevamente, saludos a la Madre Patria." Ojalá que vuelvan pronto y no pase a ser otra emisora desaparecida. Su dirección de correo electrónico: info @ rnpy.com (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, Feb 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-033 via 7-079) ** PERU. 4790.20, Radio Visión Chiclayo, ex 4385 Radio Visión has been off the air for last 48 hours or more. Charles Bolland and I noticed this. 28 June July 1 (Bob Wilkner, FL, Japan Premium July 6 via DXLD) 4790.20, Radio Visión, Chiclayo seems off the air or on new frequency. Visión was on 4385 in the past; seems not to have returned to this frequency; Visión was on 24 hours a day. Radio Visión disappeared at the end of the month of June; this may indicate a budget cut? (Robert Wilkner, FL, DXSFI July 5 via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** PERU. 6536.14, R. Huancabamba, July 4, 2330-, Spanish talk with mentions of Huancabamba, also at 0226 on 6536.06 (poor, fair at 0226) (Mikhail Timofeyev, local DXpedition near St. Petersburg, Russia, RX: Drake R8B, ANT: various directional aerial systems, HCDX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non?]. The strange station on 7325 kHz is back on the air. Only on Sundays 1800-1858 (sometimes from 1830) under BBC in Russian with typical Caucasian speech and music. The language seems is from the group of Adygean, Abkhazian etc. languages. (July 1). The broadcasts in Kabardin, Adygean, Balkar, Karachai etc. are on the air as in previous years (Jul 5). (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, wwdxc BC-DX July 5 via DXLD) Armavir-RUS outlet? wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. They seem to be off air at present on 5020 kHz for reasons unknown. I haven't heard them for, I think, at least two weeks (Gordon Brown, location?, NWDXC July 4 via BC-DX via DXLD) 5020.00, SIBC Honiara (tent.), July 4, 1910-1920, Vernacular-like talks (poor, QRM: RTTY on 5021 and NGR on 5018.88) (Mikhail Timofeyev, Russia, HCDX via DXLD) I thought SIBC was off-frequency (gh, DXLD) ** SOMALIA. SHABELLE MEDIA NETWORK (MOGADISHU) 6 July 2007 Posted to the web 6 July 2007 Aweys Osman Yusuf, Mogadishu Heavily armed government soldiers stormed the center of the Shabelle Media Network, a local radio based in Mogadishu for the second time today alone arresting one of the Radio's security staff. . . http://allafrica.com/stories/200707060852.html (via Art Blair, DXLD) Harrowing story for the staff. WTFK? ** TAIWAN. NCC AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS BATTLE OVER BROADCASTING CORPORATION OF CHINA The National Communications Commission’s (NCC) approval of the sale of the former Kuomintang-owned Broadcasting Corporation of China, Taiwan’s largest radio system, to companies owned by media mogul Jaw Shaw-kong has triggered fierce debate between NCC members and government officials. Some critics said the approval would create a media monopoly, others said the NCC members were awarding approval without conducting a thorough investigation, and still others claimed that the transfer was a cover for the KMT to sell its assets illegally. Read the story in the Taiwan Journal http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?CtNode=122&xItem=24402 (July 6th, 2007 - 9:58 UTC by Andy, Media Network via DXLD) ** THAILAND. With regard to Ray Moore's TPs: I believe reception of Thailand [1575 kHz] in May is undoubtedly via long-path, over the South Pole region. It's a much longer path than your usual short-path over the north pole region, but in late May, there's no darkness in this region. This path reaches as far as 86.5 degrees north on short- path. During the current sunspot minimum, it doesn't surprise me that a signal would make it on long-path; however, this has to be one of the rarest of all possible openings. I don't think there is any time of day during late May that both South Florida and Thailand are both in darkness at the same time; that would account for the very short openings. If it's sunrise at Ft. Myers, it might be a half hour or so before sunset in Thailand. Even though the path is longer, it is, with the exception of where it passes over Antarctica, almost a complete water-path, unlike the short-path. This is my theory, for what it's worth (Robert Forsman, WK5X, via e-DXN, NRC International DX Digest July 7 via DXLD) ** U S A. KJES: Google Earth imagery, at Lord`s Ranch: 32 08 03.00 N, 106 35 47.00 W (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX via DXLD) ** U S A. COOL RECEPTION FOR CONSERVATIVE RADIO - washingtonpost.com Many Popular Talk Shows Find Washington Just Isn't Listening By Paul Farhi, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, July 6, 2007; C05 After conservative radio pundits encouraged opposition last month to the immigration bill that was before the Senate, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) was moved to declare, "Talk radio is running America." It is not, however, running Washington. With the exception of Rush Limbaugh, conservative talk-radio hosts have struggled for years to find a wide audience on the local dial. While Limbaugh's afternoon program remains popular on WMAL (630 AM), not many other conservatives' programs have. Latest case in point: WJFK (106.7 FM) yesterday dropped Bill O'Reilly's nationally syndicated show, "The Radio Factor," and replaced it with a sports-talk program hosted by Jim Rome. O'Reilly, an avowed independent who takes many conservative views, occupied a two-hour afternoon slot on WJFK. The popular Fox News Channel TV host never attracted much of a radio following in Washington -- in the most recent ratings period, his program had about 1.2 percent of the audience. But then, neither have many other conservatives, whose programs are popular in many cities but barely move the ratings needle in the Washington area, the nation's eighth-largest radio market. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070501912_pf.