DX LISTENING DIGEST 8-083, July 20, 2008 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 2008 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 1417 Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 0530 WRMI 9955 Wed 1130 WRMI 9955 Latest edition of this schedule version, including AM, FM, satellite and webcasts with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html 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: http://www.worldofradsio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** ALASKA. Re 8-082, the DRM story from nextgov, ALASKAN COMPANY TO TEST NEW SHORTWAVE TECHNOLOGY The original story screamed "Do some Google/Yahoo searches before you believe a word!", and I did. The result is the strong smell of rotting fish. There is no web site for "Digital Aurora Radio Technologies," and, with one exception, the only web pages returned are those carrying a variation of the story below from Inside Radio, NextGov, 26mhz.us, etc. The one exception is a goodie, as follows: http://earmarks.omb.gov/2008-earmarks/earmark_344309.html Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska is certainly no stranger to earmarks for his pet projects, as this link illustrates: http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/08/stevens-north-pole/ I also did Google and Yahoo searches for "Joint Electromagnetic Technologies" and "Joint Electromagnetic Technologies Program," but came up empty-handed. I also searched for that term at the main Department of Defense web site http://www.defenselink.mil and found nothing, so either the program is very, very new or a figment of someone's imagination. Searches for "Delta Mine Training Center" and "Whit Hicks" were more productive. The web site for Delta Mine Training Center is interesting --- would you like to be a "certified prospector"?? --- but has absolutely nothing to do with radio communications: http://www.dmtcalaska.org/ And --- by remarkable coincidence!! --- it turns out Delta Mine Training Center is another recipient of earmarks from the generous Senator Stevens: http://earmarks.omb.gov/earmarks/earmark_225460.html In fact, it turns out 100% of Delta Mine Training Center's funding comes from federal contracts; note also that it is organized as a tax exempt, non-profit organization: http://www.fedspending.org/fpds/fpds.php?parent_id=79795&detail=-1 http://www.taxexemptworld.com/organization.asp?tn=1472155 I'm sure there are many more juicy details to be unearthed --- especially if one examined the entire public record for Delta Mine Training Center --- but it seems clear the "Digital Aurora Radio Technologies" DRM tests are nothing more than another example of Ted Stevens squandering federal money on behalf of his constituents, namely Delta Mine Training Center and its employees. And since when did shortwave propagation of digital radio signals become a matter of interest to a non-profit organization that supposedly exists to train people in the latest mining technologies? When millions of federal dollars are dumped in its lap, of course! Ah, your tax dollars at work. . . . . . . . (Harry Helms W5HLH, Corpus Christi, TX EL17http://harryhelmsblog.blogspot.com/ ABDX via DXLD) ** ALASKA. Re 8-082: KDLG & WEATHER REPORTS Having worked in Alaska bush radio, specifically at KNOM 780 in Nome, although admittedly a long time ago in 1974-75, I'd like to comment on the issue of Alaska radio stations and weather reporting. Weather in Alaska, especially of course in the long winter, is a life and death issue, and the radio stations play a vital role in reporting any potentially harmful weather. Those that live in tornado or hurricane prone areas I'm sure can relate to this. When I was at KNOM, we would receive and broadcast a marine weather forecast from the National Weather Service that was updated every 12 hours. I'm pretty sure they still do this. I'm certain they still provide weather forecasts for the broadcasting coverage area every hour unless they're in special programming. They certainly were when I last visited there in 1992. KDLG conceivably could stream a weather message such as: "Gale warning for Cape Newhenham to Dall Point for tonight," which could potentially be life saving information for boats and ships in that region. In November 1974, the Nome area was hit with a severe wind storm which damaged much of the town. As this storm was building, the National Weather Service fed us a special alert that we (and KICY) broadcast warning people to get away from the shore and to higher ground. Probably due to that alert no one was killed or, I believe, even seriously injured by this storm, even though there was considerable property damage. I still have the headline and article from the Spokane, WA, newspaper that my mother sent me about this storm. I also have a recording of the Mutual News hourly newscast that mentioned the storm. KNOM was a Mutual affiliate in 1974. On a related note, I can confirm that both KNOM and KICY 850 have transmitter sites separated from their studios and connected via STLs. Their transmitter sites are 3 miles east of Nome and not far from the Bering Sea. During the 1974 storm the road to the transmitter was flooded and our engineer was unable to get to the transmitter to check on it and the power generator. The city power was knocked out but, luckily, the transmitter and generator kept working properly (Stan Weisbeck, Spokane, WA, July 18, IRCA via DXLD) ** ALBANIA. 7425, R. Tirana OM in English with tx [here it must mean talx rather than transmitter] re new government in Macedonia, and into mailbag show reading letters that ALL sounded like reception reports. And -- hey they actually had some lively ethnic music during the broadcast, did someone tell them about keeping people awake during their transmissions? It wasn't half bad! SINPO 45443+ 0340-0400 9 Jul (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** ANGOLA. Re 8-081, What I have in my files for VORGAN: 1990: 1800-2215 on 7100. 1993: 0445-0835 on 6045, 7290, 9700; 1045-1435 on 7290, 11830; 1645-2345 on 4880, 7100. 1996: Back to a single transmitter only; 0450-0900 on 9755, 1650-2100 on 7100 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. This news posted by Geoff Wolfe in the MWOZ Yahoo forum: 1611 in Sydney is no longer R. Italia but now calling itself "Goanna" with a C&W format. This station is also being relayed on the recently re-activated 1701 kHz also here in Sydney. Talk about a waste in watts - having a station on two frequencies within the same service area (Geoff Wolfe - St Marys NSW Australia, via David Onley, The Hague - Holland, July 19, MWC via DXLD) ** AZERBAIJAN. I have just been in Aserbajdsjan for a two week summer vacation together with my teenage-children - without a shortwave radio - so I can't tell any radio related news from the Kaukasus area. I tried one day though to find the location for Voice of Azerbaijan / Radio Dädä Qorqud - but in vain. The area in Baku was not hard to find but despite asking the way four times we didn't manage to find the radio building (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, SW Bulletin July 20, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BHUTAN. 6035.01, Bhutan B.S., Jun 29 1407-1419, 33433-32432, English, News, ID at 1415 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium July 20 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Re ``*R. Voz Missionária, Florianópolis, Brasil on 5870 heard 2045/2255 but is it on all-night? Still no reports from outside S America`` [WOR 1417 summary] Glenn, I am hearing this station from around 0200 fade in and its still there as I type this at 0600 UT on 19 July. Mainly talkback with callers phoning in, but today there have been some contemporary Christian vocals (eg across the hour at 0500) and short periods of evangelistic preaching (à la Radio Victoria, Perú). A comprehensive identification was heard at 0256 a few days ago. Have heard identifications as Radio Missionária and Voz Missionária (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai - NZ, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURKINA FASO. 5030, Radio Burkina (presumed); 2334-2401:35*, 14/15- July; M in French with long commentaries and Afro bumpers; went into Afro-pop after promo at 2354. EZL tune at 2400, but not anthem-like. Never heard an ID or mention of Burkina. SIO=322+, need USB to suppress 5025 Radio Rebelde (presumed) in Spanish (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** CAMEROON [non]. GERMANY, 9655, V. of Gospel via DTK: Jun 24 *1830- 1836 35433 Fulfulde, 1830 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Sound of the guitar, Talk. Also: Jun 25 *1830-1840, 35433, Fulfulde, 1830 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Music, Talk. Jun 26 *1829-1836, 35433, Fulfulde, 1829 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Local music, Talk. Jun 29 *1830-1840, 35433, Fulfulde, 1830 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Talk. Jul 10 *1830-1840, 35433, Fulfulde, 1830 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Drums, Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium July 20 via DXLD) ** CANADA. KUDOS TO RADIO SHALOM/CJRS ON 1650 Good evening (GMT evening, that is!). This is probably one of the best-kept secrets in the Montreal area, but there's a station in the mediumwave band (actually in the newer "X-band" portion of the MW band)that broadcasts Jewish flavored programs, talkshows, music, etc., 24 hours a day in English, Jewish French, and the sacred language of Hebrew -- but, oddly enough, NOT in Yiddish or Ladino!!! Of course, since we are Messianic Jews we really enjoy listening to Radio Shalom from time to time and we really dig the features about Jewish culture, the beautiful and the beautiful haunting Jewish melodies in all styles, ranging from Jewish traditional songs to cantorial singing to the very latest in Yerushalaim Pop/Rock music. Also, we enjoy the Jewish-oriented talkshows. By the way, some of the announcers' names will already familiar to most Radio in Montreal members. They include Stanley Asher (who used to host a weekly early-evening program ("Montreal Jewish Magazine" for many years on CKUT/Radio McGill (90.3/FM, another very nice station to listen to at times), Howard Silverberg (formerly a board operator -- or should I write "a bored operator"? at super-somniferous radio station CJAD, probably still on 800 kHz after short-lived stints on 1410 and 990 kHz during the imfamous Ice Storm that took place in '98), and the Moroccan accented guy who reads the news in French on Kol Yisrael. So, I'm quite sure anyone -- Jewish or non-Jewish -- who is interested in Judeo-Christian thought, philosophy, music, and culture will enjoy listening to Radio Shalom. Despite the fact that all X-band stations (including CJRS/Radio Shalom) are limited to a maximum power output of 1 kW, it puts out an excellent signal here in D.D.O. The same, unfortunately, can't be said of the French and Spanish station broadcasting on 1610 kHz. While CJRS always has a beautiful signal on all of my many receivers, only the most sensitive ones will pick up CPAM/1610 (which, despite its BOLIVIAN call letters, is located in Montreal!) barely makes it through the speakers or headphones. Incidentally, since the Canadian CRTC will still not allow fulltime on-air "religious" radio stations to operate on Canadian soil (except for old Newfoundland licenses it decided to honor when Newfoundlanders went for Ottawa's "Baby Bonus" and become the tenth province of our British colony), CJRS (which the CRTC considers a "religious" station despite its fairly high content of secular programming) is forced by the CRTC to allow other groups to use its frequency while Radio Shalom is off-air on the Sabbath and on Biblical Holy Days (Passover, Shavuoth, Yom Kippur, Hannukah, etc.) Fortunately, though, Radio Shalom, through its representatives, Les Communications Michel Matthieu, has chosen to make the frequency available to various Christian groups, and as everyone knows Evangelical Christians, for some 2,000 years, have always been -- and shall always be -- the Jews' staunchest allies. So, do give Radio Shalom (Hebrew for "Peace") a listen. I'm sure you'll like it. Oops, I almost forgot to mention that the very first time radio was mentioned, it was in the Talmud, and the Hebrew original went like this: "Radio, a great voice that can be heard all over the world!" (No kidding! This is absolutely for real, believe it or not. Have yourselves a super Dominion Day -- whatever's left of it, that is. (Tasmanian Cannibal, July 1, radioinmontreal yg via DXLD) a.k.a. Peter Jason Miller, Dollard des Ormeaux, P.Q., --- someone who axually filled in his Yahoo Profile: http://profiles.yahoo.com/tasmaniacannibal (gh) It's great that CJRS has such huge reach. The x-band stations can be surprises. I'm not sure exactly why 1610 has such a pathetically weak signal. I'll guess it's the location of their antenna on Pie-IX blvd. Also, their call sign is