DX LISTENING DIGEST MAY 2003 ARCHIVE HOME presents...
DX LISTENING DIGEST MAY 2003 ARCHIVE
DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-095, May 31, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1184: RFPI: Sat 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 7445 15039 WWCR: Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: Sun 1030, 1630 7490 13595 (maybe) WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1184.html CONTINENT OF MEDIA 03-03! New edition is now available, on RFPI 7445, 15039: Sat 2130, Sun 0330, 0930; Thu 2000, Fri 0200, 0830 Also via DXing.com: {Stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0303.ram (Download) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0303.rm And via our site: (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/com0303.ram (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/com0303.rm (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0303.html WORLD OF RADIO, CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL BROADCAST SCHEDULE EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, 2003 It always pays to check all RFPI frequencies beyond their scheduled hours. Schedule shown is nominal, but it is not unusual for one transmitter to be down, and for programming to run up to an hour late. 15039 resumed in early May so its hours and those of 7445 may be adjusted. For now, we show them both at all times. For logistical reasons except weekends, RFPI repeats after 0600 appear about half an hour later than +12 or +18 hours. WJIE: Operation is irregular; both frequencies are shown altho one or both may be missing. Not all times are confirmed, and often not latest show. For latest updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html Days and times here are strictly UT. Wed 2200 WOR WBCQ 7415 17495-CUSB [first airing of each edition] Thu 2000 COM RFPI 7445 15039 Thu 2030 WOR WWCR 15825 Fri 0200 COM RFPI 7445 15039 Fri 0800 COM RFPI 7445 15039 v to 0830 Fri 1400 COM RFPI 7445 15039 v to 1430 Fri 1930 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 Fri 2115 MR WWCR 15825 [or as early as 2110] Fri 2300 WOR Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 1566 87.35 96.55 105.55 Sat 0130 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 Sat 0600 WOR WWCR 5070 Sat 0730 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 v to 0800 Sat 0800 WOR WRN1 to Eu, Au, NZ, WorldSpace AfriStar, AsiaStar, Telstar 12 SAm Sat 0855 WOR WNQM Nashville TN 1300 Sat 0930 WOR WJIE 7490 13595 Sat 1330 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 v to 1400 Sat 1530 WOR WMQM Memphis TN 1600 [week delay] Sat 1730 WOR WINB 13570 [NEW from June 7] Sat 1730 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 Sat 1828 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 [week delay] Sat 2130 COM RFPI 7445 15039 Sat 2330 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 Sun 0230 WOR WWCR 5070 Sun 0330 COM RFPI 7445 15039 Sun 0430 WOR WRN to Europe only; webcast via http://www.nyhedsradioen24-7.dk/ Sun 0530 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 Sun 0630 WOR WWCR 3210 Sun 0930 COM RFPI 7445 15039 Sun 1030 WOR WJIE 7490 13595 Sun 1130 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 Sun 1400 WOR WRN to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP Sun 1530 COM RFPI 7445 15039 Sun 1630 WOR WJIE 7490 13595 [often early from 1625] Sun 1830 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 Sun 1930 WOR Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 1566 87.35 96.55 105.55 Mon 0030 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [week delay] Mon 0445 WOR WBCQ 7415 Mon 0630 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 v to 0700 Mon 1230 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 v to 1300 Mon 1830 WOR SIUE WEBRADIO http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO/ Tue 1900 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 Wed 0100 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 Wed 0700 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 v to 0730 Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9475 Wed 1300 WOR RFPI 7445 15039 v to 1330 Wed 1830 COM SIUE WEBRADIO http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO/ Wed 2100 MR WWCR 15825 Latest edition of this schedule version is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html An expanded schedule also showing local times: http://www.worldofradio.com/wormast.html Internet on demand: see Our Current Audio page for availability: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html Webcasts at times shown are available from all stations except WWCR, WNQM, WMQM, Studio X. WRN: http://live.wrn.org:8080/ramgen/live/wrnengnaeu.smi or http://live.wrn.org:8080/ramgen/live/wrnengnaus.smi RFPI via SW feed: http://www.boinklabs.com/ifpi.html RFPI direct webcast: http://195.210.0.134:8004/listen.pls [suspended] WJIE: http://www.wjiesw.com WPKN: http://www.wpkn.org WSUI: http://wsui.uiowa.edu ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Now that R. Afghanistan has the US-supplied 400 kW MW transmitter on 1107, will the sporadic relays via NORWAY on 18940 continue, or the morning service via UAE, which I have lost track of? Please check (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) & see IRAN ** ARGENTINA. 11710, RAE, Buenos Aires, from 0137 with YL in Portuguese with light pop and EZL. SINPO 33333. At 0157, ID in Portuguese, chime interval signal, followed by multi-lingual ID (Spanish, French, English, German, and 3-4 others) and into English program at 0200. By 0200 signal was fading fast at SINPO 22222. May 30. Drake SW8 with whip antenna (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 6215, 0034-0050, R. Baluarte, May 22. Tentative logging. I have heard a het on the frequency for some time now and finally above noise floor in rather clear audio. Two males in Spanish with long talks. Audio suddenly dropped down and unable to copy at 0045.Still at S 5 level but no audio (Bob Montgomery, Levittown, PA, NRD 535db, DxPro T2FD antennas, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 13685, 1058-, CHRISTIAN VISION INT. May 26. Excellent reception at 1100 and better by 1130. Continuous pop tunes with news at top of hour with ID by female announcer in English. Web address several times. Slight fades but fairly nice signal at S9 to S10 levels. Female with world weather reports at 1135. Male and female in happy prorgram with both adding to the program. Voice talk back program. Dell advert at 1137. Insurance ad at 1138. Format similar to that of the 60's type US medium wave stations. Nice name 'The Planet' http://www.voice.com.au (Bob Montgomery, Levittown, PA, NRD 535db, DxPro T2FD antennas, Cumbre DX via DXLD) What, no evangelism? Stealthy! ``The Planet`` is already taken by a programme on R. Australia, and by a station in Maine (gh, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Have just spent half an hour listening to HCJB Australia starting at 0930 on Saturday May 31st which is the usual time slot for The DX Partyline. All I heard was the same classical music over and over again. I presume this has been done purposely so that Australian DXers could log the DX Partyline from the final English broadcasts of HCJB Ecuador; that means that the program details sent to HCJB Ecuador would have to be genuinely heard FROM Ecuador and that listeners could not cheat by listening to HCJB Australia (which is very easy to do) and write down the DX Partyline details and then send in a report pretending or claiming to have heard HCJB Ecuador. Very clever trick HCJB and congratulations on good thinking! I was lucky to have been able to log Ecuador at 0600 on 9860 [Ecuador to Europe] and even though reception was poor, I managed with some hard listening to log the DX Partyline program details, so, hopefully, I will receive a QSL for my efforts of logging this genuine broadcast. I only hope a lot of other Australian listeners will be able to do the same! Best wishes to you all and I would like to hear if you managed to log HCJB Ecuador and which broadcast you were successful with! (Michael Stevenson, Port Macquarie, N.S.W., Australia, EDXP HF Forum via DXLD) Somehow, I doubt the absence of DXPL was intentional. So what did they say about the future of the show via US SW stations??!! Since the show is not ending, why would there be anything special about QSLing it now?? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BENIN. ORTB, 7210.25, May 25 2210-2300* French, vernacular talk, variety of US and French pops, ballads, Afro pops. Sign-off with NA. Weak but in the clear (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 6585.4, Radio Nueva Esperanza, El Alto, 1010+, May 25. Spanish and Aymara transmission. Religious program - Gospel music. Ann. & ID: "Esperanza con los niños", 25442 (Arnaldo Slaen, Chascomus DX camp, Argentina, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** BOPUTHATSWANA. RSA: MINISTER CONFIRMS PLANS TO CLOSE BOP BROADCASTING | Text of report by South African news agency SAPA web site Johannesburg, 30 May: The SA [South African] Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) confirmed on Friday [30 May] Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri's recent announcement in parliament that Bop Broadcasting would be closed. SABC said it had already started communicating with the staff at Bop and that the corporation's CEO, Peter Matlare, was due to go to Mmabatho to ensure the process was handled with care. "I believe the SABC has acted responsibly and at all times went out of its way to ensure the best possible outcome for Bop and its staff. There has been ongoing communication with the Bop staff, and we know that the closure of Bop is a very difficult matter for all concerned," Matlare told the staff at SABC on Friday. In her announcement on Thursday [29 May], Matsepe-Casaburri said: "The Broadcasting Amendment Act provides for the launch of regional television stations in two regions of the country. To this end, it has been decided to close the Bop Broadcasting operation and replace it with a service to deliver indigenous languages of the Northern Region." In 1997, the State Reorganization Act sought to integrate the broadcasting assets and services of the former homelands into SABC. Once this decision was taken, the treasury allocated money to meet the funding requirements of Bop, while SABC played a caretaker role. In November 2001 when the subsidy ended, SABC had to fund the operations of Bop from its own coffers. It has spent over 120m rands to date but expects to recover these funds in full from government. Source: SAPA news agency web site, Johannesburg, in English 1624 gmt 30 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. RADIO BOTSWANA TO BROADCAST FOR 24 HOURS FROM 1 JUNE | Text of report by Radio Botswana on 30 May Radio Botswana will start operating for 24-hours with effect from Sunday [1 June]. The station has been operating only up to midnight. The chief broadcasting officer, Mrs Banyana Tshegoe, says the introduction of the 24-hour service is a response to the needs to Radio Botswana listeners. In an audience survey commissioned by the Department of Information and Broadcasting, listeners overwhelmingly indicated that they want a 24-hour service. Source: Radio Botswana, Gaborone, in English 1110 gmt 30 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Oh, no! This could mean the end of the `dawn chorus warmup` of barnyard sounds; check 4820 (gh) ** CANADA. Attn Ontario / Western NY DXers: CN Tower maintenance Monday morning. I have word of a planned shut-down for maintenance purposes of all the FMs at the CN Tower in Toronto from roughly 03:45 to 04:45 [EDT == 0745-0845 UT] this coming Monday morning. The times may vary slightly, and I will be at my Snowball DX site north of Toronto around midnight or 1 am just in case they go down early. They are performing their yearly antenna sweep. Stations affected include 90.3, 91.1, 94.1, 97.3, 98.1, 99.9, 100.7, 102.1, 104.5, 107.1. Some may use auxiliary transmitters, though these can be less powerful (Saul Chernos, ON, AMFMTVDX at qth.net via DXLD) ** CANADA. Four stories about CBC`s strategy for 2003-2004 TV season: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPPrint/LAC/20030530/RVDOYL_4/TPEntertainment/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPPrint/LAC/20030530/RVCBCC/TPEntertainment/ http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=f20e7bbf-7046-4bd1-92b8-bf5c7c0dea3d http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=43c8e860-9f05-4ef9-88fe-500c724eab17 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CAYMAN ISLANDS. For those of you on 6m, I will be operating as ZF2PB in a couple of days. Wimpy signal -- 5 watts into a folded dipole. Peter, Memphis. (Peter Baskind, J.D., LL.M./AG4KI, Germantown, TN/EM55, May 30, WTFDA via DXLD) See previous story in greater detail ** COLOMBIA [and non]. I heard Radio Melodía last night (29 MAY, 2315 UT) on 6139.8 kHz. In fact heard no ID, but Colombia mentioned several times + time announcement "6:20 en Colombia" at 2320 UT. Then --- suddenly --- switched off at 2321! Nice reception here in the middle of Europe. In fact I was alerted since last evening when I saw K-index jumping on 8, so I expected improved (auroral) conditions along southern paths on low frequencies. [cf. PERU, a different Melodía] Especially Brazil was coming in with nice signals in the 60- and 49 meters. Not so often heard stations like R. Guarujá 5980 kHz, R. Difusora, Taubaté on 4925 kHz... Angola on 4950 kHz was just in Hi-Fi quality. I have been watching the bands between 2200-0110 UT (29/30 MAY). Then I had to go to bed because it was 3:10am local time and a normal working day before me... GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030 30 m Long Wire, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** CONGO. R. Congo, 5985, May 25 2155-2300* Surprisingly good, strong signal and in the clear. No one else on frequency for a change. Very nice signal. But started to get some co-channel QRM at 2230. French talk, many ``R. Congo`` IDs. Local African pops, hi-life music, abruptly off at 2300 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR. ETHNIC MILITIA BROADCASTS HATE MESSAGES ON CONGOLESE RADIO --- Echoes of 1994 genocide: French troops likely to deploy as West again keeps the peace Steven Edwards, National Post, Friday, May 30, 2003 UNITED NATIONS - In a chilling reminder of how Rwandans were incited to commit genocide in 1994, an ethnic militia group in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo began broadcasting hate messages yesterday. Candip Radio said Hema militia will use force to dislodge civilians seeking refuge in the UN mission in the regional centre of Bunia, where fighting between Hema and Lendu ethnic groups has left hundreds dead and driven thousands from their homes. The broadcast recalled how Hutu extremists in Rwanda used Radio Mille Collines to urge the slaughter of the country's minority Tutsis, resulting in 800,000 mainly Tutsi deaths. Violence erupted in Bunia after the withdrawal several weeks ago of Ugandan troops, who had been under international pressure to end their occupation of the area. Hema and Lendu forces are each seeking control of the town, which is a centre for gold in the resource-rich but desperately poor country. The UN Security Council is expected to pass a resolution today sending a French-led international force to Bunia after the 700-member UN force proved incapable of quelling the violence. About 1,000 troops under French command are expected to begin deployment within a few days. . . http://www.nationalpost.com/world/story.html?id=01613871-C2E1-43F3-9A27-72E679CFAB04 (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** CROATIA [and non]. The 0600-0603 English newscast is on shortwave, noted here May 28th on 9470 9925 and 13820 [via Germany]. Not carried on 6165 and 13830 [Croatia]. (Mike Barraclough, June World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Audio files of the last 3 DX Partylines have finally been uploaded at http://www.hcjb.org/english/dxpl/dxplaudio.php -- That is, May 10, 17 and 24. For most of May, the latest show was May 3. The rest of DXPL and most other HCJB pages are badly outdated, not updated in months. Checking the various programs` pages, I see nothing about their imminent demise? Too demoralized or too busy packing up to say anything? (Glenn Hauser, OK, May 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also AUSTRALIA ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. R. Nacional, Malabo, 6250.33, May 25 2230-2302* Spanish talk, Spanish pops, ballads, rap! ``R. Malabo`` ID. Sign-off with NA. Poor-fair with QRM and QRN (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 6940, 0259-0330, R. Fana, May 26. Best copy of R. Fana ever. Interval signal, crystal clear then to female announcer in Arabic [?] and then sudden off at 0301 till 0302. Male announcer with some brief comments, then short tune and female announcer back with more music. at 0304. S8 to S9 signal level with a bit of a bounce and some fades. But over all, best I have ever heard (Bob Montgomery, Levittown, PA, NRD 535db, DxPro T2FD antennas, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** FRANCE. Special event to mark Concorde's last commercial flight: Special event station TM5SC will mark the final commercial flight of the supersonic Concorde jetliner from Paris to New York. TM5SC will be on the air until June 8, 80 through 10 meters plus satellites. Look for TM5SC on 3777, 7077, 14,140 (the 40 and 20-meter frequencies are outside the US phone band), 18,140, 21,240, 24,940 and 28,440 kHz SSB and 29330 FM. QSL via F5ASD and enclose US$1 for a direct reply (ARRL May 29 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** FRANCE. According to a CSA member interviewed by the French newspaper Libération, some of the 9 new AM stations could be authorized this summer. In other words it means that these stations should start their broadcasts before September. Stay tuned (Pascal Perriot, Tours, France, May 31, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 3300, 0416-0430, R. Cultural, May 28. English broadcast of religious program. English program ended at 0428 and then back to Spanish with ID by male announcer at 0428. Preacher invited the listeners back for another English broadcast from 9 to 1030. S 5 signal level, nice clear audio (Bob Montgomery, Levittown, PA, NRD 535db, DxPro T2FD antennas, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** GUINEA. RTV Guinéène, 7125, May 25 2240-0001* May 26. French talk, variety of French, US, Afro pops. Sign-off with NA; good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. GBC? 3291.25, May 26 0300- and 0800-: still hearing a very weak signal here, just too weak to ID; 0840 Hindi vocals (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY. LABOR MINISTRY FUNDS ROMANY RADIO Labor Minister Sandor Burany and Radio C Editor in Chief György Kerenyi signed an agreement on 22 May whereby the ministry will grant 4 million forints ($19,000) to the cash-strapped Romany radio station and expects it to broadcast information concerning job opportunities, Hungarian television reported. Kerenyi said he plans to re-launch the station on 1 June. The station stopped its broadcasting on 7 April due to a lack of funds (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 April 2003). ("RFE/RL Newsline," 23 May via RFE/RL Media Matters May 30 via DXLD) ** ICELAND. As of 30th May AFN 13855 has been off for a week or more (Mike Barraclough, UK, June World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. XM SKYFI SATELLITE RADIOS NOW AVAILABLE AT WAL-MART STORES NATIONWIDE Delphi SKYFi XM Radios Arrive at More than 2,800 Wal-Mart Stores WASHINGTON, May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR), America's number-one satellite radio service, today announced that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is now selling the critically- acclaimed Delphi XM SKYFi Radio in stores nationwide. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000724/XMSATLOGO ) Wal-Mart is merchandising the popular SKYFi XM Receiver and vehicle adaptor in an "all-in-one" kit in the automotive department of every store. Plus, 2,100 of the 2,800 Wal-Mart locations will carry the SKYFi Receiver, home and vehicle kits, and boom box in the home electronics section. "XM is thrilled to have the top-selling satellite radio available at America's biggest retailer," said XM President and CEO Hugh Panero. "This rollout represents another critical step in XM's march to one million subscribers this year." The SKYFi Receiver is an affordable next-generation XM radio retailing for $129.99 (MSRP). It offers the most advanced user features of any satellite radio on the market today: portability, a large display, direct channel entry, the ability to preview and channel search by artists and song titles, and 20 channel presets. The accompanying home and vehicle adaptor kits retail for $69.99 (MSRP) each. Also available at Wal-Mart is the SKYFi Audio System, a self-contained "boom box" containing a pair of high quality speakers with an integrated high gain antenna and a port for the SKYFi receiver, retailing for $99.95 (MSRP). It can be powered by an A/C adaptor to create a high quality countertop/bookshelf system for the home or office, or used with six "D" batteries to experience XM Radio virtually anywhere, from the beach to the campground to a backyard barbeque (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. The Pacific Inter Island Net has been running on 14.315 MHz at 0800z each and every day, for over 60 years. Net is a Health and Welfare net as well as a checkin net for Maritime stations, also a Net for the Pacific Island stations to make contacts and where legal, pass messages etc. Those on the www can check out a yahoogroup, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pacific_Inter_Island_net/ The Pacific Inter Island net also conducts QNEWS Sunday at 0700 UT (Chris Wright vk2uw, Wireless Institute of Australia Queensland Q- News June 1 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** IRAN. AFGHAN PAPER ATTACKS "LIES", "PROPAGANDA" OF IRANIAN RADIO STATION | Text of editorial by Afghan newspaper Anis on 29 May The years of fighting the Soviet Union have passed, the years of fighting the communists have finished, the years of instability after the collapse of Dr Najibollah's administration [in 1992] went by and finally the years of rule by the stereotyped Taleban are over. A partial stability and an administration were established in Afghanistan with the collaboration of the international community and those who had made sincere efforts for independence and territorial integrity. This administration was afterwards confirmed by the people in the Emergency Loya Jerga [grand assembly], and for the first time the representatives of the people were able to determine their country's destiny in a traditional gathering. The roles of neighbouring countries, particularly those of Pakistan and Iran, have been of high importance for Afghanistan. Afghanistan has constantly emphasized having good relations with neighbours. This has been responded to positively by neighbouring states, which have even expressed their interest in enhancing those relations. But these policies have not been able to overlay all aspects. One of the media from the Islamic Republic of Iran that has not been able to conform itself to its country's new policies towards Afghanistan is Radio Dari in Mashhad [provincial Iranian radio that broadcasts to Afghanistan]. When one listens to the news from this station, it seems as if their staff are not obeying the Islamic Republic of Iran, but they are obeying Al-Qa'idah, and they are launching propaganda for Bin-Ladin. Radio Dari from Mashhad not only broadcasts unclarified reports, quotes from sources that do not want to reveal their names and disseminates untrue remarks, but it has also got some special "experts in Afghan affairs" of its own and is constantly interviewing them. The discussion is about the desperate situation in Afghanistan (according to the radio). In addition to the "experts in Afghan affairs" from Radio Mashhad broadcasting perverse images of the international security forces in Afghanistan, the presence of the international coalition against terrorists in the country and the new government of Afghanistan, this station also follows another cause and that is to give a different picture of the relative stability and security in Afghanistan. This radio, in continuing its broadcasting of lies, recently broadcast a report that the US embassy had been closed, which is quite far from reality. This station, intending to show the situation as one of conflict, said that because of new threats and clashes the US embassy has been closed. In addition, the broadcasts of Radio Dari from Mashhad have always been in favour of the enemies of Afghanistan and the said radio has proved this. Such lies, public deception and misrepresentation of the Afghan situation which are broadcast by Mashhad Dari radio are definitely not the policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but Iranian friends should tell the radio: dear experts in Afghan affairs, dear journalists, experts of Radio Mashhad! Please don't try to destroy the new Afghan administration, which is trying to refurbish itself after many years of conflict, wars, destruction and disaster. Do not lie to people, quoting sources that do not want their names to be disclosed and do not upset the relative stability in Afghanistan irresponsibly with your lies. After all, be honest to the principle that Afghans are honest to and that is the pledge for good-neighbourliness. Good- neighbourliness is the guarantor of our future. Source: Anis, Kabul, in Dari 29 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Evidently R. Mashhad has scoops about media developments in Afghanistan, as it has often been quoted by BBCM (gh) ** IRAQ. I have found out important new information about the Voice of Iraqi Liberation, the clandestine radio operation first monitored by and reported on DXing.info - see http://www.dxing.info/about/press_release_2003_03_11.dx and http://www.dxing.info/news/2003_03.dx#liberation for more on how it all started. It has now been officially confirmed by the PUK leader that the station was a U.S.-sponsored operation in which the CIA was involved, and that it was broadcasting from the PUK-controlled part of Iraqi Kurdistan. I'm currently in Atlanta attending the CNN World Report Conference representing the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. A few hours ago I had a chance to interview via satellite Jalal Talabani, Founder and Secretary General of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), aired live on CNN at 10.23 a.m. EDT, and this is what he had to say when I asked about the station: Question: Mika Makelainen, Finnish Television. Mr. Talabani, from March to April a radio station called the Voice of Iraqi Liberation was transmitting over the mouthpiece of the PUK, your radio station, Voice of the People of Kurdistan. Now that all this is over, can you say who was behind this clandestine radio operation? Answer: As I told you, the National Assembly of Kurdistan unanimously decided that the Kurds are partner of the United States of America in fighting against tyranny, terrorism and for freedom and democratic Iraq. This station was yes in the area controlled by the PUK, it was the administration was joined from the PUK people and from certain American friends, representing different parts of American State Department, the special forces and some others. Follow-up question: Can you specify what do you mean by American friends more precisely? Answer: Well, American friends I mean the American friends. I mean the people, diplomats from State Department, people from Pentagon, people from CIA, I mean the White House, those people, all those people are American friends (Mike Mäkeläinen, Finland, May 29, dxing.info via DXLD) ** IRAQ. Salam Pax revealed - at last! Thanks to Lou Josephs for drawing my attention to a long piece in today's edition of The Guardian: "The most gripping account of the Iraq conflict came from a web diarist known as the Baghdad Blogger. But no one knew his identity - or even if he existed. Rory McCarthy finally tracked him down, and found a quietly spoken, 29-year-old architect. From next week he will write fortnightly in G2." For those not familiar with it, G2 is the second (tabloid) section of The Guardian, which unfortunately isn't included with the special European version. Thank goodness for their Web site! BTW I hope that the Canadian journalist who a few months ago claimed Salam Pax was actually a Baath Party activist feels suitably chastened, and will issue a public apology both to Salam and to those of us who never doubted for one moment his sincerity and authenticity! Or will he now claim The Guardian is making it all up too? (Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog May 30 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. ONCE-OUTLAWED SATELLITE DISHES SPROUTING LIKE MUSHROOMS ON BAGHDAD'S ROOFTOPS --- By Valentinas Mite Satellite television dishes are sprouting like mushrooms on rooftops in post-Saddam Hussein Baghdad. The trade in TV gear is flourishing, and enterprising Iraqi entrepreneurs see bright prospects for this business, which was banned during the rule of Saddam Hussein. Abu Mehdi is one of the owners of the Hyder shop in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The shop imports satellite dishes, receivers, and decoders from neighboring Jordan. Mehdi said Iraqis are hungry for news from outside the country. "The news, the news. Al-Jazeera, yes. MBC [an Arabic-language channel]. Lubnan. Lubnan, very good Lubnan [a Lebanese channel]," he said. Mehdi said people are buying satellite equipment for two reasons. The first one is that satellite television was illegal in Iraq under Saddam Hussein's rule and people now want to "taste a forbidden fruit." The other reason is that Iraqi state TV is off the air and people want access to news and entertainment of any kind. Following Hussein's ouster last month, houses in Baghdad began to sprout satellite dishes. No one wants to depend on their neighbor to see foreign broadcasts. Everyone wants their own remote controls. And while Iraqis often complain about a lack of money, many somehow find the cash for satellite television setups. A European-made satellite dish with all the necessary equipment costs about $250. Satellite gear from China costs around $150. The most popular television sets, Egyptian-made Toshibas, cost nearly $200 each. Mehdi said he usually sells five to six pieces of satellite equipment each day and makes a profit of $20 per unit. His shop also sells all kinds of electrical equipment -- from light bulbs to air conditioners. He said the former authorities in Iraq used to confiscate satellite dishes and fine their owners $200. Such fines also attracted the attention of Hussein's omnipresent secret services. Firas is an owner of the Al-Ajraas shop, which is just several meters from Abu Medhi's store. His shop has three employees and sells only satellite gear. Firas said he sells about 20 units in his shop each day. He said people in Baghdad mainly watch Arabic channels. They like these channels, he said, but notes they have few alternatives. While they can watch BBC television, they can't tune in to CNN or Fox News from the U.S. without buying an expensive decoder. "No. It's coded, and it doesn't work on our system," he said. "If you want to see it, you should pay money for a card. We don't have them here. Until now, we do not have cards." Firas said a decoder card, or "smart card," costs more than $100 each, and that few people want to pay the extra money. Muhaned, a man in his 30s, came to Firas's shop to buy a satellite TV setup. He said he wants to watch the news, not just entertainment programs. "I want the news and the events which are happening in Iraq. I would like to watch Al-Jazeera, Abu Dhabi [television], CNN. However, [CNN] is coded," he said. Abas Marhun has a slightly different business. He has been making and assembling satellite equipment in his garage in Baghdad since 1991. He is continuing to work with his teenage son and said he manages to compete with the satellite shops selling all-imported equipment. He said he built a good reputation over the past decade and that people know his work. Marhun said he operated under difficult conditions when Hussein was in power. "Yes, I made [satellite gear] but closed the door [when I worked]. I made it inside here, in the garage, and no one see it. After midnight, I put the dish into the car -- a pickup or a lorry -- and sent it to a client," he said. He said a friend once warned him that the police were interested in his business. He said he managed to hide all of his equipment and evade arrest. --- Valentinas Mite is an RFE/RL correspondent (RFE/RL Media Matters May 30 via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. I didn't see any followup regarding the IBA budget. I've been told, though, that there hasn't been any significant news to report regarding SW cutbacks --- The official word still remains that they're still cutting shortwave as of the end of the year (Doni Rosenzweig, NY, May 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {Jewish or Common?} ** LATVIA. Test transmissions from the Latvian shortwave site used by Laser Radio have been heard last month on 9520. No date is set so far for the stations return to shortwave (Nick Sharpe, Staines, UK, June World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. Just received some e-mails from WJIE/SW. The station in Liberia on SW (Voice of Liberty) is currently off the air on 11515. They are waiting for a sparepart to arrive. They are working on a station in Uganda "you should be able to hear well", so assume the ex- FEBA transmitter from Seychelles will operate from Uganda (as predicted in DXLD lately). More about this and some photos of Voice of Liberty/Liberia will follow soon here at DXing.info (Jari Savolainen, Finland, May 30, dxing.info via DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. V. of Africa, 15315, May 25 1923-1926 ID, English news, 1927 French news. 1928 one-minute English announcement asking for letters. Gave address, fax and phone numbers; \\ 15025, both fair. Also on 11635, May 25 *2000-2130*; 2041-2045 and 2123-2127 English news. Also heard 1-minute English announcements at 2051 and 2129 asking for letters as above. No parallels heard; fair. Abruptly off at 2130 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) presumably via France ** MADAGASCAR. R. Malagasy, 5010.03, May 26 *0255-0330+; sign-on with drums IS, 0256 local news, 0300 choral anthem, 0301 ID and vernacular talk; reggae music. Good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MARSHALL ISLANDS. MARSHALL ISLANDS ON THE AIR SHORTWAVE Play music from Marshall Islands website http://janeresture.com The Marshall Islands are a small group of islands that form a part of Micronesia in the central Pacific, about half way between Hawaii and Australia. The Marshalls are made up of 34 coral atolls with a total area of just 70 square miles and a total coastline of just 75 miles. These islands run in two parallel chains about 130 miles apart and they extend for 650 miles. The capital island is Majuro and the total population is around 75,000. The Marshall Islands were first populated by Micronesians who migrated into the area approximately 3,000 years ago. The first Europeans to sight the islands were from Spain, the islands were named by the British, and Germany bought them from Spain in 1885. The Japanese were granted a mandate over the islands from the League of Nations in 1920, and the Americans were granted a mandate from the United Nations in 1946. The Marshall Islands gained independence in 1986. Three island atolls in the Marshalls have achieved world wide fame. Kwajelein and Eniwetok were the location of two fierce battles during the Pacific War, and Bikini and Eniwetok were the locations for the American atomic tests in the Pacific a few years later. Radiowise, the first transmitter in the Marshall Islands was established under the Japanese mandate on the southern island of Jaluit (ja-LOO-it) somewhere around the mid-1920's. This was a communication station under the callsign JRX. In 1944, American forces established two stations in the Marshall Islands; WXLG with 1 kW on Kwajelein and WXLE with just 50 watts on Eniwetok. Two years later, radio played another important role during the American atomic tests on Bikini and Eniwetok. The radio transmitters on several ships relayed a live broadcast from a nearby location, giving a running commentary of the events associated with the atomic explosions. The mediumwave station WSZO began with just 200 watts on 1500 kHz somewhere around the year 1960. This station was established by the local government and it was supplementary to the two AFRS stations on the air in this island group in the central Pacific. In 1980, on March 4 to be exact, a new 1 kW transmitter at station WSZO made its first appearance on the shortwave bands. Two channels were in use, 6070 and 4940 kHz, though the tropical band channel gave the widest coverage. A few months later, the station stated that they were swamped with reception reports from all over the world, though mainly from Australia, New Zealand and North America. The transmitter was a Japanese NEC 10 kW unit and the antenna was beamed north west. Two years after its inauguration, the shortwave service came to an abrupt end when the antenna balun (BAL-un) failed. This service for the outer islands was never revived and gone was the possibility for distant listeners to hear this exotic radio station in the central Pacific. However, there is good news. Several recent news reports state that the Kentucky shortwave station WJIE, with its offices in Louisville and transmitters at Upton, indicate that they have bought the three shortwave transmitters from FEBA Seychelles. They are apparently planning to install one in Liberia, another in the United States, and the third in the Marshall Islands. The government radio station in the Marshall Islands began its on air service under the callsign WSZO and this was changed to V7AD after independence. What will be the callsign for this new Gospel shortwave station in the Marshall Islands? (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan June 1 via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. The article HIGH PROFILE CASUALTIES IN DUTCH COMMERCIAL RADIO that appeared in DXLD 3-094 is copyright Radio Netherlands. Its inclusion verbatim in DXLD was an oversight. The original article appears at http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/ned030528.html Take a look! (gh, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [non]. News Central story under USA mentions OKC as one of the victims of local news and weather that is not local. That would be KOKH-25, e.g.: Besides, he says, there's still plenty of flexibility in News Central's structure. When tornadoes cut a path through Oklahoma City earlier this month, News Central's Chuck Bell -- a onetime Oklahoma City weathercaster -- went live on KOKH with updates on the twisters' path from Hunt Valley. "We still have the same responsibility to be as accurate as possible," says Bell, "even if it's an illusion that we're experiencing the same weather as our viewers." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60149-2003May30.html 73, (-.. Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [non]. HAM-PIANIST CLOSING IN ON HALFWAY POINT IN RUN Concert pianist Martin Berkofsky, KC3RE, is closing in on the halfway point in his CelebrateLifeRun http://www.celebrateliferun.com from Tulsa to Chicago. A cancer survivor and an ARRL member from Northern Virginia, Berkofsky set out April 9 -- his 60th birthday -- on an 860- mile jog to celebrate his recovery from cancer and to raise money for research into the disease. Berkofsky -- who has ham gear, including APRS, along with him -- was 380 miles into his journey and some 20 miles south of Hermann, Missouri, as of mid-week. Berkofsky reports he's made many new ham radio friends in his travels, and he's hoping for an invitation to operate Field Day with an Illinois ham club group. "So far he has found local folks -- sometimes Amateur radio enthusiasts, sometimes cancer survivors--to put him up for the evening or drive him to his next base camp," said Joni Shulman, assistant research director of the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation in Tulsa. "Thanks to the generosity of total strangers, Martin has spent only two or three nights in motels." The CTRF will benefit from money raised during Berkofsky's run. Berkofsky has scheduled some benefit concerts along his route, including Rolla, Missouri, May 30; June 2 in Hermann, Missouri; and June 12 in St Louis (at Webster University). "St Louis will mark halfway through the run with my target arrival in Chicago 11 August," Berkofsky told ARRL. "I have managed to always keep a few days ahead and to run a few extra miles most days, weather allowing." Follow his progress via the Internet http://www.celebrateliferun.com/route.cfm (ARRL Letter May 30 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. 21465 at 0838 May 26 was with signal 24132. For prior days did not find any signal on this freq. The supposed 15095 for same time was not used. New problem on radio reception. From 9th of this month powerline noise (PLN) from the nearby 10kV electricity towers affect again my reception , with a S9 to S9+10 level over all the bands. Noise seems quasi ignition or spark type since only in short parts of the band the new bhi NES 10-2 external noise blanker can eliminate it. In other cases my MFJ1025 double antenna noise canceller can beat the noise but not 100% and requires very fine adjustments. The PLN is quite strong around and outside the house I made a call to the national Electricity company DEI for this noise problem. The officer in charge insisted that I was the first claiming about it, and supposes it is a local transformer problem or due to possible overload from electrical appliances (but still exists though we are in cold weather and rain for today ). It is expected powerline communications to start in late end this year by DEI`s daughter company Tellas (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Radio Melodía probably is on 6042.55 kHz but the signal is weak and it`s difficult to get a 100% ID (Björn ``Somebody`` Malm, Quito, Ecuador, May 30, hard-core-dx via DXLD) 6042.5, 0335 30/May R. Melodía, Arequipa, Spanish, "...amigos oyentes de Radio Melodía...", " ...aquí en la ciudad de Arequipa...", "...mucha violencia en Arequipa y otras partes del Perú por el paro de los Maestros (Profesores), hay muertos...", music La Barca, 44444 73 (Rogildo Fontenelle Aragão, Cochabamba - Bolivia, Lowe HF-225E - Sony 2001D - LW 50m, ibid.) See also COLOMBIA ** PERU. Radio Del Pacífico (Lima); 5-31-03; 4975 kHz; 0614-0641 UT; Spanish; long sermons alternating with prayer, then rock music after ID; lots of noise; loud echoey ID "Radio Del Pacífico" at 0641; SINPO 33132; Icom R71A with folded dipole for 60 meters (John Sandin, Merriam, KS, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. VOR WHAT`s NEW --- THIS IS RUSSIA St. Petersburg, the northern Russian capital, is now celebrating its 300th anniversary. Thousands of guests have come to attend the jubilee festivities. Our next edition of THIS IS RUSSIA will be wholly devoted to the magnificent city on the Neva. We will speak about what was probably the most dramatic episode of World War Two – the siege of Leningrad, the Soviet-time name of the city of St. Petersburg; we will tell you about a long-standing tradition in St. Petersburg – gun salutes at Sts. Peter and Paul Fortress and also about the popular composer Andrei Petrov. The program will go on air on Monday, June 2nd at 0230 and 1530, on Tuesday at 1930, on Wednesday at 0830, on Thursday 0730, on Friday at 0530, on Saturday at 0630 and 1830 and Sunday at 1930, all times UT. MOSCOW YESTERDAY AND TODAY In the first edition of Moscow Yesterday and Today in June --- on the air on June 2 and the week following --- we'll tell you about Russian literary genius Alexander Pushkin and about the time he spent in Moscow, which the poet himself described as the happiest in his life. The next three Moscow Yesterday and Today programs will focus on the history of Russia's ancient capital. We'll be speaking about Arbat, one of Moscow's oldest streets, which is over 500 years now. We invite you to tune in to the three consecutive editions of Moscow Yesterday and Today, beginning Monday, June 9. The program goes on the air on Monday at 0830 and 1930 UT and is repeated throughout the week. Our program guide can be found at: http://www.vor.ru/ep.html (VOR via Maryanne Kehoe, May 29, swprograms via DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. Singapore Volmet, 6676 kHz, QSL letter (v/s: Chua Guat Mui, Director), Pamphlet and calling card in 29 days for EG report & 1$. Reply from National Environment Agency, Meteorological Service Division, P. O. Box 8, Changi Airport Post Office, Singapore 918141, Singapore (Kenji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** SVALBARD. Do you want to take part in a DXpedition to the Arctic this summer? Well, LA3OHA is organizing a second DXpedition to Prins Karls Forland, which is part of the Spitsbergen Archipelago, and is looking for more operators. LA3OHA`s group put on a very successful DXpedition to the island in 2001, when they operated as JW0PK. This summer`s operation is scheduled to take place between the 11th and 25th of July. Contact LA3OHA direct if this trip interests you (GB2RS via Amateur Radio Newsline May 30 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** UKRAINE. AMBASSADORS WARN UKRAINE AGAINST CRACKDOWN ON WESTERN BROADCASTERS The UK, US and German ambassadors to Kiev have warned Ukraine against restricting the rebroadcasting of the BBC, the Voice of America and Deutsche Welle in Ukraine. Amendments to the law on TV and radio broadcasting to be passed by the Ukrainian parliament in September should not be directed against Western broadcasters and their Ukrainian partners, the ambassadors said in a front-page article in the leading independent Ukrainian weekly Zerkalo Nedeli on 31 May. Free flow of information is one of the pillars of democracy, and the new law should be in line with European practice and the commitments Ukraine undertook in the Council of Europe, the ambassadors said. Fears have been voiced that some of the proposed amendments would ban Western radio stations from Ukraine. That would put the country in the company of Iran and Cuba, the ambassadors said. The independent Ukrainian radio station Kontynent, which rebroadcasts the BBC, the Voice of America and Deutsche Welle, has repeatedly complained of government pressure, which the station says is linked to its independent reporting. Source: Zerkalo Nedeli, Kiev, in Russian 31 May 03, p 1 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A. Don't you believe New York VOLMET is "missing." I'm listening to it on 10051. There are times when I'm unable to receive New York VOLMET, but I've always assumed that this is due to poor propagation. (Mike Cooper, May 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, I guess it was when the column was written about a sesquimonth ago (gh) ** U S A. NEW STATION TO BROADCAST WAVESCAN Beginning next Sunday, we will welcome another radio station into the worldwide network of shortwave stations that regularly broadcast the AWR DX program, "Wavescan". This new shortwave station that will begin the relay of "Wavescan" next Sunday is station WINB in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, and in reality it is not a new station but an old friend in the international radio world. The schedule for the new broadcast of Wavescan over WINB on Sundays will be 10:30-11:00 am Eastern Time, which will remain the same all year round. Currently this timing corresponds to 1430-1500 UT on Sundays. All reception reports for the first day of broadcast of Wavescan next Sunday over station WINB may receive two QSL cards. One QSL card will be a specially endorsed QSL card from Adventist World Radio honoring this new event. After processing the reports in Indianapolis, we will forward them on to station WINB for their QSL card also. Reception reports for this first day only should be addressed to: Wavescan, Box 29235, Indianapolis, Indiana 46229, USA. We would like to acknowledge with appreciation the noted North American DXer and international radio monitor, Hans Johnson, for initiating these arrangements with station WINB. In our program two weeks from now, we will present a Station Profile on station WINB in Red Lion, Pennsylvania (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan June 1 via DXLD) ** U S A. NASB News from Jeff White NASB ELECTS NEW OFFICERS AT ANNUAL MEETING May 30, 2003 (Washington) - The National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB) -- the organization of privately-owned shortwave stations in the United States -- has elected Jeff White of Radio Miami International (WRMI) as its new President, and Paul Hunter of Word Broadcasting (WJIE and KVOH) as its new Vice President. The election took place at the 2003 Annual Meeting of NASB in Washington, DC on May 2. In addition, two new members of the NASB Board of Directors were elected: Charles Caudill of KNLS and Doug Garlinger of LeSEA Broadcasting (WHRI, WHRA and KWHR). They join White and Hunter, plus two other members of the Board: Elder Jacob Meyer of WMLK and Ted Haney of the Far East Broadcasting Company (which owns KFBS). NASB rules state that Board members must rotate off the Board for at least one year after two consecutive three-year terms. Board members Ed Evans of WSHB (former President) and Dan Elyea of WYFR (Secretary/Treasurer) completed their second consecutive terms, so they left the Board. However, Dan Elyea remains the NASB Secretary/Treasurer and Ed Evans has been appointed head of a new NASB PLC (Power Line Carrier) Committee. At this time, 18 of the 25 FCC (Federal Communications Commission)- licensed shortwave stations in the United States are members of NASB. The Association also has nine associate members, which include transmitter and antenna manufacturers, frequency consultants, etc. At the annual meeting, Tom Lucey of the FCC's International Bureau brought the good news that FCC frequency coordination fees are effectively being cut in half as of the B03 season, since the Commission will only be charging for two frequency seasons per year instead of four. This will save the privately-owned U.S. shortwave stations thousands of dollars a year, and this is a goal that the NASB had been working on for a number of years. Mr. Lucey also explained the new optional electronic format for submitting seasonal frequency schedules to the FCC. Don Messer of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) spoke about the upcoming World Radio Conference in Geneva and the shortwave- related issues that will be dealt with at that meeting. Mr. Messer is also Chairman of the DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) Technical Committee, and he gave an update on the DRM coalition and its plans to begin regular DRM broadcasts in June. Also at the NASB Annual Meeting, Ron Wilenski of associate member TCI/Dielectric gave a presentation about his company's shortwave antenna business. TCI is based in the United States, but over 80% of the company's sales are overseas. Mr. Wilenski explained that all of the antennas presently used by shortwave broadcasters will be compatible with DRM transmissions, and his company hopes DRM will revitalize shortwave broadcasting. Doug Garlinger of LeSEA Broadcasting and Jeff White of WRMI presented a slide show about their representation of NASB at the two most recent High Frequency Coordinating Committee (HFCC) conferences in Bangkok, Thailand and Johannesburg, South Africa. Several representatives of the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) took part in the NASB's annual meeting, and they gave an update on IBB's leasing of private facilities to accommodate special broadcasts to Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as other news about IBB developments in frequency management and monitoring services. Dr. Kim Elliott of the IBB's Audience Research department talked about the different forms of media used by international broadcasters in today's world, and he revealed the results of a very recent worldwide listener survey conducted by the Voice of America. Among other things, 59% of survey respondents indicated they were listening to VOA on shortwave, 16% to rebroadcasts of VOA on local AM and FM stations, 15% to VOA mediumwave outlets, 9% to VOA Internet audio, 0.4% to direct- to-home VOA satellite transmissions, and 0.2% to VOA on cable radio. At the business portion of the NASB's annual meeting, a proposal was discussed to initiate joint NASB broadcasts in the DRM format in the near future, using an existing DRM facility. No decision was reached at the meeting. An NASB Power Line Carrier (PLC) Committee was created to lobby the FCC against proposed use of power lines by broadband services which would cause harmful interference to HF transmissions. Next year's NASB Annual Meeting will be Friday, May 7, 2004 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Arlington, Virginia -- just north of Washington, DC's Reagan National Airport. More information is available at the NASB's website: http://www.shortwave.org (via Dan Elyea, WYFR, NASB, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re audience survey above: Thus, nearly 75% of VOA listeners tune in to the VOA's OWN transmitters (both MW and SW), and those highly-touted local-station rebroadcasts are pretty negligible in their reach by comparison --- ditto internet/satellite/cable radio, only more so. I don't know --- perhaps VOA is the exception... life goes on, rah-rah- rah for new media etc. But I would love to see comparable audience figures for some of those international broadcasters who have chosen to curtail and/or eliminate their various shortwave services in favor of "more efficient" delivery means like rebroadcasts/satellite/Web audio etc. To me, it's a bit like Chevron/Texaco dropping its Met- broadcast sponsorship after next season because the bean-counters apparently couldn't justify the $7,000,000 budget line-item (which amounts to something like ONE PERCENT of their total budget!). 73, (Randy Stewart, Springfield MO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. MONOPOLY OR DEMOCRACY? By Ted Turner, Friday, May 30, 2003; Page A23 On Monday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to adopt dramatic rule changes that will extend the market dominance of the five media corporations that control most of what Americans read, see and hear. I am a major shareholder in the largest of those five corporations, yet -- speaking only for myself, and not for AOL Time Warner -- I oppose these rules. They will stifle debate, inhibit new ideas and shut out smaller businesses trying to compete. If these rules had been in place in 1970, it would have been virtually impossible for me to start Turner Broadcasting or, 10 years later, to launch CNN. The FCC will vote on several proposals, including raising the cap on how many TV stations can be owned by one corporation and allowing single corporations to own TV stations and newspapers in the same market. If a young media entrepreneur were trying to get started today under these proposed rules, he or she wouldn't be able to buy a UHF station, as I did. They're all bought up. But even if someone did manage to buy a TV station, that wouldn't be enough. To compete, you have to have good programming and good distribution. Today both are owned by conglomerates that keep the best for themselves and leave the worst for you -- if they sell anything to you at all. It's hard to compete when your suppliers are owned by your competitors. We bought MGM, and we later sold Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner, because we had little choice. The big were getting bigger. The small were disappearing. We had to gain access to programming to survive. Many other independent media companies were swallowed up for the same reason -- because they didn't have everything they needed under their own roof, and their competitors did. The climate after Monday's expected FCC decision will encourage even more consolidation and be even more inhospitable to smaller businesses. Why should the country care? When you lose small businesses, you lose big ideas. People who own their own businesses are their own bosses. They are independent thinkers. They know they can't compete by imitating the big guys; they have to innovate. So they are less obsessed with earnings than they are with ideas. They're willing to take risks. When, on my initiative, Turner Communications (now Turner Broadcasting) bought its first TV station, which at the time was losing $50,000 a month, my board strongly objected. When TBS bought its second station, which was in even worse shape than the first, our accountant quit in protest. Large media corporations are far more profit-focused and risk-averse. They sometimes confuse short-term profits and long-term value. They kill local programming because it's expensive, and they push national programming because it's cheap -- even if it runs counter to local interests and community values. For a corporation to launch a new idea, you have to get the backing of executives who are obsessed with quarterly earnings and afraid of being fired for an idea that fails. They often prefer to sit on the sidelines waiting to buy the businesses or imitate the models of the risk-takers who succeed. (Two large media corporations turned down my invitation to invest in the launch of CNN.) That's an understandable approach for a corporation -- but for a society, it's like overfishing the oceans. When the smaller businesses are gone, where will the new ideas come from? Nor does this trend bode well for new ideas in our democracy -- ideas that come only from diverse news and vigorous reporting. Under the new rules, there will be more consolidation and more news sharing. That means laying off reporters or, in other words, downsizing the workforce that helps us see our problems and makes us think about solutions. Even more troubling are the warning signs that large media corporations -- with massive market power -- could abuse that power by slanting news coverage in ways that serve their political or financial interests. There is always the danger that news organizations can push positive stories to gain friends in government, or unleash negative stories on artists, activists or politicians who cross them, or tell their audiences only the news that confirms entrenched views. But the danger is greater when there are no competitors to air the side of the story the corporation wants to ignore. Naturally, corporations say they would never suppress speech. That may be true. But it's not their intentions that matter. It's their capabilities. The new FCC rules would give them more power to cut important ideas out of the public debate, and it's precisely that power that the rules should prevent. Some news organizations have tried to marginalize opponents of the war in Iraq, dismissing them as a fringe element. Pope John Paul II also opposed the war in Iraq. How narrow-minded have we made our public discussion if the opinion of the pope is considered outside the bounds of legitimate debate? Our democracy needs a broader dialogue. As Justice Hugo Black wrote in a 1945 opinion: "The First Amendment rests on the assumption that the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public." Safeguarding the welfare of the public cannot be the first concern of large publicly traded media companies. Their job is to seek profits. But if the government writes the rules in a certain way, companies will seek profits in a way that serves the public interest. If, on Monday, the FCC decides to go the other way, that should not be the end of it. Powerful public groups across the political spectrum oppose these new rules and are angry about their lack of input in the process. People who can't make their voices heard in one arena often find ways to make them heard in others. Congress has the power to amend the rule changes. Members from both parties oppose the new rules. This isn't over. The writer is founder of CNN and chairman of Turner Enterprises Inc. (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. ARE BIGGER VOICES BETTER VOICES? With FCC expected to relax ownership rules Monday, the media industry faces static from a public wary of consolidation. By Kim Campbell | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor (On- Line Edition May 30th) Depending on whom you ask, next week could mark the end of consumer choice in the media, or usher in a new era of quality and resources. Or neither. On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to relax long-standing media-ownership rules, and furor is filling op/ed pages and spurring ad campaigns nationwide. The debate is one of the sharpest over media policy in years, as corporate interests, keen on modifying "outdated" regulations, confront a public increasingly uncomfortable with consolidation. If, as many observers expect, the rules are loosened to allow for ownership of multiple media outlets in a single market, the industry could be transformed - though the extent of that revolution remains unclear. "This is not the final battle. This is the first battle," says Robert McChesney, head of Free Press, a group that advocates media diversity. "There will be recourse on a number of different levels," he says. "There's no doubt that members of Congress will come back with media- ownership legislation in the next session." Driving public concern is the fear that most media outlets could fall into the hands of a few players, limiting diversity of voices and local coverage. In print and TV ads this week, a coalition of groups portrayed an industry in which a few media moguls - like Rupert Murdoch, the man behind the Fox News Channel and the New York Post - reign supreme. Already, about three-quarters of what Americans see, hear, and read in the media is controlled by a handful of large companies. That, argue critics, is not desirable in a democracy, where independent voices are essential. Congress and the FCC have received hundreds of thousands of e-mails and letters on the topic. Though the public debate is less than fever pitch, grass-roots meetings attended by various of the FCC's five commissioners have drawn crowds from a few dozen to nearly 1,000. The plan is opposed by both conservative and liberal groups, from the National Rifle Association to the National Organization for Women. The two Democratic commissioners on the FCC's decision-making board, and members of Congress from both parties, have tried unsuccessfully to persuade Republican FCC chairman Michael Powell, son of Secretary of State Colin Powell, to delay the vote and allow more time to consider the rules. But the meeting is expected to go ahead, as planned, on Monday. Even some experts who say deregulation will help the media environment aren't convinced that now is the right time, since not all Americans have access to the full range of media options. "Short term, I'm uncomfortable about it, because we haven't yet gotten to the point where I think it is the most appropriate remedy," says Everette Dennis, professor of media management at New York's Fordham University. On the docket for Monday are several rules, including those that cover bans on ownership of a television station and a newspaper in the same market, owning more than one of the top four TV stations in a market, and a single company owning local stations that reach more than 35 percent of US TV households. Those in favor of loosening the rules, including Chairman Powell, argue the current restrictions are outdated, having been created in the 1960s and '70s. The way they see it, the rules were meant for an environment with just three broadcast networks, a world in which Web surfing was for Spiderman. Now, their argument goes, people have many options for news and entertainment - diminishing the need to protect a few players. With more competition, and with the rising production costs, comes the need for large, prosperous companies that can afford to keep up, supporters say. "If you want to preserve and strengthen free, over-the-air, local television, then you need to extend some modest deregulation in terms of duopolies [single owners owning more than one outlet]," says Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters. Those in favor of the changes argue that if a struggling local news station can use the resources of a cross-owned newspaper, the community benefits. But critics insist that synergy deprives the market of one more independent voice - and deprives outlets of competitive drive. Public response, albeit limited, is larger than that generated in 1996, say observers, when Congress passed the Federal Communications Act. Among its changes, that law deregulated the radio industry, allowing single owners to buy many stations. Clear Channel Communications, for instance, went from owning fewer than 50 stations to more than 1,200. Protests were planned at Clear Channel stations in major US cities Thursday to object to the current FCC action. The perceived homogenization of radio is fueling concerns about relaxing ownership rules for TV. Though broadcasters argue that there are now more radio formats to choose from, critics complain of similar content, increased commercialism, and a loss of local flavor. Since 1996, the number of radio-station owners has dropped by roughly a third. That, opponents say, is a harbinger of the weakening of local media if regulations are relaxed. How quickly and to what extent the landscape will change remains unclear. Because cross-ownership of newspapers and TV stations is already permitted in some markets, many consumers are used to seeing the same reporters on several channels, or plugs on the nightly news for a commonly owned newspaper. Though analysts say media companies will likely be eager to take advantage of looser rules, the sagging economy - and the available outlets - may keep them from moving too fast. Some media watchers are less troubled that the potential moves represent a doomsday scenario for diversity and democracy. "The FCC is going to move incrementally ... such that you won't see a significant change in the landscape," says Rob Frieden, a telecommunications professor at Pennsylvania State University. He's not opposed to deregulation, arguing that media is no different from other industries forced to do more with less. "Media industries are not exempt from having to economize, streamline, become more productive," Professor Frieden says. "To a certain extent, a large, deep-pocketed media conglomerate is better able to produce or acquire the high-quality content we expect." If the rules are relaxed, Dennis sees an opportunity for more accountability and public involvement. "Media can be very responsive to criticism.... We've had a weak tradition of media criticism in the United States, so maybe this will bolster that." (via Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, DXLD) Heard on R. Australia Feedback that one R. Chambers won something but he was in OO-ti-ca (gh, DXLD) As the vote on proposed FCC changes looms on June 2, the Washington Post has a resource page with numerous links to information about this topic. There is also a poll, and a quiz to test your knowledge on this subject. The URL is: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/technology/techpolicy/fcc/?nav=hptoc_ (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. BROADCAST RADIO: INDUSTRY SURVEY SAYS LISTENERS ARE HAPPY WITH CONSOLIDATION Still with regulatory news, a recent listener survey has given credence to a claim by major radio chains that industry consolidation has provided more local flavor and diversity in programming. The report by Arbitron Inc. found that most listeners were very pleased with the programming choices available to them. In fact, about 79 percent said they get more or the same amount of programming choices from consolidated radio than they did five years ago. Skeptics say the report is biased as it comes from a company whose business is perpetuated by the growth of big radio company profits. (Via e-mail) (Amateur Radio Newsline May 30 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. The Friday edition of Marketplace has a 4-minute segment on the FCC vote, starting 7 minutes into the show. I think the current show is only available for a limited time: http://www.marketplace.org/current.ram (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. TV'S NEWS CENTRAL: ONE SOURCE FITS ALL MD. STUDIO FEEDS LOCAL SHOWS NATIONALLY --- By Paul Farhi, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, May 31, 2003, Page A01 HUNT VALLEY, Md. -- With a cheerful "Scott, how's it shaping up?" WSMH anchorman Jim Kiertzner cues forecaster Scott Padgett for the local weather forecast. Padgett, bright and sunny himself, tells viewers of the Flint, Mich., station to expect a high of 63 and more rain. He backs up the prediction with radar images showing a storm spreading like spilled ink toward Flint, Saginaw and Bay City. It's such a smooth performance that you'd never guess that Padgett, WSMH's "local" weatherman, isn't in Flint. Or that he's never even visited the city. Moments before WSMH's 10 p.m. news, Padgett recorded his forecast in a studio located here, some 600 miles away, and shipped it to the station via its computer network. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60149-2003May30.html 73, (-.. Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, DXLD) see also OKLAHOMA ** U S A. KWKH PLAYING COUNTRY MUSIC AGAIN Hello Glenn, A couple nights ago I noticed country music on 1130 AM, but didn't give it much thought, since any number of things can come in on 1130 here in central Missouri, given conditions, etc. Thursday night I heard it again between 9 and 10 PM CDT (0200-0300 UT) and confirmed it's KWKH, Shreveport, LA, playing only classic country, liners, and commercials. I didn't hear any live announcers. Liners say they're playing country legends. One mentioned sports and country legends, so they're apparently still doing some sports programming. I didn't think KWKH was supposed to be audible up this way, but for the past several months, I've heard them with a very loud signal quite often. You might have had other reports on this, or maybe noticed it yourself, but thought I'd add my two cents (John Wesley Smith, KC0HSB, Hallsville, MO, May 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) One frequently suspects their direxional pattern be out of whack or not employed properly at nite (gh, DXLD) KWKH-1130 LOUISIANA HAYRIDE CDS If any of you have Cracker Barrel restaurants near you, they seem to be as common on interstates as clover leaf intersections, look in their CD display for the KWKH Louisiana Hayride CDs. These are compilations of classic live performances from the 50s. So far I've seen 3 different CDs and tapes; a CD of classic country performances, one of classic gospel performances, and one of an Elvis Presley performance made just before his explosion on to the music scene. These are nice historical pieces and I wish other stations would follow this lead. It's good to hear they are going back to classic country. I remember listening to KWKH as a young teenager when I discovered DXing. They are just a frog hair from my hometown powerhouse WBT and were easy to find on my All American 5 RCA radio. Now if we could just convince the other 10 million "Sports Talk" stations to change programming (Rick Robinson, who's about sports talked, news talked and preached out, Hendersonville, NC, May 29, NRC- AM via DXLD) ** U S A. THAYRONE HAS A NEW JOB YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) --- A disc jockey who was fired by Eastern Michigan University's public radio station has a new gig with a station in Ann Arbor. Terry Hughes, known on his radio program as "Thayrone," will host a show on Sunday nights on WQKL-FM. WEMU-FM station manager Art Timko fired Hughes early last month for giving on- air opinions about the war in Iraq and refusing to air National Public Radio news during his show. Timko said WEMU-FM policy doesn't allow announcers to express opinions on matters of a controversial nature. Hughes had hosted "The Bone Conduction Show" for about 20 years, Timko said. Because Hughes spoke favorably about President Bush and his handling of the war in Iraq, his dismissal became a hot topic among conservative radio and television pundits. Ray Nelson, general manager for Clear Channel's Ann Arbor stations, is giving Hughes complete creative control of his new show. Starting this weekend, the show will air each Sunday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. "The show's success is in its host and the creative juices that flow with it," Nelson told The Detroit News for a Friday story. "I don't want to stymie that. Thayrone, I trust, will use the good judgment that any other broadcaster would in complying with our rules and regulations." (Relayed by Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, DXLD) ** U S A. LOS ANGELES PUBLIC RADIO STATION KUSC 91.5 FM GOES DIGITAL WITH HD RADIO(TM) TECHNOLOGY Southern California's Public Radio Network is Poised to Broadcast Digitally on Additional Stations KCPB-Thousand Oaks, KFAC-Santa Barbara, And KPSC-Palm Springs COLUMBIA, Md., and WARREN, N.J., May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- iBiquity Digital Corporation, the sole developer and licenser of HD Radio (TM) technology, and KUSC 91.5 FM, licensed to the University of Southern California, announced today that KUSC 91.5 FM in Los Angeles is the area's first noncommercial licensee of HD Radio technology. KUSC is part of a Los Angeles area public radio network providing classical music and arts programming to the nation's second largest radio market. KUSC is the largest noncommercial classical station in the country. Other stations in the same Southern California network licensed for HD Radio technology include KCPB-Thousand Oaks, KFAC- Santa Barbara, and KPSC-Palm Springs. "HD Radio technology opens the door for public broadcasters, such as KUSC, to offer digital quality and superior services to their loyal listeners," said Bob Struble, president and CEO, iBiquity Digital Corporation. "Public radio offers the potential for listeners to get the local news and information they value, as well as the option for new and exciting secondary services – all offered on the same frequency." Brenda Barnes, president and general manager, KUSC 91.5 FM said, "Classical music deserves and demands the highest quality transmission possible. HD Radio technology offers us the chance to improve the technical quality of the programming we provide as well as the consistency and reliability of our service. As a noncommercial station governed by a mission, improving service to our listeners is always the primary goal." For more information on how to license HD Radio technology please contact Stephen Wallace at 410-872-1554, wallace@@ibiquity.com or Scott Stull at 410-872-1578, stull@@ibiquity.com About KUSC 91.5 FM KUSC, the radio station of the University of Southern California started 55 years ago as a small student-run radio station on the USC campus and grew into the largest noncommercial classical station in the country, serving the entire Southern California region. According to recent Arbitron ratings, KUSC's classical format is the most popular music format on public radio, accounting for 30% of all programming. For more information on KUSC please visit: http://www.kusc.org (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. The current edition of the Society of Broadcast Engineers chapter 48 on-line newsletter has a very interesting story about the IBOC situation by Cris Alexander, Director of Engineering for Crawford Broadcasting. There is also a very informative article about the recent upgrade of KNRC/1150 (ex-KCUV) here in the Denver area. And yes, before you start poking fun, there is a big old picture of my ugly face next to a local TV personality in the very first story in the newsletter. My apologies for that! The newsletter is at http://www.smpte-sbe48.org/news.asp (Patrick Griffith Westminster, CO, USA, NRC-AM via DXLD) Viz.: RANDOM RADIO THOUGHTS Cris Alexander, CSRE, Crawford Broadcasting Company Back in April at the NAB convention, there was a lot of hubbub about the rollout of HD Radio, Radio's version of a digital transmission medium. A number of FM stations in the nation's top six markets are already on the air with the FM version; there are a couple of AM stations transmitting in digital as well. One thing I noted while at NAB was that the AM HD over-the-air demos sounded rough. To my ear, they sounded like a fair quality Internet stream. There were artifacts present, particularly on high-frequency components. Much of the source material was high-density, however, which made it hard to discern the artifacts. Crawford Broadcasting Company and several other broadcast groups recently made decisions to wait on AM HD implementation. I based my decision almost entirely on the quality issue, although the unresolved nighttime questions also played a part. My opinion was that AM HD Radio was not ready for prime time. The PAC algorithm for AM needs a lot of work. On May 14, the NRSC DAB subcommittee announced a suspension of activity in the in-band-on-channel (IBOC) standards-setting process. The reason cited was "...growing concerns over the audio quality of iBiquity's low bit-rate codec..." It was the very demonstrations that I heard at NAB 2003 in Las Vegas plus similar demonstrations at a private NPR event in Washington that led the NRSC to pull the plug for the time being on IBOC standards setting. It was interesting to note that many NRSC members found that earlier demonstrations at 36 kbps sounded much better and were "...suitable for broadcast." Whatever changes iBiquity has recently made to the AM PAC algorithm, they were in the wrong direction. It will be interesting to see what happens in coming months by way of PAC improvements. I think it is very unfortunate that AM, which stands to gain the most from a digital transmission medium, has been back- burnered once again. Maybe we should take Leonard Kahn's new AM proposal a little more seriously after all (SBE/Denver May via DXLD) ** U S A. As of 1034 [EDT] today [May 29] I do not note the IBOC effect on either side of WOR. Stations on both 700 and 720 are coming in clearly (Ben Dangerfield, Wallingford, PA, NRC-AM via DXLD) Thanks Ben! That is good news! Let's hope it's permanent. I enjoy listening to CHTN-720 on my drive home through Plymouth, Mass. It's virtually impossible when IBOC is turned on (Marc DeLorenzo, Marstons Mills, Mass., ibid.) As mentioned on the list earlier, IBOC is on hold while problems with the codec are addressed. Personally I find it hard to believe that such a screw-up made it this far. An in-band digital solution has been in the works for some ten years now, and they still don't have it right? Now's the opportunity for Kahn and DRM to step forward (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) It's the standardization efforts in the radio industry's NRSC group that's on hold, not the usage of IBOC by stations. If IBOC is gone from WOR, I'd guess WOR finally woke up and decided there's no reason to play around with IBOC for a good while at least (Chuck Hutton, ibid.) Well no, NRSC said that the PAC used on the MW IBOC was unacceptable at the low data rates, and they needed to fix it or go back to AAC. And the night use of IBOC has not even been addressed by them yet. I expect they are awaiting another round of software upgrades. And since NO one has any IBOC radios for now.... (Powell E. Way, ibid.) ** U S A. Re Sweeper: Thanks to Walter and to other people who replied to my message about the sweeper. Frederik, the sweeper I am talking about is a kind of device called Long Range Sea Sonde. Please find more information below I got from George Maroti a long time ago. The text was written by Andy Wallace and Paul McDonough. THE SMOOCHER ("SWISHER"). I think I read somewhere that this was possibly a "sea state" evaluator for close-in waters. It bounces the HF signal off the ionosphere (way below MUF) and gets weak reflections that have a doppler spread on it. The doppler frequency spread is directly related to the speed of the ocean waves. That way they know how fast the waves are moving, hence sea state. If it were some type of over-the-horizon radar (OTHR) it would change frequency as the ionosphere changed during the day (higher frequencies for farther range during daylight/higher MUF, else the signal would be absorbed by the D layer). Since this doesn't change frequency range, it's probably not an OTHR. But an experimental station that could only get a license for a particular band sounds more probable. Sea state sounds like one possibility. Any way to check for experimental FCC licenses in the 4 MHz band? (Paul McDonough, Boston Area DXers) Went to the FCC database and found that the University of Maine has a license for some CODAR ocean HF radio units. See CODAR's website http://www.codaros.com/products/LongRangeSpecs.htm for specifications. In brief, output power 80 watts peak, 40 watts average; operating frequency range, 4.5-5.5 MHz; transmitter, SSTX 100. They say the frequency sweeps up and then returns. The signals we are hearing seem to sweep downwards. Per the FCC experimental licensing database, a licensee is University of Maine, School of Marine Science, station location Heron Neck Light House, Vinalhaven, ME, North 44 1 30, West 68 51 50. Rutgers has also installed a bunch in NJ. I think these must be the sweepers. I bet if we search carefully when propagation allows we will find that they sweep less than 100 kHz and we are actually hearing more than one. The Maine installation also explains why we heard it at Chamberlain, but I haven't looked to see how close that is to Heron Neck. Paul McDonough wins the prize for pointing me in the right direction! (Andy Wallace, BADX) It's about 37 miles as the crow flies. This would certainly explain why 4.8-5.0 MHz was overwhelmed by smoocher QRM during our DXpedition this past weekend. (JB) (all via Marcelo Toníolo, NZ, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. What may have been the National R. of the Saharan Arab Dem. Rep. was heard for only a short time on 7460 at 0640 until fade around 0650 on May 31st. Signal strength was poor, but Arabic music and speech was heard. 73s (Noel R. Green [Blackpool, UK], Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Recently filed by mistake under SAHARA WESTERN (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. This morning I heard an LA station on 5067 kHz. I did not get an ID but probably it is listed Ondas del Suroriente. Best Wishes! (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, May 30, hard-core-dx via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. There are some UNID stations heard by Serguei Nikishin in Moscow with his Sony Pro80 right in urban part of the city: 6037.4 UNID in Spanish between 0000-0100 May 28. If anyone could help, it will be too much appreciated 73 and DX, (Serguei Nikishin via Artyom Prokhorov (Moscow, Russia) Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. I have heard recently an AM carrier on 6350.0 SSB [sic] for most of the day; no station seems to own it as no station is heard. This is blocking AFN from the horrible high pitched noise the carrier makes when in SSB mode. Can someone investigate- if nothing better to do, and see what this mystery carrier is doing. -? NOTE: This was heard in Tasmania, Australia, and other overseas listeners may not find this problem, but why not see. -Carrier heard continuously from when I heard it at around 0000 UT to 1000 -approx only. I don't believe that the 'Voice of Hope' is doing something there on that frequency. All keep well! --- Kind regards, (Robert Wise, Hobart, Australia, May 30, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. This month`s featured station is both a numbers station and a pirate. While there have been a few parody numbers stations in the past, they have usually been short lived, with just one or two transmissions. For almost a year now, we`ve been hearing coded messages from the ``Rodent revolution``, a.k.a. WBNY. These are supposedly transmitted form the revolution`s leader, Commander Bunny, to his shock troops in the field. These transmissions were first noted on August 7, 2002 on 6950 kHz. They have mostly been heard on this frequency, altho 6955 and 6925 have also been reported. Both AM and SSB have been heard. Signal strength and technical quality is usually quite poor, leading one to suspect a connexion to the Cuban Atención stations. Most transmissions have used he same encryption method, a simple substitution cipher, one of the most basic methods of encoding a message. Each letter of the alphabet is encoded using a number from 1 to 26. No spaces are sent; it is up to the recipient to place spaces in the correct locations after decrypting the message. Derek Glidden came up with the solution using letter frequency information. The decryption table is: 1 M 8 E 15 P 22 ? 2 L 9 D 16 ? 23 Y 3 J? 10 C 17 R 24 J? 4 I 11 B 18 S 25 ? 5 H 12 A 19 T 26 ? 6 G 13 N 20 U 7 F 14 O 21 W J has been reported to use both 3 and 24; this may be due to encryption errors --- 3 fits the obvious pattern better. 16 can be inferred to be Q. K, V, X and Z are unknown at present. Further transmissions may identify them. The most recent message heard was on May 19, 2003 at 2328 UT on 6950 AM, and decrypted to: ``COMMANDER BUNNY IS GO`` That`s it for this month. I need to go outside and check my tire pressure. 73, (Chris Smolinski, Covert Comms, The Monthly A*C*E, June via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ [CUMBRE DX] PROPAGATION REPORT Geomagnetic storm conditions prevail at the moment with the solar wind speed elevated at 685 km/sec, with a highly unusual +24 nT bias. Since May 27 a number of M and X class flares have been noted with associated fadeouts, and coronal mass ejections. Coronal hole activity was prevalent early in the week keeping the geomagnetic field active for a few days as well. Magnetically complex and compact solar region 365 located in the south-west solar quadrant, produced the two X class flares. These events were associated with Type II radio sweeps and mass ejections. At least one of the X class flares produced protons with 10MeV solar proton flux levels currently just below event threshold at time of issue of this report. Two shocks are expected to arrive on 30/31 May. Background solar wind speed are currently elevated at 650km/sec, due to a coronal hole now located in the western solar hemisphere. A much larger coronal hole is visible in the Sun's eastern hemisphere and is expected to produce an extended period of elevated wind speed from 02 Jun. More CMEs are expected to impact on May 31 and Jun 2, with possible major storm conditions from Jun 1. Needless to say propagation conditions are forecast to be mostly poor at least for the first half of the week. Produced using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, May 30, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) AURORAL AUDIO CLIPS Does anyone have any audio clips of AU receptions on their sites? (Mike Hawk, WTFDA via DXLD) Yes, I have a couple at http://fmdx.usclargo.com/ra.html (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, http://pages.cthome.net/fmdx ibid.) Mike, enjoy! WOMC 104.3 Detroit, MI - 5:50PM [EDT May 29] This one was almost a pain it was in for so long and so clear! http://mpickar.home.attbi.com/WOMC-104.3-AU-05-29-2003.mp3 (Bill Nollman, WTFDA via DXLD) FIRST DTV ES RECEPTION IN HISTORY? This Morning at 8:22 AM EDT I successfully got the PSIP ID from KOTA- DT (Channel 2), Rapid City, SD from 1,062 miles. It locked only long enough to snag the PSIP, and no video frame or sound was decoded. Picture of the PSIP ID is available at my website http://www.DXFM.com The first picture may yet come today. I still have have "Prairie Public TV" KGFE, Grand Rapids, ND up on channel 2 with DTV snow. That's the way things were just before the ID came in for KOTA-DT. To answer some questions... The setup for the reception is as follows: Hauppauge WinTV-D card Delhi / Jerrold VIP-307SR Antenna @ 45 feet Channel Master CM-7777 preamp I started seeing a coherent but intermittent DTV signal on channel 2 last night at around 6:00 PM when the auroral activity was seemingly at its peak. I was getting a steady carrier offset frequency reading of 2.5 kHz, and intermittent EQ locks. I had no sync locks last night. By 7:00 PM no hint of the DTV signal remained on channel 2. I got up and started DXing shortly after 2:00 AM and noticed that the coherent carrier offset frequency reading and intermittent EQ locks were back. I parked the antenna on the beam heading for KOTA-DT (299 degrees) and I didn't move it after that. At about 8:15 AM I started seeing intermittent sync locks. Finally at 8:22 AM EDT, I got full sync lock, the frame error rate went to zero, and the PSIP ID was captured. The frame error rate only stayed at zero for perhaps 5 seconds. Even so, it wasn't enough time apparently to decode a video frame. I suppose I better go to work now :-) (Girard Westerberg, Lexington, KY, May 30, WTFDA via DXLD) CONGRATS! This is a huge milestone for the TVDX hobby. I think most of us knew it would happen some day - now it has. Hopefully it will be the first of many (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN, ibid.) SOLAR UPDATE Sun watcher Tad "I See the Light" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: While this bulletin is being written Friday, May 30 at around 0600 UTC, a severe geomagnetic storm rages. For the past three reporting periods (three hours each), the planetary K index has been 8, indicating extremely active conditions. A late forecast at 0359 UTC on May 30 shows the projected planetary A index for May 30 through June 2 as 60, 40, 25 and 20, followed by an A of 30 for June 3-5, 35 for June 6, and 30 again on June 7. On May 29 Earth was hit by coronal mass ejections at 1215 UTC and 1900 UTC. A third coronal mass ejection may hit Earth May 30. Rather than working HF, now seems a good time for 6-meter operations and observing aurora. Solar flux over the next few days (May 30 through June 2) is predicted at 145, 140, 135 and 125. Sunspot numbers for May 22 through 28 were 110, 87, 84, 51, 65, 116 and 116, with a mean of 89.9. The 10.7-cm flux was 118.4, 117.9, 116.8, 121.1, 125.1, 128.8 and 130.2, with a mean of 122.6. Estimated planetary A indices were 25, 21, 22, 22, 18, 26 and 36, with a mean of 24.3. (ARRL Letter May 30 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ================================================================= This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Sun-Earth Interactions ================================================================= A s t r o A l e r t Sun-Earth Alert Solar Terrestrial Dispatch http://www.spacew.com Supporting Imagery and Movies are available at: http://www.spacew.com/astroalert.html 30 May 2003 BAD LUCK FOR NORTH AMERICAN AURORA OBSERVERS Sometimes (lots of times) things don't go quite according to plan when you're hunting for the elusive "Northern Lights." The fact that the occurrence of auroral activity is predictable at all is a testament to our scientific knowledge and expertise of the Sun and the processes that couple solar disturbances with the Earth's magnetosphere. As most North American aurora observers can attest, the anticipated display of the northern lights on 29 and 30 May were foiled by circumstances beyond anyones control. Just as the Sun began setting over the eastern fringes of North America, the disturbance that had been broiling furiously began to decay. By the time it was dark enough to observe anything, very few people were able to spot the northern lights. Some travelled great distances to see the phenomena, only to be disappointed. Dedicated observers in eastern Canada were treated to a few relatively brief periods of moderately strong activity during the evening hours last night, but such luck didn't hold out for most. Unfortunately, this is one of the quirks of hunting aurorae. They can be frustratingly elusive at times. Prospects were much rosier for Europeans. Numerous reports of moderate to strong auroral activity were received from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and even Germany. Had the solar disturbance arrived 6 to 9 hours later than it did, observers across North America and down to the central United States might have been privileged to observe activity as well. The last coronal mass ejection to impact the Earth arrived around 12:25 pm EDT (16:25 UTC) on 30 May and did not contain sufficient "punch" to rejuvinate auroral storming. Although there remains a chance some middle latitude regions may spot periods of low to moderately strong auroral substorming over the next 12 to 18 hours as the magnetosphere stabilizes, the chances for observing activity from most middle latitude regions have vanished. Active sunspot complex Region 10365, which was responsible for the flurry of recent space storm activity, is still capable of producing energetic major solar flare activity. However, it has rotated into a less favorable position for throwing coronal mass ejections Earthward. Ironically, although it is in a less favorable position for ejecting mass Earthward, it IS in almost an ideal position (at least, statistically speaking) for accelerating high energy protons toward the Earth should a major proton flare occur. As a result, operators of satellites and other vulnerable technology in space are as concerned now as they were several days ago. Energetic proton bombardments can permanently decrease the ability of solar arrays to generate electricity - thereby shortening spacecraft lifetimes. Energetic protons can also produce occasional anomalies such as phantom commands or single event upsets (SEUs). As far as the satellite industry is concerned, we are not yet out of the woods. ** End of the AstroAlert Bulletin ** (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) NEWFOUNDLAND CLUB PROMOTING INTEREST IN LF WORK The Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland is promoting interest in low- frequency (LF) work on 136 kHz The club reports it's breaking new ground on the long waves by conducting experiments aimed at assisting Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) http://www.rac.ca to acquire a 136-kHz amateur allocation and promoting interest in LF work. The RAC has endorsed and Industry Canada has approved an experimental license proposal drafted by club member Joe Craig, VO1NA. Since then, an LF transmitting station--the first in the Newfoundland-Labrador Section- -has been on the air at 135.830 kHz as MRCN members conduct various experiments including crossband contacts. Signals from the station have been copied by W1TAG near Boston and by G3NYK in England. The FCC recently decided against granting the 136-kHz allocation for US amateurs that ARRL had requested and the FCC had proposed granting in 2002. Visit the MRCN Web site http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~jcraig/mrcn.html for further information (ARRL Letter May 30 via John Norfolk, DXLD)### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-094, May 29, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1184: RFPI: Fri 1930, Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 7445 15039 WWCR: Sat 0500, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: Sat 0930, Sun 1030, 1630 7490 13595 (maybe) WBCQ: Sun 0445 7415 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1184.html CONTINENT OF MEDIA 03-03! New edition is now available, first broadcast on RFPI 7445, 15039: Thu 2000, Fri 0200, 0830; Sat 2130, Sun 0330, 0930 Also via DXing.com: {Stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0303.ram (Download) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0303.rm And via our site: (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/com0303.ram (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/com0303.rm (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0303.html (not yet available) WORLD OF RADIO, CONTINENT OF MEDIA ON SIUE WEB RADIO Glenn, I am PSA Director for Web Radio, a student-run radio station at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. I raised this idea with the station's General Manager, Lisa Herman, and she's all for what I am proposing. I am proposing the airing of World of Radio on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. CDT (1830 UT) on Mondays, and Continent of Media (which may be substituted with another WOR airing) on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. CDT (1830 UT). I am proposing beginning WOR airings on June 2, and COM airings on June 4. The URL for Web Radio is: http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO/ The show will be inserted into regular automation, after my shows. "Journey Through The '70s", a program of '70s hits, airs on Monday beginning at noon (1700 GMT) and "Journey Through The '80s", a program of '80s hits, airs Wednesday at noon (1700 GMT). SIUE Web Radio (and sister station WSIE 88.7 FM) have facilities to record programs downloaded from the Internet on audio cassette, and convert them to MP3 files. If you have any other questions, let me know! BTW, I ran Part 15 radio station 107.1 KXLW Hazelwood, MO in the mid-1990s. E.B. Stevenson, PSA Director, Web Radio and 88.7 WSIE Southern Illinois University Edwardsville ** CANADA. CBC-TV FIRES VETERANS DUTHIE, GLOBERMAN Video-journalists to replace reporters; union to file grievance Tony Atherton, The Ottawa Citizen, Wednesday, May 28, 2003 Ottawa CBC TV reporters Dian Duthie and Danny Globerman were told yesterday their jobs would be eliminated by late July -- and replaced with two new positions designed for camera-wielding video journalists. Ms. Duthie, an award-winning health reporter who has worked for CBC television for 21 years, and Mr. Globerman, an arts and entertainment reporter who has been with the public broadcaster since 1978, were not encouraged to apply for the new positions. "They advised me that I could," Mr. Globerman said, but they did not encourage it. Ms. Duthie said the news left her "pretty numb. I was very shocked and sad and angry." Video journalists or VJs -- reporters who do their own camera work and editing -- now account for five of the eight news reporting jobs at CBC Ottawa. After this change takes effect, senior reporter Cory O'Kelly will be the only CBC staffer covering city news who is not a VJ. The Canadian Media Guild, the union representing CBC employees, said it would file grievances on behalf of the reporters, charging the broadcaster breached the union's collective agreement by not offering retraining for the new positions before the pink slips were issued. Ms. Duthie and Mr. Globerman said yesterday they would be interested in retraining. Wendy Robbins, president of the journalists' bargaining unit for the Ottawa branch of the guild, called the handling of the job shuffle "mean-spirited and short-sighted." "Why did they go through this demeaning process of declaring jobs redundant that happen to be held by senior players in the newsroom, when they could have simply said, 'We want to reclassify these jobs, we need more shooting, we're going to offer you all the training you need, and we'll support you because you're valued people here," said Ms. Robbins, who is also executive producer of the CBC series On The Road Again. Lynn Raineault, CBC's regional director for Ontario and Quebec, said she couldn't promise the new jobs to the reporters because their training in the required camera and editing skills might take too long. "Our needs are fairly immediate, so if you had a fully trained VJ from Montreal or somewhere close who applied for the job, we'd have to look at it," said Ms. Raineault. She said the urgency is the result of increasing demand from other parts of the CBC news system for footage from Ottawa. Retraining is always an option, she said, "but it's got to be the best option for that particular job." Even if the guild's grievance is unsuccessful, Ms. Duthie and Mr. Globerman may still be able to continue with CBC. As veteran journalists, they could bump less senior reporters working in radio or on Parliament Hill. They can't displace VJs because they are in a different category. "I'm hoping that retraining could be a possibility," said Ms. Duthie. "On the other hand, there may be producing opportunities or something on radio that would be fun to do." (c) Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. for anyone interested in reading about (& linking to broadcasts of) Park Radio (Canadian Rockies -- Banff & area), you can visit: http://www.friendsofbanff.com/radio.htm (Eric Flodén, BC, IRCA via DXLD) viz.: ! Park Radio on the Web: Click Here (requires RealPlayer8) Park Radio is a visitor information radio station located in Banff National Park. It began as a project by Banff National Park in 1992. In 1994, the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission (C.R.T.C.) approved the license for the station and it has been broadcasting since 1995. In January of 1999, the C.R.T.C. approved the transfer of the license to the Friends of Banff National Park. Park Radio broadcasts a wide range of park information including: natural and cultural history programming, public safety messages, trail reports, public service announcements, park events, weather and things to see-and-do. Park Radio has office and production space located in the Banff National Park Information Centre, at 224 Banff Avenue, in the Town of Banff. Transmission facilities are located at the Tunnel Mountain Campground Theatre. Our Streaming audio feed on the Internet is hosted by The Banff Centre. Park Radio Mission Park Radio will tell the story of Banff National Park to the visiting public: from the rise of the Canadian Rockies, to the plants and animals who came to inhabit the mountains from the evidence of pre-historic life 11,500 years ago, to the modern adventurers who explore the mountains today of our quest to understand the mountain landscape and our place in it Park Radio will also provide basic information to help visitors better enjoy their stay: weather and trail reports, where to get information, public safety messages and information about park events and facilities Park Radio will use a variety of programming to enlighten and entertain visitors: Stories, interviews, quizzes, documentaries, trivia, music, sound effects and on-location stories For up to date information on all aspects of your trip to Banff National Park - Internet in Real Audio - English - - 101.1 FM - English - - 103.3 FM - Français - The Official Radio Station of Banff National Park (via gh, DXLD) Listened a while: beware of overmodulation; how to scare bears, etc. (gh) ** CHINA [non]. Change for Fang Guang Ming (Falun Gong) on TDP's website: 2100-2200 on 6035 and 9625 (ex-9945) (Silvain Domen, Belgium, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Hi Glenn; Here is the answer I received from Jeff Ingram regarding this weekend`s MM program. 73 Mick Delmage Hello Mick, I just wanted to write in response to your question about the Musical Mailbag. It's kind of a yes and no answer. Yes there will be a Musical Mailbag this weekend. No it will not be aired on Sunday. When Ralph mentioned that there would be one more program, he forgot to mention that it will be aired in the old Saludos Amigos timeslot, right after DX Partyline. So, you can hear the final Musical Mailbag program on Saturday May 31, but if you tune in Sunday... you'll get silence. Thanks for asking (Jeff Ingram, HCJB, via Mickey Delmage, AB, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Musical Mailbag program usually heard here local Sunday evenings on HCJB will air its final program this Saturday in NAm (UT Sunday June 1) right after the DX Party Line, thus at 0030 and 0330 UT on 9745 to North America. This should be the case for the European release also. 73 (Mick Delmange, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Also, for Saturday UT (Friday night here in NAm), Jeff Ingram told me "Studio 9 is going to be an hour. That will push Música del Ecuador back a half hour, but you'll still hear it. We're going to pull one of the programs that is provided from an outside broadcaster". That is the only other change to the final weekend schedule. Enjoy. 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. A guy from Berlin I consider as reliable told me about interesting observations he made on 855 (Berlin-Britz): One day the transmitter was running some kind of analogue/digital hybrid mode with digital signals above and below a narrow-bandwith (even poorer than it is on 855 anyway) AM signal. So far nobody knows what this was. There were indeed already talks (don't ask me where, I cannot recall) about a hybrid mode on DRM but with SSB+carrier and a digital signal taking the place of the supressed sideband, not this IBOC-like appearance. And I heard a bird chirping that Wertachtal would by no means be ready to start DRM transmissions in June as it was reported recently. It would be surprising how some guys would know, and sometimes it would be better to publish nothing. Yeah, sure (Kai Ludiwg, Germany, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) * * INTERATIONAL VACUUM. SKY NEWS TO LAUNCH IN US 10:38 BST, Thursday 29th May 2003 -- by Neil Wilkes Sky News could soon be seen on satellite TV across the US, according to this week's Broadcast. The channel, which could launch as early as July, is said to be on the brink of securing a deal with DirecTV, America's largest satellite service with 11 million subscribers. "Sky News is currently in discussions with various parties in the US about distribution deals," a Sky spokeswoman said, refusing to comment on the DirecTV deal. The channel will just be a rebroadcast of the standard version, similar to the broadcast of FOX News in the UK. The magazine reports that the focus of the channel may shift with time, however, becoming more of an international news station to compete with the likes of BBC World. Sky is also expected to pursue carriage of the channel on US cable networks. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds11167.html (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** IRAN. ANALYSIS - IRAN: REFORM IN THE AIR? | Text of editorial analysis by Chris McWhinnie of BBC Monitoring's Media Services Iran finds itself in a situation where internal politics are in a period of change and tension between the USA and Iran appears to be rising. Washington has piled on the pressure and accused Iran, which it brands as part of the "axis of evil," of harbouring Al-Qa'idah operatives, despite Iran claiming to have expelled 500. The US says intelligence intercepts suggest that orders for the 12 May bombings in Saudi were isssued from inside Iran. The US has also repeated the accusation that Iran is planning to arm itself with nuclear weapons. In Iran, nearly 130 members of the reformist-dominated parliament have signed an open letter to the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamene'i, calling on him to intervene to break the political deadlock holding up reforms. This internal instability, could be exploited from outside, but there seems to be no prospect of US military action against Iran, and the Iranian leadership is keen to avoid provocation. Under the US spotlight President Khatami, at heart a reformer, spoke at the Organization of the Islamic Conference on 27 May about forming collective policies for problems facing the world Islam. In the same speech, he had to denounce terrorism but oppose the USA's "unilateral" policy. He had to support the Palestinians and accused Israel of "organized state terrorism". These are difficult issues for Iran to express while it is under the spotlight of the US administration. Iraq is also a point of contention with the USA: The USA is trying to minimize the influence Iran will have on the political makeup of Iraq. But, in terms of media, there is the operation of the Voice of the Mujahidin radio station, which appears to be affiliated with the Tehran-based Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, SCIRI. This is a direct, if limited, attempt to influence the Iraqi political scene using Iranian state broadcast facilities. Strength of reform The struggle for influence, power and control of reform is played out in the Iranian domestic state media. Moderate reformist President Khatami has been trying to wrench politics and society out of the grip of Iran's highly conservative clerics. President Khatami's popular liberal ideas have, however, put him at odds with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamene'i, and other hard-liners reluctant to lose sight of established Islamic traditions. The print media is an example of a newfound and enjoyed freedom, which although it had limited success, made some impact too. Dozens of papers emerged, most on the side of the reformers. But the relative freedom of the press, while being a very tangible achievement of President Khatami's reformist government was also a main target for conservatives in their power struggle. Many pro-reform newspapers were closed down and reformist writers and editors jailed. The highly conservative judiciary has led the campaign against the liberal media, with President Khatami and the parliament apparently powerless to intervene. Press control, some freedom Political debate and acknowledgement of Iran's international and domestic predicament is certainly tolerated in the press: The newspaper Etemaad, on 28 May, carried a commentary which suggested that political decisions in Iran are made too late and that the country sends the wrong message to the outside world: "\… The narrowing of our sphere of manoeuvrability and lessening of our available options to a minimum - has been a constant behaviour, to the extent that rivals and outsiders are anticipating Iran's every move\…". The mechanisms for press control can ban publications and take legal action against writers. The newspaper Nasim-e Saba reported on 27 May that the re-appointed Tehran chief prosecutor said that if the approach followed by the press is the same as those previously banned, then he would not hesitate to seek to ban them in open court with a jury. Less freedom for broadcasters The broadcast media under President Khatami has seen some changes but it is more restricted than the press. Curbs on satellite television are less severe than before - it is tolerated to some extent. The government has increased the number of central television channels to five and introduced an international satellite channel for Persian speakers and Iranians abroad and news networks for home and abroad have been launched to compete with foreign TV. Television is very popular in Iran. More than 80 per cent of the population watch TV and do so for more than four hours each day. As over 50 per cent of the population is under the age of 25 it is not surprising that the most popular TV station is the state channel 3, the youth network. The Iranian Student's News Agency has reported that apparent jamming or interfering signals, from known fixed and mobile transmitters, are disrupting some foreign satellite stations and satellite-delivered Internet data. The interfering signals seem to appear with some degree of official sanction or protection - be it military, political or religious and this may be indicative of the divisions between the government and the conservative military. Financial inquiry at state broadcaster The huge financial losses at Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) are also a matter of public and parliamentary concern and wrangling. The head of IRIB has said that the investigation into the supposed financial irregularities was politically motivated and that his organization has been treated in a factional manner. The English- language Iran Daily web site reported on 26 May that law makers sitting on the parliamentary investigative committee have been refused access to IRIB's accounts. Earlier, on 12 May the official IRNA news agency said that IRIB's own on-air reports of the financial investigations and remarks by the IRIB president were "inappropriate" and had been criticized by the council that supervises IRIB. President Khatami has intervened, but did so by asking IRIB to remain politically neutral towards all parties and groups. Talking to IRIB's supervisory council, the president urged the council to perform its oversight function for IRIB without political bias. He stressed that IRIB should present the policies of the state clearly and in a way that cooperated with government to help bolster national security. Internet "filtered" The Internet is also a subject of controversy. On 20 May the Nasim-e Saba newspaper reported 187 web sites being filtered officially by the authorities. Most are dissident sites of political grouping inside and outside Iran. Curiously this net blockage also included the web site of a moderate magazine, Aftab, which is however openly available on newsstands with a permit issued by the same Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Media - part of the story of reform Iran's media plays a part in the politics of the country and is also tasked with reporting on the changes taking place within Iran. It is inevitably pulled in different directions. It reports the path to reform, there are those parts of the media which seek their freedom and the conservative elements in Iran which seek to impose controls on the media through the courts. Source: BBC Monitoring research 29 May 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. Around 1400 UT, RFI signed on, frequency 15495. Radio Kuwait signed off that frequency around 1315 leaving it free!!! One more thing: when Radio Free Iraq was announcing the frequencies used, they never mentioned 15495!?????? Strange! (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re DXLD 3-093 KUWAIT HEARD RELAYING RADIO FREE IRAQ As Tarek says, 15495 is broadcasting Radio Free Iraq, and is heard parallel listed 9825 [KAV] 11805[LAM] 15170[MOR] and 17740[KAV] at 1500 until 1700, so it is an additional frequency. This relatively new entry appears in today`s IBB schedule: 15495 1400 1500 VOA W VAR WOF 08 102 10/23/2003 10/25/2003 15495 1500 1700 VOA W VAR WOF 08 102 10/23/2003 10/25/2003 Could this already be on air and is it this transmitter being heard carrying R. Free Iraq? [i.e. Woofferton, UK, not KUWAIT] Radio Kuwait should not be using 15495 at 1500. Their current HFCC registration says 0200-1305 and 1800-2400 on this frequency. The gap in service between v1305 and v1800 has been in their sched for years. At 1500 they are audible on 15110 [this has Urdu once again at 1600- 1800] 13620 [until v1605] 11990 [from v1615] and 9880. And 15505 is also on air, but carries a different programme, thought to be the Kor`an service (Noel Green, UK, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND. PIRATES ARE SHIPWRECKED - NOT FOR LONG From The Irish Independent 27th May 2003 The pirate radio stations have been silenced by the gardai and the telecoms regulator. JOHN MEAGHER listens to the voices of the alternative airwaves. The airwaves are quieter this week. Aficionados of Radio 1, 2FM, Today FM and the city's local broadcasters, 98FM and FM104 won't have noticed a change in their radio station of choice. But for the growing pirate radio audience the past seven days have been dramatic. Last week, between 15 and 20 unlicensed radio stations were in operation in Dublin. Today, there is no trace of them. The bandwidth on which they used to broadcast is silent. Last Tuesday, gardaí and inspectors from the telecommunications regulator, ComReg, raided small studios throughout the city, seizing equipment and cutting off the power supply. Other stations, hearing of the raids, voluntarily closed down in an attempt to safeguard their expensive equipment. Within hours Jazz FM, Choice FM, ICE FM and Premier FM among others were off the air - possibly for good. Broadcasting without a licence is an offence, according to legislation dating back to 1926, and in recent years ComReg has taken a tough stance. For the past couple of months, stations throughout the country have had their equipment confiscated and transmitters removed. It was Dublin's turn last week. The move will have left thousands of listeners fuming. Pirate radio stations cater for people who feel marginalised by the music offerings of licensed, commercial broadcasters who seem bent on playing the same middle-of-the-road pop songs over and over. In this staid, conservative environment pirates have flourished. Jazz, alternative rock, dance and country - the sort of music that one rarely hears played on day-time radio - receives heavy rotation on the pirates. Some, like Jazz FM, specialise in niche markets. A ComReg spokeswoman says the crackdown on pirates was instigated because of complaints received by air traffic controllers, who claimed illegal radio stations were clogging up bandwidth. She says there had been concerns among the gardaí and ambulance workers that the frequency used by some stations was in danger of interfering with their two-way radios. She would not say how many stations had been raided. Legal operators have pushed for a blitz, too. While there is little advertising carried on the pirate stations, licensed commercial operators have been calling for a crackdown for some time. They claim that pirates, particularly those targeting the youth market, have been taking listeners from legitimate stations. Estimates fluctuate wildly, but it is believed that one-in-five Dublin residents regularly tune into pirate radio stations. Phantom FM, regarded as the most successful pirate, claims to have had a market share of 4pc before it voluntarily closed last week. Although impossible to verify, sources within the Dublin radio industry believe this figure is not far from the mark. And that's impressive, considering Phantom is competing with the heavy marketing spend and brand awareness enjoyed by, say, 2FM and Today FM. Phantom's founder and station manager Pete Reed says it will back be on the airwaves soon. Unlike other pirates, the station - which specialises in independent/alternative music - wants to go legit. Twice turned down for a radio licence, for many it's the real sound of Dublin music radio. A musical sanctuary for those who are switched off by the inane, mid-Atlantic warbling of many mainstream DJs, Phantom is a broadcasting free spirit which is as irreverent towards commercial music as is it authentic in its own tastes. It has championed many domestic musicians, Mundy and Damien Rice among them, long before they were acknowledged by the commercial stations. "It's obvious that there is a market for a station like Phantom," says Reed, a long-serving pirate thanks to his work on the Coast and Spectrum stations. "Unlike other pirate stations that operate in someone's bedroom, this is a professional set-up in every way - from the equipment to the DJs and the schedules." Phantom's studio is housed near a well-known city centre music venue. "We heard on the grapevine that some stations were being raided," he says, "so we took the decision to shut down. The equipment is expensive - thousands of euro worth of stuff - and it would be very difficult to start up again if it was gone." Phantom's directors have voluntarily taken the station off the airwaves before. The last time was during its bid for a "special interest" licence from the Irish Broadcasting Commission (formerly IRTC) and it was off the air for seven months in 2001. "The whole application process cost us about Euro20,000, which we raised ourselves, or borrowed from the credit union, because we had to come up with architect drawings and cashflow projections," Reed says. It was widely assumed that Phantom would win the licence, but it went to a country and western station. The failure stung, and Reed and the 30 or so DJs at Phantom were faced with the dilemma of staying off the air to appease the IBC for any future bids or to start broadcasting again. For music lovers like Reed there could only be one answer. When Phantom went back on air again it seemed to attract even greater interest than before. What motivates people like Pete Reed? "We do this because we love music and because we have complete control over what we play," he says. "When people are bored with the status quo, they want to do something different. Phantom could become Dublin's answer to XFM (the successful London alternative music station that began life as a pirate). Some people out there don't want to hear the latest Westlife song every time they turn on the radio." Reed believes Phantom will eventually be awarded a licence as a result of its growing appeal. Apart from their Dublin listeners, Phantom DJs are picking up new fans in Australia and the US as they can be heard on the internet. Almost all pirate DJs are unpaid and perks are few, unless you count the thousands of free CDs sent in by record companies, all of which seem to be very supportive of pirates (privately at least). A DJ with dance station Nova says the enjoyment comes from playing to people who are "obviously fans of the music" rather than to an audience for whom the music is just background noise. Another factor is less altruistic. "Because you can play what you like, it's a good way of letting club owners and other DJs hear what you're like. DJing on a pirate is putting yourself in the shop window. I think people would be surprised to learn how influential it is." Some pirates never make it past the bedroom, or garden shed, and go unnoticed by listeners. Many use antiquated equipment and because of a lack of soundproof technology, all sorts of noises are picked up by the microphone. The origins of pirate radio in Ireland are dubious, dating back to the Second World War when a Dublin group with Nazi sympathies rebroadcast the speeches of dissident "Lord Haw Haw" from Berlin. The first music-orientated pirate, Radio Atlantis, was established in 1964 by Davitt Kelly, an important figure in the development of the radio sector in Ireland in future decades. The motivation of the early pioneers had nothing to do with making money or influencing the direction of radio. It was just that some people got a buzz out of putting their own show on the air. It had to do with communicating. The 1970s was something of a golden era for pirate radio. These were the days before licensed local radio stations and when the number of broadcasters could be counted on the fingers of one hand. It is widely thought that Ireland's first legitimate pop station, 2FM, was established thanks to the huge listenership enjoyed by the pirates. Many of that station's DJs, including such influential figures in domestic music as Dave Fanning, served their time on the pirates. Anybody expecting Fanning to be sympathetic will be surprised. "There have always been crackdowns. You just have to move on and try something else. I think Phantom is a good station, but I'm don't know what the others are like because I've never heard them. "You play music as a pirate DJ because you love music, not because you want to make money. That's the way I saw it when I worked in pirate radio stations. I think people want me to say something like 'it's awful that this has happened', but I won't. It's life. Get over it." One thing is certain. Pirate radio won't be silent for long. Newcomers will find their place on the airwaves in time and some stations closed last week will be operating again within weeks. John Meagher (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. I don't have any details yet - but as of an hour ago (1:50 AM Israel Time), Haaretz lists, "01:50 As part of emergency economic plan, Knesset approves reform of Israel Broadcasting Authority" http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/ShTickers.html I gather they'd have a follow up article a bit later. I don't see anything on the Jerusalem Post or IBA website yet (Doni Rosenzweig, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. Have any RTTY leads? Hi Glen[n]. Your DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-063, April 11, 2003 is about the only current report I have found thus far on the internet, and I was curious whether you had any RTTY leads that I might be able to copy. I am here on the west coast in San Diego, California, and have found very limited access or reception to finding RTTY that I can copy. I have copied and verified the French Navy running its RY tape on two frequencies, and verified it against an old list I found on the internet. I have also been able to copy ham traffic both using 170 Hz shift and MFSK16 utilizing HamScope, connected through a Tigertronics Signal Link and my rig. Right now I am in the process of verifying equipment set up and performance, and any fairly current RTTY information you might have would be helpful. Thanks, and hope to hear back from you soon. 73 (Greg Galaski, San Diego, California, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY (KCNA) KCNA is the official news agency of the North Korean government. Title in Korean: Choson Chugang Tongsinsa. In addition to radioteletype services in English shown below, KCNA also transmits a facsimile service in English, Japanese and Korean on HF. Tel: +850242149, Fax: +8502812421, Telex: 5475 Name of service: KCNA Radioteletype Service Main studio center: Pyongyang English (400 or 250 Hz shift/50 baud speed) Asia 0400-0600 HMF46 10580 1000-1200 HMF88/HMF46 8152/10580 1500-1730 HMF46 10580 (Pool Items) Europe 0400-0530 HMF26 15633 1000-1200 HMF55/HMF26 11430/15633 Americas 0400-0730 HMF52 11476 (Pool Items) 1230-1430 HMF52/HMF36 11476/13580 2130-2300 HMF52 11476 (Pool Items) Africa 0800-1030 HMF49 11536 1230-1430 HMF85/HMF49 8020/11536 1800-2100 HMF52 11476 (Pool Items) FAX Press Service (350 rpm/60 IOC) 2330-0030 HMF52 11476 2330-0030 HMY36 13580 (via Gayle and Larry Van Horn, Crisis on the Korean Peninsula, June Monitoring Times via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. See IRAQ [non] ** LIBERIA [and non]. The Latest News From WJIE International Shortwave ***** SPECIAL PRAYER ALERT!! ***** DATELINE: LIBERIA WEST AFRICA May 22, 2003 TO: FRIENDS AND PARTNERS ---- WORLD PRAYER BROADCASTING We urgently need you to pray for a very special need. Yesterday we tried to wire our Missionary in Liberia Money. The bank there refused the wire. This morning we received word that the fighting has reached the outskirts of Monrovia. There were 700 westerners there last week; today there are 50 left, as the US Consulate advised evacuation. Patty Heltsley, our missionary representative in Liberia, is very brave and wishes to stay on the ground, but all westerners are evacuating. As a nurse she has a great sense of duty and commitment, doesn`t want to leave, but we feel it is in her safety`s interest that she leave as well. So we need her out now! Please pray that she will drop everything and go. She will be faced with two choices... To try to escape by car and risk encountering rebels and border problems. The second choice will be the airport, which will be the first target of the rebels. So please pray for the Holy Spirit`s guidance in this decision. Pray for open doors for a ticket and safe passage. Next, please pray for protection of all our employees in Liberia as they go through this difficult time. A suicide bomber once destroyed this station and the staff was lost... So pray for those that will be left on the ground, pray for God`s divine protection. Please pray that the station and the Church will remain unharmed and that we will still be able to broadcast the Gospel. Finally, we have a praise report to bring to you. Yesterday we were to ship a 100,000 watt transmitter to Liberia from The Seychelles, with a replacement value of a quarter of a million dollars. Yesterday, it was to board a ship for transport to Liberia. We were refused because of one missing piece of paperwork. Today through God`s divine hand we were able to arrange for this to be moved to UGANDA where we already have people and a station on the ground....What a God we serve! There will also be a television station there as well so we praise God. As you have read this email there are people dying in Liberia, so we plead for your prayers. Please forward this as the Lord leads. Please email or doc with your questions, and you comments of support. In Christ Love, Brother Morgan morgan@wjie.org Doc Burkhart doc@wjie.org (WJIE website May 28 via DXLD) Hmm, maybe it wasn`t such a good idea to try to broadcast from Liberia. One can, after all, broadcast into Liberia on SW from a more secure place. And that place is now Uganda?? Note recent reports of something on 11512 presumed to be the Liberian station --- with its original lower-powered transmitter, moved in from Lebanon (gh, DXLD) ** LIBYA [non?]. Re. the new Iraq service from Libya: Actually transmit from where? Issoudun or reactivated Sabrata (or even anything else in Libya) facilities? (Kai Ludiwg, Germany, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. It is perhaps telling that the signals and modulation of R. México Internacional are both so poor, even in the neighboring country, that it did not even occur to me to include XERMX when I remarked on page 92 of the June MONITORING TIMES that the departure of HCJB left us with nothing but Cuba and Argentina for Latin American external services in English. Strictly speaking, Mexico should be included, tho that hardly lightens the loss of HCJB. Strangely enough, no one has corrected me on this except myself (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. MOVING MEXICO TV IDS PART 1 Glenn, Thanks for your interest! The list is short; this is part 1: XEPM-2 Cd Juárez. I'm not sure about this one, but it *appears* that they have replaced the two-line upper right ID with a one-line ID across the top, pushed against the left side. Due to bad signal I'm only about 90% sure this was XEPM. XHBQ-3 Zacatecas has replaced the big calls at the top with a small two-line ID upper left. XHAJ-5 Las Lajas has moved their ID from upper center to upper right and changed the wording. The new ID looks like this: TELEVISA LAJAS XHAJ-TV C-5 Also, XHQ-2 Guamuchil, Sinaloa (a full-time relayer of independent XHQ-3 Culiacán and their circle-3 logo) has added a local four-line supered ID upper right. It reads: GUAMUCHIL SON XHQ-TV C-2 TELEVISA TIME/DATE (Danny Oglethorpe, LA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Moving Mexico TV IDs part 2 Add these to my recent list of Televisa relayers that have moved their supered IDs to a different part of the screen: XHHMA-2 Hermosillo (XEQ-9/Galavision relayer) has moved their supered four-line ID from upper left to upper right. XEZ-2 San Miguel de Allende GTO (XEW relayer) has moved their four- line ID from upper right to lower left. (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, May 26, WTFDA via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. The Dutch public network Radio 1 is no longer broadcasting on 1008 kHz from Flevo. The transmitter is now carrying a looped announcement telling people to re-tune to FM. For the oldies amongst us, the voice belongs to Hans Hoogendoorn, now with Radio Netherlands, but well remembered from his days on the Dutch service of Radio Northsea International. Hans has one of the best radio voices I've heard anywhere. For those who haven't been following developments closely, 1008 kHz will become a commercial radio frequency. Currently it, and 747 kHz, are radiated from Flevo with 160 kW using the two masts in a directional pattern towards the south east. The new commercial operator on 1008 kHz, Radlon, plans to use the full power of 400 kW and only one mast will be used, producing a much stronger signal into the UK. The transmissions of public network Radio 747 will be moved back to Lopik. I do not have any details of power/antenna, but in the "old days" it used 120 kW from that site (Andy Sennitt, May 29, hard-core-dx via DXLD) HIGH PROFILE CASUALTIES IN DUTCH COMMERCIAL RADIO Analysis by Andy Sennitt, 28 May 2003 If it's job security you're after, don't become a broadcaster in The Netherlands. As staff at the public stations busy themselves with the practical implications of savage budget cuts by the new government, many in the commercial radio sector are coming to terms with the licence decisions announced on Monday. There have been some high profile casualties in the bid to secure licences for the next eight years, effective on Sunday 1 June.... {see 3-095} At present many unconfirmed reports or rumours spread about the Dutch mediumwave outlets. Here a summary of what I read so far: 675: Radio 10 FM is the big loser in this game. Originally they intended to leave mediumwave in September because new FM outlets would made a continued operation unnecessary. But all these plannings were smashed; in fact Radio 10 FM lost *all* terrestrial outlets, both FM and MW. The station started a protest campaign, see http://www.radio10.fm/splash/ Allegedly the new licensee for 675 (described as "Music Country") reached an agreement with Arrow Classic Rock (at present on 828) which would result in Arrow being carried on 675 from Sunday. 891: Word is that Radio 538 will be put on this frequency (until now a "twin" of Flevoland 1008) immediately on Sunday. Hulsberg 891 was allocated to Radio 538 because the FM network they won has serious coverage gaps in the southern Netherlands. 1008: The licensee (Radlon Media) plans an English-language service, aiming at listeners in the UK. Once again, these are basically rumours so far. It appears that switches can be expected to take place on Saturday 2200 UT (i.e. midnight CEST) when the new frequency allocations come into force. Reportedly on FM some of the new outlets are already on air. Here is an official announcement: http://www.ez.nl/home.asp?locatie=main&page=/homepages/default.asp%3Fpagina%3Dpersbericht%26iMessage%3D284 As a reference you may use this frequency list: http://home.wxs.nl/~rabrand/zerobase/zerobase2.html (URL's pointed out by Wian Stienstra) [Later:] Indeed Arrow Classic Rock will be carried on 675 from Sunday, see http://www.arrow.nl Chart of the new frequency allocations, including the amounts of money the licensees paid: http://www.hvanbeek.com/medianieuws/zerobase.html And finally NOS already switched Flevoland-Zeewolde 1008 and Hulsberg 891 to a 19 second loop, announcing that Radio 1 can no longer be heard on mediumwave (Kai Ludiwg, Germany, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. For two days in a row I have noted Radio New Zealand at close on 9885 at 1310. At that time they shift to 6095 for 5 minutes or so, then off. I'm wondering if they just do this to check out the 6095 transmitter/antenna? I know that on occasion they do use 6095 for sporting events and/or cyclone warnings (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Worst Thing [about KWGS in online survey]: Not knowing when KWGS or any other OK public radio station will be broadcasting the entire OK Mozart 2002 series. Help?? (gh to KWGS) The 2002 series broadcasts for all stations have been delayed until Fall of this year. The 2002 season will likely be combined with the 2003 recordings into a longer broadcast series (Frank Christel, Director of Broadcast Services, The University of Tulsa, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Additional changes for Radio Pakistan since May 24th: World Service to Gulf & ME 0500-0700 on new 17755 282deg [API-6 x 21460] and 11570 260deg [API-1 x 17835] API-5 15100 now via 252deg World Service to Western Europe 1700-1900 on new 15065 [API-5 x 9400]. API-6 11570 continues - both via 313 deg. And re this in 3-093: The updated Radio Pakistan A-03 schedule in DXLD 3-092 has them on 17720 at 1600-1615 when the A-03 schedule that appeared in DXLD 3-050 had them on 17820. Can anyone confirm which they are actually on? (Dan Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Their A-03 schedule lists 17820 [API-1 at 233deg] and I don't know of any change, and cannot hear them on either frequency, but they were informed that RCI was also using 17820 at 1600. Best 73s (Noel Green, UK, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 6042.55, 0718, COLOMBIA, Radio Melodía, SF de Bogotá, presumed the weak station here with lengthy newscast and the off "Melodía" spoken over the news readers by an FA [female announcer?] (Paul Ormandy, NZ, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Paul, this format seems more like that of Melodía, Arequipa. This station seems to be on the move, looking for a clean spot in the 49 metre band. Someone reported hearing them on approx. 6105 a few days ago. Bolivia's Panamericana was off at the time. Cheers, (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Me too for this one, today. Fair copy on rather clear channel, this morning 0940, here in Montevideo. Fair QSB kept signal strength varying 0-3, talks on the news by two men, brief canned time checks by male in the background. It is Peru, and almost sure Arequipa, as H. Klemetz says, since heard references to Peruvian facts and places (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, May 29, Grundig YB400+Marconi 15m long, ibid.) In SWB/Sweden I reported Radio Melodía on 6106 kHz but the station was there for just one or two days. Is now back on 5996 kHz. Female is giving the "IDs": "Melodía es Melodía", "Melodía en la noticia" among others. A talking station with news 90%. 73 de (Björn Malm, Ecuador, ibid.) ** SLOVAKIA. El siguiente es un mensaje emitido por la Jefa de la Sección Española de Radio Eslovaquia Internacional -MARCELA GREGORCOVA- , el pasado domingo 25 de mayo de 2003, a través del programa "Las Cartas de los Oyentes" respondiendo a los reclamos de muchos radioescuchas y diexistas que no han recibido todavía la contestación de la emisora a sus cartas e informes de recepción. "Queridos radioescuchas, efectivamente estamos desbordados de trabajo y en casi todas las cartas que nos envían -que muchísimas gracias de verdad- nos piden lo mismo y nos piden lo mismo casi todos; por ejemplo aquí estoy leyendo: calendarios de bolsillo que no tienen contetación, luego si fuera posible mapa de tipo turístico sobre Eslovaquia y... materiales de su emisora como pegatinas, postales, banderín, boletín de programamción. Otro escribe: espero que todo sea por el retraso inicial pero está realmente ansioso de recibirlos. Nosotros igualmente estamos ansiosos de mandarles todo este material pero queridos señores, señoras, niños, niñas, la verdad no es posible de momento por el trabajo que tenemos, apenas nacimos, apenas estamos agarrando y jadeando la respiración, no será por el momento pero sí en un futuro, quédense fieles a nuestra radio, estamos pendientes del asunto pero paciencia, un beso". Este fragmento será reproducido en la voz de su autora dentro del Informe N 132 que se emitirá a través del programa "Antena de la Amistad" de Radio Corea Internacional, el próximo sabado en los siguientes horarios UTC aproximados, frecuencias y áreas de destino: 1008-1025 en 15210 Khz (para Europa), 9580 Khz (para América del Sur) y 11715 (via Sackville para América del Sur) 2008-2025 en 15575 Khz (para Europa) 0108-0120 en 11810 Khz (para Japón) Entrar a http://rki.kbs.co.kr para optar por los horarios y canales ON AIR o haciendo click en Antena Buzon y optando por la fecha 31.05.03 (archivo que agregan dias después de emitido el programa). Dirección electrónica: spanish@kbs.co.kr Dirección en Rep. de Corea: #18, Yoido-dong, Youngdungpo-ku, Seoul 150-790, KOREA Dirección en Latinoamércia: KBS Radio Corea Internacional, Casilla de Correo 950, S 2000 WAJ, Rosario, ARGENTINA. Gracias por difundir esta noticia. Saludos cordiales de... (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This new 2-month-old Spanish service has been inundated by requests from listeners for goodies, and begs them to be patient while the staff try to do their primary job of producing programs (gh, DXLD) ** UGANDA. See LIBERIA. Does that mean the 100 kW ex-FEBA SW transmitter will soon be on the air from Uganda instead of Liberia? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BIG BBC URL LIST Here's something potentially useful for some people, Glenn. It's a list of the URLs for the streams from the BBC Player so that you can put them into your own player for navigation purposes. You will recall the BBC player at their website does not allow a fast forward or rewind option - you may only step forward in 5 minutes increments which is a pain if you lose connexion towards the end of a 2 hours show. As I recall, this user-non-friendly setup (that's forced on the average surfer) was put in place as a sop to the UK music licensing suits who feared the usual Chicken Little rampant piracy fears.... Anyway this showed up on the alt.digital.radio newsgroup the other day... so any mistakes are not mine. Anyone with a text-only browser could have likely sorted most of this out already, but there are some programmes here I didn't know we could get (Tom Roche, Atlanta, DX LISTENING DIGEST) blues soul reggae rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/6music/ident_funkshow.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/goldfinger.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/6music/lively.ra -up yourself rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/paul_jones.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/soulreggae.ra classic rock/pop rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/air.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/bobharris.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/6music/dreamticket_mon.ra also tue wed thu fri rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/friel.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/anderson_mon.rm -also tue wed thu fri -ian rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/janice.rm -forsyth rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/shakerattle.ra -and roll rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/steveharley.ra -sounds of the 70s rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/soundsixties.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/critical_list.ra -Stuart Maconie rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/docu1.ra -the r2 docu classical rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/cdreview.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/choral.ra -evensong rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/cotw_mon.ra -comp of week -also tue wed thu fri rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/discmusic.ra -discovering music rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/fridaymusic.ra -fri night is music night rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/gracenotes.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/music_now.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/musicrest.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/privpass.ra -private passions rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/docu2.ra -another r2 docu dance rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/nightingale.ra -annie rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/blueroom.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/breezeblock.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/anthems.ra -dance rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/essselection.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/fergie.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/gilles.ra -peterson rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/jules.ra -judge rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/oneworld.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/fontaine.ra -seb drama rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/arts/afternoon_reading_fri.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/arts/afternoonplay_fri.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/arts/book_bedtime_fri.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/arts/book_week_fri.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/arts/classic_serial_sun.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/archers/archers_sunday.ra -omnibus rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/arts/friday_play.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/arts/saturday_play.ra easy and soundtracks rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/desmond.ra -carrington rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/listenband.ra -listen to the band rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/laycock.ra -malcolm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/melodies.ra - for you rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/russell.ra -davies rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/stagescreen.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/david_jacobs.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/organents.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/wales/radiowales/showtime.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/sunclub.rm -the sunday club rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/100best.ra -your 100 best experimental rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/blueroom.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/mixingit.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/6music/freakshow.ra -bruce dickenson folk and country rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/bhcountry.ra -bob harris rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/celtconnect.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/hugo_mon.rm -country afternoon -also tue wed thu rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/culan.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/folkclub.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/mclean.rm -'s country rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/mikeh.ra -mike harding rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/nickb.ra -barraclough rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/pipeline.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/pipesdrums.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/takefloor.rm -take the floor rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/bnopry.rm -the brand new opry rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/reelblend.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/morton_mon.rm -tom morton -also mon -fri rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/travelfolk.rm -travelling folk jazz rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/g2/bebophiphop.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/bestjazz.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/profile.ra -r2 docu rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/courtneypine.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/jazzclub.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/jazzfile.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/jazzleg.ra -legends rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/jazzlineup.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/jon3.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/jrr.ra news rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio5/brief_lives.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/news/olmedia/n5ctrl/radioseq/bh.ra pnm://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/live/farmingtoday.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio5/flreport.ra pnm://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/live/fooc.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/live/letter.ra -letter from america rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio5/campbell.ra -nicky rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/pm/pm.ra pnm://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/live/today0.ra (0-6?) rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio5/wakeup.ra -to money rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/wato/wato.ra -world at 1 rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/sun1300.ra -world this wkend rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/worldtonight/worldtonight.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/news/tip.ra -today in parly rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio4/news/yip.ra pop rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/usgreatest.ra -us greatest hits rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/pickpops.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/albumchart.ra rock and alt rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/atl_mon.rm -across the line -also mon tue wed fri rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/6music/rockshow.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/eve_sess_tue.ra -also wed thu rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/lamacqlive.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/lockup.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/r1rockshow.ra pnm://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/nireland.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/scotland/g2/sessioninscotland.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/sessioninwales.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/peel_tue.ra - John Peel rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/peel_wed.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/peel_thu.ra urban rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/dtpresents.ra -dreem teem rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/fabgroove.ra -fabio rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/rnbchart.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/westwood_fri.ra -r1 rap show rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/nelson.ra -trevor world rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/andykershaw.ra rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/northernireland/caschlar.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/latejunction_mon.ra -to thu rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio3/worldroutes0245.rm rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/1xtra/worldtour_tues.ra stations rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/england/realmedia/live/asiannetwork.ra rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/1xtra/live/dsatg2.ra rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/6music/live/dsatg2.ra rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio1/live/fmg2.ra rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio2/live/fmg2.ra rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio3/live/fmg2.ra rtsp://rmlivev7.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio4/live/fmg2.ra rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio5/live/fmg2.ra rtsp://rmlivev7.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/scotland/live/radioscotland.ra rtsp://rmlivev7.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/northernireland/ru-live.ra rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/wales/rwg2.ra pnm://rm.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/live24/liveinfent.ra (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** U S A. WHERE IS NEW YORK VOLMET? Hopefully, by the time anyone sees this, the routine aviation weather broadcasts from New York Radio will be back on the air. This is the VOLMET, a kind of French-ish contraction of ``flying weather.`` At press time, its frequencies of 3485, 6604, 10051, and 13270 kHz USB were dead, and had been for several weeks. Many listeners, and some pilots who were monitored on the oceanic air route control frequencies, were wondering what happened to the VOLMET. Repeated e- mails and calls to the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA), a mammoth US government bureaucracy which operates these transmitters, were not informative. Most of the people seemed perplexed, never having heard of this broadcast. Some weren't aware that shortwave aero radio still existed. This maze of public information officers and air control supervisors dead-ended at a voice mail, apparently with stress on the word ``dead.`` (Hugh Stegman, HF Communications, Utility World, June MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) {See 3-095} ** U S A [non]. Voz Cristiana, 0600 gmt, 6.070 MHz. From Buenos Aires Argentina, In Spanish and Italian, Say they are on 97.1 MHz (FM), so this must be running // along with it, religious programming and music. OM announcer, Signal s9 333 (Colonel Jon Standingbear, Army Radio Station adn3u, P. O. Box 44, Beaumont, Calif, 92223-0044, DX LISTENING DIGEST) via CHILE, of course I have been wondering what kind of Army Radio Station that is --- MARS? Google search on ADN3U led back to DXLD and other bulletin citations, nothing MARS or army, but also to his real ham call: http://buck.com/call/KA6BXC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Something interesting happened this morning. I heard this morning 5040 kHz AIR Kolkata very well (45444). Not a big deal, but guess what ? I could hear on the background the famous "sweeper" that is very annoying on the East Coast of USA. I have lived in New York for 4 years and I know very well how annoying it is. Well...the thing is, I am sure that there was no propagation from the East Coast of USA to New Zealand at 1700 UTC. So....where is this signal coming from? Does anybody know if there are sweepers on the West Coast of USA or anywhere else in the world? Thanks (Marcelo Toníolo, Auckland, New Zealand, May 30, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Marcelo, yes, there are sweepers on the west coast. The best known is centered at 4800 kHz, but affects frequencies about 10 kHz each side. It's apparently located in Oregon, and is used for wave formation research. As for the above, I noted it as well pretty much identical to the 4800, as I recall, while at Greyland, WA in our mornings, about 1200 UT, indicating a site either on the WCNA or to the west (Walter (Volodya) Salmaniw, MD Victoria, BC, Canada, ibid.) Perhaps it is the radar at Jindalee, Australia? http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,6226297%5e15321%5e%5enbv%5e15306,00.html 73 (Jilly Dybka, ibid.) ** U S A. Another Digital Test? I'm trying to listen to WSB 750, but it's been a challenge tonight (5/26). It seems there's an IBOC test going on 760 or 740. I can' t determine the originating station, but it's a familiar sound. Anyone on the list help out with possible source? Need to let WSB know how this is gonna cost a huge audience for Braves games, but would like to know who's doing it to them (Gerry Bishop, Nicelytrashedsignalville, FL, May 26, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO AND THE F.C.C. --- The New York Times May 29, 2003 To the Editor: In "The Great Media Gulp" (column, May 22), William Safire asserts that "today three companies own half the stations in America, delivering a homogenized product." The actual numbers are much less headline-worthy: the top three radio companies today own about 16 percent of stations. Regarding programming, in 2002, radio debuted more than 3,000 new songs and 550 new artists on 250 discrete formats. The public appreciates radio's strengths: according to the pollster John Zogby, 85 percent of Americans say their local radio stations do a good job in providing listeners with news, information and entertainment. At Congress's direction, the F.C.C. is currently evaluating a multitude of regulations governing media ownership. The gravity of this process demands a fair evaluation of each regulation based upon its individual merits. KATHY RAMSEY, Washington, May 23, 2003 --- The writer is executive vice president, public affairs, National Association of Broadcasters. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO DEREGULATION Deregulation isn't the problem; it's allowing companies like Clear Channel and Infinity to own so many stations in a single market. It's interesting how the Feds have put so much time and effort into going after companies like Microsoft --- whose main sin was to have inept, feckless competitors like IBM and Apple --- while ignoring the growing anticompetitive influence of companies like Clear Channel. While Clear Channel has simply taken better advantage of the FCC's policies than anyone else, the result has been a de facto monopoly in several markets; Las Vegas is a notable example with CC having the lion's share of local radio, billboards, and concert promotions. Where are the DoJ trustbusters when you really need them? (Harry Helms, W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) That's easily answered - the pursuit of Microsoft was instigated in a different Washington than there is now - different administration, different mindset etc. But you're right - the problem is not deregulation per se - rather it's the resulting monopoly (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) Huh???? The antitrust action against Microsoft and the deregulation of broadcasting both took place during the Clinton years. Do a Google search and see for yourself. It doesn't matter whether Tauzin or Markley is heading the House committee that oversees the FCC --- both the Democrats and Republicans are in CC's hip pocket. Clear Channel doesn't make extensive campaign contributions to both parties strictly in the interests of better government (Harry Helms W7HLH, ibid.) There is a big difference between Microsoft and broadcasting per se. There is room for anyone that cares or is foolish enuf to compete with Microsoft. With Radio/TV you are selling the use of a finite resource. Radio spectrum. And it's supposed to belong to the people. Broadcasters are only given a license to use it. They never own it. Try to get a broadcasting license today. Next to impossible. You can open up shop tomorrow if you want to compete against Microsoft (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Sarasota, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. KWKH-1130 Shreveport LA: According to M Street Journal, KWKH-1130 has abandoned their short-lived sports format for . . . . CLASSIC COUNTRY What a concept. They have lost some of their ooomph here lately due to XE QRMers. Can anyone confirm?? 73, (Bill in Fort Worth Hale, May 28, NRC-AM via DXLD) They were announcing the change last weekend --- it was to take place on Memorial Day. Been playing classic country every evening I've checked this week (Randy Stewart/Springfield MO, ibid.) Thanks, Randy. Good stuff for DDXD-West. And a welcome change. Now if only 1170 Tulsa would go back . . . (Bill Hale, ibid.) ** U S A. GOOD MORNING, RABBIT EARS A NEW TV STATION IS BORN, BUT IS ANYONE WATCHING? . . .South Florida's newest television station. Because there has been little promotion, there are likely no more than a few dozen viewers, mostly family members of the station's 30 employees. But the show is important; the station's owners hope it will help convince cable companies to carry Channel 57. Otherwise, WBWP -- which began broadcasting last week -- can be picked up only by rabbit-ears-using viewers from the Broward County line to Port St. Lucie. In addition, investors across the country are monitoring the station's launch to see if its novel approach of stressing local content should be copied. . . http://newtimesbpb.com/issues/2003-05-29/news.html/1/index.html (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) Why couldn`t you get it on a 7 foot UHF parabolic dish, at quite some distance? Or even sesquimegameter trans-Gulf tropo? Only on rabbit ears, indeed! (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. TV STATIONS TO PUT ANTENNAS ON NEW GROUND ZERO TOWER By DAVID W. DUNLAP, May 29, 2003 T he 1,776-foot Freedom Tower planned at the World Trade Center site is meant to send a signal of resilience to the world. Now it will also be designed to send signals of another kind to households from the New Jersey Shore to the end of Long Island to Fairfield County, Conn. Specifically, Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 31, 41, 47 and 68. On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Television Alliance signed an agreement with Larry A. Silverstein, the leaseholder and developer at the trade center site, to install as many as 22 antennas atop Freedom Tower, to be completed in 2008. Freedom Tower is being designed by Studio Daniel Libeskind. There would be roughly 70 occupied floors, reaching 900 feet, and the upper half of the structure would be more of an open latticework. Some antennas could be mounted in the mast that Mr. Libeskind has already designed as the pinnacle of the tower, said Edward Grebow, president of the broadcasters' alliance. Others could be mounted within the latticework. The new agreement would return New York broadcasters to the site they occupied before Sept. 11, 2001. It would also bring Mr. Silverstein a rent-paying tenant "That always helps," he said yesterday that needs space at altitudes where many office workers feel uncomfortable. And, Mr. Grebow said, "It guarantees that Manhattan will dominate the skyline." Until recently, the broadcasters had given serious consideration to constructing a 2,000-foot mast in Bayonne, N.J. Only two months ago, Mr. Grebow said the Bayonne mast would "dwarf the Libeskind tower at the trade center, which, believe us, is not what we want but where we are being forced to go." In April, however, Mr. Grebow attended a luncheon at which Gov. George E. Pataki set out aggressive goals for redeveloping Lower Manhattan. "I came away thinking for the first time, `Yes, this is going to happen in a plausible time frame,' " he recalled. Under this timetable, Mr. Pataki asked Mr. Silverstein to pledge that the cornerstone for Freedom Tower would be laid in August 2004. "I told him we'd do that," Mr. Silverstein said. The governor also asked that the steel be topped out on Sept. 11, 2006. "I said we'd endeavor to do that," Mr. Silverstein said. There are many unknowns about the Freedom Tower project, including the exact design of the building and the cost. The broadcasters would "pay our way" in construction costs for the antennas, Mr. Grebow said, and would also pay rent to Mr. Silverstein, who was their landlord at the World Trade Center, where they paid about $9 million a year. Since the attack, broadcasters have been using the Empire State Building as a stopgap to reach the 700,000 households in the metropolitan area that do not have cable. Their search for a new site has led them to consider Governors Island, Jersey City and Brooklyn. The broadcasters' architects are Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, which would advise them on the Freedom Tower installation, working with Mr. Libeskind and with Mr. Silverstein's architects, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. "One of our big challenges will be to make the antennas aesthetically pleasing," Mr. Grebow said. They range in height from several hundred feet to 30 or 40 feet, he said, and could be concealed within a shell of fiberglasslike material. Twenty-two antennas are needed to accommodate both analog and digital signals from each of the 11 stations, but some channels could be combined. Members of the alliance are WCBS (Channel 2), WNBC (4), WNYW (5), WABC (7), WWOR (9), WPIX (11), WNET (13), WPXN (31), WXTV (41), WNJU (47) and WFUT (68). "What better place for them to be than in New York," Mr. Silverstein said, "from whence they came and where they've always operated." Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) New York Times makes no mention of DTV transmitters for the above channels. And what of channel 68? Won't that six megahertz of spectrum be reassigned by the 2008 tower completion date? (Brock Whaley, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KID'S DAY II IS JUNE 21! NEWINGTON, CT, May 28, 2003 -- The second Kid's Day of 2003 will be June 21, from 1800-2400 UT. There's no limit on operating time. The twice-annual event, held in January and June, offers a chance for amateurs to invest in the future of Amateur Radio by participating in a simple, but rewarding, on-the-air event. Kid's Day is intended as an opportunity to share Amateur Radio with young people -- licensed or not--in the hope that they'll enjoy the experience and possibly pursue their own license in the future. Activity for Kid's Day [what`s the rest of the URL?] takes place on 20, 15 and 10 meters -- and perhaps your local 2-meter repeater. It's an opportunity to introduce your own youngsters, neighborhood kids and nieces and nephews to participate to the magic of ham radio and perhaps spark a lifelong love for the hobby. Kid's Day is not a contest, and patience is a must. Remember that the kids are not experienced operators. Your part, as the licensee and control operator, is to help with the basics, keep an eye on the technical aspects of the operation, observe third-party traffic agreements and be sure to ID at the proper intervals. Beyond that, relax, and let the youngsters have fun. If they find someone they're comfortable talking with, let them enjoy themselves. In this event, it's quality of the contacts that counts, not quantity. The suggested exchange for Kid's Day is first name, age, location and favorite color. It's okay to work the same station again if the operator has changed. Call "CQ Kid's Day." Suggested frequencies are 14,270 to 14,300, 21,380 to 21,400 and 28,350 to 28,400 kHz, and 2- meter repeater frequencies with permission from your area repeater sponsor. All participants are eligible to receive a colorful certificate (it becomes the child's personalized sales brochure on ham radio). You can help ARRL keep track of the Kid's Day activity and responses. Visit the ARRL Kid's Day Survey page to complete a short survey and post your comments. You will then have access to download the certificate page or send a 9x12 SASE to Boring Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 1357, Boring, OR 97009. Now in its ninth year, each running of Kid's Day typically attracts more than 1000 participants. Originated by the Boring Amateur Radio Club http://jzap.com/k7rat/ the event now is sponsored and administered by the ARRL with the cooperation and assistance of the BARC (ARRL May 29 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** VANUATU. 7260, Port Vila, good signal at 0737 UT 5/29 with news in presumed Bislama with English words, news on Papua New Guinea and other Pacific areas. At 0738 "...news comes from Radio Vanuatu". At 0740 some really nice local music (Drake R8, 14 Meter vertical, Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Patrick, I just want to confirm what you said. Vanuatu is very strong here on South Pacific too. 7260 Vanuatu, Port Vila, very good signal (555) at 1855 UT with nice "south Pacific style" song played with guitar and electronic keyboard. National Anthem at 1900, birds singing and "Good Morning Vanuatu...." by YL (Marcelo Toníolo, Auckland, New Zealand, NRD 545DSP Longwire 30 feet with MFJ 959B (Tuner/ Preamplifier), ibid.) ** VENEZUELA. VENEZUELA'S NEWS MEDIA SOUND ALARM OVER CHAVEZ MOVE TO REGULATE PROGRAMMING --- The Associated Press 5/29/03 1:45 AM CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- No live coverage of political violence. Limited daytime newscasts about terror attacks. No radio stations devoted exclusively to rock or other "foreign" music. Venezuela's news executives say all this could happen if President Hugo Chávez succeeds in enacting a law that imposes harsh restrictions on what and when Venezuelan television and radio stations can broadcast. Ruling party lawmakers defend the proposed law, saying it will protect children from violence and end what they call "selective censorship" by the news media, which they accuse of supporting the opposition. The also contend it will make broadcasters accountable to citizens. "This project is a weapon to defend us as a people and guarantee public freedoms," said Juan Barreto, a member of the committee which drafted the bill and a journalism professor at the Central University of Venezuela. It upholds "freedom of expression, which doesn't belong only to channels and journalists but also to the people," he said. Many press rights advocates, however, disagree. They say the law, now before the Chávez-dominated Congress, will allow an increasingly authoritarian government to silence opposition ahead of a possible recall vote on Chávez's presidency. Chávez designed the Law for Social Responsibility in Radio and Television to bring "the news media to its knees," said Víctor Ferreres, president of Venevisión television. "We would have to broadcast a blank screen and ignore almost everything that is occurring in the news" to comply with the law, Ferreres claimed. Chávez has long accused Venezuela's news media of conspiring to topple him. Most broadcasters slanted coverage of a brief 2002 coup against Chávez, and many supported an opposition general strike this year. Among other provisions, the law would ban "rude" and "vulgar" language; prohibit images and sounds related to alcohol and drug consumption, gambling and sex; and ban "psychological" or physical violence, all between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Similar limits would apply to early morning and evening newscasts. Sixty percent of all programming must be produced within Venezuela, and of that, more than half must be created by "independent producers" approved by Conatel, the state media watchdog. Broadcasters say the law will allow censors hand-picked by Chávez to crack down on the mostly opposition news media. Violators can be punished with $37,000 fines or have their broadcast licenses revoked. Advertisers, too, can be held liable -- a provision critics say is meant to starve stations of publicity at a time when Venezuela's news media are confronting an economic crisis. Congress is expected to pass the bill by simple majority vote within weeks. Six of nine members of a committee to enforce the law would be appointed by Chávez. "If there is a terrorist attack this morning, I'd have to tell listeners we have to wait to inform them during the news at 11 (p.m.) because it could be labeled 'violent content,"' said Leopoldo Castillo, a talk show host with Globovisión television news channel. Deputy Willian Lara, a Chávez confidante, said the law won't stop TV and radio from broadcasting news. "The news can be reported like it is now, only the grotesque images are restricted," he said. Critics are wary. The legislation "is completely incompatible with international standards" of press freedoms, said José Vivanco, executive director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. Definitions are so cloudy that some of Venezuela's prized daytime soap operas could be banned, he said. Opposition groups pushing for a referendum on Chávez's presidency later this year are organizing marches against the law. A leftist former army paratrooper, Chávez was elected in 1998 and re-elected to a six-year term in 2000 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** VIETNAM. Re previous report of 17925 being the 3rd harmonic of 5925 --- no, it isn`t. When will we ever learn to confirm all such reports with the calculator? 17925 would be 3 x 5975, if there be a Viet transmitter there; did not catch in time to correct on WOR 1184 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SHORTWAVE AS MUSIC ++++++++++++++++++ And more(!) about shortwave (and beyond) and music and artform: Rafael Lozano-Hemmers first solo exhibition in his native Mexico. Created specifically for the large church nave at the Alameda Art Laboratory, this installation invites members of the public to scan the radio spectrum using their bodies. A custom-made sensor tracks the projected shadows of participants, and tunes specific radio signals based on their position and size. The piece can sweep all frequencies from 150 kHz to 1.5 GHz, allowing monitoring of broadcasts like air traffic control, taxi dispatch networks, wireless phones, short wave radio and many others. The installation can have up to 16 simultaneous channels of audio and the resulting sound environment is a self-organized composition controlled by people's movements. Free access to the radio spectrum, a contested public space, is presented in the context of the increased surveillance of the body. http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2003/05/28/31074.html 73 (Kim Elliott, DX LISTENING DIGEST) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ QSLing, BELLABARBA Mr. Renfrew, I got your letter today. We don't keep audio records of Colorado Rockies baseball games, but I checked the box score of the Rockies game on the 23rd and it matches the script you've provided. KNEC is a 25kw FM in Yuma, Colorado. (Northeast Colorado). I've filled ot your card and I'm sending it back today. About 2 years ago we received a post card from Italy. A person picked up our signal and listened to our daily "Swap Shop" program. Our antenna is on a good hill, but we're only about 475ft above terrain. Jeremy Weathers, Station Manager, KNEC 100.9FM http://knec.iwarp.com (via Jim Renfrew, NY, DXLD) Bellabarba strikes again! (gh) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ MORE ON ACCESSORY INTERFERENCE In our April column, a reader asked how it was possible for an electronic device which has been turned off to emit considerable radio interference. Geoff Gidman, KA1EPF, provides one answer. A large percentage of modern electronic appliances are microprocessor controlled; even when the device is turned off, some power remains to allow the microprocessor to receive signals from the remote control to turn back on again. The clock circuit of a microprocessor is essentially a square-wave generator, rich in harmonics, operated at radio frequencies. Other hobbyists have learned that switching power supplies can emit considerable interference as well. Various external filters usually fail to offer much help since the interference may be radiated directly through the cabinet as well as attached cables. One sure cure, however, is to unplug the devices from the wall; this virtually always shuts down the interference – as well as the accessory`s capability to be turned back on by the remote control. Perry Crabill, Jr., W3HQX, went even further, determining which frequencies and which accessories were causing the interference at his home. He contacted Zenith Corporation to confirm that his model SJ- 2065-W TV's switching power supply was emitting a signal at 36.96 kHz as well as several generations of harmonics clear into the shortwave spectrum. But it was still within tolerance as set by the FCC. Additionally, his Sanyo VHR-3350 VCR was radiating a strong signal at 525 kHz along with harmonics, as was his AT&T model 5500 cordless phone at 300 kHz plus harmonics. He also discovered radiation around 560 kHz coming from his Brother model 600 facsimile machine, and even weak harmonics from his old Kenwood R5000 communications receiver on harmonics of 17.56 kHz. Perry`s sense of humor came through with this final report: Desiring to listen to the VLF spectrum one evening, he unplugged all the offending household electronic accessories, plus the automatic night light which generates considerable broad-band noise, switched off the porch lights` solid-state timers, the fluorescent kitchen lights, and a humidifier control. With great anticipation, he then switched on his radio and discovered that the natural atmospheric noise blanketed everything anyway! He turned off the radio, hooked up all the home accessories and went to bed. Thanks, Geoff and Perry, for sharing your excellent insights (Bob Grove, Ask Bob, Getting Started, June MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) SOURCE OF BEVERAGE WIRE FYI - I got some 18 gauge stranded copper, flaming red insulation, for $12.50 per 500-foot roll from National Electronics. I like to plug this company because they have great customer service - it's where I buy the coax for my long feedlines. Anyway, this wire turned out to be very nice quality, strong yet flexible ("like buttah"). I spooled up 1500' on a single Home Depot plastic orange cord spool and used it for the Long Beach Island DXpedition. I've now got two 1500' spools set aside for future expeditions. The website is: http://www.national-electronics.com For my permanent installations, I've used the Home Depot THHN wire - it is double-insulated, but I've found it to be very brittle (Rick Kenneally, CT, NRC-AM via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ TROPO HI TO CA...AND CA TO HI Last night on IRC chat, Rod Thompson (Sacramento, CA) mentioned the November 1989 VUD, which has the following item about Sheldon Remington and his HI-CA tropo: ------------------------ Greetings to my old friends in the WTFDA. I haven't been a club member for some years, but Pat Dyer suggested I write up the FM reception which took place in June [1989!] and submit it to the VUD. The fabled VHF tropo duct has finally yielded some FM catches. On June 13, the local VHF ham ops were reporting the duct was open to southern CA. At 0955 I noticed some CCI bars on channel 11 and immediately checked FM with my hand held Sony ICF-7600D and built-in whip. For the next 2 1/2 hours I heard many southern CA FM's of which the following were positively IDed: Grover City 107.3, Lompoc 104.1, Santa Barbara 93.7, Ventura 100.7, Los Angeles 92.3, 93.1. 95.5. 97.1, 101.1, 102.7 103.5, 104.3, 105.1, 107.5, Glendale 101.9, Pasadena 106.7, and Santa Maria 102. The next night from 1000 to 1300, the opening had moved south to the Tijuana/San Diego area, yielding Tijuana 91.1, 104.$ and San Diego 94.1, 101.5, 103.7, 105.3, 106.7. The duct dissipated the next day, but returned on June 20 to 23, bringing LA thru Tijuana again, of which San Clemente 107.9 was the only now logging. No openings have been noted since. Distances for these 25 catches range from about 2345 miles for Lompoc to about 2500 miles for Tijuana. Signal strengths were generally low but sometimes reached full quieting and full lit the Sony's LED. I have subsequently added an CM 4408 beam so should do better the next time. Of particular note is that these catches were heard at just 500 ft, above sea level. Conventional wisdom holds that the CA/HI duct is usable only from the 8000 foot level on Mauna Loa, and indeed there is undoubtedly more FM and TV DX up at that site, judging by reports of the hams who word 144 MHz and higher from there. Eventually, I will have to try driving up the volcano to try FM. The duct should yield DX for California listeners as well, except that QRM is much worse on that end. The KOAS translator K276DG 103.1 is the only FM transmitter at a high altitude on this island (the Big Island) situated at the Humuula Sheep Station at 6000' with stacked yagis beaming FSE [ESE?] (note that K276 DG is in the center of the island, nowhere near the location shown in the FM Atlas). It might also be possible to hear KKUA 90.7 on Maui as it's situated part way up Mt. Haleakala. The hams conduct duct liaison on 28.885 MHz, and I can usually be found there doing 6 meter liaison. Well, that's the report for now. ---------------------------- Rod also mentioned to me that Shel at one time also had tropo reception from Imperial, CA. Now, Imperial is east of San Diego by maybe 100 miles. And to get from SD to El Centro (Imperial is close by), you have to cross some mighty steep mountains (I drove that route once on I-8). So, Rod wondered if the mountains between SD and El Centro are too high for tropo to cross over. If they are NOT, then is it unrealistic to expect that Rod in Sacramento would have a prayer of a chance to hear some HI tropo from his end? From what I've learned here from Bob Cooper, people on both ends of the duct must be inside the duct to hear the stations on the other side. And that the ducts can occur at various elevations and can be various widths. If I understand this right, there must not be any obstructions between the CA location and the HI location. But what makes us wonder about all of this is Remington's reception of FM from Imperial, CA. There are 6000' mtns in the way. How was this reception possible? Want to take a stab at these, Bob?? (Mike Bugaj - Enfield, CT USA, May 28, WTFDA via DXLD) I've driven the California section of Interstate 8 dozens of times, and those mountains are a formidable barrier; you can't hear any San Diego FM stations on a car radio from El Centro (best known as the birthplace of Cher). Not only are the mountains high, but there is also a HUGE contrast between the cooler, moist marine air found along the coast and the warmer, dry air found east of the mountains in the desert areas around El Centro; when it's in the 60s and foggy in San Diego, it's often over 100 with humidity in the teens in El Centro. I just don't see how an east-west duct can form along that path, and El Centro is over 100 miles inland as well. Sheldon is an experienced DXer and reliable reporter, so I would be reluctant to dismiss his report out of hand. But reception of an El Centro translator in Hawaii via tropo IMO comes really close to the "it just isn't possible" category (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, ibid.) First, I'd like to hear from Shel himself that this HAS happened! The report seems to be several layers down from the source. Now, assuming it did happen, the hams have found on 144 and 432 MHz that stations as far north as the Seattle area and as far INLAND as Reno, Nevada had been able to "couple" into the duct when and if the conditions are "just right." For example, K6QXY lives in Santa Rosa, inland from the Pacific quite a ways but well elevated and at least half of the time the "first reports" of the amateur 144/432 "beacons" from the Hawaii mountain top originate with him - Bob is very good at what he does and it may be (1) he is more alert than others, (2) he has monster antennas - true, or, (3) his inland elevated location has a "duct into a duct" coupling effect. Sacramento is barely feet ASL but hams in Sac (and Modesto and up the valley to Redding) HAVE in fact been able to make it; even east of Sac to Reno over the top of the -not 6,000 feet - but 9,500 feet Sierra Nevada mountain range (admittedly only once but it did happen!). The most important point is to KNOW when it is happening and WHEN to look/listen. One of the many ham radio VHF reflector sites is good for this function. Ref: (Harry H.) "I've driven the California section of Interstate 8 dozens of times…`` It is that CONTRAST between the hot dry air of the inland Imperial valley region and the moist offshore air masses which creates an overruning of the inland skies. That contrast in turn creates a duct from inland to the coastal area. It is not common but it does happen! And, one duct into another is not that rare and given the geography of Southern California, a duct that goes from Imperial westward to the coast at some elevation is in fact not unusual during August-September (a side effect of a weather condition called "Santa Ana Wind"). If the Imperial signal(s) can couple into a duct that is higher than the intervening mountains, and thereby go westward where at some altitude (doubtless 3,000 feet or above) it "couples" into a trans-Pacific duct, the "mystery" is explained without any excessive stretching of the basic laws of propagation physics. As for Shel's 500 foot ASL location (and his simplistic receiving system), hams have worked from coast line California to coast line Hawaii on a few (that means not many but some none the less) occasions with mobile rigs on BOTH ends. This is not a "it NEVER happens this way" world - it is a "it SELDOM happens this way world." One aspect of this amazes me. There has NEVER been even one report of reception from a Hawaii station by a West Coast DXer. A lot of people out there seem to have their antennas stuck in the wrong direction or wasting time making notes on local weather conditions! Best, (Bob Cooper, New Zealand, ibid.) SPORADIC E ``GOING LONG`` Ref Gerard Westerberg and others commenting on beyond Es distance reception at the end of an (intense) Es opening. ``One characteristic of Es is that maximum path distance will occur just below the MUF cutoff. That makes sense because that's the point at which refraction is just sufficient to return the signal to earth. In most cases we can tell that we are reaching the end of an Es event when the path distances "go long.