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** VANUATU. I have just heard Vanuatu back on 3945 kHz at 1010 UT with a lady reading news in English. I haven't heard them on this frequency for some months. New Zealand Aid is to provide Vanuatu with two 10 kW shortwave transmitters soon (Gordon Brown, location? NWDXC July 4 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. MI RÉPLICA AL EX DIPUTADO JULIO BORGES SOBRE EL TEMA RCTV Hace más de un mes envié una réplica al ex diputado oposicionista, Julio Borges, acerca de unos comentarios hechos por él en un diario de circulación nacional. A continuación transcribo lo reseñado por Borges y después les incluyo mi réplica. Borges escribió: "Si nuestro gobierno quisiera hoy mismo abrir un canal más grande que RCTV podría hacerlo sin necesidad de afectar a ningún canal. El espacio disponible en los canales VHF (entre `RCTV´ canal 2 y `La Tele´ canal 12) permite abrir tres canales nuevos más poderosos que RCTV (¡!). Igualmente, en la señal UHF (es decir, del canal 12 hasta el infinito), se podrían abrir tantos canales como el gobierno quisiera (...)". Una semana más tarde le hice llegar al Director del Diario Últimas Noticias una réplica sobre lo anterior. El señor Borges prometió incluirla en su columna dominical de la primera semana de junio, sin embargo, hasta el día de hoy NADA ha sido publicado. Peculiar libertad de expresión la que pregonan los "líderes" del oposicionismo venezolano, ¿no? AVERIGÜE PRIMERO, ESCRIBA DESPUÉS El día domingo 20 de mayo de 2007, en el Diario Últimas Noticias, página 64, fueron publicadas una serie de inexactitudes técnicas en la columna del dirigente político del oposicionismo, Julio Andrés Borges, la cual lleva el nombre de "El Nuevo Camino". Me gustaría aprovechar la oportunidad para aclarar algunas imprecisiones del autor antes mencionado: 1) El rango de canales de la banda VHF (Very High Frequency/ Frecuencia Muy Alta), oscila entre los canales 2 y 13, y no entre el 2 y el 12, como erróneamente lo afirma en su artículo el autor antes citado. 2) Por evidentes razones técnicas, no todos los canales VHF pueden ser habilitados con una concesión. Verbigracia, en la ciudad de Caracas el espectro de la banda VHF está virtualmente copado con las frecuencias existentes: 2, 4, 5, 8, 10 y 12. La recomendación internacional de los expertos en la materia, sugiere dejar un "espacio" de por medio para evitar interferencias entre uno y otro canal. Como una especie de "colchón" radioeléctrico, si así pudiéramos llamarlo. Por ello, tiene toda la razón el Gobierno Nacional al alegar que no hay más canales disponibles en VHF y que debe retomar una frecuencia próxima a ser "desocupada" por un explotador, al cual ya se le vence su período. 3) También en el escrito de Julio Andrés Borges, se puede leer la siguiente "perla": (...) Igualmente, en la señal de UHF (es decir, del canal 12 al infinito), se podrían abrir tantos canales como el gobierno quisiera (...)". Sería pedagógico aclararle al señor Borges, que es BANDA y NO "señal" UHF. Ésa es la colocación correcta: banda UHF. En cuanto al abanico de canales de la banda en cuestión, es imperioso recalcar que la UHF (Ultra High Frequency/ Frecuencia Ultra Alta) parte del canal 14 al 69, y no como irresponsablemente afirma el autor: "(...) del canal 12 hasta el infinito". ¡Vaya infinita que es la ignorancia! 4) Sin duda, la frecuencia con el mejor alcance y, en consecuencia, la mayor cobertura, es la del canal 2 de VHF. Por sus características de propagación y recepción, es el canal óptimo para hacer TELEVISIÓN. Por el contrario, la banda UHF tiene más limitaciones y su señal es más débil. De hecho, la UHF hizo su aparición después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y en un principio su rango iba desde el canal 14 hasta el 83. En la década de 1980, con el desarrollo de la telefonía celular, la franja de canales entre el 70 y el 83, fue cedida a este servicio de comunicaciones y así quedó reducida la UHF del 14 al 69. En relación con el resto de las ideas expresadas en el artículo del señor Borges, le recomiendo al ex diputado leerse la Ley Orgánica de Telecomunicaciones (2000) y su artículo 171, apartado SEXTO, entre otros, y desempolvar en nunca bien ponderado DRAE, para así conocer el significado EXACTO del término CONCESIÓN. Dejo sentado que no soy ingeniero en telecomunicaciones ni nada por el estilo, tan sólo soy un ciudadano que hace lo que - a todas luces - no hace el señor Julio Andrés Borges antes de escribir algo: investigar e informarse (ADÁN GONZÁLEZ, Certificado de Locución #26950, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, via DXLD) Despite these errors, Borges` underlying point is correct: It should still have been possible to squeeze in a new national network on VHF or UHF channels unoccupied in various regions. It was just too tempting to expropriate an existing network starting on the most advantageous channel, 2. However, many engineers and managers today would avoid channel two due to its highest propensity for DX sporadic E interference, and for susceptibility to local noise sources (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. HAWAII, 12130, R. Hoa-Mai via KWHR, Jun 27 1244- 1259*, 44444, Vietnamese, talk and music, ID and address announce at 1258 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) Wednesdays only at 1200; so it was on the week before, altho I could not hear it on July 4, maybe just not propagating unlike 9930 until 1157 (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. GOVT GETS A TASTE OF OWN MEDICINE --- Itai Mushekwe http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=11&id=10933&siteid=1 GOVERNMENT radio jamming equipment reportedly purchased in China has backfired, gagging its own new shortwave project, Voice of Zimbabwe (VOZ), sources at the station revealed to the Zimbabwe Independent this week. The ambitious station, set up to counter Western broadcasts, is said to be battling to recruit qualified personnel to run its operations while its few employees are still in Harare instead of moving to Gweru where it was due to be housed. Sources said the equipment was believed to be made up of three jammers installed at Thornhill, a military airbase and government communications centre in the Midlands. The plan was to block a perceived negative publicity campaign from outside radio stations such as Voice of America (VOA) funded by the US State Department, SW Radio which beams from London and Dutch-funded Voice of the People (VOP), among others. The jamming equipment has prevented VOZ from starting regular operations due to the self-signal interception going on at the station. Zimbabweans have been forced to listen to state radio programming owing to punitive broadcasting laws enacted by government. The country has four state-controlled radio stations operating under the frequency modulation (FM) radio wave band and one shortwave, VOZ, which appears to be suffering a stillbirth. Government clamped down on Capital Radio, Zimbabwe’s first independent radio station in 2000 setting the police on the station’s offices in Harare