DX LISTENING DIGEST 9-059, August 13, 2009 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 2009 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 SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1473, August 12-18, 2009 Wed 0500 WRMI 9955 Wed 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 1900 WBCQ 7415 Thu 0530 WRMI 9955 Thu 1900 WBCQ 7415 Fri 0000 WBCQ 5110-CUSB Area 51 Fri 0100 WRMI 9955 Fri 1130 WRMI 9955 Fri 1430 WRMI 9955 [NEW] Fri 1900 WBCQ 7415 Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 [or 2028:30] Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 0800 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 9510 [except first Sat] Sat 1630 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1515 WRMI 9955 [resumed] Mon 0500 WRMI 9955 Mon 2200 WBCQ 7415 Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Tue 1900 WBCQ 7415 Wed 0500 WRMI 9955 [or new 1474 starting here?] Wed 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 1900 WBCQ 7415 Latest edition of this schedule version, including AM, FM, satellite and webcasts with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html or http://schedule.worldofradio.org or http://sked.worldofradio.org For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN NOW AVAILABLE: http://podcast.worldofradio.org or http://www.wrn.org/listeners/stations/podcast.php OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** ARGENTINA. RAE Int [sic --- are they really IDing with redundant ``International`` now?], 15344: 1816 12 June, muffled audio, OM talk [English?] and music, SIO 343; 1841 10 July [Fri], start of DX program? Heard CW intro, SIO 252; 1916 5 June, local music, announcements, listed as English, SIO 353 (SRC, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) If not English, what? DX supplement is scheduled on Fridays, non-supplement on Wednesdays (gh, DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 6060 / 15344.899, RAE, General Pacheco, 2238-2255 August 12, 2009. Spanish programming with tango filler music. Both channels clear and fair (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 2368.50, Radio Symban (presumed), 1207, August 12, heard open carrier, audio below threshold level; better from 1337 to 1348; at times sounded like singing, but too weak to say much about it. Is the poorest/weakest that I have heard them. Sent an email to Ian Baxter of Sydney, who then tuned in and heard them. He notes: “Yes, you are correct about signal level, they are the weakest I have heard them from the Marrickville site. Noisy reception & quite weak even 10 km away! Probably 30 watts or so??” (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2368.50, Radio Symban (presumed), August 13 continuing with their low powered testing; best about my local sunrise (1322). Ian Baxter of Sydney notes on August 13: “They are back to around 50 - 70 W, by my reckoning, a tad stronger than when they first started from this location” (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Re 9-058, BURMA [non] --- Mike Bird sent the following press release from Radio Australia giving more details of the plans: Radio Australia today has announced plans to reach audiences in Burma including a new special service in Burmese. Radio Australia CEO, Hanh Tran, says events in Burma in recent times, including the devastation of Cyclone Nargis, the extension and detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and the prospect of coming elections, highlights the need for strong communications into the region. He says the service to Burma in English will be imminent with a Burmese language service to follow. Director ABC International, Murray Green, said the ABC had been working with the Federal Government looking for ways of improving the flow of information to the people of Burma. Murray Green said the move reflected the ABC’s on-going commitment to serving people in those parts of the Asia and the Pacific without press freedom. Radio Australia has served audiences in the region for nearly 70 years, however much of that capacity was constrained in the late 1990s as a result of budget cuts. Mr Green said this latest move to re- introduce Burma as a service area was another milestone in the strengthening of the ABC’s presence in the region. The new services will utilise proven shortwave radio distribution as well as digital technologies to communicate to Burmese nationals and Burmese expatriates. (Source: Radio Australia) Andy Sennitt adds: A bit of Googling today turned up a piece from Radio Australia written as long ago as 1997, in which it expressed the need for a Burmese service, subject to funds being available: “In 1986, Radio Australia received about 25,000 letters from Burma, most written in response to RA’s broadcasts in Standard Chinese, or Mandarin (understood or spoken by many Burmese citizens of Chinese origin). Amid continuing unrest during 1987, the number of letters received from Burma began to drop, to about 1000 per month. The unrest culminated in serious riots in March 1988, which were suppressed by the security forces, with many people killed. Since, then, Radio Australia has only been receiving a few hundred letters a year from Burma - although the actual audience is believed to remain high. In May 1990, Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won general elections, but the military has refused to hand over power. The military government imposes tight restrictions on all international communications. Radio Australia has identified introduction of a Burmese language service as a top priority, if funds were available.” (Source: BurmaLibrary.org) In May 1997 the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee released its report on The Role and Future of Radio Australia and Australia Television. The Committee recommended that additional funding be provided to establish a Burmese language service and to expand the Khmer language service. (Source: Parliament of Australia e-briefing) 4 comments so far 1 Glenn Hauser [as previously] 2 john August 12th, 2009 - 1:37 UTC I think it’s worth noting the target audience for Rudd’s message. He may be playing off the loss of much of Radio Australia’s South East Asian broadcasts with the shutdown of RA’s Darwin transmission capacity. The Australian public remembers little about international radio but that event has a strong resonance in the community. Glenn’s right - RA has never had a Burmese language service. Any English to Burma was severely curtailed by the 1997 shutdown of Darwin. Some signal may reach Burma now but it\’s not specifically targetted. 3 Andy Sennitt August 12th, 2009 - 8:23 UTC Thank you for the corrections. I actually thought RA did once have a Burmese service, but obviously I was wrong. They wanted one, but didn’t get the financing. But now there *will* be a new service in Burmese. See extended story above. 4 Glenn Hauser August 12th, 2009 - 23:18 UTC Radio Australia already broadcasts in English to Burma. One Shepparton transmitter on 329 degree azimuth is targeted at CIRAF zone 49, which includes Burma and the rest of SE Asia as far as Vietnam: 2330-0700 17750 0700-1300 11945 1430-1700 11660 And the sesquihour in between, 1300-1430 is in Mandarin. It would be nice if officials got their facts straight. Altho Darwin would be better, we SWLs know how well RA gets out from Shepparton, and it is part of RA`s mythology that Shepparton is deficient. See also kimandrewelliott.com where he speculates on possible Burmese timeslots, clashing with other broadcasts in that language (MN blog comments via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. Radio O1 International, 13730, 0603 25 June news in German, 0609 English, // 6155, SIO 555 (David Morris, Dorset, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** BELGIUM. DRM, 9920-9925-9930, RTBF, Wavre, YL in French at 0727 16 July (Richard Thurlow, Suffolk, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) HFCC shows this as analog only; however the current DRM DX schedule shows 0700-1100 as DRM only on Tue & Thu, 100 kW, 167 degrees to S Europe; indeed, July 16 was a Thursday. This reporter has a list of digital logs each month, but never with any signal evaluations; are they all perfectly received? (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. R. Educação Rural, Tefé, 4925, QSL card for no r.p. [delay unknown], v/s Thomas Schwanborn, Praça Santa Teresa 283, Centro, 69470-000 Tefé (Patrick Cody, Ireland, Aug World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** BURUNDI. STATE RADIO GOES LIVE ONLINE --- Dave Kernick writes: Government-controlled Radio Burundi is observed streaming live audio online from its (English-language) website at http://www.rtnb.bi This is the organization’s second network, which is on the air at 0300-2100 UT broadcasting mainly in French, with news bulletins noted at 0800, 1000, 1100, 1400. Newscasts in English were heard at 1130 and 1600, and in Swahili at 1145. Although the website refers to the service as “RTNB Radio”, on air it identifies variously as “Radio Nationale”, “Radiodiffusion Nationale de Burundi”, or simply as “Radio Burundi”. Radio Burundi’s first network broadcasts entirely in the Kirundi language, and is believed to be only available on FM. Burundi was part of the former Belgian colony of Ruanda-Urundi, until it split from what became Rwanda and achieved independence as the Kingdom of Burundi in 1962. Radio Burundi around that time was only on air for six or seven hours a day, broadcasting on the single frequency of 6195 kHz shortwave. Andy Sennitt adds: When I checked the website, what was presumably embedded audio in an unidentified language (certainly not French) started playing automatically after a few seconds. It appeared to be a live stream, grossly overmodulated. Be careful not to have the audio turned up too loud when you first access this site! (August 12th, 2009 - 12:51 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) 2 comments so far 1 Dave Kernick August 12th, 2009 - 13:30 UTC I see what you mean about the overmodulation, I noticed it was somewhat distorted yesterday, but not that badly! The language was probably Swahili, btw. 2 radiomensch August 12th, 2009 - 20:24 UTC This is the actual Stream URL: http://41.207.123.90:8000 At this moment, music programme in French (MN blog comments via DXLD) ** CANADA. Spurs on 980/1000 --- Is anybody else hearing nasty spurs on 980 and 1000? I believe they're emanating from CKGM (990) in Montreal, so they may not be very noticeable for folks outside of Quebec or eastern Ontario (Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON, Aug 12, ABDX via DXLD) Yes, I heard a nasty sound tuning around 990 a few evenings ago similar to what was heard several months ago on both 1560 and 1580 coming out of CFAV (1570) (Bogdan Chiochiu, QTH Pierrefonds (Montreal`s West Island), PQ, ibid.) It's been going on since Saturday. I have no idea what is causing it. It's the strangest noise I've ever heard. It's definitely from CKGM (Thomas Anderson, location unknown, ibid.) ** CHINA. Firedrake August 12: at 1235 heard again on 8400, nothing on 9000. At 1250, JBA on 13970; at 1252 poor on 14430, fair at 1348. At 1435 FD weak and alone on 11990, but dominant and much stronger on // 12040 mixing with CNR1 and VOA Chinese, not // 14430. At 1440, 9845 // 12040 music with choral, so not FD? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Jamming. They must be in the process of evaluating their effectiveness, as they are experimenting with different combinations of jamming. August 13 at 1408 heard the unusual occurrence of solo Firedrake (without any CNR-1 echo jamming) on 6030, 7130, 7185, 11805, 11975, 11990 and 12040. At 1411 Firedrake ended and was replaced by solo CNR-1 echo jamming (except on 11805, 11990 and 12040, which had both FD and CNR-1 echo jamming, which has been their usual format recently) (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. DISCLAIMER FOR ALL MW ITEMS: No portion of the below may be reproduced in any format or redistributed by the National Radio Club or their editors without my expressed written permission, which will then be swiftly -- and we do mean swiftly -- denied. Editors receiving this directly from me are excluded, provided this entire disclaimer is included once where any of the aforementioned items are first reproduced. 1020, Radio Guamá, Bahía Honda, Pinar del Río 2200-2230 GMT August 8, 2009. Huge signal, new transmitter? Radio Cadena Habana always dominated daytime here and was way weaker. Even stronger than Enciclopedia on 530. Top-of-hour "Esta es Guamá" with Cuban pop/dance music, frequent canned "Guamá A-M, señal Cuba." Also heard August 10, 2009 at pre-sunrise 1011 with news and local events for the day, strong but with traces of Reloj under. 1020, Radio Reloj, Jorobo, Las Tunas 1011-1030 August 10, 2009. Poor under Guamá. Minute sounders running 15 seconds slow! 10 seconds for the final tick, with the last of the "RR" sound effects ending at :15. Same with all other Reloj outlets such as the two or three out-of- synchros audible on 950, so not a severe decayed audio feed anomaly. And the delay continues through 2235 check on August 12! Someone please buy Arnie a cheap 'atomic' digital clock at Office Depot, please! 1550, Radio Rebelde, Nuevitas, Ciego de Avila 1031-1040 August 10, 2009. Good on peaks over presumed WRHC and WAMA Hispanic formats, and an unidentified US English morning drive talker. Parallel 5025, et. al. (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 5965 / 6000, Radio Habana Cuba, 1510-2030 August 9, 2009. As seems to be the case often, at least on Sundays any more, RHC just keeps on going all day on these two frequencies in Spanish. At 1510, audible parallels located were 11760, 13680, 13760 and 15360. I didn't bother checking for parallels later in the day. Lots of Honduras coverage (get over it, you lost). And 5965 and 6000 are there again 2033+ August 10-12, local level here, of course (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RHC shifts again which frequencies are in English and which in Spanish after 0500. Aug 13 at 0535, English on 6010, 6060, and 6140; Spanish on 6000, 6120. 11760 may have been on the air but on this occasion dominated by NHK in Russian, along with a SAH. Most nights recently, 6140 has been in Spanish instead. Of course RHC`s own current online transmission schedule continues to show nothing but English after 0500. RHC also continues secret midday transmission in Spanish, reconfirmed August 13 at 1655 at least on 13760, 11800 distorted, 11760 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. New RHC antenna --- in RHC`s Mailbag 20 July at 0345 on 6000, a listener in Nigeria wrote that reception was difficult there. In reply, Ed Newman said that from next month a new antenna would be in use targeting Africa and mentioned a new programme called `Focus on Africa` (or similar) (Alan Pennington, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. R. Martí, Aug 12 at 1414 on 11930 with jazzed-up Warsaw Concerto music mixing with talk, over jamming at the moment while // Greenville 11845 was under jamming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS TURKISH. Re 9-050, Martien Groot`s ``no-doubt`` log of Bayrak on 6150.03 --- Has not been reported on SW for about two years. If any members are visiting the eastern Mediterranean this summer, please do check and try to confirm 6150 (Dave Kenny, ed., DX News, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Or remote receiver? (gh) ** EAST TURKISTAN. Re 9-058, gh`s log on 13670: Does anyone know if this is considered a separate Radio Country in the NASWA Countries list? Thanx and 73, (J. D. Stephens, Hampton Cove, Alabama, USA, HCDX and Cumbre DX via DXLD) You would more likely get an answer if posted on the NASWA list (gh) ** ECUADOR [and non]. Saludos a todos amigos, Antes de dar esta noticia, revisé la mayoria de las publicaciones DX, y no hay nada sobre el tema. Sin más rodeo, se trata de Música del Ecuador, resulta que el músico ecuatoriano, y productor de radio, Jorge Zambrano, murió a la edad de 63 años el 23 de julio 2009 después de batallar con el cáncer que tenía. Para tener más detalles pueden ir a la página de HCJB Global. http://www.hcjb.org/news/hcjb_global_in_the_news/ecuadorian_musician_radio_producer_jorge_zambrano_dies_at_63.html La información está en inglés. Incluso no encontré nada en español. Viendo la página de Música del Ecuador, en: http://www.vozandes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=0 El último programa que está en la página es del viernes 7 de agosto del 2009, No lo he podido escuchar porque está en formato ram y necesitaría el Real Player para poderlo escuchar. Pueden visitar la página web de DX Partyline en: http://www.hcjb.org/media/dx_partyline/dx_partyline.html?Itemid=0 73 de (Yimber Gaviría, Colombia, Aug 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) OBIT Wherein there are still weekly podcasts up thru August 8, the latest one playing immediately as of Aug 12. About halfway in, Graham Bulmer explains the latest plans for closing Pifo, as already revealed in 9- 058, below. Allen says no decision made yet on the future of DXPL. Too bad that Jorge Zambrano has died; his was excellent show (gh, DXLD Re: DXPL - DX Partyline on WWCR --- To follow up: The WWCR DX Block aired this past weekend DID have an airing of DXPL in it, but it again was a repeat of that same old "July 18" edition they have aired repeatedly. (This was UT Sunday, 8/9/09.) For what it`s worth, they also have been airing the same edition of "Ask WWCR" at 0145 UT Sundays before the DX Block, number 298. I think that one has been on four weeks in a row now. So are these WRMI airings of DX Party Line carrying current new editions of DXPL, or are they just re-airing the July 18 edition same as WWCR is? (Will Martin, MO, Aug 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) DX Partyline via WRMI, 9955, Wed Aug 12 at 1441 concluding talk by Christer Brunström on his visit to RRI Romania, then logs more than a month old from Stewart MacKenzie, dated July 10 and 9. We suspect that DXPLs being aired are not the latest ones. Perhaps the Saturday of original airing was specified at the outset, but not so for Aventura Diexista which followed at 1445. If anyone is keeping track, this one had Alen Grájam in Esmeraldas on a project for his home church, and apologizing for transmission problem the previous week at 1445 on HCJB itself; then R. Guía Internacional feature from Jorge García, CDXA, about Colombia on MW. [Later:] I see they are still produced weekly as on DXPL podcast page. http://www.hcjb.org/media/dx_partyline/dx_partyline.html?Itemid=0 However the one heard this morning Aug 12 at 1430 on 9955 was Aug 1`s, not Aug 8 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. HCJB GLOBAL VOICE MOVES UP END DATE OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTS FROM ECUADOR Greetings from Quito. The official press release regarding the imminent shut down of the Pifo transmitter site follows. Allen. The end date for international broadcasts from Radio Station HCJB in Ecuador has been moved up as the missionary radio ministry defines new strategies for future outreach. Anticipating the opening of the new Quito airport near the station’s international transmitter site in Pifo, staff members have already dismantled all but 14 antennas and towers. Present shortwave broadcasts in Portuguese, Spanish, German and indigenous languages, including Quichua, had earlier been announced to end no later than April 1, 2010. These international broadcasts will cease between September and November 2009. Announcing the earlier closure date of Pifo, Graham Bulmer, HCJB Global’s director for the Latin America Region, said, “These times stretch us, causing us both to doubt and to grow in faith and hopefully drive us to confess our dependence on God. We believe He is guiding us. We hold all things with open hands and pursue understanding of what God expects of us as stewards of the resources of His kingdom.” The Pifo closure will impact Radio Station HCJB’s Quichua Language Service with some programming moving from the shortwave frequencies to the local AM channel. Investigations are also being made regarding the possibility of transferring HCJB-2, the ministry’s 37-year-old FM station in Guayaquil (Ecuador’s largest city), into the hands of local partners. The mission’s newer strategy, begun in the 1990s, has been to reduce its emphasis on shortwave in Latin America while focusing on “radio planting” or assisting local ministries realize their dream of beginning a Christian radio ministry. More than 300 local stations have been helped in these endeavors worldwide, including about 60 in Latin America. HCJB Global also continues to expand its training ministries across the region. “The way people consume media has changed,” said HCJB Global President Wayne Pederson. “So we have the opportunity to change to delivery systems such as satellite, FM Internet and podcasting. The closing of shortwave in Latin America is strategic because of the planting of local FM radio stations across the region and around the world. These stations are staffed and programmed by local believers who can speak to the culture in their own communities.” Pederson recently told the staff that a high priority for the mission is its initiative for Latin America called Corrientes that launches in October. The coalition of more than 10 Christian organizations involves training Latin Americans for bi-vocational mission work around the world. -end- (HCJB press release direct from Allen Graham, Aug 12, to DX LISTENING DIGEST) Cierre HCJB Ecuador --- Hola, Del comunicado se desprende, aparte de que todo lo dejan en manos de su "dios", que aunque se llamen "global", en vez de aplicar la globalización, se van a la "localización" y, especialmente, parece que tienen más interés en otras regiones. Que desmontan la planta porque el aeropuerto empieza a funcionar no es óbice para que hubiesen buscado otro emplazamiento al que llevar las instalaciones. Pero, parece que la crisis también he ha llegado a las emisoras religiosas, que parecían las de más pujanza, el último bastión en la OC --- no es así ¡Qué 'dios' (el que sea) nos pille confesados! Un saludo (Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España, COORDINADOR GENERAL, AER, http://aer-dx.org/ Aug 12, condiglist yg via DXLD) Desgraciadamente sí. Porque el tema de la inconveniencia de Pifo por su proximidad al Aeropuerto de Quito no creo que sea un problema insolucionable que motive la salida permanente del aire de la emisora en onda corta (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, ibid.) Es lamentable. Y la verdad, no creo en los comunicados oficiales. Me gustaria saber realmente que pasó y creo que no va a ser fácil averiguarlo. No me digan que no es curioso porque estamos hablando de una emisora que no es estatal y en consiguiente su cierre no se debería a un recorte presupuestario. Así que quedaría el quechua solo por Radio Habana Cuba --- el demonio y el comunismo se apoderan de los hermanos! Juasss! (Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, ibid.) On the surface, it looks as if HCJB has been free of government interference all these years, but Ecuador is moving in the direxion of Venezuela to close down or nationalize private broadcasters, so HCJB may be getting out just in time (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) HCJB in Ecuador is the oldest Protestant evangelical shortwave station, dating back to 1931. http://www.hcjb.org/about_us/hcjb_global/our_history.html HCJB continues shortwave broadcasts from Australia. It would not have been especially difficult or expensive for HCJB to move one of its shortwave transmitters elsewhere in Ecuador to serve remote parts of the Andean region, where local affiliated FM and MW stations are not available. And for old time's sake. Presumably this will also end program feeds from Quito to partner stations in Brazil using Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) shortwave. Posted: 13 Aug 2009 (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) 1500-1700 daily 11705 131 Brazil 4 HCJB EQA Portuguese Quito Ecuador (drmdx schedule via DXLD) But there is still satellite, should they care to go via International Vacuum (gh, DXLD) ** EGYPT. 