`` --- Once again I strongly urge members to acquire a copy of "Beyond Line of Sight" - "A History of VHF Propagation from the pages of QST" by the ARRL. And in this instance page 146 entitled "Ionospheric Scatter By Field-Aligned Irregularities at 144 MHz." FAI is a little understood artefact of normal Es occurring just as and shortly after the normal E layer propagation has ceased to work. It is of interest here as it at least in time sequence dovetails neatly with the observations reported by Westerberg, Doug Smith and others - reception beyond normal Es distances just as the Es event was terminating. FAI involves a scattering mechanism in the E layer, thought to be the result of the Es cloud breaking up and dissipating perhaps to a slightly higher (more elevated) altitude where there is a momentary (may last up to 2-1/2 hours) recombining ALONG LINES OF MAGNETIC FORCE. The essence is signals at least to 144 MHz (amateur two meter band) have been found to exist over paths in the Es distance region (up to 1400 miles nominally) on around half of the days when 50 MHz Es occurring later in the afternoon/early evening has just died. Note that during the 50 MHz opening itself, normal Es, there was no 144 MHz Es event noted. It is after the event when the FAI propagation seems to appear. Amateur observations dating back to 1978 indicate that FAI is most likely to occur on more or less east-west paths, that FAI events are no more likely to occur after a very intense direct Es opening (i.e. having Es MUFs to 144 MHz does not appear to enhance the likelihood that 144 MHz FAI will follow the break up of "normal" Es). FAI signals tend to be quite stable (not with heavy fading, often with no or very slow fading other than a gradual build up, levelling off, then gradual build down), and at amateur 144 MHz equipment levels, varying from just out of the receiver noise to as much as 30 dB (a bunch in anyone's book) above receiver noise. There may be nothing more than coincidence here but Doug Smith and Gerard's loggings at least fit the time frame for FAI. And almost nothing is understood about FAI - if you think Es is a mystery, try to find authoritative references on VHF FAI! Anyone who really wants to understand the basics of wave propagation needs to have a copy of the afore mentioned ARRL publication. Nothing else comes close to establishing the "limits" of VHF (and UHF) wave propagation in such plain talk language (Bob Cooper in NZ, WTFDA via DXLD) AURORA ALERT Check for unusual propagation tonight, and if clear and atropical enough, look for visual auroral displays; see previous issue. WTFDA members and I were seeing auroral hash on TV and hearing it on FM around 2330 UT May 29 (gh, DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-093, May 28, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 CONTINENT OF MEDIA 03-03! New edition is now available, first broadcast on RFPI 7445, 15039: Thu 2000, Fri 0200, 0830; Sat 2130, Sun 0330, 0930 Also soon via DXing.com: {Stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0303.ram (Download) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0303.rm And via our site: (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/com0303.ram (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/com0303.rm (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0303.html (not yet available) FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1184: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039 WRN ONDEMAND from Fri: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html from early UT Thu [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1184h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1184.html ** ALGERIA. ALGERIAN RADIO LINKS UP SEPARATED FAMILIES IN QUAKE ZONE By JULIANE VON REPPERT-BISMARCK, The Associated Press, 5/26/03 7:39 AM ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) -- Telephone lines were down and cell phone service was spotty. So Dahbia Abderahne found another way to track down her family in Algeria's ravaged quake zone: the radio. Since a powerful earthquake struck the region east of Algiers on Wednesday night, families separated by the destruction have been turning to radio stations and newspapers as a way to get in touch. State-run Chaîne 3, for example, has been taking calls round the clock -- at a rate of about 150 an hour -- from people desperate to contact relatives and friends in the damaged areas. The messages are then broadcast on the air. The Internet site of the El Watan newspaper has also been inundated with e-mails asking about relatives. The paper it was passing the messages to radio and TV for broadcast. At Chaîne 3, some calls are simple condolence messages to devastated communities. Some describe apocalyptic images of crushed buildings and bereaved families. But many of the callers were like Abderahne -- searching for the missing. Most of the calls concerned people in Boumerdes, where about half of the quake's victims died. "I am looking for my family. They live in Boumerdes. I haven't heard from them since Wednesday," Abderahne said Saturday, her tired voice breaking on a mobile phone line. "Could you please tell them to give me a sign of life? Just a small sign." On Saturday, a female newscaster repeatedly asked for the parents of a five-year old boy to come and collect him from Algiers' Belle-Aire clinic, where he had regained consciousness that morning. Not all the messages were sad on Chaîne 3. "This is a message for Yasmina Merdez," said one caller. "I live beside her daughters ... I saw them in the street today. I want her to know her daughters are fine." "Thanks be to God," came the presenter's reply. Thousands of e-mail messages have also poured into the station from all over the world -- France, Britain, Spain and Canada -- as immigrant Algerians ask for news of families left behind in North Africa. El Watan said a TV studio was being set up in Boumerdes solely to receive and distribute messages from inside Algeria and from Algerians living abroad (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. PLUG PULLED ON ABC CHANNELS 27may03 THE ABC will cancel its digital channels as part of a $25 million spending cut. ABC managing director Russell Balding told a Senate committee yesterday the national broadcaster had no choice after its funding was not increased in this month's Federal Budget. The ABC wanted an extra $250 million from the Government over three years but got nothing. Mr Balding said the corporation could not afford the $7 million ABC Kids channel and Fly TV youth channel, which it paid for through a one-off reallocation. "There's no current identified ongoing source of funding to maintain those channels beyond the end of the financial year," he told the Budget Estimates hearing. The ABC will also shelve plans to expand Radio National and Triple J coverage. Mr Balding said there were "no more rabbits left in the hat" after overspending on digital technology. He said he had warned the Government several times that programs and services were under threat and that up to 38 jobs were likely to go because of these decisions. The ABC board expected to decide the cuts at its July meeting. "I don't give up . . . I view the triennial funding outcome as a minimum level of funding for the ABC for the next three years," Mr Balding said. "We need additional funding for content . . . it's no good trying to reach all Australians if we don't have content there." The ABC overspent $20 million-$25 million on its digital rollout and now had to find this money in its forward budget. Communications Minister Richard Alston said the ABC had no chance of an increase in the recent Budget. He rejected any blame for the demise of the digital programming, saying the ABC should have planned ahead once it decided to trial the technology. The Federal Opposition said the ABC's announcement was a "digital disaster". "The ABC multi-channels were meant to drive digital uptake in Australia," said communications spokesman Lindsay Tanner. "There is now even less reason for Australians to convert to digital television." © Queensland Newspapers (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ABC DIGITAL DEAD; KIDS NET SHUTTERED May 27, 2003 2:01pm SYDNEY --- The Australian Broadcasting Corp. is quitting digital broadcasting and will shutter ABC Kids and youth signal Fly TV, after almost two years and close to zero eyeballs. The decision comes after the government capped the pubcaster's funding at $460 million a year. The ABC, banned from accepting paid advertising, had launched the digital services without extra coin. "Given the paucity of incentives for the public to take up digital television, the ABC considered that a dedicated children's and youth television service could attract funding support from the government," ABC managing director Russell Balding said. "Unfortunately this has not been the case. "This is the first of several hard decisions the ABC will make. Maintaining the comprehensiveness of ABC broadcasting is becoming increasingly difficult with funding today 30% less than it was in 1985/86." Digital TV was introduced in Australia in January 2001. But consumer uptake has been slow because the equipment is expensive and there were few services on offer. The government hopes the advent of digital feevee services at the end of this year will stimulate consumer interest. Copyright (c) 2003 Reed Business Information - US (via Variety via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. I'm hearing CFRX here at the moment on 6070 at 2320. Hard to tell though whether they are on reduced power or not, but definitely on. 5/27/03 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello Glenn, Per your question, "Is anyone hearing CFRX 6070", I can reply, "Yes". 6070, CFRX, 1219, May 28, Relay of 1010 AM with promo for the "Edmonton Street Festival" at tune-in, ID as "News Talk 1010". "Ted Wallason (sp?) Show " with news of SARS in Toronto and its economic impact, talks with correspondent from WBZ 1030, Boston MA. regarding SARS concerns in US. Fair signal with fades and "bubble" jammer!! (Scott R Barbour Jr-NH, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CBC RADIO REPORTER BEGAN CAREER IN MARITIMES UPDATED AT 4:55 PM EDT Tuesday, May. 27, 2003 Montreal -- Veteran CBC Radio reporter David McLauchlin has died of brain cancer at the age of 55. The network's national reporter based in Montreal, he was known for his features from across Canada and around the world. Most recently, Mr. McLauchlin reported from Afghanistan as part of a documentary series and last year won an award from the Canadian Association of Journalists for a report on the high rates of brain cancer in firefighters. In 1996, he was the only journalist to participate in a healing ceremony that ended the long feud between the Dene and Inuit of NWT. Mr. McLauchlin began his career with CBC Radio in the Maritimes where he was a writer-broadcaster for Information Morning in Saint John. Later, he was field producer for Sunday Morning in Winnipeg and a reporter for Radio News for the Prairies. (c) 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. Ross Porter, Canada's top jazz broadcaster, joins CanWest Porter becomes VP Programming of COOL 99.1 FM and soon to be launched cable channel COOL TV [Winnipeg]. . . http://www.newswire.ca/releases/May2003/26/c5720.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Canadian angle on Metropolitan Opera: see USA ** CHINA [non]. Re CRI using Brazil. Well, according to the HFCC, for what it's worth, CRI do indeed use Brazil as a relay: CRI 0100 0200 1234567 14,16 9665 250 BRA B 300303 261003 D RTC CRI 0300 0400 1234567 10-12 9665 250 BRA B 300303 261003 D RTC As you can see this information is supposed to be 'in date' and supposedly correct. Getting detailed information from CRI regarding sites and relays is not that easy. According to HFCC, CRI uses transmitting facilities in the following countries: China, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Spain (1 transmission from 0200-0400 on 9690), France (ISS), French Guiana, Mali and Russia. I hope this clears up where the confusion is coming from. 73 Sean Regards, Sean D. Gilbert Editor: Shortwave Guide International Broadcasting Editor: WRTH World Radio Tv Handbook - THE Directory of International Broadcasting Email:- wrth.skeds@ntlworld.com Web:- http://www.wrth.com (hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** C I S [and non]. FOREIGN RELAY VIA SHORT WAVE TRANSMITTERS OF THE COUNTRIES OF CIS 30/03/2003 - 25/10/2003 kHz UTC kW Radiostation Armenia 5855 2610-1740 100 TWR [1610-?] 6240 1200-1215 100 TWR 9365 (7550*) 2300-2400 500 RFA 9365 0100-0300 500 RFA 11510 1500-1600 500 RFA 11590 1100-1400 500 RFA 11975 1400-1500 100 VOA 15625 1400-1500 100 RFA 17485 9600-0700 500 RFA [0600-?] Moldova 7460 0230-0315 500 RPD 7480 1800-1845 500 RPD 11530 0800-1600 500 MSP Kazakhstan 5910 1430-1530 200 DVB 9355 1530-1600 200 VOO (Tue, Fri) 11515 1300-1400 2000 RFA 11520 1400-1500 200 RFA 11560 2330-0030 200 RFA 11570 (7455*) 2230-2330 200 RFA 13830 0000-0100 200 RFA 15135 2300-2350 500 DWL 15625 1230-1330 200 RFA 15635 1100-1200 200 RFA 15660 0030-0130 200 RFA 17485 1000-1400 500 DWL 17770 1430-1455 500 DWL 19 m* 1215-1300 500 VOT Tajikistan 4760 0100-0200 100 RFE 4760 1630-1700 100 RFE 4995 1400-1600 100 RFE 5860 1400-1600 100 RFE 5860 1900-2100 100 RFE 6140 1900-2000 200 RFE 7185 0300-0400 100 RFE 7295 0200-0300 100 RFE 7465 1600-1700 200 RFA 9350 0100-0200 200 RFA 9370 1600-1700 200 RFA 11520 0100-0200 200 RFA 11520 (7530*) 1800-2100 500 RFA 11540 (9975*) 2330-0030 200 RFA 13835 1500-1600 200 RFA 15680 (7540*) 2300-2400 500 RFA 15680 (11540*) 1300-1500 200 RFA 15580 (7540*) 1500-2200 500 RFA 15695 (9395*) 2300-2400 200 RFA 15695 1100-1400 200 RFA 15695 (13830*) 0100-0300 200 RFA 15705(11535*) 1400-1500 200 RFA 17495 0300-0700 500 RFA 17510 0600-0700 200 RFA 17525 0300-0700 500 RFA 17525 (11540*) 0030-0130 200 RFA 19 m** 1215-1300 100 VOT Uzbekistan 7430 1500-1530 200 BBC 9445 2315-0200 200 TWR 9445 1115-1630 200 TWR 9865 1330-1445 200 BBC 11850 0100-0400 100 VIL 12065 1330-1425 100 RNW 12065 1430-1600 100 VAT 12075 1430-1625 100 RNW 13745 0100-0130 200 BBC 17540 0100-0200 200 HLR (Fri) 17695 1200-1230 100 RVI 21780 0800-0830 200 BBC 13 m* 1215-1300 100 VOT 16 m* 1430-1515 100 VOT * = From 07/09/2003 ** = different frequencies in the mentioned metre band. (Nikolay Rudnev, Belgorodskaya obl., Rus DX May 25 via DXLD) see also RUSSIA ** COSTA RICA. [RFPI-Vista] RFPI ONLINE NEWSLETTER PART ONE Dear friends and listeners, This month we are going to be sending out three parts to our Vista Online as we have been so very busy and we know that we have missed out a month! The first part that follows this initial section is an article written by Jean Parker who represented RFPI at the AMARC conference in Nepal in February. Here at the station, the Peace Journalism and Progressive Media Through Radio courses are continuing as RFPI works towards adding as many non-embedded journalists to the world's media as possible. Action around the station is intense as June begins, bringing a whole host of new people, students and volunteers into the station. We would like to welcome Emily Morales onto the RFPI staff as Operations Manager this month. She brings us vast business, educational and administrative experience and is a welcome addition to the team. Our Program Director Naomi Fowler went to Nicaragua last month and amongst other things helped deliver a production workshop and give a talk on RFPI in Managua. For the report on her trip, see Part Two of the newsletter coming your way soon! Four staff members from RFPI last month visited and spoke with the Huetar indigenous people in the local area by the radio station. We are going to work with them in setting up a community radio station starting with an experimental weekend of broadcasting next month to generate interest in the community and involve as many people in the area as possible. We also plan to work with them in an oral history project and a project to conserve their language, which is dying out. As you may have heard, Radio For Peace International has started up a 15 minute daily news broadcast focusing on freedom of expression news from around the world as well as events in Central America, a region which seems to be off the radar of most media organizations. It is broadcast Monday to Friday at 2130 UT and it is the beginning of a greater focus on in-house programming regularly coming your way at RFPI. NEEDED!!! Computers/lap tops of 400 MHz or more with a minimum hard drive capacity of 10GB. Studio and hand held microphones, headphones. Fundraising and Contact We wish to invite all our readers, members and listeners to contact us here at RFPI if they have any questions or comments about Vista Online, our programming, or the station in general. If any of you have comments or ideas on how we can improve our service to you, please send us a note via e-mail or traditional mail. We thank you for your continuing support, both financial and moral. We need your contributions to keep an independent voice like ours on the air. RFPI is the ONLY progressive independent voice on shortwave in the world, we have a unique schedule of programming and important visions for future projects and work at the station. Fundraising at RFPI is on a continual basis. If you can offer financial, material or equipment support in any way, please contact us. You can do so via: Radio For Peace Internacional, PO Box 75, Ciudad Colón, Costa Rica, Central America Tel. +506 - 249 1821 Fax. +506 - 249 1095 Web site: http://www.rfpi.org Email: info@rfpi.org For Pay Pal donations with a visa credit, visa debit or mastercard, you can click on the Pay Pal icon on http://www.rfpi.org Here follows Jean Parker's article from Nepal. [q.v.] In Peace, The RFPI Staff (RFPI-Vista mailing list May 27 via DXLD) ** CUBA. 590, Radio Musical Nacional, Santa Clara, Villa Clara; 0100+ May 28, noting tonight (a few days after reactivation but with Rebelde audio) reverting to the original Musical network of classical music, great audio. [non] 530, CLANDESTINE (FLORIDA/CUBA); Per my contact (who is an engineer at Radio Martí at Marathon), the EC-130E "Commando Solo" aircraft MW channel used last Tuesday was 530 kHz. Not sure how that could have cut through Vision Cristiana from the Turks & Caicos, but... (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, May 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. CASTRO EXIGE A EEUU QUE RESPETE FRECUENCIAS RADIALES sábado 24 de mayo, 10:59 AM LA HABANA Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. En medio de un altercado por el uso de las frecuencias radiales entre Cuba y Estados Unidos, el presidente Fidel Castro exigió a la nación vecina que respete el derecho internacional sobre telecomunicaciones, al tiempo que ofrecía planes de educación para alfabetizar por radio a los habitantes de la Florida. Castro reafirmó en la noche del viernes las declaraciones de su cancillería que protestó ante Washington y ante organismos mundiales por la retransmisión el pasado martes de la Radio y la Televisión Martí -- con sede en la Florida y de corte anticastrista -- desde un avión de la Fuerza Aérea norteamericana. "Hacen mal en subestimar a este país", dijo Castro vestido con su uniforme verde olivo durante una de las habituales Mesas Redondas. Castro calificó de "cinismo" y "alevosía" las acciones estadounidenses de usar una nave para enviar las señales, que habitualmente no llegan a la isla por el bloqueo de ondas que aplican los técnicos locales. Según Cuba, Washington le envió una nota diplomática diciéndole que había advertido al piloto José Basulto del grupo anticastrista Hermanos al Rescate, que sería sancionado si con su aeroplano buscaba enviar TV y Radio Martí a la isla, como lo había declarado a la prensa. Sin embargo, el mismo gobierno de Estados Unidos preparaba un gran avión de la Fuerza Aérea "para hacer lo mismo que le habían dicho al otro que era un bandidaje", dijo Castro. "Y los dos volaron a ver si nos confundían", expresó el mandatario. La señal contenía también un mensaje del presidente George Bush en saludo al 20 de mayo, día de la independencia cubana de España, en el cual hacía votos por una pronta "liberación" de la isla. "Nosotros exigimos que se le exija al gobierno de ese país que cumpla con las normas (del derecho sobre telecomunicaciones)", expresó Castro quien indicó que no se desea afectar a emisoras de onda corta de Estados Unidos teniéndola que interferir. En la ocasión Castro anunció la extensión del "Canal Educativo", de reciente creación a todo el país, además informó sobre la creación de uno nuevo para el año entrante. Cuba no tiene pautas publicitarias en sus televisoras, todas en manos del estado. Tras considerar los alcances de la emisora para fines no comerciales el mandatario aseguró que su país cuenta con programas para enseñar a leer y escribir en cinco idiomas. Castro comparó el sistema de educación cubano con el de Estados Unidos y en especial el de la Florida. En este sentido mostró cables de agencias de prensa que dan cuenta de las bajas al presupuesto gubernamental académico en ese estado del sur norteamericano y el impacto sobre las minorías hispanas y negras. Castro destacó que en la Florida faltan más de 6.000 profesores anualmente. Dijo que según el diario Miami Herald, en "más de 142.000 de las escuelas públicas del sur de la Florida no saben leer..." "Nosotros les ayudamos y le enseñamos a leer y escribir a todos esos muchachos", exclamó Castro, "Bush puede seguir bajando el presupuesto". "Si quiere puede bajarlo a la mitad y nosotros le garantizamos por radio y por televisión que esos muchachos aprenden a leer y escribir todos...y estaríamos dispuestos a hacerlo tan gratuitamente como lo podemos hacer con un país cualquiera del tercer mundo, porque allí (en la Florida) hay unos cuantos terceros mundos", expresó el mandatario. (via Héctor García Bojorge, DF, Conexión Digital via DXLD) But wouldn`t Commie propaganda be included in Cuban reading programs for third-world Floridians? This might offend (gh, DXLD) ** ECUADOR [non]. Hi Glenn, I´m a little concerned and worried about how to hear my favourite DX-programme DX Partyline from HCJB, the Voice of the Andes after close down of English broadcasts to Europe and North America in the end of May. Last Saturday May 24 1450 UT I heard few last minutes of DXPL with interview of Jeff White of WRMI-R Miami International. My wish is HCJB will continue with DX-Partyline from Kununurra relay station. Has anybody ever heard WRMI-R Miami International?! 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, May 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) If they didn`t make it clear, it was made clear on Viva Miami that DXPL will continue on Kununurra; seems likely WRMI will be one(?) of the US stations carrying it, but this has not been made public just yet; of course, I hear it all the time --- but WRMI is not intended for Europe (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. 17675, Radio Cairo, 1215, May 28, Sign-on routine noted with ID and frequency schedule, I wasn't able to copy much else due to fading and massive QRM "splatter" via Radio Finland, 17670, to South America with a whopping 500 kW (Scott R Barbour Jr, NH,USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GHANA. RADIO WORLD - Sunday May 25, 2003 SOUND GBC (listen to the programme via audio link on this page) Have you recognised this signature tune? It's an old one from GBC, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. Ghana is the place we're going to this week. Recently women from all over the world travelled to the country for a conference on and for women in radio and television. An Mulders was there too. I'm sure some of you will recognise the name from the days when An was a member of the Brussels Calling Team, as we were called then. She met with very interesting women in the world of broadcasting. Paulina Azupwa works for the local station in the Upper East region of Ghana. You will hear how radio in rural areas in Africa is different from what we are used to. Many people are illiterate and radio always has an educational mission. Also the programmes produced by Paulina: SOUND Paulina Azupwa Mrs Paulina Azupwa of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, producer at the local station for the Upper East region. We'll hear from other delegates at the conference in Ghana in coming editions of this programme. FRANS VOSSEN Listen broadband: http://www.vrt.be/wm/rvi/rw_HI.asx Listen narrowband: http://www.vrt.be/wm/rvi/rw_LO.asx (from http://www.rvi.be/rvi_master/uk/radio_world/index.html via gh, DXLD) The May 18 show, if any, never appeared on the website (gh) ** HUNGARY. Hello Glenn, In light of my previous report of a Radio Budapest QSL and letter regarding station restructuring, I am surprised to read that others noted I had a "bad" QSL experience. How so? All prior reports were verified. It was just that my very first Radio Budapest report was the last one to be QSLed. I have received various replies from around the world in as little as four days, up to 1 1/2 years and I am just as pleased as punch to find them in my mailbox. I am also fortunate to have QSLs from 4 of the 6 countries Mr. Chambers lists, (Vietnam, Mongolia, Syria, Korea DPR) in addition to several from Africa and Latin America for reports written in English. Sam Barto, NASWA QSL Editor, provided me with much valuable assistance when I took up this aspect of the DXing hobby. First, be patient! Stations are busy producing radio programs. Two, because it is expensive and most stations are cash-strapped, include return postage. Third, be polite and ask nicely. You will sometimes be amazed at what you receive (Scott R Barbour Jr, Intervale, NH USA, May 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. The unusual relay of AIR Patna via Delhi on 11620 kHz (due to problems of MW transmitter of Patna) which was on air for the past 2 weeks, seems to be over. Just now at 1515 UTC 11620 is noted with External Service programs like in the past. For the last couple of days I had monitored AIR Patna reactive on 621 kHz and there were no announcements about the SW frequency lately. Even at 1130 UTC today I heard the sign on of evening transmission of Patna relayed on 11620. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J National Institute of Amateur Radio Box 1555, Somajiguda Hyderabad 500082, India, dx_india via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. Had another check on 27 May on 6770 kHz and again found the previously heard unidentified station sign-on at 0124 UT with its military-style drumming. As before, the jamming came in almost immediately. However, this time noted that the jammer jumped from 6770 to 6750 at 0128, with the unidentified station underneath. A very quick check found the same station frequency-hopping as well between 5650 and 5670 kHz to avoid jamming. The latter is, of course, one of the frequencies used by Voice of the Mojahed in the past. Didn't that station disappear shortly after the coalition entered Iraq? Presumably it's back, still from Iraq? (Tony Rogers, Birmingham - UK, AOR 7030+ / LW, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. 9450 Radio Bopeshawa (Radio Forward). My letter to their address in Canada (A.K.P.I., P. O. Box 491, Domains Postal Station, North York, Ontario M3C 2T4) was returned after ten days as 'return to sender moved/address unknown' So that postal avenue is closed (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, DX'er since 1965, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** IRAQ. SHIITES PLAN OWN RADIO AND TV SERVICE IN IRAQ According to the Financial Times Hassan Grebawy, head of the Shiite Centre for Public Islam, claims he has received permission from US forces to start radio and TV broadcasts. The stations will be based at the al-Hikmah mosque in a Shiite suburb of Baghdad, and will initially serve a radius of 50km around the capital. Plans are under way to extend the broadcasts to the entire country. 55% of Iraq's population are Shiites. Mr Grebawy has made clear that the broadcasts, to be called "Baghdad Reports" will be introduced with the symbol of Iraqi state television, and will not be friendly towards the US presence. His followers have frequently organised mass demonstrations in Baghdad calling for an end to US occupation. But he produced a letter from the US 1st Brigade, which is responsible for security in Baghdad, giving permission for a radio station. Mr Grebawy says he also has received verbal permission for a TV station. If the letter is genuine, it could indicate that the US appreciates the help of the Shiite hierarchy in Baghdad in helping with the reconstruction of essential services. But, if the content of the programmes is hostile to the US as Mr Grebawy implies - saying this merely reflects the opinion of the man in the street - it could spell problems for the US interim administration further down the line. (Media Network May 28 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQIS UNHAPPY WITH U.S. SIGNALS INTERFERENCE FROM AMERICANS AMONG CHALLENGES FOR POST-HUSSEIN TV By Peter Slevin, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, May 26, 2003; Page A13 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38682-2003May25.html BAGHDAD -- Putting Iraqi television back on the air has proved to be no simple matter, from the electrical outages to the makeshift staff assembled in the postwar chaos. Telephones do not work, and news is hard to confirm. And then there is the dispute over the editorial influence of U.S. occupation authorities. The U.S. ambassador to Morocco, Margaret Tutwiler, was dispatched to Baghdad to polish and package the U.S. occupation. But she triggered a rebellion earlier this month when she and a young White House aide in Baghdad, Dan Senor, intervened with strong judgments about programs and said that broadcasts would be reviewed in advance by the wife of a prominent Kurdish militia leader, according to several people involved. Iraqis and U.S.-paid television consultants called it censorship. They protested that the supervision by Tutwiler and Senor violated the concepts of liberty and independence that President Bush said would undergird Iraq's future. Most of all, they objected to the idea that the Americans thought they knew what was best for Iraqi viewers. "Dependence on any governmental body, whether it is Iraqi or non- Iraqi, will lead to another dictatorship and will kill democracy," said Ahmad Rikabi, 33, a foreign-born Iraqi recruited from exile to become a network anchor. "If we really want democracy, we should protect this child that is the Iraqi media." The station is now broadcasting news and documentary pieces. The tempest, at least for the time being, has died down. But the enduring tension over control reflects the network's importance in a country where national television was an instrument of the state for decades before Saddam Hussein was pushed from power by allied troops. In the aftermath of the government's collapse, nothing has arisen to take its place, due to the wartime destruction of broadcasting towers and subsequent looting of production facilities. A foreign official in the U.S. occupation authority said he thinks Tutwiler relied too heavily on Hero Talabani -- wife of Jalal Talabani, who heads the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan -- who "has convinced them all that she is the great arbiter of Iraqi taste." Instead of promoting an Iraqi-run program, the official said, Tutwiler and Senor are "effectively acting like the station manager and the news director." The two Americans opposed Rikabi as anchor and objected to the reading of verses from the Koran, staffers and advisers said. Then there was the time that Senor voiced the opinion that an inexperienced staff member was unprepared to interview the new U.S. reconstruction chief, L. Paul Bremer III. So Senor posed the questions himself as the camera rolled, a reconstruction official said. "If Dan Rather didn't show up for an interview with George Bush," the official asked, "would Ari Fleischer conduct the interview?" A U.S. adviser said "it was not a good idea" to allow Hero Talabani to screen the broadcast, given that her husband has long fought and maneuvered for Kurdish independence from Baghdad's Arab-controlled government. "You can't go to a person who has a known political agenda," he said. "There were lots of people who said this was not a good idea." But the adviser said in Tutwiler's defense that her goal was to make the U.S.-funded program "more professional" at a time when Iraqis remain uncertain about the U.S. occupation and the country's future. Talabani was to "provide a quick check to see whether the tone was right," he said. When many people objected, "the idea was kiboshed." A senior Kurdish official said that Tutwiler visited the Talabanis' elegant rented house in Baghdad several times and that Senor spoke with her frequently by telephone. "It's not censorship; it's advice," said the official, who said he believed that the Americans needed Talabani's help. "The problem with the coalition is they think like a coalition, not like Iraqis." An occupation authority official said that Talabani was one of "many Iraqis familiar with the media" consulted by U.S. advisers responsible for starting the station. The official said the authority is consulted about programming before it airs but does not review specific pieces in advance. Tutwiler has returned to Morocco. Senor said, however, that the U.S. authorities have clear goals. "This is the first time in decades that the Iraqi people have been able to turn on the TV and not be subjected to Saddam Hussein- controlled media," Senor said. "Our priority is to build out infrastructure, develop broadcasting capabilities and develop systems so a free and robust media can flourish in Iraq." To the consternation of network staffers, holdovers from the Hussein era have tested producers' nerves by making their own editorial choices at the remote transmission site, at one point putting the station's prewar logo on the postwar broadcast. On a recent evening, the team raced to piece together two hours of news and features against a deadline imposed by a scheduled electrical outage. It was the day Senor interviewed Bremer. When the power went out early, one Iraqi journalist cracked, "Beautiful. Tell Bremer to give us some electricity to put his statement on the air." Two weeks earlier, the station's satellite dish burned out. The staff borrowed one from the BBC, but it overheated. As a production team was broadcasting the country's first postwar soccer match, someone purposely cut an expensive cable. Technical problems have limited the broadcast range to roughly a 75-mile radius of Baghdad. The equipment is so old that "some of it ought to be in the Newseum in Washington, D.C. It's that old," said an adviser, who like several others asked not to be identified by name for fear of alienating Tutwiler or influential members of Bremer's staff. "It will not be a professional news show yet, but we hope it will be a here-are-the- facts-ma'am show that people can have some trust in." Even before the dispute over editorial influence, everyone agreed that credibility was the goal. But they differed greatly about how to achieve it. On one side were the Iraqis and most of their international advisers. On the other was, most prominently, Tutwiler, a veteran Washington image-maker who has been asked to run the State Department's office of public diplomacy. At the peak of the dispute, one well-placed reconstruction agency adviser marveled that Tutwiler and Senor had achieved "what the White House has been dreaming of for years . . . controlling the evening news." With a measure of admiration mixed with his dismay, he called Tutwiler a "one-woman psychological operations team." Tutwiler -- with the concurrence of Bremer and Talabani, staffers said -- thought it would be a mistake to allow Rikabi to anchor the broadcast, fearing that he would be perceived as a U.S.-imposed outsider. Rikabi was born to Iraqi expatriates in Prague in 1969. He spent seven years in Swedish radio and became London bureau chief of Radio Free Iraq, but he never lived in Iraq. The network's staff and the international advisers favored Rikabi, who they felt had paid his dues by spending most of his young life opposing Hussein's government, albeit at a distance. Rikabi and his supporters asked what the alternative was -- someone from Iraq's co- opted television past teaching Iraqis about broadcasting freedom? That dispute was one in a series that angered the Iraqi staff members and some of their foreign advisers. Others involved the Koran, Talabani and a series of man-in-the-street interviews deemed overly critical of the U.S. occupiers. They were held pending on-air replies from the reconstruction team. According to Don North, a Fairfax resident who is an adviser to the television station and formerly worked for NBC and ABC, the Iraqi staff had held an intensive debate about the Koran, with some saying that the broadcast "must absolutely have readings of the Koran" and others that religion and newscast credibility cannot mix. The staff agreed to a series of limited readings. "These are all Iraqi decisions," North said. "This is the last thing I want to do, tell them whether they can have their Koran or not." But Americans at the reconstruction agency said no to the readings. At about the same time, the staff and advisers learned that Hero Talabani was being consulted by Tutwiler and had been invited to review the programs in advance. They threatened to walk out and leaked word to the international news media. Tutwiler & Co. compromised. The parties agreed that Rikabi would stay off the air the first week, that the station would look for additional personalities and that the early programs would be treated as pilots. The Koran would be read, as the station staff preferred. Talabani could offer advice but would not see scripts or tapes in advance. And Senor, several people said, promised no censorship. Correspondent Scott Wilson in Baghdad contributed to this report. © 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Kraig Krist, Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. KUWAIT HEARD RELAYING RADIO FREE IRAQ Checking Radio Kuwait today around 1525 UT on 15495 heard the usual programs of Radio Kuwait, a program talking about the new situation in Iraq. But suddenly at 1530 heard the ID "Huna Idha`at Al- Iraq Alhur, Idha`at Europa Al-hura" in English. This is Radio free Iraq, Radio Free Europe!! I'm still listening to it, 1555 UT and still on. I never knew that Kuwait Relays RFI/RFE/RL !?? is that a new thing?? Will keep on listening and let you know. All the best (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also noted here in Hilversum, continuing with news programme from 1600 UT. Observations continue. This channel is not listed in the daily updated IBB frequency schedule. Presumably the programming is the same as carried on 1548 kHz from Kuwait. A switching error? (Andy Sennitt, Media Network May 28 via DXLD) {See 3-094: Woofferton instead} ** MEXICO. I went back and did some checking; they have a web site which mentions the station. http://www.unam.mx/radiounam/ as XEYU 9600. Also MW station on 860 kHz and FM on 96.1 Rather nifty looking website, but sort of lost as all in SS. Further checking shows that actually David Ross stumbled on to the het. Neither of us managed audio. Way too much splatter from 9595 and according to ILG, never a break (Bob Montgomery, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Audio down here in Louisiana again at 0300 on May 28th, I'll be checking the mini-disc today. It was actually pretty good, a steady "signal" of S9 (Hans Johnson, ibid.) ** NEPAL [and non]. COMMUNITY RADIO AND SOCIAL CHANGE By Jean Parker Does media in armed conflict do more to save lives or do its actions and attitudes cost lives? This, was one of many questions posed by those who attended of the 2003 General Assembly of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, (AMARC), held in Kathmandu, Nepal in February. AMARC, is a worldwide association of community radio stations and producers who understand the importance of community radio in development. The idea of radio being produced by members of the community for that community is used by free press advocates to involve ordinary people in creating and disseminating programs of relevance to them. as opposed to state-sponsored radio or corporate owned networks deciding what the listeners will hear. Throughout the developing world, community radio has been used to provide information to farmers, women's groups, and other marginalized people. It is used to educate children and adults in remote locations, teach and preserve languages. Its ability to inform and educate populations without access to independent information is boundless. The positive place of community radio in peace-building was also discussed along with its responsibility to provide accurate information for people in areas of armed conflict. Since most of the delegates came from places where war is a reality, this discussion was especially relevant. The importance of radio as a medium for communicating with people in rural areas where there is no access to electricity and where most people don't read and write, was an important part of the discussion. Those technically minded, talked about alternative ways to bring power to their radio transmitters and how to stay on the air during emergency power cuts; others discussed the importance of using radio to inform people about accessing clean water and educating their girl children. Other sessions addressed covering sensitive family issues in traditional conservative cultures so that education and positive change can take place. Matters of rape, HIV and sex education are not discussed openly in many cultures. Community radio broadcasters have diverse experiences with government resistance depending on how open their governments are to such independent broadcasting. Countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh where the government has until now been unwilling to grant licenses for community radio stations are a contrast to Nepal and the Philippines where such broadcasts are integral components of many communities. However, even in these locations community radio faces a constant struggle with governments who claim security concerns with the broadcasters because of the close link to social change. But broadcasters say that in many places the community radio station is so popular there would certainly be security concerns if they were shut down. Still, community radio operates within the context of national governments. One group in Bangladesh is addressing government mistrust by combining community radioactivity with amateur radio providing emergency communications during natural disasters. The strategy is working to convince the authorities that non-state radio can be responsible and benefit the community. Most of the world hasn't the luxury of free expression. People depend on state sponsored radio for information and this is particularly dangerous in wartime. Entire populations are manipulated by state-run propaganda machines. People in these places desperately want their own independent media. The premise of community radio is that the airwaves belong to everyone and should be used to promote social change and development. Progress is being made. The discussions and debates about how to sustain community radio in the face of increasing world hostility resulted in creative thinking. The use of "participatory listening groups," where many people gather in one location to hear a broadcast was highlighted as an important innovation. These are especially useful with Internet transmissions. Although the trend is toward low- powered FM radio stations, Internet usage is increasing. Many broadcasters work under extreme conditions with little equipment, irregular access to electricity and in situations of war. Sometimes transmitters are destroyed by opposition groups or hostile governments. Strategies were discussed about how to notify influential colleagues when threats to media freedom occur. Because of the meeting's location, most participants were from Asia and Africa. Women were strongly represented and it was proposed that the next AMARC meeting should be in the Middle East, where independent community radio is practically unheard of. Finally, concerns were raised about the danger that as community radio becomes more accepted around the world it could be co-opted by institutions seeking control of what goes on the air, and once again people would only hear what someone else wants them to hear (RFPI- Vista mailing list May 27 via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. The updated Radio Pakistan A-03 schedule in DXLD 3-092 has them on 17720 at 1600-1615 when the A-03 schedule that appeared in DXLD 3-050 had them on 17820. Can anyone confirm which they are actually on? (Dan Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. 13770 & 11960, RDP via Thales Transmitter. E-mail verification reply in 47 days thanking for my tape report. This was followed in 8 days with a nice package which include a QSL Card of the Lisbon Hills (with transmitter site) complete schedule and a tourist Handbook for Portugal. v/s Teresa Beatriz Abreu (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, DX'er since 1965, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. FOREIGN RELAY VIA SHORT WAVE TRANSMITTERS OF RUSSIA. 30/03/2003 - 25/10/2003 kHz UTC kW Radiostation Moscow 7175** 2200-2300 250 CRI 7385 1700-1800 250 BBC 9880* 2200-2300 250 CRI 9920 1500-1530 250 RCI 12035 1830-1930 200 CRI 12060 1900-2100 250 VOM 12090 1200-1600 500 DWL 15530 0345-0430 250 FEB Sankt-Petersburg 7130**** 1600-1700 400 CRI 7130**** 1800-1830 400 CRI 15595*** 1800-1830 400 CRI 17580*** 1600-1700 400 CRI Kaliningrad 7340 2030-2125 160 RNW Samara 5935** 1900-2030 250 IBR 6035 2100-2200 200 FGM 6210 1610-1640 100 VAT 7320 1630-2130 250 CRI 7380* 1930-2200 250 MAR 7560 1700-1800 250 MES (Tue, Wed,Fri) 9475 1600-1630 250 TWR 9825 1730-1800 250 DWL 9835* 1900-2030 250 IBR 9945 2100-2200 200 FGM 11520 1600-1700 200 TAY 12045 0015-0130 250 FEB 12120 1500-1530 250 SAW 12120 1700-1800 250 DER (Sat) 12120 1730-1800 250 ORO (Mon, Fri) 15525 0800-0830 250 DWL 15595 1330-1420 250 DWL 15605 1200-1500 250 FEB 17765 1100-1600 100 WUN 17820 0900-0930 250 DWL Krasnodar 6225 2000-2130 500 DWL 7230 1800-1900 250 DWL 7380** 1500-2200 250 MAR 7430 1700-1815 100 BVB (Mon-Fri) 7430 1700-1900 100 BVB (Sat) 7430 1700-2000 100 BVB (San) 9415 1600-1715 100 IBR 9925 1700-2100 100 RVI 12010* 1500-1930 250 MAR 12035 2000-2100 100 RCI 12060** 0500-0715 250 MAR (Mon-Sat) 12060** 0600-0800 250 MAR (Sun) 12065 0345-0430 250 FEB 12125 1900-1930 200 JRI (Mon-Fri) 12125 1900-2000 200 VBI (Sat) 15195 0500-0800 200 RVI 15195 1700-1800 100 RVI 15455* 0500-0715 250 MAR (Mon-Sat) 15455* 0600-0800 250 MAR (Sun) 15530 1100-1300 250 FEB 15605 0900-0930 200 DWL 17545 1230-1300 200 DWL 17650 1100-1130 200 RVI 17695 1300-1600 200 RVI (Sun) Novosibirsk 9825 1700-1730 500 DWL 11570 0000-0100 100 IBC 11990 1300-1500 200 VOA 12045 2200-2300 200 RFI 12075 1200-1300 500 RFI 13590 1145-1400 100 BVB 15535 2300-0100 500 RFI Irkutsk 7150 2200-2300 250 VOA 7210 1600-1700 250 RFA 7305* 2200-2245 250 VAT 7460 1300-1400 250 HBS 9460 1300-1350 500 DWL 9900 1000-1400 250 DWL 12025 0930-1030 500 RFI 12025 1100-1300 500 RFI 12035 2300-2350 500 DWL 12045 1030-1055 500 DWL 13710 0930-1125 250 RNW 17590 0200-0330 250 VAT 17710 0230-0300 250 BBC 17710 0800-0830 250 BBC Chita 12055 1315-1400 500 VAT 15580 0015-0200 500 FEB Vladivostok 7330 1100-1530 500 BBC 12005 2200-2300 500 RFI 13690 0000-0100 200 DWL 15595 2300-2400 500 RFI 15660 1400-1500 250 VKK (Tue) 17860 2300-2400 250 DWL Khabarovsk 11830** 2200-2245 100 VAT 13820 1030-1125 100 RNW 13695 1330-1425 100 RNW 17590 2330-0025 100 RNW Komsomolsk-na-Amure 9585 1200-1300 250 HBS 15605 2200-2350 250 DWL 17570 0500-0600 250 VOM (Sun) Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy 7420 1000-1400 250 DWL 9450 1200-1330 200 IBR 9865 1130-1230 250 RVI 9890 1330-1425 250 RNW 12065 0930-1125 250 RNW 12070 0000-0100 250 DWL 15470 2100-2200 250 VOA * = Till 06/09/2003 ** = From 07/09/2003 *** = Till 27/09/2003 **** = From 28/09/2003 BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation BVB = Bible Voice Broadcasting Network CRI = China Radio International DER = Dejan Radio DWL = Deutshe Welle FEB = FEBA Radio FGM = Fang Guang Ming Radio FRA = Radio Free Asia HBS = Herald Broadcasting Syndicate HLR = Hmong Lao Radio IBC = International Broadcasting Corporation (IBC Tamil) IBR = IBRA Radio JRI = Jakada Radio International MAR = Radio Maryja MES = Mesopotamian Radio & TV MSP = Voice of Mesopotamia ORO = Voice of Oromiya RCI = Radio Canada International RFE = Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty RFI = Radio France Internationale RNW = Radio Nederland Wereldomroep RPD = Radio Payam-e Doost RVI = Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal SAW = Sowt al-Watan (Voice of Homeland) TAY = Radio Tayyar TWR = Trans World Radio VAT = Radio Vaticana VBI = Voice of Biafra International VIL = Voice International VKK = Voice of Khmer Krom VOA = Voice of America VOM = Voice of Mediterranean VOO = Voice of Orthodoxy VOT = Voice of Tibet WUN = University Network (via Nikolay Rudnev, Belgorodskaya obl. 73! Rus DX May 25 via DXLD) See also CIS ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN -- Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: Ascension Day feature on the Church of Sweden Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: In "Studio 49" the new head of the world's oldest peace organization, and tourism after 9/11 and SARS Sunday: "In Touch With Stockholm" -- Sweden in the 50's We've had a very gratifying response to our appeal for reports about our test broadcasts on 17505 kHz. We immediately received around 30 e-mail reports, and more reception reports are arriving by post. Many thanks to all the listeners who helped out. Despite the recent poor conditions it seems that we actually can use the same frequency (17505 kHz) on two different transmitters at the same time, in two different directions, for our broadcast in English at 1230 UT. We will continue to use this frequency for both 40 degrees to East Asia and New Zealand and 85 degrees to Southeast Asia and Australia. We'll also use 17505 kHz for our three broadcasts in Swedish to East Asia at 1030, 1215, and 1300. Everyone who sent a report will be receiving a Radio Sweden QSL card. Two listeners will also be rewarded with Radio Sweden T-shirts: Mr. Dong Haojun of Huanggu District, China and Mr. Satoru Suzuki of Yokohama, Japan. Please continue to send reports. This is the first time we've used the same frequency in two different directions, and we're still interested in how well it's working (Anders Backlin, Radio Sweden) On May 28 the Swedish parliament approved the plan to pull the plug on analog television here, but extended the deadline in the government's proposal by five months to February 1, 2008. But parliament also wants the government to rethink parts of the package, including the expansion of the digital transmitter network. The parliamentary Committee on the Constitution wants viewers who only want to see licence-fee funded public television to be able to watch without having to sign a contract or pay a subscription fee. The legislation was opposed by the Conservatives and Liberals. (TT) Public television has a much higher position in digital terrestrial television (DTT) than in cable or satellite offerings, and the Conservatives especially are no friends of public TV (all: SCDX/MediaScan May 28 via DXLD) ** U K. 13860, BFBS, received QSL card, and friendly letter in 55 days for taped report. Address: BFBS Worldwide, PO BOX 903, Gerrards Cross, SL9 8TN, England. Mentioned than the transmission originated from the UK. Per letter, they are leaving SW again soon, so get them while you can! (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, May 27, KAVT Reception Manager, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ?? Already reported here to have quit as of May 18. Has anyone heard them since? (gh, DXLD) ** U K. TORIES HAND OVER BBC DOSSIER The Conservatives say the BBC played down Tory success The Conservative Party has made a formal complaint to the BBC about its coverage of the local elections in May. The party says the broadcaster played down its success and consistently over-estimated the Liberal Democrats' share of the vote. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2941884.stm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U K [and non]. BBC MOST TRUSTED INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTER DURING IRAQ INVASION - REPORT 27/05/2003 According to a survey of European media intake during the US-led invasion of Iraq from pan-European media research company GfK Media, the majority of Europeans turned first to television for news of the war rather than to radio or print media, and public or state-owned broadcasters were the most popular and most trusted forms of media. . http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=16488 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC SECRECY ON MEDIA DECISIONS An interesting link about the FCC's coziness with big media: http://www.reason.com/links/links052703.shtml [with lots of additional links] (Harry Helms, W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FCC PLAN TO ALTER MEDIA RULES SPURS GROWING DEBATE --- By Frank Ahrens, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, May 28; Page A01 Substantial grass-roots resistance to the Federal Communications Commission's plans to relax or eliminate several major media ownership rules has been building in recent weeks, turning a number-crunching bureaucratic process into a growing debate on free speech. On June 2, the five-member commission is scheduled to vote on changes that would allow broadcast networks to buy more television stations and would lift the 28-year-old ban preventing newspapers from buying television stations in the same city. Hundreds of thousands of e-mails and postcards are urging the FCC to put off a decision. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46442-2003May27.html 73, ( -.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, DXLD) ** U S A. CORPORATE RADIO By Jeff Leeds, 2003, Los Angeles Times With a sinister laugh, an on-air promotion for Viacom Inc.'s WZNE-FM rock station has been tipping listeners in Rochester, N.Y., to the parent corporation's dark purpose. "Our company has a master plan for world media domination," says an announcer. He quickly adds: "We're not part of it." In the age of media consolidation, corporate radio is beginning to wrestle with a brand-new worry - an audience that might actually care who owns the station. A smattering of broadcasters around the country is toying with promotions meant to tap into rock listeners' anti-corporate bent by downplaying station ownership, or by touting independence in the face of big-chain competitors. Such matters are being closely watched as the Federal Communications Commission reviews a proposal to loosen ownership restrictions on television broadcasters and others. Regulators are also considering a new method for defining the boundaries of local radio markets, a move that could complicate future acquisitions. The FCC is scheduled to vote June 2. Radio underwent massive consolidation following passage of a landmark 1996 deregulatory law. Clear Channel Communications Inc., the industry's San Antonio, Texas-based leader, expanded its holdings to about 1,200 stations from just 36, while other companies followed suit. Now, questions about chain dominance are leaking into promotional decisions, particularly among rock broadcasters, many of whom rely on an outsider image to hold young listeners. Larry Rosin, president of Edison Media Research, said he's beginning to see signs that listener habits are affected by a station's affiliation. While ownership issues haven't reached a "tipping point," said Rosin, "there are pockets where people do care." So, Viacom's Rochester outlet, part of its 180-station Infinity Broadcasting unit, pokes fun at an expansion-minded parent. Meanwhile, San Diego's KBZT-FM, one of just 17 Jefferson-Pilot Corp.-owned stations, bills itself as "anti-corporate, local and musically diverse" - while looking for extra points by taking shots at the radio industry's 800-pound gorilla. "Not one of those cookie-cutter Clear Channel stations," runs a KBZT tagline. Executives at Clear Channel, often criticized for homogenizing radio with pre-recorded shows and corporate-influenced playlists, are skeptical of the notion that fans care any more who owns the local station than they do what label puts out a favourite album. "I doubt any consumer ever decided against purchasing Eminem's CD because it was owned by Interscope rather than Island Def Jam," said Tom Owens, Clear Channel's senior vice-president of programming. Still, Clear Channel doesn't push its name the way it used to. In the past, the company encouraged its stations to identify their corporate affiliation as part of a campaign to establish a "national footprint" for advertisers and listeners. These days, said Owens, decisions on imaging are left to local market managers, who may highlight their parent or not, depending on judgments about the value of its name. Others have delighted in targeting the big players with a David-and- Goliath theme, exploiting what they say is a surprisingly sophisticated base of audience knowledge about ownership. "Listeners are starting to become aware of corporate consolidation," said Dave Beasing, a radio consultant who advised KBZT and several other stations in designing campaigns built around anti-corporate themes. In Phoenix, KEDJ-FM, advised by Beasing, is just beginning to air promotions with average-Joe soundbites, in which listeners offer their definitions of "independent" radio. In one sequence a male listener says. "You're not under the corporate authority." Another, which the station has so far held back, has a female voice saying: "Independent means not owned by Clear Channel." Scott Fey, the station's general manager, said focus groups had shown owner Newplanet Radio, whose only station is KEDJ, that listeners knew with pinpoint precision which local stations were owned by Clear Channel, and what each station was doing. Those surveyed were also aware that the San Antonio entertainment giant owned the local concert venues. "The public at large was picking up on the business aspects of radio," said Fey. Whether playing the "corporate" card actually builds numbers for self-styled "alternative" competitors - many of whom have corporate parents of their own - remains to be seen, however. KBZT has seen ratings rise to 5.1 from 2.6 among its target 18-to-34 demographic after six months of independence-themed promotions, putting it just behind Clear Channel's two local rock stations. But it's difficult to know how much of the boost came from a switch from an '80s music format. Program director Garett Michaels chooses to believe the promotional gambit is working, because it was based on authentic listener sentiment. "We didn't say, `Hey, let's pick on Clear Channel.' It was already there," said Michaels. "We just decided to pick up the ball and run with it." (Relayed by Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, DXLD) ** U S A. MORE U.S. AIRWAVES SOUGHT FCC URGED TO RELEASE SPECTRUM FOR PUBLIC-SAFETY USE By Yuki Noguchi, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, May 28, 2003; Page E05 A division of Northrop Grumman Corp. said yesterday that it is petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to free up more airwaves so that the Department of Homeland Security and public-safety agencies can set up advanced wireless communications systems. Northrop Grumman's information technology division, based in Herndon, last month asked the FCC to consider reallocating 10 megahertz of spectrum in the 700-megahertz frequency range for public-safety use, so that those airwaves can be developed for a more advanced network to handle high-speed Internet, video and voice calls simultaneously. Northrop is hoping to eventually profit from the federal government's increasing appetite for a more sophisticated, faster way to coordinate the communications between various branches of the government. FCC officials declined to comment on the proposal. The spectrum that Northrop is requesting for government use is now used by television broadcasters, although they are expected to abandon it when they adopt newer digital technology. Eventually, most of the spectrum in the 700 megahertz range will be vacated and auctioned off; Northrop wants the additional spectrum to go to the government without getting auctioned off to commercial service providers. "We're trying to create a playing field to put in wireless broadband," said Royce Kincaid, Northrop's wireless project manager. The physical properties of existing spectrum allocated for public-safety use do not allow for really high-capacity transmissions, which is important to secure borders, monitor customers and coordinate law enforcement. The 700-megahertz band covers more territory and can transmit within buildings, he said. Several wireless-service operators are lobbying or planning to lobby the FCC to free up spectrum for homeland security use -- all in the hopes that they will benefit from increased business with the government, said Ronny Heraldsvik, director of marketing for Flarion Technologies. The New Jersey firm developed the wireless technology that Northrop is jointly marketing to the government. The spectrum Northop is asking for is "cleaner" because it could be made available nationally and is near the existing public-safety spectrum, Heraldsvik said. The Northrop proposal is likely to spark opposition from television broadcasters, who don't have to give up the spectrum until at least 2007. The National Association of Broadcasters said its members won't be rushed off the airwaves. "Once the transition to digital is complete, this issue goes away, because broadcasters will not be using those channels," said Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the association. "We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that during times of crisis, local broadcasters provide breaking news and information to citizens better than any other technology." (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) WTFK?? ``700 MHz range`` isn`t very specific. Currently, channel 52 is at 700 MHz, but channel 68 is at the top of that range, up to 800 MHz (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WON'T SOMEONE RESCUE THE MET? By Richard Cohen, Tuesday, May 27, 2003; Page A19 When I was a kid, Saturday afternoons were special in my house -- I tried not to be home. That was when my father turned on the radio to listen to the Metropolitan Opera. First I would hear the announcer, Milton Cross, offer a synopsis of the opera, and then the music would start. If I was lucky, before anyone sang, I was out of the house. The broadcasts were sponsored by Texaco (since 2000, ChevronTexaco), which announced recently it would cease to sponsor them. It's been 63 years, the longest continuous sponsorship in broadcast history. It started a year before my birth and hounded me throughout my childhood and, while you might think I'd now say good riddance, I instead want to wave a fond and grateful goodbye. Sometimes I listen to the broadcasts myself. I understand. The sponsorship costs ChevronTexaco $7 million a year and reaches only 10 million people -- a mere nothing compared with the 38 million who watched "American Idol" last week. And besides, if the listeners are anything like my father -- he's only 94 now -- they're not what you would call a coveted demographic. In fact, his driving days are behind him. All the accounts of why ChevronTexaco decided to drop the Met mentioned that the company has come upon hard times. Its CEO, David J. O'Reilly, has taken a 45 percent pay cut, and the stock price has dropped. Still, the company made $1.132 billion last year; $7 million represents less than 1 percent of its profits. Put that way, its decision to drop the broadcasts is a bit harder to understand. But as I said before, I understand. Corporations are under pressure to show that they are mean, lean machines. This is why Vivendi Universal SA auctioned off its art collection recently. It stands to gain as much as $15 million, which will help offset its debt of about $11 billion. We can all understand. Some of Vivendi's art was accessible to the public. One of its signature pieces, a stage curtain by Pablo Picasso, has been available for public viewing in New York for the past 40 years. You can understand why a stockholder could look at that Picasso piece and wonder why his money -- and it is his money -- should go to make the world a little bit more beautiful. This is not the same as some CEO using corporate money to buy a yacht or to entertain his honey. Yet now the two are lumped together -- private greed and public largess. Something has been lost. Something will be lost as well if ChevronTexaco's decision results in the end of the Met broadcasts, which lured some of today's opera singers into the field. Most children, I'm sure, were like me and ran from the sound of the thing. But the occasional one was entranced: My God, what beauty. An appreciation of opera comes on -- if it comes on at all -- with age. Of that I am sure. When opera was a mass entertainment -- when all of Italy sang and every mining town in the West had its opera house -- no one had to be told that life was capricious, unfair and deeply tragic. Happiness was not guaranteed, nor even promised, and love too often ended in death -- for women, frequently just in childbirth. There's a bit of the 18th and 19th centuries in just getting older. Time has flown and death hovers. Loves have been lost, so many mistakes have been made, and memory ripens into nostalgia. In opera, the music makes the implausible plausible. When Mimi dies, when Tosca leaps, when Cio-Cio-San kills herself, the music transmits an inexpressible sadness. It is life itself. And on the radio, life is idealized. In one's own imagination, the tenor is not fat and the diva is a doll -- slim, sexy and busty. (Look, this is my column.) Better yet, if you don't happen to know the language, you can imagine what is being sung. At the Met itself, you can read a translation -- and often what you think must be a soaring song about love is really a banal conversation about daily life. I cannot be hard on ChevronTexaco. It has done its duty. But I ask another company to take up the slack, to say to its stockholders that it owes something to the public. Imagine Bill Gates defending a decision to sponsor the Met broadcasts by echoing the words of the doomed Tosca: "Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore." I lived for art, I lived for love. My father -- and his son -- would sure appreciate it. (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) THREAT TO BROADCASTS ROCKS MET OPERA LOVERS By COLIN EATOCK, Special to The Globe and Mail UPDATED AT 8:53 PM EDT, Saturday, May. 24, 2003 The opera world has been rocked by the announcement that New York's Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are under threat. ChevronTexaco Corp. announced earlier this week that it will end its 63-year-old sponsorship of the Met's Saturday afternoon opera broadcasts next year. Met general manager Joseph Volpe has since said he is determined to find a sponsor to put up $7-million (U.S.) to keep the broadcasts alive, which in Canada are heard coast to coast on CBC radio. "The broadcasts have been of inestimable value in developing opera in Canada," says Toronto-based singing coach Stuart Hamilton, who has frequently appeared as an intermission panelist on opera broadcasts. "I first heard Met broadcasts in 1943, in Regina, Sask. I was 12 -- I was already studying the piano, and I had a sister who sang. But it was the Met broadcasts that got me going on opera. And I'm not alone in that." Although his attempts to found an opera club at his local high school failed -- the other kids didn't know what opera was -- Hamilton was hooked. But with classical-music institutions facing financial difficulties and dwindling audiences across the continent, is opera on the radio an idea whose time has passed? Not according to Robert Cooper, executive producer of the CBC's Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, which airs the Met performances, along with European and Canadian programming. "We have more than 200,000 listeners," he explains with understated pride. "Most classical-music programs draw a 2-to-4-per-cent share of the radio audience, but Saturday Afternoon at the Opera gets 6 or 7 per cent. Opera has maintained a very strong listenership: With the opera, most people stay tuned in for the full 4 1/2 hours." The opera broadcasts have long been married to the changing fortunes of the oil industry. Texaco took up the sponsorship in 1940, possibly in an attempt to restore its public image after the company removed its pro-Nazi chairman, who allegedly sold oil to Hitler's Germany. But when Chevron acquired Texaco in 2000, rumours began to circulate that the days of the Met sponsorship were numbered. All things considered, it's remarkable that the sponsorship, the longest continuous commercial one in broadcast history, lasted so long. "The Metropolitan Opera has already started actively seeking new sponsors for the broadcasts," Volpe notes, "which present a wonderful and unique opportunity for a sponsor with a global outlook." If Volpe should fail in his quest, the CBC's Cooper hopes that he'll be able to continue his Saturday Afternoon at the Opera program with European recordings and possibly even an increase in Canadian content. But for the Met, the cancellation comes as a real challenge to North America's largest opera company. Does the Met still have the influence to attract the interest of large corporations? Does opera still have the cachet and prestige it once did? These questions will be answered in the coming year. Bell Globemedia (c) 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** URUGUAY. 6155, Sinfonia FM, Santa Clara de Olimar, via Banda Oriental, Sarandí del Yí, 1115+, Mayo 25. Español. Transmisión de una competencia ciclística. ID: "Está transmitiendo Sinfonia FM e Hipismo 2000 (is a programme from Sinfonia FM) a través de la onda corta de Banda Oriental... en 49 metros para cubrir América". Publicidades locales: Veterinaria Santa Clara, siempre junto al que produce...". Anuncio: "Informó la Intendencia Municipal de Treinta y Tres", reporte meteorológico, 44444 (Arnaldo Slaen, en Chascomus, a algo más de 120 km al sudeste de Buenos Aires, junto con los amigos Nicolás Eramo y su hijo (Nicolás Jr.), Marcelo Cornachioni y Enrique Wembagher, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS ++++++++++++++ NEW DETECTION SYSTEM LISTENS FOR TORNADOS ERIE, Colo. (AP) - Researchers are testing a system that listens for tornados using the same extremely low-frequency sound waves used by whales and elephants to communicate over long distances. The technology detects the violently rotating column of air that resonates like a ringing bell, said Alfred J. Bedard Jr. of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder. The infrasound frequencies can be detected hundreds of miles away. The first of the three listening posts is already in use at a NOAA test site near Erie in southern Weld County. Two more stations are planned in Pueblo and another will be placed in Goodland, Kan. During the record-breaking week of May 4, 384 tornadoes in 19 states killed 42 people. Data from the network will be relayed to National Weather Service severe-weather forecasters in Boulder, Pueblo and Goodland. It will be compared with Doppler radar images and reports from tornado spotters, said Larry Mooney, the chief meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boulder. ''It's unlikely that we would discover the Holy Grail of tornado detection this year, but I think it's a technology that certainly warrants taking a look at,'' Mooney said. The equipment for each station costs about $50,000, Bedard said. The goal of this first infrasound tornado-detection network is to provide earlier, more accurate warnings and save lives. In most years, about 1,000 tornadoes are reported across the United States, resulting in 80 deaths and 1,500 injuries. ''The average tornado warning time is 12 minutes, and the goal is to push that out further, to improve detection and warning and to reduce false alarms,'' said Bedard, a physicist at NOAA's Environmental Technology Laboratory. NOAA began developing the warning system for tornados in 1995 by adapting an avalanche detection system to sound an alarm at precisely the time Doppler radar detected a nearby tornado. AP-WS-05-26-03 1258EDT (Casper Star-Tribune via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) A "DUAL RECEIVE" EXPERIMENT, SSB + AM I've been trying out a new (??) mode of listening to fading stations and so far it's been producing some interesting results. Not sure yet if it's an "improvement or not, but "seems" a little better. || snip snip || Anyone else want to experiment with this and see what results they get? If you don't have a receiver with "dual watch" two receivers fed into one audio channel would also work, though it'd be a bigger headache tuning them. 73 de (Phil KO6BB Atchley, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Hello Phil, great thoughts about dual receiver operation. The other comments about mode, separate speakers, separate antennas, combiners, etc etc all apply in one way or the other. Here are some thoughts excerpted from various emails on this topic I have posted over the years on various reflectors. ================ Physical Filters are in many ways, still the best way to go for improving any radio. DSP as it is used today in many receivers will not usually bring the effectiveness that physical filters in the early IF stages bring. By filtering out signals and noise that pump the system AGC, having AGC off and turning RF gain down, you can copy weak signals that would not be heard in the presence of a strong signal. With out the right filters for the mode in use, the AGC will reduce the radio sensitivity for strong signals in the passband causing weak ones to be much tougher or impossible to pull out. Bandwidth Diversity Reception is what you can do with the dual receiver and filter options. Also use Mode Diversity to improve copy of AM signals. USB on the sub receiver, and LSB on the main. Best results are when using stereo headphones --- sometimes you can actually hear three aspects of the audio this way. One in the left ear, one in the right, and the other in center. Great way for pulling audio out of noise and fading conditions. Other modes work this way too, and the extra filters go along way to make the right choice for most situations. There are also combinations of effects afforded by choosing the various modes, filters, dsp, if shift, width shift, and notch filter combinations between the receivers. ----- Audio Paths: 1) Internal Speaker - OK for portable and small table space use, but poor over all choice. 2) External Speaker - Much better when using a communications quality speaker, such as the old heath kit HS-1661 that tailors the audio to about 200-4000 Hz --- the communications range needed for voice communications - this also helps reduce storm static ear overload. Dual receiver audios can feed the same speaker using various menu options most rigs have today. Or use two speakers and put some space between them to help create a spatial listening brain filter effect. 3) STEREO headphones that matche the impedance for the front panel output jack. This choice gives your ear/brain function the best possible operation for diversity and spatial effects. In this mode you can achieve the best 'sorting' of audio information be it the same or different signals from the two receivers. When tuned to the same signal, the brain provides the best processing of mixing, separating, and sorting for audio information. Room noise is also reduced or easier to sort this way too. Use full stereo separation in the menu options, and try different filters, dsp settings and other controls to achieve maximum spatial separation effects. This choice is the best choice for sorting out weak signals or situations where noise and other signals are a problem. Headphones and diversity/spatial operations is much more effective through the headphones than external speakers --- and don't forget you can still use the external mono speaker, or the built in speaker for center channel effects as well - -- at the same time. The dynamic range for the audio from the headphone jack is also better configured here to protect your ears from sudden changes in audio output when you have the volume up for a weak audio output and something loud opens up on you - this is due to a resistor divider network employed prior to the jack --- and that's why it is not recommended to use headphones through the speaker output jack where this protection is not available. Also when turning off the AGC and using the RF gain control to set volume level, audio output will vary with signal strength, so you can get blasted if not careful. 4) Low level Line STEREO Speaker output jack on the rear panel. Here you should use an external amplifier feeding matching speakers positioned in such away to have you in the direct center. The output here is also a fixed volume output that has good dynamic range and is independent of the volume control on the front panel. Between the external amplifier volume and balance controls, and the internal menu settings of the MP, terrific performance can be had for a wide range of operations --- except for the best of the diversity and spatial techniques where improved operation can be achieved using headphones. I like listening to shortwave stations and music this way --- signal to noise ratio allowing of course. 5) Low Level Line audio output fed to wireless headphones or wireless speakers. All the above still apply here on this method. Plus you can not only listen in from other rooms and outside, but if your able to control your radio over your home network, you get real time full audio with out time delay you would get on audio relayed over the lan. Don't forget the ability to record your audio over this wireless link to a remote recorder, including a vcr, and even have others listen in. If you wish you can relay two different signals / frequencies via this wireless stereo. Just turn down the audio channel you don't want to hear. It is like having two transmitters in one! When it comes to sound, what type and how it is perceived varies considerably with how it is delivered. What method I use depends on the signal to noise ratio and type of audio I am digging into. I find myself using the headphones most of the time to maximize the stereo effect when needing to sort audio --- but I much prefer the external audio amp and speakers for full fidelity audio when using strong or clear signals with wide to no filters selections. ----- Brain Diversity Filtering and Sorting: Using headphones, or speakers centered to your far left and right, an improved sorting ability with-in your brain occurs. In fact this portion of the diversity reception 'plays' with the brain, and makes for very pleasing listening. I can 'mentally' sort different audio types being fed to each ear, and as a result my fatigue listening factor is reduced considerably. I frequently put one receiver on to Usb for a AM broadcast station, and the other receiver on LSB. Depth is immediately improved. Then if you play with the Dsp settings on the main receiver, it almost sounds like stereo effects! Wonderful brain spatial effects galore this way. Using one receiver on plain AM and the other on AM Synchronized isn't bad when tuning around and having the tuning knobs locked together. Signals slide around the head real neato! Lets don't forget experimenting with different width filters between the two receivers also. You can also use Lsb and Usb dual receiving on a SSB signal if you use wide filter mode, and the bandpass around the signal is clear. Very high quality FM like audio is heard on stations running wide audio bandwidth. For the brain to do maximum processing for spatial filtering of dual audio, reducing unrelated audio energy (noise) is very helpful. Yes, you can use stereo speakers, let me re-phrase that, yes you can use dual speakers preferable of the communications type - one on the output of each receiver - for diversity reception modes and to good effect --- but the dual speakers being on your ears is much better performing. Menu options or jack selections, can be used to feed completely separate audio from each receiver to each speaker --- no mixing. Brain spatial effects an be useful for any mode of reception, and any type of purpose. An improvement in detail content sorting, and a tremendous reduction in listening strain is obtained. Once you have tired diversity reception in its variety of techniques, you will be disappointed in mono, and distant dual speaker monitoring. It is like going from a closet into the wide open spaces with out boundaries --- there is a real multi dimensional mind opening sensation when listening in many of the diversity modes --- and just about a complete removal of any strain and fatigue to listening. ----- Same Broadcast on more than one Frequency at the same time and Other Mind Boggling Effects. It is not unusual for me to listen to AM stations at night, especially some of the talk shows. I rarely listen to a AM station in the AM mode. I tend to use Usb on one receiver, and Lsb on the other receiver. This is better sounding, but not as good as tuning in two different frequency AM stations transmitting the same material with the same time delay. When one fades, the other generally is still there. This is in effect using their two different antennas rather than yours. For some odd reason, I find that the further apart the two frequencies, the better the chance one is always up when the other fades. Play with all the filters (wide and narrow combinations), modes, dsp etc etc, and there is a point reached where a stereo like effect kicks in and the music is OutStanding in how Good it sounds. This is your brain spatial sorting effecting kicking in that produces this sensation, and it does its best on headphones. When the band conditions permit, I also will tune in a Ssb station that is in the clear in the wide 6 kHz mode. One receiver is put into the Lsb mode, the other into Usb mode while leaving both selected to the wide 6 kHz filters (rather than narrow 3khz sideband filter bandwidth). Again great sounding audio is obtained. --------------- Good luck, and please experiment. You will be very surprised at the effects you can get having both receivers tuned to the same signal at the same time using different modes (am, lsb, usb), filter widths, dsp on in different settings, if shift, width shift, notch filter and feeding the same or different audio outputs. During the best of operations I hear the band noise in the far back of my head spread out and muted, low audio frequency audio in my left ear, and higher audio frequency in my right ear, and even other distracting sounds in different 'vectors' that don't cover the targeted audio. Try it you will like it --- I bet you wont be satisfied with one audio feed in the future afterwards! 73 from Bill - WD8ARZ (swl at qth.net via DXLD) PROPAGATION ++++++++++++ ================================================================= This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Sun-Earth Interactions ================================================================= A s t r o A l e r t Sun-Earth Alert Solar Terrestrial Dispatch http://www.spacew.com 28 May 2003 1. MAJOR X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE ALERTS 2. MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH MAJOR X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE ALERTS Observers of the upcoming total annular solar eclipse (visit http://www.skyandtelescope.com for details) will be interested to learn that a significant and developing active sunspot complex has evolved over the last several days into a potential power-house for solar flare activity. Active sunspot Region 10365 is a rapidly developing/growing mass of dense sunspots currently numbering in the neighborhood of 42. The sunspot complex currently covers an area of approximately 1.2 billion square kilometers. You could map more than twice the entire surface area of the Earth into this spot complex. This region is also presently visible to the unaided (but protected) eye. Remember never to look directly at the Sun without appropriate eye protection. Two powerful X-class solar flares were observed from this spot complex within 1 sesquihour of each other on the evening of 27 May EDT (late in the UTC day of 27 May and early on 28 May). This activity was preceded on 26 May by smaller M-class solar flares. Analysis of this activity has revealed that most of these flare events were associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) containing Earthward directed components. Interestingly, there is evidence suggesting that perhaps only two of these coronal mass ejections may actually survive the trip to the Earth. The others may be "cannibalized" by the strongest and fastest coronal mass ejections. Cannibalism in space occurs when one coronal mass ejection travelling faster than another overtakes the slower one and cannibalizes it. This process of cannibalization irreversibly changes the character of both of the coronal mass ejection disturbances that are involved. Depending on the nature of the CMEs, the end-product of the cannibalization may be a single disturbance that is constructively reinforced to become stronger and more volatile, or it may become a single disturbance that is weakened if the two CMEs destructively merge together. In either case, the end-product is invariably a CME that contains very little resemblance to the original CME. For this reason, the Earth-bound impact of these types of space weather disturbances are much more difficult to predict with accuracy. Each of the smaller M-class flare associated CMEs have a good chance of producing a single cannibalized CME. Similarly, the two X- class flares that were observed also may have produced CMEs that have merged into a single disturbance. Whether these disturbances have merged constructively or destructively (assuming that they have in fact merged with other CMEs) remains an open question. What is known is that at least two separate and distinct space weather CME disturbances are expected to impact the Earth over the coming days. The first, associated with the smaller M-class flares, may impact the Earth on 29 May. The second and perhaps more energetic disturbance is expected to impact the Earth early on 30 May (UTC time - which translates to the late evening and early morning hours of 29/30 May, Eastern daylight time [EDT]). Because these disturbances have the potential of being less predictable and possibly more volatile than might normally be observed, there is at least minor concern that their impact with the Earth may be stronger than would normally be expected. For this reason, warnings are being issued to alert of the potential for geomagnetic storm activity and auroral storm activity ("northern lights" activity) on 29 through perhaps 31 May inclusive, with heaviest emphasis on 30 May. The official middle latitude aurora watch is appended below and contains more details. Additional major X-class solar flare activity is possible from active sunspot Region 10365 over the coming days. There is also the potential for energetic proton flares from this active region. Proton flares are nothing more than solar flares that involve processes capable of accelerating protons to near relativistic energies (>10 to 100 MeV) and velocities. These protons enhance the radiation environment in space around the Earth and can pose a hazard to satellite and (in less frequent cases) astronaut health, but are not a health hazard to people living on the Earth. These energetic protons also reac [sic] havoc with ionospheric-based radio communications systems by producing a phenomenon known as polar cap absorption (PCA). PCA is intense ionization of the polar ionosphere and can significantly alter the character or strength of radio signals that propagate through these regions of the ionosphere. Region 10365 will remain in a sensitive position to throw other coronal mass ejections toward the Earth during the next few days. It will rotate behind the west limb of the Sun and will become incapable of significantly affecting the Earth by this same time next week. MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH - 28-31 MAY 2003 VALID BEGINNING AT: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY VALID UNTIL: 23:00 UTC (7 pm EDT) ON 31 MAY HIGH RISK PERIOD: 30 MAY (UTC DAYS) MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 28 - 31 MAY PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 30, 30, 35, 20 (28 MAY - 31 MAY) POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: MODERATE - HIGH POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 12 - 24 HOURS MINOR BELT = 24 - 48 HOURS ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: NONE - LOW OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: FAIR AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM... OREGON TO SOUTHERN IDAHO AND POSSIBLY NORTHERN UTAH TO WYOMING TO NORTHERN NEBRASKA TO IOWA TO ILLINOIS TO INDIANA TO OHIO AND POSSIBLY NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA TO MARYLAND. ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM... IRELAND TO SOUTHERN UNITED KINGDOM AND POSSIBLY NORTHERN FRANCE TO BELGIUM TO THE NETHERLANDS TO THE NORTHERN THIRD OF GERMANY TO NORTHERN POLAND TO NORTHERN BELARUS TO NORTH-CENTRAL RUSSIA. NEW ZEALAND AND SOUTHEASTERN TO SOUTH-CENTRAL REGIONS OF AUSTRALIA ALSO HAVE A FAIR CHANCE TO OBSERVE PERIODS OF ACTIVITY. SYNOPSIS... A series of solar coronal mass ejections are expected to impact the Earth over the next 72 hours. The first disturbance may impact on 29 May and produce enhanced levels of activity. The most disturbed interval is expected on 30 May when effects of what may be a more energetic coronal mass ejection are expected to reach the Earth. This latter disturbance is associated with two major X-class solar flares and has the potential for producing periods of moderate to strong auroral activity over the high and middle latitude regions. The intensity of the activity probably will not be particularly significant. However, since the potential for cannibalistic CME activity is fairly high (a faster CME overtaking a slower CME), the level of predictability is reduced. There is a chance some regions of this disturbance may involve strongly enhanced magnetic fields capable of coupling more strongly with the Earth's magnetosphere to produce strong auroral storm activity. There is also the possibility periods of activity may be fairly weak. Because of these uncertainties and the complex space weather situation which is evolving from this (and other ambient) activity, this watch is based on an optimistic projection favoring a slightly stronger disturbance than would otherwise be expected. The near-new phase of the moon, which will contribute to optimally dark skies will also enhance the potential for observing activity from middle latitudes, particularly on 30 May. There is a strong potential for additional major solar flare activity from active solar Region 10365. Future activity from this region may involve additional Earthward-directed coronal mass ejection activity that could serve to prolong the duration of favorable conditions for middle latitude sightings of auroral activity. This watch will remain valid through 23:00 UTC (7 pm EDT) on 31 May. It will then be updated or allowed to expire. For updated information, visit: http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html For real-time plots of current activity, visit: http://www.spacew.com/plots.html PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO: http://www.spacew.com/submitsighting.html NOTICE: THE NEXT HOME-STUDY INTERNET SPACE WEATHER FORECASTING COURSE will commence on 16 June 2003. This course is suitable for anyone to take (there are no prerequisites). It teaches you how to analyse solar activity and predict space weather impacts of this activity on the Earth and Earth-based technology systems (including predicting the occurrence of auroral activity). It includes over 600 pages of printable curriculum and may also optionally include several powerful software packages developed for space weather studies and research. Details are available at: http://www.spacew.com/www/course.html The last offering of this course was October 2002. We do not know when the next class may be offered. We encourage all who are interested to consider enrolling soon. ** End of the AstroAlert Bulletin ** ================================================================== AstroAlert is a free service of SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy http://SkyandTelescope.com/ This e-mail was sent to AstroAlert subscribers. If you feel you received it in error, or to unsubscribe from AstroAlert, please send a plain- text e-mail to majordomo@SkyandTelescope.com with the following line -- and nothing else -- in the body of the message: unsubscribe sun-earth e-mail@address.com replacing "e- mail@address.com" with your actual e-mail address (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) Auroral emissions are primarily caused when electrons cast from the sun interact with Earth's atmosphere.However, there are other types, such as the mysterious "dayside proton aurorae" - spots, invisible to the naked eye, resulting from solar proton interaction with the ionosphere. While scientists know the cause of these peculiar phenomena, multiple observations by five spacecraft could answer questions concerning how they occur. http://www.astronomy.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/001/342rbsbu .asp (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 28 MAY - 23 JUNE 2003 Solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels. Moderate levels are expected early in the period as Region 365 continues to grow. Activity from beyond the northeast limb indicates new active regions will rotate onto the visible disk early in the forecast period. These new regions are expected to keep activity at moderate levels through the first half of the period. Greater than 10 MeV proton events are not expected during the forecast period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is likely to reach high levels on 30 May – 01 June, and again on 08 – 16 June due to recurring high speed solar wind streams. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to active levels with some isolated major storm periods. A small coronal hole high speed flow is expected on the first couple of days of the period and may produce some minor storm periods. On 04 – 12 June, a large southern coronal hole will rotate into a geo-effective position and is expected to produce active to minor storm levels. The period should end with a third coronal hole high speed flow producing unsettled to active conditions on 17 – 22 June. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 May 27 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 May 27 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 May 28 130 30 5 2003 May 29 135 15 3 2003 May 30 140 15 3 2003 May 31 140 15 3 2003 Jun 01 130 15 3 2003 Jun 02 120 20 4 2003 Jun 03 110 35 6 2003 Jun 04 100 30 5 2003 Jun 05 100 30 5 2003 Jun 06 95 35 6 2003 Jun 07 90 30 5 2003 Jun 08 95 20 4 2003 Jun 09 95 20 4 2003 Jun 10 95 30 5 2003 Jun 11 100 20 4 2003 Jun 12 100 20 4 2003 Jun 13 105 15 3 2003 Jun 14 105 15 3 2003 Jun 15 110 15 3 2003 Jun 16 120 15 3 2003 Jun 17 120 20 4 2003 Jun 18 120 25 5 2003 Jun 19 120 20 4 2003 Jun 20 115 20 4 2003 Jun 21 120 20 4 2003 Jun 22 125 20 4 2003 Jun 23 130 15 3 (from http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1184, DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-092, May 27, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1183: RFPI: Wed 0100, 0700/0730, 1300/1330 on 15039 and/or 7445 WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1183.html FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1184: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039 WORLD OF RADIO et al. via DXers CALLING Hi Glenn, there are now links on the following URLS for DX Audio files, which are available on several sites. These will enable anyone that misses the shortwave program on air, to download files from the respective URLS and should make it easier for DXERS/SWL'S to find the audio that's available in either Real audio, mp3 or windows format(s). http://www.geocities.com/nri3 http://www.angelfire.com/myband/tjg http://nrin.hypermart.net/dxerscalling.html All the best (Tim Gaynor, Dxerscalling, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. NEW RADIO TRANSMITTERS IN AFGHANISTAN REACH NATIONWIDE Two 400 kilowatt transmitters installed by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) are operating in Afghanistan, giving the country nationwide, medium-wave (AM) radio service for the first time. The transmitters are especially significant because they will allow programs to reach all listeners in Afghanistan. One transmitter will be used by Radio Afghanistan, the country`s national broadcaster, using AM 1107. The BBG`s Voice of America http://www.voanews.com and Radio Free Afghanistan http://www.azadiradio.org will use the other transmitter for Dari and Pashto programs 24 hours a day, broadcasting on AM 1296. ``Communicating news and information to the people of Afghanistan is critical as the country rebuilds itself after the horrors of the Taleban era,`` said BBG Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson. ``We`re delighted we`re able to play an active role in this area.`` Until now, radio audiences in rural areas of the mountainous country have listened to programs primarily on shortwave frequencies. Residents in Kabul, the capital city, and some other cities tune to FM frequencies, which have a limited geographical range. The AM transmitters, which cost about $10.5 million, are located at a site outside Kabul. In addition to the large AM transmitters, the BBG has installed FM transmitters --- one for the Afghan Government, the other for BBG --- in Kabul. Plans are under way to install additional FMs in Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad. With the completion of the AM transmitters, U.S. international broadcasting is available on AM, FM, shortwave and via the Internet. U.S. international broadcasting has played a major role in assisting Afghanistan`s media since 2001. VOA and Radio Free Afghanistan, operated by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty http://www.rferl.org have increased coverage in and around Afghanistan, including national, local, health, education and humanitarian events. The services, which have a combined 24-hour stream, have also trained Afghan journalists in reporting, editing and broadcasting. BBG has also assisted Afghanistan TV with technical equipment and programming. The BBG is an independent federal agency which supervises all U.S. government-supported non-military international broadcasting, including the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL); Radio Free Asia (RFA); Radio and TV Martí, Radio Sawa and Radio Farda. The services broadcast in 65 languages to over 100 million people around the world in 125 markets. Nine members comprise the BBG, a presidentially appointed body. Current governors are Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, Joaquin Blaya, Blanquita W. Cullum, D. Jeffrey Hirschberg, Edward E. Kaufman, Robert M. Ledbetter, Jr., Norman J. Pattiz and Steven Simmons. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell serves as an ex officio member (BBG press release May 22 via DXLD) As I recall, in the meantime, BBG services to Afghanistan were already on 1296 from outside the country, Tajikistan (gh, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. WOMEN'S RADIO INITIATIVE MAZAR-E SHARIF, 27 May 2003 (IRIN) - Najiyah Hanifi, a young Afghan radio journalist, is heading up the first women's community radio station in northern Afghanistan, located in the city of Mazar-e Sharif. "This work is not without challenges, but we have a long journey ahead," she told IRIN. . . http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34332&SelectRegion=CentralAsia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** ALBANIA: Summer A-03 schedule for Radio Tirana: Albanian to Eu 0800-0900 Daily 7110 CER 100 kW / non-dir 1400-1700 Daily 7270 CER 050 kW / non-dir 2030-2200 Daily 7295 CER 100 kW / 305 deg Albanian to NoAm 2300-0330 Daily 7270 CER 100 kW / 305 deg English to Eu 1845-1900 Mon-Sat 7210 SHI 100 kW / 310 deg 9520 CER 100 kW / 305 deg 2130-2200 Mon-Sat 7130 SHI 100 kW / 310 deg 9540 CER 100 kW / 305 deg English to NoAm 0145-0200 Tue-Sun 6115 CER 100 kW / 305 deg 7160 CER 100 kW / 305 deg 0230-0300 Tue-Sun 6115 CER 100 kW / 305 deg 7160 CER 100 kW / 305 deg German to Eu 1730-1800 Mon-Sat 9570 CER 100 kW / 350 deg Greek to Eu 1715-1730 Mon-Sat 6130 CER 100 kW / non-dir French to Eu 1900-1930 Mon-Sat 7210 SHI 100 kW / 310 deg Italian to Eu 1800-1830 Mon-Sat 7240 CER 100 kW / non-dir Serbian to Eu 2115-2130 Mon-Sat 6135 SHI 100 kW / non-dir Turkish to ME 1700-1715 Mon-Sat 6130 CER 100 kW / non-dir (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 27 via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. ANTARCTICA NET. There is a new Antarctica Net every Saturday on 14300 kHz around 1900z. Net Control is LU4DXU. He is in touch with LU1Z stations. Last Saturday LU1ZV, the Esperanza Base, was on the air. They expect DP1POL for next Saturday (KB8NW/OPDX May 26/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Note that the Maritime Mobile Service Net is on 14300 kHz at that time (Norfolk, DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. THE JOSEPHINES FATHERS ARE GETTING RECEPTION REPORTS FOR THEIR NEW AM FROM SCANDINAVIA by Padre José Luis Di Paolo, director, LRJ212 & LRJ417 Editor`s Note: Father José Luis Di Paolo, a member of the Josephine Fathers and Brothers, is the director of LRJ212 Radio Murialdo 1290 AM and LRJ417 FM Familia 90.5 FM in Mendoza. He is also the dedicated translator of Catholic Radio Update into its Spanish edition, Radio Católica al Día. We appreciate his writing this article, and were as pleasantly surprised to receive it as he has been in getting such distant reception reports. For those not familiar with the term, DXing is the hobby of carefully listening on the broadcast bands for distant radio stations. The Scandinavians are famous for DXing skill, picking up stations from around the globe by use of long wire antennas strung for hundreds of feet, often in rural locations. Of course, their long winter nights are of great help. Mendoza, May 16 (for RCD) With pleasant surprise the staff of Radio Murialdo are receiving reception forms coming from the farthest lands of the European continent. Across more than 22,000 kilometers of distance from its coverage area, reports have been received from Finland, Norway and Sweden. With precise and careful details, DXers in those countries have kindly sent their reports by means of letters, electronic mail and even recordings of their reception. It should be said that this Catholic radio station, operated by San Leonardo Murialdo`s Josephines, transmits from the county of Mendoza, on the frequency of 1290 Khz with a power of 5/1 Kw, an antenna of the folded monopole type, mounted in a tower 62 meters high, using transmitter and connection links between its studios and transmitter. Radio Murialdo transmits for the time being in parallel with Radio Familia FM, on 90.5 Mhz, its older affiliate. Because the need arose to reach a bigger population, not only overcoming the problems posed to reception because of the mountainous terrain, but mainly because the spectrum in the FM band is, in most of the main Argentine cities, saturated with radio stations, many of those illegal, creating a serious interference problem that has existed for years and is difficult to solve. Because of this, despite being animated with the same purpose, namely ``to bring you a message of faith, of hope and of love, with a cultural and Catholic sense``, and despite the invaluable support of the Congregation of Josephines and of the listeners and friends of the radio stations, achieving that goal had not happened after almost 45 years. But this new voice on AM, Radio Murialdo, is having success in the service of preaching the Gospel. Mendoza is a city located in west-central República Argentina, at the foot of the Andes mountain range, its natural limit to the west. Here the Andes attain their greatest height: the Aconcagua at 6,959 meters. There is an extensive desert plain toward the east and other in counties toward the north and south. Approximately 780 meters above sea level, their area is 148.827 square kilometers, with a population of nearly 1.700.000 inhabitants. It is divided into two dioceses, the Archdiocese of Mendoza, located in the north-central part of the county, with 59 parishes, and San Rafael Diocese toward the south. Mendoza is the product of the man`s labor on arid soil. The water coming from melting snow and ice of the Andes is channeled to where it is needed, thus providing for the necessities of human consumption and of vegetation. Parks and natural large orchards, olive trees, and particularly wine, express the wealth of a fruitful ground after the farmer`s arduous work. The county produces more than 60% of the wines of the country, many of them of excellent export quality, in more than a half million cellars. For their attractiveness and characteristics the land is known as the ``earth of the sun and of good wine``. Its climate is dry, temperate, with typical temperatures that range between the 24 and 9 degrees, although that range varies greatly, given the local characteristics of the soil, the altitude, etc. The area is attractive, particularly the neatness of its cities, with their characteristic brilliant sidewalks, their boulevards, and the captivating hospitality of their inhabitants. Database --- Villa Nueva de Guaymallén: LRJ 417 FM Familia 90.5 FM (1,000 watts PRA, antena 72 m, 8 dipoles) & LRJ212 1290 AM (5,000 watts por los días, 1,000 watts por las noches). Arzobispado de Mendoza. (Josefinos de Murialdo). Avenida Bandera de los Andes 4404, M5521AXL Villa Nueva de Guaymallén, Mendoza, Argentina. Tel.: (0054) (261) 421-3992, 426-1857. E-mail: murialdo@lanet.com.ar Padre José Luis DiPaolo CSJ, director. Tíndaro Muscará, coordinador. 24 hras (Catholic Radio Update May 26 via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. Radio Afrika International via Moosbrunn heard at 1500- 1559 UT on 17875 kHz on 26 May 2003. Carrier and brief ID "Osterreich Eins" in German at 1500, then pause before "Radio Afrika International" ID and announcements in English, including telephone number 00431 4944033 (in Austria) and e-mail address radio.afrika@s... [truncated] Then into French with talks and African music until repeat of English announcement at 1545 and ten minutes of African sports news in English. French again at 1555 until sign-off abruptly mid-song at 1559. Good reception at 1500, dropped off a bit by sign-off. Thanks to Chris Greenway for the time and frequency of this one (Tony Rogers, Birmingham - UK, AOR 7030+ / LW, BDXC-UK via DXLD) As I recall, the language mix varies from one day to the next; this was Monday (gh) ** BOLIVIA. Hola colegas! Ayer, al caer la tarde, regresamos de nuestro DX Camp en Chascomus, donde hicimos muy buenas captaciones. Vino un poco flojo para el lado de la región andina, que es lo que más particularmente me interesa, pero de todas maneras, escuchamos una emisora totalmente desconocida para nosotros en 4650.3, ayer domingo, sobre las 1030+ UT, con un servicio de mensajes en español para pobladores rurales. La localidad que se mencionó en varias ocasiones es "Camiri". Va a ver que investigar un poco. En algún momento pensamos que podría tratarse de Radio Santa Ana (4649v) que se había corrido un poco, mas luego corroboramos que ésta estaba en el aire en su frecuencia habitual. Otra captación interesante fue la recientemente informada por el colega Rogildo Fontenelle Aragão, Radio Nueva Esperanza, por los 6586 y algo (disculpenme pero estoy en la oficina y no tengo el listado conmigo). En el próximo Conexión Digital comenzaremos a reproducir las escuchas. 73`s (Arnaldo Slaen, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, May 26, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. A pedido de Arnaldo Slaen, de Buenos Aires, Argentina, Paulo Roberto e Souza, de Tefé (AM), entrou em contato com a direção da Rádio 6 de Agosto, de Xapuri (AC). A emissora pertence à Prefeitura daquela cidade. Não possui telefone fixo. A direção está a cargo do Sr. Wesley. Entretanto, o Paulo percebeu "um certo desconhecimento acerca de informes de recepção, apesar da afirmação de que a estação responde a seus ouvintes". BRASIL - Já faz um bom tempo que o sinal da Rádio Globo, do Rio de Janeiro (RJ), vem apresentando problemas de modulação em 11805 kHz. Em 24 de maio, às 1810, durante o programa Show de Bola, o problema foi constatado novamente (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX May 25 via DXLD) ** BRUNEI. MUSEUM HONOURS BRUNEI'S WOMEN BROADCASTERS Bandar Seri Begawan The Department of Brunei Museums has organised a project entitled "An Oral History of the Past Experiences of Women Broadcasters in Radio Brunei". . . http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/May03/260503/nite08.htm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** CAMEROON. GOVERNMENT CLOSES FREEDOM FM RADIO STATION Posted to the web May 27, 2003 Abidjan --- The Government of Cameroon forced a new radio station to shut down last week the day before it was due to go on air as part of a continuing drive to silence critical media, Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) said on Tuesday. . . http://allafrica.com/stories/200305270470.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** CANADA. For weeks now, it seems, I have not noticed CFRX on 6070 at various checks, day and night. Has it conked out again with no one else noticing, or caring, even in Toronto? Or maybe it is at low power, as Chile seems to have something co-channel (Glenn Hauser, OK, May 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Frequency change for Radio Canada International in English effective May 22: 2200-2400 NF 6140 SAC 250 kW / 227 deg, ex 13670 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 27 via DXLD) ** CANADA. REPORTER DAVID MCLAUCHLIN DIES AT 55 MONTREAL An award-winning CBC Radio journalist has died. David McLauchlin died of a brain cancer Sunday afternoon. He was known for his compassionate features from across Canada and abroad for Radio News and CBC's former flagship program, Sunday Morning. CBC PROFILE - David McLauchlin In February, his feature on the Congo, "Cursed by Riches" took listeners to the heart of that tragic land. His hour-long production about three generations of a family of black musicians in Nova Scotia won a Gabriel Award in 1981 for the best radio documentary. Last year David won a Canadian Association of Journalists award for his report on the high rates of brain cancer in firefighters. There will be a tribute tonight for David on the World at Six. And later this morning Bernard St. Laurent will have an essay about his Quebec colleague on "Sounds Like Canada." David McLauchlin was 55. Copyright © 2003 CBC All Rights Reserved (via Ricky Leong, QC, May 26, DXLD) ** CHECHNYA. MOSCOW HAS BIG PLANS FOR CHECHEN MEDIA By Timur Aliev Special to The Moscow Times GROZNY -- It is 9.30 a.m., and five journalists from Chechnya's state- owned television get into two cars to go to their separate assignments. . . http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/05/27/003.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** CHINA. On May 26, People in the Know will focus on Chinese President Hu Jintao's upcoming visits to countries throughout Europe and Asia. It will be the newly-elected president's first trip overseas since he took office in March earlier this year. Experts from China and the US will center on Sino-Russian ties, and will take a look at the world's impression of China's new leaders (Jim, CRI/English, http://pw2.netcom.com/~jleq/cri1.htm swprograms via DXLD) [non]. Too late now, but FYI. Guess its absence was a fluke the night before: rechecking UT May 26 at 0337, CRI via Spain was back on 9690 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA [non]. V. of Croatia via Germany in English is on 9925, at 0200-0216 and again 0300-0316; so far I have heard each one only once (David Crystal, Israel, May 21? DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. CUBAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY DIVIDED OVER POLICY By Henry Hamman in Miami Published: May 26 2003 20:42 | Last Updated: May 26 2003 20:42 The US response to last month's crackdown on dissent in Cuba that resulted in the imprisonment of 70 opposition activists has highlighted deep divisions inside the powerful Cuban-American community. So far, President George W. Bush has limited the US response to two actions. The US this month expelled 14 Cuban diplomats on the grounds that they were intelligence agents. Meanwhile, it has launched experiments with satellites and airborne transmitters to beam into Cuba programming from US government-backed Radio and TV Marti, and begun a 24-hour transmission of a high-power short-wave broadcast of Radio Martí. . . http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1051390328599 (Financial Times via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) What in the world does that last bit mean? R. Martí has had `high- power` SW broadcasts forever, if you add up the half a dozen 250 kW transmitters on the air at any one time. Possibly refers to the additional SW transmitters for I-day 101 May 20, but that was quite temporary. The rest of this story goes into no detail about this. Does Mr Hamman have no idea of basic facts about the operation? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** CUBA. Re: 590, 3-091: This is no doubt part of the retaliation for the stepped-up Radio Martí operations. The Cuban government had threatened to cause interference to US stations by boosting the power of their own transmitters. I wouldn't be surprised to see more transmitters spring back to life in the coming weeks :-) (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Re DXLD 3-091, 5/25/03, item for Cuba, transcript of RHC DXUL omitted statement's interesting last sentence. Said US expenditure of $25M annually on this broadcasting is wasted, because the broadcasts are "effectively jammed on the island". I was rather amazed; is this an admission of active jamming? My thinking is, if you have to jam, you have already lost. And of course, if one works at RHC, one cannot be "apolitical". BTW, not a trace of RHC on 9820 / 6000 tonite, Memorial Day 5/26, after a great signal last nite. Does RHC take US holidays off? Regards, (Hue Miller / Albany, OR, May 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You mean you actually heard Arnie say the J-word, but censored out of his transcript??? RHC seems to be incredibly fragile --- anything can knock them off the air on unpredictable occasions, such as, I theorize: power black- or brownouts; hurricanes; transmitters redeployed for temporary jamming increases; something breaks down in the transmitter(s) or antenna(s); studio-transmitter link fails; reel- to-reel tape recorder playback at studio breaks (gh, DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. Summer A-03 schedule of Radio Prague: CZECH 0130-0157 6200 7345 0230-0257 7345 7385# 9870 0830-0857 11600 21745 0930-0957 21745 1100-1127 11615 21745 1230-1257 6055 7345 1330-1357 13580 21745 1530-1557 5930 21745 1730-1757 5930 17485 1930-1957 5930 11600 2100-2127 11600 13580 2330-2357 9440 11615 ENGLISH 0000-0027 7345 9440 0100-0127 6200 7345 0300-0327 7345 7385# 9870 0330-0357 11600 15620 0700-0727 9880 11600 0900-0927 21745 1030-1057 9880 11615 1300-1327 13580 21745 1600-1627 5930 21745 1700-1727 5930 17485 2000-2027 5930 11600 2130-2157 11600 13580 2230-2257 11600 13580 GERMAN 0630-0657 5930 7345 1000-1027 6055 9880 1200-1227 6055 7345 1500-1527 5930 1630-1657 5990* FRENCH 0600-0627 5930 7345 0800-0827 9880 11600 1630-1657 5930 17485 1830-1857 5930 13580 2200-2227 11600 13580 RUSSIAN 0400-0427 9865 11600 1130-1157 11615 15685* 21745 1430-1457 9855* 11645 13580 1530-1557 7195* SPANISH 0030-0057 7345 9440 0200-0227 7345 7385# 9870 0730-0757 9880 11600 1400-1427 11990 13580 1800-1827 5930 13580 1900-1927 5930 13580 2030-2057 5930 11600 2330-2357 9440 11615 13580 # via WRMI=Radio Miami International * via RSO=Rimavská Sobota [SLOVAKIA] (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 27 via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Frequency change for HCJB in Spanish effective June 1: 0100-0500 NF 9745* QUI 100 kW / 325 deg, ex 9525 * till May 31 in English (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 27 via DXLD) Pifo ** ECUADOR. I haven`t been able to get any real info out of HCJB, despite having been a regular contributor AND having done volunteer work in Ecuador for them!! It almost seems they are trying to hide something. They did have a problem with the transmitting site because of the Quito airport expansion, but they have always been saying the facility would be moved and that English would continue. So, I am just wondering if you heard any clear information about it. Thanks! (Harry Chase, WA1VVH, (long-time HCJB listener and radio ham), DX LISTENING DIGEST) Referred him to previous issues of DXLD starting with 3-070 when this story broke (gh) Hi Glenn: There seems to be some confusion as to the exact date of the NAm English close down. We all have been told that May 31 is the end (which of course will be June 1 here in NAm). On Sunday`s Musical Mailbag they mentioned that they will be back "next week" for their final show which would make it June 2 UT? Have you heard anything as to when they actually will be pulling the plug? 73 (Mickey Delmage, AB, May 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) News to me that they might be on beyond UT June 1 0600. Perhaps MM was being imprecise? Lots of their previous deadlines have proven not to be firm. BTW, at 0600 UT it`s June 1 in only part of North America (gh) I guess what I meant to say is that for us DXers it will already be June 1 UT when they pull the plug. I'll check with them on the MM, but they take a while to respond. For sure they mentioned the last MM would be "next week". I know they record the show week(s) in advance of airing so perhaps they messed up. Ham Radio Today mentioned on Saturday that next week would be their last HRT. It will be interesting to see which US based station is offering air time [for DXPL, not HRT]. RMI and The Planet are "DX" catches here (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, ibid.) ** EGYPT. R. Cairo will test 17675 kHz to replace 17775 (English and Bengali to South Asia) which is heavily being interfered by Radio Tashkent in between 1215-1430 UT. Please check special test broadcast on 27th, 28th and 30th May 2003 on the said frequency. 73, (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. Does anybody have the current schedule of YLE Radio Finland? These guys don't have it on their website (only for Russian and Latin broadcasts) and upon request to send it by mail I have so far received no reply. Tnx4ur help! 73 (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, May 27, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Regarding Bob's comment in DXLD-3090: SWR has a whole bunch of programs, with SWR3 being the music program (and one of the better ones, if not the best on German FM IMHO). It is still on 6030 kHz which might be harder to copy in NAm, regarding that the low-power Canadians on 49m are also a tricky catch here in Europe. The news channel is called SWR Cont.Ra (original spelling) and now got the 7265 channel, parallel to MW. It is a good news program, however, but a pity for the music, also for me, who lives 400 km away from FM coverage and having better reception on 7265. Internet listening http://www.swr3.de/musik/webradio/ then click on the highlighted "einschalten") is not much of an all-time option at German phone rates. And DSL is not available in my street! Find the current overall shortwave schedule: http://www.eibi.de.vu/ 73, -- (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, DX LISTENING DIGST) ** GERMANY. RIZ COMPANY DELIVERS TRANSMITTER TO DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AND LIBYA | Text of report in English by Croatian news agency HINA Zagreb, May 26: The Croatian RIZ Odasiljaci company on Monday [26 May] delivered a brand new type of digital shortwave transmitter to Germany's Deutsche Telekom. The transmitter, worth one million euros [approximately 1.187m dollars], is the first of this kind in Europe. Plans of this Croatian firm for the first half of 2003 are to deliver transmitters, whose total value is some four million euros, to Vietnam, Germany, Libya and Egypt. Source: HINA news agency, Zagreb, in English 1121 gmt 27 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. DW via Bonaire splatters all over: see DRM below ** GREECE. VOG is in English at 0930-1000 on 12105 and again on MW from Rhodes 1260 at 1030-1100; I have heard each one only once so far (David Crystal, Israel, May 21? DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY [and non]. I just received about May 22 a QSL / postcard from Budapest for a March 8th letter report. Not bad. Less than 3 months which is reasonable. It is the first card from them since 1967, though I rarely (if ever) sent them a report during that time. Let's not forget that QSLing is an expensive courtesy, and most stations are not going to live up to the efficient norms of Radio Sweden (recently in about 10 days, snail mail both ways) Radio Netherlands, or Radio Prague (an e-mailed report received a mail response in less than one week). Also, Radio Australia, is far from a speedy replier, and often in the past, 6 months or more needed to get a reply. When it comes to countries like Viet Nam, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Syria, Jordan, Korea, etc. or most Afican / Latin American broadcasters, be glad for any reply at all. Often that long forgotten report that is a year or more overdue will really brighten the day when it is retrieved from the mail (Roger Chambers, Utica, New York, May 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I cannot agree with Bob (Padula) and Scott (R. Barbour Jr.)'s bad experiences of Radio Budapest's QSL policy. All my reports (about the German service) have been verified within three months. With one exception: my report dated July 7, 2000 wasn`t verified until March 2001. Replying to my reminder, they stated that the QSL had already been sent in August 2000. But I never got the letter. Maybe the letter was lost on the postal way. So I sent my RR once again via email. Within two weeks I got a "new" QSL. Best wishes from Wuppertal vy 55 + 73 (Manfred Reiff, May 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) (Editor of "Shortwave-News" and "News from the Middle East" of the EAWRC) http://www.mrreiff.de --- http://www.stvoy.de --- http://www.dxworld.de ** INDIA. AIR IN 13 MHz BAND -- amended operations effective May 25: 13605 1730-2030 English " 2230-0045 English 13620 0200-0345 Pushto/Dari " 0345-0530 Farsi/Arabic " 1945-2030 French 13630 0045-0130 Burmese 13645 1100-1200 Thai 13695 0300-0415 Hindi " 0945-1100 English " 1100-1245 Tamil/Telugu 13700 0115-0200 Tibetan 13710 1315-1500 English 13750 1500-1730 English 13770 1600-1730 Hindi 13795 2245-0045 Hindi/Tamil All transmissions from Bangalore (Bob Padula, EDXP World Broadcast Magazine May 26, used by permission from http://edxp.org via DXLD) {some above include 15-minute warmup period} ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Sirius' 100 satellite radio channels are no longer car-bound. Two portable tuners - the KTC-H2A1 Here2Anywhere tuner from Kenwood and the Satellite Radio Shuttle from Audiovox - give subscribers the freedom to listen to satellite radio in the car, at home and at work. Each satellite tuner costs about $100; an optional car docking kit, which includes an antenna, power adapter and mounting hardware, costs about $70; a similar dock for the house costs the same. A subscription to the service, which includes 60 channels of commercial-free music and 40 channels of news, sports and entertainment, costs $12.95 a month. Availability: June. http://www.sirius.com Compiled by Deborah Porterfield. © Copyright 2003 The Tennessean (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. PROGRAMME SUMMARY OF VOICE OF FREEDOM NEWS BULLETIN 1340 GMT 26 MAY 03 (Reception: fair to good; with faint Russian voices heard in the background) A: Opening announcement 1. (1340). Opening announcement: "The Voice of Mojahed; The Voice of Mojahedin-e Khalq of Iran; The Voice of the National Iranian Liberation Army; The Voice of the New Revolution of the Iranian people". 2. (1340) Presenter greets and thanks all MKO supporters who took part in the last two weeks' protest marches against the inclusion of MKO on the list of terrorist organizations. . 3. (1341) Announcement of today's programmes as follows: a) The news; b) The 27th instalment in a series of ideological lectures by Mas'ud Rajavi; c) Fifth part of a special programme commemorating 30 Khordad (20 June), anniversary of the formation of the MKO army d) Programme called: From the perspective of Maryam Rajavi; e) Programme called: Flag of Freedom. . . Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 26 May 03 (via DXLD) WTFK? Russian site, then? ** IRAN [non]. An unidentified station on 6770.05 kHz has been heard on two separate occasions in the past few days: 22 May 2003: tune-in at 0135 UT to patriotic-sounding song by choir, then emphatic talk in Persian (or something similar). Blocked by Iranian-type jammer at 0141. 26 May 2003: tune-in to open carrier at 0123 UTC then at 0125 into drum roll (presumably at start of scheduled transmission), but lost within seconds under Iranian-type jammer again (Tony Rogers, Birmingham - UK, AOR 7030+ / LW, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** IRAQ. SACKED MEDIA STAFF MEET US OFFICIALS An estimated 2000 former employees of the state-run Iraqi media gathered on Saturday outside the Baghdad headquarters of the recently- established Iraq Media Network (IMN). They were met by US officials, who took their names and promised to contact them concerning termination of service payments and the possibility of being rehired. The previous day, US civil administrator for Iraq Paul Bremer had abolished the Information Ministry, thereby making more than 5000 staff redundant. A senior US official, who asked to remain anonymous, said the IMN would hire some of the sacked employees, but most would never return to their jobs. "Senior officials and Baath Party members employed by the ministry will not be eligible for hire," he said (RN Media Network May 26 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQIS UNHAPPY WITH U.S. SIGNALS INTERFERENCE FROM AMERICANS AMONG CHALLENGES FOR POST-HUSSEIN TV By Peter Slevin, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, May 26, 2003; Page A13 BAGHDAD -- Putting Iraqi television back on the air has proved to be no simple matter, from the electrical outages to the makeshift staff assembled in the postwar chaos. Telephones do not work, and news is hard to confirm. And then there is the dispute over the editorial influence of U.S. occupation authorities. The U.S. ambassador to Morocco, Margaret Tutwiler, was dispatched to Baghdad to polish and package the U.S. occupation. But she triggered a rebellion earlier this month when she and a young White House aide in Baghdad, Dan Senor, intervened with strong judgments about programs and said that broadcasts would be reviewed in advance by the wife of a prominent Kurdish militia leader, according to several people involved. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38682-2003May25.html © 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Kraig Krist, Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQIS TUNE IN SATELLITE TV --- WITH SADDAM GONE, SALES OF DISHES SOAR --- By MONI BASU, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Ra'ed Hameed secretly bought a satellite dish on the black market four years ago and kept it well hidden in his house. He waited patiently for the day when television stations beamed in from other parts of the world would not be forbidden. Hameed got his wish when U.S. troops marched into Baghdad, driving dictator Saddam Hussein from power. He fished out his unused dish and connected his TV set, ready to watch Fox News and "those racy German movies I had heard about." But freedom to channel-surf came with a price in Iraq. "I finally was able to use my satellite, but now I have no electricity," Hameed said. "Can you imagine how I feel?" Baghdad remains without electricity for a majority of the day, but those who can afford to buy satellite dishes are scooping them up. In the weeks since Saddam's collapse, dishes of all sizes and varieties have sprung up in reputable electrical appliance shops as well as makeshift vending stands across the city. Satellite telephones, also banned during Saddam's days, are selling like hotcakes, too, in Iraq, where most of the telephone system is still down. The Capital Flower Shop dumped its floral arrangements for a few good imported dishes. Supermarkets, shoe stores and even produce stalls cleared inventory to make way for the hottest item in town. Wisam Saadi, 22, parked his white hatchback on a busy street and plopped a Korean-manufactured Panorama dish on the street. "$150," his handwritten sign read. He said he has 700 dishes stored at home and sells as many as seven a day for a profit of $7 to $10 on each. "It's a good business right now," Saadi said. "Hard to sell anything else to people." Shipped in from the Kurdish-controlled regions in the north, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, the dishes sell from $125 to $300, more than an average Iraqi's annual salary. But shopkeeper Wathel Kamel said yesterday's "forbidden fruit" sells fast. The satellite dishes are, perhaps, a small but tangible proof of a new Iraq. Sidewalks crammed with hundreds of the giant saucerlike instruments give some parts of Baghdad a Space Age look. Curious passers-by checked out the once-unfamiliar dishes, running their fingers on the smooth surfaces. Others stopped to catch a glimpse of Lebanese singer Haifa gyrate in a black tube top and skin-tight pants. "Before, we saw only darkness," said Kamel, 37, who cleared out space in his electrical appliances shop to make way for hundreds of dishes. "Iraqis want to see how the outside world lives, how it thinks. This was forbidden under Saddam." The Iraqi dictator had anyone caught with satellite TV put behind bars for as much as two years. Still, some folks went to great lengths to get their MTV. Kamel made a Styrofoam cage for his dish and kept it out of sight behind his house. "I knew the fine was steep, but I took the chance anyway," he said. But most Iraqis were privy to just four state-run channels that broadcast mostly turgid news about the glories of Saddam and his Baath Party. Pro-Saddam slogans would appear even between reruns of American shows such as "Dallas" or "Charlie's Angels." Satellite phones were banned, too. Baghdad had its share of Internet cafes, but as Rafah Goria, 30, said: "Every page we tried to open said 'access denied.' They blocked everything." Goria said now Iraqis have the freedom to flip through hundreds of channels of movies, entertainment and most of all, "real news" about their own country. "Satellite TV is a great way to shape Iraqi minds," she said. "We don't know the truth about our own land. Iraqis can now learn about our past. I want every Iraqi to have satellite." Goria bought her dish a month ago and stays glued to her 19-inch Toshiba TV set whenever she has power. She admitted to enjoying "romantic films." Her favorite, she said, was "You've Got Mail" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. "If there is electricity, I stay up till 4 in the morning watching TV," she said. "I used to love to listen to music. But now I just want to watch political discussions. It's so new for us." (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** IRELAND. GARDAI SHUT DOWN PIRATE RADIO STATIONS Business & Finance 22 May 2003 Gardai have shut down a large number of pirate radio stations operating in Dublin city. In a joint operation with the telecom watchdog, ComReg, the Gardai raided the premises of the illegal broadcast operations and seized their equipment. The regulator has declined to comment on how many stations were shut down, but a swift spin of the dial reveals that Phantom FM, Jazz FM, Choice FM and Premier FM - some of which have applied for radio licences in the past - have all been removed from the airwaves. In response to the sudden crackdown, the pirate stations claim that they are providing services to markets that are not being served by the commercial stations. "The Broadcasting Commission has consistently failed to understand the importance of this service and its popularity amongst Dublin listeners," Phantom FM said in a statement on its website. "In the meantime, it continues to reward existing license holders with additional franchises which fail to provide listening choice." The station added that it provides an important service by giving local artists valuable access to the airwaves and affordable media space to promote their gigs and recordings (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** JAPAN [non]. R. Japan, NHK in English at 1400-1500 is now on 17870 instead of 17755, 16 and 18 May, reception wonderful good (David Crystal, 19125 Israel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As in 3-088, the site was moved from Sri Lanka to UK, but temporarily (gh, DXLD) ** LATVIA [and non]. I haven't heard the winning Turkish entry but I think the Eurovision songs tend to sound too homogenized and bland and not enough like the music of the country from which they come. I wonder if the Eurovision victory will help Turkey at all with what they REALLY want out of greater Europe - at least a time table for entry into the European Union and perhaps better treatment for their guest workers in EU territory (Joel Rubin, swprograms via DXLD) I couldn`t agree more about the homogenization and blandness. I see that the http://www.eurovision.tv website offers audio and jerky video files of each entry (gh) ** LEBANON. Glenn, DXers may be interested to know that a 1969 Radio Liban QSL card has just fetched US$787 at an eBay auction. QSL cards are well established as collectibles now, and recent price levels (over US$50 each for AM/SW cards) would indicate that prices are taking off. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2174818678&category=38031 An average collection of, say 1000 cards from the 1960's to date, may well be worth over US$50,000 depending on which stations are included. I encourage all DXers to insure their QSL card collections, to make bequest provisions to lodge them with club collections and preservation groups or museums, or if they choose to put them on the market, to be aware of their potential value. 73's (David Ricquish, Radio Heritage Collection http://www.radiodx.com Wellington, New Zealand, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. Dear Glenn: I can confirm for you that the station was indeed RADIO VERITAS from Liberia; they start at 0600 on 5470. On May 18th I listened a program in English at 0630 UT, gospel music, ID: This is VERITAS bringing you the best songs. Can you get their postal address or e-mail, please. Does Liberia post office is working normally? Thanks (CESAR PEREZ DIOSES, CHIMBOTE, PERU, May 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Does anyone have current info on E and P-mail to and from Veritas and Liberia? (gh, DXLD) ** LIBYA. RIZ COMPANY DELIVERS TRANSMITTER TO DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AND LIBYA | Text of report in English by Croatian news agency HINA Zagreb, May 26: Also, the Croatian company delivered two mobile mediumwave radio-transmitter centres, worth a half million euros to Libya's information ministry. Plans of this Croatian firm for the first half of 2003 are to deliver transmitters, whose total value is some four million euros, to Vietnam, Germany, Libya and Egypt. Source: HINA news agency, Zagreb, in English 1121 gmt 27 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** LIBYA [and non]. Hi Glenn, Hi Anker, Re DXLD, I just wanna comment on Paul's observation of 9745 kHz. Sounds like they don't use that frequency anymore. Yesterday 25/03 I checked that station around 2130 UT and they were on with a real better reception on both 7245 kHz, and 11660 kHz. Leaving the air to Bahrain on 9745 kHz --- just for the joy of getting that hard catch :) I noticed as well Anker getting an Arabic station on 9745 around 2100 UT. I reckon that's Bahrain not Libya as they sign off at 1900 UT not 1930 (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 9597.6, R. UNAM very tentative, but Spanish audio here as I type this at 1413 May 26. Anyone else hearing this? (Hans Johnson, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) I also had a carrier around 9598 as recently reported, and again around 1230 UT May 27, het against NSB (gh, DXLD) Hans, All I've got at 2340 UT is a carrier on 9597.6 kHz (George Maroti NY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Hi Hans, There is a definite null [sic] on 9597.6 on the NRD-515 at 0005 UT. Some very weak audio (talk) is heard. I think if George tries again, he will hear the audio since I'm only about 15 miles away from him (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, ibid.) Fellas, nice signal in north Louisiana tonight. IDed at 0103 and then had news. Mostly spoken word programs tonight but had quite a bit of music during the day. The nearby channels are clear so you can us a wider filter to make up for the low modulation. Although it is low, it is not nearly has bad as when they were last on when it was barely a whisper. Steady on 9597.6 (Hans Johnson, ibid.) I stumbled onto this het last Friday nite and have been playing trying to pull something from it. No luck, just a very nice carrier and no audio heard here on 9597.6 and some times drifts up to .7. I have used DSP software and spectrum program and there just appears to be nothing more than the carrier. At 05 AWR comes up on 9600 and kills any chance of further checking. At times the carrier is at a S9 level. Good to know there is actually some audio. Have to keep checking, I guess (Bob Montgomery, Levittown PA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) An S7 carrier here with very low audio level even in wide modes... :^( (Paul Ormandy, Oamaru, New Zealand, sent at 0555 UT May 27, ibid.) ** NETHERLANDS. Subject : Laser 828 Just in from laserradio@yahoogroups.com In association with our Dutch partners, Laser Radio Limited has successfully applied for broadcasting licences in the Netherlands. With our Dutch partner Quality Radio, we have won the following AM broadcasting frequencies: 828 kHz, 1035 kHz, 1224 kHz, 1395 kHz and 1557 kHz Andrew Yeates, Managing Director of Laser Radio Limited said 'This is a tremendous result and shows the strength of our applications and future plans for AM broadcasting. We have some exciting programming planned, which will transform AM listening across the Benelux and surrounding markets' Managing Director of Quality Radio, Ruud Poeze, was equally delighted with the result and was looking forward to building a strong radio brand in the Netherlands. The broadcasting licences will be valid for an eight year period (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. AMSTERDAM - After years of political uncertainty, the distribution of commercial FM radio frequencies was finalised on Monday, with prominent stations Noordzee FM, Radio 538 and Sky Radio winning licenses to remain on the airwaves. . . (From http://www.telecom.paper.nl/index.asp?location=site/news%5Fta%2Easp%3Ftype%3Dabstract%26id%3D29595%26NR%3D812 26 May 2003 via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Transmitter goes haywire: see DRM below ** NEW ZEALAND. RADIO NEW ZEALAND HARASSMENT CLAIMED 27.05.2003 By MATHEW DEARNALEY Radio New Zealand's head of news, who has begun a legal battle to return to work after sick leave, has complained of being harassed by controversial chief executive Sharon Crosbie. . . http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3504173&thesection=news&thesubsection=general (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Tho I hardly listened to it, KOMA 92.5 was running its ``15th annual Mem*rial Day Top $500.00 Countdown --- Listen and Win! May 23-26`` per a 16-page yellow booklet I picked up at Carl`s Junior (what an awkward name), one of the co-sponsors. A list of 500 songs with performers, with a few missing mystery songs to be identified for contest purposes. Apparently they are identified on the air if you are listening at the right moment. Top prize of only $500 (one place it says check, another place it says cash) for listening to KOMA 24/7 for four days and nights? Second prize: dinner for four at CJ once per month from June thru December. Third place: KOMA T-shirt. Insufficient incentive. As for KOMA 1520: UT May 27 at 0346 I was tuning by to hear Jim Bohannon, but instead KOMA was ``joining regular programming in progress`` and it was not Jimbo, but ``Word of Prophecy Broadcast``!! Not in progress, but from the start. Has Bohannon been dumped entirely for gospel huxters? News/talk, indeed. The lure of easy money for programming crap must be too much for Renda. Ahá --- they finally have a program schedule up at http://www.komanews.com/sched.htm and it admits to carrying this 15- minute show in the middle of 3 hours of Jim Bohannon! What an insult to Bohannon and to listeners --- he`s just fill with his time subject to sale. I know how that feels! BTW, KOMA-1520 is carrying KFOR-TV news at 2300-2400 UT M-F. Other items of possible interest, on Sunday mornings, UT: 1030-1100 Native America Speaks [on the air for ages] 1200-1230 Focus On Oklahoma 1507-1800 Kim Komando (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Just as a Jay Leno rerun was about to do Headlines, 0350 UT May 27, Cox Cable in Enid lost all the OKC stations downlinked by satellite. Black screen lasted at least 20 minutes, until I quit checking, from 4, 5, 9, 25, 34 and 43, on cable channels 4, 5, 9, 8, 7 and 2 respectively. Yet until this year they were picked up off the air with no problem except occasional DX interference. Why wasn`t this kept as backup, instantly to replace a failing satellite feed [not to mention solar transit outages, as we have previously complained]? Well, I was able to turn on the TV with antenna and watch Leno and\or Nightline (Glenn Hauser, Enid, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Updated A-03 schedule of Radio Pakistan ARABIC 1815-1900 9335v 11530 ||| ex 9385v 11550 ASSAMI 0045-0115 11650 15625v [still partly English?] BANGLA 0115-0200 11650 15625v 1200-1245 15635 17635v ||| ex 15625 CHINESE 1200-1230 11570 15070 DARI 1515-1545 5860v 7375 ENGLISH 1600-1615 11570 15065 15725v 17720 GUJARATI 0400-0430 15485 17825 FARSI 1715-1800 7550 9340v ||| ex 9385v HINDI 0215-0300 9340v 11640 1100-1145 11640 15625v NEPALI 1245-1315 15635v 17635 ||| ex 15625v RUSSIAN 1415-1500 7375 9385v SINHALA 1015-1045 15625v 17495 TAMIL 0315-0345 15625v 17540 0945-1015 15625v 17495 TURKI 1330-1400 5860v 7375 TURKISH 1630-1700 9340v 11530 ||| ex 9385v 11550 URDU 0045-0215 15485 17895 0500-0700 15100 21460 0800-1104 17825 21465 ||| ex 17835 [English 0800, 1100] 1330-1530 11570 15065 1700-1900 9400 11570 1815-1900 7550 1915-0045 7570v (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 27 via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. A diferentes horas pudimos escuchar desde Chascomus a Radio América, Villeta, Paraguay, por los 7371.4, con programación religiosa e identificaciones. Imposible sintonizarla para nosotros por los 15185 khz, frecuencia que ahora opera con más potencia (600 vatios). El amigazo Rubén Margenet reportó ya varios dias atrás desde Rosario a la emisora paraguaya en la frecuencia corrida de 41 metros (la nominal es 7370). Recomendamos intentar la escucha. 73's (Arnaldo Slaen, May 26, Chascomus DX Camp, Argentina, Conexión Digital via DXLD) But if we could hear it clearly, would there be any programming worth listening to? Nothing but religion? Isn`t there enough of that already on stations we --- and conosuristas --- can hear at will? What`s the point? In the true spirit of DXing, no one ever considers this (gh) ** QATAR. AL-JAZEERA CEO TO BE REPLACED Reuters reports that Al-Jazeera television is to replace its chief executive officer, but the station insists the decision has nothing to do with allegations that it had been infiltrated by Iraqi intelligence. Spokesman Jihad Ballout said CEO Mohammed Jassem al-Ali, who has headed the channel since its launch eight years ago, will remain on the board of directors but will hand over the day-to-day running to someone else. "Mohammed Jassem al-Ali was seconded from Qatar Television to set up and run Al Jazeera, and what has been decided is that this secondment be ceased and for him to go back to his normal job," Ballout said. It's interesting to note that the announcement was made before his successor has been appointed. This is not the usual procedure in such cases. It does seem that Al Jazeera are in a hurry to make Mr al-Ali's imminent departure known. If, indeed, he's still there (Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog May 27 via DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA. Summer A-03 schedule of Radio Slovakia International: ENGLISH 0100-0127 5930 6190 9440 0700-0727 9440 15460 17550 1630-1657 5920 6055 7345 1830-1857 5920 6055 7345 GERMAN 0800-0827 5915 6055 7345 1330-1357 5915 6055 7345 1600-1627 5920 6055 7345 1800-1827 5920 6055 7345 FRENCH 0200-0227 5930 6190 9440 1700-1727 5920 6055 7345 1930-1957 5920 6055 7345 RUSSIAN 1300-1327 7345 9440 11990 1500-1527 7345 9535 11715 1730-1757 5920 6055 9485 SLOVAK 0130-0157 5930 6190 9440 0730-0757 9440 15460 17550 1530-1557 5920 6055 7345 1900-1927 5920 6055 7345 SPANISH 0230-0257 6190 9440 11990 1430-1457 6055 7345 11600 2000-2027 6055 7345 11650 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 27 via DXLD) {believe we had their A-03 schedule much earlier; any changes here?} ** SOLOMON ISLANDS [and non]. Good Afternoon, Glen[n]: Noted the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service on 5020 on 5/26 with a very good signal. News by male from 1000 to 1012 about continued violence and problems with guns in the islands among others, followed by ads and music. Very listenable --- good strength and clear. Tried for Port Moresby on 4990 {sic} at the same time, but only could hear a faint signal not able to confirm. Reduced power at that time? (Tom Sliva, NYC, May 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. Channel Africa is in English at 1300-1450 UT on Sat and Sun, on 21620; heard only once on Sat (David Crystal, Israel, May 21? DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA. Tenho prestigiado, praticamente todos os dias, a programação em espanhol da Rádio Damasco, já que não temos mais os programas em português. Alguém aí se lembra do nome do locutor dos programas em português? Pois bem, a programação em espanhol é emitida, entre 2315 e 0030 UT (apesar de listas apontarem entre 2315 e 0015!), em 12085 e 13610 kHz. O único problema é a interferência da Rádio Mundial Católica, que emite em 13615 kHz. Lembro que na segunda-feira, por volta de 2355, "su simpática locutora Worai Galindo", como ela se define, lê os informes de recepção dos ouvintes no ar e pede insistentemente para que o pessoal escreva para a emissora. Aqui vai o endereço: Apartado Postal 4702, Damasco, Síria (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre-RS, Brasil, @tividade DX May 25 via DXLD) ** TIMOR LESTE. Stu Greene, WA2MOE, sent out the following press release on May 22nd, about the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste: "4W1BK (JA1BK) and 4W2DN (JR2KDN) will be QRV from Timor Leste from May 24 to May 29, 2003. QSL information is 4W1BK via WA2MOE and 4W1DN via JR2KDN. This is a WFWL operation. The United Nations no longer is in control and independence was won by the East Timorese on May 20, 2002. An application for new entity status will be filed together with an application to delete the former 4W territory as an entity under DXCC rules. Article 5 of the treaty between Portugal and Indonesia of May 5, 1999, removed East Timor from the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories of the General Assembly and the deletion of the question of East Timor from the agendas of the Security Council and the General Assembly. The treaty, witnessed by the Secretary General of the United Nations, did not make the United Nations the administrator of East Timor but did provide for UN humanitarian assistance. Article 7 requested 'the Secretary-General to maintain an adequate United Nations presence in East Timor.' The DX Advisory and Awards Committees quite possibly misinterpreted the language of the treaty as conferring status of East Timor as a UN administered territory which in fact was not the case. Only when the referendum authorized by the treaty was held and the East Timorese people declared themselves independent was there a new entity. The role of UNTAET (UN Transitional Administration in East Timor) was humanitarian and peacekeeping and was not a quasi-government authorized to issue amateur radio licenses. UNTAET did not have the authority to issue amateur radio licenses; it was a peacekeeping mission and only after the referendum was there a Ministry of Communications which does have that authority. The text of the treaty for those interested is at: http://www.un.org/peace/etimor99/agreement/agreeFrame_Eng01.html If ARRL agrees, the UN sanctioned operations in East Timor would be deleted on the ground that East Timor was not an entity under the rules and a new entity would be created effective 20 May 2002, the date of the creation of the East Timorese state. Democratic Republic of Timor Leste became a UN state on 27 September, 2002. ITU has reassigned 4WA-4WZ to the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste on 23 April, 2003." ADDED NOTES: Since this press release, there seems to be another operator other than the team of Kan/JA1BK (4W1BK) and Yuu/JR2KDN (4W2DN) who has been active. A station signing 4W3CW has been active on 30/20/15/10 meters CW and was active in the CQ WPX Contest this past weekend. The operator was heard sending QSL via QRZ.com. It seems that the operator is Peter, G3WQU. His length of stay is unknown. Also, no comments or announcements have been made from the DXCC Desk. Hopefully, something may be said by Wayne Mills, N7NG, after the holiday on Monday. Stay tuned (KB8NW/OPDX May 26/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIMOR LESTE. Thor, TF3MM, is also currently active from here as 4W3DX and is expected to be there for another week. He is using a rhombic antenna (leg lengths are 115 meters, up 50 meters beaming EU). Most of his activity has been on 15 and 20 meters CW. Watch 21008 kHz after 2115z and 14002-14003 kHz between 1130-1800z. QSL via TF3MM. Thor states that he will QSL when he gets back to TF-land (should be done before Christmas) (KB8NW/OPDX May 26/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. VOICE OF TURKEY ESSAY WRITING CONTEST Dear listener, We believe that you all have certain views and thoughts about Turkey and the Turks. The subject of the Voice of Turkey's essay writing contest 2003 is Turkey and the Turkish Image. We would like you to write an essay on this subject. As has been the case in the past sesquidecade, the 5 winners of the contest will be hosted in Turkey on an all-expenses-paid basis for 7 days in the first half of September. Your entries, which should not be more than 3 pages can be sent by mail, fax or email and must contain some basic information about you such as your age, your occupation, your mailing address, your electronic address, fax number and telephone no so that we may get in touch with you. We want your entries received by July 15, 2003. The Voice of Turkey would like to wish success to all who will participate in the Voice of Turkey's Essay Writing Contest 2003, the subject of which, as we have just said is TURKEY AND THE TURKISH IMAGE. Our address is : P. O. Box 333, Yenisehir. 06443 Ankara, Turkey [cedilla under the S of Yenisehir --- a district of Ankara?] Our telephone address is : 90-312-4909842; Our fax no is 90-321-4909845 And our electronic mailing address is: englishdesk@trt.net.yr (V of Turkey printed letter via Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I guess that if I were to say that Turkey (just as Israel) should not even have been allowed to participate as it is not situated in Europe (but in Asia), I would not be eligible to win? Maybe next time the EBU can invite Kurdistan and Palestine as wel... ;-) (Herman Boel, Belgium, Europe, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Referring to the Eurovision Song Contest, I suppose; see LATVIA [and non] (gh) VOT is in English at 2200-2255 on 9830 and 12000, ex-11960, a change early in the season but after the schedules were printed. I have heard them on 9830 and 12000 (David Crystal, Israel, May 21? DX LISTENING DIGEST) David, would you please date your letters since the postmark is not always legible (gh) ** U K. TORY DOSSIER SETS OUT PARTY'S CASE AGAINST THE BBC By Dominic Kennedy IAIN DUNCAN SMITH launched an attack on the BBC`s alleged bias against the Conservatives yesterday and personally criticised the radio presenter James Cox. . . http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,635-692776,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U K [non]. Listening to Outlook on BBCWS, 1305 UT May 26 special from St. Petersburg, there was an undercurrent of co-channel interference, sounded like Chinese, and virtually zero-beat with a very slight subaudible heterodyne. What could this be? Later checking HFCC I find 15190 1200 1330 42-44 YAM 300 235 1234567 300303 261003 D J RCI RCI so it`s RCI via Japan. And after 1330 Udorn takes over 15190. But I can`t complain: I`m not in the BBC target area either (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Additional frequency for BBC in Arabic: 0400-0500 on 11885 \\ 7140 7325 9915 11740 13660 15250 73 from (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 27 via DXLD) ** U K [non]. Laser Radio: see NETHERLANDS ** U S A. HOW HAS DEREGULATION RUINED ME...AND HOW WILL FURTHER DEREGULATION RUIN OTHERS? As you may know, the illegal deregulation of commercial radio in the United States has hurt literally thousands of people. George Will called the Telecommunications Act of 1996 "a job creation bill". In reality, it has been a job elimination bill. How many of the nearly 13,000 job losses were necessary? The answer: NONE. Deregulation has hurt me profoundly.,.. http://www.topica.com/lists/N0UIH-DXTalk/read/message.html?sort=d&mid=806413271&start=29 (Eric Bueneman, N0UIH, May 17, via DXLD) On his website Mr. `Stevenson` an angry middle-aged man, also has a novel with a radio background --- read the summary, which one suspects in uncomfortably autobiographical --- but the link to the entire otherwise unpublished opus goes nowhere (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. As radio real estate becomes valuable in the increasingly crowded FM band (88 to 108 MHz), religious broadcasters have been using a variety of legal technologies to snap up frequencies. Recently, they have been using low-powered transmitters - known as translators - that are small enough to wedge into areas not covered by other stations . . . http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=10&screen=news&news_id=23235 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. LPFM APPLICANTS FACING COMPETITION CAN USE MAX --- The MAX System returns for an anticipated MX remedial filing/settlement window REC has been hearing information that the FCC is planning to start working on the MX (mutually exclusive) LPFM applications starting 'later this summer'. In anticipation for any remedial windows that may open for this, REC has fixed up and reactivated MAX, the Mutual Application eXchange. MAX is a community forum where LPFM applicants can move meet with other applicants in an attempt to reach settlement agreements by either proposing a new channel, a new location, co-location or timeshare. At this time, we are not aware of what the FCC will allow LPFM applicants to do to remediate their applications yet. However, we would like to see as many applicants ready to go as the window may be short. To access MAX, visit http://www.recnet.com/max To access MAX, you will need to have access to your e-mail address that you put on your original FCC LPFM application. If your e-mail address has changed or you did not specify an e-mail address, please send an e-mail to rec@recnet.com for access. Please make sure you state your organization, facility ID (if you don't have it, visit recnet.com and click on 'Check Your Application Status') and station location. REC's goal is to get as many organizations on the air with LPFM stations. REC does not charge for any of our services, including MAX. REC services are provided on a 'shareware' basis. - - - - - - REC Networks - http://www.recnet.com - Bringing you fun and culture since 1984. 5/26/2003 http://www.animehardcoreradio.net - Anime Hardcore Radio - 24 hour a day anime! (REC Networks via DXLD) See also POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ** U S A. Tho I was not a rock fan, and WABC was too far (2+ megameters) for anything but DX reception, I listened a bit to their Memorial Day ``WABC Rewound`` rock retrospective May 26 via webcast. Tho regular streaming has to replace music bits for rights issues, the special seems to have no problem with music, but instead the news (?) on the hour at 1400 and 1500 UT was suppressed: 5 minutes of silent streaming, as well as mercifully, various commercial breaks. What`s up? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) One word: copyright. The news on the hour and the ads between segments are modern day. Evidently the program producer has the rights only to the old stuff (John Figliozzi, who in his teens as a Long Island native listened to WABC on his Riviera 6 transistor radio almost constantly, ODXA via DXLD) Doesn`t WABC normally stream its modern-day newscasts? They have a section on the website about how much trouble they have gone to in order to resume streaming (gh) ** U S A. THE MERRY PRANKSTERS OF THE AIR Some radio deejays will do almost anything to stand out from the crowd. But not everyone is laughing as hoaxes and stunts backfire. By Bob Baker Times Staff Writer May 26 2003 What if ... ? wondered Cleveland disc jockey Shane French. What if a cat was tethered to a helium-filled balloon and launched toward the heavens, and callers to his station offered periodic reports, and finally, one gallant listener fired a gun, popped the balloon and brought the cat down gently. Would that be great radio or what? The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/la-et-hoaxes26may26,0,5133210.story (via Harry Helms, DXLD) Same: http://www.latimes.com/la-et-hoaxes26may26001420,0,804424.story (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) Which one will disappear first? ** U S A. George Thurman in Chicago also complains of the Bonker interfering with WWCR 5070, when he listened to his tape of WOR 1183, UT Sun 0230. So at 0507 May 26 I attempted to hear it myself, and in the huge sideband splash of WWCR was able barely to detect the bonker, seemingly around 5072. No doubt it is much worse elsewhere, and an unfortunate juxtaposition (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NEW JERSEY RADIO -- IN TUNE WITH THE GARDEN STATE'S MANY VOICES --- Sunday, May 25, 2003 BY CLAUDIA PERRY Star-Ledger Staff New Jersey radio is more than an afterthought to New York and Philadelphia. Although the Garden State is in the middle of those Top 10 markets, it can be heard loud and clear. The state may be small geographically, but New Jersey has four distinct radio markets of its own, in addition to being part of the New York and Philly listenership. There are at least 168 stations that can be heard within its borders. Jersey commuters can tune in to the usual rock, sports talk and oldies favorites, and can also hear news and music from Korea and South Asia, as well as stations whose programming ranges from black gospel to the sounds of big bands. . . [large portion of article omitted, but recommended! See:] http://www.nj.com/living/ledger/index.ssf?/base/living-1/1053844054228850.xml . . .Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, a New York-based company, owns four radio stations in New Jersey. The company buys stations and then leases the airwaves to local producers in various ethnic communities. WNSW (1430 AM) offers Korean music and news. WPAT is programmed in Russian during the week, and plays Caribbean-oriented music and news on the weekends. The minority radio segment is one of the industry's fastest growing areas, but Multicultural East Coast vice president Tony Wong demurs. "The populations we reach are not being served by other stations," Wong said. "I don't know about 'fastest growing,' but our business is steady. There are a lot of immigrants who come to this area. They want to find out information about home." One of Multicultural's stations, WTTM (1680 AM), has its studios in Metuchen and transmitter in Princeton. Its programming is geared to South Asian listeners, with shows about cricket, weddings and Bollywood entertainment news, mixed with music from various South Asian cultures. Kulraaj Anand, the program director for WTTM, said he wanted the station to be part of the community. EBC Radio, which Anand owns, leased the 10,000-watt station a year ago from Multicultural. It has listeners as far away as West Virginia. Its core audience is the estimated 450,000 South Asians in Central Jersey and Pennsylvania. "Our community has grown a lot," Anand said. "Our culture and music is one of the oldest in the world. We're seeing our music become part of mainstream America." Mamta Narula, a computer engineer in Kenilworth who is the host of three programs on the station, delivers her on-air patter in a blend of Hindi and English. Her Tuesday night show is a mix of music from Bollywood movies, audience quizzes and up-to-date news from the Bombay film world. She also does a wedding talk show on Sundays and a three- hour show on Saturdays with co-host Sanjiv Pandya that counts down the Top 10 and delivers more Bollywood news. "I may be a computer engineer," Narula said, "but my heart and soul is in this. People have recognized me in the store just when they hear me speak. They'll come up and say, 'Are you Mamta, Jisko Kuch Nahin Jamta?' (her signature phrase, which loosely translates to "Mamta, the woman who doesn't like anything but music") I get a kick out of it." Anand, whose station is staffed by 70 volunteers, offers programming in Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali and Punjabi. He plans to offer a training program in the coming months for kids who want to get into radio. "This is a society where everyone is an immigrant," Anand said. "Having this station gives confidence to people in our community." From 5,000 listeners in Newark 92 years ago to WTTM's South Asian listeners, New Jersey radio has always been able to identify and serve its audience. "The story of New Jersey radio is the story of the 567 towns in the state," Miller said. "Our radio reflects what an eclectic bunch we are." (Star Ledger via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. MERGER PROPOSAL WORRIES DEMOCRATS By JULIET EILPERIN, Washington Post, 5/26/2003 WASHINGTON - Concerned about Republican inroads into the Hispanic community, congressional Democrats are trying to fend off a proposed merger between Univisión Communications and the Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. . . . http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030526/1011330.asp (via Fred Waterer, Ont., DXLD) ** U S A. GOODBYE TV E-SKIP IN ATLANTA A new LPTV has popped up in Atlanta on channel 4. Good reception here in Decatur (east of ATL) on an indoor dipole. Occasional co-channel flutter, presumed from WYFF channel 4 in Greenville, SC when a plane passes over. With in-town high powered sticks on 2 and 5, channel 4 was always Atlanta's e-skip channel. The new LPTV on channel four in Atlanta is programming the NBC shop at home channel. What a waste. Just what we need, a local NBC "Gold" affiliate (Brock Whaley, GA, May 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. VENEZUELAN JOURNALIST FEARS ARREST, SAYS CHAVEZ OBSESSED WITH MEDIA Journalist Ibeyise Pacheco believes her arrest is imminent following the publication of a transcript of a speech by President Hugo Chávez at Zulia [State] Garrison in her newspaper column on 16 May, in which he allegedly admitted to surrendering during the coup d'état on 11 April 2002. Pacheco says Chávez now feels "exposed" and harbours "malicious feelings" towards her. In this interview, she describes the situation in Venezuela as "the borderline between a dictatorship and a democracy". Pacheco says that far from ignoring the media, as Chavez often claims, the president is in fact "obsessed" with sources of information and journalism. The following is the text of interview with journalist Ibeyise Pacheco by Alfredo Meza, at the studios of KYS FM 101.5 in Caracas, date not given, published by Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional web site on 22 May; subheadings as published: "I am preparing for the moment of my arrest." The director of [daily newspaper] Así es la Noticia says that President Hugo Chávez lost his patience after learning of the contents of her 16 May column, which transcribed his speech at Zulia Garrison, during which he spoke out against US foreign policy. Ibeyise Pacheco removes her sunglasses at the entrance of radio station KYS FM 101.5, where her midday program is aired. Only then does she relax. A chubby girl approaches her to shake her hand; she repeats words from a prepared script: "We women feel represented by you. I am proud of you. Go ahead, you have our support." As has happened in the past, the director of The News is Like That, who is also an El Nacional columnist, is in the eye of the hurricane. Vice-President José Vicente Rangel and Ministers Aristóbulo Istúriz and María Cristina Iglesias filed a request at the Office of the Prosecutor-General of the Republic for an investigation of the material that the journalist published in the "In Private" ["En Privado"] column on 9 May 2003. Rumours about the journalist's possible arrest increase with every hour that passes. [Alfredo Meza] Do you expect an arrest warrant to be issued against you? [Ibeyise Pacheco] I expect the worse from government officials who level accusations against me, such as [Prosecutor-General] Isaías Rodríguez. Not only with regard to a request for a trial that would end with my incarceration, but other types of actions such as those outlined in my column on 9 May. José Vicente Rangel has exerted pressure on certain editors to prevent them from supporting [as received] what has been viewed as harassment against me. [Meza] In the last two instalments of your column "In Private" you reported two meetings, which caused the government considerable discomfort. It is interesting, however, that only after Chávez's speech at Zulia Garrison was published, the Office of the Prosecutor- General was asked to investigate the case. Why did they wait so long to request this investigation? [Pacheco] I wondered why they failed to react when I revealed the details of the 17 February meeting ("In Private", Friday 9 May) at Miraflores [Presidential] Palace. They reacted now because when I aired the tape recorded at Zulia Garrison, Chávez was exposed and it happened right after the controversy over the reception held by [US] Ambassador Charles Shapiro at his residence. In the 4 April recording, the president spoke in very harsh terms about the United States and he also admitted to his subordinates that he surrendered on 11-A [11 April 2002 coup attempt], even though he subsequently proclaimed that the next time he will open fire. It is a lie that he was arrested, it is a lie that he was kidnapped and incarcerated. Several military sources have told me, and it is true, that he voluntarily surrendered and requested the presence of mediators. I believe that he might have been shaken by this report and also by suspicions that I might have spoken with extremely valuable informants who are very close to him, people in his inner circle who might be providing me with information. [Meza] Are these government officials seeking atonement for their actions by requesting the investigation? [Pacheco] As soon as the transcript of the 17 February meeting was released, the gossip started within the administration. It was said that my informants might be José Vicente and Aristóbulo. Despite all of the terrible things that were discussed at the meeting, Rangel and Istúriz were the most cautious, so Chávez might be suspicious of them. By requesting an investigation at the Attorney-General's Office, the vice-president is sending the following message: I was not the informant and I am loyal to you. This is speculation, but in that sphere, everything is possible. Active collaborators [Meza] Part of the most radical wing of the opposition believe that the armed forces have yielded to Chávez. Doesn't the disclosure of this material imply the complete opposite? [Pacheco] I do not believe that the National Armed Forces are behaving any differently than the rest of the country. From the political viewpoint, Venezuela's officers are like Venezuelan civilians. Polls show that Chávez has a 25 per cent popularity rating within the armed forces, and it is very likely that this proportion will remain unchanged. Those who are loyal to the president are few, they can be counted on one hand. Few soldiers have been marked as dishonest by investigations and complaints. This means that most of the soldiers who are angry at Chávez, or who at some point believed in him, are reacting differently. Some have been more outspoken in democratic terms following 11-A, participating in the massive drive to collect signatures [for a referendum on the presidency] and not allowing themselves to come under pressure; others, however, have maintained low profiles, making people wonder which side they are on. I can assure you that many of those officers are providing information to the country. As time passes, we will have to assess the relationship between the military and journalists during the Chávez regime. [Meza] It is not the first time that the government or its supporters have attempted to frighten you because of your publications. What makes this request for an investigation different from past complaints against you, or from that attempt to arrest you at KYS FM headquarters? [Pacheco] I am preparing for the moment of my arrest. It is an exercise that I must perform. We are on the borderline between a dictatorship and democracy. The ruling party is on the verge of approving a restraining law [containing new broadcast regulations] that is intended only to censor us. I can feel the nervousness. Moreover, I have sources within the government sector, members of the [ruling] MVR [Fifth Republic Movement], who tell me that this time Chávez has lost his patience. There is a term that my informants used in their warnings: malicious feelings towards me. These recordings, I repeat, have done a great deal of damage and the president fears that I am very close to his inner circle. I have denounced corruption and the presence of Colombian guerrillas in Venezuela, but that does not seem to matter to him. However, the material in the two columns confirmed his participation in very serious events. They exposed him. [Meza] Following the publication of your complaints, has the president ordered an investigation to determine who your informants are? [Pacheco] I laugh when Chávez says that he scarcely reads the newspapers. That he no longer even reads some of them. What I am told is the complete opposite: he is obsessed with sources of information and journalism. All of those things affect him and that is why he wants a restraining law and control of the media and its journalists. This is why on 20 May he attacked the government's communication and information system. He admonished [Information and Communications Minister] Nora Uribe. Perhaps he believes that this is where the information is leaking out. He has always expected the Information and Communications Ministry to buy off journalists, just as other institutions purchase weapons. [Meza] Rangel, Istúriz and Iglesias accuse you of subjecting them to public ridicule by characterizing them as murderers. [Pacheco] I transcribed the events of 17 February from an intelligence report. It is not a textual transcription of a meeting because, as I wrote on 9 May, the meeting was held between 0030 and 0430 [local time]. Maybe my source did not stay for the entire meeting. I do not want to provide further details on that matter. The fact is that I do not consider them murderers. What stands out in that request is the insistence that the recording of the meeting at Miraflores be handed over. No one has denied the report, they only want the recording because they know - and I have said this in the past - that it is a means of identifying the informant and reaching conclusions about this individual by way of intelligence procedures. It makes me sick that the main person requesting the investigation is José Vicente Rangel, who at one time called himself a journalist. Freedom of the press? 26/01/2002. Gen Francisco Belisario Landis, commander of the National Guard, disclosed that he filed a request at the Office of the Prosecutor-General of the Republic for a penal investigation against journalist Ibeyise Pacheco, director of Así es la Noticia. 04/02/2002. Pacheco asked Prosecutor-General Isaías Rodríguez to establish liability and punishment for the explosion of a device that was thrown at the doors of the daily Así es la Noticia, on 31 January of that year. 13/03/2002. Venpres [state news agency] published a report accusing Pacheco and other journalists of being criminals at the service of the drug cartels. 19/03/2002. MVR leaders presented a text titled "Manual for the Perfect Latin American Coup d'état", in which they accused Ibeyise Pacheco of forming part of a plan to topple Hugo Chávez. 03/04/2002. Two accusations were filed against Pacheco: one by Francisco Belisario Landis, who filed a writ of amparo [constitutional protection]; and the other by Army Col Angel Vellori, who sued her for defamation. 27/12/2002. The Office of the Ombudsman asked the Prosecutor-General of the Republic to implement the necessary measures to prevent acts that might threaten the journalist's life and personal integrity. 11/03/2003. The journalist reported that policemen in civilian clothes surrounded the radio station where she works, allegedly for the purpose of arresting her. 19/05/2003. Vice-President José Vicente Rangel, Labour Minister María Cristina Iglesias and Education Minister Aristóbulo Istúriz request that the Prosecutor-General of the Republic initiate an investigation into an alleged recording of a conversation held at a meeting, which could compromise members of the executive. The recording was released by Pacheco. Source: El Nacional web site, Caracas, in Spanish 22 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. 5915, Zambia National Broadcasting Company, *0243-0316 May 20, distinctive Fisheagle interval signal until opening anthem at 0250. A man and woman with opening ID and announcements at 0251. Group singing. Generally quite poor although some fair peaks when WBOH-5920 slop wasn't too bad (Rich D`Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Dear Glenn, 17340 kHz USB, May 27, 1207-1218 UT in Greek. World news commentaries (sounded like any major broadcaster), then some other information (sounded like a weather forecast by location, but perhaps something else in a similar format). Ended rather abruptly at 1218. A rather strong signal here in Belgium, and (I hope) not a spur. What could this be? Thanks! (Robertas Pogorelis, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I suppose you are sure the language is Greek; some Russian coastal stations have been known to relay broadcast stations in this area. Maybe Greece is doing it too. Ahá: among other stations listed on 17341 by Klingenfuss 2002y is SVO, Olympia Radio, Athens on 17341 SSB (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Oh no, certainly not Russian --- I am good in Russian! 95% it was Greek. Could have been 17341 though. Many thanks! (Robertas, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ IRCA CONVENTION The International Radio Club of America 40th annual convention is rapidly approaching. It will be held over the weekend of June 27-29 at the Best Western Merry Manor Inn, 700 Main street, South Portland Maine, 04106. Registration fee is $35 which includes the Saturday night banquet. I`ve received several registrations so far but we have room for more. The telephone number for hotel reservations is 1-207- 774-6151, mention the discounted room rate of $69 per night. We have secured a tour of WGAN, WZAN, WBAE, WPOR, WYNZ, WMGX -the 6 in one combo station near the convention site on Friday afternoon. We also have a guest speaker and phasing demonstration lined up. Be sure to attend and tell a friend. More info and links are found on the I.R.C.A. website at http://www.ircaonline.org (Mike Sanburn, KG6LJU, IRCA topica list via DXLD) HIGH FREQUENCY COORDINATION CONFERENCE The next formal HFCC meeting will be held in Tromso, northern Norway, from August 25 to 29, hosted by the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority. This will be a joint meeting with the Arab States Broadcasting Union, and it will develop the detailed operational HF schedule for the B03 period, which starts on October 31. The HFCC is an approved group within the International Telecommunications Union. As in the past, around 150 delegates from broadcasting administrations are expected to attend, who maintain formal responsibility for Frequency Planning. I have expressed an interest in attending this Conference, in a capacity as an independent Professional Engineering Consultant. A meeting of the HFCC Steering Board is set down for May 30; my request to attend has been placed on the SB Agenda by the Chairperson. EUROPEAN DX COUNCIL MEETING 2003 This year's meeting will be held from August 15 to 17, at Königstein, 15 km north of Frankfurt, Germany, hosted by the Rhein-Main-Radio Club, and the Bosch organisation. The World Radio TV Handbook Company (UK)is the formal sponsor. The theme is "DXen in der digitalen Zukunft" and an impressive list of topics is planned, including: - Tropical Band Monitoring - Anker Peterson, Danish SW Club International - The history of the transmitting stations at Jülich and Nauen - W. Bodrowski - Deutsche Telekom - Antennas for Shortwave Reception - A. Krische - The impact of DRM - Wolf Harranth - DRM Receivers - St. Meltzer - The German DX Clubs - S. Gerhad (RMRC) - Free Radio and Pirate DXing - World Music Radio - Stig. H. Nielsen (WMR) - FM DX Monitoring - U. Deutscher and M. Hornsteiner (UKW-TV AG) - Satellite Monitoring and Worldspace - 50 Years of DXing in Japan - Toshi Ohtake (Japanese SW Club) Yes, I plan to attend! (Bob Padula, EDXP World Broadcast Magazine May 26, used by permission from http://edxp.org via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 03-104: Broadband Over Powerlines --- Comment and Reply Comment dates have been published in the Federal Register. Those who are interested in commenting on an FCC Notice of Inquiry (NOI) to permit electric utilities to extend the use of "broadband power line" (BPL) systems may file comments with the FCC. Comments are due August 6, 2003 Reply Comments are due September 5, 2003 BPL permits electric utilities to provide broadband internet access by sending radio signals over power lines. The NOI also discusses home networking devices that use the powerlines in your house to send data to other computers and connected devices. A copy of the NOI is at the following URL: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-100A1.pdf REC's initial position on BPL is that we object to it because of the potential interference to the Amateur Radio Service, International Broadcast Stations as well as high frequency communications used to support the telecommunications infrastructure and homeland security. Draft REC comments will be posted on the site prior to the deadline. If you wish to comment with the FCC, go to http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs - - - - - - REC Networks - http://www.recnet.com - Bringing you fun and culture since 1984.http://www.animehardcoreradio.net - Anime Hardcore Radio - 24 hour a day anime! (via DXLD) Another version: FCC COMMENT DUE DATES ON BROADBAND OVER POWER LINES (BPL) AND RF INTERFERENCE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 47 CFR Part 15 [ET Docket No. 03-104; FCC 03-100] Broadband Power Line Systems AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of inquiry. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This document requests comment from the public on the current state of Broadband Power Line (BPL) technology and to determine whether changes to the Commission's rules are necessary to facilitate the deployment of this technology. The Commission believes that BPL could play an important role in providing additional competition in the offering of broadband infrastructure to the American home and consumers because power lines reach virtually every community in the country. DATES: Written comments are due on or before August 6, 2003, and reply comments are due on or before September 5, 2003. ADDRESSES: Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. See supplementary information for filing instructions. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anh T. Wride, Office of Engineering and Technology, (202) 418-0577, TTY (202) 418-2989, e-mail: anh.wride@fcc.gov Nick Leggett's web site on citizen participation in technology: http://home.earthlink.net/~nleggett/home.html (via Nick Leggett, DXLD) DRM [and non] +++ DW TRANSMITTER TROUBLE Dear Glenn: I was corresponding with a poster to rec.radio.shortwave two nights ago and sent him a private email that I thought I should share with you. He'd asked about IBOC interference. While checking this myself on a number of occasions I have both heard it, and heard a few strange episodes of transmitter problems that probably aren't IBOC-related, but I'm not altogether sure. At any rate, you might be amused to know how badly DW can screw up. Here's some of the three emails I sent him last Saturday night, 5/24 Best, (Steve Waldee - San Jose, CA. (retired broadcast station AM/FM chief engineer) ========== Tonight, about 30 seconds after reading your query in r.r.s. [05/24/03], I was trying to get a program on the Voice of Russia at 12000 and found that the entire region was blanked out with horrible noise and distortion. I tuned around to center it and found that it was DW, in German, at 11970. This was about 0409Z. I tuned to the other side, down to around 11940, and found that the entire region for 60 kHz was filled with crap from distorted DW sidebands. So I started to send you this reply, and in the few minutes it took to type this far, the distortion and sideband width dropped greatly. Now I can hear 12000 but there is still break-thru and occasional sideband distortion from DW at 11970 kHz, out 30 kHz high. Either DW is testing compatible IBOC with analogue modulation, or they simply have a high powered phase or pulse width modulator system adjusted incorrectly. I have followed the listing for DRM tests given in the latest ILGRadio database and tuned in to see what I could hear. (According to ILG they are not on the air right now with DRM tests. When I checked them last, on 5.15.03 at 2332, they were running digital modulation only (I believe probably BBC's audio) with a very heavy hiss signal that was audible as being many dB above background noise and extending from 9785 to 9805, centered at 9795. Now, that wasn't too damaging and not much worse than, say, trying to hear a weak signal next to one of Gene Scott's flamethrowers, and nowhere NEAR as damaging as the 60 kHz of distorted sidebands from DW tonight. Rx: R75 (yeah, I know you don't care for it!), 350 foot balanced dipole Steve Waldee - retired radio station chief engineer, San José, CA. P. S. Just before pressing SEND, the horrible sideband breakthru started up again over VOR at 12000 kHz. I can hear it all the way up to 12024 ... 12033 ... 12050! So now DW's sidebands are out +/- 80 kHz! THAT's interference! Wow. ======= I cannot tell if DW's Bonaire transmitter is spitting out any IBOC stuff along with the audio, but it sounds to me as if the problem is gross negative clipping. Normally the Bonaire North American service sounds quite clean; this is horribly distorted. If they were using a transmitter similar to the horrible old Ampliphase type by RCA, which used to be employed at KLOK here in San Jose, it would not be a mystery if they were out 80 kHz or further from carrier frequency: I've seen the Ampliphase do that many times. But I am sure they must be using something better than that: likely, I suppose, a Siemens transmitter that operates by phase modulation. It is possible that it is merely out of whack, but it sounds to me like someone screwed up and the thing is just hideously overmodulating, and with 250 kW of carrier beamed right in my direction, the sideband strength is significantly stronger than any adjacent stations for several channels either side of 11970. I just HOPE that this isn't IBOC crap! I would have expected that compatible analogue-IBOC would use lower than normal, and slightly narrower bandwidth than normal amplitude modulation, which would result in a rather weak sounding AM signal with a fair amount of background hiss. This does not sound that way; it's got a good S/N ratio but is grotesquely distorted. I've noticed DW on the hairy edge of distortion from time to time over the past couple of years, but this is simply ridiculous. OOOOPS! The carrier dropped off the air for two seconds [this would be about 0434]; when it came back on the volume was down bout 2 dB. THen, the cx went off again and on again -- softer -- and now it's off, for good maybe? The ILG sked says it's supposed to be on from 0400 to 0600, so perhaps somebody realizes something is BADLY wrong. (This is sort of fun, as I'd never expect to hear the big boys like DW screwing up so badly. I just hope they don't make a habit of it.) Steve Waldee ========== Two minutes after sending last msg, DW came back on at 0437, lower audio modulation level and much less distortion in evidence, and has stayed on. Yet for all practical purposes they are filling up about +/- 15 kHz bandwidth. At 20 kHz above and below their 11970 frequency, DW sideband hash and constant grunge are covering up adjacent carriers -- amusingly, DW's OWN next lower frequency signal at 11950, in English. They're wrecking their OWN service in a different language! Yet the interference is not nearly as bad as it was a few minutes ago when it was cutting a path out beyond 40 kHz either side of cx [sic] frequency. Now, one wonders if they are in the process of trying to set up a compatible IBOC-AM transmission and getting the carrier levels and modulation all wrong? I truly hope not, for if THAT is what's in store for us, it's not going to be pleasant (Steve Waldee, San José, CA, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Different things are mixed in above: first of all, IBOC is not the same as DRM. The digital tests you hear on SW are all DRM, not IBOC. It is not DW`s transmitter on Bonaire, but R. Nederland`s. No doubt any problems with it are the responsibility of RN, not DW which is merely one of several stations also relayed there. Let`s get up to date with the latest DRM test schedule. Note that BBC Sackville has left 6010 for 9 and 11 MHz (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SCHEDULED DRM TRANSMISSIONS Updated 9 May 2003 The following transmissions continue through 25 October 2003: UTC Days kHz Beam Target Av. DRM Power (kW) Programme Site 24h daily 531 Burg 2 Medien-anstalt Sachsen-AnhaltBurg 24h** daily 855 Berlin -- Deutschland RadioBerlin 0300-0400 daily 11955 285 W & C No. America 70 BBCWS Sackville 0430-0530 Sat/Sun 15400 230 NZ + SE Australia 10 RNW English Bonaire 0900-1500 daily 7320 105 W & C Europe 30 BBCWS Rampisham 0930-1200 daily 15440 040 W & C Europe 80 DW English Sines 1000-1100 daily 6140 120 W & C Europe 40 DW English Jülich 1100-1200 daily 6140 120 W & C Europe 40 DW German Jülich 1200-1300 daily 6140 120 W & C Europe 40 DW English Jülich 1305-1455 daily 5975 290 or 060 *) 40 Multimedia - T- W Europe Systems Media Broadcast Jülich 1600-1700 daily 6140 ND W & C Europe 40 DW English Jülich 1700-1800 daily 6140 ND W & C Europe 40 DW German Jülich 1800-1900 daily 6140 ND W & C Europe 40 DW English Jülich 2300-2400 daily 9795 268 E No. America 70 BBCWS Sackville 2330-0030 daily 15525 350 NE USA & NE Canada 10 RNW English Bonaire *) different beams in alternate weeks **) may be interrupted for analogue coverage of special events Schedule subject to change (from http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/drm_latest.html via DXLD) TEN-TEC ANNOUNCES FIRST DRM, DIGITAL CAPABLE SHORTWAVE RADIO Ten-Tec, a worldwide leader in comunications equipment; has announced the first DRM capable shortwave receiver. DRM stands for Digital Radio Mondiale, representing a digital system for shortwave, medium wave and long wave broadcasting yielding near-FM quality sound. The Ten-Tec RX- 320D and other system requirements are now posted on the Universal Radio website: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/commrxvr/0321.html (via gh, dXLD) RECEIVER NEWS [and non] +++++++++++++ HIGH-TECH HARRIS IN HIGH DEMAND FOR MILITARY WORK MELBOURNE FIRM SHOWS IT HAS WHAT U.S. WANTS Harris anti-jamming technology is expected to help the Joint Direct Attack Munition "smart bomb," shown here in an artist's rendering, get to its target. Harris compenents make it more resistant to radio- frequency interference. Image courtesy of The Boeing Company. By Brian Monroe FLORIDA TODAY MELBOURNE -- Seven days, four contracts and the potential for $345 million. It's good to be Harris Corp. right now.. . http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/moneystoryA53524A.htm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-091, May 25, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1183: RFPI: Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700/0730, 1300/1330 on 15039 and/or 7445 WBCQ: Mon 0445 on 7415 WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1183.html MAY DXLD HTML ARCHIVE has been updated through 3-090, eating up a few hours on May 24 when we might have been holidaying or producing a long-overdue Continent of Media... February, March and April are still incomplete. Now you have hotlinks for all the URLs, numerous (but not enough) correxions and cross-references which were not in the individual original txt issues, and a single file for convenience of searching all May issues. http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html WORLD OF RADIO ON WBCQ: The past few weeks we could not confirm WOR was still running on 17495-CUSB as well as 7415, Wednesdays at 2200; but on May 21, 17495-CUSB was booming in much better than 7415 for a change, tho 17 faded down quite a bit during the semihour (gh) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL I see you now have yet another DXLD 'posted'. You do make it so easy by having a Plain Text Version available, as this makes it easy to 'Save It' to a Floppy Disk, or to a Set Up Folder on a Hard Disk. I hope, whatever alternatives you may consider in the future, you will at least keep this option. Many Thanks Again (Ken Fletcher, UK) ** AUSTRALIA. HCJB Australia is now running 50 kW on its Pacific service; and plans a new program schedule in July. See also ECUADOR (Allen Graham, HCJB DX Partyline May 25, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Voice Int`l Limited, Darwin, 13685, 1133 May 25. Male announcer in English with a world pop music count down. The name of the show was announced as Planet 30. Signal was strong and clean with minor fading events at irregular intervals (Pete Costello, NJ, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) I`ve rarely listened, myself, to VI, but from this and other reports I get the impression it is stealthier than most evangelical stations in broadcasting seemingly secular programming. How much preaching do they work into the countdown? (gh, DXLD) {and who chooses the countdown? Are objectionable songs and lyrix censored??