where its equipment was confiscated. Radio Dialogue, a community radio station housed in Bulawayo, has also been forcibly shut down. "Ever since the station was launched on May 25, it is yet to start regular operations," a source said. "There are no news broadcast nor a set programming timetable. To make things worse there are no announcers, liberation war music occasionally plays but fades away at different times." Government announced two months ago that the station would run trial broadcasts for three weeks on 5975 kHz and 4828 kHz, but the trials were a major flop owing to the jamming machinery from China. In a bid to cover the broadcasting setback both Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) and Information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu have remained tight-lipped on the issue and have failed to give any explanation as to why the touted panacea to counter Western "pirate" radio stations is failing to broadcast. VOZ boss, Happison Muchechetere who is also a war veteran yesterday denied that the station was experiencing technical problems. He said government had purchased state-of-the-art equipment for the propaganda project. Muchechetere said government is at war on the airwaves with imperialists. He said the "imperialists" will not win. "It’s a war of the airwaves and we’re not afraid," said Muchechetere. "We know we’re at war with imperialists and they are not going to win. You people forget that you’re doing propaganda for the white man. I’m not ashamed that I’m doing propaganda for Zimbabweans and for someone who liberated this country. Hapana chirikujammer apa (There is no jamming here). We are not experiencing any technical problems," he said (The Zimbabwe Independent July 6 via DXLD) What in the world does ``self-signal interception`` mean? The jamming is interfering somehow with VOZ on different frequencies? RF reflecting back into the adjacent transmitters? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Much more about the 9450 non-numbers station presumably from EGYPT, playing Om Kalthoom [one of many spelling variations] music is in the latest Enigma 2000 newsletter, #41, at http://www.ary.luna.nl/en41a.zip Look under E25, on pages 31-37. Similar transmissions have been discovered on 6140, `hiding` under Rai transmissions. As Tarek Zeidan outpoints, you can hear much more of her music via http://sawari.com/index_files/om-kalthoom.htm which is a long index in Arabic of mp3 files (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ FCC DISMISSES SUBWAY TV SERVICE PETITION FOR WAIVER http://www.nab.org/xert/scitech/pdfs/rd070207.pdf (NAB Radio TechCheck July 2 via DXLD) & you might want to bookmark this and check it weekly by advancing the date by 7 days (gh) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ NEW DRM RECEIVER AVAILABLE [DRM: see also LUXEMBOURG; MALTA] The Himalaya DRM2009 is now available, more information and links in the post on the DRMRX forums linked below. It's more expensive than the Morphy Richards though, if my German is correct, can run off batteries, be interesting to find out what the battery life is for DRM reception. I am not sure what and where the market for the set is particularly as there does not seem to be any current market for DAB in mainland Europe: http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1766 (Mike Barraclough, July 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) NEW RULES PROVIDE IBOC CERTAINTY --- NEXT QUESTIONS INCLUDE FEES FOR SUBSCRIPTION CHANNELS AND, MAYBE, 24/7 STAFFING FOR ALL The Reference Room :: Digital Radio by Leslie Stimson, 7.04.2007 Leslie Stimson is the News Editor and Washington Bureau Chief for Radio World. http://www.radioworld.com/pages/s.0049/t.6991.html Basic rules covering the terrestrial digital radio service now have been spelled out by the FCC, and AM IBOC at night has been allowed. But future iterations of digital operation are just beginning to be examined. And the commission has tacked onto a new digital radio proceeding several broader topics under the umbrella of “public service obligations.” Some questions — like possible spectrum fees on digital subscription services and tightening of rules governing automated broadcast operations for all stations — are controversial and could have great impact at the station level beyond the digital conversion rollout. At least one idea under scrutiny could make operations easier for small stations by allowing public files to be kept online, experts believe. The commission on May 31 released details of its digital radio rules. The text expanded on its vote in March that gave regulatory certainty to HD Radio operators, codified multicasting and allowed AM HD stations to turn on digital at night. The agency calls these the final operational requirements and related licensing and service rule changes for terrestrial digital radio. The 74-page document released contains details many IBOC proponents and stations have been seeking for some time. The changes were to take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. That had not occurred as of early June. At the same time, the text touched on numerous questions that are likely to shape future debate. In the document, the commission makes clear that many decisions remain undecided. For instance, in a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the commission asks whether it should limit the subscription channels a station may air, such as to 20–25 percent of a station’s digital capacity. That FCC estimate is based on current FM SCA use. The agency is asking whether such a limit on “conditional access” ensures that free portions of a station’s digital channel are not compromised. The agency is also asking whether noncoms be treated differently in this. Spectrum fees may someday be applied to subscription services for digital radio. Congress already has authorized the agency to require DTV stations to pay a fee of 5 percent of gross revenues from so- called “feeable” ancillary digital radio services; the FCC now is asking if it’s appropriate to require the same of radio. (Not mentioned in the text is that any commission spectrum fees would be separate from Ibiquity Digital’s fee for supplemental audio, which according to a licensing fact sheet on the company’s Web site is 3 percent of net revenue derived from any supplemental audio service, with a $1,000 minimum per channel.) Comments on the Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 07- 33, are due 60 days after Federal Register publication. WHAT IT DID