15710 at 1254 August 12, very distorted YL talking unID language as always the case on this frequency among others from R. Cairo, scheduled Indonesian at 1230-1400 from Abis site; a travesty (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. RFI German off Astra 1H --- For some days now (first noted on last weekend) RFI German is missing from the "RFI Multilingues" channel on Astra 1H, transponder 90 (12.207 GHz). This concerns at least the evening broadcast from 1600 to 1700. Here now a program in Russian is being carried instead. So far it is unknown whether this is a switching error or a first step to close German as next RFI service. Their website has still been updated today, podcasts are still there as well. So far no information about the situation on 106.0 MHz in Berlin, which presumably gets a separate feed via Eutelsat W3A (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. DW Questionnaire --- Following email received from DW on August 12, 2009. 73, Kraig, KG4LAC ***** Original email from DW follows ***** Deutsche Welle User Questionnaire Wednesday, August 12, 2009 7:56 AM Dear Deutsche Welle user, As Germany's international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle aims to bridge gaps between different cultures. In order to improve our impact on intercultural dialogue, we would like to get closer to you as one of our users. The following questionnaire provides you with the opportunity to express your point of view on Deutsche Welle's services. Furthermore, we are interested in your opinion about political developments and your associations with the idea of cultural diversity. By answering our questions, you will help us account for your needs when designing our programming. All participants will have a chance to win an iPod nano or one of five Deutsche Welle backpacks at the end of the questionnaire. The questionnaire will take about 15 minutes. We assure you that all information will be kept anonymous and is subject to German data protection law. To the questionnaire: http://www.dw-world.de/response Thank you for your support! (via Kraig Krist, VA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Like most such online surveys, it`s step by step, page by page. You have to keep answering questions in order to get to the next one. If anyone has got thru to the end, do they ever ask whether they should resume SW for English, or even German, to North America? And here`s another station besides R. Nacional de Venezuela which considers us ``users``. I guess ``listeners`` would be just too passé and restrictive these days (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. EMR relay this Sunday Date 16th of August 2009 Time 0900 to 0930 UT, Channel 6140 kHz Programme Mike Taylor (Mail Box programme) EMR Internet radio service (Sunday and Monday) Programme repeats are at the following times: 0900 - 1200 - 1500 - 1800 and 2000 UT Please visit http://www.emr.org.uk and click on the “EMR internet radio” button which you will find throughout the website (see the menu on the left). Please send all reception reports to studio @ emr.org.uk Good Listening 73s (Tom Taylor, Aug 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. FUERZAS ARMADAS INTENTAN CERRAR RADIO GLOBO (C-Libre/IFEX) - Las Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras, ejecutoras del golpe de estado del 28 de Junio de 2009, han iniciado acciones para el cierre de Radio Globo, por medio de la Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CONATEL). La denuncia la hizo el 4 de Agosto el periodista David Romero Ellner, tras obtener copia de la petición oficial hecha a CONATEL por el abogado José Santos López Oviedo, representante de la oficina de Auditoria Militar de las Fuerzas Armadas. Este abogado de las Fuerzas Armadas presentó un escrito, el 31 de Julio, en el que pide al presidente de CONATEL "la suspensión de la (frecuencia) de la radio por ser utilizada para la comisión de sedición mediante incitación a la insurrección". La denuncia se basa en que Radio Globo transmitió un mensaje del activista de derechos humanos Andrés Pavón en el que hace un llamado a la insurrección. El Relator para la Libertad de Expresión de Naciones Unidas, Frank LaRue, quien se encuentra en el país en una visita no oficial, dijo que el intento de cerrar la radio constituye una grave violación a la libertad de expresión. Agregó que este hecho representa no solo un problema de una radio y la violación de la libertad de expresión, sino también una violación al derecho de estar informado que tiene el pueblo hondureño. "Muchos corresponsales y periodistas internacionales me comunicaron que sienten que tener una cámara los vuelve un blanco de las fuerzas de seguridad, para silenciarlos con el propósito de no documentar lo que está pasando en el país", dijo LaRue. El relator pidió al pueblo hondureño que levante su voz, que pida la libertad de expresión y se exija el retorno constitucional. La administración de Radio Globo dijo que primero agotará todos los medios legales, esperando que los promotores de este atentado rectifiquen. Fuente: Comité por la Libre Expresión, Colonia Rubén Darío, Calle Palermo, Casa No. 2244B, Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., Honduras, 10 Agosto 2009 en IFEX, Honduras Si desean visitar el sitio de Radio Globo en internet: http://www.radioglobohonduras.com/ Para ver cobertura de frecuencias del país: http://www.radioglobohonduras.com/cobertura.html (Enviada Por Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, via Yimber Gaviría, Noticias de la Radio, DXLD) ** INDIA. 4800, AIR, Hyderabad *0017-0022 August 11, 2009. Carrier at tune-in (no tone), interval signal from 0018, Hindi man and orchestral fill from 0020. Clear and weak. 4920, AIR, Chennai 0012-0018 August 11, 2009. Tune-in to 1000 cycle tone, interval signal from 0013, Indian bumper music from 0015, Hindi man, into chant-like vocals. Clear and weak (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. TV at 50 --- Many of us may not be aware; it`s 50th anniversary of Television in India this year. Read this fascinating article published in "Frontline" magazine penned by renowned Bhaskar Ghose: http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20090828261708800.htm (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, Aug 11, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 4925, RRI-Jambi. August 12, another day of well above normal reception for them; noted about 1229 and had signed off by recheck at 1301; almost fair but bothered by QRN and adjacent QRM (4920 strong with the mixing of Tibet and India) (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, Dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 11785, V. of Indonesia presumed, 1300 7 July, sign-on, time pips, OM and YL talk, SIO 252 (SRC, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ??? Wrong presumption. As I reported in 9-051, on this date at this time, I heard VOI opening English on 9525.9, and it has been consistently on 31m all summer. No time pips, either, which is a good idea as they are often running a couple minutes late. What language? So what should it have been? Likely CNR1 jammer, as VOA Chinese via Thailand doesn`t use time pips, either, I think (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9524.88, Voice of Indonesia, 1354, August 13 with nice indigenous music. August 12 also noted here. Seems to be a stable frequency for now (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. Ramadan is almost upon us as it precesses earlier and earlier by the Western calendar: approximately Aug 22 to Sept 20, and you know what that means for SW broadcasts from Islam-dominated countries (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JORDAN. 11960, R. Jordan, Al Karanah, 0702 14 July, YL in Arabic, SIO 444 (Richard Thurlow, Suffolk, Aug BDXC-UL Communication via DXLD) ** KASHMIR. 4950, AIR Kashmir (tentative), 1333, August 13, heard distinctive program of subcontinent music and singing; unable to make out the language used (scheduled for Hindi and Kashmiri); mixing with Shanghai (Voice of Pujiang); by 1356 was very poor and tuned out. Pleased to hear this even with poor reception! (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. KBSWR English programs [reworked from grid by gh]: 60-minute broadcasts [such as 12-13 UT on 9650 via Sackville]: 00-10 dly KBSWR News 10-15 M-F News Commentary 10-25 Sat Seoul Report 10-60 Sun Korean Pop Interactive 15-45 M-T Seoul Calling 15-40 Fri Seoul Calling 25-60 Sat Worldwide Friendship 40-60 Fri Current Affairs in Focus 45-60 Mon Business Watch Tue Touring Korea Wed Culture on the Move Thu Korea, Today & Tomorrow 30-minute broadcasts: 00-10 dly KBSWR News 10-15 M-F News Commentary 10-30 Sat Worldwide Friendship Sun Korean Pop Interactive 15-30 M-F As above from 40 or 45 (via Michael Murray, Aug World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. 11990. R. Kuwait in English: 1805 7 July [Tue] military music sign-on, Umbrella of Islam program, SIO 444 (Chrissy Brand, Manchester, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 2040 13 July [Mon], On This Day, historical facts, SIO 555; also 2134 2 July [Thu], News at 2150, great 60s, 70s and 80s music, SIO 555 (Samuel Giles, Belfast, ibid.) It seems no one but me finds days of week significant for specific programs which others may want to try to hear. And was the music before or after the 2150 news? (gh, DXLD) ** MALAYSIA/SARAWAK. 