} ** BANGLADESH. 7185, R Bangladesh, 1230-1300, English and other languages; I note slight improvement in the audio quality of this transmitter (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** BURKINA FASO. 7230, R. Burkina, Ouagadougou, 0955-1214, May 18, French talks, listeners' program "Concert", then news 1200 followed by "Déjeuner Musical". 25433. Signal gradually decreased after 1000, but was better (!) around 1200. Best received via a K9AY, not via a short, unterminated South American Beverage which also provides good African results above [sic] 10º west longitude (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** CANADA. Quick check of RCI's new frequencies to NAm between 2200 and 0000 UT May 23, 2003: both 6140 and 9590 with SIO 555. 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. GREAT NEWS FROM CHINA HUAYI BROADCASTING STATION With great pleasure I'd like to bring you some good news coming from CHBS, China Huayi Broadcasting Station. The first is that I was appointed as regular QSL manager of CHBS, anyone who had sent reception reports to CHBS and have not yet get a QSL response now can get a standard full-data QSL CARD absolutely if you resent your RR to my address: Qiao Xiaoli Fen Jin Xing Cun 3-4-304 Changshu, JiangSu 215500 P. R. China or just email me at 2883752@163.com Return postage, 1 IRC or 1 Euro or 1 dollar would help me get some overseas SWL books, that would be very much appreciated BUT NOT necessary. The second good news is about the Chinese DX programme "Sky of BCL" of CHBS add a midnight schedule, that would be: Every Saturday 0730-0830 UT on 6185 KHz and every Sunday 1600-1700 UT on 6185 KHz Note that CHBS use only 6185 in its Summer schedule and use both 6185 and 4830 in winter schedule. The third one is that CHBS now want official monitors all over the world especially outside the China mainland; anyone who have interest can contact Yuanjia, the programme manager of "Sky of BCL", at chrisyuanjia@sohu.com or snail mail address: Mr. Yuan Jia Club of CHBS P. O. Box 251 FuZhou, Fujian 350001 P. R. China A certificate of official monitor is under designing. Good DX Qiao Xiaoli (dxswl) from SuZhou China 2883752@163.com My email address is: dxswl@21cn.com (May 23, dxing.info via DXLD) ** CHINA. INTERNET CENSORS IN CHINA LOOSENING THEIR GRIP A researcher tracking Internet censorship trends in China says government monitors are allowing more political commentary than they have in the past. . . http://www.ojr.org/ojr/world_reports/1053660077.php (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. When I heard the Chinese accent on 15215 [see TAIWAN] I at first thought it might be CRI so checked 9690, the usual Spain relay frequency, at 0314 May 25 --- but nothing on 9690! A cursory check of 31m did not find it, so I wonder what has happened to it? While I was at it, looked for CRI Spanish Brasil relay on 9665, but only VOR audible there, in English \\ 17565, 17650, 17690 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. 9610, R. Congo, 1634-1657*, May 11, Vernacular sports to sudden s/off, clear channel, heard quite regularly here recently, 22332 (Martien Groot, Holland, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** CUBA. I received a very nice letter from the staff of Radio Habana Cuba in February. Among other things, they thanked me for being a listener of over forty years, occasional reception reports submitted and for my support of Arnie Coro's programs. They knew my eleven year old grandson, Brandon, collected stamps from foreign countries and was a short-wave listener. I received a nice QSL card from Radio Habanna and some stamps from Cuba for Brandon. What a nice gesture on their part. Keep up the great work Arnie! I hope to make on air contact with you one of these days again on 20 meters (Duane Fischer, W8DBF, May 23, swl via DXLD) In case you are under the impression that Arnie Coro is apolitical: Item two: May 20th 2003 will be recorded as the day when Cuba was, once again, the object of an intensive radio war event, that violated international radio rules and regulations. A US armed forces EC-130 type Hercules aircraft, especially equipped for psychological warfare operations went up to broadcast TV signals on VHF channel 13, while the plane was flying at about 18,000 feet or 5,500 meters. The TV broadcast was specifically beamed to Cuba from a location above the Florida Keys, and because VHF TV Channel 13 is used by several Cuban television stations, the propaganda broadcast from the EC-130 produced malicious interference to the regular programming of Cuban television networks. A legal analysis of the action shows that it violated several articles of the International Telecommunications Convention's Rules and Regulations, an international agreement of which the United States of America is one of its signatories. The unprecedented action, that was once proposed way back in 1962 to President John F Kennedy, was at that time not approved, considering the fact that it was a very aggressive move... But 41 years later, the broadcast of propaganda type TV programs from a plane flying at high altitude took place. Cuba has denounced the actions, fully documenting to the International Telecommunications Union, all the violations incurred by the Government of the United States of America. At the same time that the unprecedented TV transmissions took place, an also unprecedented increase in short wave frequencies beamed to Cuba for the anti-Cuban Miami based broadcasts, that went up to 24 channels, in what could best be described as a barrage! The anti-Cuban TV broadcasts funded from the United States of America budget started in 1990, and have never [sic] been seen in Cuba, because of the protective actions designed and built by Cuban engineers and technicians, that have proven to be an insurmountable barrier to those aggressive transmissions (Arnaldo Coro Antich, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited May 24-25, via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) {did Arnie actually say the J-word in the broadcast version of this? See 3-092} ** CUBA [non]. FIDEL CASTRO EXIGE A EEUU CUMPLIMIENTO NORMAS RADIODIFUSIÓN El presidente cubano, Fidel Castro, reclamó hoy a los organismos internacionales que "se exija al gobierno de EEUU el cumplimiento de las normas establecidas para la radiodifusión". El líder cubano intervino hoy en el programa de la televisión oficial "Mesa Redonda Informativa" con motivo de la extensión de los programas del Canal Educativo de este medio a todas la capitales provinciales de la isla. Castro se refirió a las trasmisiones el pasado 20 de mayo de las emisoras de radio y televisión "Martí" desde Miami (EEUU), la primera utilizando cuatro nuevas frecuencias, y la segunda, a través de canales también asignados a estaciones de la isla, hecho que afectó las trasmisiones radiales y televisivas cubanas. "No se puede estar exigiendo unilateralmente que un país se ajuste estrictamente a determinadas normas y que otro país haga las fechorías que están haciendo contra nuestro país", afirmó. "Eso es lo que demandamos", recalcó el jefe de Estado cubano, y señaló que Cuba dispone de los equipos con la potencia suficiente para llegar con sus trasmisiones hasta el territorio de Estados Unidos. Castro dijo que esa trasmisiones "no hicieron más que ruido", en referencia a las interferencia aplicadas por especialistas de la isla y señaló que "hacen mal en subestimar a este país, donde hay mucha gente preparada y calificada, no es un país tan indefenso". (EFE 23 de Mayo, 2003 via http://www.UnionRadio.com.ve via Henrik Klemetz, DXLD) Oh come on, Fidel just can`t stand to be contradicted. L`état, c`est lui. ``Cuba --- último territorio esclave en América --- Patria o Suerte, ¡Pensaremos!`` (gh) DECLARACIÓN DEL MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES El pasado 20 de mayo de 2003, el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos de América llevó a cabo nuevas acciones que constituyen una escalada en la agresión radioelectrónica y televisiva que viene llevando a cabo contra la Revolución Cubana desde hace décadas. La emisora de radio creada y operada por el Gobierno estadounidense con el objetivo de promover la subversión en Cuba, pérfida y ultrajantemente bautizada con el nombre de José Martí, salió ese día al aire utilizando cuatro nuevas frecuencias, hecho que provocó interferencias y afectaciones a las transmisiones radiales cubanas . . . http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2003/05/23/nacional/articulo10.html Tomado de la edición electrónica de "Granma Nacional" fecha 23 de Mayo del 2003 73's (via Oscar de Céspedes, FL, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Listening to a very good (repaired) 590 transmitter as I type at 1900+ GMT, May 25th. This has been off for many, many weeks. Prior to that, it was for ages running at low mod though always high power as Radio Musical Nacional's flagship transmitter for that national network. However (at least today) it's on with Rebelde, baseball coverage (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nothing the Cubans could do on MW would compare to what the big broadcasting lobby and the FCC have conspired to do in maximizing co- channel interference (gh, DXLD) ** CYPRUS. 6150.7, R. Bayrak, 0318-0334, May 15, UK pop songs by Tom Jones, Cilla Black, Manfred Mann interrupted for NA 0328, then English ID & frequencies, drifting away from Gene Scott [Costa Rica] 6150, 22332 (Martien Groot, Holland, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) See also SINGAPORE ** ECUADOR [and non]. Thanks to many who voiced their support for DXPL, several options were considered in order to keep the program on the air. May not be the best, but provide an alternative in order to keep broadcasting the DX Partyline. The Options are: One: HCJB World Radio Australia has confirmed that they will continue to broadcast DXPL, two releases, one to Asia and one to South Pacific. Two: Several US-based SW stations have offered airtime to keep the DXPL on the air. I`ve just arrived from a conference in Miami and will be following up on these in the next few days. Three: DXPL may be included in the morning release to C&S America, an English broadcast which HCJB will maintain (Allen Graham, HCJB DX Partyline May 25, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) & see AUSTRALIA ** HUNGARY. RADIO BUDAPEST RESTRUCTURING Received a QSL card from Radio Budapest in 512 days for a December 26, 2001 report w/ accompanying letter which stated, "Thank you very much for your letter. We apologise for being so late with our reply. The delay is due to a restructuring at our station. Although, the time and duration of the English language programmes have not changed, for budgetary reasons, we had to suspend the publication of our programme guide, 'Budapest International', as well as the RBSWC DX News for the time being. We hope to launch an updated website soon where you can find the most important information concerning our station. Once it is completed, we will announce the exact address in our programmes." I have received 3 QSL cards for reports after Dec, 2001, the latest report being the first verified. I think someone is going through a pile of mail, starting at the top and working their way toward the bottom (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, May 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I have given up trying to solicit a QSL from Radio Budapest! None of my reports since early 1997 have been answered - the last QSL from them was for a report of December 1996, which arrived in June 1997! We need to educate the stations, I think! (Bob Padula, EDXP ADMIN, May 24, via DXLD) ** HUNGARY. ADVENT TO BUY DANUBIUS RADIO Venture capital group Advent International is to buy 100% of Hungary's leading commercial radio station, Danubius Radio, from British radio group GWR, Advent said yesterday. The transaction, to be financed by Mezzanine Management Central Europe, will be the largest venture capital investment in Hungary this year and will be completed in Q2. It is expected that the contract will be signed in 2 to 3 weeks. A third of Hungarians between 18 and 49 years old tune in to Danubius Radio every week. Last year the radio station generated revenue of Ft 3.5 billion from advertising, giving it a 40% share of the market for radio advertisements and 5%-7% of the country's entire ad market. (Econews; MH 14, Nv 5, Nb 4, Vg 1, NG 5 From 23rd May 2003 http://www.bbj.hu/user/article.asp?ArticleID=178800 via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** INDIA. I heard the extended service of AIR Hyderabad May 12, 2020- 2030* with a drama programme in Hindi. 33343 QRM from CNR 1. It is the same cyclone which has caused heavy rain damages on Sri Lanka (Anker Petersen, Denmark, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) {WTFK??} The relay of AIR Patna on shortwave 11620 via Delhi continues. Noted on 25 May at 1600 with local ID "Ye Akashvani Patna he". Good signal here, as usual (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 4869.96, RRI Wamena, 2030-2105, May 06, Indonesian pop, IS and ID at 2100 (first log!), clear signal (Jean-Pierre Penaud, France, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) They probably use higher power than the previous 0.3 kW. I also heard very weak signals here on May 09 at 2027-2050, May 10 at *(?) 2020- 2050 and May 11 at 2035-2050 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) This is probably also the station Roland heard: 0930-1255, Apr 30, Bahasa Indonesia, IS, time announcement, local news, 0944 ``Begirnu Negri`` program with South Sea music and Indonesian love songs, no Jakarta news at 1200; from 1255 QRM from SLBC, Sri Lanka fading in. Some days RRI signs off at 1030*. Off the air on Apr 26 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) On the West Coast of North America, I can hear RRI Wamera [sics] from fade in around 1000 (Sunset in Wamera) to around sunrise here at the receiver (~1300). It is now the strongest of the Indos below 5 MHz (RRI Jakarta on 9680 // 11860 and Voice of Indonesia 9524.9 both are stronger, but higher in frequency). Surprisingly, Jambi on 4925 which used to be a powerhouse has dropped down to the strength of the other remaining RRIs. And Wamera is notably stronger than 4890 and 5019.9. Wamera has been running near-continuous music until abruptly going off-air. Only a couple of times have I heard an announcer with a call-in program (music requests). Others have reported mentions of Wamera, but I haven't heard that. And no RRI ID, economic news from Jakarta nor Song of the Coconut Isles - perhaps others have heard these at other times? (Don Nelson, OR, DXplorer via May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. The following regionals were off the air in April 2003: 6070 RRI Jayapura 6153 RRI Biak 7171.3 RRI Serui 7231.1 RRI Fak Fak 7234 RRI Palu 9552.3 RRI Makassar 9680, RRI Jakarta was active in April // 11860 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Martial law chief administrator Major General Endang Suwarya says rebels set fire to a local state broadcasting station in addition to the schools. He ordered his men to shoot arsonists on sight. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s861120.htm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) {re: Aceh} ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Hi Glenn: Two articles re satellite radio: REALITY MAY BE CATCHING UP WITH SATELLITE RADIO HYPE http://www.thestreet.com/funds/supermodels/10088932.html SIRIUS ROARS BACK AT XM http://forbes.com/2003/05/22/cx_ah_0522tentech.html (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. IRAN DEMOCRACY ACT Text of the Iran Democracy Act, which appropriates US$50 million to establish an organization called Iran Democracy Foundation that will provide grants to private pro-democratic Iranian-American radio programs and other pro-democratic activities. S. 1082: To provide support for democracy in Iran. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 19, 2003 Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. SANTORUM, and Mr. CAMPBELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To provide support for democracy in Iran. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. IRAN DEMOCRACY ACT. This Act may be cited as the `Iran Democracy Act'. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) There is currently not a democratic government in Iran. Instead, Iran is an ideological dictatorship presided over by an unelected Supreme Leader with limitless veto power, an unelected Expediency Council, and Council of Guardians capable of eviscerating any reforms, and a President elected only after the Council disqualified 234 other candidates for being too liberal, reformist, or secular. (2) The April 2003 report of the Department of State states that Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2002. (3) That report also states that Iran continues to provide funding, safehaven, training, and weapons to known terrorist groups, notably Hizballah, HAMAS, the Palestine Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (4) Human rights have failed to improve in Iran under the pseudo- reformers. Torture, executions after unfair trials, and censorship of all media remain rampant throughout the country. Stoning and beheading are used as methods of punishment. SEC. 3. POLICY. It is the policy of the United States to-- (1) support transparent, full democracy in Iran; (2) support an internationally-monitored referendum in Iran by which the Iranian people can peacefully change the system of government in Iran; (3) support the aspirations of the Iranian people to live in freedom; and (4) help the Iranian people achieve a free press and build an open, democratic, and free society. SEC. 4. RADIO FARDA REFORM. (a) IN GENERAL- The Broadcasting Board of Governors shall-- (1) require the head of Radio Farda to develop programming for Radio Farda, after consulting with-- (A) Iranian-Americans and other Iranian exiles who-- (i) support a referendum described in section 3(2); and (ii) oppose the current Government of Iran; and (B) the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) at the Department of State and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the Department of State; and (2) ensure that a significant percentage of the programming on Radio Farda is devoted to discussing democratic change in Iran including an internationally-monitored democratic referendum in Iran as described in section 3(2). (b) TRANSLATIONS OF WRITTEN AND VIDEO MATERIALS FOR THE IRANIAN PEOPLE- (1) REQUIREMENT- The MEPI and ECA shall provide grants to appropriate entities to create and maintain websites, translate and distribute books, videos, documents, and other materials on democracy, rule of law free market economics, and related topics. (2) CONSULTATION- The MEPI and ECA shall consult with nongovernmental entities and with Iranian-American opposition groups that support the holding of an internationally-monitored referendum in Iran as described in section 3(2) to select materials to be translated into Persian. (c) IRAN DEMOCRACY SUPPORT INITIATIVE- (1) AUTHORITY- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the MEPI and ECA are authorized to award grants to an eligible entity for the purpose of funding programs and activities to promote a democratic referendum in Iran. (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY- The following persons are eligible for grants under paragraph (1): (A) A person who provides radio or television broadcasting into Iran that includes programming intended to promote an internationally- monitored democratic referendum in Iran. (B) A person who is working to promote the holding of an internationally-monitored referendum in Iran, as described in section 3(2). (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not less than 10 percent of the funds appropriated to the International Broadcasting Operations account for fiscal year 2004 shall be made available to carry out the provisions of this Act (May 21, 2003 via N. Grace-USA, CRW via DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. CLANDESTINE RADIO WATCH Iraq Special May 22, 2003 Stations for Iraq - Active stations since the fall of Baghdad Voice of the Liberation of Iraq (Sawt Tahrir al-Iraq) was renamed as Voice of International Coalition for the Liberation of Iraq Radio (Sawt al-Tahaluf al-Duwali li Tahrir al-Iraq) on April 21. It began broadcasting on FM and MW, in addition to SW, from northern Iraq. By May 1 it left the airwaves for good. Radio of the Two Rivers (Wadi al-Rafidayn) still broadcasts. Recorded and produced in Amman. Broadcast from Kuwait via a 50kW Harris transmitter administered by the CIA. Station is tied to the Iraqi National Accord and is considered their "sister" station. al-Mustaqbal (The Future), the mouthpiece for the Iraqi National Accord, also continues its broadcasts. The Accord was offered use of a SOMS-B broadcasting platform by the Pentagon, however, they refused. Programming is fed to the Kuwaiti CIA transmitter via satellite from Amman. Radio Tikrit was renamed Radio Sumer on April 21. Programming format remains the same, however. Only difference is that Sumer broadcasts PSYOP messages aimed at the entire population in support of national unity. There is growing speculation that this is a product contracted out to SAIC here in Washington. Last week an intrepid listener in Cairo heard a glitch in their satellite feed that proves World Radio Network (WRN), a major satellite uplink provider based in London, services their feed. The main reason SAIC is suspected is because the Washington Post Monday revealed that they were contracted for PSYOP products by the Pentagon during Operation Iraqi Freedom. And oddly enough the main announcer on Radio Tikrit/Sumer is the same as the main announcer on the Pentagon's Information Radio broadcasts that were disseminated via Commando Solo. Voice of the Iraqi People (Saudi intel) remains on the air. Information Radio, the Pentagon PSYOP radio station, also remains on the air. Its short wave frequencies have not been heard for a few weeks so it is suspected to have shifted 100% to land-based platforms, including SOMS-B. (SOMS-B are humvees outfitted for broadcasting.) Towards Freedom TV, the CIA's TV channel, left the airwaves last week. It was recorded here in Washington and broadcast for 5/6 hours per day via Commando Solo. Iraq Media Network was launched by the Coalition on April 17 with a station in Umm Qasr called Voice of the New Iraq. Plans are to launch newspapers and television stations. The station and planned network are managed by the Indigenous Media Project, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, is "an offshoot of the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance." (What offshoot is supposed to mean I have no idea.) - Does the US seem to be doing any jamming? The U.S. does not seem to have engaged in any jamming of sorts. Saudi Arabia, however, has jammed broadcasts from Tehran that supported the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Now that SCIRI has shifted off SW to MW it's unlikely the Saudis can effectively block the signals anymore. - Has an Ahmed Chalabi-related station emerged? Good question about Chalabi. The INC was supposed to be given US$4 million back in April to relaunch Radio Hurriah, which at one time broadcast from the CIA Kuwait facility. There was talk in April that they would use SOMS-B on loan from the Pentagon, however, now I am told that they have decided to wait until a government is in place in Baghdad. They will then go through the proper channels to request a license to broadcast legally. - What is Radio Nahran - the UK station down in Basra - like? Radio Nahrain, the British PSYOP station in Basra, broadcast the same type of programming as Information Radio: popular Middle Eastern music and PSYOP announcements. Dave Kernick's site, http://www.intervalsignals.net has a clip of the station. Navigate to the Iraq page and you should be able to quickly find it. As far as I know the station is still on the air (N. Grace, USA, May 13, 2003 answering private questions for CRC, CRW May 23 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. PSYOP: THE LOVE'S NOT MUTUAL The U.S. military is using Metallica and the 'Barney' theme song as instruments of coercion in Iraq --- By Adam Piore, Newsweek Magazine, May 26, 2003 Issue http://www.msnbc.com/news/914527.asp Your parents aren't the only ones who hate your music - some Iraqis hate it, too. U.S. military units have been breaking Saddam supporters with long sessions in which they're forced to listen to heavy-metal and children's songs. "Trust me, it works," says one U.S. operative. The idea, says Sgt. Mark Hadsell, is to break a subject's resistance by annoying that person with what some Iraqis would consider culturally offensive music. The songs that are being played include "Bodies" from the Vin Diesel "XXX" movie soundtrack and Metallica's "Enter Sandman." "These people haven't heard heavy metal before," he explains. "They can't take it." Few people could put up with the sledgehammer riffs of Metallica, and kiddie songs aren't that much easier, especially when selections include the "Sesame Street" theme and some of purple dinosaur Barney's crooning (MSNBC May 26, 2003 via N. Grace-USA for CRW May 25 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE --- FREE MEDIA IN A FREE-FOR-ALL Iraq's new journalists dream of power - the electrical kind that will keep their computers and their printing presses humming. That's the least they expect from the US-British 'occupation forces'. That and a little safety. Rohan Jayasekera reports from Baghdad. . . http://www.indexonline.org/news/20030523_iraq.shtml (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. VOICE OF ISLAMIC REVOLUTION IN IRAQ The SCIRI long supported an overthrow of Saddam's regime without Western involvement. During Saddam's rule, the group broadcast a radio signal into Iraq on a station called the Voice of Islamic Revolution in Iraq. . . http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=24891 (Pakistan Tribune via J.Dybka-USA May 10, 2003 for CRW via DXLD) ** IRELAND. Re DXLD 3-088: The Gardai are the Irish Republic's Police Service. Probably Gaelic for Guard. 'They certainly were NOT Guarding the Radio Stations concerned in this case, quite the opposite in fact' (Silly Comment from Me) (Ken Fletcher, UK, 1020UTC=1120UTC+1 May 24th 2003, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. ISRAELI OFFICIALS RAID EIGHT PIRATE RADIO STATIONS IN JERUSALEM, SEIZE EQUIPMENT | Text of report by Israel radio on 25 May Police and Communications Ministry staffers raided eight pirate radio stations in Jerusalem at midday [local time]. Four radio operators were detained for interrogation, and transmitters, computers and antennas were confiscated. Most stations are religious and ultra- Orthodox operating in central Jerusalem. Our police affairs correspondent Ran Binyamini notes that some of the stations that were closed today were also closed in a raid over two months ago. Source: Voice of Israel, Jerusalem, in Hebrew 1100 gmt 25 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ITALY. ELECTROMAGNETIC POLLUTION: PREJUDICE AND COMMONPLACES, SAYS GASPARRI (AGI) - Rome, Italy, May 20 - "The issue of electromagnetic radiations is often discussed more because of ideological inspirations rather than scientific reasons and data. There is often confusion and lack of information: for example, many think that the referendum of the 18th June regards mobile phones repeaters, but it only concerns electricity ducts". . . http://tinyurl.com/cn16 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) See also SICILY ** KASHMIR [non]. 5100, Voice of Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Movement, QSL in 97 days. Got a pack of six "SOS from Indian occupied Kashmir" magazines, two grand leaflets, Kashmir viewcards and letter from Islam ud Din But where he/she appreciates listening interest and quotes broadcasting schedule in Kashmiri and English. Address: Islam ud Din But, Voice of Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Movement, P. O. Box 102, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, via Pakistan. For one IRC (Shukrat Rakhmatullayev, Tashkent, Uzbekistasn, Signal via May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 2624, Frontiers Soldiers R, Channel 1 (presumed), 1550, May 01, weak. It was not heard 1910 on Apr 29. 3025.5, Frontiers Soldiers R, Channel 2 (presumed), 1910, Apr 29, Korean drama (?). Also heard 1550, May 01, with patriotic songs and talks. 3390.5, PBS, Pyongyang, Apr 29, 1830-1900*, New frequency in Korean, instrumental music, 1900 ID, time announcement and off. 25432. It was heard // 3320 with a late program. Nothing heard on 2850 at that hour (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. 15505, R. Kuwait, Sulabiyah (cf. DX-Window no. 219). I monitored that frequency as I promised you. And all the IDs go like this: ``Idhaat Alquraan Alkareem min al Kuwait`` or ``Idhaat Alquraan Alkareem min Dawlat Al Kuwait``, but almost the same... ``the holy Qur`an radio from Kuwait`` or ``the holy Qur`an radio from the ``state`` of Kuwait``. Maybe what you heard at *1000-1500 was a program called ``Adhakaa fil Islam`` (Adhkaa is one of Islam's major beliefs which is giving to the needy people). In Arabic it sounds like the usual ID of ``..Idhaat``. (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 08, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** LAOS. Sorry folks, External Service has been off the air on 7145 for a time now. Hope they come back soon. 6130, however, continues. Heard OK at 1200 past 1300 (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** LATVIA [and non]. EUROVISION SONG CONTEST It's the night of the Eurovision song contest here in Europe, so I've done a quick band scan to see if any stations are relaying the event. So far I've come across Radio Finland doing so on 6120, although they break for news on the hour. Should anyone outside of Europe want to drop in on this international musical and broadcasting curiosity, that's one source. Or visit http://www.eurovision.tv for live feeds (Dan Atkinson, UK, 2016 UT May 24, swprograms via DXLD) Turkey's Sertab Erener won with the song Every Way That I Can, with Belgium in second place and Tatu in third. Erener is one of Turkey's most popular singers, with album sales of over four million. Terry Wogan, who hosted the UK coverage of the event on BBC One, said: "I think the UK is suffering from post-Iraq backlash." Tatu had been the favourite to win the competition all week. They sang Don't Believe, Don't Fear, Don't Ask, a Russian language song, to boos from the 6,000-strong crowd at Riga's Skonto Hall. Despite threats they might take to the stage naked, the pair - Lena Katina and Julia Volkova - sang their song dressed in jeans and white T-shirts. They had already been warned by contest organisers about being late for rehearsals, and that their stage performance could not contravene the show's strict guidelines. Under Eurovision rules, voters in each of the countries could ring or text their votes for any country other than their own. Bosnia- Hercegovina and Russia used jury votes because of their countries' poor telecommunications. Ireland's Mickey Joe Harte was the third performer of the night with his song We've Got the World Tonight, after Iceland's Birgitta and Austria's outlandish cabaret performer Alf Poier. A poll on the official Eurovision website asking the public which act they thought their country would vote for had Spain's entry, Beth, in top place on Friday. Tatu were in second and Turkey in third. 'Unique event' The contest, held at Riga's 6,000-capacity Skonto Hall, was the biggest indoor concert held in Latvia's history. The country of 2.4 million people hailed the show, which was due to be watched by more than 160 million people, as a unique event. "It's important for us as a small country to prove we can do something like this," said Solvita Vevere, a spokeswoman from Latvia's Eurovision organising committee. Latvia paid half of the $11m (£6.9m) needed to run the event. Millions more were spent on the city, including a full renovation of the Skonto Hall. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/2932760.stm Published: 2003/05/24 22:36:48 GMT © BBC MMIII (via Dan Say, swprograms via DXLD) I listened to the middle hour or so on BBCR2; fine reception. The BBC commentator was putting everyone down, tsk tsk. Made the mistake of looking for video feed at http://www.eurovision.com which was a dead end, instead of .tv (Glenn Hauser, swprograms via DXLD) The BBC Radio 2 presenter was Ken Bruce. Terry Wogan does the commentary for BBC 1, and has done so for over 30 years. Organisers of the event fear Wogan's criticisms, whereas British audiences find his witty commentary a main reason to watch Eurovision, as illustrated in this article written before the Estonian Eurovision in 2002: http://www.balticsww.com/eurovision_terry_wogan.htm Great Britain's rather flatly sung entry came last for the first time. The voting is still highly politicised, even though songs are now rated by audience phone voting instead of a jury. The songwriter of the British entry in part blamed the war and continental Europe's opposition to it for Britain's "nill points", whereas Turkey's stance of not allowing it's country to be used as a staging post (and admittedly somewhat better song) took the day at the Eurovision. Nevertheless Wogan admitted that in all his years of hosting the show he'd never correctly picked the winner (he had some money on Spain this time). Indeed that Austria's bizarre schlager-fest came so high in the scores emphasises that the gap in musical tastes between Britain and continental Europe is just as wide as in foreign policy :) (Daniel Atkinson, UK, ibid.) BRITS OUT OF TUNE IN EUROPE Last night was the annual extravaganza called the Eurovision Song Contest. 26 countries competed in the live broadcast from Latvia. I tuned in to see the opening sequence (professional interest, you understand) but I got bored after 6 minutes so I mercifully missed the rest of it. Once upon a time, Britain used to do quite well in this event, but not any more. For the first time in the 48 year history of the contest, Britain scored 'nul points.' Apparently, according to those who endured the programme, the British duo Jemini performed badly and sang out of tune. Some would say that symbolises the British attitude to Europe very well. So, humiliation for a nation that for a few years in the 1960's was the pop music capital of the world. How are the mighty fallen! But far more entertaining than the contest was the unsporting reaction of some Brits to the result. Apparently Terry Wogan, who for years has poked fun mercilessly at the event despite being paid a handsome fee by the BBC for commentating on it, blamed the 'Iraq factor'. A guy who phoned BBC Radio 5 Live declared that Europeans were 'just a bunch of clowns.' At that point, I switched off. Now, under the rules introduced a few years ago, countries which do badly have to skip a year to allow others to take their place. And to learn to sing in tune, presumably. Apparently Britain, France and Germany are exempt from this rule because they pay a substantial part of the EBU's budget. So that's fair, is it? By virtue of being big and wealthy you can buy your way into a contest at the expense of smaller and less well-off nations. I don't blame the EBU for this. No doubt the Brits, French and Germans threatened to withdraw funding if they were not exempt. But, while you can buy participation, you can't - as last night demonstrated - buy votes. As it happens - and, to be fair, this had already been announced on Thursday - the rules are changing so that from next year there will be a qualifying round, and a grand final involving 24 countries. That way, says the European Broadcasting Union, 40 countries can take part. So Britain, like all the other countries, will have to go through a qualifying round! What will happen if they don't end up in the top 24? That remains to be seen, unless some other obscure clause has already been inserted in the rules. Terry Wogan always used to make fun of countries that didn't get any points at the contest, and make jokes about it on his BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show the following week. I wonder what he'll do now? I know one thing. There will have been a lot of European broadcasters sniggering over their coffee and croissants this morning. Wogan's frivolous attitude didn't go down well amongst some of his colleagues this side of the North Sea. Last night, he got his just desserts (Andy Sennitt, RN blog May 25 via DXLD) Saw a brief clip on BBC world. The Brit Group really did suck badly, way off key. Interesting that Turkey won and the song was in English. What does that tell you (Lou Josephs • 5/25/03; 8:21:19 AM, ibid.) ** LIBERIA. ELCM RADIO VÉRITAS ON NEW SHORTWAVE FREQUENCY Monrovia, May 19 (Conexión-Digital) --- Señor César Pérez Dioses of Peru confirms increasing reports that ELCM Radio Véritas, the FM and shortwave station of the Archdiocese of Monrovia, has been heard internationally on 5470 kHz. ``Our collaborator could not identify it, but it was reported this past May 10th at 7:00 UTC (GMT) with African music and conversations in a language that our collaborator presumed was vernacular to the African continent. He manifested his doubts over this station because he went carefully over the World Radio-TV Handbook 2003 but it did not report this frequency. Undoubtedly it is Radio Veritas, from Liberia, which has been received several times on this frequency and at this time, which was corroborated with its reception by my Brasilian friend Samuel Cassio.`` Another international shortwave listener has since reported to Conexión- Digital of Buenos Aires that it definitely is ELCM on a new shortwave frequency (Catholic Radio Update May 26 via DXLD) Not so new ** LIBERIA. 11512.0, Voice of Liberty, Monrovia (tentative), 1715- 1735, May 20, English, gospel songs. QRM 11510, 33433 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** LIBYA. Last two days, the clandestine station [no-namee, 9745 to Iraq] has not appeared anytime between 2100-2200, and may have QSY'd. This leaves tentative Bahrain pretty much in the clear (Paul Ormandy, Oamaru, New Zealand, May 25, dxing.info via DXLD) See also UNIDENTIFIED ** MALDIVES. 1449 MW, Voice of Maldives, 0030-1745. English is noted at 1300-1400 starting with news. At 1311 to 1321 Islamic prayers heard (Jacob, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) Also webcast ** MALI. 7284.4, R Mali, Kati, 1013-1200, May 18, French sermon, folk songs. 15332. Was unable to establish its fade out time. // 31 m (good), 25 m (weak & under adjacent QRM from Turkey 11955). (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. 5973, Myawaddy R. Station seems to be inactive. Is anybody able to hear it? 6570, Defence Forces BC, Taunggyi, 1620-1632*, May 01, Bamar talk mentioning Myanmar, music with female singer, 1631 closing announcement by man and woman mentioning Myanmar again. Best as 34543 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. LEGAL ACTION OVER RADIO NZ JOB ROW --- 24 May 2003 A dispute between Radio New Zealand's controversial chief executive, Sharon Crosbie, and a senior manager has resulted in legal action, the New Zealand Herald reported today. . . http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2497036a11,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3355, R Simbu, Kundiawa, 1115-1202*, May 12, back after 7 months absence, Tok Pisin ID, public announcement, international and South Sea music, national anthem 25232. 3905, R New Ireland, Kavieng, regular again since Apr 15 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, Apr 30, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. Adán Mur sent me a mail a few minutes ago and sayed me Radio América, Villeta transmits with 600 watts on 19 meters now!! This is the schedule: Estimado Arnaldo: 1480 KHZ - 1 KW - 24 hours, from Ñemby. 1590 KHZ - 0.2 KW - 24 hours from Villeta. 7370 KHZ - 1 KW - 24 hours - from Villeta, with programation from Ñemby. 15185 KHZ - 0.6 KW - 24 hours - from Villeta, programation from Ñemby 73's & 55's (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, May 24, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** PERU. 4890, R. Macedonia, tuned in 25th May at 0430 off and on through 0600 with organ and romantic instrumental music with SS announcements, only one ID "Macedonia. . . numbre" in this time, fair to good at times for 1 kW, thanks to Paul Ormandy for tip; wish I had brought tape recorder. Outgunned by RFI Gabon from fade in 0445 to 0500* (David Norrie, DXing from Whitford Forest near Auckland, New Zealand using "fence post antenna" and AOR 7030, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 9580v, PBS, Marulas, Valenzuela (Metro Manila) has been inactive on this frequency since May 05 (Schulze, May 13) 11885, R. Pilipinas, Tinang, 0200-0330*, May 01, English replacing 11775 (Cf. DX-Window no. 219), but the old ID-tape still announced 12015! Heard // 15120 and 15270 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** POLAND [non]. Radio Maryja, 12010 kHz, 1500-1600 UT, via Russian relay, 343, religious talk & music by OM in Polish. 24/5/03 (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO MARYJA POLSKA --- Broadcasting in Polish using Russian transmitters in Krasnodar. Valid March 30, 2003-October 26, 2003 HORA UT KHZ 0500-0715 15455 Monday-Saturday 0600-0800 15455 Sunday 1500-1830 12010 Daily 1500-2200* 7380 Daily * This transmission to be dropped September 7, 2003. QTH: Radio Maryja, ul. Zwirki i Wigury 80, 87-100 Torun, Polonia. E-mail: radio@radiomaryja.pl Web: http://www.radiomaryja.pl (Conexión Digital via Catholic Radio Update May 26 via DXLD) ** SICILY. 6060/7175/9515, Caltanissetta. RAI has decided that the SW transmitters at Caltanissetta shall no longer be used for domestic broadcasts and they closed down on May 14 (Luigi Cobisi, Peninsular Italy, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. 6150.8, R Singapore, 2248-2309, May 16, English program of western oldies, news 2300. 54432 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) Beware of confusion with CYPRUS TURKISH, q.v. which is also off-frequency in this area (gh) ** SINGAPORE. Right now (1315 UT) I'm listening to one of my long time early morning favorites, "RSI" on 9600. It's in English and appears to be a "Local targeted" program, yet is well heard on the West coast. Lots of popular music in English, they just played a remake of the old Norman Greenbaum tune, "Spirit in the Sky". The first time I ran across this station (again) back in the early to mid 90's they were playing a lot of oldies from the 50's and 60's and it immediately caught my attention. I have some very nice QSL's from them and in years past they've sent nice large colorful calendars, a pad of "post-it" notes with their logo, a pen etc. Anyway, I digress. The station is SINPO 43434 (some co-channel QRM) and scheduled at 1100-1400 UT. Heard on Yaesu VR-5000 and roof mounted Hustler 6BTV vertical. 73 de (Phil Atchley, KO6BB --- DX begins at the noise floor! Merced, California, May 23, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. Hi Glenn, The press release you quoted in DXLD 3-090 is remarkably similar to one published on 12 May 2002. See http://www.somaliawatch.org/archivemar02/020512101.htm I also saw this item on the Web site of IRIN, but something rang a bell and I figured they may have inadvertently picked up a one year old story. On the other hand, I haven't seen any reports that indicate its broadcasts have been received in the past year, so maybe the whole project really has started a year later than planned. 73, (Andy Sennitt, May 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 7300, SLBC All Asia Vernacular Service has made some changes. They were on 7115 0025-0400, 0800-1600 with 9770 in //. Then A03 season VOA Iranawila also started using 7115 0100-0300 which has been the VOA's A season frequency. SLBC found it difficult to move as they had only 5 crystals for this transmitter: 7115, 7190, 7235, 7300 and 7445. I suggested 7300 as the only alternative and they used it in // but the crystal was off on 7302.75. Finally they managed to repair a frequency synthesizer and use it. So find SLBC 7300 now. All Asia English Service is now on 0025-0400 on 6005, 11905 15745, 1225-1530 on 6005, 11930, 15745. 11930 is badly interfering with VOA. I am trying to get them on 11905 for this slot as well. In mid March I was able to get fair signals on 15745 around 0200 in Wisconsin. I suppose WEWN was in skip. This season anyway WEWN is not there I think (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) {VOA has been operating in Sri Lanka for sesquidecades: why is there not routine coordination with SLBC to avoid any such clashes????} Wonder what he was doing in Wisconsin (whilst in US for IBB Monitor meeting and SWL Winterfest) -- visiting Jensen/Dexter? (gh, DXLD) {more likely visiting members of his own family} ** TAIWAN. 8300. Some words or phrases were missing in this item in DX-Window no. 219. Correct version is: "Naj reported in DXW No. 215, New Star broadcasting station verified with QSL card. Not mention as he reported, it didn't confirm as WHO service of R Taipei International in my case. It verified using R. Taipei International card, but struck out the name of it." (Ishii, Japan, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [and non]. RTI encountered on 15215 in English news at 0314 UT May 25, nice signal; it was way ahead (by a second or two) of \\ 9680 WYFR relay, so I guess 15215 be direct; also \\ 5950 WYFR, but after 0316 they were no longer parallel, with one carrying the A program, the other the B program, ``The Groove Zone`` being on 15215 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIMOR LESTE. East Timor back on the air: The Daily DX http://www.dailydx.com/ reports that Thor Stefansson, recently 4W6MM -- and known longer term as TF3MM -- is back on the air as 4W3DX from what's now known as the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste-- previously known as East Timor. Stations operating with permission of the UN Temporary Administration of East Timor -- or UNTAET -- were informed recently that their operating permission had expired, but The Daily DX reports that Stefansson apparently has received operating permission from the new authorities in Timor Leste. Stefansson has erected a huge rhombic that's pointed at Europe, although he still has a tribander that he can aim at North America and elsewhere. 4W3DX has been reported on 20 and 15-meter CW at the low end of the band at around 1500 to 1600 UT and at 0100. Stefansson, who's leaving Timor Leste in June, plans to remain active for the next couple of weeks, much of that time on the higher bands. He reports that the rhombic will remain for DXpeditioners after he leaves (The Daily DX via ARRL May 22 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** TURKMENISTAN. US TV ANCHOR SAYS WESTERN AUDIENCES BEING MISLED ABOUT TURKMENISTAN | Excerpt from report by Turkmen TV on 24 May [Presenter] [Turkmen president] Saparmyrat Turkmenbasy [Nyyazow] the Great today answered questions put by Robert Simon, a prominent journalist from the famous US CBS News TV. [Reporter, over video of Simon and Nyyazow talking each other] For more than 50 years CBS News TV has stood as one of the best media models in the USA with its "60 Minutes" program, known as the country's best newscast. It has a daily audience of over 15m viewers, including the most influential representatives of political and business circles from the USA and other countries as well. [Passage omitted: a number of world leaders have been interviewed by CBS; Robert Simon is known as the best anchor] The conversation between Turkmenistan's president, Saparmyrat Turkmenbasy the Great, and Robert Simon lasted for about two hours and was conducted in a free and open atmosphere during which the sides touched upon various issues. Turkmenistan's president, Saparmyrat Turkmenbasy the Great, answered the questions of the US journalist with the openness characteristic of him. [Passage omitted: Simon quoted as admiring with Turkmenistan's achievements; Simon is then interviewed] [Simon, speaking to camera in English overlaid by Turkmen interpretation] The first thing we have seen upon our arrival here is Asgabat and its people, who are very kind and hospitable. The city of Asgabat is full of various memorials and new construction sites being build to suit present-day requirements. In particular, its streets are clean and safe for walking in. [Passage omitted: more praise of Turkmenistan] I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the detailed answers Turkmenistan's president gave to my questions. For my part, I think that there is a need for more visits by Western media representatives [to Turkmenistan]. During my visit I also realized that there is some misinformation in the west about Turkmenistan. I have also understood that Western countries should be provided with more information about Turkmenistan. As an example, I would like to quote the fact that prior to my visit here I had read that there is a total ban imposed in Turkmenistan on Western music, whereas upon my arrival here I discovered at a local bazaar that audio cassettes are on sale freely, with melodies of numerous Western pop stars. I think, then, that the Western audience should be provided with true information about Turkmenistan. Thank you very much. Source: Turkmen TV first channel, Asgabat, in Turkmen 1600 gmt 24 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Simon may anchor on occasion, but I think his primary job is reporter. Somehow, I suspect there is more to the story. Don`t recall seeing Simon`s piece on T-stan yet on 60 Minutes which is certainly not a ``newscast``; surely they will deal with the `Great` cult of personality, which could be taken as criticism. Nyyazow [whose spelling is that?] is the State (gh, DXLD) {/correspondent} ** U K. EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: See LATVIA ** U K. TV ON THE RADIO? IT'S IN THE PICTURE By Clive Akass [21-05] You could be forgiven for feeling confused at news that NTL and London-based Radioscape demonstrated the transmission of TV images to a PDA using a Digital Audio Broadcasting (Dab) signal. TV over radio, digital or not, seems to make about as much sense as flying through mud, but it's not as daft as it sounds. DAB is set to replace analogue radio in the UK as soon as enough of us can be persuaded to buy the receivers. This won't be very soon as, although early models have sold well, the cheapest is still around £100 - 10 times the price of a cheap analogue set. . . (From http://www.vnunet.com/Features/1140700 via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Reforming R. Farda to IRAN: q.v. ** U S A. Stepping thru the YB-400 memories at 0606 UT May 24, surprised to hear with good signal on 15725, Arab music, but with some English lyrics --- must be R. Sawa! Sure enough, quickly IDed at 0607. 15725 is memorized because of WRMI, and I see IBB has Sawa on: 15725 0600 1500 VOA MRN2 ARAB MOR 06 083 which overlaps WRMI considerably after 1200, in case interference be noted over here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. National Association of SW Broadcaster currently counts 17 of the 20 private US SW stations as members. Holds an annual meeting in Washington DC the first weekend of May. DRM was one topic this year. It was suggested that each station produce a DRM program each week or in rotation. Time would be leased from existing DRM facility in Canada, Bonaire or Europe, just as an experimental thing as there are very few possible listeners yet. Jeff White will be chairman of the NASB board for one year. At least one representative will attend the HFCC conferences, August in Norway, next February in Dubai. Hope to do publicity among our audience, which are primarily in the areas where major annual DX meetings are held: at Kulpsville, the Mexican national DX meeting, and the EDXC conference; will attend each of these over the next year and present a display with handouts. Associate members in NASB include HCJB. To be a full member, must be FCC licensees in the US. Also transmitter and antenna manufacturing companies, consultancies such as George Jacobs & Associates. See http://www.shortwave.org for the NASB website (Jeff White, interviewed by Allen Graham at a Mexican restaurant in Miami, for DX Partyline May 25, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not including WWCR ** U S A. If WWCR`s plan to use 9475 as a `step-up` frequency in the mornings between 5070 and 12160 for transmitter 3 doesn`t happen, it could be because R. Australia inconveniently happens to be using same, at least 1100-1300 in English, tho not toward us, at 329 degrees, per difficult-to-obtain schedule in 3-071 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Latest logging from Troy, Michigan using the trusty Grundig Satellit 800. AUSTRALIA 9475 Radio Australia 1100-1145 Correspondents' Reports with a wrap up of the weeks events, discussion mostly on Iraq, Middle East and George Bush. SIO of 333 with some jamming present but not loud enough to affect listening and // to 9580 (SIO of 545). Not listed on HFCC, visit to RA website shows this signal is intended for Asia (Joe Miller, 5/25 Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** U S A. Can you hear the jamming on 5070 WWCR at night where you are? Just started in the last week or so. In the early morning hours it`s pretty bad here in Atlanta (LOU KF4EON Johnson, May 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Last night at 0230, no jamming at all noticed, but the WWCR signal is always extremely strong here. What kind of jamming??? Describe. Are you sure it is deliberate? (Glenn to Lou) Well, it sounds like a bottle banging against something concrete. It is strongest after 0500 here. At first, I thought it was some military, digital communication. But it is repetitive and nonstop. I think WWCR is directional westward [eastward] from Nashville so I am located off a side lobe southeast of them. It is probably coming from Cuba as I am located between Cuba and Nashville. I've heard bubble jamming of WRMI 7385 in the early morning (0500) hours here before during Christian Media Network broadcasts. I can call the FCC monitoring office here in Atlanta (I've called them before about such matters.) The most they can do is give you a bearing as to where it`s coming from. Enjoy your show (LOU KF4EON, ibid.) I think I know what you mean; that is constantly heard on several other SW frequencies ``the bonker``, but I don`t recall what it is. It does serves some purpose other than jamming. Possibly one of these has moved in too close to 5070? --- which, after all, is in a utility band (gh) {Later: detected around 5072} ** U S A. Top 40 WABC Reborn - 5/22 - ABC plans to dump the talk format on its NYC blowtorch WABC (770 AM) on Memorial Day to feature music countdown shows from the station's top 40 days in the 1960s and 1970s, with Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, "Cousin Brucie" Morrow, Chuck Dunaway, Dan Ingram, Bob Lewis, Howard Hoffman, and Chuck Leonard. The bad news - it'll run from 6 AM to 6 PM [1000-2200 UT], making it hard to hear in the DC/Baltimore area. WABC's signal reaches the region after dark. But you can listen via http://www.wabcradio.com (from http://www.dcrtv.com which by the way is a nice site for radio scuttlebutt in the Mid-Atlantic area.) ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, DE, swprograms via DXLD) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ http://www.musicradio77.com has a five minute real audio preview of WABC Rewound 2003 and a WABC Rewound bulletin board. http://musicradio.computer.net/images/rewoundDemo2003.ram There are also clips from WABC Rewound in 1999 - 2002. There used to be a great website devoted to the top 40 days of CKLW (back when CKLW, on the Windsor shore of the Detroit River, had the greatest ratings in Cleveland) but I believe the webmaster became ill (Joel Rubin, NY, ibid.) ** U S A. STARBOARD EXPLAINS DROPPING ITS PURCHASE OF WJOB HAMMOND Green Bay, May 19 (CRU) --- Sherry Brownrigg, president of Starboard Network, Inc. e-mailed Catholic Radio Update to set the record straight in regard to the report last week about Starboard's backing out of the purchase of WJOB 1230 in Hammond, Indiana. ``Starboard elected to not go ahead with the purchase of WJOB due to the fact that we decided to hold off on our commitment to Spanish language broadcasting. We wanted to concentrate on our English feed, and we simply did not need two stations in that area. We do plan to pursue Spanish language Catholic radio in the future.`` (Catholic Radio Update May 26 via DXLD) ** U S A. As some of you know, Bob Hope is turning 100 years-of-age on May 29, 2003. Many of us were entertained by Mr. Hope, during our time in the Military Service. And others of us might have enjoyed his good cheer from Old Time Radio, and so forth. To show our appreciation, the US Army MARS is asking you to submit a "Happy Birthday" greeting to Bob Hope via the MARSgram service of the US Army MARS. If you would like to extend your birthday greeting to Mr. Bob Hope, I have set up a way for you to submit this free MARSgram via: http://wa.mars.hfradio.org/marsgram/bob.html Send your message, today! 73 de (Tomas, NW7US (AAR0JA/AAM0EWA) Hood, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** U S A. As referenced in previous issue: REMARKS BY FCC COMMISSIONER JONATHAN S. ADELSTEIN Before The Media Institute May 20, 2003 ``Big Macs and Big Media: The Decision to Supersize`` This is a great day to speak at The Media Institute. We`re on the eve of the most sweeping and potentially destructive overhaul of the FCC`s media rules in the history of American broadcasting. But I`m not sure we really know what we`re about to unleash. I`m fresh off the trail of media ownership hearings Commissioner Copps and I held across the country --- the so-called Magical Mystery Tour. One of our participants, Ben Bagdikian, former dean of the School of Journalism at UC Berkeley, spoke before a packed audience at San Francisco`s City Hall. In 1983, when the first edition of his book The Media Monopoly was released, he wrote that, ``50 corporations dominated most of every mass medium.`` The number then dropped with each new edition --- to 29 firms in 1987, 23 in 1990, 14 in 1992 down to 10 in 1997. The 2000 edition found that just six conglomerates were supplying most of America`s media. This trend will only accelerate after June 2nd. In fact, we`re likely to witness a tsunami of mergers --- an unprecedented wave of consolidation. When this wave recedes, we`ll find far fewer media companies left standing. Some of you in this room today may be swept away by that wave. But its principal victim may be our democracy. Lou Dobbs` Moneyline last week ran an online poll asking whether ``too few corporations own too many media outlets.`` Now this show`s audience has a high-end demographic. Yet ninety-eight percent said yes --- ninety-eight percent. I wonder who the other two percent were? I would guess that one percent were investment bankers salivating at the prospect of getting a piece of the action. After all, during the first month after the 1996 Act, more than $2 billion in radio transactions took place, and I`ve heard a lot more than that are in the wings today. In fact, Merrill Lynch says the ``Gold Rush`` has already begun. Deutsche Bank predicts that hundreds of TV stations will be sold or swapped. And the other one percent of Moneyline viewers? They probably already work for the big media companies that hope to come out on top. That leaves about 100 percent of the general audience --- the citizens whose interests the Commission is sworn to protect --- opposed to today`s concentration levels, let alone the more powerful media empires to come. That fits with what I witnessed at hearings across the country. Of the hundreds of citizens I heard from, many extremely articulate, not one person stood up to say, ``I want to see even more concentration in our media ownership.`` Not one. And that`s what we see in the comments pouring in to the FCC – virtually none from the public say ``please, let big media companies get bigger – I can`t wait to see what they`ll produce with all those economies of scale.`` The Free Press and the Future of Music recently surveyed about 10,000 citizen comments and found that only 11 people supported relaxing the rules – about 1/10 of one percent. Aside from these 11 people, the only other proponents for further media consolidation appear to be companies in deal-making mode or their advocates. We heard opposition from the NRA to Tom Petty, from Barry Diller to Pearl Jam, from Norman Lear to Ted Turner. Why is this chorus so in tune? Americans instinctively hold a deep hostility to big media. It violates every tenet of a free democratic society to let a handful of powerful companies control our media. FCC proceedings typically generate comment from a handful of affected companies and inside-the-Beltway types. But this one is radically different. Now, we`re getting tens of thousands of comments weekly, which is unprecedented --- and nearly all in one direction. More than 137,000 citizens have weighed in so far. I`ve heard the argument, ``What does public outrage matter? The FCC`s got a job to do, spurred on by Congress and the courts, and we can`t make these decisions by popular vote.`` Let me tell you why I believe it matters. The FCC is charged by law to serve the public interest. And the public has zero interest in seeing media conglomerates grow bigger. The public knows instinctively what the FCC is supposed to do --- protect them from large entities gaining too much control over critical channels of communication. A majority of five unelected bureaucrats shouldn`t substitute their own judgment --- or the judgment of self-interested corporate CEOs --- for the protection of the American people. Americans take this matter --- the media that they watch, listen to and read every day --- very personally. That became clear to me as I listened to hundreds of them express profound insights in passionate one- or two-minute statements. In a nutshell, people think further media consolidation will only accelerate trends they already find alarming. They think it will only increase sensationalism, crassness, violence, homogenization and lack of serious news coverage across the public airwaves. Dismissing the public`s views is a recipe for disaster, and it will have consequences we`re already beginning to see. We have in our hands a lit match, and we`re moving closer to a powder keg of public anger that may be about to explode. Could that explain why the Commission shied away from floating specific proposals for public comment? We can predict the outcome: the public outcry would be deafening. To borrow an image from a recent speech by the Chairman, in this case the penguins aren`t just swimming, they`re screeching loudly. And it`s tough to sneak a smelly dead fish past a bunch of angry penguins. People always notice what happens to their media, even if they don`t always know why. Many will notice the results from relaxing the rules whether or not they complained in advance. So what kind of backlash might result if the FCC pushes this too far? One of my neighbors stopped me this weekend and asked if I had any part in this media debate. He wanted to know if the ``fix is in`` for even greater consolidation. He concluded, ``well, if you can`t do anything to stop it, you`d better regulate the hell out of the few left standing.`` One very possible backlash is that the public may someday soon demand more intrusive content regulation or a return to the prescriptive solutions of the past. Most people agree with my view that content- neutral structural regulation is highly preferable to content regulation. But if the FCC whittles away the last vestiges of structural regulation, pressure for more intrusive regulation may boil over, threatening the First Amendment values The Media Institute holds so dear. We`re already hearing a growing refrain for media reform from people upset by the content of today`s programming --- by the rampant bad taste, sensationalism, sex, violence and lack of positive family programming on TV; by the explicit language and homogenization on the radio dial; by the stories not being covered in the news media, particularly when the media`s corporate self-interests are at stake --- which we have seen in this very proceeding. People all over, not just in Minot, North Dakota, have drawn a direct link between consolidation, with its absentee ownership, and the failure to meet the needs of local communities. So I caution those seeking further consolidation, including many of you in this room: use any increased efficiencies you may gain wisely. For if not, people might very well demand to see in license renewal proceedings or in quarterly reports more specific evidence of how owners are meeting the needs of local communities. They might try to return to a world where license renewals bring an opportunity for others to show how they would serve the public interest better. They might demand ascertainment studies or more rigid standards for broadcast decency. They might also seek to force a more balanced perspective of viewpoints on the airwaves or the labeling of corporate cross-promotions. I`m not saying I support these measures, but the public may call for more oversight if they become frustrated by consolidation. Now, I try to remain the eternal optimist, and hold out hope, even as time fades, that extremist proposals can still be moderated. There are yet some ways of moving the match away from the powder keg. Reasoned compromise can diffuse this issue. Rather than allowing massive consolidation, we should take a conservative approach that gradually permits additional mergers we can evaluate before completely unleashing the industry. But hopes fade with time and with setbacks in the opposite direction. Commissioner Copps and I were refused the traditional courtesy we requested of a few more weeks time to seek common ground – and to study more thoroughly the impact of the proposals before we vote on them. And we were denied the opportunity to air the specific proposals publicly, which would have assisted us in avoiding unintended consequences and sustaining the order in court. Despite these setbacks, the Chairman has challenged us to join in a commitment to finding solutions. So today I would like to offer some thoughts on at least some aspects of the issues raised in the proceeding. At the outset, let me say that I cannot support any part of an order that fails to reaffirm the most basic tenet of our 70 years of American broadcast regulation: that in return for the free and exclusive use of valuable and scarce public spectrum, broadcasters have a special obligation to serve the public interest. Nor could I support an order that finds that broadcasters are just another voice in a crowd of ever-expanding and fungible media channels. And I wouldn`t think that broadcasters would cozy up to this ``just another voice`` characterization either. For if broadcasters are no different from cable channels or web sites in the grand media scheme, what`s the basis for the must carry rules and the ``free`` digital television channels broadcasters were awarded? Despite the oft-repeated exhortation that technology has changed everything, a simple fact remains. No technological advances have made it possible for every person who wants to broadcast in a local community to do so. We therefore must reaffirm that the public interest is served by promoting all three of the basic principles that form the foundation of American broadcasting system: localism, diversity, and competition --- not just competition alone. First, we must consider how to hold broadcasters accountable to the public for the benefits they claim will result from consolidation. Proponents of relaxing the rules tout efficiencies as justifying newspaper-TV combinations, or TV duopolies and triopolies. So let the buyer disclose upfront what he or she commits to do with those efficiencies. What better programming, particularly locally-originated and oriented programming, will the buyer produce? Will they hire additional reporters to investigate local news stories? What better coverage will result of local events and local artists? Will each entity retain separate editorial discretion, and will the overall editorial budget be increased? How will the owner treat complaints of stories not being covered? Will the broadcaster improve its emergency broadcasting capabilities, or invest in better technology to alert the community to dangerous conditions? Before allowing media companies to expand into traditionally-protected areas, the public should know how it will benefit them. The FCC should then require an annual showing from the consolidated broadcaster that it met its commitments. Were efficiencies channeled into meeting the localism and diversity needs of the community, or did they go straight to the bottom line? The Commission has consistently required broadcasters seeking waivers of ownership rules to make specific, tangible representations of the benefits of consolidation. So given all the benefits claimed in this proceeding, this should be an easy showing for merging parties. And it will allow the FCC and the Congress to make more informed decisions on future levels of concentration. Second, diversity concerns stemming from cross-ownership of a broadcast station with other media outlets like newspapers or cable should be addressed based upon a specific showing of the diverse voices available in individual local markets and the power of the proposed combination to undermine diverse viewpoints. The Supreme Court has said that ``promoting the widespread dissemination of information from a multiplicity of sources`` is of the highest order. So safeguarding diversity should not be subject to abstract diversity scenarios that hypothetical markets of certain sizes may engender. Given diversity`s paramount position in our democracy, it shouldn`t be given short shrift by rules that neither reflect the realities of available viewpoints nor the power of particular combinations. Third, with respect to the national cap, while I clearly prefer to keep the cap at the 35% level that Congress established, in my opinion, the only other number that makes legal and policy sense is 40%, the number the market is at today. Before we increase the national cap, however, we must examine whether UHF stations should continue to retain a 50% discount and whether the increased power of the broadcast networks should be offset by safeguards for the retention of independently-produced content. Both of these issues are inextricably linked to an increase in the cap, and should be considered in further detail before any increase in the national cap takes effect. The UHF discount was put in place to reflect technical limits of the UHF signal in reaching the full audience of a VHF station. Today, however, 85% of the population is receiving broadcast television stations through cable or DBS. If restraints on the ability to reach a full audience have eroded due to cable carriage, so too should the UHF discount. If the whole purpose of this exercise is to update our rules in light of technological developments, we cannot ignore some just because we don`t like the outcome of more stringent limits. Likewise, with the change in the network cap from 25% to 35% and the repeal of the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules and the Prime Time Access Rule, we have seen the near extinction of independent production companies and independent creative entrepreneurs. Whereas 10 years ago, 85% of the programs on television were created and produced by entities independent of the networks, today only 15% to 20% are independently produced. Does network ownership restrain competition and diversity of content production? How have the trends over the past decade affected the diversity of viewpoints from different sources and encouraged competition from small businesses? Without the answers to questions like these in this or a further rulemaking proceeding, it`s difficult to move forward with confidence that we know the full impact of our decisions. I`m not saying I know the final answers. At a minimum, though, we should have well thought out and intellectually-coherent answers to these questions before we raise the network ownership cap. From the outset of broadcasting, policymakers have always understood that localism and diversity are inefficient. If efficiencies were all that mattered, Congress would have told the FCC to give out national or regional broadcast licenses. After all, the most efficient possible structure is for one large company, let`s call it Pravda, to gather the news for everyone. American broadcasting has never been about maximizing bottom-line efficiencies over all else. Going back to 1927, the Federal Radio Commission reported to Congress that it would assign station frequencies to serve as many communities as possible. It specifically sought to prevent New York and Chicago stations from dominating the airwaves. Today our inquiry should not veer off this course. Localism continues to be the core organizational principle of the Commission`s dispersal of valuable spectrum rights. Nothing in the 1996 Act jettisoned this core principle. In fact, the 1996 Act`s legislative history strongly reaffirms localism over efficiencies, saying ``Localism is an expensive value. We believe it is a vitally important value, however, [and] should be preserved and enhanced.`` So to avoid backlash from the public and its representatives, it will be up to many of you in the room today to prove that efficiencies gained by any relaxation of broadcast ownership rules are channeled in the direction of serving local communities and local residents. I often hear from industry sources, ``we`re just giving people what they want. After all, that`s our business. And as we get bigger, we just have more resources and ability to deliver a better quality product.`` This is certainly true to some extent. But let me extend a warning about this. You might call it the ``McDonaldization`` of the American media. McDonald`s spends a lot trying to give people what they want. They only put products out after expensive field testing. Every product is analyzed to satisfy the greatest number of people, even if the local community may have its own unique tastes. Don`t get me wrong, I like McDonald`s, and eat there sometimes. But I don`t eat there every day. And even if I did, I know it wouldn`t be very healthy. The same goes for the media. People also need a balanced media diet --- a diverse menu, if you will. But it`s a lot harder to set up a broadcast station than a new restaurant. Any of us with a few resources can open an alternative, say a health food store, right next to a fast food restaurant. But not just anybody can open a TV or radio station. In fact, those are nearly impossible businesses for upstarts to break into, and the barriers to entry may rise even higher after June 2nd. The spectrum can`t support everyone deciding to start their own TV and radio station. Neither cable nor the Internet has changed the huge market power granted by federal license to use scarce broadcast spectrum, particularly when that license comes with the requirement to be carried on cable. If these scarce licenses weren`t valuable, their price wouldn`t continue to skyrocket as they have in recent years. The scarcity of the public`s airwaves is the very reason it`s up to the FCC to ensure a diversity of owners and viewpoints. Fast food chains are welcome to spread as fast as the market will bear. People will always find another place to eat. But they won`t always find a diversity of viewpoints in their media unless we do our jobs. And we won`t be fulfilling our duties if we treat the media like we treat fast food. Unlike typical consumer products, the media produces significant positive and negative externalities. The media is where people receive information and guidance for their democracy and their way of life. A broadcaster is still in some senses a gatekeeper --- deciding which issues are important to a community, whether any particular speaker gains access to the airwaves, and how various sides of an issue are presented. So while mass-produced media may be more efficient, it may have disastrous results for our democracy. Put simply, Big Macs and big media don`t have the same repercussions for our communities. And while a person may decide Supersizing their Big Mac meal sounds good in the short term, they may find it leads to damaging results in the long term. I`m afraid that the FCC isn`t only about to further McDonaldize the media --- it`s about to Supersize it. Once we place our order on June 2nd, we`ll all have to digest what comes our way. And the public may be about to experience a giant ``Maalox moment.`` I, for one, hope that we take it slowly and avoid indigestion. Thank you, and I would be happy to take a few questions or comments (FCC via DXLD) WHAT THE FCC HAS HEARD SO FAR -- Sunday, May 25, 2003; Page B03 Since last fall, when the Federal Communications Commission asked for "public comment" on its proposed new rules for media ownership, the agency has logged more than 320,000 e-mails, letters and postcards... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33600-2003May23.html 500 CHANNELS, BUT NO CLEAR PICTURE OF WHAT WE WANT By Robert J. Thompson, Sunday, May 25, 2003; Page B03 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33609-2003May23.html 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, Annandale, VA, DXLD) ** U S A. MOVE OVER, RIGHT WING RADIO - THE LIBERALS ARE COMING by Thom Hartmann Published on Monday, May 19, 2003 by CommonDreams.org NEW YORK - A political explosion happened this weekend in New York, and it may be the big one that gives Karl Rove nightmares. It could mean the end of George W. Bush's seemingly unending ability to tell overt lies to the American people and not get called on them by the American media. At a Saturday talk radio industry event put on by Talkers Magazine, Gabe Hobbs, Clear Channel Radio's vice president of News/Talk/Sports, announced that in the near future this corporate owner of over 1200 radio stations is considering programming some of their talk stations "in markets where there are already one or two stations doing conservative talk" with all-day back-to-back all-liberal talk show hosts. . . http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0519-03.htm (via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) ** U S A. DR. DEMENTO Does anyone know if A) the Dr Demento show is still on the air and B) if it`s audible on any stations in the area (Golden Horseshoe/So Ontario/Western NY) (Fred Waterer, ODXA via DXLD) Yes & no There is an up to date list: http://mypage.iu.edu/~jbmorris/FAQ/stations.html (Brian Smith, ibid.) As of May 19, no less ** U S A. Publicradiofan.com has added some more reading services --- with webcasts, who needs SCA/SCS? Viz.: RAISE AUDIO SERVER Welcome to the RAISE audio server. The Regional Audio Information Service of Asheville, North Carolina, sponsors this audio library of current information. Direct all comments to info@raisewnc.org Please select between Real Audio and Windows Media to listen to the program of your choice. Files are available immediately after broadcast. Real Audio archives Windows Media live stream http://www.raisewnc.org/ THE METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON EAR: free services for blind, visually impaired, and physically disabled people who cannot effectively read print. http://www.washear.org/ TALKING INFORMATION CENTER, Marshfield MA Turning Print Into Sound http://www.ticnetwork.com/ WCRS - WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS RADIO SERVICE, Akron OH Welcome to the website for WCRS. Written Communications Radio Service broadcasts Newspapers, Magazines and Books over a closed circuit radio frequency for the visually impaired. http://www.wcrsradio.org/ (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette... By Adrian McCoy, Post- Gazette Staff Writer. WEDO-AM's (810) daily Italian radio show "Radio Italia" will go global this weekend. Host Sal Patitucci taped a one- hour show that will air on the Italian network RAI on Saturday. The broadcasts are carried by satellite and shortwave. Patitucci will re- broadcast the show at 11 a.m. Sunday on WEDO. "Radio Italia" airs from 5:05 to 6 p.m. weekdays and at 11 a.m. Sundays. The program features music, news and sports reports from Italy. It has been on the air since 1964 and is one of the area's longest-running ethnic radio programs... http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/20030522wedortv7.asp 73 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. Former military vessel LST-325 taking along ham radio on river cruise: The former tank landing ship LST-325 -- now a museum ship in civilian hands -- will set sail with ham radio aboard on June 3 for a 78-day cruise up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. An all- volunteer crew will handle the vessel, which plans stops at Vicksburg, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; Cape Girardeau and St Louis, Missouri; Evansville and Jeffersonville, Indiana; Paducah, Kentucky; Greenville, Mississippi; and New Orleans, Louisiana--in that order. Amateur Radio operation using WW2LST/mm will be on all HF bands, with Tom Pendarvis, W0MTP, as the chief operator. Operation on AM and CW using a restored TCS-12 will include 80/75 and 40 meters. The ham station will operate from the Jackson Carter Memorial Radio Room, dedicated to the late Jack Carter, KC6WYX, who made history as WW2LST/mm http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2001/01/10/1/ when he and a crew of volunteers sailed the LST-325 from Crete to Alabama in late 2000. QSL to Bob Wilder, AF2HD, 6032 Idlemoore Ct, Theodore, AL 36582-4117 and include a No 10 SASE to accommodate the special QSL card (ARRL May 22 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** U S A. NARTE registers ham radio net: In association with ARRL, the National Association of Radio Telecommunications Engineers NARTE http://www.narte.org/ headquartered in Medway, Massachusetts, has registered an HF Amateur Radio Net -- The NARTE Net. The NARTE Net will provide a forum for the common interests of ARRL members and NARTE-certified professionals, NARTE said in announcing the net. The NARTE Net meets Saturdays, 1700 UT, and Sundays, 2100, on 18.140 MHz. "The NARTE Net is launched to further the mutual support of ARRL and NARTE in fostering technical awareness, educating and providing credentials to practitioners in amateur and commercial telecommunications," NARTE said. A worldwide, non-profit, professional organization, NARTE certifies professional engineers and technicians in the fields of telecommunications and unlicensed wireless systems installation. The ARRL and NARTE maintain a memorandum of understanding to support areas of mutual interest (ARRL May 22 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** U S A. HAMS WANTED FOR NEW WILDLIFE TRACKING PROJECTS ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV, says ham radio assistance is needed for three new wildlife tracking projects. Moell says a biologist at the University of South Florida at Tampa (USF) is studying Florida burrowing owls, thought to range in Florida and the Florida Keys. Some Florida burrowing owl chicks are being radio-tagged, and USF wants volunteers throughout the Southeast to listen for the VHF radio tags in an attempt to determine the owls` routes and final destinations. The second project involves Mexican long-nosed bats. For about a month beginning in mid-June, Bat Conservation International wants volunteers to join a team that will track the bats` movements in and around Big Bend National Park in Texas. Project three involves a study of orphaned great horned owls conducted by the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary and the University of North Texas. After being raised at the sanctuary, up to two dozen of these owls will be released into the wild this summer with radio tags attached. Volunteers are needed to monitor for the radio tags, especially in the Denton and Collin county areas. Moell`s Homing In Web site http://www.homingin.com has details and contact information on all three projects (ARRL Letter May 23 via John Norfolk, DXLD) WTFK??? {Why are hams being called upon? This is a receive-only project, so their transmitters will be superfluous!} ** VENEZEULA. CAUGHT BETWEEN AN AUTHORITARIAN PRESIDENT AND INTOLERANT MEDIA Reporters Without Borders writes: An April 2003 report says press freedom threatened by a "dictator" and "coup-supporters" in Venezuela. http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=7582 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. De nuevo hechos violentos sacuden a Venezuela. Durante una concentración pacifica que se realizaba en Catia, Caracas, hubo un tiroteo donde resultaron varias personas heridas y una persona fallecida. La Radio ha informado al momento de todos los acontecimientos. En la página web de Sintonia DX ya hay un sonido incluido en la sección de captaciones recientes sobre estos sucesos lamentables. El audio fue tomado de Unión Radio Caracas via Unión Radio 640 PLC. http://www.angelfire.com/music5/sintoniadx Atte: (José Elías, Venezuela, May 24, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. The following regional stations were heard 1200-1230, May 11: 4798 Son La; 5034.7 // 6165 Dai Tieng Noi Vietnam; 6381 R Lai Chau and 6492.4 Cao Bang. Dai Tieng Noi Vietnam was also heard signing on *2325 in Hmong. 17925, Voice of Vietnam, 0805-0930, May 11, new frequency with Home service heard // 5975, 7210 and 9530. News and reports 0900 in Vietnamese. At 0930 7210 changed to a different program, but the 3 other frequencies continued to be in parallel. At 0930 5925 // 6020 // 9875 carried another program. At 1200-1230 all these brought the same program: 675 MW, 5925, 5975, 6020, 7210, 9530 and 17925 while 9875 was off (17925 is 3rd harmonic of 5975! DSWCI Ed.) At 2300 and onwards the Voice of Vietnam was heard with the same program on 5925, 5975, 6020, 7210 and 9530 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. BROADCASTING SERVICES BANDS GAZETTED --- Herald Reporter GOVERNMENT has gazetted broadcasting services bands following the allocation of the bands to the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. . . http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?id=21332&pubdate=2003-05-24 [and non] MUTARE JOURNALIST REMOVED FROM REMAND STANLEY Karombo, 29, a reporter with SW Radio Africa and a correspondent with the Voice of America (VOA), facing a charge under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), was Tuesday removed from remand by Mutare magistrate, Milton Serima. . . http://allafrica.com/stories/200305230899.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. On May 20 I heard the same station [reported on 9745 as LIBYA q.v. by Tarek Zeidan] on 9747.0 at 1845-1932* in Arabic. QRM RAI 9745. 43443 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ GOOD NEWS ON THE BPL/PLC FRONT FROM EUROPE Kees Murre, PA2CHM, who's the International Amateur Radio Union liaison for VERON, the IARU member-society in the Netherlands reports that electric utility NUON has ceased efforts to test delivery of Internet service via power line communication (PLC) -- what the FCC has dubbed Broadband over Power Line (BPL). "NUON says that it is possible to send an Internet signal through the power line, but at this moment technical limitations stand in the way of large-scale application," Murre said. There's more information on PLC testing in the Netherlands on the ARRL Web site (ARRL May 22 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ ENCUENTRO DE VERANO DE LAS RADIOS LIBRES 28 JUNIO 2003 Saludos, queridos amigos de las emisoras libres de onda corta. Ha llegado el momento de dar a conocer brevemente sobre la próxima reunión que se celebrará en la frontera Holandesa/Belga en base al éxito que ha tenido la misma en los años anteriores, y al igual que en oportunidades previas, tendremos parrillada, bébidas, diversión y risas; y, esperamos que ustedes también puedan asistir. La razón de este anuncio anticipado es para aquellos que deseen asistir al evento, programen sus tiempos de vacaciones o de trabajo, así como para que nosotros sepamos cuántos van a venir a efectos de tener todo preparado. La reunión será el sábado 28 de Junio y comenzará alrededor de las 1500 hora local [TU +2]; se puede quedar el que lo desee durante esa noche en una carpa (traigan su bolsa de dormir) o en el hotel local de la zona. El lugar exacto del encuentro será anunciado unos pocos días antes de la reunión a todos los interesados que deseen asistir al encuentro, razón por la que le solicitamos nos informe oportunamente por e-mail o por carta. Más informaciones sobre el encuentro de verano, pueden obtener si escriben a: summermeeting@h... [truncated], o por carta a Summermeeting, P. O. Box 2702; NL-6049 ZG Herten; Holanda, o a la direccion de Ytterby en Suecia. Nosotros esperamos que asistan muchos oyentes de onda corta, así como operadores de emisoras piratas al igual que en los años pasados. Las personas que viajen desde lejos, pueden quedarse gratuitamente; sólo les pedimos que nos avisen oportunamente. Saludos, Organización Borderhunter del Encuentro de Verano (SW-Pirates, via Enrique A. Wembagher, Argentina, Conexión Digital May 23 via DXLD) IARU REGIONAL MEETING FALLS VICTIM TO SARS The SARS outbreak in Asia has caused the postponement of the 12th International Amateur Radio Union Region 3 conference http://www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3/ which had been scheduled to be held in Taipei, Taiwan, in September. The Chinese Taipei Amateur Radio League (CTARL) requested the postponement May 18. A new date and venue will be announced at least four months in advance. "On behalf of all Region 3 member-societies and other people concerned, Region 3 directors and the secretary have very much appreciated the preparations to date and the emergency actions taken by the conference preparatory team of the host society CTARL and President Mr. Bolon Lin, BV5AF," said IARU Region 3 Secretary Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB. The postponement also will mean a change in the IARU Administrative Council meeting planned to be held in Taipei September 6-8 (ARRL May 22 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ EXCLUSIVE AND NOT COPYRIGHTED HF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST And now amigos, as always at the end of the program, here is our exclusive and not copyrighted HF propagation update and forecast. Solar flux is hovering around 115 units, and it looks like solar activity will decline during the next several days. A solar coronal hole has caused yet another geomagnetic disturbance that has sent the A index to figures as high as 5 during the past 24 hours. Sporadic E events are likely to happen mostly between 7 am and 11 am local time, and again from about 3 PM to 8 PM local time. Be on the alert for possible double hop sporadic E, as the probability of E skip events increases as we approach the month of June, so chances of two or more sporadic E clouds forming at different geographical locations are most likely at this moment, and that will lead to some interesting double hop DX, typically seen on the 6 meter amateur band (Prof. Arnaldo Coro Antich, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited May 24-25, via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-090, May 23, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1183: RFPI: Sat 0130, 0730/0900, 1330/1500, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700/0830, 1300/1430 on 15039 and/or 7445 WWCR: Sat 0600, Sun 0230 on 5070, 0630 on 3210, Wed 0930 on 9475 WJIE: Sat 0930, Sun 1030, 1630 on 7490 and/or 13595 (maybe) WBCQ: Mon 0445 on 7415 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1183.html [k4cc.net host had a DOS attack slowing downloading, OK now?] WORLD OF RADIO ON WINB. Thanks to an invitation from Hans Johnson, WINB in Pennsylvania will start broadcasting WORLD OF RADIO June 7, Saturdays at 1730 UT on 13570. The antenna heading is registered with HFCC as 242 degrees with 50 kW. ** AFGHANISTAN. U.S. GOVERNMENT DONATES TV TRANSMITTER A new $1 million television transmitter in Afghanistan, donated by the U.S. government, will increase the broadcast signal from the capital to five times its present strength, according to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). The new 500-watt transmitter, currently being installed in Kabul, will broadcast TV Kabul throughout a 100- kilometer radius, reaching areas such as Wardak Province for the first time. While the broadcasting equipment significantly improves the broadcasting capacity of Afghanistan in the post-Taliban era, nationwide coverage remains elusive. Abdul Hameed Mubarez, an official with the Information and Culture Ministry, said the problem would not be easy to fix. "We can't broadcast easily across the nation because it's so mountainous," he told IWPR. "We can do so only with the aid of foreign nations, who can help us install satellite communications." IWPR reported that Afghanistan's current domestic television programming is considered so boring that many viewers are turning to foreign cable and satellite stations that show movies and popular- music shows. There have been some calls for more entertainment programs, a greater female presence on television, and an end to censorship. CC (RFE/RL Media Matters May 23 via DXLD) $1 million for a 500 watt transmitter covering a 100 km radius? These figures don`t add up! (gh, DXLD) ** BELARUS`. 17 May, 2120-2200, 2830 kHz, Belarussian Radio - 1st National Channel. LSB or partly suppressed carrier. SIO 444 (open_dx - Vyacheslav Oleinik, Chisinau, Moldova, Signal via DXLD) ** CHILE. 6010, Radio Cooperativa (via Radio Parinacota, Putre), 0810- 0835, Mayo 20. Español. Programa: "El Diario de Cooperativa". Noticias deportivas: comentario sobre el partido Cobreloa-Boca Jrs, por la Copa Libertadores. Anuncio de la emisora: "La Libertadores... se vive en Cooperativa... en directo desde Calama, Cobreloa vs Boca Juniors, lo mejor del fútbol de ambos paises... por Cooperativa, todos por el fútbol". Reporte del tiempo:"... le dice la temperatura en Cooperativa. . . 6 grados en Santiago". Comerciales locales. Datos de la hora: "26 minutos para las 5, 26 minutos para las 5". Anuncio e ID: "De la noche a la mañana en Cooperativa"; 33543; mejor recepción en modo LSB (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. Dear Listener, Welcome to the latest edition of the WRN Newsletter update. Published weekly, the updates will keep you informed of programme highlights so that you can better plan your listening, no matter how or where in the world you listen to WRN’s English language networks. This week we are very pleased to welcome Radio Guangdong to WRN. Guangdong Today, the weekly 15-minute English programme about the province and its people is being specially produced by Radio Guangdong for broadcast on WRN. The first edition of the programme is broadcast on Saturday May 24 and looks at the province`s anti-SARS efforts and the measures that people in Guangzhou are taking to preventing the spread of disease. In future weeks, the programme will focus on social, economic and cultural developments of the region and will offer a deeper understanding of this important Chinese province by looking beyond the headlines. Radio Guangdong is based in Guangzhou, the capital of the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong and Macao. It is one of China`s leading media groups with eight radio channels, two newspapers, one audiovisual company and one advertising company. Guangdong Today can be heard on WRN each Saturday at 1600 UT / 1200 Eastern [daylight] Time in North America and at 1600 UT/ 1800 Central European [summer] Time in Europe. On Sundays the programme is broadcast at 0800 UT to South America, Africa, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. If you can`t manage to tune in at these times then the programme will also be available in Real Audio, Windows Media and downloadable ftp file formats from the WRN website at: http://www.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=93 If you do tune then why not send Radio Guangdong a message about their programme to: Radio Guangdong, 686 Renminbei Road, Guangzhou 510012, P. R. China Tel: +86-20-36235075 Fax: +86-20-36235075 Email: gdnews@radio-gd.com Web: http://www.radio-gd.com (WRN newsletter May 23 via DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. Just received the latest broadcast schedule from China Radio Intl in today`s mail. I see they say they broadcast a relay from BRAZIL in English (and I assume other languages) to the Caribbean (?) area. Does anyone know what frequencies they use? I have a list of freqs given, but no key to which ones are from where. Thanks in advance (Bob Combs, New Mexico, USA, May 22, hard-core-dx via DXLD) The only known Brasília relay of CRI is in Spanish at 0100 and 0300 on 9665. 5990 at 2300 is via Cuba (gh, DXLD) Bob; I recently received CRI Messenger and a printed sked that shows no relay sites as they have in the past. The English service to the Caribbean Sea (as they call it) is from 2300-2400 on 5990 kHz. The printed sked I have does show transmitter sites on a world map and the azimuth they {use}, but you have to guess as to where each transmitter is actually located. This map shows the South American relay more or less located at French Guyana. Can you tell me did they actually mention a Brazilian relay? Perhaps, if you have the same sked as I, it is the French Guyana site (which they do/or have used) that you see. 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. Re additional R. Martí SW frequencies, 3-087: Temporary expansion, now ended and back to normal schedule, but that never included 9755 (Dan Ferguson, IBB, May 23, SWBC via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. U.S. PROPAGANDA SPUTTERS IN ANTI-CASTRO CRUSADE Special to washingtonpost.com Friday, May 23, 2003; 6:35 AM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29077-2003May22.html If President Bush intended to send a strong message of solidarity to those struggling for freedom in Cuba, he didn't succeed. His special 40-second broadcast in Spanish to commemorate Cuban Independence Day aired Tuesday on Radio Marti, which just about guarantees few Cubans heard it. Created under the Reagan administration nearly 20 years ago, Radio Marti started operations in 1985 to ``promote the cause of freedom'' on the island by providing an alternative to state-run media. A television twin, TV Marti, began operations in 1990. The two Martis were to be a special arm of the Voice of America, the United States' well-respected tool of public diplomacy. But thanks to the clever maneuvering of Cuban-Americans in Congress, all Marti operations began moving to Miami about six years ago. Ostensibly the move would have improved content as broadcasters could draw from the talents of the large exile community, but once far from VOA's standards of accuracy and objectivity, its message became shrill and propagandistic and its Cuban audience lost interest--at least those who could receive a signal despite Fidel Castro's continued attempts at jamming the transmissions. Meanwhile, critics believe, Marti's managers became more interested in pleasing anti-Castro Cuban exiles. It's not hard to find policy analysts who believe the Martis, with a $23 million annual budget, are a waste of taxpayers' money and should be shut down. The chances of that, however, are slim. In the wake of one of Castro's harshest crackdowns on pro-democracy dissidents, Bush is unlikely to do anything that could be construed as softening the hard line he has pledged toward the regime in Havana. Liberals themselves would be hard pressed to dismantle Marti, since the recent arrests and extraordinary sentences imposed on Cuban dissidents, including 28 independent journalists, are the greatest testament to Castro's fear of the power of information. With funding destined to continue, it's time to reinvigorate Radio and TV Marti as a foreign-policy tool. Bush has said as much in previous Cuba policy speeches promising to modernize the Cuba broadcast operations and take them in a new direction. To do so in a meaningful and purposeful way, at least three things must happen: --The Martis need to direct themselves back to Washington. Left within the sphere of influence of South Florida's powerful Cuban exiles, any serious efforts to restore their credibility would remain questionable. The conservative Heritage Foundation, for instance, last month proposed ending TV Marti's expensive broadcasts. Yet even Heritage advocates, as do other longtime observers, giving the Martis a second chance as long as the stations return to Washington and reshape their programming. --The United States must figure a way around Castro's signal-jamming and get the job done, or give up that which is most affected, TV Marti. Both liberal and conservative analysts believe that unless the jamming can be overcome, funding would be better spent on other outlets such as Radio Marti or VOA-TV. --Quality of programming must improve. Moving to Washington and upgrading the technical nature of the transmissions will do little if content is not addressed directly. If their programming does not serve the needs of those on the island, the Martis may never overcome their reputation for waste and end the mocking cynicism which they face today. Last month's naming of Pedro V. Roig as new director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting that supervises Radio and Television Marti appears to be a good start. Roig has pledged to restructure programming and to fulfill the mission `of bringing objective news and information, along with the broadest spectrum of thought and opinion` to Cubans in Cuba. Judging by Bush's low-key May 20 commemoration, an occasion often used by U.S. presidents to unveil new anti-Castro measures, the White House is carefully evaluating its options on Cuba. Tightening the bolts on an embargo policy that can hardly be tighter may only play into Castro's hands and his penchant to portray himself as the victim. U.S. officials talk instead about the need to better implement tools already at their disposal. But unless Radio and TV Marti's improvements are far-reaching, they will do little to lift the blockade against the free flow of information to and within Cuba -- a blockade where a public `suspicious of government proclamations ... has no means to be heard,` as Cuban poet and journalist Raul Rivero once put it. For his struggle for a free Cuban press, Rivero was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison. © 2003 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Here are the schedule changes planned for implementation on June 1, for HCJB, Pifo: 9525 0100-0500 Spanish DELETE 9745 0000-0600 English DELETE 9745 0100-0500 Spanish ADD 9860 0600-0800 English DELETE 12005 0500-0515 Kikongo DELETE 12005 1100-1430 English DELETE 15185 2000-2200 English DELETE 17660 2230-2300 German DELETE 21455 0000-1530 Various DELETE 21455 0000-0630 Various ADD (dual azimuth to CIRAF 27-28, 55, 58-60) 21455 0800-1530 Various ADD (dual azimuth to CIRAF 27-28, 55, 58-60) (Bob Padula, EDXP ADMIN, May 23 via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Despite their on-air announcements and printed stationery, cards and letters, the Radiodifusora Católica Cultural "Voz del Upano" in 9 cases out of 10 is referred to as "La Voz del Upano". The 5965 outlet from Tena, which per Malm´s clip identifies itself as "Voz del Upano" was first reported by Malm in DXLD 1073 (May 20, 2001). The official Ecuadorian frequency listing says this extension of Misión Salesiana de Oriente is located at Km. 3 vía Tena - Puerto Napo (Napo). (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, May 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. It appears that SWR Germany has changed their format from music to news all the time. For years I have listened to this low power 10 kW station from Stuttgart Germany with an excellent music program. I don't speak the language but made no difference. Sorry to see the change. I was always amazed at such a clear signal with low power (Bob Montgomery, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INDIA. MAKING AIRWAVES: FM RADIO'S POTENTIAL MALIKA RODRIGUES, TIMES NEWS NETWORK, WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2003 01:40:50 AM It's been around just a year, and you just can't tune out. To get an idea of the potential of FM radio as an advertising medium, one has to take the ironing-board test - that's how a seminal piece of research into radio is known in the industry. What happens is this: a group of housewives in a room are asked to test an iron. While they're ironing, FM radio plays in the background. After the 'test' is over, the women are quizzed on what they'd heard in the meanwhile - and it turns out that they remember not only the music and the commentators, but also an extremely high proportion of the ads. Ask radioman and former BBC anchor Mark Tully, and he swears by radio. "Unlike television, you can go to sleep without bothering to switch it off. And you can also do other things while listening to the radio," he once said. There's little doubt that, as a medium, radio delivers to the advertisers - and it's big bang for the buck. "Radio is underutilised," agrees Divya Gupta, president, The Media Edge, one of India's leading media planning and buying agencies. "We don't use it enough in our media mix, but it's very effective in terms of impact and cost as a multiplier medium," she adds. Whether it's the high-octane advertising, the non-stop promos, the 80-rupee radio sets that every second commuter has, it's obvious that private FM radio is a hit. While audiences definitely seem to have taken to the airwaves, the birthday celebrations seem somewhat bittersweet for the industry. Some marginal players are taking a bow, some of the lesser stations are struggling to stay on air, the regulatory hassles have kept players on their toes. For a few large players, the champagne was on ice for the one-year bash. Of course, it's still a long way to go, but since FM radio as a category is developing, the brand is now playing a more important role. Take Mumbai, for instance - FM radio penetration hit 61 per cent, according to the an independent IMRB survey released in November 2002 (RADAR). Listenership has soared since, with weekly listenership touching almost 60 lakh. Radio Mirchi (from the Times of India Group) clocked 74 per cent of weekly listenership, and Radio City (from Star) comes second with 43 per cent. Interestingly, the same survey points out that listenership is heavily skewed towards the SEC A and the 15-34 age group. Indian players have found that like in most markets abroad, radio is a medium that's extremely popular, and has great impact in terms of ad recall. Research agency Millward Brown discovered that redirecting just 10 per cent of television spends to radio can increase the efficiency of a campaign by 15 per cent. In the UK, radio is the fastest growing advertising medium, though it accounts for just five per cent of total adspend, compared to 10-12 per cent for more developed markets like the US and Australia. AP Parigi, managing director of Entertainment Network India, whose Radio Mirchi is the only station with a national footprint, operating in nine cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, says radio is a frequency medium and, more importantly, it's city-centric. "Radio should be the first option: the cost economies are awesome. And apart from frequency, it offers interactivity," he explains. Agrees Mike Powell, a US-based consultant who's worked in radio in the UK, as well as consulted in the US and Asia: "Across the world, audiences love radio." Audiences also believe in it: research by The Henley Centre, a strategic marketing consultancy, shows that consumers put particularly high levels of trust in radio as compared to any other media - with two-thirds of the population surveyed saying that they would trust their radio station to be honest and fair. One instance when this trust factor was leveraged by an advertiser was during the recent crisis that ICICI Bank faced in Gujarat. After a run on the bank that started in Ahmedabad on Friday night, ICICI Bank released spots on Radio Mirchi in Ahmedabad on Saturday and Sunday, announcing that the RBI had confirmed its liquidity and sound financial position. The ad budgets may still be small, but the potential to grow is huge. Industry estimates total spends on FM at about Rs 40-45 crore nationally, with Rs 25-30 crore from Mumbai alone. Says Sumantra Dutta, COO, Radio City, "In Mumbai, the growth of advertising is totally disproportionate to the growth in listenership." Advertisers have been slow to get on board - and too stingy with their money when they do, he feels. Take a look at the figures: across the country, radio spends are only about two per cent of advertising budgets. Advertisers who have taken to the airwaves do feel that it's paid off. Both media planners as well as broadcasters feel it hasn't been the really big spenders like FMCG companies who have taken the chance - it's financial services and automobiles. ING Vysya, one of the first advertisers in Bangalore on Radio City, used radio in its launch phase to build brand awareness, and get responses to its call centres. Says Gautam Sharma, vice president and head of marketing, ING Vysya, "It can't be zapped. If you're listening, you've to listen to the ad; so you're captive, especially when people are on the road. And in the early days, it was clutter-free." One myth marketers still believe in is that radio can't work for a launch. Says Nandini Dias, national media director, Lodestar, which launched Mahindra's Scorpio in Mumbai with a radio blitz: "In the history of car advertising in India, radio has never been used as a launch medium. All car advertisers use it as a reminder activity after the press and TV launch." What Lodestar did was put together a package that capitalised on the interactivity offered by radio. The Scorpio was paraded through the city in a cavalcade, with a radio jockey on board, who was in constant touch with the studio. So listeners knew exactly when the car was in their area, and were invited to see it and sign up for a test-drive. "It was very interactive, and worked very well for us," says Dias. Pepsi, currently running a major promotion on air, believes in FM since it's an on-the-go medium: "It's relatively closer to the point of purchase, compared to other conventional mediums," says a Pepsi spokesperson. Dias believes that while marketers may be willing to try out the medium 'on faith', a long-term commitment needs research to back it up. Advertisers agree. "The biggest issue today is lack of measurement," says Dalip Sehgal, executive director - new ventures, Hindustan Lever. While HLL has taken a number of its brands - including Axe, Clinic, Kwality Walls and Sunsilk - on to FM, he feels it will prove difficult to evaluate the medium unless there's reliable research on the listener numbers. At this point in the development of the industry, while the brand has begun to play a role in differentiation between channels, pricing of spots is crucial. With rates quoting almost at par with those of niche satellite TV channels, radio is not really that cheap a medium, feel some media observers. Look at it another way: while a niche channel may have national reach, it's still a tiny audience, and nowhere near as well-defined as an advertiser might desire - and in a one-TV household, it's quite likely to be zapped in favour of a far more expensive general entertainment channel. What one can't underestimate is the multiplier effect of radio. A study done by The Media Edge in Mumbai shows that if combined with TV, the multiplier effect is maximum due to radio's ability to 'transfer image' - since a strong audio mnemonic can be used to trigger the brand's audio-visual communication in listeners' minds. Add to that the fact that most audiences are captive, and there's no remote control, and advertisers are just beginning to put more money where the medium is (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. The audio quality on XM just plain sucks. Sorry to be so direct. I've been very disappointed with their audio quality. I don`t know about Sirius, and can`t comment about them. They also appear to have poor compression/processing which could be their codec. In my opinion XM's audio has about the same fidelity as a 24 KB mp3. I've heard AM radio stations with far better high frequency reproduction. Now on the other hand, the programming is EXCELLENT (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Sunny Sarasota, Florida http://www.amtower.com NRC-AM via DXLD) See also CHINA; OKLAHOMA; SAUDI ARABIA; SOMALIA ** IRAN [non]. SURVEY OF ANTI-IRANIAN VISION OF FREEDOM TELEVISION ON 23 MAY 03 The following provides spot-checks of the news programmes of Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO) TV (Sima-ye Azadi - "Vision of Freedom"), monitored by the BBC Persian Team on 23 May. The station announces 24-hour "round the clock" broadcasting. The TV carried a 15 minute news bulletin at 0830 gmt and another 30 minute bulletin at 0930 gmt. The news were interspersed with filler programmes including biography of Mojahedin-e Khalq "martyrs", foreign news analyses, music, songs, quotes from reports of foreign agency interviews with world leaders and unspecified video footage on the achievements of the Mojahedin-e Khalq warriors in their endeavour to topple the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Postal address of the TV: P.O. Box 14061; London NW7 4SE; England Telephone: 0044208-2030096 Internet address: http://iranntv.com/ During the news bulletins, the television continuously carried subtitles of the latest news in Iran and the world. The news announcer used the term "clerical regime" and "regime" to describe the Iranian government. In addition, the announcer used the title "cleric" before the names of Iranian officials. For example, he referred to President Khatami as cleric Khatami. At 0855, the television carried pictures of a demonstration held by dozens of the group's supporters in London calling for the group's name be removed from the American terrorist list. They also protested to the disarmament of the group. The demonstrators shouted slogans such as : "The clerics are the terrorist", "The clerics are the threat", "Down with the terrorist regime in Iran", "Down with the terrorist mollahs (clerics) in Iran", "Down with the mollah's regime in Iran" and "Iran, Rajavi, Rajavi, Iran". The participants carried pictures of the MKO members who have been presumably killed by the Iranian government. The participants carried Iranian flags with the lion and sun emblem as well as placards calling for the MKO's name to be removed from the terrorist list. A number of patriotic song were also played at the demonstration. A number of participants were interviewed. They said that they had come to demonstrate their hatred towards the Iranian government and protest to the aforementioned issues. A participant read out a communiqué issued by MKO demonstrators in Berlin. [0930: see below] At 1002, the television broadcast an English version of the Persian news bulletins. The female announcer observed the full Islamic dress code. The bulletin ended at 1019 gmt. At 1024 gmt the television began to broadcast an unnamed movie in English with Iranian subtitles about the second world war. The film was about the racism which existed in the German war camps in which American and Australian POWs were kept. At around 1300 gmt, the television began to broadcast programmes in English. These programmes, which ended at 1400 gmt, consisted of a news bulletin and interviews with experts and commentators about the MKO and Iran. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 23 May 03 (via DXLD) PROGRAMME SUMMARY OF ANTI-IRAN VISION OF FREEDOM NEWS 0930 GMT, 23 MAY 1. 0930 Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) issues a statement about Iran's demand from America to hand over those elements behind the blast in Imam Reza's holy shrine. The announcer also gives background information on the issue. [No video] 2. 0937 Announcer quotes Associated Press about the holding of demonstrations by MKO members calling for the organization's name to be removed from the terrorist list. [TV shows video footage of the demonstration] 3. 0939 Announcer quotes the Jane Research Centre's report about Iran's nuclear activities in Natanz. [No video] 4. 0941 America imposes sanctions on a Chinese and Iranian company because of their military activities. [No video] 5. 0943 In a statement the Iranian Youth and Student Network voices support for the National Iranian Liberation Army. Announcer reads part of the statement. [No video] 6. 0945 Announcer quotes AFP about the holding of demonstrations by MKO members calling for the organization's name to be removed from the terrorist list. [No video] B. World News 1. 0947 Security Council agrees with the lifting of sanctions against Iraq. [TV shows video footage of a Security Council meeting] 2. 0949 Japanese prime minister meets American President George Bush. [TV shows video footage of the meeting] 3. 0950 Report on meeting between Hamas leaders and Palestinian prime minister. [No video] 4. 0952 Report on the EU agreements about police and law enforcement activities to counter suicide attacks. [No video] 5. 0953 Latest reports about the earthquake in Algeria. [TV shows video footage of the casualties] C. More news on Iran: 1. 0955 Report on official announcement about as ban on the sale of some clothes. [No video] 2. 0956 Report on the shortcomings of President Khatami's plan to create employment opportunities in Iran. [No video] 3. 0958 Report claiming that Iranian officials have purchased private aircraft. [No video] 4. 0958 Quoting Iranian daily about the rise in the number of divorces in Iran. [No video] D. 0959 End bulletin Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 23 May 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ. TELEVISION'S RETURN By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- During Saddam Hussein's 33-year reign, the Iraqi people could watch only state-controlled television networks whose main task was to act as Baath Party mouthpieces and praise Saddam and his policies. But today, in a small room at Baghdad's bunker-like conference center, journalism is being practiced in postwar Iraq -- by Iraqis. "Now, I have freedom in selecting and handling the subjects the way I like," TV reporter Mahmoud Faud said. "Now we are able to criticize everybody -- including the Americans." Faud is part of the 70-member staff of the Iraqi Media Network, the first new -- and coalition-backed -- television station to reach the airwaves from Iraq since the April overthrow of Saddam Hussein. The newsroom is in a VIP lounge of the Conference Palace, which is now occupied by Iraq's U.S.-led administration. When the tapes are ready, they are sent over to the al-Salhiya transmission tower across the street from the television station, which was demolished in coalition bombing raids. Faud started working for Iraq's state-controlled television three years ago, monitoring international satellite channels that ordinary Iraqis were not allowed to watch. He studied the foreign broadcasts and learned how to structure a TV report and do interviews. "We tried to imitate them," Faud said. After Saddam's ouster in April, Iraq's state-run TV stations went off the air and Baghdad's inhabitants could only tune in to the grainy Iranian channels broadcasting from across the border. The Iraq Media Network, launched May 13, begins airing its programs at 6 p.m. every day by showing the Iraqi flag accompanied by the music of "My Homeland," a popular patriotic song. The station's regular fare includes cartoons, Egyptian soap operas, performances by Iraqi folk singers, news and sports reports, and man- in-the street interviews complaining about the shortages in electricity and fuel and the lack of security in the Iraqi capital. Don North, an official with the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, the civilian wing of the U.S. occupation force, said the television station's equipment is ancient and difficult to integrate with the more modern, digital equipment provided by ORHA. On its first day of operation, the new channel interviewed Jay Garner, then the top U.S. administrator in Iraq. But when they wanted to broadcast the interview, North said, the tape was nowhere to be found. "Maybe," he joked, "some Baathist stole it." (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** IRAQ. Hi Glenn, Re DXLD 3-088: Sorry, you got me at it now :-) It should of course be Salam. I am so used to typing Salman Pak that I do it without realising! 73, (Andy Sennitt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND. In response to your question "What's Gardai" - it's Irish for "Police", a term commonly used there even when speaking English. Regards, (Dave Kernick, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PIRATES CUT DOWN TO SIZE The past week has seen an unprecedented crackdown on unlicensed broadcasters in Ireland. Raids by staff of the Commission for Communications Regulation accompanied by the Garda (the Irish police) have silenced many of the stations, which jointly accounted for 7% of total radio listening in Ireland. This week's raids are the culmination of an effort that has been gathering pace in recent months. Some stations have vowed to to return to the air, but for others it marks the end of an era... http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/ireland03052.html (Media Network newsletter May23 via DXLD) ** ITALY. Re 3-088: But has anyone heard them lately on 6231.5??? ``To the World``, indeed (gh, DXLD) The reply is NO ONE, cause the station is definitively closed down on SW. The SW TX blow up last year and to repair it cost too much (Dario Monferini, (Playdx Italy), May 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re 3-088: Hi Glenn, Radio Speranza Modena is inactive on 6231 since June 2001 (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. Voice of Korea, Pyongyang is coming in well these days, I logged them on 15245 from 2100 to 2200 in English at 454 AND, what has happened to their audio modulation? It is now loud and clear, they must have installed a new transmitter or serviced the old one, I can actually understand what is being said without any effort at all, previously, their audio has always been muffled and low in level making it hard to log what they were speaking about. I will be sending them a report which will be the first I have sent to North Korea since the 1970's! The same applies to CRI and V. O. Russia, so I had better get cracking (Michael Stevenson, Port Macquarie, N.S.W., Australia, May 23, EDXP via DXLD) ** MEXICO. ¿CONCIERTO CIUDADANO? 23-May-03 Desde abril, la XEQK es la emisora de los ciudadanos. Y desde entonces hemos escuchado desfilar toda suerte de propuestas de radio educativa, en las que como era de suponerse, hay una variabilidad de producción que llevaría a la audiencia a desequilibrarse, de tan disímbolas y desiguales que son. El primer gran problema del 13-50 de AM es la señal, a grado tal que resulta incluso difícil percibir esta emisora en un radio de onda corta y de muy amplio alcance. [??? It`s not on SW; used to be 9555] ¿Pero para qué escuchar la Radio Ciudadana del IMER? Bueno, en principio, para asegurarse de que allí se están transmitiendo los 64 programas que fueron vencedores en el Primer Concurso de Proyectos Ciudadanos de Radio. La primera sorpresa es que no están aún al aire el total de las propuestas que se calificaron para ser transmitidas, y la segunda, que hay en la XEQK un programa que se llama ``Concierto ciudadano`` con Mario Díaz Mercado, que se transmite a las 15:00 horas y que ni siquiera aparece en las listas de los concursantes. Ahora todos dirán cuál es mi encono. Es uno muy sencillo: sucede que además de que este megaproyecto de Mario Díaz Mercado no está entre los ganadores, es una propuesta que dura una hora con 30 minutos diarios. Ahora, ¿cómo me atrevo yo a cuestionar al maestro que nos hizo el examen de locución a tantos y tantos aspirantes hace cosa de 15 años? Me lo cuestiono, porque en Radio Capital (830 de AM), emisora de Grupo MAC, se transmite los sábados por la mañana de 7:30 a 8:30 horas, una serie llamada ``La voz de los capitalinos``, y que busca cumplir los mismos objetivos y tareas que ``Concierto ciudadano``. Si, ahora imagino que la respuesta lógica sería: hay tantos programas de cocina en el cuadrante como recetas para preparar. Pero es que el asunto resulta escandaloso, porque he tenido en mis manos tanto el proyecto que abandera en Radio Capital Alfonso Rentería, como uno que entró en concurso bajo la representación de Víctor Navarro y que es, sin lugar a dudas, quien realiza esta serie ``Concierto ciudadano``, o por lo menos él está a cargo de la ``Cartelera ciudadana``, sección del mismo concierto. En la coincidencia de los dos programas hubo que ir a investigar, y por supuesto, me he enterado que la oferta que conducirían Rubén García Castillo, Víctor Manuel y Alfonso, es la misma, en puntos y comas, que la que realizan Díaz Mercado y Navarro. Yo aquí sólo puedo pensar una cosa: el proyecto fue plagiado en la XEQK. Pero de inmediato recuerdo las palabras de José Álvarez de Grupo Imagen, quien dice: ``No es que uno se robe las ideas, es que las ideas están en el aire y se toman``. Sea como sea y en el papel, la oferta que sustenta Víctor Manuel Navarro y que resultó ganadora es algo que se llama ``Voces ciudadanas y radio barrio en Álvaro Obregón``, pero este programa no coincide ni en nombre ni en propuesta a ``Concierto ciudadano``, que sí tiene dentro de sí, secciones como radio barrio y esta de la ``Cartelera ciudadana``. Yo sí pediría a las autoridades del IMER que pongan y esclarezcan más la lógica en la que seleccionaron los proyectos que hoy forman la radio ciudadana, porque es una gran sorpresa escuchar programas que no ganaron, además, es un agravio el que éste, el de Víctor Manuel Navarro, se forme de por lo menos tres proyectos registrados, y que por sí solos no pasaron la prueba del jurado. Cuestionar la pésima calidad sonora de la XEQK y las muy cambiantes producciones que hay entre ``Sintonía AMIC``, ``Mundos religiosos`` o ``Zócalo``, hace que nadie en su sano juicio se quede prendido a la emisora que muy amablemente, la señora Dolores Beistegui ha abierto para que las voces de los capitalinos se expresen. Yo no entiendo por qué, si estamos escuchando en las emisoras comerciales este bombardeo de las farmacias similares en contra de la corrupción del IMSS, no haya una sensibilidad también, cuando el IMER está ofreciendo una programación que no coincide con los resultados que publicó en los diarios, acerca de este tan llevado y traído concurso de proyectos ciudadanos de radio. Es más que ofensivo, el que ``La ventana ciega`` sirva de expresión para dos chicas estudiantes de comunicación, que han dejado de prestar sus servicios sociales, porque ambas han sido ``agredidas e insinuadas`` por Víctor Manuel Navarro. De verdad, a Dolores Beistegui le sugiero aquí, que ponga más atención sobre el comportamiento de la Radio Ciudadana, porque aunque su frecuencia sea casi inaudible, es una oferta del gobierno federal, en la que se nos ofreció expresar sin politización la voz de los ciudadanos. Si es correcto que me cuestione, si los proyectos concursantes fueron leídos y sirvieron para dar vida a otros híbridos que no estaban contemplados en concurso, no lo sé, pero creo que, así como nos abrimos a hacer escándalo por ``Los libros de Marta Sahagún``, también debemos de parar bien la oreja para tener claro cuándo se están fusilando o clonando programas como éste que es un ¿Concierto ciudadano o un desconcierto ciudadano? Claudia Segura (Milenio via Héctor García Bojorge, DF, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Hi OETA, A number of questions about your operations I would appreciate answers to. I will greatly appreciate your answering each of these questions fully! Thanks, (Glenn Hauser, Enid, to OETA) Glenn, I will see what I can do to answer your questions. Q1) Do you have any plans to operate 24 hours on the air?? TV Guide Has started listing 13 as running all-night, but I assume this is only Cox Cable in OKC (not ENID!), with PBS, NOT OETA itself, correct? A1) In Oklahoma City and Tulsa when our normal broadcast day ends we feed Cox Cable in both cities the PBS Schedule X program feed. We are able to do this because both studio locations are connected to the cable system with a fiber interface. We are under serious budget constraints because of the shortfall in state revenue so there are no plans at this time for a 24 X 7 broadcast day. Q2) I notice that KOET-3 is running about a second behind KETA-13. Are you now using a satellite feed to your relay stations? Details, Please. Do you have your own transponder, if so which and where, or are you dependent on Dish or DirecTV? (I don`t have any satellite TV myself). A2) In the past OETA fed its 15 translators through a series of off- air pickup points and microwave relay links. Approximately 4 years ago, OETA started uplinking its network feed to SES (GE) #5. This would create a slight time delay in signal when compared to a PBS feed or one from a full-power station of OETA's. We are also carried by Dish and DirecTV in their local-into-local market coverage in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. PBS is working with these two DBS vendors and state networks, like OETA, to try to secure permission for anyone in the state served by a state network to be able to get the signal if they are in the satellite's local-into-local footprint. Q3) If there is a satellite feed, why is Cox Cable Enid still picking up 13 off the air, along with all the interference that often occurs this time of year from Dallas and elsewhere? (They have most of the OKC commercial stations on satellite feed now). A3) OETA cannot dictate to a cable company such as that serving Enid where they get the signal they put on their cable system. OETA has made a number of mailings to cable company owners in Oklahoma providing information on our satellite service and have encouraged them to take advantage of it. Q4) Is KETA-DT 32 now on the air? How much power, full power? Full time? I occasionally see a degraded signal on Enid`s only local TV station, KXOK-32. That`s no great loss, since they broadcast nothing but Dr. Gene Scott!!! But isn`t running DTV in OKC and analog TV in Enid on the same channel about 65 miles apart a bit too close for comfort?? How could this happen? Do you have priority on 32 which will cause KXOK to go off or move? I should think they would interfere with your DTV reception to some distance south of Enid, definitely a reduction in coverage compared to 13. A4) KETA-DT Channel 32 started running programming tests under the authority of its construction permit May 1, this year. The station is authorized to broadcast when licensed 1 megawatt ERP. Under our current test authority we are broadcasting 500 kW ERP. The analog low power station operating on Channel 32 in Enid and KETA-DT operating on the same channel has been authorized by the FCC. When the transitional period to digital ends all stations must be digital and the Enid station will have to seek another channel for its digital operations. Theoretically, the stations interference to each other should be very limited because of the tuners used in analog and DTV receivers. Once we get our KETA-DT licensed, if KXOK indeed causes interference and they are within our protected area, we could ask them through the FCC to stop the interference. Q5) Is 46 Medford still taking an off-air feed from 13? Will this and other far-flung translators change to satellite? What about DT? How will the signal get there if 32 is blocked by Enid`s KXOK? A5) Channel 46 licensed to Medford is now taking the OETA satellite feed rather than Channel 13 off the air. The FCC has not issued a report and order indicating what the digital transition plans for translators and low power will be. We are now in the 2nd review bi- annual period as promised by the FCC. We may learn in the next few months what the plans are for the transition to digital for these other services. Q6) During the May 9 tornado which tracked near your facilities, your 13 transmitter stayed on the air (until about 11:30 anyway), but ONE MOMENT PLEASE was the video; audio came and went, and was from all over the place, including channel 9 for a few minutes. How could this happen? Evidently you were prevented from getting your programming into the transmitter which itself was operating OK. Aren`t they at the same location now on N. Kelly? A6) During the May 9th storm, OETA technical operations center (TOC) in Oklahoma City (which is co-located with Channel 13's transmitter) took a lightening hit. We were not able to immediately restore operations, and in fact signed off early that night. If there is a problem in TOC it can disrupt our network operations and feeds to all stations including our satellite uplink. Q7) I was unable to check, but very curious as to whether the entire OETA network was disrupted during this period, or 3, 11, 12 and all the translators continued without interruption? A7) The problem in TOC on May 9th caused a problem in our ability to feed all transmitters. After 7 pm in the evenings our TOC only operates with one on-air operator on duty who is not an engineer. The weather that night prevented engineering staff from reaching the station in a timely fashion. We currently are testing KETA-DT Channel 32 normally from about 6 to 10 pm nightly. Monday through Thursdays we are running a mixture of SD and HD programming directly from PBS. Friday through Sunday we are running 4 SD channels in a simulcast mode of operation. Since this is a testing phase for us, we cannot promote a regular schedule, and in fact the test period may be moved to some day time hours on some dates. If I can provide additional information, please let me know. Thanks, (Steve Staton, Deputy Director, OETA to gh, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) INFORMATION ON RECEIVING OETA BY SATELLITE Basic Requirements: Ku Band Digital Satellite Receiver and Ku Antenna with digital LNB Only the following specific receiver will work: Receiver: DigiCipher II Digital Satellite Receiver* manufactured by General Instruments (Receiver must be capable of tuning SCPC Service) Satellite: GE-5 -- Transponder 4 -- Location: 79º West L Band Frequency: 1042.38 MHz Horizontal Polarization 4. Virtual Channel: 810 5. VCT: 603 6. Code: 3/4 (Forward Error Correction) 7. Mega Symbol Rate: 4.88 8. Mode: Fixed Key (Sent in the clear) 9. Audio: Stereo & SAP (Descriptive video service when available from PBS) *Note 1: Not all General Instrument DigiCipher II receivers have the necessary firmware to receive the OETA signal. Please furnish the information we are providing to your equipment dealer and have them verify that the model you own or the one you may be considering purchasing will receive OETA. You will want a dealer to warranty the receiver to be able to pick up OETA. Note 2: Be aware that even though DirecTV, EchoStar, and other "small dish" direct broadcast satellite systems utilized Ku Band frequencies, the equipment provided for this type of service cannot tune in GE-5 and decode OETA's signal. Currently, these two companies are introducing in Oklahoma City and Tulsa a local-into-local package of certain stations including OETA that may be available to you. Check with a local dealers near where you live or with either company directly to see if you could receive the signal and otherwise qualify for it. Note 3: For clear sky conditions, OETA recommends a minimum antenna size of 2.4 meters for home use. Revised: 1/10/2003 (via Steve Staton, OETA, DXLD) ** PERU. Owner and manager of Radio CORA del Perú has died. The following item is from El Comercio newspaper, May 22, 2003: FALLECIÓ EL PERIODISTA Y LOCUTOR RADIAL JUAN RAMÍREZ LAZO A menos de quince días de haber cumplido 76 años, falleció el periodista y locutor radial Juan Ramírez Lazo, quien se hiciera conocido por sus editoriales que comenzaban con la popular frase: "Nos preocupa...". Ramírez Lazo murió el último martes y sus restos fueron cremados ayer en el cementerio Jardines de la Paz, en La Molina. Venía siendo tratado en el hospital Guillermo Almenara de una enfermedad incurable. Con más de 60 años de trayectoria profesional, nació el 6 de mayo de 1927 en Piura y desde la década del 40 estuvo ligado a la Radiodifusión. Estuvo casado con Monina Mendizábal y deja cuatro hijos y varios nietos. ----------------- There is an interesting story and a picture of Ramírez Lazo, a legend in Peruvian broadcasting, also known as "La Voz", at http://www.boletindenewyork.com/jrl.htm (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, May 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4904.69, Radio La Oroya, 1014 Noted music until 1016 May 23 when man in Spanish comments. This followed with canned ID, then back to music. Signal was poor (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4625, 13 May, 0240, Radio San Agustín, Celendín, Dept. Cajamarca. No ID heard, but signal was quite good. Identified with a help of Nordic DX site - station recently returned to SW. 34333. 4389, 13 May, 0250, Radio Imperio, Chiclayo. No ID either. Quite fair. 34333. It's from the Pacific coast; station from that part of Perú do not often propagate in my region (open_dx - Sergey Mulyk, Chervonograd, Ukraine, Signal via DXLD) In the same time period he also reports the Peruvians on 4790, 4950, 4975, 4995 (gh) ** RUSSIA. MOSCOW YESTERDAY AND TODAY In the first edition of Moscow Yesterday and Today in June -- on the air on June 2 and the week following -- we'll tell you about Russian literary genius Alexander Pushkin and about the time he spent in Moscow, which the poet himself described as the happiest in his life. The next three Moscow Yesterday and Today programs will focus on the history of Russia's ancient capital. We'll be speaking about Arbat, one of Moscow's oldest streets, which is over 500 years now. We invite you to tune in to the three consecutive editions of Moscow Yesterday and Today, beginning Monday, June 9. The program goes on the air on Monday at 0830 and 1930 UT and is repeated throughout the week. Our program guide can be found at: http://www.vor.ru/ep.html (via Maryanne Kehoe, swprograms via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. SAUDI ARABIA/FRANCE/UK: OPPOSITION GROUP SAYS FRENCH GOVERNMENT PUT "BLOCK" ON AL-ISLAH TV | Text of report by Movement for Islamic Reform web site in Arabic on 23 May 03 headlined "Reports about intervention by the French Government to close Al-Islah TV and transmission is temporarily transferred to another satellite" At the request of the Saudi Government, the French Government has applied pressure on Eutelsat [Paris-based firm providing transmission service through commercial satellites] to block the transmission of Al-Islah Channel, which was broadcasting on the Eutelsat-owned Hotbird. As far as the Movement is concerned, the blockage came without informing the party benefiting from the service about the reasons behind the decision. Eutelsat has been avoiding a reply to an official request by the firm benefiting from the service. The movement is perplexed about whether to be astonished by the decision of France's Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau to submit to Saudi pressure and prevent the freedom of _expression or be astonished by Eutelsat's decision to abandon legal practices and immediately block the service without informing the beneficiary. As far as the Movement is concerned, the party benefiting from Eutelsat's service will take the appropriate legal measures in order to resume the transmission or impose the specified penalty. The issue is being followed up by several legal parties that are involved in maintaining freedom of expression. They are carrying out contacts to ascertain whether political pressure was used in this case. If this is confirmed, the parties will carry out a powerful campaign against the French Government and Eutelsat and attempt to apply pressure to resume the service. For those who are determined to receive the transmission, the Movement is currently transmitting on another satellite. Below are the details: Satellite: Sesat; Location: 36 degrees east; Transponder: B6; Frequency: 11136 MHz Polarization: Horizontal; Symbol Rate: 4883; Forward Error Correction, FEC 3/2. As it seems, this satellite has the advantage of carrying only information, internet, and conservative channels. Therefore, it is suitable for those who want to install a satellite receiver without receiving offensive channels. Source: Movement for Islamic Reform web site, London, in Arabic 23 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SINT MAARTEN. ST. MAARTEN RADIO STATION STREAMING WORLDWIDE Laser 101 on St. Maarten is the first radio station on the Caribbean island to be streamed live worldwide on the Internet in Windows Media format. Other radio stations on St. Maarten will follow shortly. To listen, log on to http://www.laser101.fm and click "live radio." Because fibre optic technology is being used, the audience benefits from nearly real time audio. This will enable listeners abroad to participate in live programmes (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 23 May 2003 via DXLD) Haven`t listened but it looks like another boring station; not even a program schedule on the website, and the link to News is dead. Has a slide show with scenes of the equipment and Sint Maarten vistas, bringing back memories of my visit; callsign on van is PJD-5, not seen anywhere else (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA. MOGADISHU-BASED STN RADIO LAUNCHES SATELLITE BROADCASTS | Text of report by UN regional information network IRIN Nairobi, 23 May: The Mogadishu-based Somali Television Network (STN) radio and television broadcasting station has officially launched a radio satellite broadcast, according to a press statement issued this week. The statement said the radio broadcast would cover "every single part of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and North America (Minneapolis)", 24 hours a day. The launch would soon be followed by a satellite TV channel. The channel currently broadcasts in Somali, but plans are under way to introduce other language services such as English, Arabic, Amharic and Swahili. "The Somali-speaking people in different parts of the world can discuss their affairs, express their opinion live through STN Satellite Radio, which has never happened in Somali history before," said STN Chairman Abdirahman Robleh Ulayareh. "What is unique is the STN satellite radio broadcasts 24 hours (a day) and can be accessed in every single city and village in Somalia. In addition, the STN is in a position to transmit its broadcast via FM everywhere in Somalia on demand," added Abdulkadir Sharraay, the STN operations manager. The network will provide a blend of news, business and cultural programmes and inform its listeners about political, economic and social trends at home, the STN statement said, adding that it welcomed the participation of interested partners. Source: UN Integrated Regional Information Network, Nairobi, in English 23 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. MOTHER BUSH In South Africa in the late 1980s, the apartheid regime strictly controlled the airwaves, but the CASET educational trust found a way of getting around the regulations - by distributing their programmes on audio cassette. Now Bush Radio, the community radio station that grew out of CASET, has just celebrated its tenth anniversary. My colleague Hélène Michaud recently visited this Radio Netherlands partner station. This is her report. And in case you missed her radio documentary, you can listen to it on the Web. . . http://www.rnw.nl/special/en/html/030518bush.html (Media Network newsletter May23 via DXLD) ** SUDAN: SURVEY OF THE COUNTRY'S MEDIA ENVIRONMENT Overview; limits on media freedom The government and the ruling National Islamic Front dominate Sudan's media environment, one of the most restrictive in Africa. Government influence on the media is so pervasive that the country is ranked among the least free in Africa by watchdog organizations such as Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders. The state-owned radio and television stations are controlled directly by the government and are required to reflect government policy. Until recently the country had no privately owned broadcasters, but in 2002 a pay television station, jointly owned by the government and some private investors, began retransmitting foreign television via cable. Having banned more than 40 publications following the military coup that brought it to power in 1989, the government of President Umar al- Bashir now indirectly exerts its influence over the 15-20 remaining newspapers through the National Press Council, according to the US State Department's 2002 Human Rights Report. The council is directly responsible to the president, who, along with the National Assembly and the government-controlled Journalists' Union, appoints its members. The press council has the power to set press policy, to license and suspend newspapers, and to suspend journalists. According to the Human Rights Report, the government also restricts press freedom by "suspending publications, detaining journalists and editors, confiscating already printed editions, conducting pre- publication censorship and restricting government advertising to pro- government media only". As a result of such actions, most of Sudan's privately owned newspapers practise self-censorship. Local journalists working for foreign news agencies also practise self-censorship in order to keep their work permits. Radio is the most widely accessible media source in the country, partly because it represents a continuation of the oral tradition and partly because of factors that restrict access to other media. The literacy rate in Sudan is 46 per cent, significantly limiting newspaper readership. Poor transport infrastructure restricts newspaper circulation to major cities, and low incomes further limit readership. These constraints on newspaper readership are magnified in the south, where income, development and literacy rates are lower than in the Muslim north. Though not as widely accessible as radio, Sudan's newspapers manage to offer somewhat more diverse views and reporting on issues of domestic and foreign policy. Some papers are willing to criticize the government and individual officials, despite the risks of fines, suspension, and imprisonment. The International Press Institute's web site chronicles government actions throughout 2002 against several Sudanese newspapers that refused to be silenced. The Khartoum Monitor and its editor, for example, were both fined for reporting on slavery in the country. Al- Hurriyah, Al-Sahafah and Al-Watan reported on clashes between students and police at Khartoum University, for which their editors were arrested and the offending editions were seized. All of these newspapers repeatedly ran foul of the authorities during the course of the year. Though local media are strongly influenced by the central government, the Sudanese do have access to foreign media and the varying viewpoints they provide. The most readily available international media are the radio broadcasts from sources such as the BBC, which can be heard via shortwave, as well as through rebroadcasts on local FM stations. Clandestine radios operated by opposition groups from areas outside government control can be heard in some locations. Those few who can afford television and satellite dishes can watch a number of pan-Arab stations without interference from the government. According to the State Department's 2002 Human Rights Report, Internet access is "uncensored but potentially monitored" and available through two ISPs, as well as through the Internet cafes that can be found in the major cities. Sudanese are also avid consumers of Arabic-language newspapers and magazines from London and Cairo that give them an international perspective and often contain more penetrating interviews with Sudanese officials than appear in local publications. These foreign papers are widely available in Khartoum, but they are prohibitively expensive for most people. Observers say there is a lively second-hand market for them. Arabic, the country's official language, is also the most widely used language in Sudanese media. Arabic has long been the dominant language in the north of the country, and it is gradually supplanting English as the lingua franca in the south, where the population speaks a variety of indigenous African languages as their primary tongue. English-language media find their principal audience in Khartoum and other urban areas, where English comprehension is most widespread among the foreign community and Sudanese who have been educated abroad. Radio The government-controlled Republic of Sudan Radio is the only domestic radio station in Sudan, where the government does not allow privately owned radio stations to operate. Republic of Sudan Radio operates various services (including the "General Programme", a Koranic channel, and broadcasts for the regional states). All of them adhere to a common editorial line. The General Programme broadcasts around the clock in Arabic on FM, mediumwave and via satellite. It also broadcasts on shortwave (7200 kHz), although this transmitter has been unreliable for some time and is unlikely to provide adequate nationwide coverage. Sudanese radio formerly had an external service, Radio Omdurman, as well, but this is no longer heard. Republic of Sudan Radio is not available on the Internet. There are no reliable survey data indicating how many people listen to the government radio. Experienced media observers report that the government radio has a larger audience than foreign broadcasts in Sudan. News reporting on Sudanese radio clearly reflects a bias towards the government, according to experienced observers. News bulletins focus heavily on the activities of the president and then on other government officials. Opposition figures are largely ignored in the news, unless they are making some kind of concession to the government. Reports of major news events usually first appear on radio as formal government statements. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these statements are often aired well after news of the event is circulating by word of mouth and are often regarded as unreliable by much of the population. In addition to the news, Sudanese radio carries music, sports programmes, and commercials. The music programming includes religious, romantic, jihad and patriotic music. Death announcements follow the main news bulletins and almost everyone listens to them because of social obligations in an extended family and tribal society. The radio also broadcasts cultural and educational programmes, such as discussions of traditional folklore; interviews with prominent figures, academics and authors; and advice on health and child nutrition. There are also religious programmes, especially on Fridays, which elucidate aspects of the Koran and explain the background of religious festivals. There are some listener call-in shows, usually dealing with uncontroversial social topics. The New Sudan Council of Churches runs Radio Voice of Hope with the support of Radio Netherlands. Voice of Hope's objectives, according to its web site, are to act on behalf of the "voiceless," to make people aware of the impact of war on the people of southern Sudan, and to bring a resolution to conflicts among groups in southern Sudan. Voice of Hope broadcasts one 30-minute programme on shortwave four days a week via Radio Netherlands' relay station in Madagascar, and a one- hour programme daily from an FM station in Kaboko, northwest Uganda. Programmes are in Arabic and English and are prepared in Uganda and the Netherlands. According to media observers, the main audience of this station is the southern Sudanese, but it can also be heard in Kenya and Uganda. Voice of Hope has a web site: http://www.radiovoiceofhope.net Other foreign radio stations are also heard in Sudan. BBC World Service broadcasts are relayed on FM in Khartoum and Wad Madani and are also available countrywide on shortwave. The Paris-based pan-Arab station Radio Monte Carlo, relayed on FM in Khartoum, is audible in the rest of the country after dark from its mediumwave relay in Cyprus. Over the years several clandestine radios, serving as mouthpieces for various Sudanese opposition groups, have broadcast into the country from various locations. The opposition National Democratic Alliance currently broadcasts on 8000 kHz shortwave, apparently from Eritrea, in Arabic and English on a station identifying itself as "Voice of Sudan, Voice of Democracy and Peace". The second-largest armed opposition group in the country, the Sudan Alliance Forces, operates "Voice of Freedom and Renewal, Voice of the New Sudan," which is currently broadcast in Arabic on 6985 kHz shortwave. Print media Most of Sudan's newspapers are published in Khartoum and find their audience primarily among the northern Arabic-speaking urban population. The notable exception is the English-language Khartoum Monitor, which, according to long-time media observers, has strong appeal among people from the south. The privately owned press has somewhat more freedom of expression than the state-owned broadcasters, but the government does retain and use powers to influence what is published. In September 2002, for instance, the authorities barred distribution of two privately owned newspapers - the Khartoum Monitor and Khartoum Al-Hurriyah - for criticizing the government's decision to pull out of the peace talks (French news agency AFP, 4 September 2002). Despite an official end to press censorship in 2001, authorities continue to harass, detain and fine journalists and newspapers for reporting that is critical of the government, that makes allegations of official corruption, or that touches on matters of national security (Human Rights Report 2002). The effect of such harassment is to pressure many journalists and newspapers into some degree of self- censorship. Sudanese newspapers commonly report on topics related to the international campaign against terrorism, economic issues, civil war and foreign relations. In addition to news articles and editorials, Sudanese newspapers have advertisements and obituaries. The advertisements are generally for news stands, restaurants, furniture and imported electronics. Death notices in Sudanese newspapers refer to the deceased as "martyrs" if they were killed while fighting in southern Sudan. The papers routinely carry articles from foreign news agencies - including AFP (France), AP (USA), Reuters (UK), the Pan-African News Agency PANA and Egypt's MENA - on international topics, especially the Middle East. Reliable circulation figures for Sudanese newspapers are not available, but experienced observers report that the following papers are among the more influential: \ \ The privately owned Khartoum Al-Ra'y al-Amm is one of Sudan's most popular newspapers. Experienced observers note that the paper has pro-government and Islamist leanings, but relatively objective reporting, compared to the broadcast media. It is available in cities and small towns throughout northern Sudan, making it one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the country. The newspaper serves the diaspora and Arabic speakers around the world via its web site http://www.rayaam.net/ which updates regularly. \ \ Al-Ayam is a long-established paper that is well-respected and widely read. Its reporting is regarded as objective. \ \ Al-Watan, known for exposing scandals, was shut down by security authorities in late December 2002, according to state-owned Sudanese television and news agency reports. This paper remains banned from publication. \ \ Al-Ra'y al-Akhar was a widely read newspaper that had been willing to criticize the government. According to Reporters Without Borders, the newspaper has been suspended about 10 times since it was founded in 1995. In February 2001, the newspaper and its chief editor were fined for running a story charging the governor of the Khartoum State with corruption. The paper is not currently being published. \ \ The Khartoum Monitor was established in October 2000 by a group of southern journalists. The target audience of this newspaper includes people from southern Sudan living in Khartoum, expatriates and diplomats. It also has a significant readership in the southern city of Juba. The paper gives voice to southern grievances and has repeatedly run foul of the government as a consequence. In January 2002, the paper's managing editor was sentenced to jail and the paper was fined for publishing a report on slavery in the country. Issues of this weekly are frequently confiscated by the government. Khartoum Monitor has a web site, http://www.khartoummonitor.com but it is often inaccessible. {! Inexplicably, this link led instead to Iowa, Chair Depot about antique chairs!! When checked at 1518 UT May 24; a DNS mixup??} \ \ Alwan is run by a former National Islamic Front leader, now heading the opposition Popular National Congress, Hasan al-Turabi. He has been imprisoned or under house arrest since February 2001. \ \ Al-Khartoum favours the alliance of northern opposition parties, especially the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The paper seems to appeal to wealthy Arabic-speakers in northern Sudan, though its sports coverage is popular with the youth. A PDF version of the newspaper is posted on the web. \ \ Al-Anba is an official government newspaper. Sudanese newspaper web sites mainly serve the diaspora. Some of Sudan's hard copy newspapers, such as Al-Ra'y al-Amm, Al-Ayam and Khartoum Monitor, have online versions. Television State-owned Sudan Television broadcasts news, entertainment and education programmes nationally, in both Arabic and English. A military censor ensures that Sudan Television reflects the government's position (Human Rights Report 2002). Sudan Television broadcasts via satellite to Sudan, north Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and western Europe. No Sudanese TV programmes are available on the Internet. According to the State Department's 2002 Human Rights Report, "the government and private investors jointly own one television cable company". This pay cable network rebroadcasts, according to the State Department report, "uncensored programmes from CNN, BBC, the Dubai- based, Saudi-owned Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), Dubai TV, and Kuwait TV", among others. Although there are some restrictions on the ownership of satellite dishes, they are becoming common in affluent areas. Arab TV stations such as Al-Jazeera, MBC, Dubai TV, Kuwait TV and the Egyptian Space Channel are some of the most popular, according to media observers. Egyptian soap operas and films have long been popular in Sudan. People in Sudan also watch uncensored CNN. Frequent power outages, lack of access to electricity and the high cost of a television set limit access to television but do not absolutely prevent the poor from being influenced by it. In low-income areas, groups of people sometimes gather around a single battery- powered TV to watch a favourite programme. Internet Formed in 1995, Sudanet http://www.sudannet.net is the country's major Internet provider. Sudanet's main customers include government ministries, companies, and international organizations. The majority of Sudan's population does not have access to the Internet because of infrastructure and cost constraints. According to a survey conducted by Nua.com, an Internet research and marketing company, in December 2001, there were 56,000 Internet users in Sudan, or about 0.15 per cent of the country's population. Internet cafes are becoming increasing popular in urban areas. Internet news sources include Sudanile, a privately owned news site that reports on government, opposition, and rebel activities with what media observers judge to be an even-handed approach. Its URL is: http://www.sudanile.com/ Another news site, Akhir Lahzah, http://www.akhirlahza.com/ frequently carries anti-government news and represents the Islamist opposition - specifically the youth wing of Turabi's Popular National Congress. Other Sudanese web sites host travel, weather, discussion boards and links to Sudanese newspapers. According to media observers, the discussion boards often feature lively -sometimes heated - debates on controversial subjects such as the civil war, the peace efforts, and other current events and social issues. Sudanese expatriates and citizens within the country participate, apparently freely and without fear of any sort of censorship or intimidation. Strong north-south antagonisms and polarization on major issues are clear from exchanges at these sites. There are several anti-government web sites based outside Sudan. Free Sudan http://mathaba.net/sudan/index1.htm for example, posts reports on human rights abuses and provides links to Sudan.Net http://www.sudan.net/main1.shtml a news site with articles on Sudan from AFP and other press agencies. Various Sudanese human rights organizations like Sudan Human Rights Organization - Cairo Branch http://www.shro-cairo.org/about.htm and expatriate groups such as Vigilance Soudan http://www.vigilsd.org/ are also active on the Internet. News agency The government-run Sudan News Agency, Suna, is the country's only news agency. It is available in Arabic and English on the Internet but is not updated daily. Most Sudanese dailies, including Al-Ayam, Al-Ra'y al-Amm, Khartoum Monitor and Al-Khartoum, occasionally carry Suna articles. Suna does not appear to have an international audience. Suna regularly reports on relations with foreign governments and statements by Sudanese officials. Source: Chris Greenway, BBC Monitoring research May 03 (via DXLD) ** TIBET. 4820, CHINA, Xizang PBS, Lhasa, 2253-2307, May 21, Mandarin. Female with talks over instrumental music, "Sounds of Silence". Music, ads, traditional music until 2300, pips, station ID then male and female announcer w/ a presumed language lesson, lots of repetitive words and phrases by female. Identification sounded very much like China National Radio, "Zhungyang Renmin Guangbo Dientai". If I read the listing in WRTH correctly CNR 1 is relayed from 2200-2340. Poor (Scott R Barbour Jr , Intervale, NH-USA, Sangean ATS 818, RF Systems MLB-1, RS longwire w/ RBA balun, EDXP via DXLD) ** U A E [and non]. Hi Glenn, Reasonable MW-conditions to the Middle- East last Wednesday around 2030 UT. Logged even Radio Farda from UAE on 1170 kHz in parallel with 1593 kHz from Kuwait. Some Interference by Slovene Radio Capodistria broadcasting in Italian on same frequency. Also noted some stations from Iran e.g. 1503 kHz. WRTH tells this is "Sarasarye" Nationwide network. Norwegian 1200 kW powerhouse was in trouble with an "Arabic" station on 1314! Could be UAE R, BBC or VoA from Dabiya. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku FINLAND, Rx: AOR 7030+, Ant: Wellbrook ALA 1530P-active loop, May 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC FACES MORE AUDIT INQUIRIES The Government said it would examine the idea of giving the National Audit Office much greater access to the BBC's accounts in order to monitor economic efficiency and effectiveness. At present, the NAO can investigate the BBC's television licence fee collection arrangements and the grant-aided BBC World Service, but not the BBC Home Services expenditure. During the committee stage of the Communications Bill in the Lords, Lady Buscombe (C) said it was important to widen the powers of the NAO to examine the efficiency, economy and effectiveness of the BBC's services. (from http://www.telegraph.co.uk 23-05-03 via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC'S ADELSTEIN SEEKS CONCESSIONS ON MEDIA-OWNERSHIP PLAN By Mark Wigfield, Wall Street Journal WASHINGTON -- Having lost a battle to delay deregulation of the broadcast industry, a Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission asked for concessions from the Republican majority's plan. Television broadcasters seeking to merge with other stations should be required to certify their continued efforts to improve the quality of local news and information, said Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. He added he said he would accept a 14% increase in national limits on television-station ownership if the FCC began investigating whether independent producers of programs need protection from the networks. Mr. Adelstein made his suggestions in a speech before The Media Institute, a nonprofit research foundation specializing in communications policy. A person close to the proceeding said he hadn't yet made the suggestions to FCC Chairman Michael Powell. A vote on the matter is pending for June 2, and Mr. Powell appears to have the support of the Republican majority for his plan. The plan would increase a 35% national television-ownership cap to 45% and loosen local-ownership restrictions to allow one owner to have three television stations in the largest markets instead of two, while eliminating in most markets a ban on cross-ownership of television stations and newspapers. Mr. Powell has called his plan moderate and said it responds to court decisions that have challenged FCC rules and a congressional mandate to deregulate the industry in light of new competition from cable and satellite. But Mr. Adelstein called Mr. Powell's proposals "extremist." "Rather than allowing massive consolidation," said Mr. Adelstein, "we should take a conservative approach that gradually permits additional mergers we can evaluate before completely unleashing the industry." Courts have affirmed the FCC's right to regulate broadcast ownership to protect the flow of diverse sources of information over the public airwaves. Mr. Adelstein and other opponents of deregulation say consolidation will undermine broadcast "localism," or the commitment of local stations to provide local news and information. An FCC study cites contrary evidence, showing that network-owned and operated stations produce more local news and information. But to guarantee that, Mr. Adelstein is proposing that merging broadcasters be required to show how they will improve local coverage and report annually on compliance with those plans. Calling consolidation the "McDonaldization" of the American media, Mr. Adelstein said the public "needs a balanced media diet, a diverse menu." He added the FCC should take a second look at its repeal a decade ago of so- called financial interest and syndication rules, or fin-syn, that limited the networks' ability to own the programming they air. Repeal of the rules saw independent producers' share of the market go from 85% of all programs to 15% to 20%, said Mr. Adelstein. He is pushing for the review to be authorized in the June 2 vote. Mr. Powell's office has indicated the FCC may take up the matter in a separate proceeding later this summer (via Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. 60-METER OPERATION TO REQUIRE OPERATOR PRUDENCE, CAUTION When the five channels of the new 60-meter amateur allocation become available later this year, Amateur Radio operators will have to learn some new operating habits and adopt some new on-the-air attitudes. The limited spectrum and stringent bandwidth requirements will mean amateurs will have to demonstrate their best behavior and operating skills if the Amateur Service ever hopes to get an actual band segment at 60 meters. ``In terms of Amateur Radio spectrum, we usually say, `Use it or lose it,``` said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. ``The watchword for 60-meter operators should be, `Misuse it and lose it.``` The channelized scheme -- similar to the 5-MHz experimental operation under way in the United Kingdom http://www.rsgb-hfc.org.uk/5mhz.htm -- puts unfamiliar technical compliance demands on US hams who have, until now, not had to worry much about frequency stability or transmitted audio bandwidth. The FCC has granted amateurs 5332, 5348, 5368, 5373, and 5405 kHz -- the last channel common to the UK experimental operation`s band plan. These are all ``channel center frequencies,`` the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said in a March 13 letter to FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) Chief Edmond J. Thomas. The NTIA, which administers federal government spectrum, opposed allocation of an actual ham band citing the ongoing spectrum requirements of federal licensees with homeland security responsibilities. The channels will be available to General and higher class licensees. The NTIA says that hams planning to operate on 60 meters ``must assure that their signal is transmitted on the channel center frequency.`` In general, the NTIA has advised, users should set their carrier frequency 1.5 kHz lower than the channel center frequency. According to the NTIA: Channel Center Amateur Tuning Frequency 5332 kHz 5330.5 kHz 5348 kHz 5346.5 kHz 5368 kHz 5366.5 kHz 5373 kHz 5371.5 kHz 5405 kHz 5403.5 kHz (common US/UK) ARRL Technical Relations Manager Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, says the assignment of these channels implies that amateurs now must adhere to certain frequency tolerances for their use. While the international Radio Regulations don`t list these for the Amateur Service, he notes, they do stipulate tolerances on the order of 20 to 50 Hz for other services. ``We haven`t been told anything specific about frequency tolerances for these channels but would probably annoy federal regulators if we strayed any more than 50 Hz from the assigned carrier frequencies,`` Rinaldo cautioned. Keeping one`s audio within the 2.8 kHz wide channel to comply with the 2K8J3E emission specification is another important issue. ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, believes prudence calls for not having baseband audio below 200 Hz nor greater than 2800 Hz--for a total bandwidth of 2.6 kHz. ``That will probably keep us out of trouble,`` he said. Noting that the high-frequency response ``can vary a lot from radio to radio,`` however, Hare recommended that amateurs play it conservatively. Additionally, the FCC has restricted operation to USB only, with a maximum effective radiated power (ERP) of 50 W. The USB-only requirement stemmed from NTIA interoperability concerns. The NTIA wanted to make sure that federal users could copy and, if necessary, identify any amateur station using one of the 60-meter channels. As a result, the 60-meter frequencies will become the only ones available to the general amateur community that do not permit CW operation. For the sake of this particular grant, the FCC said it would consider a half-wave dipole to have a gain of 0 dBd. In its letter to the FCC, the NTIA stipulated that radiated power should not exceed ``the equivalent of 50 W PEP transmitter output power into an antenna with a gain of 0 dBd.`` ``Although this is less spectrum than the American Radio Relay League petition requested, this is the best we can do pending a definition of Homeland Security HF requirements,`` concluded Fredrick R. Wentland in the NTIA`s letter to the FCC`s OET. Sumner has predicted that, over time, amateurs can and will ``develop a record of disciplined, responsible use of the five channels in the public interest that will justify another look at these rather severe initial restrictions.`` Just when amateurs will get their first crack at 60 meters is not yet clear. The changes to Part 97 go into effect 30 days after publication of the Report and Order (R&O) in The Federal Register, which has not yet happened. Publication could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. ARRL will announce a specific date as soon as it`s known. The FCC Report and Order in ET Docket 02-98 is available on the FCC`s Web site http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-105A1.doc (ARRL Letter May 23 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. TEXACO CANCELLATION PROVOKES WAVE OF MET NOSTALGIA By VERENA DOBNIK, The Associated Press, 5/23/03 1:06 PM NEW YORK (AP) -- For 63 years, millions of Americans have kept a regular Saturday afternoon date with their radio. The "Texaco Metropolitan Opera Radio Network" filled homes, cars and workplaces from Maine to California with its arias, celebrity-studded intermissions and whimsical trivia quizzes. The fans' pleasure turned to operatic-pitch lament this week when ChevronTexaco Corp., as the company is now called, announced it would stop funding the broadcasts after next season. While the Met is confident it will find a new sponsor, fans wrung their hands and waxed nostalgic over a show that changed their lives. "Ratfinks!!! Boy, I can remember riding around in the car in the '50s looking for a Texaco station to gas up at, because they sponsored the opera!" Avise Nissen, of Mount Rainier, Md., wrote in an e-mail to Opera News magazine, which publishes weekly previews of the broadcasts. Nissen first heard opera on the Texaco program, when she was in her early teens in Arkansas. "It's a democratic thing that Texaco did," Nissen said later in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "Opera has this snobby, snotty mystique and people thought, 'Oh, opera -- ugh!' But the Texaco thing made it available to people who would never have seen it on stage. The broadcasts created fans all over the country." The Saturday afternoon broadcasts have been a staple on classical music stations since 1931, with Texaco beginning sole sponsorship nine years later. The broadcasts now reach about 10 million people in 42 countries, through 360 U.S. public and commercial stations, as well others across the globe. For David Scally, a retired doctor in Chevy Chase, Md., the broadcasts provided a music education. He was one of the hundreds of worried fans who wrote letters and e-mails to the Met this week. "I still have fond memories of moving my aunt's old portable Philco to where I would not disturb the rest of the household and listening to my first Met broadcast -- Wagner's 'Lohengrin' on Jan. 25, 1947," Scally wrote in his e-mail. If all else fails, he said he'd contribute "my own meager resources" to keep the show on the air. Sponsorship of the broadcasts, live from Lincoln Center, changed after Chevron acquired Texaco two years ago in a $39 billion deal. The more cumbersome corporate name was inserted, but the show otherwise remained intact. ChevronTexaco said its withdrawal from the opera was a marketing decision. "As our business has evolved, we believe it is important to focus more of our resources directly with the countries and markets where we do business," spokeswoman Patricia E. Yarrington said in a statement. Thus ended the longest continuous sponsorship in the history of American radio -- one that began with Texaco's Dec. 7, 1940, broadcast of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro." Met General Manager Joseph Volpe, who said he's "determined to have these broadcasts continue," remembers hearing his first show with his Italian immigrant grandmother while growing up in Queens. "My grandmother did not have the opportunity to hear music. She had one or two old records I would have to turn for her," Volpe said. "So the Saturday Met broadcasts were very important to her. She thought it was good for me to sit next to her, and to listen." (Still, he adds with a laugh, when his less-strict mother listened to the broadcasts, "I escaped out the door as soon as I could!") Volpe, 62, said that within a month, he expects a new company or private donor to pledge the $7 million needed annually so the performances can be aired live each Saturday, from December to the spring. The intermission features are set in a small hall behind the Met's main theater, where the Met chorus rehearses. Panel guests have ranged from opera buffs such as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, to Pavarotti and tenor Placido Domingo. Regulars include Broadway playwright Terrence McNally, of "Lisbon Traviata" fame. Fans send letters and e-mails to "Opera Quiz," getting prizes of recordings or books if their questions are answered in laughter-filled chatter among each week's changing panelists. For his part, Volpe isn't wasting time being nostalgic about the loss of "Texaco" in the broadcast's name. "That memory faded rather quickly when we had to put Chevron before Texaco." (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) SATURDAY AFTERNOONS: TUNE IN TO WAGNER The New York Times May 23, 2003 To the Editor: Re "ChevronTexaco to Stop Sponsoring Met's Broadcasts" (Arts pages, May 21): How ironic that the last radio broadcast from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House that ChevronTexaco will sponsor will be Wagner's "Goetterdaemmerung" ("Twilight of the Gods"). The abandonment of sponsorship after more than 60 years of Texaco's continuous support is yet another sign that classical music in our country is headed toward its own twilight. If the show is to go on, the Met will have to come up with Plan B, and I suggest some alternatives: There are, of course, other corporations that might step into the breach, though in today's economic and culture-shy climate this may simply be wishful thinking. An estimated 10 million people worldwide listen to the broadcasts. If each of these listeners were to send in a $1 contribution, that would more than cover the costs. Since the broadcasts give the singers an incredible amount of exposure, why not ask the artists to take a reduced fee just for the broadcast performance, earmarking the payroll savings for the broadcasts? That would not cover all the costs, but it would certainly help keep these essential Saturday afternoon broadcasts alive. ERNEST GILBERT, Croton Falls, N.Y., May 21, 2003 To the Editor: I was dismayed to read "ChevronTexaco to Stop Sponsoring Met's Broadcasts" (Arts pages, May 21). I grew up in a very small town in Wisconsin, and every Saturday, starting in the 1950's, my father listened to the Texaco broadcasts. They were his cultural lifeline, and still are. For me, as a child, they were background music. But they reached me I have been a Met subscriber since 1997. I hope that ChevronTexaco realizes what it is abandoning the opportunity to reach and inspire so many people in so many places. KAYE DERMAN, Yonkers, May 21, 2003 Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** VIETNAM. RELAY STATIONS TO BE BUILT FOR OFF-SHORE FISHERMEN Some 17 short-wave transmission stations will be built along Vietnam's 3,260-km-long coast line to provide off-shore fishing vessels with information, weather forecasts and safety procedures. Construction of the relay stations, expected to be completed by 2005, is part of a project designed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment to develop a communication system exclusively for off-shore fishing vessels. Under the US$338 million project, these stations, with a transmission coverage of 200 km, will use satellite-positioning technology. Voice of Vietnam website 23-5-03 http://www.vov.org.vn/2003_05_23/english/vanhoa.htm 73 (via Kim Elliott, DC, May 23, DXLD) WTFK?? I assume we are not talking about broadcast services (gh) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. OHIO HAM HIT WITH $12,000 FINE IN MALICIOUS INTERFERENCE CASE Cooperation between Canadian and US amateurs has resulted in a $12,000 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) from the FCC to an Ohio amateur. The FCC has alleged that Ronald E. Sauer, WE8E, of Bedford Heights violated Part 97 rules prohibiting deliberate and malicious interference, transmission of music and failure to identify. The case involved daily interference to the Trans Provincial Net http://www.tpn7055.ca/ a Canadian net that operates on 7.055 MHz. ``This was no small task and was accomplished with the help of many people from the US and Canada working together,`` said ARRL Great Lakes Vice Director Dick Mondro, W8FQT, who expressed thanks to all involved. In addition to TPN members, that included Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) http://www.rac.ca officials, Industry Canada, the FCC, ARRL Michigan http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=MI and Ohio http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=OH Section officials, ARRL Official Observers and members of the Cuyahoga Amateur Radio Society http://www.cars.org/ ``This was indeed an example of teamwork in action and proves again that the FCC does care and continues to work with us to stop interference,`` Mondro added. TPN Assistant Manager Jim Taylor, VA3KU, said the interference to the net had gone on for several months. ``Our break came when the jammer decided to intensify his efforts by going to his local library and sending out repulsive and threatening e-mails to a few of our members,`` Taylor said. He and other Canadian hams were able to determine that the e-mails had come from a public library terminal in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Taylor contacted CARS President Bob Check, W8GC, for assistance in zeroing in on the jammer. Tracking down the signal source involved mobile direction-finding work by three CARS members, who passed along their findings to the FCC`s Detroit Office late last January. Already alerted to the situation, the FCC`s Detroit Office had called on the Commission`s High Frequency Direction Finding (HFDF) facility in Maryland. The HFDF group monitored jamming and the playing of music and narrowed down the search to an area near the intersection of Interstates 480 and 77 in the Cleveland area. In the meantime, the FCC received the CARS report indicating that the interference was coming from Sauer`s residence. On January 31, an FCC agent also used direction-finding techniques to track the source of the interference on 7.055 MHz to Sauer`s home and conducted an inspection. The FCC said Sauer ``admitted that he had been playing music and deliberately jamming the frequency of 7.055 MHz.`` Sauer ``further admitted to jamming and playing music on this frequency on previous days.