Here’s a summary of what the commission did, including observations it offered in its text and summaries it provided of comments it had received for and against various issues. Legal ID The commission said station ID requirements are necessary for digital stations and laid out regulations. Opinions had differed as to whether separate call signs should be required for digital and/or multicast channels, according to the commission. Public interest groups favored expanding the call letter system so listeners could more easily identify the source of programming. Ibiquity opposed this, arguing there’s no need for additional ID requirements because IBOC stations that don’t multicast are airing identical programming. Ibiquity also asserts that broadcasting a separate digital call sign would require “significant system and equipment modifications.” Small businesses, including stations and small manufacturers, opposed requiring IDs for multicast stations because, they say, stations voluntarily identify their channel positions to cultivate market recognition. Additionally, they argued, digital station calls can be embedded into the digital bit stream, so the FCC can have an easy way to identify a station for enforcement purposes. In the new rules, the FCC said digital AMs and FMs must make station identification announcements at the beginning and end of each time of operation, as well as hourly, for each programming stream. Proper identification, it said, consists of the call letters followed by the program stream, and then the community of license, according to the commission. Presumably this would suffice: “This is WXYZ, HD3, Anytown, USA.” Stations may insert between the call letters and the station’s community of license the frequency, channel number, name of the licensee and/or the name of the network, at their discretion. The commission didn’t give examples for main-channel digital FMs. Third, a station operating in DAB hybrid mode must identify its digital signal, including any free multicast audio programming streams, in a manner that appropriately alerts its audience to the fact that it is listening to a digital audio broadcast. This requirement can be met orally on-air or by text messages on the receiver display. AM Nighttime Operation “On balance, we find the benefits of full-time IBOC operation by AM stations outweigh the slightly increased risk of interference,” the commission states in the text. The approval ended a long period of speculation as to when the FCC would allow AMs to broadcast digital signals at night. Some IBOC opponents believe widespread adoption will bring significant degradation to the AM band at night. But studies conducted by Ibiquity and analyzed by NAB indicate the greatest potential for interference is at the fringe of coverage areas, “primarily where substantial interference from analog” already exists, the agency states in the text. As we’ve reported, those AMs already transmitting in IBOC during the day can go on at night without additional FCC notification. The FCC will presume notifications it receives from AMs after these changes take effect will be for both day and night IBOC operation. No Mandate The FCC said it won’t establish a deadline for stations to begin conversions to digital. Radio licensees are under no statutory mandate to convert and a hard deadline is “unnecessary,” given that DAB does not require the allocation of additional spectrum, it stated. Extended Hybrid Mode The extended hybrid mode, which adds up to 50 kbps of data carrying capacity to an FM IBOC signal, “holds great promise,” the commission stated. It cited an NPR report that concluded FM extended hybrid mode does not affect host analog reception in a variety of radios. The research “provides ample basis for permitting such operations.” The agency is confident its staff can work out any interference issues with this operation on a case-by-case basis “in a timely fashion.” Multicasting FMs can multicast without “additional” FCC approval. The FCC document specifically stated that stations are “strongly encouraged,” though not required, to use their extra channels for public affairs programming and formats that serve minorities, underserved populations and non-English-speaking listeners. Broadcast owner Mt. Wilson Broadcasters opposed multicasting in its comments to the FCC, saying that splitting the channel would impair FM service. NPR replied that Mt. Wilson was “misinformed” about the purpose of IBOC and the feasibility of multicasting. The FCC found that multicasting will not degrade the FM band. As AM IBOC operations progress, Ibiquity told the FCC, it intends to introduce the multicasting concept for AM stations. Time Brokering, Ownership and Attribution Time brokering is permitted on digital channels. The FCC now allows what are essentially leasing deals for main analog channels, FM subcarriers and excess DTV bandwidth. The FCC said it agrees with small business that allowing time brokering will allow stations to recoup some of their digital conversion costs as well as providing a way for new entrants to break into radio. The FCC agreed with a coalition of public interest groups that a licensee which is already at the ownership maximum in a market shouldn’t be allowed to acquire additional broadcast streams through time brokering. It clarified that, for multicasting, a station owner which programs more than 15 percent of the total weekly hours broadcast on a digital audio stream of another station in the market will be considered to have an attributable interest in the brokered station, which counts toward the local ownership caps. LPFM The FCC said if a low-power FM station is technically capable of transmitting a digital signal, there should be no “regulatory impediment” preventing its adoption of IBOC. Ibiquity says IBOC transmission equipment can operate at the 100 watt power level an LPFM needs, but a 10 watter may be out of luck as such a low power level may make digital broadcasts “unfeasible,” according to the FCC. The commission didn’t state whether there are any LPFMs broadcasting in digital. Main-Channel Audio Quality Stations must provide at least one free digital over-the-air service that is “comparable to or better in quality” than the main analog channel. This baseline constraint mirrors a DTV requirement. Stations must still simulcast their analog program on their main digital channel. The FCC said it may revisit the simulcasting obligation when it decides whether or not to approve the NRSC-5 Standard. In 2005, the NRSC adopted