CJWI, not CPAM. The CPAM is part of their name. While I realize that for some people, July 1 is still called Dominion Day out of force of habit, it's been officially called Canada Day since 1982 (Marc Guerard, ibid.) Hello to all Radio in Montreal members! Thanks, Marc, for your comments re my comments about the relative signal strengths of Montreal's two X-band stations, as received here in D.D.O. My opinion (with tongue firmly planted in cheek), is that Radio Shalom probably uses a better-maintained antenna system, coupled with a better antenna location than CJWI/1610 does. Strangely enough, CJWI (a.k.a. "CPAM") used to put on a very decent signal into D.D.O. To be sure, they never were as strong as CFMB's signal on 1280 kHz, one of only two signals that consistently pin all of my S-meters' needles during daylight hours -- the other one being CFRA/580 kHz, in the Nation's Capital, Ottawa-Hull (oops! I meant to write "Gatineau" since the P.Q.'s forced mergers in that area resulted in a nice historical city name disappearing from the Quebec map. Oh well! So, I guess that CJWI's antenna atop their broadcasting building in Ville St. Michel, on Jarry East near Pie IX Blvd, where the old Miron quarries used to be located, is far from ideal due to the fact that rocky locations are not particularly desirable for locating broadcast towers. Also, there are now two Toronto stations that are co-channel on 1610 kHz, and unless you, like me, have access to very specialized radio equipment (directional loops, phasers, bandwidth filters, speech/music enhancers, etc), reception on 1610 kHz -- ezpecially nighttime reception! -- is likely to leave somewhat to be desired. Finally, re my referring to July 1 as "Dominion Day", it was done purposely. Even though I was born Down Under (in the city of Launceston in the Australian state of Tasmania -- pronounced Tazm eye n'yer) -- I've been a Montrealer at heart ever since I first visited Expo67. I then moved here for good, got married, established my company, etc. in Quebec. However, even though more than 50% of Australians today do favor quitting being a British colony, like Canada or New Zealand (for instance), dropping their membership in the Commonwealth, dropping the Queen -- or God forbid! -- King Charles, and become truly independent like the U.S. and other countries. However, since Australia as well as my adopted country, Canada, are still British Dominions and still share Queen Elizabeth as a common Head of State, I think "Dominion Day" is still acceptable an appellation -- at least for me! Oh, by the way, we Tasmanians (and I guess Tasmanian-Canadians) do encline more toward independence than British colonialism. But all the foregoing is strictly my personal opinion, and quite honestly it has nothing to do with the wonderful [world?] of radio. Or does it? Anyway, I'd rather live in arch-conservative Canada than in Socialist "Austr eye l'yer". By the way, in Australia's first-ever published book, "Botany Bay Leaves" (a reference to the penal colony of Botany Bay (the English criminals' alternative to the noose in their own country), we find that "Australia" is rhymed with "Failure" in addition to this unforgettable line: "True patriots we are indeed: we left our country for our country's good". Anyway, I do trust this little humor has proven a relief from the occasionally staid posts one finds on the Radio in Montreal site. As usual, the Tasmanian Cannibal hopes you'll have a lot of fun listening to the radio waves that can be picked in Montreal, whether mediumwave, short wave, the various FM bands, TV, amateur radio, lowfers, CB, aero bands, cellphones (very boring!), pirates, the police and other public services, etc. All this radio/TV world is yours if you have the right equipment and know how to use it. Peace and good listening to all from (Peter J. Miller, the Tasmanian Cannibal, ibid.) I think the problems with the signal of the CJWI 1610 station are more about the sound than the signal. It sounds to me to be more about the transmitter and the audio processor quality than anything else. The 1000 watt signal using the single-stick pole antenna should be efficient enough to cover the Montreal region adequately. I believe the antenna set up for Radio Shalom to be similar, if not the same. The difference in the two signals is most definitely in the audio quality, at least at my location, and not so much about signal strength. Tinkering and tweaking the right knobs, or at least having someone who knows how to do that, can make all the difference (Sheldon Harvey, July 9, ibid.) Hullo, Sheldon! I read with interest your comments about CJWI, and you're indubitably right about the wonders that audio-tweaking, etc., can do -- both at the transmitting and at the receiving ends. As regards the 1610 weak and somewhat muffled signal, that problem did NOT exist at first. As a matter of fact, here in d.D.O., I was originally able to pick them up with a fairly decent signal both during their mandatory testing period and for the first six months or so after their getting airborne. The audio, while not truly outstanding even then, was fully intelligible and definitely not muffled at all. And I had no problem separating them from other 1610 stations, mainly TIS's with sporadic schedules at best. Nowadays, however, with the proliferation of QRP Travelers' Information Service stations, the advent of two Toronto area stations that are co-channel with CJWI, my 4-foot loop and phaser units are musts for nighttime copying of CJWI. Also, the lousy, down-in-the-mud audio doesn't help any either. During daylight hours, the signal strength is only a tad stronger, but the audio is still hard to decipher. Peace and good listening! (The Tasmanian Cannibal, Peter J. Miller, July 15, ibid.) ** CANADA. [Cf. MEXICO] The Canadian analog-6s will still be on (actually so will the rest in Mexico but XETV is probably the only one with significant coverage in the U.S. and of course the only Mexican analog-6 broadcasting in English.) I count nine Canadian analog-6s that should have coverage in the U.S.: - CBAT-TV-1 (CBC) Bon Accord, N.B. (should reach the Houlton and Presque Isle, Maine areas) - CBMT (CBC) Montreal (reaches the Plattsburgh, N.Y. and Burlington, Vt. areas) - CIII-TV-6 (Global) Ottawa (might reach parts of upstate N.Y., subject to interference from CBMT and CJOH-TV-6) - CJOH-TV-6 (CTV) Deseronto, Ont. (Watertown, possibly Syracuse and Rochester, N.Y.) - CIII-TV (Global) Paris (Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland?) - CBWT (CBC) Winnipeg (northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota) - CKCK-TV-2 (CTV) Willow Bunch, Sask. (Scobey & Plentywood, Mont.) - CHAT-TV (CBC, switching to E! in September) Medicine Hat, Alta. (Havre & Chinook, Mont.) - CHEK-TV (E!) Victoria, B.C. (Seattle & Bellingham, Wash.) (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHAD. 7120, R. N'Djamena, Ndjamena. July 19, French, 2108 OM talks, hilife music, 2113 OM talks, 2116-2121 African style music. Strong QRM underneath presumed from BBC, 32433 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Unusual propagation, July 20 at 1325 when Firedrake was audible on 17705, once again vs nothing listed unless it`s running late against AIR Chinese via Bangalore at 1145 ending at 1315 per Aoki. While 17680, CVC Chile, normally VG, was JBA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. "We must be getting close to the Olympics" --- and thus security guys in China are meanwhile so clever to disrupt a live broadcast of a foreign TV station that had been approved by Beijing and was sheer promotion for China. This happened a few days ago on German TV ZDF. It was in the morning magazine, and it should be available online, but I have no time to dig it out (if somebody wants to do this: Mediathek is the place on the ZDF website to go to). So much for China ensuring reporting by foreign journalists. Concerning the Eutelsat story: Spare traveling-wave tubes aboard a satellite do not help when the power supply is the problem. This just as a general note, I still have to check out the W5 matter in detail (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 6010, LV de tu Conciencia: "Pray that we will be able to get our most important radio station (The Voice of Your Conscience on 6010 short wave) back on the air. After many years of faithful service all three of the expensive 5000 watt tubes in the transmitter came to the end of their service life and burned out. The bill to fix the transmitter will be ten thousand US." (Russell & Marina Stendal, "Colombia Para Cristo" NL, via DXplorer via DXLD) 5910, Marfíl Estéreo, Lomalinda. July 20, Spanish, 0823 Roberto Carlos music in Spanish, 0826 ID by OM, Mexican style music, 0831 YL anouncements " ondas de paz..." , long local pop music, 0836 YL anmts, ID "está sintonizando Marfil Estéreo...", near salsa music till 0841. 34333. 73 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So Marfil still running on 5910. But wait: here`s a report that 6010 is really on too (gh) 6010, 19/7 0420 R. Mil - Mexico D.F., Spanish, mx messicana under predica colombiana insuf/suff (Roberto Pavanello, Vercelli - Italia, via Roberto Scalgione, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. Ran across a broadcaster IDing as "Radio República" on 9640 from 0120 to 0145 UT in Spanish. Several ID's, just a man speaking moderately fast. Several mentions of "Cuba". A Google search on "Radio Republica" came up with the following, from clandestineradio.com: Organization: Cuban Democratic Directorate (Directorio), a non-profit organization that works for democracy in Cuba by way of a civic, nonviolent struggle. Location: WRMI, Miami, Florida; unknown site Languages: Spanish Identification: (Spanish) Radio República Active: Aug 2005 - present Contact: Directorio Democrático Cubano P. O. Box 110235 Hialeah, Florida 33011 USA Tel +1-305-279-4416 E-mail: info @ radiorepublica.org I got rid of the blank spaces in their e-mail address, and my reception report was undeliverable! Do you think I ought to waste postage on a hardcopy reception report on this one? Thanks! (Dave Askine, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dave, There has been lots of info about R. República in DXLD, including their latest schedule changes to this frequency, probably from a UK site. Some of their broadcasts (on 9955) are via WRMI, but not this one. Otherwise I would suggest you email report to WRMI as they do QSL for some of the programs on that station. Clandestsineradio.com info has not been updated for years. I don`t recall seeing reports of hard-copy QSLs from RR, but don`t track that closely (Glenn to Dave via DXLD) Jeff, Someone heard R República on 9640 and wants to QSL it. info@ address bounced. I assume you would not proxy QSL for them on that frequency, or would you? Or would you even QSL RR for 9955 broadcasts? What do you know about their QSL policy. Do they ever do so direct by e- or p-mail? Also looking at website, I am wondering what the connexion with Norway is?? If you know perhaps you can enlighten me and save me from listening to this 38-part series: http://www.radiorepublica.org/todopornoruega/index.php Tnx, (Glenn to Jeff White, WRMI, via DXLD) Glenn: I think they still give the PO Box on the air [as above]. The best idea might be a postal reception report to that address for reports on 9640 or other frequencies except 9955. I believe they were QSLing reports some time ago, but have no idea what the current situation is. We regularly QSL reports of RR on 9955. Regarding the Todo Por Noruega series, I'm not sure if this is currently on the air. But even if not, it might be repeated from time to time. I think this is about the Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. It's very well done, and is kind of unique as one of the few (maybe only?) radio dramas produced recently specifically for shortwave radio. It was produced by RR in their studios with their personnel (Jeff White, WRMI, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RR homepage still shows long outdated schedule including abandoned frequencies 5910, 6135, 6155, 9735. Can`t tip off the DentroCuban Jamming Command! Or the would-be listeners. No p-mail address shown there (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DENMARK. Back in Denmark - I can tell you that the transmissions from Ilskov at Karup on 5815 have come to an end due to illness. The absolute last broadcast from here was June 15. I don't know yet if the transmitter will be relocated to another place in Denmark or sold abroad (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, SW Bulletin July 20, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 4909.32, R. Chaskis, 0906-0922, July 17, Spanish. Nice mix of Quecha ballads with IDs between selexions, all different, by M, fair, clear signal --- the best I've ever logged Chaskis with here (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R8, R75, MKIIB 8600, CLR/DSP, 200' Bevs, MLB1, 60m Dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. TAKEOVERS CAPTIVATE ECUADOR -- GOVERNMENT LINKS ITS SEIZURE OF TV STATIONS TO CORRUPTION CASE --- By Joshua Partlow, Washington Post Foreign Service, Saturday, July 19, 2008; A08 QUITO, Ecuador, July 18 -- The tip came to the old journalist at midnight about the decision at the presidential palace: The police were on their way. Lolo Echeverría in turn called his colleagues at Gamavisión, one of Ecuador's prominent television stations, who drove to the studio through the deserted streets of Quito under the looming mass of an Andean volcano. They were in time to see police scale the white metal fence, break locks and force their way into the offices, the beginning of a swift government takeover of more than 190 businesses this month that has captivated this small and volatile nation. Gamavisión went blank briefly on the morning of the takeover, Echeverría said. In one of his last acts as vice president of news, he ordered that the word "censored" appear on the screen. Within a few seconds, he said, the warning disappeared. "We've had dictatorships, governments of ultra-right and ultra-left," said Echeverría, who spent 32 years at two television stations before resigning July 8. "But there has never been a problem between the government and the media like with this administration." The government of President Rafael Correa has characterized the takeover of those companies, including television stations watched by about 40 percent of the news audience, as a long-overdue strike for justice against corrupt businessmen who owe Ecuador millions. It is a move consistent with the rhetoric of the "citizens` revolution" declared by Correa, a former economy minister who refused to move out of his home in a middle-class neighborhood when elected president, and who aligns himself with left-leaning governments in Venezuela and Bolivia. In Ecuador, "economic power has always prevailed over political power," said Julio César Trujillo, a constitutional law professor in Quito. "In this moment, political power is taking revenge." Government officials said the companies are all part of the Isaías Group, run by brothers and former Ecuadoran bankers Roberto and William Isaías, who now live in Coral Gables, Fla., and are accused of owing $661 million to the Ecuadoran state and to the customers of Filanbanco, which crashed as part of Ecuador's financial collapse a decade ago. Attempts to prosecute the brothers on embezzlement charges have dragged on for years, amid charges of judicial corruption and malfeasance. For many in Ecuador, the Isaías brothers have become a symbol of why this country remains mired in poverty. The government, which wants the United States to extradite the brothers, intends not to nationalize the companies but instead to sell them off to recoup losses, said Fernando Bustamante, Ecuador's minister of government. "We believe that justice requires that all those people who have defrauded their clients and the state answer with their assets," Bustamante said. "We are defending those who have been robbed. "For nine years, the Isaías family has had an enormous control over the politics, the authorities, over the judges," Bustamante added. "And this has prevented us from acting until very recently." Not everyone has gone along happily. There were protests at some companies, as well as claims that the Isaías Group did not actually own some of the businesses. Finance Minister Fausto Ortiz refused to sign off on the takeovers and resigned during a late-night meeting in the presidential palace on July 8, hours before police mobilized to seize the companies, according to government officials. Still, polls suggest that a majority of Ecuadorans approve of the seizures. "I think that this is something that Ecuador was demanding for about 10 years, and basically no one had the guts to do it," said Ana María Correa, a political analyst and newspaper columnist in Quito. "The Isaías family had the justice system taken over basically through mafia-type actions." The Isaías brothers, who could not be reached for comment, have previously denied wrongdoing and claimed they have become political scapegoats for the dire economic conditions in Ecuador in the late 1990s, during which many banks failed. Another relative, Estéfano Isaías, has sought asylum in the United States following the seizures of the companies. "We are living in a dictatorship," he told the Associated Press. For many Ecuadorans, the takeovers are difficult to separate from what is happening 160 miles west and nearly 9,000 feet below Quito, in the low hills along the humid Pacific coast. In Montecristi, a town best known for making Panamá hats, the 130-member national assembly is in the final days of writing a new constitution for Ecuador, a major initiative for Correa. Several political observers have said the president seized the companies to further his political agenda and ensure the passage of the new constitution in a September referendum. "The timing is very clear, because the government was going down in the polls. There's no doubt this was used politically," said Pablo Lucio Paredes, a former government minister who is a member of the assembly. "For the government, to have the yes [vote] in the referendum is basic, basic, basic. They will do anything to have the yes." If approved, the new constitution could allow Correa to be elected to two consecutive four-year terms -- in addition to the 18 months he has completed -- for a potential 10-year run in a country that has had eight presidents in a decade and currently gives them no more than four consecutive years. Correa's opponents believe a new constitution would lead to more state control of the economy, redistribution of land and greater presidential control, while scaring away investment. His supporters say that it will lead to stronger regulation to control corruption and greater attention to the environment and the poor. "The fact is that there are two [television] channels of national reach that are in the hands of the state, and that are administered by managers designated by the state, and they are probably going to be very open to the public propaganda in these months before the referendum," said Adrián Bonilla, a political analyst and the director of FLACSO, a Latin American graduate school and think tank based in Quito. "I don't think they'll sell them before the referendum." Many Ecuadorans noted that El Telégrafo, one of the country's oldest newspapers, was taken over by the government last year and still has not been sold. Today, it tends to deliver a pro-government message. Government officials said they have no intention of influencing the content of the seized television stations. "There is a lot of uncertainty and tension," said Jorge Rendón, a news anchor in the coastal city of Guayaquil with TC Televisión, another channel seized by the government this month. "Even though the state is guaranteeing stability, we know that the state doesn't manage anything well." The Constitutional Assembly, which has served as the national legislature since last year, took the controversial step of passing a mandate that effectively prevents the Isaías brothers from having a legal defense in Ecuador. One Ecuadoran government official said the takeover and the subsequent law limiting the family's appeal was justified in the context of a weak judicial system that hasn't been able to prosecute the Isaías brothers for years. "There is never an ideal moment to take such a huge step as we did," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "It is a situation of not trying to only change one family but the whole structure of how the elites have all the power and how justice is handled in the country." Staff researcher Robert E. Thomason in Washington contributed to this report. (c) 2008 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 9560.02, R. Ethiopia, Jul 03 1456-1500*, 33433-32432, Arabic, Talk and music, ID at 1459, 1500 sign off. 9560.02, V. of Democratic Alliance via R. Ethiopia, Jul 03 *1500-1506, 32432, Tigrigna, 1500 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Talk. 9560.00V, R. Ethiopia, Jul 05 1434-1500*, 34343-32432, Arabic, Ethiopian pops music and talk, ID at 1500, 1500 sign off. 9560.00V, V. of Democratic Alliance via R. Ethiopia, Jul 05 *1500- 1505, 32432, Tigrigna, 1500 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Talk. 9560.00, R. Ethiopia, Jul 06 1357-1408, 35433-34433, Afar and Arabic, Ethiopian pops music, ID and IS at 1359, Opening announce, 1400 Three gongs, Talk. 9559.60, R. Ethiopia, Jul 11 1358-1410, 34333-34433, Afar and Arabic, ID at 1358, 1359 IS, Opening announce, 1400 Three gongs, Talk and Ethiopian pops (all: Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium July 20 via DXLD) gh reorganized by date/time rather than frequency variation 9704.2, Radio Ethiopia. July 13 at 2040-2100* in Amharic. Music program with local pops till 2057, then news in brief(?). Closing announcement was heard at 2058, signed off after national anthem (Iwao Nagatani, Japan, ibid.) ** GABON. ANO, 17630, July 20 at 1326, S9+15 on the FRG-7 meter, but quite undermodulated, which is fine since it was rap in French (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. EMR RELAY & INTERNET REPEAT TIMES Sunday 20th July 2008 to Europe At 1200–1230 UT (with Paul Graham’s oldie programme) on 6140 from Wertachtal in Germany with 100 kw. The above programme is repeated on the EMR internet service at the following times: Sunday 20th July 2008: 1400 – 1700 – 2000 UT Monday 21st July 2008: 1200 - 1400 – 1700 – 2000 UT Good Listening 73s (Tom Taylor, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) & in advance on the dxldyg ** GUATEMALA [and non]. There seems some cooperation between México and Guatemala on the shared frequencies below: 4799.8, Guatemala, Radio Buenas Nuevas, 1023 "Radio Buenas Nuevas" ID by OM followed by stations telephone number on 19 July. No XERTA. 4800, México, XERTA, 1040 to 1100 male vocalist who has listened to Bob Dylan with Dylan like songs in español. 18 July. No Radio Buenas Nuevas. Have not heard the two stations on at the same time in monitoring for last week. This confirmed by Florida club members (Robert Wilkner, FL, July 19, NASWA yg via DXLD) But try at 1200 (gh) ** INDONESIA. 7289.87, RRI-Nabire, Jun 24 0726-0806, 25332-35333 Indonesian, Music and talk, ID at 0800, RPK, Jakarta news relay (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium July 20 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. VOI, 11785.97, July 20th, 1600-2100 UT. Sundays never? No Audio Stream or Realtime Audio either today http://en.voi.co.id/realtime/ But a weak S=3 [of max S=9+60 dB] signal on 11785.97 kHz. Warm-Up and test tone at 1544-1600 UT. At 1601 UT started news in Indonesian. 1630-1700 UT in Hindi language. wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The audio stream is working, Wolfgang; I'm listening to their Arabic broadcast (1710 UT this Sunday). (Jean-Michel Aubier, France, ibid.) Were audible, poorly on 9526 at 1300 July 20 in English (gh, OK, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. IBA Satellite and domestic Arabic changes On the IBA's reception website (Hebrew), they mention a few changes. http://www.iba.org.il/reception/ A) (Posted July 15, 2008) As of July 30, 2008, the IBA broadcasts will be changing to the following frequency on Amos 3 (digital): 11647 MHz The rest of the parameters remain the same. • W4 Vertical • FEC 3/4 • Symbol Rate 8,518 kSps4 B) Temporary Arabic changes (|Posted July 9, 2008): This is a translation from Arabic, via Google: Declaration: stop broadcasting Voice of Israel on medium wave, until further notice Draw the attention of audiences of the Voice of Israel in Arabic that you're getting pick in the Beer Sheva and the south-wave 88.8-FM informed that the broadcast was interrupted on medium wave Hrts 1026 kilometers or 292 meters and a wave Hrts 1206 kilometers, or 249 meters, with effect from July 1 2008 until further notice. == In the Hebrew text it says that the Kol Israel AM transmitters for Reshet Dalet have ceased to work [although someone told me 1026 and 1206 were both transmitting on Friday - AFTER this was posted on the IBA's website. DR]. They are working on getting new transmitters in the upcoming months. They then list the FM Frequencies: 99.3 in the North, the Golan and part of the Eastern Galilee. 