`` Based on its findings, the FCC concluded that the $12,000 fine was justified. The FCC ordered Sauer to pay the fine within 30 days or file a written statement seeking a reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture (ARRL Letter May 23 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ FM ATLAS & STATION DIRECTORY Just a quick note to the folks on this list who might be new to DXing and to Bruce's extremely valuable FM Atlas. If you have never tried DXing with the FM Atlas at your side, you do not know what you are missing. Maybe it is because I have gotten used to having one around since I started DXing in the early 80's (9th edition-1984), but if you think having the internet alone for helping ID stations is enough, think again. With the Atlas' maps alone, imagine getting an eskip opening to a certain area. Just whip out the book and you can see what stations to target in a given area. You can also mark off the ones you have already heard so you don't waste time trying for one you already have. Then there are the frequency listings. OK, you could generate one of these from a few different sources, but the Atlas has stations by frequency, with power, antenna height, city, state (or Province), Stereo indication (this CAN be helpful) - all on one page fitting into a nice compact, bound 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" reference guide! There is also listings by state with extensive translator listings and format codes and even estimated coverage area and SCA format. Granted, the info becomes out of date the second it hits the press, and for that the VUD, 100000watts.com, the FCC database and this list are the best ways to keep updated (Bruce also has a newsletter for updates), but for having a handy reference right next to you when DXing at home, in the car, in a plane, on top of a mountain, at work or in a cabin in Northern Minnesota (been there done that!) you need to have this book! Last commentary. Bruce and his wife Carol put a lot of time and energy into creating this masterpiece once every few years. As with other great DX products that pop up from time to time (phase box, APS antennas, etc) this one is certainly worth supporting with your $$$$'s and is a very good deal at only $21. If you have never bought one and couldn't imagine why, give it a try. You won't be sorry ! Oh, last bonus of this book. I have a bookshelf history of radio stations going back to 1984. It is very cool when DX conditions are lousy, to pull out that 9th edition from 1984 and look at how few stations there were, and what their calls used to be, and to see what used to be my "total list of stations received" at that time. Now, when the heck are we getting some e-skip out east !!!!! (Bill Nollman, Farmington, CT, WTFDA via DXLD. Send $21 plus $2 shipping to FM Atlas, P O Box 336, Esko MN 55733- 0336. If you want two or more the price drops to $19 plus $1.50 per book shipping. Or use American Express, Visa or Master by e-mail or by calling 1-800-605-2219 (Bruce Elving, via Nollman, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ PROPAGATION REPORT Flare activity has remained very low over the last week. Solar wind speed declined as expected early on starting to ramp up again after 20UT on May 18. After this geomagnetic field conditions became unsettled, to active at higher latitudes. Some spread F has been noted and also some intense sporadic E in southern ocean and Antarctic regions on May 19. Conditions then calmed for a day or 2 before solar wind speed picked up again on May 21 with some active conditions from then until now. Solar wind speed and geomagnetic levels have now dropped again. The same pattern may continue for the next few weeks. A previously flaring area returned to the visible solar disk 2 days ago but so far has produced nothing of substance. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, May 23, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-089, May 22, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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. [continued from 3-088] ** MEXICO. A carrier strong enough to het adjacent NSB 9595 and Rebelde 9600 was noted May 22 around 1245 around 9598 --- would this be XEYU? An annoyance, not strong enough to pull any modulation (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA. See USA [non] ** NIGERIA. SURVEY OF THE COUNTRY'S MEDIA ENVIRONMENT Overview; limits on media freedom The Nigerian news media industry is one of the largest and most vibrant in Africa. It includes the state-owned Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), a network of government-run national, regional and state radio stations; the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), which controls a similar network of government-owned television stations; a few private radio and television stations; and over 100 national and regional publications, most privately owned. As in most African countries, radio is the most important means of mass communication in the country. With radio sharing and community listening being common practices, the vast majority of Nigerians have access to radio. Furthermore, radio broadcasts from either national or regional stations reach virtually all of the national territory. By comparison, television sets tend to be centred more in the urban areas and more available to the affluent than to the poor. Similarly, newspapers tend to be more available in urban than rural areas and more prevalent among the better educated southern population than among northerners. The country's overall literacy rate is approximately 57 per cent, a factor limiting the relative influence of newspapers. The Nigerian constitution provides for freedom of the press, and most observers agree that the press has been enjoying greater freedom since 1999, the advent of the civilian government under Olusegun Obasanjo. Nevertheless, the US-based Freedom House rated Nigeria as only "partly free" in its 2002 Press Freedom Survey, in which 53 per cent of African countries were rated "not free" and 15 per cent were rated "free." Freedom House notes that criminal defamation laws "are used against journalists to inspire some self-censorship." It also alleges that Nigerian journalists are often subject to violence, especially in the north of the country. The State Department's most recent human rights report, issued in March 2002, states that the government "generally respected" press freedom, though "there were problems in some areas." The report notes that Decree 60, signed into law during the former military regime, is still on the books. It explains that Decree 60, which was widely criticized by Nigerian journalists as unconstitutional and an "instrument of censorship", created a Press Council with the power to accredit, register and suspend journalists. The council took no official action during 2001, but journalists still regard the existence of Decree 60 and the Press Council as significant limitations on freedom of the press. Difficulties with journalistic standards Issues of educational and ethical standards for journalists are often as important to the quality of news media in Africa as issues of press freedom. Media observers note that in Nigeria, as throughout Africa, journalists have long suffered from a lack of formal professional training. Many working reporters have learned their trade primarily through whatever on-the-job training is made available by their employer. The lack of training, the observers point out, often results in poor journalistic practices - such as basing a story on only one source, reporting solely on the basis of unnamed sources, or reporting only one side of controversial stories. That said, many observers will also assert that Nigeria has the most professional level of journalism to be found in Africa. Professional training is available from independent organizations, such as the Nigerian Institute for Journalism, NIJ, which offers an independent training certificate programme. Increasingly, media organizations are requiring degrees or certificates such as those offered by the NIJ as a requirement for a reporter's job. Media observers also note ethical problems that plague journalism in Nigeria. The Media Rights Agenda, an organization "promoting and protecting press freedom and freedom of _expression in Nigeria", has noted a long list of unethical practices that it claims are widespread throughout the country (Media Rights Monitor, September 2000). These include soliciting bribes to run a particular story or to suppress certain facts; ethnic or political bias in reporting; reporting on stories about which the journalist is uninformed; reporting, or failing to report, a story in deference to an authority; and unduly sensationalizing a story. Though these problems do undoubtedly affect the quality and reliability of journalism in Nigeria, it must also be noted that professional journalist organizations in Nigeria have recognized the problem, publicized it and made some efforts to overcome it. The Nigerian Union of Journalists, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, and the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, for instance, in 1998 formally adopted a Code of Ethics and called upon all of their members to observe it. Radio The FRCN operates five "national stations" (which identify as "Radio Nigeria") from the cities of Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna and Enugu, as well as a "network service" relayed at times by all these stations. Radio Nigeria-Lagos provides three separate channels: Channel 1 broadcasts in English on mediumwave and FM, as well as shortwave; Channel 2 broadcasts in English on mediumwave and FM; and Channel 3 broadcasts on FM only in English, Nigerian Pidgin and the major indigenous languages of Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. The Radio Nigeria national stations in Ibadan (southwest Nigeria), Enugu (eastern) and Kaduna (north) offer one or more channels in English and the indigenous languages spoken in each particular area. In addition to the national stations, each of the country's 36 states has at least one state radio station broadcasting in mediumwave or FM. State radios typically hook up to the national network for major newscasts of the day, but otherwise carry their own programming. Each of the state radio stations broadcasts in a combination of English and the vernacular languages that predominate in the state, ensuring that radio is almost universally accessible. The national radios operate solely on government funding and are not permitted to accept commercial advertising. State radios receive government funding but are allowed to accept some advertising as well (American Express Small Business Report). There were six private radio stations broadcasting in 2001, according to the US State Department Human Rights Report. The most popular of the private stations are Ray Power 1 (Lagos) and Ray Power 2 (Abuja), owned by DAAR Communications. The stations draw an especially large audience of young adults, in large part due to the stations' musical appeal as well as its relays of BBC programming. Ray Power stations also feature local news, phone-in programmes, and sports. DAAR Communications also has networking agreements with over 30 state radios throughout Nigeria, giving Ray Power a nearly nationwide reach. Available audience survey data indicate that Ray Power stations enjoy an audience of between two and four times as large as Radio Nigeria. The Voice of Nigeria (VON) is the country's external shortwave radio service. As described on the station's web site http://www.voiceofnigeria.org VON is an autonomous corporation that has been granted by statute the exclusive authority "for broadcasting externally, by radio, Nigeria's viewpoint to any part of the world". VON is required by law to broadcast "as a public interest in the interest of Nigeria" and to "ensure that its services reflect views of Nigeria as a federation and give adequate expression to the culture, characteristics, affairs and opinions of Nigeria". It broadcasts on shortwave in English, French, Swahili, Hausa, Fulfulde and Arabic from studios in Lagos and Abuja. Important international news sources for Nigerians include direct shortwave reception and FM rebroadcasts of BBC World Service and Voice of America services in English and Hausa. Television The NTA operates national and regional television stations, and at least 30 states currently operate their own television stations as well. The NTA national programming is in English only, while regional stations broadcast in a combination of English, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. NTA programming includes a variety of general interest shows, including news, talk shows, sports, soap operas and business programmes. Since the early 1990s, Nigeria has allowed private television broadcasting. According to the State Department Human Rights Report, in 2001 there were nine privately owned television stations that broadcast domestic news and political commentary in the country and two private satellite television services. These include African Independent Television, AIT, which is owned by DAAR Communications, which also owns Ray Power Radio. AIT broadcasts in the Lagos area and, via satellite, to Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. Its 24-hour programming includes African news and locally- produced entertainment. The station's goal, as stated in press releases, is to present a positive image of Africa to the world and to ensure that Africa is "is represented by Africans". Other important television broadcasters include Minaj TV, which serves eastern Nigeria and operates both a cable network and a satellite broadcasting service, and Galaxy TV, which broadcasts sports and entertainment to western Nigeria in English and Yoruba. In the short history of private broadcasting in Nigeria, private television stations have had a difficult time remaining solvent, due to high costs and scarce advertising revenue. These problems have been aggravated by a law requiring that programming for terrestrial broadcasting consist of at least 60 per cent locally produced content (80 per cent for satellite broadcasting). This requirement causes hardships because locally produced programmes tend to be more expensive than much of the available foreign programming. Foreign television broadcasts are readily available to the few Nigerians able to afford satellite antennas, for the government does not restrict access to foreign satellite broadcasts. Print media The Nigerian press is made up of a wide variety of publications - some owned by the government, but most privately owned. These include regional newspapers and papers with a national readership; newspapers that strive for professional, objective journalism and others that designed to espouse the interests of particular ethnic groups; popular tabloids, dailies appealing to an educated elite, and serious weekly news magazines. According to available market data, daily readership of Nigerian newspapers is limited to 23 per cent of the population, and no single title reaches more than 18 per cent of the population. The federal government owns two main daily newspapers, the New Nigerian (which publishes separate editions in Lagos and Kaduna) and the Lagos Daily Times. Both papers are published in English, but the New Nigerian also publishes an edition in Hausa. Several states also publish daily or weekly newspapers, all in English, but they depend heavily on state subsidies to stay in production. The majority of Nigeria's newspapers are privately owned and published in Lagos. Several have a national audience. Among the most widely read, with circulation figures exceeding 200,000, are the Daily Times, The Guardian and the Daily Champion. The Kaduna New Nigerian enjoys a large regional readership in the north of the country. Outside Lagos in the southwestern part of the country, the Ibadan Nigerian Tribune enjoys a large audience in the major cities in the states of Oyo, Osun, Ogun and Kwara. The popularity of some of these newspapers reflects the fact that the papers strongly champion the interests of a particular ethnic group. The Nigerian Tribune, for example, is noted for its defence of Yoruba interests and its support of the Yoruba-dominated Alliance for Democracy party. Experienced media observers note that the paper has been critical of Hausa-led military regimes in the past and has denounced the juntas as the "Kaduna Mafia" or the "Hausa-Fulani oligarchy". The Lagos Daily Champion has long promoted Igbo sociopolitical interests. In an interview published in the March 2002 issue of Lagos Media Review magazine, Emma Agu, CEO/editor in chief of the Daily Champion, confirmed the paper's pro-Igbo ideology: "I admit that in Igbo issues, or issues that affect the East, Champion comes out strongly. We have no apologies to offer for that." The Abuja Daily Trust has a pro-North tendency. It generally favours northern leaders and tends to be critical of the Lagos press and southern leaders. The Vanguard and The Guardian (both published in Lagos) are two widely read and highly respected newspapers that claim no political, religious or cultural affiliation. Both papers demonstrate professional journalism and objective reporting on all topics of current national interest - including controversial topics such as corruption, human rights abuses and good governance. Both also feature a wide range of commentary and editorials on issues of national and international concern. The Guardian, whose columnists and contributors include university lecturers, top business executives, and national politicians, is aimed at a well-educated audience. It is a "serious" publication, likely to be read by the country's influential business leaders, politicians and policymakers. According to an Internews survey, The Guardian is read by 47 per cent of Nigeria's "decisionmakers", more than any other daily. This Day, a Lagos daily newer than The Guardian, is also well regarded and highly credible, especially in the north. It pays its journalists relatively high salaries, so that they are less susceptible to bribery, and gives them continuing professional training throughout their careers - practices it also shares with The Guardian. According to the Internews survey, This Day is the most widely read daily by decisionmakers in the northern cities of Kaduna (34 per cent) and Kano (29 per cent). As The Guardian and This Day, the weekly news magazines Tell and Newswatch are well-respected publications and influential opinion shapers within Nigeria. Readers of both papers tend to be educated professionals and businessmen. According to an UN report, Tell has a weekly circulation of approximately 100,000; Newswatch has a weekly print run of 50,000. According to Internews, Tell is read by 67 per cent of Nigeria's decisionmakers; Newswatch, by 32 per cent. Many Nigerian news publications - including the dailies The Guardian, Post Express, Vanguard, Comet and Daily Trust, as well as the weekly news magazine Newswatch - also appear in Internet versions on their own web sites. Other news publications are hosted, at least in part, by Internet portals such as AllAfrica.com and Lagos-online.com. News agency The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, is the country's only news agency. A government-owned agency, its English-language reports of domestic political and economic news appear in several local newspapers and are also e-mailed to subscribers. Internet There are about 10 Internet service providers in Nigeria and approximately 100,000 Internet users. The vast majority of these users access the Internet through the cyber cafes that have been springing up on the streets of the major cities. Costs for dial-up subscriptions at home are prohibitively expensive (equivalent to approximately 60 dollars a month) and the telecommunications infrastructure is not developed or reliable enough to support general home use in any case (BBC News). Internet access is generally not available outside the large cities, due to a lack of telephone lines, though the use of wireless Internet services is increasing. Internet users in Nigeria can access a wide range of local sites, providing the same types of information, business, social and entertainment services widely available in developed countries. According to the State Department's Human Rights Report, the government does not restrict access to the Internet. Source: Chris Greenway, BBC Monitoring research May 03 (via DXLD) ** PERU. En el Perú hay 806 estaciones de radio y 70 de televisión piratas. El Sistema Ncional de Gestión del Espectro Radioeléctrico del MTC señala que 650 emisoras ilegales operan en la frecuencia modulada (El Comercio, May 20) Interesting radio related sites: http://www.comitederadio.com.pe/ http://apap.org.pe/directoriaradio.html {no workee, error? directorio doesn`t work either; first one has been corrected, anyway} (via Tetsuya Hirahara, ``El Tiempo Hechicero`` DX News, May via Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Radio Gardarika will be again on SW between June 9 and 16, 2003. The schedule: 1800-2100 UT, 6235 kHz, main target area: north- west Europe (Mikhail Timofeyev, St. Petersburg, Russia, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** RWANDA. Noted Radio Rwanda, (Radiodiffusion de la Republique Rwandaise) Kigali, at 1800 UTC on 6055 kHz with news in French, which was followed by programs in the vernacular. Heard 10 minutes of local and international news in English at 1830 UTC on the same frequency of 6055 khz. Radio Rwanda comes across here with strong signals. However, there is slight interference from Radio Nigeria, Ibadan on 6050 kHz (Livinus Torty in Chad, AWR Wavescan May 25 via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. This week`s Dispatches on CBC Radio 1 has a feature on Sa`udi radio; starts 15 minutes into the half hour program available on demand http://www.cbc.ca/dispatches/audio/030521_show.rm (Glenn Hauser, May 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA [non]. HISTORY --- A GIFT OF SISULU [More on Radio Freedom ...] http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=225&fArticleId=146812 May 16, 2003, By Alf Kumalo Reminiscing about Walter Sisulu brings a kaleidoscope of memories of the struggle. Firstly, I remember a voice that delivered a message to the apartheid regime that was chilling in its intent, deliberation and dignity. The ANC had set up Radio Freedom, broadcasting from Lusaka with clandestine transmitters in Johannesburg and Rustenburg. Sisulu's voice was heard over the airwaves of the illegal transmission, which broadcast sporadically. He delivered a powerful message from their hiding place at Lilliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. The oracle bothered friend and foe. We thought the political message would lead to their arrest. But it did not and the messages increased in number and intensity. Apartheid was at its harshest then, with the banning of the ANC and PAC, but also after the brutal killing of 69 people in Sharpeville in 1960. Next, I remember the scene at the Pretoria Supreme Court where Sisulu, Nelson Mandela and other ANC leaders were facing treason charges in 1962. Using a self-time exposure, I managed to photograph a picture in court that would have represented the most poignant image of that proceeding. But by taking a picture inside a courtroom I would put the paper I was freelancing for in trouble. It is one of my deepest regrets that I cannot find that image - and it has never been printed. Another abiding memory is of Sisulu's release from prison in 1989. At a welcoming ceremony at the church next to his house in Orlando West, he was singing the national anthem with such vigour that he pumped his fist in the air with great emotion. Remember: Sisulu had not sung Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika with an audience for 26 years. It was a great moment. Back in the '60s, I remember coming across Sisulu's son, Max, in Francistown, Botswana, in a building known as the White House. Among the many refugees in exile with him was Hage Geingob, who was to become Namibia's prime minister after freedom in 1990. We were in Francistown chasing down a story about Arthur Goldreich and Harold Wolpe, who had been arrested with Sisulu and others at Lilliesleaf Farm, but who escaped from Marshall Square in Johannesburg, disguised as monks. These two guys were kept in prison in Francistown for their own safety after a bomb attack on an aircraft they were due to travel in. I informed the family back in Soweto that I had met their son and that he was safe. They were greatly relieved. These are just some of the memories he gave me; after a while, memories are all you have. Hamba kahle Tata Sisulu. (The Star May 16, 2003 via A. Sennitt, Holland for CRW via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN -- Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: "HeartBeat" Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: Special -- "Behind the Scenes at Radio Sweden" Sunday: In "Sounds Nordic" cellphone conversation openers and Whyte Seeds Because of interference on our frequency at 15750 kHz during our broadcast to East Asia at 12:30 hrs UTC, we're now testing our other channel, 17505 kHz, in two directions at once. So listeners to this broadcast in both Southeast Asia and in Australia will find us on 17505 kHz. Reception reports are welcome: radiosweden@sr.se (SCDX/MediaScan May 22 via DXLD) Radio Sweden would like to get reception reports on their EE- transmission towards Asia (Japan-Australia) on the new 17505 kHz, between 1230-1300 UT. Test starts today and continue at least a week.You can win T-shirts by sending your reception reports to: anders.backlin@sr.se 73 (Bernt-Ivan Holmberg, Möklinta, Sweden, hard- core-dx via DXLD) ** U K. ANOTHER EAR-BASHING FOR BYFORD As some of you know, the BBC WS has been publicising its availability on BBC domestic television stations. However, much of their TV promos have been completely silent, much to the annoyance of blind and partially-sighted people, who have long been campaigning for audio description of television programmes, and against commercial companies who show ads with no verbal dialogue whatsoever - often only music, so that visually-impaired people have no idea of what the ads may be about. In the case of the BBC WS, there were extremely long periods of dead air. Mark Byford, as well as being the MD of BBC WS, is supposed to be the so-called BBC Disability Champion. He was expected to be grilled on the BBC domestic programme for blind and partially people "In Touch" on Tuesday 20 May 2003. However, he was reported to be unwell, but the programme's Presenter, Peter White, hopes to carry out the grilling in next Tuesday's programme, at 1940 UT [on Radio 4]. So, Mr Byford's illness has only delayed the moment when he will have to face the music (Paul David, UK, May 21, swprograms via DXLD) ?? As a sighted person constantly bombarded with advertising trying to sell me stuff I neither want nor need, I suggest you count your blessings when you hear music or dead air (gh, DXLD) See http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/help/focusgroup.shtml -- The BBCWS is running some UK focus groups in June and is soliciting participation. Perhaps Paul David or others based in the UK might want to participate. Might get you a free meal or two (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. ELSTEIN TO HEAD TORY REVIEW OF BBC FUNDING Owen Gibson, Thursday May 22, 2003, The Guardian David Elstein, the former chief executive of Channel Five, will head a Conservative party review of the future funding of the BBC ahead of the renewal of the corporation's royal charter. . . http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,960909,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. New (?) IBB transmitter sites Dear hcdxers, while checking the IBB frequency list, I discovered these transmitter sites, which obviously have been added recently: U-B = Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 981 1200 1400 VOA ENGL U-B 140 981 2000 2200 VOA ENGL U-B 140 KAB = Kabul, Afghanistan 1296 0000 0030 RFE DA KAB ND 1296 0030 0130 VOA PASH KAB ND 1296 0130 0230 VOA DARI KAB ND 1296 0230 0330 RFE PA KAB ND 1296 0330 0430 RFE DA KAB ND 1296 0430 0530 VOA PASH KAB ND 1296 0530 0630 VOA DARI KAB ND 1296 0630 0730 RFE PA KAB ND 1296 0730 0830 RFE DA KAB ND 1296 0830 0930 RFE PA KAB ND 1296 0930 1030 RFE DA KAB ND 1296 1030 1130 VOA PASH KAB ND 1296 1130 1230 VOA DARI KAB ND 1296 1230 1330 RFE PA KAB ND 1296 1330 1430 RFE DA KAB ND 1296 1430 1530 VOA PASH KAB ND 1296 1530 1630 VOA DARI KAB ND 1296 1630 1730 RFE PA KAB ND 1296 1730 1830 RFE DA KAB ND 1296 1830 1930 VOA PASH KAB ND 1296 1930 2030 VOA DARI KAB ND 1296 2030 2130 VOA PASH KAB ND 1296 2130 2230 VOA DARI KAB ND 1296 2230 2330 RFE PA KAB ND 1296 2330 2400 RFE DA KAB ND Does anyone know the power of the transmitters on 981 & 1296 kHz? Best wishes, (Uwe Volk, Germany, May 21, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** U S A. KVOH Spurs --- The spurious signals from KVOH are back. They seem to occur when the transmitter is first turned on. I heard the spurs, at 17480, 17628, 17921, and, 18067 kHz, on May 15 from transmitter turn on at 1648 until 1659 UT. Today May 22, the spurs were present from turn on at 1651 UT until 1812. The spurs seemed to gradually weaken after 1721 until their disappearance (Donald Wilson, a few km from the site, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Radio Station WWRB has requested via its local congressional representative (congressional inquiry) that a notice of determination be made by the Internal Revenue service to put in writing the specific legality of non profit 501 C3 tax exempt organizations holding out tax payer subsidized assets and broadcast facilities out for compensation and hire. Specifically can a 501 C tax exempt church /charity/ religious organization sell air time on tax payer subsidized broadcast facilities to clearly commercial for profit broadcasters, Radio networks, political change forces. to affect / influance legislation, political activities, selling hard core commercial goods and services to the general public. As many are aware, 501c3 exempt groups pay no state sales taxes on equipment or electricity purchases, no property taxes to local governments, no regulatory fees to various governmental agencies. exempt from various permit fees. Pastors of such groups can also exempt themselves from paying any social security taxes which can amount to up to 15,000 dollars a year in personal tax savings each year. You the reader cannot exempt yourself from paying social security taxes. Obviously the 501C3 tax exempt group is enjoying an unfair economic / unfair trade practices amounting to at least 40 to 60 percent economic advantage over a tax paying non exempt individual business or corporation. WWRB seeks this determination from the IRS in writing as this area of tax law has always been a very gray area. If the IRS returns a positive response that it legal that 501c3 tax exempt groups can hold out taxpayer subsidized assets out for compensation hire to commercial for profit broadcasters WWRB will immediately file for and use the IRS notice of determination as justification for 501c3 non profit status in order to remain competitive (Dave Frantz, WWRB, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. "The Unseen War" by Michael Massing, New York Review of Books, 29-5-03, discusses his monitoring, from Qatar, of BBC, Sky News, CNN International, MSNBC, and Al Jazeera. "CNN International bore more resemblance to the BBC than to its domestic edition --- a difference that showed just how market-driven were the tone and content of the broadcasts. For the most part, US news organizations gave Americans the war they thought Americans wanted to see." http://www.nybooks.com/articles/16293 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. THE GREAT MEDIA GULP The New York Times, May 22, 2003 By WILLIAM SAFIRE, WASHINGTON The future formation of American public opinion has fallen into the lap of an ambitious 36-year-old lawyer whose name you never heard. On June 2, after deliberations conducted behind closed doors, he will decide the fate of media large and small, print and broadcast. No other decision made in Washington will more directly affect how you will be informed, persuaded and entertained. His name is Kevin Martin. He and his wife, Catherine, now Vice President Dick Cheney's public affairs adviser, are the most puissant young "power couple" in the capital. He is one of three Republican members of the five-person Federal Communications Commission, and because he recently broke ranks with his chairman, Michael Powell (Colin's son), on a telecom controversy, this engaging North Carolinian has become the swing vote on the power play that has media moguls salivating. The F.C.C. proposal remains officially secret to avoid public comment but was forced into the open by the two commission Democrats. It would end the ban in most cities of cross-ownership of television stations and newspapers, allowing such companies as The New York Times, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune to gobble up ever more electronic outlets. It would permit Viacom, Disney and AOL Time Warner to control TV stations with nearly half the national audience. In the largest cities, it would allow owners of "only" two TV stations to buy a third. We've already seen what happened when the F.C.C. allowed the monopolization of local radio: today three companies own half the stations in America, delivering a homogenized product that neglects local news coverage and dictates music sales. And the F.C.C. has abdicated enforcement of the "public interest" requirement in issuing licenses. Time was, broadcasters had to regularly reapply and show public-interest programming to earn continuance; now they mail the F.C.C. a postcard every eight years that nobody reads. Ah, but aren't viewers and readers now blessed with a whole new world of hot competition through cable and the Internet? That's the shucks-we're-no-monopolists line that Rupert Murdoch will take today in testimony before the pussycats of John McCain's Senate Commerce Committee. The answer is no. Many artists, consumers, musicians and journalists know that such protestations of cable and Internet competition by the huge dominators of content and communication are malarkey. The overwhelming amount of news and entertainment comes via broadcast and print. Putting those outlets in fewer and bigger hands profits the few at the cost of the many. Does that sound un-conservative? Not to me. The concentration of power political, corporate, media, cultural should be anathema to conservatives. The diffusion of power through local control, thereby encouraging individual participation, is the essence of federalism and the greatest expression of democracy. Why do we have more channels but fewer real choices today? Because the ownership of our means of communication is shrinking. Moguls glory in amalgamation, but more individuals than they realize resent the loss of local control and community identity. We opponents of megamergers and cross-ownership are afflicted with what sociologists call "pluralistic ignorance." Libertarians pop off from what we assume to be the fringes of the left and right wings, but do not yet realize that we outnumber the exponents of the new collectivist efficiency. That's why I march uncomfortably alongside CodePink Women for Peace and the National Rifle Association, between liberal Olympia Snowe and conservative Ted Stevens under the banner of "localism, competition and diversity of views." That's why, too, we resent the conflicted refusal of most networks, stations and their putative purchasers to report fully and in prime time on their owners' power grab scheduled for June 2. Must broadcasters of news act only on behalf of the powerful broadcast lobby? Are they not obligated, in the long-forgotten "public interest," to call to the attention of viewers and readers the arrogance of a regulatory commission that will not hold extended public hearings on the most controversial decision in its history? So much of our lives should not be in the hands of one swing-vote commissioner. Let's debate this out in the open, take polls, get the president on the record and turn up the heat. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Why Commissioner Copps opposes greater media concentration. Long --- but great! http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-234736A1.doc (John Broomall, GA, Christian Community Broadcasters, May 21, WTFDA via DXLD) LOBBYISTS PAID MILLIONS IN FCC TRAVEL EXPENSES, WATCHDOG GROUP REPORTS By DAVID HO, ASSOCIATED PRESS -- Thursday, May 22, 2003 7:42AM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Communications Commission officials have taken more than 2,500 trips in the last eight years, most of them paid for by the telecommunications and broadcasting industries the agency regulates, a watchdog group said. . . http://newsobserver.com/24hour/business/story/895139p-6236840c.html (via Jilly Dybka, TN, DXLD) Same: INCESTUOUS CORRUPTION AT THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION By DAVID HO, The Associated Press, 5/21/03 8:14 PM WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Communications Commission officials have taken more than 2,500 trips in the last eight years, most of them paid for by the telecommunications and broadcasting industries the agency regulates, a watchdog group said. The Center for Public Integrity report, based on records from the federal Office of Government Ethics, details trips worth more than $250 taken by agency commissioners and staff between May 1995 and February 2003. The total cost of the trips was $2.8 million. Most trips were paid by industry sponsors so officials could attend conventions, conferences and trade shows. Others were paid for by universities and technical associations. The report being released Thursday said all the trips appear to be legal under government guidelines. Other agencies also routinely accept travel and entertainment gifts. "It reveals more than ever before just how incestuous the relationship is between the FCC and the broadcasting and cable industries it is supposed to regulate," said Charles Lewis, director of the center. FCC spokesman David Fiske said the trips are meant to be educational and are reviewed internally to make sure they are ethical. Fiske said the shows and conferences help officials stay current on technology they regulate. "Commissioners and the staff feel it is important to be able to get outside the Beltway and get lots of information from a wide variety of groups with a wide variety of viewpoints," he said. The report said the top destination for FCC officials -- with 330 trips -- was Las Vegas, the site of many industry conventions, including the annual meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters. NAB was the largest industry sponsor of FCC trips, spending $191,472 to bring 206 agency officials to its events, the report said. "It is only reasonable that Washington policy-makers would want to attend NAB conventions to learn everything they can about the businesses they regulate," NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said. The FCC is scheduled to vote June 2 on a plan to make broad changes to the rules governing ownership of newspapers and TV and radio stations. FCC Chairman Michael Powell and the two other Republicans on the commission favor loosening regulations, an outcome sought by many large media companies that say the rules are outdated. The NAB has been lobbying to keep existing media ownership rules, particularly one that prevents a single company from owning TV stations that reach more than 35 percent of U.S. households. The Center for Public Integrity takes no position on the ownership review. Other top destinations for FCC officials were New Orleans, New York and London. On some occasions officials stayed at high-priced hotels such as the Bellagio in Las Vegas, said Bob Williams, senior writer at the center. Of the traveling FCC officials, Powell ranked No. 5 with 44 trips -- 30 as a commissioner and 14 as chairman. The value of those trips was about $85,000. His most expensive was a weeklong seminar in Aspen, Colo., costing $6,200 and paid for by the Aspen Institute, a think tank. The other four commissioners took far fewer trips. Powell has been on the commission since 1997, while the others joined more recently. The top trip-taker at the agency is Roy Stewart, chief of the FCC's Office of Broadcast License Policy and former chief of the FCC's media bureau, which makes recommendations to the commissioners on the media ownership rules. Stewart took 107 trips worth about $76,000. Most were sponsored by state broadcaster associations. The Center for Public Integrity has created a 65,000-record, searchable database with information on ownership of virtually every radio and TV station, cable network and phone company. ------ On the Net: Federal Communications Commission: http://www.fcc.gov Center for Public Integrity: http://www.openairwaves.org/telecom/report.aspx?aid15 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) LOCAL MEDIA POISED FOR CHANGE AFTER FCC VOTE By Chris Lewis, May 21, 2003 The media landscape in Nashville could be changing dramatically this year. The Federal Communications Commission is expected to relax rules governing ownership of newspapers and television stations in the United States at a vote early next month. . . http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=10&screen=news&news_id=23092 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) COULD THE FCC PLAY A DIFFERENT TUNE? By Steven Pearlstein, Wednesday, May 21, 2003; Page E01 A hallmark of local television news in Washington is how formulaic it has become. All of the stations follow roughly the same format, emphasize the same topics, and trumpet their "live shots" and "team coverage." There's always that lead-in from the weatherman that is careful to tease but never inform, and the jocular banter with the sportscaster. What's curious about this mediocre sameness is that it occurs in an intensely competitive market among stations with different owners. And that should be instructive to the debate now raging at the Federal Communications Commission over new media-concentration rules. To hear it from consumer groups and media critics, democracy as we know it will cease to exist if television networks are allowed to own a few more local affiliates or if newspapers like this one can own a major television station in their markets. The result, they warn, will be a menacing media oligopoly free to wipe out local content, ignore independent producers and relentlessly push a pro-corporate political agenda. On the other side are free-market ideologues and self-serving media giants peddling the equally silly idea that unregulated competition and new technologies will ensure lower prices, higher quality and diversity of views. The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between. As anyone who has traveled the country can tell you, there is simply no correlation between ownership size or independence and the quality of programming or journalism. Some of the worst newspapers and television stations are local independents, while some of the best are owned by media conglomerates or hometown dailies. Nor is there any indication that all big media companies share the same political or moral values. Among the networks we have a range from Fox, with its mix of conservative news and racy programming, to public broadcasting, which reliably bangs the drum for every liberal cause. And while it is true that most Americans still get their news from newspapers and television, the Internet, satellite television and radio, and 500-channel cable now offer a credible competitive threat to media giants that might use their power to squash debate or abandon local programming that people really value. On the other hand, it's also obvious that unfettered deregulation and consolidation in radio has been a disaster to everyone but Clear Channel and Viacom, which together now account for more than a third of the listeners and the revenue. While deregulated markets have produced a more efficient industry, they have also driven variety, local flavor and news gathering from the radio dial. My own view is that no great harm will come from modestly loosening TV ownership rules in large cities (a position, by the way, that does not track that of the head of The Washington Post Co.'s television unit). At the same time, I think the ownership debate misses the real issue, which is that the FCC has abdicated its statutory responsibility to ensure that television and radio stations operate in the public interest. The reason that even the laggard stations post 30, 40, even 50 percent profit margins is not because these guys are so good -- it's because they operate in markets where competition is limited by the width of the spectrum. Rather than letting them keep their monopoly profits, the government should insist that they use them to provide "public goods" that markets have never been good at generating. For radio, that would mean pulling licenses of stations that have little local programming and use long-distance disc jockeys to play the same 50 songs. For television, it might mean requiring more comprehensive, in-depth or innovative news, quality children's programming, and regular live broadcasts of local cultural events and amateur sporting events. Die-hard deregulators will say we tried this before and it didn't work. The reason it didn't was that we didn't have regulators and legislators with the backbone and the flexibility to make it work. If hospitals and universities can come up with fair and flexible accreditation processes, so can the FCC. (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. CHEVRONTEXACO TO STOP SPONSORING MET'S BROADCASTS By ROBIN POGREBIN May 21, 2003 ChevronTexaco announced yesterday that it would withdraw its support from the Metropolitan Opera's Saturday afternoon live radio broadcasts after the 2003-4 season, ending the longest continuous commercial sponsorship in broadcast history. Joseph Volpe, general manager of the Met, said that he was determined to continue the broadcasts without ChevronTexaco and that he would look for a new sponsor. Started on Christmas Day in 1931 with Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel," the Met matinee broadcasts have introduced opera to millions of people around the world. Mr. Volpe said the broadcasts had been "the single most powerful audience development program in introducing opera to families" and had inspired opera stars. "Many of the singers today first discovered opera on the radio broadcasts," he said. Patricia E. Yarrington, ChevronTexaco's vice president for public and government affairs, said in a statement, "As our business has evolved, we believe it is important to focus more of our resources directly with the countries and markets where we do business." Beginning in 1940 Texaco was the sole sponsor of the broadcasts, which are now heard live from the Met stage at Lincoln Center 20 times a year on 360 stations at an annual cost of about $7 million. Broadcast December through April, the broadcasts reach an estimated 10 million listeners in 42 countries. Betty Allen, a former mezzo-soprano who is now president emerita of the Harlem School of the Arts, said she listened to the broadcasts growing up in Campbell, Ohio, a suburb of Youngstown. "My neighbors were all Sicilian and Greek, and if you went up and down the street, you would hear the opera from everybody's windows," she said. "Everybody listened. It was the thing to do on Saturdays." When the program was dropped by WCRB-FM in the Boston suburb of Waltham, the largest commercial classical music station in Massachusetts, the station manager received hate mail and threatening letters. The station does not carry the broadcasts. Milton Cross was the show's announcer for more than 40 years, until his death in 1975, when Peter Allen took over. The broadcasts are presented without commercial interruption, except for references to TexacoChevron in the commentary. During intermissions the programs occasionally offers an opera quiz, popular since the early days of the broadcast, when the quiz was called "The Opera Question Forum." Listeners send in questions each year in the hope of stumping a panel of opera experts. Chevron bought Texaco for $36 billion in 2000. While $7 million may not seem like much to a major corporation, ChevronTexaco's decision comes at a time when the company has suffered financial problems. Last year the chief executive, David J. O'Reilly, took a 45 percent pay cut due to a decline in profits and the biggest drop in company shares in at least two decades. The Met, too, has had a tough year and faces a nearly $10 million deficit, attributed to the drop in foreign tourism. "Of course I'm disappointed that they've decided not to continue," Mr. Volpe said. "However, I think it is an opportunity to develop a relationship with another company." He said that one or two major corporations, which he declined to name, had expressed interest in backing the broadcast. If he is unable to secure such sponsorship by the time ChevronTexaco's support runs out, Mr. Volpe said, the show would still go on. "One way or another, it will survive," he said. "Even if we have to appeal to the radio listeners themselves for support." The matinee broadcasts grew out of financial difficulty. During the Depression the Met faced its first budget deficits and welcomed NBC's offer of $120,000 to broadcast the season in 1931. The 2003-4 live radio broadcast season is to start on Dec. 13 with the Met's new production of "La Juive," by Halevy, and is to conclude on April 24, 2004, with the broadcast of Wagner's "Goetterdaemmerung." The relationship between ChevronTexaco and the Met will continue through the Early Notes program, which ChevronTexaco has endowed in perpetuity. That program, run by the Met and the New York City Department of Education, introduces opera to public school students. ChevronTexaco also said it would donate to the Met the $1 million worth of equipment used to broadcast performances. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) CHEVRONTEXACO TO DROP MET OPERA BROADCASTS, ENDING STORIED TRADITION By RONALD BLUM, The Associated Press, 5/21/03 2:41 AM NEW YORK (AP) -- ChevronTexaco Corp. will drop its sponsorship of the Metropolitan Opera's Saturday radio broadcasts after next season, another sign of the troubled times for classical music in the United States. The Met's Saturday afternoon broadcasts have been a staple on classical music stations since 1931. Texaco Corp., then known as The Texas Co., has been the sole sponsor since 1940, the longest continuous sponsorship in broadcasting. "The Saturday broadcasts have introduced millions of people around the world to opera," Met general manager Joseph Volpe said in a statement Tuesday. "The Metropolitan Opera has already started actively seeking new sponsors for the broadcasts, which present a wonderful and unique opportunity for a sponsor with a global outlook." The Lyric Opera of Chicago eliminated its Saturday radio broadcasts for the 2002-2003 season after United and American airlines, citing financial losses, dropped their sponsorships. Texaco, based in suburban White Plains, was acquired by Chevron Inc., based in San Ramon, Calif., in 2001. Glenn F. Tilton, Texaco's last CEO, is a managing director of the Met. "ChevronTexaco has had a tremendously rewarding relationship with the Metropolitan Opera, which is a world-class cultural treasure," Patricia E. Yarrington, ChevronTexaco's vice president for public and government affairs, said in a statement. "However, as our business has evolved, we believe it is important to focus more of our resources directly with the countries and markets where we do business, with an additional emphasis on addressing pressing development needs in those communities." ChevronTexaco said it will support the Metropolitan Opera's efforts to identify sponsors for the radio broadcasts. Met broadcasts, which start each December and run through April or May, were carried over more than 360 stations in the United States last season and were available in 42 countries, the Met said. The 2003-04 season includes 20 broadcasts, starting Dec. 13 with Halevy's "La Juive" and ending April 24 with Wagner's "Die Goetterdaemmerung." The move by ChevronTexaco is the latest in a series of setbacks to affect classical music in recent months. The Pittsburgh Symphony, facing an $800,000 shortfall this season, last week proposed a $10,000 salary cut and the loss of benefits for musicians, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Tuesday. Last week, the symphony canceled its summer 2004 European tour, saying it stood to lose as much as $400,000 on the trip. The Florida Philharmonic Orchestra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection May 14, four days after it suspended operations because it failed to come up with $500,000 to pay the musicians for the next month. The Louisville Orchestra, facing a deficit of about $800,000, has fallen behind in paying its musicians. On Monday, the Nevada Opera said it was cutting three of every four full-time employees, citing a $250,000 debt. The opera canceled its planned production of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" two months ago. The Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Francisco Opera said last fall that they each were dropping plans to produce two operas announced for the 2003-04 season, and the San Jose Symphony filed for bankruptcy. ------ On the Net: Metropolitan Opera: http://www.metopera.org ChevronTexaco: http://www.chevrontexaco.com (via Mike Cooper, David Alpert, DXLD) Not to mention the demise of the Tulsa Philharmonic, sob (gh, Enid) MET SPONSORSHIP --- By Diane Haithman, Los Angeles Times It came as a shock to the opera community Tuesday when Metropolitan Opera General Manager Joseph Volpe announced that after the 2003-04 season, the name of Texaco would no longer be associated with the opera company's live Saturday radio broadcasts. The oil company, which merged with Chevron in 2000 and is now known as ChevronTexaco, has sponsored the operas for 63 years, the longest continuous commercial sponsorship in broadcast history. The end of the $7-million-a-year sponsorship, which ChevronTexaco has said reflects "a different direction philosophically" for the company's philanthropic endeavors, does not necessarily spell the end of the broadcasts; Volpe said the company is seeking new sponsorship. But the fact that the Texaco name will no longer be associated with the radio programs is causing opera enthusiasts to reflect on the broadcast's importance, and it raises fears for its future. About 18 months ago, Marc Scorca, president of Opera America, found himself in the heartland on a Saturday afternoon, driving between business meetings in Iowa and Omaha. Playing on the radio? The Saturday Metropolitan broadcast. "That intersection of the breadbasket of America and opera was profoundly moving," Scorca recalled. Scorca says Opera America research indicates that, next to family influence, the live broadcasts from New York City's Metropolitan Opera House are the most-often-cited reason audiences give for their interest in opera. "And it's not just audience members but also singers," Scorca adds. "(Mezzo soprano) Vivica Genaux was born in Anchorage, Alaska, but she let me know it was the broadcasts that introduced her to opera." Lisa James, acting director of development for the San Francisco Opera, called the end to the sponsorship "a terrible loss." ChevronTexaco is the San Francisco Opera's first corporate donor; broadcasts of the San Francisco Opera were carried on "The Standard Hour" from 1926 to 1955, and Chevron sponsored the opera's broadcasts from 1971 to 1982. (Standard Oil Co. later became Chevron.) James says that in recent years ChevronTexaco has provided $75,000 in annual support to the San Francisco Opera and that she has "no indication" that the company plans to change its annual support in the near future. Ian Campbell, artistic director of the San Diego Opera, says that the broadcasts have contributed not only to the growth of the opera audience but also to the establishment of opera companies. "Whether it was San Diego or Austin, Texas, or Arizona, the fact that they could hear opera led them to develop opera companies in their region. And in the last few years the broadcasts have truly become international, not only through satellite links but through the Internet as well." Campbell adds that disappointment over the end of the sponsorship should be tempered with gratitude. "ChevronTexaco made a remarkable contribution; they don't deserve to be hit over the head." Los Angeles Opera board Chairman Marc Stern is another opera buff who first heard live opera on the Saturday afternoon broadcasts. He said the same is true of most of the company's other board members. "About three or four years ago, Los Angeles Opera had a board retreat, and I went around the room and asked everybody how they first got involved with opera, why they were passionate about opera, and why they were on this board. I'd say 75 percent of the people mentioned the broadcasts," Stern says. And Stern remains confident that Metropolitan Opera will find another sponsor. "Everyone who loves opera hopes that they'll find a way to continue." (Relayed by Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, DXLD) Shell purchased Texaco 8 months ago and all Texaco stations will become Shell by July 1st. My company just received new "Shell" cards to replace our "Texaco" cards for our fleet of tractor trailers. Shell is the one that pulled the sponsorship --- in fact it was one of their first decisions to save money. The money they'll save is probably less than one week`s worth of business lunches. Maybe I'll give Mobil a call this afternoon --- I think I gaveTexaco-Shell about $75,000 worth of my business last year (Jim Strader, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. LOOKS LIKE THE WRR FREQUENCY SWAP INVOLVING THE CITY OF DALLAS WON'T HAPPEN Susquehanna and Service Broadcasting proposed an innovative swap-and- cash deal that would net the city $60 million for its full Class C at 101.1 -- but the Dallas Morning News says a council committee isn't likely to recommend it (insideradio.com May 22 via DXLD) Viz.: COUNCIL PANEL RIPS CHANGE FOR WRR FREQUENCY SWAP'S CASH ISN'T WORTH CUTTING OFF LISTENERS, SOME SAY By COLLEEN McCAIN NELSON / The Dallas Morning News 05/20/2003 A proposal to move Dallas' classical radio station down [sic] the dial got a lousy reception Monday from City Council members who say the move would force some listeners to swap Stravinsky for static. A council committee balked at changing frequencies in exchange for cash, saying that shifting WRR-FM (101.1) to a new spot could cut off some loyal listeners. Members said they would forgo the $60 million that has been offered to ensure that all residents receive the city- owned station's signal. The entire council is to discuss the proposal June 4, but committee members said that Monday's rebuke of the proposed frequency swap probably was a preview of next month's meeting. "The proposal is on life support," said council member Veletta Forsythe Lill, chairwoman of the Arts, Education and Libraries Committee. Last year, Mayor Laura Miller convened a task force to solicit proposals for a frequency swap with WRR. The panel, which received three bids, deemed a proposal for a three-way swap the most lucrative for the city. The bid calls for WRR to move to the 105.7 frequency; KRNB-FM (105.7), an urban contemporary station, would move to 93.3; and classic rock "The Bone" KDBN-FM (93.3) would land at 101.1. In return, the city would receive $60 million in cash, free tower rental for 20 years and other incentives. Under the agreement, WRR would be managed by public radio station KERA-FM (90.1). John Tyler, a member of the task force, told council members that the money shouldn't be passed up. "This is one of the sweetest deals I've ever seen," he said. "I don't think the city should hesitate a second in accepting this deal." Council members were unmoved by the money, though. At issue is WRR's coverage area, they said. WRR's current signal reaches a larger population than KRNB's does, and it can be heard clearly throughout Dallas. The 105.7 signal, which is broadcast from a tower in Decatur, is strongest in the northern reaches of Dallas. After poring over coverage maps, committee members said they feared they would be shortchanging the city's southern sector. "This is an asset that belongs to all of the citizens of Dallas," Ms. Lill said. "And if there are citizens who cannot hear the station, then we have marginalized those citizens." Martin Greenberg, a member of the task force, said he has crisscrossed the city in his car, flipping between 101.1 and 105.7 on his radio dial. In every corner of Dallas, 105.7 remained clear, he said. "There was no difference in the signal," he said. But council members who live and work in the southern sector said they had encountered static when they tried to tune in to 105.7 indoors. "I couldn't hear the signal at all," said council member Elba Garcia. All six of the committee's members said they have serious misgivings about the proposed swap. Council member Mary Poss said the task force had failed to provide any evidence that the city had been offered a fair price. "We have no way to know whether this is a good deal or a bad deal," she said. Mr. Greenberg said the only way to accurately gauge the station's worth is to put it up for sale, which the city has no plans to do. In turn, the committee members said that serving all Dallas is a must for a city-owned station. "I think our obligation is to make sure that we provide that same level of service citywide," council member Lois Finkelman said. "I don't believe that I am in favor of looking at a frequency shift." Sharon Philippart of KERA attended the briefing and said she's still optimistic about the swap. "We still feel this is a very compelling deal for the city of Dallas," said Ms. Philippart, KERA's vice president of communications and brand management. "I don't think this is a done deal by any stretch." Officials at KRNB and KDBN declined to comment. "We think the city of Dallas should look at this very, very seriously," Mr. Greenberg said. "From a financial point of view, we think it's a very attractive offer." Quin Mathews, who produces and hosts Art Matters on WRR, said he was glad to hear of committee members' qualms. "It's a crappy signal," Mr. Mathews said of the 105.7 frequency. "It would make WRR an unbridled catastrophe." Mr. Mathews, an independent TV producer who has been in broadcasting 30 years, said WRR has worked hard to make its signal as clean as possible for the airing of classical music. "WRR is such a treasure," he said. "And when you listen to it, it's so quiet. They're very concerned about the sound." Staff writer Al Brumley contributed to this report. CITY MIGHT CONSIDER A NEW TUNE By HENRY TATUM / The Dallas Morning News 05/21/2003 There are few things that can stoke the political fires faster than messing with the municipally owned WRR-FM (101.1). Support for the classical music format aired on the radio station has been solid and unwavering for as long as anyone can remember. Dallas is the only city in the nation that operates a commercial radio station. Through the decades, some City Council members have been bold enough to question whether that is appropriate. But the questions quickly faded when city officials couldn't find buyers who would guarantee they wouldn't change the programming. So WRR has continued to chug along, safe in the knowledge that the city's "no sale" sign would remain up. At least that had been the case until some clever station owners came up with the idea of swapping frequencies with WRR for a cool $60 million. The city could continue to play classical music. It just wouldn't be heard as well in certain sections of southern and eastern Dallas. The package deal, put together by owners of KRNB-FM (105.7) and KDBN- FM (93.3), made council members pause and consider. Faced with another budget deficit this year, elected city officials are looking everywhere for ways to cut costs and generate revenue. But on Monday, a council committee concluded it couldn't support a proposal that would shortchange certain sections of Dallas. Although the entire council won't take up the issue until early next month, City Council member Veletta Forsythe Lill said the frequency swap proposal now is on "life support." Council members were right to be troubled by the poor reception WRR would have in large sections of Dallas if the deal were done. The last thing City Hall needs now is to cut a financial deal that would make some residents feel slighted. A failure of the latest proposal probably signals that WRR will be in the hands of the municipal government for the foreseeable future. And that will bring sighs of relief from those who are concerned about City Hall's commitment to the arts. Although the May 3 bond election included $29 million for arts-related projects, it was tough to rally the entire council behind the propositions – even with a pledge of more than $130 million from the private sector for a downtown performing arts center. So, the council committee's reaction Monday is encouraging. Still, even if the council decides to say no thanks to the proposed deal, there are some nagging questions out there. With a city of more than 1 million people, why is there no interest in having a classical music format on a privately owned radio station? This is a fairly sophisticated area with an audience that is wildly loyal to WRR. Is there no one willing to tap into that market? If City Hall is going to retain WRR on the current frequency, will it finally do something to improve operations and generate more revenue? Former employees of the station often have complained about low morale and a limited budget for promotion and advertising. WRR continues to make a profit, but the revenue has slipped through the years. That has to change if the city expects to justify retaining ownership. One of the intriguing aspects of the package presented to the City Council was a plan for the KERA public broadcasting operations to take over management of WRR. Officials at KERA said they were prepared to spend $3 million to promote WRR and boost ratings. The proposition, which may have been dependent on the frequency swap, deserves serious city consideration. It is one thing to hold onto WRR. It is quite another to make sure the station achieves its full potential. Henry Tatum is an assistant editorial page editor of The Dallas Morning News (via DXLD) ** U S A. WABC, NEW YORK PLAYS MUSIC AGAIN -- FOR ONE DAY. The annual Memorial Day tribute to WABC's reign as the world's most popular top 40 station is Monday (insideradio.com May 22 via DXLD) ** U S A. CATHOLICS ASK EVANGELICAL RADIO TO CHANGE POLICY By J. Michael Parker, Express-News Religion Writer Web Posted : 05/21/2003 12:00 AM An estimated 200 irate San Antonio Catholics have asked a national evangelical Christian radio network to rescind its policy against promoting Catholic musical events, which the San Antonians see as anti-Catholic. But the president of the K-LOVE network, who acknowledges the network has Catholic listeners and monetary support, said the policy doesn't single out Catholics; it prohibits advertising from any entity that doesn't comply with the network's statement of faith. The flap started several weeks ago when organizers of an ACTS retreat at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church planned a fund-raising concert that was to include singer Jaci Velasquez. When organizers asked K- LOVE to promote it, the network said it could not promote a Catholic event. John Halloran, president of the San Antonio chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, said he and many Catholic friends were enthusiastic supporters of K-LOVE until they learned it would not promote Catholic events. "K-LOVE provides a good service, and we don't want to shoot them down," Halloran said. "But they have Catholic music on the station and they take money from Catholic supporters. You'd think they'd support anything that lifts up Jesus Christ, but they don't. It's hypocritical." While the network, carried on KXPZ-FM in San Antonio, does not track the denominational backgrounds of its listeners and donors, no one denomination makes up more than 7 percent to 8 percent of the audience, according to Dick Jenkins, president of the Sacramento, Calif.-based network. He says the network accepts monetary support from Catholics and employs Catholics. "We take advertising only from organizations that comply with our statement of faith, and Catholic teaching doesn't comply with it," Jenkins said. He said orthodox Protestant Christianity teaches that the Bible is the infallible word of God, whereas the Catholic Church considers itself and the pope infallible authorities. But papal and, by extension, church infallibility is claimed only in certain restricted circumstances. "I thought we lived in a more ecumenical age," said Father Jim Henke, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. "It's not as if the Catholic Church were trying to get into K-LOVE and teach Catholic doctrine." Jenkins said he could not get evangelical events publicized on a Catholic station or network because he wouldn't comply with a Catholic statement of faith. But Catholic Television of San Antonio development director Libby Bentley said CTSA doesn't exclude evangelicals because of doctrinal disagreement. "Our mission is to broadcast programming that enhances the Catholic and the ecumenical community," Bentley said. "We've presented evangelical events in our community calendar in the past and are more than happy to include them whenever space is available." But she said the overwhelming majority of the events the station is asked to publicize are Catholic. Deacon Pat Rodgers, spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio and host of a Catholic talk show on KLUP-AM and before that on nondenominational Christian radio station KSLR-AM, said doctrinal differences haven't been a problem at KSLR. But it's common for radio stations to set boundaries for accepting and rejecting promotional content, he said. While the archdiocese has no plans to mobilize the Catholic community against K-LOVE, Halloran said he and his friends plan to write letters to the network's major advertisers in an effort to force a policy change (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Pirate on 1610, IDing as "fun lovin' KQB" with Oldies and Pam jingles. Area code given 954 (S. Florida) so it's at least 50 miles away from my QTH (Juan Gualda, Fort Pierce FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) Yes that's them, they actually ID as "KQV" and they are in S. FL, they have a website with streaming audio, though I don't recall the web address. Got a nice QSL card from them as well. I believe they operate somewhere around 50-100 watts. Here's what a local website says: "1610 (TIS) "WKQV," Parkland; recently reported as having moved to a fishing camp near Coral Springs, but quickly confirmed as dis- information. Uses a wire off of a 40-foot tower. Very professional, good studio equipment, includes Payphone Call Challenge" with give- away prizes. First noted in March, 2002 by T. Simon, airing "KQV" Oldies format, with 50s-60s jingles that apparently came from KQV in Pittsburgh, and playing stuff like the Tornadoes' "Telstar", with recorded announcement giving 954 area code (Broward County) number. Signal was quite good in Boca. With all the micros down this way, it's still a rarity to find one on the AM band." check out this site for info on FL low-powered stations: http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html (Greg Myers, Clearwater, FL, ibid.) Thanks for the info, Greg. I thought I was the only one picking up this signal. Glad to hear he made it to Clearwater. Most nights, when it's on, I get an OK signal, but Saturday night, it was coming in quite well. What is the URL for the website? By the way, tried calling the number he gave, and I got an answering machine...but no mention of the station (Juan Gualda, WGYL-FM, KB0GXM, Fort Pierce, FL May 19, ibid.) ** U S A. WTTA NUDGES INTO LOCAL NEWS WITH NEW FORMAT By WALT BELCHER, Published: May 19, 2003 The below story currently at: http://tampatrib.com/baylifenews/MGA0PKTMVFD.html TAMPA - The newsroom desks arrived last week. The set is almost ready. It just lacks TV monitors. The anchor chair is in place but there's no anchor yet. Only one reporter was officially on staff last week, but soon WTTA's studio in Town 'N Country will be bustling with activity when The WB affiliate launches a 10 p.m. newscast this summer. There's no firm date yet, but it could sign on by mid-July. Nearly 1,000 have applied to work at the Sinclair Broadcast Group's new TV news operation here, says Channel 38 News Manager Teresa Mallea. Mallea, a former producer and assignment editor at WTSP, Channel 10, helped start up Central Florida News, a 24-hour cable news operation in Orlando. Now she faces the daunting task of starting up a newscast in a market already crowded with local TV news. Four network-affiliate stations and Bright House cable's Bay News 9 already are vying for viewers. Is there room for one more? ``Sure there is,'' says Channel 38 General Manager Julie Nelson. ``Three-and-a-half years ago, this station was running mostly paid programming and some people were asking if Tampa needed another TV station,'' she says. ``Now we're no longer at the end of the pack. Our entertainment programming gets ratings and revenue so there's no reason why our news won't succeed.'' WTTA's 10 p.m. newscast will be different from the others in many ways - from format to content to management, Nelson and Mallea say. For example, there will be only one anchor. Nearly half of the hourlong newscast will originate from Sinclair's flagship station, WBFF-TV, near Baltimore. But it won't be identified as WBFF. The national reports, anchored weeknights by Morris Jones, will be labeled as ``News Central.'' Channel 38 will have its own News Central crew of five reporters to cover local stories. There also will be local weather and sports reports. ``But we won't be chasing ambulances and covering break-ins,'' says Mallea. ``We'll be looking at issues and developing investigative pieces.'' Some stories may run longer than the typical 2 1/2-minute reports on local newscasts as all sides of an issue are explored. By sharing the load with Sinclair's News Central mother ship, WTTA will be able to put on a newscast that looks as good as anything in the market at a lower cost, Nelson says. Sinclair's ``centralizing'' of news is getting a lot of attention in the broadcast industry. The company plans to bring its News Central format to 30 of its 61 stations over the next two years, according to Sinclair CEO David Smith. Smith has said that he is doing this because he wants the Sinclair stations to take an active role in their respective communities by tackling issues. The move also saves money. Start-up costs under the centralized format are estimated at one-half to one-third of what it would take for a local station to launch a newscast from scratch. The newscast begins with a 10-minute segment of local news followed by 10 minutes of national (from Baltimore), then five minutes of local, four minutes of weather and then 10 minutes of local and national sports. So far, only Sinclair's station in Flint, Mich., has adopted the News Central format. Tampa's WTTA would be the second. Others in the chain will roll it out this summer. If this model works, other broadcast groups might adopt centralization. Mallea says there is no shortage of talent willing to be a part of the experiment. ``We've been impressed by the quality of people who are applying here,'' Mallea says. ``Tampa is a very desirable place to live.'' Reporter Diolinda Vaz, 23, who worked at Sinclair's Baltimore station, is looking forward to the challenge. Also on staff, behind the scenes, is production manager Dan Capobianco, who worked at WTSP, Channel 10, for a decade. ``I like the philosophy here,'' Vaz said. ``We will be fast-paced but we will be doing solid pieces and not the seven-car pileup on the highway.'' (via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DXLD) ** U S A. BROADCAST BAND UPDATE --- GREG HARDISON MORE DIGITALIS: The following was excerpted from "Radio Currents Online", and came to me by way iof Glenn Hauser's excellent e-column, "DX Listening Digest": From: Radio Currents Online http://beradio.com/ar/radio_currents_28/index.htm#nrsc NRSC SUSPENDS IBOC STANDARD-SETTING [as in DXLD 3-086, q.v.] Hmmm...sounds like some of the objections noted by listeners of all stripes are coming home to roost. I would suspect that the issues of "coverage, reception (and) functionality" have not been adequately addressed, as opposed to being approved --- this is based on nothing except my own gut feeling. I may be wrong, but I've seen too many "committees" at work on esoteric tech-issues, not to be a bit cynical. Here in Los Angeles, KKBT-100.3 FM was the last known station to test IBOC on-air (on May 3, around 11 PM PDT) --- and, just as what was heard with KROQ-FM, the system hashed out potential signals on 100.1 and 100.5. Digital Radio, as manifested here in the good ol' USA, may be analogous to Los Angeles policing policies, or perhaps the Bill of Rights itself --- a great idea on paper, but not really implemented in the most judicious fashion. IS WE IS, OR IS WE AIN'T?: And more from the Digital world, this time involving the Idiot Bulb. Heard tell of some KOCE-DT testing on UHF Channel 48, from Mount Wilson. (This, by design will give the Orange Coast College PBS outlet an area-wide signal. The current analog/Ch. 50 transmitter is in the Puente Hills, driving a very directional antenna, which effectively kills KOCE-TV north of Interstate 10.) However, on May 2 shortly after Midnight PDT, a survey of the Ch. 48- frequency range revealed not only the Digital KOCE signal from Wilson, but also the previously-assigned |analog| signal of KHLA-LP --- also on Ch. 48, also on Mt. Wilson! This was noted on the trusty ICOM-R7100 receiver; a look at the Bulb itself only revealed video-hash (or, as my Godson used to call it, "Ant Races"). As of this morning, the situation has apparently been remedied, with KOCE-DT alone on the channel, and KHLA-LP's fare of Home Shopping Net shows consigned to oblivion. CLEAR CHANNEL SELLS OUT: Well, at least in the case of one station. KIIS-AM/1220 is to be returned to it's original owners, Cari-Lynn Broadcasting, and a call-letter change is imminent. The station is licensed to "Canyon Country", a glorified subdivision next to Santa Clarita, in northern L.A. County. Price: $900,000...not a bad deal, as such deals go. What's next, perhaps KACD/850 in Thousand Oaks?? ISN'T THAT KINKY FRIEDMAN ON CHANNEL 3?: Dial-twisters in Europe are reporting excellent e-skip conditions. The term refers to signal-skip properties involving the "e" layer of the Earth's atmosphere. What this means, is likely reception of television stations on the "low' channels (2 thru 6, at 55-88 MHz, just below the FM band), at distances of 700-1300 miles. I've personally noted L.A.-area reception of KLNE-TV in Lexington, Nebraska; as well as KOAB-TV in Bend, Oregon; XHI-TV in Culiacán, México; and a facility in southern Idaho, during such periods in the past. E-skip reception is usually enhanced by sunspots and/or thunderstorms...for example, a T-storm over central New Mexico will boost likelyhood of signals being received from KIII- TV in Corpus Christi (600-odd miles EAST of the storm cells), here in SoCal (approx. 600 miles WEST)....and vice-versa, as the effects are usually reciprocal. MORE IDIOT BULB WASTE: Who knows the story behind KWJD-LP, Channel 25 in Van Nuys? This thing seems to run with about 10 watts of power, with NO audio, and Video consisting of a single black-and-white ID card, replete with Christian (fish) logo. FCC data lists the transmitter site as being a 10-or-so story retirement home on Sherman Way. At my post about 4 miles SW, I cannot see a clear enough picture to determine the mailing address (Porter Ranch, Calif.) displayed on the never-ending ID card. Up until about two months ago, this facility did feature Audio, a CD of an unknown male-Christian singer, doing the same 5 or 6 tunes over and over again. Ah, Community Service! MORE LATER .. AS IT HAPPENS! -- GREG HARDISON (via DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn, Discovered an interesting website, http://www.antennaweb.org for checking HDTV transmissions and antennas. Reading the John C. Dvorak's "Inside Track" article in the May 27, 2003 issue of "PC Magazine" I see he mentions the site. 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, you can plug in your zip code and get a list of DTV stations supposedly on air in your area, distance and headings (gh) ** VENEZUELA. Venezuelan legislators approved May 17 the text of a proposed media law that opponents say could prohibit television and radio stations from criticizing the government. After a marathon debate, a congressional commission charged with drawing up the bill agreed on its final contents and passed it on to the National Assembly for final approval. The law will restrict graphic violence on television and reduce subjective censoring by radio and television channels, said Juan Barreto, a pro-government legislator who presides the assembly's media commission. Critics say ambiguities in the new legislation threaten freedom of expression instead of guaranteeing it. They claim the law could be used to restrict opinion programs and make media owners responsible for what interviewees say. President Hugo Chávez has long waged a war of words with Venezuela's private media. He accuses them of trying of trying to topple him by spreading lies and stirring up anti-government sentiment (AP via SCDX/MediaScan May22 via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [and non]. Hola Queridos Amigos! Cordiales saludos desde Venezuela. El motivo del presente mensaje es para informarles que acabo de publicar mi página web, sitio que dedico al diexismo en onda corta. Mucho agradecería vuestros comentarios, críticas y/o sugerencias a fin de mejorarla. Agradezco de antemano cualquier información de interés que tengan a bien suministrarme para incluirla y así compartirla; de igual manera agradezco también la difusión que puedan brindarle. Desde ya espero con impaciencia por todos ustedes. La dirección de mi página web es: http://usuarios.lycos.es/trenard Muchas gracias nuevamente. Respetuosamente, Solidariamente, (Julio Trenard, Apartado Postal 41 Cumaná 6101, Venezuela, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. ZBC'S RESTRUCTURING EXERCISE --- 22 May 2003 The ZBC Board of Governors says the third and final phase of the National Broadcaster's restructuring exercise is aimed at improving its operational efficiency and effectiveness. . . http://www.zbc.co.zw/news.cfm?id=9428&pubdate=2003-05-22 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Just received by snail-mail a QSL from SW Radio Africa for my e-mail report of their test on 4880 kHz. Full-data, except (of course) transmitter site. Power is given as 100 kW but... "Transmitter location is restricted for security reasons". Signed by Technical Manager, name illegible. Contact info: SW Radio Africa Ltd., PO Box 243, Borehamwood, Herts, WD6 4WA, UK tech@swradioafrica.com http://www.swradioafrica.com Well, the transmitter site is most probably Meyerton [South Africa] (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I think the power - 100 kW - is a bit of a giveaway :-) (Andy Sennitt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) i.e. Meyerton --- but are there no 100 kW anywhere else in the region? (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 1700, Mystery Spanish-speaker again had a good signal just prior to 2300 [EDT] on 5/7. Faded at ID, then CNN Headline News began. I suspect this is KBGG [Des Moines IA], although when I phoned the station a few weeks ago they denied running Spanish at this hour (Larry Godwin, Missoula MT, IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Dear Glenn and Jari, Indeed, 6315 on my receiver (SONY ICF SW-7600GR) appears to be an image from Tunisia on 7225, which is a powerhouse here in Belgium. Thanks Jari for reminding the formula; I will try to be more attentive in the future before posting. By the way, are there any other 'formulas' for spurious signals to be aware of? 73s (Robertas (now based in Belgium) Pogorelis, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is vital to keep transmitter-produced SPURS and receiver-produced IMAGES distinct! One propagates and others can hear; the other does not. The above is a receiver image. Depending on the receiver IF(s) and the quality of the unit, other formulae may apply, but 2 x IF (usually amounting to 910 kHz displacement) is by far the most common. Extreme overload at the receiver can result in images just about anywhere, including harmonics (integral multiples of the real frequency). When receiver-generated, the fundamental will always be audible in addition to the harmonics. Harmonics 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, and 6x are observable under excellent propagation conditions and/or in the case of badly misaligned or non- filtered transmitters. When the MUF is above 30 MHz, it would pay to monitor the 29-31 MHz region, for instance, for 6th harmonics of 5 MHz band stations, 5th harmonics of 6 MHz band stations, 4th harmonics of 7 MHz band stations, 3rd harmonics of 9 MHz band stations, 2nd harmonics of 15 MHz band stations! Happy calculating. When transmitter-generated, the fundamental will not necessarily be audible, or if it is, may well not be stronger than the harmonic. And they will be subject to distinctly different propagation characteristics as the frequencies are separated by a least a factor of 2. Transmitted mixing products are also commonly encountered. Formula 2A minus B, which is the same as one frequency `leapfrogging` the other, i.e., the spur at the same kHz separation to one side or the other (usually both if not blocked by something else). E.g. two transmitters at the same site (and antennas not sufficiently isolated from each other) such as on 5960 and 6175 at Sackville, which are 215 kHz apart, would produce mixtures 215 kHz above and below the two frequencies, i.e. 6390 and 5745 kHz. These usually occur when the two intentional frequencies are on the same band, but in extreme cases can be in different bands, e.g. 7 and 6 MHz showing up on 5 and 8 MHz. Yet another formula is simply A minus B or, less frequently, A plus B. These can easily be on two widely separated bands (but the transmitters geographically too close), requiring a lot of research to find the two frequencies known to be in use which produce such a difference product. The bottom line is: receiver-produced images are of little interest, except to be aware of them and avoid reporting them as if they were true receptions. Transmitted mixing products and harmonics, on the other hand, are of great interest, since they represent great DX challenges others can hear, and technical faults of stations. Here`s more from Jari, with a few bracketed remarks from me (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Robertas. Don't worry. It is difficult to figure out some of these "images", "mirrors", "spurs", "frogs", "mixes" - whatever they're called. Sometimes you need a careful scanning through nearby broadcast bands to find a parallel and then start calculating :). As my native language is not English and I have no higher degree in electronics, there might be some wording or other mistakes below, but I try to explain some "odd-frequencies" that might occur. Receiver generated: - Receiver image is usually noted on a frequency 2 times IF below original frequency. Just as in your case 2 x 455 = 910. 7225-910=6315. - Two or more very strong stations within one broadcast band may mix and result as a station with one or more simultaneous audios on some nearby frequency. [cross-modulation] - If internal/external preselector/amplifier is used, there are chances you can hear strange stations on strange frequencies if those devices are not properly tuned. - Nearby strong LW/MW/SW transmitter may cause some strange mixes. - In some cases a receiver may produce a "harmonic", usually 2 times the original frequency. For example a strong station on 6140 might be heard on 12280. Transmitter generated: - Harmonics are usually multiples of original frequency. For example a station on 7500 can be heard on 15000 or 22500 etc. In some transmitter designs the harmonic may also be on "non-multiple" frequency. For example, station transmits on 3200. It uses crystal of 1600 filtering out the original 1600 and uses first harmonic 3200 amplified. If there is something wrong in the higher filtering, there may occur a harmonic also on 4800 etc. [sesqui-harmonic] - Sub-harmonic can be heard on a frequency half of the original. For example the clandestine VO Iraqi People on 4785 is believed to be a sub-harmonic of 9570. [from Sa`udi Arabia, semi-harmonic] - Spurs from transmitter can be heard certain kHz up and/or down of the original frequency (and also on their multiples in some cases). Sometimes spurs are distorted but sometimes audio is as good as on original frequency. For example R Ghana on 3366 at times has several spurs some 80 kHz and multiples up and down of original frequency . And Jordan was heard in the past 170 kHz up and down from original 7155. [and see USA - KVOH in this issue; 9270 could be that too] - Two or more co-sited transmitters may result a mix of their frequencies. For example Hrvatski Radio is/was heard with good signal on 5040. This was SW 6165 minus MW 1125. Imaginary example; two transmitters at the same site operate on 6100 and on 6150. They are 50 kHz apart. Mixes might be heard on 6200 and/or 6050. If more than two transmitters are involved, it may take some time to figure out the maths :). - There is also a rare mix, called "Luxembourg effect". I recall it was noted mainly on the lower frequencies (LW). Simply; a strong signal on its way meets another signal and modulates it. As a result the program of the first station can be heard mixed with the original on the second station's frequency. These two transmitters may be located far away from each other. I believe there are also other methods how these mixes are born, but these came to my mind now. Best 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, to Robertas, via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. 9270: Hi Glenn. Your comment "Take your pick; or both??" The answer is both. But I can't figure out the frequencies that produce VOG on 9270. I recall it is audible at 2100-2300 and disappears when 9420 signs off. But 9420 is on all evening before 2100, so it seems it is not a transmitter fault. These are VOA Kavala transmitters (right ?) and maybe there is another transmitter active on some frequency at 2100-2300 (or further) causing this mixture (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As discussed above, since 9270 and 9420 are 150 kHz apart, the first place to look would be 9420 plus 150 = 9570, but no known VOG transmissions there, nor IBB Kavala as in the IBB frequency schedule http://sds.his.com:4000/fmds_z/schedules/cur_freqsked.txt which is supposedly updated every day at 0440. But that is hardly the last word about what IBB is actually doing -- See CUBA non. In reality, all that is updated is the date header! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15095: Recently I have caught a station from 1030 to 1100 (may continue after 1100), with jamming; sounds like a clandestine and the word Moro or Molo was mentioned several times in the prrogram mainly hosted by a woman. Who have any info about this station? Thank you. Remember, I am Xi, (Xi Nietzsche, China, May 22, dxing.info via DXLD) Only station normally using 15095 is FEBC Philippines, and somehow that appears in HFCC A-03: 15095 0900 1100 49S,54W BOC 100 245 1234567 300303 261003 D IND IE PHL FEC FEC 15095 1100 1145 49 BOC 100 263 1234567 300303 261003 D BE PHL FEC FEC 15095 1145 1530 49 BOC 100 293 1234567 300303 261003 D BE BMS PHL FEC BOC is Bocaue, the main FEBC transmitter site. ``IND IE`` is in the language column, I suppose meaning Indian, but not English? FEBC could well be speaking of the Moro Liberation Front, plaguing its southern Islamic islands (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SHORTWAVE AS MUSIC ++++++++++++++++++ The latest on shortwave as artform involves a performance by Slovenian artist Igor Stromajer in Finland: "The main feature of the happening are remixed recordings of outer space sound, captured on short-wave receivers, to be played through loudspeakers in nine installations through the city. 'The content of the sound is sad, it's a mixed form of crying,' Stromajer said, adding that local radio amateurs had helped him record it." http://tlc.discovery.com/news/afp/20030519/aliens.html The shortwave sounds might evoke images of outer space, but they are probably not from space. One unlikely exception is that the sounds are the occasionally heard emissions from Jupiter, but these do not make a particularly celestial noise. 73 (Kim Elliott, DC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ MOTOROLA'S NEW TWO-WAY IM DEVICE The following MSNBC story on a new device by Motorola which capitalizes on the popularity of internet IM (instant messaging)... http://www.msnbc.com/news/915831.asp?0ql=c8p The IMfree uses the 900 MHz cordless frequency band in the U.S. (Harry Sarkas, DX LISTENING DIGEST) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ QSLing, BELLABARBA Hi Glenn! The Faiallo Manifesto is online: http://www.faiallo.org/manif.html 73 and thanks for excellent work, (Enrico Oliva, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ FIVE SPACECRAFT JOIN TO SOLVE AN AURORAL PUZZLE AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION NEWS RELEASE Posted: May 20, 2003 Five spacecraft have made a remarkable set of observations, leading to a breakthrough in understanding the origin of a peculiar and puzzling type of aurora. Seen as bright spots in Earth's atmosphere and called "dayside proton auroral spots," they are now known to occur when fractures appear in the Earth's magnetic field, allowing particles emitted from the Sun to pass through and collide with molecules in our atmosphere. . . http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0305/20auroral/ (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) GEOMAGNETIC INDICES Phil Bytheway - Seattle WA - phil_tekno@yahoo.com Geomagnetic Summary April 22 2003 through May 19 2003 Tabulated from email status daily Date Flux A K SA Forecast GM Forecast Etc. 4/22 126 18 3 minor no storms 7 23 x x x x x x 24 133 16 3 moderate minor 8 25 128 21 5 minor minor 8 26 144 26 3 minor minor 9 27 144 12 3 moderate minor 6 28 154 15 5 minor minor 7 29 152 16 2 minor no storms 6 4/30 155 20 5 minor minor 9 5/ 1 154 37 6 moderate minor 10 2 149 34 3 moderate minor 7 3 144 22 2 minor minor 7 4 148 12 1 no storms minor 5 5 142 6 2 no storms minor 4 6 129 11 3 no storms minor 8 7 122 23 5 minor minor 7 8 110 35 5 moderate minor 10 9 101 33 3 minor minor 8 10 97 28 5 minor minor 10 11 93 31 3 moderate minor 6 12 92 27 3 moderate minor 7 13 94 21 3 no storms minor 8 14 96 28 5 minor minor 8 15 96 30 3 minor minor 9 16 99 22 2 no storms no storms 7 17 103 9 2 no storms no storms 6 18 102 10 1 no storms no storms 7 5/19 109 9 3 no storms no storms 9 ********************************************************************** (IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-088, May 22, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1183: RFPI: Fri 1930, Sat 0130, 0730/0900, 1330/1500, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700/0830, 1300/1430 on 15039 and/or 7445 WWCR: Sat 0600, Sun 0230 on 5070, 0630 on 3210, Wed 0930 on 9475 WJIE: Sat 0930, Sun 1030, 1630 on 7490 and/or 13595 (maybe) WBCQ: Mon 0445 on 7415 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1183.html [Is anyone having trouble downloding from k4cc.net site?] SOLICITED TESTIMONIALS MONITORING REMINDERS CALENDAR http://www.worldofradio.com/calendar.html Just to let you know I am checking your site 3 or 4 times per week, and it's my main choice for listening options (along with individual broadcasters' sites) ef (Eric Flodén, Vancouver BC) ** AFGHANISTAN. See the IBB schedule dated today (May 20) at http://sds.his.com:4000/fmds_z/schedules/cur_freqsked.txt It notes the operation by IBB on 1296 at Kabul (Pol e Charki). Also operating is 1107 kHz Afghan government. Both 400 kW omni. Ydun Ritz (21/5-2003) (Ydun`s MW news via DXLD) See also USA [non] ** AFGHANISTAN. HISTORY -- Details of Clandestine CIA Radio Broadcasts to Soviet Troops in Afghanistan During 1984/5 Crile, George. Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2003. Pages 278-9. The man tapped to run psychological warfare was Paul Broadbent, a second-generation American who had grown up in a Russian neighborhood of Cleveland. "He was the 'hearts and minds' expert," (CIA Case Officer and head of the Afghanistan operation) Gust Avrakotos says, "the kind of guy who pulls the wings off of flies, dangerous if you don't channel him properly. I told him, 'The first time I see you treating any of my people mean, I'll fire you. Take it out on the Russian cocksuckers.' Paul knew the Russian mind. He kept trying to get me to give him twenty portable radio stations that he could program with demoralizing psychological broadcasts. He finally got two portable man packs to beam stuff into the Russian troops. The problem is that none of the mujahideen wanted to do it. They didn't think it was manly. Who would want to carry a radio transmitter when you can fire a missile?" Art Alper, the grandfatherly demolitions expert, was one of the team's more idea-filled members. Along with developing demolition kits, special fuses, and new techniques to smuggle weapons and ordnance into enemy territory, he helped develop portable amplifiers and devices to spread Broadbent's psychological war. The inspiration for this effort came from North Korean radio broadcasts to U.S. troops: "Hey G.I., we're fucking your sister." The CIA's idea was to place powerful amplifiers on hills across from Soviet garrisons. When the mujahideen turned them on, a Russian voice would boom out: "While your wives and mothers and sisters are sleeping with political commissars and you are dying on the battlefield, we mujahideen laugh at you" or "We Dushman (the Russian name for the mujahideen), we herders of goats and sheep, challenge you women to come up to this hill and fight." "I thought the portable broadcasts were ridiculous, but it hit my funny bone," says Avrakotos. "And it did promote fear. If you get some fucking Dushman without shoes challenging you to fight and you go up there and get bushwhacked or sniped, you realize this guy is clever. You start fearing him." Alper's amplifiers would broadcast at irregular intervals, even after the mujahideen had left their positions. When the Soviets discovered that the equipment was on automatic pilot, it spooked them further; the mujahideen were a more sophisticated foe than they had previously thought. Some of the other psychological-war efforts weren't quite as successful. The sinister messages that Broadbent had dreamed up for leaflets rarely made their way to the Red Army troops. Each pamphlet had a different pitch. One said, "If your commanding officer is a real Communist who want you to fight many battles, frag (kill) him. Otherwise, eventually we're going to get you." But the mujahideen, who didn't understand the concept of propaganda, tended not to be very helpful. Avrakotos says they found it far too tempting to treat Broadbent's leaflets as if they were exotic CIA-issued toilet paper (via N. Grace May 12, 2003 for CRW May 22 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 5924.1 USB, 2148 May 22. Ordinary well behaved men (not amateurs) chat on this frequency every morning calling in from all over N.S.W. Presume to be using Codan etc. transceivers, some from home and others from their vehicles, this morning they were chatting away over the top of a broadcast station on 5925 and complaining that this station was causing QRM with them! Strong signals, most of them in excess of S-9 (Michael Stevenson, Port Macquarie, N.S.W., Australia. Receivers: Sangean ATS-909, Kenwood R-2000; Accessories: bhi NES10-2 DSP noise reducing speaker. Antenna: 15 metre longwire. EDXP via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC radio journos strike --- May 22, 2003 JOURNALISTS at the ABC Radio newsroom in Sydney today walked off the job to protest a colleague's demotion. . . http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6476303%255E1702,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. AUNTY'S BUDGET BLUES By Errol Simper, May 22, 2003 BNStory/Technology/ THE board of everyone's ABC will meet in Sydney today and inevitably funding, or a perceived lack of it, will rate a sombre mention. It is, of course, an intensely sensitive political issue. That's why politicians are so often so solicitous about applying a favourable spin to monies granted, or not granted, to the national broadcaster... http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6469858%255E7582,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5953, Radio Pio XII in Quechua OM, without any musical fragments from 2330 to 0000, 33333 right in urban Moscow (Artyom Prokhorov, May 22, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** CANADA. RCI`s dropping of 13670 for 2200-2400 UT is bad news out here; that was a good frequency, as would be expected at this distance; 9590 is audible but rather noisy, and new 6140 useless as of 2230 UT May 22. Fortunately we still have 15455 which is best (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Next Sunday (May 25th) Radio Canção Nova will turn 23 year on the air. If you want to make part of the celebration send us an e- mail to: alemfronteiras@cançãonova.com so that you can participate of the raffle, only answering How long have you listened to Radio Canção Nova? If you have received our QSL inform us too. We confirm radio reports on the air and 100% QSL back. Program: Além Fronteiras (Beyound Boundaries) Every Saturday: 2200 to 2300 (GMT) AM 1020 kHz - SW 49m 6105 kHz - SW 60m 4825 kHz - SW 31m 9675 kHz (Eduardo de Moura, May 22, dxing.info via DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC MERGES WEB, RADIO, TV NEWS OPERATIONS By MICHAEL POSNER, ARTS REPORTER UPDATED AT 2:40 AM EDT, Saturday, May. 17, 2003 TORONTO -- Making a major move to consolidate resources, the CBC announced yesterday that it is integrating all of its radio, television and CBC.ca news-gathering operations. In a memo to staff signed by executive vice-president of television Harold Redekop and executive vice-president of radio Jane Chalmers, the public broadcaster said it is creating two new positions to effect the change: editor-in-chief of CBC News and deputy editor-in-chief. The posts will be filled by Tony Burman and Esther Enkin, respectively. Mr. Burman had already carried the editor-in-chief title, but his purview until now had extended only to journalistic policy matters, not content. Ms. Enkin, who has worked in both radio and TV, is currently interim program director of CBC Radio. CBC spokeswoman Ruth-Ellen Soles said yesterday that there would be no new layoffs as a result of the measures. Rather, she called the change simply another step in a process begun more than a year ago. In the past year, the three services -- radio, television and the Web site -- have co-operated in the development and presentation of major news stories, including the Romanow Report on Canada's health-care system, the Iraq war, and the VancouverPickton murder cases. Still, going further will require significant reassessments of both financial and personnel resources, a job that has been handed to a task force headed by Joan Anderson, director of radio in British Columbia. Ms. Anderson will report to a steering committee made up of Mr. Redekop, Ms. Chalmers, Mr. Burman, and Cathy Sprague, CBC human resources director. Five working groups made up of representatives from radio, TV and CBC.ca are being established to assess the impact of integration. A memo to staff noted yesterday, "Obviously, there are many details to be worked out, and many questions to be answered." Suanne Kelman, professor of broadcast journalism at Toronto's Ryerson University, said the initiative might help the CBC fend off critics who charge it with wasting public tax dollars. "Instead of sending four people to a press conference, they'll send one or two. But radio and television are not the same animal, and if the result of this is the cannibalization of the radio service, making it an afterthought, that's not good." (Globe & Mail via Daniel Say, alt.radio.networks.cbc via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Ms Kelman is quite correct in her assessment that CBC's plan to integrate TV and radio news will result in the eventual destruction of CBC radio service as we know it today. From grumblings inside the CBC ranks, I know this decision is not being taken to heart by the folks within the CBC who care about radio and it's content. The current philosophy bandied about by executive management at the CBC seems to be that the integration will result in better efficiency and synergy between the two organizations. It's rather like saying coffee and tea should be combined in order to eliminate additional teabags. There is a huge cultural element that will be lost here. Sending only two journalists instead of four on a story may save CBC some money, but it will not result in better information or content. And what will suffer? radio. Let's think about why. Jane Chalmers, the newly appointed VP of radio, has a background in TV not radio, and was sent in from the prairies to organize the same type of cost-cutting integration that left many CBCers jobless out in those stations. Her goal is not to improve the content of radio, but to tow the corporate line of budget-cutting at all costs while providing the same sub-standard service that been plaguing the CBC ever since the previous grand idea of her predecessor Alex Frame and the whole radio one schedule redesign fiasco. Mills is out and most in the ranks feel that was good step, but the question remains whether Chalmers has enough savvy and wherewithal to protect the quality of the radio service while at the same time preventing Mr. Burman and company from riding roughshod over the current CBC radio culture. The jury is still out and some say the Chalmers just doesn't have the experience required for the task at hand. Whatever the case there can be no doubt that something will be lost in the process of homogenizing the CBC service. Maybe we should all just watch TV with no display if we want radio in the future. Hmmm --- could save some money (radioman, ibid.) ** CROATIA [and non]. Dear Glenn, Referring to WOR 1183 I was told the following schedule of Voice of Croatia: 0200-0220 English on 9925 kHz (//1125, 1134 MW) 0230-???? Spanish on 9925 kHz (//1125, 1134 MW) 0600-0603 English on 9470 and 13820 kHz 2200-2220 English on 1125 and 1134 kHz MW 2330-???? Spanish on 1125 and 1134 kHz MW. 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Radio Martí, after debuting on 6050 kHz yesterday, is now on 6040 kHz, having left a jammer behind from when heard earlier at 0645z. 6030 & 5980 remain unchanged (Paul Ormandy, ZL4TFX, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And I believe I heard Radio Martí last night on 9.295 mhz at 0125-0145 UTC 22 May under heavy jamming. I did not have this frequency previously in my records. I kept comparing the man speaking on 9.295 to the man speaking on 6.030 and they seemed to be the same (Wayne Leman, KL7FDQ, Busby, Montana, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Well, Padula had both 6040 and 6050 yesterday. Another new R. Martí frequency: 9795 (not 9295) around 1245 UT May 22 with jamming, \\ 9805; after 1300 9795 continued but 9805 shifted to 9815, along with the Castro Cuban Commie jammers. The supposedly current IBB schedule on May 22 does NOT show 9795 or 9815, nor 6040 and 6050 as reported in last issue! Suspect this has something to do with Cuban Independence Day festivities around May 20; see stories below, as usual woefully lacking in detail re frequencies, but I seriously doubt the 49mb additions come from Commando Solo. With all the power at ground-based US SW sites, it`s ridiculous to use Commando Solo to reach Cuba on SW, except as a publicity stunt (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A small article in the Tampa Tribune's 22 May edition, bylined Rafael Lorente and Vanessa Bauza of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, states that on or near the Cuban Independence Day (apparently 20 May), the U.S. gov't began using a satellite and an Air Force EC-130E, flying in U.S. airspace, to get Martí programming past the jammers and "into living rooms of ordinary people" on the island. The "extra frequencies" were beamed for several hours beginning at 6 p.m. in a first test that was quietly begun, once policy matters in the U.S. administration were settled and the test authorized by Bush, fulfilling a promise he made last year. The article, having no technical details, did not explain the role of the satellite (unless it was to get programming to the aircraft). Whether this is any relation to the recent 6050 and 6040 Martí activity reported here in hcdx is unknown. Possibly the satellite is sending TV (Bob Foxworth, Tampa, Florida, May 22, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Viz.: U.S. AIRCRAFT BROADCASTS RADIO, TV TO CUBA Posted on Wed, May. 21, 2003 BY RAFAEL LORENTE AND VANESSA BAUZA, South Florida Sun-Sentinel WASHINGTON - (KRT) - While President Bush did not announce any new initiatives aimed at toppling Fidel Castro on Cuban Independence Day Tuesday, the United States did quietly begin using a military aircraft and a satellite in an effort to get Radio and TV Marti past Cuban government jamming and into the living rooms of ordinary people on the island. Cuban-American activists have long argued the United States needs to beef up its transmission of the Marti stations, U.S. government-run operations that are supposed to offer an alternative to the Cuban government programming. But legal questions and disagreements within the administration had prevented action until recently. "When it got to the president of the United States, it was no sweat," said a senior administration official, who called Tuesday's flight just the first test. Tuesday's extra frequencies were beamed for several hours starting around 6 p.m. from a satellite and an Air Force EC-130E, also known as Commander [sic] Solo, flying in American airspace. Officials in Washington said the effort will continue in order to fulfill a promise made last year by Bush to get the signals past Cuban jamming. Cuba reacted with a front-page editorial in Wednesday's Communist Party daily Granma. Dripping with sarcasm, the article thanked Bush for his "sweet and moving" May 20th message in which he expressed hope that the Cuban people would "soon enjoy the same freedoms and rights as we do." The statement said a known "Miami terrorist" had transmitted Radio Martí signals in "shameful violation of international norms." The statement was apparently referring to José Basulto of Brothers to the Rescue, who did indeed fly a mission Tuesday morning to test a signal. His flight was not coordinated with the government's beaming, Basulto said. Cuba's statement also acknowledged TV Martí signals were transmitted for two hours Tuesday night. "In reality, these transmissions did not constitute a technical success to be proud of," the statement read. "Very few heard their noises." The Air Force plane that flew Tuesday beamed two short-wave signals of Radio Martí and a VHF TV Martí signal. The satellite beamed a signal that could be viewed by an unknown number of Cubans on the island who have legal or illegal DirectTV satellite dishes. Elsa Morejón, wife of Óscar Elías Biscet, a medical doctor and pro- democracy activist sentenced recently to 25 years in prison, said she was able to hear the special TV Martí broadcast Tuesday night, though the pictures were blocked by gray stripes. She said Radio and TV Martí programs offer a different perspective of the news in a society where the government controls what's in the media. "People can't go to the Internet, they can't travel, they don't know what's going on in the rest of the world," Morejón said. But Morejón gave the Martí stations' programming mixed reviews, saying its credibility suffers from false reports generated by Martí collaborators on the island. Basulto remained skeptical about the government's commitment to transmitting to Cuba, saying he would not be satisfied until the United States is doing it regularly. "We're not asking for one transmission," he said. "We're asking for 365 transmissions a year." --- (South Florida Sun-Sentinel correspondent Madeline Baro contributed to this report.) --- © 2003 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. (via Mike Terry, DXLD) PLANE BEAMS BROADCASTS TO CUBA BY TIM JOHNSON, Thu, May. 22, 2003 http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/5916045.htm WASHINGTON - On orders from the White House, the Pentagon deployed a special airplane this week to beam the signals of Radio and TV Martí to Cuba, using a technology that one administration official said ''breached the wall'' of Cuban jamming efforts. ''The political green light is on'' to make the controversial U.S.- operated stations more effective at reaching Cubans, said the senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. An Air Force EC-130 plane conducted the transmissions between 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday, several officials said. It operated within U.S. airspace, not passing into Cuban territory. Cuba acknowledged that the United States had altered its normal transmissions of the two stations, but said they were ineffective and hinted that the Castro government might retaliate. ''Those transmissions did not constitute a technical success to be proud of. Very few [Cubans] heard the noise,'' an editorial in the Communist Party newspaper Granma said. ''The government of the United States should not forget that Cuban radio might be heard on standard frequency in many American states,'' the editorial added. The statement appeared to suggest that Cuba might consider boosting the power of its own radio stations, a move that could disrupt the broadcasts of commercial radio stations in South Florida. Radio and TV Martí have been controversial endeavors, popular with many Cuban Americans who want Cubans on the island to receive alternative sources of information. But the two stations have been plagued by morale problems. They get little congressional oversight and are generally seen as ineffective in penetrating the jamming by the Castro regime. Radio Martí began broadcasting in 1985 on medium wave and short wave. In the past several years, criticism has soared that its programming had become stale -- sometimes lacking in elemental news judgment. In May 2002, Radio Martí delayed a broadcast of a historic speech in Havana by former President Jimmy Carter calling for political change. On April 1, the White House replaced Radio Martí's chief, Salvador Lew, with another executive, Pedro Roig. Among recent changes to brighten the station's programming are broadcasts of Major League baseball games. A White House statement said the Tuesday night broadcasts ``used a transmission platform that we believe is not susceptible to Cuban jamming. We are currently evaluating the results of that transmission.'' The administration did not say how often it would use the EC-130 plane to beam the radio and TV signals. ''We may not want to do it every day,'' the official said. ''We realize this puts some binds on the audience.'' But he said the administration will allot the money necessary to make the signals more effective on a constant basis. Both Radio and TV Martí have transmitted from the Florida Keys. The TV Martí signal is sent from a balloon tethered 10,000 feet above Cudjoe Key at a low angle toward Cuba that is easily blocked. The EC-130 aircraft used in the test Tuesday is the same type of aircraft that beamed signals to Iraqis during the war, a Pentagon official said (Miami Herald via Artie Bigley, Jilly Dybka, DXLD) [Another version]: U.S. MEDIA BLITZ ON CUBA ANGERS CASTRO GOVERNMENT gives a few more details including: The United States broadcast on three new radio frequencies -- two shortwave and one medium wave -- and one VHF TV channel to Cuba for four hours on Tuesday by using a C-130 aircraft for the first time, a U.S. official said. José Basulto, who heads exile group Brothers to the Rescue, said the group flew a small plane in the Florida Straits on Tuesday to try to make a television transmission to Cuba. But for technical reasons, the transmission did not work, he said. . . http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters05-21-165829.asp?reg=AMERICAS (Reuters via Artie Bigley, DXLD) U S MEDIA BLITZ ANGERS CASTRO http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s861373.htm (via Paul Ormandy, NZ, DXLD) One such measure is unmasking the lies of the Castro regime. To that end, the U.S. special envoy for Western Hemisphere initiatives, Otto Reich, announced that TV Marti -- which aims to provide balanced news coverage -- yesterday was seen in Cuba for the first time in over 12 years. TV and Radio Marti are produced by the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, a U.S. international broadcasting bureau. . . http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=03052102.llt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) TV MARTI TESTS BROADCASTS TO CUBA ON DIRECTV-LATIN AMERICA | Text of report by Mexican news agency Notimex Miami, 21 May (Notimex): A TV Martí spokesman confirmed on 21 May that for the very first time the United States broadcast a clandestine television signal to Cuba by way of the commercial network DirecTV- Latin America. A spokeswoman for the Miami-based station told Notimex that the signal was broadcast on 20 May for four hours, coinciding with the 101st anniversary of Cuba's independence. "Of course" we broadcast to Cuba by way of DirecTV-Latin America, said the spokeswoman for TV Martí, the station that broadcasts US programmes to the island, and whose signal is considered by the Cuban Government as a violation of the country's sovereignty. DirecTV-Latin America, which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, confirmed the broadcast but said that it was only "testing" the TV Martí signal. "We were able to support the request on this occasion because we temporarily had the satellite capability to do so," said the television company in a communiqué in which it denied that future broadcast are being discussed. The spokeswoman also explained that "the station knows nothing about any DirecTV equipment in Cuba. Neither DirecTV-Latin America nor DirectTV in the United States have business dealings with Cuba." Under the US trade embargo against Cuba, US firms cannot do business on the island. Estimates indicate that in Havana there are approximately 20,000 satellite antennae or dishes, which illegally receive signals from DirecTV and Dishnet, the leading satellite television networks in the United States. Three Havana residents told El Nuevo Herald newspaper that certain individuals "who have satellite dishes" saw the TV Martí signal by way of DirecTV-Latin America. The special broadcast, which was also carried by channels 13 and 18 on [sic] the island, is part of TV Martí's effort to increase the power of its signal, one year after President George W. Bush promised that Radio and TV Martí would have stronger signals to Cuba. Otto Reich, the White House's special envoy for hemispheric affairs, told the newspaper that "we are currently in an initial testing phase that will be followed by further tests." Radio Martí was created in 1985, and TV Martí in 1998, both for the purpose of broadcasting to the island US programmes that differ from the views of the Cuban Government, which has angered the regime. Both stations began in Washington, but for the past several years have broadcast from Miami, a city that is considered the bastion of Cuban exiles in the United States. Source: Notimex news agency, Mexico City, in Spanish 1745 gmt 21 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) TV MARTÍ EFECTÚA TRASMISIONES ESPECIALES PABLO ALFONSO, El Nuevo Herald, Posted on Wed, May. 21, 2003 Un año después que el presidente de Estados Unidos, George W. Bush, prometiera que Radio y TV Martí tendrían mayor potencia para llegar con sus transmisiones a Cuba, la señal de televisión de esta última efectuó ayer una programación de prueba para superar la constante interferencia que tiene en la isla. ''Estamos llevando a cabo la promesa del presidente Bush, con esta fase inicial de pruebas a la que seguirán otras'', dijo Otto Reich, enviado especial de la Casa Blanca para Asuntos Hemisféricos. TV Martí transmitió su señal hacia Cuba el martes desde las 6:00 p.m. hasta las 10:00 p.m. por los canales 13 y 18 y también por la red comercial Direct TV-Latinoamérica. En las primeras horas de la noche había informes contradictorios sobre la recepción de TV Martí en la capital cubana. Tres residentes en La Habana contactados telefónicamente por El Nuevo Herald, poco después que comenzó la transmisión, dijeron que no habían captado la señal en ninguno de los dos canales. Añadieron, sin embargo, que algunas personas ''que tienen platos de satélite'' sí estaban viendo a TV Martí, a través de Direct TV-Latinoamérica, lo que había generado gran expectativa. La trasmisión especial ''es una fase de prueba utilizando un avión y un satélite'', dijo una fuente vinculada a la operación. ''Hemos aumentado la potencia y el alcance del globo y seguiremos probando otras medidas que podemos usar'', indicó la fuente. ``Todo esto forma parte de la modernización de TV Martí, que está en marcha, para lo cual usaremos diferentes plataformas de trasmisión, pero no queremos decirle cuáles al gobierno de Cuba''. Las pruebas son mucho menos de lo que esperaban los exiliados cubanos y residentes en la isla. ''Aunque llegue un año después, es un esfuerzo que ojalá se mantenga, que no se quede en un sólo día'', dijo José Basulto, presidente de Hermanos al Rescate que ha venido pidiendo al gobierno de Bush que incremente la potencia de las trasmisiones a Cuba. Fuentes consultadas por El Nuevo Herald con anterioridad han dicho que en La Habana existen unos 20,000 platos de satélite, que bajan ilegalmente la señales de Direct TV y de Dishnet. Hastiados de la programación de la televisión nacional, los cubanos persiguen como un preciado tesoro las tarjetas de programación y los platos de satélite, la mayor parte de ellos confeccionados clandestinamente en la isla. Por una antena parabólica los residentes en la isla están pagando, aproximadamente, $150 y unos $120 por la tarjeta de programación. La transmisión de TV Martí consistió de un programa especial, con motivo del 20 de mayo, que hace un recuento histórico de lo acontecido en la isla en las últimas cuatro décadas. (TOMADO DE "EL NUEVO HERALD" 21 DE MAYO DEL 2003. Cordiales 73's via Oscar de Céspedes, FL, Conexión Digital via DXLD). REACCION DEL GOBIERNO CUBANO A EMISIONES DE TV-MARTI Y NUEVAS FRECUENCIAS DE RM. http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2003/05/21/nacional/articulo12.html Publicado en la edición Electrónica de "Granma Nacional", República de Cuba, fecha 21 de Mayo del 2003. Unicamente se inserta debajo lo referente a Radio y Televisión. Para leer el articulo completo hacer "click" en Gracias Führer. ============================================================= Desde luego que ayer mismo la emisora subversiva, pérfida y ultrajantemente bautizada con el nombre de José Martí, salía al aire con cuatro nuevas frecuencias, y un connotado terrorista de Miami volaba libremente en alta mar, más allá de las 12 millas, a lo largo de la franja marítima entre Boca de Jaruco y Matanzas, ensayando transmisiones televisivas hacia Cuba, en violación desvergonzada de las normas internacionales que rigen la materia, con plena tolerancia de las autoridades de Estados Unidos. Un sujeto como este y otros que actúan al servicio del gobierno de Estados Unidos, jamás van a parar a las insólitas jaulas instaladas en el territorio cubano de Guantánamo ocupado a la fuerza por Estados Unidos, donde encierran sin ley o norma alguna a ciudadanos de decenas de países. En horas de la tarde, en adición a esto, como sorpresa especial de la Administración Bush, guardada como gran secreto de guerra, la señal televisiva salió al aire de seis a ocho de la noche, utilizando canales y sistemas usados en varias provincias por Cuba en programas educativos, informativos y recreativos. En realidad, tales transmisiones no constituyeron un éxito técnico del cual enorgullecerse. Muy pocos escucharon sus ruidos. El gobierno de Estados Unidos no debe olvidar que la radio cubana podría ser escuchada por onda media en muchos Estados norteamericanos (Cordiales 73's via Oscar de Céspedes, Conexión Digital May 21 via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. HABLANDO DEL 80 ANIVERSARIO DE LA RADIO CHECA... Estimados amigos de Radio Praga, la presente es para realizar un par de observaciones al programa especial --- emitido el domingo 18/05 --- con motivo del 80 aniversario de la radio checa. A pesar del excelente programa y del inmejorable soporte de audio utilizado, hubo dos omisiones imperdonables en el mismo. La primera fue la ausencia de la señal de intervalo que caracterizó a Radio Praga por muchos años y es la marcha titulada --- si mal no recuerdo --- "La izquierda a la vanguardia" [``Forward, Left``]. Esa señal fue con la que me topé a mediados de los ochenta y por la cual comencé a sintonizar las emisiones de Radio Praga. La segunda omisión fue el cese de transmisiones de Radio Praga el 1ero. de abril de 1990 --- por primera vez en su historia, desde los tiempos de la ocupación nazi. Por un largo tiempo estuvimos sin nuestra emisora gracias a la "reestructuración" o "purga política" dentro del personal de la estación. Otro rasgo característico de la denominada "Revolución de Terciopelo", que después de todo ni tan de "terciopelo" fue. En cuanto a la Primavera de Praga, la estación debería profundizar más en el análisis de ese movimiento y consagrar un programa completo para su explicación. Sin más qué agregar y esperando que mis humildes sugerencias sean tomadas en cuenta, me despido de ustedes, Atentamente, (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, to R. Praga, cc to DX LISTENING DIGEST) I liked ``Forward, Left`` too, but for aesthetic, not political reasons, just as ``Gymn Sovyetsokovo Soyuza`` and for that matter ``The East Is Red`` and ``Viva la Revolución`` (gh, DXLD) ** CZECHS HALT PROSECUTION OF AGENT WHO [allegedly] PLANNED BOMBING US RADIO | Text of report in English by Czech news agency CTK Brno, south Moravia, 22 May: The Brno City Court today halted the prosecution of Pavel Minarik, a former communist secret service (StB) agent suspected of having planned a bomb attack on the Munich headquarters of the Radio Free Europe (RFE) in the mid-1970s. "No is able to prove what damage could have been caused by the attack. This is also the main reason why the prosecution has been halted," Ales Dufek, the judge in charge of the case, told CTK. Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1327 gmt 22 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 5009.82, 2256-2320 21/5 R. Cristal Int. Loud and clear with MLB and local baseball results. Promos from "Canada Import" supermarket (Renato Bruni, Dxing policy in accordance with: http://www.faiallo.org/manif.html Parma, Italy, Rx JRC 525, Lowe HF- 150 Ant. Longwire 70m 195 , hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** GERMANY. DEUTSCHLAND RADIO TO JOIN DRM`S INAUGURAL BROADCASTS ON JUNE 16, 2003 Geneva – DeutschlandRadio`s live, daily Digital Radio Mondiale( (DRM() broadcasts on the medium-wave/AM band will be a part of DRM`s Inaugural Broadcasts event on June 16th, 2003. The event will take place at the Château de Penthes in Geneva, debut during the International Telecommunications Union`s (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC 2003). It marks the moment at which leading broadcasters transmit local, national and international DRM broadcasts simultaneously. Deutsche Welle, Radio Netherlands, Swedish Radio International and T-Systems Media & Broadcast will also participate. DeutschlandRadio`s test transmissions have been part of DRM`s field tests process since 2001. ``The Inaugural Broadcasts event in Geneva gives us an important signal, to boost our activities in DRM with the goal of implementing this technology, which is full of prospects, in the existing AM Network (8 MF, 3 LF and 2 SW) of DeutschlandRadio,``(``Quote from DR,``) says Dietmar Boettcher, (DeutschlandRadio spokesperson). DeutschlandRadio has been a member of the DRM consortium since (year)1999. DeutschlandRadio will broadcasts news and information, including special broadcasts for elections and major sporting events, in German terrestrial on medium-wave/AM DAB, FM, LF, MF, SW and additionally via cable and satellite, 24-hours-a-day. The DRM broadcasts on MF 855 (2.7 kW) will reach Berlin and its surrounding regions, as well as parts of Central Europe. DRM is the world`s only non-proprietary, digital system for short- wave, medium-wave/AM and long-wave with the ability to use existing frequencies and bandwidth across the globe. With clear, near-FM quality sound that offers a dramatic improvement over analogue, DRM will revitalize radio. With its inaugural broadcasts drawing near, the DRM consortium`s membership is higher than ever – 81 members from 30 countries. DRM reached an important milestone in January 2003, when the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) gave the DRM on-air system its highest stamp of approval – International Standard. Commercial DRM- capable receivers are expected to be available in markets worldwide in the next few years. About DeutschlandRadio (standard descriptive information here)DeutschlandRadio offers two programmes, one of them with a focus on information and news and the other focusing on culture and art. Deutschlandfunk is the number one information programme in Germany, modern and service-oriented. DeutschlandRadio Berlin broadcasts a national metropolitan programme specialising in culture. On both programmes DeutschlandRadio broadcasts 2740 minutes of information programmes weekly, including 795 minutes of news coverage. It broadcasts 38 features per month, 390 radio plays per year and 600 concerts (450 of them from Germany). The claim of DeutschlandRadio on nationwide frequencies has been registered in 11 broadcasting laws of the individual states. The number of FM frequencies has increased from 37 in 1994, to 236 in May 2003 (Deutschlandfunk 119, DeutschlandRadio Berlin 117). DeutschlandRadio has approximately 8.5 million regular listeners (Deutschlandfunk 6.3 million, DeutschlandRadio Berlin 2.2 million). On a daily basis, an average number of 1.4 million people listen to DeutschlandRadio (Deutschlandfunk 1,16 million, DeutschlandRadio Berlin 243.000). DeutschlandRadio cooperates closely with public broadcasting corporations ARD and ZDF. Its administration, such as personnel, finance, royalties and licences and purchasing, is linked with ZDF. In 2001, nearly 120 features and radio plays have been co-produced with ARD. With regard to public events and radio series, DeutschlandRadio cooperates with German newspapers such as FAZ, Handelsblatt, Frankfurter Rundschau, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Berliner Zeitung, Tagesspiegel, Die Zeit and regional newspapers as well as TV companies ``Phoenix`` and ``3sat``; museums such as ``Haus der Geschichte`` (Bonn), the marketing company ``Partner für Berlin``, as well as the German Parliament, the House of Representatives in Berlin and the Dresdner Bank for example. DeutschlandRadio runs 18 correspondent offices in the states of the Federal Republic of Germany, and seven foreign correspondents work in Moscow, London, Washington, Brussels (2), Paris and Los Angeles. In cooperation with ARD, correspondents are sent to Rome and Tel Aviv. (DRM press release via DXLD) ** GUYANA. 3291.2, G. B. C., 0010 news in English, fair signal, 0100 repetition of five numbers, three or more times by yl; lottery numbers? From 0800 - 0920, G B C ID, chorale music 0830-0837, followed by subcontinent music as is their usual eclectic mix, 0850 - 0916 birthday greeting read by om announcer, "very happy birthday greeting to...", into pop music. Tnx Grayland, WA DXpedition log and Rich D'Angelo log (Bob Wilkner, FL, Drake R7 and on the ground antenna 10 meter antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. THE RADIO COMEBACK -- by Srinand Jha* These days all good things are being said about the radio. That it is the 'second coming' or the 'rebirth of the radio' that the present generation is witnessing. That it is today's fastest-growing medium - steamed off on a journey of regeneration and resurrection. That the other communication mediums, such as print and audio visual, cannot hope to replicate the unique medium of radio at any point of time in the future. Of course, not entirely without basis are such assertions being made. Television needs time 'by appointment', while the radio can be heard anywhere. While jogging, driving or conversing. Besides, does not a music concert seem so much trivialized on television screens? Isn't it so much better to have soulful music wafting out of anonymous radio sets? Don't good things of life somehow lose value and get de-energized when stated as the obvious? One hardly needs too great imaginative skills to find answers to these. Today lives are running along much fast tracks. In the coming years, time will be much more at a premium - and television might find its space shrinking. Also, technological innovations have made radio- enabled mobile phones possible. The radio can also be heard on televisions or on personal digital assistants (PDAs). Certain companies have started marketing 'wind and play' transistor sets - requiring no battery or power connection. Besides, a radio or transistor set is also so much more inexpensive in comparison. These are among the arguments put forward in support of projections concerning the bright outlook for the radio. Since the 1999 decision of the Central Government in liberalizing regulations for setting up private radio stations, a good deal of activity has been happening on the ground. More than a dozen private radio stations have started operations at big and small centres including the four metros with Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata having got wired up last month. Public Relation (PR) agencies have been taking a serious look at prospects of radio advertising, while manufacturers have been racking their brains for developing more innovative models of radio sets. Also, for equipment vendors from Australia or the United States, it has been Destination India - with these companies hawking an array of antennas, cable and studio equipment. On its own part, the Indian Government has been considering possibilities of floating the second round of bids (for the setting up of private FM stations at 70 additional cities throughout the country). But these continue to remain somewhat troubled times for the Indian radio industry. The facts speak for themselves. In early 1999, 23 companies had bid for 108 frequencies in 40 cities. Now, just 22 stations remain in 12 cities. In Mumbai, five of the 10 players remain, and eight operators have dropped out of the Delhi circle with just three remaining. As of now, the radio business is not as viable as one might want. From the viewpoint of private broadcasters, the problem is with the license auction agreement as decided in the first round of bids. Bids went for fabulous amounts between Rs. 7.5 crore to Rs.10 crore in most centres. According to the agreement, the private players are required to pay correspondingly higher sums after the completion of each year of operations. The private players have been clamouring for the waiver of this clause as the revenue generation has been marginal. As they have pointed out in a memorandum to the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, five private stations in Mumbai are required to pay an auction fee amount of approximately Rs.10 crore this year as against Rs.8.5 crore last year, although the total revenue generated by them has totalled only Rs. 2.2 crore. Upon the suggestion of the Minister, the private parties have presented to him a copy of their separate balance sheets. The Government is presently considering ways for providing the radio with a more congenial growth environment. Radio ad-spend in India has remained pegged at a lowly 1.5 per cent as against 12 per cent in Australia, 12-15 per cent in US and between 7 to 10 per cent in some South Asian countries. Operators believe that the share of radio ad-spend can increase only in the event of the participation of a greater number of players. Television provides the example, ad-spend generated by the television in 1992, Doordarshan's sole monopoly days, totalled 15 per cent of the ad-pie. Ten years down the line in 2002 it was 38 per cent. The radio operators want a migration from the present license auction option to the revenue-sharing model. They feel this would enable the industry to generate an increase in ad-spend up to 3-5 per cent in the short run and about 7-8 per cent in the long term. Community or campus radio is another enterprise that the Central Government is interested in promoting. Presently, the offer holds good for recognized institutions and colleges (IITs, universities and registered residential schools) and several institutes including IIT, Kanpur have shown interest. The Government does not levy charges for the setting up of such Low Power Transmitter (LPT) station, although the customary charge of spectrum fee has to be deposited. Several institutes have been pursuing plans of setting up campus radio stations. The Government's plans are to enable about 100 institutes wired up to campus radio within the next one year. Two autonomous bodies-the Broadcast Engineers Corporation of India Limited - BECIL and the AIR Resources - a wing of the Prasar Bharati have been offering turnkey solutions for setting up campus radio stations. It would cost between Rs. 10-12 lakh to set up a campus radio station. Besides, foreign equipment manufacturers have been eyeing the Indian market. Given the fact that there are more than 400 recognised institutes and colleges in India, the market size is estimated as being huge. Initial estimates are that the size of the services market would not be less than Rs. 60 crore. (PIB Features) *Senior Freelance Writer, Press Information Bureau, Govt Of India ---------------- Regds, (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. WORLDSPACE LAUNCHES GOVERNMENT SALES UNIT Satellite radio service provider WorldSpace has launched a sales unit to take advantage of the growing satellite demand in the government market. This unit will enable government agencies to extend communications into markets with limited telecommunication infrastructures. In addition, it will provide Washington, D.C.-based WorldSpace with more revenue channels for its subscription-based services. The company plans to announce its first contract with the U.S government in the upcoming months. 73 (Satellite Today 21 May 2003 via Kim Elliott, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Like, VOA? As a minor midlevel functionary, I would not know if any deal between VOA and Worldspace is in the works. However, Lyngsat has reported that Radio Sawa is testing on Afristar. See http://www.lyngsat.com/afristar.shtml 73 (Kim Elliott, DC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. Saludos colegas diexistas. Para todos un buen dia jueves. La siguiente información llega de La Voz de La República Islámica de Irán y la comparto con todos ustedes. Atte: (José Elías Díaz Gómez, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: EN EL NOMBRE DE DIOS Muy apreciados amigos oyentes de La Voz de la República Islámica de Irán: Con mucho gusto y placer le dirigimos las presentes líneas para saludarles y hacerles llegar nuestros mejores deseos de salud y bienestar. Por el medio de la presente les informamos que desde hoy pueden acudir a nuestra página web cuya dirección es: http://www.irib.ir/worldservice/spanishradio/ [but see below] Por el momento sólamente pueden utilizar la parte referente a las Últimas noticias y la de los comentarios políticos, sin embargo dentro poco vamos a añadir otras partes también que corresponden a nuestros programas especiales, así como a nuestros espacios semanales. Mucho le agradeceríamos sus comentarios, sugerencias y hasta críticas a fin de subsanar los posibles defectos. En espera de sus prontas noticias, nos despedimos en el nombre del altísimo. Atentamente (La redacción española, de La Voz De La República Islámica de Irán, May 22, via Díaz via DXLD) Ojo, la dirección correcta de la página en español es: http://www.irib.ir/worldservice/spanishRADIO/default.htm Saludos (EA7-0641 José Bueno Jeremías-Córdoba, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** IRAN/IRAQ. RADIO NEJAT - ANALYSIS Radio Nejat (Salvation) was first observed by BBC Monitoring on 2 April 2003. Broadcasting in Persian, the station addresses Iranians living abroad. While the station mirrors some of the programme content of the Iranian government IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) radio stations, there are subtle differences within the content of Radio Nejat programming. Radio Nejat identifies in Persian as: Radio Nejat, seda-ye hamdeli va peyvand ba kasani keh mehr-e vatan ra dar del darand; Radio Nejat, the voice of sympathy and relation with those who have the love of homeland in their heart. Programme content Radio Nejat does not refer to IRIB radio or television during its broadcasts. However, there are indications which may attribute the broadcast to IRIB. Radio Nejat programming has included an eulogy that marked the anniversary of the death of the 11th Shi'i Imam. The eulogy included a sad song, poetry and expression of condolence for the Imam's death. This is typical programming for IRIB radio, as it is unlikely that the remnants of the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation or any non-Iranian broadcaster would dedicate broadcast time to a cause only Iranian Shi'i clerics care for. The inclusion of actuality of Iran's Information Minister calling on the Mojahedin to return to Iran is something a non-Iranian broadcaster is unlikely to make. Radio Nejat includes many of the jingles, and the style of presentation that is regularly broadcast on IRIB radio's Payam and Javan. Differences to IRIB programming However, the station has been observed to distance itself from IRIB radio in the following significant ways: the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation are not referred to as "Monafeqin" (hypocrites), and the United States and the American administration are referred to as Washington. Iran is referred to as "Iran" rather than "The Islamic Republic of Iran". Transmission parameters Radio Nejat broadcasts twice daily at: 0230-0430 and 1230-1430, on 675 kHz. After 1430 the frequency of 675 kHz has been observed by BBC Monitoring to be occupied by the SCIRI-sponsored clandestine radio station Voice of Rebellious Iraq. Source: BBC Monitoring research 20 May 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ. ELECTRONIC IRAQ HEADLINES SALAM PAX BLOGS Electronic Iraq http://electroniciraq.net/news has now published the photos and latest blogs from 'Baghdad Blogger' Salman Pax, featuring an account of his recent trip to southern Iraq. This is a must see (Andy Sennitt, May 20, Media Network via DXLD) Is it Salam, or Salman? Both appear in the brief item above. I don`t know which one to [sic]. (gh, DXLD) ** IRAQ. WRITER CALLS FOR SALVAGING MATERIAL IN THE BURNT-OUT BROADCASTING HOUSE | Text of report by Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) newspaper Al-Ta'akhi on 20 May The phrase "setting on fire again" might astonish you but it is the truth. Soon after the liberation of Baghdad the building was looted in an organized operation that included technical and other equipment. A large part of the archive was set on fire deliberately and only a small part was left intact and was possible to save, and nobody remembered the building. It was set on fire twice last Friday and Saturday [16 and 17 May]. We wandered about in the corridors of the building after I asked permission from the families of those who live there. I call them corridors now without mentioning its real name, because only corridors remained with scattered destroyed equipment everywhere, including audio cassettes, old records, films, books and all kinds of useful material. As we were wandering about, thick smoke was rising from the opposite side of the Tigris, specifically from Rashid Communications building. That building has been set on fire too without anyone paying attention. I returned to the TV and radio building to pick up some recorded tapes off the floor here and there. I read on the wall a sign saying that this was al-Shabab TV and Al-Qur'an al-Karim Radio. A large hall separating them was full of shelves of old records of famous Iraqi and Egyptian Koran readers and old programmes which reminded me of (High Shelves). This was a famous programme presented by the well-know broadcaster Hafid al-Durubi, 40 years ago. It was a reminder that I was not able any more to see something of the history of this cultural entity other than these stolen and burnt shelves. I will not ask who is going to return something that has been burnt, but who will save the remaining material. This is a call to those who are concerned and to those who have experience or ability to save what they can now while it is still possible. There are still some things that we can benefit from and this is part of our national cultural past and our endeavours. We do not need advice at this moment but we need action to provide protection for other cultural centres to save them from getting burnt again. This is a call to the coalition forces to pay attention to these institutions, to those who returned to their positions, including patriotic police staff and officials, to the zealous among our people, some of whom stand against this deluge of destruction. These belong to our coming generations and their history. Therefore, it is our duty. This is a call to the old art cadre in the TV and radio institution to move without waiting for the instructions, and to the cadres of other cultural institutions. Let us agree on a new plan that puts the interests of Iraq and the Iraqi people first. These are not the interests of politicians. Source: Al-Ta'akhi, Baghdad in Arabic 20 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ. The new head of Iraqi state television is Ahmed al-Rikaby, who started the Arabic service for Radio Sweden's Immigrant Languages Department. He succeeds Saddam Hussein's son Uday in the job. After starting the Almadjalla program here in 1992, Ahmed al-Rikaby worked for Swedish public television, before moving to London to work for Radio Free Iraq (TT via SCDX/MediaScan May22 via DXLD) See also LIBYA! ** IRAQ. THE MEDIA IN POST WAR IRAQ - 22 MAY 03 Updates: This round-up of Iraqi media adds the following new Iraqi newspaper sources, give an indication of their allegiance or editorial line where available and includes print run figures from an AFP report of 17 May: - Al-Ayyam (The Days) is an independent newspaper which hopes "to become a daily newspaper and a forum for writers and national educated journalists and which does not "represent any the viewpoint of any party, movement or direction." - Al-Ittihad, the daily newspaper of Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is reported to be printing 30,000 copies daily in Baghdad. - Al-Naba (Item of News) A self declared independent national paper aiming to report "without ambiguity or bias". An editorial dated 15 May called on coalition forces to leave Iraq. - Al-Sa'ah (The Hour), is backed by Ahmad al-Kubaysi, a rich Dubai- based Sunni Muslim cleric. The editor-in-chief is Adib Sha'ban, a former employee of Uday Husayn. - Al-Sabah (The Dawn), an eight-page, twice-weekly broadsheet, with an initial run of 50,000 copies. It says it is will adhere to international codes of journalism. - Al-Ta'akhi (Brotherhood), 20,000 copies in Baghdad, using a printing press recovered from the former Iraqi Government paper Al-Iraq. This title was banned in 1974. It is run by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and has returned to Baghdad. - Al-Zaman (Time) An independent Arabic-language daily now prints 2,000 copies daily printed in Baghdad as well as being printed in Basrah, in addition to the UK and Bahrain. Its owner and editor-in- chief is Sa'd al-Bazzaz, a former editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Iraqi government daily Al-Jumhuriyah, who fled Iraq 11 years ago. Local stories are now being edited in Baghdad, the rest are produced in London. Iraq's emerging media scene is one which enjoys freedoms unheard of during Saddam Husayn' s tenure. No foreign newspapers had been allowed in the country and satellite dishes were banned. Since the former leader was overthrown, a host of newspapers and a number of early radio and television stations have sprung up and for the residents of, choosing what to read, watch or listen to is no longer a simple affair. At least 25 newspapers which have appeared in Baghdad and other major Iraqi cities. In particular, they are giving voice to political, religious and ethnic groupings seeking a role in shaping Iraq's political future. Complaints abound about general lawlessness and poor recovery of public utilities are directed at the US-led forces. Shia media openly call for an Islamic state, while secular media say they are representing the disparate political and ethnic groups. The religious media reflect majority Shia opinion and are concerned at the influence of western and secular media. The secular media has been promoting the idea of a pluralistic, democratic government and a free press as a solution to the nation's ills. At a price of 3 to 4 dinars each however, the price of a newspaper is prohibitive to many in a shattered economy. One popular paper is the international Arabic-language paper Al-Zaman. This is now printed in Baghdad and the southern Iraqi city of Basrah, as well as in the UK and Bahrain. The Kurdish-language weekly Khabat or Struggle, published in Arbil, is the mouthpiece of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and has now also made its way onto Baghdad's news stands. Other papers include Al-Dimuqrati, or The Democrat, published by the Iraqi Grouping for Democracy and sold in Baghdad. Or there is Al-Ahrar, describing itself as an independent newspaper for "all Arabs". One recent edition of this paper carried a frontpage headline reading "Iraq is our most precious possession". The broadcast media are also expanding, but at a slower rate than the print media. There is apparently no shortage of paper, supplies have been located and can easily be procured from Turkey and Syria, according to an AFP report. The US plans to create a nationwide TV network, an AM radio channel and an independent newspaper for Iraq. All will be run by previously exiled Iraqis along with journalists recruited from within the country. The US broadcast operations will be funded by American taxpayers and run by the Iraqi Media Project, an offshoot of the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. Most people are still dependent on the radio for news and information, former Iraqi opposition groups have recently set up a number of new stations. One common complaint, however, is of the lack of resources, with stations obliged to operate under the most basic conditions, often without a constant electricity supply or access to the telephone network. Politics are still determining the type of information available. News outlets are often linked to certain political, ethnic or religious groups jostling for a say in Iraq's future. Kurdish leaders, for example, have capitalized on the media free-for-all by launching new radio and television stations in Baghdad. Without Iraq's domestic services on the air the worlds' national and international broadcasters are targeting the region. Among Iraq's rich, satellite television has become the new craze. Sales of satellite dishes and receiving equipment have increased as Iraqis seek to open this window to the outside world. However, for the time being satellite television remains a luxury. Meanwhile, the US is said to be winding down its psychological operations in the form of radio and television transmissions from Commando Solo, the aircraft overflying Iraq. Plans are afoot for a new terrestrial television service which is to broadcast first in the Baghdad area and later outside the capital. The choice of foreign news will not be limited to US-backed broadcasters. The Iran-based television station Al-Alam broadcasts into Baghdad from across the border. The station, which carries programmes in both Arabic and English, is the only foreign channel that can be received without the need for expensive satellite equipment. As regards any national Iraqi television station, this will probably have to wait for a new government to be formed in order to coordinate the installation of the technical infrastructure and define the station's aims and objectives. A Swedish-Iraqi, Ahmad al-Rikabi has been appointed by the US Defence Department as the TV's new chief and there have already been attempts to censor it, which were however resolved. Following is research by BBC Monitoring giving further details of the media sources in Iraq or intended for consumption in Iraq: New Press The following newspapers are being published in Iraq. Al-Zaman, an independent Arabic-language daily is now being printed in Baghdad and al-Basra, in addition to the UK and Bahrain. Its owner and editor-in-chief is Iraqi Sa'd al-Bazzaz, a former editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Iraqi government daily Al-Jumhuriyah, who fled Iraq 11 years ago. Local stories are now being edited in Baghdad. Al-Ahrar identifies itself as "the newspaper of all Arabs" and as an "independent political daily" although it is currently being published only on Sundays. Although an Arabic-language paper, its 4 May edition issued a frontpage English-language banner headline: "Iraq Is Our Most Precious Possession." Al-Da'wah is a Shia Arabic-language newspaper published by the Central Bureau of the Islamic Da'wah Party. Chairman of the Board of the Directors is Abd-al-Karim al-Inzi, and the editor-in-chief is Hasan Sa'id. The editorial board consists of Taha al-Alawi, Abd Farhan, and Abd-al-Karim Muhammad. The front page of the 4 May issue features an article about the late Shi'i leader Ayatollah Mohammad Baqr al-Sadr, who was murdered in February 1999 by Iraqi government forces in Najaf. The paper also publishes a statement by Grand Ayatollah al-Sayyid Kazim al-Husayni al-Ha'iri. Al-Dimuqrati [The Democrat] is a weekly newspaper issued by the Iraqi Grouping for Democracy and is being sold in Baghdad, according to Al- Jazeera TV on 4 May. Al-Hurriyah is published by the Arab National Democrats Movement. Its editor-in-chief is Husam al-Saffar. Al-Iraq al-Jadid [New Iraq] - This is an Arabic-language "independent daily" that has appeared on Baghdad newsstands, according to Al- Jazeera TV on 4 May. In an initial editorial it said the new Iraqi media would only gain the trust of its readership if it is not subject to the influence of capitalism or special-interest finacncing which could influence the press. Al-Majd (The Glory) - This is a secular weekly paper which has deplored ack of administration and security in the capital. Al-Nur is a Shia Arabic-language weekly published by the Islamic Cultural Centre in Baghdad. Baghdad is an Arabic-language weekly affiliated with the Iraqi National Accord Movement, led by Iyad Allawi. A report in the 25 April edition stated that the newspaper had transferred its headquarters from London to Baghdad. The web site at http://www.wifaq.com/baghdad_arabic.html has not been updated since 25 April. Fajr Baghdad [Baghdad Dawn] is described by its owners as "the first democratic independent newspaper in Iraq," according to Al-Jazeera TV on 4 May. The paper has been circulating in Baghdad. Its editor-in- chief is Ali al-Nashmi, a professor at the University of Baghdad. Nida al-Mustaqbal is an Arabic-language daily also published by the Iraqi National Accord Movement, appeared recently in Baghdad. Its publisher, Muhammad Khurshid, is a member of the Iraqi National Accord Movement Central Council. Members of the paper's editorial board include Ali Abd-al-Amir, Jalil al-Basri, As'ad al-Aquli and Abd-al- Hamid al-Amari. Al-Sa'ah is a biweekly political newspaper published in Baghdad by the United Iraqi National Movement. The Turkoman Front Arabic-language weekly Turkomaneli on 30 April said the paper was the first to publish in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Husayn. The paper's initial circulation figure is 6,000 copies. It is headed by Ahmad al-Qubaysi, chairman of the Board of Directors. News editor is Ahmad Diya-al-Din. Managing editor is Muhand al-Salih. Editors are Umar Abd-al-Razzaq, Sharmin Abbas, and Shakir Mahmud. Al-Sabah (Dawn) - Supported by the reconstruction office is an eight- page, twice-weekly broadsheet with an initial run of 50,000 copies. Apparently Al-Sabah will not have editorials or opinion columns and will not print the views of Iraqi politicians. US officials insist they do not want to interfere or compete with free expression and say that such media will eventually be turned over to Iraqis. The KDP has announced plans to reintroduce a paper called Al-Ta'akhi, which was published in Baghdad from 1967 to 1974. Its editor-in-chief is to be Falak al-Din Kaka'i, member of the Kurdistan Parliament, who has promised that the newspaper will be "democratic" and represent different political and ethnic trends. The Iraqi National Congress plans to issue a paper called Al-Mu'tamar. Kurdish Press The following Kurdish papers are available: Brayat is the Kurdish-language daily newspaper of the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Govari Gulan is the monthly Kurdish-language KDP magazine. Kurdistani Nuwe is the Kurdish-language daily newspaper of the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Regay Kurdistan is the Kurdish-language weekly newspaper of the Communist Party of Iraqi Kurdistan. Kaldo-Ashur is the Arabic-language supplement of Regay Kurdistan. Al-Ittihad is the Arabic-language weekly PUK newspaper. It is now published in Baghdad on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Its 29 April issue carries pro-coalition reportage and cites President Bush as saying "Iraqis will have their say" in the formation of a new government. Turkomaneli, the weekly newspaper of the Turkoman Front, is available in both Turkoman and Arabic. Qardashliq Yolu is the bimonthly newspaper of the Turkoman Brotherhood Party in Turkoman, Kurdish, and Arabic. Tariq al-Sha'b, the monthly Arabic-language newspaper of the Iraqi Communist Party, is now also sold in Baghdad. Hawlati is an independent Kurdish-language weekly newspaper. Komal is the bimonthly newspaper of the Islamic Group of Iraqi Kurdistan in Kurdish. Khabat is the Kurdish-language weekly newspaper of the Islamic Unity Movement, and is now being sold in Baghdad. Jamawar is an independent Kurdish-language weekly newspaper. Hawal is an independent weekly newspaper in Kurdish. Broadcast Media -- RADIO The US is pushing ahead with plans to create a nationwide television channel, an AM radio channel and an independent newspaper for Iraq. The US-taxpayer-funded project is the handiwork of the Iraqi Media Project, an offshoot of the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. The New York Times reports: "Radio Iraq - set up by Robert Reilly, a former Voice of America director, is paid for by the Pentagon. 'We are the voice of the new Iraq. We are the foundation of the new national station. We would like to create free Iraqi radio and TV stations and that's where we're heading,' says Ahmad al-Rikaby, Radio Iraq's director of news. Prior to this job, he was the London bureau chief at Radio Free Iraq, a US-funded operation." Iraqi Media Network, Voice of New Iraq - operated by the US Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance; the station is heard on mediumwave 756 kHz and also 909 kHz; A radio station calling itself "the Republic of Iraq Radio from Baghdad" was observed on 12 May on 1026 kHz. It broadcast statements issued by the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. "Radio Freedom, from Baghdad" has recently been heard in Baghdad in Arabic on FM 96.5 MHz. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) recently launched a new radio and television station in Baghdad. Voice of Freedom-Voice of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, affiliated with the PUK, is a radio transmitting from Baghdad daily on FM 95 MHz. The radio broadcasts in both Arabic and Kurdish, and programming includes news bulletins, political analyses and interviews, as well as music and variety shows. Turkomaneli TV and radio was launched in Kirkuk in April 2003 - broadcasts on behalf of Iraqi Turkoman Front. Turkomaneli Radio opened radio stations in Talla'far and Mosul on 6 and 8 May respectively, the Iraqi Turkoman Front newspaper Turkomaneli reported on 11 May. Dangi Komal-Kirkuk radio broadcasts on 1341 kHz in Kurdish, Arabic and Turkish to Kirkuk on behalf of the Kurdistan Islamic Group Karbala - a local TV channel was launched on 16 April, according to United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi TV on 6 May The Worker-Communist Party of Iraq's "Radio Bopeshawa" is reportedly back on the air. The internet site of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq http://www.wpiraq.org reports that Ila al-Amam (Forward) Radio [usually rendered as Radio Bopeshawa, meaning "Forward"], voice of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq, will broadcast for one hour a day from 1100 gmt (half an hour in Arabic and half an hour in Kurdish), to the areas of Arbil, Kirkuk and Mosul. The same programme will be repeated between 0500-0600 gmt the next day. The following are among stations in operation before April 2003 that continue to be heard inside Iraq: Voice of the People of Kurdistan, operated by the PUK KurdSat, the television station of the PUK, has expanded its broadcasts to Kirkuk and Khanaqin Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan, operated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) The KDP's television station Kurdistan TV now beams its programmes to Kirkuk and Mosul. Ashur Radio - The station reportedly began operation in April 2000 and is operated by the Assyrian Democratic Movement, an opposition organization in northern Iraq. It broadcasts in Assyrian and Arabic on shortwave, reportedly from a transmitter in Azerbaijan. Voice of the Iraqi Republic from Baghdad, Voice of the Iraqi People - Despite the name, this opposition station has been in existence since 1991 and is thought to transmit from Saudi Arabia. Voice of the Iraqi People, Voice of the Iraqi Communist Party - The station broadcasts from northern Iraq, possibly using Kurdish facilities. Voice of the Mojahed, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization's radio, may still be located in Iraq, but this seems unlikely. This was previously broadcast via shortwave, satellite and with archive audio files on the internet. Studios were believed to be located in Baghdad. Following the fall of Saddam Husayn the station was observed to have ceased broadcasts for a few days in April. The station recommenced broadcasts only via satellite with archive audio files on the internet and its studio location is unconfirmed. The web site of the radio station is at: www.iranmojedin.org and the satellite is Telstar 12 at 15 degrees west. TELEVISION The Washington Post reported on 11 May that the US planned a nationwide Iraqi TV network to succeed the airborne Towards Freedom TV. The programme, initially for two hours but projected as a 24-hour full-service network, wiould include 30 minutes of news each night, including a local news segment, the report said. The station will be transmitted initially from tower in Baghdad and eventually from Arbil in the north and Umm Qasr in the south and via satellite. The station began broadcasts on Tuesday 13 May amid squabbling between its US and Canadian advisers, and complaints from its Iraqi journalists about "American censorship", international agencies reported. The station opened with a picture of the Iraqi flag and the playing of a pan-Arab nationalist anthem. But because of the censorship claims, the launch of the live news programme was postponed. "As journalists we will not submit to censorship," said Dan North, a Canadian documentary maker advising Iraqis at the station, which plans two hours of programming a night for viewers in Baghdad. "This whole idea was about starting the genesis of an open media so we will not accept an outside source scrutinizing what we produce." According to North, the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) had requested that the station's news programmes be reviewed by the wife of Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani, leading to a decision to postpone it for a for a week because of the wrangling that ensued. But Robert Teasdale, a US adviser to the network said: "This is not American propaganda. This is the first time in 25 years Iraqis are getting TV that is not propaganda." The station did air verses from the Holy Koran, against the wishes of the ORHA, after Iraqi staff threatened to walk out if they were dropped. Another last-minute change was a decision not to broadcast an address by US official Jay Garner. A Swedish-Iraqi from Swedish TV and Radio, Ahmad al-Rikabi has been appointed by the US Defence Department as the TV's new chief and there have already been attempts to censor it, which were however resolved. Talking about the attempt to censor broadcasts, he said that he threatened to go straight to the the Palestine Hotel and hold a news conference over the matter. Home-grown TV news has not yet commenced. Freedom TV [Al-Hurriyah TV] is a PUK-sponsored television station that began test transmissions from Baghdad on 30 April. A PUK statement said viewers can access Freedom TV on UHF channel 38 at 1700-2200 gmt. Mosul TV was the "first station" to resume transmission in Iraq after the overthrow the Saddam Husayn regime, Dubai-based news channel Al- Arabiya TV reported on 10 May. Kirkuk TV channel started broadcasts on 23 April "under the supervision of the coalition forces", according to a report by the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) newspaper Brayati on 25 April. Turkomaneli TV and radio was launched in Kirkuk in April 2003 - broadcasts on behalf of Iraqi Turkoman Front. Turkomaneli Radio opened radio stations in Talla'far and Mosul on 6 and 8 May respectively, the Iraqi Turkoman Front newspaper Turkomaneli reported on 11 May. Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization's (MKO) "Vision of Resistance TV" (Sima-ye Moqavemat) which was relayed by the former Republic of Iraq Television before and after normal broadcasting hours has not been reported on the air recently. Reportedly the studios were in Ashraf, North of Baghdad in Central Iraq. The only MKO TV programmes being traced at present are via satellite on the station "Simaye Azaidi Iran National TV" (Vision of Freedom National Iran TV), which is not located in Iraq but which the sat-address.com web site gives UK-based contact details. The web site is http://www.iranntv.com and satellites are the trans-Atlantic Telstar 12, Telstar 5 for North America and Atlantic Bird 3 covering all of Europe and the Middle East. IRANIAN BROADCAST MEDIA ACCESSIBLE IN IRAQ -- Television The Iran-based Al-Alam satellite TV channel in Arabic and English is a 24-hour news channel transmitted on four satellites (Arabsat, Asiasat, Telstar and Hot Bird satellites) and can be received in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and America. Al-Alam broadcasts into Baghdad from a powerful transmitter about 150 km away, just over the Iran-Iraq border. It is the only foreign channel that can be viewed by Iraqis without a satellite dish. That has sent its viewership soaring among ordinary Iraqis, who cannot afford the average 200-dollar cost of a satellite dish and receiver. The Arabic channel began broadcasting in February 2003. English content currently is limited to horizontal news subtitles or news tickers. The station has a web site at http://www.alalamnews.com Sahar Universal Network 1 and 2 television, Iran's external satellite TV service on the Hot Bird 1-6 satellites, is viewable across Iraq and includes Arabic proragramming. Its web site is located at http://www.sahartv.com. Resistance Channel - this TV channel is called "Al-Estiqamah TV" in Arabic; in April 2003 it was reported to be using the facilities of Iranian radio and TV, including the aerial of Iran's Education Channel, to broadcast to Iraq. The station was inaugurated in early April 2003 by Ayatollah Hakim, the head of the Supreme Assembly for Islamic Revolution in Iraq [SAIRI], according to the Tehran-based Baztab web site. Also available via satellite in the Middle East via Iran's digital multiplex. Radio Voice of the Mujahidin First observed on 17 April, the station's content suggests that it is operated by the Iranian-backed Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). In addition, the station is transmitting on one of several frequencies used by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting for its external transmissions. Has been heard on 90.1 MHz FM, in parallel with 720 kHz. The content generally parallels that of the main SCIRI web site located at http://www.majlesaala.com. Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran (VIRI) external service in Arabic can be heard on mediumwave and shortwave inside Iraq as well as via the Internet at http://www.irib.com. Voice of Rebellious Iraq - supports the Iranian-sponsored Shi'i group, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI); believed to transmit from Iran. International media Major international radio and television stations, such as pan-Arab satellite television stations, the BBC's Arabic and World service radio and TV, US Radio Sawa, the Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo Middle East and US-sponsored Radio Free Iraq are available in Iraq in principle. However, access to all broadcast media is limited both by the availability of electricity, radio and TV sets and the lack of satellite TV suppliers, the price of equipment or cable infrastructure. Source: BBC Monitoring research 22 May 03 (via DXLD) ** IRELAND. GARDAI SHUT DOWN PIRATE RADIO STATIONS http://www.online.ie/business/latest/viewer.adp?article=2018342 Business & Finance 22 May 2003 Gardai have shut down a large number of pirate radio stations operating in Dublin city. In a joint operation with the telecom watchdog, ComReg, the Gardai raided the premises of the illegal broadcast operations and seized their equipment. The regulator has declined to comment on how many stations were shut down, but a swift spin of the dial reveals that Phantom FM, Jazz FM, Choice FM and Premier FM - some of which have applied for radio licences in the past - have all been removed from the airwaves. In response to the sudden crackdown, the pirate stations claim that they are providing services to markets that are not being served by the commercial stations. "The Broadcasting Commission has consistently failed to understand the importance of this service and its popularity amongst Dublin listeners," Phantom FM said in a statement on its website. "In the meantime, it continues to reward existing license holders with additional franchises which fail to provide listening choice." The station added that it provides an important service by giving local artists valuable access to the airwaves and affordable media space to promote their gigs and recordings. (Ireland online via Artie Bigley, DXLD) What`s Gardai? ** ISRAEL. ISRAEL RADIO GETS NEW BOSS - ITS DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT By Anat Balint Yonni Ben-Menachem, Israel Radio's diplomatic correspondent for the past six years, was elected as the new director of Israel Radio last night by a 7-2 majority of the Israel Broadcasting Authority's tenders committee. The stormy committee meeting was interrupted early on when members realized the two representatives sent by the Journalists' Associations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were Israel Radio workers, a clear conflict of interest. The IBA legal adviser, Hannah Metzkovich, insisted on their replacement before the vote. Before the meeting, committee member Dr. Ilan Asia sent a vehement letter to Industry Minister Ehud Olmert, the minister with the IBA portfolio, charging IBA Chairman Avraham Natan was not qualified to chair the tenders committee. Asia claimed that Natan announced at the last session of the tenders committee that he'd "make sure no observers attend to this affair, so the tender can be conducted in an orderly fashion." He was referring to an observer from the Attorney General's Office at the last appointments tender, which selected the director of Channel One TV. After the vote, the attorney general's envoy sent a letter to the state attorney charging that some of the votes for Ben-Menachem were not cast for professional reasons. Asia wrote to Olmert that "it seems Natan wants to hold the tenders committee sessions in the dark, out of the public eye, and that raises suspicions about his motives." Ben-Menachem's close ties with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon have raised fears among many journalists in Israel Radio that he will serve as the prime minister's proxy at the news station (Ha`aretz via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. IBA BUDGET CUT TO BE LESS SEVERE THAN FEARED The joint Finance and Economics Committee of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has decided to to reduce the scale of the proposed cut in the budget of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). Instead of 450m Shekels (about US$100m) the cut will be 200m Shekels (about US$44m), and will be spread over three and a half years for TV and four years for radio. The committee said it had decided not to harm public broadcasting in Israel. The IBA had earlier announced that the cut originally proposed would have forced it to axe a number of radio channels, including the Overseas Service. But the Committee has decided to proceed with the phasing out of the TV and car radio licence fees beginning on 1 Jan 2004. On that date the TV licence fee will be cut by 10% to 465 Shekels (approx US$100), and similar cuts will be made annually until the fee is abolished by the end of the decade. The car radio licence fee will be cut by 5% per year beginning in April 2004 (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 21 May 2003 via DXLD) ** ITALY. See QSLing, BELLABARBA, below ** ITALY. RADIO SPERANZA IN MODENA: FM TO THE PROVINCE, SHORTWAVE TO THE WORLD Modena, May 3 (CRU) --- Modena is an unlikely place for a Catholic shortwave station. Or maybe not. To the east, in Forlí province, the Adventists run their shortwave station Adventist World Radio Europe. Perhaps that is what motivated Padre L. Cordioli to found Radio Esperanza on shortwave. Open the website http://www.radioesperanza.com and there he is, holding a baby. Since one does not expect to find the homepage of any Catholic institution, let alone a radio station, occupied almost entirely by a photograph of the founder, the first impression can be off-putting. {!! The link above forwards to http://www.riogrande.edu/ The Rio Grande Bible Insitute, which may not even be Catholic, when checked May 24 at 1557 UT! Remove the E, as correctly given further down, and you get to Italy: http://www.radiosperanza.com} Padre Cordioli has a sense of humor: ``Navigando -- navigando -- sei arrivato anche da me. (``Surfing . . . surfing . . . you have arrived finally to me.``) Welcome! I hope that my company will be a help to you and a joy to you, and encouragement to continue with life. Since you do not know me, let me introduce myself. My name is Padre Luigi Cordilo, born in Mantua in 1919. I am an old missionary, I have circled the world and I have encountered so many experiences that at any moment I put myself at the disposition of those who need me. In my magazine you will find so much peace and serenity because I have put into it all that is beautiful and good that life has given me. ``From 1976 I have offered a radio station to which I have given the name of ``Speranza,`` symbolized in the baby that you can see on the `home-page`; from 1988 on I publish a monthly periodical to which I have given the name ``Speranza.`` From this I have blessed the progress that has given me the possibility of extending my apostolate and arriving almost in every corner of the world to give it all the energy and courage.`` Radio Esperanza —It means Radio Hope which, ironically, is the name the Seventh Day Adventists usually give their stations— broadcasts on four FM frequencies in Modena: 96.2 FM, 105.5 FM, 106.2 FM, and a fourth, new one. The shortwave transmitter runs 100 watts on 6231 kHz, but it has been received as far away as Russia, although exceptionally (see related article). The language is Italian, and there is no effort made at an international service. Apart from HVJ Radio Vaticano, Radio Esperanza is the only Catholic shortwave station in Italy; long ago Radio Maria Italia abandoned its activity on the former Radio Spoleto International on 7140 kHz. Radio Speranza is not a diocesan station. There is no diocesan station or any other local Catholic station, for that matter. Visitors to the website will see that it is a simple and small one. ``La radio on-line`` is not audiostreaming, but the day`s schedule (reproduced below). Radio Speranza is not an InBlu affiliate; it is strictly a catechetical and liturgical station, as are several we have seen in northern Italy. The program titles are so simple that one does not need to know Italian to know what they mean. Presumably, the sometimes large gaps found in the schedule are filled with some sort of religious music. The reader should note that there are several lengthy newscasts a day (``Notiziaro``). Whether that news comes from a network or is locally produced is unknown. ``Archivo della radio`` are the pages in which one can hear or order past programs, grouped under the categories the Bible, catechism, fables, literature, music, the Gospels and Epistles, the Poem of the Man-God, the lives of the saints, and authors. Past copies of Father Cordioli`s monthly magazine, Il Giornalino, can be read there, but these archives have not been updated since March 2002. Perhaps he no longer publishes the journal. There are brief pages asking listener support and suggestions with the appropriate e-mail forms and information. Radio Speranza audiostreams using Windows Media Player. In regard to the Diocese of Carpi, there is no diocesan website and no local Catholic station, although it is served by Radio Speranza and Catholic stations in nearby provinces. My guess is that this small diocese will be merged with the much larger Diocese of Modena to the east and south. Radio Speranza 96.2 FM, 105.5 FM, 106.2 FM & 6231 kHz shortwave 6:00 Notiziario 7:00 Ora spirituale (Spiritual Hour) 8:00 Notiziario 8:15 ``Spigolando`` 9:30 Rosario 10:00 S. Messa 14:00 Notiziario 17:00 Rosario 17:30 Catechesi 18:00 Vespri (Vespers) 18:30 Rosario 19:00 S. Messa (Holy Mass) 20:40 Rosario 21:00 Notiziario 21:30 Compieta (Compline) 21:45 In ascolto e ``Buona notte!``Segue il programma notturno (Good Night; Night Program follows) Database: Modena: Radio Speranza 96.2 FM, 105.5 FM, & 106.2 FM and 6231 kHz shortwave (100 watts). Largo S. Giorgio, 91 – 41100 Modena, Italy. Tel. & Fax: (059) 230373. E-mail: radiosperanza@radiosperanza.com Padre L. Cordioli, CSSR, director. Website: www.radiosperanza.com. Audiostreams on Internet. Founded 1976. Audiostreams using Windows Media. RADIO SPERANZA: A GNAT AMONG EAGLES by Giampiero Bernardini, writer, Avvenire, the Italian Catholic daily. From the May 27, 2001, issue. Ó Copyright 2001 by Avvenire, and translated and reprinted with the permission of the author. Reprinted from Catholic Radio Update #142, September 24, 2001 Modena, May 27 (Avvenire) --- In the epoch of globalization and concentration in the sector of the mass media there is still space for the small. Nonpowerful voices but capable of touching the heart and the intelligence. It was 25 years ago, in that pioneering time of private radio, that in Modena a station was born, Radio Speranza, which has a characteristic that renders it special in the panorama of national stations: It is the only Italian Catholic Radio station that broadcasts on shortwave, on the frequency of 6231.5 KHz. ``It began at home, with few means and a cassette player,`` recalls the founder and director, Father Luigi Cordioli, a Redemptorist who wears his 82 years with enthusiasm. Today I have 4 FM repeaters that permit me to cover the Province of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Besides this, every morning from 7 until 8 o`clock we are on the air with two television programs from Telestudio Modena and Studio Europa, a satellite channel received all over Europe. More appropriate in these days,`` he continued, ``another initiative is taking off– the Internet site of Radio Speranza. We are archiving 1,600 hours of audio material and it will be possible to listen to the broadcasts directly`` (That website is up and running at http://www.radiosperanza.com —editor). The flower in the lapel of his small but efficient multimedia holding is nevertheless the presence on shortwave, a field forgotten by Catholics in Europe, the exceptions being, naturally, RadioVaticana, comparable to a ``battleship,`` and the dynamic Radio Maria Polska. The Modena station transmits with a power rather reduced, 100 watts, nothing in comparison with the radio broadcasting colossi ``firing out`` kilowatt and kilowatt. The antenna is a simple dipole, in practice a simple wire attached to a pole. The technical staff is composed of only two volunteers, Roberto Barbolini and Alessandro Cavicchioli. These are really poor means, but Radio Speranza con count on faithful listeners in various countries. Many letters have come from northern Europe, but also from South Africa, from the Far East and Siberia. Padre Cordiolli remembers one in particular: that one arrived from Peking with a photo of four Asian young men who are listeners. ``I have thought of testing a shortwave transmitter also to try and cover so large a territory without repeaters,`` explains the religious. ``It has cost me a lot of work, but when one speaks of spreading the Good News I believe it is worth the trouble, no matter how few or how many are the listeners.`` (Catholic Radio Update May 19 via DXLD) But has anyone heard them lately on 6231.5??? ``To the World``, indeed (gh, DXLD) {Answer: No -- see 3-090} ** JAPAN [non]. Adjunto el texto de la página web de Radio Japón sobre el cese temporal de transmisión desde Sri Lanka Temporary Cessation in Relay Transmissions from Sri Lanka and its Alternative Broadcast --- The following NHK World Radio Japan's broadcasts via Sri Lanka have been suspended now, because of the transmitter trouble of relay station. To Middle East & North Africa from Ekara [sic] Relay Station: Persian / UT 2:30-3:00 / 15240 kHz Japanese / UT 3:00-4:00 / 15240 kHz Arabic / UT 4:00-4:30 / 15240 kHz English / UT 14:00-15:00 / 17755 kHz These services are broadcasted alternatively via Woofferton relay station in the U.K. Please tune in the following frequencies. Persian / UT 2:30-3:00 / 9565 kHz Japanese / UT 3:00-4:00 / 11940 kHz Arabic / UT 4:00-4:30 / 15240 kHz English / UT 14:00-15:00 / 17870 kHz Listeners can have access to Radio Japan news through "Radio Japan Online", the internet service of NHK WORLD.URL: http://www.nhk.or.jp/rj/ Saludos cordiales, (via Tomás Méndez, May 22, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** KAZAKHSTAN. 17485, Deutsche Welle. Full data QSL card including transmitter site (Alma Ata [sic]) in 7 weeks for a postal report. Also included were program schedules and a form letter explaining their elimination of direct shortwave broadcasts to the Americas. v/s Horst Scholz, Transmission Management (George Maroti, NY, May 22, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. LIBERIA SEEN AS ICON OF WORLD'S NEGLECT OF AFRICA LETTER FROM AFRICA By SOMINI SENGUPTA . . .For nearly 150 years, Liberia remained a virtual American colony, and during the cold war it ranked among Washington's most useful allies. The memory of that strategic alliance sits on the outskirts of the capital. It is called the V.O.A. refugee camp, named after the Voice of America radio transmitter that once stood there. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/21/international/africa/21LETT.html?ex=1054094400&en=63adae3647da8e65&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE (via Jilly Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** LIBYA. Re new Iraqi service, 3-087: I checked the site of Libyan Radio & TV; there was nothing there. They claim that they have only 3 networks: Great Jamahirya Radio, V Of Africa Radio, The Holly Qur`an Radio. All the best, guys (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Please note that reception of the unknown station Libya to Iraq in Arabic was very bad to worthless between 1200 and 1300 gmt. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 21 May 03 (via DXLD) LIBYAN RADIO BROADCASTING TO IRAQ 2100-2200 GMT - PICTURE BULLETIN [Libyan official radio broadcasting to Iraq]. Reception: very poor in parts - The radio station has been heard on the following frequencies: 11660 and 7245 KHz - The radio addresses at first greetings to the land of the two rivers, Iraq and the Iraqi people. The radio then said: "This is a message we address to the fraternal people of Iraq as a contribution to putting an end to their sufferings and achieving and ensuring their stability and establishing security on their land..." The radio went on to say: "This is a message for protecting the vital interests of Iraqi society and its territorial integrity so as its people are masters of their own destiny as this era is that of the masses." The radio criticizes the old political systems and advocates a system, similar to the Libyan one, where people's congresses decide and people's committees implement. The radio then criticized the capitalist system and recalled the social, economic and other crises in the West. The radio says that the political party is today's dictatorship and talks about old political systems and the need to set up a system where people's authority prevails and people rule themselves by themselves. - Songs -A researcher specialized in African affairs talks about old political systems and the need to set up a system where people's authority prevails and where people rule themselves by themselves. Song. - Announcement: General centre for radio stations broadcasting from the Great Jamahiriyah. A message to the people of the two rivers, Iraq. - Music. - Item defining what is a constitution and criticizing the old political systems where people vote for parties and officials to represent them and take decisions for them instead of doing this themselves in a system where people's authority prevails. - The radio station invites people to write with their suggestion to the station at the following address: General centre for radio stations broadcasting from the Great Jamahiriyah P.O. Box 4677 [Same as Libyan External Service's post box] Tripoli Great Jamahiriyah Fax: 00 218 2144 49 857 The radio said that listeners can phone the station on the following two numbers: 00218 2144 49 106 and 00218 2144 49 872 - Music. - Announcement: "We draw the attention of listeners in Iraq that we broadcast to them this programme on the following short-wave frequencies: 11660 KHz; 7245 KHz ; at the following transmission times: from 2200 to 2300 in the evening and from 0100 to 0200 [2200 to 2300 gmt], in the morning, Iraqi time And on the following frequency: 9745 KHz at the following transmission times: From 2200 to 2300 in the evening, and from 0100 to 0200, in the morning, Iraqi time. We point out that we repeat daily the transmission of the evening session the following day at 1600 Iraqi time." [All times as heard]. The station has been heard here at Caversham at the following times: From 1800 to 1900 and from 2100 to 2200 gmt. - Music. - Closing announcement. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 21 May 03 (via DXLD) ** LITHUANIA. Hi Glenn, re your question about the Sitkunai cancellations: the relays of Barabari (7470), Avaye Ashena (9710) and FBN (9710) were discontinued by these radio stations. I do not have information whether they are now transmitting from other sites. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Let`s see, all those brokered by TDP? (gh) [continued as 3-089!] |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-087, May 21, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1183: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB? Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [from early UT Thu] [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1183.html ** ALASKA. 529, 1107-, SQM May 19. Strong signal in CW for SQM: ... _ _ . _ _ _ [location? Not Snoqualmish, WA? --- gh] 530, 1111-, ADK May 19. Good reception with CW ADK: . _ _ .. _ . _ Minor cochannel from TIS. [no doubt Adak, Aleutians] 524, 1115-, MNL Valdez May 19. Fair reception, best in USB for MNL: -- -. .-.. Returned from another impromptu DXpedition with John Bryant and Nick Hall-Patch. Although nothing fantastic, as always the 3 days were filled with good company and unusual DX. Guy Atkins joined us for the Saturday afternoon. We used two Beverage antennae pointed West and North West, as well as a small active antenna constructed by Nick. We experienced a little of everything including lightning, winds, rains, cold temperatures, and then some beautiful sunny warm weather! For those of you not having experienced a DXpedition, I can highly recommend them. This is my fifth time to Grayland, and I'll be back for more. Where else can one listen all night long, and sleep during the day, and then doing it all again the next evening! (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Numerous other loggings follow in this issue ** AUSTRALIA. 1665, 1235-, 2MM, Sydney, May 18. Weak Greek music heard from this 400 watter. Terrible splash from NA X-banders (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 1701.14, 1218-, 4?? Brisbane, Radio, 1701 May 17. Fair signals on this Aussie X-bander. Listed as 100w. Possibly Radio 1701 from Brisbane? South Asian type music noted. Talk by YL at 1218. Nice strong signal at 1232, with Hindi music, so I wonder if this is the 100w Brisbane station? Signal just booming in at 1225 18 May with Hindi music. Always amazing to me how propagation is so enhanced at dawn! Ad for 'fashion bazaar' with phone number. Ad for 'flaming grill' at 1231. Pretty sure I heard Brisbane mentioned as well before the ad (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 13635, 1336-, Voice International, Darwin, May 18. Good to very good reception in Hindi with modern Hindi music. Very enjoyable! (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. RA is about the worst HF station for publishing information. It is also bad for incorrect frequency announcements. At 2359 UT the announcement is usually by Roger Broadbent, the English language coördinator of RA. I have more than once emailed him (Broadbent.Roger@abc.net.au) and given him specific details of the errors as the frequencies closing and opening. Never a reply and the errors continue. Does anyone there really care? (VK3BCY, EDXP via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4876.71, 0959-, Radio La Cruz del Sur, May 19. Fair + reception, but need to use USB to avoid nasty QRM. Bolivian music until TOH, then somewhat garbled audio in Spanish (?) (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Boa dica do biólogo Paulo Roberto e Souza, de Tefé (AM): as rádios Difusora Acreana, de Rio Branco (AC) e Educadora 6 de Agosto, de Xapuri (AC), emitem, nos sábados, às 1000, o programa Natureza Viva, que tem como bandeira a defesa da floresta e dos homens e mulheres que lutam para proteger a vida. Conta com a participação da Organização Não-Governamental WWF. A Difusora Acreana emite em 4885 kHz. Já a Educadora 6 de Agosto irradia pelos 3255 kHz. Confira! As freqüências de 5955 e 15325 kHz, da Rádio Gazeta, de São Paulo (SP), voltaram a ser captadas em Porto Alegre (RS). De terças a sábados, entre 0200 e 0300, a programação continua sendo da Gazeta, quando os alunos da faculdade de Jornalismo da Cásper Líbero produzem o "Jornal da Gazeta AM Universitária". Às 0200 de segunda-feira, a programação é especial. No dia 12 de maio, apresentou uma enquete, feita na Avenida Paulista, sobre o Dia das Mães (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX May 19 via DXLD) ** CHECHNYA. RADIO RUSSIA TO BROADCAST IN GROZNYY | Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Moscow, 21 May: Radio Russia has been given a licence allowing it to broadcast on the 69.17 MHz frequency in the Chechen capital of Groznyy. The frequency was contested by Ekho Moskvy and Radio Russia. But Ekho Moskvy withdrew its bid, first deputy media minister Mikhail Seslavinskiy said on Wednesday [21 May]. The decision to grant the broadcasting licence to Radio Russia was given by the federal tender commission. It also gave permission to broadcast in Groznyy to a local television company. The Groznyy Television and Radio Broadcasting Company will make its own programmes and beam for 42 hours a week, six hours each day, from 1800 to midnight. Ten-minute news and a 30-minute weekly news review will be available both in Russia and Chechen. The company will also make programmes for children and young people. Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 1429 gmt 21 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CHILE. 6089.96, 0926-, Radio Esperanza, May 18. Fair signal with modern religious vocals, followed by brief talk, then into English song, 'My Girl' (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 5958.45, 1034-, CARACOL Villavicencio, May 19. Fair signal with many time checks in Spanish, and mentions of Colombia. News features. Best in LSB. A difficult frequency. CARACOL and noticias mentioned at 1037:30 (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. R. Congo, 5985, May 17 0430-0455+, tune-in to local drums. 0431 ID and into local African music. Fair-good with slight co0- channel QRM, but completely covered by WYFR sign-on at 0455 and Spain at 0500. Checked for Congo earlier at 2245-2300 on 5985 but only heard WYFR. This frequency is a real mess. Best time to hear Congo is in the 0430-0455 window (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. [Re unIDs:] The 96.7 is obviously CMBA-FM Radio Rebelde, Habana, Cuba. The other station 92.3 I would have to check according to the program content. The FM broadcast band is presently under a national expansion program to make high quality broadcasting reach all over the country. 73 and DX, (Your friend in Havana, Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK, Host of Dxers Unlimited, Radio Havana Cuba, via Saul Chernos, WTFDA via DXLD) Thanks! It certainly sounded like it would match Rebelde's format. I'm not used to hearing Rebelde in high-quality FM though! - usually it's buried in interference from thunderstorms and other Latin American stations on AM. I'm afraid I don't have any more program content on the 92.3 station. It may well have been in Mexico, not Cuba, as the band was open to both countries at once. That's welcome news. I wonder how many times FM has been wide open to Cuba but there have been no stations to DX in the areas affected? (Doug Smith W9WI, TN, ibid.) ** CUBA. Re: 3-086: RHC better not go back on 15120, as Arnie seems to expect; at 2045 check May 19, that was occupied as usual by V. of Nigeria, and RHC was on 11760 in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. CUBAN SPIES SAY THEY USED PRO-DEMOCRACY FUNDS BY TRACEY EATON, The Dallas Morning News HAVANA - (KRT) - Cuban spies are in a bragging mood these days. They say American pro-democracy groups have unwittingly pumped tens of thousands of dollars into Fidel Castro's intelligence agencies over the past decade. . . http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/world/5894866.htm (via David Crawford, DXLD) No mention of radio, but of Cubanet, which has been the source for a number of anti-Castro stories here (gh) ** CUBA [non]. Radio Martí observed at 0750z on 6050 kHz with good signals, free of the jamming affecting parallels of 6030 and 5980 (Paul Ormandy, ZL4TFX, May 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not for long, I wager. Still no 6050 listed in today`s May 21 IBB online schedule! In HFCC, I see the hole when HCJB is not scheduled on 6050 is 0500-1030. Symptom of beefing up RM as has been called for? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) I am noting Radio Martí on new 6050 in the period 0600-1000, and also on new 6040 in period 0900-1000. The usual 9755 (Delano) in period 0600-0800 has disappeared, so I believe that either 6040 or 6050 is from that site. IBB's Freq Schedule Report of May 21 does not show these new operations as yet! So, Dan Ferguson, what's the full schedule? ! (Bob Padula, EDXP via DXLD) New 18th anniversary website of R. Martí: http://www.martinoticias.com/radio.asp?MODE=PLAY&MediaID=8332 HORARIO DE PROGRAMACION RADIO MARTI EN SU NUEVA PAGINA WEB http://www.martinoticias.com/schedule.asp NOTA: AL APUNTAR CON EL MOUSE AL PROGRAMA EN ESPECIFICO NOS INDICA LAS FRECUENCIAS DE EMISION. 73's (Oscar de Céspedes, Conexión Digital May 20 via DXLD) Still no 6050 exhibited there either! Grid still shows LA MISA, Servicio católico, Sundays at 7-8 am (1100-1200 UT), VIOLATING SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE, a U.S. government outlet promoting one particular religious sect!!! Wonder if they are still doing horoscopes too within some seemingly innocuous program title. On the lighter side, the venerable LA TREMENDA CORTE `` Comedia radial con la participación de Tres Patines, quien con gran frecuencia visita la tremenda corte para resolver un tremendo caso`` Sat & Sun 1430-1500 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. UPDATED A-03 SCHEDULE FOR RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY: ALBANIAN 1900-1930 792 7165 11910 15140 ARABIC# 0100-0300 9730 9865 12030 0300-0400 1314 9730 9865 11910 0400-0600 9730 9865 11930 1400-1500 1314 9825 13755 15170 15495 17740 1500-1600 1314 9825 11805 15170 15495 17740 1600-1700 9825 11805 15170 15495 17740 1700-1800 9865 11805 17690 1800-1900 9740 11805 17690 2000-2200 9615 11885 ARMENIAN 0200-0300 7275 9595 1400-1500 11680 1600-1700 9505 11895 AVARI 0415-0430 9850 11780 15355 1715-1730 9805 11925 17630 AZERI 0300-0400 9680 0900-1000 15510 17665 21520 1300-1400 15145 15255 17710 1500-1600 15385 1800-1900 11865 BELORUSSIAN 0300-0500 612 1188 6170 7295 9635 1300-1430 612 1500-1700 612 1188 9565 11725 15215 1700-1900 612 7190 11730 15480 1900-2100 612 1188 7115 9750 11865 CHECHEN 0430-0445 9850 11780 15355 1730-1745 9805 11925 17630 CHERKASSI 0445-0500 9850 11780 15355 1745-1800 9805 11925 17630 DARI* 0330-0430 801 1269 12140 15730 17670 0730-0830 1269 13710 15690 19010 0930-1030 1269 15690 17685 19010 1330-1430 801 1269 15690 17685 19010 1730-1830 801 1269 9845 12140 15690 2330-0030 801 972 1269 5945 7430 9785 GEORGIAN 0400-0500 9595 1500-1600 17725 1900-2000 11690 KAZAKH 0100-0300 7230 9680 15455 1100-1200 11870 15195 17670 1300-1400 12140 13795 17670 1400-1500 4995 15355 15455 2300-2400 7250 9615 9865 KYRGHYZ 0000-0200 6170 7295 9715 1200-1230 11930 15120 17615 1300-1330 11930 15205 17865 1400-1500 5860 11845 15530 1500-1600 5860 11960 15530 PASHTO* 0230-0330 801 1269 12140 15730 17670 0630-0730 1269 13710 15690 19010 0830-0930 1269 15690 17685 19010 1230-1330 801 1269 15690 17685 19010 1630-1730 801 1269 9845 12140 15690 2230-2330 801 1269 5945 7430 9785 PERSIAN@ 0030-0200 1170 1539 1593 9615 9795 9805 0200-0400 1170 1539 1593 9775 9795 9805 0400-0600 1170 1539 1593 9510 9795 15185 15290 0600-0800 1170 1539 1593 9510 15290 17835 0800-0830 1170 1539 1593 9510 13680 15290 17835 21530 0830-1400 1170 1539 1593 13680 21530 1400-1600 1170 1539 1593 9435 13680 17750 1600-1700 1170 1539 1593 9435 13680 17670 1700-1900 1170 1539 1593 11705 11845 1900-2000 1170 1539 1593 5860 6140 11670 11985 2000-2100 1170 1539 1593 5860 9960 11960 11985 2100-2130 1170 1539 1593 9960 11960 11985 2130-0030 1170 1539 1593 ROMANIAN 0300-0330 7210 9595 Monday to Friday 1500-1530 9505 11995 1600-1630 9870 11865 1630-1700 9870 11865 Monday to Friday 1800-1900 7115 12045 Monday to Friday RUSSIAN 0000-0100 6095 5985 7120 7170 7220 9520 0200-0300 6000 6105 7155 7220 7255 9520 0300-0400 6000 6105 7155 7220 9520 11725 0400-0500 5995 7220 9520 9760 11710 11725 0500-0600 7220 9520 9705 9760 11885 17730 0600-0700 9520 9705 11815 15130 17730 17810 0700-0800 9520 9705 11815 11860 15130 17730 17810 0800-1000 11860 15280 17730 17810 1000-1100 11860 11875 15130 15145 17730 17810 17890 1100-1200 13745 15130 15145 15205 17730 17890 1200-1300 13745 15130 15205 15215 17730 17890 1400-1500 9595 11725 11885 11895 15205 15215 1500-1600 9520 9725 11895 13755 15355 1600-1700 7220 9520 9725 11885 13755 1900-2000 6105 7220 9520 9530 9615 11885 2000-2100 5955 6105 7220 7260 9520 9530 9825 2100-2200 6105 7155 7220 7245 7260 9520 9715 2200-2300 5985 6095 7220 7245 9520 9615 2300-2400 5985 6095 7120 7170 7220 9520 RUSSIAN CE.AS 0400-0415 9850 11780 15355 1700-1715 9805 11925 17630 SERBOCROATIAN 0230-0330 1197 0730-0800 9555 11970 15260 1300-1330 9555 11795 17605 1600-1700 1197 6040 7115 11925 1730-1800 1188 9625 13635 15245 1800-1900 1188 9625 15160 15245 2000-2100 5970 7165 7245 2130-2200 1188 2200-2400 1188 1197 6130 9635 11730 TAJIK 0100-0200 4760 9760 11660 0200-0400 9760 11660 15520 1400-1500 15145 15370 17670 1500-1630 9790 15145 15370 1630-1700 4760 9790 15145 15370 TATAR-BASHKIR 0300-0400 9815 11820 0500-0600 11990 15245 1500-1600 11990 15245 1900-2000 9650 11925 TURKMEN 0200-0300 864 7295 9555 15295 0300-0400 7185 9555 15295 1400-1500 13815 15345 17825 1500-1530 13815 15160 17825 1530-1600 864 13815 15160 17825 1600-1800 13815 15160 17885 UKRAINIAN 0300-0400 6065 7115 9710 Monday to Friday 0500-0600 7115 7165 11815 Monday to Friday 1700-1800 9855 11895 15115 1800-1900 7165 11715 11875 1900-2000 3995 11875 15115 Sunday to Friday UZBEK 0100-0200 864 0200-0400 9785 12015 21770 0400-0600 12015 17630 21770 1300-1400 1143 1600-1700 9595 11980 15335 1700-1800 9595 11815 11980 # Radio Free Iraq * Radio Free Afghanistan @ Radio Farda 73 from Ivo and Angel! (Observer, Bulgaria, May 20 via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 3279.56, 0945-, La Voz del Napo, May 18. Quechua language programming heard at good to very good levels, with mentions of María, Israel. No ID at TOH, but a very long prayer, with many, many mentions of Gracias, Señor. Good ID in Spanish by male at 1007 as 'Radiodifusora cultural la Voz del Napo'. Mentioned Padre Salomon (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3280, La Voz del Napo, religious talks, sermons and catholic rosarios May 19 at 0050-0125 [sic]; 0034 religious chants, 0136 totally disppearred because of local sunrise (0536 MSK), 33333. Too many thanks to Arnaldo Slaen, Gert Nilsson, Henrik Klemetz, Hermod Pedersen and Tore Vik for help me to identify this one (Artyom Prokhorov, in a countryside just 70 km South of Moscow using Sony 7600G and its telescopic antenna, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 3279.56, LV del Napo, 21 May, 0041, Nice canned ID with frequency announcement by M over Mariah Carey music. Good clear signal. No sign of any other station around this frequency (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Estimados Colegas, Finalmente consegui a minha primeira captação da tão famosa e difícil Rádio Cairo! :) Claro, que devo agradecer ao nosso colega Samuel Cássio, fornecedor dessa grande ferramenta que é o SONY ICF-SW7600GR. :) Bom, precisarei da opinião de vocês sobre se devo ou não tentar o QSL, tendo em vista as peculiaridades da recepção. Vamos aos detalhes: Emissora: Rádio Cairo Data: 20/05/2003 Hora: 22:22 UTC Idioma: Português Freqüência: 11.793 Khz (isso mesmo!) Receptor: SONY ICF-SW7600GR. Antena: antena compacta AN-71 (fornecida junto com receptor) SINPO: 1 2 2 1 2 Foi possívl identificar que a maioria dos programas foram apresentados por locutora com sotaque possivelmente português, além de músicas árabes etc. Percebi que sempre quando que entra alguma música na programação o sinal melhora sensivelmente, o mesmo acontecendo quando da vinheta dos programas e na identificação da emissora. Considerando-se a freqüência "oficial" de 11790, o SINPO seria de 1 1 2 1 1, não sendo possível identificar práticamente nada da transmissão, exceto talvez algo das vinhetas e trechos de músicas. Agora, as inevitáveis perguntas: Essa variação nas freqüências é normal nas emissoras internacionais? Por que isso ocorre?(essa é a primeira vez que fiz DX m rádio com display digital) (Claudio, Volta Redonda/RJ, radioescutas via DXLD) Was the carrier frequency really 11793? ** ERITREA. ERITREA: STATE TV NOW TRANSMITTING VIA SATELLITE; RADIO TO BE CARRIED SOON | Text of report by Eritrean radio on 20 May Eritreans resident in various countries are sending congratulatory messages on being able to watch programmes of Eritrean television [state-owned EriTV] via satellite. So far, messages we have received from Eritreans living in Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Djibouti, UAE, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Kuwait indicate that Eritreans living in those countries are watching the programmes of Eritrean television with clear video and audio. The citizens hailed the efforts by the Ministry of Information and the concern demonstrated by the Eritrean government to enable its citizens in the Diaspora to follow the situation and the development programmes being carried out in their country. Eritrean television programmes are broadcast on Arabsat 26 degrees east, on transponder frequency 11623 [MHz]. The Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea [state-owned radio] will also be on satellite in the coming few weeks. Source: Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, Asmara, in Tigrinya 0430 gmt 20 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** FRANCE. 13610, 0409-, Radio France International, May 19. English programming to Africa at fair level, marred by long/short path echo. Parallel to Gabon 9550 at poor level (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. RWANDA 11945, 0415-, Deutsche Welle May 19 Excellent reception of DW to Africa via Kigali, Rwanda. Parallel to equally strong 15410 via Wertachtal, and 7225 at fair level via Rwanda (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Auf Englisch ** GERMANY. Two pictures of the now silent Wöbbelin site: http://www.wiechern.privat.t-online.de/meckpomm.htm By the way, it appears that all attempts to save Megaradio failed, any other result of the bankruptcy proceedings than a liquidation of the company would be a wonder now. Meanwhile even some of the major commercial FM stations are in serious trouble, word is that the Halle- based HitRadio Brocken is not far away from going bankrupt anymore. Not that it would be a real loss (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. R. Cultural Coatán, 4779.98, May 10 0225-0233* Spanish announcements, local ranchera music, 0231 ID, sign-off with lite instrumental music. Poor to weak; irregular (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. GBC? 3291.25, May 17 0400-0500+ weak signal, too weak to catch any kind of program details. Also heard at 0925. Perhaps Guyana back on the air again? (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3291.24, 0932-, Voice of Guyana, May 19. Haven't seen this one reported for a while. A presumed logging with Hindi music at poor levels (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 9620.42, 1312-, All India Radio, May 18. AIR listed in Sindhi from Aligarh with 125,000w on this variable off frequency with Indian music. Parallel to much weaker 11585 Bangalore with 500 kW. Drifted up to 9620.48 within a few minutes. Good overall. 9620.54 at 1326 (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Can anybody confirm that I am hearing an AIR station on 9620.7? It is an odd choice and I think I have heard Delhi mentioned but the audio sounds as if it's an off-air relay. The program appears to be in Hindi and is observed from 1230 and went off at 1300 and was back on when I rechecked at 1315. It is not // 10330 although an identical news bulletin with a M/A [male announcer???] at 1330. It has Indian type music but sounds more geared to Afghanistan/Central Asia by the rhythm patterns. The station seems to vary daily and on previous days seemed to be on 9625.6. Jose Jacob, can you help? (Robin L Harwood, Tasmania, May 21, EDXP via DXLD) The monitored schedule of AIR Patna relayed via Delhi on 11620 is as follows: Morning Transmission 0015-0445 (Sun 0956) Afternoon Transmission 0630-0956 Evening/Night Transmission 1130(Sun 1030)-1741 These special transmissions are still continuing even today 20th May 2003.The External Services on 11620 between 0015-1745 has been cancelled due to these broadcasts. These special relays will stop soon after the 100 kw MW transmitter of AIR Patna on 621 kHz is rectified. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J, May 19, dx-india via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 4869.96, 1054-1340, May 17 Very strong signal with country style vocals in ? language. Suspect Indonesian here, as it would match the style. Annoying pulses on USB, but LSB in the clear. No ID at TOH, however. Some sort of jingle at 1102, but then immediately into another vocal of same genre. At 1103 went into a 70s western pop song (Fleetwood Mack, I believe). Then another same vintage song 'Wonderful world, beautiful people'. 'Indonesia' at 1115. Is this a frequency change from RRI Sorong? RRI news at 1200 with many transmitter breaks. Finally off in mid-song at about 1340. Still very strong (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4870. RRI Wamena? (reported as this one.) Good signal here some nights around 0850. Has plenty of English recordings with no announcement until 0930 then a short announcement in Indonesian and into News? Timor mentioned on occasion. Is not in parallel to other RRI outlets at this time. Is anyone able to confirm RRI Wamena and any contact for them? Regards, (Ian Cattermole, New Zealand, May 21, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** IRAN. DAILY LISTS 187 WEB SITES "FILTERED" BY IRANIAN GOVERNMENT | Text of report by Iranian newspaper Nasim-e Saba web site on 20 May Two weeks after the policy of filtering web site has been officially announced [in Iran], a Rooydad http://www.rooydad.com/ web site reporter has acquired a list of the filtered web sites. The list includes 187 web sites. Although there are some unethical sites included in the list, most of the filtered sites belong to political groups inside and outside the country or to the individuals and organizations who independently discuss social and political issues. One of these sites belongs to Foruhar family. [Dariush Foruhar and his wife were killed in the course of serial political murders of 1998]. Emrooz, Peyk Net, Mossadeq, Mihan, Roshangari, Iran Emrooz, Pars Pejvak, Rah-e Tudeh, Iran-va-Jahan, Dadnameh and Asr-e Now are among the well known political web sites which have been filtered. The web site of [dissident cleric] Ayatollah Montazeri has also been blocked. Also in this list are the web sites of Radio Farda and Radio Liberty. Several specialized web sites including "Women in Iran" http://www.womeniniran.com have also been filtered. But the most interesting case is the filtering of Aftab magazine. [The hard copy edition of] Aftab is being published based on a permit issued by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Source: Nasim-e Saba web site, Tehran, in Persian 20 May 03, p3 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ. SWEDISH IRAQI BECOMES NEW HEAD OF IRAQI TELEVISION | Text of report by Swedish radio Ekot web site on 20 May Swedish Iraqi Ahmad al-Rikabi is to become the new head of Iraqi state television. Al-Rikabi has worked in Radio Sweden's Arabic service, part of Sveriges Radio [national public-service broadcaster]. He has also been presenter of the SVT [Swedish television] programme 'Mosaik'. Al-Rikabi succeeds former dictator Saddam Husayn's son Uday as head of Iraqi television [as published]. State-owned Iraqi propaganda TV is to be turned into a free medium serving democracy. Source: Sveriges Radio Ekot web site, Stockholm, in Swedish 20 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. New unidentified service from LIBYA, q.v.!! ** ISRAEL. YONNI BEN-MENACHEM ELECTED AS NEW DIRECTOR OF ISRAEL RADIO http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/295193.html By Anat Balint, Haaretz Correspondent Yonni Ben-Menachem, Israel Radio's diplomatic correspondent for the past six years, was elected as the new director of Israel Radio Tuesday night by a 7-2 majority of the Israel Broadcasting Authority's tenders committee. The stormy committee meeting was interrupted early on when members realized the two representatives sent by the Journalists' Associations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were Israel Radio workers, a clear conflict of interest. The IBA legal adviser, Hannah Metzkovich, insisted on their replacement before the vote. Before the meeting, committee member Dr. Ilan Asia sent a vehement letter to Industry Minister Ehud Olmert, the minister with the IBA portfolio, charging IBA Chairman Avraham Natan was not qualified to chair the tenders committee. Asia claimed that Natan announced at the last session of the tenders committee that he'd "make sure no observers attend to this affair, so the tender can be conducted in an orderly fashion." He was referring to an observer from the Attorney General's Office at the last appointments tender, which selected the director of Channel One TV. After the vote, the attorney general's envoy sent a letter to the state attorney charging that some of the votes for Ben-Menachem were not cast for professional reasons. Asia wrote to Olmert that "it seems Natan wants to hold the tenders committee sessions in the dark, out of the public eye, and that raises suspicions about his motives." Ben-Menachem's close ties with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon have raised fears among many journalists in Israel Radio that he will serve as the prime minister's proxy at the news station. (via Doni Rosenzweig, May 20, DXLD) ** JAPAN. 3373.5, 1018-, NHK Mihara, May 18. Fair reception of this 300w back up USB transmitter of NHK Osaka 2, with Japanese talk by mostly YL, with occasional interjection by OM. Lots of splatter. This one usually heard better in the depths of winter. 3373.5, 1137-, NHK, Mihara, May 19. USB back up 300 watt transmitter for Osaka 2. English lesson about whales. Good with a fair amount of atmospheric static. ID for NHK at 1140. No SW parallels noted. 3607.5, 1027-, NHK, Shobu-Kuki, Tokyo, May 18. Good reception with lively talk between a man and a woman. Lots of laughter, and music. 900 w USB back up transmitter for NHK Tokyo 1. Good reception. 3970, 1141-, NHK Sapporo 1, May 19. Good reception of this 600 w back up USB transmitter carrying NHK 1. Parallels include 3259 (600 w NHK Kasuga), 3607.5 (900 w NHK, Shobu-Kuki, Tokyo). Latter is best with good/very good reception. At 1255 recheck, 3607.5 and 3970 are no longer in parallel. At top of hour, back in parallel. Also parallel to 6005 (600 w Sapporo 1). At 1300 all transmitters are off except 3970 which continues despite scheduled sign-off. 6005, 1212-, NHK Sapporo May 17 Good reception, best in LSB with Japanese talk by male. Not a bad signal for a 600w transmitter, in a crowded band! 6005, 1223-1230, NHK, May 19. No ID on sign-off after Japanese female vocal. 600w Sapporo 1 transmitter (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. Nuevo esquema en español de la Voz de Corea Pyongyang: 00 UT [¿y?] 0200 UT 11735 13760 1700 9975 11735 1800 4405 11710 15760 15245 2200 4405 13760 15245 Muchos 73 y buen DX... (Adán González, Venezuela, May 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA. On 18/5/03 around 2130 UT I was trying to pick up Bahrain on 9745 kHz but I heard a station mentioning Iraq a lot and most of the time talking to the Iraqi people and telling them about how great it's to have the rule of the people not the rule of a party or one leader. then there was a program called ``To our brothers in Iraq`` identifying the Party meanings etc... By the end of the transmission I heard them announcing a phone # and a fax #, also an address at (Libya)... I was really amazed by that but that ruling by the people thing brought Libya to my mind as they say it's the first country to be ruled by the people. They gave the times in Baghdad time; also I think they have 2 transmissions. The frequencies mentioned were 9745 kHz, 11660 kHz and 7245 tentative. I wanted to get the full details with the address in Libya and the phone # and the fax # but they were not on 19/5/03; maybe tonight they will be on (primary Report). (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [9745??:] I noticed that it's not only Iran targeting Iraq with a special radio station. Around 2130 UT yesterday I managed to pick up a station targeting the Iraqi people will revert tomorrow with the whole story and the name of the station with the fax/tel number as I was very tired yesterday to grab a pen and a piece of paper to write the frequencies and times down as they announce it in Iraq Time :( Anyway, just bear with me and I'll keep you posted. All the best guys (from Cairo, Tarek Zeidan, May 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As I'm writing this they are on both 7245 and 11660 but the QRM on 7245 from Radio Svoboda RFE/RL is driving me crazy!! Hopefully I'll be able to get the contact details by the end of the transmission. On 11660 they are really so weak I could hear a word or two. And then heavy QRM from another station. On 9745 they are not on. I could hear only an Arabic station (tentatively Bahrain) playing only Arabic music. Couldn`t get any ID. Same gossip about "how important is the rule of the people, not the rule of a party ... Don`t be fooled by any group of people that may get into power through you" They are using the same terms they use on the Libyan stations, exactly like people's committees. Mauno, if you are awake, can you record like the last five minutes of that transmission, 2155 just in case I couldn't get a clear catch of the contact details. Hopefully by the end of this hour you'll have the full picture :) (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi again guys, hope I ain`t boring you with all these e Mails. First of all I have to thank Mr. Mauno Ritola for his help by sending me the last 4 minutes of that station which really helped me to clarify the times of that transmission. here we go with the final/corrected contact details: Address: The General Center for Overseas Stations, P. O. Box 4677, Tripoli, The Great Jamahirya (that's Libya in common words) Fax: ++ 218 21 44 46 875 (corrected). They have 2 phone numbers: ++ 218 21 44 49 106, ++ 218 21 44 49 872. Times of the broadcast: twice a day, the first one at 10.00 - 11.00 P.M Baghdad time (1800-1900 UT), second transmission 01.00 - 02.00 A.M Baghdad time (2100-2200 UT); a repeat the transmission again at 04.00 - 05.00 P.M Baghdad time (1200-1300 UT). I think that's about it, guys. Hopefully I'll be able to get an ID of that station soon. All the best (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This seems to be the station that is about 50/50% here with Radio Bahrain [9745], signing on at sign-on [sic] at 2100z. Thanks Tarek! (Paul Ormandy, Oamaru, New Zealand, May 21, dxing.info via DXLD) Has anyone checked their Web site to see if there's some info in Arabic there? I suggest clicking on http://www.ljbc.net/fpage_2.htm which bypasses the Flash intro screen. There's nothing on the English site http://en.ljbc.net/ but unfortunately I don't read Arabic so it could be staring me in the face and I wouldn't know :-( 73, (Andy Sennitt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Please note that the unknown station Libya to Iraq in Arabic was not on air between 1200 and 1300 gmt. Source: BBC Monitoring research in Arabic 21 May 03 (via DXLD) ** LITHUANIA. Sitkunai SW: the relays of Radio Barabari, Avaye Ashena and FBN have been cancelled. Apart from daily transmissions of Radio Vilnius, there is still Radio Santec in German on 9710 Sun 1200-1300 (to Europe). Please note that the name of this station is Radio Santec, while the alternative name "Universelles Leben" / "Universal Life" is the name of the radio ministry in Germany (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, May 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Cancelled by Sitkunai or by the clients? Have they each moved to some other site, or off the air? (gh, DXLD) ** MEXICO. Radio UNAM onda corta Estimados amigos: el día de hoy (20/05/03) por la tarde se escuchó muy mejorado el audio de Radio UNAM onda corta. La portadora sigue escuchándose con buena intensidad, existe desvanecimiento, y el audio como lo anotamos arriba ha mejorado. Si tienes informes al respecto hazlo llegar, para comunicarnos con el Ing. Mejía quien agradece esta ayuda. 73's (Julián Santiago, clubdiexistamexico yahoogroup via Héctor García Bojorge, DF, Conexión Digital via DXLD) {en 9600 variable!} ** MOROCCO. Local programming from Tangier was observed on May 17 at 0500 on 11920, see original message below. Of course not so much a surprise but I think nowhere reported previously. This raises the question how IBB Briech receives the RTM audio, perhaps simply by Ballempfang (FM pick-up)? Anyway the audio quality of the source in use is quite poor (crackling, at times severe non-linear distortion) (Kai Ludwig, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Marokkanisches Lokalprogramm auf KW? Hallo! Heute morgen vor dem s/off um 0500 UT auf 11920 identifizierte sich der marokkanische Rundfunk "Idha´at mamlaka t´ill maghribiya min Tanger". Gerade eben war auf 15340 kHz wieder die bekannte ID "...min Ribat" zu hören. Könnte es sich bei der Morgensendung um die Übertragung eines Lokalprogrammes aus Tanger gehandelt haben? 73, (Patrick Robich, Austria, A-DX via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) ** MYANMAR. 5985.81, 1423-, Radio Myanmar, May 18. After some time on exactly 5985, and also 5986, I'm again hearing Myanmar on their long- standing old frequency. Fair to almost good reception with Burmese music (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. AUTOMATIC AMBIENT RADIO Radio DOM was an automatic radio-station located on the Dom tower in Utrecht, broadcasting a dynamic auditory soundscape based on the sounds of the city of Utrecht. Radio DOM got its inputs from six computer-controlled surveillance microphones installed on the Dom tower, which constantly scanned the inner city area. The sound signals picked up by these microphones were algorithmically combined into a continuously varying soundscape which was broadcast 24 hours a day by an FM radio transmitter installed on the Dom tower. The transmissions of Radio DOM could be received in the city of Utrecht from June 4 until October 3, 1999, at 102.3 MHz FM. Radio DOM was part of the exhibition Panorama 2000, organised by the Centraal Museum in Utrecht . . . http://iaaa.nl/radio/domE.html (via Benn Kobb, DXLD) ** NIGERIA. 7255, 0454-, Voice of Nigeria, May 19. Excellent reception with very drawn out Interval signal and occasional, 'You are listening to the Voice of Nigeria'. Into National Anthem at 0456. Into French language programming. At same time 15120 comes on with English at fair level (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of Nigeria heard on 19 May with nice reception on clear 7255 kHz from 2100 UT (after CRI sign-off) until 2115 (blocked by RAI). Opening announcements, ID, talk, etc, in presumed Fulfulde. Seemed to make a big thing out of the 'new' website with an emphatic mention of it early on! Listening over past couple of days seems to indicate that Yoruba 2000-2100, Fulfulde 2100-2200 and Hausa 2200-2300 are on 7255. English heard, as expected, on 15120 kHz when checked at 2115 on 19 May (Tony Rogers, Birmingham - UK, BDXC-UK via DXLD) VON LAUNCHES WEBSITE This Day (Lagos), May 20, 2003, Posted to the web May 20, 2003 Chikas Ohadoma, Abuja Voice of Nigeria (VON) yesterday broke new grounds when it launched its official website. At the official launch of the website, http://www.voiceofnigeria.org which was planned by NigeraNet [sic], VON's technical partners, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Prof. Jerry Gana commended the Director-General of VON Mr. Taiwo Allimi for the numerous achievements recorded by the management team and staff of the organisation in the last four years. Gana said before now, "almost all international broadcasters are accessible through the internet. That posed a clear challenge for Nigeria's only international radio station, a challenge that I am glad that the management of Voice of Nigeria, under the very able leadership of the Director-General, Mr. Taiwo Allimi, has successfully tackled. We are proud of your zeal, determination and commitment to excellence." Gana also commended the inclusion in the website of a provision for opinion poll. "This is a wonderful decision because opinion polls can be employed effectively by Voice of Nigeria in enriching its programming. "I have no doubt that it will also be a useful tool in our policy- making process as a nation," the Minister said. Earlier, the Director General of VON, Allimi noted that the launch of the website had taken the Corporation fully into the world of Information Technology. Explaining the nature of the website, Allimi said "Voice of Nigeria website will inform on VON, its history, its radio frequencies and programmes guide" adding "Visitors will also find information about Nigeria such as investment tips, tourism destinations and weather profile for the tourists, peoples and languages of Nigeria, music and theatre, arts and culture, etc." Allimi disclosed that the VON website would have similar pages on Africa. (http://allafrica.com/stories/200305200652.html via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) VOICE OF NIGERIA WEB SITE OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED The Voice of Nigeria (VON) yesterday officially launched its Web site, http://www.voiceofnigeria.org which has been in operation already for well over a year. At the launch ceremony, Prof. Jerry Gana, Minister of Information and National Orientation, commended VON Director- General Taiwo Allimi for the achievements of the organisation in the last four years. Gana commended the inclusion in the site of technology to hold opinion polls. "This is a wonderful decision because opinion polls can be employed effectively by Voice of Nigeria in enriching its programming. I have no doubt that it will also be a useful tool in our policy-making process as a nation," he said (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 20 May 2003 via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 1725 kHz, 1226-, GA, Goroka, May 17. Fair reception of 50w aero beacon from Goroka in AM [MCW / A2?] mode. 1737 kHz, 1229-, KUT, Kutubu, May 17, poor to fair reception of this 50 w aero beacon. Not as strong as 1725 (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 4890, 1034-, NBC Port Moresby, May 18, PNG bandscan. Good to very reception with prayer in English. Splatter from RTM Malaysia. Then an American religious song 'Celebrate Jesus' Name'. 3905, 1038-, Radio New Ireland, May 18. Strong signals with Pidgin religious programming. 3850, 1039-, Radio Independent Makumui, May 18. Not heard today. 3395, 1041-, Radio Eastern Highlands, May 18. Not on air. 3385, 1042-, Radio Eastern New Britain, Rabaul, May 18. Not on air. 3375, 1043-, Radio Western Highlands, Mount Hagen, May 18. Not on air. 3365, 1044-, Radio Milne Bay, Alotau, May 18. Not on air. 3355, 1045-, Radio Simbu, Kundiawa, May 18-19. A messy frequency, but they don't appear to be on the air. Lots of splatter from Indo just above this frequency. 19 May: 0916 At fair to good levels with Port Moresby relay of National news in English. 3345, 1046-, Radio Northern, Popondetta, May 18. Nothing here except RRI, Ternate on 3344.85 with strong signal. 3335, 1049-, Radio East Sepik, Wewak, May 18. Excellent reception with a radio play in Pidgin. 3325, 1051-, Radio Bougainville, Kubu, May 18. Relatively strong signal with many mentions of Bougainville under music, which I thought might be RRI Palangkaraya, but then they played a Christian hymn. Still there does appear to be two stations co-channel. 3315, 1055-, Radio Manus, Lorengau, May 18-19. Not on air. May 19: Good reception with National news via Port Moresby in English. 3305, 1115-, Radio Western, Daru, May 18. Very weak het only, so I presume not on air? Needs more investigation to confirm. Anyone in Australia/NZ able to confirm? When rechecked at 1138, they were on the air, with a fair signal with local music, then Pidgin announcement. Did hear 'Voice of ?'. Will have to listen to the MD recording. Lots of ute QRM on this freq. Rapidly faded way down to poor levels within a minute, concurrent to QRM going way up! Still could make out 'Sunday evening'. Sounded like sign-off announcements at 1155, then dead air for about a minute, then back in Pidgin, with mentions of 5:00. Broadcasting to the people of the Western province from our studios in Daru. Radio Western ID. This was in English. Followed by National Anthem at good level, now over the pesky ute. Off at 1200:45. 3290, 1118-, Radio Central, Boroko, May 18. Good signal with islands music, and Pidgin talk. 3275, 1119-, Radio Southern Highlands, Mendi, May 18. Good reception with EZL music. They must have paid their electrical bills, as I have them as previously off air for non-payment of the bill. Fair amount of static, and lower modulation when announcer came on. Did hear 'good night'. In Pidgin. Only at fair level due to the static and low modulation. 3260, 1121-, Radio Madang, May 18. Not on air. Only slop from NHK, Kasuga, 600w relaying JOLK, Fukuoka 1 in USB at good levels. 3245, 1126-, Radio Gulf, Kerama, May 18. Not on air. 3235, 1127-, Radio West New Britain, Kimbe, May 18. Excellent levels with local choral hymn. 3220, 1129-, Radio Morobe, Lae, May 18. Weak het, then Russian fishermen came on with excellent levels in USB. Presumed not on the air. 19 May: Same Russian fishermen. On LSB there is something very weakly heard, but I doubt PNG. 3204.97, 1131-, Radio West Sepik, Vanimo, May 18. Good levels with Pidgin talk and local music. 2410, 1037-, Radio Enga, May 18. Not on the air (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4975, Radio del Pacífico clear ID at 0130 May 17, ``Pacífico Radio``, religious program, good audibility till 0300 UT. Nowadays, it is the most powerful Peruvian station on the dial. No trace of Radio Unión on 6115 these weekends (Artyom Prokhorov, in a countryside just 70 km South of Moscow using Sony 7600G and its telescopic antenna, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. ONDA CURTA EM NOTÍCIA Cortesia do jornalista Célio Romais. Não perca em "RADIONOTICIAS" as notícias desta onda. Visite http://www.aminharadio.com (António Silva, radioescutas via DXLD) ** PUERTO RICO. WI2XSO, 1260, Mayagüez, new synchro for WISO Ponce is on (AM Switch, NRC DX News May 19 via DXLD) Will it keep the experimental calls? Sob! Now how are we to tell whether we are hearing Ponce or Mayagüez? There otta bea law (gh, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 180 kHz, 1214-, Radio Rossii May 19 Petropavlovsk at weak strength with Russian talk. 279 kHz, 1221-, Radio Rossii, May 19. Also noted Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in parallel to 180 but slightly out of sync with Russian programming. Poor, but better than 180 (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. VOICE OF RUSSIA TO START INTERNET BROADCASTING The Voice of Russia state radio company broadcasting in 32 languages begins internet broadcasting, reads the company's press release. . . http://newsfromrussia.com/main/2003/05/20/47202.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. VOICE OF RUSSIA TO LAUNCH ON-LINE VIDEO BROADCASTING | Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Moscow, 20 May: The Russian state broadcasting company Voice of Russia, which broadcasts in 32 languages on the airwaves, is launching video broadcasting on the Internet, says a press release from the company received by RIA-Novosti on Tuesday [20 May]. "On-line video broadcasting is to become one of the main areas of the company's operation in the future," the company notes. A special section is to be opened on the Voice of Russia website shortly, in which the most significant and interesting programmes and interviews will be posted in a video format. "In those conditions when the electronic mass media are developing fast" it is necessary to provide listeners, through the Internet and the worldwide web, with "the most up-to-date news product, a balanced combination of audio and video components, as well as textual and graphic information", says Voice of Russia broadcasting company chairman Armen Oganesyan. Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1213 gmt 20 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SAHARA WESTERN [non]. Hoy se cumplen 30 años de existencia del Frente Polisario, que lucha por obtener la liberación de su país ocupado desde hace 27 años por Marruecos en contra de los mandatos de la ONU. Hay conmemoraciones en los campamentos de Tinduf, ubicados en Argelia. La RNRASD se encuentra ubicada en Bir Lehlu, capital de los territorios liberados del Sahara Occidental y comenzó sus emisiones el 28 Diciembre 1975. Además de su onda corta, emite en 1550 khz. A estar atentos entonces a las frecuencias cercanas a 7470, en donde se la escuchaba tiempo atrás a Radio Nacional de la República Árabe Saharaui Democrática. 73's GIB (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, May 20, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Gracias, Gabriel por el dato. Y vale agregar para quienes no lo saben que esta emisora entraba con excelente recepción por estas latitudes, hasta hace no más de un par de años atrás, hacia las 2230+ UT, en la frecuencia que Gabriel nos indica. 73's (Arnaldo Slaen, ibid.) ** SAIPAN. ANATAHAN CONTINUES TO BELCH ASHES The volcanic eruption on Anatahan continued for the fifth day yesterday, with the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center reporting of ashes being spewed out to an altitude of 10,000 feet from the volcano's crater. "I have not seen any change in it over the last 24 hours," said Nancy Merckle, a meteorologist at the center's Satellite Analysis Branch. Merckle said clouds of ashes extending up to 15 nautical miles wide were suspended up to an altitude of 13,000 feet above Pacific waters. The ashes were moving 5-10 knots westward toward the northern portion of the Philippines. The ashes have reached over 1,000 miles from Anatahan. . . http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=28350&issID=1245 (Saipan Tribune May 16 via DXLD) So does this have any effect on radio stations such as KFBS? (gh, DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. 6150, 1052-, Radio One, May 19. Strong reception, best in LSB with English financial news. A 'Slice of Life' at 1056 about unemployment. Then ad for Channel news radio, then traffic watch... 'a broken lorry on Mount Batton way'. [Mountbatten? gh] Weather forecast, hazy and warm (low 27, high 32). News from Radio Singapore International at TOH (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6150, 1030, Radio Singapore, English - local news broadcast with traffic report, news on SARS, ID's by man and woman as "News Radio 938" good signal on LSB (Brett Saylor, Pennsylvania, May 20, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 3320, 0435-, South African Broadcasting Corporation, May 19. Despite my listings stating that this is Radio Sonder Grense in Afrikaans, what I am hearing at weak level is English (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. Uma dica para quem quer encontrar amigos pelo mundo inteiro é a sintonia do programa Con Respuesta, da Rádio Exterior de Espanha. Vai ao ar, nos sábados, às 1100, em 21570 kHz. De acordo com Leônidas dos Santos Nascimento, de São João Evangelista (MG), o programa recebe cartas, sempre no idioma espanhol, de países como Benin, Ucrânia e Austrália. Destaque para cartas de ouvintes de Cuba, maioria absoluta no programa! (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** SYRIA. Hi all, heard Radio Damascus last night at 2110 on 13610 in English with "you are tuned to Radio Damascus" ID, then straight into Arab music. Strong carrier but fairly low modulation. Also noted 300 Hz tone on the carrier, which sounds very similar to a CTCSS tone. Nice to see that Damascus is still alive and broadcasting. 73, (Sean G4UCJ RECEIVER: ICOM IC756; GRUNDIG SATELLIT 600, 3000 ANTENNA: Low Band vertical with 32 x 10m ground radials Indoor dipoles for 14-30 MHz and 50 MHz/Band I TV 1.3m diameter MW loop + FET Preamp., May 21, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [and non]. A Equipe que faz a programação em espanhol da Rádio Taipei Internacional está indignada com os correios da Argentina e Espanha. Conforme Bonnie Cheng, apresentadora do Buzon Aereo, todas as cartas clássicas enviadas aos ouvintes destes países foram devolvidas, sob o pretexto de que poderiam espalhar o SARS. Nas duas últimas edições do programa, Bonnie explicou, de forma detalhada, que o vírus se espalha "en contacto cercano entre personas". (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** U K. BABY BROADCAST BAFFLES PILOTS LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) --- Instead of landing instructions, aircraft approaching Britain's Luton airport heard the squealing of tiny infant Freya Spratley broadcast over their radios. Authorities worked 12 hours to track the frequency and determined that a baby monitor at mother Lisa Spratley's house, located near the airport, was broadcasting her baby's cries to the cockpits of approaching planes, the BBC reported on Monday. "It was like something out of the Ghostbusters. They came down the path and stopped me and said we'd like to check something inside the house," Lisa Spratley told the station. "They said they were working on behalf of Luton airport traffic control. They'd been asked to sort out interference they'd been receiving on the airwaves and had tracked it down to our address." The BBC said there was no threat to safety: pilots who heard the infant Freya instead of air traffic control were able to switch to a different frequency. The company that made the baby monitor supplied the Spratleys with a new one. And little Freya seemed to have little idea of the commotion she had caused. REUTERS (via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) WTFK???!!! (gh) It`s a third harmonic (Tim Bucknall, UK, harmonics yahoogroup via DXLD) Of what, falling where? (gh) ** U K [and non]. Glenn, FYI/FWIW/etc.: http://www.biased-bbc.blogspot.com/ 73, (Harry Helms, NV, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Currently discusses the Jessica Lynch story, Texans in Ardmore, etc. (gh) ** U S A/HAWAII/LATIN AMERICA. 10000, 1417-, May 18. WWVH and WWV fighting it out with Spanish speakers (?drug traffickers) on USB. At least equal in strength. Unwelcome pests! (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. GERMANY, 13810, 0412-, Radio Africa International (United Methodist Church), May 19. Excellent reception with French language African programming. Lovely strong, clean modulation with perfect easy to follow French (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1610 kHz, 1403-, TIS, May 18. Weather forecast loop, then information about the Columbia River bridge. Fair at times, but mostly poor amongst the cacophony of other stations. 1611 stations from Australia still causing a het. Computer generated voice as well 'double U double U...' (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1610.03, 1414-, talking house, May 17. Weakly heard tape loop, mentioning the 'Hi...This is the nice three bedroom...well placed. All new windows. Well cared for. For those...come have a look at it', and a phone number 360- 580-111?6 or 7. Again, ...?$69,500... Take a look, and thank you very much.' Best in LSB. Increased in strength during the day. I sent out John Bryant to locate the transmitter and he confirmed the location as being approximately 2.6 km from this location! Not bad for 100 mw. Coastal effect? Location was an empty trailer with a small sign in the window mentioning 1610 for more information (I have a jpeg of this). Could not see any transmitter anywhere through any of the windows, so I'm assuming it was plugged into an electrical outlet in the bathroom. Not bad, as the trailer was enveloped in aluminum siding. A new method of DXing for me --- going TO the transmitter location! Now for a QSL ;) (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Rumor is that KEZZ-1470 in Estes Park CO may get one of the country`s first ultra-short Kinstar AM antennas. If the FCC gives their approval, KEZZ may install the 40-foot Kinstar this summer to help resolve a long on-going battle between the station and local politicians over the relocation of the KEZZ antenna (Patrick Griffith, CO, NRC Domestic DX Digest May 19 via DXLD) Visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park this summer, please check this out! (gh) ** U S A. CHEVRON-TEXACO TO DROP SPONSORSHIP OF METROPOLITAN OPERA BROADCASTS http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/21/arts/21CHEV.html ChevronTexaco announced yesterday that it would withdraw its support from the Metropolitan Opera's Saturday afternoon live radio broadcasts after the 2003-4 season, ending the longest continuous commercial sponsorship in broadcast history. Joseph Volpe, general manager of the Met, said that he was determined to continue the broadcasts without ChevronTexaco and that he would look for a new sponsor. Started on Christmas Day in 1931 with Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel," the Met matinee broadcasts have introduced opera to millions of people around the world. Mr. Volpe said the broadcasts had been "the single most powerful audience development program in introducing opera to families" and had inspired opera stars. "Many of the singers today first discovered opera on the radio broadcasts," he said. Patricia E. Yarrington, ChevronTexaco's vice president for public and government affairs, said in a statement, "As our business has evolved, we believe it is important to focus more of our resources directly with the countries and markets where we do business." Beginning in 1940 Texaco was the sole sponsor of the broadcasts, which are now heard live from the Met stage at Lincoln Center 20 times a year on 360 stations at an annual cost of about $7 million. Broadcast December through April, the broadcasts reach an estimated 10 million listeners in 42 countries (via Joel Rubin, NY, DXLD) Of course, the Saturday Met broadcasts are one of the oldest broadcasts in the world. They are on a syndicated network in the U.S. and on CBC and on many other stations (Joel Rubin, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I knew an ill wind was blowing when Chevron took over Texaco. Will we detect a little less enthusiasm about C-T in the announcer`s voice next season? More in next issue (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. NEW JERSEY TV TOWER PROPOSAL IN QUESTION http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny-attacks-antennas0521may21,0,3139058.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire May 21, 2003, 6:59 AM EDT BAYONNE, N.J. (AP) A plan to build a 2,000-foot television tower is on hold after a group of broadcasters asked the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily suspend its review of the project, The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., reported. The Metropolitan Television Alliance made its decision after plans for the Bayonne tower received a negative review from FAA officials who address takeoffs and landings from airports in the New York metropolitan area, said Pat Smith, a spokesman for the alliance. He did not elaborate. Building the tower in Bayonne would mean rerouting planes at three area airports, according to an FAA review released last year. A new tower would improve TV reception in the metropolitan area, which has been spotty for some households without cable since the old tower at the World Trade Center was destroyed in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The MTVA had asked for permission to build a temporary tower on Governor's Island in New York while the trade center site is being rebuilt, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said he would be unlikely to support such a plan. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the MTVA has been transmitting from a backup system atop the Empire State Building. Though that system is being upgraded, it is outdated. The tower in Bayonne would cost $200 million and would be the world's largest free-standing structure, surpassing the 1,815-foot CN Tower in Toronto. It would serve 11 area television stations and some FM radio stations and emergency communications systems. Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press (via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) ** U S A. IBOC: You might want to check out today's NorthEast Radio Watch, http://www.fybush.com, wherein I recount my ride in the Ibiquity Magic Van a couple of weeks ago... Note, particularly in a WTFDA context, that the suspension of standards-setting applies only to the AM system; the FM system is essentially ready to be unleashed commercially upon the world, whether we DXers are ready for it or not. s (Scott Fybush, May 19, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. FRIENDS, LOYALTY BIND HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES TO THE AREA By ANTHONY VIOLANTI, News Staff Reporter, 5/18/2003 Buffalo broadcasting is the one degree of separation that binds us all. Somehow, we are all connected: from Harry Webb to Carol Jasen; from Clint Buehlman to Sandy Beach. Generations come and go but Buffalonians remain united by the memories of the broadcast personalities who left an imprint on their lives. In our town, broadcasters are family. They mirror the way we were and are - blue collar, ethnic and hard-working. Should we move on to bigger and better things, those familiar radio voices and television faces remind us of media roots that not only shaped a sense of community, but also personal history. So it is for Tim Russert. . . http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030518/1012581.asp (via Fred Waterer, Ont., DXLD) ** U S A. Interesting story about the 30,000 translator apps the FCC recently received at [registration required] http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/419216 (Patrick Griffith Westminster, CO, USA, NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. PIRATE RADIO STATION BLOCKING WXEL SIGNAL By Joseph Mann, Business Writer http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zwxel20may20,0,1184414.story?coll=sfla%2Dbusiness%2Dheadlines Posted May 20 2003 An unlicensed radio station broadcasting from downtown Fort Lauderdale is blocking the signal of Palm Beach County-based WXEL, FM 90.7, in parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. The pirate station, which broadcasts Caribbean and rap music at 90.9 FM, "is obstructing our signal to thousands of listeners" in the two counties, said Jerry Carr, WXEL's station manager. The pirate's owners are unknown, but Carr said WXEL engineers tracked the broadcast signal to a building in downtown Fort Lauderdale. WXEL, a National Public Radio affiliate, has its studios in Boynton Beach and its transmitter and antenna at Lantana Road and U.S. 441. It broadcasts from Fort Pierce to northern Miami-Dade County. The pirate began broadcasting at 90.9 FM around October of last year, Carr said, and the Federal Communications Commission was immediately notified. Up until now, however, the pirate station has remained on the air. When WXEL made additional calls to the FCC, the public radio station was told that they're "working on it," Carr added. Neither the FCC nor the pirate station could be reached for comment. WXEL, as well as other local stations, have had trouble with unlicensed stations in the past. In some cases, confiscating a pirate's transmitter, antenna and other equipment only takes them off the air for a few days. "A pirate can get on the air for less than $1,000," Carr said. WXEL last month completed a $600,000 upgrade, which raised its antenna height to 1,100 feet and boosted transmission power to over 40,000 watts. "We thought this would eliminate the [pirate's] interference, but it didn't," Carr said. Typically, when the FCC receives word that someone is operating an unauthorized radio station, a federal offense, the agency sends a team to locate the source of the signal, takes this information to a federal prosecutor, seeks a warrant from a federal judge and federal marshals can then shut down the station and seize its equipment. A Florida man was recently prosecuted for operating an FM radio station in the Orlando area without FCC authorization. The man was sentenced to 9 months in prison, to be followed by a year of supervised release and community service. Aside from filing a complaint with the FCC, WXEL also has engaged an attorney in West Palm Beach and is considering a civil lawsuit against the pirate station. "WXEL believes the station is being wronged civilly because the pirate has, in essence, usurped a large pool of listeners and users of WXEL in areas where his signal is causing theirs to be compromised," said Richard Zaretsky, WXEL's lawyer. WXEL and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel are news partners (via Brock Whaley, Artie Bigley, Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. THE HURRICANE WATCH NET NEWSLETTER Welcome to the Hurricane Watch Net News Letter Page. All items presented here are intended for our audience at large. Any questions or comments may be directed to Mike Pilgrim, manager of the Hurricane Watch Net at k5mp@hwn.org. 05/12/2003 Given the broad readership of this web site, it seems prudent that we should explain for those who are not associated with Amateur Radio just who we are and what our role is during hurricane season. We are a group of licensed Amateur Radio Operators trained and organized to provide essential communications support to the National Hurricane Center during times of Hurricane emergencies. Our primary mission is to disseminate tropical storm advisory information to island communities in the Caribbean, Central America, along the Atlantic seaboard of the U.S., and throughout the Gulf of Mexico coastal areas. We also collect observed or measured weather data from amateur radio operators in the storm affected area, and convey that information to the Hurricane Forecasters in the National Hurricane Center via the amateur radio station in the center (WX4NHC). Founded in 1965 by Gerry Murphy, (Amateur radio call sign K8YUW), the Hurricane Watch Net activates 14.325 MHz whenever a hurricane is within 300 miles of projected landfall or becomes a serious threat to a populated area. For those of you who may not possess an amateur radio license, we invite you to monitor net activities on 14.325 MHz which is available on many popular general coverage receivers. Amateur Radio operators who desire to participate are encouraged to visit our membership discussion elsewhere in this web site and note the requirements particular to becoming a member of our organization. As a point of interest, let me emphasize that the Hurricane Watch Net is a group of 35 amateur radio operators strategically disbursed from Toronto, out to Bermuda, through the Caribbean Sea, Central America, Mexico and across the continental USA. We are not housed in a single location as some of our followers believe, rather, we are located such that we can provide a continuous path of communications from storm affected areas to the forecasters in the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Whether or not you have the interest or capability to listen in as we conduct our net operations, we hope that you will discover the plethora of weather related information made available on our web site. Particularly, we invite you to sign in on our ``guest book``, be sure to leave a comment or two to let us know how you think we might better serve you. We have made a link available for you to e-mail directly to Net Management for those kinds of interactions requiring direct comment. Speaking of our web site, through the diligence of our Web Master, Mr. Bobby Graves, you will continue to see enhancements both in content and functionality. We welcome your comments and/or suggestions for additional enhancements. During the off season, members of the Hurricane Watch Net are busy getting ready for the next season. While many take advantage of the slack period to tune up, overhaul, and otherwise fine tune their communications equipment (amateur radios and PC equipment), many of us behind the scenes are paying attention to such things as Web Page management and enhancement, administration of our organizational strategies, plans, recruiting process, and otherwise taking advantage of training opportunities. Many of our members attended the 8th annual mini-conference at the National Hurricane Center on February 1st, which was a full day of orientation and idea sharing as regards our work as communicators of vital weather data. Among the highlights was a personal presentation from Capt. Dave Tenneson, amateur radio operator NL7MT who pilots one of the many NOAA Hurricane Hunter Aircraft during the hurricane season. Perhaps last season many of you tuned in as Capt. Dave checked in to the Hurricane Watch Net with first hand reports from within the eye of Hurricanes Lili and Isidore as each were in the area of the Yucatán Peninsula... During the week of April 14-19 several of us attended the National Hurricane Conference in New Orleans in which we learned of the latest technologies, strategies, and preparations for the upcoming Hurricane season. Additionally, we heard the year 2003 predictions from Dr. Bill Gray (12 named storms, 8 Hurricanes of which 3 will be of Major intensity). Be sure to refer to the link to Dr. Gray`s web site (on our home page) where you will see updates as they are made available. Of all topics discussed in New Orleans, I suppose the one of greatest interest was the decision to begin this year issuing forecast information out to 4 and 5 days ahead of the storm. Given these requirements are established primarily for the Navy`s benefit when ships must be moved out of harms way, or for NASA who requires plenty of lead time to properly secure a shuttle, and for off shore drillers to have time to safely evacuate their crews to safety, it is the decision here in the Hurricane Watch Net to basically ignore the 4/5- day forecast information as it is estimated the margin for error can be as much as 275 to 375 miles when attempting to project point positions that far in advance. You will also note that the Media will treat this new data merely as ``zones of influence`` rather than to attempt any ``point tracking`` in days 4 and 5. Now as we approach the 2003 Hurricane Season, we at the Hurricane Watch Net are hopeful for another season of minimal affects on human life and property. On the other hand, we stand ready to provide all the support as needed during these times of anticipated hurricane emergencies. In closing, let me thank you for your interest in our activities at the Hurricane Watch Net, and invite your comments and suggestions to make our service and this web site more beneficial for your personal needs. Please let us know of topics and ideas you would like to see discussed here in our web page. Your comments may be directed directly to myself, k5mp@hwn.org. Sincerely, Mike Pilgrim, Amateur Radio Station K5MP, Manager, Hurricane Watch Net The following reprint is provided in response to popular demand For those who don`t understand this ``ham radio talk`` but wish to participate in future activities, please refer to the ``FAQ`` selection on the main menu of this web site for guidance as to how you too may participate. Regarding membership in the Hurricane Watch Net and a question frequently asked, let me first of all remind you that you must be an individual (no group memberships available) with a valid amateur radio license authorized for operations on the 20 meter phone band. Secondly you must read in it`s entirety the ``Membership Information`` section here on the web site main menu, and if you feel you qualify, then please feel free to submit the provided application. Please understand that we are not attempting to swell our numbers, rather we are interested primarily in filling certain voids in our coverage in the areas west of the Mississippi. We will entertain applications from anyplace, and will certainly consider any outstanding candidate irregardless of location. Please review carefully our requirements in the above mentioned section of this web site, and if you feel you have something to offer, then by all means, please submit the application. Keep in mind that we are looking for those with the best communications skills (both personal and technical), availability and propagation to the affected areas and the NHC as needed, net control experience, knowledge of our net operations and personal awareness of what we do and how we operate, and a respectable _expression of how you feel you can serve our needs. For those who have short-wave receivers capable of reception on the 14 MHz short-wave band, we hope you will tune in when our net is active. Be advised that we will activate the net on 14.325 MHz when a hurricane is within 300 miles of projected land fall. You may subscribe to current weather advisories (see ``Subscribe`` button on the homepage). For those of you who are licensed amateur radio operators, you may learn from various sources when our net will be active. Please be advised that as a normal course of business we handle all net communications within our own membership. On occasion however, it becomes necessary for us to request assistance for the relay of essential information; at that time we will solicit the assistance of non member stations on frequency. You can be most helpful if you will await our request for that relay assistance rather than to volunteer in an unsolicited form. In order to reduce double transmissions and confusion, do not transmit to the station you hear and wish to relay until permission to do so is given by the Net Control Station. Copyright © 1999 - 2003 The Hurricane Watch Net All rights reserved Last updated: Monday, May 12, 2003 Webmaster: Bobby Graves (KB5HAV) (http://www.hwn.org via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) See also RECEIVER NEWS below ** UZBEKISTAN. 7285, 1330-, Radio Tashkent, May 18. Radio Tashkent comes up with the short straw here. IS is just audible before their English broadcast (I could hear no other parallels [such as 17775, 15295] --- a sign of declining sunspots and MUFs, unfortunately). Then totally overpowered by Voice of Vietnam sign-on with listed Cambodian at good level (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. El pasado domingo 18 pude anotar otra frecuencia para Aló Presidente: 13750 kHz, aparte de las ya activas de 17750, 13680 y 11670 kHz. Esta vez la peor señal era la de 13680. Excelentes: 13750 y 11670 [vía Cuba] (Adán González, May 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. 5034.77, 1247-, Voice of Vietnam, 3rd program, May 17. Hmong Service with fair reception, classical music. Parallel to much stronger 6165. A question re the latter. If I recall, Saigon used to have a transmitter on this (or was it 6160?). Is this the same transmitter? Brief talk by YL at 1250 and into local vocal. 6378.57, 1126-, Lai Chau, May 17. Presumed logging with weak Vietnamese style music with much atmospheric noise. Poor overall. Much stronger carrier at 1255 recheck, and drifted to 6378.39. Modulation is still very low! (Walter Salmaniw, MD, Grayland WA DXpedition, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. They updated their web: More tests on new SW Radio Africa frequency 4880 kHz: Further broadcast times will be Wednesday and Thursday 07.05pm - 07.25pm [sic --- if it`s p.m. you don`t put a zero before it! --gh] (Zimbabwe Time) Listeners in Zimbabwe will be able to receive our signal on 4880 kHz as well as on the usual 6145. We need to know whether the new test signal is an improvement and would urge listeners to contact us with views. 023 275 030 : 00 44 20 8387 1441 : views@swradioafrica.com (Roberto Scaglione http://www.bclnews.it hard-core-dx via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 3-086: the station on 4335.34 and 5728.39 --- perhaps it be significant that the difference between the two frequencies is 1393.05 --- so is there a MW outlet there, which could be mixing with one of the SW frequencies to produce the other? (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Re DXLD 3-086 UNIDENTIFIED 6315: V. of Tigray Revolution has been on 6350 for a year (?) now. The soccer game in question was probably Africa Cup Winners Cup game Etoile Sahel (Tunisia) vs. Club Olympique (Mali) ending 4-0, which took place 17 May. I don't know what kind of receiver was used, possibly one with IF of 455 kHz. Tunisia is listed on 7225 1600-2300. Again old formula 2 x 455 is 910. 7225-910 is 6315. I assume (even if it's dangerous) that it was RTT Tunis program heard on 6315 due to receiver "mirror". Well, the language doesn't match, I believe Tunis has only Arabic programs on SW (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, May 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 3-086 on 6585+ -- see BOLIVIA in same issue! (gh) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. This is my last comment about this unID 9270 (at least for a while) :)). On 19 May at 1830 on 9270, the station with vibrating carrier and Middle-East/Central Asian sounding music was again audible. And it is Tajik Radio, second harmonic of 4635. Not a Turkish harmonic, but harmonic anyway :) 73 (Jari Savolainen, Finland, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Strong signal here in south Italy on 9270; it's Voice of Greece, // 9420 - 9375 - 15650. No more signal on 9270 at 2256 when 9420 go off, and 9375 and 15650 are still on. This is an harmonic from Kavala, but his formula? (Roberto Scaglione, ibid.) Take your pick; or both?? UNIDENTIFIED. International Amateur Radio Union Region 2 -- April 2003 MONITORING SYSTEM NEWSLETTER http://www.echelon.ca/iarumsr2 INTRODUCTION This Newsletter contains news about interference from non-Amateur stations heard in the Amateur bands in IARU Region 2 during the month of March, as well as selected news about interference heard recently in IARU Regions 1 and 3. Notes about interference in bands which are not allocated exclusively to the Amateur Service are for information only. If you have any comments or questions about these news items, please contact your national Amateur Radio society or the IARU Region 2 MS Coordinator. NOTABLE INTRUDERS HEARD IN REGION 2 The following intruders were notable in Region 2 during March : 7006 kHz J3E Encrypted speech, also on 7018, 7021, and 7102 7100 A3E Unidentified SWBC. 14280 A3E Unidentified SWBC, drifting frequency. 24, 28 MHz A3E,J3E Pirates and "CB" types galore! Mysterious speech signals are again being reported in the 40 m band. So far they have been heard in the southern USA on 7006, 7018, 7020, 7021, and 7102 kHz, transmitting encrypted speech in a single-sideband (SSB) mode. According to reports these signals are very similar to ones heard on about the same frequencies between late 1999 and mid- 2001, although they seem to be a little weaker now. More observations of these signals are required. As reported last month, the shortwave broadcasts continue on 7100 kHz by at least two different broadcasters, one on 7099.98 and the other on 7100.00 kHz. They are sometimes on the air at the same time. Three broadcasters known to use this frequency are Voice of the Broad Masses (VoBM) from Eritrea (in scattered one-hour periods from 0330 to 1830 UT), Voice of the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (actually a clandestine broadcast from Iran, 0330-0530 UT) and Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran or Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB, 1930-2000 UT). It does seem confusing. An unidentified shortwave broadcast is being heard regularly in Argentina on 14280 kHz around 1100 UT, apparently from Asia. In Region 3 broadcasts on this frequency are being variously reported as Iran (after 0130 UT) and Beijing (0800-0900 UT). This signal on 14280 kHz is not to be confused with Radio Pyongyang, reported in both Argentina and Canada on 14250 kHz. The unidentified code groups at 0210 UT on 3523 kHz and the "310" broadcast from France at 1700 UT on 14320 kHz reported in previous months are no longer heard and we hope they have gone elsewhere. This seems typical of the clandestine "numbers" broadcasts, many of which change their skeds (frequency and/or time) every few months, some even monthly. An unidentified data signal occupied 3797 kHz for at least 2 nights in early March and was heard with good strength in eastern North America. Although this signal was not a major source of interference, except for those two nights, it is of some technical interest. The signal was an F7D emission with 4 frequencies within a 400 Hz bandwidth. The data rate was 100 or 200 baud and the data was contained within frames of 280 millisecond duration. There seemed to be considerable redundancy in the data, possibly due to one or more data channels being "strapped" together. It was not possible to read out the traffic. A display of the data stream, produced by the Analyzer2000 analysis software shows the structure of the signal. The top panel shows the last received frame of data bits (the vertical axis is frequency); the center panel is a "raster" display of successive frames of data (each horizontal line is 280 msec long); and the bottom panel shows the autocorrelation function for the 280 msec frame (the strong peak at 280 is just beyond the right-hand edge of the display). In the raster display, vertical bars are formed by bits having the same position within the frame. If the bit always has the same value, then the bar is always the same colour. This signal is similar to another unidentified signal that appears sometimes in the 30 m band, with center frequency of 10105.2 kHz. (The 30 m band is a shared band, where the Amateur Service has only Secondary status.) (An image of the described display will appear in the Newsletter published on the website at http://www.echelon.ca/iarumsr2/newsletter.html ) Our monthly report would not be complete without mentioning the persistent and too-numerous radio pirates and "CB" type operators who occupy our 24 and 28 MHz bands, using AM (A3E) and SSB (J3E upper and lower) modes, some with beeps, some with echoes, and none of them with any right or privilege to be there. HIGHLIGHTS FROM REGION 1 The March Newsletter from Region 1 is not available yet. Please stay tuned! HIGHLIGHTS FROM REGION 3 In his Newsletter for February, B. L. Manohar (Arasu), VU2UR, offers the following comments : "A number of data transmitting stations using A7D, F1B, F7D, H2D, M7B modes are regularly reported. The famous "Havana Gurgle" on 18090 kHz is several years old and it is celebrating Birthdays without any hindrance from any authority. "... NZART [New Zealand] and WIA [Australia] are quite regular in reporting Radio Pyongyang, DPR Korea, on 3560 kHz and other harmonics as well. Second harmonics of BBC, All India Radio and Radio Beijing were also heard on 14320, 14290 and 14280 kHz respectively "WIA [Australia] is keeping a tab on 14044 kHz and ARSI [India] are regularly reporting these SE Asian stations, conversing in the slot 2300-0200 UT. Several channels in 40 and 20 mb are used by the Indonesian pirates, as usual, as if these were their International Frequency Registration Bureau [IFRB] registered frequencies. "Unless many of the Member Societies of our Region organize effectively and report, with follow-up of their monitoring systems, it would not be easy to get these pirates/intruders out of our bands." In his report to Arasu for WIA (Australia), Henry, VK8HA, comments that the "mob" of radio pirates on 14144 kHz USB are of ethnic Chinese origin, speaking a southern Chinese dialect akin to Hokkia [Hakka?] but mixed with Indonesian words. Further, by a process of elimination, the other mob on 14044 USB seem to be from either Thailand or Cambodia. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Newsletter was produced from information provided by the following organizations and individuals. Their contributions and encouragement are hereby acknowledged. Any errors or omissions are entirely the responsibility of the Region 2 MS Coordinator. ARRL (USA) and Coordinator KØBOG KH6B (IARU) LU5DG (IARU) RAC (Canada) and Coordinator VE6JY IARU MS International Coordinator, ZL1BAD IARU MS Region 1 Coordinator, OD5TE IARU MS Region 3 Coordinator, VU2UR DARC (Germany) MS Coordinator, DJ9KR - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This Newsletter is published for and distributed to the IARU Region 2 Executive Committee, Region 2 member societies and associated individuals by the IARU Region 2 Monitoring System Coordinator, for their use and information. Permission to use information from this Newsletter in other Amateur Radio publications is hereby granted, provided that proper credit is given. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Prepared by : Martin H. Potter, VE3OAT Co-ordinator of the IARU Region 2 Monitoring System P. O. Box 84, Greely, Ontario K4P 1N4, Canada (via Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, May 21, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ BOEHLERT, HALL TOUT WEATHER RADIO AS A HOMELAND SECURITY ESSENTIAL Committee on Science, SHERWOOD BOEHLERT, CHAIRMAN Ralph M. Hall, Texas, Ranking Democrat http://www.house.gov/science May 20, 2003 Press Contacts: Heidi Mohlman Tringe Heidi.Tringe@mail.house.gov Jeff Donald Jeffrey.Donald@mail.house.gov (202) 225-4275 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and Ranking Democrat Ralph M. Hall (D-TX) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, touting the homeland security benefits of "NOAA Weather Radio" and requesting that the early warning technology be added as an emergency preparedness kit item. "We were recently briefed on the NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] Weather Radio system and its capability to get warnings to the public for all hazards, including terrorist attacks. We think NOAA's system should be expanded to deal with homeland security," wrote Boehlert and Hall. The Members urged Secretary Ridge to add NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) receivers as an emergency preparedness kit item and consider promoting the system on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website. In addition, they expressed their support for the President's fiscal year 2004 budget request to upgrade the current NWR system to provide local emergency management officials an authenticated, secure, electronic method to send non-weather emergency messages on NWR. They stated, "The Committee on Science recognizes that science and technology are keystones of national security and improving technology is critical. While local emergency managers can use NOAA Weather Radio to broadcast non-weather emergency messages for hazards such as chemical spills and civil emergencies, the process requires manual intervention and can be time consuming." A copy of the letter is available upon request. NOAA Weather Radio is a nationwide radio network, run by NOAA's National Weather Service. Operated directly from government facilities, NWR transmits into the homes of the American public through commercially available receivers and can be programmed to self-activate, so they can alert the public to impending threats anytime day or night. NWR has been successfully alerting communities to natural disasters for the past three decades, and has recently developed into an all-hazards warning system, which can broadcast a wide range of vital updates, including AMBER Alerts and terrorist attacks. Boehlert and Hall also held a press conference today, with other members of the Science Committee, NOAA Administrator Ret. Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, and industry representatives, to increase public awareness of the technology. "Up to the minute warnings on NOAA Weather Radio helped many families seek shelter from the record breaking tornado systems that recently plagued the nation's mid-section," said Lautenbacher. "Coordination between the network of NOAA forecasters, quick acting emergency managers and the broadcast media provided extremely timely warnings." Environment, Technology and Standards (ETS) Subcommittee Chairman Vern Ehlers (R-MI) noted, "Weather emergencies can strike any part of the country at any time. Just last week NOAA Weather Radios were crucial in alerting residents of Marquette, Michigan to a mandatory evacuation of the town due to a severe flood. This was very early in the morning, at 6:00 am, when many people were still asleep and only learned of the flood through their Weather Radio." "NOAA Weather Radio is yet another way in which NOAA can contribute to our homeland security. From NOAA's Space Environment Center, which works closely with the Air Force to ensure accurate GPS readings, to NOAA's Profiler Network, which provides wind data for the prediction of the probable path of harmful substances that may be released into the atmosphere, NOAA is already working on many homeland security fronts. It makes sense for NOAA to expand its weather radio system to get non-weather emergency messages to local emergency managers and the public," said ETS Ranking Democrat Mark Udall (D-CO) Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK) stated, "My congressional district is in the middle of 'Tornado Alley,' so I've seen firsthand the injuries and loss of life that can occur when residents aren't aware that a storm is coming. This month alone, more than 100 Oklahomans have been injured in tornadoes and windstorms. I'd like to see these radios become as prevalent in Oklahoma homes as smoke detectors. When severe storms hit our state, they could be the difference between life and death." "As the Representative of communities who have been devastated by hurricanes in the past, I know how important the 24-hour radio network can be. I wanted to come out today and show my support for this system and encourage the public to use it, it could save their life," said Rep. Nick Lampson (D-TX). "The radio is vital to those living in Southeast Texas due to the hurricane threat but it is also an important part of the Amber Plan. Amber Alerts are sent out over this system and the more people that have it, the better for our children." ### 108-065 Heidi Mohlman Tringe, Communications Director, Committee on Science 2320 RHOB, Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6371 (Voice) 202-226-3875 (Fax) 202-225-1981 (Cell) (via Dan Robinson, DXLD) TELEGRAMS, NOT TELEPHONES, PROVIDED MOST LONG-DISTANCE COMMUNICATIONS Sat, May 17, 2003, By DAN NERHAUGEN For the Journal Good telegraph operators were hot commodities 100 years ago this week, leading to big rewards from one employer. . . http://www.wisinfo.com/journal/spjlocal/278634249201000.shtml (Stevens Point Journal via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ The following is a Real Audio file (37-kb) than runs for approximately 19 seconds. (This is an excerpt from a third-generation copy.) Many thanks for the assistance of N5JEH in creating it. The original recording was made by Glenn Hauser when he was with the USAF at Korat AFB (Nakhon Ratchasima) in Thailand and is of diurnal equatorial sporadic-E on 94.2 MHz from Singapore (at apx 1000 miles) at 0545 Z on 28 September 1970. This is near noon local time and has a midpoint almost on the geomagnetic dip-equator. Note the extreme choppiness to the signal (very similar sounding to the nocturnal F2- related TE flutter). The broadcast is in the Malay language. See the October 1997 issue of QST (pp 39-41) for an excellent description of the phenomenon in the article by Dr. Whitehead. http://www.qsl.net/wa5iyx/ra/94eqes01.ra (From WA5IYX, Pat Dyer, http://home.swbell.net/pjdyer/aud-fil3.htm via DXLD) And now amigos before going QRT , here is Arnie Coro's HF propagation update and forecast.... YET ANOTHER CORONAL HOLE.... we had only a two day break from coronal hole activity, and here we are again seeing the A index, the planetary geomagnetic disturbance indicator moving UP, as a consequence of the solar wind coming from the coronal hole !!! Solar activity is low, and the sunspot number count is near 75. Solar flux is expected to increase slowly during the next several days... it was around 130 units when I was writing the script of the show around 18 hours UTC Tuesday, that's around 2 pm local time here in Havana. There are very good chances of Sporadic E skip events, so be on the lookout for TV DX on channels two to six during the next three to five days (Arnie Coro A., CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited May 20 via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 21 MAY - 16 JUNE 2003 Solar activity is expected to range from very low to moderate levels during the period. Low to moderate levels are expected early in the period with the return of a zone of active longitude that contained old Regions 345, 349, and 348. These regions are expected to have C- class and possibly M-class potential. Very low to low level activity is expected when these regions depart around 03 June. No greater than 10 MeV proton events are expected during the forecast period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels everyday of the period. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to major storm levels during the period. A relatively weak coronal hole high speed flow is expected to rotate into a geo-effective position on 21 – 22 May and could produce active to minor storm levels. A large negative polarity coronal hole high speed flow is expected on 27 – 30 May with major storm levels possible. A very large southern hemisphere coronal hole is due to return on 02 – 12 June with major storm levels possible. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 May 20 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 May 20 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 May 21 130 15 3 2003 May 22 135 15 3 2003 May 23 140 20 4 2003 May 24 145 20 4 2003 May 25 150 20 4 2003 May 26 150 20 4 2003 May 27 150 25 5 2003 May 28 150 35 6 2003 May 29 145 20 4 2003 May 30 145 12 3 2003 May 31 140 8 3 2003 Jun 01 130 15 3 2003 Jun 02 120 20 4 2003 Jun 03 110 35 6 2003 Jun 04 100 30 5 2003 Jun 05 100 30 5 2003 Jun 06 95 35 6 2003 Jun 07 90 30 5 2003 Jun 08 95 20 4 2003 Jun 09 95 20 4 2003 Jun 10 95 30 5 2003 Jun 11 100 20 4 2003 Jun 12 100 20 4 2003 Jun 13 105 15 3 2003 Jun 14 105 15 3 2003 Jun 15 110 15 3 2003 Jun 16 120 15 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio May 20 via WORLD OF RADIO 1182, DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-086, May 19, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1182: RFPI: Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700/0830, 1300/1430 on 7445 and/or 15039 WWCR: Wed 0930 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1182.html WORLD OF RADIO on WJIE: At 1630 UT check Sun May 18 on 13595, WOR was again already in progress, and it was still 1179 as played last week, rather than 1180, 1181, or preferably the latest, 1182. Has anyone heard the scheduled Sat 0930 or Sun 1030 airings on 7490 or 13595? (gh) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Thanks for the good job you do; it is always a pleasure to read your bulletins. It must take you hours every time to edit them? 73's (Tore Larsson, Sweden, ARC) {Yes} ** AFGHANISTAN. AFGHANISTAN: ATTEMPTS TO SMUGGLE SATELLITE DISHES FOILED | Text of report by Iranian radio from Mashhad on 19 May An attempt to smuggle equipment for satellite dishes to Herat has been foiled. A report from the Central News Unit in Kabul quoted the head of Herat customs saying that hundreds of satellite dishes had been confiscated on the verbal order of the governor of Herat, Esmail Khan, at Torghondi customs checkpoint on the Afghan-Turkmen border. He said that this order was aimed at preventing the development of corruption in various areas of Afghanistan. By a similar instruction earlier, the governor of Herat, Esmail Khan, placed a ban on cable TV, the setting up of entertainment centres and women singing. Source: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, in Dari 0330 gmt 19 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Backsliders ** AFGHANISTAN. CABLE TV BACK ON IN AFGHAN CAPITAL DESPITE HIGH COURT BAN | Text of report by Afghan news agency Hindokosh Kabul, Hindokosh News Agency, 29 Sowr 1382 [19 May]: Cable television programmes have started in Kabul after a four months gap. Once again the cable television network has commenced its programmes four months after the head of the Supreme Court Mowlawi Fazl Hadi Shinwari banned it. The chief researcher of the Academy of Sciences, Abdol Jabar Abid, commenting on this issue, said: The BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera television networks broadcast these programmes, and they are beneficial for people, especially for those who need education. Four months ago Minister of Information and Culture Mr Sayd Makhdum Rahin had said that cable television programmes would resume in a legal framework, and would also pay tax to the Ministry of Finance. The deputy justice minister for administrative affairs Mr [Mohammad Ashraf] Rasuli has said that they have not yet succeeded in forming an appropriate framework for cable television programmes. Source: Hindokosh news agency, Kabul, in Dari 1300 gmt 19 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN/UK. SOLAR POWER BRINGS BBC WORLD SERVICE TO BAMIAN | Text of report by press release from BBC on 19 May Two years after the Taleban destroyed two huge Buddha statues in Bamian in central Afghanistan amid international furore, BBC World Service has erected a solar powered FM transmitter to bring BBC World Service to the predominantly Hazara population of the region. Apart from a few private generators, Bamian has no electrical power which is why BBC World Service chose solar energy to power the new 89.0 MHz frequency. This is the fourth FM frequency BBC World Service has launched in Afghanistan since the Taleban regime fell in November 2001. FM frequencies already transmit BBC World Service in high quality sound to millions of Afghans in the capital, Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. [WTFK???] "Throughout more than two decades of conflict, Bamian became one of the most neglected regions of Afghanistan. Almost the entire population fled under the Taleban. There was little investment in the area. It has never had a power station or any radio facilities," said Behrouz Afagh, head of Eurasia region at BBC World Service. "Now the population are returning to Bamian. For the first time people in the region can listen to the World Service on FM," he said. The new solar powered FM transmitter will broadcast 24 hours a day with programmes predominantly in Pashto and Persian. BBC World Service has an unparalleled reach in Afghanistan. A recent survey in Kabul found that 82 per cent of Afghans in the capital listen to BBC World Service broadcasts every week. The survey - the first since the Taleban left power - found BBC World Service is the leading broadcaster in Kabul with 88 per cent of Afghans perceiving BBC World Service as a trusted source of information. BBC World Service plans to expand its FM presence in Afghanistan with further FM frequencies in other provincial cities over the coming year. Source: BBC press release, London, in English 19 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Recuerden que la página web mantenida por el colega santafesino Luciano Gentile, con abundantísima información sobre la radio argentina, puede disfrutarse haciendo "click" en http://www.geocities.com/radioestaciones (Arnaldo Slaen, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. X Band: Heart n Soul Productions Ltd, 5 Phoenix Street, Castle Hill 2154. Trading name is also a BCB callsign, 2ME. They currently own 57 licences in the extended AM band, and as such, are the largest single owner of such licences in Australia. Recently granted an Australia-wide content licence by the ABA to be used in conjunction with the expanded AM band transmitters. 2ME Sydney 1638 broadcasts in Arabic and English, as a bilingual station targeting Arabic people in NSW. The program is networked to 3ME Melbourne 1647. In 1999 there were plans to extend this to Adelaide. 2ME Address: Suite 6, 5 Macquarie Street, Parramatta 2150. T: 02 9635 1638 Owner Sid Mehri is also the owner of Hygrade Properties Pty Ltd (see #40) whose frequencies are actually used to carry the 2ME and 3ME program. Heart n Soul Productions is also the operator of a second format brand, known as Radio 16 NTC, the Country Music Network. The ID is `The best mix in the country on Radio 16 NTC`. Radio 16 NTC is currently broadcasting on 1611 Tamworth, 1620 Armidale and New England, 1629 Bathurst and 1701 Sydney. Address: 5 Macquarie Street, Parramatta 2150. T: 02 9899 9633 (Tim Gaynor MWOZ via May NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. NEW SW/NUEVA OC/NOVA OC --- 18/Mayo/2003 1205 UT 6.586.1v Radio Nueva Esperanza, El Alto, Depto. La Paz, Bolivia Av. Rául Salmón, 92 entre Calle 4 y 5, Zona 12 de Octubre, El Alto - La Paz - Bolivia Tel. (02) 282-5269 ID OM "Desde la República de Bolivia, transmite Radio Nueva Esperanza en 6.585 MHz de onda corta, banda de 49 metros. Anunciando la pronta venida de nuestro Señor Jesus Cristo" Esta rádio já transmite por onda média em 1520 kHz conforme anúncio da rádio e está no WRTH2003. Anúncio na rádio também da Libreria Nueva Esperanza no mesmo endereço. 73's e QRV (Rogildo Fontenelle Aragão, Cochabamba - Bolivia, a.k.a. Quillacollo-Bolivia, Lowe HF-225E - Sony ICF-2001D - LW 50m, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4796.88, Radio Mallku, Uyuni, 1010+, May 15. Local ads in Aymara & Spanish. ID by female: "Radio Mallku". Other ID and ann.: "Radio Mallku, labrando y construyendo....transmitiendo programas de.....Radio Mallku, emitiendo espacios radiofonicos para la cultura popular...."; Andean music. 24432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, hard- core-dx via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 12575, Radio Globo, Río de Janeiro, 1200+, reportada por Adan Mur, en esta frecuencia alimentadora, en modo A3H. Identificación de la emisora, mencionando la frecuencia de los 1220 KHZ. SINPO 45544 (Adán Mur, Paraguay, Conexión Digital via DXLD) maritime band ** CANADA. RCI frequency change starting May 21 for 2200-0000 (World at Six, As It Happens) 6140 starting Wednesday, replacing 13670, to benefit New England, NY, NJ --- 9590, which was expected to do well, was skipping over that region (Bill Westenhaver, RCI, CKUT International Radio Report May 18, notes by Ricky Leong, via DXLD) As requested by John Figliozzi ** CANADA. MANY CANADIANS HAPPY WITH CBC The Gazette, Saturday, May 10, 2003 Your May 3 editorial "State media no solution" was not very complimentary to the CBC. My radio listening time is divided up between the CBC, 40 per cent, Radio-Canada, 15 per cent, the classic station, 15 per cent. Vermont Public Radio, 15 per cent and no radio at all the rest of the time. The noise that is classed as music on the other FM and AM stations is nothing but irritating. This racket coupled with the very invasive advertising makes for a speedy turn-off. I had no idea that cost of running the CBC, as you say in the editorial, was only $33 per person per year. This is really a bargain. You say that there is a very small percentage of Canadians who listen to CBC regularly. I doubt this. I'm sure that many Canadians are happy with the service of the CBC but do not come up on any supposedly accurate popularity polls. I guess these polls make many people like me irrelevant and ready for the dustbin of history (Frank Moller, Westmount, [Letter to the Editor] (c) Copyright 2003 Montreal Gazette via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CHINA. The Beijing 50 kW transmitter on 17625 is active again with CNR2 on a reduced schedule, using 17615 (as RFA jammer) 0300-0700 and 17625 0700-1100. The switch from 17615 to 17625 takes from 30 to 60 seconds, typical of older transmitters. On the other hand, CNR2 on 7230 seems not to be a move from 7200 but a programme change at Xi`an, while 7200 Beijing 50 kW also seems to be gone (Olle Alm, Sweden, May 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY PROPAGANDA NEEDS RETHINK, OFFICIAL SAYS The Chinese Communist Party's head of propaganda has called for a radical overhaul and strategy rethink in propaganda units. Writing in the party journal Qiushi, Li Changchun said propaganda units, including party media organs, must become more market-oriented, and produce newsworthy reports which have more relevance to people's lives. Li said all party propaganda organs, including publishing houses, the media and cultural troupes, must be run like commercial enterprises and should even seek new markets overseas. Li predicted that as China's economy opened up to the world, "hostile Western forces" would keep trying to Westernize and divide China, people's ideas and moral values would become more diversified and could even become distorted. Li warned that China was already suffering from a decline in morality and a lack of faith and trust. He said propaganda units must therefore raise public morale by highlighting the party's achievements in market economic reforms and social prosperity, while exposing and criticizing any problems that had provoked public anger and complaints. The party should also tighten controls over the Internet and prohibit any harmful information, Li added. The following is the text of the article by Li Changchun, member of the standing committee of the Politburo under the CCP Central Committee, entitled: "Use important thinking of 'three representations' to guide propaganda and ideological work", published by Chinese magazine Qiushi (Seeking Truth) web site on 1 May . . . [extremely long article skipped as it would take up almost half of this issue; maybe someone can find the website, and it is in English as noted below --- gh] . . .The significance of succeeding in the party's propaganda and ideological work is enormous and the task is most arduous. Under the leadership of the CCP Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as its general secretary and the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thinking of the "three representations", we must study and implement in depth the spirit of the 16th CCP National Congress, unite as one, rouse ourselves to make the country prosperous, serve as a link between the past and the future, advance with the times, accomplish the important and glorious mission entrusted to us by the CCP Central Committee, and duly contribute to the building of a well- off society in an all-round way and the creation of a new look in the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Source: Qiushi, Beijing, in English 1 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 5958.18, La Voz de los Centauros, Villavicencio. May 2003 - 1140 UT. This station is off air during long periods but now activated with good signal. Belongs to CARACOL and drift of some 10- parts up/down. Also heard during the evenings. Enclosed recording of "La Voz de los Centauros" http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 18, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. Radio América, San José, is now at: http://www.radioamerica780am.com and there has been no change in description of Radio America 850 since January (Tetsuya Hirahara/RNM, May 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA. A foreign service of Hrvatski Radio, besides SW frequencies also broadcasts on 1134 (not // 1125). Heard programmes in Croatian, Spanish: 0230-0300, English: 1800-1803, 0200-0230 (May). Programmes at 1800 is only 3 min duration (Robert Petraitis, Lithuania in an email (9/5-2003), Medium Wave Circle email list) Croatia on 1134 is in English at 1500 (Stefano Valianti, Italy, May 17th ibid) I hear Voice of Croatia in English at 2200-2203 on 1134 with news (Steve Whitt, Yorkshire, UK, May 17th, ibid., all via Mike Barraclough, DXLD) The programme in English at 1500 gmt on 1134 kHz continues until 1530. (Stefano Valianti, Italy, May 18th, Medium Wave Circle email list via Barralclough, DXLD)) Following the change in the schedule of Vof Croatia on 28th April (see email news posting 16 May), I haven't heard any English news so emailed the station to find out if they still carried English. Their reply mentions 1134 kHz mediumwave only, with English at 0600, 1000, 1500, 1800 and 2200 UT:- Dear Mr. Pennington, Thank you for listening to our program. We are a small, but determined team and are hoping to make the time spent with us as fun as possible. You can tune into the English portion of our program every day at 8, noon, 17, 20 and 24 hours CE[S]T on medium waves 1134. Hope you enjoy the program and let us know what you think about it. Yours sincerely, Sandra Kalogjera, editor [English at 2200-2225 UT on 1134 easily heard here in the UK with "Croatia Today" programme. Shortwave 6165 and 13830 didn't carry this English programme at 2200 although these frequencies were in parallel with 1134 in Croatian earlier in the evening, 18 May] (Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK, Caversham UK, via DXLD) ** CUBA. This is Radio Havana Cuba amigos, and let me provide you with a news item related to our station engineering department. The 15120 kiloHertz frequency broadcast to Europe will be off the air for several weeks, as the old antenna system is taken down and the new array is installed... So, for those of you in Europe and also in North America that picked up the 15120 kiloHertz frequency, please receive our apologies, we will try to have the new antenna up as soon as possible amigos !!! (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited May 17 via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) {Better not! Nigeria on 15120, and RHC subsequently heard on 11760} ?? News to me they had been on 15120 lately, if he is talking about 2030-2130 UT? Last reported on 11760 ex-9505 ex-11760 ex-11670 ex-13 MHz frequencies, tho they did use 15120 in the dim distant past (gh, DXLD) Glenn, Caught the CAm release of RHC again today, May 18. It is still running 2300 to midnight and still on 9550. Looks like it's set in for awhile (John H. Carver Jr., Mid-North Indiana, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS TURKISH. 6150,7 11.5 0018 Radio Bayrak International played pop from the 60-ies but very sparse with calls. 2-3. RÅM (Rolf Ahman, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 18, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Finally after many years in Quito I have fitted a decent earth connection. A thick 1.90 meter long copper pole down into the earth irrigated with water containing 2 kg salt plus 5 meter long copper cable to my receiver. Really improved reception. [in this issue see also COLOMBIA, PERU, UNIDENTIFIED] 5966.63, La Voz del Upano, Tena. May 14 2003 - 1232 UT. Quite sure this station for some reason relaying "Radio María Ecuador" March 12 0235 UT on 5966.59 kHz (see SWB 1507). Listen to the recording from this occasion (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 18, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Where? ** ECUADOR [and non]. As previewed, this week`s Viva Miami on WRMI is a conversation between Jeff White and Allen Graham, of HCJB and DX Party Line. They went over the process leading to the decision to cut English to Europe and North America; altho he took part in discussions, the decision was made by the management, not Allen Graham. Just this past week, received confirmation from HCJB Australia, on Tuesday after recording this week`s DXPL early, in order to attend a conference in Miami, that they will continue carrying the program DX Partyline; Allen Graham will need some help to keep producing it in Quito, tho, due to his additional duties. He will be allowed to keep producing the program, to air in Australia, on that weekend block, early Sunday morning in the Americas. Another station is offering to air the program if they continue to produce it, for listeners in North America. Doesn`t want to mention station`s name yet. Bottom line is DXPL will continue after May 31, but a few things need to be firmed up with his superiors. Confirmed that Morning in the Mountains will also continue, primarily for missionaries who have no other access to English language programming. Haven`t had a chance yet to let Greg Schatzman, Bob Padula, Luigi Cobisi and other contributors know (notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Finally some good news. Perhaps ODXA Perspectives lives again. Thank you Glenn for passing this along. Appreciate it (Brian Smith - ODXA Chairman, via DXLD) OK, here is item seven of the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited... sad news amigos, DX Party Line, the HCJB short wave hobby program is going to go QRT. Yes, this nice program will no longer be broadcast by the Quito, Ecuador based station, and they are also stopping most of their English language programming to North America... At present I haven't heard if the other radio hobby show from Quito, Ham Radio Today is also going off the air, but it seems like it will be following the same sequence, as it is part of their English language service. But don't worry amigos, DXers Unlimited will stay with you as much as possible, and as always we do try hard to make it better every day... My point of view is that there is certainly a world wide audience for good quality radio hobby programs, and that there are lots of listeners ready to enjoy them !!!! (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited May 17 via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) ** GUYANA. 3291.2, Voice of Guyana (presumed), 0825-0915+ May 18, non- stop choir vocals until a man spoke at 0839. Mix of talks and different types of music including English lyric pop tunes. Fair signal but very noisy conditions made speech almost impossible to make out. Reactivation? (Rich D`Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** HAWAII. In response to the Article `The KAHU-KHBC 1060 kHz Saga` on page 34 in the April 2003 NZ DX Times, Glen Zeigler, a contract engineer on the Island of Hawaii makes a few corrections to the article (Mark Nicholls -Chief Editor) Glen responds: I am a contract engineer on the Island of Hawaii. At one point or another I have worked with all of the stations here and have a fair knowledge of the ups and downs of most stations. Incidently, I knew Alan [Roycroft] since about 1980 when he started to go into retirement. Actually I am probably one of a few engineers that didn`t get the four letter words (so I have been told). For what Alan was or was not he was respected and therefore won his respect. I have made some notations below based mostly on fact. If you have any questions concerning KHBC thru KPUA today, I probably have the answers. Aloha Glen Zeigler || The original CP in 1936 was for KWFB on 1210 kHz in Hilo. It actually signed on, after modification, as KHBC on 1370 kHz with 100 watts on May 1, 1936. Down through the years it changed ownership and frequencies and finally became KPUA on 970 kHz which is now on 670 kHz and is owned by New West Broadcasting. Not really the original station any more. || Glen responds: Not quite correct, according to the Hilo Tribune Herald and the FCC Notice == Hilo Tribune Herald and FCC documents from the era (I have copies in front of me for both) KHBC signed on May 1, 1936 on 1400 kHz at 250w. Also the original licensee was Hawaiian Broadcasting System, Limited later changed to Honolulu Broadcasting Company, Ltd. While the KWFB may be fact there is nothing in the FCC Data Base showing that early assignment. *************************************************************** || And, Buddy Gordon calls himself the Hilo Broadcasting Company. He doesn't exactly claim to be the original station but claims they act like the original one what with all the different format structures and music and being strictly live and local which they certainly are. It is one neat and unique station! Really pulling in the listeners with its new 5 kW transmitter.|| *************************************************************** Glen responds: It is very true Buddy`s station sounds good considering the past performance of KAHU. But in retrospect, while the programming provides more options for the older listener what it really embraces and sounds like the KIPA Rainbow Radio of the early 80's. Does anyone really remember the programming on KHBC? As for the heritage of KHBC, New West is justified in its remarks as the application data and ownership including KWXX-FM (KPUA-FM), KGMD-TV (KPUA-TV) were part of the history starting with KHBC on 1400. I am sure New West could [not??] care who uses the KHBC call sign. But to say they are the original station (that is what the sign says in front of their studio) is misleading (May NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** HAWAII. NEW LAW REQUIRES MOST BOATERS TO HAVE EMERGENCY RADIOS By EDWIN TANJI , City Editor HONOLULU --- Gov. Linda Lingle has signed into law a bill that will require boaters who venture more than a mile from the shoreline to carry emergency radio equipment — including kayak tours that are likely to wander beyond the mile limit. . . http://www.maui.net/~mauinews/lnews0e.htm (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** ICELAND. 13855/U 4.5 1700 AFRTS among others with info about CIA. Very strong on my K9AY indicating the signal coming from the West, in such case probably Keflavik, Island. Disturbed at 1830 from "Salama Radio International", whatever that now is on the same frequency with music from Africa in a religious programme. SND (Stefan Bjorn, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 18, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13855U ICELAND. AFN: E-mail from Trish Huizinga confirms the site as Grindavik. "The xmtr site for both b/cs hrd by you [13855, plus 3903 in Feb 2002, verified in Dec 2002--JB] is located in Grindavik. There is a site there, attached to the base in Keflavik, that sent out our signal by mistake (before properly allowed to do so) last year. That was the 3903 kHz xmsn. We receive the signal from California and place it on our cable stns which can only be picked up in homes on the base. We also send 'the voice line' to the Grindavik location where the sailors here send it out on SW 13855 kHz." In a separate E-mail she says they have no plans for additional fqys right now (Jerry Berg, MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** INDIA. 11620, All India Radio - Patna, *0010-0103 May 18, open carrier followed by flue music IS from 0014 until brief opening announcement by a man at 0015. Group singing followed by more talk in Hindi at 0021. Thought I heard Patna mentioned as part of ID at 0030 just before a woman gave the news. Programming was mainly talk with some music selection in second half-hour. Fair signal but broadcast subject to many program breaks presumably studio to transmitter feed problem while was very poor amidst QRM (Rich D`Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Per dx_india rpt? Usual AIR startup at 0013 May 18, then program of various talk and Indian music, a few brief silent periods. Signal went off at 0055, back a little weaker at 0058, through ToH when there was what could have been an ad, then more mx. Was a pretty good signal at opening, but I could not pick out a Patna ID. Nothing heard on 9595. Anyone else listening at this hour? (Jerry Berg, MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** INDIA. Christian program of Joyce Meyer Ministries called "Life in the World" program is heard on Sundays on AIR Hyderabad A 738 kHz in Telegu at 0215-0228 UT. (Their SW channel is off air then for frequency change). Their site jmmindia.org also lists programs on Vividh Bharathi & Doordarshan TV along with several other cable TV channels. It is a major development as one could not imagine hearing/viewing such Christian programs on AIR & Doordarshan. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Box 1555, Somajiguda, Hyderabad 500082, India, dx_india via DXLD) His truth is marching on (gh) ** INDONESIA. 4604.96, RRI Serui, 1155-1210 May 19. Pop vocal music; 1159 M announcer with ID, followed by SCI to 1200:25, then Jak program beginning with time check "Pukul sembilan belas Waktu Indonesia Barat". Good signal on this new frequency. 4869.96, RRI Wamena, 1205-1240 May 19. Instrumental version of BeeGee's "I Started a Joke"; M announcer at 1207 with ID, then more music. Not // to other RRI's which were running Jak news. Nice signal. (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. SATELLITE RADIO SYSTEMS STAY WORLDS APART FIRMS HAVE NO DEADLINE TO BECOME COMPATIBLE By Earle Eldridge, USA TODAY With no deadline to worry about, the nation's two satellite radio companies say it could be years before they meet a federal requirement to design radios that can receive broadcasts from both. That's years during which any consumer who wants to switch from one company to the other will have to spend hundreds of dollars for a new radio to receive the new service. As part of a 1997 rule allowing XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio to operate, the Federal Communications Commission required that they work toward compatible radios. But it set no deadline or penalties for non-compliance. Steve Mather, analyst with Sander Morris Harris, says that without deadlines or fines, the companies don't have much incentive. ''A radio that gets both signals makes it easier to turn to the company that has the deal of the month.'' Consumers pay a monthly fee of $12.95 for Sirius or $9.99 for XM Satellite Radio. They also must buy the radio, which can cost from $100 to over $2,000 depending on features. The nationwide services offer about 100 channels, many commercial-free. XM has more than 500,000 subscribers, Sirius 68,000. The goal of the FCC requirement was twofold: to prevent a repeat of the Beta vs. VHS videotape nightmare, and to give consumers a choice. FCC spokesman David Fiske says the agency didn't set a deadline for compatibility because it wanted the companies to ''take the most cost-effective approach.'' XM and Sirius say their engineers have jointly developed an antenna that can receive both signals. And they say they are working toward meeting the federal requirement, but success is at least three years away. The engineers don't meet on a scheduled basis, and the FCC doesn't require progress reports. XM Chairman Gary Parsons says the companies could offer a radio today that receives both broadcasts, but it would be too costly. ''We want to provide choice at a reasonable price,'' Parsons says. Automakers, the biggest drivers behind satellite radio's growth, are unlikely to push the compatibility issue because they have aligned with one service or the other. General Motors, for example, has an agreement that requires XM to pay a fee until 2009 for the exclusive right to put XM in GM cars. GM also gets a percentage of the monthly fee XM subscribers pay. About 250,000 GM owners have satellite radio. Ford Motor has an exclusive deal with Sirius. Rick Lee, GM's executive director for satellite radio services, says surveys show GM customers are happy with XM. ''I've never gotten one call from a consumer who was upset because we don't offer Sirius,'' he says. Lee says if GM customers begin demanding Sirius, the automaker will consider offering it. (c) Copyright 2003 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. WORLD RADIO NETWORK BECOMES A DRM MEMBER Geneva --- World Radio Network (WRN), the London-based international broadcaster and transmission service provider, has joined the Digital Radio Mondiale( (DRM() Consortium. DRM comprises broadcasters, network operators, manufacturers and researchers who have created a digital system (also called DRM). DRM is the world`s only non-proprietary, digital system for short-wave, medium-wave and long-wave with the ability to use existing frequencies and bandwidth across the globe. WRN`s participation brings DRM`s membership to a record high of 81 members from 30 countries. Placing his full support behind DRM, Karl Miosga, WRN`s Managing Director said: ``World Radio Network is delighted to be playing an active part in DRM which represents a combination of digital innovation and close cooperation between broadcasters around the world – two of the founding principles behind WRN. We have been a long-time proponents of the distribution of international, cross-border radio by innovative and sustainable digital platforms, be that the Internet, digital satellite, digital cable or mobile cellphone services in order to reach new listeners around the world. To this list we add DRM because we believe it is going to offer listeners increased choice in radio listening combined with digital audio quality.`` ``Several of DRM`s broadcaster members are also associated with WRN,`` said DRM Chairman Peter Senger. ``The addition of WRN as a member of DRM is a great fit, and we look forward to working together in the future.`` The world`s first [sic] DRM broadcasts will be transmitted across the globe on June 16th, 2003. The precise moment of DRM`s inaugural broadcasts will occur during the International Telecommunications Union`s (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC 2003) in Geneva, marked by a reception at the Château de Penthes. . . (DRM Press Release, May 19 via DXLD) But, but --- WRN does not operate any SW transmitters, which is what DRM is all about, so what is the point?? I suppose any organization can join DRM, whether it has any direct interest in the technology or not. More on DRM at bottom (gh, DXLD) ** IRAQ. MORE NEW RADIO STATIONS REPORTED Press reports from Iraq reveal that more and more new radio stations are coming on the air. An Associated Press report says that "Radio of the Iraqi Republic, run by former Information Ministry officials, urges listeners to forget the past and work together for a better future." Another update from Salam Pax Salam Pax, the Baghdad Blogger, has been to Basra and has now returned to Baghdad. Internet access is still expensive, as he explains: "The people at Electronic Iraq and al-Muajaha kindly agreed to host the images for this post and we will put up the post on their site too. I have warned them that I have a lot of images and as the Arabic saying goes: wa qad u'thira man anthar - don't blame someone who has already given you a warning. I really didn't have any other choice: the guys at the internet place wanted to charge 66,000 dinars for uploading 1.2 megs of images. That`s around $50 by today's rate. You should see how people react when they tell them how much they charge. Because of the rise in the value of the dinar even richrich people from foreign find them expensive and start bartering. We buy internet time like we buy tomatoes now: "look if I spend an extra half hour, will the rate go down 3000 dinars?" NB: The pictures and mirror sites were not there yet when checked at 1545 UT (RN Media Network May 19 via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. TRANS WORLD RADIO AIRS SPECIAL PROGRAMS TO LISTENERS IN IRAQ As military activity shifts from combat to restoring order in war- ravaged Iraq, Trans World Radio recently aired a series of special Arab-language programs designed to offer spiritual encouragement and biblical perspective to listeners in Iraq and the surrounding region. The daily 15-minute broadcasts began in March just before the commencement of the war in Iraq. The programs aired from TWR- affiliated outlets in Monte Carlo and Cyprus, and were produced in partnership with Christian broadcasters Words of HOPE and the Back to God Hour. The series, called "Kingdom of Jesus–A Kingdom of Truth, Peace, Justice and Self-Giving Love," received exciting responses from Muslim listeners in the region. To read more about these programs and TWR's ministry in the Middle East, visit the following link: http://www.gospelcom.net/twr/news/nr.php?nr=59 (TWR E-Snapshots May 2003 via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** IRELAND. Glenn, With reference to item in DXLD 3-078, May 6, 2003: "...TIPPERARY MID WEST RADIO", homepage at http://www.tipperarymidwestradio.com/ the missing program schedules for weekend-listening can be found at http://www.tipperarymidwestradio.com/schedule2.html and http://www.tipperarymidwestradio.com/schedule3.html i.e. Saturday and Sunday respectively. Assuming that a listener finds the Saturday schedule per above, be warned that the current link for Sunday given therein leads to "Bad Gateway" message. Use the second link supplied above instead. And with reference to the Live Stream Audio that can be had by clicking on the "Listening Room" logo on the station's homepage, or sans logo "Tune in Live - CLICK HERE": the source URL for that is not immediately obvious and should the logo-link or other not work, the following will get the audio-stream going. The /screaming/ portion is no typo! http://www.tippnet.ie/screaming/tmw.asx (Finbarr O'Driscoll....Ireland, May 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. English is heard again from IBA at 0400 on 17600, May 18 (Chris Hambly, Victoria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Despite the continuation of the strike, Kol Israel foreign language broadcasts have been back on the air since at least noon Israel Time Friday (according to Joel Rubin). [Later:] The general strike was called off: http://bet.iba.org.il/bet.htm?item=betlanguage23 The Histadrut called off the general strike at 6 a.m., Sunday. Histadrut leaders made the announcement after an agreement was reached in talks Saturday night between Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Histadrut chairman Amir Peretz. The strike was launched in protest of the government's economic austerity plan which called for cuts of 11 billion shekels. The sides agreed to a four billion shekel cut in wages in the public sector. The 4 billion shekels represent about 80 percent of the treasury's original demand. In return the Histadrut agreed to freeze new wage demands and cost of living increments for two years. The sides have not yet agreed on the plans for cuts in penison funds. Business leaders estimate 3 billion shekels in losses from the strike. 18.05.03 14:38 (via Doni Rosenzweig, May 18, DXLD) 1900 UT May 18, 17545: Kol Israel in English, news of latest bombing, signal s7~9 333 some QSB on the signal, 1905 talk about the terrorists, talks with Palestinian authorities, by David (Colonel Jon Standingbear, Army Radio Station ADN3U, P. O. Box 44, Beaumont, Calif, 92223-0044, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. I finally got around to listening to the recording I made of R. Tre Network [6275] from 10 April and was able to copy a number of canned jingle IDs, including this one at 0018 "Radio Tre Network, your station for the 21st century". One other ID that I noted at 0118 mentioned "?, FM, shortwave, satellite, ? radio station, (different male announcer) Radio Tre Network". I found that rather interesting. At least they are 'aware' of shortwave. Now, why would they mention shortwave in an ID announcement?? (Dave Valko, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** JAPAN. JAPAN and MALAYSIA: Made a curious observation on 5 May: Japanese broadcast of Radio Japan at 1700-1800 uses two frequencies for Europe (6175 and 9750 kHz), and both of them are interfered by the same station in Indonesian or Malay. A schedule search revealed that both frequencies are simultaneously used by the Voice of Malaysia, but schedule taken from http://www.bclnews.it gives different languages at 1700-1900: Indonesian on 6175, Malay on 9750. Probably the latter source is not correct, as WRTH does not show any Indonesian broadcast from Malaysia at this time (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia, Signal via DXLD) Malaysia has been on those two frequencies forever; how could R. Japan miss them?? (gh) ** KASHMIR [non]. Voice of Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Movement: 5100 (Pakistan - ?). Sent 1 IRC. In 97 days got a pack of 6 "SOS from Indian occupied Kashmir" magazines, 2 grand leaflets, Kashmiri viewcards and letter from Islam ud Din But, where he/she appreciates listening interest and quotes broadcasting schedules in Kashmiri and English. Address: Islam ud Din But, V.O. Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Movement, P.O. Box 102, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, via Pakistan (Shukrat Rakhmatullayev, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Signal May 17 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. UPI's Capital Comment for May 13, 2003 From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk Published 5/13/2003 2:22 PM http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030513-113817-6558r WASHINGTON, May 13 (UPI) -- Capital Comment -- Daily news notes, political rumors and important events that shape politics and public policy in Washington and the world from United Press International. Broadcast news... The House International Relations Committee has approved a proposal authored by California Republican Rep. Ed Royce to increase U.S. broadcasts into North Korea. Royce's amendment expresses the sense of Congress that Radio Free Asia's broadcasts to the Communist stronghold should be increased to 24 hours each day "This amendment developed as a result of our recent visit to RFA studios in Seoul. Those broadcasts are having a positive impact, countering the North Korean government's stream of lies and propaganda," Royce, chairman of the U.S.-Republic of Korea Interparliamentary Exchange since 1999, said. Radio Free Asia is a surrogate news service, created to overcome the North Korean government suppression of free speech and its use of indigenous media as a propaganda tool. Royce's amendment also addresses the crucial problem of inserting radios into North Korea, requesting a report detailing U.S. government efforts to maximize the ability of North Koreans access to foreign broadcasts like RFA. "We are reaching a critical period on the Korean peninsula. In order to ensure his survival, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il keeps a tight reign on information and people -- systemically abuses their human rights," Royce said. "But, things are starting to change because RFA is playing a vital role in countering his lies." Royce represents a sizable portion of the Southern California Korean-American community and is a longtime advocate of increasing U.S. international broadcasting efforts (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** MACEDONIA. 810, Radio Macedonia has started a Foreign Service on MW. The schedule is as follows: 1800 Bulgarian, 1830 Greek, 1900 Albanian, 1930 Serbian, 2000 Radio Dvadesetidva (R. 22) starts with relay of the news from program 1, 2030 Voice of Homeland in Macedonian. The transmission ends at 2400. Deutsche Welle's eveningtransmission starts at 1430 until 1700. Languages are Albanian, Macedonian and Serbian. During 2004 DW and MR will start DRM-tests on 810 kHz acc. to Mr. Ljupco Mancevski, technical director (Bengt Ericson, ARC Info Desk via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. END OF AN ERA --- Possibly the best known New Zealand street address in SWL/DX circles has lost that link after more than 55 years. On 17 April, RALDA CUSHEN moved from 212 Earn Street, Invercargill to a retirement village. Ralda grew up in Earn Street, and married ARTHUR CUSHEN who lived at the other end of Earn Street in 1946, at the Methodist Church in Earn Street. Soon after, Arthur and Ralda moved into their new home at 212 Earn Street, Invercargill, next door to Arthur`s parents. When Arthur died in 1997, Ralda stayed on in the house but it has now been sold to a young family. We visited Ralda at Easter as she was settling into her new warm and cosy unit. She sends greetings to everyone in the DX League. For those readers wishing to contact Ralda, her new address is Unit 10, Rose Lodge Village, 129 Tweed Street, Invercargill (May NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. POWER ACROSS THE PACIFIC --- This is the headline of a feature on the Internet website of the Auckland Radio Trust and World Service NZ, encouraging feedback from overseas listeners to their signal on 1476 AM --- carrying BBC World Service programmes 24 hours a day. The website states that ``the transmitter at Puketutu Island in the Manukau Harbour was built by Blythe Radio Systems of New Brighton, Christchurch. It is licenced for 48.0 Max dbw which covers much of New Zealand, and North and East into the Pacific Ocean, with the primary coverage area being the North Island from Taupo northwards. The aerial system consists of two masts built at sea level which give directional properties to the signal and were originally used for Radio Hauraki when the offshore station was licensed for operating on land. Amongst the many listeners overseas to World Service NZ on 1476 AM are the crew of the cargo vessel `Baltimar Boreas` which runs from Auckland to Noumea in New Caledonia and the Fiji Islands. The station also has listeners in Rarotonga in the Southern Cook Islands group, and has had reports of the station being heard in Japan.`` The website also says that correspondence from listeners outside of New Zealand is welcomed. Recently agreement was reached for links between the site http://www.worldservice.co.nz/ and the DX League`s website http://www.radiodx.com (May NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. Federal Radio Cooperation Of Nigeria, Kaduna (per 2003 WRTH); 5-18-03; 4770 kHz; 0523-0534 UT; English; pop music and announcements; lots of noise, barely caught ID "Radio Nigeria" at 0532; SINPO 33131; Icom R71A with 110-foot random wire (John Sandin, Merriam, KS, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Today, the day the http://www.voiceofnigeria.org website should be launched officially, nothing was different there compared to last Friday. The wrong Arabic schedule has been removed, now only the Arabic version available, correctly giving 1600-1800. On Sunday, I listened to VON as follows: 15120 English until 1100* unepected closedown. Not heard at 1300, but at 1540 till after 1600, not heard at 1900 (QRM) but very strong after 2000. 11770 signing on at 1557 with very strong signal and news in Arabic. French ID at 1755 announcing 7255 and 11770. Off at 1957 after announcing morning transmission in French being only on 7255. So if this is correct and English is at 15120 all the time, there must be three transmitters. 7255 not heard. 9690 is occupied by Romania. No chance. Thorsten Hallmann, [Tyskland] as usual, May 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. One of the last holdouts against NSP 24 hour telecasting, may be about to concede. This week`s print TV Guide shows OETA running all-night, mostly repeats of the previous evening`s prime-time PBS lineup, but not exactly. For instance, POV, which OETA is reluctant to run in primetime, except for one or two cherry-picks per season, is supposed to be on at 1 am (CDT) early Tuesday. Online TV Guide listings agree. I was already counting my chickens --- more chances to tape PBS stuff overnight when it doesn`t conflict with the occasional logjam of good stuff on commercial TV. However, zap2it listings still show a sign-off period, and so do OETA`s own online listings via http://www.oeta.onenet.net/ for the rest of May! Due to its leadtime for print, TV Guide sometimes gets caught by incomplete or changed plans on the part of stations. But it would appear this is at least being considered, if delayed beyond this fortnight. I just noticed this and haven`t had a chance to confirm it myself. But when it happens, that will be the end of Enid Cox Cable off-air pickup of various other channel 13 stations in KS, TX, AR, after signoff when a bit of tropo is enhanced (they still get KETA-13 offair rather than satellite like some other OKC stations --- is OETA still not on Dish or DirecTV?). But that will also give DXers more time to DX OETA`s full power outlets on 13, 12, 11 and 3, plus its statewide UHF translator network, while those channels will become NSP blocked for us. BTW, OETA has a page about DTV, which says KETA-DT starts in May on channel 32 --- not to be seen around Enid, with KXOK on 32! Or will that blow off the blowhard? Analogically speaking, Enid has always been considered part of the OKC market, albewe on the fringe. Hmmm, when tropo is up, as early UT Mon May 19, local KXOK-32 signal gets snowy; at first I thought they were having power problems, but now I suspect it is QRM from KETA-DT! BTW2, even under dead conditions I am getting DTV snow on 28, but nothing listed around here; KFOR-DT OKC is supposed to be on 27, but if there, it`s weaker. Meanwhile KETA-13 was getting torn up by KERA-13 et al., and KWTV-9 had heavy DTV snow from WFAA-DT-9. A few minutes after local midnight early Monday, KETA-13 did sign off as usual, and after a few more minutes of color bars was replaced by a local-quality signal both on antenna and on Cox Cable Enid, from KERA-13 Dallas (Glenn Hauser, Enid, May 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ah...the old "We'll go overnight on cable but not via antenna" trick! TV Guide lists WKAR-23 as going overnight...but actually, it's only on their cable service (and probably only the local tiers, not in extreme outlying areas). WTVS-56 does go overnight via antenna and cable both...and since they're showing big-time movies as long as "Ben-Hur" on Friday & Saturday nights, that just might make more sense! (Kind of a trade-off for us not getting AMC??????) Oftentimes WTVS will put some obscure specials or reruns during 4-6AM. I did remember WKAR's cable service signing off for maintenance about a week or so ago... Q: Are PBS outlets doing the 24-hour thing to be more competitive with DSC, TLC, and the History Channel, which also repeat their prime-time lineup into the wee hours? (Keith K Smith[tm] Lansing, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good theory, but even in the current local OKC listings for Cox via http://www.newsok.com – actually ``powered`` by zap2it, KETA-C14 still shows a signed-off period between 12 and 5:30 am (gh, DXLD) I believe what you're seeing in the TV Guide, Glenn, is what we see on OETA's cable channel here in the metro OKC area. After OETA's sign- off, Cox Cable picks up PBS off satellite and runs whatever they're running. KETA is still off the air overnight. The Oklahoman's TV guide also shows them off overnight (John Zondlo, Yukon, OK, fmdxweb.com, WTFDA via DXLD) I don't know about the full-power VHFs, but at least some of the LPTV UHFs (15, 28, 36, 46) have been running "OETA" ID bars overnight for a while. I would rather have the bars (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, WTFDA via DXLD) {See 3-090 for OETA`s explanations and more} ** PERU. 4415.67v, Radio Cielo, Chiclayo, la provincia de Chiclayo, el departamento de Lambayeque. May 15 2003 - 1120 UT. This Peruvian pirate has been on air a couple of times the last week with quite poor signal. When "Cielo" is heard with much better quality I will attach a short recording. Info from "Ventanaperú": Provincia de Chiclayo, cuya capital es Chiclayo. Sus distritos son: Chiclayo, Chongoyape, Eten, Puerto de Eten, José LeonarOrtíz, Lagunas, La Victoria, Monsefú, Nueva Arica, Oyotún, Picsi, Pimentel, Reque, Santa Rosa, Saña; con una población total de 625,183 hab. 5009.65, Radio Altura, Cerro de Pasco, la provincia de Pasco, el departamento de Pasco. 1110 UT. Occasionally reactivated due to the decease of a well-known person, "Sr. Pacheco"? Talk about the deceased and some ads. I have not heard this station for a long time. Nice signal. Listen to the recording from this occasion. http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ Info from "Ventanaperú": Provincia de Pasco, cuya capital es Cerro de Pasco. Sus distritos son: Chaupimarca, Huachón, Huariaca, Huayllay, Ninacaca, Pallanchacra, Paucartambo, San Francisco de Asis de Yarusi, Simón Bolívar, Ticlayán, Tinyahuarco, Vicco, Yanacancha; con una población total de 132,954 hab. 6520.31, Ondas del Rio Marañón, Aramango, la provincia de Bagua, el departamento de Amazonas. May 2003 - 2300 UT. Has been active for some weeks with decent signal. It is a pity to write "reactivated" when the normal state is irregular for "Ondas del Rio Marañón". Listen to the recording from this occasion. Info from "Ventanaperú": Provincia de Bagua, cuya capital es Bagua y cuenta con los distritos Aramango, el Parco, Bagua; con una población total de 69,334 hab. (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 18, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Radio Panamericana has resumed their website with 50th anniversary logo. Good site to listen to Salsa oldies. Good DXing, (Tetsuya Hirahara/RNM, May 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. The following monitoring information was supplied by Geir Stokkeland from listening on location. Comments have been added by Alan Davies. Here are the differences I can find compared to WRTH-03. I've also added some notes from a partly illegible letter sent to WRTH editor from a reader Leo Catajoy in PHL. 567: Naga City, PBS with callsign DWRB (I suspect WRTH is right to list DWRP), agrees with my obs. this is ex-549, freq already updated in WRTH-03 603: Naga City, new callsign DZLL ex-DWLV 621: Virac City, new PBS station DZBC or DZBZ (Catajoy says callsign is DZVC in Virac, ex-DZBU Legaspi C., Albay; PBS website agrees with DZVC Virac and does not list any station in Legaspi City, see http://www.pbs.gov.ph/profile.htm for list of PBS callsigns and addresses but no frequencies) 765: Cebu City, new callsign DYAR ex-DYCB (this agrees with my observation from March '01 so WRTH-04 needs to be updated) 882: Calbayog City, new callsign DYOG ex-DYJR (PBS website agrees with DYOG) 981: He tentatively suggests callsign DYBJ rather than DYBQ 1008: DXXX heard on 1010 kHz 1071: Talisay, Camarines Nte Prov, new station DZSL 1179: Tentative new station in Koronadal, no other details 1242: DXSY heard on 1247 kHz 1260: Lucena City DZEL ex-1053 kHz 1296: Roxas City, Capiz Prov: DYJJ ex-1287 1323: DXAD heard on 1321 kHz 1431: DYKS heard on 1427 kHz 1548: Dagupan City DZST new callsign ex-DWDP; other observers and myself agree that the callsign has changed, but to DZSD, so WRTH-04 needs to be updated) 1584: Talavera DWBR, new callsign ex-DZDF (change has been confirmed in report from Roland Schulze) 1593: Marawi City, new station DXSM (WRTH lists DXSM for Jolo 774 kHz, and PBS website also lists DXSM Jolo; Catajoy says it should be DXFM on 1539 kHz operated by Lanao Radio / TV Broadcasting Corporation) (Geir Stokkeland, Alan Davies, May Artic Radio Club Info Desk via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Voice of Russia tells me on May 15: "I guess that you are missing MOSCOW MAILBAG. Joe Adamov, the host of his program, has just returned home from the hospital, and we do not know when he`ll be able to resume work." (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, May 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN [non]. IBRA Radio is a Christian radio ministry supported by local Pentecostal churches in Scandinavia and ministering to 110 countries. IBRA Radio is part of the Dagen Group which, besides radio ministry, also publishes a Christian daily newspaper (Nya Dagen) and operates a television ministry (TV-Inter). Other divisions in the Dagen Group include Samspar (insurance) and Mösseberg (rehabilitation). IBRA's 1000 coworkers produce radio programs in 60 languages targeted at 110 different countries, IBRA broadcast 200 hours of programming daily. Mailing address: IBRA Radio, SE-141 99 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN. E-mail: ibra@ibra.se Web Site: http://www.ibra.org IBRA also has offices in the following countries: Bangladesh, Burundi, Denmark, Cyprus, Estonia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malta, Russia, Norway, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey and Congo (Dr. Juergen Kubiak, May WWDXC DX Magazine via DXLD) ** TURKMENISTAN. 4930, 16.5 2055, Radio Ashkabad with news in English. Long time ago I last heard something in English from this station. Now it seems they are up running again. I will try a new report. 3-4 CB 4930, 17.5 2030, Radio Ashkabad with English at this time. I guess English is transmitted sometime between 2030 and 2100. 3-4 CB (Christer Brunstrom, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 18, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) A small fragment heard: 2038-2045, 4930 kHz in English. Then language changed to presumed Turkmen (open_dx - Thomas Baier, Germany . . .) Russian edition of Signal (No. 97) reproduced the following message from EDXP E-NET. (This is back translation from Russian, so it may be different from the original. - Signal Ed.) 4930, meteo forecast in English (!) at 2049 on 23 April. (EDXP E-NET - Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece) So it may be a regular broadcast, with varying time. Now English is more preferred language in Ashgabat than Russian. Russian inserts present only when some CIS officials visit Ashgabat. (Ed.) A possible simple explanation: news bulletin at 2030-2045 is split to Turkmen (2030-2038) and English (2038-2045). Weather forecast, as I guess, goes out in Turkmen at 2045-2048, then in English at 2048-2050. A similar policy occurs at Kyrgyz Radio (4010, 4795 kHz). (open_dx - Igor Yaremenko, Novosibirsk, Russia; all in Signal via DXLD) ** U K. Apparently the BFBS shortwave relays have left the air from Sunday morning 18 May. The last thing I heard from them was an open carrier on 15795 at 0340-0400- on Sunday. No sign of life on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. Presumably they now have enough coverage from local FM transmitters (Olle Alm, Sweden, May 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Re Gospel for Asia, 15170: What is the broadcast schedule for this station? (Bob Combs, New Mexico, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Hi Bob and friends! You can "download" the schedule from http://www.gfaradio.org Best wishes (Arnaldo Slaen, ibid.) No sites, but precisely: http://www.gfaradio.org/docs/schedule.html (gh) ** U S A. FCC CHAIRMAN REJECTS CALL FOR DELAY OF MEDIA OWNERSHIP VOTE By David Ho, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) FCC Chairman Michael Powell rejected a request from two of his commissioners to delay a decision on overhauling rules governing ownership of newspapers and TV and radio stations. The Democrats on the five-member Federal Communications Commission had asked Powell Tuesday to push back a June 2 vote by a month to give them more time to study an internal agency proposal that recommends easing ownership restrictions. ''I must respectfully decline to postpone,'' Powell said Thursday in a statement. ''There is precedent for granting such a request, but it is not customary to do so over the strong objections of a majority of commissioners.'' Powell said he also needs to meet a timetable set by Congress. The proposed plan would allow companies to own more TV stations in local markets, reaching more U.S. homes. It also would eliminate many restrictions on one company owning combinations of newspapers and TV and radio stations in the same city. Powell and the two other Republicans on the commission favor loosening regulations, an outcome sought by many large media companies that say the rules are outdated and hurt business. Michael Copps, one of the Democratic commissioners, said Powell is rushing to vote on proposals that could change the media landscape in ways not fully understood. ''The chairman's decision not to make these proposals public, nor even to grant a short delay in voting, runs roughshod over the requests of the American people,'' Copps said. ''This is no way to do business when critical issues affecting every American are at stake.'' The FCC is considering whether decades-old ownership restrictions still reflect a market altered by satellite broadcasts, cable television and the Internet. Critics say relaxed rules will lead to more mergers, leaving a few huge companies in control of what people see, hear and read. Powell said he would extend until May 30 the period the agency would accept public comment on its media ownership review. The comment period usually ends a week before a vote. On Wednesday, nearly 100 House Democrats sent a letter to Powell, asking him to publicly justify his agency's plans for overhauling media ownership rules. Consumer groups, musicians, writers, academics and the National Rifle Association have written the agency opposing eased ownership rules or asking that the vote be delayed. Other lawmakers, mainly Republicans, and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans have urged Powell to stay on schedule. On the Net: FCC: http://www.fcc.gov (via Fred Vobbe, NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. 1680 kHz: Saturday May 10 May TN and I mailed a recording of a unID Spanish station on 1680 kHz. I hoped you wanted to have something to work on at the SWB/ARC convention in Halmstad. Quickly as a lightning a reply came from our member Tore Larsson/TL, who said it probably was WTIR. I have heard that this stationhas changed format to Spanish. This station is as well located in "Orlando" which could be heard on the recording. I relistened to the recording and it seems that Tore is correct; it sounds like "WTIR" and not the prefix "WCUL(??)" which was my guess. Thanks Tore for your fast reaction! Also Henrik Klemetz reacted quickly. Already on Sunday afternoon/ evening SWB got this information from Henrik but unfortunately TN had no time to mail the members until Monday evening. Thank you for this info Henrik! (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 18, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re KFHX-1620 AZ: Kevin Redding wrote: || Well, I dunno if its a real pirate. The Catholic Church runs it and Sheriff Joe Arpaio has a show on the station. || You just cited two very good pieces of evidence that it's a REAL pirate!!! ;-) No doubt it's supposed to be a Part 15 station, but --- like my local "Phat Rock" on 1650 -- there's no way it's running 100 milliwatts and the "five foot antenna (including ground)" limit if you can hear it five miles away. Betcha anything it's running one of those Ramsey 5 or 10 watt AM transmitters --- maybe they aren't even aware they're operating illegally (Harry Helms, W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, May 17, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. KSDO-1130 San Diego has been sold and is now running a Spanish format. I haven't listened to the format much yet, but an article in the SD Union this morning says it's a "nueva vida" kind of (Protestant?) religious format, which is basically what XEXX-1420 has been running recently. KSDO had been managed into oblivion by Sneer Channel, who moved all the high rated local and syndicated programming to KOGO-600 some time ago in their usual fashion. Hey, if Sneer Channel sells (or stops managing) just one more station in this market, they won't be breaking the law anymore (at least in San Diego!). 73, (Tim Hall, Chula Vista, CA, May 17, amfmtvdx via DXLD) This is the first time I've heard of Clear Channel selling one of their AMers since they bought all those hundreds of stations! Have they sold any others? (Steve Francis, Alcoa, Tennessee, ibid.) I understand that they're selling KIIS-AM (1150), Los Angeles. These moves could signal that they're making new purchases (better properties to replace those being sold) or that they need cash (Brian Goodrich, ibid.) They were owning and/or managing a total of 12 stations in San Diego. KSDO was one of the ones they were managing. Basically all they did was loot all of the high-rated programs on KSDO and move them down to KOGO-600. No wonder some people refer to management as "damagement" :) 73, (Tim Hall, Chula Vista, CA, ibid.) ** U S A. STARBOARD BACKING OUT OF WJOB HAMMOND BUY Minneapolis-St Paul, May 13 (CRU) --- According to a report published in the Chicago Sun-Times today, Starboard has decided not to pursue the purchase of historic WJOB 1230 AM in Hammond, Indiana (Chicago) because it is getting adequate coverage from its leased stations WJJG 1530 AM and WCSN 820 AM. The report says that Starboard will forfeit $243,000 for not following through in its purchase of the bankrupt station. The purchase has been controversial from day one; the local newspaper the Northwest Indiana Times reported that the mayor of Hammond and a good many citizens were angry about losing the sole local voice to a religious network operation, and the paper reported the mayor had tried to talk to the FCC about it when he was in Washington on business (Catholic Radio Update #213, February 10, 2003). According to an article written by Christine Harvey in the Northwest Indiana Times, the station dismissed most of what was left of its staff, and the owners, St George Broadcasting, have renewed talks with the previous owner, M&M Broadcasting. Another group, Vazquez Development, LLC, owned by James E. Dedlow and his wife, first cousin of Mayor Duane Dedlow, Jr., is also said to be interested in the station. According to Ms. Harvey`s report, ``It is unclear whether money troubles, local opposition or both caused the WJOB sale to fall through. However, Starboard President Brownrigg told InsideRadio.com last month that after spending $11 million to build its base, the company planned to stop buying stations for now and concentrate on syndication.`` Starboard`s plan to buy WWCA 1270 AM in Gary, Indiana, is not affected by the present matter. The Northwest Indiana Times article can be read at http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2003/05/09/news/lake_county/74c4e9131bba109786256d200083a366.txt Database --- Hammond: WJOB 1230 AM (1,000 watts fulltime). 6405 Olcott St., Hammond, IN 46320. Tel.: (219) 844-1230. Being purchased by Starboard Broadcasting, Inc., from St George Broadcasting, Inc. Founded 1928 by the Hammond-Calumet Broadcasting Co. as WWAE 1200 AM, share time with WSBT 1200 AM South Bend, Indiana (Mike Dorner, Catholic Radio Update May 19 via DXLD) ** U S A. WHYY'S TERRY GROSS, HOST OF FRESH AIR, HONORED WITH PRESTIGIOUS MURROW AWARD, FOR `OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO PUBLIC RADIO' PHILADELPHIA, May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air, WHYY's national weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues, was awarded today the celebrated 2003 Edward R. Murrow Award at the Public Radio Conference in New Orleans. . . http://www.whyy.org/about/pressroom/terrygross.html/ (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Re DXLD 3-084: This setback for AM IBOC comes just as regular DRM transmissions launch. What will it mean for the eventual launch of AM IBOC? Is it too early to know and too late to do anything about it? The receiver makers must really be confused. How does this square with the earlier glowing reports from the WOR New York chief engineer? Somebody is blowing smoke. What will this mean for possible acceptance of DRM for domestic USA broadcasting? The plot thickens. (Joe Buch, swprograms via DXLD) From: Radio Currents Online http://beradio.com/ar/radio_currents_28/index.htm#nrsc NRSC SUSPENDS IBOC STANDARD-SETTING Washington - May 15, 2003 - The National Radio Systems Committee, a co-sponsored effort of the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association, created a DAB subcommittee that has been responsible for evaluating systems for use in the United States. The subcommittee has been focused on Ibiquity Digital's IBOC for some time. The NRSC DAB subcommittee released a letter to its members stating that the groups efforts in setting a standard have been temporarily suspended. The following is excerpted from the memo: As a result of growing concerns over the audio quality of iBiquity's low bit-rate codec, the NRSC DAB Subcommittee is temporarily suspending its IBOC DAB standards-setting process. This action is being taken, by unanimous approval of the DAB Subcommittee's Steering Committee, in accordance with the Subcommittee's long-standing goal of supporting the development of a digital radio system offering significant improvements over existing AM and FM analog services. These concerns have arisen recently, as a result of both information submitted to the NRSC by iBiquity as well as by demonstrations of the Ibiquity AM IBOC system at the 2003 CES, at NAB2003, and at the studios of National Public Radio (NPR) in Washington, D.C. The NPR event was a private audio demonstration organized by Ibiquity; at that time Ibiquity stated the audio being demonstrated was based on the latest version of Ibiquity's proprietary audio coding algorithm, PAC, and was the version to be implemented in first generation IBOC receivers. DAB Subcommittee members who attended the NPR demonstration do not consider the audio quality demonstrated by the Ibiquity 36kb/s PAC technology to be suitable for broadcast. This demonstration confirms subjective test data produced by iBiquity and reviewed by the NRSC early in 2003 (Ibiquity ultimately withdrew this subjective test data submission from consideration by the NRSC, indicating that improvements to PAC were currently being made). In order to allow time for Ibiquity to resolve any matters relating to its audio coding technology prior to continuation of NRSC standardization, the DAB Subcommittee is temporarily suspending its IBOC DAB standard-setting process. The NRSC will consider resuming standard-setting immediately when Ibiquity has demonstrated to the NRSC that the audio coding problems of concern have been resolved. Ibiquity released the following statement: Due to some specific concerns about the current state of the AM audio quality, the NRSC has temporarily suspended standard setting efforts for IBOC digital broadcasting. At this time, we concur with their decision to temporarily delay these efforts until the issue is resolved. The NRSC has not expressed any concerns about the core system architecture or implementation of IBOC. There are no issues with coverage, reception or functionality. The issue is in the audio coder and has to do specifically with AM audio quality. The resolution will be a software upgrade, and no other changes to the system will be necessary. As such, we have an on-going improvement plan and anticipate resolution of the AM audio quality issue as soon as possible. Ibiquity and its partners continue to support radio's transition to digital broadcasting and look forward to capitalizing on the potential for HD Radio. At issue is the quality of the encoding algorithm currently being used by Ibiquity. The PAC algorithm, while designed for low bit-rate transmission, has apparently been judged to provide insufficient quality by the NRSC subcommittee. At the NAB2003 convention, similar comments were the topic of discussion among convention attendees, particularly for the AM service. Ibiquity previously had used AAC coding in many tests. The PAC algorithm, developed by Lucent, was implemented more recently. Ibiquity is the result of USA Digital Radio and Lucent Digital Radio merging. Several receiver manufacturers had planned to introduce commercially available IBOC receivers this summer. There is no word yet on whether this announcement will affect that rollout (via Joe Buch, swprograms via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Re ``4880 was used many years ago by the SABC, for their internal service in Afrikaans, so maybe a South African-based transmitter?`` Technically, that's plausible. Politically, no way! Mugabe himself was in South Africa yesterday at the funeral of Walter Sisulu. I know DXing is not supposed to be political, but an awareness of the political background should help DXers to discount some possibilities, or point to others. [Later:] Re my earlier comment re 4880: Seems you were right and I was wrong. My apologies. It still seems bizarre to me that a clandestine broadcasting to Zimbabwe is using South African facilities, but since the deal is with Merlin and not with the station itself I guess there are no South African laws being broken (Andy Sennitt, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Some strange bedfellows have resulted from the various reciprocal relays and transmitter leasing deals over the years. Nothing would surprise me anymore. Besides, money often wins out over ideological purity (Craig Seager, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Hi Jari, I had a chat today with my colleague Rocus de Joode of our Programme Distribution Department, and he assures me 100% that the tests on 4880 are *not* from our Madagascar relay. All audio that goes out via our relay stations has to go via the transmission centre in Hilversum, and Rocus would be responsible for arranging the feed. But no such arrangement has been requested or activated :-) I guess it probably is via a Sentech facility. Merlin or Sentech should be able to confirm. 73, (Andy Sennitt, RN, May 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 4870: Lobo's real name is Kent Lavoie (b. 1943, Tallahassee Fl). He scored 16 Hot 100 entries in the USA during the 1970s, and also produced material for others such as Jim Stafford (including "Spiders and Snakes"). After his brush with pop culture, he went on to compose and record jingles for TV and radio. I have a couple of early vinyl recordings; I think only the "greatest hits" type compilations ever made it onto CD (Craig Seager, Bathurst, Australia (60s/70s music aficionado, and occasional DXer, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In case anyone has lost track in this sidebar thread, the station was actually pretty definitely RRI Wamena a shade below 4870 (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 4335.34, UNID LA SS, unknown QTH. May 14 2003 - 0110 UT. See comments at 5728.39 kHz. 5728.39, UNID LA SS, unknown QTH. May 13 2003 - 0100 UT. Most of the time a quiet female DJ and simultaneously in the background an instrumental version of a well known tune by Simon/Garfunkel. Also check the logging of the same station at 4335.34 kHz. Radio Naylamp, Lambayeque is a station which can be heard both here and there on the scale but the programme format does not match with what I have heard earlier. UT -5 and close down 0140 UT. Listen to the recording from this occasion -- at http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 18, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) [No, these do not both work out to be harmonics of a common fundamental --- gh] UNIDENTIFIED. Dear Glenn, A question on the African station on 6315 that I received on Saturday 17 May 1816-1833 UT, with a weak signal and considerable transmitter hum. I know that the Voice of Tigray Revolution and the Voice of Peace and Democracy of Eritrea have been reported on this frequency. However, I am not sure if the format of the program I heard matches any of these stations. The language sounded similar to Arabic but was certainly NOT Arabic (Tigrigna?? But see next). It was a transmission of a football match with the team `Olympic Bamaco` from Mali playing (`Olympic Bamako`, `Al Mali` mentioned many times). Many mentions of `Brahima Kone` and `Konate`; I searched the web, and these appear to be football players from Côte d`Ivoire (could this be the other team?). Also many mentions of `Al Mubarrak`. At 1824 UT the football transmission was interrupted by a female announcer. Next, the Kor`an reading followed (first singing, then brief translation). At 1827 – a music pause and a short comment by the same female announcer, mentioning Mali. Then the football transmission continued. Would the Tigray station interrupt for the Koran reading? I doubt it, as 80 percent of the Tigray population is Christian. I guess the Eritrean clandestine would not do this either (and would they transmit football at all?). Thanks for any help! (Robertas Pogorelis, [Lithuania?], May 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hmmm, did you rule out an image from 7225 or 7215? Could also be a mixing product between two inband 49m stations (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 6585.41, probably Perú or Bolivia. May 2003 – 0100 UT. Religious station with Indian language. Fast talking gentlemen, religious songs and "banda del pieblo", that is brass-band. I have heard one definitive geographic name: "Santa Cruz". Several times also mentioning of "La Esperanza" and it might be the name of a location. In "Provincia de Santa Cruz, dpto de Cajamarca" there is a "La Esperanza". Or maybe it is Bolivia? I have heard a very uncertain ID sounding "fonetically" as "Radio Lider Frank". In any case very exciting and maybe something new? Very stable in frequency and close down 0200 UT (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 18, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. On 18 May at 2100 on 9270 I can hear Voice of Greece in Greek. Distorted audio and vibrating carrier but parallel can be heard on 9420. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Finland, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Well, this is an interesting frequency. First I thought that VOG on 9270 could be my receiver mix-up. But when talking with Alf Aardal of Norway, he also heard it. After 2100 I made some random checks and at times I think there was another station under VOG. Just after 2300 I noted that VOG on 9420 was off and had also disappeared from 9270. But the vibrating carrier was still there and now another station audible with some music and female talk on 9270. So, it seems they were there all the time under the VOG. As I had to use SSB (my receiver couldn't handle in the AM mode the nearby ute traffic), it is difficult to say what language was spoken. Needs further checking. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) [Later:] Once more about this unID 9270, don't get bored :). Just came to my mind the Turkish harmonic on 5562. It's origin must be 927. So this 9270 could well be 10 x 927. Harmonic, just like Mauno suggested. Have to check 9270 tonite against 5562. 73 (Jari, ibid.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ THE NEW ``ULTIMATE AM RECEIVER`` IC-7800 Granted, it's actually a full featured transceiver, but when you read the specs of the receiver section for this baby, it's hard to believe that it won't also be the ultimate tool for AM BCB DXing! It even has AM Sync Detection! It's the new Icom IC-7800 and it's soon to be available. More details here: http://qtc-japan.net/2001/03_news&topics/ic-7800new.pdf P.S. In A/B tests between my Icom 746 and my Drake R8B, it was even money. So imagine, this bad boy. I'd say we may have a new king! 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, IRCA via DXLD) A "DUAL RECEIVE" EXPERIMENT, SSB + AM Hello all. I've been trying out a new (??) mode of listening to fading stations and so far it's been producing some interesting results. Not sure yet if it's an "improvement or not, but "seems" a little better. I know that everyone on this list has heard the results of fading on a shortwave station, it goes with the territory. I'm sure that 'most' of us have used either ECSS or a Synchronous detector when we listen to a station that is either fading badly or has an adjacent channel causing a lot of QRM. It can make a big difference. HOWEVER, I've been toying with something a little different. This Yaesu VR-5000 has two separate internal receivers (not just two VFO's). The main receiver can be used in any mode/bandwidth. The "sub" receiver can only be used in either the AM (fixed bandwidth) or narrow FM modes. The two receivers can either be tuned separately or locked to tune together. Each receiver has it's own volume control. Now, what I've been toying with on fading signals is locking the two receiver VFO's together, putting the main set on either LSB or USB (whichever is best) and the sub on AM. This produces some interesting results. 1. By carefully tuning the set (in SSB the main tunes in 20 Hz steps, the sub (AM mode) in larger increments) I can obtain either zero beat or very close to it. By juggling the two volume controls I can get a satisfactory "mix" of sound with the overall reduction of fading (SSB receiver) and wider audio bandwidth (AM receiver). 2. If not perfectly "Zero Beat", music gets a kind of "Chorus" or "Phasing" sound (guitarists are familiar with this) while voice gets a definite "whuff-whuff-whuff" sound. This is primarily due to the 20 Hz tuning steps. A SSB receiver that tunes in 1 Hz steps would for all practical purposes eliminate that. 3. I'll bet that those with premium transceivers having a "Sub receiver" (such as a 756 Pro, Yaesu 1000D etc) that tuned in 1 Hz steps could carry this experiment further and obtain better results. Anyone else want to experiment with this and see what results they get? If you don't have a receiver with "dual watch" two receivers fed into one audio channel would also work, though it'd be a bigger headache tuning them. 73 de (Phil KO6BB Atrchley, swl via DXLD) MAGIX MUSIC CLEANING LAB "MAGIX music cleaning lab is the most powerful audio software for compiling, cleaning and mastering audio recordings of all kinds". Yes, this is the words from the manufacturer about his product. Persons good at identifying radio stations probably use this type of product. I bought "MAGIX music cleaning lab" for about 40 dollars and have tested the programme. There are a lot of possibilities to digitally manipulate and improve a recording. I believe a DX-er has an enormous use of what is called "Time Stretching/Resampling/Pitch Shifting editor". This means that you can at the same time digitally lower the speed without changing the pitch and change a male bassy voice to a more female version. The address to MAGIX is: http://www.magix.com (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 18, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) DRM +++ MY EXPERIENCES WITH DRM[tm] RECEPTION IN NEW ZEALAND Compiled by Chris Mackerell, Wellington With the start of ``live`` broadcasts from Radio Netherlands and Deutsche Welle next month, the Editor has twisted my arm into writing a few words about my experimenting with DRM reception over the last few months. For those new to the technology, Digital Radio Mondiale, DRM for short, is a method of broadcasting on AM (longwave, medium and shortwave) radio using digital signals rather than analogue - it`s like listening to an audio stream on the Internet, but broadcast on medium or shortwave radio rather than via the net. DRM offers the potential for totally noise and fading free shortwave reception. In addition it has the ability to carry stereo signals, and multimedia broadcasts, including extra information such as pictures and subtitles. Screen capture of multi-media DRM broadcast (Courtesy Michael Dressen, Germany) [original article illustrated] For the last few years I`ve found that I`ve spent less time on DXing and shortwave listening and more time tinkering around with computers, the internet, and internet radio. When I became aware of the development of DRM I thought it would be a good way to combine my long standing interest in DXing and shortwave listening with my interest in computers and the net. At the moment there are no commercially available consumer-grade receivers for DRM reception. To receive DRM broadcasts at the moment you need a modified receiver together with a computer to decode the signal. The modifications required to receive DRM involve the installation of an additional IF module to provide an IF output signal suitable to be fed into a PC soundcard, together with modifications to the receiver`s IF bandwidth to allow for the 12 kHz bandwidth of a DRM signal. I had originally thought about modifying my AOR AR-7030 for DRM reception, but in the end I decided to purchase a DRM-ready Yaesu FRG- 100 from SAT-Service Schneider in Germany. They also sell a very small DRM IF module for installation into other receivers. FRG-100/DRM is fitted with a 12 kHz IF output and has bandwidth filter changes to receive DRM broadcasts. In my receiver I`ve had the wide AM filter bank used for DRM --- this results in AM Wide being *really* wide when used for normal AM transmissions. This has turned out of making it a really nice little receiver for general shortwave listening. In addition to a modified receiver, a suitable program is required on your PC to decode and listen to DRM broadcasts. I purchased the ``DRM Software Radio`` program from Merlin Communications, which I run on a dual processor 733 MHz Pentium III computer running Windows XP/Pro. There are freeware packages available for decoding DRM signals, but due to licencing of the coding algorithms used you need to compile them yourself on a Windows PC. I don`t have the required compiler so I have been unable to try the freeware software. Having taken the plunge I eagerly awaited the arrival of my new receiver. It duly arrived, and has been installed in my DX shack. I am listening from Tawa, a suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It`s a residential area with houses filled with TVs, computers and other noise-generating electronics. My house is no exception! My antenna is a 30 metre wire in the garden. This feeds my receiver through a JPS ANC-4 noise reduction unit to help cut down some of the local noise from my PC and the rest of the house. The very first day I got the receiver home and set it up I was able to get some of the best DRM reception I`ve heard. Radio Netherlands were running some test transmissions from Bonaire for RNZI and I got home about 10 minutes before the start of the broadcast! I frantically connected everything up, tuned the receiver, fired-up the software on my PC, and much to my amazment superb quality audio came out of my PC speakers! Since then I`ve been able to receive DRM tranmissions from Deutsche Welle via Sines, Portugal, Radio Netherlands via Bonaire, and the BBC via Rampisham in the UK and Sackville in Canada. These have all been test broadcasts, and the results have been variable. SAT-Service Schneider DRM IF Module Yaesu FRG-100/DRM [caption] This is new technology and it has a long way to go yet. True, there is no static or fading, but instead you get dropouts and distortion at times, very similar to listening to an internet radio station via a dialup connection a year or so ago. Having said that, I think how much that technology has improved dramatically over a very short time, and I can`t help thinking the same will happen with DRM. I`ve had the chance to listen to some DRM samples from RTL test tranmissions to Europe on 6095 kHz. These are really superb and show how good the DRM signal can be. Samples from these can be found on my website, together with my own recordings. Is DRM going to be ``DX-able``? Well, the DRM software can decode a station ID from a DRM signal that is totally drowned out by a normal AM broadcast, but, no, I don`t consider it will be a DX medium for a long while yet, if ever. It doesn`t have that challenge of picking an ID out of the noise after hours of frustrating listening! It`s an ``all or nothing`` medium. I do think it will be very good for those people who like shortwave listening. Some of the audio can be xcellent. A lot of DXers are very concerned about digital broadcasting and its impact on other signals. My experience so far is that existing AM shortwave broadcasts have caused far more disruption to the DRM test signals I`ve been trying to listen to than vice-versa! What happens when DRM becomes more common, and spreads to the medium-wave band, remains to be seen. I can`t help thinking that if the BBC went back and used a frequency like its old 15070 kHz for a world-wide DRM broadcast they would be on to a winner all round. FM quality stereo shortwave with pictures could be just around the corner... If you want to know more about DRM you can email me at chris@radiodx.com, or visit some of the web links listed below. My DX Shack FRG-100/DRM on the left [caption] Screen shot of DRM test Transmission by Radio Netherlands from Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles on 15400 kHz 0430 13th April 2003 by Chris Mackerell in Wellington, NZ. [caption] Internet Links about DRM: My own DRM page, including audio samples: http://www.owdjim.gen.nz/chris/radio/DRM/DRM.html Latest DRM broadcast information from Radio Netherlands: http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/drm_latest.html The DRM Software Radio site (includes excellent forums about DRM): http://www.drmrx.org/ SAT-Service Schneider --- DRM equipment suppliers: http://home.t-online.de/home/sat-service/sat/DRM/DRM.htm The official DRM Consortium site: http://www.drm.org/ The DRM logo is a trade mark of Digital Radio Mondiale Association and is used with permission. DRM logo © DRM Association 1998. (NEW ZEALAND DX TIMES MAY 2003 via DXLD) DRM UPGRADED STANDARDS From: Radio Currents Online - May 05 - May 18, 2003 --- Geneva - May 7, 2003 - As the June 16 date of Digital Radio Mondiale's (DRM) first broadcasts draws near, the on-air system has received another universal standardization plaudit. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has elevated its September 2001 Technical Specification (TS) of the DRM system to a higher level, ETSI Standard (ES). The new document is published as ETSI ES 201 980 V1.2.2 (2003- 4), Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM); System Specification. Simultaneously, ETSI has published the datacasting standard for DRM as ETSI TS 101 968 V1.1.1 (2003-04), Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM); Data applications directory (via Joe Buch, DXLD) [see also INTERNATIONAL VACUUM] PROPAGATION +++++++++++ UNBELIEVABLE SKIP PHENOMENON, BUT IT HAPPENED In my 50 years of fascination with e-skip I have never experienced what happened yesterday 5/14. You might want to get a map to check out this event. At 0925 I checked for e-skip. My antenna was pointing just south of west, approximately 260 degrees, where I had received Mexico up into the mid FM range on the previous day. I started flipping channels and got classic e-skip on channel 3. I mean classic, with variations from perfect to minimal reception within seconds. At 0930 the station was identified as WLBT, Jackson, MS which is approx. 170 miles to the south of my location in Oxford. During good tropo WLBT will override my local channel 3 in Memphis, but not that morning. When I aligned my antenna with the WLBT transmitter, Memphis was received. When I returned my antenna to west, I got classic e-skip from WLBT. The other VHF from Jackson, channel 12 was not received at all. At the time of this phenomenon we were experiencing rain, with occasional lightning in Oxford, but to the west Arkansas was essentially covered in a blanket of rain and thunderstorms. Later after the weather over Arkansas had passed things were back to normal and I was receiving Memphis on Channel 3 with the antenna in the exact position that I had received the skip from WLBT. Without a doubt this was a skip, but a rain cloud phenomenon rather than e-skip. Again the reception was classic and I was shocked that it was from WLBT. Have I had my head in the sand for fifty years or is this unusual? If it is unusual and with this information can any one question the effect of rain clouds on propagation? Lets talkk about it! (Conway Dabney, Oxford, MS, WTFDA via DXLD) I got WCBI 4 Columbus once this way, I never get it by tropo. I had some heavy lightning here, and it only stayed on for a few seconds after a close strike. BTW, it's also about 170 miles from here. (Chris, ibid.) This short reception of WCBI-4 is like the lightening scatter I've seen. However, Conway's several minutes of WLBT-3 is odd. Airplane flutter can also do some strange things, but not for five minutes (unless maybe the plane is circling over and over). I had KBEJ-2 Fredericksberg (250+ miles) by airplane scatter one morning an hour or so after a tropo signal from KBEJ had faded out. It behaved a lot like Es. I think the KBEJ signal was still nearby, but my equipment just wasn't able to pull it in without the help of the airplane. Conway's reception is different from anything I've seen. BTW, when I see lightening scatter, I disconnect my antennas (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, ibid.) My hunch: a nice bit of tropo scatter. I've had FM's come in for a minute or two, strong one second, faint the next. Then gone completely. Often during dead conditions. Signals from 200+ miles... (Saul Chernos, Ont., ibid.) This reflected reception of WLBT lasted for an extended period of time. The reception was just as good and erratic when I had to leave as when I first noticed it and I was watching and trying to figure out what was happening for at least 45 minutes (Conway, ibid.) Reference the Conway Dabney report of WLBT at 170 miles with what appeared to be Es type fading. This is already shaping up to be a most unusual year (more tornados reported in USA during first 14 days of May than any COMPLETE month of May on record) and perhaps by coincidence (although I doubt it) an unusual amount of early-season Es including some pretty short stuff which of course indicates abnormally high density in the E layer. On that subject, if you have been of the habit of checking only channels 2-6 for Es, I strongly urge you to continue through high band as a matter of NEW habit this year! ... The ideal graphic representation of Es assumes the abnormally dense area capable of refracting/reflecting VHF signals is in a straight line - such as: XXXXXXXXX which when combined with an incoming skippable (new word) signal results in XXXXXXXXXXXXXX O O O O O O O O O (you) (distant transmitter) However, if there is a significant WIND SHEAR about, creating turbulence in the E layer beyond whatever it takes to create Es, then the ideal and illustrative E layer can look like this X X X X The turbulence creates a "dimple" in the E layer XX over at least a small region. As the ANGLE which the signal approaches the abnormally dense layer is almost always the ANGLE at which the signal leaves the layer (they are RECIPROCAL), then we can have X X YX XY Y X Y Y Y Y Y Y Y (you) (not distant) Of course there can be dozens, hundreds of variations of this - the important point being that straight, flat line, Es "clouds" can assume a number of physical dimensions which are NOT - flat, straight lines. That there might be a connection, in the physics sense, between the abnormally high number of (turbulent) tornados in the upper south and Midwest and the type of reception Conway reports is fodder for discussion. Conway's description of "fading from perfect to minimal in seconds" does NOT suggest lightening scatter to me; any I have noted is more like MS reception with significant periods of NO SIGNAL in between "perfect" and "perfect." On a hunch I checked the amateur 50 MHz (6 meter) "reflector" reports for the same date and period of time. I note that around one hour earlier a station to his north was reporting "Very strong signals for a few minutes, then nothing" from another who was around 200 miles away. There is nothing that exactly fits his time frame (nothing at 9:25 AM on the 14th of May) but then I would expect hams who might have observed this happening at 50 MHz to pretty much ignore the effect given that 200 mile is hardly an earth shattering "routine distance" for any reasonably well equipped six meter station. Bottom line? Doug said it in this month's VUD - "Hang on, this could be an exciting ride" (or something to that effect - I paraphrase). (Bob Cooper in New Zealand, WTFDA via DXLD) My take on this reception is that it is either not ionospheric in nature, or less likely, backscatter. The ionization density would have to be extreme for this to be direct reflection from the E region, given that Conway was pointing in a different direction from the station. This would indicate that the ionization was so strong that signals could be reflected back, which would have indicated blanket Es up to 80 MHz, and likely widespread reports of 144 and 220+ MHz Es in the southern part of the US. Openings of this magnitude are long lasting and widespread. The other important thing to keep in mind is that windshear theorized to cause Es at 100 km altitude is completely separate and generated by different events than "turbulance" and shear that occurs in the troposphere (0-18 km). I really don't have a solid theory, but I'd lean towards a tropospheric reception for several reasons: 1) The ionsopheric possibility seems far fetched given the relative lack of other reports and distances involved 2) There are many unknown variables here: - How pure is the pattern of Conway's antenna? - Was the bearing coincident with a null of that semi-local? - Did the received station's altitude vary from other stations nearby the reception area? - etc 3) The fact that there were storms and showers in the area. This could add another dynamic of breaking up enhancement or ducting formation. One thing is for sure - it's fun to theorize about this. :) (Mike Hawk, ibid.) Hi amigos radioaficionados! This is the weekend edition of your favorite radio hobby program. I am Arnie Coro in Havana, now ready to share with you about seventeen minutes of on the air and on the web time. Item one: AT LAST --- yes AT LAST the solar coronal holes activity has subsided, and the associated geomagnetic field disturbances and geomagnetic storming are now over. The daily planetary A index is now near 10 units, and that should produce much better HF propagation conditions during the next three to five days IF, and again, I say IF no more coronal hole generated solar wind comes into the picture !!! The solar flux is now near 100, and the actual sunspot number is hovering also around 100. And now amigos just before the end of the show, here is Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited HF and 6 meters propagation update and forecast. Solar flux near 100 units and holding steady for the next two to three days. The sunspot number count is also near 100, and fortunately, as I was typing the script of the show at around 17 hours UTC, the last A index recorded was around 10 units. Let's hope that the continuos solar coronal hole activity comes to a halt, as those coronal holes have disrupted short wave radios for a very long period of time now. We may see some nice Sporadic E openings, so keep your TV sets with external antennas tuned to channels 2, 3 or 4, whichever one is not in use at your location to detect possible signs of E skip (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited May 17 via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-085, May 17, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1182: RFPI: Sun 0530, 1130 [maybe; see CR], 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700/0830, 1300/1430 on 7445 and/or 15039 WWCR: Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: [maybe] Sun 1030, 1630 7490 and/or 13595 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1182.html ** AUSTRALIA. On two occasions this coming week, RA will not be emanating from Shepparton. Aerials are in two groups in 1.5 sq km area. J group is a collexion of curtains and two rhombics, favoring SE Asia, Japan, NW Pacific, etc. J had work on transmission lines a few years ago, a bit of a disaster; since then working on handicap with reduced power, some frequencies not accessible. Lines are now being replaced or modified to enable them to work over full frequency range and full power. Aerials out of service while working on transmission lines. For a period of hours on Tue and Wed, will be off the air. Tue, whole station will be quiet, 0500-0900 UT; Wed, local time, P = Pacific transmissions on but J aerials for English, Indonesian, Tok Pisin will be off air. Need to switch off all the antennas when using sensitive measuring equipment. Wed, will also have staff members working inside transmission lines with 100 kW, so must be off for safety, OSH issue. As we go into solar minimum, J6 and J9 = 6 and 9 MHz curtains are constrained only to use certain frequencies; afterwards, J6 for example will be usable all the way from 5.9 to 6.2 MHz, to access clear channels more readily. Plan subject to change: Tue 20 May silent 0500-0900 UT; Later UT Tue from 2100, frequencies reduced for a 12 hour period. Brandon, Cox Peninsula, and offshore relays, webstream unaffected (Nigel Holmes with Roger Broadbent, RA Feedback May 16, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 5580.21, R. San José, San José de Chiquitos noted 2312- 2350 YL and OM, deep fades, no music, 16 May. Anyone else hearing this? (Bob Wilkner, FL, R-75 and NRD535D noise reducing antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURUNDI. Re 6140 reactivated: Hi Glenn, absolutely no sign of it here. Could someone in Africa check this? 