NRSC-5 and submitted the standard to the FCC for evaluation. The commission said it’s in the public interest to adopt policies and rules for IBOC before it has completed evaluating the standard. Bit Stream Flexibility NAB argued that, this early in the IBOC transition, it’s impossible to know for sure the number of bits necessary to support a good-quality main digital signal or several multicast channels without degradation. Cox Radio stated that any restrictions adopted now could be soon obsolete. The FCC declined to require a minimum digital bandwidth level, leaving this at stations’ discretion. Datacasting Ibiquity urged the commission to include enough flexibility in its datacasting authorization to promote innovation. NAB said such flexibility will expedite the emergence of IBOC. Stations can offer any type of data service, consistent with rules applicable to analog SCA services, as long as the new service does not impair “the mandated stream of free audio programming.” Subscription Services Subscription services are only allowed if a station has experimental authorization for the service. The agency said it will grant such authorizations for uses that serve the public interest, including current services carried on subcarrier such as radio reading services. Commenters emphasized the benefits of multiple digital audio channels and how that would ensure the continuing viability of radio reading services as well as enhance broadcasters’ ability to offer more niche programming and public affairs broadcasts. Dual FM Antennas Stations may use separate antennas for the analog and digital signals without an STA request, subject to criteria contained in a Dual Antennas notice issued in early 2004. Notification Procedures To allow stations to take advantage of technical improvements as they develop, rather than waiting for commission action and new rules, the FCC gave its Media Bureau expanded authority to act on IBOC rules. After appropriate notice and public comment, it can implement new notification procedures to cover new IBOC configurations. Public Interest Obligations & EAS The FCC is applying these requirements to all free over-the-air IBOC channels (both digital main channels and multicast): Political broadcasting; payment disclosure; prohibited contest practices; sponsorship identification; cigarette advertising; and broadcast of taped or recorded material. Digital stations must air all national EAS messages on all audio streams. Participation in state and local level alerts, while encouraged, is voluntary. Stations choosing to comply with EAS must comply with Part 11 EAS rules. Periodic Reviews The commission said it will conduct periodic reviews of digital service and receiver penetration as circumstances warrant. It will issue an annual report on how the new digital services are rolled out, including what services are offered on multicast streams. Kahn, Others Kicked to the Curb The FCC dismissed Petitions for Reconsideration from The Amherst Alliance, Glen Clark and Associates, and Leonard Kahn. After the FCC declared IBOC was the system for the United States, Amherst sought a new rulemaking on digital radio and asked the commission to establish a test for the Eureka-147 system. The commission now said it would not delay the IBOC proceeding. Clark had challenged the FCC’s daytime-only restrictions for digital AMs, offering criteria to identify those that could broadcast at night with minimal risk of interference. Given the recent approval of AM nighttime operations, the agency dismissed his petition as moot. Kahn’s request for the commission to stay implementing IBOC until the agency revises how it evaluates new technology was dismissed for being untimely filed. Kahn provided no justification for the late timing, according to the FCC. WHAT IT DIDN’T DO In issuing its text, the FCC also deferred action on a number of issues. Analog Protection Ibiquity told the commission that in the early portion of the transition, the FCC should protect analog signals, such as by limiting the power level and bandwidth occupancy of the digital carriers in the hybrid mode. At some point, when digital receiver penetration warrants, the agency could reverse this protection to protect digital operations. The agency said it’s too soon in the conversion to consider this action, which could have “unknown and unintended consequences.” All-Digital Mode Given that there are no technical standards, it’s too soon in the conversion to consider handing down rules for all-digital operations and allow stations to turn off their analog signals, the FCC found. “Our principle focus at this stage is to ensure that the ground rules are set for the introduction of hybrid IBOC DAB.” Broadcasters were encouraged to experiment with all-digital mode with appropriate authorization. Digital Rights Management The commission had asked whether the transmission of free non- encrypted digital signals could lead to the “indiscriminate recording and Internet distribution” of copyrighted music and how this could be prevented. It stated that interested parties are seeking a solution and deferred action on this issue. NAB, CEA, Ibiquity, satellite radio and the Recording Industry Association and other affected parties are discussing the issue and also lobbying Congress. Lawmakers have said they prefer that industry settle the matter without government intervention. Radio Reading Services IBOC transmission or receive equipment is not required to have RRS capabilities at this time, but the commission said this could be addressed in the future. The International Association of Audio Information Services had urged the FCC to require digital stations to carry RRS, arguing that before any station offers income-generating secondary audio streams, it should be required to first provide digital bandwidth for RRS. Ibiquity opposed mandatory RRS receiver capability, saying this would hamper the rollout at this stage and burden manufacturers with higher costs. NPR said it’s inappropriate to consider mandating RRS at this stage in the digital conversion because there needs to be more testing of digital RRS. The FCC, which does not require analog stations to carry reading services, said it encourages voluntary cooperation toward digital radios being able to decode RRS signals. The agency declined to impose a digital RRS requirement and it said this would be addressed in a DAB periodic review later. Super-Powered FMs & Short-Spaced Stations Livingston Radio had urged the agency to restrict digital power levels for