7130.00, Sarawak FM via RTM, (ex: 7130.50), 1212, August 12 with fair reception; // 5030 (still in the clear with no sign of CNR-1); in vernacular with pop song (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 1210, unidentified 1155-1210 Agust 10, 2009. Orchestral anthem from 1159, but unable to pull an ID after, though two clear "dobleve" references, soft Spanish vocals. However, no "W" network relay listed on 1210, and indeed not parallel 900. Faded to useless status by tune-out. [see CUBA for disclaimer] 6104.73, XEQM, Mérida, Yucatán, 1145-1155 August 10, 2009. Relaying Candela FM today with slogan ID, Spanish pop/dance vocals. Clear and fair. Wish they'd keep it on the indigenous Mayan language(s) station -- more eclectic -- and I've only managed to catch that a couple of times (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XESS-620 `jammed` by US IBOC: see DIGITAL BROADCASTING ** MOROCCO. Re 9-052, upgrade of 171 kHz: This probably happened in late 2008 when reception of Medi 1 on 171 kHz dramatically improved, as noted by David Duckworth and others; see MW Report, January 2009 (Dave Kenny, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 9895, at 1157 21 June, RN via Flevoland, program to France, Spain, Portugal in Dutch, SIO 444 (Martin Cowin, Cumbria, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) In case you haven`t heard, Flevo was closed down years ago, and even dismantled. This is Wertachtal, GERMANY. If it`s RN, it can`t be directly from Netherlands any more (gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Happy Station Show August 13, 2009 0100 & 1500 UT (Tribute To DXers Part 2) Hi Everyone, Here are the podcasts for the August 13, 2009 Happy Station Shows. 0100 UT - http://www.radio4all.net/files/kperron@gmail.com/3101-1-happy_station_081309_0100utc.mp3 1500 UT http://www.radio4all.net/files/kperron@gmail.com/3101-1-happy_station_081309_1500utc.mp3 If you log onto http://www.radio4all.net and click on the Happy Station you can download the shows using Itunes. Using this feature makes it easy to set your itunes to download the show weekly. If you have any problem feel free to contact me at any time pcj.happystation @ gmail.com I also want to take this opportunity to announce the following. All emails, letters and facebook messages are being entered into a lucky draw that will be held on December 31, 2009. The last transmissions for the end of the year will be 2 hours. The prizes will be a: Sangean SW Radio All 3 books from Jerry Berg CD of songs by Tom Meijer And much more. Just to let you know if you send in your reception reports, letters, emails, facebook messages please enclose your address so the HS QSL card can be sent out. Regards, (Keith Perron, Taiwan, Aug 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. Re 9-058: KETA-DT13 empty subchannels KETA's 13-8 and 13-9 are artifacts of UpdateTV and do not/will not show programming. A tuner that correctly handles PSIP should not display them (Trip, rabbitears.info, Aug 11, WTFDA via DXLD) Thanks, Trip. Are you saying these channels have something to do with the program guide service? BTW, the channels were listed as "KETADT3" and "KETADT4" and remain in the ATSC11's channel list. Is the ATSC11 so outdated that it now has problems reading PSIP data? (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, ibid.) UpdateTV: http://www.updatelogic.com/network.html KETA TSReader output: http://www.rabbitears.info/screencaps/ok-okc/50205-0_0.htm Observe the lack of any audio or video feeds associated with Programs 8 and 9, and how their format identifiers are BDC0 and ULI0. This is UpdateTV. Some tuners just don't handle PSIP properly. Nothing to do with age, just that whoever implemented it didn't interpret the spec properly or didn't test it in a wide enough variety of cases. Or both. (- Trip, http://www.rabbitears.info ibid.) More thanks, Trip. Am I the only one on this list dumb enough to admit I didn't know anything about UpdateTV? I do recall talk in years past on wtfda about STBs that would not decode some DTVs properly or at all, due to the stations' PSIP data not including data that could be read by all STB models. I also remember WLOX-DT39 Biloxi having a subchannel that one of my STBs wouldn't display or for which wouldn't retain data. Seems like that was on the Accurian. The other STBs decoded that subchannel fine. (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, ibid.) I hope that OETA isn't screwing up the aspect ratios on the main OETA channel. AETN in Arkansas is having those issues. The main AETN channel (KETS 2-1Little Rock , KETZ 12-1 El Dorado) will often be "stretchovision", "squeezeovision", cropped 16x9 to fit a 4x3 viewing area or worse a "postage stamp" within a postage stamp effect. This has been one of the more annoying issues with our public TV here -- that and using mostly underpowered VHF transmitters (except for KTEJ Jonesboro -- which is underpowered for UHF). AETN runs 4 streams of programming: re-encoded 720p HD (all SDTV is upconverted) on the main channel (although true HD programming on AETN is rare); a shared "Create" (daytime) and Kids (mostly evenings) channel on the second subchannel; AETN Scholar (24/7 instructional and continuing educational programming) on the third subchannel; AIRS-- Arkansas Information Reading Service (a radio reading service) occupies the fourth subchannel. -- -- (Fritze H Prentice Jr, KC5KBV, Star City, AR, EM43aw http://tvdxseark.blogspot.com http://www.twitter.com/KC5KBV DXLD) I don`t think OETA is screwing up aspect ratios, but if we watch 13.1 via Suddenlink cable, we are stuck with letterbox, and programs which ought to be cropped are not. Such as Tracks Ahead, which comes over in `postage stamp` mode. Without an HD monitor, how do you determine the resolution spex? (gh, DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. 11565 at 1500 4 June, R. Pakistan sign-on, really poor audio, English, SIO 352 (SRC, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) As retimed for summer DST (gh) ** PERU [and non]. Perú remained open 1125 to 1220 on 60 meters 10 August. Stations observed: 4746.94, Radio Huanta 2000, Huanta, Ayacucho, ID at 1130 4774.9, Radio Tarma. Tarma 4790, Radio Visión, Chiclayo 4814.95, ECUADOR. Radio El Buen Pastor, Saraguro, Loma Loja 4824.51, La Voz de la Selva, Iquitos, strongest signal with OA music. 4835.42, Radio Marañón, Jaén 4888.17, unID, 2350 to 0020 and 1135 to 1200 9/10 August. Drifting transmitter noted, not enough for ID. Located Dan Sheedy tip from late July, 4888.2 "as an unid OA". Tnx Dan & Arnaldo; Log book from 2006 has unID reported on 4888.2. rlw [more below] 4940, Radio San Antonio, Villa Atalaya, very weak ? 4949.94, Radio Madre de Dios, 1130 to 1200 with audio seemed "en español" 4955, Radio Cultural Amauta, Huanta 4974.83, Radio Pacífico, Lima 73s (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, US. NRD 535D ~ Drake R8, Cumbredx via DXLD) unID, 4888.13, 2350-0015, First, noted a weak carrier at about 2350, but by 2356 or so, I could Spanish language comments. These were very very weak. Didn't hear anything after the hour although the carrier was still on the air (Chuck Bolland, August 26 [¿sic!], 2009), Watkins Johnson HF1000, 27.27N 080.56W, Cumbredx mailing list via Bob Wilkner, ibid.) On a bit later this morning 1030 but still with weak signal. 73s, (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, Florida, Aug 13, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. Radyo Pilipinas on 15285 kHz relaying DWDR FM 104.3 On 12th August 2009 between 0240 and 0300 UT Radyo Pilipinas on 15285 kHz was carrying songs and announcement of DWDR 104.3 MHz. The regular programming and station ID of Radyo Pilipinas was absent. Cannot recollect having heard this before (Supratik Sanatani, India, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Aug 12th was not a public holiday in the Philippines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_Philippines 73 wb df5sx PHILIPPINES, 9395/11720/15190 Dear Dave at BrDXC-UK, re your R Pilipinas Overseas observation on Sundays only, you reported recently. Stuttgart Germany based Roland Schulze and his wife Cora, latter who is a Philippine national, both lived some 15 years in East Asia, reported today August 9th: We confirm the very special Sunday o n l y transmission via RPO Manila. Domestic program DWBR "Business Radio" of FM 104.3 MHz at Manila is relayed - instead of RPO program. RX Icom R71 and Drake R-8, ALA1530-SSB+ active magnetic loop antenna. (Roland Schulze-D, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Aug 9 http://topnews.wwdxc.de via Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND [non]. PRES via WRN via WRMI, axually on the 9955 air, Aug 12 at 2007 check, Slawek Szefs recognizable right away, 2010 to YL on home schooling. Signal was fading up to fair, then down to poor. WRN relays are on the WRMI (webcast) schedule M-F at 16-24 UT, but the SW transmitter has mostly been silent. Jeff White indicated it would be more active due to HFCC in the Dominican Republic 17-21 August: http://www.hfcc.org/B09puntacana.html and has already started. Many other broadcasters with no SW such as Israel and Ireland, or difficult-to-hear-in-NAm SW are involved in this service gratis tnx to WRMI. See schedule at http://www.wrn.org/listeners/schedules/schedule.php?ScheduleID=2&CurrentTZID=3&Show=week However, WRMI schedule grid shows this entire 40-hour-per-week block in English is on the LAm/Carib antenna, not the NAm antenna. However2, no sign of WRMI 9955 at 1655 UT check August 13; so you never know (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Radio Rossii, presumed full schedule on SW in A09: Program 1 (Dubl 1) FE 1700-1300 on 5920, 5940, 6075 Program 2 (Dubl 2) E Siberia 1900-1500 on 6060, 7200, 7320(-1400), 7345 and one more on ex-7140 [?] Program 3 (Dubl 3) W Siberia 2100-1700 on 6085, 6100, 6195 and 4050(2100-1700 with Dubl 3 and 1700-1900 Dubl 4) Program 4 (Dubl 4) Europe 0000-0100 6150; 0100-0400 6150, 6160; 0400-0500 & 0700-0800 6150, 6160, 12070; 0500-0700 6150, 6160, 9495(M-F), 12070; 0800-1325 6150, 6160(-1300), 13665; 1325-1500 6150, 6160, 9470, 9495(from 1430 Sat & Sun); 1500-1700 6160, 11650(?), 9470, 9495(Mon-Sat); 1700-1725 6160, 11650(?), 1725-1900 6160, 11650(?), 7220, 4050(from 1700); 1900-2100 6160, 7220. Local programs of Yakutsk, etc., are not mentioned. Above is based on compilation of obs in other DX issues and reports made in Sofia and thanks to the WRTH (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Aug BDXC-UK Communication retyped and proofed by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Re 9-051, more VLF logs: 25.0, 0605, RJH69, Vilejka, Belarus. Carrier came on 0602, with rapid CW ID “RJH69” repeated at 0606 ‘til 0607. Rapid time pips with longer dash at seconds 20, 30 40 and 50. Managed to follow all frequency changes to 25.1, 25.5, 23.0 and 20.5 kHz. Off at 0646:59s. 343 11/07 25.0, 0805, RJH77, Archangelsk, Russia. Time station. Carrier, followed at 0806 by rapid CW ID “RJH77” ‘til 0807. 2 minutes of continuous carrier, 2 minutes of a data warble followed by the sequence of rapid pips and longer second marker dash, SIO 243 03/07 NR 25.0, 0905, RJH66, Chaldovar, Kyrgyzstan. Carrier ‘til 0906, “RJH66” in rapid CW. Similar sequence to Archangelsk above with rapid pips 243 30/06 NR 25.0, 1005, RJH63, Krasnodar, Russia. “RJH63” ID and sequence of pips. Followed the transmitter right through to 1040 UT when it finished with 4 minutes of FSK on 20.5 kHz, exactly as WRTH page 676. 