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, May 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CRTC AWARDS FOUR NEW RADIO LICENCES By KEITH DAMSELL, MEDIA REPORTER, Thursday, May 15, 2003 - Page B4 The federal broadcasting regulator has awarded four new radio licences to serve the Southern Ontario twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, including an FM dance station to CanWest Global Communications Corp. The Beat, to be broadcast by CanWest at 91.5 FM, is expected to begin operations "sooner than later," said a company spokesman. To win the licence, CanWest has committed to broadcasting 40 per cent Canadian content -- 5 per cent above the minimum 35 per cent -- and will spend $2.1-million on local artist development over the seven-year licence term. The hip-hop dance station targeting young adults is the TV and newspaper giant's second radio service in Canada. In February, CanWest began operating a jazz radio station in its hometown of Winnipeg. The company has radio applications pending in Montreal and Edmonton. In its addition to the Beat, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission awarded three additional FM licences: A country music station to small private broadcaster Larche Communications Inc. A Christian music station to non-profit charity Sound of Faith Broadcasting. A native radio station to Toronto broadcaster Aboriginal Voices Radio Inc. The four services were chosen from among 10 applicants, a group that included a proposed mainstream hit music station from Rogers Broadcasting Ltd., a unit of Toronto holding company Rogers Communications Inc. In its decision, the CRTC said approval of the Rogers application "would not contribute to the diversity" of voices serving the market, noting the company already owns two radio stations and a cable TV service in the region. At present, three major broadcasters operate five commercial radio stations serving Kitchener-Waterloo: Rogers' AM news station and an FM pop music station; CHUM Ltd.'s AM talk radio station and an FM rock service; and a single FM music station in nearby Cambridge owned by Corus Entertainment Inc. (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) Haven`t seen the CRTC info about this yet (Westenhaver) The following is a digest of decisions released today (May 14) by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for four new radio stations to serve Kitchener-Waterloo, twin cities located about 60 miles west of Toronto. The estimated population of Kitchener- Waterloo in 2002 was 437,542, making it the eleventh-largest radio market in Canada (From Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada) 1/ The Commission approves the application by Global Communications Limited for a licence to operate a new Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio FM station serving Kitchener-Waterloo. The station will operate at 91.5 MHz (channel 218B) with an effective radiated power of 3,600 watts. Global`s proposed station is one of four new FM radio stations authorized in decisions issued today to provide service to the Kitchener-Waterloo area. In total, these decisions deal with ten applications for new FM radio stations that were considered at the 28 October 2002 Public Hearing in Kitchener. 2/ The Commission approves the application by Larche for a licence to operate a new English-language FM radio programming undertaking serving Kitchener-Waterloo. The station will operate at 99.5 MHz (channel 258A) with an effective radiated power of 1,600 watts. It will be a new Country FM station 3/ The Commission approves the application by Sound of Faith for a licence to operate a low-power English-language specialty FM radio programming undertaking at Kitchener-Waterloo. The station will operate on frequency 94.3 MHz (channel 232LP), with an effective radiated power of 50 watts. 4/ The Commission approves the application by Aboriginal Voices Radio Inc. for a broadcasting licence to operate an English-, French-, and Aboriginal-language Native Type B FM radio station in Kitchener- Waterloo at 102.5 MHz (Channel 273A) with an effective radiated power of 460 watts (via Harry & Brenda van Vugt, DXLD) ** CHINA. A couple of strong Chinese transmitters (serving to jamm Radio Free Asia transmissions?) with CNR 1 can be heard here in the middle of Europe between 0400-0600 UT (and also before and after...) on 17525, 17615 (very strong - a Hi-Fi reception), 17880 kHz. They are much stronger than regular CNR 1 transmitters from Beijing on 17550, 17580, 17605 and 17890 kHz listed with 100 kW. GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030 30 m Long Wire, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** CEUTA. 1584, RadiOlé, MAY 14, 2327 - man in Spanish, then musical interlude; way over SER [mainland Spain]. This was one of the first TA's fading in: imagine if it ran big power! + MAY 15 0011 - Spanish pop vocal, then woman mentioned Melilla; HUGE signal! (Mark Connelly, Rockport, MA (GC= 70.622 W / 42.667 N) (Granite Pier) Receiver: Drake R8A Antenna system: 2 m per side square broadband loop, 1.8 m active whip, 46 m wire, Superphaser-2 phasing unit, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. RFPI`s program schedule must be regarded as highly variable, even before 0600 UT. On UT Sat May 17, the scheduled 0130 airing of WORLD OF RADIO did not start until 0207, tho it was the new edition 1182. The scheduled 2330 Sat airing must not have happened, as at 2357 check something else was on 7445 and 15039; upon recheck at 0030 after DX Partyline on HCJB, the RFPI Mailbag was in progress and that ended at 0037. From the last 7 minutes of that show, I learnt that it was produced on May 13, and apparently they now intend to do a new Mailbag on Tuesdays rather than Friday or Saturday. Still working on live streaming; that was tested for 4 or 5 days, but has problems with congestion, choppiness; listeners invited to try [no URL given; it used to be http://195.210.0.134:8004/listen.pls but this would not work when checked at 0219 UT May 18]. On SW, 15040 is back, at 90% power; reception reports wanted, observing when it peaks, compared to 7445, to help decide what hours to run it; for now and a few days it is continuous like 7445, which has also been tweaked (James and Naomi, RFPI Mailbag, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECHOSLOVAKIA. 80 YEARS OF RADIO BROADCASTING IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA 50 YEARS OF TELEVISION IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA In May there are two important anniversaries on the territory of Czechoslovakia (which now includes the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic): 80 years of radio and 50 years of television. Czechoslovakia was the second country in Europe to start regular radio broadcasts in May 1923. The first country was the United Kingdom in 1921. Regular television broadcasts started in Czechoslovakia in May 1953 (Karel Honzik, Czechoslovak DX Club (CSDXC) http://www.dx.cz hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** ECUADOR [and non]. This appears to be based entirely on the HCJB press release published here weeks ago, but anyway --- HCJB SHARPENS FOCUS ON LATIN AMERICA -- May 16, 2003 QUITO, ECUADOR - HCJB World Radio is refocusing its radio ministries in Latin America for greater impact in the region and as part of a strategic global media mix. . . http://www.jesusjournal.com/articles/publish/article_398.html (via Mike Terry, DXLD) If you read this in time, a reminder to check VIVA MIAMI, UT Sun May 18 at 0330 on WRMI 7385, for Allen Graham with new news about HCJB. That show normally repeats: Sun 0930 on 9955, 1200-1300 and 2200-2230 on 15725, but some of those might be the Spanish version. There was nothing new about the situation on this week`s DXPL (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. Radio RASANT from IRRS-Shortwave on 13,840 and 5,780 Radio Rasant the students' radio of the Realschule in Sundern (Germany) will be airing via IRRS-Shortwave on Sat & Sun May 17 and May 18, 2003 at the following times: May 17, 2003 at 0830-0930 UT on 13,840 kHz May 17, 2003 at 1930-2030 UT on 5,780 kHz repeated at the same time & freqs on Sunday May 18. IRRS-Shortwave is on 13,840 kHz Sat & Sun from 0800-1200 UT, and daily every evening on 5,780 kHz from 1900-2030 UT. We will be glad to receive reports to: reports@nexus.org Check also http://www.nexus.org/NEXUS-IBA/Schedules and http://www.radiorasant.org, email: info@radiorasant.org Best 73, (Ron Norton, NEXUS-IBA support, PO Box 11028, 20110 Milano, Italy ph: +39 02 70606603 - fax: +39 02 70638151 e-mail : ron@nexus.org http://www.nexus.org Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** INDIA. AIR Patna of Bihar State is noted today on 11620 & 9595 sign on at 0015 UT. They are noted announcing the SW frequency. Usually these are External Service frequencies (Urdu, English etc.) AIR Patna usually operates on 621 kHz. [Later:] About AIR Patna heard on 9595 & 11620, my investigations have revealed that, the 100 kW MW Transmitter of AIR Patna on 621 kHz is having some problems. So for the last two days their programs are relayed via Delhi on 11620 kHz! This will continue for a couple more days only. The monitored schedule on 11620 is: Transmission I 0015 to around 0400 UT Transmission II 0630 to around 0930 Transmission III 1130 to around 1741 There will be extended broadcasts on Sunday. Most of the programs are in Hindi and some programs in Urdu were also monitored. The External & other Home Services on 11620 are cancelled for this. AIR Patna is already announcing 11620 in their broadcasts. 9595 was also noted in parallel today for the first transmission only. Patna is the capital of Bihar State in Northern India. It is a rare occasion. So keep watching this interesting transmission on 11620. The address of AIR Patna is: Superintending Engineer All India Radio Frazer Road Chhaju Bagh Patna 800001 Bihar Their following email ID seems to be working: cbspatna@sancharnet.in The other email ID I have is not accepting my messages. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J, May 17, dx_india via DXLD) Having such a SW backup for an ailing MW transmitter is fine, but at the expense of numerous external services? Shows where AIR`s priorities lie! (gh, DXLD) ** INDIA [and non]. AIR, BBC TALK SWAP If all goes according to plan, Indians in Britain will soon be able to hear desi numbers from All India Radio (AIR) on BBC's domestic FM channels while people here will be able to listen to entertainment and lifestyle programmes from the Beeb courtesy AIR. An hour-long meeting between senior executives of Prasar Bharati and BBC here on Monday explored the possibility of swapping airtime on each other's home turf. If the agreement both sides discussed actually gets signed, the programme swapping will begin on August 15, Independence Day. The BBC will be given an equal one-hour slot on AIR's medium wave. While there is a restriction on BBC dishing out news and current affairs, no such conditions inhibit AIR programmes in the UK. "If we can raise money on the BBC programme, we can have it," said a senior Prasar Bharati official. However, the BBC sounds a little cautious by pointing out that no agreement has yet been clinched. "A meeting was held on Monday which dealt with a wide range of issues; no agreement was reached on any of these," a BBC World Service spokesperson said on Wednesday. - The Times of India (From : Indiantelevision.com) Regds, (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) {what are desi numbers??} ** INDIA. On the subject of dangers in broadcasting. Picked up a few years ago. /Olle HOW A COBRA BROUGHT AIR TO EARTH All India Radio's Gulbarga (in Karnataka) station announcer was up on air when a cobra decided to bring him to earth. It crawled up the station steps, sneaked into his studio and made its presence known by a couple of majestic hisses. The next thing anybody knew, the programme was off air. For, the snake -- an inquisitive fellow -- undertook an exploratory journey of the studio. He crawled under tables, over wires and cables, unmindful of the people around -- he wasn't afraid of them; if they were afraid of him, well, tough luck! He crawled on, heading straight for the anchor's chair. Which was more than what either the announcer or his cameramen could take. They air- navigated the room and, in 5 seconds flat, was out of the doors. Once outside, it was a mad rush towards the nearest telephone. Soon, police and forest officials, armed with sticks and nets, rushed to the station. The next hour, they moved chairs, looked under tables and even rolled up the carpet (while the scheduled programme remained off air, and the station relayed Dharwad AIR). But no luck! The slithery villain was nowhere to be found. The brave officials looked some more, but the cobra remained unfound. Till, finally, it got tired of the game, crawled out from inside the toilet it was hiding and went its way! The station resumed broadcast immediately. http://www.indiaserver.com/thehindu/2000/01/10/stories/0410227j.htm UNI (via Olle Alm, Sweden, DXLD) Only gets to indiaserver recipes ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. Exciting offshore radio news From http://www.mvcommunicator.com/4693.html On 27 March 2003, The Super Station acquired the radio ship MV Communicator for use as a radio station. Unfortunately, any thoughts of broadcasting have been severely delayed due to vandals entering the ship and smashing up much of the equipment, leaving us with massive repair bills. Our main priority at the moment is to bring the MV Communicator back from Pampushaven in the Netherlands to Essex, UK so we can carry out repairs and restore her to her former glory as a working radio ship. We will be launching "The Communicator Club" very soon. Membership of the club will provide you with an exclusive newsletter, trips to see the ship once she returns to the UK, and progress reports as we continue work on her. Discounts on merchandise will also become available. Funds from the membership will help to finance the extensive repairs we need to carry out. Once repairs to the ship are complete, our aim is to launch a live twenty four hour radio station, broadcasting a mixture of hot A.C. and soft rock. Very soon we will be publishing recently taken photographs of the ship. This will enable you to witness the scale of the damage, and give you an idea of the extent of repairs needed in order to make the dream of bringing this ship back to life a reality. In May 2002, Dave Miller called Janie Ash, the former Managing Director of a radio station in Belfast where they both worked, for a chat about a mad idea of saving a radio ship from the scrap yard. To his amazement she thought the idea of preserving a piece of radio history, while at the same time creating a brand new vibrant radio station was a thrilling prospect. Through the lengthy process of purchasing the ship, both Dave and Janie remained committed and hopeful that Clear Channel Communications (the previous owner of The Communicator) would finally sell to them for an affordable price and not scrap her. On 27 March 2003, Dave and Janie flew to Amsterdam to meet Rob Van Der Vegt from Clear Channel to take another look at the vessel and take ownership of her. It was a huge achievement after months of complex negotiations. As they both stepped on board the smiles disappeared as they looked around to see that vandals had been on board and wrecked the ship. A deal was struck and the ship was transferred over so that work could commence with immediate effect. In May 1984 Laser 558 appeared from the radio ship MV Communicator anchored in the North Sea. Its All American DJ's soon attracted a cult audience of 10 million loyal listeners. Independent Local radio stations were not only losing listeners but advertising revenue as well. Laser 558 always disputed the "pirate" tag and in a press release from the New York Office Roy Lindau President of MMI, the Worldwide Sales Group for the station stated "that unlike other pirate stations of the past Laser 558 is a legal station, since the ship is registered outside of Europe, transmits from International Waters, is owned by a Panamanian company and staffed and supplied by citizens of The United States Of America. Big American Personalities became household names all over Europe. Jessie Brandon, Rick Harris, David Lee Stone, Steve Masters, Holly Michaels, Craig Novak, Chris Carson, Tommy Rivers and of course Charlie Wolf. Contact details: The Super Station, Suite 449, 305 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10165 USA Or email: info@mvcommunicator.com (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. There was a three hour programme on the "Time Tunnel" oldies show between 1200-1500 today (14/05/03) on Radius 100FM here in Israel, to the Voice of Peace. This being on a day that a tribute is going to be paid to Abie Nathan, the founder of the VOP at the Tzavta theatre in Tel-Aviv. Lots of Israeli artists will be performing and the proceeds will go to the costs of Abie's treatment. To remind your readers, Abie has suffered two strokes, leaving him in a wheelchair, and barely able to talk. The programme consisted of VOP Jingles, excerts from Kenny Page, Tim Sheperd, commercials, Twilight Time, and other famous moments from the VOP's 20 year history. It was broadcast on the station Radius, which broadcasts on 100 FM; the station that took over the old VOP frequency. The VOP closed down in October of 1993, and Radius started in September of 1995. The programme was also broadcast through their website http://www.100FM.co.il which also has a camera showing live pictures from the studio. The Israeli radio station is paying tribute to the VOP now (1200-1500 Israel local time) on 100 FM or through the Internet at the above web address. There will be a special benefit tonight a 8 pm in Tel-Aviv to help the recovery of Abie Nathan, who has suffered two strokes in the past few years (Mike Brand, Earthradio via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** ITALY. IRRS: See GERMANY non ** NETHERLANDS. Radio 10 FM will leave 675 by the end of September: -- Subject: [A-DX] Radio Tien FM: AM nur noch bis September Hallo Liste! Vor allem für Nordrhein- Westfalen und Emsländer interessant: Radio 10 (Tien) FM sendet nur noch bis September 2003 auf 675 khz. Von Juni- September kommen in den Niederlanden 19 Füllsender zu den beiden Hauptfrequenzen (103,0/103,3 MHz) hinzu. Dann werden statt 22% 60 % der NL- Landesfläche erreicht werden. Quelle: Radio 10 FM (war da Donnerstag nach Ostern). (Demnächst mehr im RADIO KURIER) Gruß in die Runde (aus Franken Hendrik Leuker, Germany, A-DX via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) ** NIGERIA. VON`s English program schedule grid now updated, for April-September 2003, with no breaks from 0450 to 2300, all on 15120? --- and ??: http://www.voiceofnigeria.org/english.html Drop-down menu for other languages available (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. FEBC Announces New Station in Russia FEBC St. Petersburg, 1089 AM --------------------------------- Far East Broadcasting Company's Russian Ministries http://www.febc.org/russia http://www.radiotserkov.ru have purchased the long established AM station Teos St. Petersburg, enabling FEBC to establish a full time local radio ministry in the second-largest city of Russia. FEBC St. Petersburg, 1089 AM, will broadcast to some five million people in the Greater St. Petersburg area on a 20 kW medium wave transmitter. Since 1 May 2003, 1089 AM has been on the air with FEBC organised programmes from 7.00 to 24.00 h local time daily. The main emphasis of the station is on Christian evangelism and building a bridge between the community and Christian congregations, modelled after FEBC Moscow's ministry in connecting radio listeners with local churches in the area. Types of programmes on the station will include Bible teaching, counselling, talk-shows and music. Far East Broadcasting Company originally started out as a missionary radio station on short wave but since the 90s has moved to a more diversified approach establishing more and more local FM and AM stations. In the case of Russia, FEBC short wave broadcasting started in the late 40s from the Philippines, while local ministries started in 1992 with programmes in Khabarovsk. Today, there are several regional ministries while nationwide coverage is still provided by some ten hours via short wave station KGEI [sic] Saipan. In the 90s activities mainly concentrated on Siberia and Ukraine, but more recently FEBC's Russian Ministries also moved to European Russia. "Radiotserkov" first broadcast radio programmes in St. Petersburg in June 2002 from another local station (three hours on Olguno 684 kHz, 10 kW). It should be noted that beside Russian FEBC also maintains many other programmes in national and regional languages of the former USSR. While many of the programmes are produced within the Russian federation, FEBC still actively seeks overseas funding especially among US donors (Dr. Hansjoerg Biener, May 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. Regarding PLC in Sweden it has suffered a lot of setbacks during the last years. Sydkraft, Sweden's second large power company, has in practice halted all its grand plans on PLC for most of southern Sweden. It is cheaper and more effective to use ADSL on common phone lines. My guess is that the state controlled Vattenfall, Sweden's dominant power company, eventually will come up with the same conclusion. Song Networks, the Vattenfall partner, a broadband company, has been balancing on the fine edge of bankruptcy for the last few years and will not have that much money to drown in PLC. Vattenfall is also running huge losses on its broadband operations, with adventures into wireless broadband for urban as well as rural areas (Hermod Pedersen, Web Editor <http://www.hard-core-dx.com/> DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also PLC section at bottom [If this issue seem a bit bottom-heavy, it`s because we held over a lot of UK and USA stuff from last issue ---- gh] ** U K. CORPORATION CHIEF REJECTS 'MYTHS' ABOUT BROADCASTER By Tim Burt Published: May 12 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: May 12 2003 5:00 Gavyn Davies wants to nail "a few myths" about the BBC. The chairman of the world's largest publicly-funded broadcaster denies the BBC is too rich, too commercial and wary of outside regulation. . . http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1051389928557 (via Jill Dybka, Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. BBC Management Training --- The big question is if this will really result in better programs (From the London Telegraph, May 15, 2003 via Roger Chambers, Utica, New York) BBC TO SPEND MILLIONS ON LEADERSHIP TRAINING COURSES By Tom Leonard, Media Editor (Filed: 15/05/2003) The BBC is to send more than 5,000 staff on an eight-day residential management training course in a multi-million pound campaign to improve leadership, Greg Dyke, the director-general, is to announce today. Greg Dyke Mr Dyke, who joined the corporation pledging to cut costs and management bureaucracy, is expected to tell staff that the BBC can make better programmes if it is better led. It will be compulsory for every member of staff in any sort of managerial role to attend the course at the Ashridge business management school in Hertfordshire. The school, a country house set in 150 acres near Berkhamsted, offers training in jargon-wrapped subjects such as "action learning", "appreciative inquiry" and improvisation workshops. The BBC's leadership training programme, which will partly be conducted by some of its managers, will include advice on motivating and appraising staff, dealing with poor performance and an element of role play. The corporation intends to put an initial 5,000 people through the course over the next three years, and then 1,500 during each successive year. The course will be the same for everyone, whether the director of television or a reception desk supervisor. As there are 23,000 staff at the BBC, the corporation is giving between a fifth and a quarter of them management training - a high proportion compared with many businesses that use such courses. The BBC spends around £40 million a year on training, most of it devoted to technical skills such as operating cameras and presenting. A spokesman said the leadership initiative would be out of its training budget but insisted other areas would not suffer as a result. He said a recent consultation process with staff had revealed that their main complaint was over the standard of management, with many accusing their bosses of bullying them. The BBC refused to comment on the cost of the initiative for reasons of commercial confidentiality but admitted it would run into millions of pounds. Working on the basis that similar week-long training courses cost at least £5,000 per person, the BBC's leadership programme could cost around £7.5m a year. The BBC pointed out that many organisations, including the Ministry of Defence, Tesco and Channel 5, sent their staff on similar courses at Ashridge. "Whether you manage a thousand members of staff or just one, you will have to do management training, which we don't think is unreasonable," said the spokesman. "You may be an excellent programme maker but that does not mean you are a natural leader. Everyone needs some help." He added: "We want to make sure that they're managing staff and not bullying them. But this is not an exercise to make the place cosier - it's to make better programmes, which staff will do if they're happy in their jobs." Despite Mr Dyke's public rejection of the heavy reliance on management consultants of his predecessor, Lord Birt (then John Birt), he speaks enthusiastically about the time he spent on a management course at Harvard. He has also borrowed heavily from the industry's language. Yesterday's speech was officially called "The Big Conversation", which was a response to a staff consultation known as "Just Imagine". Both events are part of Mr Dyke's "Make It Happen" campaign to improve the BBC's creativity, which included an earlier stunt to issue "Cut The Crap" cards for staff to brandish at meetings (via Roger Chambers, DXLD) But who's going to save the BBC from the management types? 73- Bill Westenhaver :: ------- DYKE TELLS BBC TO 'GET HAPPY' Owen Gibson, Thursday May 15 2003, The Guardian BBC director general Greg Dyke today hit back at "nonsensical" claims that he has exhumed the bureaucratic ways of his despised predecessor, John Birt, by squandering money on away days, leadership academies and "making it happen" initiatives. He admitted the corporation still did not have enough good managers and vowed to invest millions of pounds of licence fee payers' money into raising standards of leadership. "There is a deep rooted fear in public organisations that spending money on your staff is seen as a waste. That's nonsense," he said. "You get real value in any organisation when your staff feel inspired and invigorated about what they do. The most important part of my job is to inspire people who work for the BBC to produce and broadcast wonderful things," Mr Dyke told thousands of staff today via satellite link as part of an event dubbed the "Big Conversation". Among the array of "get happy" initiatives unveiled by the director general today was a "holiday swapshop". This gives staff the chance to sell, buy and exchange their holiday time as part of a set of measures aimed at keeping BBC staff happy and improving creativity. Mr Dyke said "a big issue for most people wanting a better work-life balance was flexibility with leave. Soon, staff will be able to buy extra days' holiday, sell unwanted days or store them up over time to take a paid sabbatical". Other plans aimed at inspiring and retaining staff include a new annual values awards ceremony, which will "celebrate achievements that exemplify the BBC values", as well as "creativity training", which will bring together staff from different BBC departments in an attempt to generate ideas and collaborations. The "BBC Values" - another new set of aims - were first published earlier this year, and include mission statements such as "We take pride in delivering quality and value for money" and "We respect each other celebrate our diversity". Yet another new scheme will take the focus group one step further, where research specialists are embedded within programme production teams "to help them get under the skin of audiences and create inspirational content". The hefty slate of new plans and initiatives will provide further ammunition for critics who claim the BBC has become bogged down in management speak and internal navel-gazing, despite Mr Dyke's repeated insistence that he would cut bureaucracy and pour more money into programme making. Making staff happy to work at the BBC was one of Mr Dyke's primary objectives when he took over at the helm in January 2000. He told "whingeing" staff they should "put up or shut up" and started a three- year "One BBC" programme, involving away days aimed at establishing a new culture at the corporation. Today's proposals were the result of consultations with more than 10,000 staff that have taken place over the past year. Thousands of BBC staff were expected to attend the broadcasts, but more than 3,000 members of the National Union of Journalists threatened to boycott them in protest over the sacking of two colleagues from the World Service. The event is the latest stage of Mr Dyke's "Make it Happen" programme, which kicked off last year with the distribution of cards that read "Cut the Crap - Make it Happen", which employees were encouraged to brandish at meetings. Mr Dyke also used the Big Conversation event, which linked over 400 meetings of BBC staff around the country, to defend the decision to use a slice of the BBC's £40m annual training budget to send more than 1,500 managers a year on residential leadership courses. "We've got some great leaders across the BBC who inspire and are approachable and decisive. But we don't have enough of them because we've never made a point of valuing and nurturing that kind of talent." The eight-day intensive courses, beginning this autumn, will be held at Ashridge College in Hertfordshire and will be backed by "online learning, 360 degree feedback and assessments", said Mr Dyke. The new plans suggest Mr Dyke's oft-repeated call for "more leadership and less management", first articulated as part of his rallying call when he became director general, is not filtering through to the BBC's rank and file. "Our aim is to create one BBC, where people enjoy their job and are inspired and united behind the common purpose of making great programmes and delivering outstanding service," he said in a similar speech at the time. One of Mr Dyke's first acts was to cut away some of the red tape that surrounded Lord Birt's internal market, making hundreds of redundancies among middle management and introducing a widely publicised ban on croissants, biscuits and staff taxis within the organisation. Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U K. BBC LAUNCHES STAFF DEALS | GREG DYKE JOINED THE BBC IN 2000 A scheme to encourage flexible working for staff has been launched by the BBC, including the option to buy and sell holiday time. . . http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3031401.stm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) You'll remember stories about the sackings back in February. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) UNION TO SNUB DYKE'S BBC 'CON' Jason Deans, Tuesday, May 13 2003, The Guardian Up to 3,000 BBC journalists are planning to rain on director general Greg Dyke's parade tomorrow by boycotting his much-hyped Big Conversation speech to staff in protest at the sacking of two colleagues. Mr Dyke is due to make his speech, part of the much derided Making It Happen project which was launched last year to make the BBC a better place to work, to all 20,000 BBC staff at 10am on Thursday morning. The speech will be broadcast live to the BBC's 150 newsrooms and bureaux around the world. But BBC members of the National Union of Journalists plan to boycott the speech, as part of industrial action in support of the two BBC World Service journalists who were fired on February 18. The NUJ is claiming the way Adli Hawwari and Abdul-Hadi Jiad were dealt with was in breach of the union's agreement with BBC management. "In the Big Conversation Greg Dyke intends to link up the whole of the BBC around the world to promote his personal message and the new 'values' of the corporation," an NUJ spokesman said. "The NUJ sees this as a travesty, given the treatment of these two long-standing members of staff. The 'Big Conversation' is a 'Big Con'," he added. In a recent ballot of BBC NUJ members, 63% voted in favour of limited industrial action short of strike action to help win the reinstatement of Hawwari and Jiad. The boycott of Dyke's Big Conversation speech will mark the first step in the campaign of industrial action. Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. People are having trouble with reception of 12160 in the early morning, so we are working on using 9475 as a step-up frequency. Details to be announced (Ask WWCR May 1-15, notes by gh for DXLD) Original schedule for rest of summer has WWCR-3 5070 switching to 12160 at 1200, and 9475 available between 1000 when WWCR-1 finishes with it, and 1300, when WWCR-4 starts it. So presumably WWCR-3 would use 9475 at 1200-1300, unless further adjustments be made (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Over a month after time change, http://wbcq.us still shows the wrong UT for every listing on the site. Is it no longer updated regularly? wbcq.net never had this problem; it used a backend database that automatically updated UT based upon the operating systems offset from UT (Dan Srebnick, [who mastered the old site], May 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. EARLY PIRATE RADIO DJ STILL CRAZY ABOUT BEING ON THE AIR --- By Michael Picarella, Acorn Staff Writer http://www.toacorn.com/news/2003/0515/Front_Page/025.html In the 1973 movie "American Graffiti" about teenage suburban life on summer nights in 1962, the voice of radio DJ Wolfman Jack was heard emanating from every radio in town. Movie characters got out of their cars listening to the Wolfman and walked into a diner and heard the same broadcast. Wolfman might have been as popular as the musical artists themselves. Thousand Oaks resident DJ Emperor Rosko, born Mike Pasternak, spun records during the Wolfman Jack era and Rosko continues to provide the type of entertainment that the Wolfman provided in "American Graffiti" over an Internet radio station. "I chose this life from the get go when I picked up my first 45-record when I was 10 years old. I used to play them in my room and practice DJing when I was 11," Rosko said. "I'll go to the grave with a microphone between my teeth." Rosko started his radio career in the U.S. Navy, broadcasting from an aircraft carrier. A couple years after his stint ended, music group Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs asked him to make a demo tape for a pirate radio station off the coast of England. In the U.K. in 1965, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) was the only source of broadcast available and would only play talk shows and classical music, Rosko said. "There was this movement in pop music that was starting to build from the clubs in Liverpool with The Beatles and The Who and all those guys, and there was no outlet," Rosko said. "So along came pirate radio." Pirate radio, (mostly unlicensed stations), provided pop and rock music broadcasts from a ship (and later many other ships) at sea outside territorial waters. New and at the time, "wild" music required wild DJs. Rosko's demo tape for the pirate radio station delivered. He was brought aboard the original pirate radio station, Radio Caroline. "For 24 hours a day, off this ship out in the channel, we were broadcasting nothing but The Beatles and the Stones," Rosko said. "And that's what gave birth to the pop business in England. And then a few years later, they all came over here (to the U.S.) and that's what started the whole British invasion in America." Nearly 10 million pop and rock 'n' roll listeners tuned into the highly-rated Emperor Rosko show. Rosko's average routine was two weeks at sea and one week on land. But Rosko did longer shifts, he said, because some DJs got seasick. After four years in the Navy, seasickness meant nothing to Rosko and he often picked up extra shifts, replacing DJs with weaker stomachs. Rosko sometimes worked 20-hour shifts. The only bad thing about being at sea, Rosko recalled, were stormy nights playing records and the needle sliding off the vinyl during a song. Rosko moved on to Radio Luxembourg in Paris, then to BBC Radio One and in 1976, the same year the British edition of Billboard magazine named Rosko top European DJ. He came back out to California where he was born because his father, Joe Pasternak, who produced movies like "Spinout" with Elvis Presley, was ill. Rosko continued as a disc jockey in his Thousand Oaks home, sending his show overseas to the U.K. During his career, Rosko received many awards and has radio experience all over the globe. He thrills at the mention of his work with Wolfman Jack and Casey Kasem and many others that helped hone his style, he said. "My style can be described as a mixture of a dozen of the great personalities," Rosko said. Overall, he said, his mission is to have fun. And he spared no expense in his time as a DJ. Legend has it that Rosko was notorious for throwing records he didn't like through the portholes of the pirate radio ship, even if the record label owned the ship. He pulled other stunts, according to stories, that got him fired more than once. It's the kind of stuff that should be in a movie, Rosko said. And a movie is possible. Rosko said there's been talk of a movie about his life that could star Adam Sandler. Until then, Rosko is just having fun. You might see him around town. He operates a DJ service and does parties and special events. Rosko Party Productions can be reached at (USA) (805) 373-0708. Rosko also does voice-overs for TV, has recorded some of his own music and you can watch him in a few movies, including "The Jazz Singer" with Neil Diamond. He can now be heard at www.classicgolddigital.com Friday nights beginning at 7 p.m. He tries to put personality back on the air, he said. "I grew up in an era when personality disc jockeys were what they wanted," Rosko said. "Today they don't want personality disc jockeys. Today they want somebody to say, 'you're listening to...'" There are exceptions, Rosko said, but not many. "Basically, all the radio stations got bought by corporations and the suit mentality is terrified of any kind of controversy, which is what comes from DJs who are personalities, which is what the listener wants." But people want personality, Rosko said, and people have proven in the past that they can get what they want. "Today they (the corporations) don't want personality disc jockeys, but who knows," Rosko said, "maybe a pirate station will come along and change all that." (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. 60 YEARS OF AFN IN EUROPE When I'm looking back at my youth in connection with the subject radio, then first comes into my mind the many fine evenings listening to the radio under the blankets. It's not like today that children watch television up till the late hours. No, we had to go to bed at an earlier time. Television in Holland was just born and only a few hours a week it could be watched. That's to say if your parents had a television. Ours decided to buy one in 1960, a Siemens from Germany. The three of us shared a big sleeping room and so in the late fifties we had the opportunity to listen either to the fading signal of Radio Luxembourg on 208 metres in the AM band or to another station. The latter was also transmitting in English, although the presenters had an American accent. They brought us music we never heard before, including rock and roll and country music. The station was on AM and became known as AFN Bremerhavn, which was not too far away from our hometown Groningen and so the station came at a reasonable quality. If you listened more and more to AFN Bremerhavn you could found out that a part of the programming came from their own local station. The other part were programs, which also were aired on sister stations around the world. Yes, programs which were aimed at the American soldiers. Only a few years later I found out what AFN, American Forces Network, really stood for. Next to AFN Bremerhavn there were many other AFN stations all over the world to provide the soldiers with news, information, sports, comedy, culture and music. The programs which went to all stations were delivered in those days on record. Later on tape, cd's and through satellite feeds. Of course during the last years also programming has been done with the use of the modern techniques, including the use of internet. But the three of us were not the only in our hometown listening to the sound of AFN. During playtime, at school, we learnt that more of our age were tuning in and all had the same reason: 'We're hearing things which we are not allowed to listen to on our Dutch Hilversum 1 and 2. Music we never heard before. Gorgeous.' It would take more than 10 years up till 1971 before I would be in contact with someone in a foreign country who also tuned into AFN on a very regular schedule: Ingo Paternoster. It became clear to me that AFN was his most favourite station. Both we started to exchange material we had recorded through the years and we did sent each other spoken letters in which we talked about our love for radio. Not much later the first visit from Ingo to Holland was taken, not only to see me, but also to listen to AFN Shape (Soesterberg) as well as visiting the studio's of Radio Veronica in Hilversum. Still after 32 years Ingo and I are still in contact and exchanging material of all kind. But after the first meeting with him I really started to learn more about AFN and AFRTS. The idea of grounding the station came about a year before the invasion of the Allies in Europe and was the brainchild of General Dwight Eisenhower, also known as Ike Eisenhower, in later years President of the USA. He had the idea that the American soldiers, far away from home, would feel better if they could informed on a regular base by radio and other forms of communications. His first target were the American soldiers, who were already in British - overcrowded - military camps. With in mind the forthcoming invasion they had to be informed very properly. It was in September of 1942 that a research brought the information that more and more soldiers got demoralised. This was not only through the fact that the camps were overcrowded but also due to the growing fear to be part of World War 2. The soldiers could tune in to the BBC program but they didn't enjoy the stiff way of presenting of the British in those days. Also they only got 30 minutes a week of American music and, yes, 5 minutes of sports information a week. Information was sent to Washington's White House that due to these facts more and more soldiers started listening in to the Propaganda radio stations of the NAZI's. This development was reason enough for Dwight Eisenhower to contact a few of his best persons within the Ministry of War: General Everett Hughes and Mr Brewster Morgan. They got to order to change things very quickly. Not much later they came with the plan not only to start a newspaper and a magazine, but also a radio station. From Dwight they got the free hand to start up these information systems. The newspaper was earlier used during World War 1 and was called 'Stars and Stripes'. By the way, it still exists. And it brought the birth of AFN, the American Forces Network with several low powered transmitters, nearby or on the several Military Camps in Great Britain. Of course after that all over the world such stations have been brought in where American soldiers were and are active. They can bring info about the war they're in, but also news and information from home. Next to stations which have a more permanent status, a lot of mobile stations were and are used around the world. After World War two, to mention one of the many, Blue Danube Network was grounded. The main station was in Vienna (Austria) while two sister stations were built in the cities of Linz and Salzburg. But also countries as Spain and Italy got their own AFN stations. But not only during times of war AFN was and is on air. During the Cold War many AFN stations were active in countries like Germany and from Offshore. The Americans used a radio ship, the MV Courier, to transmit programs off the coast of Rhodes in the Mediterranean [was this ever for AFN? Or just VOA --- gh]. And if it was AFN Vietnam, AFN Bosnia, AFN Shape, AFN Berlin, AFN Heidelberg, AFN Balkans or AFN Iraq, all those were interesting enough to listen to. Of course for me and Ingo and all those other AFN lovers, mostly by recordings we did exchange. During the time, since our very first meeting in 1971, I stayed in contact with Ingo and we shared our love for radio, with AFN and the Offshore Radio as the most important within the industry. Up till March 1993 it was for me possible to tune in to AFN Bremerhavn, after which the local station was closed down. Ingo had moved from Northern Germany to Bavaria, years and years ago, and could listen into stations like AFN Frankfurt and AFN Munich. His top favourite deejays were Rick Damerest and Bill Switcher. Lucky enough we and other AFN friends did share and archived a lot of transmitted material. This resulted in a beautiful production which is produced and edited by Ingo Paternoster. Almost 130 different tracks give the listeners of the double cd 60 Years of AFN Europe more than 2,5 hours of listening pleasure. It gives also a bright look at the fantastic history of this network of radio stations. The concept idea for this CD is from Dr. John Proven and Ingo has done all the research and editing of the existing material. Just to mention a few of the many recordings which can be heard on this double cd: First of all you`ll be hearing a comic man who was always related to American Army: Mickey Rooney. There is a speech of General Lucas, from 1946, which was well conserved. A report from the Nuremberg Process is one of the other unique things on the CD. Also you will be hearing recordings of the jubilee program from '5 years AFN Berlin'. But also a visit by Frank Sinatra to one of the AFN studio's is brought back on the cd. As everybody knows Elvis Presley did his military service in Germany and during this period he could be heard a lot on the AFN stations over there. Also nice it's to hear that for instance recordings have been saved from AFN Orleans and that in the program 'On the scene' an item about President Kennedy from the early sixties has been saved. Many more can be heard on this double cd 60 Years of AFN Europe, including a lot of beautiful promo's, commercials, air checks, jingles and bloopers. As told earlier, more than 2.5 hours of listening pleasure. No, I won't give you a complete index of the double cd. I just suggest to you to order your own copy. I surely know you won't regret. In the meantime I've put the cd 60 Years of AFN Europe away on the shelf with the ten best produced cd's in the history on radio. The double cd 60 Years of AFN in Europe can now be ordered by sending 20 Euro (the price including postage and packing). For people outside countries with Euros you can sent in 15 Pounds to: Ingo Paternoster, Postfach 127, 86439, Zusmarshausen, Deutschland (Hans Knot, via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. Re KFHX 1620 Arizona: Where is Fountain Hills? 17 miles NW from my house in Mesa. It`s up AZ 87 a ways (Kevin Redding, Mesa, NRC- AM via DXLD) Well, a close read of the website reveals that they claim to be a non- profit station (on the "contact us" page), but overall, the site does indeed have the feel of a commercial station. The station is operated by the "St. Dominic's Food Bank", and there are many mentions of the food bank on the website. They also mentioned it on the air just a few minutes ago. Seems a little high profile for a pirate, but very well equipped for a part-15. Actually, there is no real restriction on who can register a .org domain name. I recently registered 2 of them for my boys' Scout troop & pack. They're registered to me personally - I didn't have to prove that I am a non-profit (though a quick look at my checkbook would have put that issue to rest). Very interesting (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA, ibid.) I've had it on in my studio for the last half-hour or so. You should hear the comments from my co-workers! Presently they're featuring the Sons of the Pioneers, with the singer formerly known as Leonard Sly (Roy Rogers) along even a vocal turn or two from his wife (the great Dale Evans). The jock sure knows his "western." I wonder their non- profit status gets them around the internet music streaming restrictions the record companies and licensing agencies (ASCAP-BMI- SESAC) have used to choke Internet broadcasting. At first glance this seems to be the model for what a community station should be. I would think they'd be an ideal candidate for LPFM. More power to them --- unless the 1620 is on the air illegally! (Wally Wawro WFAA-TV, ibid.) ** U S A. Re 1700 heard in Harrisburg PA: WSVA Harrisonburg, VA has a CP for 1700 kHz U1 10000/1000 with the calls WEZI. How far is that from you? I don't have my Log here at work so cannot advise as to their format (Bill in Fort Worth Hale, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. MEDIA CONCENTRATION [note: we consistently use this term in dxldmid indexing, not MEDIA CONSOLIDATION or anything else --- gh] ``The F.C.C. vote for further deregulation of radio and television will take place next month. How do you feel about deregulation, and have you written to someone in government to voice your views?" (NRC AM list question of the week) Although the FCC hasn't released details, preliminary information in a CBS News report indicates that radio station ownerships will essentially remain as is. The big changes will be in the number of television stations owned in a market and cross-ownership of broadcast (radio/TV) and print (newspaper) media, all by the same company. The Consumers Union (Consumers Report) has come out against any changes, and Democratic FCC chairs are still calling for more opportunity for public review. Visit the CBS News, Consumers Union, and FCC websites to read the various reports. Personally, Powell and Republican chairs seem bent on continued deregulation, and any comments from us will have no effect on the outcome. Monopolies are the going trend these days, and it's not limited to broadcasting either (Bruce Conti, Nashua NH, NRC-AM via DXLD) It's really getting strange. The commissioners (and the rest of the world) were not given any information at all by FCC chief Powell until this week, and Powell is refusing to engage in discussion with anyone. 100 legislators quickly asked Powell to delay the vote so that the proposal could be studied, but he refused on the basis of timetable. He claims this process should have been completed by the end of 2002 per Congressional mandate for biannual policy reviews. The second line of defense is that the decision will be no easier or different in 3 months, so do it now. Politically and realistically, I think he's foolish to try and cram it down our throats like this. It's become a fairly big issue and he'll have a political mess on his hands. Plus, there's a lot of public and legislative desire to avoid further consolidation; the Clear Channel consolidation to date has already alarmed people (Chuck Hutton, WA, May 16, NRC-AM via DXLD) I agree that the Chairman and majority on the FCC are set on putting the media into even fewer hands than they are now. And since I believe that the record is very clear that this leads inevitably to less local programming, less local news/events/emergency coverage, and more dull sameness of stations, I don't see this as a good thing at all, even though it is apparently inevitable. In our the American political system over the past 30-40 years, big money talks big, and this Administration is only more open about their intentions than were predecessors. As a practical matter, however, since CC already owns 1200+ stations, and dominates the top 100 markets, the proposed changes won't impact that. And given that CC, Infinity and others own multiple stations in many markets, adding another station or two won't change much. Nor, for that matter, will cross-ownership of broadcast and newspapers within markets. The damage was done with the earlier breakdown of the broadcast ownership rules, and it will take far more than this to make things noticeably worse, IMHO. But, that said, people are still listening and still watching, pretty much as they have. Yes, many younger folks may have never heard of AM, and may not listen to FM much, but that doesn't seem to change the numbers much, and it's far to early to tell what impact satellite radio will have, and the internet as a music source is still evolving. So, I think it'll be same old same old. Many other things are being crammed down our throats by government, so why should this be any different? And I doubt there's sufficient serious Congressional concern - I think a lot of it is merely lip service to try to show people that they're on top of things, but that in the end, the lobbyists for mega-media will carry the day and Congress will take no action, and it will get crammed anyway. (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) Oh, man, don't even start me. I wholeheartedly oppose consolidation in the media. I called my Senator, Frank Lautenberg, who's on the Commerce Committee, to urge him to call for hearings on deregulation. Here's why. 1. Monopoly is bad. I guess I'd make a good turn-of-the-century Progressive. I think capitalism and free enterprise is great, but monopoly is harmful to both the public and free enterprise. In fact, it's a market failure. The government has the right, and in many cases a duty, to regulate private enterprise to protect the public welfare. History shows that anytime a corporation or small group of corporations gets too much market power the public (workers and consumers both) suffers. I can provide many, many examples of this. 2. Further concentration in the media will continue to slant news coverage. Conservatives regularly trot out the "liberal media" whipping boy, but they really mean the NY Times and LA Times. I can't name a single liberal radio or TV show. Except for Jon Stewart, but he's on Comedy Central. The broadcast media is already overwhelmingly conservative. Witness the coverage of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. There was the Fox News Channel, and other cable outlets trying not to get out- Foxed. Then there was Clear Channel's patriotic chest-beating and censorship of the Dixie Chicks. Try renting Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" at Blockbuster. Contrast all that with the BBC's much more evenhanded and, at times, critical coverage; reflect that the BBC is owned by the British government [sic --- see UK!], but that the government is prohibited from influencing its editorial policies. We might as well get it over with and appoint Rupert Murdoch Minister of Propaganda. Gee, could the US media be giving the Bush administration favorable coverage so that it will look equally favorably on policies which will benefit the media corporations? Any unspoken favors being exchanged here? Nah, that's crazy talk. 3. Concentration of ownership will stunt the free exchange of ideas. My point here is closely related to my second point. Again, take the invasion of Iraq. Where could someone go to get an alternative or critical viewpoint? Well, I had to go to the BBC, both on cable and on SW. There simply wasn't an alternative to Fox and the Fox-lite cable news channels. Witness also the killing of LPFM, at the behest of the media companies (including, unfortunately, NPR). The media corporations simply don't want any competition, no matter how small. Sure, we have the First Amendment, but what good does it REALLY do if you can't get access to the broadcast or print media to get your views heard? The bottom line. Here's three easy steps to transform a representative democracy into a plutocracy. (1) Make sure that corporations can influence the political process. The more influence they have, the better. (2) Do not provide citizens with diverse viewpoints on political issues. We'll tell them how to think. (3) Make sure that citizens cannot translate their deviant opinions into meaningful political actions. Let them protest all they want, for all the good it will do them. Concentration of ownership will go a long way toward achieving the first and second steps (David Hochfelder, NJ, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. From the home of Clear Channel, here`s a quite different spin on what is going on at the FCC! (gh) FCC REVIEW COULD CLIP CLEAR CHANNEL By L.A. Lorek, Express-News Business Writer Web Posted : 05/17/2003 12:00 AM The Federal Communications Commission is looking at limiting how many radio stations a company can own in a single market as part of its June 2 review of media ownership rules, according to Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy. The FCC will review six media ownership rules. . . http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=110&xlc=997676 (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC RULE-CHANGE RERUN SPURS INTEREST IN SMALLER BROADCASTERS By MARTIN PEERS and JOE FLINT Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Federal regulators relax TV-station ownership rules. Analysts predict a feeding frenzy of deals as broadcasters race to take advantage of liberalized ownership rules. Paxson Communications chief Bud Paxson says he feels like the "prettiest girl" at the dance. Sound like headlines from this week? No. That was the story1 in August 1999, the last time the Federal Communications Commission changed the television-ownership rules. With the FCC preparing to further deregulate the industry, the market seems to be following the same script. In an interview Wednesday, Mr. Paxson even repeated his "prettiest girl" description of his company. Some investors in small broadcasting companies are pulling out their rabbit-ear antennae, hoping to hear signals from the big networks. Indeed, stocks of independent station groups like Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Hearst-Argyle Television and Granite Broadcasting have made gains in recent weeks in anticipation of the changes. Buyers might be getting ahead of themselves, however. The frenzy didn't materialize in 1999, and there is no guarantee it will happen this time around, either. Hearst-Argyle, for instance, was expected to be a buyer after the 1999 changes. It ended up adding just two stations, including one it already managed. Its current station count is 27 (including stations it manages but doesn't own). [image] The general consensus is that the 1999 rule changes didn't go far enough to prompt more sweeping consolidation, and while the expected changes this time will create some activity, just how much won't be clear until the details of the new rules are clarified in several weeks. The proposals now under discussion at the FCC appear to be more far-reaching than those in 1999. FCC Chairman Michael Powell wants to raise to 45% the national ownership cap that now limits broadcasters to owning stations reaching 35% of television households. Also proposed is a relaxation of the ban on a company owning a newspaper and a TV station in the same market, at least for bigger markets. And he wants to extend changes in 1999 that allowed broadcasters to own two stations in a market, known as a "duopoly." Most dramatically, a company could own as many as three stations in really big markets -- as long as only one is among the top four. Here's the problem, however: News Corp. and Viacom, among those pushing for the changes, already have been the most aggressive in acquiring TV stations. Both are already over the existing station-ownership cap, with stations reaching close to 40% of the country, so the higher limit would simply legitimatize what they already own (and have been operating under a waiver of the existing cap, pending changes to the rules). That isn't stopping some big investors from thinking lightning can strike again, however. "We think there is going to be a lot of activity," says Mario Gabelli, chairman and CEO of Gabelli Asset Management, a big investor in broadcasting stocks. To be sure, Mr. Gabelli has made money on a similar bet before. His Gabelli-managed funds were big shareholders in Chris-Craft Industries, the TV station group bought by News Corp. after the 1999 changes, which News Corp. used to establish duopolies in some big markets like New York. Big broadcasters are interested in buying stations in major markets, Mr. Gabelli says. He points to Granite Broadcasting, Young Broadcasting and Fisher Communications as having stations in major markets. Clients of Gabelli Asset Management own shares of several broadcasters, including more than 20% of Young. Young shares were up six cents at $19.11 at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, up sharply from their 52-week low of $6.30 last August. Granite is looking to sell or swap its two big-market stations in Detroit and San Francisco so it can expand in smaller markets where its other six stations are. "We might be able to hit a home run now in the larger markets," says Stuart Beck, Granite's president. Granite stock has almost doubled from around $1.50 in April to $2.67 earlier this week. The shares were at $2.35, down 32 cents, or 12%, at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Nasdaq trading. So far, however, the big companies aren't likely to go on major acquisition tears. General Electric's NBC television unit, for instance, took advantage of the duopoly changes to buy Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo last year, which gave it a second station in markets like Los Angeles. But NBC isn't likely now to seek out big purchases, people with knowledge of the company's thinking say. ABC's parent, Walt Disney, is well below the cap but long has been reluctant to do big TV-station acquisitions in a market it deems too expensive. Now Disney is facing debt pressures and isn't in a position to spend up big. "It is hard to believe that raising the cap will create a slew of deals," says Alan Bell, president and chief executive of Freedom Communications, which owns several smaller-market television stations and newspapers including the Orange County Register. In any case, the big companies aren't making a lot of noises about snapping up properties, no doubt partly to avoid inflaming political sentiment against the changes. "We do not see ourselves going out on a buying binge of television stations," said News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch on a conference call with analysts earlier this week. Furthermore, with News Corp. expecting to face heavy government scrutiny over the purchase of Hughes Electronics' satellite broadcaster, DirecTV, this may not be the best time for Mr. Murdoch to try to buy more stations. URL for this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB105295437193400800,00.html Hyperlinks in this Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB93387597991683528,00.html http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB105285082277221200,00.html http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB93387597991683528,00.html Updated May 15, 2003 12:17 a.m. Copyright 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via Mike Cooper via DXLD) ** U S A. "HERALD AND WLRN STRIKE DEAL" Article in The Miami Herald on Apr. 29, 2003 BY CHRISTINA HOAG http://wlrn.org/story.cfm?departmentID=24&story_id=2784 The Herald and WLRN 91.3 FM, a member station of the National Public Radio network, formed a partnership Monday in which the newspaper will produce news and information to air on the radio station. ''We have the pipeline and The Herald has the news-gathering machine, which we don't have,'' said John LaBonia, general manager of WLRN's radio and television stations, which are licensed to the Miami-Dade school district. ``We're hoping this will become a model.'' Said Herald Publisher Alberto Ibargüen: ``This alliance unites the best news operation in South Florida with the best national news organization on radio. We look forward to providing WLRN listeners with the high-quality news they expect from The Herald, WLRN and NPR.'' Under the agreement, The Herald will hire a full-time staff of five radio journalists to produce five-minute news segments to air every half-hour from 5:05 a.m. to 10:05 a.m. The staff will work out of a radio studio to be built in The Herald's downtown Miami newsroom. Reports will feature local reporting by, and interviews with, Herald staff writers and columnists, as well as business, sports and weather. They will also be fed to NPR's national network. In a later phase, segments will be produced for WLRN's afternoon news programs, including NPR's All Things Considered. The partnership also could extend to jointly producing public-affairs programs for WLRN's television station, Channel 17, LaBonia said. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed and an on-air date has not been set. `A GREAT SERVICE' ''This is going to be a great service to the community,'' said Herald General Manager Jesús Díaz. ``There's so little news on the radio dial, especially local news.'' The newspaper, owned by San José, Calif.-based Knight Ridder, and the radio station will also collaborate in promotional efforts. LaBonia stressed that the station's content is not influenced by either school district administrators or members of the School Board. ''We have an editorial integrity policy that was passed by the School Board, which stipulates that the station has control over editorial content,'' he said. The partnership leaves all news decisions to The Herald. The alliance is an example of the increasing convergence of media outlets that is taking place across the country. TOUGH COMPETITION Facing tough competition from cable channels and the Internet, traditional publishers and broadcasters are increasingly joining forces in an effort to drive viewership and readership, as well as to lure more advertisers. The Herald already has a television news and marketing partnership with WFOR-CBS 4, while the weekly Street Miami is teamed with WFOR's sister station, WBFS-UPN 33. Spanish-language El Nuevo Herald has an alliance with WLTV Univisión 23. Both Street Miami and El Nuevo Herald are owned by The Miami Herald Publishing Co. In print-radio teams, The Sun-Sentinel has partnerships with Palm Beach NPR member station WXEL 90.7 FM, in which some dozen newspaper stories a day are turned into radio packages, and with WIOD 610 AM, which also uses that newspaper's content. The Fort Lauderdale daily also has a television partnership with WTVJ-NBC 6. CONCERNS EXPRESSED Some media watchers fear that these types of alliances limit the number of perspectives available to the public. ''If these partnerships are used to supplement or expand the type of journalism available to the public, that's wonderful,'' said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. ``The danger is that having two news departments working together, one of the sources may cut back on its news budget.'' University of Miami journalism professor Mitch Shapiro said radio- print partnerships are useful as local news coverage is increasingly fading from the airwaves. ''TV does more local news, and you really do have divergent points of view available to the public,'' he said. ``With these type of partnerships, everyone wins.'' PROMOTION TOOL? Others see such alliances as more about promotion than anything else. ''It's more marketing than journalism synergy,'' said Donna Leff, journalism professor at Northwestern University in Illinois. `Anything that promotes news readership or TV news viewership is good.'' (via DXLD) ** U S A. Re IBOC, 3-084: Given this development, that could occur! You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, or certainly not by saying so alone. IBOC is in its most basic sense flawed conceptually, because its drawbacks outweigh its benefits. The Eureka system hasn't taken off very well anywhere either, despite being better technically. The one has audio and interference problems owing in no small part to trying to cram it into an existing service. The other suffers from being a completely different band. Both ultimately force consumers to buy new receivers to obtain a benefit they neither want nor understand, which can be the kiss of death. AM $tereo actually offered people a benefit they could understand, but through all sorts of bungling, it pretty much failed. It was also probably too late (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. U.S. MOVES TO ALLOW TRADING OF RADIO SPECTRUM LICENSES By STEPHEN LABATON, May 16, 2003 WASHINGTON, May 15 -- The government took the first steps today to permit companies to lease and trade radio spectrum licenses, a move that could result in improved service for the nation's millions of users of cellphones and other wireless devices. By a vote of 4 to 1, the Federal Communications Commission removed the impediments for leasing such licenses, making it more economically efficient for big and small wireless companies to gain access to spectrum licenses held by others. That should help them patch the holes in their networks that create cellphone dead spots, without having to make big capital investments. The move followed heavy lobbying by the largest wireless carriers, including AT&T, Verizon and Cingular, as well as players on Wall Street like Cantor Fitzgerald that are hoping to serve as brokers or clearinghouses in the creation of a secondary market for swapping licenses. Officials and industry analysts say the hope is that by allowing license holders to lease slivers of the spectrum that are currently underused, consumers will benefit from reduced instances of cellphone calls being dropped. More efficient use of the spectrum would make it easier to connect to the Internet with hand-held computers in crowded areas where the spectrum available is inadequate to move data and it should help extend wireless services in rural areas that are underserved. The decision to allow companies to transfer portions of the spectrum they do not use promises to reshape the economics of the market. It will also change the longstanding federal framework that regulates the holders of spectrum licenses. The commission extinguished a 40-year-old rule that had the effect of requiring the holder of a spectrum license to also control the physical infrastructure needed to use that piece of the spectrum -- the antenna, the transmitter and the employees who run the operation. The rule was intended to ensure that the license holder be responsible for fixing signal interference and other problems. Under the new rules, the holder of a license who is not making use of the spectrum will be able to lease it to another company that would provide the equipment and personnel. "Today's action is one of the most important spectrum reform decisions by this commission in the last decade," said Michael K. Powell, chairman of the commission, in a joint statement with another commissioner, Kevin J. Martin. "For years, the commission has rhetorically praised the concept and possibilities created by secondary markets in spectrum. Today that rhetoric turns into reality." "Our decision signals a new day of increased spectrum access and improved services for consumers," they added. Telecommunications industry executives were similarly pleased. "Permitting secondary markets for spectrum will deliver to carriers improved access to the airwaves, increasing their flexibility and bringing down their costs, which should ultimately result in lower prices for consumers," said Tom Wheeler, president of the industry's main trade group, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. "Football teams aren't done after draft day. They continue to meet their changing needs through trades and late-season acquisitions. Wireless carriers deserve, and will now receive, similar flexibility." Officials have provided a variety of examples of how a commodities market in the spectrum would work, including the following: P: Nationwide cellphone companies would be able to lease pieces of the spectrum in different regions of the country depending on the available supply and on customer demand. P: News organizations covering political conventions or the Olympics, for example, would be able to buy contracts to use a piece of the spectrum during the event to give them greater capacity to beam pictures, sound and data. P: An airport with congested airwaves from air-traffic transmissions and cellphone use would be able to lease a piece of the spectrum from other spectrum holders that are not using their space during peak hours. With the proliferation of wireless communications, including growth in wireless browsing of the Internet, an expanding group of companies has been clamoring for scarce space on portions of the spectrum. But federal regulations have long impeded the ability of holders to sell or lease licenses. A 1963 F.C.C. decision called Intermountain Microwave linked the license to the requirement that each holder also control the transmission equipment. Three years ago, William E. Kennard, then chairman of the commission, proposed altering the rules and allowing the formation of a secondary market for spectrum licenses in response to increasing complaints from phone companies and others that they did not have enough space on the spectrum. In reconsidering the Intermountain case, the agency found a host of problems that prevented the owner of a license from lending it. In particular, it was not clear which company in such a transaction ought to be held responsible for problems like signal interference. The commission said today that it had resolved that issue. A company can become what officials call a lease manager and provide short-term access to the spectrum. In those circumstances, the license holder would remain responsible for complying with rules and would be liable for any interference problems. For long-term transfers, a company could turn over control of the license along with the responsibilities of complying with the regulations. That would require the approval of the commission, although officials emphasized today that they would streamline the process. One commissioner, Michael J. Copps, dissented. He said the agency did not have the authority under the Communications Act of 1934 to alter the rules in such a way. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. 15170 Gospel for Asia, 1800 Golden Trail Court, Carrollton, Texas 75010, USA. QSL Card full data in 134 days. I sent a reception report for an Urdu transmission. V/S: Rhonda Penland. The station sent me the schedule by language for Spring 2003, a handwritten letter and a small personal card. Send your reception reports to: Rhonda Penland, P. O. Box 1210, Somis, CA 93066, USA or to gfaradio@mygfa.org (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Didn`t they specify the transmitter site??? GFA via Wertachtal 15425. Card, sked and handwritten note apologising for delay. V/s Rhonda Penland, coördinator in 4m for email report to gfaradio@myfga.org. Gives mailing address of 1800 Golden Trail Court, Carrollton, TX 75010, USA (Richard Jary, SA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Re UNIDENTIFIED 4880 in 3-084: This seems to be SW Radio Africa. The program fits with their website info. The postal address and telephone numbers I heard are for "Habitat for Humanity" organization, also mentioned at their website. And - there is a mention about testing on new frequency 4880. See http://www.swradioafrica.com/ 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You are right, now at 1815 audible // 6145. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) Out of schedule? from their website: Tests on new frequency 4880 KHz Broadcast times will be Saturday and Sunday 0600-0625, 0705-0725, 0800-0855 (Zimbabwe Time) Bye (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Site? South Africa? Madagascar? (gh) Yes, maybe the Friday program was just additional test. I hear them on 4880 again today, 17 May at 1715 in parallel with 6145. They switched off 4880 at about 1725 and returned around 1755, while 6145 was continuous. So maybe those times mentioned at the website should be local pm. Transmitter site still unknown. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [website announces: Tests on new frequency 4880 kHz. Broadcast times will be Saturday and Sunday 06.00 - 06.25, 07.05 - 07.25, 08.00 - 08.55 (Zimbabwe Time) [pm?] In an effort to improve reception, SW Radio Africa will be carrying out broadcasts on a new test frequency this Saturday and Sunday. Listeners in Zimbabwe will be able to received our signal on 4880 KHz as well as on the usual 6145 KHz. [NB 6145 is scheduled 1600-1900 UTC via Meyerton]] (BDXC-UK via DXLD) Wasn`t 4880 an old Springbok frequency? (gh, DXLD) Yes, also heard in Australia 17/5, to sign-off 1900 with ID, after program "Letter from Zimbabwe". 4880 was used many years ago by the SABC, for their internal service in Afrikaans, so maybe a South African-based transmitter? (Craig Seager, Bathurst, Australia R&S EK890/Icom R75, hard-core-dx via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re: DXLD 3-084 UNID/Andy Sennitt comment. Yes, Andy has the dog name right. I have couple of Lobo LP's (yep - those big, black ones). To be more accurate, I'd call Lobo a singer, not a band :). Never knew his real name. Anyone?. Cheers (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Glenn: I doubt that you are hugely interested, but I rec'd an unexpected pirate transmission, probably, last night: the first one ever, though I've tune around that area many times using both AM and SSB. 6940 Probable Pirate: very rich quality sounding AM transmission of a male voice, in a rambling dialogue about something. 0612Z The odd thing about this was that the reception was limited to little snatches of words and syllables. When I could hear it, the voice quality was marvelous, like somebody using a great ribbon or condenser mike: NOT at all like the weak, flat sound of typical ham transmitters/communications mikes. The fellow was giving some kind of story or complaint about something but I just could NOT get the gist of it. The odd reception quality struck me: I'd hear a syllable or a word, or maybe part of a sentence, and then it just CUT OUT. Then a moment later it was on again, almost as though there was a loose connection in his audio/transmitter/antenna that he wasn't aware of. During those moments of "cut out" I got increased background noise as the AVC pulled up the gain, so it was apparently a carrier cut -- or the most DISCRETELY on-off skywave propagation that I have EVER heard in my life! Indeed, it was SO discrete -- with no actual fading and phasey variability -- that I suspected that it was an intermittent transmission, maybe through a defective, squelching relay transmitter. After several minutes of trying hard to discern what was being transmitted, and failing to make sense of it, I gave up. Any ideas? Receiver: R75, AM detection mode, antenna: 175 ft inverted L; also was receivable on 355 foot dipole oriented N-S. Best, (STEVE WALDEE - retired radio station chief engineer, San Jose, CA, May 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 9270: Heard it at 2150 but could not recognise even the language. Harmonic? Doesn't anyone else hear it? 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, May 17, hard-core-dx via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 9745: Here in NZ, 9745 is in the clear at 2058z, with Arabic talk heard, then just a few seconds prior to 2100, a second station signs on with a heavily political sounding program with many mentions of Iraq. The first station heard has a program mostly of music so presume that to be Bahrain. Perhaps Tarek or someone closer to the action can confirm? (Paul Ormandy, Oamaru, New Zealand, May 17, dxing.info via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 13855 USB Armed Forces Radio and TV Service, via Iceland. 16/04 2039 UT. Transmissão de comentários em inglês. Retransmissão de programas de redes norte-americanas, com comentários e noticias. 25442. Obs.: Existe uma segunda emissora ao fundo, também em USB, em idioma desconhecido. Se alguém conseguir identificá-la, seria uma ótima informação. 73s, (Rudolf Grimm, São Bernardo, SP, May 17, radioescutas via DXLD) [Another USB station on 13855 in the background] {See 3-086 ICELAND: Salama Radio, Nigerian clandestine; but doubt it really be USB} ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS +++++++++++++ Book Review by Lawrence S. Connor http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/6/043684-2406-021.html May 17, 2003 WORLD WAR II ON THE AIR: EDWARD R. MURROW AND THE BROADCASTS THAT RIVETED A NATION Authors: Mark Bernstein and Alex Lubertozzi Publisher: Sourcebooks Price: $29.95 It's been more than 60 years since Americans sat by their radios listening to Edward R. Murrow's sonorous voice announce, "This Is London," while bombs exploded and buildings fell around him. This was 1940 and the Battle of Britain was reducing much of London to rubble. Those broadcasts from London and other cities and battlefields by Murrow and a dozen or more radio correspondents whom he enlisted for the Columbia Broadcasting System during the six-year war have been captured in words, pictures and sounds in "World War II On The Air: Edward R. Murrow and the Broadcasts That Riveted a Nation." It is high-level drama; made so by the compact disc included with the 234-page book. The disc includes significant segments of 51 broadcasts made by Murrow and his team of young reporters who became familiar names as the war spread throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. Americans began hearing from Charles Collingwood, William L. Shirer, Eric Sevareid, Richard Hottelet, Winston Burdett, Larry LeSueur, and Howard K. Smith; names that would become familiar to listeners. The book recounts significant events and battles as reported by the reporters. The text is keyed to their voices in the CD. Dan Rather, anchor of CBS Evening News since 1981, narrates the broadcasts in an untypical low-key manner. The book also includes a broad range of photos, including battle scenes, and biographical sketches of the correspondents. Shirer, whom Murrow had signed up in Berlin, was in Vienna in 1938 with an exclusive when Adolf Hitler's troops moved into Austria during the Anschluss. From then on, CBS steadily expanded its coverage until the Allied victory in Europe in 1945. There is scant coverage of the war in the Pacific in the book. Shirer gave listeners another exclusive in his account of the French surrender at the Forest of Compiegne 45 miles north of Paris on June 19, 1940. It was the identical site on which Germany surrendered to France in 1918. Watching Hitler through opera glasses, Shirer reported: "I have seen this face many times at the great moments of his life. But today! It is afire with scorn, anger, hate, revenge, triumph. He glances back (at the monument), contemptuous, angry -- angry, you almost feel, because he cannot wipe out the awful, provoking lettering with one sweep of his high Prussian boot." (The granite monument proclaimed: "Here on the eleventh of November 1918 succumbed the criminal pride of the German Empire. Vanquished by the free peoples which it tried to enslave." (After the war, Shirer chronicled the Germans' second defeat in his acclaimed history, "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.") While most of the broadcasts were limited to 250 words or less, Murrow's account of his harrowing ride on a bombing raid on Berlin and his gripping description of what he saw when he entered the Buchenwald concentration camp at war's end ran several thousand words. The Buchenwald broadcast was so vivid that "it was re-aired on the BBC and the text printed on the front page of the London Express as well as many other papers," the authors said. "A translation of the report was broadcast in Allied-controlled areas of Germany six to eight times a day." CBS was firm about not permitting its reporters to editorialize. Murrow, described as a moralist rather than an ideologue, reluctantly agreed, but his broadcasts from London created sympathy for Britain. Some of the other correspondents -- most of them politically liberal - - felt restricted by the order. The authors said Murrow headed for the microphone "with something approaching dread. The voice might be calm, but the fingers fiddled and the toes worked a jittery tapping." He was described as a notorious pessimist. Once, during the war, CBS News Director Paul White called for Murrow from New York only to be informed that his star broadcaster was out somewhere, "wearing his customary crown of thorns." One writer said Murrow delivered in a manner that "often conveys the impression that he knows the worst but will try not to mention it." Radio's reign was brief. When Murrow joined CBS in 1935, radio news barely existed. By 1941, it became foremost. A decade later television was already eclipsing it. The authors contend that their radio reports were more influential than newspapers during the war and that they influenced war coverage in future conflicts. The book is the product of Mark Bernstein, who writes on history and biography, and Alex Lubertozzi, co-author of "The Complete War of the Worlds" and editorial manager of Sourcebooks MediaFusion. Connor is retired managing editor of The Star (via Mike Terry, DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hello Glenn, Just a few lines from Sweden regarding DXLD 3-084, May 16 2003 regarding PLC in Sweden and the reference: ``(TT, whatever that is, via SCDX/MediaScan May 16 via DXLD)``. TT means Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå and is an old Swedish News Agency (more than 80 years old) and the biggest in the Nordic countries. Regards, (Lennart Weirell, Västerås, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TT means Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå (= press news agency). It is the dominating general news agency for the Swedish press. It was also the company that was selected to run the single Swedish national radio channel from Jan 1, 1925 and remained the major owner of the public radio for many years. Of course TT made sure to keep the radio newscasts few and scheduled at times when they did the least harm to newspaper sales (Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TT is Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå, which is the Swedish National News Agency, a news wire service in Swedish jointly owned by several large Swedish news organizations. (Hermod Pedersen, Web Editor <http://www.hard-core-dx.com/> DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also SWEDEN THIS DAY`S SWEDISH LESSON +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Re GREENLAND & ICELAND: Glenn, I regard you as a very dedicated and skilled writer on media matters, now I have to add big joker too, after reading your suggestion for this exchange of names. For all its practicality, it would however meet some resistance from both Icelanders and Greenlanders. Sweden and Switzerland are often mixed up by people around the world, and we have to live with that. Here`s another example of similar names screwing it up for people. One town in Sweden bears the name of Lidköping, another one Linköping. Both appear in airline schedules, but if you fly from Stockholm International to Lidköping, you actually fly to Trollhättan (where I work) and then proceed by limo the last 30 miles to Lidköping. An American professor arrived here with the last flight on a Sunday, the limo was waiting, but all the rest was dead wrong, because he was scheduled for a lecture next morning at the University of Linköping. And these towns are about 250 km apart. The best option to solve the problem was to get him into the limo and re-direct it to the correct town. We wished him good luck, and he made it. A look at his ticket revealed that the booking error originated almost halfway around the globe, at his travel agent in La Jolla, CA. BTW not so few towns in Sweden and Denmark end in -köping or –købing. It`s a noun, simply meaning were you trade, do business. It`s of medieval origin, of course. But the similarity of Lin- and Lid- is causing trouble in Sweden too. We who can hear them pronounced by locals have no doubt. We note the accent… 73 (Johan Berglund, Trollhättan, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++++ ARRL PROPAGATION STATEMENT Disturbed conditions triggered by a continuous solar wind stream appear to go on and on, week after week, seemingly without end. Nice quiet conditions would result from a daily A index of 10 or lower. Average daily conditions near that level haven't been reported since the week of February 20-26 when the daily average A index was 11.1, or January 9-15 when it was 9.1. Conventional wisdom says that disturbed conditions occur more often when the solar cycle has passed the peak and is headed down, and recent experience seems to bear this out. Recent forecasts for daily solar flux and planetary A index don't predict a daily A index below 10 until May 31. A plot from Jim Secan and Northwest Research Associates shows the decline of the solar cycle over the past year at http://www.nwra-az.com/spawx/ssne-year.html The latest projection has solar flux rising over the next few days to 110 on Saturday, May 17, 120 on Sunday and 125 on Monday. The daily planetary A index projection shows an unsettled 15 thought the weekend, rising to 20 on Monday. The solar flux and sunspot numbers were lower this week than last, but the A index was higher. The average daily sunspot number dropped around 100 points from 146 to 46.4, and daily solar flux was down over 40 points to 95.5. Average daily A index rose from 20.7 to 29.3. Last week we mentioned Scott Craig, WA4TTK and his solar plotting utility freeware available at http://www.craigcentral.com/mystuff.asp Scott says he usually gets 100-150 visits per day to his web page, but last Friday when the bulletin came out he got 270, and Saturday it was 393. The announcement this week about the new 60-meter band brings speculation about propagation characteristics. Initially this will probably be used just for domestic communications, since no other country has adopted these frequencies for the amateur service. A quick look with a propagation prediction program shows the band opening and closing at hours somewhere between the 75 and 40-meter bands. With W6ELprop looking from Seattle to Atlanta, assuming that the band is legal one month from now and the sunspot number is around 100, 60-meters seems to open a half hour earlier than 75- meters and close a half hour later. Signal strengths during the peak hours, which for the above parameters are from 0500-1000z, are between the levels for 40 and 75-meters as well. A similar projection for mid-September from California to Ohio shows similar characteristics, although with more hours of darkness the openings are longer. Mark Roberts, KD5SMF sent an email this week asking for a source for the numbers used in the W6ELprop software, a free windows-based program that can be downloaded at http://www.qsl.net/w6elprop/. I wrote to him and said that it is probably better to take an average of several days sunspot numbers and use that instead of the latest daily solar flux. You can get both values at http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/latest/DSD.txt and several daily K indices from http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/latest/DGD.txt The latest mid-latitude K index is on WWV at 18 minutes after each hour, or you can get the WWV message on the telephone at 303-497-3235. The text of that hourly message is available on the web at http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/latest/wwv.txt For more information on propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the Propagation page on the ARRL Web site at http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html You can write to the author of this bulletin at k7ra@arrl.net. Sunspot numbers for May 8 through 14 were 33, 23, 22, 47, 66, 59, and 75, with a mean of 46.4. 10.7 cm flux was 100.9, 97.1, 92.7, 91.5, 93.9, 96.1, and 96.3 with a mean of 95.5. Estimated planetary A indices were 30, 29, 43, 31, 18, 27, and 27, with a mean of 29.3. (via Duane Fischer, May 16, swl via DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-084, May 16, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1182: RFPI: Running late, Sat from 0207; 0730/0900, 1330/1500, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700/0830, 1300/1430 on 7445 and/or 15039 WWCR: Sat 0600, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: [maybe] Sat 0930, Sun 1030, 1630 on 7490 and/or 13595 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1182.html MUNDO RADIAL, mayo-junio: WWCR 15825: miércoles 2100, viernes 2115 Radio Nederland Radio Enlace: en segmentos los viernes y domingos AUDIO A PEDIDO: (Bajable) http://www.k4cc.net/mr0305.rm (Corriente) http://www.k4cc.net/mr0305.ram (Texto) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0305.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Hey Glenn, It's been a while since I`ve added my two cents, so here it goes. I've been listening to W O R via S W for 10 years, up until a few months ago when I joined ODXA. Now I get DXLD delivered to my mail box, NEAT. You`re doing a great job --- your news is always fair and balanced; sure, you can be rough around the edges when it comes to stupid, silly, sports, and you can bring down the hammer on those pay- before-you-pray preachers. That`s OK --- I respect a person more, for speaking their mind in the open, than mumbling hidden away someplace. Keep doin` what you`re doin`, `cause it`s working (Daryl Rocker, MVSWLC, Herkimer, NY) Glenn: --Many thanks!! -- And, also, for plugging the NRC bash in Dallas. Your submissions have become a daily necessity for me out here, and please do continue the Political/ancillary pieces (GREG HARDISON) [I`m not sure if the following applies to me personally, but sent to me and many others, for helping with his dissertation --- gh] Muito obrigado, amigo radioescuta! Olá radioescuta, Estou mandando este e-mail a dezenas de amigos que por alguns dias conviveram comigo ou receberam muitas mensagens com pedidos de ajuda para a minha dissertação. As vezes era algum QSL, algum telefone, algum livro, algum folheto, alguma entrevista, algum conselho. Também li os e-mais, logs e boletins que vocês escreveram, acompanhei as listas que moderam, os clubes que representam. Há poucos dias, com a graça de Deus, depois de alguns duros anos de dedicação exclusiva sem ser bolsista, consegui concluir meu mestrado em jornalismo na Universidade de São Paulo, tratando do nosso assunto, da nossa paixão: o rádio. A dissertação "Sintonizando o Mundo: Uma descrição da radiodifusão ao exterior" foi muito bem aceita e creio que aos poucos nossa academia está reconsiderando este fascinante mundo a ser pesquisado, comentado, contextualizado. Ainda fui convidado para o mais rápido possível seguir ao doutorado e não sair do tema "rádio". Espero pois futuramente dar início a novos projetos. Portanto eu gostaria aqui de novamente pedir desculpas pelo tanto que os incomodei e agora, com toda alegria, dizer meu MUITO OBRIGADO! Esta dissertação não teria sequer surgido sem a constante atividade DXista, incentivo e dedicação dos Srs. Não vou citar os nomes com medo de cometer injustiças, mas sem dúvida espero continuar a fazer parte do vosso meio como amigo e eterno aprendiz. (Flávio A. B. Archangelo, "Ark" py2zx@terra.com.br Caixa Postal 1292 - CEP 13202-970, Jundiaí - SP - Brasil, May 13) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC WILL HAVE TO CUT BACK By Cosima Marriner May 15 2003 The ABC's managing director, Russell Balding, yesterday warned jobs could go after the Government rejected the national broadcaster's budget request for increased funding. . . http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/14/1052885300041.html (via Jilly Dybka, Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) Media Release --- ABC Budget --- 13/5/2003 Statement by Russell Balding - Managing Director The ABC is very disappointed with its funding outcome as outlined in the Federal Budget this evening. We argued in a logical, consistent and candid manner, that without a modest increase in our budget, programs would suffer. The Government has decided to reject that funding request in the full knowledge that it would have a negative effect on ABC programming. The ABC must now assess its position. Hard decisions must be made so that we can maintain core services and continue to be relevant to the Australian public. Some decisions about programming will be made within the next few weeks. The Board will need to consider the ramifications of this budget in the broader strategic context over the coming months. This funding outcome is all the more disappointing in light of the anticipated budget surplus, and the ABC's recent outstanding efforts in the coverage of the war in Iraq and the bushfires. It is precisely in times of national struggle and crisis that the nation needs a properly funded public broadcaster. 13 May 2003 For further information contact: Shane Wells ABC Corporate Media Manager 02 8333 5306 0408 445 098 wells.shane@abc.net.au http://www.abc.net.au/corp FURTHER FUNDING FOR RADIO AUSTRALIA IN BUDGET Australia's national budget has pledged another three years of funding to extend broadcasts by Radio Australia to the Asia Pacific. The international service will get a total of nine million dollars Australian over three years. The money will be used for shortwave transmissions, digital satellite distribution and broadcasts on FM networks in the region. 14/05/2003 04:18:08 | ABC Radio Australia News http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/s853895.htm (both via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non]. QSL Clandestine. 12125, Voice of Biafra. After seeing Jerry Berg's reply and wanting a reply direct (I have one via TDP/Ludo Maes), sent a follow-up to biafrafoundation@yahoo.com Received back a full data e-mail verification, within eight hours of sending. V/s, Chima Osondu says they are on {7380} now (Edward Kusalik, Coaldale AB, May 15, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CANADA. CANADIAN SPECIAL PREFIXES Industry Canada has authorized the use of ``Special Event Prefixes`` between May 24th and July 27th to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the National Library of Canada. The special prefixes are CK for all VE`s, CJ for all VA`s, CY for all V0`s and CZ for all VY`s. The special prefixes will therefore be available for use in the upcoming CQ WPX CW Contest on May 24 and 25th. (May 16 Amateur Radio Newsline via John Norfolk, May 15, DXLD ) Special prefixes permitted for Canadian anniversary event: Industry Canada has authorized the use of a special event prefix for the 50th anniversary of the National Library of Canada. From May 24 until July 27 Canadians may use these optional prefixes: CK for VE, CJ for VA, CY for VO and CZ for VY stations (The Daily DX via ARRL May 14 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** CHILE. 49 MHz music stations: This link is from Felipe CE3SAD's website. It explains a little about the Chile "Muzak" stations. I visited Felipe in March. (We all hablamos Español, ¿sí?) http://www.qsl.net/ce3sad/6m.html I believe that they are all 1 or 5 kW. They also have very high antennas, similar to regular FM stations. I think they're on top of the same mountain in Santiago that all the broadcast stations are on. Some are wide band and some are medium wide band. They're used in factories, buses, and other places of business (Jeff, K1MOD, Kadet, IL, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CROATIA. CROATIAN RADIO SERVICE FOR DIASPORA LAUNCHED | Text of report in English by Croatian news agency HINA Zagreb, 15 May: On the occasion of Croatian Radio-Television (HRT) Day, Prime Minister Ivica Racan on Thursday [15 May] officially launched a 24-hour Croatian Radio programme for the Diaspora, called "Voice of Croatia". The programme is financed jointly by the government and the HRT and is intended for Croatian emigrants and national minorities in Croatia, as well as for the international public. The programme is broadcast on short-wave and middle-wave frequencies, as well as via satellite. It will also be available on the Internet. "Voice of Croatia" will contribute to greater understanding between national minorities and the majority population in Croatia and acquaint the international public with events in Croatia, said Racan. Source: HINA news agency, Zagreb, in English 1613 gmt 15 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Yah, yah, but when are they ever going to get around to specifying the new times, languages and frequencies?? Here`s a start, no languages and it doesn`t match the previous info from DTK: (gh, DXLD) The Voice of Croatia on Shortwave Croatian Radiotelevision http://www.hrt.hr/ ********************************** The Voice of Croatia ********************************** http://www.iafc.org.au/croatia.gif {The waving Croatian flag} THE SHORTWAVE FREQUENCIES --- Starting April 28th 2003 you can listen to Croatian Radio on these frequencies: LOCATION FREQUENCY TIME-UTC EUROPE and MEDITERRANEAN 6165 kHz 04:00-23:00 UTC EUROPE and MEDITERRANEAN 9830 kHz 04:00-17:30 UTC EUROPE and MEDITERRANEAN 13830 khz 04:00-23:00 UTC SOUTH AMERICA 9925 kHz 23:00-04:00 UTC NORTH AMERICA - EAST 9925 kHz 23:00-03:00 UTC NORTH AMERICA - WEST 9925 kHz 03:00-07:00 UTC NEW ZEALAND 9470 kHz 04:00-07:00 UTC AUSTRALIA 13820 kHz 06:00-10:00 UTC Technical support: Zelimir Klasan, OiV, Vlaska 106, Zagreb, CROATIA Tel: +385 1 4646160 ext 223, Telefax: +385 1 4646161 email: Zelimir.Klasan@oiv.hr (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** CUBA. I took today (May 16th) off to get two new tires and alignment. Was at the store at 7:30 a.m. opening, and out at 8:40, so on to the beach (Ft. DeSoto). There, I noted Progreso on "650" (but clearly off-frequency on the digital car radio reading). Sure enough, it's the long-active mystery 24/7 Cuban carrier on 652.5. Very distorted and FMing, with 660 still on and clean. This confirmed once home on the NRD-535 (Terry L. Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. TV IS WEAPON OF CHOICE IN US SIEGE OF CUBA By Richard Lapper and Henry Hamman, Financial Times Published: May 15 2003 19:30 | Last Updated: May 15 2003 19:30 Forty-two years ago, José Basulto took up arms to join the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion to topple Cuba's communist government. Today he argues that broomsticks, coat hanger wire and kitchen plungers serve better than bullets. Household materials like these would allow Cubans to receive television from the US. Like a growing number of Cuban-Americans, Mr Basulto, a Cuban-American activist, wants the Bush administration to launch a media blitz into Cuba. . . http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1051390065884 [doesn`t really go into planned May 20 ATV transmission] (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. EIGHTY YEARS WITH RADIO PRAGUE Eighty years of radio broadcasting in Prague, Czechia, is indeed a long and historic era. It was on May 18, 1923, that the first regular broadcasting service was launched in Prague by the Elektra Bulb company, a name that was later changed to Tesla. These early broadcasts originated from a tent erected at the transmitter site of a communication facility located in the suburban area of Kbely (ke-BEE-lee). One listener in England reported hearing test broadcasts on shortwave from this site shortly before the regular mediumwave service was inaugurated. Eleven years later, a 30 kW Marconi shortwave transmitter was imported from England and co-sited with a new mediumwave transmitter at Podebrody (POE-de-BROE-dee), near Prague. This unit was designated with the now familiar callsign, OLR. The first test broadcast from this new unit was heard on July 24, 1936, and a couple of weeks later, it was taken into regular service. In 1938, two new German transmitters were installed, at Podebrody and four years later, international radio monitors noted the usage of new callsigns. Instead of, for example, the callsign OLR3A, the identification became DHE3A. The final German announcement of that era went on the air around midday on May 5, 1945. The Podebrody shortwave site was closed in 1996. The shortwave transmitter site at Litomysl (le-TOM-i-sil) near Prague was inaugurated in 1956 with the first of seven transmitters at 100 kW, two of which are still on the air today. [I thought all Czech words have initial stress --- gh] Work at the familiar Velke Kostolany station in Slovakia was begun in 1949. This station was on the air for nearly half a century, and it will be remembered that AWR took out a relay via this site a few years ago with the usage of two of these transmitters. This station was closed in October 1997. Another large shortwave station was constructed near Rimavská Sobota in Slovakia in 1956. This station originally contained several transmitters at 100 kW, though the station was rebuilt in 1982 and four Russian transmitters at 250 kW were installed. AWR has also enjoyed outstanding worldwide coverage from this transmitter site. And so, in summary, we find that Czechia has been on the air shortwave during the past eighty years from a total of five different transmitter sites. Three of these were located near Prague; Kbely, Podebrody & Litomysl, and two of these were located in Slovakia; Velke Kostolany & Rimavská Sobota. We should remember also, that Radio Prague International is also on relay to the Americas from station WRMI, Radio Miami International in Florida. Right this very day, May 18, Radio Prague is remembering its 80th anniversary, and we here at Wavescan honor them for their 80 years of broadcast activity on both mediumwave and shortwave (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan May 18 via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. Glenn, The following is an interesting item from Radio Prague dated 15/5/3. Police say a 29 year-old woman will be charged with attempted double murder after she opened fire Thursday morning on two reporters at a radio station in the northern town of USTI and LABEM. One of the reporters , aged 27, was hit in the chest, and is in a serious condition awaiting surgery. The other reporter, aged 25, was wounded in the arm. Police have not released information about a possible motive. The assailant allegedly shot her way into the station through a glass door, and more might have been injured had the attacker's pistol not jammed. The attacker was then sudued by another radio employee, before police arrived. Broadcasting can be dangerous! (Gerwyn Roberts, Maesteg, WALES, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A shooting at a radio station in north Bohemia has left two people injured, one seriously. News MAY 15th, 2003 By: Jan Velinger =================================================================== Shooting at radio station in Usti nad Labem leaves two injured, one seriously ------------------------------------------------------------------- Police say a 29 year-old woman will be charged with attempted double murder after she opened fire Thursday morning on two reporters at a radio station in the northern town of Usti nad Labem. One of the reporters, aged 27, was hit in the chest, and is in serious condition awaiting surgery. The other reporter, aged 25, was wounded in the arm. Police have not released information about a possible motive. The assailant allegedly shot her way into the station through a glass door, and more people might have been injured had the attacker's pistol not jammed. The attacker was then subdued by another radio employee, before police arrived. To unsubscribe or subscribe to the news, please visit one of the following links: Czech version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/cesky.html English version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/english.html German version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/deutsch.html French version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/francais.html Spanish version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/espanol.html Russian version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/rusky.html Radio Prague, Vinohradska 12, 120 99 Prague, the Czech Republic tel (+4202) 2155 2971 , fax (+4202) 2155 2971 http://www.radio.cz/ Notice of Copyright All rights reserved. Radio Prague grants the right to redistribute this information in electronic or in printed form, in whole or in part for non-commercial use only; distribution must include this copyright notice, the date of publication, and Radio Prague's postal or e-mail address *unless specific agreement is reached with Radio Prague* For uses of this material not covered by this notice, please contact us at cr@radio.cz ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 2003 Radio Prague (Vysilani do zahranici CRo) (via Chris Brand, Hale, Cheshire, England, Radio articles, a radio museum, QSL cards, pertinent international broadcasting information: http://members.tripod.co.uk/chrisbrand1977 ** ECUADOR [non]. Allen Graham, producer of HCJB's "DX Party Line," will be the studio guest on WRMI's "Viva Miami" with Jeff White this UT Sunday, May 18 at 0330 (that's 11:30 p.m. Saturday in Eastern [Daylight] North America) on 7385 kHz. On this program, there will be a major announcement regarding the future of "DX Party Line." The announcement will not be made on "DX Party Line" this weekend because the program was pre-recorded, since Allen Graham is in Miami this week attending a conference (Jeff White, WRMI, May 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) At this point, I suppose the only ``major announcement`` could be some kind of reprieve or reversal, tease2 (gh) {See GERMANY below; 3-086!} ** GABON. Gabon seems to be back on air on 4777 kHz. I heard the broadcast at about 1830 UT. Nice signal, SIO=322 though. A thunder storm near by prevented me from enjoying the music (Matti Ponkamo, Naantali, Finland, Drake R4-C, 15 m of wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. 6015.3 kHz, EvangeliumsRadio Hamburg, relaying HCJB programm in Mennonite-Low German (Mennoniten Platt) via transmitter of DTK Jülich, card for snail-mail report, 15d, v/s Wilma Waldner (Ms). Verie from HCJB-Quito saying reception report received, answer is subject to follow (Me comunicaré lo más pronto que es posible) by Iris Rauscher (Ms). (Klaus Elsebusch, Im Isselgrund 17, D-46499 Marienthal/Germany, DL 3 EAY & DE 2 JLS, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** GREENLAND [non]. AFN outlets in Florida, Puerto Rico, Guam, Hawaii and (probably) Greenland are active on a regular basis, but no one has heard anything from Diego García in a year or more (Gerry L. Dexter, WI, Bandscan America, May Short Wave Magazine, via DXLD) Er, I think he means Iceland. Never any SW activity from AFN Greenland; about time the two countries exchanged names to clear things up (gh, DXLD) ** ICELAND/USA. 13855 kHz USB, AFRTS Keflavik; email-letter for email- report, 8 minutes (!), v/s April Ball, Broadcast Operation Specialist. Veri from Washington/DC (May 13, 2003) 73 and Glück auf! (Klaus Elsebusch, Im Isselgrund 17, D-46499 Marienthal/Germany, DL 3 EAY & DE 2 JLS, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** INDIA. STILL IN THE PICTURE Although Ms Sushma Swaraj has been out of the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry for quite some time now, public broadcaster, Doordarshan, is refusing to let go of her. . . http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=34214 (via Jilly Dybka, May 14, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Hi Everyone, just to let you know that anyone that would like to subscribe, to receive free mp3 programs, 'DXing with Cumbre' and 'SPDXR' and soon an additional media program via email. Please visit :- http://www.geocities.com/nri3 http://www.angelfire.com/myband/tjg http://nrin.hypermart.net for further details, do so now for this week please, thanks (Tim Gaynor, Dxerscalling, May 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. 9910, Voice of David via IRIB *0228-0245 May 16. Sign-on with haunting flute Interval signal, chimes at 0230, followed with sign-on in Hebrew. ID is given as Kol Dah-veed. Male speaker gives information and web site as http://www.iribworld.com (2x). Followed with newscast and commentary. Heard this the first time back on May 2 from *0228 to 0258* (Edward Kusalik, Coaldale AB, May 15, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** IRAQ. IT'S SWEEPS MONTH IN IRAQ By G. Beato, AlterNet May 13, 2003 That's good advice, no doubt, but what makes for better radio: inflammatory rhetoric directed at an enemy oppressor, or proscriptive public-service announcements that remind Iraqis of the damage coalition forces have inflicted upon their country? http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15881 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** IRAQ. For an administration that prides itself on message control, the scarcity of U.S.-controlled media outlets in Iraq has been both vexing and dangerous, in the view of some U.S. officials, adding to the postwar chaos and a feeling that the Americans are not on top of the situation. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40257-2003May10.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. Hi guys, Today 16/3/03 checking R. Sumer on 1584 kHz, I noticed that there was no IS or ID around 1900 UT, just a song on the air, and it's a romantic song. Checked on the Hot Bird 13 E the feed of R. Sumer via satellite and it was there with the stuff --- a different broadcast, though!!! So if that's the case, what I hear on 1584 reminds me of the days of the 1991 war in the Gulf when there was a test transmission for what's known now as the Republic of Iraq radio - voice of the Iraqi People. I used to hear almost the same type of songs with no IDs whatsoever!?? Does that mean we will witness a new station on the air soon!?? Furthermore, that feed on the Hot Bird satellite: for whom it may be broadcast?? If it's not on the air on 1584!?? So many Q to be answered! All the best, guys (TAREK ZEIDAN, CAIRO, Egypt, May 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. V. of People of Iraq, presumed, subharmonic from Sa`udi Arabia, on 4785 in Arabic around 2030 UT May 15 (Chris Hambly, Victoria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Despite failure of negotiations with the Histarut labor federation, which will resume after the Sabbath on Saturday night, the Israel Radio networks which had been strike bound since late Tuesday morning have been broadcasting on Friday since noon, Israel time (0900 GMT). In particular, I am listening to the 1:15 P.M. English newscast on on demand Real Audio via the http://iba.org.il website (Joel Rubin, NY, May 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) V. of David: see IRAN ** ITALY. While some stations may be cutting back their QSLs to save money, I continue to receive correspondence from stations who seem eager to keep their listener base. Some of them even like to send me presents --- for example Rai, who I do some monitoring work for, has managed to outfit me with a nice little alarm clock, lapel pins, a pewter keychain, a very neat little radio and a fine shirt. It`s almost enough to make one feel guilty. I also hear on a regular basis from R. Tashkent in Uzbekistan. . . [q.v.] (Sue Hickey, Grand Falls- Windsor, NF, May CIDX Forum via DXLD) ** JAPAN. Japan`s only commercial shortwave radio station, NSB, Nihon Shortwave Broadcasting Company, announced a name change effective on October 1st. The new name will be Nikkei Radio Broadcasting Corporation, reflecting the name of the largest shareholder. The Nikkei company is the publisher of a financial newspaper, the Japanese equivalent of the Wall Street Journal. NSB will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year and its slogan, ``Radio Tanpa``, will be changed on that occasion. The current shortwave services from NSB are as follows:- 1st channel 3925 6055 & 9595 kHz 2025 - 1500 UTC daily 2nd channel 3945 6115 & 9760 kHz 2300 - 0900 UTC weekend only In addition to shortwave, NSB also operates a digital radio service by satellite. Some international programs, including Voice of Mongolia and Radio China International, are heard on this satellite which provides a high quality audio service with some stationery pictures and messages on the TV screen (Far Eastern DX Report - Toshi Ohtake of the Japan Short Wave Club and this is his second Asian DX Report from Wavescan, AWR, May 18 via DXLD) ** JAPAN [non]. May 16, 2003 No. 58 NHK WORLD e-GUIDE -- Notice from NHK WORLD --- Discontinuation of Special Transmission by NHK World Radio Japan In connection with the recent Iraq War, we have been offering a special Japanese-language service to the Middle East and North Africa. This service will be discontinued following the declaration of the conclusion of major combat operations in Iraq by the US President, George W. Bush, and the virtual halt to the military campaign. The time and date of the discontinuation of the special transmission is as follows: Sun. 18 May, 2003 at 18:00 (UTC) NHK WORLD will always and promptly provide special transmissions in times of emergency (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** JAPAN. BBC NEWS | Business | Fraudsters sell fake BBC shares http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3028169.stm A couple in southern Japan have been arrested after making half a million pounds by selling fake shares in the BBC, reports say. According to the Sankei Shimbun, one of Japan's main national daily newspapers, the two - Hadoko Shoji and his wife Kimiko - have conned some 25 people since August 2002, netting about 100m yen ($860,000; £530,000). But the pair were rumbled when one of their early victims went to the police. The woman had taken the couple at their word when they promised - in October last year - that the "shares from England" would double in less than six months. Once that period had passed with no sign of any return on her 570,000 yen ($4,900; £3,030) investment, she went to the police in her home town of Takamatsu and the two fraudsters were taken into custody. Takamatsu is on the smallest of Japan's four main islands, although thousands more tiny islets litter the country's coastline. .... "We're all human, and the BBC has very strong brand recognition in Japan," he said. "The BBC's not even listed of course, so it should have been easy to disprove. "But it does depict the amazing belief in brands in Japan," he said. The BBC is a public service broadcaster, which is funded by a licence fee. The BBC World Service is funded directly by the Foreign Office, but is editorially independent. Neither are listed on the stock exchange. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/3028169.stm Published: 2003/05/14 16:07:52 GMT (via Dan Say, swprograms via DXLD) ** KOREA. Hangul Morse Code. I spent time searching the Web and some language publications trying to locate definitive details regarding this type of Morse code. . . http://www.dxing.com/intrigue.htm (Radio Intrigue by Don Schimmel, May 1 via DXLD) ** LESOTHO. The station seems also be back on 60 metres (like Gabon), on 4800 kHz, at about 1845. SIO=232 only, but quite clear. I did not catch any station identification, but I am pretty certain about this station. African languages are strange to my ear, but this one sounded very strange - wonder what it is called? (Matti Ponkamo, Naantali, Finland, Drake R4-C, 15 m of wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sesotho ** MAURITANIA. They have also street address: Av. Gamal Abdel Nasser Nouakchott and email rm@mauritania.mr according to the WRTH 2003 (Reijo Alapiha, Joensuu, Finland, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Continuing our new series on 1320 Mexicans, part 3: 1320, XESR, Santa Rosalía, BCS, 1200 May 10. National Anthem, opening announcement, partially readable: "Bienvenido a Radio Cachania a partir de... primera... del dia, con la música... 18 horas... programación... Radio Cachania. Muy buenos dias". Have not logged this one for a few years, although it's probably them that I often hear playing the Mexican NA at this time (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Drake R-8, 4-foot box loop, May 13, Corazón DX via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. "The Bush administration intends to dominate the world by force, the one dimension in which it rules supreme, and to do so permanently." That's what Noam Chomsky says. He will be the guest on a special edition of the Amsterdam Forum, which will be recorded on Tuesday 27 May. You can send him your comments and questions via the Radio Netherlands Amsterdam Forum website - http://www.rnw.nl/amsterdamforum/chomsky They may be used on the programme [aired following Saturday?]. Regards, Adam Coles, Website Editor, Radio Netherlands, May 15, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Hello from Hilversum, First of all this week, I'm pleased to report that we now offer live streaming in Windows Media format. When you visit our audio page at http://www.rnw.nl/distrib/realaudio/html/english.html you'll see that there's now a choice between a 16 kbps Real Audio Stream or a 32 kbps Windows Media stream. A new and improved On Demand audio service is almost ready for launch. We`re waiting for some last-minute technical work to be completed. Details will be in this Newsletter as soon as it goes live (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter May 16 via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. It appears that NOS Radio 1 will be removed from mediumwave (891 / 20 kW and 1008 / 400 kW) effective June 1st: http://www.nozema.nl/radiotv/LandelPubFr_R.html It is subject of discussion at present if and when Radio 10 FM will be forced off mediumwave, too (675 / 120 kW). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Can't somebody stop that guy from Germany posting boring stuff about VON every day???? OK, checked their website again today and it seems they are answering my questions one by one. To complete the schedule: Ibo is at 1000-1100 and 1500-1600, Yoruba 1100-1200 and 2000-2100. Looking at the Arabic version of the Arabic service schedule shows that should be 1600-1800. checking 11770 yesterday I heard a fair/weak signal there playing mainly music but interspersed with a few announcements and news at 1700 in Arabic! Some of the music and the accents of the announcers sounded African rather than middle- eastern. Traces of the VON tune and news in French heard from 1757 under VOA in Russian. No more five-minutes newscasts at 1730-1800; maybe those had been there just for a testing period. What else does that mean? There are two broadcasting streams from 0500 to 2300, no space left in the schedule for an eventual relaunch of the German service (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nullo modo (gh) Voice of Nigeria website at http://www.voiceofnigeria.org has some new times for various languages. Seems to indicate the following: 0455-2300 English (on 15120 throughout?) 0500-0700 French 0700-0800 Fulfulde 0800-1000 Hausa 1000-1100 Ibo 1100-1200 Yoruba 1200-1300 Hausa 1300-1500 Swahili 1500-1600 Ibo 1600-1700 ?? 1700-1800 Arabic 1800-2000 French (heard on 11770) 2000-2100 Yoruba 2100-2200 Fulfulde 2200-2300 Hausa Not sure about frequencies. VON website hasn't yet been updated correctly for those. Perhaps worth checking 7255, 9690 and 11770 kHz, as well as 15120 kHz just in case in English isn't scheduled throughout as I assume (Tony Rogers, Birmingham - UK, May 14, BDXC-UK via DXLD) The Voice of Nigeria website at http://www.voiceofnigeria.org has a couple more things of note that I didn't spot yesterday: Under a heading 'Special Projects', the following appears: Public Launch of VON website http://www.voiceofnigeria.org National Press Centre, Abuja, Monday 19th May 2003 and Commissioning of i 2 Nos. Super-Power Transmitters ii VON Training Estate There's also: Foundation-Laying Ceremony of: VON 18-Room Training Hostel Ikorodu, Lagos, Nigeria Thursday 22nd May 2003 Looks like the website will be relaunched next Monday and two new (or refurbished?) transmitters are to be (officially) commissioned? Might explain the recently revamped schedule (Tony Rogers, Birmingham - UK, May 15, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. I`m fed up with your joining Nightline late. You have a 35 minute hole for the 10 pm news, and it`s about time you learned to live with it. Thursday night the news really ended right at 10:35 but then we got over FIVE AND A HALF STRAIGHT MINUTES OF COMMERCIALS, which came out of the opening of Nightline. I expect you will blame this on extended severe weather info contained in the news. If this bumped commercials out of the news, tough! Make them good some other way at some other time!!! Furthermore the tornadic weather in the Texas panhandle was not even in your coverage area --- leave it to KVII Amarillo until it gets closer to us. Rick Mitchell is always too verbose -- too slow and too repetitive, in conveying tornado watches and warnings, taking up too much time!! Are you an ABC affiliate or are you not? If only I could get ABC direct without your INTERFERENCE. In case they are not aware of your unprofessional conduct in New York, they will not be much longer (Glenn Hauser, Enid, May 15, feedback to KOCO-TV Oklahoma City, copy to Nightline, via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. MOON-BOUNCE RECORD Following his success with UHF TV reception via moonbounce from the US, Tony Mann, Perth, Australia, has now detected European and Middle East UHF carriers, but on higher frequencies. Initial experiments concentrated on channels E22 to E25, but towards the end of February, Tony had detected Dubai E33, Kuwait E39 and Sutton Coldfield [UK] on 43 and 50. The extremely weak video carriers were detected using very sophisticated computer techniques and consequently actual pictures would not be obtainable. For the record, the strongest moon-bounce signal from the US is usually from the 5 mW [not milliwatt, but Megawatt! ERP] transmitter at Muskogee, Oklahoma, on 501.248 MHz (US Channel A19). (Keith Hamer & Garry Smith, DX Television, May Short Wave Magazine via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Some of the changes listed in DXLD recently took place on May 14 - Turkish 1630-1700 and Irani 1715-1800 are now using 9340 [ex 9385] and Arabic 1815-1900 is now using 9335. New 11530 [ex 11550] is in // at 1630 and 1815 and former 7550 at 1715 (Noel Green, Blackpool, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. NBC, Port Moresby back on 3290, ID in vernacular at 2000 UT May 15 (Chris Hambly, Victoria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** QATAR. IRAQI SPIES INFILTRATED AL-JAZEERA NEWS CHANNEL: REPORT Iraqi intelligence agents infiltrated the Arabic satellite news channel Al-Jazeera in an effort to influence its coverage, the Sunday Times reports, quoting documents allegedly obtained in Baghdad. . . http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s852281.htm (via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Radio station Tikhiy Okean was again on the air for a while, after an almost a sesquiyear break. That was for three days in May, at 0615-0700 on 810 kHz (and in parallel via a FM network). Announced SW frequency 11760 kHz only carried NHK in Russian until 0630, and then there was a silence. MW transmitter covers central and southern part of Primorskiy Kray, as well as some coastal waters (open_dx - Igor Ashikhmin, Primorskiy kray, Russia, Signal May 16 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Saint Petersburg, Russia: Special event station RL1A is active until May 31 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the city of Saint Petersburg. Activity is on 160 to 10 meters using SSB. QSL via RA1AG (ARRL May 14 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. ST. PETERSBURG: THREE GLORIOUS CENTURIES In the spring of 1703, Russian troops led by Czar Peter the Great won a quick victory over the Swedes seizing the mouth of the Neva River. To tighten his grip on the recaptured territory, on May 16, 1703, Peter laid a fortress on Zayachy Island calling it St. Petersburg. The small town eventually became the capital of the Russian Empire and one of the world's most beautiful cities. In a grand celebration this May Russia will mark the 300th birthday of its northern capital. The Voice of Russia World Service has prepared a series of programs titled St. Petersburg: Three Glorious Centuries within its weekly feature RUSSIA: PEOPLE AND EVENTS to help you get a better understanding of the city's rich history, cultural and spiritual life. MUSICAL TALES OF ST. PETERSBURG The MUSICAL TALES OF ST. PETERSBURG is a series about the past and present of the great city on the Neva, which is now celebrating its 300th birthday. The program will feature a constellation of outstanding musicians who at various times lived in Russia's northern capital and, of course, the music that filled the city's many palaces and concert halls, high society salons and streets. You will have a chance to roam the scenic expanses of St. Petersburg literally soaking in the rich sonic diversity of its many epochs. The MUSICAL TALES OF ST. PETERSBURG series will be broadcast every week at 0510 UT on Monday, at 0930 on Tuesday, at 0330 and 2130 on Wednesday, at 0230 and 1830 on Thursday, and at 0510 and 1910 on Sunday, beginning January 2003. MUSICAL TREASURES OF ST. PETERSBURG (city's 300th anniversary series) Do you know that Russia's most famous Czar Peter the Great, who turned this country all around, also takes credit for revolutionizing the Russian music, no less? And for being a great bass singer too?! Can you imagine the music Empress Catherine II and her courtiers danced to back in the 18th century? Have you ever listened to music written by Beethoven's rival Eberl? The man was even more famous than Beethoven, and he's now being rediscovered with the help of the city's unique archives. Or do you have any idea about the première of Tchaikovsky's last symphony or the scandal that broke out during the opening performance of Dmitry Shostakovich's 5th Symphony? Tune in to our all-new 12-feature series to be broadcast in 2003 and find out. The new series can be heard in the first edition of Music and Musicians every month at 1710 UTC on Saturday, at 0910, 1810, and 2110 on Sunday, and at 0810 on Monday. The World Service in English will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in October. We would like to know your opinion about our broadcasts and invite you take part in a poll by answering the following questions: 1. When did you begin listening to World Service broadcasts? 2. Why do you listen? 3. What are your favorite programs/broadcasters? 4. What new features would you like us to introduce? Please don't forget to mention your name, E-mail and postal address. The most interesting answers will be read on the air and posted on our website. Write to us at: the Voice of Russia World Service, Moscow, Russia, or E-mail them to us at: letters@vor.ru We look forward to hearing from you. Your opinion is very valuable to us. Thank you for your cooperation. Copyright © 2003 The Voice of Russia (via Maryanne Kehoe, swprograms via DXLD) Hi Glenn, I was just listening to the VOICE OF RUSSIA, World Service and one of their relay stations seldom heard YEKATERINBURG (Sverdlovsk) on 15455 closing down 21 UT. In July 1918 the Russian czar Nicholas II and his family was murdered in this town later buried in St. Petersburg celebrating this its 300th anniversary. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku FINLAND, May 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. The current HFCC charts list Riyadh 9675 500 kW at 0300-0900 and 0900-1600 for 1st Programme in Arabic. The BSKSA has been heard on 9675 on air at around 0620 with positive ID until fade out soon after 0800 on this frequency with positive ID, best during times of non-reception of co-channel Canção Nova-BRZ. It seems a general entertainment programme and carries news at 0730. But it is not // 21505 / 21705 carrying the Main Arabic programme or the HQ Programme on 15380. Could it be the 2nd programme reported irregular on 11854.9 but not heard at this time. There's no trace of the broadcast on 9675 between about 1400 to 1600. 73s, (Noel Green, Blackpool, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. SAUDI OPPOSITION GROUP'S AL-ISLAH SATELLITE TV CHANNEL ON THE AIR Al-Islah, a satellite TV channel operated by the London-based Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA), has begun satellite broadcasts. The channel was observed on 15 May by BBC Monitoring. The broadcasts can be viewed on the Hot Bird 3 satellite, frequency 12.149 GHz, vertical polarization. The TV channel provides the following contact information: Web site: http://www.alislah.info E-mail: TV@islah.org Telephone: (44) 208 4520303 Fax: (44) 208 4520808 A caption on the satellite TV channel states: "Soon on this frequency, the channel which you have been waiting for for a long time. The Al- Islah [Reform] satellite channel. The only channel on which you can express yourself from where you are in the land of the Two Holy Mosques, without fear or worry." A spokesman for Al-Islah told the BBC on 15 May that programming would consist of two to three hours' live broadcasting of talk shows with contributors from around the world, repeated during a 24-hour cycle, as well as news displayed on the screen in text format. Editorial control over the channel rested outside the UK, and it expected to be fully operational within a week, the spokesman added. The French news agency AFP on 14 May quoted MIRA head Sa'd al-Faqih as saying: "The television has started round-the-clock broadcasts... Broadcasting will also start soon on two other satellites." In December 2002 the MIRA launched a 24-hour radio station, the Voice of Reform (Sawt al-Islah), from an unnamed European country to target audiences in Saudi Arabia. The radio's programming includes news, cultural broadcasts and live phone-ins with Faqih and other activists. Source: BBC Monitoring research 15 May 03 (via DXLD) {but see 3-090!} ** SCOTLAND. BBC'S SCOTTISH HQ EVACUATED AFTER BOMB SCARE A SECURITY scare disrupted BBC Scotland's television and radio coverage last night. The corporation's Scottish schedule was thrown into chaos after a man delivered a suspicious package to the organisation's headquarters. Full article: http://www.news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=548032003 (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. BBC Meyerton on 3255 at 1930, good signal SIO=343. I did not listen to other frequencies for BBC but the program sounded like African service. Family Radio (WYFR) Meyerton on 3230 at about 1945, SIO=232, some QRM and "scratches" from +5 kHz, an obvious RTTY (Matti Ponkamo, Naantali, Finland, Drake R4-C, 15 m of wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. First, I must deny all allegations that I am sleeping with Brother Stair. But you can hear his (ex?) wife screech hymns on WSAI 1530 at 2 or 3 in the morning, EDST [0600 or 0700 UT] (Liz Cameron, MARE Tipsheet May 16 via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA [non]. IBC-TAMIL AO3 SCHEDULE Tamil programmes for South and Southeast Asia 0000-0100 11570, 1230-1330 7495 (D. Prabakaran, Tamil Nadu, Japan Premium May 16 via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN--Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: "GreenScan" Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: "Spectrum" Sunday: Another chance to hear "Sounds Nordic" with Dilba, a spooky art exhibition, and hits from the charts SWEDISH RADIO --- Last week the Swedish government fired the chairwoman of public broadcaster Swedish Radio, which includes Radio Sweden. The decision to remove Marika Ehenkrona came after several other board members resigned over a compensation package promised to a new chief executive whose planned hiring was blocked by unions. She is being replaced by Ove Joanson, former Director General of Swedish Radio, who is the choice of the Conservative Party for the post. Under the Swedish public broadcasting system, the Conservatives usually nominate the chairman of the Swedish Radio board, while the chairman of Swedish Television is picked by the Social Democrats and the current chairman of Swedish Educational Broadcasting is from the Liberal Party (SCDX MediaScan May 15 via DXLD) See also POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS at bottom and under USA ** U K. International Listener VIDEO! If you've clicked on International Listener, you've no doubt seen the page "A Visit to Bush House," which is our exclusive look inside the London headquarters of the BBC World Service. Included are our photographs from my December 5th, 2002 trip inside Bush House, as well as interviews with studio manager Doreen Birkeland, assistant senior studio manager Chris Murphy, newsroom editor Steve Titherington (with a sound file of the full-length interview), senior producer Josephine Hazely from the African languages section (also with a sound file of the full interview), as well as Robin White, editor-in-chief of the quarterly BBC magazine Focus on Africa. And noting the BBC's interest in American news stories like Enron/Andersen, there are exclusive interviews with World Business Report presenter Roger White, business editor Martin Webber and a link to hear a stateside interview with BBC World Service business reporter Mark Gregory. But now I've managed to upload a short video onto that page (it plays on Windows Media Player) featuring BBC Bush House, Broadcasting House and some sights of London! Just click on the button. It should stream for those with broadband connections, but may require a two or three-minute download over a modem. At any rate, let me know whether it works on your computer--this is an experiment! [yes --- gh] Ed Mayberry http://www.internationallistener.com http://home.houston.rr.com/edmayberry Click on "A Visit to Bush House" page (Mayberry, swl via DXLD) ** U K. Hi Glenn, Re DXLD 3-083 U S A [and non]. The China Syndrome, By PAUL KRUGMAN From the New York Times Editorial Page of May 13 and this sentence: ``The BBC is owned by the British government, and one might have expected it to support that government's policies.`` Really! That is news to me. I suggest that Paul Krugman has not got his facts correct. On page 364 of the current WRTVH I read: The BBC is an independent body created by Royal Charter and operated under license and agreement with the Minister exercising functions under the Wireless Telegraphy acts...`` which describes it accurately. Domestically, it is paid for by license fees and externally by grants from the government. Maybe the latter is what causes Mr. Krugman some confusion? It does not support whatever government is in power, but tries to give a balanced point of view. Slightly differently today to what it used to do! I'm sure you knew that though! (Noel Green, Blackpool, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, but I left it to a Brit to issue the indignant correxion (gh) ** U K. BBC "CONSPIRACY" WEB PAGE I am on another list that sends out mailings about various conspiracy theories. There is a large web site about the Bilderberg group. On this web site was a page about the BBC. (The Day Auntie Died) You may laugh at the conspiracy theorizing. There are some nice pictures of old BBC test patterns and other old BBC related pictures on there. There are links to other BBC related sites too. I just thought the one "old time" BBC site they link to was interesting. Then, the old photos were interesting too. http://www.bilderberg.org/milne.htm (Robyn in Michigan, swprograms via DXLD) Wow! Lots of inside stuff about BBC there; but saltgrainworthy (gh, DXLD) ** U K. Fox News Channel's pro-American stance during the Iraq war is to be investigated by Britain's Independent Television Commission for alleged bias. The action comes after the ITC received nine complaints from viewers. Since the network has its European HQ in London the ITC has the power to remove it from Sky Digital if does not meet the UK's 'due impartiality' rules ("What Satellite TV" via SCDX/MediaScan May 15 via DXLD) ** UNITED NATIONS [non]. SOUTH AFRICA. 7170, United Nations Radio via Meyerton 1705-1725 May 13, French Newscast followed with English Newscast and Interview. Fair, but gradually lost the signal by 1725 hours (Edward Kusalik, Coaldale AB, May 15, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Wow, rather unusual propagation; I thought English was at 1730 (gh) ** U S A. An open letter to all my CyberShortwave Cheerleaders from Dave N1DK: So now what? Well here are the plans: I plan to keep the basic broadcast feature of Live365. This will allow me to upload audio files and be played from their Server. The Old Time Radio portion of this station will continue in almost seamless fashion. Since adding the Golden Age of Radio to our Playlist, we have seen our Total Listener Hours increase from the lower hundreds to over 2500 in April. Even with the Spring weather, we are holding above 2000 TLH's. And what about CyberShortwave? I plan to do a recorded version of CyberShortwave that I will upload to Live365. I will be talking about Radio from DC to Daylight, playing old radio air checks, world type music, and even a Polka every now and again. And you, my CyberShortwave Cheerleaders will still be able to interact with each other, and me, in Internet Relay Chat Channel CyberShortwave via a Starchat Server, as we listen to the recorded netcast. I have not decided on a schedule for the recorded netcast as of yet, so please keep watching my web site, www.n1dk.com for details. It will most likely be the same Day and Time (Sundays at 1500 UT - 11 AM Eastern). Additionally, I have not decided on the length (1 or 2 hours) or the frequency (once per week, twice per month, or every week). In the future should things improve financially, we will have the option of upgrading our Live365 station and resurrect the "Live" version of CyberShortwave. Keep watching my website http://www.n1dk.com for details. Until then, I say Thank you Sincerely, Dave Kirby N1DK You are cordially invited to join me in a celebration of life--and Death. Sunday, May 25th will be our last "Live" netcast on Live365. Recent price increases at Live365, combined with my personal financial situation has made it prohibitive to pay the higher fees to broadcast live. This hurts me because as many of you know, when we first went on the air in August 1999, I made it a point to do the netcast "Live" with interaction from you --- the listener. In this respect, CyberShortwave was truly an innovator, as was the ANARC SWL HAM NET that we ran on 7240 kHz for 11 years. But times change, and we must accept these changes. Over hundreds of hours during the past 4 years, it was always my desire to do a "feel good - flame free" interactive netcast. Despite my feeble "attempts" to be a Radio Announcer, You, my CyberShortwave Cheerleaders were the Star of the show. You were always there, and you never let me down. To this I say, Thank You from the bottom of my Heart. The Voice of the Radio Monitoring Enthusiast --- CyberShortwave Live (Dave Kirby, N1DK, via DXers Calling Audiosend via DXLD) ** U S A. (X-Band) 1680, KTFH, Seattle Washington, 1059-1130 May 15. Program called Radio Solo with dance music and advertisements (Sound Port Stereo Store) ID at the TOH: You're listening to 'The Bridge' KTFH Seattle. QRM from KAVT Fresno. Best heard on the 36" Box Loop (Edward Kusalik, Coaldale AB, May 15, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. Wasn't there yesterday, but now on 1620 kHz there is a TIS describing the interstate 94 eastbound detour (quite a mess). Detour is scheduled to be in place the next 10 days. No call letters given, just a tape loop. Transmitter is probably mounted on a trailer with small whip on the south side of Milwaukee, at the intersections of 94/43/894. A similar transmitter here in town had been logged by Shawn Axelrod in Manitoba a few years ago. Sigs about S9+20db a mile and a half away (jw wb9uai milwaukee --__--__-- AMFMTVDX mailing list via DXLD) ** U S A. KFHX, 1620: Just came on the air. Never heard of them before. How did they get past us all? (Kevin Redding, Mesa AZ, May 16, NRC-AM via DXLD) http://www.kfhx.org/ viz.: Welcome to the home of KFHX Radio - AM1620 Music, Talk, Sports Radio for Fountain Hills, Arizona ...and the WORLD! KFHX is the first radio station in Fountain Hills, Arizona, offering a wide variety of programming and personalities. CLICK HERE TO TUNE IN NOW! (Windows Media Player Required) Sean Jacobsohn hosts the competition. Saturdays at 10 am he'll be updating Arizona fans on SF Giants baseball. DC and Kingpin host "Let's Talk Diamondbacks" Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball !! Coming Saturdays in May 2003 to KFHX Radio The St. Dominic's Food Bank needs your donations. Food donations can be dropped off at our office location, please call ahead to make sure we're in: KFHX/St. Dominic's Food Bank, 16622 Avenue of the Fountains, Suite 200, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268. Monetary donations can be dropped off at our office or mailed to: St. Dominic's Food Bank. PO Box 17228, Fountain Hills, AZ 85269-7228 program schedule: http://www.kfhx.org/schedule.htm (via gh, DXLD) Well, for one thing, they're not listed at any of the sites I normally use, including the FCC's AM Query page. No application, no CP, no nothing. This is pretty cool. if you go the website & click on the "visit the studio" link, you get a live audio/video stream of the station. I'm listening to Sting, and watching them read the newspaper & wander around the studio right now. Seems like a pretty decent setup for a part-15 (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA, NRC-AM via DXLD) Pirate? Part 15? Where is Fountain Hills? (Mike Westfall, ibid.) Sounds like a local Part 15 operation, if I had to guess. If it were licensed, we'd all know it. There are a few of these out there... I heard one in Victorville, CA operating on 660 as "Route 66 Radio" - live jock playing oldies, PAMS jingle at the top of the hour and everything, right down to fake "call letters" which escape me now. Kevin, how well does the "KFHX" signal get to you in Mesa - if at all? s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) Since the address is dot org, that tells me they are a non-profit organization (like the NRC). But the web site leads one to believe they are a regular, commercial station. The call letters KF(ountain)H(ills), (Ari)Z(ona) [sic --- it`s KFHX as in Fountain Hills/Phoenix] are suspect. Possibly it's a TIS station on steroids, but a search of the FCC's TIS area reveals no results. Maybe they are a K/WNRC wannabe??? (Bill in Fort Worth Hale, ibid.) Hey, they must be real, they have the county sheriff on and the Catholic Church is sponsoring them. I have an s-9 +20 on them on the R-1000 and 60' wire. I can hear them on a DX-402, DX-398, ICF-2010 but NOT on a GE SR III. Go figger. Good station with nice music. I talked to one of the guys on air and they are seemingly legit. I would assume part 15 or at least real low power. I hear them about as good as I hear the Station at Arizona State University at 17 miles. Its about the same distance to Fountain Hills, AZ where they claim to be (Kevin Redding, ibid.) Why didn`t you ask them about status, power? (gh) ** U S A. Here in Harrisburg Pennsylvania I am hearing a new station on 1700 but haven't been able to get an ID. They are playing contemporary Christian music. The signal is quite strong and I'd guess that they are no more than fifty or sixty miles away. Anyone know who it might be? (Tom Dimeo, May 16, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. IBOC STANDARD-SETTING 'TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED' OVER PAC CONCERNS --- HAS RADIO'S DIGITAL ROLLOUT HIT A POTHOLE? Standards-setting activity for IBOC has been temporarily suspended by the steering committee of the National Radio Systems Committee's DAB subgroup. This development, sources said, puts the onus on Ibiquity to continue to tweak PAC or chose another audio coding algorithm. Growing concerns about the performance of Ibiquity's PAC codec on AM at low bit rates has led the steering committee to make this decision. Also as a result of this action, Radio World has learned, some major radio groups are slowing their adoption of IBOC until the codec issue is resolved, according to NRSC sources. In a memo to members of the NRSC obtained by RW Online, the steering committee stated: "The NRSC has long considered flexibility to be an important feature of IBOC digital radio systems, and is concerned that PAC operating at bit rates between 36 kbps and 96 kbps (the maximum coding rate used in the hybrid FM IBOC system) could also have quality issues that may need to be investigated by Ibiquity." NRSC DAB Subcommittee Chairman Milford Smith stressed the performance of the codec at low bit rates is one problem and that the NRSC still supports IBOC. "The overall system is really great and works well." Yet, "Our goal from the start has been to have both an AM and FM solution. We don't think we`ve got an AM solution." Smith and several NRSC sources said the standards-setting process would resume when Ibiquity has demonstrated the problem is resolved. Ibiquity has two choices: continue to tweak PAC or chose another audio coding algorithm such as AAC or MPEG. Ibiquity used AAC previously, and several NRSC sources said they thought the system audio quality with AAC was better than it is with PAC. After a recent private demonstration at National Public Radio, several NRSC sources said they found the artifacts on the system using PAC "unacceptable." In a statement today, Ibiquity responded: "At this time, we concur with their decision to temporarily delay these efforts until the issue is resolved. We have an on-going improvement plan and anticipate resolution of the AM audio quality issue as soon as possible." Kenwood, meanwhile, said it is still prepared to go forward with its receiver launch this summer despite the NRSC action (via RadioWorld OnLine http://www.rwonline.com/dailynews/one.php?id=3148 via Brian Smith, May 16, ODXA via DXLD) I'm just amazed. Really amazed. Everyone thought AM IBOC audio quality was mediocre at best, except iBiquity and WOR. Finally the emperor was found to have no clothes. Next will come the shocking admissions that the interference from IBOC's digital sidebands is excessive! And that IBOC is not resilient in regards to interference tolerance. How do you suppose all the IBOC receiver manufacturers feel now? (Chuck Hutton, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Broadcasters run the spectrum --- By Rich Heldenfels Northeast Ohio's radio and television stations are rich in history and diverse in programming and operation. . . http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/5856596.htm (Akron Beacon Journal May 14 via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. Re: CPRN via NPR Being a fan of classical music, I'm all for efforts to improve its accessibility -- but I wonder how these folks will differentiate their offering from the Classical24 and Beethoven Satellite Network offerings. Another classical station with a satellite feed that is occasionally picked up by others is WCPE out of Chapel Hill, NC. Perhaps the argument is that stations who have invested in NPR membership -- and satellite access -- can thus add classical programming with minimal effort (and presumably cost). Also, this might be an effort by NPR to dissuade stations from picking up PRI membership -- since Classical24 is from Minnesota Public Radio, the organization largely behind PRI. All four of these offerings are widely available as webcasts, easily linked via Kevin Kelly's publicradiofan.com website (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Echoed (gh) ** U S A. HAM RADIO PUBLICITY: NPR FEATURES ``HELLO WORLD - A LIFE IN HAM RADIO`` Tom Walsh, K1TW, reports over the Internet that National Public Radio featured ham radio in a recent Talk of the Nation segment. Walsh says that the final 15 minutes of the two hour program on April 30th was devoted to the new book ``Hello World - A life in Ham Radio`` and even featured callers including someone who is a QSL manager. Tom says that you can still hear the program. Just taker your web browser to the National Public Radio archives and bring up the April 30 version of Talk of the Nation. Go to the second hour, find the last 15 minutes, turn your speakers up and enjoy. The URL is http://www.npr.org/programs/totn/index.html (K1TW, K1KI, others, May 16 Amateur Radio Newsline via John Norfolk, May 15, DXLD ) ** U S A. Strange antennas capture listeners --- May 11, 2003 HAM RADIO OPERATORS PRACTICE SKILLS FOR DISASTERS AND SECURITY. By Eric Eckert, News-Leader Static poured from the radio speakers as Bill Chambers bellowed into the hand-held microphone. "Calling CQ. CQ. This is Kilowatt, Zero, Sierra out of Springfield, Mo. We're conducting a strange-antenna challenge. Anyone there? Over." . . . http://news.ozarksnow.com/news/0511-Strangeant-52272.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER`S WX4NHC ANNOUNCES ON-AIR TEST: The National Hurricane Center`s Amateur Radio station, WX4NHC (formerly W4EHW), will conduct its 2003 hurricane season on-the-air station test Sunday, June 1, 1300-2200 UT. The event will mark the first time the NHC uses its new WX4NHC call sign. WX4NHC Amateur Radio Coordinator John McHugh, KU4GY, says the purpose of the annual station test is to check out all of the WX4NHC radio, computer and antenna equipment using as many modes and frequencies as possible. Some RFI monitoring also will be done. ``We will also be testing some new antennas and equipment that are being installed for this coming season,`` McHugh said. ``A few new operators will receive hands-on training.`` WX4NHC will operate on HF, VHF and UHF. HF operation will use this schedule: 1300 UT -- 3.911 and 7.268 SSB and VHF/UHF FM; 1400 UT -- 14.325 MHz SSB, VHF 147.000 repeater/UHF 442.350 repeater; 1500 UT -- 144.200 MHz SSB, 14.070 MHz PSK31; 1700 UT -- 14.325 and 21.325 MHz SSB, VHF/UHF IRLP Node 9210; 1800 UT -- 21.325 and 28.525 MHz SSB; 2000 UT -- 14.325 and 144.200 MHz SSB. CW operation will be on 14.035, 21.035 and 28.035 MHz (times will vary). Stations working WX4NHC are asked to provide a signal report, location and brief weather report. Non-hams are invited to submit their actual weather using the On-Line Hurricane Report Form at http://www.fiu.edu/orgs/w4ehw/WX-form1.html QSL cards are available via W4VBQ. Include an SASE with all requests. (ARRL May 14 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** U S A. Special event set to highlight missing children: A public special event to highlight missing children will be held May 26, 2003, 1500-2000 UTC, on the common in W Brookfield, Massachusetts. The third annual Ham Radio Special Event Station (KB1HGK) is designed to call attention to the more than 2300 children reported missing each day. This event is sponsored by Lyceum Press and Gifts, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children http://www.missingkids.org/ the National Missing Child Organization and the Center for Missing Adults http://www.nmco.org/ Turley Publications http://www.turleypublications.com/ and the Central Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association http://www.cmara.org Anticipated operation will be on 7.225, 14.250 and 21.325 MHz, with SSTV on 20 meters. Participation by nonhams is invited under the supervision of a licensed operator. Each child operating will receive a special event patch. For more information, visit the Third Annual Missing Children`s Day Ham Radio Special Event Web site at http://www.lyceumpress.com/ham_radio%20special%20event%202003.htm or contact Sheree Greenwood, K1SQ lyceumpress@mindspring.com (ARRL May 14 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC Grants Five 60-Meter Channels The granting of just five spot frequencies -- 5332, 5348, 5368, 5373, and 5405 kHz -- at 60 meters was less of a surprise given opposition expressed last fall by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The NTIA had cited a possible need for the requested band by federal government users and proposed the five specific frequencies for amateur use on a secondary basis. The FCC has granted operation on USB (2K8J3E emission) only, with a maximum effective radiated power limit of 50 W relative to a 0 dB gain antenna -- a half-wave dipole. The channels -- each with a maximum permissible bandwidth of 2.8 kHz -- will be available to General and higher class licensees. "While the new amateur privileges at 5 MHz are not as flexible as we had hoped, we recognize that much has changed since the ARRL petition for rulemaking was submitted to the FCC in the summer of 2001," Dave Sumner, GM of ARRL, said. "Federal agencies with homeland security responsibilities have renewed interest in HF radiocommunication." Sumner predicted that, over time, amateurs "will develop a record of disciplined, responsible use of the five channels in the public interest that will justify another look at these rather severe initial restrictions." The FCC said it gave "considerable weight" to the NTIA's concerns in making its decision on the ARRL's 60-meter request. The Commission denied requests by the United PowerLine Council http://www.uplc.utc.org/ (UPLC), a consortium of PLC manufacturers, and the PowerLine Communications Association http://www.plca.net (PLCA) to delay action in the proceeding. Both organizations had said that amateur operation in the vicinity of 5 MHz could affect plans for broadband over future power line (BPL) deployment. "We are pleased that the FCC has underscored the fact that broadband PLC systems must be designed so as to not cause harmful interference to licensed, allocated services," Sumner said. The ARRL had conducted lengthy experimental operations on the band that involved users across the US. The band is primary for several governmental agencies including the military (via Bill Smith, W5USM, DXLD) (ARRL May 14 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FCC DECLINES TO GRANT AMATEUR LF ALLOCATION; GIVES FIVE CHANNELS AT 5 MHZ --- SB QST @ ARL $ARLB035 ARLB035 ZCZC AG35 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 35 ARLB035 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT May 14, 2003 To all radio amateurs The FCC has declined to grant amateurs a sliver-band allocation at 136 kHz ''at this time.'' Also, in a compromise with government users, the Commission decided to give amateurs five discrete 2.8-kHz-wide channels in the vicinity of 5 MHz instead of the 150-kHz band ARRL had requested. In its Notice of Proposed Rule Making a year ago, the FCC appeared inclined to go along with both ARRL requests. The FCC did agree in a Report and Order released May 14 to elevate the Amateur Service, but not the Amateur-Satellite Service, to primary status at 2400 to 2402 MHz. The changes to Part 97 go into effect 30 days after publication in The Federal Register, which has not yet happened. ''We are disappointed that the FCC could not see its way clear to providing even a narrow LF allocation to the amateur service, given earlier encouraging signs and the general trend in other countries,'' ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, said of the FCC's decision. The FCC, however, found itself more persuaded by arguments from electrical utilities and other commenters that amateur operation at 136 kHz might interfere with power line communications (PLC) used by electrical utilities to control the power grid. The FCC said a new amateur LF allocation is not justified ''when balanced against the greater public interest of an interference-free power grid.'' The FCC said amateurs wishing to experiment with LF could apply for experimental licenses or operate under existing Part 15 rules on that part of the spectrum. ''We will not jeopardize the reliability of electrical service to the public,'' the FCC concluded. The granting of just five spot frequencies -- 5332, 5348, 5368, 5373, and 5405 kHz -- at 60 meters was less of a surprise given opposition expressed last fall by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The NTIA had cited a possible need for the requested band by federal government users and proposed the five specific frequencies for amateur use on a secondary basis. The FCC has granted operation on USB (2K8J3E emission) only, with a maximum effective radiated power limit of 50 W relative to a 0 dB gain antenna -- a half-wave dipole. The channels -- each with a maximum permissible bandwidth of 2.8 kHz -- will be available to General and higher class licensees. ''While the new amateur privileges at 5 MHz are not as flexible as we had hoped, we recognize that much has changed since the ARRL petition for rulemaking was submitted to the FCC in the summer of 2001,'' Sumner said. ''Federal agencies with homeland security responsibilities have renewed interest in HF radiocommunication.'' Sumner said the ARRL was pleased to see 2400-2402 MHz upgraded to primary. ''The upgrade of the 2400-2402 MHz amateur allocation to primary provides a seamless primary allocation from 2390 to 2417 MHz, in addition to the secondary allocations of 2300-2310 and 2417-2450 MHz,'' he said. Amateurs already have been experimenting with high-speed multimedia operation in the band using IEEE 802.11b protocols. The Report and Order is available on the FCC's Web site, http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-105A1.doc NNNN /EX (via Fabrizio Magrone, Italy, DXLD) (ARRL May 14 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, Jilly Dybka, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. MORE PIRATES FINED: FCC NOTICES FERNANDO ALEJANDRO. Issued a monetary forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 to Fernando Alejandro for operating a radio station on the frequency of 95.1 MHz without Commission authorization. Action by: Chief, Enforcement Bureau. Adopted: 05/08/2003 by Forfeiture Order. (DA No. 03-1535). EB http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1535A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1535A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1535A1.txt EMMANUEL FREDERIC. Issued a monetary forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 to Emmanuel Frederic for operating a radio station on the frequency of 87.9 and 89.7 MHz without Commission authorization. Action by: Chief, Enforcement Bureau. Adopted: 05/08/2003 by Forfeiture Order. (DA No. 03-1536). EB http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1536A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1536A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1536A1.txt (via Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) More Floridians? Why not specify? ** U S A. FCC GETTING HIP WITH THE PRESENT Top Of The News, Dan Ackman, 05.13.03, 9:15 AM ET NEW YORK - The new cross-ownership rules being floated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission have been in the works for at least two years now, but the reality in which they operate has been changing for a lot longer than that. The result: many more voices, even if the loudest voices all tend to say the same thing. . . http://www.forbes.com/home_asia/2003/05/13/cx_da_0513topnews.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) LARGE MARIN CROWD DEBATES MEDIA OWNERSHIP By Keri Brenner, IJ reporter More than 500 people packed a public hearing yesterday in San Rafael on the Federal Communications Commission's proposed relaxation of media consolidation rules. . . http://www.marinij.com/Stories/0,1413,234~24407~1388521,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. TOUGH CALL WIRELESS COMPANIES DISGUISE TRANSMISSION SITES AMID PUBLIC OUTCRY http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=7976994&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7546&rfi=6 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. U.S. RADIO STATIONS TALLIED Just how many radio stations are there in the United States? The FCC is out with the latest answer to that frequent question. As of March, there were just over 4,800 AMs, 6,000 commercial FMs and 2,400 noncom FMs, for a total of 13,200. There were about 3,800 FM translators and boosters (From http://www.rwonline.com/dailynews/one.php?id=3084 Date posted: 2003-05-05 via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. Re: You Know You're An Aging Radio DJ When..... I was a DJ for a while at a small FM station over 20 years ago. At that time of course we were still playing 33 and 45 rpm records as well as carts. I can really relate to: You still have dreams of a song running out and not being able to find the control room door (via Rick Robinson, NRC-AM via DXLD) While I was on the air and for many years afterward I had a recurrent dream that I was on the air, the record would end, and nothing would be cued up. It is good to see others have had this same dream! It must be very common among radio announcers. 73, (David Hodgson, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WEATHER RADIO USING HUMAN VOICES TO WIN BACK LISTENERS [misleading headline] By Clay Redden, DAILY Staff Writer MONTGOMERY -- If you've had a chance to listen to NOAA Weather Radio recently, you may have noticed something different: It's a little easier to understand. That's because the National Weather Service has gone back to using human voices and is phasing in a new human-sounding computer voice. "We're trying to jazz up Weather Radio just a little bit to get our listeners back," said Dave Wilfing, forecaster with the National Weather Service state office in Calera. "We lost some listeners when we switched over to the mechanical voice." For the past several years, the National Weather Service has used a computerized announcer, nicknamed "Igor" by forecasters, to read the information broadcast over Weather Radio. But Igor's mechanical and monotone voice was difficult for some people to understand. Those people started turning to commercial radio and television stations for their weather information. Forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Huntsville, which reopened earlier this year, said Monday they haven't received any complaints -- including during last week's severe weather outbreak -- about the computerized voice. Wilfing said human announcers and the new human-sounding computer voice now read most of the local and statewide weather information transmitted over 13 Weather Radio stations in North and Central Alabama. However, because of conflicts between the new human-sounding computer voice and the Weather Radio computer, forecasters aren't using the new computerized voice to read severe weather statements nor are they using human forecasters to record the statements. That job is still left to Igor. "When we hit the enter key on the computer to send out a warning, it immediately goes out over Weather Radio," said Wilfing. "No matter how good you are, you can't get it on the air as fast as the computer." That's because Igor, whose voice has been improved and works from a different system from the new voice, is actually tied into the computer system used to write and issue weather warnings. It would take several minutes for a forecaster to record the warning and then broadcast it over Weather Radio. Additionally, the National Weather Service office in Calera issues all warnings for the northern two-thirds of the state and doesn't have the staff to record individual warnings for the 13 Weather Radio stations in its coverage area. Wilfing said it's hoped that the new human-sounding computer voice will take over the responsibility of announcing severe weather warnings later this year. NOAA stations Frequencies of NOAA Weather Radio stations covering Morgan, Lawrence and Limestone counties: Huntsville: 162.400 MHz Florence: 162.475 MHz Cullman: 162.450 MHz Winfield: 162.525 MHz Source: National Weather Service (THE DECATUR DAILY, [AL], May 13, via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. CHICAGO HOMELESS SHELTER SEEKS HOME May 15, 2003 By JOHN W. FOUNTAIN http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/15/national/15HOME.html?ex=1054017416&ei=1&en=16d272765e4f2236 . . .The largest and oldest shelter for the homeless in Chicago, Pacific Garden is also where "Unshackled," a syndicated real-life Christian radio drama broadcast in 147 countries, is taped every Saturday before a live audience. . . Wasn't there a story a few weeks ago about troubles at Pacific Garden Mission? Wonder if the two are related? 73- (Bill Westenhaver, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NEW OWNERS TUNE IN KEYS RADIO STATIONS New England pair buys WAVK, WWWK By Michael Welber Keynoter Business Writer A new company in New England co-owned by a part-time Key Colony Beach resident has bought two Marathon radio stations, WAVK and WWWK. http://www.keynoter.com/business/20030510s01.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. TV LOGO GALLERY UPDATE All channels are now updated at http://www.egrabow.com/gallery/ I actually lost the .DOC files I used to create last years pages when I switched computers. Instead of starting over with Word and Acrobat, I opened up Photoshop to see what that would look like. The result: you be the judge. Each channel has a JPEG map that is about 900 MBs (dial-up users, be patient). I actually took stats on this one! Better formatting at http://www.egrabow.com/gallery/about.htm Channel 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Total Logos Confirmed: 47 50 48 41 49 235 Logos Modified: 6 6 9 12 4 37 Logos or Stations Added: 2 3 4 1 2 12 Logos or Stations Deleted: 0 0 0 0 0 0 Logos Unavailable: 2 2 3 1 4 12 Total stations: 57 61 64 55 59 296 "End of message. End of transmission." (Ryan Grabow, Patchogue, Long Island, New York http://www.egrabow.com/dx/ WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Buffalo DTV --- the last time I saw WIVB-DT (I don't have a DTV tuner yet, but I've been borrowing and looking at Rick's) it was signing off cold at 11PM, so extended hours of any sort, even if they're just replaying CBS primetime, are a good thing. I have a theory about how WIVB might have easy access to a replayed feed of CBS HDTV, too: as of a few months ago, WIVB and WNLO have moved their master control from Buffalo to Indianapolis, at a new centralcasting hub at sister LIN station WISH-TV. That hub is also shared by WDTN in Dayton, WLFI in Lafayette and WANE in Fort Wayne. WISH, WLFI and WANE are, of course, on "Indiana Stupid Time," as my friend there calls it. In recent years, WISH has been delaying CBS primetime in summer months so as to maintain an 8-11 PM primetime schedule year-round. When WISH-DT signed on five years ago (they were among the first!), it passed CBS primetime through live year-round; But that caused some consternation for the CBS lawyers in New York, who were worried that the "separate" plays of programming in Indianapolis might count against the number of runs of programming the network was allowed under its agreements with program producers - never mind that at that point, there were perhaps 10 people in town who could watch the DTV. So it came to be that WISH was compelled to spend big bucks on one of the first DTV Profile servers, to ingest the CBS DTV feed and spit it out again an hour later. And as long as that box is sitting there, I wonder if it's being put to other uses too --- like providing a delayed feed for WIVB-DT? (More tales of "Indiana Stupid Time": WANE wanted to keep a constant late-afternoon schedule year-round - so it carries CBS daytime programming live in the summer months, but delays it 23 hours in the winter! In so doing, of course, the station has to edit out all the "CBS Primetime Tonight" and other day/date promos in the network programming --- which turns out to be something approaching a full- time job, albeit made easier by the new digital gear in Indianapolis. WANE and the other "big 3" Fort Wayne stations just began delaying primetime in the summer two years ago - good for Fort Wayners, but not so good for the folks in Ohio and Michigan who watch Fort Wayne TV and now have 9-midnight prime time half the year. It's sort of the opposite problem that the KELO network faces in South Dakota, where viewers in most of the state get primetime from 7 to 10 Central time, but the folks watching satellite KCLO-15 in Rapid City end up with CBS primetime from 6-9 MT, Letterman at 9:35 and Craig Kilborn at 10:35. Given how cheap Profile servers have become, I wonder if they'll ever put one out there to delay KCLO an hour?) s (Scott Fybush, NY, WTFDA via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. [continued from ITALY] I hear on a regular basis from R. Tashkent, who is holding another contest for its listeners --- I won second prize in the last one, a tape which I can`t play because it`s in a different format --- with ``memorable prizes and souvenirs.`` I`ve been pretty well told that there are rooms waiting for me in the country if I plan to visit --- I`ve already started my ``Tashkent or Bust`` fund! (Sue Hickey, NF, May CIDX Forum via DXLD) ** VANUATU. PORT VILA (Oceania Flash) --- After a much-noticed arrival in Fiji in March this year, France's international broadcaster Radio France Internationale is scheduled to start transmitting in the Vanuatu capital Port Vila, after many years of absence, Vanuatu's Port Via Presse newspaper reports. The Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corp. has earlier this month signed a partnership agreement with RFI, whereby the Vanuatu national radio will get new transmitting equipment, as well as training facilities with RFI. The contract is currently being formalized with RFI in Paris. It also involves transmitting RFI on a separate FM band for the benefit of some 40 percent of French-speaking ni-Vanuatu — out of a total population of some 200,000. For the 60 percent of English-speaking ni-Vanuatu, the British High Commission in Port Vila has earlier this year boosted its transmission capacity with the donation of new equipment to the VBTC for the purpose of relaying the BBC radio World Service both in the capital Port Vila, but also in the only other town of Luganville, Espiritu Santo Island, North Vanuatu. Since the official launching of RFI in neighboring Fiji, the Australian Broadcasting Corp.'s international radio service, Radio Australia, has also "re-launched" its local frequency on FM. A few days later, in April, Radio New Zealand International's news bulletins reached the Fiji listeners via a local private radio, Z FM. In Fiji, the BBC radio World Service has been relayed for years through a service provided by Communications Fiji Ltd., a company that operates four stations in Fiji — two in English, one in Fijian, one of Hindustani (Marianas Variety, May 15 via E. Baxendale, UK, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. A station which some believe is the Venezuelan government outlet was heard on 15570 earlier this year, announcing itself as Circuito RNV and taking a leftist line, which would be fit with the tack of the current Chávez government there. Whatever it was, it wasn`t there very long. It is a bit surprising that the Venezuelan government isn`t doing more SW broadcasting in an attempt to make its views heard. For that matter, we wonder why no anti-Chávez clandestine broadcasters have appears as yet (Gerry L. Dexter, WI, Bandscan America, May Short Wave Magazine [UK] via DXLD) GLD`s cribbing from DXLD must have slipped; else he`d know that 15570 was simply R. Habana Cuba with its usual Sunday mid-day relay of Aló Presidente, plus 3 or 4 other frequencies (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. ZIMBABWE? [non?]. On 16 May at 1820 tune in, on 4880 there was an interesting station. Lots of static, first heard only some English words and thought it was AIR Lucknow with prolonged program. But later on the signal improved and there was an interview in English (by phone I guess). Lots of talk about Zimbabwe. In that interview they mentioned "PO Box CY789 Harare" and telephone numbers 776992 and 776942. Well, at least that's the way I heard them:). Unfortunately I had to leave my radio for a while, and when rechecking at 1858, the station was gone. Wonder if ZBC is on this frequency now or someone else - who? (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxing.info via DXLD) This is the address of "Grosvenor Trade International (Pvt) Ltd", a trade company that exports Flour and Polywoven bags. Probably it was an interview to Mr. Ngwena and you were listening to AIR (Roberto Scaglione, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Umm, yes I did check that PO Box at Google, too. Hard to believe that AIR Lucknow would continue after their usual sign-off time with this kind of program. All the other AIR outlets in the 60/90 mb were off (except 4860 Delhi). We'll see the coming days what's on this frequency. 73 (Jari Savolainen Kuusankoski Finland, ibid.) Hi Glenn, Re: UNIDENTIFIED. 4870 steady signal here, but noisy conditions. Nothing but music, "Me and you and a dog named Blue," and Abba's "Fernando." The title of the first song Hans heard is actually "Me and you and a dog named Boo", sung by a band called Lobo. Not that it really matters, but I know you like to keep things accurate in DXLD :-) 73, (Andy Sennitt, Holland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ DOMESTIC BROADCASTING SURVEY #5 NOW AVAILABLE The Danish Shortwave Club International has just finished updating its DBS and the fifth edition is now on sale by e-mail as pdf-files. It contains about 1725 entries of domestic shortwave stations including the tropical bands, and clandestines. Please have a look on http://www.dswci.org and click Domestic Broadcasting Survey for more details. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, DSWCI, May 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It`s a really exhaustive publication, by frequency from tropical bands to 29 MHz, excluding external services; also a listing by frequency of such stations which have been deleted in the last few years (gh) EUROPEAN MEDIUMWAVE GUIDE I am pleased to announce that contrary to the Domestic Broadcasting Survey and several other publications, the European Medium Wave Guide (EMWG) is still available free of charge as both a PDF file and an online edition. Both versions will be greatly updated in the next few weeks. You can consult and download this publication at www.emwg.info And while you're at it, don't forget EMWG's counterpart for Asia and the Pacific, the PAL, which is also available free of charge, at http://www.qsl.net/n7ecj 73 - (Herman Boel, Author of the European Medium Wave Guide EMWG web site: http:www.emwg.info personal homepage: http:users.pandora.behermanb located in Aalst, Flanders (Europe), hard-core-dx via DXLD) SHORTWAVE AS MUSIC ++++++++++++++++++ More re shortwave as an increasingly prevalent musical "instrument": "German experimental musican Holgar Czukay will perform solo, using samplers, guitar, French horn and a short-wave radio set, which he sees as a 'strange synthesizer' - 'sometimes a little bit [of an] unpredictable instrument, looking for surprises.'" . . . http://www.sptimes.ru/archive/times/867/features/a_9395.htm "(Wilco's) masterpiece (disguised as an obese albatross) came with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, a concept album that likens short wave radio (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a code from Mossad, Israels intelligence agency) to human relationships." . . . http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/05_03/05_14_03/art_wilco.html Human relationships? 