super-powered FMs, saying they can cause more interference than stations that comply with class limits. Cox Radio and Bonneville asserted that this was beyond the scope of the proceeding. The FCC agreed and declined to adopt special restrictions on both super- powered FMs and short-spaced stations. The power and antenna height combination of a super-powered FM station exceeds FCC class limits. Such stations were authorized before the current class limits were adopted and have “grandfathered” status. Translators and Boosters Digital translators and boosters are permitted during interim IBOC operations, but the commission said it needs a stronger record to address technical issues with their authorization before adopting permanent rules. Noncoms NPR, the FCC stated, pressed it for flexibility in how noncoms use their digital bandwidth; NPR does not expect to see “a profusion of commercial service offerings” by noncoms and expects any subscription or other services provided to relate to the noncom mission. Public interest groups believe NCEs should use most of their digital bandwidth for non-profit, non-commercial services. The FCC is not making a decision yet but is seeking comment on this issue. TV Channel 6 The FCC agrees with NPR that the low power increase from an IBOC signal probably won’t increase interference to analog TV Channel 6 stations and that the DTV transition may make this issue moot. Therefore, no changes governing TV Channel 6 protection are necessary at this time, the FCC said. It intends to open a separate proceeding on the issue (Radio World via DXLD; sorry, I lost whoever sent this) FM HD HERE TO STAY It's not my intention to come across as an HD Radio cheerleader here, because I'm not, especially where the flawed AM system is concerned. But I do think that we owe it to ourselves as DXers to have a full understanding of what's really happening with this new medium, and why it's not about to wither away and die, at least on the FM side. This is really about business more than it is about technology. Your typical FM station in a medium-to-large market budgets a 10-15 year life cycle for a new FM transmitter, and 20 to 30 years for a new FM antenna. Over the last five years or so, just about every FM station I know of in the top 80 or so markets has either replaced its transmitter with a new HD-capable transmitter, or has budgeted to do so within the next year or two. My home market of Rochester isn't especially big (radio market 53 or thereabouts), and over the last couple of years we've seen new antennas for five of the eight class B FM signals here, and new transmitters for seven of the eight. There's now HD FM on the air from 13 FM stations in my market, with at least one more on the way in the next few months. Understand that from the station's side of the equation, all the costs of that conversion have already been paid for. There is zero incentive, and zero financial reason, for the station to turn around and shut the HD off, whether or not there are receivers out there listening to it. Those transmitters that have been purchased over the last few years will be running in most markets until at least 2015- 2020, if not longer. What's more, there are developments just around the corner that offer some hope of an income stream from the investment that's already been made. The FCC's IBOC Report & Order that was released in late May opened the window to leasing out FM HD subchannels, something that could be big business, especially in major markets. The prospect of that revenue stream will likely tip the remaining FM HD holdouts in big cities to convert. (I know of at least one very big FM signal in a major market that's been offered a free upgrade to HD by a prospective subchannel leasing tenant. How do you say no to that offer?) This is a very different scenario from AM stereo, where the uptake on stations' ends was excruciatingly slow and uneven. In this case, there was one consistent standard from the beginning, it brings with it some potential financial benefits (revenue from multiple programming streams) and not just expenses, and within a matter of a few years, the conversion has been extensive. AM is, of course, a completely separate story, and the parallels between AM HD and AM stereo are more convincing. There's no additional revenue stream from AM HD, since you can't multicast, and for many stations the conversion is much more complicated than the "plug-and- play" approach that FM HD has become. While analog-only FM transmitters are becoming scarcer and scarcer each year on the NAB show floor, I can't think of a single new AM HD product that was released this year. But my point here is this: where the FM system is concerned, at least, the investment has already been made by broadcasters, and there's no reason to think that they're turning back, no matter what we as DXers may think of the system. s (Scott Fybush, NY, July 6, ABDX via DXLD) The big question here is whether or not sales of HD radios will take off. What will the HD radio landscape look line in 2015? What will the home HD saturation rate be?? Unless there is a large increase in HD radio sales in the next few years will there even be a revenue stream? If a tree falls in the forest will anyone hear it? The other aspect of this is the potential of some stations to charge a subscription for 2nd and 3rd streams. This flies in the face of all the advertising we have heard over the past couple of years about the "the stations between the stations" that are "Free". Will the public be willing to pay for something that isn't unique and something they want? While I agree with Scott that FM HD is here to stay for awhile it may be a lame duck if HD radio sales don't pick up and other factors such as innovative programming don't take hold. Interesting times ahead (Keith McGinnis, Hingham MA, ibid.) And those times are going to get a lot more interesting as 802.16e (mobile WiMax) and 802.22 (wireless regional area networks, or WRAN) systems get deployed. A decade from now, wireless broadband access will be as common, and as widespread, as cell phone service is today. You'll be able to access the web from your car, handheld device, etc., just as easily as you can make a cell phone call today. In other words, "internet radio" will come to your car or next- generation cell phone. In all the discussions of HD radio, I'm always amazed at how the potential competition is assumed to be satellite radio instead of mobile wireless broadband. That's a tidal wave bearing down on AM/FM broadcasters, yet