343 08/07 NR 25.0, ~~~~ Still not heard Khabarovsk, RAB99, despite standing in field at 0505! -NR Nick says "I’ve been surprised at what my simple sets have been picking up. It all started as a fixed tuned receiver for SAQ, but evolved into a tuned receiver to see what else there was down there. The only problem with having to tune the set is the rather large inductance values needed for the RF amplifier around the 20 kHz region. Plus it needs a lot of wire for the aerial coil. The oscillator is based on a 555 timer chip oscillating in the kHz region, but it’s easy to vary the tuning here with a simple pot." (Nick Rank, Buxton, Derbyshire, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 15435, BSKSA General Program, Riyadh, 1702 29 June, OM with news, buzz, Arabic, SIO 411 (Stephen Howie, London, Aug BDXCC- UK Communication via DXLD) If the `QRM` is self-inflicted as in this case, does that merit a 1 for the I-reading in SIO? Another drawback of such numerology (gh) Checking some of the BSKSA schedule I have found: Holy Qur`an program is on air as in past decade 0255-0955 on 9715 but now without a buzz. French is 1400-1555 (not to 1755) on 17660; Bengali 1155-1455 15120. Second program was eliminated at end of March on SW. In reality it is maybe registered on 9580, 9675, 11855 but not heard since May --- or is aired via transmitters of 1-2 kW? (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria, Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** SUDAN. 4740, R. Peace (tentative) by long-path, tuned in at 1439, August 12, to hear a man talking non-stop (sermon?); by 1455 was unusable. Too weak to make out language. I need to check on this earlier. This morning’s long path from Africa was doing very well for Madagascar (6134.90v) and Ethiopia (7165). This certainly needs more monitoring, but seems promising. Also heard a carrier at below threshold level here at about 0400 on August 12, but no audio detected. Perhaps there is a chance of wintertime reception during the 0300-0400 time period (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. Damage of the typhoon to Taiwan stations: Interruption: RTI-Indonesian 1000-1100 11550 kHz RTI-Vietnamese 1400-1500 11550 kHz RTI-Thai 1500-1600 1503 kHz Fu Hsing B.S.-Chinese 0400-0600, 0800-1000, 1100-1300, 2300-0100 9410, 9774, 15375 kHz Furusato no Kaze-Japanese 1600-1630 9780 kHz Nippon no Kaze -Korean 1700-1730 9820 kHz de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, Aug 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENNING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [non]. RTI, 5950 via WYFR, UT Thursday Aug 13 at 0535 had comedy by two guys faking exaggerated British accents, then back to American, subjects including land sharx, pandas on demand. Must have been Instant Noodles show. No swearing noted. Not terribly funny, but kudos for trying, as there is far too little comedy on shortwave! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. LISTENING IN ~ VOICE OF TURKEY with Darren Rozier listeningin @ bdxc.org.uk The Voice of Turkey is part of the Turkish national public broadcaster TRT. Like the BBC World Service, VOT produces a round-the-clock service in its own language, Turkish. There are 26 other languages which are produced by TRT for this external service. That's quite a lot for an international station in 2009. VOT has a similar feel to the Eastern European international services like Radio Bulgaria and Radio Romania. It's about 10 minutes of news at the start of the broadcast followed by a mix of features and music. The main difference with VOT is that some of its programmes are actually live. The main live programme is the 1830 UT broadcast on 9785 kHz. The other broadcasts are announced as pre-recorded. There is also a "live from Turkey" show on one of the Thursday morning broadcasts. Saturday 20/6/09 - 9830 kHz – SINPO 44444. 2218 - Feature on a Turkish city with mountains and a ski centre which goes up to 2635m. The ski season is December to April. 2223 - "Turkish Pop Music from Past to Present" - Featured a band with a name I didn't catch. They made extensive use of Turkish musical instruments and in 1988 toured Germany, Norway and England. In 1985 they won the Golden Orange Award in Australia. Their music (and, indeed, most Turkish music) has a similar sound to East European pop. 2248 - News headlines: Story on terrorists, Tensions in Iran, Northern Cyprus. 2249 -Frequency and timings announcement. Website and Eutelsat also mentioned. "Thank you for listening to the Voice of Turkey and goodbye". 2250 - Tuning signal. Sunday 21/6/09 - 9830 kHz - 44444 2220 - Outgoing speaker of the UK House of Commons’ resignation speech. Information given by VOT on the speaker's job. It's hoped that the new speaker will bring the period of sleaze in British politics to a close! 2223 - "Our Culture". Narrative with mythical creatures. Talk of animals and plants. Religious topics also included. Sounded like the Koran was talked of as a "great example". A famous Turkish love poet was mentioned, but I didn't catch the name. The people of Turkey held him in great affection. 2229 - "What Tunes Say". Urgav (?) - a famous female dance music composer who was involved in preparations for Turkey's 1978 Eurovision entry, but they ended up not participating. They played a song by her which had a Calypso beat with that familiar Eastern European sound. 2234 - VOT ID in all languages. 2236 - Music. 2248 - Headlines and time/ freq. anns. 2250 - Tuning sig for a few seconds, then TX signs off. Monday 22/6/09 - 9830 kHz – 44444 2216 - "Parliamentary Platform". Two world wars have paved the way for countries to seek common ground (I assume they were talking about the EU). Armenia also mentioned, with which Turkey has strained relations. The Armenians accuse the Turks of having committed genocide against their people in the early 20th century. Turkey does not accept this. 2219 - Another cultural feature, on a professor and foreigners living in Germany (including Turks). This was interesting, but hard to explain. The modern state of Turkey was formed from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, with a view to moving towards democracy. In the 1920s the rate of illiteracy in Turkey was 95%. Turkey's acceptance of the Roman alphabet helped to solve this problem. In Turkey it used to be that women weren't allowed to leave the house and they had no right to education. 2224 - Announcement of podcasts of certain VOT features which can be downloaded from: http://www.trt.net.tr in 27 different languages. 2225 - "Views and Colours of Anatolia" (a geographic region of western Asia comprising most of Turkey). Lots of talk of beaches in the area and stories and legends that relate to them. One beach is renowned for people coming to get their ailments healed. Another has the story of a lady who walked into the sea and vanished. Another is famed for turtles coming up out of the sea in the summer to lay their eggs. Yet another is situated on the Black Sea coast and the only thing that breaks the silence is the roar of the waves. 2233 - Music. 2249 - News headlines. Tuesday 23/6/09 - 9830 kHz – 45544 2215 - Feature on voting. A university professor does a commentary on the elections in Iran. The situation has been causing international concern. The BBC has been blocked. Opposition voices say that President Ahmedinajad has distanced Iran from the rest of the world. Those acting from foreign sources need to act with restraint and impartiality. . Turkey and Saudi Arabia cannot remain indifferent to what's going on in Iran. 2222 - "Live from Turkey" (pre-recorded from 1852 as the presenter gives a time check: "21:52 Turkish time"). The presenter says "hello hello hello" and declares that this show is VOT's flagship programme. He gave an introduction saying that the weather in Ankara is hot at the moment, even in the evening (35ºC). After a phone number and musical interlude the rest of the show was filled up with one solitary phone call. It was from "devoted" VOT listener Christopher Lewis from the UK. It was like listening into a private telephone conversation. Although this was nice and also interesting, it would have been even more interesting if there had been more callers and structure to the show, such as some phone-in topics or some panellists in the event that no-one called in. They talked about the weather, the demise of shortwave and about what they had done over the weekend (the presenter had been to Istanbul and had enjoyed some great food). Christopher said he would like to visit Ankara at some point, have a look round the VOT studios and get on air. The presenter seemed up for this. The presenter also seemed to be well travelled. He said he once lived in Canada where it got down to -42ºC! Christopher talked about problems with one of the transmitters broadcasting VOT a while back. He sent an e-mail and an engineer happened to be in the studio at the time. He went out to the TX site and fixed it. There was also talk of e-mails being sent to VOT about the cancellation of the Japanese service. Apparently, it hasn't been cancelled. They just haven't had the staff to produce it recently. VOT have also recently begun broadcasting in Armenian. Friday 26/6/09 - 9785 – 44444 1829 - Tuning Signal. 1830 - Pips (same as UK GTS). Time ann "21:30 Turkish time". This was a live TX. Other times and freqs were also given out, but it was stressed that the programmes on these broadcasts were pre-recorded. 1831 - News headlines - included Turkey co- operating with China in fighting crime and Turkey's European future. 1832 - News proper - The Interior Minister said relations between Turkey and China on terror were important. The Prime Minister made a speech about Turkey's future. Turkey's negotiations about entry into the EU have gained momentum. Story on Turkish / Armenian relations. Sweden is about to take over the EU presidency and the Swedish PM said they would do their best with Turkey's negotiations to enter the EU. Story on negotiations between Northern Cyprus (owned by Turkey) and Greek Cyprus They want an exchange of goods between the two parts of the island. There are, however, problems here such as drug and money laundering 1842 - Review of the Turkish press. Michael Jackson's death was mentioned. 1852 - "Istanbul - a Capital of Culture". Istanbul will be European Capital of Culture in 2010 (despite the fact that half of it is in Asia!) Constantinople (the pre-1930 name for the city) was once the largest city in Europe and the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Talk of "Sultan Ahmed Square", which is named after Sultan Ahmed I of the Ottoman Empire. The Square only has a few remnants of the original buildings there. It has a hippodrome, the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art and a mosque. 