73 (Kim Andrew Elliott, Producer and Presenter, Communications World, Voice of America, May 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ WEB-CONTROLLED RECEIVER There is an interesting Web-controlled receiver which can be found at http://194.165.225.6/sfors/index.html It is an SRT CR-91 owned and made available on the Web by Orexis Communication AB of Umeå, Sweden. It receives in all popular modes AM, USB, LSB and a number of bandwidths. Sign in with your own chosen password, select your frequency and mode and enjoy listening. Bear in mind that this is shared by many listeners. A chat box is visible on the screen which enables anyone signed in to share messages with other listeners in real time. The frequency 7630 USB has been quite active since the start of recent activities in Iraq. There are messages to and from what appears to be an aircraft carrier and at least two ground based forces, one British, the other American. It makes for some interesting listening. None of these communications could be heard at my listening post. The Web receiver being in Sweden and closer to the monitored zone definitely gives it an edge. Listening to the ever popular 11175 kHz with the Web receiver and your own receiver at the same time often fills in the gap of the missing reply from the distant aircraft. The Web receiver has a delay of approximately 10 seconds, which takes some getting used to (Robert Ellis, Beaconsfield QC, Worldwide Utility Column, May CIDX Messenger via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BROADBAND VIA POWER CABLES --- The Swedish state-owned power company Vattenfall has signed an agreement with Song Networks to provide broadband to households via power lines. Initially the service is to be offered to apartment dwellers in the Greater Stockholm area. Vattenfall says it will price the service to compete with ADSL, which is currently the most popular broadband service in Sweden (TT, whatever that is, via SCDX/MediaScan May 16 via DXLD) See also SWEDEN, USA CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ WTFDA 2003 ANNUAL CONVENTION WESTERN NEW YORK July 10-13, 2003 Batavia-Buffalo-Rochester-Toronto! The suspense is over! WTFDA 2003 is a reality - and it's all over beautiful Western New York. First things first: hotel information. Our home for WTFDA 2003 will be the Days Inn of Batavia, N.Y., right alongside exit 48 of the New York State Thruway (I-90), 40 minutes from downtown Rochester and 40 minutes from downtown Buffalo. They're holding 30 rooms for us at a rate of $72/night (plus 11% tax) per room, with a maximum of four people per room. You must make your reservation no later than June 10 to get this rate - so book now! Call the Days Inn directly at (585) 343-6000 and tell them you're with WTFDA. Your planning committee, which includes Scott Fybush, Jim Renfrew, Jerry Bond, Greg Coniglio, Rick Lucas and Guy Falsetti, has plenty of fun in store for you: On Thursday, July 10, we're making tentative plans for early arrivals to take a day trip across the border to Toronto, Ontario, where the mighty CN Tower puts out some of the region's strongest signals. If you expect to be arriving in time for this trip, or need more information, please contact Scott Fybush right away! Later in the evening, we'll have dinner in Batavia for others who have arrived early. On Friday, July 11, we head to Buffalo to see the mighty KB Radio and much more! In the evening, Jim Renfrew will open his home just minutes from our host hotel - and the many acres of farmland behind his house - for plenty of DXing. (We're working on arranging a big skip opening; stay tuned!) On Saturday, July 12, we hope to offer a tuner clinic in the morning. In the afternoon, we'll head to Rochester, where we'll see several newly-renovated broadcast facilities before returning to Batavia for our banquet and annual meeting at the hotel. (Wait till you see the size of our meeting room!) On Sunday, July 13, the meeting room will be open in the morning and early afternoon as WTFDA'ers prepare to head out on the road. How do you get to Batavia? Western New York offers plenty of transportation options: By air: The Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, just 35 minutes from our host hotel, has service from all major airlines as well as Southwest, AirTran and Jet Blue. The Greater Rochester International Airport, about 40 minutes to the east, has major airline service as well as Jet Blue. Members of your host committee can arrange transportation from either airport to the hotel - just be sure to let us know in advance! By train: Amtrak provides service from Chicago, New York, Boston and points beyond to its stations in Buffalo and Rochester; we can get you the rest of the way as long as you let us know ahead of time. By bus: Greyhound offers service directly to Batavia, just minutes from the hotel. From there, it's an inexpensive taxi ride - or we can pick you up. By car: The Days Inn is just seconds from exit 48 of the New York Thruway. Batavia is about seven hours' drive from Boston, New York City or Washington; just four hours or so to Cleveland. We'll have many more details in the months to come, including information about how to register for the convention and information about activities for spouses/families. In the meantime, please make those hotel reservations as soon as possible - and let us know you're planning on coming! Contact the host committee in care of Scott Fybush by e-mail at wtfda2003@fybush.com, snail-mail at 92 Bonnie Brae Ave, Rochester NY 14618, or by phone at 585-442-5411 (10 AM - 10 PM Eastern, no collect calls please!) We can't wait to see you for a great WTFDA convention here in Western New York! Info forwarded by Saul Chernos, who plans to attend (NRC-AM via DXLD) EURORADIO 2003 The Ross Revenge -- 1983-2003 (From Barry Crompton) France Radio Club and Offshore Echo's annual event has a new date and a new venue, for this commemoration of 20 years of Radio Caroline's famous ship Ross Revenge. Euroradio 2003 takes place in Calais, France on Saturday 13 September 2003, at the Hotel Georges V in the centre of Calais. Euroradio starts at 2.00pm local time features a selection of offshore radio videos playing during the afternoon. We'll also be talking to our special guests. The Offshore Echo's Boutique will be open during the event, featuring a wide range of offshore radio related merchandise. In the evening there is a special Euroradio dinner, with fine French cuisine including wine, at the Georges V restaurant. The Hotel Georges V is situated in the Rue Royale, Calais's main street, and close to numerous bars, restaurants and shops. Guests Peter Chicago Associated with Radio Caroline for many years during her offshore days, firstly as engineer on the Mi Amigo, when he was persuaded to jump ship from RNI. Chicago worked as transmitter engineer on the Ross Revenge and was on board during the infamous 1989 raid. Nowadays he works in broadcast engineering. Paul Graham A veteran of numerous offshore and free radio projects, Paul has worked in Irish radio, as well as deejaying on the Ross Revenge, during the time she started to drift. He now works in radio consultancy. Mike Barrington An engineer and deejay on the Mi Amigo, Mike later worked on the Ross Revenge as a engineer. He was also involved with radio engineering for land based free radio station Radio Sovereign, and the MV Communicator. He is now Marine engineer on Sealand. Dennis Jason If you've seen photo's of the Ross Revenge, taken from the top of the 300 foot mast, you may also see part of the foot, of the man intrepidly climbed the mast to take the picture. Dennis Jason, as well as being a deejay, is an accomplished photographer. Euroradio 2003 costs ?35 including dinner, or just ?10 for the afternoon (without dinner). [Euros?] For Bookings and further information contact: Web: http://www.offshoreechos.com/euroradio2003 E-mail: Euroradio@offshoreechos.com Post: Offshore Echo's [sic], PO Box 1514, London W7 2LL Full details of travel, hotels and Calais maps will be sent with bookings (via Mike Terry, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ PROPAGATION REPORT Solar wind speed declined early in the week on May 10 giving a brief easing of conditions but increased again aruond 06UT on May 11. The sequence of coronal holes appears to be set to continue for some time giving rise to elevated wind speeds and variable propagation conditions. Things were a bit quieter on May 15 but generally geomagnetic conditions have ranged from active to minor storm levels with no immediate sign of this trend changing. This has led to depressed MUFs at times. Solar flare activity has continued to be almost non existent. Things are a bit quieter on the geomagnetic front tonight but the disturbed conditions may continue for some time. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, May 16, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-083, May 14, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1182: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB? Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [from early UT Thu] [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1182h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1182.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS I've recently started getting the daily Hard Core DX Daily mailing and subsequently your email with links to the DXLD txt version which I download. You do an absolutely fantastic job with compiling the DXLD. Between the HCDX daily mailing and your DXLD it has encouraged me to brush the cobwebs off my Drake R8 and have a twirl around the dial. Regards (Mark Nicholls, Chief Editor, NZ DX Times, NZ Radio DX League) Dear Mr Hauser, I just thought I`d drop you a quick [P-mail] line to let you know I am listening to WORLD OF RADIO. I heard you for the first time on the morning of the 20th. Having heard the bad news about HCJB the previous morning on the DX Partyline, I was on the hunt for a new source of shortwave information. By pure chance I came across your programme at about 0238 UT on WWCR [5070]. I was delighted. The signal was audible but weak so I attached an eleven meter length of doorbell wire I have pinned around the edge of my bedroom ceiling to the telescopic whip of my Sangean 818. The signal came in stronger and by setting the bandwidth switch to `narrow` I got a good reduction in noise. From now on I will set my radio to record your pogramme every Sunday morning. I found some of your tips very useful and I think the programme format and your style of presentation are very good. I am in the process of contacting the British DX Club and so hopefully together with a few other programmes, I shall not be short of listening tips when the DX Partyline goes off air in May. Thank you for a very enjoyable programme; I look forward to listening to you for a long time to come. Yours sincereley, (Ian Evans, Gwent, UK, 27 April, with a Wales coat of arms sticker) ** AFGHANISTAN. AFGHANISTAN NAMED THE FOURTH-WORST PLACE TO BE A JOURNALIST. Afghanistan placed fourth in a list of the world's 10 worst places to be a journalist released by the CPJ on 2 May. The CPJ report states that the unchecked power of local warlords and weak rule of law make Afghanistan an inhospitable media environment. Despite the new freedoms enjoyed by the media after the ouster of the repressive Taliban regime, journalists have complained that it is impossible to write and speak freely because of threats, physical intimidation, and assaults. According to the CPJ, these abuses are often committed by politicians and military commanders who use government security forces to harass independent journalists. The CPJ acknowledges that Afghan Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai has "publicly championed press freedom," but the report says his administration has "not moved aggressively to stop attacks against the press." Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Barometer http://www.rsf.org has listed Afghanistan among countries with "noticeable problems" -- a category that includes Spain and India -- while most countries in the Middle East and Central Asia are listed as countries with "difficult" or "very serious" media situations. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 2 May via RFE/RL Media Matters May 13 via DXLD) ARE FOREIGN FM BROADCASTS ILLEGAL? Speaking to Iranian state radio's Mashhad-based Dari service on 5 May, Afghan Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Fazel Ahmad Manawi said that foreign FM radio broadcasts in Afghanistan violate the provisions of the 1964 Afghan Constitution, and that when Afghan radio and television expands its programming there will be no need to allow such broadcasts. In February 2002, the Afghan Interim Administration implemented a new media law that does not restrict the right to publish print media only to Afghan citizens or limit broadcasting rights only to the state. The 1964 Afghan Constitution will be replaced by a new constitution in October and the preliminary draft has no restrictions on foreign entities' rights to broadcast via FM frequencies or any other broadcast medium in Afghanistan ("RFE/RL Newsline," 5 May via RFE/RL Media Matters May 13 via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. WORK STARTS ON NEW TRANSMITTER IN EAST AFGHANISTAN | Text of report by Afghan provincial newspaper Nangarhar on 8 May Sayd Abdol Ghafar Pacha, the head of Nangarhar [Province] radio and TV, in an interview with a Bakhtar Information Agency correspondent has said that they were installing two FM radio transmitters. One of them is being established for round-the-clock BBC news on TV Mountain [site of local transmitters]. In this regard, installation work started with a blow of a pickaxe delivered by the governor of Nangarhar Province on Wednesday [7 May]. The Bakhtar Information Agency session, which was held in the TV centre, was inaugurated by Mohammad Ashraf Karimi, chief editor of the radio and TV office, with the recitation of some verses from the Koran. The esteemed governor of Nangarhar, Haji Din Mohammad, made a speech in which he said that the function of the UNDP [UN Development Programme], which is constructing this building, is worth mentioning. They are actually serving us, he said. He also cast light on the values of radio and TV and asked the heads to pay heed to their duties. Consecutively Abdorrahman Olfat, the head of the UNDP, spoke on the occasion and said that over the last nine months the UNDP has been involved in 58 projects and this is its 55th project, which might cost around 20,000 dollars. This edifice will consist of three buildings, a corridor and some bathrooms. There will be 189 labourers working on this project and they might be utilized in cleaning the city canal as well. Mr Olfat asserted that they would continue their efforts in accordance with the instructions of the governor. Afterwards Mohammad Zubayr Khaksar, acting head of radio and TV, spoke on the occasion and thanked the donors. Subsequently the head of the information and culture department of Nangarhar, Haji Mohammad Hashem Ghamsharik, also spoke and said that the start of this project is fruitful. Finally the governor of Nangarhar along with some authorities commenced work on the project by wielding the pickaxe. The ceremonies were attended by Mohammad Ebrahim, head of national security, Halim Shah Qadri, head of communications department, Engineer Najibollah Miakhel, head of the power department and a number of other officials. Source: Nangarhar, Jalalabad, in Pashto 8 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC LOSES BATTLE FOR EXTRA $250 MILLION The ABC's ambitious plea for an extra $250 million for 2003/2004 was rejected unconditionally in the Federal Budget, handed down on May 13. Funding has been provided only for the nest there [next three?] years. The ABC advises that jobs and programs could disappear unless funding is increased. The extra funding bid was to have allowed expansion of the NewsRadio domestic service on AM and FM across Australia, and extension of existing TV services (World Broadcast Magazine May 15 used by permission from http://edxp.org via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Heard at least 4 radio Amateurs on 5935 USB, strong signals over the top of a broadcast station, they are here in this spot regularly every morning, they usually do not use their callsigns but I have been listening to these guys on and off for a number of months now and once or twice I have heard them mention VK2 callsigns so I know they are not ute stations, they are amateurs who talk about everyday events just like other amateurs that talk on the amateur bands, what are these guys doing in the 49 metre broadcast band or is this the new amateur frequencies like in the 41 metre band?? Best wishes to all! (Michael Stevenson, Port Macquarie, N.S.W., Australia, Kenwood R-2000 with outdoor longwire 15 metres and bhi DSP noise eliminating speaker (NES10-2), EDXP via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5580.23, R. San José, San Jose de Chiquitos, 0000-0025 13 May, "...Radio San José... en las palabras... San José..." Deep fades and threshold audio (Bob Wilkner, Icom R-75, Pompano Beach, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOTSWANA. On Sunday and Monday nights around 0230 UT on 4820 I hear a carrier wave turn on then around 0243 I hear what sounds like "cow bells" "mooing cows" and "rooster crows" until 0300 when a Spanish station I can't ID comes on. Is it "La Voz Evangélica"? I remember hearing things like this on old Radio Tezulutlán on 4835? Thanks (Gary Crites, hard-core-dx via DXLD) You're hearing Radio Botswana and their most distinctive (and smile- inducing) "barnyard menagerie" interval signal (John Figliozzi, NY, ibid.) The animal sounds are not real animals. They were apparently imitations by humans. Sounds quite good, though. Certainly something that has attracted attention among DX-ers (Aart Rouw Bühl, Germany, ibid.) And countless other replies to this effect. A good reminder to check this out if you have not yet heard it. I suppose they run this only in the morning before sign-on as a `dawn chorus`? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURUNDI. NATIONAL RADIO RESUMES BROADCASTING ON SHORTWAVE | Text of report by Radio Burundi on 14 May Our radio can now be heard again on 49 metres - 6140 kHz - after disappearing for some time. Those with radios without the FM band can henceforth listen to our news and programmes on 49 metres. Source: Radio Burundi, Bujumbura, in Kirundi 1030 gmt 14 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Confirmed? ** BURUNDI. SOAP OPERA ON BURUNDI RADIO TURNS A FORCE FOR EVIL INTO A FORCE FOR GOOD --- by Declan Walsh Our Neighbours, Ourselves, Burundi radio's hit soap opera. An EastEnders set in the dirt tracks and banana groves of central Africa, it has captured the imagination of a nation in the clutches of war. Drama, village politics and sidesplitting humour are skilfully interwoven in gripping 20-minute episodes. And behind it lies a noble aim: to hold a mirror up to Burundi's ethnic divisions, and to shine a light on possible solutions. . . http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=406011 (Independent May 14 via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. RCI has effected these frequency changes: 11900 (ex 11945) Moosbrunn 0330-0400 ME 9515 (ex 11910) Sackville 1100-1300 NAm 17800 (ex 17820) Sackville 1200-1500 NAm 9645 Skelton 0330-0400 ME (additional frequency) (World Broadcast Magazine May 15 used by permission from http://edxp.org via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]: Frequency changes for Radio Canada International effective from May 4: Arabic 0330-0400 Daily NF 11900 MOS 100 kW / 115 deg, ex 11945 NF 9645 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg ||||| addit \\ 13735 WER 500 kW / 120 deg French 1100-1200 Mon-Fri NF 9515 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg, ex 11910 1100-1300 Sat/Sun NF 9515 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg, ex 11910 English 1200-1500 Mon-Fri NF 17800 SAC 250 kW / 176 deg, ex 17820 DRM tests of Radio Canada International effective from June 1: 0000-0200 NF 9765 SAC 250 kW / 268 deg, ex 9560 1000-1600 NF 9730 SAC 250 kW / 268 deg, ex 9555 1200-1400 on 9535 SAC 250 kW / 268 deg ||||| cancelled 2000-2300 on 9740 SAC 250 kW / 268 deg ||||| additional (Observer, Bulgaria, May 14 via DXLD) ** CHILE. Instrumental music, right now 47.9 is in with full quieting, 47.800 is in weakly, and 47.830 is in with full quieting (Jeff Kadet, Macomb IL, May 13, 2003 14:43 PDT, WTFDA via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Definitivamente, Radio Caracol transmite solo los eventos deportivos a través de 5960 [5958.1] Captada el 10 de mayo a las 2130, con un partido entre el Unión Magdalena y el Deportivo Cali. SINPO 3/2, mejorando hasta 44333, ya bien entradas las 2200 UT. Muchos 73 y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, May 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5957, CARACOL 1125-1145 13 de mayo del 2003, SINPO: 33222. Oí noticias de Colombia, y muchos anuncios comerciales dados por los mismos locutores, entre cada noticia prácticamente; escuché una noticia acerca de la Copa Libertadores (Octavos de final) que se celebrará hoy (13 de mayo) un partido entre los Equipos del "Deportivo de Cali" y el "Cruz Azul" de México (Héctor García Bojorge, DF, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** CONGO. 5985, R. Congo 2059-2301* 05/10 French. Music at tune-in followed by 15 minute block of talk between OM and YL with lots of laughter, Afropops at 2115 followed by another 15 minute talk block. Shorter talks between music until 2152 then YL with somber tone over classical music. Music and talk from top of hour until 2213 when phone-in program until IS at sign-off. No "formal" ID noted but several mentions of "Radio Congo" and "Brazzaville" during phone-in program. Rough copy at tune-in, steadily improved to fair-good at sign-off (Scott Barbour, NH, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** CONGO DR. RADIO IN STRIFE-TOWN DRCONGO TOWN OF BUNIA HEARD AGAIN AFTER SIX-DAY ABSENCE Radio Candip, based in the northeastern DRCongo town of Bunia (the capital of Ituri District), was heard on the morning of 13 May for the first time since 6 May. The station was heard at 0630 gmt on 13 May on its usual shortwave frequency of 5066 kHz (it had not been heard earlier that morning, as scheduled). Bunia, a scene of considerable tension and insecurity over past months, has been the scene of fighting since 7 May, the day after Ugandan government forces completed their withdrawal from the town. On 12 May the UN Regional Information Network, IRIN, reported that Bunia had been recaptured that day by forces of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), a militia drawn from the Hema ethnic community led by Thomas Lubanga and backed by the Goma-based, Rwanda-backed rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD-Goma). This followed six days of fighting with an ethnic militia drawn from the rival Lendu community and backed by Uganda. In previous developments, Bunia was captured by the UPC in September 2002 from the Ugandan-backed RCD-ML (Congolese Rally for Democracy - Liberation Movement). The town again switched hands on 6 March 2003 when it was recaptured by Ugandan forces. In its broadcast on 13 May, Radio Candip carried a statement by the UPC army commander confirming that his forces were now in control of the town. Source: Radio Candip, Bunia, in French 0630 gmt 13 May 03 (BBCM via DXLD) ** CUBA. Re 3-078, the English European Service was observed on 9505 kHz. Here in Denmark we have Radio Sawa in Arabic with all 5's on 9505 (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Just lucky to get it on the air at all and hope it`s heard somewhere. However, May 13 check at 2145, found French quite strong on 11760, so English probably was too at 2030; a weak signal not \\ on something on 9505. Or I`d better not assume anything, judging from this: (gh) For what it's worth. This evening, May 13, RHC's English transmission at 2230 to 2330 was instead at 2300 to 0000 and was on 9550. Arnie's DXer's Unlimited was at 23:1. Go figure! I have no idea what's going on (John H. Carver Jr., Mid-North Indiana, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. Radio Cairo is now listed on these new frequencies, effective May 1: 15670 1430-1600 to ME 17775 1015-1430 to As various langs including English 1215-{1330} 17810 1530-1730 to Af, Swahili (World Broadcast Magazine May 15 used by permission from http://edxp.org via DXLD) ** FRANCE. It's a big strike day in France Tuesday, so looks like a day of fill music on RFI. Already noted at 0100 UT Tuesday (Mike Cooper, GA, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. DRM tests of Deutsche Welle effective from June 1: 1200-1359 on 9655 WER 500 kW / 270 deg 1400-1559 on 6180 WER 500 kW / non-dir 1600-1759 on 7125 WER 500 kW / 040 deg 1800-1959 on 3995 WER 500 kW / non-dir (Observer, Bulgaria, May 14 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. More transmitter photos: Bremen-Oberneuland 936: Third and fourth picture at http://www.wiechern.privat.t-online.de/bremen.htm This is the new site which replaced the no longer existing Bremen-Lehe station (ex 936, 6190 and FM) a few years ago. Obviously a cheap solution, quite interesting antenna design, could be described as section of a double-cone. Some source claims that the mast is 45 metres tall. Contradictory information circulates about the used power, but 50 kW day and 10 kW night (since no longer a directional antenna is available for the required protection of Lvov) are probably the best bet. Neumünster-Arpsdorf 1269: Fifth picture at http://www.wiechern.privat.t-online.de/schlesholst.htm Current mediumwave break-aways of NDR Info: Mon-Fri 1400-1600 relay of Funkhaus Europa (WDR/RB), 1600-1630 relay of BBC-Worldservice (Europe today programme), 1630-1700 relay of France Info, 1700-1730 programme in Italian, 1730-1800 programme in Turkish, 1800-1830 programme in south Slavic languages. Sun 0400-0600 special programme Hamburger Hafenkonzert. Daily 0630-0645, 2005-2020 and 2205-2220 only on 702 and 972 sea weather forecasts, at 2205 also via the NDR Info FM transmitters in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where NDR left mediumwave years ago. The hr-chronos mediumwave network of Hessischer Rundfunk will in fact cease to exist by the end of June although the name will be officially kept. Schedule for 594 and // ADR satellite output effective from July 1st: 0400-1700 relay of hr-skyline, 1700-1830 foreign language programmes as shown above for NDR Info, 1830-1855 programme in Greek, 1855-1920 programme in Spanish, 1920-1940 programme in Russian, 1940- 2000 programme in Polish, 2000-2205 relay of hr1, 2205-0400 relay of ARD-Nachtexpress / ARD-Radiowecker overnight programming. By the way, 594 is exactly in synch with ADR, so obviously both transmitters take the ADR signal, herewith avoiding any delay problems. (ADR: 192 kbit/s MPEG Layer II audio on subcarriers of analogue TV signals on Astra, a system in widespread use only by German broadcasters.) Just to make sure, the above UT times are valid for the DST period and will shift one hour later in winter (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GHANA. Richard Kotey, member of the [VOA] English to Africa family, died Saturday night, May 10 from complications of a stroke he suffered six weeks ago. Originally from Ghana, Richard was known to many as "King Kotey" and "The Gallant Ghanaian." He had been with VOA as a host and reporter since 1992. Prior to that, he had a distinguished career with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. . . (see USA) ** GUATEMALA. Radio Cultural Coatán; 5-13-03; 0217-0240 UT; 4778 kHz (strongest signal); SINPO 33233; pop music and IDs in Spanish as "Radio Coatán"; seemed to go off the air at 0240; ICOM R71A with 114 inverted-L (John Sandin, Merriam, KS, DX LISTENING DIGEST) But what was the carrier frequency? And I suppose we should stop referring to it as `Cultural` since they have stopped IDing that way (gh) ** HONDURAS. 4930, R. Costeña 0120-0136 05/11 SP. Continuous music until "canned' ID/announcement at bottom of hour. OM talks and music. Poor under QRN floor (Scott Barbour, NH, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Hello Mr. Hauser, I had the opportunity to listen to BBCWS on a car equipped with XM satellite radio over the last couple of weekends. The biggest impression was the outstanding CD-equivalent audio quality, superior to FM and a huge improvement over AM shortwave. The programming appears to be the same as the Americas release. Plus, it's available 24/7 vs. the intermittent shortwave schedule. With Wal-Mart selling XM boom-boxes this summer, this could be quite appealing for those BBC WS listeners who were distraught after the cutoff of N. America as a primary shortwave target. And if you could get a consortium of major international broadcasters on a single XM channel, it could really have a big impact on shortwave broadcasting. Best Regards, (Ben Loveless WB9FJO, Michigan USA, May 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, negative, as even more would be encouraged to drop SW prematurely. Well, there is just such a consortium, World Radio Network, but it`s on Sirius, Stream 115 (gh, DXLD) ** IRAQ. Sounds like the information radio on 4500 is not on anymore! Haven`t heard them for almost a week now. Can anyone confirm/correct that piece of news?? All the best (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 14, dxing.info via DXLD) ** IRAQ. NEW IRAQI TV COMPLAINS OF US CENSORSHIP --- By Saul Hudson BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S.-sponsored Iraqi television station began broadcasts Tuesday after complaining of American censorship, including efforts to stop it airing passages from the Koran, the Muslim holy book. At the start of what is being trumpeted as a new broadcasting era in a nation fed on a diet of state propaganda, Baghdad residents with electricity saw the Iraqi flag appear on their screens as a pan-Arab nationalist anthem played. Deprived of any locally produced television since U.S. troops ousted Saddam Hussein, Iraqis watched canned interviews and decades-old music shows. But the Iraqi Media Network postponed plans to air a half-hour live news program because of disputes over editorial control. "As journalists we will not submit to censorship," said Dan North, a Canadian documentary maker advising Iraqis at the station, which plans two hours of programming a night for viewers in Baghdad. "This whole idea was about starting the genesis of an open media so we will not accept an outside source scrutinizing what we produce." The charges of censorship could reaffirm for many Iraqis the perception that Washington is not allowing them a free hand in building democratic institutions. "All my neighbors say this TV is controlled by the Americans to get out their point of view," said Abbas Mohammed, a cakemaker, who watched the broadcast in his living room with his family. "But I don't care there was no news. In Iraq the news is always bad." NOT PROPAGANDA U.S. officials made no comment on the censorship allegations. They had earlier said the station would be a welcome change from the Saddam era. "This is not American propaganda. This is the first time in 25 years Iraqis are getting TV that is not propaganda," said Robert Teasdale, a U.S. adviser to the network. But North said the U.S.-led administration's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) had requested the station's news programs be reviewed by the wife of Jalal Talabani, a Kurdish leader and a major figure in the postwar politics of Iraq. "Could you imagine a political leader being able to check the content of any Western media?" North said. The news program would be postponed for a week because of the wrangling, said North, himself hired by the ORHA. The network did air verses from the Koran, a tradition in Middle Eastern countries, because the Iraqi workers threatened to walk out if they were dropped at the ORHA's behest. An eleventh-hour programming change on Tuesday cut an address by Jay Garner, the No.2 in the U.S.-led civilian administration. The station broadcast canned packages, including an interview with an electricity official and soundbites from Iraqis outside a hospital complaining of a lack of medicine. At the ORHA's "suggestion," the station cut one section in which a patient made an unsubstantiated accusation that U.S. soldiers were stealing gasoline, North said. REUTERS (via Mike Cooper, May 14, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. This morning they said that even though there is a general strike, Kol Israel broadcasts are continuing as they normally do (Doni Rosenzweig, NY, May 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The 0400 GMT English real audio newscast from WRN is normal but the 1030 RA GMT newscast from IBA.ORG.IL is all tone. On the other hand, the live webcast at israelradio.org via WRN appears to be normal. They were talking about Histarut (national labor organization) strike sanctions on the 0400 newscast but said that the IBA was operating normally (Joel Rubin, NY, May 13, swprograms via DXLD) As opposed to what they said yesterday morning, Joel Rubin says that they haven't had KI English news since 0400 UT (Midnight EDT/7 AM Israel Summer Time). The IBA's website now says, "...The Israel Broadcasting Authority's English News will not broadcast." http://bet.iba.org.il/bet.htm?item=betlanguage23 (Doni Rosenzweig, May 14, ibid.) ** KURDISTAN [non]. NORWAY: CORRECTION (cf. OBSERVER #258): Voice of Mezopotamiya in Kurdish 0400-0800 15675 KVI 250 kW / 110 deg Daily (not 11530) (Observer, Bulgaria, May 14 via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. On 13 May at 1645 tune in there was a station with several transmitter cut-offs and weak modulation on 11514.4 kHz. Later on the modulation got better at times. The program was continuous gospel music with one announcement in (African) accented English. Around 1800 the COJ (Chinese Opera Jammer) started on 11520 splashing badly. Soon after that I lost the carrier of this gospel station. Possibly this was Voice of Liberty from Monrovia testing (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LITHUANIA. Summer schedule of transmitter site Sitkunai 100 kW: to NAm - azimuth 310 degrees 0000-0100 Daily 11690 Radio Vilnius in Lithuanian/English 2300-2400 Daily 9875 Radio Vilnius in Lithuanian/English to WeEu - azimuth 259 deg 0700-0800 Sat 9710 Fundamental Broadcasting Network /FBN/ in English 0800-0900 Daily 9710 Radio Vilnius in Lithuanian/English 1100-1200 Sun 9710 Fundamental Broadcasting Network /FBN/ in English 1200-1300 Sun 9710 Universelles Leben in German to ME - azimuth 310 deg - not yet active 1000-1100 Sun 9710 Radio Avaye Ashena in Persian 1600-1630 Daily 7470 Radio Barobari in Persian (Observer, Bulgaria, May 14 via DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. I sent a reception report + CD to Radio Mauritania on November 5th via registered mail and I got the package back. It has not been opened and someone crossed out the label with the address (Radio Mauritania, BP 200, Nouakchott, Mauritania) and wrote something like NON .......... It's not possible to understand what the person wrote on it. Does anybody know if Radio Mauritania changed its address or we're not allowed to send registered mail to that country? Thanks (Marcelo Toníolo, Auckland, NZ, hard-core-dx and dxing.info via DXLD) Guess he moved from New York, tho Brasilian Most likely "Non réclamé", that's unclaimed. Not the best idea to send a registered letter to a P. O. Box! A guy will come every day to open the box and fetch the mail, but why should he bother to ask for registered letters? So, after a certain time they send the letter back. Try again with a simple letter! In my opinion an unregistered letter is much better, it's much cheaper and has the same chance to reach the addressee as a registered one. If not even a better chance! Greetings, (Martin Elbe, Germany, dxing.info via DXLD) I have been trying to get a QSL from Mauritania for at least 20 years. When I was living in Brazil I sent several reports to them, some in English, some in French and even in Arabic (a friend helped me to translate the basic words and expressions). In 1999 I moved to USA and since then I sent 4 more reports, all of them in French language, but only the last one was registered. I just thought that my letters were not getting there for any reason therefore I sent a registered letter. Now I am living in New Zealand. Perhaps I will try it again and see if I get a reply. (Marcelo, ibid.) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]: Frequency change for DRM test of RNW in English effective May 11: 2330-0030 NF 15525 BON 050 kW / 350 deg, ex 15455 DRM tests of RNW: 0930-1225 on 9590 FLE 100 kW / 172 deg in English June 2 to July 5 1200-1600 on 9615 FLE 100 kW / 187 deg in Dutch July 5 to July 28 1000-1400 on 9615 FLE 100 kW / 187 deg in Dutch July 28 to Oct. 26 2130-2230 on 17620 BON 050 kW / 050 deg in Special June 16 to June 17 1000-1700 on 21735 BON 050 kW / 050 deg in Special June 13 to June 19 (Observer, Bulgaria, May 14 via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. There's a new schedule on http://www.voiceofnigeria.org - but there's no update on frequencies: schedule displayed is as follows but not complete: English: 0445-2300 French: 0500-0700 and 1800-2000 Arabic: 1700-1800 but that seems to be wrong, at least regarding 11770 two weeks ago as there were news in various languages. Fulfulde: 0700-0800, 2100-2200 Hausa: 0800-1000, 1200-1300, 2200-2300 Kiswahili: 1300-1500 So what happens at 1000-1200 and 2000-2100 on the 2nd service? English to west Africa? And at 1500-1700? Arabic, or are there three different services at 1700-1800? Are there two or three transmitters on air? Btw, 15120 has been comparatively weak in the mornings since a few weeks. Reduced power? 11770 has also been much stronger at 1900 recently than 15120 at 2000. In early morning there's nothing on 11770 but relatively weak 15120 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, May 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORWAY: Updated A-03 schedule for Radio Norway/Radio Denmark effective April 7: [you mean May 7???] kW deg 0000-0055 SoEaAs, WeAUS 9930 KVI 250 / 080 NoAmEa, Carribean 9985 SVE 250 / 280 NoAmEa, NoAmCe, Greenland 11635 SVE 250 / 300 0100-0155 SoAs 9975 KVI 250 / 095 NoAnEa, Carribean, SoAmNoWe 9985 SVE 250 / 280 NoAmEa, NoAmCe, Greenland 11635 SVE 250 / 300 0200-0255 SoAs 9975 KVI 250 / 095 0300-0355 RUS, SoEaEu, NoME 7490 KVI 250 / 095 NoAmWe, Greenland 9960 SVE 250 / 315 SoEaEu, WeME, EaAf 13800 KVI 250 / 145 0400-0455 Eu 7465 SVE 250 / 180 NoAmWe, Greenland 9475 SVE 250 / 315 SoEaEu, WeME, EaAf 13800 KVI 250 / 145 0500-0555 Eu 7465 SVE 250 / 180 SoEaEu, WeME, EaAf 11615 KVI 250 / 120 0600-0655 Europe 7180 SVE 250 / 180 SoWeEu, Canary Isl, WeAf 11615 SVE 250 / 220 SoEu, Af, NZ 13800 KVI 250 / 165 0700-0755 Eu, Canary Isl 9590 SVE 250 / 180 SoWeEu, WeAf, Canary Isl, NZ 11615 SVE 250 / 220 0800-0855 AUS, SoWeEu, Canary Isl, SoAm 13800 SVE 250 / 250 EaME 15735 KVI 250 / 110 0900-0955 AUS, SoWeEu, Canary Isl, SoAm 13800 SVE 250 / 250 FE, NZ 17500 KVI 250 / 040 1000-1055 Eu, Mediterranean, Canary Isl 13800 SVE 250 / 180 1100-1155 Eu, Mediterranean, Canary Isl 13800 KVI 250 / 180 NoAmEa, Carribean 15705 SVE 250 / 300 SoAm, Canary Isl 18950 SVE 250 / 235 1200-1255 FE 15705 KVI 250 / 040 NoAmEa, NoAmCe, Greenland 15735 SVE 250 / 300 NoAmEa, Carribean 17520 SVE 250 / 280 SoEaAs, WeAUS, RUS 18950 KVI 250 / 080 1300-1355 Eu 9590 SVE 250 / 180 SoEaAs, WeAUS, RUS 15705 KVI 250 / 080 NoAmEa, NoAmCe, Greenland 15735 SVE 250 / 300 1400-1455 NoAmWe, Greenland 15705 SVE 250 / 315 NoME, SoAs, RUS 15735 KVI 250 / 095 1500-1555 NoAmWe, Greenland 15705 SVE 250 / 315 NoME, SoAs, RUS 15735 KVI 250 / 095 1600-1655 Eu 9920 SVE 250 / 180 NoAmEa, Carribean 15705 SVE 250 / 280 1700-1755 Eu 11615 SVE 250 / 180 SoEaEu, WeME, EaAf - NOT on Sundays 15705 KVI 250 / 145 1800-1855 Eu 7490 SVE 250 / 180 NZ - ONLY Saturday/Sunday 13800 KVI 250 / 035 1900-1955 Eu, Canary Isl - ONLY Saturday/Sunda 7490 SVE 250 / 180 WeAf, CeAf, SoAf, SoEu 13800 KVI 250 / 180 NoAmWe, Greenland 17505 SVE 250 / 315 2000-2055 Eu, Canary Isl 7490 SVE 250 / 180 EaAUS - ONLY Saturday/Sunday 9510 KVI 250 / 065 2100-2155 EaAUS 9510 KVI 250 / 065 2200-2255 SoAm 9925 SVE 250 / 235 FE 11845 KVI 250 / 035 2300-2355 SoEaAs, WeAUS 9415 KVI 250 / 080 NoAmEa, Carribean 9945 SVE 250 / 300 SoAm 9985 SVE 250 / 235 FE 11845 KVI 250 / 035 KVI=Kivitsoe; SVE=Sveyo xx00-xx30 Radio Norway xx30-xx55 Radio Denmark (Observer, Bulgaria, May 14 via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. The history of each OKC station on the AM and FM dial, logos, audio clips and other historical info is at Brian French`s site http://www.okcityradio.com --- not okcradio.com as in last issue (gh) ** OKLAHOMA. I caught the KOMA coverage driving west on I-44 to my home in the St. Louis, MO metro area. When I got home, I started a tape rolling to capture the sequence of events for my library. The KFOR-TV4 (KOMA was carrying their audio) chopper pilot was chasing the tornado in the dark, following a trail of leaves, dust and other debris to stay on track with the tornado. As the tornado tracked NW [sic], roughly following I-44, a warning to a crowded McDonald's restaurant in the projected track of the tornado was broadcast repeatedly. Fortunately, death and injury was averted during the evening, although heavy property damage to the Oklahoma City suburbs did occur. KOMA and KFOR-TV demonstrated the need for local broadcasting in time of emergency (Chuck, STL MO, amfmtvdx via DXLD) Yes, I heard the warning to clear the McDonalds and the chopper following the thing in the dark, as I said, this was incredible listening --- I wish I had my shack set up so I could've rolled tape on it --- I still have my tapes of WABC during the 1977 blackout. The fact that no one was killed makes it even more enjoyable listening. The signal was in and out, WWKB is tough to knock down here, so I wasn't aware they were simulcasting TV coverage. 73 and good DX, (Bruce, WB3HVV, York, PA, swl via DXLD) Chuck means east-northeast up the Turner Turnpike; I heard that too: the concern was for people on the limited-access tollroad which seemed to coincide with the path of the tornado; the McD about the only inside place which might offer some cover. People were advised to get off the pike ASAP and drive at right angles to the tornado path. KFOR-4 finally played NBC Thursday night prime time, at least the first two hours of it, Sunday after 10:35 pm, and it looked like KOCO- 5 was doing something similar with ABC. It always happens after a tornado: each OKC TV station relentlessly promotes itself as the one source for life-saving info, with testimonials from citizens who laud the appropriate weatherman for saving them; rather overdone and unbecoming, but ch 5 seems to be worst in this (gh, OK, DXLD) The fact that the storm was no where near as bad as the amateur and dysfunctional job of "reporting" that the KOMA staffers and lucky risk-taking helicopter crew fed listeners is even more memorable. Check sources. The tornado was not on the ground the entire distance nor as big as described. Nor did it inflict much damage compared to the one earlier in the week. This was just a horrible example of modern broadcasting at its most irresponsibly breathless. The tape would be worth having as a teaching tool on how bad broadcast journalism has gotten (Vern Modeland, Listening from the Arkansas Ozarks, swl via DXLD) Yes, but in the pitch dark you don`t take chances with a tornado which certainly has been on ground previously in its path (gh, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Mr Hauser, Re your item on the Enid, Oklahoma station downgrade show cause order: It is not easy to summarize nuances of the FM allotment scheme in the US but I'll try. In Docket 14185 in the early '60's the FCC established a table of allotments for FM stations and defined three station classes, A, B, and C, each with a power limit and a limit on antenna height above average terrain for operation with that power. Heights above the maximum for full power for a class require a power reduction to maintain the 60 dBu coverage area at the equivalent of the maximum height. The highest power and antenna height allotments are class C. Several other countries use a similar scheme, although sometimes with interesting modifications. Venezuela, for example, defines the classes in reverse order, so that class A is a high power station at high allowable elevation. In more recent times, the FCC has subdivided class C stations into two sub-classes, class C-1, and class C-0. While full class C stations are allowed maximum 100 kW ERP at 600 meters above average terrain, class C-1 stations are limited to 100 kW at 300 meters above average terrain, or the equivalent 60 dBu contour distance. The newest class, C-0, falls between full C and C-1, and allows 100 kW to a maximum height above average terrain of 450 meters. A change in the channel or the class of any allotment is a rulemaking action, as defined by the Administrative Procedure Act, because the table of allotments is part of the Code of Federal Regulations, in fact 47CFR73.202. When a rule is changed to change an allotment, if an existing authorization (construction permit or license) is affected, it receives a "show cause" order. In the Enid case, somebody wanted to make a change somewhere that required that the Enid allotment be downgraded from C to C-0, and the applicable procedure is for the proponent of such a change to file a Petition for Rulemaking. In the case of Petitions that request a downgrade of an existing station/allotment to class C-0, because it is a new process, adopted just a year or two ago, the existing station has the right to file an application to increase its height to meet the full class C minimum, 450 meters. The applicable rule, cited in the Enid Order to Show Cause, is 47CFR73.3573. (Benjamin F. Dawson III, P.E., Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers 9500 Greenwood Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98103 USA; 206 783 9151; 206 789 9834 Facsimile ben-dawson@hatdaw.com May 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 6115, R Unión, 0915 May 13, Good signal with no QRM. Beautiful Peruvian music with high paced announcers. Multiple IDs. Nice to hear them back on frequency with fine audio. This excellent domestic shortwave station make for enjoyable early morning listening (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6115, Radio Unión at 0130 May 11 religious program with 5 5/4 4344!!! May 12 with religious program at 0110-0200 when Finland appeared on 6120. Program ``La Voz de Salvación``, mentionedd Lima, clear ID ``Radio Unión en los 8-80`` (they use this MW), 44344!!! Just a week ago I heard here Colombian La Voz del Llano! Mysteries of the air! (Artyom Prokhorov, in a countryside just 70 km South of Moscow. Used Sony ICF7600G with its own telescopic aerial and some 2 meters long wire, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** QATAR. Today 13/5/03, Aljazeera TV started having a special program called "Voices from Iraq". Iraqi citizens on the streets giving out messages to their relatives abroad telling them that they are OK and was not hurt during the war time. BBC Arabic and RMC have call in programs for Iraqis living abroad to send messages on the airwaves to relatives in Iraq --- but this is the first time to see the message going vice versa --- cool Idea. All the best, guys (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DENUNCIA DE LA CADENA AL JAZEERA La red televisiva qatarí Al Jazeera dijo ser víctima de un boicot publicitario y anunció que, para evitar una drástica caída de sus ingresos, planea lanzar una serie de productos comerciales de lujo con su marca. La noticia fue difundida luego de que el canal, con sede en Qatar, perdiera un millonario juicio con la agencia publicitaria saudita Tihama, propiedad del príncipe Khaled Bin Sultan, quien ordenó rescindir un contrato publicitario de 5 años antes de cumplir el primero de ellos. "Desde 1996, año de la fundación de la estación, padecemos un fuerte boicot publicitario", declaró Jihad Ali Ballut, portavoz de Al Jazeera. Pese a que Tihama no explicó las razones de la baja del acuerdo, las tensiones entre Arabia Saudita y Qatar se incrementaron después de que el canal trasmitiera varias entrevistas a los líderes opositores de la monarquía de Ryad. Pero aunque Arabia Saudita representa el 40 por ciento del mercado publicitario del Golfo Pérsico, no es el único enemigo de la cadena qatarí. El estilo crítico e irreverente hacia los regímenes árabes valió numerosas prohibiciones a los reporteros de Al Jazeera, dictadas por las autoridades de Kuwait, Jordania, Irán, Irak y, también, de los territorios palestinos. La cadena también tuvo problemas con Occidente mientras reportó la guerra contra Irak: varios de sus informes molestaron a Washington y Londres, sobre todo las imágenes de prisioneros de la coalición y de la catástrofe humanitaria causada por el ataque militar contra Irak. Fuente: ANSA (via Arnaldo Slaen, May 12, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 4940, Radio Master, Yakutsk? Western and Russian pop nonstop at 1505 May 10 with 45444, ID in very Russian-accented English: ``Hit wave on Shortwave``, Gone off the air at 1510 (Artyom Prokhorov, in a countryside just 70 km South of Moscow. Used Sony ICF7600G with its own telescopic aerial and some 2 meters long wire, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 3230, South Africa? Liberia? Radio Veritas in English. ID: Radio Veritas broadcasting for whole Africa on 3230 kHz, for Namibia, Angola, Mozambique and everywhere in Africa, at 1740 May 9, good (Artyom Prokhorov, in a countryside just 70 km South of Moscow. Used Sony ICF7600G with its own telescopic aerial and some 2 meters long wire, Cumbre DX via DXLD) That would be the S. African R. Veritas, no connexion with the one in Liberia (gh, DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. 12060, Madagascar, Radio Voice of Hope. 05/10/2003, 0441-0456). This was my first logging of this station. The program consisted of an OM announcer interviewing people concerning activities in Sudan with musical interludes of Afro pop mx in between segments. There were several mentions of the "fall of Sudan." The ancr spoke EG until 0450, when he and the interviewees switched to vernacular language. Several ID's as "Radio The Voice of Hope," and mentions of Sudan, Uganda, and Nairobi. Strong signal with little QRN, but hampered by static and fading. Overall range poor to good (Wood, TN, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** SWEDEN [non]. Swedish Radio International To Join DRM`s Inaugural Broadcasts on June 16, 2003 Geneva -- Swedish Radio International (SR International) will commence its live, daily Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) broadcasts on June 16th, 2003. Its transmissions will debut in conjunction with DRM`s Inaugural Broadcasts event in Geneva, during the International Telecommunications Union`s (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC 2003). The precise moment of the world`s first DRM broadcasts will be marked at a spectacular reception at Geneva`s Château de Penthes on June 16th. ``We are proud and happy to be among the first DRM broadcasters. I think cooperation, the way DRM consortium and its members are developing it, is an efficient way to secure DRM`s future success, which is a must for AM radio to survive in a digital media environment,`` says Anne Sseruwagi, Director of SR International. ``DRM will be the solution even for us smaller actors in the international broadcasting scene.`` SR International has been a member of the DRM consortium since 2000. SR International will broadcast 3.5 program hours per week in English to the East Coast of the United States, covering Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore. The RS International broadcasts will be relayed via CBC/Radio Canada International`s site in Sackville, Canada. Deutsche Welle and Radio Netherlands have also announced their participation in DRM`s Inaugural Broadcasts event. In the coming weeks, more of the world`s best-known broadcasters and network operators will confirm their participation in DRM`s historic moment. DRM is the world`s only non-proprietary, digital system for short- wave, medium-wave/AM and long-wave with the ability to use existing frequencies and bandwidth across the globe. With clear, near-FM quality sound that offers a dramatic improvement over analogue, DRM will revitalize the broadcasting bands below 30 MHz. With its inaugural broadcasts drawing near, the DRM consortium`s membership is higher than ever -- 81 members from 30 countries. DRM reached an important milestone in January 2003, when the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) gave the DRM on-air system its highest stamp of approval – International Standard. Commercial DRM- capable receivers are expected to be available in markets worldwide in the next few years (DRM press release May 13 via DXLD) WTFK??? Don`t they still ID as ``Radio Sweden`` ?? (gh) ** U K. BBCWS Previews: ALL IN A DAY'S WORK 4 x 25 mins | from 13th Dr Edward Nahim is a psychiatrist in Sierra Leone. In fact Dr Nahim is the only psychiatrist in Sierra Leone, a country of more than five million scarred by years of civil war. Every day he can expect to see an average of 50 people. By contrast, in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires, there are more mental health workers than almost anywhere else in the world. This is a city where the most popular question among women of a certain age is not "who did your hair darling?" but "who is your therapist?" Just how would the experience of Dr Nahim in Sierra Leone compare with that of a therapist working in Buenos Aires? And why has it become acceptable and even fashionable to discuss mental health in Buenos Aires whereas it`s still taboo in India`s huge metropolis, Mumbai? All In A Day`s Work discusses these questions, every week it goes deep and personal with three professionals doing similar jobs in three very different environments. Cabbies from different corners of the globe share experiences of keeping safe with a stranger in your car. And, perhaps as important, how to get the best tips and ensure their bottoms get back into shape after a long day`s work. Reporters from far and wide share their ideas on staying sane after witnessing the vicious carnage of military conflict and disaster. Prison officers from Kazakhstan, Kenya and death row in the USA open the high-security doors to their difficult and often controversial profession. In each programme, guests describe their routines, discuss their challenges and aspirations and highlight some of the triumphs of their working life. All In A Day`s Work focuses on the remarkable stories of people`s everyday lives; and through those daily routines reveals how much our jobs tell us about how our communities work. ALL IN A DAY'S WORK [succeeds WATER WALKS in the Documentary 2 slots:] West Africa | Wed 0906 rpt 1606, Thu 0006, Sun 0906; Europe | Wed 0806 rpt 1306, 1806, Thu 0006, Sun 0906; East and South Africa | Wed 0706 rpt 1606, Thu 0006, Sun 0706; Middle East | Wed 0706 rpt 1606, Thu 0006, Sun 0706; South Asia | Tue 2206 rpt Wed 0506, 0906, 1406, Sat 2206, Sun 0506; East Asia | Wed 0206 rpt 0706, 1206, 1806, Sun 0106; Americas | Wed 1406 rpt 1906, Thu 0006, 0506, Sun 2106 (BBC WS Newsletter via Richard Cuff, DXLD) BBCWS via XM: See INTERNATIONAL VACUUM ** U K. With reference to DXLD 3-082, what on earth was the article about GBR doing there. First of all, it instructed us to tune in on Tuesday 29 May 2001, i.e. almost 2 years ago. Secondly, since the service apparently started in 1926, that would indeed have made its 75th anniversary in 2001. An obvious editorial slip-up to allow that article through (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, England, 2003, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glen[n], Small point: under UK; GBR 75 anniversary happened two years ago! Keep up the good work 73 (Steve Whitt, General Editor Medium Wave Circle) The date is May 2001. As reported in DXLD 3-068 GBR 16 kHz is now closed after 77 years of service (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ronny, Die uitzending zal wel degelijk in 2001 geweest zijn want volgens BC-DX is GBR sedert 31 maart definitief uit de lucht (Guido Schotmans, BDXC via DXLD) Hmmm, I fixated on the May and overlooked the 2001 as the previous contributor must have (gh) ** UNITED KINGDOM [and non]. CHRISTIAN RADIO has commenced regular HF transmissions over brokered Merlin facilities in Wooferton and Al Dhabbaya. The planned schedule is: 1900-2000 15590 Wooferton to Af 2300-0130 6145 Al Dhabayya to SAs 1230-1330 15590 Al Dhabayya to SAs 1600-1630 11695 Al Dhabayya to SAs Noted here in Melbourne on 6145 from 2230 (earlier than planned) with English religious features, then into South Asian languages 2300-2345 (World Broadcast Magazine May 15 used by permission from http://edxp.org via DXLD) Which Christians are those? Sounds awfully generic, but what a coup in grabbing that name neglected by all the other Christians! (gh, DXLD) GOSPEL FOR ASIA also known as Christian Radio via Merlin [as above] 1900-2000 15590 Wooferton to Af 2300-0130 6145 Al Dhabayya to SAs 1230-1330 15590 Al Dhabayya to SAs 1600-1630 11695 Al Dhabayya to SAs via DTK 15775 1430 1529 WER 250 GFA 15660 1530 1629 WER 250 GFA 11795 0030 0130 WER 250 GFA 11905 2300 0030 WER 250 GFA (via Silvain Domen, Belgium, EDXP via DXLD) ** U K [non]. GERMANY: New schedule for BVBN in Amharic via DTK: 1600-1700 Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat 13810 JUL 100 kW / 130 deg to EaAf 1630-1700 Mon/Thu/Sun 13810 JUL 100 kW / 130 deg to EaAf (Observer, Bulgaria, May 14 via DXLD) ** U S A. BURTON PAULU, PIONEER EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTER AND EDUCATOR, DIES AT 92 --- Trudi Hahn, Star Tribune, March 14, 2003 Burton Paulu combined his love of classical music with his broadcasting skills to become a pioneer in educational radio and television starting in the 1930s. In 1991, years after the longtime Minneapolis resident retired from the University of Minnesota, his studies of comparative broadcasting led him to become the first American to teach a full-length course in the Soviet Union on Western broadcast media. Paulu died March 8 of complications from Parkinson's disease. He was 92. . . http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3755013.html I took a course taught by him while a graduate student at the University of Minnesota. 73 (Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn: This message sent to VOA employees today. I haven't had a chance to listen yet, but this will probably be mentioned in today's "Africa World Tonight" ... (Kim Elliott, DXLD) Richard Kotey, member of the English to Africa family, died Saturday night, May 10 from complications of a stroke he suffered six weeks ago. Originally from Ghana, Richard was known to many as "King Kotey" and "The Gallant Ghanaian." He had been with VOA as a host and reporter since 1992. Prior to that, he had a distinguished career with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. Arrangements for a memorial service have not been finalized. Information will be shared as it becomes available. With always a kind word and a hearty laugh, the King brought joy and a sense of honor wherever he went. Please return to this page to view comments about Richard from VOA staffers and others. Richard, we love you and miss you. And we're sure you are with your ancestors watching over us. Many more tributes, including audio files in Ga language: http://www.voanews.com/EnglishtoAfrica/article.cfm?objectID=5C3C6962-1B75-4CEC-89551A8755EF2DE6 (via Kim Elliott, VOA, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. The China Syndrome, By PAUL KRUGMAN From the New York Times Editorial Page of May 13 Funny thing happened during the Iraq war: many Americans turned to the BBC for their TV news. They were looking for an alternative point of view --- something they couldn't find on domestic networks, which, in the words of the BBC's director general, "wrapped themselves in the American flag and substituted patriotism for impartiality." Leave aside the rights and wrongs of the war itself, and consider the paradox. The BBC is owned by the British government, and one might have expected it to support that government's policies. In fact, however, it tried hard — too hard, its critics say --- to stay impartial. America's TV networks are privately owned, yet they behaved like state-run media. What explains this paradox? It may have something to do with the China syndrome. No, not the one involving nuclear reactors --- the one exhibited by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation when dealing with the government of the People's Republic. In the United States, Mr. Murdoch's media empire --- which includes Fox News and The New York Post --- is known for its flag-waving patriotism. But all that patriotism didn't stop him from, as a Fortune article put it, "pandering to China's repressive regime to get his programming into that vast market." The pandering included dropping the BBC's World Service --- which reports news China's government doesn't want disseminated --- from his satellite programming, and having his publishing company cancel the publication of a book critical of the Chinese regime. Can something like that happen in this country? Of course it can. Through its policy decisions --- especially, though not only, decisions involving media regulation --- the U.S. government can reward media companies that please it, punish those that don't. This gives private networks an incentive to curry favor with those in power. Yet because the networks aren't government-owned, they aren't subject to the kind of scrutiny faced by the BBC, which must take care not to seem like a tool of the ruling party. So we shouldn't be surprised if America's "independent" television is far more deferential to those in power than the state-run systems in Britain or --- for another example --- Israel. A recent report by Stephen Labaton of The Times contained a nice illustration of the U.S. government's ability to reward media companies that do what it wants. The issue was a proposal by Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to relax regulations on media ownership. The proposal, formally presented yesterday, may be summarized as a plan to let the bigger fish eat more of the smaller fish. Big media companies will be allowed to have a larger share of the national market and own more TV stations in any given local market, and many restrictions on "cross-ownership" --- owning radio stations, TV stations and newspapers in the same local market --- will be lifted. The plan's defects aside --- it will further reduce the diversity of news available to most people --- what struck me was the horse-trading involved. One media group wrote to Mr. Powell, dropping its opposition to part of his plan "in return for favorable commission action" on another matter. That was indiscreet, but you'd have to be very naïve not to imagine that there are a lot of implicit quid pro quos out there. And the implicit trading surely extends to news content. Imagine a TV news executive considering whether to run a major story that might damage the Bush administration --- say, a follow-up on Senator Bob Graham's charge that a Congressional report on Sept. 11 has been kept classified because it would raise embarrassing questions about the administration's performance. Surely it would occur to that executive that the administration could punish any network running that story. Meanwhile, both the formal rules and the codes of ethics that formerly prevented blatant partisanship are gone or ignored. Neil Cavuto of Fox News is an anchor, not a commentator. Yet after Baghdad's fall he told "those who opposed the liberation of Iraq" --- a large minority - -- that "you were sickening then; you are sickening now." Fair and balanced. We don't have censorship in this country; it's still possible to find different points of view. But we do have a system in which the major media companies have strong incentives to present the news in a way that pleases the party in power, and no incentive not to (via Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, DXLD) Same: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/13/opinion/13KRUG.html (via Bill Doskoch, CAJ list via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC PROPOSAL EASES MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030512/ap_on_bi_ge/media_ownership_6 This doesn`t sound like good news, if you ask me. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) IFJ CRITICISES FCC'S PROPOSED CHANGES IN MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES | Text of International Federation of Journalists press release on 13 May The International Federation of Journalists today called on regulators to "come clean and give full disclosure" over plans to allow some of the world's largest media groups to tighten their grip on the world's largest media market in the United States. Michael Powell, chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has proposed changes in media ownership rules that signal a "new and dangerous shift of media power at the expense of pluralism and democracy," warned the IFJ. The IFJ says that there should be full public disclosure of the plans, which are being kept confidential in advance of an FCC vote on 2 June. Under the proposal, it is reported that two existing cross-ownership rules, one that prevents a company from owning a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same city and another involving radio and TV station ownership in a market, would be combined to create a single rule, but most existing restrictions would disappear. Other changes will allow media companies the right to hold up to 45 per cent of the national television audience - an increase of 10 per cent over the existing limit - while the rule that limits TV station ownership will be altered so a company can own two TV stations in more markets and three in larger cities like New York and Los Angeles. "This is giving control of the news and flow of information to a handful of media giants," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "It is a process that will diminish the diversity of ideas and opinions and will marginalize minority opinions and dissent." The IFJ says media concentration rules need to be tightened, not relaxed, and cites a worrying trend of conglomerates exercising editorial control over media services at the expense of journalistic independence: - In Canada, the IFJ and media unions have protested over a "one-size fits all" editorial policy imposed on editors by the company CanWest, which owns a network of newspaper and television outlets across the country; - In Italy, the conflict of interest of media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, who combines his role as prime minister with control of most of the country's television networks, has caused widespread consternation; - And in a media network that stretches over five continents, News Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch (who owns Fox Network, one of the prime beneficiaries of FCC changes) has a notorious history of editorial interference, most recently in his support for the US and British line in the Iraq war, a line slavishly followed by his entire network of more than 150 media outlets. "The FCC is supposed to regulate the airwaves in the public interest," said White, "but handing over the jewels of a nation's information and cultural heritage to huge corporations will not satisfy the public need for diverse media sources. This is simply politicians delivering glittering prizes to their friends in the media." "Democracy depends upon the capacity of many voices to be heard," says the IFJ, "and the FCC will stifle the _expression of different opinions by bowing to industry pressure for change, which has its roots in commercial advantage, not quality programming." The IFJ says that the opposition to changes in ownership rules has been particularly strong among media and journalists' trade unions, including the IFJ's affiliates The Newspaper Guild-CWA, the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (AFTRA), the National Writers' Union and The Writers Guild (East). "The anger of media staff is well-founded," said White. "They see a massive lobby for change by many big media companies, without the public being properly engaged in the debate. At the same time, the unions are aware that easing media ownership rules often leads to a deplorable decline in professionalism, working conditions and media quality." On 2 June, the FCC's five commissioners will vote on the proposals. The Republican members say that existing rules are obsolete with the emergence of cable and satellite television and the Internet, but the Commission's two Democrats say Michael Powell is rushing through an important process that needs more public comment. "This process is flawed and dangerous for democracy," said Aidan White. "The role of media as watchdogs is weakened when dominant newspapers merge with major TV stations, and the public needs to be brought into the picture before the voting starts." The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries. For further information, contact the IFJ, International Press Centre, Residence Palace 155, Rue de la Loi - Bloc C, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium, tel: +322 235 2200 or +322 235 22 01, fax: +322 235 22 19, e-mail: safety@ifj.org, Internet: http://www.ifj.org/ Source: International Federation of journalists press release, Brussels, in English 13 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A. DELAY URGED ON VOTE ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP FCC SCHEDULED TO DECIDE ON RELAXING LIMITS ON JUNE 2 By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY Key lawmakers Tuesday urged the Federal Communications Commission to delay plans to ease media ownership limits, while conglomerates sparred with smaller rivals over the sweeping proposal. ''I think we should hesitate,'' Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. ''I don't know how this affects diversity, localism and competition.'' The FCC's two Democrats also called for delaying the scheduled June 2 FCC vote. The Senate hearing came a day after the FCC staff sent the five commissioners a 261-page recommendation that would let media companies get bigger. The proposal would raise to 45% from 35% the national audience networks such as Viacom and Fox could reach with their own local stations; lift the ban on ownership of a newspaper and TV or radio station in a large or midsize market; and permit ownership of up to three TV stations in top markets. Most committee members, including Republicans, urged the FCC to get more public comment. But the FCC's Republican majority backs the plan and Chairman Michael Powell says the vote won't be delayed. Sens. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., and Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, introduced a bill to keep the 35% cap, but there's little chance of passage before the FCC vote. Mel Karmazin, president of Viacom, which owns CBS, told lawmakers that broadcast networks should be able to buy more lucrative local stations to boost profits. Noting that cable is winning away viewers, he said that without change, ''You'll encourage networks to put more of our content on cable (channels) and charge consumers more for it.'' But Jim Goodmon, president of Capital Broadcasting, a small owner of TV stations, said local voices will be stifled if the networks own too many affiliates. He said his Raleigh, N.C., station refused to air Fox's Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire because it ran counter to local values. ''Fox got upset, but we got through it.'' But ''if you let the networks own local affiliates, there is no balance. I mean, we're scared.'' Newspaper executives also squabbled. William Dean Singleton, CEO of MediaNews Group, which has 50 newspapers, said local TV news quality improved in cities where FCC waivers allowed ownership of both a TV station and newspaper. But Frank Blethen, publisher of the Seattle Times, said that when conglomerates own newspapers, ''there's less localism, fewer voices, less original information and higher ad rates and consumer subscription rates. Just wait for the feeding frenzy if the cross-ownership ban is repealed.'' (c) Copyright 2003 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. (via Mike Coope, DXLD) Heard on KUSP 5/14 that Powell had denied the delay (gh) ** U S A. KUSC TO WIDEN CLASSICAL AUDIENCE The radio station and NPR will distribute round-the-clock programming to subscriber stations around the country. By Steve Carney, Special to The Times, May 5 2003 Hoping to bring Bach, Beethoven and Mozart to a wider audience, KUSC-FM (91.5) is joining forces with National Public Radio to distribute a 24-hour stream of classical music to stations nationwide. The service, called the Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN) and created five years ago in partnership with Colorado Public Radio, offers a stable of knowledgeable announcers and a varied playlist. Stations that subscribe to the service can use as much or as little of it as they want, either to replace weak-performing programs or to fill in gaps in their schedule. "We want to take the intimidation factor out of it," said Brenda Barnes, president and general manager of KUSC. "You'll hear some modern music, some very early music, some challenging music in addition to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony." KUSC listeners have already been hearing CPRN since 1998. Except for local programs such as Jim Svejda's evening show, Duff Murphy's Saturday opera program and Los Angeles Philharmonic broadcasts, the programming heard on KUSC is the same as what's offered to CPRN subscribers. KUSC and Colorado Public Radio have been testing the service at a handful of stations. Now NPR will offer the service to its 732 member stations, 472 of which already carry classical music. "We're giving them more to work with," said Benjamin Roe, NPR's director of music. He said the service's economy of scale will enable even small outlets to have high-quality announcing and programming. Barnes said classical-music stations often struggle to find announcers who not only know the music but also can convey that information to lay listeners without jargon or pretense. Having the marketing muscle of NPR behind CPRN, she said, will help the service compete against similar classical streams offered by Minnesota Public Radio (Classical 24) and Chicago's WFMT-FM (the Beethoven Satellite Network). KUSC and Colorado Public Radio also developed CPRN with an eye toward the future, when technology will allow radio stations to split their signals, simultaneously offering NPR news and talk shows on one stream and classical music, for example, on the other. And though Barnes said the service isn't mass-market enough to draw hordes of new fans to the genre, she said CPRN's accessibility and the music information it offers will attract listeners, and perhaps help stanch a decline in the format's audience. According to Arbitron, the radio ratings service, classical music's share of the national listening audience fell from 1.7% in 1998 to 1.5% in 2002, and remained the smallest of any of the 13 formats charted. But it's still the most popular music format on public radio, accounting for 30% of all programming. "Classical music hasn't been a mass-consumption format for quite some time," Barnes said, but "it's always had a group of people who love it and value it." Copyright 2003 Los Angeles Times (via Mike Cooper, May 14, DXLD) ** U S A. Heard latest WORLD OF RADIO, about WLIB 1190 AM NYC. The transmitter is in the swamps adjacent to WOR 710 Lyndhurst and nearby 1010 all-news WINS. The FCC application issue for enhanced nighttime coverage does not affect WLIB`s current nighttime power output of 30 kW. The CP is only for an extra tower that could broaden its range. There`s been much ongoing tower and ground system work over last five years at almost all of the NYC and NJ AM stations who have transmitters in NJ. WCBS 88 and WFAN 66 (old WNBC) is shared tower on Hart Island, off City Island, Bronx. WQEW (R. Disney) 1560 is in Queens (Bob Thomas, Bridgeport CT, May 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. One of my old DJ friends sent me this and I wanted to share it. We were DJs together at a "hippie" FM station in the early 70s where the paychecks regularly bounced and the 2 sales guys always reeked of English Leather and cheap gin. I'm sure some folks on the list will get a good laugh from these (Rick Robinson, Hendersonville, NC, NRC-AM via DXLD) You Know You're An Aging Radio DJ When..... You were first hired by a GM who actually worked in radio before becoming GM. You excitedly turn the radio up at the sound of "dead air" on the competitor's station. Sales guys wore Old Spice to cover the smell of liquor. You were playing Elvis' number-one hits when he was alive. You worked for only ONE station, and you could name the guy who owned it. You remember when normal people listened to AM radio, and only hippies" listened to FM. Radio stations used to have enough on-air talent to field a softball team every summer. You're at least 10 years older than the last two GM's who fired you. You used to smoke in a radio station and nobody cared. You know the difference between good reel-to-reel tape and cheap reel-to-reel tape. You have a white wax pencil, a razor blade, and a spool of 3M splicing tape in your desk drawer - - just in case. You know people who actually listened to baseball games on the radio. You can que a record, run down the hall, go to the bathroom, and be back in 2:50 for the segue. The new guy you're training has never listened to an AM station. He couldn't even name one in his own hometown if his life depended on it. You knew exactly where to put the tone on the end of a carted song. You spent most of the time on Friday nights giving out the high school football scores. And when they weren't phoned-in, you got really ticked off. You never thought twice about drinking from the same bottle with another DJ. Somebody would say, "You have a face for radio," and it was still funny. Sixty percent of your wardrobe has a station logo on it. You always had a screwdriver in the studio so you could take a fouled-up cart apart at a moment's notice. Agents were people like James Bond and the Man From Uncle. The only interaction between you and someone else prior to bedtime is, "Thank you. Please pull ahead to the second window." Your family thinks you're successful, but you know better. You played practical jokes on the air without fear of lawsuits. You've been married at least 3 times, or, never married at all. You answer your home phone with the station call letters. You know at least 3 people in sales who take credit for you keeping your job. You have several old air-check cassettes in a cardboard box in your closet that you wouldn't dream of letting anyone hear anymore, but, you'll never throw them out or tape over them. Never! You still have dreams of a song running out and not being able to find the control room door (via Rick Robinson, NRC-AM via DXLD) You Know You're An Aging DJ when: You broke for five minutes of news at the top of the hour (or at :55, or at :30, or at 20 past and 20 'til) When the dominant sound on FM was either elevator music, Doc Severinson's Orchestra, or the symphony. When you broke for Gordon McLendon's baseball broadcasts on the Liberty Broadcasting System. When you had to have a first-class ticket to run the board at a directional station. When the teenyboppers thought you were a celebrity. When your old air checks were on reel-to-reel. (John Callarman, KA9SPA, Family Genealogist, Krum TX, ibid.) ** U S A. High winds topple part of Austin [MN] radio tower [KAUS-AM] http://www.kstp.com/article/view/97027/ (via Andy Sennitt, Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. Storms claim more towers in the midwest: WMBD 1470 Peoria loses three of its four towers and goes non-directional temporarily, with 3800 watts day, 1250 watts at night. KAUS 1480 Austin MN loses one of its four towers and is operating with reduced power as well. Regards, (100000watts.com via Brock Whaley, GA, DXLD) ** U S A. WMBD-1470 [Peoria IL] lost 3 towers over the weekend thanks to a tornado. CE Wayne Miller has pics up at his website: http://www.waynermiller.com/wmbd This is the second time in 4 years the station has suffered tornado related tower damage (Wally Wawro, WFAA-TV, Dallas, TX, NRC 2003 Big D, NRC-AM via DXLD) I have been in e-mail contact with Wayne Miller, CE for WMBD. He replied to my request for information with the following: " . . . I have applied for and assume I will be granted an STA to operate non- directional with 3800 watts daytime and 1250 night. Those are the levels they gave us last time when the big tower went down. However last time we were running on a quarter wave tower....this time a 428 foot 5/8's wave (much more efficient) so we should be booming out!! Last time it took nearly a year to return to normal...and that was replacing just one tower. With three to replace, I have no idea." Wayne is looking forward to getting your reports. Go get 'em!! (Bill Hale, NRC DDXD-West, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. 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 RAYON SHERWIN ``JUNIOR`` PAYNE SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR UNLICENSED RADIO OPERATION Washington, D. C. - Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that, in the United States Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, United States Magistrate, Honorable David A. Baker sentenced Rayon Sherwin `Junior` Payne to 9 months imprisonment, followed by one year supervised release during which time he must perform 50 hours of community service. Payne was charged with multiple counts of operating an unlicensed FM radio facility, in violation of Title 47, United States Code, Section 301. He pleaded guilty to two of the counts before Magistrate Judge Baker. The conditions of supervised release stipulate that Payne must not violate any Federal, State or Local laws, including Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division. The conviction and subsequent sentencing is the result of an investigation that began in February of 1999. The Commission's Tampa Florida Office received complaints from residents and broadcasters in the Orlando, Florida area of interference to the reception of licensed broadcast stations in the area. Payne pled guilty to two counts of unlicensed radio operation and agreed to forfeit all equipment used in connection with the unlicensed operation in February of 2003. The operation of an unlicensed broadcast station is a violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. Operators of unlicensed stations may be subject to civil monetary penalties of up to $11,000 per single violation or per day of a continuing violation not to exceed $87,500 for continuing violations. In addition, unlicensed operators may be subject to criminal sanctions, including a maximum $100,000 fine and up to one year imprisonment for a first offense. - FCC - Enforcement Bureau Contact: Lisa M. Fowlkes at (202) 418- 7450 / TTY 1( 888) 835- 5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2003 NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: David Fiske (202) 418-0500 1 (via Bill Hale, NRC-AM) Just for fun, I did a google search on the guy's name to see if any other past pirate offenses showed up, and I found this: http://old.seminolesheriff.org/registered_felons/payne_rayon_sherwin_r f2649.html Assuming this is the same guy, and I suspect it is given the location and occupation, he was apparently sentenced to 10 years probation for other offenses, perhaps contributing to this steep sentencing. (Mike Hawk, May 12, WTFDA via DXLD) with mugshot, description ** U S A. (PIRATES) regarding the news release on Rayon Sherwin "Junior" Payne being sentenced to nine months in jail for repeatedly operating an FM pirate: I presume he was a proprietor or linked to 95.9 "95 Live" and 93.9 "Raw," both in the Orlando area and active for a long time. Searching my own pirate page http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html his name appears under both entries. He is also the first pirate operator I can recall named after a synthetic fabric. And regarding the subcarrier "Radio New Star" (via licensed 88.7 "Way") being 'the first" Haitian station in the Naples area, that's a bogus claim. There are/have been a number of unlicensed FM Kreyol pirates here (again, some are listed on my page). WTIR, Winter Garden, 1680 kHz. Regarding this switching to Spanish format ("Alma Latina" slogan): the first report I saw of this was a May 4th log by "Neil" on Radio-info.com's Florida Board. It is received fair level local daytime here in Clearwater. Reports that this has a very poor daytime signal are simply not true. The best compilation of Florida ethnic radio (mostly licensed AM and FM) is administered by David Crawford at: http://www25.brinkster.com/awh/flethnicradio.asp Visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at: http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html (Terry L. Krueger, FL, May 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn: -- I assure you, the piece written by me and sent to you via "Conexión..." was indeed authored exclusively by myself, both facts and opinions. This was not plagiarized or created in any way, other than by my own hand. I try to come out with just such a missive every 3 or 4 weeks, without charge to the recipients, in the interest of prompting and furthering discussion regarding Broadcast topics. I will gladly add you to my recipient's list; in the meantime I would appreciate it if you would clarify the source on the submission, as Greg Hardison's Broadcast Band Update. I will never attach my name to any published material without giving the necessary credit, and clearly stating quoted items as just that; I've spent too many years in Journalism to do anything otherwise. Please do clarify this in your e-column. Many thanks (Greg Hardison, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I wasn`t implying it was not your work, just that the entire piece may have appeared somewhere else first tho I had not seen it anywhere before it showed up in ConDig, and indeed Broadcast Band Update was not mentioned. More welcome (gh) ** VENEZUELA. FALLECIÓ DON LUIS JOSÉ ARREAZA ALMENAR Como cosa curiosa les comento que el dia de hoy estaba agregando una sección a la página web de Sintonía DX , la cual titulé: Personajes de la Radio, y mientras la hacía me enteré del fallecimiento de Don Luis José Arreaza Almenar, toda una personalidad en la radiodifusión venezolana y muy especialmente en la radiodifusión del oriente del país. Así comencé esta nueva sección: Queridos colegas y amigos diexistas, es triste inaugurar esta sección participando el fallecimiento de un hombre que ha sido gloria para la radiodifusión venezolana y en especial para la radiodifusión oriental. Si, colegas diexistas, ha fallecido Don Luis José Arreaza Almenar, quién el año 1935 había fundado en Barcelona a la Emisora Ondas del Neverí, mas tarde La Voz de Anzoátegui, después a Radio Sucre en la Ciudad de Cumaná, en 1948 a Radio Monagas en la ciudad de Maturín, fundó en el año 1950 en Puerto La Cruz el cuarto eslabón de su cadena radial, cuya inauguración tuvo lugar el 19 de Marzo del citado año: Radio Puerto La Cruz. En muchas partes de Venezuela está la obra de Don Luis José Arreaza Almenar representada por todas las emisoras fundadas por él: Radio Carúpano, Radio Miranda, hoy radio Sensación, Radio Nueva Esparta, Radio Eduardo Mendez, Radio Anaco, y Radio Anzoátegui. Desde Sintonía DX hacemos llegar hasta sus familiares y allegados nuestra palabra de tristeza por su muerte acaecida hoy 13 de Mayo, pero también de agradecimiento por todo lo que hizo por la radiodifusión venezolana y en especial la del oriente del país. En la página web de Sintonía DX hay un archivo sonoro que se está transmitiendo por Radio Puerto La Cruz, Radio Anzoátegui y otras emisoras como homenaje postumo. Aquí podrán oir lo que fué la vida de este hombre para quién la radio era su pasión. La dirección: http://www.angelfire.com/music5/sintoniadx Atte: (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. ALÓ PRESIDENT CAMBIA DE FRECUENCIAS. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. El interesante programa del presidente Hugo Chávez, Alo Presidente, ahora sale --- via Cuba --- por los 13680, 17750 y 11670 kHz. Los 13680 llegan muy bien a Venezuela. Recuerden que el espacio comienza a las 1400 UT, aproximadamente (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, May 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Domingos solamente UNIDENTIFIED. 4870 steady signal here, but noisy conditions. Nothing but music, "Me and you and a dog named Blue," and Abba's "Fernando." Heard from tune in at 1112 past 1130 May 13. Sri Lanka? (Hans Johnson, Louisiana, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) How about RRI Wamena? They put in a good signal here most mornings on 4869.96 and play a lot of music (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, ibid.) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ FREQUENCY SCHEDULES - One of the best lists I have found on the internet that is short, sweet and a sure fire list is Albert Belle Isle's list: http://www.cerberussystems.com/%7Ebelleisl/swl2003a.txt Printed out it is only about 3 pages. [in time order, selected English broadcasts as monitored] Danny Sampson`s list http://www.primetimeshortwave.com/ and Mark Fine's list http://www.fineware-swl.com/ are very comprehensive and excellent but can be a bit much for carrying around. These lists are best for when not in a portable mode. There are other lists but these are the three I like (Ulis Fleming, swl via DXLD) THIS DAY`S ESPERANTO LESSON +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO WORLD - Sunday May 11, 2003 At a time when here and there international stations scrap programmes in major world languages, including English, there are still broadcasters who carry programmes in Esperanto. The artificial international language was invented - if that is the right word for a language, maybe I'd better say 'created' in 1887 by a Polish Philologist, Dr L.L. Zamenhof. It's based on words common to the main European languages. Esperanto - meaning 'the one who hopes' - was the pseudonym used by Dr Zamenhof. It never made the big breakthrough its creator was hoping for, but it still has enthusiastic followers in many, if not most countries of the world. Radio Polonia has daily programmes in Esperanto. Understandably so, as it is Dr Zamenhof's native country. But also Radio Habana, Cuba, China Radio International, Vatican Radio, and the Italian public broadcaster RAI, have broadcasts in Esperanto, on shortwave, or via the satellite, or on the internet, or all three modes of reaching listeners round the world who speak Esperanto, or want to learn it. I found a schedule of these transmissions in the latest issue of Radio Kurier, the excellent DX magazine, published on the first and fifteenth of each month by the large Germanspeaking DX associations, ADDX and AGDX. The schedules were edited by Klaus Spielvogel and reflects the situation in April 2003. I'll limit myself to the broadcasts on short and medium wave: (all times in UTC) 0700-0730 on Sundays: Radio Habana Kuba on 9820 kHz 1100-1130 daily : China Radio International on 7170, 11925 kHz 1300-1330 daily: China Radio International on 11650, 15210 kHz 1500-1529 daily : Radio Polonia on 7285 and 7270 kHz. SOUND: Radio Polonia in Esperanto (listen to Radio World via audio link on this page) Radio Polonia in Esperanto. Also the next broadcast comes from Warsaw: 1800-1829: daily Radio Polonia on 7285 kHz; 1920-1930 : on Wednesdays and Thursdays: Vatican Radio, in Esperanto Radio Vatikana on 1260 and 1611 kHz MW and 7250 and 9645 kHz shortwave 1920-1930 on Sundays, Radio Vatikana on 527 and 1530 kHz MW and on 5890 and 4005 kHz shortwave 1930-2000 : on Sundays, Radio Habana Kuba on 13750 kHz; 2000-2020 : on Saturdays, RAI, Roma, on 6110 and 9745 kHz 2000-2030: daily, China Radio International on 11810, 9965 and 11730 2150-2200: on Sundays, Radio Vatikana on 527 and 1530 kHz MW and on 5890 and 4005 kHz shortwave; SOUND Vatican Radio in Kiswahili Vatican Radio, not in Esperanto, but in Kiswahili. Just pulling your leg. I have been looking at their website but couldn't find any sound in Esperanto. It also reminds us that Vatican Radio is broadcasting programmes in an impressive number of languages, 40 according to the information on their website. Let's continue with our schedule: 2200-2230: on Sundays, Radio Habana Kuba on 13750 kHz; 2230-2300 : daily: Radio China International on 11700 and 9860 kHz; And finally: 2330-2400: on Sundays, Radio Habana Kuba on 11970, 11760 and 9505 kHz. (FRANS VOSSEN, RVi Radio World May 11 via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ BROADCAST-ASIA 2003 CONFERENCE ABANDONED The big annual Conference and Exhibition to be held in Singapore during June 2003 has been abandoned, due to the SARS epidemic. Over 100 papers had been submitted for presentation, and around 650 exhibitors had made preparations for their displays (World Broadcast Magazine May 15 used by permission from http://edxp.org via DXLD) IRCA CONVENTION Mike Sanburn tells us that the 40th annual IRCA convention will be held on June 27-29 at the Best Western Merry Manor Inn, 700 Main street, South Portland Maine, 04106. Phone number for reservations is 207-774-6151 (mention the IRCA convention rate of $69 per night.). The IRCA will have the usual events including business meeting, station tours, auction, banquet, etc. All members or radio fans are welcome. Registration fee will be the usual $35 (payable to Mike Sanburn) This covers meeting room rental, banquet, refreshments, etc. The hotel can be viewed at http://www.seenewengland.com/merrymanor Tourist info can be found at http://www.visitportland.com Specific questions can be directed to me at mikesanburn@hotmail.com Mike Sanburn, KG6LJU, PO Box 1256, Bellflower, CA 90707-1256. NRC CONVENTION! Where can you find an airport the size of Manhattan? A ranch bigger than the state of Rhode Island? And with your help what could be the largest gathering of AM Radio enthusiasts ever? This year the National Radio Club marks another milestone, it's 70th anniversary. And this is your invitation to join us in Dallas, TX for our annual convention. Convention dates will be Friday August 29 through Sunday August 31, 2003. Your hosts will be John Callarman, Bill Hale and Wally Wawro, who hope to make your visit to the Lone Star State memorable and fun. Convention registration and hotel reservations are now being taken. Here's how to join us: This year, registration is $45 dollars for each NRC member or $70 for member and spouse. Registration includes the annual NRC banquet to be held on Saturday, August 30. As usual we'll have plenty of snacks and refreshments throughout the gathering. And there could be other surprises too. You can register two ways. By mail, send your registration to: Bill Hale, 6124 Roaring Springs Drive, North Richland Hills, TX, 76180-5552. Make your check or money order payable to the National Radio Club and note on the check that it's for the convention. Please include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address with your check. If you need special accommodations please note that as well. Once again you can register for the convention here at the NRC website using your credit card through our Paypal account. Click on "Convention Registration." You'll find instructions there. In either case the deadline is Friday, August 15, 2003. Our host hotel is: The Holiday Inn Select DFW Airport South, 4440 Airport Freeway, Irving, TX, 75062. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/HI/hd/dfwso?irs=3Dy Telephone number is 1-800-360-2242. It's minutes from the south entrance to DFW airport. The hotel has complementary shuttle service from the airport Room rates are $69.00 per night single or double occupancy. To get the special NRC rate of $69.00 you must call the hotel directly. Their toll free number from anywhere in the US or Canada is 1-800-360-2242 and tell them you're attending the National Radio Club convention. If you require special assistance or services please let the hotel know. The hotel is fully ADA compliant. Hotel reservation deadline is Friday, August 15. The hotel will have rooms available at the NRC rate beginning Thursday August 28, through Labor Day, Monday, September 1st. The hotel was recently updated and offers numerous amenities including indoor and outdoor pools, restaurants, lots of space to unwind and even an indoor putting green. Within easy distance of the hotel is everything from a Wal-Mart and McDonald's to a major shopping mall. American, Delta, United and Continental all fly into DFW Airport, but Southwest Airlines does not. If you choose to come to the convention on Southwest you will need to make transportation arrangements from Dallas Love Field to the hotel. Also, all of the major car rental companies are located at DFW airport. Texas in August is hot outdoors and very well air-conditioned indoors so keep that in mind. And having a tube of sunscreen isn't a bad idea either. For answers to your questions, contact Wally Wawro at WFAA-TV in Dallas, 214-977-6260, or e-mail at wwawro@wfaa.com. Also, you can reach Wally at 214-354-4958 or e-mail at nrc2003bigd@hotmail.com Let's make this the best turnout ever for an NRC gathering. After 70 years we do have something to celebrate! Join us in Texas for this year's NRC convention (May NRC DX Audio Service via DXLD) ### RECEIVER NEWS [non] +++++++++++++ RADIO SHACK SELLING SUBWAY CARS OK, not strictly radio-related, but DX is crummy now and it's too good not to pass along: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=undefined&item=2414503391 Or you can go to ebay.com and search for item # 2414503391. When I worked for Radio Shack national HQ in 1979-81, the subway would run from the parking area below Tandy Center to the first floor between the two towers of the Center. It was billed as the only privately-operated (and free!) subway in the world, although it only traveled about 200 feet underground. I rode it every day from the parking lot to my job in Radio Shack's technical publications group (where my "masterpieces" included the DX-302 manual). Radio Shack recently sold Tandy Center and is relocating to a smaller office facility, another sign of the slow demise of this former retailing powerhouse (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, May 13, NRC-AM via DXLD) Last summer I spent some time with NRC'er Tony Fitzherbert who has a parallel passion for trains (he works in NYC's Grand Central Station). He visited Dallas-Fort Worth to ride the Tandy subway before it closed as well as the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail system and the Trinity Railway Express, which connects Dallas and Fort Worth. I could tell he was having the time of his life riding the rails and taking numerous photographs (Wally Wawro, WFAA-TV, Dallas, TX, NRC 2003 Big D, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Variation in solar activity continues to be severe, as we move downwards in Cycle 23. The smoothed sunspot for April 2003 was expected to be 65, plus/minus 12. The Cycle is expected to bottom out during the next 12 months - the lowest SSN hovered around 10, from January 1996 to April 1997. There were two peaks, in May 2000 (SSN=121), and March 2002 (SSN=112). (World Broadcast Magazine May 15 used by permission from http://edxp.org via DXLD) FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 14 MAY - 09 JUNE 2003 Solar activity is expected to range from low to moderate activity. Activity is expected to be at very low levels early in the period until Regions 345/349 return on 19 May. These regions are expected to present isolated M-class potential until they rotate beyond the west limb around 02 June. No greater than 10 MeV proton events are expected during the forecast period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels every day of the period. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to isolated major storm levels. On 14 – 15 May, isolated major storm levels are possible with the return of a large coronal hole high speed flow. A negative polarity coronal hole is due to return to a geo-effective position on 27 – 30 May with major storming possible. On 02 June, a large positive polarity coronal hole is due to return and could produce unsettled to major storming for the remainder of the period. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 May 13 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 May 13 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 May 14 100 30 5 2003 May 15 110 20 4 2003 May 16 115 20 4 2003 May 17 120 15 3 2003 May 18 125 20 4 2003 May 19 130 20 4 2003 May 20 130 15 3 2003 May 21 130 20 4 2003 May 22 135 20 4 2003 May 23 145 15 3 2003 May 24 150 15 3 2003 May 25 150 15 3 2003 May 26 155 15 3 2003 May 27 155 25 5 2003 May 28 150 35 6 2003 May 29 145 20 4 2003 May 30 145 12 3 2003 May 31 140 8 3 2003 Jun 01 130 15 3 2003 Jun 02 120 20 4 2003 Jun 03 110 35 6 2003 Jun 04 100 30 5 2003 Jun 05 100 30 5 2003 Jun 06 95 35 6 2003 Jun 07 90 30 5 2003 Jun 08 95 20 4 2003 Jun 09 95 20 4 (from http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1182, DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-082, May 12, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1181: RFPI: Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700/0830, 1300/1430 on 7445 15039 WWCR: Wed 0930 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1181.html WORLD OF RADIO ON WJIE. By setting an alarm, I finally managed May 11 to check the scheduled 1630 Sunday airing of WOR on WJIE. When the alarm went off at 1628, WOR was already underway; must have started about 1625 as was in Turks & Caicos item, from #1179, produced way back on April 23. Audible but muffled on 7490; not audible on 13595; however, rechecking at 1656 after WOR had finished, 13595 was audible (gh) WORLD OF RADIO ON WWCR UT SAT MAY 10 AT 0600 ON 5070: Contrary to my previous report, World of Radio 1181 was broadcast at this time. What happened is I forgot to rewind my VCR tape from the previous week`s taping and when I rewound it for playback Saturday morning I ran it back to the beginning and heard the May 3 airing instead. Usually, I double check the time/date on the video signal but I did not do so. My apologies to GH and WWCR (John Norfolk, OKCOK) DXERSCALLING AUDIOSEND DISCONTINUED I've decided to discontinue dxerscalling Audiosend for the time being, due to constant upload problems with either my ISP or Yahoogroups. It has become so bad that I cannot upload anything to the groups at all or for the past 3 or 4 days and also a lot of the time prior to that. Also, many of the sound files are available elsewhere, and in time, I'll put a full list of these on the dxerscalling webpages. Also, it has become a bit time consuming as well with Family life as it is now. I thank you for your past publicity and wish you well for the future. Webpages will be redesigned shortly into a DX resource site. Thanks again (Tim Gaynor Australia, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Was a source for WOR converted to MP3 and various other DX programs (gh) ** BAHRAIN. I`m think I`m just now [1635 May 10] listening to R. BAHRAIN on 9745. Lots of references to Bahrain, but unfortunately no positive ID. Best reception in USB. SIO 322. Bahrain is not a new acquaintance to me. Heard them in MW in the 80s and received a friendly letter verifying my reception report. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. 19000 kHz at 1440 UT, Radio Bulgaria Intl, 2 x 9500 // 15000, 7500. All the best (Tim Bucknall, UK, May 12, harmonics yahoogroup via DXLD) ** CANADA. It looks like the channel 10 station in Red Deer, Alberta has changed its mind about moving to channel 2 - it looks like they're going to stay put on channel 10 (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, May 11, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CHINA. A few SWL related items that have arrived in my snail mail mailbox during the past week. "The Messenger" newspaper from CRI. This is an interesting paper that arrives every couple months. Heavy on Chinese culture as well as the "usual" opinions |grin|. Some features this month are a full page editorial on the Iraq war, 2 full columns of a CRI interview with Julie Nixon Eisenhower (Pres Nixon's Daughter), articles on Surinam, Mongolian Nomads, Qatar and more. Included with this issue was a schedule of the English Service; no it didn't scan into a text file at all well (too many graphics). 73 de (Phil, KO6BB, Atchley, Merced, California, May 11, swl via DXLD) And this schedule is usually wrong/outdated, anyway (gh, DXLD) O Departamento de Língua Portuguesa da Rádio Internacional da China enviou mensagem para a radioescuta Sandra Fernandes, de Belo Horizonte (MG), informando que foi suspensa a expedição de correspondências para os ouvintes. A medida tem como objetivo evitar que algo de errado possa ocorrer nesta época de SARS. O envio de correspondências voltará ao normal tão logo a endemia esteja sob controle (Célio Romais, @tividade DX May 11 via DXLD) Spread by P-mail, if not E-mail?? (gh) ** CUBA. R. Reloj, 1900 (2 x 950) 0753 May 12, nice second harmonic right in the middle of the 160 meter ham band. Caught several voice IDs, as well as their Morse Code ID "RR" at 0803. Spanish language news program, with second time pips, and 5 tone signature on the minute. There were several American ham operators on frequency trying to figure out from where the signal was coming. I caught the call sign of one and sent him an e-mail (David Hodgson, KG4TUY, Nashville, TN, harmonics yahoogroup via DXLD) Not to be confused with Guantánamo Bay ** CUBA [non]. LIEBERMAN'S RADIO MESSAGE RESONATES WITH CUBANS BY TERE FIGUERAS Presidential hopeful Joseph Lieberman sent a message of encouragement to Cubans across the Florida Straits on Thursday -- and appealed to the Bush administration not to back away from its pledge to promote democracy on the island -- during a campaign stop at Radio and TV Marti on Tuesday. . . http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/5819528.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp (Miami Herald May 9 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. A few SWL related items have arrived in my snail mailbox during the past week. A nice wall map of the World from HCJB Quito. This folds out to 33 x 21 inches and shows their various ministries around the world and has a border of many different flags of the world. Back side has various pictures, statements of beliefs and core value etc. Makes a nice wall hanging for long time listeners of HCJB (or new SWLs). I got this by filling out a request for it on their web site. This evening I've been listening (as is my usual Saturday habit) to HCJB. Ham Radio Today was a re-run of a program I've heard a couple times on GPS receivers. That's no surprise as they tended to re-run the HRT on occasion anyway. HOWEVER, "Studio Nine" that I'm presently listening to (0135 UT) is a repeat of a program they ran last week in which they ran many excerpts of introductions to programs from the past. No, it's not a different program featuring previous programs, it's the same program. Perhaps they have already closed down the English studio and are just running "re-runs"?? 73 de (Phil, KO6BB, Atchley, Merced, California, May 11, swl via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. I missed the first 10 minutes of the May 3 DX Partyline, in case anything important about HCJB`s plans was mentioned. Tho ondemand links quickly appeared at http://www.hcjb.org/english/dxpl/dxplaudio.php the size of the file clearly displays as 0 rather than the usual 3700, and still the case May 12, when the May 10 show is not yet mentioned. I did, however, monitor that one on the air from the start at 0300 on 9745. The HCJB news: dates specified for termination of various language services from Quito: May 31*: English to Europe, North America; Kikongo at 0500-0530 on 12005; Low German to NAm at 2230-2300 on 17660 June 29*: Russian to Asia at 0330-0400 on 11865 September 28*: German to Europe at 0500 on 9780, 2000 on 15545, 17795; Low German to Europe at 0530 on 9780; Spanish to Europe ``Studies continue on further adjustments to the Pifo schedule`` (Press release from Curt Cole via Allen Graham, HCJB DX Partyline May 10, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) I am again paying more attention to La Voz de los Andes, since Spanish to NAm will continue. See a few weeks ago when I picked out some of the not-so-religious shows, like MUSICA DEL ECUADOR. This was confirmed UT Sun May 11 at 0430-0500 on 9525. At least I assume that was the program, since there were no announcements whatsoever during the half hour, not even a title, but certainly Ecuadorian music was played, much of it with harmonica, very nice. As I recall Jorge Zambrano used to announce this show, just like the English version. But HCJB still doesn`t have its automation act together: at 0430 the correct time was given, but the frequency as 15140, which has not been in use at this time of night for ages, if ever (previously in B-02 season it was 9650)! After another ID break at hourtop, the martial Ecuadorian national anthem, followed by some other music before transmission cut off at 0504 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. A few SWL related items have arrived in my snail mailbox during the past week. A "stuffed envelope" From the "Radio & TV Union" in Egypt. They send me one of these envelopes every few months, always have nice stamps on them. This one included a new postcard that I haven't seen in the past, a small book or travel brochure on Aswan and Nubia with lots of nice pictures and a little history as well as the Jan through July 2003 schedules to the East and West Coast. I don't know what it is with these schedules the stations send out. They'll scan into a JPEG OK but make terrible text files. Guess it's the graphics and various column dividing lines etc. 73 de (Phil, KO6BB, Atchley, Merced, California, May 11, swl via DXLD) Oséias Fantinelli, de Jacutinga (RS), recebeu longa carta de Ismael Jumá, do Departamento Brasileiro da Rádio Cairo. Expressa preocupação com a qualidade ruim da recepção dos sinais da emissora no Brasil. Entretanto, afirma que "estamos fazendo todo o possível para melhorar a nossa emissora". Por fim, pediu o número do telefone de Fantinelli objetivando "saber se a sintonia da emissora melhorou ou não". (Célio Romais, @tividade DX May 11 via DXLD) ** ICELAND. Seguidamente, el texto de la confirmación por e-mail a mi reporte enviado a la AFN, en donde confirman mi reporte en 13855 khz USB en 3 dias, y prometiendo el envío de QSL, la que he recibido ahora hace instantes. Su v/s es April Ball, Broadcast Operations Specialist of AFRTS, Naval Media Center, Mobile Detachment TWO, 2713 Mitscher Road SW, Naval District Washington, Anacostia, Annex, USA [sic, no state, no ZIP]. 73's GIB ---------------------------------------------------------- I can confirm that you heard American Forces Radio and Television Service programming from Grindavik, Iceland. I'm forwarding your email to the people at my headquarters who will issue you a QSL. You might be interested in knowing that I've been contacted by people from all over the world regarding the reception of AFRTS. I have email from Australia, Oregon (US), Finland, Sweden, Germany, The Netherlands, and now Argentina, just to name a few. Not bad, huh? From the land of fire and ice, best regards. Trish Huizinga (via Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, May 12, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** INDIA. There is a cyclone warning for the East Coast of India. The following stations of Andhra Pradesh state where I live is noted with extended broadcasts to give the latest information about this cyclone. Visakhapatnam 927 kHz 100 kW (signed off at 1805 UT i.e. 11.35 pm tonight). Hyderabad 738 kHz 200 kw & 4800 kHz 50 kw will continue up to 2030 UT tonight (i.e. up to 2.00 am local time) according to the info I got from the AIR Control Room. Look out for these stations as well as any other stations in this area for these emergency broadcasts for the next couple of days or till the cyclone threat is over. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J. Hyderabad 500082, India, May 12, dx_india via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 4604.95, RRI Serui (presumed) 1220-1237 May 12. Jakarta news feed parallel with 4753.53 until 1228 followed by Jakarta end-of- news music and announcements. Into poorly modulated local ID (unintelligible) followed by lagu2 romantik. Presume this is just drifted RRI Serui which has been rock solid for some time on 4606.50 (Don Nelson, OR, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. A bit off topic, but since some ARDXC folk have recently displayed a bit of interest in satellite reception, Radio Nederland has appeared on the Globecast bouquet on Optus B3 satellite (Free To Air), with three separate channels. One of them is the external service broadcasts and it is good to hear them in digital stereo. Frequency 12334 MHz, S/R 30000, Polarisation Vertical, FEC 2/3 Other recent (radio) appearances have been Kossuth Radio (Hungary) and Emirates FM, adding to the existing Tamil channels, Voice of Turkey and others. Abu Dhabi TV and JCTV (Religious) are also free to air at the moment, and the Dutch BVN TV is now a permanent free service. Worth checking out, for those with the relevant equipment (Craig Seager, Australia, May 12, ARDXC via DXLD) ** IRAN. IRAN "BANS THOUSANDS OF WEB SITES" INCLUDING VOA, RADIO FARDA Reports from Iran say the Iranian authorities have banned thousands of Web sites with political or pornographic content, including those of US radio stations that broadcast in Farsi such as the Voice of America and Radio Farda. The reformist newspaper Yass-e No quoted Post and Telecommunications Minister Ahmad Motamedi as saying that one hundred illegal websites which "insult the beliefs of different religions" are blocked. Other sources, including Iran's student news agency ISNA, put the number of banned sites as high as 15,000 (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 12 May 2003 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. BBC WORLD SERVICE TRUST IN BASRA Stephen King, Director of the BBC World Service Trust, is currently in Basra where efforts are underway to rebuild the local media. In an article on the BBC Web site, he confirms what many of us have known all along - the Iraqis are a sophisticated audience who are sceptical about media such as Towards Freedom TV. King says the 112 staff of Basra TV and Radio have turned up every day to a football stadium where the salvaged remains of their TV station are stored. The Trust is now developing a set of proposals to help Iraqis in Basra and Al-Amara re-establish local radio and TV programming. It is seeking funding to provide small amounts of equipment to resume broadcasting on both TV and radio as soon as possible and to provide training in journalism, in management and in editorial independence over the next two years. You can read the full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3013907.stm (RN MN blog May 11 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. U.S. GENERAL MAY CENSOR IRAQI TV STATION'S PROGRAMS http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32796-2003May8?language=printer By Walter Pincus, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, May 9, 2003; Page A24 Control over the content of a television station in Mosul has become a sensitive issue for the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division who is running that part of northern Iraq. The station, which broadcasts as many as five hours a night to the city of 1.8 million, lost its cameras to looters and was forced to turn to outside programming sources to fill its broadcasts. That content now ranges from Arab-language al-Jazeera news reports, talks and speeches by local personalities and interviews with the newly elected mayor to U.S. military announcements about avoiding unexploded shells or arranging plans for the wheat harvest. Fearing that local politicians and returning exiles have bullied their way onto the air, often to promote themselves and sometimes to incite violence, the 101st commander, Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, said yesterday in a telephone interview from his Mosul headquarters that he is considering putting a U.S. Army officer and a translator in the station to monitor what goes on the air. "I want to be certain that nothing is shown that would incite violence in a city that was extremely tense when we took over two-and-one-half weeks ago, and which still has folks who are totally opposed to what we're doing and are willing to do something about it," Petraeus said. The problem U.S. forces in Mosul face over media control is one that will have to be dealt with in all major Iraqi cities in which radio and television stations were previously run by the now-deposed government. Petraeus said the problem of the local station's content had been raised with him only recently, but that he nonetheless had ordered its manager and employees be paid. He said he has been working with lawyers and others to determine the circumstances that would keep programming off the air. "Yes, what we are looking at is censorship," he said, "but you can censor something that is intended to inflame passions." Part of his concern arises from his experiences in Bosnia, where local television was frequently used to inflame people. One of the individuals who had bullied his way onto Mosul television was an exiled Iraqi who had tried to set himself up in office in mid-April as Mosul's mayor. Calling him "a rogue political operator," Petraeus said the city during that time was in turmoil and that in one week 14 people were killed. In the days before May 5, when local leaders met and selected a new mayor and council for Mosul, this individual "took a lot of airtime, announcing who was taking part and emphasizing his own possible role," Petraeus said. It was that situation that triggered the decision to do something about the station, he said. A news story published in yesterday's Wall Street Journal described Petraeus as having ordered the Mosul station "seized." He denied having given such an order, saying the station is still operating and no U.S. military officer has been assigned to work there as a monitor. The station's offices are in a building within a compound already guarded by U.S. troops because it also houses a battalion headquarters, he added. (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. U.S. TO TAKE ITS MESSAGE TO IRAQI AIRWAVES http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40257-2003May10?language=printer By Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus, Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, May 11, 2003; Page A17 Convincing Iraqis that life would be better in every way after the demise of Saddam Hussein has been a primary goal of the Bush administration ever since it began drawing up its postwar blueprint early this year. But just as political and economic reconstruction have lagged in the month since the war ended, so too has progress on the propaganda front. For an administration that prides itself on message control, the scarcity of U.S.-controlled media outlets in Iraq has been both vexing and dangerous, in the view of some U.S. officials, adding to the postwar chaos and a feeling that the Americans are not on top of the situation. Others have stepped in to fill the void. From across the border, Iran operates a 24-hour Arabic-language channel that beams religious programs and equal-time critiques of Hussein and the Americans from Basra to Baghdad. In Mosul, Iraqis have restarted a local station with programming, some supplied by the local U.S. Army commander, but also including reruns of Hussein's latest alleged message to his people, apparently downloaded from the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite network. Last week, retired Army Lt. Gen. Jay M. Garner, head of the U.S. rebuilding effort, complained that broadcast restoration was moving too slowly. "I want TV going to people," he said, and at 8 p.m. Tuesday, if all goes according to plan, Garner will get what he wants. The Pentagon, which months ago contracted a major U.S. defense firm to draw up and staff a media operation in coordination with Psychological Operations and White House communications personnel, plans to unveil its own nightly television show. The program, initially for two hours but projected as a 24-hour full-service network, will include 30 minutes of news each night. The news will be in four segments, said Dan Senor, an aide to Garner's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Affairs (ORHA). "There'll be a local news segment with public service announcements, like 'These schools are reopening; police have gone back to work in these areas' -- the equivalent of turning on the TV in D.C. during a snowstorm to see what's happening that day," Senor said in a telephone interview yesterday. Another portion will cover world news, drawn largely from news service reports. Other segments will include features "digging into a local news subject," such as reopened schools, he said, and man-on-the-street interviews. U.S. officials said the hope is that more information will calm Iraqi disquiet over such matters as still-tenuous security and continuing disruptions of electricity, water and medical supplies by explaining the efforts the Americans are making. The television will be transmitted initially from a Baghdad tower and eventually also from Erbil in the north and Umm Qasr in the south. It will be available on satellite for Iraqis with dishes. The television operation joins a U.S.-produced AM radio station that started broadcasting from Umm Qasr late last month. This Thursday, Senor said, the reconstruction office will begin printing a newspaper -- an eight-page, twice-weekly broadsheet called al Sabah (the Dawn), with an initial run of 50,000 copies. The paper will have "local news, world news, features and public service announcements," he said, along with weather, horoscopes and sports. "We've heard from a lot of Iraqis that they want all that," he said. "They want a regular newspaper." Senor said al Sabah will not have editorials or opinion columns and will not print the views of Iraqi politicians. There are already about a dozen newspapers being produced in Baghdad alone, nearly all products of political points of view. U.S. officials insist they do not want to interfere or compete with that free expression, and say they will eventually turn the entire media operation over to Iraqis. The U.S. government is clearly entering late in the media game in Iraq. Immediately after the war, with Hussein-controlled newspapers and television silenced, "it was a virgin market for others to come in and grab," an Arab journalist said. Iran had clearly planned ahead. "The Iranians were the only players in town" in terms of land-based broadcasting he said. Iran's al Alam television went on the air in February, specifically designed in Arabic for Iraq, and is particularly popular in the Shiite Muslim south. "They aren't too blatant," the Arab journalist said of the broadcasts. The Iranians "are being very smart -- trashing Saddam but at the same time talking about the occupation and calling for Iraqis to take over soon. They're credible. The Shi'a in Iraq think it's their channel." The Pentagon sees the Iranian broadcasts as aiding the increasingly ominous takeover by Iraqi Shiite clerics of towns and cities in southern and central Iraq. At the same time, satellite dishes -- prohibited under Hussein -- began to appear in markets all over Iraq, with access to all Middle East satellite channels, including some the Americans would prefer that Iraqis not watch. Among the first newspapers to hit the streets was printed by the local Communist Party. San Diego-based Scientific Applications International Corp. has a contract to develop television, radio and print platforms in Iraq for the Pentagon, but when the fighting ended it was far from ready to begin operations. One of the country's leading defense contractors, SAIC's board includes a number of former senior defense and military officials, including retired Gen. Wayne Downing, former head of counterterrorism at the White House. A spokesman at the company's McLean office last week referred all questions about the contract to the Pentagon. The Pentagon's public information office said it could not immediately provide details on the amount of the contract or how or when it was issued. Sources said the company has hired a number of Iraqi exile journalists who have relocated to Iraq, several of whom were employees of the U.S. government's Radio Free Iraq. Some local Iraqis were also hired, Senor said, but none whose face or byline was familiar under Hussein. Most of the Americans and exiles working on the project arrived in Iraq only two weeks ago, and Senor said they had worked hard and fast to get it up and running. But in the early postwar days, it was clear to the administration that a stopgap was needed. Just days after U.S. troops took over Baghdad, the White House called the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America and all other nonmilitary, U.S. government international broadcasting, and asked for help. "It came out of the blue," said Norm Pattiz, head of the board's Mideast committee and chairman of Westwood One, one of the nation's largest radio network. "The request from the White House was, 'How quickly can you put something together?' " Within two days in April, using Voice of America facilities on Independence Avenue in the District and $175,000 in White House-approved money, Pattiz had a six-hour programming package prepared. It consisted of the U.S. nightly news broadcasts, dubbed in Arabic, from CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and PBS, along with an hour of news produced in the studios of Radio Sawa, VOA's full-time music and news radio service to the Arab world. For the past month, the Sawa staff has assembled the program and sent it via satellite to the Pentagon at 2 a.m. daily. The Pentagon sent it to Commander Solo, a C-130 propaganda aircraft, to be beamed down to Baghdad. Pattiz said he has no idea what Iraqis thought of day-old Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings broadcasts, and noted that even when the electricity was working, "only 13 percent of the country had TV sets." No one was very sorry when the money and month-long mandate ran out and the final program aired last Thursday. It seemed to be a workable concept while U.S. television was concentrating on Iraq, said one source who participated in putting the operation together, but "increasingly, the newscasts became irrelevant for Iraqis. They're not really interested in the Laci Peterson case." Several participants said they were becoming increasingly uncomfortable working on a program, however innocuous, that they saw as a breach in the firewall the Broadcasting Board was established to maintain between operations like VOA and U.S. political, military and intelligence efforts. On the ground in Iraq, things were getting more tense. In mid-April, Army Psychological Operations soldiers in Baghdad began distributing U.S.-printed leaflets warning that a curfew was in effect. Troops in the 3rd Brigade Combat team had become so frustrated with their inability to communicate with the people they were supposed to be helping that they scraped together $200 to print and translate their own newsletter, the Army News Service reported. The first printing of 1,200 copies was distributed and posted in public places last week. In Mosul, the U.S. Army general in charge was becoming embroiled in a censorship controversy with the newly reestablished local television station. Maj. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, said he decided to monitor the station, with military personnel on the premises, after local politicians intimidated the manager into airing "them or their messages," and after the station last Wednesday broadcast a repeat showing of Hussein's call for "Iraqis to rise up against the American occupiers." It also broadcast al-Jazeera's coverage of the election by the local Iraqis of a new mayor and city council. Petraeus said in an e-mail from Mosul on Friday that "what Iraq will eventually need [in order] to deal with the press, radio and TV, will be something akin to the Communications Regulatory Agency that was developed in Bosnia to establish standards and procedures for cases in which those standards are broken." "That took five or six years in Bosnia, though," he said, "so we're just trying to figure out how to fill the gap." (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. NEW TV SERVICE TO REPLACE TOWARDS FREEDOM TV Details are beginning to emerge of the US media operation that willl replace Towards Freedom TV. The Washington Post reports that the Pentagon's new service will initially last for two hours but is projected to expand to a 24-hour service with half an hour of news each evening. A spokesman for the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Affairs told the Washington Post "There'll be a local news segment with public service announcements. Another portion will cover world news, drawn largely from news agency reports. Other segments will include features 'digging into a local news subject,' such as reopened schools and man-on-the-street interviews." Unlike Towards Freedom TV, the new TV service will be transmitted from terrestrial facilities, initially to the Baghdad region and eventually also from Erbil in the north and Umm Qasr in the south. It will also be available via satellite for the few Iraqis with dishes. MYERS CONFIRMS CAMP SNOOPY CLOSURE Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, has confirmed that the US military is pulling out of the Qatari air base known as Camp Snoopy, where the EC-130 Commando Solo airborne broadcasting fleet has been based. Flight operations are to cease this month and the camp will close by mid-June. NEW TV SERVICES IN KARBALA AND NAJAF A report in a number of US and Canadian newspapers dated 11 May refers to "the debut this week in Karbala of the first new television station operated from within Iraq." However, other reports on the same date suggest this claim to be incorrect. A station called An Najaf TV is already on the air, operated by volunteers using equipment looted from a station formerly operated by one of Saddam's sons. The channel, with a range of about 40 miles, apparently launched on April 28. The man in charge, Ali Kashif al Rata, briefly operated an independent AM radio station in Najaf in March 1991. He says the new station is politically neutral, and claims to have turned away various groups who wanted to use the station to promote their own agenda (all 3: RN Media Network May 12 via DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. While doing some Internet research about Iraq post- war media for Pop' Comm, I found out that the BBC has partnered with al-Jazeera to share television, satellite, and news gathering facilities. In return, the BBC will assist al-Jazeera with development of their new English-language website. The site is still under construction at http://english.aljazeera.net/ Meanwhile, as reported here earlier, Congress has approved funding of a new US-backed television / satellite network called "Iraq and the Future" involving NBC news as well. Al-Jazeera television was criticized during the Afghanistan war for its broadcasts of Osama Bin Laden tapes, and during the Iraq war for broadcasting pictures of US POWs and dead in violation of Geneva Convention rules. Al-Jazeera dismisses such criticism as propaganda, citing its goal to provide objective coverage of both sides of the war. Interesting that this follows BBC criticism of US media for one-sided news reporting (Bruce Conti, Nashua NH, May 12, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Re: DXLD 3-081: The Jerusalem Post/Haaretz say that there will be a strike tomorrow - but in my quick search they do not mention radio. There will be garbage collection. So the terms aren't the same as last time around (Doni Rosenzweig, May 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORWAY. Re: DXLD 3-079: ``Some stations via Norway transmitters: 0400-0800 11530 KVI 250 kW / 110 Daily Voice of Mezopotamiya in Kurdish `` The frequency from Kvitsøy is - and has always been - 15675 kHz. At 08 UT they continue from probably Kishinev on 11530 kHz until 16 UT. Furthermore, I do not think this one is from Norway: 2000-2100 7520 KVI 250 kW / 140 Sun Voice of Ethiopia English WS (Erik Køie, København, Danmark, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. I didn`t have much time to check the radio for tornado coverage during May 8-9, but I did notice a couple of items not mentioned in DXLD 3-081: NOAA station WXK85 on 162.4 MHz in OKC was broadcasting ``live`` during both tornado events, with a real voice instead of the computer generated one usually heard (note that here ``Perfect Paul`` has not been completely retired). I got the impression that they were sending the live audio to all NOAA stations in their coverage area, which would include all of western Oklahoma (including Enid) and the Wichita Falls area. As the storm was passing the TV stations, KWTV evacuated their weather center for a couple of minutes. The sound and picture continued, but there was no one in the center to respond to the calls coming in over the radio (or cell phones). GH: ``Their [KTBO-14] studio at NW 63 and Portland at NW Expressway must have been close to the path.`` Their studio is about a quarter mile north of Integris Baptist Medical Center. KWTV has a city cam at Integris, and they did show the tornado passing just to the west of the hospital. There was no funnel visible in the darkness but some spectacular power flashes were visible and even some debris flying in the air. The city lights remained on through this event, so at this point the storm was not strong enough to knock off the power (although it may have at KTBO). BTW, on June 13, 1998, KWTV showed a tornado just northeast of Integris (and slightly east of KTBO) tearing through a residential area; no one in the studio even noticed it until a voice was heard saying, ``Look at your monitor.`` The camera was knocked out a minute later, and Gary England`s remark ``Integris is gone,`` referring to the camera, was misinterpreted by KFOR`s Mike Morgan, who criticized KWTV for saying that the hospital was struck. KWTV also has a city cam in Choctaw, and on Thursday May 8 they had that tornado on the air, until it too was knocked out by flying debris. On the amateur side, I did not check any of the 2 meter nets since I had the scanner on the VHF Civil Defense storm spotters, but I did check 3900 kHz around 11 pm (0400 UT May 10) and heard nothing. The following morning, around 1300 UT, there were a couple of hams on 3900, but they were just rag chewing, so they were either unaware of the communications emergency (which, as far as I know, has yet to be cancelled as I write this, May 10 around 2200 UT) or, more likely, didn`t care (John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. ARRL Bulletin 34 ARLB034 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT May 10, 2003 To all radio amateurs COMMUNICATIONS EMERGENCY TERMINATED MAY 10 2003 AS OF 1830 EDST (2230z), THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION'S DECLARED COMMUNICATIONS EMERGENCY WAS TERMINATED AT THE REQUEST OF THE OKLAHOMA SECTION MANAGER JOHN THOMPSON, WB5SYT. AMATEURS CAN RESUME USING 3900 kHz. THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WISHES TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR COOPERATION AND DEDICATED AMATEUR SERVICE. JOSEPH P. CASEY CHIEF, TECHNICAL AND PUBLIC SAFETY DIVISION, ENFORCEMENT BUREAU FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WASHINGTON, DC. (via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Re the Thursday May 8 tornado in OKC: I was unable to listen to the radio much this afternoon/evening, however I can tell you a little bit. When the tornado was first reported on the ground by KFOR-TV (KWTV reported it on the ground about 2-3 minutes later), all of the Renda stations very quickly started simulcasting KFOR with the exception of KRXO which waited a couple of minutes. KOMA-AM mostly simulcasted KFOR, but was providing additional information geared for radio listeners. A couple minutes later, I flipped around and heard many of the Citadel stations (KATT, KYIS, KKWD, but not WWLS-AM/FM or KSYY) simulcasting KWTV's audio. As I recall, KXXY and KTST were simulcasting KOCO-TV, but KJYO was playing music (I do not know about KHBZ). KOMA had Bob Sands and one other guy in studio with updates from several reporters until 11pm. The news reporting was supplemented by calls from the general public with traffic tips, and a couple of visits from members of KFOR's weather staff. Keeping in mind the short notice of this tornado (compared with May 3rd, 1999), most stations had a clue (anon., OKCRadio.com May 9 via DXLD) You must have flipped it on just before WWLS and KSYY switched to the simulcast. WKY stayed with News 9 coverage until 11 p.m. (with cut-ins from Kalusa, Shannon and Wright). Throughout the night, the other Citadel stations provided news updates every 30 minutes on the aftermath, etc. I think all of the OKC stations did a good job (another anon., ibid.) KTBO-TV 14 does not have their studios at NW 63 and Portland anymore. They've been gone from that location for a year or so. I'm not sure where they moved the studios, but their mailing address is on Hefner Road. They also produce a local version of the Praise The Lord program weekly. On the May 9 tornado, all the Citadel stations (KATT 100.5, KYIS 98.9, KKWD 97.9, KMMZ 96.9, WWLS 640, WWLS-FM 104.9, KSYY 105.3 and WKY 930) all simulcast KWTV (9) from about 9:20-Midnight. WKY's simulcast started around 8:15 and continued until 2 a.m. (with other reports from WKY reporters). Clear Channel's FMs (KXXY 96.1, KTST 101.9, KJYO 102.7) didn't start until late in the 9 p.m. hour. At approx. 10:20 p.m., when the storm was hopscotching through the metro, KHBZ 94.7 was still playing music. It was the last CC FM to switch to the TV simulcast. All of the CC stations went with partner KOCO (5). News/Talker KTOK 1000 went a lot earlier. I never heard brokered KEBC 1340 (Talk during the day and a simulcast of Perry Urban KVSP 1140 at night) flip to weather coverage, but I could be wrong on that report. A handful of those station mentioned were off the air for periods of time because of the storm. KYIS 98.9 was off until nearly 4 a.m. I believe KYIS is on KOCB (34)'s tower. Renda's stations (KOMA-FM 92.5, KMGL 104.1, KRXO 107.7 and News/Talk KOMA 1520 flipped to KFOR (4)'s coverage about the same time Citadel's did. News/Talker KOMA was on a lot earlier and went with KFOR until about 1 a.m. Tyler's KKNG 93.3 (Classic Country) was doing weather reports using their own news staff. Sister Regional Mexican KTUZ 106.7 played music the entire time. Most of the FMs that I didn't hear flip to coverage were non- commercial. KMSI (88.1; Religious simulcast of Tulsa station) KYLV (88.9; Christian Contemporary-Satellite) KCSC (90.1; Classical; later off the air) KOKF (90.9; Christian Top-40; later off the air) KROU (105.7; off the air when I checked) KGOU (106.3; off the air when I checked or too weak on the north side) I never checked these AMs (some because of weak night signals) KQCV (800) KTLR (890; daytimer only) KVSP (1140) KREF (1400) KOKC (1490) (Brian French, of okcradio.com, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. This is what makes DXing fun --- Friday night around midnight, I flipped on the 2010 and noticed WWKB sounded a little shaky, so I turned the radio and heard what seemed to be live tornado coverage in the null. So I quickly grabbed the Spacemagnet and plugged it into the 2010, and found that tiny but sharp null it has, and sure enough, there was KOMA 1520 Oklahoma City with live coverage of the tornado that swept the outskirts of town. There were likely running their ND day signal. This was incredibly riveting listening. Still love this hobby and the Spacemagnet! 73 and good DX, (Bruce WB3HVV Collier, York, PA, May 12, IRCA via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. PHOTOGRAPHERS SEARCH FOR PERFECT STORM SHOTS http://photos.msn.com/editorial/EditorialStart.aspx?article=ChasingThePerfectStorm§ion=FEATURES (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. RECLASSIFICATION OF LICENSE OF STATION KMMZ-FM, ENID, OK Issued Order to Show Cause why its authorization for station KMMZ-FM (File No. BLH-20001211ACI) should not be modified to specify operation of Channel 245C0 in lieu of Channel 245C at Enid, OK. (Dkt No. RM- 10692). Action by: Assistant Chief, Audio Division, MB. Comments Due: 06/30/2003. Adopted: 05/07/2003 by ORDER. (DA No. 03-1121). MB http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1121A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1121A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1121A1.txt (via Fred Vobbe, NRC-FMTV via DXLD) Perhaps someone can explain what changing from 245C to 245CO really means. It`s the same frequency, 96.9 but a different class, and apparently involuntary (gh, DXLD) ** POLAND. POLISH SPECIAL EVENTS Special event station HF6UE will be active now though June 10th. This station is active to celebrate the signing of the European Community Accession Agreement by Poland. The suffix UE means UNIA EUROPEJSKA (European Union in English). This activity is organized by the SP6ZDA club station. QSL via SP6ZDA, via the bureau (the best) or direct to: Scouts Radio Club SP6ZDA, P.O. Box 41, 51-673 Wroclaw 9, Poland. Special memorial operation will be taking place in the coming months to commemorating Ignacy Lukasiewicz, the Polish petroleum pioneer who distilled crude oil and designed kerosene lamps to light up the operating theatre in the hospital in Lvov on 31 July 1853. He is the founder of the petroleum industry. Award: http://www.ot5.cq.pl "This lotion is the future wealth of this country, it's the welfare and prosperity for its inhabitants, it's a new source of income for the poor people and a new branch of industry, which shall bear plentiful fruits." -- Ignacy Lukasiewicz, 1854 Look for the following special event stations: Now thru June 30th - HF8IL (via SP8PJG) Ignacy Lukasiewicz: founder of the petroleum industry July 1st-August 15th - HF150IL (via SP8PJG) Ignacy Lukasiewicz: distilled kerosene, designed lamps and illuminated an operating theatre in a hospital (1853) July 25th-August 4th - 3Z0IL (via SP8ZBX), SN0IL (via SP9PEE), EN3WLL (via UR4WXQ) Ignacy Lukasiewicz memorial stations Award: http://www.ot5.cq.pl August 20th- September 10th - HF8IL (via SP8PJG) Ignacy Lukasiewicz: founder of the petroleum industry (KB8NW/OPDX May 11/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. V. of Russia previews: FOLK BOX (on the air from Monday, May 12) The city of Chelyabinsk is the capital of Southern Urals and one of Russia's major cultural centers. The city plays host to a mind- boggling number of all kinds of festivals. They are opera festivals, ballet festivals, organ music festivals, and also competitions of Russian accordion-, balalaika- and domra- (or Russian mandolin) players --- And early last month Chelyabinsk welcomed yet another competition, namely the First All-Russia competition of folk song singers "Nadezhda", and you'll learn all about the competition and the performers in the next edition of our regular feature "Folk Box". The program goes on the air for the first time on Monday at 1430 UT and is repeated throughout the week. Our program schedule can be found on our web site at: http://www.vor.ru/ep.html Copyright © 2003 The Voice of Russia (via Maryanne Kehoe, swprograms via DXLD) ** SOMALIA: PUNTLAND LIFTS BAN ON RADIO STATION, BUT BBC RELAYS AWAIT FURTHER MOVE | Text of report by UN regional information network IRIN on 12 May Nairobi, 12 May: The authorities in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland [northeast Somalia] have restored the broadcasting licence of the [privately-owned] Somali Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) radio and television, based in the region's commercial capital, Boosaaso, Puntland's acting information minister told IRIN on Monday [12 May]. Abdishakur Mire Aden said the SBC had been allowed to resume broadcasting after its owners petitioned the Puntland president, Col Abdullahi Yusuf. "The president has instructed my ministry to restore SBC's licence, and we did so last week. They are free to operate in Puntland," Abdishakur said. The license was withdrawn in May last year after the authorities accused it of having "a political agenda inimical to the Puntland state", local sources told IRIN at the time. The radio was also accused of bias in favour of Jama Ali Jama, Abdullahi Yusuf's rival for the Puntland leadership. According to Abdishakur, the SBC - which had a contract with the BBC to rebroadcast its news services - "will not be allowed to do so [again], until the BBC makes an official request to the Puntland authorities". Other sources in Boosaaso told IRIN that the lifting of the ban on the SBC was part of ongoing reconciliation efforts within Puntland. Abdishakur, however, said "the decision to return SBC's licence had nothing to do with the current talks, and was decided on its own merit". Reconciliation talks are under way in Boosaaso between Abdullahi Yusuf's administration and the leader of the opposition's armed wing, Gen Ade Muse Hirsi. "Most of the issues have been dealt with, and an official statement will be issued at the end of the talks in a few days' time," Abdishakur told IRIN. Source: UN Integrated Regional Information Network, Nairobi, in English 12 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? ** SPAIN. In their mailbag program, "Radio Club", on Sunday May 11 at 2135 UT on 9840 kHz it was stated that due to lack of staff they presently do not send out QSL cards (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, Denmark, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA. A Rádio Damasco, que também se identifica como "Radioemissora da República Árabe da Síria", transmite em espanhol, entre 2315 e 0130, pelas freqüências de 12085 e 13610 kHz. Nas segundas-feiras, a emissora leva ao ar um programa de interatividade com os ouvintes. As apresentadoras prometem enviar cartão QSL, acompanhado de mapas turísticos da Síria, com vista de Aleppo e da capital Damasco, "a mais antiga capital do mundo". Endereço: Rádio Damasco, Apartado Postal 4702, Damasco, República Árabe da Síria (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX May 11 via DXLD) ** U K. DIGITAL RADIO'S KISS OF LIFE From BBC News: By Torin Douglas, BBC media correspondent The new radio listening figures show healthy numbers for digital radio stations - what does this mean for listeners? "This is a historic press conference" announced the head of Rajar, radio's official audience research body. "For the first time, we have listening figures for digital radio." And very good they are too - as far as they go. Just a handful of digital radio stations have submitted themselves for measurement so far, but the figures they announced took many people by surprise. The dance station Kiss 100 attracted 961,000 digital listeners, while two of its sister stations - Smash Hits Radio and Kerrang! Radio - each won more than 750,000. Why is that surprising? Because there aren't that many of the new digital radio sets, sometimes called DAB sets, in British homes. The Digital Radio Development Bureau - which said it was encouraged by the Rajar figures - estimates that by the end of this year 500,000 stand-alone digital radios will have been sold, rising to a million by the end of 2004. So how can so many more people be listening to the digital stations? The answer is that most of them are tuning in via their digital TV sets, either through Sky, cable or Freeview. Suddenly, it seems, radio listeners have cottoned on to the fact you can pick up radio stations on the TV. For the past three years, Rajar has been asking listeners whether they ever listen via the TV set. In the past few months that figure has shot up. In September 2001, 12% of those asked said they'd ever listened through their television. A year later that had risen to 14.6%. By December 2002 it had grown to 16 % and the latest figures, up to March this year, show another rise to 18.6%. That's a 50 per cent rise in the number people listening to the radio via their TV in just 18 months. And that's having a big impact on audiences to digital radio stations. But what do we mean by digital stations? As with all things digital, the answer is not simple. More than 300 BBC and commercial radio stations are now available through digital receivers, but most are the same ones you can get on ordinary analogue sets. Some gain particular advantages from going digital. Radio Five Live, which normally broadcasts on AM, can be heard in much better quality through digital receivers, while BBC World Service and many local commercial stations can now be heard nationally through their digital broadcasts. The last group includes Kiss 100, which is already the number one station for 15-24s in London. It can also be heard on more than 250,000 DAB digital radio sets, as well as in 1.5 million Freeview homes, three million cable homes and on the internet. Then there are almost 30 stations that only broadcast digitally. They include Smash Hits Radio, Kerrang! Radio, and Oneword (which broadcasts plays, books, comedy and discussion programmes) - all of which have now had their audiences measured by Rajar - as well as the BBC's 1Xtra, Five Live Sports Extra, BBC 6 Music and BBC7. Mark Story, managing director of radio at Emap, which owns Kiss, Smash Hits and Kerrang!, is convinced the recent boost to digital listening is mainly down to the launch of Freeview. He says listeners are telling his stations that's how they're receiving them, and he believes the word will continue to spread. The big question for the Digital Radio Development Bureau is whether this success will rub off on the digital radio sets, which it's their job to promote - in the hope that one day everyone will switch to digital radio, and the old analogue signals will be switched off. That's a long way off, if ever. Long wave is still going, years after everyone thought it would be phased out - and when you think that the middle classes marched on Broadcasting House to save Radio 4's long wave service, it may be doubtful whether analogue will ever be switched off (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U K. GBR is 75. Special VLF transmission. "Listeners may be aware that the UK Royal Navy are celebrating the Centenary of the Royal Navy Submarine service with a gathering of UK and overseas submarines in the Clyde. This year is also the 75th anniversary of operation of the GBR transmitter (Rugby). As part of this celebration 'It is hoped' that a special A1A Morse code transmission from the GBR long wave transmitter will be made. For those with an interest in VLF reception please listen to 16 kHz (yes 16 not 60 kHz!) on Tuesday 29th May 2001 at 1200 GMT and 1345 GMT." Cheers Ken G1ITV (This information from G4KHU:- via Ronny Peeters, May 12, BDXC via DXLD) Despite GBR closedown recently?? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. It is still noteworthy when WJIE is actually heard on its second frequency, 13595. Such was the case at 0508 check May 11; actually better than \\ 7490, and with rather different-sounding modulation. See top for WOR monitoring (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. R. Africa International [Methodist from NYC]: As transmissões desta Emissora são feitas desde Deutsche Telekom from Julich, Germany FREQUÊNCIA UTC IDIOMA 11645 KHz 0400 - 0600 Francês 13810 KHz 0400 - 0600 Francês 13820 KHz 1700 - 1900 Inglês 11735 KHz 1700 - 1900 Inglês (*) (*) Anteriormente esta transmissão era feita em 15265 KHz mas foi modificada para 11735. Um abraço do (Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, Barbacena - Minas Gerais, May 12, radioescutas via DXLD) ** U S A. WNET-13 NO LONGER (STRICTLY) NON-COMMERCIAL??? Noted two ads back-to-back on WNET-13 NYC just now between programs at 1700. Not underwriting ads but the real thing, one for Benjamin Moore paints and the other for the State of Pennsylvania tourism. Has there been a change in the rules allowing this? They have also running quite a few underwriting ads and a lot of fund raisers of late, too (WHYY-12 Philly has also been doing that). Money must be tough to get now(Joe Fela, NJ, May 10, WTFDA via DXLD) PBS still is a noncommercial corporation. They are bound by the rules that dictate that they cannot promote particular products by any company. However, affiliates of PBS still are very aggressive in obtaining underwriting from companies and organizations. Here is what is NEW, and may appear that PBS stations are now accepting advertising. Ellen Flahive, executive director of the PBS Sponsorship Group, was just appointed vice president, Sponsorship Sales for the Public Broadcasting Service. It is her responsibility to boost sagging PBS revenue. In a plan that was written in 1996, Ms. Flahive, along with her group, plan to begin seeking more national sponsorship than was sought after in times past. In doing so, they plan to develop "advertising" campaigns for their national underwriters, that may appear they are actually advertising. The rules that dictate that PBS (and their affiliates) remain noncommercial, still applies. The sponsorship 'advertising' (read underwriting) can promote the company, but not their product. They can promote the company Benjamin Moore, makers of paint, in an 'advertisement', but they cannot advertise that a certain sale for $$ for a certain brand of Benjamin Moore paint is now in progress through the month of May (example). The marketing people at PBS Sponsorship Group say that savvy viewers of PBS will be able to tell the difference, even though they are going to start having the sponsorship promotional announcements appear as if they were commercials. Doesn't this all sound political? And sounds like they'd like to be commercial, but can't. I been following this developing story from their website press releases. I believe that PBS too is feeling the affects of a fragmented television viewing audience. So when you get some skip this summer, you'll now have to watch closely, to determine if its commercial, or PBS (Jim Thomas, wdx0fbu, Milliken, Colorado, WTFDA via DXLD) From the horse's mouth: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/nature.html From that document, some of the things that aren't acceptable on non-commercial stations: - Announcements including the price of a product. (including interest rates) - Calls to action. ("Stop by our showroom to see a model", "Try Product X next time you buy oil") - Inducements to buy/sell/rent/lease. Including indirect inducements like "Six months' free service" and "A bonus available this week". WNET-13 is licensed as a non-commercial station, even though its channel is not reserved for non-commercial use. As such, it's subject to the same restrictions on underwriting that limit most other PBS affiliates. However, WNET could apply to switch to commercial status; if that change was granted they could begin airing regular advertising. (such applications are usually granted, though WNET would certainly be an unusual case!) The FCC has very few (if any) regulations directly applicable to networks. As far as the Commission is concerned, PBS is free to schedule commercials - or, for that matter, X-rated movies. Of course, if it did so, none of their affiliates would be able to run the network programming! In general, networks are regulated through restrictions on what their *affiliates* are allowed to do. Rules like "no station shall be licensed that's affiliated with a network that programs more than three hours between 7 and 11 pm Eastern time". It's fine for the network to ignore the prime-time access rule; it's the *affiliates* that have to obey it... (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) ** U S A. TV TOWER`S HOME -- FOR NOW -- IS EMPIRE STATE BUILDING By CHARLES V. BAGLI c.2003 New York Times News Service http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/12/nyregion/12TOWE.html?ex=1053715374&ei=1&en=e7e11dc280a722ec NEW YORK - Like a flock of birds migrating north, the major television stations in the metropolitan area have returned to the Empire State Building for the first time in more than 20 years. Last Thursday, WNBC-TV became the last of 11 stations to sign a 15- year lease for transmission and antenna space atop what became the city`s tallest skyscraper 20 months ago with the destruction of the World Trade Center. All but one broadcaster had left the 102-story, 1,454-foot-tall Empire State Building decades ago for a higher rooftop on the trade center`s north tower. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, some viewers were left with blank or fuzzy screens, and broadcasters were scrambling for a new home. In an industry in which height matters, however, the broadcasters are still casting about for an even taller perch in a search that pits New York against New Jersey. The Metropolitan Television Alliance, which represents the 11 broadcasters, is negotiating to build a $200 million, 2,000-foot-tall free-standing tower on a pier in Bayonne, N.J. At the same time, it has asked Mayor Michael Bloomberg`s administration for permission to erect a temporary $60 million tower on Governors Island, while a permanent tower and antenna are built at the trade center site. ``Whether we end up in Bayonne or at the World Trade Center site, the Empire State Building will be the backup,`` said Edward Grebow, the president of the television alliance. ``They`ve worked hard to improve conditions there.`` In a $6 million upgrade, the building`s owners are installing steel beams to reinforce the giant mast and 204-foot antenna atop the building, according to Thomas P. Sullivan, the director of leasing for the building, which is managed by Helmsley-Spear. They are bringing more electrical capacity to the top of the tower to accommodate the broadcasters, and converting the office space on the 77th, 78th and 79th floors into transmission stations. Sullivan said that 11 television stations and 22 FM radio stations now broadcast from the Empire State Building. But while station executives say they want an even taller antenna that would enable all viewers to receive a clearer picture, some experts suggest the difference between the Empire State Building and the proposed antenna towers is not so great. ``There`s not a lot lost between the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building,`` said Neil Smith, a broadcast engineering consultant who works for the partnership group that owns the Empire State Building, and has worked for many television and radio stations. ``And there would not be a lot gained by going to a 2,000-foot tower in Bayonne.`` ``There would be some improvement within the service area,`` Smith said. ``But the more significant issue is location rather than height. The Empire State Building is more centrally located with respect to other tall buildings that tend to block signals and do bad things.`` Grebow, though, insisted that a couple of hundred feet mattered greatly. The taller the antenna, he said, the less likely that viewers who get their signals via an antenna, rather than by cable or satellite, will have shadows, ghosts or reflections on their screens. ``The shadowing from the Empire State Building is terrible,`` Grebow said, adding that there are still 700,000 homes without clear television reception as a result of the collapse of the trade center antennas. An estimated 20 percent of the 7.3 million households in the New York metropolitan broadcast area do not have cable or satellite service, he said, and many of those that do plug their second television into an antenna. ``We still don`t have good reception on any station,`` said Alan Compagnon, who lives in Brooklyn Heights and uses what he called super rabbit ears. ``Most of the stations were clear before 9/11.`` But reception has never been perfect for everyone. In the late 1960s, the broadcasters then at the Empire State Building brought a lawsuit in an effort to halt construction of the trade center, claiming that the 110-story towers would reflect television signals and distort reception. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey settled the suit by agreeing to pay for some of the cost of moving the antennas to the north tower from the Empire State Building and installing new transmission equipment. Even so, WCBS-TV reported receiving more than 600 complaints about poor reception in the weeks after the station switched on its trade center antenna in 1980, and the station advised viewers to adjust their own antennas. Grebow said the signal coverage from the 2,000-foot antenna proposed for Bayonne, about 3.5 miles southwest of Manhattan, would be ```roughly equivalent`` to that from the old World Trade Center antennas, which rose to 1,750 feet. The proposed trade center tower -- a 1,776-foot tower to be known as Freedom Tower, would be even better, Grebow said, because it is in Manhattan and would be taller than the Empire State Building. Grebow contends that the Empire State Building antenna rises to only 1,350 feet, while the building`s owners and John Tauranac, the author of two books about the skyscraper, puts the antenna`s reach at 1,454 feet. Grebow also said that 4 Times Square, another skyscraper in the mix, where the developer Douglas Durst is building a 385-foot broadcast antenna that is to rise to 1,141 feet, was not a suitable backup because it would not be tall enough. Durst is signing a deal with Univision, the largest Spanish-language network in the country, which is currently broadcasting from the Empire State Building. The television alliance is negotiating with the city of Bayonne over building the costly permanent, free-standing 2,000-foot tower at the former Military Ocean Terminal, where it would pay about $5 million a year in rent and taxes. The project still needs federal and state approval. The stations are also talking to the Bloomberg administration about erecting a less expensive temporary tower on Governors Island, for which they have offered to pay $8 million a year in rent and to make an unspecified contribution toward the construction of Freedom Tower. The Bloomberg administration has been reluctant to agree to a large antenna on Governors Island, because, officials say, they fear it could turn into a permanent installation. ``We`re prepared to consider it, provided we`re absolutely convinced it`s on a short-term basis,`` said Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff. The administration and Gov. George E. Pataki express support for permanent antennas on Freedom Tower, but there is debate over how soon the tower will be completed. So, the decision facing the broadcasting alliance now is New York or New Jersey, not both. "We have to build a permanent tower in Bayonne, which won't accept a temporary tower," Mr. Grebow said. "We have been having conversations with the city and the state about the possibility of using Governors Island. But at the moment, it seems unlikely." In the meantime, Bayonne is waiting. "We're working out the fine points of an agreement with the broadcasters," said Nancy Kist, executive director of the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority. "Given that the broadcasters are based in New York City, I understand their rationale for wanting to be there. It's really a matter of timing." (via Harry Helms, et al., DXLD) ** U S A. New Lowband TV Stations: With the Es season off to a pretty good start, I can report two more new low-band stations on the air... KIDA-5 Sun Valley, Idaho has applied for a license-to-cover. I have no idea what kind of programming they're running. Also applying for a license-to-cover is WBRA-DT in Roanoke, Virginia. They're a PBS affiliate on channel 3. Will this be the year someone reports a DTV by E-skip? Remember, KUTF-3 Price, Utah is new to the air too (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, May 11, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. GIVE-AND-TAKE F.C.C. AIMS TO REDRAW MEDIA MAP By STEPHEN LABATON, WASHINGTON IN a few weeks, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on what could be the most significant change in the rules governing media ownership in a generation, greatly expanding the reach of the nation`s largest broadcast and newspaper companies. With that vote, the commission`s chairman, Michael K. Powell, may finally find himself back in control. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/business/yourmoney/11RULE.html?ex=1053672976&ei=1&en=73b6de6ccc8f56e6 (via Don Thornton, DXLD) Same article: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/business/yourmoney/11RULE.html?ex=1053921600&en=e1f769f34fab5e77&ei=5004&partner=UNTD (via Jim Thomas, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Andrew Yoder`s 1994 pirate confrontation with the FCC: http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Orders/ormc4007.txt This is on the huge list of historical documents referenced in MUSEA section below, in the UNAUTHORIZED OPERATION subsection http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/decdoc/engrser.html (via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. PRISON SENTENCE FOR PIRATE Well, this doesn't happen very often... http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-234292A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-234292A1.pdf One Rayon Sherwin Payne of Orlando was sentenced to nine months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release and 50 hours of community service, for operating a pirate FM station. Obviously this is a far stiffer penalty than I've ever seen levied for unlicensed broadcasting. My guess is this wasn't his first offense (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, WTFDA via DXLD) This wasn't his first offense. I remember that name from 2 or 3 years ago being issued an NAL for unauthorized broadcasting. Looks like they are going to use this guy as an example to show that the FCC isn't messing around with these Florida pirates anymore. All the more reason to get the CBB ball rolling, so these guys have a place to go and play their music instead of on FM (Andrew MacKenzie, Niskayuna NY, http://www.capitalgold.org ibid.) Complete nonsense. I'd love to know how many DANGEROUS criminals aren't in jail while we pay to house this guy. With OUR tax dollars. But hey, I'm sure Lowry Mays is drinking a round to this decision. (Luke --- too young to be this cynical ;) ibid.) I wonder if they'll put this guy to work running the new prison LPFM... (Saul Chernos, Ont., ibid.) Maybe Clear Channel will pick him up when he gets out, kind of like what happens to a good hacker when they get caught... (Guy T. Falsetti, Lockport, NY, ibid.) ** U S A. Re DXLD 3-081: Glenn; That was especially interesting about WRHC-1560. I managed to get a QSL out of their illegal operation too. No wonder I logged them with 50 KW ND over here. 73s, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KTFH-1680 Seattle is now on the air. Right now, they're running non-stop Indian music, with periodic IDs giving slogan as "The Bridge" and mentioning Radio Awaz (sp?) will be heard noon-midnight [UT-7] beginning May 12 (Bruce Portzer, May 10, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. WTIR 1680 Winter Garden FL: I`m in the Orlando area and there is definitely Spanish on this frequency --- IDs as WTIR. As for religious programming, I just heard Spanish music (Bruce McFadden, May 10, IRCA via DXLD) FORMAT CHANGE AT WTIR-1680: This station uses "Alma Latina" for a slogan. Programming is entirely in Spanish. Location is announced as "Winter Garden, Orlando" (which is in Florida). I have not logged the station myself. What I have done is merely identifying it from an audio clip which contained the station ID. I have checked with a couple of DXers living in the Orlando and Tampa areas. One of them says he has not heard any ID at all, while another listener confirms that the station has been testing without any ID for some time, and from May 10 on as "Alma Latina". This means that the recording I listened to was made on the very first day they started identifying themselves on the air (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, May 11, dxing.info via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. U.S. X-BAND AT A GLANCE :: MAY 2003 Compiled by Tony King, New Zealand:: Changes since April DXT in BOLD [changed here to ## .. ##] 1610 CJWI Montreal QUE FF Caribbean music. 1620 ## WBUB ## Atmore AL Yet to be heard in US x WPHG & WPNS WDND South Bend IN ESPN Radio 1620 KOZN Bellevue NE ESPN Sport. ``The Zone`` WTAW College Station TX `Newstalk 16-20 WTAW` CBS Nx KBLI Blackfoot ID SS ``Radio Fiesta`` KYIZ Renton WA Urban/Contemporary Soul KSMH West Sacramento, CA Rel. ``Catholic Radio KSMH`` WDHP Frederikstad, US Virgins ## BBC WS to 0900. ID at :59 ## 1630 KCJJ Iowa City IA Hot AC /Classic Rock KKWY Fox Farm WY C&W AP nx `` K-W-Y`` KNAX Ft Worth/Dallas TX SS. Radio Vida/ Radio Dos Mil Dos. EE ID :58 WTEL Augusta GA `Newstalk 1630 WTEL` x WRDW [still overlooks XEUT Tijuana, tho irregular] 1640 WKSH Sussex WI Disney KDZR Lake Oswego OR Disney KDIA Vallejo CA Talk/religious/life issues ## WTNI ## Biloxi MS ``Talk Radio 1640``: ABC News 1 kw nites Good ID :30 ## KMKZ ## Enid OK Construction Permit granted. Pwr FCC approved KBJA Sandy UT SS/Radio Unica EE ID on hour 1650 WHKT Portsmouth VA ``AM1650 WHKT Portsmouth, Radio Disney`` KDNZ Cedar Falls IA Talk/ Sport ``The Talk Station``//KCNZ KWHN Fort Smith AR `Newstalk 1650 KWHN` KBJD Denver CO Talk. ``KNUS-2`` KFOX Torrance CA Korean/ EE ID on hour 1660 KTIQ Merced CA Sporting News Network `The Ticket`` WWRU Elizabeth NJ PP & SS Radio Unica/R. Portugal ## CP 10 kW nites ## WCNZ Marco Is FL `Newsradio 1660` AP nx. WQSN Kalamazoo MI Sports/talk ESPN KRZX Waco TX ``Newstalk KRZX`` (off 0600 UT) KQWB West Fargo ND Standards ``Star 1660 is KQWB AM` CNN news KXOL Brigham City UT ``Oldies Radio`` (60`s rock) KXTR Kansas City KS `Classical 1660` WGIT Canóvanas PRico SS oldies ``El Gigante`` 1670 WRNC Warner Robins GA Urban Gospel ``1670 The Light`` WTDY Madison WI Sports/Talk. ``The Big one is 1670 WTDY`` ``The Team`` KHPY Moreno Valley, CA Radio Catolica SS (nites) s/off 0800 UT. EE s/off. KNRO Redding CA ``Redding`s ESPN Radio 1670 KNRO` 1680 WTTM Princeton NJ Ethnic - Hindi WTIR Winter Garden FL ``Traveler Information Radio`` [but see above!] WJNZ Ada MI Urban/AC KAVT Fresno CA Disney/SS KTFH Seattle WA CC VV JJ RR 1kw ``The Bridge`` KRJO Monroe LA Gospel. ``Gospel 1680`` 1690 KDDZ Arvada CO Disney KFSG Roseville CA SS rel. `regional Mexican` x KSXX. EE ID on hr WPTX Lexington Park ``Newstalk 1690 WPTX`` CNN News 1700 WJCC Miami Springs FL SS/Rel/``Radio Luz`` WEUV Huntsville AL Black Gospel. ``Music of your Life.//1600 WEUC 1kw KTBK Sherman TX Sporting News Radio ``Sports Radio 1310 KTCK.`` KBGG Des Moines IA `The new AM 1700 KBGG``. CNN KQXX Brownsville TX `Oldies Radio 1700 AM` (via Mark Nicholls, NZDXT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NAPLES' NEWEST HAITIAN RADIO STATION HOPES TO ENTERTAIN, EDUCATE LISTENERS Friday, May 9, By ELIZABETH WENDT, Naples News When Josue Alusma talks about the musical format of Radio New Star, Naples' newest Haitian radio station, he rattles off a list of sounds and shows. There's hip-hop and reggae. There's local and international news, especially headlines from Haiti. On Sundays, there's religious programming, and on Saturdays, the station gives its listeners a taste of Latin pop. But the term Alusma returns to most to describe the new station is "educational." [Caption: Josue Alusma, president of Naples' newest Haitian radio station, Radio New Star, delivers a news report earlier this week in his studio off Linwood Avenue in East Naples. Dan Wagner/Staff] He wants Radio New Star to make more than a musical impact on the Southwest Florida Haitian community. "Naples is a good place for education, for family," Alusma, 31, said. "And we really want to make it safer. That's why we push the educational part." Naples' second Haitian radio station went on the air Feb. 1, with Alusma as its president and co-creator. He gave up his career as a Naples engineer for the station, pouring $12,000 of his own money into the equipment that fills the small, windowless room in an East Naples office building. His partner, Golden Gate obstetrician Dr. Ferio François, matched Alusma's financial sum to purchase more equipment, including the subcarrier generator needed for the station to broadcast, Alusma said. As a subcarrier station, Radio New Star's listeners must have a receiver to hear the programming. The Federal Communications Commission defines a subcarrier station as a channel transmitted along with a main audio signal over a broadcast station; Radio New Star can be heard by receiver, night and day, on 88.7 Way FM, a Southwest Florida Christian station. Most receivers retail between $35 and $70, Alusma said, and he is happy to help listeners install theirs. To find out more, call Alusma at (239) 289-6099. The station can also be heard online by visiting http://www.shoutcast.com and entering "Radio New Star" in the search field. About three months into its operations, Alusma thinks Radio New Star is reaching listeners throughout Southwest Florida. The 15 advertisers on the station include local doctors, lawyers and retail stores, he said. The station has a staff of 10, including disc jockey Jean-Arthur Boyer. When not in the studio giving the international and local news, or when not gabbing with callers to the station — casually switching his speech from English to Creole and French — Boyer works for the state Department of Juvenile Justice in Naples. He is also finishing up his bachelor degree in criminal justice at International College. He manages to squeeze in time for Radio New Star, though. "It's just like school to me," Boyer, 32, said. "It keeps me up to date. I feel like I learn more than I am giving to the audience. It keeps me alive." In addition to giving the news and spinning songs, Boyer hosts a show focusing on legal issues. While he emphasized he doesn't give legal advice, Boyer said he does try to give Haitian newcomers a clearer sense of local laws. "We try to do everything possible for our community to know the law," Alusma added. When someone arrives from Haiti, Boyer said, they have more than a language barrier to overcome. They have a cultural barrier to surmount, too. Simply existing within the borders of a country is no way to be a part of it, Boyer said. That's one of the reasons he switches back and forth between Creole or French and English. "They're not just living in the United States," Boyer said. "We make them feel like they belong in the United States. We are pushing them to learn." Boyer and Alusma agree that the needs — and the nature — of Southwest Florida's Haitian community are changing. Both men moved to the Naples area from Haiti more than 10 years ago. Since then, they have adopted more than a country; they have tried to take on an understanding of its customs and culture, too. Beyond sharing entertainment, Alusma and Boyer said they want to share experience. "We know their needs because we are part of the population," Boyer said. Naples' first Haitian radio station, a subcarrier station which can be heard on 89.5 Praise FM, went on the air in September 2002. Alusma said he doesn't see that station as competition, but as an opportunity for his station to do something else to reach the Haitian community. With Radio New Star, he is aiming for increased awareness in the Haitian community. "We want to make sure we help the community with everything that's possible," Alusma said. Simone Milce of Fort Myers said she is tuning in to the new station. She moved to the area almost two decades ago and remembers when there was nothing for Haitians in Southwest Florida seeking news or entertainment. "A long time ago, we had no information," Milce said. "I think this is a blessing from God." http://www.naplesnews.com/03/05/business/d932704a.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Obituary: Burton Paulu, Ph.D., 92, pioneer in educational radio, and long-time manager of KUOM (AM 770) Minneapolis. He went to Europe and wrote several books on broadcasting in Britain and Eastern Europe. As a grad student in 1931 he took a job at the campus radio station, and developed a music appreciation series on what became KUOM. In 1938 he became station director of KUOM, which shared the daytime 5 kW frequency with WCAL *770 Northfield MN (now WCAL is exclusively on FM, 89.3). He saw to it that KUOM was awarded an FM frequency in 1948 *91.7), but never built the station. I urged him, as a 17-year-old, in 1952 to create an FM radio network like Wisconsin just completed, but he replied that FM was ``not in the cards.`` A friend of mine saw the letter before I sent it, and said it was quite an editorial. I later, in the early 1960s, lobbied WMMR, a student carrier-current station, to go FM, but nobody took an interest then. Now KUOM-FM is a share-time 8-watt station on *106.5 that covers only a small part of the metro area. But I derive some satisfaction in being a co-founder as an undergraduate of what became KUMD *103.3 Duluth (Bruce Elving, May FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. SUPPORTERS OF ISRAEL PLAN TO PROTEST NPR OVER NEWS COVERAGE By BRIAN LEWIS Staff Writer Some local supporters of Israel are planning a protest of National Public Radio on Sunday to call attention to what they call bias in the radio network's news coverage. It's one of dozens of NPR protests planned for next week, loosely organized by the Jewish Action Taskforce. . . http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/03/05/32542162.shtml?Element_ID=32542162 (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DXLD) ** U S A. The IBOC on your own station *can* cause problems with analog reception. The lab test data filed with the FCC showed significant drops in SNR for 3 out of the 4 analog receivers tested, when IBOC was turned on. The most affected was a Technics "hi-fi" receiver, with a drop in SNR of 9 dB. Since only a few receivers were tested, it is unlikely that any of them were close to "worst case". Also, the tests were done at signal levels corresponding to the 5 mV/m contour - at lower signal levels, the drop in SNR could make the difference between reception success and failure. Even if only a few listeners are badly affected, why run IBOC when there are zero IBOC receivers available? Most likely they decided to put it on the back burner until some receivers show up in stores (Barry McLarnon, Ont., May 12, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Whither IBOC? -- The system known by many engineers as "In-Band-OFF-Channel" continues to make it's strides, for better or worse. Sometimes here in SoCal, one can catch the innovative Digital emissions on KXNT-840, out of Las Vegas....which, interestingly enough, is NOT on the "official" list of IBOC stations. Their test signals have been noted several times in the early evenings...always accompanied by a loud hash interfering with KPLS-830, and practically covering KOA and KACD on 850. On the FM side, KROQ-106.7 is now running IBOC, and a similar effect in the form of a loud buzz is noted covering 106.5 and 106.9, on the trusty ICOM R-7000. That same buzz is also present on those frequencies, when tuned on a regular stock- Honda radio. So far, I've seen nothing written about the IBOC-FM effects....which can be potentially more damaging to plain ol' listenership, given the larger numbers of FM-vs.-AM casual users. This could get good...when one notes the substantial number of "move-in" FM allocations, already adding to dial congestion in growing Sun Belt areas such as Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and much of Florida. (Similar frequency moves have recently occurred in the Kansas City area, and in northern New Jersey.) Will this same hash carry itself thousand of miles away via e-skip FM-DX reception? How will this Digi-Hash affect the growing number of FM second- adjacent frequency grants, as noted above? Perhaps we're seeing the beginnings of a new source of business for attorneys who specialize in communications issues. Kinda' makes me nostalgic for the old Kahn AM- Stereo system. Speaking of whom...--Leonard Kahn himself continues as a lone voice of practicality, in an impractical universe. I would guess Mr. Kahn is in his late 80's by now, still operating out of a Long Island garage....and his latest idea is an alternative to the IBOC system. He says his design will permit on-channel Digital broadcasting, but without the sideband hash which threatens to completely undo splatter- control technology implemented by the NRSC, several years ago. (Many may recall the prime move there, which limited U.S. AM transmissions to a 10 kHz bandwidth.) Sideband splash-schmutz has always hurt AM listenership, but we ain't seen nothing yet...widespread use of IBOC is very likely to render any form of AM DXing (or, run of the mill reception of out-of-market stations), anything from extremely irritating, to obsolete. Leonard Kahn, in my opinion, borders on genius, and I was certainly a proponent of his AM Stereo system (as opposed to any of the other four systems offered in the "marketplace", years ago). That system was generally known as being the "friendliest", by far, to both engineers and consumers. Mr. Kahn, though, suffers from Political Incorrectitude --- not in the conventional sense, but through an apparent inability to make the proper connections among the marketeers who decide what will be tested, and what will be discarded. He's probably just too honest for the lot of them. Smoking Salem -- Or, will Salem "smoke" KCBQ-1170? That is a stated possibility by September. Seems their venerable Santee transmitter site has been sold for commercial development, as San Diego continues it's leaps-and-bounds growth into the SoCal outback. KCBQ license- holder Salem Communications has unsuccessfully lobbied the S.D. County Board of Supervisors, to approve a new location for the multi-tower directional array. Salem now says KCBQ may bite the dust by Fall 2003, if a new site is not found. Now, maybe it's just me...but it seems they could work out an arrangement with their own KPRZ-1210, involving it's non-threatened tower site in San Marcos, to continue operation -- - even if that involved a change in the city of license. Or, they could drop power (50 kW days), and go non-directional from any number of in-city sites --- still blanketing San Diego proper, and not allowing too much signal out of the semi-immediate area. Hey! Wait a minute! That's what's going on RIGHT NOW!! Tell me who, while trying to hear KCBQ in San Bernardino, Santa Ana or L.A., would EVER guess that their highly-directional signal is pumping 50,000 watts?? Keep in mind, Salem is the same firm that shut down the well-established KAIM-870 in Honolulu last year, allegedly in order to allow KRLA to boost it's night power. Guess what? KAIM is now back on the air! Their earlier incarnation boasted a 50 kW signal, directional to the West across Oahu and the mid-Pacific, from multi- towers on a spread of land, on the west end of Molokai. KAIM is back on with, I believe, 7500 watts from a non-directional diplexed stick in Honolulu-proper. Oh, by the by, they DID sell that land on Molokai --- mere coincidence, I'm sure. Does anyone else remember KCBQ's amped-up turntables in the early 70's? Seems they had at least one TT that would play 33s at 34.5 RPM, 45s at 47 RPM, and so on. Over the course of any given day, such engineering feats surely made room for more music...and more commercials, as well! I was always surprised no one in L.A. had done a similar deed...and was even more amazed, that listeners did not complain, and apparently didn't even notice. (After 1972, KCBQ would occasionally play "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John --- on one of those souped-up TTs, it made for the audio equivalent of a cup of Espresso!) A Bite of the Apple -- Disney has reserved the call letters WEPN, apparently for it's recently-purchased AM 1050 outlet in New York. That's the present home of WEVD, a set of calls that dates back to 1928. The original 'EVD was built with the help of a memorial fund honoring early Socialist Eugene V. Debs, certainly carrying some history into our crazed Modern Times. 'Twould truly be sad to see yet another set of classic calls discarded. And on a similar subject, go to http://www.fybush.com, for a fascinating look at the combined WCBS/WFAN transmitter site on High Island, just off the Bronx coast. More as it happens (GREG HARDISON, Conexión Digital May 11 via DXLD) I suspect the above is quoted from some other publication, not specified (gh) ** VATICAN [and non]. Who is the patron saint of broadcasting? Two saints can apply. The Archangel Gabriel, whose statue is at the Vatican Radio transmitter site at Santa Maria di Galeria, is the patron saint of broadcasters. Some of you, like me, may have one of the famous Vatican Radio QSLs with the statue of Gabriel in the foreground and a cross-shaped antenna tower in the background. Also, St. Paul is the patron saint of people in communications, including the press and electronic media; he presumably got that title because he was so famous for his writings. I heard about Gabriel from Tom Meyer on his "Happy Station" show on Radio Netherlands a few years ago. The word on St. Paul is on the authority of my aunt, Sister M. Eileen Heffernan, who has belonged to the Daughters of St. Paul in Boston for many years. That order runs a number of Catholic schools and bookstores, and produces such things as religious books, videos and audio tapes, radio programs for use on Christian stations, tapes and CDs of choral and other religious music, magazines, and instructional materials for Catholic education. St. Paul, as patron saint of communications, is a natural choice for such an order. When I visited my aunt in 1997, we made a point of visiting the Marconi National Historic Site in South Wellfleet, Massachusetts; as she said, "It's not just a shrine for you as a DXer and broadcaster, but Marconi was also important to our order's mission." And yes, one of the sisters is a shortwave listener, whose favorite station is pretty easy to guess! On a slightly related subject, I once got some pretty bookmarks from the famous Italian DXer Salvatore Placanica that had photos of gorgeous flowers and Biblical quotes in Italian. When I looked on the back, I saw the name "Edizioni Paolini" (pardon any spelling errors), which of course translates as "Pauline Editions." Sure enough, it was the Italian branch of my aunt's order! Small world.... ;-) 73, (Marie Lamb, NY, May 9, swprograms via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 9270 at 2220 Friday 10th May. UNID with Indian and ME style music, OM announcer. Deep cyclic QSB peaked to SIO 222, some QRM from MOSSAD/numbers station. Could not identify language. Best on LSB. Can't seem to find any reference other than Mossad on this frequency. Ideas (TX sprog?)? 