the NAB seems totally oblivious to it and instead works itself into hysteria over the proposed XM/Sirius merger. "Interesting times ahead," indeed! (Harry Helms W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19 http://topsecrettourism.com ibid.) An ugly little secret nobody wants to talk about, or denies the existence of: in a fair percentage of FM HD installations, there is significant drop in coverage. Several people including myself have documented a 60 mile decrease in the range of one station - others that were solid as a rock all over town now picket fence and drop out like crazy. So the financial incentive to shut it off will be to gain back listeners in the suburbs they lose when they go HD. I've heard FM HD on a few occasions. There is no way I would call it "CD quality". Especially when they split it up to produce HD-2 streams. "CD quality" was NEVER anything to brag about to begin with - you will NEVER get any more than the theoretical limit of 96 dB signal to noise. The best analog studios can do 120 to 130 dB signal to noise - and the difference is very noticeable during quiet periods of classical recordings, reproduced direct to vinyl and played on a good system. At least with analog FM, you are not getting compression artifacts. My ear must be attuned to them, because I find FM HD, especially with two streams dividing up the sample rate, to be annoying with compression artifacts. I get listener fatigue, just as I do when listening to MP3's. I'd rather listen to analog FM any day. HD-AM is unlistenable due to compression artifacts. If a substantial number of listeners are like me - and prefer their music without compression artifacts - there will be yet another reason for stations to shut it down. They will sound better than their competition (Bruce Carter, ibid.) This is not an experience I'm hearing about from any of the engineers I talk to, and I talk to a lot of them. Care to cite the station you're referring to? A "60 mile decrease" in range is something I'd have to see very hard evidence to believe, especially since the 60 dBu contour of even a full class C (100 kW/2000') barely extends that far to begin with. In a properly built HD facility, there's simply no engineering reason why HD should affect analog coverage, especially in what are known as "space-combined" systems (see the WYYY facility in this week's Tower Site of the Week at fybush.com for an example), where the HD is literally a completely separate signal all the way from transmitter to antenna. Assuming proper filtering at the transmitter end, the HD signal should have no effect on the analog. So if it is in this case, I'd like to hear more about it - what's going on at the transmitter end to cause interference from the HD to the analog? Whatever's happening there, it seems to me it would be less an inherent flaw in the HD system than a problem at a few stations where it's not installed properly. If such loss of listenership were actually happening, it would be something that could be documented by now in the several years of ratings books that have come out since most big-city stations have adopted HD. In a business where a fraction of a ratings point can make the difference between success or failure, you'd think we'd be hearing about stations dropping in the ratings in outlying counties of big metro areas. If that's happening, I've seen no evidence of it. The world, alas, has moved on, and the hundreds of millions (billions?) of iPods out there playing bad 128k MP3s should be all the evidence needed that the marketplace has spoken, and quality audio is not a priority for today's consumers. Today's source material, for the most part, sucks - new CD releases, even softer pop music, have the dynamic range crunched out of them. There are not, in short, a substantial number of listeners like you (or me) clamoring for high- quality audio. For the small minority of "golden ear" listeners who insist on the very best audio, there are far better media out there than FM, anyway - and very little programming on radio of any kind aimed at them. I've done more than "hear FM HD on a few occasions." I've been listening to it since there were only about half a dozen receivers out there, each built by hand at Ibiquity, and I had to go down to NYC to be driven around in the one Ibiquity van that was equipped with a rack full of gear that was then needed to hear the one FM signal that was on the air. I don't say that to brag, just to indicate that I have some experience with this, both positive and negative. Those early home-brew receivers didn't sound great, even given that nobody knew how to process audio for FM HD yet. Six years down the road, having listened to just about every FM HD receiver that's been made, and to dozens of stations from Boston to Seattle, here's my educated assessment of FM HD audio: it all depends. When properly processed (and remember that Orban and Omnia are still learning the ropes of HD processing along with the rest of us), FM HD can sound very, very, very good, even on stations that are multicasting. The absence of the noise floor that we've all gotten used to on analog FM stereo is dramatic. And if you really want to get going on audio quality, talk with some of the processor guys (Bob Orban or Frank Foti) about the damage that the 75 uS pre-emphasis that's part of the analog FM system does to the high end of the audio spectrum. Truly high-fidelity analog FM audio is an extremely rare commodity these days, and the people who know how to do it aren't going to be around much longer. Yes, FM HD multicasting can sound very bad, too, when the processing's not set right, when the source material is already compressed (which is very common in today's broadcast environment), or when the bandwidth is being divided too thin. I'm fighting that fight right now here at WXXI, where they're trying to take 96 kbps and divide it among our classical FM service (which sounds very good at 48 kbps) and two mono news/talk streams, which sound mediocre-to-unlistenable at 24 kbps each. Bottom line? This, too, is a learning experience for the engineers, and I'm more interested for now in watching them figure out how to do it right than to sit around complaining that it will never work. Maybe that's just me. Seriously, though, it's been very interesting to me to watch some of the dialogue about HD, both here and more so in other venues. Radio- Info.com's HD Radio board has been a particularly interesting one. There are a few posters there who are just simply rabidly opposed to