92.4 North, mostly Haifa 88.8 North, mostly Nazereth 104.8 East Jerusalem and the Old City [of Jerusalem] 90.3 Dead Sea and part of Jericho 94.4 Beer Sheva 93.3 The Negev They also said that it can be received via HOT cable, YES direct broadcast satellite, or regular satellite. Interestingly, they don't mention the Internet, where it is also available live: http://www.iba.org.il/arabil http://www.iba.org.il/media === While I'm here: http://www.iba.org.il/reka/index.asp?classto=RekaInner&entity_code=449114&lang=English ERIC SILVER, 73, VETERAN JOURNALIST Veteran journalist Eric Silver is being buried Thursday morning at Jerusalem's Har Hamenuhot cemetery. Silver, aged 73, died Wednesday at Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, after recently being diagnosed with cancer. Silver reported from Israel for leading British newspapers including the Guardian and the Observer. He also wrote for the Jerusalem Report and the British Jewish Chronicle. Eric Silver was born in Leeds in 1935, studied at Oxford, and was first sent to report from Israel in 1967. He is the author of a number of books including, "Begin: The Haunted Prophet" and "The Book of the Just," about righteous gentiles. He was also an active member of the Foreign Press Association. Silver is survived by his wife Bridget and 3 daughters Rachel, Sharon and Dinah. 17.07.2008 10:36 (all via Doni Rosenzweig, July 19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. UNIDIENTIFIED. 6518, 1114-1120, July 20, Korean, News or talk by male & female, 24432 ¿what is this? ¿R. Pyongyang local service? (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) As in recent DXLDs, should be same as your next log and // to it (gh, DXLD) CLANDESTINE FOR NORTH KOREA, 6600, Voice of the People, Gimpo, South Korea, 1102-1106, July 20, Korean, news by female, 22432-jammed-. CLANDESTINE FOR NORTH KOREA, 6003, Echo of Hope, Gimpo, South Korea, 1108-1112, July 20, Korean, news by male & female, 24433 // 6348 kHz with 22442 (jammed) (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, ibid.) ** LAOS [non]. TAIWAN, 11655, Suab Xaa Moo Zoo via Taiwan: Jul 05 [UT Sat] *2330-2340, 35433, Hmong, 2330 sign on with opening music, Opening announce, Song, Talk. Jul 10 [UT Thu] *2330-2336, 35433, Hmong, 2330 sign on with opening music, Opening announce, Song, Talk. Jul 11 [UT Fri] *2330-2342, 35333, Hmong, 2330 sign on with opening music, Opening announce, Talk and music (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium July 20 via DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. 4845, R. Mauritanie, 0121-0137, July 18, Arabic. On late with talk by M thru BoH, lots of reverb, possibly "live"?, Arabic music at 0134, fair with occasional static crash and het from presumed Brazil-4845.2 (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R8, R75, MKIIB 8600, CLR/DSP, 200' Bevs, MLB1, 60m Dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. There seems some cooperation between México and Guatemala on the shared frequencies below: 4799.8, Guatemala, Radio Buenas Nuevas, 1023 "Radio Buenas Nuevas" ID by OM followed by stations telephone number on 19 July. No XERTA. 4800, México, XERTA, 1040 to 1100 male vocalist who has listened to Bob Dylan with Dylan like songs in español. 18 July. No Radio Buenas Nuevas. Have not heard the two stations on at the same time in monitoring for last week. This confirmed by Florida club members (Robert Wilkner, FL, July 19, NASWA yg via DXLD) But try at 1200 (gh) ** MEXICO [and non]. XETV TO BE CW NETWORK ON AUGUST 1 Thursday, July 3, 2008 by SDRadio. Logo: http://sdradio.net/__oneclick_uploads/2008/07/sd6_aug1_a.jpg On August 1st, 2008 XETV Channel 6 becomes “San Diego 6 The CW” and the proud new home of The CW Television Network. “We believe that The CW’s new fall line-up, with the new 90210 joining the critically acclaimed Gossip Girl, will be a very exciting and promotable schedule that will fit perfectly with the #1 local station in San Diego. We are looking forward to a great new partnership,” said VP/General Manager, Richard Doutré Jones. The station logo and prime time programming will change, but the rest of the program schedule will remain the same. “We will continue our popular 5 a.m.-9 a.m. morning newscast, and 9-10 a.m. San Diego Living, as well as our full hour of news at 10:00 p.m. We also have our top-rated syndicated programs including The Simpsons, That 70’s Show, South Park and Seinfeld. Viewers will wake up with San Diego 6 in the Morning anchors Marc Bailey, Lynda Martin and man about town Ruben Galvan weekdays 5-9 a.m. San Diego 6 News at 10:00 p.m. will continue to bring balanced news coverage to San Diego, with anchors Jim Patton, Heather Myers, meteorologist Aloha Taylor and C.S. Keys on sports. According to the May ’08 Nielson Media Research rating survey, our 10 p.m. and morning newscasts were rated number 1 among adults 18-54,” said Jones “XETV has been serving San Diego for over 55 years. We will continue to bring viewers the balanced news they trust and the great entertainment programming they love”. The CW fall 2008 prime time schedule lineup includes returning hits America’s Next Top Model, Smallville, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, and this year’s wildly-anticipated new show, 90210. “We are thrilled to be affiliated with XETV, the number one station in San Diego,” said John Maatta, Chief Operating Officer, The CW. “This station has a huge local identity, which perfectly complements The CW Network. The combination of XETV and The CW will be an explosive one which will rock the San Diego market. This vibrant and happening West Coast market now has a vibrant and happening combination with the hook-up of The CW and XETV. This will be a great thing for the station, the network and most importantly, the viewers in San Diego.” XETV signed on the air in January, 1953 as San Diego’s second television station. From 1956 to 1972 XETV operated as an ABC affiliate. The station became independent in 1972 and was one the first stations to affiliate with the fledgling FOX network in 1986. Today’s FCC Public Notices showed the renewal of XETV’s permit to send programming across the border. The notice specifically says the programming is to be in English (SDRadio.net via DXLD) Is this only about analog-6 which won`t have to go off next Feb? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No. Fox moves on August 1 to KSWB 69/DT 17 San Diego. KSWB's owner, Tribune, made Fox an offer it couldn't refuse. So both XETV 6 analog and XETV-DT 23 will go to CW. It's not commonly known (they don't promote it, and I learned about this only through a visit to the Mexican transmitter site this past April) that the analog channel 6 signal pre-empts the programming coming from the US side for the required broadcasts of Mexican presidential addresses - but most San Diegans never see that, because they don't preempt XETV-DT's signal or the fiber feed to US cable companies for El Presidente. At least initially, XETV 6 analog will continue to carry the "San Diego 6" CW feed when US analog goes away next February. That may change down the road, since analog OTA penetration in the San Diego market is vanishingly small. There may be espanol on analog 6 aimed at Mexican viewers, eventually. s (Scott Fybush, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also CANADA Confirmed - the station is heavily promoting the switch. It had been reported about 3 months ago that Fox preferred to have its affiliate on this side of the border, and thus was dumping XETV in favor of channel 69 in san Diego (KSWB? I'm not sure)y which was airing the CW network at the time. About 2 months later, XETV announced they had signed up with CW. Two other changes happened about the time of this second announcement: Morning personality Chrissy Russo left XETV to assume a similar role on the new Fox affiliate. Also, XETV replaced its long-running old Mexican government PSAs, which were in broken "dictionary English" mostly promoting tourism or touting the performance of individual government ministries, with Spanish language messages sporting an edgier, more Socialist tone. One recent spot, loosely translated, said "it's our oil, we'll defend it," referring to the recent controversy over US citizens being turned away at Tijuana gas stations (gas sells for under $3/gallon across the border). 73 (Tim Hall, Near San Diego, ABDX via DXLD) ** NEWFOUNDLAND. Answering the question about whether CHVO is still active on 560 --- Recorded 520 to 1320 kHz for a change, over the toth at 0300 and 0400, 279 degree beverage. Newfoundland stations in abundance around 0300. 560, CHVO, Spaniard’s Bay NL; country, ID 103.9 FM Kixx Country” F, 0300 11/7 (Martin A. Hall, Clashmore, Scotland. Perseus SDR, NRD-545, RPA-1 preamp, MFJ-1026 phaser (modified), beverage 500m at 279 degrees, terminated http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/clashmoreradio/ MWC via DXLD) ** NORWAY [non]. Todo por Noruega --- see CUBA [non]; historical drama series produced by the unlikely Radio República clandestine, audible ** OKLAHOMA. The maneuvering to do this was discussed at some length last year in DXLD, as Enid loses another FM signal, but yet another is to replace it (gh). Thread from: http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,104059.0.html 99.7 GETS CP TO MOVE INTO OKLAHOMA CITY Alva licenced 99.7 KNID has been granted a construction permit to downgrade to a C2 and move to Mustang and serve the OKC market (Rich Rose, July 13, radio-info.com OK board via DXLD) Great. Doctor Evil wins. Just what OKC needs. Another station for him to rent out. I guess the current translator on 99.7 will have to go away soon (OKC Radioguy, ibid.) I guess we now know why Champlin bought another CP at auction for the Enid area. I'm guessing he's going to either put KNID on the new frequency or do another shuffle with KXLS, moving it to the new frequency and KNID to 95.7. It's kind of funny that KNID may end up moving into Oklahoma City on two different frequencies as it was originally on 96.9. By the way, the idea of moving 99.7 into Oklahoma City isn't new. Ralph Tyler, who owned KTSH 99.7 in Tishomingo, had this idea a few years ago. However, he ended up losing his license to the station. I believe the FCC decided he lied to them about something or other and made him forfeit the station and the CP and sell his other licenses (Kent, ibid.) The Tyler bunch got screwed out of the frequency because they checked a box on a FCC form incorrectly. It was because the CP for a non- commercial that was to replace the Tish station had to be on the air within days due to an expiring CP of that station. They opted to just turn off the commercial Tish station and put the non-comm on in its place to keep from losing the non-comm and the ability to move the commercial Tish station. They simply checked "antenna failure" as a reason. The FCC nailed them for it. Doctor Evil and some of his pals in southern Okiehoma figured out this little bit of information and, with Doctor Evil's political stroke, got Ralph declared an unfit broadcaster and the frequency jerked out from under him. Now Doctor Evil is getting the frequency to use for himself. The reason Doctor Evil was involved in the first place was because he had to move off 99.7 with his station in order to clear it to move into the City. When he was contacted by the Tyler bunch he huffed up and wanted his part of the take. He didn't get his way with them so he set himself out to hose them out of it. He's an oilman... Go figure. Forced pooling, slant drilling, destroying someone's house from drilling under it, etc. etc.. This is just another "great biz day" for someone like Doctor Evil (OKCRadioGuy, ibid.) KNID in Alva, KLOR in Ponca City, and KHOZ in Harrison, Arkansas may all be moving to more crowded markets --- Oklahoma City, Wichita, and Springfield, respectively --- at a time when only small-market stations are making money (Ben Tehelenbach, July 14, ibid.) All right, there are so many scumbags in the industry, you're going to have to specify for me who Dr. Evil is! (hello4, ibid.) Go pull up the application on the FCC website. I think you'll find your answer there. LOL! (OKCRadioGuy, ibid.) From looking at the coverage map on Radio Locator.com, 99.7 move to Mustang will have a fairly good coverage over the OKC. The question is, will Champlin sell the station or will he compete against the other stations in OKC? Anyone think Tyler will try to by it again? If Russell Perry were smart he would buy 99.7 and move KVSP's format on that frequency from 103.5 and the station will have a little bit more "Power" to compete because I think 99.7 is going to be his last hope as far as a signal in OKC that covers the market well and let the KOCD's 103.7's Smooth Jazz format simulcast on 103.5 IMO. (X-Man, July, ibid.) That would be nice if that were to happen, but I just don't see it. I would personally like to see Champlin change the format to urban ac as we don't have a true urban ac (other than am 1140) in OKC (j1203, ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA. KLOR 99.3 Ponca City to 99.5 Wichita --- KLOR has filed to leave Ponca City to 99.5C1 Cheney KS, putting it in the Wichita market this week. Coverage of the proposed facilities: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM1185552.html (txchipk, July 10, radio-info.com OK board via DXLD) Cheney is west of Wichita, and does not even cover PC or reach past OK border (gh) Holy Crap, a 100K upgrade. I wonder if 99.1 KTLI will protest or keep this from happening. I remember when 99.3 was a pretty good local station in the late 70's-early 80's when it was "Super Station" KLOR. I was going to NOC in Tonkawa then. But it went down the toilet when the local economy hit the skids (billyg, July 12, op. cit.) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. Are there any frequencies open in OKC on the FM side that could possibly squeeze in another station? I have been told that we are crowded but I feel that we could get a few more stations in (j1203, July 2, radio-info.com OK board via DXLD) To get a REAL answer to that question, you write a check with at least 4 significant digits to a consulting engineer to do a search. The practical answer for ANY metropolitan area seems to be no. If they opened a window for 100 watt LPFM community stations, it does not appear you could squeeze one in. (I didn't check all the suburban areas for that possibility.) Watching FM applications for Construction Permits is like watching two chess masters going at it. One buys a rim-shot or further out existing FM station, moves it around, changes to directional antenna, then takes an existing station in the city which they already own and change frequency, swap with some edge-of-town license and create a new opening. If you or I who do not currently own anything in the markets look, there is no vacant frequency. You almost have to own an existing channel which your are willing to modify, swap or some other hocus- pocus if you want to add to the station count. I haven't been to OKC for years so I can't speak to your market, but most cities already have more channels than anyone can find creative, unique programming for. Why do we need more channels. We need operators with the guts to give up an existing bland format for something new, something daring, something worthwhile. For that, you need to be able to write a check with significantly more than 4 significant digits (Goat Rodeo Cowboy, ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA. 1650, KYHN, AR, Fort Smith - Has applied for a ‘silent’ STA. Their application states: “Due to heavy spring rains, localized flooding of a nearby waterway placed the transmitter site [in OKLAHOMA], and the transmitter itself under several feet of water. Access to the site to determine damage has only recently been allowed, and a casual inspection has revealed tremendous amounts of damage. In order to be allowed time to decide how to best proceeded with this facility, the licensee requests special temporary authority to remain silent for up to 1 year.” (AM Switch, NRC DX News July 21 via DXLD) ** OMAN. 15140, R. Sultanate of Oman: Jun 29 1425-1435 35333 English, Music, Gongs and ID at 1430, News. Jun 30 1427-1439 35433 English, Music, Gongs at 1429, ID at 1430 and 1437, News. Jul 03 1423-1436 35433 English, Music, Gongs and ID at 1430, News (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium July 20 via DXLD) ** PERU. Peru logged in Florida July 2008 ------- A Logged 1000 to 1130 B Logged 2330 to 0200 I Irregular XXX Off the air 3329.7, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco A B 4484.91, Radio Frecuencia VH B 4746.9, Radio Huanta 2000 Huanta, Ayacucho A B 4774.9, Radio Tarma, Tarma A B 4789.7 Radio Nueva Atlántida XXX 4790.1, Radio Visión, Chiclayo A B 4824.4, La Voz de la Selva, Iquitos A B 4826.4, Radio Sicuani, Sicuani A B 4835.6, Radio Marañón, Jaen A B 4857.4, Radio La Hora, Cusco I 4949.9, Radio Madre de Dios, Puerto Maldonado A only 4955, Radio Cultural Amauta, Huanta A B 4974.8, Radio del Pacífico, Lima A B 4990.8, Radio Manantial, Huancayo A, B more often 5014.5, Radio Altura, Cerro de Pasco B 5039.2, Radio Libertad Junín A only; never B 5120.4, Ondas del Suroriente, Quillabamba A B 5460.1, Radio Bolívar, Bolívar A B 5470.8, Radio San Nicolás, San Nicolás, Rodríguez de Mendoza A B 5486.7, Radio Reyna de la Selva, Chachapoyas A B With Cooperation from DXers in the US, Brasil, Denmark, Colombia, Bolivia and Argentina. 73s de Bob (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, July 19, NASWA yg, reformatted by gh for DXLD) ** PUERTO RICO. Re 8-082: RE: FCC Puerto Rico pirate radio raids, and Patrick Griffith´s "fear for his safety" Glenn, as a former reporter with The San Juan Star, I can recall two instances during the 1990s when the FCC carried out high-profile raids on pirate radio stations in Puerto Rico. In August 1994, the FCC issued a seize [sic] and desist order against Domingo Sadurní, a millionaire developer and board member of the National Cuban-American Foundation, for a clandestine radio station he set up on his ranch near Salinas, Puerto Rico. The station was called Frente Nacional Cubana and was reportedly broadcasting on the 41 mb. Authorities didn’t confiscate his equipment, but warned him to shut it down. The agency was apparently acting on a complaint filed by the Cuban government. I wrote about this in the Star and it was later reported in Monitoring Times. Twelve years later, fellow Cuban exile Antonio “Toñin” Llama opened a can of worms when he told El Nuevo Herald that Sadurní was one of the masterminds behind the 1997 foiled plot to assassinate Fidel Castro during a summit meeting in Margarita Island, Venezuela. Llama had been arrested by the Coast Guard along with others on a boat heading to Margarita. Charged by federal authorities, they had denied they were involved in any plot and were later acquitted by a jury in US District Court in San Juan. But in an interview Llama gave El Nuevo Herald in June 2006, he admitted to the plot and said he was suing Sarduní and others because they owe him money for organizing the secret mission. The second FCC raid came in 1998 when air traffic controllers at the Luis Muñoz International Airport in San Juan complained that a pirate FM transmitter was interfering with the tower’s communications. The transmitter belong to Héctor Guerra, of Bahía Vistamar, Carolina, Puerto Rico, and was operating on 98.1 MHz, according to an FCC press release dated 6 February 1998. The FBI confiscated his equipment after he failed to shut down his station. I am sorry, but I can’t help but think that Patrick Griffith is exaggerating when he says he says he “feared for his safety” in Puerto Rico where he was sent as part of a federal team to help in the recovery efforts after Hurricane Georges in 1998. Glenn, as you know I am not Puerto Rican nor do I have family ties to the island but I too was in the middle of it all, working 12 years as a journalist for The San Juan Star. I think Patrick failed to put things into context here. Hurricane Georges hit Puerto Rico just two months before the pro- statehood island government was preparing to hold a controversial plebiscite that was being pushed through by the then-pro-statehood administration of Governor Pedro Rosselló. His government held a prior referendum on the island’s status in 1993, in which the statehood option lost. The referendum was rejected by the US Congress because lawmakers in Washington had not approved it. The plebiscite was also considered non-binding and Rosselló had been told this, but he insisted on holding it. After the hurricane hit, which by the way was once of the worst in 40 years, the then-opposition (those who were in favour of the current status quo as a US commonwealth and the smaller number of independence supporters) accused Rosselló of using the $1.5 billion-plus in federal relief emergency money to push the statehood campaign by trying to persuade voters that Washington would have handed out more if the territory had been a full-fledged state. The opposition also accused Rosselló of spending public money frivolously on the non-binding plebiscite at a time when the island was in shambles. Yes, it was a big political controversy at the time, but never did it reach a point to where any stateside relief workers were threatened or harassed. The San Juan Star definitely would have heard about it and reported it. I do remember quite well how the stateside emergency workers, especially the public utility people from Florida who helped the already burdened local Electrical Authority switch power back on, were welcomed with opened arms by storm weary Puerto Ricans. Though passionate about their politics as well as their standings in international sports competitions, Puerto Ricans are not violent people (Marty Delfín, Madrid, Spain, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SINGAPORE. 6120, presumed RSI, 1055-1106, July 18, listed Malay. W talking and ballad, 1100 presumed ID into news, pretty much the same as my last log of this one --- poor and too weak for positive ID. I'll miss targeting RSI during the upcoming ECNA winter mornings (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R8, R75, MKIIB 8600, CLR/DSP, 200' Bevs, MLB1, 60m Dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SINT MAARTEN. Recorded 520 to 1320 kHz for a change, over the toth at 0300 and 0400, 279 degree beverage. Delighted to catch PJD2 at 0400, only the second time I've heard this one. 1300, PJD2, Voice of St Maarten, Philipsburg; report on the St Maarten carnival, “The Commissioner told PJD2 Radio …”, phone interview, Caribbean-accented speakers; in and out of the noise, with fair peaks, 0358 11/7 (Martin A. Hall, Clashmore, Scotland. Perseus SDR, NRD-545, RPA-1 preamp, MFJ-1026 phaser (modified), beverage 500m at 279 degrees, terminated http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/clashmoreradio/ MWC via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. SRI LANKA BROADCASTING CORPORATION TO SHED EXCESS EMPLOYEES The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) will shed up to 400 excess employees by giving them a million rupee [approx US$9300] severance package senior officials said, while the broadcaster was reeling under mounting losses. SLBC Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe said employees who had worked for more than 10 years and are below the age of 52 could apply for the voluntary retirement scheme. If 400 persons take up the offer, SLBC would need 400 million rupees to finance the severance scheme. SLBC Director general Samantha Weliweriya said the Treasury is expected to finance the scheme. SLBC’s current wage bill is 24 million rupees a month, and after excess employees are shed the broadcaster is hoping to make a profit of 15 million rupees. At the moment it has 1,068 employees and most of the excess is in the transport and security divisions, officials said. Most Sri Lankan state institutions are over-staffed due to politicians stuffing them with their supporters over decades. In recent years, wholesale recruitement to the government has seen nearly 300,000 new workers added to the state sector, a senior minister has said. State salaries and pensions ate up 55 cents out of every tax rupee in 2007. State workers get tax-free salaries. (Source: Lanka Business Online) Related story: Report recommends changes to make SLBC financially viable (July 20th, 2008 - 10:38 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. SLOVAKIA, 15650, Miraya FM via Slovakia: Jul 03 1506-1514, 35333, English, News, ID at 1512 and 1513. Jul 05 1505-1515, 35333, English and Arabic, News, ID at 1511 and 1512 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium July 20 via DXLD) ** SWEDEN [non]. Sveriges Radio via Sackville, 15240, July 20 at 1318 had a YL cabaret singer in English, and more of same a few minutes later after break for some talk in Swedish. How often do we hear any music on R. Sweden`s English service other than to fill out the half hour? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA. Dear Mr. Hauser, Hello Glenn, I started a new Radio Damascus Listeners Club on Yahoo Groups : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/radio_damascus/ I also made a direct link to it via : http://www.radio-damascus-listeners-club.tk I would be grateful if you can mention it on the DX Listening Digest. All the best from Belgium! (Kris Janssen, July 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The posts on the group are open to non-members. Kris also sent a pdf attachment, which concludes with an uncopyable program schedule grid. About Radio Damascus : Radio Damascus is the external service from the Syrian Radio. They are transmitting their programs daily to the rest of the world on short-wave and satellite. It is an excellent source of information to learn about the culture, politics, history, literature and music of Syria and the region. Their daily transmission start always with the news, followed by press reviews and commentaries. How to contact Radio Damascus? Radio Damascus P. O. Box 4702 Damascus Syrian Arab Republic Times and frequencies of Radio Damascus : 1600-1700 UTC/GMT Turkish daily 9330 Khz and satellite 1700-1800 UTC/GMT Russian daily 9330 Khz and satellite 1800-1900 UTC/GMT German daily 9330 Khz and satellite 1900-2000 UTC/GMT French daily 9330 Khz and satellite 2000-2100 UTC/GMT English daily on satellite 2100-2200 UTC/GMT English daily 9330 Khz and satellite 2200-2300 UTC/GMT Spanish daily 9330 Khz and satellite 783 Khz Mediumwave : 1500 - 1730 UTC/GMT Hebrew 1730 - 1800 UTC/GMT Russian If you are having difficulties listening to Radio Damascus on short-wave, you can tune in on satellite with excellent audio quality. Radio Damascus can be heard on satellite on the Radio Sout Al- Sha'ab (Voice of the People) channel during the evenings. Hot Bird 3 at 13.0 E : 12380 Mhz Nilesat 101 at 7.0 W : 11823 Mhz Badr 4 at 26.0 E : 12054 Mhz The Program Schedule of Radio Damascus : The daily transmission start always with the news, followed by press reviews and commentaries. . . (via Janssen, DXLD) Message number one continues: The strength of Radio Damascus lies in its editorial working --- reporting about Syria FROM Syria. Offering the Syrian view as a counterweight to the often biased views from other media. Syria is a wonderful country with wonderful people. Unfortunately, people who have never visited Syria do sometimes get wrong ideas by watching and listening to their local media. Radio Damascus is trying to get the right message to the world and is doing this in a most varied and interesting way. The Radio Damascus staff does highly value when you write to them with your commentaries about the programs or reception reports about the transmissions and you will get in return a nice postcard to confirm the reception (QSL_card) and a program schedule (via DXLD) ** U S A. TAKE FUNDS FROM AL HURRA AND RADIO SAWA DATELINE: Washington, 07/09/08. VOA employees, sickened by the continuing bad decisions made by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, demand that the BBG take funding from the wasteful and ineffective Al Hurra and Radio Sawa in order to keep valuable Voice of America radio services on the air and reestablish the VOA Arabic Service. The BBG claims to have a "kind of agreement" with the Congress to eliminate by September 30th the radio broadcasts of VOA Ukrainian, Serbian, Bosnian, Georgian, Hindi, and Macedonian services. The "agreement" would also eliminate almost half of the Portuguese-to-Africa radio broadcasts and would eliminate not only the radio broadcasts of the Russian service but the TV broadcasts as well.The BBG has reportedly squandered thousands, if not millions of dollars, on ghost employees at Al Hurra but now wants to throw U.S. citizens performing a valuable service at the Voice of America out of work. The BBG uses the same old tired excuses in explaining these cuts. A BBG spokesperson even resorted to the old "diminished audience" argument regarding the VOA Russian radio broadcasts but failed to mention that the audience was probably measured only after the BBG cut frequencies and transmitters and that there is no real accurate way to measure a shortwave audience in Russia. DIRECTOR AUSTIN'S "TOUR OF DOOM - 2008" DATELINE: Washington, D.C. 07/03/08: As we were preparing to celebrate this country's independence from tyranny, VOA Director Dan Austin, accompanied by an entourage that included Managing Editor Steve Redisch, IBB Senior Advisor Barbara Brady and at times John Lennon, Associate Director for Language Programming, visited various language services on July 1st and 2nd to announce a series of sharp cuts. These are cuts that had been fully restored under the FY 2008 budget passed by Congress and signed by President Bush. Despite the will of Congress to reverse the BBG's proposed cuts, the Broadcasting Board of Governors through Director Austin's "Tour of Doom, 2008" said that the Georgian service will be shut down, all radio broadcasting will be eliminated in the Ukrainian, Serbian, Hindi, Macedonian and Bosnian services, radio broadcasting in the Portuguese to Africa service will be reduced from its current weekly schedule of 14 hours to 9 hours and both radio and television broadcasting in Russian will be eliminated, leaving the Internet as its only method of distributing programming. The Croatian, Albanian, Greek, Uzbek, Cantonese, Tibetan, Thai and Worldwide English services were spared from the chopping block - this time. We should note that the BBG, in its 2009 budget request, seeks to greatly reduce or eliminate altogether these services. What can you do to stop this systematic destruction of the Voice of America? Contact your Representative and Senators and let them know of the value and worth to the American taxpayer of these vital, effective and relatively inexpensive tools of U.S. Public Diplomacy and that these services remain in serious jeopardy. Please review the sample letter that can be found on the RIF page of this website and tailor it to your specific situation (AFGE Local 1812 via DXLD) ** U S A. HEY, IF YOU'LL BUY THE NICKY BUTLER MULTIGEMSTONE STERLING SILVER SQUARE RING ON HOME SHOPPING NETWORK, YOU'LL BUY THIS: U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING ON U.S. CABLE Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) "is set to introduce a bill seeking to reorganize the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), a congressional aide told Inside the Pentagon on condition of anonymity. ... Under the proposed legislation, the BBG may begin to negotiate licenses with American cable television systems to broadcast its programs in the United States, he explained. The legislation also 'consolidates overlapping bureaucracies' and appoints a director of international broadcasting instead of leaving the task to the board itself, the congressional aide said." InsideDefense.com, 18 July 2008. (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Consolidating overlapping bureaucracies makes sense, but little else in this strange story which, alas, to access, you must give up your billing details. We might want to wait for a second source, in any case. This is the Ileana Ros-Lehtinenn who thinks that U.S. international broadcasting should be for the purpose of advocating administration policies, and she scoffs at the notion of providing the straight news that is the reason most people tune to international broadcasts. (See previous post.) And what U.S. international broadcasting would U.S. cable television systems take? VOA has a 24-hour English television channel, sort of, consisting largely of acquired programs, many of which VOA would not contractually be allowed to transmit within the United States. The domestic dissemination prohibition, just one part of the Smith- Mundt Act of 1948, is mainly a nuisance, because it's unenforceable and because it prevents U.S. shortwave listeners from receiving a VOA program schedule. But Ros-Lehtinen's legislation will put shivers up spines, reminding people of the thinking that led to the domestic dissemination exclusion in 1948. This attempt to eliminate it will probably enshrine it into perpetuity. If there is to be a rewrite of Smith-Mundt, it should once and for all disentangle U.S. public diplomacy and U.S. international broadcasting. The former explains and advocates U.S. policies, officially, on behalf of the U.S. Government, the only entity qualified to engage in U.S. public diplomacy. The latter provides the comprehensive, reliable, credible news that is lacking in its audience's home countries. To achieve the necessary credibility, U.S. international broadcasting must be independent. It must not be like Senators Smith and Mundt envisioned it. As for domestic dissemination, a Smith-Mundt rewrite should acknowledge the ability and the right of Americans to see what the U.S. public diplomacy and U.S. international broadcasting are transmitting to the world. But here, a distinction should be made between voluntary and involuntary means of doing this. If an American wants to go to a website, or write to the State Department to get a transcript, or purchase a video through the Government Printing Office, no problem. But if the U.S. government starts to promote its policies using channels on your cable system, or commercials inserted within your favorite television program, or on billboards visible during your morning commute, questions should be asked. It does happen: armed forces recruiting, Smokey Bear, your deposit in insured by FDIC, etc. But administrations advocating their policy goals on your television, or on signs along the freeway? For a taste of that, visit Cuba. Oops, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen wouldn't like that very much. Posted: 19 Jul 2008 Permalink (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) RFA GETS NEW EQUIPMENT TO HELP IT COMPETE WITH CROSSTOWN RIVAL VOA. "Radio Free Asia will install Axia Audio consoles and IP-Audio networking equipment as part of news studios at its Washington facility. ... The manufacturer said the project will encompass 35 studios." Radio World, 18 July 2008. (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Meanwhile, a few blocks away at VOA headquarters, many studios are idle as VOA drops language services or shifts to television. RFA has the stringers and news agency subscriptions for very good coverage of East Asia. VOA has the capability to cover world news (also of interest to East Asian audiences) and U.S. news. VOA has the television capabilities that RFA is lacking. RFA has some good shortwave transmitter leases, while VOA has choice medium wave transmitters and access to relays in Thailand and the Philippines. The situation screams for a merger. Posted: 19 Jul 2008 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** U S A. Re 8-082: Glenn: Tuned to 15590 at about 1620 UT today to find a preacher extolling the virtues of the new medium he has access to (I am assuming it is Dr. Mawire on WRNO, but did not hear the beginning of the broadcast). Sigs were pretty good to the Boston area, S5-S7 and no QRM. Signal went off the air at about 1640. I recorded this on tape. 73, (W1DAN, Dan Brown, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It was a few minutes later at 1657 when I checked 15590, nothing, nor on occasional later chex. No doubt sporadic in testing period, and not yet heard on 7505 at random day and night chex. Could be they will test 7505 during weekday working hours rather than at night when it will be scheduled. Those sitting on one frequency or the other are bound to hear it eventually (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7505, presumed WRNO, 2237-2302, July 19, English. Presumed the one testing here with continuous C&W music, several songs repeated or cut short. No ID or announcements noted, fair-good (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRNO New Orleans, LA Presumed. 7505.000 kc. 2230-2305 UT [July 19]. SIO 444. No ID or talk, continuous C&W music by George Strait, poor audio quality, abrupt S/O[ff] (Thomas Giella, KN4LF Lakeland, FL. Rig Icom IC-746 Pro. Antenna, 90-11 meter doublet up at 35 feet, July 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) This is kinda cool, Tom. Last QSL I got from them was in 1982. It`s awesome to see an HF broadcaster come on the air when so many are going off (Kevin Redding, TN, ABDX via DXLD) Not so cool & awesome when you hear their crappy gospel-huxtering (gh, DXLD) Made my checking at 2252 to hear Country Rock, followed by a more C&W tune. Don't know if they are testing a rotatable too, at 2300 from one song to the next one, signal faded off almost completely to recover in the following five minutes. Looks like testings ended by 2310. No announcers at all. 73 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Missed it again; nothing on 7505 when I got this and checked at 2336 (gh, OK, DXLD) Glenn: Did WRNO move the transmitter antenna location???? I visited the old site a few years ago and the main lobe was pointed into a BIG subdivision!!!! LESS THAN 100 feet. Regards (David Frantz, TN, WWRB, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dan, Got this inquiry from Dave Frantz at WWRB. I haven`t heard of any change, and my impression is that it is the same site as before. What say you? Tnx for the monitoring reports. 73, (Glenn to Dan Brown, via DXLD) Hi Glenn: I do not think so. When I saw the TCI Log Periodic antenna at WRNO's transmitter site near New Orleans about a year and a half ago the feedpoint was at the rear of the property, right near (within a few hundred feet) where a new subdivision had grown up since they went off the air years ago. The wide open part of the Log was toward the street aimed towards a large group of trees across the street. This site is near the WWL AM transmitter site across and down the street a ways. My guess is Larry the engineer will be passing a lot of ferrite RFI filters out and there may even be vandalism to the transmitter building or antenna due to the interference. This is why they wanted to put up a new fence around the property before going on the air. The direction of the antenna will have little effect on the blanket of RFI that will be created in the area anyway. I think it'd be very hard to physically move the antenna and am guessing the FCC historical records of direction angle should indicate it is probably still always where it has been. My guess is the TCI LP is still where it was originally built, I believe aimed to the northeast and thus "the Middle East" over the North Pole as I distantly remember. But then I have not been there in a year and a half and maybe they had some weird reason to move it, which would require a total dismantling and re-erection of the antenna after the towers were moved. The transmitter building is the same old building. The transmitter is a new Elcor 50 kW (old style plate modulated class C, not PDM or high efficiency) rig. Doesn't sound bad though. I emailed Janet Mawire and told her I heard the station and asked for a QSL if possible. Hope this helps. Thanks! 