1859 - "The Turkish Album". Story of an international caricature competition. Sideband splatter began at 1900 with a high pitched, yet relatively quiet, heterodyne. At this time I adjourned for my monster salad and salmon rolls, courtesy of mother! And so end my findings from VOT. Another feature I remember hearing on the station a few years back was "The Balkans". It was basically news from the Balkan region. I'm not sure if this is still being broadcast on the station. VOT is an interesting and friendly-sounding station, but you do have to have patience with hearing the content of the programmes. The output is muffled and I think they could do with putting a bit more modulation on the signal. Contact details: Email: englishdesk @ trt.net.tr Postal address: TRT, PO Box 333, Yenisehir, Ankara, 06443, Turkey English schedule for A-09: 0300-0400 EuMEAm 5975 6165 7325-ca 1230-1330 EuAsAu 15450 15520 1830-1930 Eu 9785 2030-2130 AsAu 7205 2200-2300 EuAm 9830 Until next time, 73s and happy listening, Darren. Above: QSL card featuring the English language [staff] "Live from Turkey" programme (Aug BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) The V of Turkey QSL card is from their website QSL gallery at: http://www.trt.net.tr/Galeri/Resim.aspx?GaleriResimKodu=946cd654-f0c3-4c17-840d-28df1957d421&dil=en No names of presenters are given as far as I can see, I am afraid (Chrissy Brand, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Uzbeks oppose R. Liberty: see UZBEKISTAN below, and 9-058 ** U S A. VOA Greenville, 17585, Aug 12 at 1417-1422 with regular Wednesday feature Wordmaster, this time evaluating words used in blogs on a happiness scale, which I found rather too esoteric. Good and steady signal today, and kept listening to see what would happen at 1430. Same as yesterday, cut off Today in History before it was finished, for sign-off and Yankee Doodle, modulation ending at approximately 1431, and carrier finally off at 1431:20. It must have still overlapped Botswana for a sesquiminute, but that was totally inaudible here today (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WRMI: see ECUADOR [non], POLAND [non] ** U S A. WTJC, 9370v, accompanied by distorted no-carrier spurs at plus and minus 30 kHz, 9340 and 9400, August 13 at 0528-0532 during martial choral hymn. Each spur covered roughly 15 kHz. Another weaker one could be detected around 9315, but not 9425. 9370 fundamental was stronger than usual, S9+22 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 13845 pattern emerges --- Hi GLENN - I think I see the pattern now in the new schedule. In spite of the announced sked of Bro. Stair going to 1700 [you mean 2300?], Stair goes to 1700, followed by 6 minutes of University Network, back to Stair, then University Network (for good) after 1800. Is the 6 minutes of University Network supposed to be a promo (albeit a long one)? That's what it sounds like. An announcer came on at TOH 1700 with announcement about University Network being on 13845, then they joined Pastor Melissa already in progress. But as soon as they went to the "send money music", they (WWCR) went back to Bro. Stair, until 1800. Hope all is well with you up there in Oklahoma. 73, (Rick Barton, Arizona, (monitoring mobile), Sangean ATS- 803A, New-Tronics roof mounted 1C-100 (S) antenna, Aug 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WWCR, anomalies in DX Block: see ECUADOR [non] ** U S A. WINB, 9265, still running the convicted ``Tony Alámo``, August 12 at 1239, discussing Dr. Phil with YL, accusing him of being a serial polygamist, advice to help him avoid hell, not to hurt him. I`m sure Phil appreciates that! Of course, simultaneous polygamy with girls is Tony`s God-given right. At 1304 recheck, 9265 was off the air but no sign of daytime frequency 13570, nor at 1432 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13570 was however audible later in afternoon ** U S A. Did US Militia Give Up on SW? The US militia groups appear to be growing again, according to the recent AP report. But this time we don't hear much about SW broadcasting. Now it's YouTube and Internet radio... What's next? - Twitter and Facebook? ;) I guess it's the sign of times. - Even the conservative militia seem to have largely abandoned SW broadcasting for Internet. I mean there are still a few armed nutcases on the SW out there but it's nothing as compared to 1990s (Sergei S., Russia, Aug 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: OFFICIALS SEE RISE IN MILITIA GROUPS ACROSS US WASHINGTON – Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends. The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says... It's reminiscent of what was seen in the 1990s — right-wing militias, people ideologically against paying taxes and so-called "sovereign citizens" are popping up in large numbers, according to the report to be released Wednesday. The SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights group that, among other activities, investigates hate groups. Last October, someone from the Ohio Militia posted a recruiting video on YouTube, billed as a "wake-up call" for America. It's been viewed more than 60,000 times. "Things are bad, things are real bad, and it's going to be a lot worse," said the man on the video, who did not give his name. "Our country is in peril." The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages viewers to buy one... Now officials are seeing a new generation of activists, according to the report. The law center spotlights Edward Koernke, a Michigan man who hosts an Internet radio show about militias. His father, Mark, was a major figure in the 1990s militia movement and served six years in prison for charges including assaulting police. Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090812/ap_on_re_us/us_militia_movement (via Sergei S., dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. Radio in the 1930's --- While looking through some of You Tube`s musical offerings, I came across Radio in the 1930's at http:www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7VGLVgxkLM&feature=related Someone comments that "I believe this was filmed during a broadcast of NBC's "MAXWELL HOUSE SHOW BOAT", a VERY popular variety hour heard during the 1932-'33 season [Thursdays,? 9-10 pm(et)], of which Lanny Ross and Annette Hanshaw were regular performers. The program was loosely tied around vignettes concerning "life aboard a river showboat", with musical interludes, some comedy, a few dramatic scenes here and there, occasional guest stars, and "soft" commercials for Maxwell House coffee {"Good to the last drop!"}. " The station is announced as WEAF New York - the announcer preceding this with three chimes. Very pleasant, and the first time I've seen/heard such things used on American radio. I thought it was mainly a west European thing to do - remember Luxembourg's gong (or it went more like boing in disturbed propagation). On Googling WEAF there is a very interesting story to tell, and part of what I've read so far is below. Apparently it was one of the pioneer stations in the States. I haven't yet found the frequency it was using in the early thirties, and it appears that the call sign is used by another station these days. Anyway, it's very 'pleasing' to listen to (Noel R. Green (NW England), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: AT&T INTRODUCES RADIO NETWORKING Large companies are often slow to innovate. A notable exception occurred when the research and experimentation by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company -- the largest company in the world -- on interconnecting telephone lines, loud speakers, and radio transmitters led in late 1921 to a plan to create a national radio network, supported by advertising, at a time when most people had yet to even hear a radio broadcast. http://earlyradiohistory.us/ATTmemos.htm AT&T's intention to set up nationwide broadcasting was formally announced on February 11, 1922 and publicized in articles such as National Radio Broadcast By Bell System, which appeared in the April, 1922 issue of Science & Invention. http://earlyradiohistory.us/ATTannoc.htm Most of the network broadcasts originated from WEAF in New York City, thus the network was generally called the "WEAF Chain". However, company circuit charts marked the inter-city telephone links in red pencil, so the of stations was also known as "the red network". From 1922 until 1926 AT&T would be the most important company in the programming side of U.S. broadcasting. Its advertising-supported radio network, including flagship station WEAF, set the standard for the entire industry (via Noel Green, UK, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. The Final Hours of 104.1 WBCN "The Rock of Boston" Dear Glenn, I thought this would interest my fellow readers of DXLD: the final three hours of WBCN-FM in Boston in analog. Recorded by someone who isn't me in .mp3 using a Griffin Radioshark, split into three one-hour segments. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JTCVG2LF (April Ferguson, Aug 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. CBS RADIO FLIPS L.A. STATION TO NEWS/TALK Aug 10, 2009 -By Katy Bachman http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/local-broadcast/e3i60409bb5508f95745f6412f6ebb19652 CBS Radio is again refining its portfolio in Los Angeles, announcing Monday (Aug. 10) it will flip News KFWB-AM to News/Talk beginning Sept. 8. The news follows CBS Radio's successful format flip in February of Talk KLSX-FM to Top 40 KAMP-FM "AMP Radio," which vaulted the station to No. 4 in the market, per the June Arbitron portable people meter ratings. Driving the format change on KFWB was the opportunity to pick up the popular nationally-syndicated radio program hosted by Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who formerly aired on Clear Channel's News/Talk KFI-AM, the No. 2 station in the market. KFWB will serve as the flagship for the Dr. Laura Program, which was ranked No. 1 among Women 25-54 in her day part. "Throughout her more than 30-year career, Dr. Laura has built an incredible following by connecting to her audience on a personal level many other talk talents have tried unsuccessfully to replicate," said Ed Krampf, senior vp and market manager for CBS Radio Los Angeles. "She is an established voice in the Los Angeles community and we couldn't be more thrilled to have her on our team." The format change could help boost KFWB's ratings in the market. Of the group's 7 stations in the market, KFWB was the lowest rates, tied for No. 27 in the market. Among its competitors was CBS Radio's own KNX-AM. In addition to Dr. Laura Noon to 3 p.m., KFWB's new lineup will include local news from 6-9 a.m.; the syndicated Dr. Laura Ingraham program (9 a.m. to 12 p.m.); local talk and news from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.; and the syndicated Michael Smerconish program from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. KFWB will also broadcast local news updates at the top of every hour 24/7 (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) So much for the "Entertainment Industry News" format. I never thought it would last long, but this was even quicker than I expected. I liked having 2 news stations here - especially in recent years when one or the other seemed to be off doing baseball, cooking shows, or infomercials, but it never did make sense to me that one company would maintain 2 all-news stations in the same market. It's impressive that they kept them both going as long as they did. This is actually a big step down for Dr. Laura, going from one of the best signals in the market to one that's mediocre at best. Analog gets out OK, but the HD is a joke. The HD constantly drops in and out in important areas like the West Valley and Westside. Very annoying, especially with the lousy processing they do on the HD signal (Brian Leyton, CA, ibid.) This is actually a big step down for Dr. Laura, going from one of the best signals in the market to one that's mediocre at best. Analog gets out ok, but