HD in any form, and are far less interested (IMHO) in any factual analysis than in finding any shred of "evidence" that reinforces their predetermined conclusion that HD is a failure. I have, as I've said repeatedly, no particular dog in this hunt. I don't own any stock in Ibiquity or any other broadcasting company. I write about HD-related topics for Radio World from time to time, and I'd like to think I do so even-handedly. The broadcaster for which I work part-time (WXXI in Rochester) has made a very recent investment in HD on its FM, and I'd like to see that succeed, but I have no personal investment in its success or failure. What I do have a personal investment in is factual information. I'm not especially interested in (and tend to discount) any statement that begins with "I've been told..." or "Some people have said..." The statements I'm interested in are the ones that can be verified - "WRR has lost 2.5 share points in Collin County since it turned on HD in 2004" tells me a lot more than "I've heard listeners are abandoning stations in fringe areas because of HD." If those problems really exist, there should be evidence to back them up. I'm not seeing it. Does any of this mean that FM HD is therefore a success, or a failure? I don't think it does. I think it's too soon to say, one way or another. Harry Helms makes, as always, some excellent points about what's coming next in the arena of universal high-speed wireless broadband. I agree with him that those services have a lot of potential to be paradigm-changers, posing much more of a threat to broadcasters than satellite radio or the alleged failings of HD. Harry and I disagree, I think, where it comes to timeline. I've been hearing "WiMax (or its equivalent) is just around the corner" for a few years now, and yet that light at the end of the tunnel doesn't seem to be getting much closer. Even if that changes dramatically in the next couple of years (and I'm not sure I'd bet against that happening), I don't see it happening cheaply. I'm not sure I'm ready to pony up $60 or $80 or $100 a month for a nationwide wireless data plan, and I don't think I'm alone in that respect. Will we get to the point where WiMax is universally available, with hardware and service plans that are as cheap as a cellphone is now? Maybe - but it won't happen next year, or the year after, which is why I think there's still some hope for slow and steady growth in the meantime for the infrastructure that already exists, which would be the broadcasters. (There's another argument to be made here - that the one-to-many broadcast model of HD scales up far better than the one-to-one streaming model with which WiMax would likely launch - but that's another long post in itself, for which I need to collect more hard evidence about our streaming costs at WXXI, versus our costs in adding the HD service to our FM.) I welcome questions, disagreement, comment and invective...though the less of the latter, the better! s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ ANOTHER YEAR IN THE DOLDRUMS The latest solar cycle 24 forecast now available from several well known scientific institutions, are placing the start up of the climbing phase of the cycle due to be starting during the second half of 2008, so, be aware that for the next year or even longer, high frequency bands propagation will be limited to the lower bands. In other words we are going to see very few if any band openings via the F2 layer on the bands between 20 and 30 megaHertz amigos !!! (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited July 7 via ODXA via DXLD) SOLAR FLARES THE CULPRIT WHEN CELL CALLS DROPPED Jul 06, 2007 04:30 AM, Ashifa Kassam, staff reporter http://www.thestar.com/article/233031 It often happens in elevators, on the subway and under bridges, leaving cellphone users puzzled about why the call ended. The good news is that a team of researchers, led by Queen's University professor David Thomson, is working to find out why cellphone calls die for no apparent reason. Their research has found an unlikely culprit for a significant number of those pesky "dropped" phone calls: the sun. "What we have discovered is surprising and very different from the explanations that appear in most engineering textbooks," says Thomson. The unexpected link, which could have implications for millions of cellphone users around the world, will be published in the upcoming edition of the journal Proceedings of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The problem is caused by solar flares – the fiery storms on the sun's surface that create the Northern Lights effect. Thomson and his team found that during solar flares, phones routed through cellphone towers with antennas facing the sun had higher rates of dropped calls. The rate could be as high as nine per cent, calculated during one morning rush hour in the U.S. Midwest. This connection between the sun and dropped calls, says Thomson, explains why the number of dropped calls increase in the summer compared to winter. Canadian data is not available, but three per cent of all cellphone calls in the U.S. were dropped in 2005 (Toronto Star via Ricky Leong, DXLD) We know that solar flares can wipe out ionospheric propagation on HF, but it`s hard to believe they could have much effect on cellphones` line-of-sight at UHF. Furthermore, summer vs winter seasons on an earthly hemisphere have absolutely no connexion with solar flare activity. The sun doesn`t know and doesn`t care what season it is in North America. Don`t they know this? The upcoming IEEE article better show the evidence (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) GEOMAGNETIC INDICES - GEOI Phil Bytheway - Seattle WA - phil_tekno @ yahoo.com Geomagnetic Summary June 5 2007 through July 4 2007 Tabulated from daily email status Date Flux A K Space Wx 6/ 5 87 10 4 moderate 6 86 11 4 no storms 7 81 3 1 no storms 8 85 2 0 no storms 9 86 1 1 no storms 10 84 5 2 minor 11 79 8 2 no storms 12 76 7 1 no storms 13 73 2 2 no storms 14 70 3 2 no storms 15 71 5 4 minor 16 69 22 2 no storms 17 69 10 2 no storms 18 68 8 2 no storms 19 67 6 1 no storms 20 67 4 1 no storms 21 66 5 1 no storms 22 66 3 2 no storms 23 65 16 3 no storms 24 66 9 2 no storms 25 67 7 2 no storms 26 67 7 2 no storms 27 71 4 2 no storms 28 73 6 1 no storms 29 75 5 2 no storms 6/30 75 6 3 no storms 7/ 1 74 5 1 no storms 2 74 4 1 no storms 3 73 2 0 no storms 7/ 4 72 5 2 no storms ********************************************************************** (IRCA DX Monitor July 7 via DXLD) ###