73, (W1DAN, Dan Brown, CBTE, CBNT, WBZ-TV/DT, WSBK-TV/DT Engineering, Boston, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Tonight on QSO our guests will be: Joel Kleinman, N1BKE, is QST Managing Editor and Editorial Team Supervisor. In his 25 years of service to ARRL, Joel has been QST Features Editor and Assistant Managing Editor. From 1988 until being named to his present position in March 2001, he supervised the Book Team -- the group of editors who write and edit ARRL books. As Managing Editor, he plans each month's issue and works with authors and editors to be sure everything comes together on schedule. The to- printer date is set a year or more in advance, and must be met if the magazine is to be printed and mailed on schedule. He decides--based on reader surveys, member feedback, available space and editorial judgment -- just what balance of material will appear in each issue. N1BKE is Past President and Past Vice President of the Newington Amateur Radio League W1OKY, an ARRL Special Service Club. His favorite ham activities are Field Day and (believe it or not) attending the Dayton Hamvention. Also, Dr. Michel Barrett N4ECW. Dr. Barrett is the owner of the TWAntenna company. For those who don’t know about Doc Barret, a little background. Dennis M. Barrett, J.D., Ph.D. is an engineering and management consultant. His clients include the Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Technological University, University of Central Florida, ARC-Diversified, Premier Micronutrient Corporation, PrePak Systems, Inc., MediaMail, Inc., I-Net Strategies, Inc., and Tri-State Distribution. Along with his business partner, Kevin Bowling, he owns the Cookeville, TN based high technology firm, TechWerks, LLC; the digital transcription company, DigitalScript, LLC; the physician and documentation training firm, CBE,LLC; and the marketing firm, Econogenesys, LLC. QSO Radio Show http://www.tedrandall.com WBCQ 7415 kilohertz Monticello Maine Saturday nights 11PM EDT, 10PM CDT, 9PM MDT, 8PM PDT, 0300 UT [Sundays]. 615-469-0702 Past Chapter Chairman Society Of Broadcast Engineers Chapter 103 Nashville, TN 615-517-2194 http://www.sbe.org (Ted Randall, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TWAntenna is a sponsor, and on a previous show it was hard to tell what was a commercial and what not. Posted in advance on the dxldyg; and presumably to be available ondemand (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. 910, WSUI, IA, Iowa City. Was forced off the air on 6/13 due to flooding of the transmitter site when the Iowa River overflowed its banks. The station was back on the air by 6/18 after the river receded, but only at low power. As of 7/11 the WSUI website was still reporting that the station was operating at low power, and that it was continuing efforts to bring the signal up to full power. (Ed.-WI) 1450, KMRY, IA, Cedar Rapids. This station was forced to abandon its transmitter site near the Cedar River on or about 6/11 during the terrible flooding that hit Cedar Rapids. The station managed to stay on the air at reduced power by using its Harris MW-1 auxiliary transmitter located at its studio, plus its auxiliary tower that most of the time serves as its studio-to-transmitter microwave link. KMRY is not currently broadcasting in IBOC because its HD equipment was destroyed in the flood, according to the station’s website. KMRY has posted some dramatic pictures of its flooded transmitter site and temporary equipment at http://www.kmryradio.com/snapshots.htm Thanks go to Upper Midwest Broadcasting for posting info on this station’s status and redirecting us to the station’s website (Bill Dvorak, WI, ed. DDXD-West, NRC DX News July 21 via DXLD) m/b Catholic ** U S A. 680, WPTF, Raleigh NC with most unusual call-in show, Dr Reynolds taking calls on quantum mechanics, relativity and advances in theoretical physics. SIO 444 0250-0300 1 July. Wow -- a call in show that was both intelligent, and had callers with more than three synapses firing at the same time. I almost couldn't take it! What an unusual thing --- I want this here too! (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, visiting FL, MARE Tipsheet July 19 via DXLD) That would be Monday night at 10:50 pm EDT. On station schedule it`s the locally-originated Tom Kearney show, who is surely not a DJ, M-F 10-11 pm, http://www.wptf.com/showdj.asp?DJID=15932 and he does have some other Doctorly guests coming up, seemingly for thinking listeners: Monday, July 21st - Dr Mike Walden On The Economy Tuesday, July 22nd - Dr Jim Crisp, NC State History Professor Wednesday, July 23rd - Attorney John Narron on On The Importance Of Making A Will Thursday, July 24th - Paul Harris, NC Board of Funeral Service Friday, July 25th - Movie Trivia Night, Your Funniest Movie? But does WPTF webcast? Apparently not: nothing about LISTEN found anywhere on the home or other pages, but why not, with a talk format? It is 50 kW, night pattern with a big lobe to the south, little lobe to the north, and forget about it east/west. BTW, WPTF was a WORLD OF RADIO affiliate for a while many years ago, in the nightmiddle (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. PAUL HARVEY RETURNS Bowing to a growing chorus of questions from affiliates and the press, ABC Radio announced a partial comeback Thursday for Chicago-based premier radio showman Paul Harvey. "Beginning this Saturday, Paul Harvey will begin doing the 15-minute midday 'News and Comment' again, part-time at first, working up to every day," ABC Radio Networks vice president John McConnell told affiliates. Harvey has been fairly elusive for months since he was out on medical leave and then out on personal leave after the death of his wife, Lynne "Angel" Harvey. Harvey's son, Paul Harvey Jr., will continue to deliver at least three of the morning 'News and Comment' segments each week until his father is ready to resume those as well. Still mourning the loss of his partner, the 89-year-old broadcast legend told listeners: "I will do my best with what remains, but it will be something less" (Chicago Sun-Times via Pete Kemp, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Creeping commercialism at PBS --- I usually watch Washington Week in Review, but even in non-pledge weeks when it is further shortened, the body of the program keeps shrinking to accommodate more and more `underwriting` announcements at the start and finish. Skipping the billboard teaser at the very beginning, the body of the July 18 program, from Gwen`s hello to goodbye timed just 22:10, which in the good old days was about the length of a commercial network show minus ads. Why does it take all this underwriting, foundation grants, etc. to keep a talking-heads show going? Produxion costs must be minimal, so that leaves one explanation: the moderator and/or participants are drawing big bux (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Call letter domain names are highly prized by broadcasters. This makes life easier for those trying to find a web page. Our sister, TV broadcasters, are getting pretty nervous about the possible loss of their domain names. I have posted part of the article and the web page for the complete story. I can't help but wonder if, down the road, the same situation could happen to AM stations. I realize they wouldn't want a .TV suffix but the principle is the same. 73, (Pete Kemp, NRC-AM via DXLD) http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/7/prweb1121114.htm INTERNET DOMAIN AUCTION THREATENS 285 U.S. TV STATIONS Domain names using the call letters of 285 U.S. TV stations -- including major affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX -- will be auctioned to the public by GoDaddy.com over the next few days, according to an investigative report released by AndyPurdy.com. Denver (PRWEB) July 18, 2008 -- Highly-prized 4-letter domain names using the call letters of 285 U.S. TV stations -- including major affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX -- will be auctioned to the public by GoDaddy.com between Saturday, July 19, and Wednesday, July 23, according to an investigative report released today by AndyPurdy.com. The TV call-letter domain auction is the largest ever of its kind. Releasing the domains to anonymous bidders around the world may have a serious impact on how American broadcasters maintain their online identity, particularly in light of the upcoming switch to digital broadcast. The call-letter domains represent some of the most successful broadcast stations in the country, including 2 NBC owned-and-operated stations -- WCAU-TV Philadelphia and WTVJ-TV Miami -- and 3 CBS owned- and-operated stations -- KPIX-TV San Francisco, KTVT-TV Dallas/Ft. Worth, and KCCO-TV Minneapolis/St. Paul. [sic – it`s WCCO, numbskulls, and the -TV suffix does not apply when TV is already in the 4-letter calls ---gh] All of the domains for public auction use the .TV top-level domain, so auction winners will lay claim to domains such as WTTW.TV (using the call letters of the famous PBS station in Chicago), WXIA.TV (the NBC station in Atlanta), and WDIV.TV (the NBC affiliate in Detroit). Up for grabs are the call letters for 88 existing ABC stations, 78 CBS stations, 59 NBC stations (including a station that is no longer active), 56 FOX stations, 1 PBS station, 1 CW affiliate, 1 MyNet affiliate, and 1 low power station in Washington, DC. The auction list of TV station domains includes nearly 100 broadcast stations in the top 100 TV markets. Featured throughout are stations owned by such media giants as Gannett Company, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Tribune Company, Media General, Allbritton Communications Company, The E.W. Scripps Company, and LIN TV Corporation. For several of the broadcast companies, this would not be the first time they face losing control over online call-letter branding. Over the years, LIN Television, CBS, Capital Broadcasting, Viacom, Paramount, and others have filed complaints with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to claim domains registered by unrelated parties. All 285 domains are currently registered under the name of a Florida resident who has no apparent ties to the broadcasting industry. The domains are now set to expire later this month, most likely because the registrant failed to pay the annual $39.99 renewal fee for each of the domains. .... (via Pete Kemp, NRC-AM via DXLD) What`s the big deal? If .tv is not available, they can still use .com or whatever they already have. Internauts should be smart enough to know when they`ve reached the real station (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. LOCALISM IN BROADCASTING NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: December 18, 2007 Mary Diamond (202) 418-2388 FCC ADOPTS LOCALISM PROPOSALS TO ENSURE PROGRAMMING IS RESPONSIVE TO NEEDS OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES Washington, DC – The Federal Communications Commission (the “Commission”) today took measures to help ensure that broadcast stations offer programming responsive to the needs and interests of the communities that they are licensed to serve. The Report on Broadcast Localism and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “Report”) adopted today sets forth proposals to increase local programming content and diversity in communities across America. In its review of these issues, the Commission accrued over 83,000 written comments and heard the testimony of 500 panelists offered during the six field hearings on localism conducted throughout the country. The Report makes tentative conclusions regarding the following proposals, for which it seeks comment: Qualified LPTV stations should be granted Class A status, which requires them to provide 3 hours per week of locally-produced programming; Licensees should establish permanent advisory boards (including representatives of underserved community segments) in each station community of license with which to consult periodically on community needs and issues; and Commission adoption of renewal application processing guidelines that will ensure that all broadcasters provide some locally-oriented programming The Report also states that the Commission will: Better educate members of the public as to the obligations of broadcasters and the Commission’s procedures so