the HD is a joke. The HD constantly drops in and out in important areas like the West Valley and Westside. Very annoying, especially with the lousy processing they do on the HD signal. Handel talked about this toward the end of his show this morning. Dr. Laura has been quoted that she decided to move on when her contract was up. She's trying to spin the move from 50kW to 5kW as an improvement. According to Handel, her numbers have been down and KFI simply thinks they can do better with something else in that time slot. It was KFI that decided she wouldn't be continuing there, not Dr. Laura (Jay Heyl, ibid.) I can't think of a single location in the metro L.A. area where KFWB would be an improvement over KFI. KFI is a powerhouse, particularly since they rebuilt the big tower. Dr. Laura can spin this however she wants, but it would be a big fat lie to say that this is a step up for her (Brian Leyton, ibid.) I just hope that CBS will move the cooking and computer shows away from KNX and _really_ do all-news over there. If they choose, and I hope they do, they can also assemble a superior news staff using people now at both stations. In other words, when it's time for more layoffs, and unfortunately it will be, I hope they look at their best news talent for KNX. Overall I think some of their best people are at KFWB, so it'll be sad to have some of them on the street. As for one company running two all-news stations, I can see why it doesn't appear to make sense, but it does seem to work in New York City (Rick Lewis, AZ, ibid.) I fully agree - KNX should go to something exactly like KCBS 740 or WBBM 780 - ALL news. I cannot understand how doing so would bring ratings or the value of the station to advertisers down. KNX had the BEST news format through the 70's, 80's, and 90's, right up until 2003, when KFI's GM watered the format down after he left KFI, took over KNX's operations, and decided "lighten up" KNX by mixing more entertainment and talk in, and firing the more-seasoned members of the news staff. The anchors do more giggling back and forth with each other than reporting news nowadays. While working during the day (I work out of my home office), I usually listen online to WBBM or KCBS... and some NPR tossed in for good measure. I don't like radio news sounding like the local morning TV news, as it does so often on KNX. KNX does have a good, solid, stereo HD signal. KFWB-HD (monaural) is always popping in-and-out here in Simi Valley during the day, even while sitting stationary in one place away from powerlines - too much KTMS 990 from Santa Bárbara contaminating their HD's upper-sideband, and too much KHTY 970 Bakersfield doing the same to their lower sideband. I'm only 32 miles from KFWB's 5 kW non-directional 24h transmitter. They were planning to upgrade to 50 kW directional years ago (even had the CP filed to do so), but never followed through (Darwin Long, ibid.) It's worse than you make it sound. Even driving around the west end of the Valley or along the 405 in West L.A., the HD cuts in and out. Good thing there is analog fallback on AM-HD. It makes me wonder why they even bother. It is much more annoying to listen to than straight analog. If I wasn't a radio geek I would have turned off the HD long ago (Brian Leyton, ibid.) You have to wonder why ANY all-talk station would have bothered in the first place. Did they really think sound quality was attracting anyone to their station? As long as the signal doesn't have so much noise that it's annoying, no one is going to care. Wasted money (Jay Heyl, ibid.) ** URUGUAY. Radio Universo Internacional --- Juan Brañas, de la referida emisora informa en un e-mail que acabo de recibir, también se adjunta la relación de mensajes intercambiados desde mayo de 2007. Espero no se olvide de conectar la antena! Increíble. In the most recent one says that in a month they will increase power and he'll advise me about that. That's because I haven't heard the station yet, being myself at a distance of roughly 250 km from the transmitter site. Horacio Nigro ----- Mensaje reenviado ---- De: grupouniverso @ adinet.com.uy Enviado: miércoles, 12 de agosto, 2009 7:09:02 Asunto: Re: Radio Universo Internacional Bien Horacio: Agradezco su interes, en un mes vamos a aumentar la potencia y le comunico. Atte, Juan Brañas ----Mensaje original---- Fecha: 10/08/2009 07:20 He realizado escuchas este fin de semana a la frecuencia de 6055 en el horario indicado de 9 a 10 y media de la noche hora de Uruguay sin resultados positivos, hay sí otra emisora en la frecuencia: Radio Exterior de España, muy débil. Horacio A. Nigro Montevideo Uruguay Enviado: sábado, 8 de agosto, 2009 13:20:27 Gracias Horacio por tus saludos. La emisora está en emisiones de prueba y recepcionando datos de donde se escucha. Estramos desde el 15 de julio saliendo de 21.00 a 22.30 horas. Te mando un saludo, Juan Fecha: 07/08/2009 17:06 Juan, Felicitaciones por la Presidencia en RAMI, hecho que me enteré por el amigo Antonio Tormo. En esta oportuidad, te pido me confirmes, a los efectos de consignar correctamente la respectiva entrada en la página correspondiente a nuestro pais, sobre la Onda Corta de tu emisora R. Universo para la edición 2010. La onda corta prevista en los 6055 (que nunca pude escuchar), estará operativa en el curso de este año y 2010? En caso positivo, dime en que fecha se prevee su salida al aire, si es permanente o intermitente, horario, potencia usada. Agradezco tu respuesta a la brevedad a los efectos de cumplir con la fecha de cierre de edición que es inminente. Saludos, Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay Enviado: sábado, 19 de mayo, 2007 19:34:54 Asunto: Re: Horario de emision Radio Universo Internacional Hola Horacio. Espero estés bien. Te comento que estoy terminando la planta de la onda media 1480 kHz, la que estoy instalando en pueblo 19 de Abril. Desde ahí trasmitiré para todo el departamento con estudios en Castillos y Rocha. Hoy justamente llevé el equipo de la onda media para 19 de Abril y puse el de la onda corta en onda media. La onda corta también irá para 19 de Abril, espero en un par de meses. Te mando un saludo, Juan Brañas Fecha: 19/05/2007 14:51 Juan, Me puedes informar el horario de trasmision de los 6055, potencia, antena usada de la Onda Corta? La quiero escuchar de una vez por todas en Montevideo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Saludos, Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay (all via Horacio, Aug 12, 2009, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UZBEKISTAN [non]. Re 9-058: USA: THE HUNGER STRIKE OF UZBEK OPPOSITION LEADERS IN WASHINGTON DC IS CONTINUED On August 11 the representatives of the Birdamlik opposition movement continued the protest in the capital of USA. Ferghana.Ru reported earlier that in the morning of August 10, 2009 the organization members started open-ended hunger strike in front of Radio Liberty headquarters in Washington (District of Columbia) with the demand to abolish the censorship of Uzbek service of Radio Liberty --- "Radio Ozodlik" --- and offer air time for all the leaders of Uzbek political opposition, residing both in Uzbekistan and abroad. The management of Liberty Radio produced no response. On contrary, the law enforcement bodies showed interest to the protests of Uzbek opposition members in the morning of August 11. "At first firemen showed up and inquired about the situation here. Later on, police arrived and presented the ultimatum to leave the territory, adjacent to the headquarters at 1201 Connecticut Street. When we announced our desire to continue protests they threatened to arrest us. We said we were going to continue hunger strike in jail. The police officers leaved soon", Bakhodir Choriev, the leader of Birdamlik, shared in the telephone interview from Washington, DC. According to the protesters, there has been no response from the Liberty Radio management yet. "Everyone uses back entrance, avoiding meeting us", Mr. Choriev noted. So far the web-sites of Liberty Radio and Uzbek service Radio Ozodlik give no comments to the meeting of the opposition members. Today, we learned that Abdurakhim Pulatov, the leader of Birlik (Unity) Uzbek opposition party-in-exile, joined the protest; however, he is not taking direct participation in the hunger strike. Speaking of the protests in Prague and Stockholm, they are indefinitely postponed. Today, all the members of the open-ended hunger strike, including 11 year old boy, feel good. Yadgar Turlibekov, which felt sick earlier, is still there. Pictures are offered by Bakhodir Choriev: http://enews.ferghana.ru/news.php?id=1316&mode=snews 12.08.2009, Ferghana.Ru (via Sergei S., Russia, dxldyg via DXLD) 73-YEAR OLD PROTESTER OF THE BIRDAMLIK OPEN-ENDED HUNGER STRIKE IS PLACED IN HOSPITAL Today, on August 12 the open-ended hunger strike of the Birdamlik opposition movement continued in Washington DC, the capital of USA in front of the RFE/RL headquarters. The opposition members demand to abolish the censorship of Uzbek service of RFE/RL, Radio Ozodlik, as well as to offer the tribune to all the leaders of Uzbek political opposition, residing in Uzbekistan and abroad. Bakhodir Choriev informed Ferghana.Ru that by the noon, Eastern Time in USA, 73-year old Yadgar Turlibekov, the oldest participant of the hunger strike, got sick and the protesters had to call for ambulance. At the moment, Mr. Turlibekov is placed to one of the hospitals in Washington DC. The rest protesters feel OK and continue the hunger strike, making no changes in the presented requirements. It has to be mentioned that, responding to the inquiry of Ferghana.Ru, on the third day of open-ended hunger strike, Julian Knapp, the Director of RFE/RL for public relations, presented official response, indicating that "RFE/RL takes concrete criticisms of its programming very seriously and has investigated past concerns expressed by members of the Uzbek opposition. RFE/RL has not been able to corroborate any specific claims of alleged bias in our programs. Working under very difficult circumstances, including threats to their lives and their families, RFE/RL's Uzbek service maintains RFE/RL's high professional standards and adheres to a strict professional code with regard to balance and tone". Moreover, Mr. Knapp informed that "No member of RFE/RL's staff in Washington "promised that the protesters will be offered air time." In fact, no member of the Washington staff has the authority to make such promises". The point is that Bakhodir Choriev, the leader of the Birdamlik movement, earlier informed Ferghana.Ru that "Martin Zvaners, RFE/RL deputy Director for public relations met the protesters and promised that opposition members will be offered air time for the interview, when they can express their requirements in the expanded format and answer the questions, raised by the management of radio stations and audience". Mr. Choriev gave the following comment to the words of Mr. Knapp that "nobody promised air time": Unfortunately, we had misunderstanding due to language barrier. I misunderstood Mr. Zvaners in the issue about possible interview". Ferghana.Ru addressed the inquiry to the management of RFE/RL, also considering the fact that the hunger strike of the opposition members were not covered at the web-sites of RFE/RL and Uzbek service Radio Ozodlik. Julian Knapp, the Executive Director for public relations, provided the official response to Ferghana.Ru: Dear Editors, Your article concerning the protest by members of the Birdamlik Movement at RFE/RL's Washington office contains errors that could lead readers to draw incorrect judgments concerning RFE/RL broadcast efforts to Uzbekistan. No member of RFE/RL's staff in Washington "promised that the protesters will be offered air time." In fact, no member of the Washington staff has the authority to make such promises. All editorial decisions are made by the journalists and managers of the respective RFE/RL broadcast services, in accordance with our standards of professional journalism. RFE/RL takes concrete criticisms of its programming very seriously and has investigated past concerns expressed by members of the Uzbek opposition. RFE/RL has not been able to corroborate any specific claims of alleged bias in our programs. Working under very difficult circumstances, including threats to their lives and their families, RFE/RL's Uzbek service maintains RFE/RL's high professional standards and adheres to a strict professional code with regard to balance and tone. RFE/RL's Uzbek service is dedicated to RFE/RL's mission to provide objective and unbiased news, analysis, and discussion. Ferghana.ru, 13.08.2009 16:12 msk Picture: http://enews.ferghana.ru/news.php?id=1319&mode=snews (via Sergei S., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. UN LAWYER SAYS VENEZUELA’S DRAFT MEDIA LAW IS OPPRESSIVE Venezuela’s draft media law championed by President Hugo Chávez would be a serious violation of freedom of expression if passed in its present form, a United Nations human rights investigator said on Monday. Frank La Rue, a Guatemalan lawyer who reports to the UN Human Rights Council on violations of free speech around the globe, said the law could also be used as “a tool for political intimidation” of critics of the government. La Rue has angered some developing country governments in the 47-member council with criticism of their rights record. The proposed Venezuelan “special law against media crimes”, he said, “would involve serious violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and would curtail press freedom in the country, if it is adopted in its current form.” The law, which Chávez says is to curb the power of the owners of anti- government newspapers and radio stations to stir up antagonism to the authorities, has yet to be approved by the Venezuelan National Assembly. But it is widely expected to pass, as Chávez supporters have a strong majority in the parliamentary body. La Rue, who brought the first genocide case against former military rulers of his own country and has been in his UN post for the past year, said the law may lead “to the criminalisation of dissent and criticism” in Venezuela. “No government in the world has the right to silence critics or those who oppose the state with threats of criminal proceedings,” said the lawyer, who founded a human rights centre tracking and highlighting violations in the Americas. (Source: Reuters) (August 11th, 2009 - 9:11 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) 3 comments so far 1 matt August 12th, 2009 - 17:23 UTC Wow. This UN Human Rights investigator said this on Monday? This is a week after the Bill was declared dead on arrival by the Venezuelan National Assembly. And Rueters did not know this either? How embarrassing. People who’s job it is to know about the topics they are charged to investigate don’t know what is going on. The Bill supposedly “widely expected to pass” was in fact never even introduced to the relevant Subcommittee of the Assembly. It was summarily dismissed after pro-Chávez legislators criticized it. I guess I can’t completely blame this Investigator and reporter. After all, the Western and Venezuelan media basically ignored the news. This after the same media printed hundreds of stories about the law and its “impending passage.” This is exactly the reason why people in Venezuela and around the world are fed up with the elite-owned media. They don’t even pretend to play fair when it comes to socialism and Hugo Chávez in particular. Something needs to be done - just not this Bill. 2 Andy Sennitt August 12th, 2009 - 18:08 UTC Matt, we did run this story on 6 August: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/venezuelan-parliament-backs-off-media-related-offences-bill so we did not ignore the news, but I should have linked that story at the end of this one. My apologies for not doing so. I don’t know when the original comments were made, but the international news organisations are often slow off the mark in media-related stories, which is why I often quote sources more local to the news. 3 SRG August 12th, 2009 - 18:18 UTC Matt, when it comes to ‘mainstream’ media reporting on Venezuela, Iran and quite a few other countries/issues, there’s so much white noise that’s its better to assume most of the reports to be false. Those countries are under a major war-like assault on all fronts. So don’t expect much media objectivity (Media Network blog comments via DXLD) LaRue also involved in HONDURAS: q.v. ** ZIMBABWE. 3396.40v, R. Zimbabwe (tentative), 0413, August 12. First heard the usual carrier (no audio) on 4828 (assume Zimbabwe), so checked for a carrier on the usual 3396.0, but found carrier (no audio) on this clearly higher frequency. If it is in fact them, this is the first time I have noted them off frequency. Brandon Jordan observed: “It is exactly on 3396.500 kHz at 0330 UTC, Aug 12. Easy going nondescript instrumentals then mainly a male speaker in a language I couldn't ID, it could have been English. Modulation seemed relatively low compared to the carrier level. Signal appeared to peak around 0410-0420, which would indeed point to Zimbabwe. Signal faded and then the transmitter left the air at 0518:30 UT”. Thanks Brandon for checking on this (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. 12 Aug at 1755 noted Zimbabwe Community Radio on 3955. Maybe via Meyerton. Still there at 1820 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Was 5950 via UAE at 20-21 (gh) According to Nigel Johnson of ZCR this is a three-day test (Mon/Tue/Wed) via Meyerton (Jari Savolainen, Aug 13, ibid.) Extent? UNIDENTIFIED. 5955, Following up on Mr. Wiseblood's mystery station. I spot checked three days in a row (August 8, 9, 10) between roughly 1400 and 2200, and August 11 and 12 after 2145: nothing heard at this location (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 11735, which had open carrier and tone test Aug 11, rechecked 24 hours later Aug 12 around 0530: nothing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES HFCC: see POLAND [non] +++++++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ CCRadio-2 review now available A review of the new CCRadio-2 is now available at Radiointel.com Go to the home page http://www.radiointel.com and you will see a blurb there that will take you to the review. The CCRadio-2 replaces the CCRadioPlus in the C Crane line-up (Russ Johnson, NRC-AM via DXLD) Thanks, Russ & Jay, for the excellent reviews! It sounds like a really good portable and an improvement over previous fine products from C. Crane. I agree with Russ that it would be nice if the frequency remained on the display rather than defaulting back to the clock after 15 seconds. Bruce Conti also praised this radio in the August issue of Popular Communications so it sounds like a winner! Now if I can just scrape up $160. :-) (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Mass. http://www.wtfda.info/showthread.php?t=228 Aug 12, ibid.) WORLD'S FIRST DIAL-FREE RADIO UNVEILED The world's first dial-free radio without any traditional knobs or buttons, the 'Q2 Cube', was unveiled on Tuesday hailing the end of 100-year-old classic wireless sets. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6009556/Worlds-first-dial-free-radio-unveiled.html (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Aug 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) And it gets four stations! Technology marches on! Next step, perhaps a ``station-free`` ``radio``. (Glenn, ibid.) RAZOR BLADE - RASIERKLINGEN-RADIO Wenn die Bedingungen und das Wetter mal wieder schlecht sind, vielleicht zum Vertreiben der Langeweile geeignet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skKmwT0EccE&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div gruss (Wolfgang DF5SX, Aug 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See BELGIUM; ECUADOR ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC See also USA: KFWB +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ HD RADIO AS AN EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONAL JAMMING TOOL According to one report, XESS, 620 kHz near Tijuana, is now "pretty much covered in HD hiss" in most of San Diego depending on the receiver. XESS, which formerly had a good signal in San Diego by failing to implement its authorized 3-tower directional array (see CGC #840, second Letter to the Editor), is currently being obliterated by the HD sidebands of KOGO (600 kHz) and KFI (640 kHz). KFI has apparently returned to the air in HD mode and their signal seems to be "back up to full power" according to this anonymous report (CGC Communicator Aug 12, via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV see also OKLAHOMA [and non] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ REALLY directional DTV stations The FCC today approved WWAZ-68's request to change their DTV channel from 44 to 5 and relocate the channel to an existing tower in Milwaukee (the station will remain licensed to Fond du Lac). The licensees of WLFM-LP (channel 6 in Chicago), WDJT-58 (Milwaukee), and WGVK-52 (Kalamazoo) objected to the move. Specifically, the licensees of WLFM and WGVK argued the proposed WWAZ operation on channel 5 would exceed the allowed power limit for low- band DTVs in Milwaukee, and with a 30 dB maximum-to-minimum ratio on the directional antenna, would exceed the 10 dB limit on the directivity of a TV station. The FCC rejected both objections. The proposed WWAZ operation would not exceed the coverage of the largest DTV station in the market. (WBAY-2/DT23 Green Bay) And, the 10 dB limit on directivity applies only to *analog* stations, **there is no limit** on the directivity of DTV stations. All three licensees objected on various non-technical grounds. I'm not entirely sure why WLFM is opposed. WDJT is on DTV channel 46, but their *cable* channel on most Milwaukee-area systems is 5. I would imagine they're worried about ingress interference. WGVK's DTV channel is 5, and they also objected on the grounds of likely tropo interference from a WWAZ operation on channel 5 in Milwaukee. (IMHO a very valid concern. Lake tropo can be VERY intense. But FCC policy is to not consider tropo, beyond the degree to which it is considered in establishing distance-separation zones.) The FCC also indicated they were inclined to approve WWAZ's move because it would allow them to assign channel 44 to WLS in Chicago, which has been having reception problems with their 4.75kw facility on channel 7. It's also interesting to consider the implications of a station ostensibly located in one (Green Bay) market co-locating its transmitter with the stations in a different (Milwaukee) market (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, WTFDA via DXLD) ###