that viewers and listeners can become more actively involved in ensuring that stations offer locally oriented programming; and. Investigate other ways to assist prospective radio licensees to identify suitable available commercial FM spectrum in the communities in which they wish to broadcast, including authorizing the development of software to do so. The Report notes that, as temporary trustees of the public’s airwaves, broadcasters are obligated to operate their stations to serve the public interest, including their airing of programming responsive to the needs and issues of their station communities of license. The actions and proposals contained in the Report are intended to ensure that the nations’ broadcasters will meet this responsibility Action by the Commission December 18, 2007, by Report and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 07-218). Chairman Martin and Commissioner Tate, with Commissioners Copps and Adelstein concurringand dissenting in part, and Commissioner McDowell approving and concurring in part. Separate statements issued by Chairman Martin, Commissioners Copps, Adelstein, Tate, and McDowell. Media Bureau contact: William D. Freedman (202) 418-1415 -FCC (via Pete Kemp, July 18, 2008, NRC-AM via DXLD) Yeah, right. So how do we explain all the stations currently saturating the airwaves with the same fare, be it demagogue preachers, talk show hosts in love with their own voice, inane sports commentary (it's only a GAME, right?), and/or so-called reality programs? I guess they were all grandfathered in before the FCC decided to enforce the "public interest" part? Ha! (Paul Swearingen, Topeka, NRC-AM via DXLD) IF this should happen to be approved without major changes, I wouldn't count on it being enforced. It'll just be another one of those regulations they haven't got the resources to enforce. And I suspect they all know that, and this is mostly posturing (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ), ibid.) I wonder if Russ`s elevation has some influence on his opinions? (gh) ** VATICAN. Re gh`s question: CELP is a family of speech codecs for telcom purposes. Code-Excited Linear Predictive See http://www-mobile.ecs.soton.ac.uk/speech_codecs/hybrid.html (Kai Ludwig, July 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA [non]. It was reported that ``Aló, Presidente`` had been suspended indefinitely as HCF is too busy to do it, so I was wondering whether Cuba would continue to broadcast that block from 1400 UT Sundays. Yes, July 20 at 1403 check in progress with intro, and 1404 RHC`s Mundo Siete program, best by far on 13750, // 13680, 11875, 11670. 13680 and 11670 were weakest and not synchronized. This programming is separate, not // daily RHC frequencies such as 9550, 11760, 11805, 12000, 15370. Recheck at 1631, all the former bunch still on in same relative positions, but not Chávez speaking. Re2check at 1901, all STILL on, and now it does sound like a live speech by Chávez, with applause. By now the fifth frequency 17750 was just barely audible, and 11670 had a 4 Hz SAH, probably DW in Arabic via Sines, Portugal at 100 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. 4739.56, RTV Son La, Jun 30 1258-1308, 35343, Vietnamese, Song and talk, ID at 1301. 4739.58, RTV Son La, Jun 29 1155-1208, 35343, Vietnamese, IS, Opening music, ID, Opening announce, Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium July 20 via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. 15655, Que Huong R.: Jun 24 *1200-1206, 35333-34332, Vietnamese, Opening music, ID, Opening announce, Talk. Jul 01 *1200-1210, 35433-34433, Vietnamese, 1200 sign on with opening music, ID, Opening announce, Talk. Jul 11 1203-1213, 35433-35333, Vietnamese, Talk, ID at 1201 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium July 20 via DXLD) Frequency jumps around but these three logs on same 15655, a Tuesday, Tuesday and Friday respectively (gh, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. MUGABE’S POST-ELECTION MEDIA BLITZ --- Zimbabwean leader appears desperate to shore up support at home in the face of mounting criticism abroad. === By Hativagone Mushonga in Harare In the face of growing condemnation from the international community, President Robert Mugabe is appealing to the Zimbabwean public for support as he battles for legitimacy. In what amounts to an after-the- fact election campaign, the state-owned media have gone into overdrive to try to salvage Mugabe’s battered image after the second-round presidential election held on June 27. The run-up to the ballot was one of the most violent election periods the country has seen, with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, saying 113 of its supporters were killed and thousands of others beaten, tortured and displaced. The election had been conceived as a run-off between Mugabe and the MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai – who won more votes than the incumbent in the first round on March 29, but according to the official returns, not the majority required to be elected outright. However, Mugabe ended up as the sole candidate when his rival withdrew from the contest, citing fears that more MDC supporters would suffer acts of violence. Advertisements now being aired on public radio every 20 minutes or so feature Mugabe thanking the nation for voting for him and for their “faith and confidence” in him. “I feel honoured and humbled,” he says. “Our challenge today and in the years ahead is to move forward in unity, regardless of our diverse political affiliations, united by the sense of a common vision and destiny for a prosperous Zimbabwe.” Full-page advertisements in state-run newspapers feature a younger- looking, smiling Mugabe, saying, “The people of Zimbabwe have spoken. Let us therefore continue rebuilding our nation. Thank you for rejecting recolonisation of our precious Zimbabwe by the western powers. I know you believe and I believe that all good things are possible. God bless Zimbabwe. Thank you for voting for me – thank you for voting in peace.” The advertisements portray Mugabe as the champion of the Zimbabwean people, someone who has fought relentlessly for their sovereignty and has once again won a mandate to govern them. However, despite this media blitz, observers say Zimbabweans will not easily forgive the president for masterminding the bloodletting in the run-up to the polls, or for the humiliation he inflicted on the electorate. A veteran Zimbabwean journalist, who requested anonymity, told IWPR that Mugabe appeared desperate to win the legitimacy the international community, including some former allies in Africa, have refused him after what is widely seen as a sham election. “The main aim of the advert is to prop up and polish Mugabe’s image. He seems desperate for acceptance from Zimbabweans and for them to recognise him as the legitimate president. This is the first time Mugabe has shown himself so desperate for public support,” said the journalist. Aside from the violence, the prospect of continuing hardship is a major concern for the electorate. With no resolution to the political crisis in sight, the government looks unlikely to find any way out of the country’s deep-set economic problems. Alex Mukaka, who comes from the southern province of Masvingo but is currently in the capital Harare recovering from wounds he sustained during the violence, said people in the countryside would never again fully accept Mugabe because of the violence perpetrated by his security forces and youth militias. “We were stripped of our dignity during the run-up to the election and also on election day itself. We were driven like beasts into torture bases every day. We spent whole nights in the mountains where we were intimidated and humiliated by mere youths who were not born at the time of the [1970s] liberation war. On voting day, we were herded like sheep into the polling booths where we voted against our will,” he said. “We are people who think to be treated like animals was very insulting.” The president’s desire for public approval comes against a backdrop of crumbling support from African leaders formerly sympathetic to his robust defiance of external criticism. That includes countries in the immediate neighbourhood, which are members of the Southern African Development Community, SADC. One of these, Botswana, has refused to accept the results of the election, and is urging its neighbours not to recognise Mugabe as president and to suspend Zimbabwe from both the SADC and the African Union. “As a country that practises democracy and the rule of law, Botswana does not... recognise the outcome of the presidential run-off election, and would expect other SADC member states to do the same," Foreign Minister Phandu Sekelemani said on July 4. The Zimbabwean authorities, he said, should not be allowed to participate in SADC meetings “until such time as they demonstrate their commitment to strictly adhere to the organisation's principles”. Hativagone Mushonga is the pseudonym of a reporter in Harare. Zimbabwe Crisis Reports No. 155, Jul 18, 2008 Copyright (c) 2008 The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 8-082: Thanks Jerry, Glenn and Ron for the help to ID 3985 (1000-1032). Both transmissions on 3912 and 3985 (almost same time around 1000-1030), went off at July-18, 19. Today I didn`t check. 73 (Lucio Otavio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, July 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) If 3985 and 3912 were //, evidence it really was from V. of People (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. On rite now 0212 GMT 20 July 2008: 5.300 Mc or area. AM. Commercial for power supplies at above time. I caught the station 2 minutes before. Station ID at 0218 area, "CB Radio" (approximate name surrounded by uncopyable numbers. Still listening at 0227. Still listening at 0235 GMT. Serious sounding announcing in between records. This part of the program is a tribute to Wolfman Jack. "CB Radio" is a middle part of a longer identification. 0243: "WBC Radio box 24" (Fredric Jodry, UT July 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) North American pirate, no doubt, 5300 kHz (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 9500, the sweep tones again as heard a couple days previously, July 19 at 1253; recheck at 1301 and it was off, with WHRI dominating from 9495 instead with ``How Great Thou Art`` in unknown language, and then English. 9500, sweep tones again running Sunday July 20 at 1250 check, and this time continued past 1300, still at 1307 until off about 1330. There are three tones, mid-hi-lo, and then an upward sweep, repeating and repeating, but not the same audio frequencies in consecutive iterations. This time I noticed that the transmission was spreading weakly as far down as 9465 and as far up as 9526, where different sounding sweeps could be heard weakly interfering with Indonesia (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ### ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: ALASKA; DTV: MEXICO; IBOC: USA KMRY ++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ THE SONY M37 HAS BEEN UPDATED Hi Glenn: Many of us have wondered what Sony would do with their last Walkman digital radio as February 17 approaches. Happily they have come out with the new model M37W. Wal-Mart has them, same package but now in white and blue. Same set, but without the VHF TV channels. FM still begins at 87.5 or so. Same price as the M37V was, ~ $29. Probably the same IC, minus a jumper. It's not that this set is That good, it's just the very last of the Walkman series, along with the SRF-59. No one else even makes this type of set anymore. Regards (Ron Smith, July 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ BRACING FOR A SOLAR SUPERSTORM The August 2008 issue of Scientific American has an interesting article concerning solar and geomagnetic activity titled ''Bracing for a Solar Superstorm''. It begins with a narrative describing a huge space weather event on August 28, 1859, one hundred years prior to twentieth century's cycle 19. This was the fiercest ever recorded, and resulted in shutdown of telegraph traffic and aurora observed in the Caribbean. The article says a storm of this magnitude comes along every 500 years or so, but reconstructs events and imagines the impact on current technology infrastructure. There are wonderful graphics and numerous sidebars. Included are some web links I wasn't previously aware of, such as http://solarstorms.org Within that site at http://solarstorms.org/SRefStorms.html is a history of great solar events, a short primer at http://solarstorms.org/SPrimer.html and at http://solarstorms.org/S23rdCycle.html downloadable PDFs of the book, ''The 23rd Cycle: Learning to live with a stormy star'' (QST de W1AW, Propagation Forecast Bulletin 30 ARLP030, From Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, WA July 18, 2008, To all radio amateurs, via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) ###