73 (Sean G4UCJ Gilbert, UK, RECEIVER: ICOM IC756 + ATU + Audio Filter; GRUNDIG SATELLIT 600, 3000, ANTENNA: Low Band vertical with 32 x 10m ground radials, Indoor dipoles for 14-30 MHz and 50 MHz/Band I TV, 1.3m diameter MW loop + FET Preamp, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ LIMA LION`S CLUB I'm doing a presentation before the Lion's Club next Wednesday. I'm looking for audio clips of wartime broadcasts that I can play to show what shortwave radio sounds like. Clips do not necessarily have to be pro/con a political view, but if possible, in English. I'm most interested in finding the audio clip of the two US military planes that shot down an Iraq plane in 1991. I recall it was floating around the net, but can't find it now. E-mail me (off this list), and guide me to any sites that might be interesting. Perhaps we can entice some more shortwave enthusiasts into the fold!! (Fred Vobbe, Lima OH, fred@vobbe.com May 11, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) MUSEA +++++ The FCC seems to have posted some new documents on their "Early Radio" site http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/decdoc/engrser.html If you haven't read this before, and you have any interest in the technical history of broadcasting in the U.S., you need to RUN (not walk!) to this URL and take a look (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN, WTFDA via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS +++++++++++ TOPHOUR For the benefit of those who aren't familiar with this neat website I just discovered, direct your browsers to http://www.tophour.net and have a look-around. There are many many different AM and FM top of the hour station IDs to listen to, assuming you can use realone's player. Check it out AM station ID fans! (Ron Gitschier, Palm Coast, FL, NRC- AM via DXLD) Tophour.net is one of my favorite sites - it's the brainchild of Brian Davis, who does radio in Dubuque. (Along with fellow NRC'er Garrett Wollman, I had a nice visit with him out there a couple of summers ago.) I'm now in the habit of sending copies of my legal IDs both to Brian and to John Bowker for his DXAS Travelogs. Right now, Brian's digesting the first set of a three-CD set of IDs from that summer 1991 trip (John got a copy, too) with much more to follow... My secret fantasy is that someday I can get both these guys in the same room and hammer out a way to get the Bowker Collection onto Brian's site. Then I can die in peace :-) s (Scott Fybush, NY, NRC-AM via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ CLARIFICATION ON THE NW7US OUTLOOK ON HF CONDITIONS FOR SPRING/SUMMER 2003 [re: DXLD 3-080] Hi, folks. Mark Fine of Remington, Virginia, USA, wrote in response to my e-mail posting "HF Outlook for Spring/Summer 2003" that: "With more hours of daylight, it increases the amount of ionization and the effective "height" of the ionosphere, thus increasing distance and MUF. See Davies' "Ionospheric Propagation", IEEE Press. It is why frequency managers usually band-shift up for Summer paths, and down for Winter paths. BTW, it has absolutely nothing to do with solar temperature. You're confusing another effect that has to do with stratospheric "warming" which increases absorption - an effect that usually occurs more frequently on the down side of the solar cycle." I want to clarify my remark regarding summer time MUFs. One cannot condense complex science into a single, generalized statement, as I had. This was my generalization: "As we move closer to summer, the days grow longer in the Northern Hemisphere and the sun heats up and thins the ionosphere. With less ionization, the maximum frequency refracted is lower than during colder months. By June, this thinning causes a real reduction in the MUF." I based this on several references, one being "the New Shortwave Propagation Handbook" by George Jacobs, Theodore J. Cohen, and Robert B. Rose. On page 1-11, under the Seasonal Variation section, the book reads, "The seasonal behavior of the F2 layer is rather complicated. During the northern hemisphere winter months the atmosphere is cold, the Earth is closer to the Sun, and daytime ionization is very intense; thus, critical frequencies are high. During the long hours of winter darkness, on the other hand, the ionosphere has more time to lose its electrical charge, and nighttime critical frequencies fall to very low levels. In the summer a heating effect takes place in the F2 layer, causing it to expand during the daylight hours and resulting in a lower ionization density than is observed during the winter. As a result, summer daytime F2-layer critical frequencies are lower than winter values. On the other hand, because of the longer hours of daylight during the summer, recombination does not occur to the extent that it does in winter. As a result, nighttime F2-layer critical frequencies during the summer months are significantly higher than they are during the winter months. The variation between day and night critical frequencies during the summer is much smaller than during the winter." Now, I took a random year, and looked at the published propagation charts in QST for 1981. I looked at January's charts, and compared them to July's. Sure enough, for the most part, most paths show a higher MUF in January than in July. The average was higher in July, but the peak was higher in January. I then ran some IONCAP sessions with January and July of this year, based on the forecasted smoothed sunspots, and the same thing showed true. I did note, however, those paths that cross the North Pole region did have higher MUFs in the summer. I think that would be due to the fact that there is more ionization during daylight hours in the summer over the North Pole. Regarding this topic, I received the following correspondence from Carl, K9LA: "To answer your question, you have to distinguish between day and night. The reason summer MUFs are lower during the day is due to ion chemistry, not a thinning of the ionosphere. The electron production rate depends on atoms, whereas the loss rate is controlled by molecules. In a nutshell, the ratio of atoms to molecules is higher in winter than in summer. Hunsucker and Hargreaves (The High-Latitude Ionosphere and its Effects on Radio Propagation) give the ratios as about 6 in winter and about 2 in summer. I've attached Bob's article on this topic from the Jan/Feb 2002 issue of The DX Magazine. 4S7VK's comment about summer MUFs being higher applies to night. Check out the last figure in Bob's article and you can see this. Mr. Fine's comment about higher heights giving increased distance and higher MUFs is half-correct. Yes, the higher height gives a longer distance, but it gives a lower MUF because the ray now is incident on the ionosphere at a higher angle. The height issue is why the E region MUF is about 5 times foE and the F region MUF is about 3 times foF2 - a higher height equals a lower MUF for a given critical frequency. BTW stratwarms are strictly a December through April phenomenon, and I have to admit I've never looked to see if they're more prevalent during the descending phase of a solar cycle. The data certainly is there to do this." I still think that my general outlook for the summer of 2003 is valid. With a high level of geomagnetic storminess, such as what we are having right now, it will be an interesting summer on the High Frequencies. 73 de Tomas, NW7US // AAR0JA -- : Propagation Editor, CQ/PopComm Magazines - Member, USArmy MARS : : http://prop.hfradio.org : Brinnon, Washington 122.93W 47.67N : : A creator of solutions : http://accessnow.com : Perl Rules! : : 10x56526 - FISTS 7055 - FISTS NW 57 - http://hfradio.org/barsc : : A.R.Lighthouse Society 144 -- CW, SSB, RTTY, AMTOR, DX-Hunting : (swl via DXLD) My last comment on this subject, because I strongly disagree that your generalization is correct - primarily because it is extremely misleading. The smoothed T-Index for January 2003 was 112. The same predicted T-Index for July 2003 is about HALF that at 61. So of course July is going to look lower than January, but only because of the position within the cycle. Bottom Line: You need to be careful when oversimplifying and overgeneralizing such information without providing the relevant data, otherwise it's about as truthful as a huckster on WWRB (Mark J. Fine / Remington, Virginia, USA, ibid.) Noted. Hence, my clarification. I'll be sure not to generalize in the same way in future writings. The charts I looked at were based on about the same smoothed number (70 and 56 - not 112 and 61). For the sake of comparison, I ran the same charts (Jan and Jul) using 62 for both months (Jan and Jul). I got the same overall results. Yes, there are paths where the overall MUF is higher than in Winter. Yet, on many paths I checked, there were higher peaks in Winter, with lower nighttime MUFs. Here is another area that gets oversimplified. General outlooks on propagation conditions are misleading. Many outlooks generated from the United States are useless for those, say, in Australia, because the audience is expected to be those in North America. And what is expected for the East Coast might be quite different from what can be expected for Alaska. In all of that, I try to be careful in my generalizations. But, that, too, is a generalization. One would not want to be a huckster. 73 de (Tomas, NW7US // AAR0JA, ibid.) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-081, May 10, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1181: RFPI: Sat 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230 7445 15039 WWCR: Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: Sun 1030, 1630 7490 13595 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1181.html WORLD OF RADIO ON WJIE: I finally managed to wake up during one of the scheduled airings, Sat May 10 at 0952, but all I could hear on 7490 were the Russian tune-up tones, for the one-hour broadcast at 1000 which will also presumably override the scheduled WOR airing Sunday 1030. Needless to say, nothing audible on 13595 either. Now if I can just remember to check both Sun 1630 (gh) WORLD OF RADIO ON WWCR: Sat May 10 at 0600 on 5070, last week`s 1180 edition aired instead of 1181 (John Norfolk) We`ve asked WWCR to make sure the remaining airings are 1181 (gh) {Correxion in 3-082; sorry} UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Dear Glenn: I really look forward to the DXLD 2 or 3 times a week. If something is happening in the area of broadcast media (particularly radio) you can be sure that it will be in DXLD. Its format by country is quite useful. For those sections one is not interested in, just skim through them. While many are opposed to your often irreverent, seldom irrelevant, comments regarding religion, religious broadcasters, and other broadcasting "sacred cows," it is refreshing to see someone unafraid to express a controversial and unpopular opinion. Your recent kudos to Allen Graham show that you recognize as legitimate, differences of opinion expressed with respect and grace. Despite that, please keep stressing the importance of the separation of church and state. As this is an international list, your inclusion of brief reports in Spanish, Portuguese, French, or German are welcome. It gives one with some knowledge of other languages a chance to practice briefly their reading in those languages. Also, your brief translations of the main points of longer articles or comments is appreciated. Please continue, for many years hopefully, to provide the broadcast schedule and program information in a very timely and accurate format, and crediting your sources (one of your strongest points). Continue with the opinion pieces on FCC regulations, changes in media ownership, etc. as they are a very important part of broadcasting. Continue to give 'em hell, be they FCC bureaucrats or lawmakers, technical "wizards" that continue to insist of using too high frequencies at Dubai, Thailand, or Romania, or producers and managers at the big guns like BBC, VOA, DW and others who while they do provide some very fine programming, simply do not seem to understand the complexities (and sometimes the simplicities) of providing a quality service in a technically efficient and professional manner. Keep up the great work (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY) I must say that you have, as I see it, the best DX-site on Internet today and I wonder how you can make power for that. I am impressed! Have a nice week-end! (WIK/Rolf Wikström, Sweden) I used to be a Red Sox fanatic, but then as the years went by and the salaries became obscene I`ve gone over to the Glenn Hauser camp and truly believe that professional sports are now the biggest waste of time and money. Yesterday our cable company announced a 20% increase because all of the Sports Networks (ESPN, NESN etc.) have increased their fees (Jim Strader, "Go Red Sox", swprograms) ** AFGHANISTAN. Recent changes as reflected in the IBB online schedule: A 24h relay of IBB's Radio Free Afghanistan started on 30 April in Kabul on 1296 kHz (ND). (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, May 8, MW-DX via DXLD) ** CANADA. I think that RCI has to rethink its evening frequency usage for NAm, given the fact that the current crop have been overshooting my QTH pretty regularly. I'm getting no groundwave and no skywave reception about three out of every five nights on average. I would suggest using 49 meters again, something they abandoned with the summer season schedule (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon NY, May 9, swprograms via DXLD) 15170 kHz at 0100 UT is almost FM quality here on the west coast (Eric Cooper, southern California, ibid.) ** CANADA. Please check out the Radio Netherland web site link below for a great story on the ODXA's own, Neil Carleton. A big thank you to Andy Sennitt for this wonderful story. Neil is an amazing gentleman and his promotion of shortwave and amateur radio to both children and adults is tireless. ---------------------------------- 10 Years Of Radio In The Classroom (by Andy Sennitt) In 1993, a newly qualified Canadian schoolteacher called Neil Carleton had a brilliant idea: he decided to use shortwave listening as a teaching aid. Through publicity on international broadcasts and in publications such as Passport to World Band Radio, Neil was able to make contact with other teachers around the world whom he inspired to start similar projects in their own schools. . . more in: http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/classroom030509.html (via Brian Smith, ODXA May 9 via DXLD) See also ECUADOR ** CHINA. The "Plum Blossom Award" is China's highest award for theatre, and almost all the former winners of this prestigious prize gathered in Beijing to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The grand get- together provided award recipients and theatre experts opportunities not only to review the contributions of the award to Chinese theatre, but also to exchange views on how it could be further improved in the future. Details during the May 11 In the Spotlight. (Jim James Richard LeQuesne, CRI/English, May 10, http://pw2.netcom.com/~jleq/cri1.htm swprograms via DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. BRASIL China Radio Intl Relay 9665, 0335 GMT C/SS 433 May 4th YL and OM with Chinese Language lesson. QRM via the Voice of Russia in Russian on the same channel (Stewart MacKenzie, CA, WDX6AA, via DXLD) ** DENMARK [non]. R. Denmark: The station was heard at 0630-0655 today [May 10] broadcasting the domestic 'Special Programme' of 5 minute news broadcasts in English, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish & Somali - programming ceased at 0655 before the start of Serbo-Croatian. Very good reception on 7180 and 11615. The same transmission is being heard again at 0730 on 9590 and 11615. 73 (Noel R. Green [Blackpool, UK], Cumbredx mailing list, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Some of the postings on the EDXP HCJB Forum: I have been reading the literature sent out by HCJB to its supporters. These are people who financially support the ministry and often do not ever tune in.I wonder how the news of the virtual demise of HCJB on shortwave will be viewed by them, and how will future promos be worded from HCJB? (Don Rhodes e net and Mt Evelyn Christian Fellowship, Melbourne (a Church of about 2500 members), Apr 23) As Secretary General of the European DX Council I kept running the monthly "EDXC European Report" hosted by HCJB's DX Partyline since many years. I highly appreciated the way Allen Graham and his program used to give voice to DXers and their organisations. Closing down an English program with listeners everywhere in the world! I'm speechless. English is the first international language. How can one imagine to stop using it? (Luigi Cobisi, Florence, Italy, Apr 23) Shock waves have rumbled across the world in the closing of most English programs and the DX Party Line. From the E-mail that I have read most can't believe it being done. Sometimes I feel we are a little selfish, in that we expect HCJB to always be there, but what about us? Are we always there? I think we all know the work that goes into producing these programs and how much time it takes. We must remember the objectives of HCJB in it's ministry to attract people to their religious beliefs. Could it be that they feel North America is no longer a hot bed for prospective believers? I'm sure that they have pondered over these questions and are holding out too some degree simply to let us address the question and see how many people are actually interested. If there are only a handful of responses to the dropping of these programs, then I could see why they would say it must be done. On the other hand, if there is a worldwide interest and response, then I'm sure HCJB would probably give it another thought. I know of some people who listen just about every week and enjoy the programming very much. Then there are those like myself that listen maybe only a couple of times a month. Though I try to listen each week sometimes time just slips away and before you know it, I've missed the program. It indeed would be a loss to many of us for many reasons, but we must remember that those who work in the studio have a bigger obligation to their Ministry. The time producing the program takes away from their concentration upon the Ministry and does more harm then good to the people they are trying to bring into the faith. What is it I would like to see? I would like to see possibly a shortened version of the DX Party Line rather than dismiss it completely. As for the other programs, sometimes I listen but not that often. Again I know of some that listen to other programs on HCJB most of the time. If the programs at HCJB do come to a close, then we need to say to them, THANK YOU for all the wonderful years we had with you, all the special events you put on for us, and all the call in shows you had for us. As we know, money does not grow on trees and I'm sure that this is another consideration that has prompted HCJB to lessen their programming or just target area they feel are in more need of their time. It is also very hard to always have Allen Graham in studio due to the times when he needs to be traveling. Yes, he can still do the programs remote, but it takes a lot more time and effort. Thank you Allen for all your efforts to make all your programs interesting for us (Bill Fisher/ Southern California Area Dxers) Dear sirs: May the Lord bless you! Just a few words to ask you to reconsider your decision to terminate your English transmissions to North America and Europe. Maybe I am not familiar with the inner happenings of GRMF but as a listener for about 30 years it is with bewilderment and shock that I have learned about your decision. I already wrote a letter to Mr. Allen Graham about this subject where I shared with him my preoccupation that the SW radio station with one of the most balanced presentations of the Gospel will not be there any more. Some of the other SW Christian stations are not my best choice for an unbeliever to listen. HCJB sounds like a friend that can share with simple[ness] and meekness the Gospel. How about somebody in the jungle or in a war(like my experience in Nicaragua) that has limited access to the outside world and suddenly on SW hears a friendly voice Heralding Christ Jesus' Blessings? And you know how void is Europe of the True Gospel of Jesus Christ. You do not have an idea how blessed I was of the live radio endeavor of DXPL and Saludos Amigos! Maybe since not many people e-mailed or called, you might have thought that as a solid good reason to end the English service. Whatever the reason, you should have considered letting the listeners voice their opinions on this. I do not know about others but I was initiated in the DX hobby because of HCJB. Please reconsider your decision. I believe that in heaven you will then realize how a great a blessing HCJB has been in ALL the language services including the English Service in the Americas, Europe and Asia. May the Lord guide you in your decisions. In Jesus, (Rev. Serafin Pagan Caro, Missionary in Jinotega, Nicaragua, Apr 24) OK, what's the excuse for this one??? New technologies??? No Money??? Some loudmouth consultant recommending it to get his commission???? Shortwave is antiquated???? These current trends in international broadcasting are becoming tiresome. Not exactly what I had in mind when I purchased my Zenith Transoceanics. I sincerely hope that unlike the BBC and DW, that HCJB will wake up and realize it's making a dreadful mistake! (Vince Ponzio, Pittsburgh PA, Apr 25) Irony- crucifixion story and news of going off air Here I was in Jalisco state in Mexico, 4500 miles [sic] from home over Easter. On Friday I saw the spectacular Good Friday pageant in Ajijic, and on Saturday was listening to the wonderful and moving radio play of the crucifixion, and then they tell me they're going off the air. No resurrection? No empty tomb. I guess not: they said they wouldn't be convinced whatever we say. The problem with corporate decisions is that the big choices reflect big issues and ignore the individual. Ironic that I heard the news on Easter when the message is clearly the value of the individual. Sadly, (Jim A, April 28, Sask.) I definitely hate to see any SW broadcaster going away, especially one with the history of HCJB and one that broadcasts in English. They were the first SW station I ever logged in 1992. However, I believe their programming has been going down hill for nearly a year. I'm a spiritual guy and appreciated the HCJB of a year and more ago... where I could get an hour of Ham Radio Today and Saludos Amigos on weeknights intermixed with great Christian messages. My wife and I would relax with HCJB's strong signal booming in. Then, for some reason, all the "non-religious" programming was shifted to the weekend. Lengths of programs were shortened. And any time during the week I'd tune in, I'd get fire and brimstone. I couldn't tell sometimes the difference between Dr. Gene Scott and HCJB. Please don't go, HCJB, but if you are just going to give us more of the same, I'd have to say you won't miss me. Ever since the above mentioned programs were stomped on, schedules changed, you only have a token place on the memory of my radio. Thanks for the QSL cards, the new defunct Andex DXers club... Your friend in Christ, (Adam Christian Smith, Apr 30) Adam, Thanks for conveying better than I can these points. I am extremely distressed by the decisions being made indicating that the US is not worth broadcasting to in English language. Shortwave is central to helping me avoid slipping into social isolation, this hobby gives me immeasurable enjoyment. The idea that there is no English speaking audience for shortwave broadcasting is not accurate. Shortwave listening is alive and well in the US. I have to agree though that the "fire-and-brimstone" approach to programming will turn listeners away. I believe God is more forgiving than this ranting would claim. I hope HCJB will reconsider the English language cutbacks. Thanks! (Chuck Ermatinger, MO) Chuck, Thanks for responding to my post. I had emailed HCJB several times in the last 1.5 years with no responses, not quite as harsh as this posting. I REALLY hate to see them leave but hearing them slip away from some of the most enjoyable programming to me (i.e. HRT, the mailbags and such, intermixed with the "message") to just wiping out everything. Good to hear from you, (Adam) THE GOSPEL OF MURDOCH After all the serious shortwave broadcasters abandon their North American audiences and Homeland Security clamps down on web surfing to wrong-thinking web sites, Americans can look forward to even more Fox "News" for gaining a perspective on the world. I suppose HCJB's management sees that as a victory for the gospel, right? (Anon May 5) I too am very upset at hearing of the discontinuation of English programming from Ecuador. HCJB is especially significant to me personally because I have been there twice to do volunteer work for them in Quito. I have been aware for some time that they will be building a new airport outside of Quito, which will be close to the present HCJB transmission site, and that they will have to take down their towers because of this; but up till now the plan had been to relocate to a coastal site in Ecuador, and re-establish the shortwave facility with reduced programming, but which was to include most of the present English program. This is the first I've heard that they would outright-discontinue it. If this is true, it is like a death-knell to part of the world's shortwave history! ( say it isn't so!! ) I get regular mailings from them with news and updates on their activities, so I am a little upset that I had to hear the most significant piece of news via word of mouth from other hams and SWL's!! This month their mailing has no hint of any of this, and neither any update on the airport project (which - - I think -- may be a part of the reason for the decision). Yes, there is still a REAL NEED for English Christian programming via Shortwave!! In the Boston area at least, the only Christian programming is on underpowered AM stations, (most riddled with hours worth of weight-loss "info-mercials" instead of good programming) and all of which go to flea-power after sunset! And THAT's just about when HCJB's signal starts coming in here in English, with S-20 signals! Several have commented on their friendly program style, and I agree. I have had the privilege to meet some of the HCJB "voices behind the mike" in person, and there really was some true sincerity and dedication among them! If HCJB staff or management are reading this, then I ask, PLEASE reconsider!!!!! (Harry Chase May 8; all: HCJB EDXP Forum via DXLD) Hi gang... After 24 years, what will most likely be the last edition of ODXA Perspectives will be heard this weekend on HCJB's DX Partyline (HCJB is discontinuing English to North America as of June 1). The program features a chat with Harold Sellers as we do a bit of a retrospective on ODXA Perspectives and the club's relationship with HCJB. Best time to listen: 0000 or 0300 UT Sunday on 9745 kHz. 73, (Greg Schatzmann, May 9, ODXA via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Clarification on two previous e-mail replies: 15275 TISJD/Radio Fathiriu via Juelich. Prepared QSL letter returned after requesting further clarification to an e-mail response for this station. 15670, Voice of Ethiopian Medhin/Voice of Ethiopian Salvation.via Juelich. Prepared QSL letter from DTK-Juelich, on behave of the organization. This to after requesting verification clarification. Reply on both in 36 days after sending a MS Document of the Prepared QSL's. to Walter Brodowsky at DTK-Juelich (Ed Kusalik, Alberta, May 1, 2003 for CRW via DXLD) ** ICELAND. AFRTS FROM ICELAND BACK ON SHORTWAVE American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) has restarted shortwave transmissions from Iceland. Broadcasts from Grindavik in southwestern Iceland have been heard on 13855 kHz USB, serving U.S. ships in the North Atlantic waters. Aside from hosting an important fish processing center, Grindavik is also home to a U.S. military base including a Naval Radio Transmitter Facility (NRTF), located some 20 kilometers from a NATO base in Keflavik. The signal is fed from AFRTS in California, but local announcements can be inserted. The reactivated station was first reported heard on May 3 by Dan Goldfarb and Noel Green in the United Kingdom (DXLD 3-077 and Cumbre DX). Reception reports may be sent by email to Patricia Huizinga, officer- in-charge. A station identification of AFRTS [PR 6458.5] can be found in the DXing.info audio archive and logs in the DXing.info Community Europe forum (DXing.info, May 9, 2003 via DXLD) ** INDIA. A visit to AIR Warangal --- Jose Jacob, VU2JOS Warangal is a District Head Quarters of the Andhra Pradesh state in South India. It is about 150 km northeast of Hyderabad. It was the capital of the Kakatiyas and still bears mute testimony to the glorious empire that flourished there. The Warangal Fort and Thousand Pillar Temple are important tourist attractions. It was peak summer during my visit to AIR Warangal yesterday with maximum temperature of 43.8 degrees Centigrade and the minimum at night was 27.7 C. It was the 17th station of AIR that I visited. The AIR Studios and Transmitters are co-sited at Hanamkonda on the edge of the city. It is a Local Radio Station, which was inaugurated on 17th February 1990. It operates on the FM band 103.5 MHz in mono. Their transmitters are 2x5 kW BEL HVB 165/A made by Bharat Electronics, Bangalore though most of it is of Rhode & Schwartz, Germany. The serial No. of the transmitter is 001 and it was made in 1988. The antenna tower is 100 Meters tall and on the top are 6 dipole antennas directed towards the city. It has a range of 70 km. There are 2 studios there. One is a Talk Studio and the other a Multi purpose studio. Initially the station had only one transmission but now the station has 3 transmissions as follows: [UT+5.5] 5.55 am - 9.00 am (Sundays up to 10.00 am) 12.00 pm - 5.00 pm 6.00 pm - 11.00 pm Most of the programs are in the local language Telegu. Besides local programs, many programs are relayed from AIR Delhi and from the State Capital station AIR Hyderabad. Vividh Bharati programs in Hindi are relayed from Mumbai at 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm daily. There is standby generator in case of any power cuts. I could see a SONY digital receiver along with a Videocon SL 3127 and several other local receivers. Even the Security person at the gate was listening to the station using a small transistor. There are some security people in the campus to protect the station from any terrorist attacks. There is also a High Power Doordarshan TV Relay station not far off from the Radio Station. The address of the station is All India Radio, K.U.C.Road, Hanamkonda, Warangal 506001, Andhra Pradesh. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J, National Institute of Amateur Radio, May 9, dx_india via DXLD) ** INDIA. MW MAKES WAVES AGAIN, TO TRANSMIT COMMUNITY RADIO Nivedita Mookerji New Delhi: Used medium wave transmitters of All India Radio (AIR) are being turned into money spinners. With the state broadcaster on a phase-out drive, as far as medium wave and short wave are concerned, time on the old transmitters is up for rent. To begin with, AIR has been allowed to offer time on the phased-out medium wave transmitters to organisations/institutes for educational purposes, according to a Prasar Bharati official. Although community radio programme was launched with much fanfare a few months ago, it is yet to pick up in a big way. Instead, many organisations are seeking a wider area coverage than what is being offered under the community radio scheme. And this is where old medium wave transmitters can come handy, says the official. While the low-wattage transmitters under the community radio scheme cover a radius of 5-8 km, those in medium wave frequency can reach up to 30 to 40 km. So, welcome to community radio — part II. In the first case, a decision has been taken to give 8-10 hours of airtime on a medium wave transmitter to a Hyderabad-based institute (National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management) for one year. At a price of around Rs 25 lakh for a year. More cities are likely to follow. While the operations at the stations would be handled by AIR, content will be provided by the organisation taking time on the medium wave transmitter. AIR Resources (a division of AIR) had earlier entered into a pact with private FM operators for co-locating their transmitters on the AIR towers in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. While that has been a good source of revenue for AIR Resources, the arrangement to rent out time on old medium wave transmitters will add to its pie. For co-location of transmitters on the AIR tower, AIR Resources charges Rs 25 lakh per annum per operator in Delhi and Rs 13.36 lakh each in Chennai and Kolkata. Besides, private licencees pay Rs 8,000 per square metre annually as rental charges to AIR Resources. The turnover of AIR Resources for the past 18 months stands at Rs 24 crore. The idea to turn old transmitters into a source of revenue struck AIR when advised by the government to phase out short wave and medium wave transmitters, and focus on FM instead. Out of the 39 medium wave stations, only 11 are left. The remaining have been shifted to FM. In a report of the working group for the Tenth Plan, the benefits of FM radio were highlighted as against medium wave and short wave. The quality of transmission and reception of FM radio is much superior to the other bands, it had stated (Financial Express 9th May'03 via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Check out the Cool Cube media player -- has a thousand stations on it including R. Free Iraq, Al Jazeera with a little screen, etc. (Ron Trotto, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. SATELLITE RADIO REACHES THE PC Follow-up to the item in DXLD 3078: I ordered one of the $70 PCR units, and it arrived May 9 and I installed it that evening. You install the software first, then plug in the hardware. Both installations went fine, and it's running on a fairly old PII 266 MHz Micron PC. The audio is fed into the sound card of the PC, or can go thru separate powered speakers. The software puts a display of the available channels, and in most cases the specific track of music playing on each, on the PC monitor. The receiver is about the size of an outboard floppy disk drive, and draws power thru the USB connection to the PC; nice to miss out on yet another wall-wart. The antenna (about the size and configuration of one of those folding travel alarm clocks) comes with a 20-foot lead-in, a 50-foot extension can also be purchased. 20 feet was long enough for me to trail the antenna over to a south-facing window, which is recommended. The receiver tuned right into the preview channel. From the software's signal strength indicator, the local re-transmitter is overriding the weaker satellite signal. I activated the radio on-line and saved five bucks on the activation fee, but their Web site was running so slow that I was sorely tempted to call up their toll-free number and do it over the phone. The receiver was activated about 15 minutes later, and I'm now sampling the 120+ channels the XM service runs. Good audio. 24-hour access to the BBCWS on one of the news channels. The whole shebang is small and light enough that I can probably drag it in the road and run it thru a laptop, but that's for another day (Chuck Albertson, Seattle, Wash., May 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WIDER LOSS, LONGER SUBSCRIBER LIST AT XM SATELLITE RADIO http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32302-2003May8.html (via Matt Francis, DC, ARDXC via dXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQ'S 'COMICAL ALI' A LIAR TO THE END: Al-Sahaf worked after others fled - Information chief 'ran battle alone' --- By Mitch Potter, Middle East Bureau Toronto Star, May 5 http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?GXHC_gx_session_id_=4cc7304e6da637c7&pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1052128942035&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154 BAGHDAD - The revolutionary image of Saddam Hussein's statue bowing before the eyes of the world April 9 should have signalled the end to weeks of astonishing performances by Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf. Having earned the nickname "Comical Ali" for his breathtaking defiance in the face of imminent defeat, it was apparent Sahaf no longer had a regime for which to pay fealty. But let the historical record show, Sahaf's tragicomedy was far from finished. Even as U.S. forces were hitching their cables to the statue, Sahaf was only a few blocks away, the Star has learned, in the cab of a Nissan pickup truck, calmly motoring toward the Palestine Hotel to deliver his daily dose of televised denial. Now completely cut off from his superiors by the U.S.-led assault on Baghdad, Sahaf ordered a U-turn when he spotted the American tanks, returning to Hikmat AV, a well-known recording studio in suburban Adhamiya. Sahaf had spent the previous day and night at the studio, sleeping on the floor, living on tea and the occasional slice of cake, feverishly scrawling out scripts for radio broadcast. Each message was a variation on the theme that made him a cult figure worldwide - Iraq will crush the invasion. In a hidden garden behind the studio was a Mercedes bus commandeered from Iraqi Television. Wired to a generator and equipped with broadcast antenna, the system kept Sahaf on the air. But only just. One day earlier, his audience was global - now, the paltry signal reached only the scant few blocks surrounding the studio. "There was nothing comical about him. He was very tense and nervous," said Hikmat studio manager Raibah Hassan, 35, an Egyptian national who spent those hours at Sahaf's side. "But he was convinced it was not yet over. He pushed it to the very end." For nearly 40 hours, from the afternoon of April 8 to the early morning hours of April 10, Sahaf staunchly turned aside the obvious. With a bodyguard at his side, Sahaf ordered the station to broadcast his messages, taking to the airwaves three times himself for extended interviews. Tapes of Saddam speeches, patriotic music and Islamic prayer recordings filled out his impromptu broadcast schedule. With each passing hour, disaster drew closer. When a firefight erupted on the nearby bridge marking the gateway to the neighbourhood, Sahaf calmed the fearful studio staff, assuring them everything was normal. "Then, I saw people looting the officer's club down the street, stealing the guns," Hassan said. "I confronted Sahaf with this news and he seemed confused." "Why are they looting?" Sahaf asked. "There is still a government in Baghdad." By late afternoon on April 9, a large group of cars convened at an Iraqi military checkpoint just outside the studio doors, Hassan said. They were Baath party members, and Sahaf seized on their presence as reassurance the situation was improving. And Sahaf's spirits soared at 7 p.m., when a courier arrived with a videotape of Saddam's last public appearance - footage of a visit to Adhamiya. Its package arrived with a handwritten note ordering it to be broadcast immediately. "As it told you, this is Saddam, this is the government. Everything is normal," Sahaf beamed to the studio staff. But minutes later, Hassan stepped outside to check on the situation. The Baath party officials were getting into their cars and fleeing in all directions. A few minutes later, the street was empty. Even the Iraqi military checkpoint had disappeared. But not Sahaf. With the groundfight at the edge of Adhamiya growing louder by the minute, he ordered Saddam's audio message to be aired in a loop, over and over. And he kept writing scripts. Studio owner Majeed Hikmat yesterday showed a sample of Sahaf's work to the Star, dated April 9: "The U.S.A. has made ugly propaganda to hide the truth. They have suffered heavy casualties in this war, day by day by day." Midnight came and went. At 1 a.m., April 10, Hassan witnessed signs Sahaf's resolve was fading. "Sahaf slowly removed his black beret. He folded down his epaulettes on his military jacket to hide his rank," Hassan said. "Then he reached for a red and white kaffiya scarf. And wrapped around his head. As he did this, he told us: `Keep on broadcasting until 3 a.m. and close up as usual. I'll see you in the morning." Sahaf and driver slipped out the back door, where a red GMC Suburban was waiting to whisk him into the darkness. It was the last the people of Hikmat AV studio ever saw of him. "Two hours later ... the U.S. troops became our neighbours," Hassan said. "There were tanks outside." Still in hiding in Baghdad, Sahaf triggered a media manhunt last week when an intermediary attempted to negotiate his conditional surrender via two Portuguese journalists. The gambit failed when U.S. commanders signalled they were not particularly interested. In an interview Friday, a former Iraqi general who has been co- operating with U.S. military leaders in Baghdad said he, too, has been approached by a relative of Sahaf. "I think the condition is he wants to be able to go to Egypt. He has money there," said General F., the only name to which he would agree to be quoted. With a short-wave radio as his only source of communication, according to Portuguese reports, it is unclear whether Sahaf is aware of his cult celebrity status, which continues to grow by the day. In addition to Web sites created in his honour, including http://www.Welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com Sahaf's face has triggered a surge in novelty T-shirt sales. For Hassan, Sahaf was anything but delusional. "I think he ran the battle alone. For two days he stayed with me with no food, nothing. He did his duty to the end. "I think America loves and admires him, so they won't do anything. Even (U.S. President George W.) Bush loves him." (Toronto Star May 5, 2003 via A. Sennitt, Holland, CRW via DXLD) ** IRAQ. TOWARDS FREEDOM TV TO CLOSE A source close to the operations of Towards Freedom TV, the American psyop programme that launched in early April, tells Media Network that broadcasts are now winding down. Staff are returning to their normal work as journalists for Radio Sawa, and all hired contractors were laid off on Wednesday. From now until next week the transmissions will consist of reruns and stock TV programming. Sometime next week the PA Air National Guard that flies Commando Solo will return home. BROWSING IN BAGHDAD DOESN'T COME CHEAP The Internet is back in Baghdad. But Salam [sic] Pax thinks the current charges are a bit steep: "5 US Dollars for a single hour of browsing. Talk about someone milking it, I wonder if they would let me pay for only half an hour. I am not complaining; I would not have believed anyone who would have told me a week ago that I will be able to browse at all. There are more of these centers popping up here and there so the prices will go down." US MILITARY COMMANDER CONCERNED AT CONTENT OF MOSUL TV PROGRAMMES The Commander of the 101st Airborne Division, Major General David Petraeus, says he's considering putting a US Army officer and a translator inside the local Mosul TV station to monitor what goes on the air. The US military are concerned that local politicians and returning exiles may be bullying their way onto the station, which broadcasts 5 hours a day. ''I want to be certain that nothing is shown that would incite violence in a city that was extremely tense when we took over two-and-one-half weeks ago, and which still has folks who are totally opposed to what we're doing and are willing to do something about it,' said Petraeus (all: RN Media Network May 9 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. WHAT WENT RIGHT? By Kim Burger, JDW Staff Reporter, Nick Cook, JDW Aerospace Consultant, Andrew Koch, JDW Washington Bureau Chief, Michael Sirak, JDW Staff Reporter http://www.janes.com/defence/news/jdw/jdw030428_1_n.shtml [gh excerpted only brief portions of long article concerning radio:] With the regime of Saddam Hussein soundly defeated by overwhelming military force, coalition leaders are analysing what initial lessons can be drawn from Operation 'Iraqi Freedom'. . . .The war was also notable for how 'psyops' - psychological operations - was brought to bear on the enemy in new and unusual ways. Psyops against the Iraqi military included the dropping of more than 40 million leaflets prior to hostilities and during the conflict itself. These leaflets, which urged Iraqi commanders not to use weapons of mass destruction and for front-line troops to desert, appeared to have had the desired effect. Vice Adm Timothy Keating, head of US naval forces in the Gulf, said on 12 April that the fact that Iraq launched no 'Scud' surface-to-surface ballistic missiles during the war may have been directly attributable to this aspect of the campaign. Others state that it may simply have been because Iraq had no 'Scuds' or that the regime was dissuaded from launching them by the persistence of coalition 'eyes and ears' in the air and on the ground. Psyops also involved the direct 'piping' of propaganda into Iraq via platforms like the US Air Force's (USAF's) EC-130E Commando Solo aircraft. . . Although net-centric warfare has a long way to go, the way in which it is spreading across the warfighting spectrum was visible in Iraq. Gen Magnus specifically cited wearable squad-level radios deployed among US and UK ground troops as a key innovation. . . (Jane's Defence Weekly Apr 28, 2003 via N. Grace for CRW via DXLD) ** IRAQ. Hi Glenn, re the UNID on 909 according to the BBCM. I made some contacts with Mr. Dave Kernick who informed me about the ID recorded on his site http://www.intervalsignals.net I checked it out and YES it was Iraq Media Network and the slogan as well, V. of New Iraq :) So that means IMN moved to 909 kHz leaving ex frequency 1170 kHz to Radio Farda from UAE. Unfortunately here in Cairo, 909 is occupied with Yemen! :( All the best, Glenn (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, May 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) IRAQ MEDIA NETWORK NOW ON 909 KHZ Thanks to Tarek Zeidan and Dave Kernick, we can now confirm that the station monitored a few days ago by BBC Monitoring on 909 kHz is indeed Iraq Media Network. As previously mentioned, their original frequency of 1170 kHz is now occupied by a 24 hour relay of Radio Farda from the UAE. 909 kHz was the frequency used by the Baghdad transmitter prior to the fall of Saddam. We assume that the transmitter currently being heard is the one in Umm Qasr. There's an updated recording of the ID announcement and slogan on Dave's site at http://www.intervalsignals.net/ (Media Network blog May 9 via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. It sounds like this may be an interesting segment. http://www.wnyc.org/onthemedia/ Secret Air Waves The U.S. war in Iraq began long before any bombs fell on Baghdad. The weapons-of-choice were covert radio signals beamed in from neighboring countries. Nick Grace of ClandestineRadio.com tells Brooke about the variety of CIA-backed radio stations that until recently could be heard in Iraq. (via Larry Nebron, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. Interesting development in the ongoing Radio Tikrit (now called Radio Sumer) saga. It seems that Tarek Zeidan heard a glitch in the satellite uplink Tuesday, which suggests that it's recorded and produced in London and sent to Kuwait via WRN. I don't think this settles the debate Newsweek magazine stirred last week with its report that the station could be a MI6 product instead of a CIA one. Rather, it seems that the project manager behind the planning of the broadcasts turned to a British production house. On the other hand, Tarek is adamant that the main announcer for Sumer/Tikrit, Mr. "Ibrahim Nasser," is the same announcer as heard on the Pentagon's "Information Radio" psyop program. If correct then his discovery of the WRN connection suggests that in this case at least much of the radio psyop programming was produced outside of Fort Bragg and the theater of operations (Kuwait/Iraq). Someone is making a lot of money off of this! (Government contracts!) (N. Grace-USA Apr 30, 2002 for CRW via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. Re R. Bopeshawa claiming to use 5000, 7000 kHz: My suspicion is that the frequencies are incorrect. The [WCPI] Web site is maintained by their activist in Canada while the people who recorded the Bopeshawa broadcasts (in 2002) are in London. Most likely the folks in London mis-communicated the exact frequencies (N. Grace- USA, May 6, 2003 for CRW via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. In case of strike, Israel English at 1045, 1635 GMT: Per an announcement at the end of the 1015 GMT broadcast, should a general strike begin Sunday, English will be at 1:45 P.M. and 7:35 P.M. Israel Summer Time (GMT+3) (Joel Rubin, NY, May 9, swprograms via DXLD) ** JAPAN [non]. ::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=May 9,2003::=No.57:=::=::=::=::=::=::= NHK WORLD e-GUIDE *-*-* Notice from NHK WORLD *-*-* ::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::= *Temporary Cessation in Relay Transmissions from Sri Lanka The following NHK World Radio Japan's broadcasts via Sri Lanka have been suspended now, because of the transmitter trouble of relay station. To Middle East & North Africa: Persian UTC 2:30 - 3:00 (15240 kHz) Japanese UTC 3:00 - 4:00 (15240 kHz) Arabic UTC 4:00 - 4:30 (15240 kHz) English UTC 14:00 - 15:00 (17755 kHz) Listeners can have access to Radio Japan news through 'Radio Japan Online', the internet service of NHK WORLD (via Craig Seager, ARDXC via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. Re are these still direct, or relays now? (gh, DXLD) Signal strength and behaviour seems to indicate that both 6150 and 7150 [RKI] originate from Kimjae as 1:1 replacements for 6480 and 7550. 7150 is in the clear but 6150 suffers seriously from dozens of decibels stronger Moosbrunn on 6155 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. It appears that some of the Televisa stations with new, small supered IDs are changing the wording and/or positioning of the IDs. XEZ-2 San Miguel de Allende GTO had been received here in the past with the ID upper right. Wednesday the ID was seen lower left. XHAJ-5 Las Lajas VER ID was seen last week with new wording. "Las Lajas VER" had been replaced with "Televisa Lajas." The location on the screen moved from upper center to upper right. XEPM-2 Juárez CHIH, I think, has replaced their two-line upper right ID with a one-line ID upper left. The signal was poor, so I'm not totally sure about this one. Somebody will soon see this one when the Es season heats up. XERV-9 Reynosa dropped the odd ID from their CBs a few days after my mentioning it here on WTFDA. The ID had been like that since March 2002. Now the bars don't even have a blacksplash rectangle for an ID. Does somebody at Televisa read this list? (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, May 7, WTFDA via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 1319.88, XECPN (presumed) Piedras Negras, COAH. MAY 4 1113- 1140 - XE music, "La Mexicana" slogans, CDT time checks; mention of Piedras Negras in an ad at 1119; partial ID at 1129, "diversión, alegría, e información, através de... radiofónico... La Mexicana... 1320 AM... RADIORAMA de Piedras Negras," the latter part sung to the usual RADIORAMA tune. Continued fair until 1140 when started to deteriorate. Also heard as an unID the night before at 0321 UT with soccer. Heard on May 5 and 6, as well, with música romantica and announcing power of 20,000 watts. Mentioned a Mother's Day promo on May 6 and gave phone number 68 (or 78)-20-854. Have not heard a call letter ID yet. Separable on LSB from the 1320 group. First time here, XE #192 (John Wilkins, CO, NRC IDXD May 9 via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Re: 1320, at 0630, XEJP, Track 1320, Mexico City, Mexico, Regular IDs, including Radio A and Track 1320 (Stu Forsyth, Wellington, New Zealand, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) Pronounced in English? Pronounced in Spanish, i.e. "Track trece- veinte" and "Radio Ah" (Paul Ormandy, NZ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. How much was RNZI's budget? They could have used the money from this with better return on investment: WHAT *REALLY* HAPPENED WITH THE NEWZEALAND.COM CASE By Kieren McCarthy Posted: 02/05/2003 at 16:59 GMT Following the saga over the NZ$1 million (£350,000) that it was recently revealed the New Zealand government had paid for NewZealand.com, further parliamentary questions have uncovered more revelations behind the expensive cock-up. MP Rodney Hide, a specialist in finance in auditing, has been unearthing quite what happened and how come so much public money was unnecessarily wasted. In answers given today to Parliamentary questions asked just over a week ago, it appears the government reached agreement with Virtual Countries to pay it NZ$1 million for NewZealand.com, just 19 days after its attempt to steal the domain at domain arbitrator WIPO had failed and the government was accused of reverse domain name hijacking. . . http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/30544.html (via Pete Costello, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Friday May 9: No tornado action so far in Enid; we have been just west of the dry line, tho some severe weather clips other parts of Garfield county. For those interested, I have been following the wall to wall coverage by the OKC TV stations. During the 10 pm CDT hour Friday night, a tornado crossed northern Oklahoma City, within a mile of KFOR-4 and consequently of all the other major TV stations in the neighborhood. It was reported to have gone between a couple of the towers. I was watching both on Cox Cable Enid (which has satellite feeds of some of the OKC stations) and on antenna. KFOR-4 was off the air for a few minutes, but continued uninterrupted on satellite/cable. Said the tornado passed overhead at the station. KOCO-5 was relayed by CNN for a time. KWTV-9 apparently uninterrupted. KETA-13 lost video early on and put up a ONE MOMENT PLEASE (make that LOTS of moments), but continued more or less with audio. Did not go off the air. By 11 pm, went haywire, briefly switching in garbled sound and video from other stations(?), mostly silent. At 11:30 pm started relaying KWTV-9 audio. Hard to tell if this was deliberate or if they were messing with the STL feed. But finally went off the air around 11:35. We wonder what happened to the rest of the OETA network across the state, with full-power and translator stations. De- centralization could be advantageous. KTBO-14 was off the air. (There were large areas of power outages; not necessarily hit by tornado). Their studio at NW 63 and Portland at NW Expressway must have been close to the path. ``Studio`` is not exactly the right word --- despite a large building, there is no known local origination other than IDs and phone numbers on the TBN satellite feed. Perhaps the large building is needed for processing all the $$$ gullible Oklahomans send them. KOKH-25 stayed on with some breakup. Takes some doing to get the Fox station to drop programming for continuous weather, but they did. KOCB-34 off the air. KAUT-43 on with normal programming. KSBI-52 off the air --- and/or weakened so much that cable pickup went to bluescreen. KOPX-62 on the air and carrying KFOR-4 half an hour delayed at 10:30 as usual -- including tornado warnings half an hour late!!! Way to go, Pax! By the next morning around 8 am CDT all stations were back on the air with normal programming. This raises another side issue: for the second night in a row, the primetime schedules of all 3 major networks were totally blown away in the OKC market (tho one of them delayed it all till after 11 pm Thursday night). Being the prime source of public safety info does NOT mesh with being the sole outlets for national network programming! I am tempted more than ever to demand satellite wavers since here in an area not affected by the continuous weather coverage I have been denied access to network programming. I should think the networks and advertisers would be incensed that, especially in sweeps, their first-run programming is missing from one of the top-50 markets! Perhaps the era of multi-stream DTV will put an end to this all-or-nothing nonsense, but I`m not counting on it. Did not extensively check FM, as the fate of OKC`s boring commercial FM stations is of little concern, but Classical KCSC, whose tower is mixed in with the NE OKC antenna farm, is missing Saturday morning from 90.1, tho still webcasting; no ID break at 1400; allowing KHCC KS to come thru unimpeded on 90.1. But KCSC was back in time for the afternoon opera (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {see 3-090} ** OKLAHOMA. This concerns the previous tornado on Thursday May 8: TORNADO STRIKES OKLAHOMA CITY AREA; FCC DECLARES COMMUNICATIONS EMERGENCY NEWINGTON, CT, May 9, 2003--ARRL Oklahoma Section Manager John Thomason, WB5SYT, reports that amateurs responded ``within minutes`` of a tornado that struck the Oklahoma City area May 8, and they remain in place. News reports say more than 100 people were injured as a result of the tornado that leveled or damaged hundreds of structures, including a General Motors manufacturing plant. Hardest hit was the suburb of Moore. ``Emergency communication, delivering supplies to Salvation Army canteens and helping with health and welfare are in process,`` Thomason said. ``This tornado hit some of the same areas as did the F5 tornado of May 1999.`` The 1999 storm claimed nearly 50 lives. To keep an open frequency for amateurs to support The Salvation Army`s relief efforts, the FCC has declared a general communications emergency for the Oklahoma area. Effective immediately, amateurs are required to refrain from using 3900 kHz, plus or minus 3 kHz, unless they are taking part in the handling of emergency traffic. The order remains in effect until rescinded. Thomason said many of the hams helping now also were active following the 1999 storm as well as in the wake of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in 1995. In addition to HF, amateurs were making use of repeaters on 146.82, 147.09 and 146.67 MHz ``and perhaps others,`` Thomason said. ``The Amateur Radio effort will be under way for some time,`` he said, ``and relief help is needed.`` He advised amateurs in the Oklahoma City area to check in on the 146.82 repeater to advise of their availability. ``These types of events are stressful and demanding, so be patient with the public, the process and your fellow Amateur Radio operators,`` Thomason urged in a message to his Section. ``By pulling together during these times the public which desperately needs our help benefits. Courtesy and brevity are crucial. Thank you for your support and willingness to assist in this emergency.`` More than 30,000 homes in the Oklahoma City area were without power in the aftermath of the tornado, which struck around rush hour and tied up traffic on two major interstates. (ARRL May 9 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. OKC Tornados --- The Oklahoma City area was pummeled again by severe tornado activity this afternoon. Major damage in Moore, the suburb where KOMA's towers are. I've been watching the coverage from the OKC TV stations here at work and from the looks of it, this is a repeat of the storm they had 4 years ago. The storm has been on a NE track, which is the bearing toward Tulsa. I would not be surprised if the major AM's in OKC and Tulsa would remain on day facilities well into the evening due to the weather and the aftermath (Wally Wawro, WFAA-TV, Dallas, TX May 8, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. [HCDX] IMPORTANT NEWS FROM RADIO AMERICA, PARAGUAY Hi! Adan Mur, from Radio America, sayed me this important news: Medium wave: 1590 kHz (ex 1610) - Radio Villeta. On air 24 hours a day. Power: 200 w. Antenna: 5/8, omnidirectional, at 125 msnm [metres above sea level]. Gain: 8,84 dBi. PIRE: 1,6 KW. [ERP] 7370 KHZ - Radio América. On air 24 hours a day. Power: 1000 w. Antenna: Corner reflector on Buenos Aires. Gain: 25 dBi. PIRE: 316 KW. [ERP!] 15185 KHZ - Radio América. On air 24 hours a day. Power: 200 w. Antenna: 5/8, omnidirectional. Gain: 8,84 dBi. PIRE: 1,6 KW. [ERP] Please, send your reception reports to: radioamerica@lycos.com 73's & 55's (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, May 9, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** PERU. 4904.66, Radio La Oroya, 1023-1036, May 10. Noted Huaynos music with a man in Spanish comments between each tune. At 1033 man gives TC and ID: "...36 minutos en Radio Oroya...." During comments following this, man mentions another radio station name. Sounded like, Radio Ma-ca-rain-a. [Macarena?] Signal was poor during period, but better than usual (Bolland, Chuck, FL, Clewiston, Listening Digest, DX) ** RUSSIA. Radiostation "Voice of Russia". SW. 30/03/2003 - 25/10/2003 [meaning this is the English-only schedule??] kHz UTC kW Tx 5950 1700-1800 500 Moscow 5950 1900-2100 500 Moldova 5985 1900-2100 100 Germany 6170 2000-2100 100 Germany 7130**** 1500-1600 400 Sankt-Petersburg 7300** 0100-0300 500 Moscow 7310** 2000-2100 250 Moscow 7315 1300-1400 250 Vladivostok 7330 0200-0300 500 Sankt-Petersburg 7350 1500-1600 200 Novosibirsk 7390 2000-2100 250 Moscow 7390 1200-1400 250 Vladivostok 9405 1900-2100 100 Germany 9450* 2000-2100 400 Sankt-Petersburg 9470** 2000-2100 400 Sankt-Petersburg 9480 0100-0300 500 Sankt-Petersburg 9480** 1700-1800 250 Moscow 9480** 1900-2000 250 Moscow 9485 1200-1300 250 Samara 9745 1200-1400 500 Chita 9890* 2000-2100 250 Moscow 9920 1200-1300 250 Moscow 11630* 1700-1800 250 Moscow 11630* 1900-2000 250 Moscow 11640 1200-1400 500 Novosibirsk 11720 0100-0300 500 Ukraine 11750 0100-0300 500 Moldova 11745* 1900-2000 200 Ekaterinburg 12020** 1900-2000 200 Ekaterinburg 12030 2000-2100 250 Moscow 12055 1500-1600 250 Samara 12055 1900-2100 200 Sankt-Petersburg 12060 0100-0300 500 Krasnodar 12070* 0100-0300 500 Moscow 15350 1600-1900 200 Ekaterinburg 15455** 0100-0300 250 Komsomolsk-na-Amure 15470 1200-1400 200 Novosibirsk 17565* 0100-0300 250 Komsomolsk-na-Amure 17580*** 1500-1700 400 Sankt-Petersburg 17620* 0100-0300 100 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy 17645 1300-1400 500 Moscow 17650 0200-0300 250 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy 17660 0100-0300 500 Vladivostok 17690 0100-0300 100 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy 21755** 0100-0300 100 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy * = Till 06/09/2003 ; ** = Since 07/09/2003 ; *** = Till 27/09/2003 ; **** = Since 28/09/2003 (Nikolay Rudnev, Belgorodskaya obl.) Radiostation "Voice of Russia". Russian World Service. Programme "Sodruzhestvo" SW. 30/03/2003 - 25/10/2003 --------------------------------------------------------------------- kHz UTC kW Tx 7370 1300-1900 200 Ekaterinburg 9450** 1400-1900 500 Novosibirsk 9485 1300-1700 250 Samara 9800 1400-1800 100 Irkutsk 9820* 1400-1900 500 Novosibirsk 9875 1600-1800 500 Novosibirsk 9920 1300-1500 250 Moscow 11830 1400-1700 160 Kaliningrad 12055 1700-1900 200 Sankt-Petersburg 15540 1500-1600 250 Moscow 15540 1700-1800 250 Moscow 17705 1400-1500 100 Germany * = Till 06/09/2003; ** = Since 07/09/2003 (Nikolay Rudnev, Belgorodskaya obl., May "RUS-DX" #118 - B via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Hello Glenn; I just got this in my mail today. Let's hope that this will be of help to you. I also hope FEBC doesn't let some of those preachers on who just want to line their pockets. I've made it a point to only give to ministries which actually help people, Far Corners Ministries being one of them, instead of vanity preachers who entertain the masses and run off with their money. Your Christian friend, (Bruce Atchison, ve6xtc, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thursday, May 8, 2003 FEBC ANNOUNCES NEW RADIO STATION IN RUSSIA: FEBC ST. PETERSBURG 1089 AM -- By Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service LA MIRADA, CA (ANS) -- Far East Broadcasting Company`s Russian Ministries now has a radio presence in St. Petersburg, Russia`s second largest city. FEBC has purchased a local AM station named Teos on April 30 in St. Petersburg, enabling FEBC to establish a local radio ministry in the ``Northern Capital of Russia.`` FEBC St. Petersburg, 1089 AM, will broadcast to the city of St. Petersburg as well as towns outside the city with its 20kW transmitter. ``After many months of praying, FEBC Russian Ministries has purchased an AM station in the second-largest city in Russia,`` stated Rudi Wiens, director of FEBC Russian Ministries. ``The people are in desperate need of a Christian station that is Christ-centered and of service to the community. Our main goal is to let some five million people in St. Petersburg know that God loves them and help them choose a good church to attend.`` FEBC Russian Ministries first broadcast radio programs in St. Petersburg in June 2002 from another local station. Since May 1, 1089 AM has been on the air from 7 a.m. to midnight daily. The emphasis of the station will be on evangelism and building a bridge between the community and churches, modeled after FEBC Moscow`s ministry in connecting radio listeners with local churches in the area. Types of programs on the station will include Bible teaching, counseling, talk- shows and music. . . http://www.assistNews.net/stories/s03050034.htm (via Bruce Atchison, DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. HISTORY --- ANTI-APARTHEID FIGHTER WALTER SISULU DIES Walter Sisulu, South African Anti-Apartheid Activist, Dies at Age of 90 JOHANNESBURG, South Africa May 6 [2 extracts] Walter Sisulu, the quiet giant of the South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle for five decades, has died after a long illness. He was 90. Sisulu died at 9 p.m. Monday at home in the arms of Albertina, his wife of nearly 59 years. [I noticed in the obit that :] "He went underground and joined the ANC's guerrilla wing, exasperating the government when he used a secret ANC transmitter to send a pirate radio message exhorting the nation to unite to overthrow apartheid." http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030506_315.html (AP / ABC News May 6, 2003 via A. Sennitt, Holland for CRW via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. SLBC has dropped 7115 in favour of 7300 at 0020-0400 & 0800-1530 in Hindi, Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam & Kannada. 9770 continues in parallel. That leaves 7115 only for VOA Sri Lanka at 0100-0300. SLBC HS Noted with relay of BBC Sinhala & Tamil Service as follows: 1515-1545 Sinhala 4902, 1545-1615 Tamil 5020. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Box 1555, Somajiguda Hyderabad 500082, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. NUEVA ACTIVIDAD-CONCURSO DE PREGUNTA --- Los apreciados amigos de radio Taipei Internacional están promocionando un nuevo concurso que comparto con todos ustedes. Aqui están las bases del mismo. Nota: hay que entrar en la página de RTI y hacer click en Concursos (José Elías Díaz G., Cumbre DX via DXLD) Hola amigo: Aquí le presento la nueva oportunidad para llevarse la camiseta de CBS-RTI. Participe en el CONCURSO DE PREGUNTA en: http://www.cbs.org.tw/Spanish/index.htm No se olvide, cuando mande su respuesta, tiene que escribirnos siempre con su nombre y dirección completa. Tip: si no sabe la respuesta, puede ver el video que adjuntamos que la misma página; allí descubrará [sic] el resultado. Mucha suerte! (via Díaz, ibid.) ** TIBET [non]. VISIT TO V OF TIBET OFFICE IN NORTHERN INDIA http://www.timesoftibet.tibetsearch.com/artman/publish/article_1287.shtml "I was very satisfied with this visit and everyone seems excited to do more for the cause of Tibet," says Mrs. Takla, who also was invited to visit the office of Voice of Tibet (VOT), the Norwegian Tibetan language radio station based in Oslo and with an editorial office in Dharamsala in northern India, seat of the Tibetan government in exile (Times of Tibet via J. Dybka, TN, Apr 30, 2003 for CRW via DXLD) ** UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. Recent changes as reflected in the IBB online schedule: Since 7 May, IBB's Radio Farda is being transmitted from the Al Dhabbaya site 24h on the additional frequency 1170 (ND) //1539 kHz (D 10 degrees). (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, May 8, MW-DX via DXLD) ** U K. I have found the BBCWS exceedingly irritating in that they edit together a bunch of "highlights" with no continuity in an attempt to create artificial suspense about the outcome. A few years back, it literally took them 17 minutes(!) to give the results of the two FA Cup semifinals -- despite the fact that the result of the first match was well-known to anybody who had been listening to the BBCWS, since it was reported in NewsHour (IIRC -- it was one of their news programmes). I'm fully in the camp that says they should give the %$!#$@! results first. (Ted S., swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. Who would have thought it? Apparently Tony Blackburn was the first person to have a name ID jingle. On that basis, he was invited to speak at the Radio Academy's recent talk on the role of jingles, 'Wham, Bam thank you Jam!' in London. . . http://www.radiolondon.co.uk/kneesflashes/happenings/current/hapcurr.html (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. Another story about Kevin Alfred Strom, of the SW program American Dissident Voices, thru the eyes of his ex-wife: `I FEEL THESE PEOPLE RAPED MY SOUL` AFTER 6 YEARS AWAY, REFORMED WHITE SUPREMACIST REMAINS ANGRY By Scott Finn, STAFF WRITER Kirsten Kaiser once believed that every Jewish synagogue was built on the bones of a Christian woman and Christian boy. She watched a version of ``Jurassic Park`` that edited out star Jeff Goldblum because he is Jewish. And if she disagreed with her husband, a leader of the white- supremacist group National Alliance, he argued and kept her awake for 48 hours at a time until she finally gave in. Six years ago, she broke away from her husband and the National Alliance. She lost her children, her home, and her identity. Today, Kaiser has rebuilt her life. She regained custody of her three children, she is taking classes at a community college in Rochester, Minn., and she`s remarried a man whom she calls kind and gentle. But Kaiser still feels angry. She`s furious at the years of lies and brainwashing she endured from the National Alliance, which is headquartered in Pocahontas County [WV]. So she speaks out — in media interviews with ``20/20`` and Good Housekeeping; with a new book, ``Bondage of Self``; and to groups like the West Virginia Hate Crimes Task Force, which she is scheduled to address Thursday afternoon. (The meeting is not open to the public.) ``I feel these people raped my soul,`` Kaiser said. ``They took away everything that made Kirsten, Kirsten. ``Hundreds of women like me have gotten hooked up with some man from a racist group who controls their lives. I want them to know that if I can escape and regain my soul, they can too.`` Abuse and neglect Kaiser grew up in a middle-class suburban home, but her mother`s mental illness and her father`s drinking made her miserable. As a child, she had trouble walking through her house and couldn`t eat at her dining room table because stacks of newspaper and piles of empty peanut-butter jars blocked her way. Her mother couldn`t throw anything away. Also, her mother dressed her up as Shirley Temple and sent her to school that way, leading to relentless teasing from her peers. ``She said that if you ignore it, it will go away. But it never did. It got worse and worse. I was the most hated person in school.`` At 14, she began using drugs, but because she received good grades, no one in school paid any attention. She married at 19. Her parents said she couldn`t leave the house unless she did. That marriage lasted only six months, and she moved back with her parents. Three years later, she met a man named Joseph at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He seemed extremely intelligent, and treated Kaiser like a princess. He also was a white supremacist, although Kaiser didn`t know that at first. ``He said he was a Nationalist. I had no idea what that meant,`` she said. ``He kept talking about this book, `The Turner Diaries.` I didn`t have any friends that talked about books. I thought it would be nice to sit around and talk about anything with anybody.`` Three days after they were married, Kaiser said that Joseph changed. He began beating her and told her she had six months to find a job and leave the house. During this time, she met Kevin Strom, who was at the time the Washington D.C.-area leader for the National Alliance. He also was intelligent (he scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT college-entrance exam) and well-mannered. He read Edgar Allen Poe and other authors she loved, Kaiser said. ``He was cute, he didn`t look like he would hit anybody, and I already knew I had to leave,`` she said. Life in the compound They soon married, and in 1991, Strom moved her to the Pocahontas County compound founded by William Pierce, the leader of the National Alliance and author of ``The Turner Diaries,`` which is said to have inspired Timothy McVeigh`s bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. At the time, Pierce lived with ``Sue,`` his mail-order Hungarian bride. Sue knew almost no English, but she was the only person Kaiser could talk to. Her husband worked 12-hour days on his shortwave radio show and newsletter, and Pierce shunned nearly all human contact. Kaiser said Sue did not try to hide her contempt and dislike of Pierce, Kaiser said. Pierce didn`t seem to mind. He only wanted the women for cooking, cleaning and sex, she said. Like his other mail- order brides, Sue ran away the moment she could receive permission to stay in the United States without Pierce. Kaiser clashed with Pierce because she refused to work without pay. ``I told Kevin, `I`ll work for love or money, and Dr. Pierce will give me neither.``` At first, they lived on about $300 a month in a run-down trailer next to Pierce, and then they moved to an apartment in Hillsboro. Some local women tried to reach out to her. One took care of her children one day a week. But when they found out about her racist ideology, some shied away. She broke off one friendship when she found out a relative was dating someone who wasn`t white. She had three children — two boys, Oskar and Edgar, and a girl, Klara Vita, named after Adolf Hitler`s mother. In 1995, they moved to Rochester, Minn., a nearly all-white city. But the move didn`t break Kaiser`s isolation. She couldn`t invite friends to her house, for fear they`d find the racist pamphlets stacked on the dining-room table. Strom said she couldn`t take her children to the YMCA because it was dedicated to the destruction of the white American family. Kaiser began to clash with Strom more often. She questioned why the family could not eat meat (Hitler was a vegetarian) and whether women should have the right to vote. Strom would argue with her for hours at a time, until finally she agreed with his point of view. But when her son Edgar was diagnosed with autism, social workers began to visit. Kaiser remembers one incident where Strom told social workers that Edgar could not attend a special program because children of other races were included. ``He had his hand on my shoulder, and they asked me, `What do you think about that, Kirsten,` and I froze up, I was so terrified.`` One worker slipped her a pamphlet called ``You Deserve Better`` about domestic violence, and Kaiser eventually ran to a women`s shelter. She spent 10 days in a hospital under psychiatric evaluation. Meanwhile, Strom maneuvered to gain control over their children. He called Kaiser crazy and moved the children to his mother`s house in Texas. It took Kaiser more than four years to regain custody. Even today, her children must spend six weeks a year with their father. One time after her children came home, her 8-year-old son Oskar announced, ``I hate black people.`` Kaiser responded by bringing them to a black friend`s house to play with their children, and asking, ``Do you hate them?`` Her children are just now beginning to learn about their father`s ideology, Kaiser said. After Pierce`s death last year, Strom has become one of the most powerful men in the National Alliance. With his Web page and radio show, it is hard to shield them, Kaiser said. But Kaiser believes that she is teaching her children to make their own choices, and they will choose to reject their father`s beliefs, even as they love him as a person. Kaiser said schools need more counselors to identify the sort of anti-social behaviors that can lead to hateful activity. And, she promised to continue to speak out about her own experience. ``No one warned me,`` she said. ``I had no clue how crazy these people were.`` May 07, 2003 http://wvgazette.com/section/News/2003050630 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. SAP news: NY New York WPIX, channel 11, has Spanish news. Part of the cost of the SAProgram is paid by a Pontiac dealership. NC Raleigh WRAL-TV, channel 5, drops Spanish SAP. Was used for local news Spanish translation. Executives of the station simply didn`t think it was worth it. They ``got little feedback. Conflicts with video description for the blind.`` (May FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. Clear Channel stations have been testing dMarc`s data delivery system using SCSignals most likely at 57 kHz. The tests have been at several CA stations, including KIIS-FM 102.7 and KOST 103.5 Los Angeles. That test was supposedly successful enough that the ``Radio Data Service`` is to expand to 53 southern CA stations. ``In less than 10 months after launching the service, we booked over $100,000 in dRDS advertising,`` said Roy Laughlin, CC regional VP. The system allows stations to send news, traffic and promotional announcements, including commercials, to special RDS-equipped receivers. According to the M Street Journal, dMac is expanding to other markets and looking forward to starting a national data network by yearend (May FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. IBOC AM Talk Radio Add KCUV / 1150 which is presently // to KNRC / 1510 here in Denver to the list of digital talk stations. Here is an e-mail I received from one of their engineers just tonight. ------- We will be broadcasting in digital on the 1150 signal. The exciter is installed and we are now getting the iBiquity software loaded. From there it's proving that everything is working to specs for the FCC. Should have a daytime digital signal emitting within the next 30 days. The 1150 signal has been a major improvement over the 1510 signal. We did the engineering right though. Replaced everything from the ATU's, to transmitters to phaser to grounding system (Patrick Griffith, Westminster, CO, USA, May 8, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. From Stanley Swanson, KBNL *89.9 Laredo TX: ``Digital IBOC FM has a digital delay of between 5 and 10 seconds. [It`s] a disaster for call-in programs. Digital hash is on both sides of the analog channel, so that the FM band will be two-thirds digital hash. There will be a flood of complaints from listeners who cannot hear their favorite station because of digital hash interference. Estimated cost to the station $70,000. Great for equipment suppliers, but disaster for the stations. I doubt that most listeners will notice a difference in audio quality. Don`t tell me that it is coming. Now is the time to revolt. I refuse to install it.`` (May FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. FLOOD OF TRANSLATOR APPLICATIONS I can't believe no one has mentioned this, but on a radio message board I saw what has to be the most horrifying thing yet for an FM DXer. Hundreds of translator applications for New Jersey alone. Near me, Clinton on 104.9, Somerville on 96.7, 103.9, and 93.5. Harmony Twp on 98.3. Maybe 10 translator applications for the small South Jersey town of Manahawkin? It seems like they are letting translators come on on Class A frequencies just where their strong signal ends. This list is crazy, and will probably end FM dxing for good. Is this going on elsewhere? Have the rules changed? This is insane!!!! Is it happening elsewhere, this flood of translators? How about 105.5 in Atlantic Highlands, WDHA will have a fit. The companies requesting these translators, Burlington County College, NJ Public Broadcasting (I thought the state was short on money, where will the money come from to put all these dumb stations?), religious outfits, Press Broadcasting, someone named Susun Clinton, and many others. (Bob Smolarek, May 6, WTFDA via DXLD) This is certainly interesting. I count 67 apps for the general Nashville area, including two for this county and one for Coopertown four miles away. (if granted it would be by far my closest FM station) There could be more as there were quite a few for towns I've never heard of. Maybe over the weekend I'll have a chance to make a better assessment of this. There are twelve applications for nine different frequencies for Nashville proper. Some of these are ungrantable. For example, 92.9 at Murfreesboro, whose (250-watt!) transmitter site is within the 65 dBu contour of WJXA on the same frequency. I also noted a 95.3 app in Cleveland, Tennessee which is the city of license of WALV on the same frequency. One applicant for 98.9 in the county seat already held a CP for that frequency for several years, allowing it to expire unbuilt. Will they actually bother to build this time? Good question... In other cases, the same applicant requested two or more frequencies at the same site. Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls requested *SEVEN* different channels at Goodlettsville. The licensee of WQZQ-102.5 and WBUZ-102.9 filed four different applications for Nashville - two of them on the same frequency. It is also interesting (and IMHO disturbing) to note that most of these specify channels that are second-adjacent to locals. Channels that are not allowed for LPFM use. "K-Love" seems to be the most prolific applicant around here. Even if all of these are granted, they won't totally destroy DX here. 104.1 is the only one that will *definitely* kill a channel. 98.9, 99.3, and 100.5 are also possible victims (98.9 most likely) but that leaves a lot of available channels. -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, WTFDA via DXLD) There are already LPFM's seeking to rebroadcast partial-day from other facilities. I think once you get to hear a few of these you may find they're not much better than some of the existing high school, college and local religious stations at the low end which are amateur in nature, sound bad and program mostly non-stop music of the operator's personal liking. I've pretty much heard most of what I can get here under non-enhanced conditions, and either tropo or Es should still punch through LPFM's, Sattelators and even IBOC noise (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA (360' ASL), ibid.) I have heard it suggested (on a reliable source, not just someone ranting) that some conservative religious groups have been establishing translators at the fringe of NPR stations' coverage areas with the express intent of limiting access to "undesirable" NPR programming. Legal, if the translators only interfere outside the NPR stations' protected contour. As a recent IBOC discussion mentioned, most modern car radios deliver good quality signals well past the protected contour. I think this explains some recent full-license NPR stations as well. Such as WTMH-91.5 and WHRS-91.7 on the fringes of WPLN-90.3's coverage area. I think WBEZ in Chicago has filed for a couple as well (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 May 7, ibid.) And with the political clout those folks have in Congress and their Administration, when push comes to shove on MX [mutually exclusive] apps from Public Radio stations and those of the religious groups, there's little doubt about who will win. And given the budgetary disparities, the same parties would win in any potential court battle. Can you say 'unlevel playing field' ? (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) Mutually-exclusive applications for reserved spectrum (88-92 MHz) are to be resolved by lottery. 'Course, in the PA Lottery the more tickets you buy, the more likely you'll win - that goes here too... Mutually-exclusive applications in 92-108 MHz will still go to auction. I'm not sure that applies when all the applicants are non- commercial - but I strongly suspect it does. (since they can switch to commercial service at any time) (Doug Smith W9WI, ibid.) Important! Please notify us immediately of any LPFM applications containing errors caused by the FCC database. The FCC will be investigating database errors we report on Thursday 4/8. Christian Community Broadcasters has just updated its Statistics in the right hand column at: http://www.ccbroadcasters.com/ These statistics include just released FCC totals of ALL radio and TV stations in America. In the center column is a link to a commentary on multiple ownership of LPFM stations. (John Broomall, Christian Community Broadcasters May 7, WTFDA via DXLD) Thanks John Broomall for the information about the 13,000 translater applications. What I'd like to know is where are the real broadcasters? Can they let this happen, it will doom their stations. The interference will be horrendous. I will enjoy the next few years because when these translators come on, I'm retired from FM DXing. (Bob Smolarek, NJ, ibid.) I've put up a page on my website at http://www.w9wi.com/articles/fxlist.html It lists applications received for new FM translators within 150 km of the L&C Tower in downtown Nashville (there are roughly 120 of them). A few observations... One is ungrantable. It requests 250 watts on 92.9 in Murfreesboro - at a transmitter site where Class C station WJXA-92.9 is predicted to deliver 65 dBu, well within WJXA's interference-protected contour. Another specifies Hendersonville, Tennessee as the principal community but then lists transmitter coordinates that plot near Portageville, Missouri, roughly 150 miles away. It looks like they typed 89 degrees instead of 86. A LPFM station in Dickson has filed for a translator, also in Dickson. The translator is roughly 15 miles from the LPFM. 26 different primary stations are specified. Six are regular commercial stations; four are public radio stations; one is a campus station; one is not yet on the air; one is the LPFM in Dickson; and the other half are religious. Most translators per primary: 23 WMXX-103.1 Jackson 16 KAWZ-89.9 Twin Falls, ID 15 WAYM-88.7 Columbia 14 WFIX-91.3 Florence, AL ("K-Love") 8 WMOT-89.5 Murfreesboro & WAYW-89.7 New Johnsonville WAYW and WAYQ-88.3 Clarksville are satellites of WAYM-88.7. (the Clarksville station is not yet on the air) If you add the translators of these stations, the network has a total of 27. Not to mention the ones already licensed and operating in many Middle Tennessee cities. The WMXX translators (and three of WLQK-95.9) are licensed to religious organizations in Twin Falls, Idaho. I suspect they intend to change primaries to KAWZ or co-owned KEFX-88.9. ========================================= Again, these are applications that have been received by the FCC. They have not even been accepted for filing. The engineering review process will kick some of them out. (for example, the one that's trying to jam WJXA |grin|) Others are mutually exclusive; only one of a group will be granted. I have not examined the non-technical parts of these applications; it's possible some of them are unacceptable for administrative/legal reasons. You can get a list for your state by going to http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_sear.htm Under "Service", select "FM Translator"; type the USPS abbreviation for your state in the "State" box; under "Application Status" select "Received but not yet accepted for tender". Click "Submit Search". You get a list of applications. Which unfortunately doesn't tell you much. Click on "Info" to see general information (including city) about an application; this page also has a link that shows technical information. Clicking on "Application" will show you the actual application that's been submitted. There's more detailed technical information. It also shows the address of the applicant and the primary station to be translated. (however, FM translators can change their primary with little notice) Many FM translators are never built. (I note WMOT-89.5 has applied for one on 98.9 in Ashland City. Again. They held a permit for W255AD but never built it and never requested an extension; it expired unbuilt...) Don't assume everything on this list will eventually ruin your DX! For what it's worth, I've done another run on the entire state of Wisconsin. http://www.w9wi.com/articles/wifx.html (Doug Smith W9WI, ibid.) LPFM MX Settlement Window Very Soon --- with some FCC processing plans revealed. Second story: 4,000+ Translator Applications Filed by Calvary Affiliates ... and other surprises Both important 5/9 stories available via home page links at: http://www.ccbroadcsters.com (John Broomall, Christian Community Broadcasters, ibid.) Or maybe THIS is what they wanted to do: Put up a satellite dish at listed station on the ap, feeding that signal with their programming into the stations' subcarrier? It sounds possible to me. Years ago, stations who didn't have dishes when they were expensive tapped into sports networks' feeds this way at a much cheaper cost! The group mentioned filed many apps in this area proposing to do just that. You never know, in this day of the toothless FCC (Mark Erdman, Herington/Salina KS, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. NY Bronx -- eastern part, near Throgs Neck and Whitestone Bridges, three Spanish pirates: 87.9 in stereo, 96.1 stereo, ``very good signal``; 105.5 monophonic (May FMedia! via DXLD) Heard some station on 106.5 around Ledgewood playing Dixie Chicks songs -- un-American lowlifes that they must surely be! Also a pirate on 87.9 on the Turnpike near Secaucus with Spanish -- I think that one is in the Bronx. I think there's a 95.1 in Manhattan too (Rick Shaftan, NJ, May 6, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. RE: [NRC-am} Orlando pirate fined $10K I read the items about the Orlando $10K fine with interest and the comments about how the corporate fellows seem to be treated differently than the 'schlubs' who run low power FM, etc. By coincidence on the broadcast list are some comments about when Coral Gables FL was using 1560 when assigned 1550. Note the remarks about the reaction of the FCC to this operation. Another coincidence there, are remarks about religious broadcasters in Idaho who are filing thousands of FM translator apps, promising to use them to relay commercial stations then intending to flip them to non-commercial religion, once filed, in an effort to get around FCC filing rules This stuff is fascinating, great history (Bob Foxworth, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) Viz.: WRHC Coral Gables FL is (or was) co-owned with the 670 station licensed to Miami (WWFE if memory serves). Four or five years back (maybe a bit longer), WRHC became quite famous (I mean infamous) here in the northeast. Back then, Disney was not yet LMAing WQEW New York and WQEW's unique American Popular Standards format could be heard all over the northeast at night until... the station became subject to the most incredible nighttime interference from a Spanish-language station that was also quite far off frequency. The interfering station was WRHC. As was stated, WRHC's 1550 day site had been destroyed by Hurricane Andrew and the station held a CP to move to 1560 with 44 kW-D/4.6 kW-N DA-2 from dual sites. The day site was to be a diplex with WWFE using a couple of WWFE's existing towers and at least two new, shorter ones. The WWFE site is a fair distance north of Miami and Coral Gables. WRHC's night site was to be closer to Miami than the day site. The night site was in the Everglades maybe six miles south and slightly west of WWFE. Anyhow, Herb Squire, who was then CE of WQXR and WQEW, told me that a friend of his from Toronto had found WRHC completely obliterating WQEW at night at his summer home several hundred miles north of Toronto. Herb and the New York Times, which owns WQEW, tried unsuccessfully for several years to get WRHC to cease operating on 1560. Turns out that although WRHC held a CP for 1560, the FCC had never granted program test authority or even an STA, which it might have done if an application had been filed, because WRHC's 1550 facilities (at least the day site) had been destroyed by a tragedy over which the station had no control. Moreover, WRHC was operating 24/7 from the WWFE site with 50 kW ND -- this despite the presence in Ft Lauderdale of a 1580 station that runs 10 kW-D/5 kW-N DA-2 from a complex array. It took several more years to get the issue settled. The FCC issued an NAL citing WRHC for operating on the wrong frequency (1560) for some LONG period of time -- seven years comes to mind, but I'm not sure of that part. I don't know whether WRHC ever paid a fine, but I was amazed to learn of WRHC's application (and I think the subsequent grant of a CP) for 1560 with 25 kW-D/5 kW-N DA-2 from dual sites. As far as I know, neither site is one that WRHC had specified in its previous application for 1560. Also, to complicate matters, one of the hardships that WRHC claimed to explain its illegal operation on 1560 was that one of its sites (I think the 4.6 kW night site that went with the daytime diplex with WWFE) had been rendered inaccessible because the FAA had cordoned off the portion of the Everglades in which it was located. Debris from a spectacular and well publicized fatal airline crash had fallen in the area that surrounded the site. So there were extenuating circumstances, but the offenses seem grievous enough that you would think that WRHC would have once-and- for-all lost its opportunity to move to 1560. Instead, the owners of WRHC and WWFE apparently flaunted the law and ultimately got away with doing so (Dan Strassberg, BC via Foxworth, NRC-AM via DXLD) There was a long and sad 1550 1560 Miami saga that I thought had ended. Ed? Squires, then of WQEW 1560 New York, can give you a blow- by-blow. The following is not exactly accurate, but gives the flavor: Basically, the Florida people violated almost every rule you can imagine. IIRC, after WQEW complained bitterly for a couple of years, the FCC finally told WRHC to stop being way over-power on an unauthorized frequency and wrong pattern at night (after 30 days grace period), and to not do it again - total penalty. I once looked up one of the sites they said they were using and there was no sign of a radio station. WRHC means Radio Havana Cuba - Cuban expatriots [sic]. (R. J. Carpenter, BC list via Bob Foxworth, NRC-Am via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Subject: DXing on 1100 KHz. Paul, Since our last shut down was such fun for the DXers out there, I wanted to give you a heads up that we'll be shutting WTAM down this Sunday night at midnight (actually 12:07 A.M.) for a contractor replacement. We plan on being off for at least one hour, but should return no later than 1:30 A.M. Monday morning. As always I'd be interested in reports from the field! [0407-0530 UT Monday, presumably] (Dave Szucs, Director of Engineering, Clear Channel Radio Cleveland, 6200 Oak Tree Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44131 via Paul Jellison, WLW, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. Chân Troi Moi Radio: Today, March 21, I received 2 QSL cards for reports to Radio Chân Troi Moi: 15,715 via Jülich in January 2002, and 15,750 in September 2001. There was some speculation 15750 was via High Adventure in Palau; cards have complete data except sites. Veri signer is Micheal [sic] N. He also included a personal note requesting that I monitor from Bao Loc, Vietnam, the next time I visit there (which I hope will be later this year if the SARS situation subsides). Address on the cards --- Correspondence Section, Radio CTM, P.O. Box 48, Hishi Yodogawa, Osaka 555, Japan --- is basically the address to which I sent my reports. I suspect, and hope, others are now receiving their QSLs for this one (Wendel Craighead, KS, Mar 21, 2003 for CRW) Scanned pictures of this card can be seen in the CRW gallery already since March 2003 - I only forgot to use Wendel`s logs here in CRW! (M. Schöch CRW May 8 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Re: 1490, 0733 19/4, R. Reforma, Unlisted. Fair with Religious program, many IDs (Stu Forsyth, Wellington, New Zealand, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) Turns out to be YVXD La Dinámica, Caracas (Paul Ormandy, ZL4TFX, EchoLink Node 87378, Host of The South Pacific DX Report, http://radiodx.com May 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re: ** ARGENTINA. 1700, 0938 17/4, R. Restauración, "BA, Argentina" Relaying BBC in Spanish (Stu Forsyth, Wellington, New Zealand, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) Hi Glenn, This was a tentative... it wasn't Argentina, according to Arnaldo Slaen. Several DXers listening from Tiwai heard this one over Easter. A full trail from the 11 participants will be posted on http://radiodx.com soon. WJCC wasn't considered as they carry religious programming and KBGG has been discounted as their Spanish is during daytime. Other US DXers have heard this too (see unID in DXLD 3-080), so it's a mystery at the moment. Just who would carry BBC Spanish (or one of their programs) - someone testing???? (Paul Ormandy, NZ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ M STREET JOURNAL Most of its features are moving to the Internet, with a weekly faxed update for subscribers, announces Gene McKay, GM. ``M Street and Inside Radio editor Tom Taylor, with the help of new M Street contributing editor Scott Fybush, will post news to the website every business day`` (May FMedia! via DXLD) Hefty subscription required (gh) According to a fax posted on the Radio-Info.com Coast-to-Coast Message Board, M Street is turning the 100000watts.com site into a pay service as of June 1st. http://radio-info.com/boards/ctc/index.cgi?read=24479 (Mike Bugaj - Enfield, CT USA, WTFDA Circulation, May 7 via DXLD) It won't be June 1. It will probably happen. But, folks, when the guy who runs the site is also a member of the club, things have a way of working out. Or at least they will if I have my way. Stay tuned, and don't let the folks at radio-info (who have some very personal and very deep axes to grind with my employers at M Street) scare ya. Oh, and make those hotel reservations for WTFDA 2003 in Western NY! s (Scott Fybush, May 8, WTFDA via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ PUBLIC RADIO CONFERENCE One of the national conferences in radio is about to fold. It`s the PRC, which has been put on by National Public Radio. The May 14-18, 2003 conference [where??] was to have been its last. In a letter to affiliates, Ken Stern, NPR executive vice [sic] and Dana Davis Rehm, VP for member and program services, stated that ``the growth of other significant public radio forums and meetings, declining attendance and recent financial constraints`` drove the decision. Noted were other conferences, like the NPR Engineering Conference at NAB, the Music Personnel Conference, and the National Federation of Community Broadcasters annual conference. ``While these meetings are not a substitute for the PRC, their practical value has led to a real and material drop in the strength of support for an annual industry-wide conference,` the letter stated. I can remember when the National Association of Educational Broadcasters had a conference in Washington DC in 1979. I attended that conference, and the following year in New Orleans they voted to disband (Bruce Elving, May FMedia! via DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ XM PC RADIO: see INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non] above CHANGING OF THE GUARD: ED JUGE, W5EJ, S.K. Some sad news to report. Word that well-known amateur Ed Juge, W5EJ, has passed away. According to longtime friend and colleague Bob Miller, K2RM, Juge, the former W5TOO, was an executive at RadioShack for many years and one of the people who kept ham radio on the company`s radar. Outside the world of ham radio, W5EJ was a well-known and well-respected figure in the computer industry. Ed Juge also had served on the ARRL No-Code committee in the late 1980s, chaired the ARRL Digital Committee in 1992 and was particularly active in QRP. He is survived by his wife, Jo, KA5ABC, by two children and three grandchildren (CQ via Amateur Radio Newsline May 9 via John Norfolk, DXLD) EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: COGNITIVE RADIO - IT LIVES Believe it or not there a movement underway at the FCC to increase spectrum efficiency through the use of a new technology being called cognitive radio. What is cognitive radio you ask? This is radio gear and antenna systems that could adapt to their operating environments by automatically identifying vacant spectrum, switching to that spectrum and carrying out a specific communications mission. Cognitive radio will also be the subject of an upcoming workshop at FCC headquarters. More information is at the http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-233615A1.doc (CGC via Amateur Radio Newsline May 9 via John Norfolk, DXLD) IBOC INSTALLATIONS NOT FOLLOWING EXPECTED PATTERN, SAYS BE More broadcasters are using lower-power FM transmitters to implement HD Radio, according to Broadcast Electronics, which makes transmitters in those power ranges, said Tim Bealor, VP of RF systems. "People originally thought the majority of FM stations would have to go with common amplifier combining or high-level combining techniques that called for a higher-priced, full-powered transmitter. But that's not turning out to be the case at all," he said in a company statement. "We're finding that a lot of those stations can actually combine at the antenna or set up a separate antenna using a lower-powered transmitter." Entercom, Greater Media and Clear Channel are among the groups using low-powered FM transmitters to implement IBOC, the supplier said. Entercom, for example, will be using a new high-level approach that combines analog FM and digital through a shared master antenna. By introducing a separate HD Radio path into one polarity of its existing circularly polarized master antenna, Entercom can broadcast HD Radio at the same time as analog FM, which is radiating from the opposite polarity of the antenna. The approach reduces the injector loss typical of high-level combining (10dB loss in HD Radio and a .45dB loss in analog). Other stations are using BE's low-powered FM transmitters in a separate antenna system for the HD Radio path, which also eliminates the 10dB loss and the cost of a high-powered transmitter to handle the loss (RW News Bites Date posted: 2003-05-05 via Mike Bugaj, WTFDA via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ [Re: eham.net article in 3-080:] "In Japan, where PLC systems have been in operation, amateurs complained so much about the RFI that the PLC companies were forced to place 30 dB notches in the PLC frequencies to protect the amateur allocations." in DXLD 3-080 is incorrect. Japanese government decided to reject PLC last year. Now the major broadband technology adopted in Japan is ADSL, and in-house radio LAN using 2.4 GHz. No PLC in Japan (Takahito Akabayashi, Tokyo, Japan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ ALFA LIMA INTERNATIONAL BOARD Great new forum online. Completely related to al kind of short-wave stuff. And if it is not there just send us an email and we will place that topic there. You can also be a moderator/administrator of one you would like to see there. Jus tell us and we will place it. there are lots of topics but if necessarily we will ad more. Just tell. Topics right now are about antenna's , tech stuff, listening, loggings and a lot more. Just go there. Updates of the raids in Holland will be placed there also. http://www.alfalima.net/forum Greetings from Alfred Zoer (Alfa Lima Int via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Only one M class flare to report, noted back on May 2. Coronal hole activity has been keeping conditions disturbed for much of the week with elevated solar wind speeds causing the geomagnetic field to be disturbed on May 2-3, 5-current. The field levels have been ranging from unsettled to minor storm at these times causing degraded conditions especially at higher latitudes. Conditions are expected to remain fairly similar with broad coronal holes causing disturbances all the way through until May 22. A previously flaring region may return to the visible side of the sun on May 11 leading to an increase in flare activity as well. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, May 10, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Has anyone else noticed that reception in ENAm from the South Pacific (RA and RNZI) during our local evenings has been slow to come around this season? Usually by this time of year in recent years, reception of both these stations becomes quite reliable (five or six nights out of every seven on average in my experience) from around 0200 UT on. Not this year, so far. I'm averaging good reception only one or two out of every seven days. Any theories? The declining solar cycle perhaps? (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon NY, May 9, swprograms via DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-080, May 8, 2003 [continued from 3-079] edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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. ** OKLAHOMA. Here it is May, three months after the previously predicted date for Enid`s only local TV, KXOK-32, to resume some local programming. Zilch. Promises, promises. Still Dr. Gene Scott, 24/7, ad nauseam. There is, however, a continuous crawler across the top of the screen with some local ads, notably for Rex Faulkner`s law firm, 32 bug, etc., which should make it easy to ID in this spring`s tropo season. Making out the KXOK call letters below the 32 in the crawling bug is difficult even locally, but another version is clearer with KXOK-LPTV and plenty of other local clues, such as 580 area code phonumbers, Oakwood Mall, etc. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. No tornados in Enid; we lucked out again. In fact, we are in dire need of at least a few drops of rain! Plenty of tornado coverage at the main OKC TV news sites: http://www.kfor.com (KFOR-4) http://www.channeloklahoma.com (KOCO-5) http://www.newsok.com (KWTV-9 and Daily Disappointment) http://www.fox25.net (KOKH-25 --- not much here, still very much #4) BTW, The Enid Eagle site is being upgraded if you care about here: http://www.enidnews.com (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. I am still getting unsolicited letters from Radio Pakistan! (Last time I had written to them was around in 1976.) This time they are asking for reports on the following HS programs: 6225 0200-0400 Current Affairs 5080 1300-1800 ,, 5840 1615-1700 Urdu (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ, Hyderabad 500082, India, May 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Frequency changes for Radio Pakistan: 0800-1105 Urdu WS NF 17825, ex 17835 to avoid RFE/RL in Persian \\ 21465 1200-1245 Bangla NF 15635v ex 15625v to avoid RFA in Khmer \\ 17635 1245-1315 Nepali NF 15635v ex 15625v to avoid RFA in Khmer \\ 17635 1630-1700 Turkish NF 11530, ex 11550 to avoid RTI in English \\ 9385v 1815-1900 Arabic NF 11530, ex 11550 to avoid RUI in Ukrainian \\ 9385v (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 7 via DXLD) ** PALESTINE [non]. 9705, Voice of Palestine, 2100-2130, Apr 14, Arabic program // 11740 which was far better than the 31 mb frequency, but no sign on 11840 (Kaj Bredahl Jørgensen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) Back on 9705 and 11740 for summer schedule with 500 kW from Mashhad [IRAN] at 1630-0330 in Arabic. Outside the 1930-2027 clandestine period, it is the ordinary VOIRI Foreign service in Arabic from Tehran (Ed. Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) ** PALESTINE [non]. AL-QUDS RADIO FROM SYRIA CONTINUES ANTI-ISRAEL, ANTI-PNA PROGRAMMES Al-Quds Palestinian Arab Radio, a Palestinian radio station opposed to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and to peace with Israel, has been observed to be still on the air, continuing its anti-Israel and anti-PNA programmes. The station, which is run by Ahmad Jibril's Damascus-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, PFLP-GC, is believed to be operating from southern Syria. Its news bulletins continue to highlight the Palestinian intifadah, clashes between Palestinian fighters and Israeli troops, and announcements and statements issued by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It has continued to broadcast Palestinian and Arab patriotic songs, and to criticize pro-peace Palestinian individuals. A commentary at 1000 gmt on 5 May severely criticized Palestinian figures who the station said were members of a Palestinian-Israeli movement called the "Popular Peace Initiative," with special emphasis on two members of the movement: Dr Sari Nusaybah, a prominent Palestinian figure and former adviser to Arafat, and Ami Ayalon, former head of the Israeli General Security Services. It called on other anti-Israeli Palestinian organizations to "confront" this movement and abort its plan of "liquidating" the Palestinian cause and conceding the "right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland". The radio was monitored on 5 May on 702 kHz from 0500 to 1400 gmt. At 1400 gmt, the radio signed off with the announcement that its transmissions would cease on 702 kHz and continue on 105.4 and 96.7 MHz FM. However, the FM channels were not monitorable. Al-Quds radio began broadcasting on 1 January 1988. In the late 1980s and early 1990s it carried programming in Hebrew, French and English as well as Arabic. Prior to April 1996, it also transmitted on shortwave. In an announcement on 30 August 2001, the radio said that it was closing down two of its major transmitters for financial reasons. It said that "the reasons for stopping the two primary mediumwave frequencies, 702 and 630 kHz, are all financial". The statement had intended to dispel rumours that the Syrian government was exerting pressure on the PFLP-GC to close down the station or reduce its output. However, the station returned to its former pattern and output, using 702 kHz, in September 2002. (Reuters news agency on 7 May reported a Palestinian source as saying that "militant Palestinian factions are halting the activities of their offices in Syria... following US pressure on Syria to rein them in". "Palestinian factions have begun taking steps to freeze their activities on the Syrian stage...to strip from the American administration the pretexts on which it bases its political pressure on Syria," Reuters cited the source as saying.) Source: BBC Monitoring research 6-7 May 03 (via WORLD OF RADIO 1181, DXLD) ** PANAMA. 840, 0502 17/4, R. Nacional Panamá. Fair with band music, frequent IDs between tracks 950, 0455 18/4, R. Nacional, Penonomé. Light music and ID // 840 1310, 0815 17/4, R. María, Panamá. Fair with Gregorian chants (Stu Forsyth, Wellington, New Zealand, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Re Goroka back on AM & FM: In the past, R. Eastern Highlands, Goroka has also been broadcasting its Kundu (Provincial) Service: 0700-1200 Tok Pisin/Vernacular on SW 3395. ID: "Karai bilong Kumul". Was heard most days during elections up to 16 July 2002, but else Off. Not heard since then (acc. to our Domestic Broadcasting Survey)(Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD ** PERU. Two Peruvian stations reactivated the same day!! 4655.02, Radio Nuevo Amanecer, Celendín, la provincia de Celendín, el departamento de Cajamarca. May 7 2003, 0045 UT. Has been off air for at least a year. The DJ said that it was all about test transmission "calidad de prueba". Maybe it means new equipment or new owner. Otherwise frequency and name exactly as before. Close down 0058 UT. A recording from this occasion can be found at: http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ Info from "Ventanaperú": Provincia de Celendín, cuya capital es Celendín. Sus distritos son: Celendín, Chumuch, Cortagana, Huasmin, Jorge Chávez, Miguel Iglesias, Oxamarca, Sorochuco, Sucre, Utco; con una población total de 80,747 hab. 4974.98, Pacífico Radio, Lima. May 7, 2003, 0130 UT. This station disappeared at the same time as the new Radio Macedonia was noted on 4890 kHz. Connection? It seems the signal is much better now than before so maybe new transmitter equipment? Most of the time religious but at 0132 a short feature with news. ID "Pacífico Radio" and noting MW 640 kHz. A name used only on MW? Listed as "Radio del Pacífico". Lots of talk about "Iglesia Bíblica Misionera". A recording from this occasion can be found at: http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ 73 from (Bjorn Malm in Quito! Translated by SWB editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 730, 0612 21/4, R. Programas del Perú, Lima, fair with news items. Program 'RPP Informando' 780, 0436 19/4, OAX4X, R. Victoria, Lima, running la Voz de la Liberación, religious 790, 0720 21/4, Programas del Perú, Trujillo, Poor/fair // to 730 850, 0455 17/4, R. Nacional del Perú, Lima, peaking over R Net with ID 1320, 0615 19/4, R. Nacional Perú. Very good with classical music - lots of popular tunes! 1470, 0800 17/4, CPN, Lima, good with SS religious program (Stu Forsyth, Wellington, New Zealand, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. TIKHIY OKEAN RADIO TO RETURN TO THE AIRWAVES ON RUSSIAN RADIO DAY | Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Vladivostok, 7 May: Broadcasts of Tikhiy Okean, the most powerful radio station in the [Russian] Far East, are resuming on Wednesday 7 May. The management of the Vladivostok State TV and Radio Company [GTRK] said that the station's work had been suspended several months ago due to financial difficulties. The company had been unable to afford to keep up payments for the use of powerful transmitters [the main ones are located near Khabarovsk] which enable the station to be heard in many places in the Far East and Siberia, in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Arctic and other places. However, the station has proved essential as it unites the information space of the entire Far Eastern region and the adjoining Pacific Ocean areas. The management of the Vladivostok GTRK and the Maritime Territory TV and Radio Centre has resolved that three editions of Tikhiy Okean will be broadcast starting 7 May [Russian Radio Day]. After that, a decision will be taken concerning the future work of the radio station. Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0027 gmt 7 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK?? RIA doesn`t think it matters! Fortunately, we have had two recent items with the details. I couldn`t stay awake until 0615 May 7 to check 11760, but nothing audible on it before 0600. Last chance: May 9 at 0615-0700 (gh, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. RUSSIA TO ADOPT DRM DIGITAL RADIO | Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Moscow, 7 May: The Russian Press and Media Ministry regards an intensive introduction of digital technologies in the field of radio broadcasting as one of the priority directions in its work this year. A source in the ministry's press service said on Wednesday, Radio Day in Russia, that the accomplishment of this task is facilitated by Russia's adoption of the international digital radio broadcasting standard within the World Digital Radio System [Digital Radio Mondiale - DRM]. This standard makes possible reception of a large number of programmes practically anywhere in the world. The Russian state-run radio broadcasting company "The Voice of Russia" has conducted field tests of analogue and digital radio signal reception and expects to launch its digital signal service in June when a world radio conference is due to take place in Geneva. Radio Day was instituted as the industry's holiday in Russia in 1945. On 7 May, 1895 Russian scientist Aleksandr Popov proved that electromagnetic waves could be used to transmit information over short distances. But the world's first radio patent was awarded to ethnic Italian Guglielmo Marconi who also received a Nobel Prize for his invention of radio in 1909. Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 1320 gmt 7 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Yesterday I have received a QSL card from Radio Rossii confirming a report of the Khanty-Mansiysk regional transmitter RV703 on 4820 heard here on March-03-2001!! So it took more than 2 years! No follow-up sent. QSL-card comes from R.R. HQ in 19/21, 5th Yamskogo Polia St., Moscow 125040. No v/s (Mauricio Molano. Salamanca. Spain, May 7, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** SAMOA AMERICAN. 580, 0800 20/4, KJAL. Poor with choir singing (Stu Forsyth, Wellington New Zealand, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. EDITORIAL ANALYSIS: SAUDI COMMENTATORS CALL FOR GREATER MEDIA OPENNESS | Text of editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 8 May 2003 Saudi state-run broadcasting and the state news agency will come under new management as part of a government reshuffle in the kingdom at the end of April. This will see the abolition of some ministries and the merger of others. The Information Ministry has been transformed into the Ministry of Information and Culture. State-run Saudi Radio and Television as well as the Saudi Press Agency have been separated from the ministry to become independent public bodies, which will both be chaired by Information Minister Dr Fu'ad al-Farsi. He retained his post, with culture added to his portfolio. The information technology sector has been granted ministerial representation, with the name of the PTT Ministry changing to the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology. The changes had been anticipated, to reflect the political reforms recently launched by Crown Prince Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler since 1995. "This is a routine change, it is nothing unexpected," Saudi analyst Turki al-Hammad told the Arab satellite TV channel Al-Arabiya. The announcement of the new cabinet prompted commentaries in the Saudi press on the desirability of ministers and officials dealing with the media in a more positive manner. "Cabinet ministers are urged to open up to the press and have an open mind and transparency toward any criticism, suggestions and comments. They are urged to consider the press as their eyes and ears to the world instead of a burden... The new government's ability to deal with the press in a positive manner will be an indication of its ability to deal with society," Sulayman al-Aqili wrote in the newspaper Al-Watan on 2 May. Al-Watan (The Homeland) is a pro-government newspaper which is financially supported by the Governor of Asir Province, Prince Khalid al-Faysal. According to Iman al-Khatani, a Saudi journalist quoted in the Jedda newspaper Arab News on 2 May, the merging of the media with the cultural sector "could propel TV and radio into a new era and enhance their roles". "Minister of the Interior Prince Na'if had come down heavily on them several times lately," she recalled. In another commentary in Al-Watan on 3 May, Saudi writer Abdallah Nasir al-Fuzan criticized media censorship in Saudi Arabia and the lack of freedom for journalists to write on topics of their choice. "Why should ideas and opinions be assassinated in this manner although all officials without exception encourage objective press ideas, support responsible media openness and look forward to a distinguished Saudi media reality that serves as an instrument of development and as a safety valve?... "I think all of us without exception look forward to a strong press that plays a pioneering role, but the phobia from which our press is suffering now limits its ability to play this role as we wish. Therefore, we must help it overcome its weakness. I think the biggest responsibility in this regard lies on the shoulders of the Information Ministry, because it is largely blamed for this disease. I even think the ministry's responsibility for extending help to the press to overcome its weakness has now redoubled, now that the Higher Council for Information has been dissolved and culture has been added to its portfolio as part of its transformation into the Ministry of Culture and Information," Al-Fuzan wrote. Plans for fourth Saudi TV channel questioned Other aspects of the government's information strategy have also come under fire from Saudi journalists recently. Muhammad Bin-Abdallah al-Humayyid, writing in Al-Watan newspaper on 4 May, questioned the rationale behind the information minister's decision to launch a fourth, all-news, TV channel to supplement the existing line-up on Saudi TV. He wrote: "I say, we either bide our time on the new channel until we are completely sure it will be a strong competitor attracting Arab and world viewers and not just become a replica of what exists; or we remain satisfied with what exists and try to develop and improve it. This would be for the good of an Arab world that does not need more channels beamed to it alone. "Another idea is devoting material and moral efforts towards the establishment of a channel which will convey our voice to others in Europe and the United States, or the transmission of paid English- language programmes on well-known Western channels. I think that we have had enough of improvisation and squandering of public funds to no avail." Opposition TV station testing, London-based paper says A Saudi opposition TV station set up by the head of a Saudi Islamic opposition group in the UK has begun test broadcasts, the London-based paper Al-Quds al-Arabi reported on 3 May. The paper said that Dr Sa'd al-Faqih, head of the Saudi Islamic opposition organization Al-Islah (Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia), had begun "test transmissions of an opposition television station, which will be headquartered in London. The station will broadcast to the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf, as well as most Arab countries. Al-Faqih had succeeded in setting up a radio station six months ago. The radio station is still broadcasting programmes, also from London." The Saudi opposition's Voice of Reform (Sawt al-Islah), the radio of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA), was launched in December 2002 and broadcasts on both shortwave and satellite. The Movement is an anti-Saudi organization based in London. The Movement's web sites are located at http://www.miraserve.com and http://www.islah.org Both have Arabic and English versions. Al-Quds al-Arabi also noted the emergence in London in recent months of a magazine called Al-Hijaz, which focuses on the cultural and political identity of the Hijaz region and is critical of the Saudi ruling family. The Hijaz is a region and province in western Saudi Arabia comprising the holy cities of Mecca and Madina, as well as Jedda and Ta'if. It is the birthplace and spiritual centre of Islam. In November 2002, an editorial in Al-Hijaz magazine denied that the publication represented seditious or secessionist forces, as its name might suggest to some. Al-Hijaz explained that its aim was to promote "the intellectual and historic products and literature of Al-Hijaz region and to focus the spotlight on its landmarks, antiquities and cultural and intellectual activities". Source: BBC Monitoring research 8 May 03 (via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. Noticed some frequency changes on TDP's website. Radio Alislah 1800-2000 15705 Arabic (Silvain Domen, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. Counter QSL: FEBA UK for transmitters via Russia 15605: in their letter the following statement is shown: ``Please note that FEBA no longer owns its transmission stations but uses a number of different service providers. For this reason we are no longer able to verify such reports or send out QSL cards. I`m sorry to disappoint you.`` Total time 18 days (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, May 7, WORLD OF RADIO 1181, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Lame excuse; they just don`t want to bother. You`d think evangelists would value listener contact. Will the Russian authorities verify such transmissions, and what would they be worth, anyway? (gh, DXLD) FEBA Radio via Kigali, RWANDA, 11690v, 1746-1757*, May 06, Tigray. Male and female with talks and Horn of Africa sytle music. Talks over music at 1755 with solid "FEBA Radio" ID, presumed address and mention "telefon". Unmistakable IS at s/off. Fair signal tho constant RTTY QRM (Scott R Barbour Jr, NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Frequency varies? Unusual for a DW site (gh, DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. Please note in your entry for Cyprus, Northern, in DX- Window no. 218 that the Singapore station on 6150 no longer IDs as "Radio One". The ex-Radio One now IDs as "Gold 90.5". Depending on the time of day/week, there are different domestic stations being relayed. From your logging, my guess would be that the Singapore station could either be "Class 95" or 98.7FM (Richard Lam, Singapore, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. GERMANY: New schedule for Brother Stair TOM in English via DTK: 1300-1600 on 13810 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg to ME, ex 1300-1400 1400-1600 on 6110 JUL 100 kW / 290 deg to Eu, ex 1500-1800 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 7 via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. After using 7302.5 for some days, SLBC is noted today on 7300 in parallel to 7115 & 9770. The sked is 0050-0400, 0800-1530. Languages are Hindi, Kannada, Telegu, Malayalam and Tamil. (7115 SLBC even today blocked by VOA Sri Lanka at 0100-0300) During my recent trip to my native place near Cochin in South India, I monitored extensively stations from Sri Lanka & Maldives [q.v.] and here are my latest observations. Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corp. HS: 855 Tamil 2300-1715 (no other MW channels except 873 heard) 4870 Sinhala 1000-1600v 4902 Sinhala 1000-1705 (Sun 0930-1715) 4940 English 1000-1705 5020 Tamil 2300-0300, 1000-1705 (Sat/Sun 1100-1715) 6150 Tamil 0300-0400(Sat 0703)v Colombo International Radio: 873 kHz (TWR Puttalam transmitter) in Tamil, 0135-0430 (Sun 0530), 0915-1120. TWR Puttalam: 882 kHz. 2230-0130, 1130-1730v (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ, Hyderabad 500082, India, May 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN--Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: "Northern Lights" Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: "Sweden Today" Sunday: In "Sounds Nordic" Dilba, a spooky art exhibition, and hits from the charts (SCDX/MediaScan May 7 via DXLD) ** TATARSTAN [and non]. On 9690 while trying to listen to Tatarstan on 0638 on 9690 this Thursday 8 I found a faint signal from Romania playing Slavic traditional music, then YL IDing R Romania and with program in Romanian. At 0646 and then there were several fade offs from RRI leaving a bit the signal in clear from R. Tatarstan with a man with accent speaking in Russian. 0655 seems RRI was off so that Tatarstan was clear, with Russian songs and an ID such as ``Volna Tatarstan`` or something similar, then sign off. SINPO was 23233 for RRI, same for TT. On 11925 at 0800 only a faint carrier could be heard above the local noise (Zacharias Liangas, May 8th, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKMENISTAN. 4930, Turkmen Radio has been heard on 7.5 with C+LSB transmission instead of C+USB (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also INTERNATIONAL ** TURKS & CAICOS. 1020, Caribbean Christian Radio, Grand Turk, APR 19 0102 - First noted around 0020 with syndicated "soul radio" program and Motown music, appeared to be a domestic but I couldn't figure who it could be. Finally at 0102, an unaccented english announcer cut in with "Superpower 10-20, testing the transmitter tonight.. Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies", and back to music ("Hold Back the Night"). Huge signal, smothering KDKA (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, May 6, NRC-AM via DXLD) UT or EDT? ** U K [and non]: New updated schedule for BBC in Arabic (SW only): 0000-0300 7140 9915 13660 0300-0330 7140 9915 11740 13660 0330-0400 7140 9915 11740 13660 15250 0400-0600 7140 7325 9915 11740 13660 15250 0600-0700 7140 9915 11680 13660 15180 15185 0700-0730 7140 9915 11680 13660 15180 15185 17610 0730-0900 7140 11680 13660 15180 15185 17610 0900-0930 7140 11820 13660 15180 15555 17555# 17610 0930-1100 7140 11820 13660 15165* 15180 15555 17555# 17610 1100-1130 7140 11820 13660 15180 15555 17555# 17610 1130-1200 7140 11820 13660 15180 15555 17610 1200-1630 7140 11820 13660 15180 15555 17585 1630-1800 6030 7140 11680 11820 13660 15180 1800-2000 6030 7140 9915 11680 13660 2000-2200 5875* 6030 7140 9915 11680 13660 2200-2400 5875* 7140 9915 11680 13660 # via MOS 100 kW / 115; * unregistered frequencies (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 7 via DXLD) ** U K [and non]. New updated schedule for BBC in Russian (SW only): 0230-0330 Mon-Sat 5875 7130 9510 9585 11845 13745 0330-0500 Mon-Fri 9585 11845 13745 15115 0600-0615 Daily 11670 15115 15325 17740 ||||| cancelled 0800-0815 Daily 11655 13750 15325 17695 ||||| cancelled 0930-1000 Sun 11680 13750 15325 17695 ||||| cancelled 1000-1015 Daily 11680 13750 15325 17695 ||||| cancelled 1200-1205 Daily 11680 13650 15325 17845 ||||| cancelled 1205-1215 Sat/Sun 11680 13650 15325 17845 ||||| cancelled 1300-1400 Mon-Fri 12005 13610 15225 17895 ||||| cancelled 1400-1500 Mon-Fri 12005 13745 15225 17895 ||||| cancelled 1500-1530 Mon-Fri 11845 13745 15225 15595 17710 17895 cancelled 1500-1530 Sat/Sun 11845 13745 15225 17895 ||||| cancelled 1530-1630 Daily 11845 13745 15225 17895 ||||| cancelled 1630-1730 Daily 9635 11845 13745 15225 17705 1730-1800 Mon-Fri 9635 11845 13745 15225 17705 1730-1800 Sat/Sun 7385 9580 9915 9635 11845 13745 15225 17705 1800-2000 Daily 5875 7325 9635 11845 13745 15225 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 7 via DXLD) ** U K. DIGITAL RADIO COMES OF AGE Julia Day, Thursday May 08 2003, The Guardian Digital Radio came of age today with the first official audience ratings showing more than 1.5 million listeners are now picking up the broadcasts. That is the number of people who have abandoned old-fashioned transistors and are tuning into the musical spin-offs of Kerrang! and Smash Hits! magazines via new radio sets, the internet or satellite TV. The figures are a major fillip to Emap, the media company that already operates a sizeable radio operation with stations including Kiss FM and Magic in London. They will also come as music to the ears of other commercial rivals and the BBC, which launched digital radio four years ago to almost deafening silence. Kerrang! radio - a spin-off from the nation's best-selling music magazine - has recorded a weekly reach of 771,000 listeners, with 759,000 tuning in to Smash Hits. Just three digital stations opted to have their listening figures recorded in today's Radio Audience Joint Research (Rajar) survey. The third service, Oneword Radio - a speech station focusing on books, drama, comedy and discussion owned by the UK's largest independent radio producer, UBC Media Group, and the Guardian Media Group - has recorded a weekly audience of 50,000 with total of 140,000 listening hours a week. "This is great day for digital radio. We have waited three years for concrete evidence that digital radio is being embraced by the British people," said Simon Cole, the chief executive of UBC Media. "Nobody can now doubt that digital listening will be a significant and growing part of the radio landscape over the next two years," he added. Emap is hoping to transfer Kerrang! into an analogue station, bidding for the new West Midlands licence with the format. Emap has also reported its first national audience figure for Kiss 100 - adding its usual London analogue figure to its first recorded digital figure for those who listen in other parts of the country via TV, internet and digital radio. The figures show that almost as many people are tuning in to Kiss on digital as analogue. The total Kiss network weekly reach is 2.4m, with 1.5m tuning in to the London analogue station and 932,000 tuning into Kiss digital. Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U K. DIGITAL RADIO TAKES OFF Or at least the BBC thinks it's doing so in the UK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3010215.stm (Harry Helms, W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) Some of you might not follow this stuff well enough to know what the English system is. They call it "DAB" (Digital Audio Broadcasting), and it's based on Eureka-147 like the Canadian system. The frequencies are in the VHF band near 215 MHz, but it seems most listeners receive their broadcasts through cable. In any case, it's a system that - from a technical viewpoint - has nothing to do with IBOC. The interesting thing is that it certainly has drawn some interest in England, even though the receivers are 99 pounds. The audio quality is said to not be CD quality, but way above AM IBOC. Marketeers would say "almost CD quality" I guess. Reception is very stable as you might imagine with no skywaves and less electrical and atmospheric noise (Chuck Hutton, NRC-AM via DXLD) Actually, the crux of the story which Harry posted was that most digital-radio listeners in the UK are doing so by means of their digital television (terrestrial or satellite) receivers. Cable TV still has fairly low penetration in the UK (G A Wollman, ibid.) I bet you are right. I just checked the article, and it says "The DRDB says most people are tuning in through their digital TV sets - on platforms such as Sky, Freeview, and cable", with no numbers given for each. Given the low penetration of cable in England (they don't seem to know how badly they need 125 channels of Monday Night Smackdown, Charles Bronson movies, etc), it's real likely that they are not using cable (Chuck Hutton, WA, ibid.) ** U K. Who should rule the radio waves? Maggie Brown Tuesday May 6, 2003 Ofcom, the new media super-regulator, is facing a key strategic issue of how to handle the licensing of radio stations when it takes over the duty from the radio authority in December. . . http://media.guardian.co.uk/radio/comment/0,12635,950317,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. JAPANESE AMERICAN BROADCASTERS HONORED FOR ROLES IN WWII Mike O'Sullivan, Los Angeles, 07 May 2003, 03:47 UTC Glenn: The VOA story below is from this URL, which also has links to the item in RealAudio: http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=AFEC5023-F3D0-4092-A06FB9AE332E9C96 Some Japanese Americans have been honored for playing an important but unheralded role in World War II. They provided news and commentary to listeners in Japan in the early days of international broadcasting. Their story begins in the internment camps of the Western United States, where West Coast residents of Japanese ancestry were held during the war. Decades later, U.S. officials acknowledged that the internment had been a grave miscarriage of justice. President Reagan signed an Act of Congress in 1988 providing each of the internees with a reparation payment of $20,000. "One-hundred twenty thousand persons of Japanese ancestry living in the United States were forcibly removed from their homes and placed in internment camps," he said. "The legislation that I am about to sign provides for a restitution payment for each of the 60,000 survivors." Los Angeles resident Gary Ono was researching his family history to help his younger brother qualify for the payment. In the process, the two discovered what their father had done in the war. Recruited from an internment camp because of his language skills, Sam Ono was part of a group of Japanese Americans hired to broadcast U.S. and British programs to Japan. Another wartime broadcaster, Frank Shozo Baba, says the joint radio service had a purpose. "To discourage Japanese people from supporting their leaders. So the sooner you quit the war, the better," he says. "So that's what the whole thing was about." Mr. Baba, who would later head the post-war Japanese service of the Voice of America, is featured with his colleagues in a video documentary produced by Gary Ono. It was recently shown at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, where the broadcasters were honored. Some, like Mr. Baba, worked for the U.S. Office of War Information, while others, including Sam Ono, worked for the British Political Warfare Mission. Both services emanated from the same studios in Denver, Colorado. From there, the signal was carried by telephone line to short-wave transmitters in California, and beamed across the Pacific. Former broadcaster Gish Takeshi Endo says the programs were part of a propaganda effort, but the news they presented was truthful. "I would say, yes, very much accurate. It was news coming over the press [services] like Associated Press and United Press and the New York Times," he says. "So it was all news that was also given to the people of the United States." Historian Allison Gilmore of Ohio State University says the government officials who supervised the broadcasts had made a strategic decision to be honest. "Early on, the idea was simply to broadcast news, even if it was bad news, because in order to persuade the Japanese to listen to the British or the Americans, they had to convince the Japanese that they were telling the truth," she says. "So they simply broadcast news." At first, there was little good news to report. Allied forces fared poorly in the Pacific early in the war, but later, their fortunes improved and the broadcasts added persuasive messages, urging the Japanese not to oppose an invasion. The broadcasters lived quietly in Denver during the war years, staying in rented houses and apartments. Gary Ono, who spent part of his early childhood there, knew nothing of his father's work. He says Sam Ono, like many Japanese Americans of his generation, never spoke of the war. "I don't know why. I guess that was true even about the whole camp experience," he says. "And then on top of that, this kind of job had a kind of a secret air to it and so I guess they felt they weren't supposed to make it public." Former broadcaster Chiyo Nao Wada recalls that some famous authors were hired to write the radio scripts that the broadcasters presented. They included Alan Cranston, a journalist who later became a U.S. senator. "They were well-known novelists and columnists, and they would write such sophisticated English that we couldn't really translate it," says Mrs. Wada. "So we said, give us the straight news in good English, no fancy puns and things like that." Historian Allison Gilmore says U.S. officials never had a firm grasp of the size of their audience. But they thought it was substantial, especially near the end of the war, after allied troops set up a medium-wave transmitter on the captured Japanese island of Saipan. Kay Kitsuta, a Japanese American who spent the war years in Japan, listened to the broadcasts on a home-built shortwave radio, attracted more by the music than the news and commentary. "It was very romantic music that I heard over the radio, you know. That's why it kind of attracted me to listen, instead of military, strict, war-effort music, this music was old, kind of relaxing music," he says. "So I enjoyed listening to it." The devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would finally lead to the Japanese surrender. The wartime broadcasts came to end, the internment camps were emptied and the Japanese-language broadcasters returned to the West Coast to rebuild their lives. Few, however, talked about their wartime experiences. Gish Takeshi Endo says he never even told his wife about his service to his country (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. DRUMS BEAT IN TIME WITH VOA'S MUSIC MAN TO AFRICA (Unique collection of recordings keeps Leo Sarkisian young at 82) (690[? Word count?]) By Jim Fisher-Thompson, Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The artistry, panache and even longevity that Armenians are renowned for is played out right before my eyes as Voice of America's (VOA) Leo Sarkisian literally shakes with excitement describing his legacy: a massive -- and unique -- collection of African music. On a recent day in April, a fired-up Leo, who broadcasts VOA's popular "Music Time in Africa" radio program, had me cornered but fascinated as I sat in his modest subterranean office -- one of two he has in the Independence Avenue headquarters of VOA. From its studios, a number of which have been modernized, the quasi-independent U.S. government radio station has for more than five decades broadcast news and cultural programs in 40 languages overseas. "The Music Man," as Leo is known to millions of listeners, talked to the Washington File about his career and how University of Michigan cataloguers were working to preserve his extensive African music collection. Pointing at specially built shelves that cover the walls of the windowless office from floor to ceiling, Leo declared: "My life is on these shelves." He obviously couldn't be prouder talking about his children -- the 7,000 10 inch audio reel tape recordings, that is -- that "represent 50 years of work; a lifetime of work here -- all in this one room. We've got so much to do to collect African music and I'm glad I've finally gotten support here to preserve my collection." For nearly 40 years, Leo and his co-host since 1978, Rita Rochelle, have hosted "Music Time In Africa," one of VOA's most popular programs if audience mail is any judge. Broadcast to most of the continent, Leo said he tailors the show to highlight African as well as American musical tastes because "audiences in Nigeria are as much interested in hearing music from other West African countries as they are American music. "The idea I've always promoted here [at VOA] is that music is a universal language and no country has a monopoly on culture. Africans like our program because we respect their musical contributions," which gives the U.S. broadcast service credibility overseas. The Music Man knows about foreign audiences. Born to Armenian immigrants in Massachusetts in 1921, Leo says he has always been drawn to the music of "other cultures." In addition to the sheer beauty of African music, "multicultural programming is a winning strategy in public diplomacy," Leo emphasized. And, "I've sold people here on the idea that you need African music to pull people into the broadcasts." The need now, he emphasized, is to save the recordings collected during a career that took him from Pakistan in the early 1950's, where he traveled to regions like the Khyber Pass, recording local music, to VOA, which legendary U.S. Information Agency chief Edward R. Murrow personally asked him to join in 1963. With that in mind, Leo said about a year ago, "I brought the [VOA] director down here and he couldn't believe all the recordings he saw. It's really an institution down here. I'm blessed because I'm 82 and I've found someone who understands my love for this stuff." Not long after that tour, Leo said he got permission to allow an interested party to begin cataloguing the collection. That turned out to be Kelly Askew, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, who with an assistant, has been working to list all of Leo's recordings in a register. In a report he made of the project, Askew said, "Mr. Sarkisian's collection is unparalleled by many standards. There are recordings in that collection that cannot be found anywhere else in the world." Askew noted, "Of particular interest are the recordings presented to Sarkisian by many African radio stations and local citizens for him to play on his "Music Time in Africa" biweekly show that he continues to broadcast today. These local contributions have transformed a personal collection into a populist collection, a continental treasure to which countless Africans contributed." (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) (via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) i.e.: http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=03050601.alt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml (via Jilly Dybka, Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Additional frequency changes for Voice of America: ARABIC 0000-0300 NF 9695, ex 9575 to avoid Radio Medi 1 in Arabic 0600-1500 NF 15725, ex 15445 to avoid Swiss Radio Int 0600-0800 0700-1400 NF 17565, ex 17875 1400-1700 NF 13870, ex 13690 1700-2400 NF 12040* ex 11825 |||*strong co-ch Voice of Russia French CANTONESE 1300-1400 NF 11975 additional FRENCH 2100-2130 NF 12035, ex 15730 KURDISH 0400-0500 NF 12040, ex 11690 1600-1700 NF 15470, ex 15235 to avoid AWR in English TURKISH 0330-0400 on 792, 7205, 9740, 11955 ||||| new txion UZBEK 1500-1530 NF 7135, ex 7260 VIETNAMESE 1300-1330 NF 9860, ex 7215 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 7 via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Additional frequency changes for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: ARABIC 1800-1900 NF 9740, ex 9705 to avoid VOIROI/IRIB Arabic KYRGHYZ 1400-1600 NF 15530, ex 15265 to avoid RTI English and Mandarin Chinese PASHTO/DARI 2230-0030 NF 5945, ex 12140 ROMANIAN 1500-1530 NF 11995, ex 11770 to avoid CNR-1 in Mandarin Chinese 1600-1700 NF 11865, ex 11770 to avoid CNR-1 in Mandarin Chinese 1800-1900 NF 12045, ex 11835 to avoid CRI in Mandarin Ch and French 73 from (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 7 via DXLD) ** U S A. Re WRNO in 3-078: Hi Glenn, I was somewhat alarmed to read in DXLD a quote from my old friend George Jacobs that "You can pass this information along at the next scud meeting." I do hope that was a typo for SCADS, and not an inadvertent revelation that certain people in the shortwave community are actively involved in the arms trade :-) 73, (Andy Sennitt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) = Southern California Area DXers ** U S A. MUSLIM CHANNEL --- Muslim businessmen have begun an effort to launch the first English-language Muslim television channel in North America, and the founder of the company said they hope to have it on air in 2004. Bridges TV will emphasize news, sports, sitcoms, advice shows, children's programming and movies geared to American Muslims, said Muzzammil Hassan, an upstate New York banker who started the company on the prodding of his wife, Aasiya. "Our channel is in English and about life in America," said Hassan, who said many of the 7 million Muslims in the United States and 1 million in Canada pay premiums for foreign television programming from networks such as al-Jazeera, ART, PTV and Zee TV in the Arabic, Urdu and Hindi languages. "Those stations are popular among immigrant parents, but not to their U.S.-born children," he said. Hassan said the dual mission of Bridges TV is to celebrate the diversity of American Muslims and to build bridges of friendship between Muslim Americans and mainstream America. Hassan, along with Bridges Network Inc. president Omar Amanat, has raised $1 million in seed money for the project and in in the midst of a membership drive to demonstrate Muslim support for the venture to cable and satellite outlets. In one month they have gotten 1,500 households to begin paying $10 a month as a sign of support for the channel which they hope will help convince cable operators that it is commercially viable. Hassan said Bridges needed 10,000 paying members to get the "green light" from cable and satellite networks (Reuters via SCDX/MediaScan April 7 via DXLD) ** U S A. [okgreens] STOP MEDIA MONOPOLY Dear friend, On June 2, the Federal Communications Commission is planning on authorizing sweeping changes to the American news media. The rules change could allow your local TV stations, newspaper, radio stations, and cable provider to all be owned by one company. NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox could have the same corporate parent. The resulting concentration of ownership could be deeply destructive to our democracy. Congress is supposed to guard against monopoly power. But the upcoming rule change could change the landscape for all media and usher in an era in which a few corporations control your access to news and entertainment. Please join me in asking Congress and the FCC to support a diverse, competitive media landscape by going to: http://www.moveon.org/stopthefcc/ You can also automatically have your comments publicly filed at the FCC. When the folks at MoveOn.org talk to Congresspeople about this issue, the response is usually the same: "We only hear from media lobbyists on this. It seems like my constituents aren't very concerned with this issue." A few thousand emails could permanently change that perception. Please join this critical campaign, and let Congress know you care. Thanks (Ben Alpers, OK Greens May 8 via DXLD) A LICENSE FOR POWER --- By Paul Starr, Issue Date: 5.1.03 Where's the conservative suspicion of the media now that we really need it? The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to roll back long-established rules limiting media ownership, a move that would make the media behemoths more powerful than ever. You might think that prospect would excite an outcry from the right as well as the left. But the FCC review is taking place with only scattered opposition and scarcely any public debate, thanks in part to a virtual news blackout by the media giants themselves. . . http://www.prospect.org/print/V14/5/starr-p.html (The American Prospect via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC NIXES POWER UPGRADE PLANS FOR WLIB, WGKA The FCC ruled late last week that, due to a technicality, Inner City Broadcasting's Urban Talk WLIB/New York and Salem's Gospel WGKA/ Atlanta, both of which broadcast at 1190 kHz, cannot increase their nighttime power. In 1998, WOWO/Ft. Wayne, IN — also at 1190 AM — asked the FCC if it could change its status from class A to class B and lower its nighttime power from 50kw to just 9,800 watts. Inner City and Salem then each sought permission to take advantage of WOWO's decrease in power (WOWO had specifically changed its status in order to give WLIB the ability to increase nighttime power). But the FCC ruled in 2000 that Inner City and Salem's applications were "erroneously" filed outside of a four-day window and in last week's ruling affirmed its decision to implement a "minor-change freeze" in order to allow all technical-enhancement proposals made possible by WOWO's power decrease to reach the FCC. Opponents had urged the FCC to allow other broadcasters at 1180, 1190 and 1200 AM access to the same opportunities for signal enhancement given to WLIB and WGKA. WGKA broadcasts with 25kw during the day but just 2,300 watts at night, while WLIB sought a nighttime power upgrade from 10kw to 30kw. Salem said during yesterday's quarterly conference call that intends to appeal the FCC's decision but as a result of the agency's decision will report a writeoff of approximately $900,000 in Q1 [first quarter of year?]. (from http://www.radioandrecords.com/Subscribers/TodaysNews/homepage.htm via Brock Whaley for WORLD OF RADIO 1181, DXLD May 6, 2003) ** U S A. Re previous reports of TIS and others from the Southwest: All dates/times mentioned in my reports are Eastern Local Time for US/Canadian stations and GMT for all others (Tim Hall, Chula Vista, CA, amfmtvdx May 7 via DXLD) `ELT` is one of the worst ideas ever arising in the DX hobby, but seems to be heavily entrenched amongst MW DXers thanks to sanxioning by the major US clubs, NRC and IRCA. As I understand it, ELT is not ``local`` at all: what it means, basically, is that when DST is in effect, logging times even in zones other than eastern are given in UT-4. This apparently includes AZ and parts of IN where DST is not observed, whether the transmitting or receiving state, but never mind about that! As I recall the westcoasters used to have their own PLT, but I think this has given way to `standardization`. When DST is not in effect, ELT means UT-5! The desire to use some kind of `local` time in ``domestic`` DXing inevitably gives way to dominance by the Eastern zone, whether standard, daylight or ``local``, which is irrelevant in 80% of the country, but never mind about that! The desire by domestic DXers to report loggings in zones shifting with DST indicates a lamentable disconnect from the ionosphere, and all-important sunrise and sunset times, where I am reliably informed, DST is not in effect. The only rational compromise is to use a constant worldwide time standard, i.e. UT, all the time for all loggings on all bands. Or if you must use a North American zone, a more equitable compromise would be UT-6 = CST/MDT (Glenn Hauser, where the clock is a sesquihour fast, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FM pirate in San Diego on 96.9 -- The past few days, I've noted a pirate station on 96.9 FM calling itself "Pirate radio San Diego" and other similar names, and occasionally using a theme song which I'm pretty sure is from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disneyland. Programming has ranged from junk music to a pretty interesting pre-recorded conference on media activism (i.e., fighting Sneer Channel and the problems that led to their near-monopoly). The signal is pretty strong near downtown SD and Coronado, but the station is audible with fair signals at my home which is at the far southeast edge of the SD market. 96.9 is/was one of the few wide-open channels left on the FM dial in San Diego. 73, (Tim Hall Chula Vista, CA, amfmtvdx May 7 via DXLD) ** U S A. ASSONDIEU FORTUNE. Issued monetary forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 to Assondieu Fortune for operating an FM broadcast station on the frequency 105.9 MHz without Commission authorization. Action by: Chief, Enforcement Bureau. Adopted: 04/30/2003 by Forfeiture Order. (DA No. 03-1459). EB http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1459A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1459A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1459A1.txt (FCC actions via Fred Vobbe, NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. Orlando Pirate Fined $10,000 The FCC reaffirmed a $10,000 fine against Omar Ebanks for operating a station on 93.9 MHz in Orlando without commission authorization. The original penalty was levied in February, but the FCC stated in its order that Ebanks had not responded, so it now says he has 30 days to pay. http://www.radioworld.com/reference-room/better-fm-cov/index.shtml (via Mike Terry, May 8, DXLD) OMAR A. EBANKS. Issued a monetary forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 to Omar A. Ebanks for operating a radio station on frequency 93.9 MHz without Commission authorization in violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act. Action by: Chief, Enforcement Bureau. Adopted: 05/05/2003 by Forfeiture Order. (DA No. 03-1504). EB http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1504A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1504A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1504A1.txt (FCC actions via Fred Vobbe, May 8, NRC-AM via DXLD) Question: why does the FCC, on average, hand out much stiffer fines to a pirate operator --- who is usually some schlub of average or below average financial means --- than it does to commercial broadcasters -- - like those friendly Clear Channel folks --- for essentially equivalent rules violations, like running day power at night? Could the army of lobbyists and lawyers commercial broadcasters have in their employ factor into the FCC's actions and priorities? Maybe! http://www.radioworld.com/dailynews/one.php?id=3098 (Harry Helms W7HLH Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) Harry, Ahh, Maybe because leaving a transmitter on at night is a mistake, hopefully. I can tell you if it is a Clear Channel station on at night on Day authorization it is a mistake or an emergency. But there is NO JUSTIFICATION for turning a transmitter on without any authorization. PERIOD! And then not turning it off after receiving an FCC cease and desist order tends to get the FCC's ire up. The other reason might be that when the FCC points out an error made, we respond within the required time limit like responsible licensed broadcasters working within the rule set. And will have corrected the problem expeditiously. Explaining our side and the reason it happened. In other words its our livelihood and I can tell you one of the prime directives from corporate management to the station managers is to protect the license. That does not mean we don't make mistakes, but we fix the mistakes when pointed out. Where as this guy had no license to begin with then totally ignored the penalty proceeding and so he got the max. He did not even respond to the process. And I am supposed to feel sorry for him for what reason? Being arrogant, or just plain dumb? (Paul Jellison, Clear Channel, WLW, ibid.) Folks, I was being sarcastic in some of my remarks accompanying the Orlando pirate link. "Caveat emptor" also applies to things you read. . . . . especially things you read, now that I think about it. However, anyone who follows the reports of FCC actions in DX News knows there is a clear pattern in which the FCC will issue nominal (at best) fines to commercial stations who repeatedly and willfully violate FCC rules, such as those who broadcast HS football games at night on day power. The degree to which the FCC enforces a given set of rules varies from district to district, and enforcement often seems arbitrary and capricious. My dealings with the FCC over the 1136 mystery of two years ago shows how disorganized, clueless, and contradictory their enforcements efforts can be. (Please spare me the inevitable remarks about the FCC not having enough money --- no organization has "enough money" to do everything they'd like to do; that's why you have to set priorities.) And while it's just my opinion, I do believe there is a clear pattern of the FCC cracking down hardest on the smallest fish, such as independent broadcasters and pirates, who lack the resources to fight the FCC. The only exceptions are high-profile cases, such as the Howard Stern obscenity case, that reek of political motivation (Harry Helms, W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, ibid.) I understand where you are coming from but the other side of the coin is the letter to the station for say, a missing tower registration plaque, not signing operator logs, or some such minor infraction. And the owner has 10 or 30 days to reply, and he does that the sign was stolen, or fell down or the chief was on vacation or broke his leg, or otherwise had a problem. And it is filed away with OK and case closed. No fine levied at all. That happens all the time to big and little broadcasters. I will tell you that the tolerance level for the big business broadcaster in a case like that is much lower than a mom and pop. Mom and pop might have one letter in their file like that in 10 years. A big company might have 20 with 100 times more towers. Is it because they are worse operators, no, they have more towers. It`s a ratio thing. But opening the file and not taking that into consideration you would draw the conclusion the big guy is a "problem". Now if you don't answer the NOV [notice of violation], step 1, on time will bring the NAL [notice of apparent liability], step 2, which is when you open the check book wide. The other thing the Commish has NO tolerance for is tower light issues, and safety. Like a fence down around a hot AM tower. Or a transmitter with exposed HV. The other reason I like to think we get any consideration rather we do or not. Is the fact that we do try in good faith. And usually the engineering and technical facilities are better managed than the mom and pop. Not always mind you, but usually. That reason is we have a structure to take a large market guy with lots of experience and he goes out and helps the less experienced engineer at the small market. The small market could not come close to affording the talents of the experienced engineer. Or have access to the pool of test equipment available. He becomes a mentor of sorts. I can tell you we have cleaned up so many rats nests and out of tolerance AM and FM facilities --- it is just mind boggling. Like a tower with all the guy wires being held with a single chain loop. I saw that and had a tower crew out in less than a week to replace the chain with 3 clevis connectors and the proper turnbuckles. As it was originally intended. Three levels of guys wires going through a single 1/4 inch chain. Can you say stress overload? I can tell you the FCC in their travels and dealings don't miss those things either. They see us cleaning up problems that had festered for years. PJ (Paul Jellison, WLW, Clear Channel, ibid.) The guy who runs a pirate station here in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on 107.3 is a ham, WB3EYB and he works in law enforcement. When the FCC catches up with him why shouldn't he get the max (Tom Dimeo, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, NRC-AM via DXLD) I agree pirate should have shut down after the first couple of warnings. But, saying that, I cant blame pirates. The NAB thru a phony CD recording got LPFM stopped on 3rd adjacents, but higher power phony translators can legally be on 2nd and 3rd adjacents. So, in my opinion, that shoots the NAB's argument all to hell. What does the NAB have to fear from legitimate low power radio stations? I know this is an AM list, but has anyone seen the tens of thousands of translator applications that have just been filed in the last few weeks? [see below] In many cases, the primary station to be repeated wasn`t even aware of the application. Many thousands of these have been filed by a pair of corporations connected to a large religious broadcaster in Twin Falls, Idaho. So, saying all that, I have some sympathy for the pirate broadcaster. Just my $0.02 worth (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Sarasota, FL, ibid.) ** U S A. LPFM APPLICANT ALERT FROM REC NETWORKS... This is an alert to all LPFM applicants, especially those who are currently not on the air yet. REC Networks is in the process of gathering information on the organizations who have applied for translators during the March filing window. Based on information we have received regarding the top two applicants who were responsible for more than 30% of 13,000+ applications filed during this window, we are urging all LPFM applicants to check either REC's or the FCC's LPFM database to look for nearby translators on your same frequency or on your co-channels. LPFM applicants that are not fully licensed are legally eligible for protection of their maximum 60dBu service contour (5.6 km, non- directional). Translators proposed for the same channel as the LPFM can not have overlap of their 40dBu interference contour into the LPFM's service contour. First adjacent channel translators can not overlap their 54dBu interference contour to the LPFM's service contour. Translator contour size can vary based on power, antenna height and terrain. REC has provided some tools that will help identify translators that can threaten your LPFM application. LPFM applicants can access this information on our LPFM Application Status system at: http://www.recnet.com/cgi-bin/lpfm/aspen.cgi REC recommends that any LPFM applicants who are threatened by these translators should file Informal Objections with the FCC right away. REC will post additional information about this filing window at the following URL: http://www.recnet.com/window/fx0303 (via DXLD) ** U S A. WIRELESS EXPERTS: GIVE US BROADCAST SPECTRUM By Grant Gross IDG News Service, 05/01/03 WASHINGTON - A group of radio frequency spectrum experts and wireless technology advocates called for the U.S. Congress to reallocate part of the television broadcast spectrum for wireless uses, during a congressional forum in Washington, D.C., Thursday. . . http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/0501wirelexper.html (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO DJS SUSPENDED FOR PLAYING DIXIE CHICKS A US radio station has suspended two DJs for playing the Dixie Chicks, violating a ban imposed after the group criticised President George Bush. [KKCS Colorado Springs] . . . http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_777747.html (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DXLD) ** U S A. HIS CALL FOR A REPLY SET UP HISTORIC BROADCAST RULING Fred J. Cook, whose book was attacked on Red Lion radio station WGCB in 1964, died recently at age 92. By TOM JOYCE, Daily Record staff, Tuesday, May 6, 2003 Many central Pennsylvania viewers know it as a Christian television station broadcasting out of Red Lion. But for anybody involved with telecommunications law, WGCB is far more . . . http://ydr.com/story/main/9201/ (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO RETURNS TO WESTCOTT HOUSE By SAMANTHA SOMMER, News-Sun Staff Writer John Westcott's call signal can be heard on the airwaves today for the first time in more than 80 years. The Westcott Wireless Preservation Association will use the W8AGA call signal to mark the visit of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy to Springfield [Ohio]. . . http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/newsfd/auto/feed/news/2003/05/03/1051935299.00303.4430.3694.html (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DXLD) ** U S A. NEW SPANISH STATION TO SIGN ON FOR $32 MILLION May 6, 2003 BY ROBERT FEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., Dallas-based parent company of four Spanish-language radio stations in the market, is about to acquire a fifth one [WJTW 93.5] . . . http://www.suntimes.com/output/feder/cst-fin-feder06.html (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DXLD) more Chicago news, excerpts from same column: DIALING: IS IT LIVE OR WFMT? Those sneaky folks at WFMT-FM (98.7) don't want anyone to know it, but the classical music station is cutting back its live broadcasting hours substantially. Starting next week, only three of WFMT's weekday announcers -- Carl Grapentine in mornings, Don Tait in middays and Kerry Frumkin in afternoons -- will continue to do their shows in real time. The rest of the broadcast day will be automated, including Lisa Flynn on tape from 7 p.m. to midnight and the syndicated Beethoven Satellite Network with Peter Van De Graaff from midnight to 6 a.m. Other cost- cutting moves were the departures of Mel Zellman (who was back at WFMT on a free-lance basis) and Jan Weller, as well as the elimination of the station's 10 p.m. newscast. Despite the demise of WNIB as its only format competitor in 2001, WFMT and its listeners have not fared well since Chicago's "fine arts station" achieved monopoly status. Bowing to popular demand (and growing advertiser interest), WGN-AM (720) is adding an hour to Lou Manfredini's weekly "Mr. Fix-It" program. Starting May 24, the home-improvement call-in show will air from 6 to 9 a.m. [UT -5] Saturdays. To accommodate the expansion, Charlie Potter's "The Great Outdoors," which airs from 6 to 7 a.m. Saturdays, will be incorporated into other programming. The hunting- and-fishing talk show has been a staple on WGN since 1960. Time flies: Today marks the 35th anniversary of WGN's "Extension 720." Milt Rosenberg, who was a guest on the show its first week, became permanent host five years later (Robert Feder, Chicago Sun-Times May 6 via DXLD) If you haven`t yet discovered it, Extension 720 is probably the best talkshow on American commercial radio. Topics are previewed in our MONITORING REMINDERS calendar, from the WGN website. It`s webcast minus commercials, and widely broadcast on 720, often audible here, tho less so in the summer and when auroral conditions favor southward signals, Tue-Sat 0205-0400 UT (sometimes starting slightly later depending on newscast; and subject to delayed starts or pre-emptions by stupid ballgames). There is also a growing but incomplete audio archive. Milt usually announces if a show will be archived, but it takes a few days (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1700, KBGG IA, Des Moines, currently broadcasts in Spanish every day from 1400 to 2000 [EDT = 1800-2400 UT], per call to station. This is not the one I've been hearing here around 2300. 1700 UNID, mystery SS with some EE, first noted 4/12 at 0300 when announcer seemed to give, in SS a call that included the letters "KES". He also mentioned 5,000 watts and Norteña. At 0300 4/14 interrupted a talk show in SS and said in EE "thank you for tuning into another...." At 0300 4/15 I believe a man mentioned Tijuana in a station promo, then I heard in EE what sounded like "XL...headline news" At 0300 4/17 there was a music program going and a man seemed to mention "KSS" in SS, QRM KQXX. Is this a new border XE here? Could be a domestic (Larry Godwin, Missoula, MT, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) (Larry, there is KESS, an SSer in Fort Worth on 1270. Could Sherman TX changed format from Sports talk? Anyone hear "The Ticket" of late? (Pat Martin, ibid.) 1700, at 1210, KTBK Sherman, TX, Fair with weather 16/4 (Stu Forsyth, Wellington, New Zealand, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) ** U S A. I have received a letter from Mr. Chamberlain, AE4MK, from FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, who says that on May 10, 2003, from 1300 to 2200 there will be a special transmission on the ham bands with the call K3FBI. On http://www2.arrl.org/contests/spev.html can be found all information for this special broadcast, made by the FBI for the Honoring National Police Week and the National Law Enforcement Memorial, on 28480, 21280, 14280 and 7280 kHz in SSB. Certificate from Jay Chamberlain, AE4MK, 27 Fox Run Ln, Fredericksburg, VA 22405, ae4mk@1bigred.com (Massimo Cerveglieri, Italy, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. R National de Venezuela verified with e-mail QSL. V/s: Mr. Ali Méndez Martinez, Representativo de onda corta. Address: Apartado Postal 3979, Caracas, Vezezuela. E-mail: ondacortavenezuela@hotmail.com Ali mentioned in e-mail, they are still repairing, or making adjustment (Masato Ishii, Shibata-shi, Japan, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) For an old report I assume (gh) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. BREAKING THE AIRWAVES --- By JEFF CHU Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans thumb their nose at President Mugabe every night, simply by turning on their radios. http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901030303-425850,00.html Two years ago, Gerry Jackson was sitting in her Harare home "going mad. I just wanted to know what was going on in my own country," recalls the ex-DJ with state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. "I wanted news." But since all broadcast media in Zimbabwe are controlled by the government, there was no reliable source. She tried setting up a station, Capital Radio, in Harare, but Robert Mugabe shut it down six days after it went on air. So she went into exile, to London, where she and a team of seven now run SW (Short- Wave) Radio Africa, beaming back to Zimbabwe. Surveying the audience is impossible given "the extreme fear on the ground," says Jackson. But the station estimates that hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans tune in for SW Radio's three hours of nightly programming. "You don't get newspapers in every corner of Zimbabwe," says John Matinde, a DJ who headed ZBC's Radio 3 pop station for a decade. "Radio is a way of reaching all people." SW Radio goes live on air at 6 p.m. Zimbabwe time each evening, and the first hour is devoted to Callback. Listeners dial a Zimbabwean number, and SW Radio returns the call, patching them into on-air chats. Hour two is Newsreel, devoted to current events. The final hour features programs such as From the Outside Looking In, a platform for exiled Zimbabweans. It's all about dialogue. "We didn't set up SW Radio Africa because we have answers," says Matinde. "We have plenty of questions, and we want debate." That is not one of Robert Mugabe's favorite activities. Ministers routinely decline interview requests from the station, which the government has slammed as a tool of colonial-minded Britain. (Jackson says funding comes from NGOs and other donors, but not the British government.) Station personnel have been banned from their homeland — though sources still phone in with their reports. And the staff sometimes hears of listeners being targeted. Recently, in the Mashonaland West town of Zvimba, two teens listening in on someone else's radio were beaten by soldiers. In fact, SW Radio is only taking a page from Mugabe's own playbook. During the chimurenga in the 1970s, his party aired reports on shortwave from Mozambique. Listeners would huddle clandestinely around radios, waiting to hear the reassuringly familiar words: "This is the Revolutionary Voice of Zimbabwe." Some three decades later, "the people still need a voice," says Jackson. "We're just trying to give people hope." (Time Europe March 3 via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 1170.05, May 3 0845-0915 & May 4 0840-1000(b/out by HLSR) Non-stop light American rock music. No announcement. Strong signal like receiving Saipan/Guam stations. Any idea? (Hideki WATANABE, Japan cerveza@jcom.home.ne.jp DX LISTENING DIGEST) No; at that hour it could not be R. Sawa via UAE or the Iraqi, q.v. {Hee hee, guess Hideki likes (imported?) beer} UNIDENTIFIED. 1490, 0733 19/4, R. Reforma, Unlisted. Fair with Religious program, many IDs (Stu Forsyth, Wellington, New Zealand, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ DIRECTORY OF CATHOLIC RADIO STATIONS IN EUROPE [including Orthodox] Truly a magnum opus. Mike Dorner of Catholic Radio Update has issued a new edition of his work in progress. Hardly any of this concerns SW, but there is an incredible number of Catholic stations, mostly on FM, in France, Spain, and especially Italy. If this subject matter is of interest, I assume Mike will E-mail a copy of this large .doc on request to: MikeD509@aol.com (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ IC-R75 DISCONTINUED? Re DXLD 3-078: Glenn, Humm, I still find the Icom IC-R75 listed on the "Icom Japan" web page (as of May 8th). http://www.icom.co.jp/ce/receiver/index.htm Regards, (Dave Zantow, N9EWO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CITY HAS HIGHEST ELECTROMAGNETIC READINGS, STUDY SAYS By Sharon Moran, Monday, April 21, 2003 - 07:00 Local News - The city of Kingston has the worst electromagnetic field readings out of 60 Ontario communities, a study by Trent University professor Magda Havas suggests. ``They`re horrific,`` said Havas in an interview with The Whig Standard. . . http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=29478&catname=Local+News (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) POWER LINE COMMUNICATIONS +++++++++++++++++++++++++ A THREAT TO SHORTWAVE --- From http://www.eham.net/articles/5316 PLC... An Emerging Threat to Ham Radio: Steven E. Matda (KE4MOB) on May 5, 2003 Imagine the following: You walk over to your HF and turn it on. On 80 meters, there is static interference kind of like spark plug RFI. So you go to 40 meters. It's still there. On to 20. Still there, too. And 10 meters is noisy as well. So you turn the radio off and decide to wait until the noise level drops. You come back in a few hours, but it's still there. It's there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can't hear anything on any band except for the the ratt-a-tatt-tat-ratt-tatt of some sort of signal. You decide to get in the car and try to DF it. No luck, it's everywhere. Congratulations (or condolences)... you have found PLC. PLC is short for Power Line Communications... a new way to provide broadband internet over the existing power lines. Unfortunately, it also has the potential to render wide swaths of HF spectrum useless due to RFI. It poses perhaps more of a threat to the future of ham radio communications than any other in recent memory. Basically, it superimposes a broadband (up to 80 MHz) signal along side the standard 60 Hz power line signal. Now think about it... how many times have you looked up thought "If I could only use the power company's line as an antenna" and you can see the possibilities that emerge. Antennas that are miles long, mounted high in the air, radiating RF all the way up to 80 MHz. Not a fun possibility for ham operators, is it? One would think that other users of the HF spectrum (the US government in particular) would object to such interference and that saner heads would prevail. However, in a recent ARRL article it was reported: "The FCC has declared BPL [FCC shorthand for PLC] as a top priority for its Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) in 2003. [Michael] Powell, who recently witnessed a BPL demonstration, calls its potential "immense." As the [FCC] chairman sees it, BPL "can offer consumers freedom to access broadband services from any room in their home without need to pay for additional wiring, by simply plugging an adapter into an existing electrical outlet." Currently, the FCC is investigating the feasibility of PLC in the US, but the aforementioned quote leads one to believe the FCC is more attuned to the PLC companies than they are to the incumbent users of the spectrum. In Japan, where PLC systems have been in operation, amateurs complained so much about the RFI that the PLC companies were forced to place 30 dB notches in the PLC frequencies to protect the amateur allocations. Perhaps this is an avenue that bears investigation in the US. When (and if) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is issued by the FCC, I would urge all amateurs on HF to make their voices heard... before ours are silenced by PLC. 73 to all, Steve Matda, KE4MOB (via Mike Terry, DXLD) END OF THE SHORTWAVE RADIO ERA? Hello, Please carefully review the FCC proposal for Broadband over Power Line (BPL) Internet service over electric power lines. This new Internet service will result in intense RF noise on the short wave frequencies. The text of this proposal is at the FCC URL listed below. This is FCC ET Docket No. 03-104, an Inquiry Regarding Carrier Current Systems, including Power Line Broadband Systems. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-100A1.doc The ARRL web site has detailed information on this technology at its web site at: http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/ It is interesting to note that the short-wave interference from the hundreds of thousands of proposed BPL emitters will have a very long range and not be just localized (Nickolaus E. Leggett, N3NL, 1432 Northgate Square, Apt. 2A, Reston, VA 20190-3748, (703) 709-0752 nleggett@earthlink.net DX LISTENING DIGEST) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ QSLing, BELLABARBA Glenn! Dario Monferini has asked me to translate these comments from RW. Rolf Wikström (and also I) are not interested in deeper discussion with those two people because both he and I know it will lead to a dead end. Re Dario Monferini reply about Bellabarba, comment by Rolf Wikström. The meaning with RW comment is that there is not so much to do with Bellabarba himself but you have to deal with the publisher, DM. ARC has ceased exchange and so must also SWB. I protested loudly on their site when Italy was elected chairman for the European DX union. There were heavy arguments from Italy with several rude mails. The positive was the ability to explain what DX is about for three Italian DX-ers who had the guts to take a discussion. The others were never heard of later. They had no clue at all what DX is about! I also learned that there are several Bellabarbas in Italy. DM says that there is nothing to do about Bellabarba`s cheating. Of course there is! He can do it himself at once, stop publishing fake QSLs! If not, boycott Dario! If Bellabarba gets no publicity of what he is doing he will be tired and go into another business to continue his cheating. [? It is claimed BB is not interested in publicity - gh] The problem with a Bellabarba in a hobby is that he destroys the hobby totally. Dario`s childish explanation is that the station replies also for a wrong report so why at all bother to write correct reports. Of course I agree that certain stations send out QSL without controlling them. But here it is always up to each DX-er to decide the value of such verifications and the honest DX-er always has his tape recording to relate to. The big problem with Bellabarba is sending out thousands of fake reports all over the world. Some stations do not control and then he gets reply. BUT, what happens at the stations really checking the reports? First of all no reply and secondly Bellabarba has completely destroyed the possibilities for an honest DXer when he sends his report. The station thinks directly that the next report coming from Europe also is a fake one! And if Dario continues to publish such fake QSLs there will certainly be several Bellabarbas, believe me! At the end you can also wonder what relation Dario has with Bellabarba. Regards, (WIK/Rolf Wikström, Sweden, translated by SWB editor Thomas Nilsson) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ HF OUTLOOK FOR SPRING/SUMMER 2003 Hi, Folks. Here's my outlook on current conditions and the Spring/Summer HF season: As we move closer to summer, the days grow longer in the Northern Hemisphere and the sun heats up and thins the ionosphere. With less ionization, the maximum frequency refracted is lower than during colder months. By June, this thinning causes a real reduction in the MUF. Because we are in the decline of the solar cycle, we are also expecting a rise in the geomagnetic storminess. This expectation is based on the observation of a double peak of geomagnetic activity in each Solar Cycle analyzed since Solar Cycle 11. The second peak of each cycle appears during the decline of the sun's activity, right after the peak year. In addition, from now through the early summer months, solar absorption is expected to be at seasonally high levels, resulting in generally weaker signals during the hours of daylight when compared to reception during the winter and spring months. Nighttime usable frequencies to most parts of the world are higher than at any other time of the year, while the daytime usable frequencies are generally lower than those during winter are. Expect good openings into most areas of the world through out the day on 22, 19, and 16 meters. Through the summer, you can expect a lot of propagation between north and south regions during the daylight hours. Nineteen and 16 meters will be the strong daytime bands, with 19 remaining a popular band throughout the year. Reception of stations located in tropical or equatorial areas may be possible well into the hours of darkness. For distances between 800 to several thousand miles, expect exceptionally strong signals. Multi-hop signals will be prevalent. Late afternoon and early evening broadcasts will likely congest the band. Twenty-five and 22 meters will remain open from just before sunrise to a few hours past sunset. From late afternoon to well into darkness, expect these bands to offer worldwide coverage. Thirty-one meters is a year-round power band with outstanding domestic and international paths, around the clock. During periods of low geomagnetic activity this summer, this band may offer long distance DX all through the night. Forty-one and 49 meters offer domestic propagation during daylight hours and somewhat during the night. Geomagnetic storms will wipe it out, however. The tropical bands (60, 75, 90, and 120 meters) are not noticeably affected by the solar flux, but are degraded during geomagnetic storminess. Through the summer, expect these bands to be more challenging. Overall, daytime bands will open just before sunlight, and last a few hours after dark. Look higher in frequency during the day, as these frequencies will be less affected by any solar storms occurring, and more broadcasters have transmissions in these upper bands. Right now the geomagnetic storminess is causing a real degradation of ionospheric propagation. Maximum Usable Frequencies are quite low. For more information, see http://prop.hfradio.org/ - the HFRadio.org Propagation Center. : Propagation Editor, CQ/PopComm Magazines - Member, USArmy MARS : : http://prop.hfradio.org : Brinnon, Washington 122.93W 47.67N : : A creator of solutions : http://accessnow.com : Perl Rules! : : 10x56526 - FISTS 7055 - FISTS NW 57 - http://hfradio.org/barsc : : A.R.Lighthouse Society 144 -- CW, SSB, RTTY, AMTOR, DX-Hunting : 73 de (Tomas, NW7US // AAR0JA , SWBC topica list via DXLD) Usually with more summer conditions on the signal path and more ionization, MUFs go up (G. Victor A. Goonetilleke, 4S7VK, "Shangri- La," 298 Madapatha Road, Kolamunne, Piliyandala. Sri Lanka, ibid.) Victor's right. With more hours of daylight, it increases the amount of ionization and the effective "height" of the ionosphere, thus increasing distance and MUF. See Davies' "Ionospheric Propagation", IEEE Press. It is why frequency managers usually band-shift up for Summer paths, and down for Winter paths. Dan, care to comment? :^) BTW, it has absolutely nothing to do with solar temperature. You're confusing another effect that has to do with stratospheric "warming" which increases absorption - an effect that usually occurs more frequently on the down side of the solar cycle (Mark J. Fine / Remington, Virginia, USA, ibid.) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-079, May 8, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1181: RFPI: Fri 1930, Sat 0130, 0730/0900, 1330/1500, 1730, 2330 7445 15039 WWCR: Sat 0600, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: Sat 0930, Sun 1030, 1630 7490 13595 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN ONDEMAND from Fri: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1181.html WORLD OF RADIO ON WJIE: Altho we have not been told of any changes, the current program schedule at http://www.wjiesw.com/schedule.htm no longer shows WOR M-F 0730 UT, nor Sun 0200, with only three remaining times: Sat 0930, Sun 1030, 1630, on 7490, and maybe 13595. WJIE Update now shows only at 0915 on Sunday, and there is no news at http://www.wjiesw.com/NewsUpdate.htm WJIE has been inaudible lately on 7490 as well as 13595 (gh, May 8) WOR/COM/MR SCHEDULE http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html and MASTER TIME SCHEDULE http://www.worldofradio.com/wormast.html have been updated May 8 with latest WJIE and RFPI changes UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Hi Glenn, Let me add my name to the list of people who appreciate what you do. It's interesting to note that much of the positive feedback comes from people who themselves either contribute to, or compile, DX and SWL information. Many of those who complain about your religious/ political comments never show up as active contributors to DXLD or any other publication I have seen. I think the criticism you've been getting is symptomatic of the change I perceive in the west generally, and particularly in the US. People are less willing to tolerate the expression of opinions with which they strongly disagree. We at Radio Netherlands have been getting some stick recently for allowing people opposed to the war in Iraq to explain their position. I don't always agree with your opinions, but one thing I can say is that in all the years I have known you, you've been absolutely consistent in your views, and I respect that. There's so much hypocrisy about now, especially amongst politicians and their spin doctors, that it's refreshing to see someone who does not feel a need to be "politically correct" in order to gain cheap popularity. Glenn, carry on doing what you're doing. Your personal contribution to SWLing and DXing over many years has been immense. Don't let the "here today, gone tomorrow" brigade put you off! 73, (Andy Sennitt (writing in a personal capacity), Netherlands) ** ALASKA. ALASKA FROM THE LOWER 48 STATES Craig Healy, http://www.am-dx.com For years one of the most difficult DX catches from the continental US has been the state of Alaska. It's not for a lack of stations, as there are some high power stations there. Much of the difficulty is in the far Northern location, and the difficult propagation from north to south. Over the years, it has been observed that AM skywave signals are enhanced along the sunrise/sunset terminator line. This is called greyline DX. Some amazing catches have been had this way, such as India from the northeast US by a very senior DXer some years back. Alaska at dawn in late Spring and early Summer may be possible. I can guess that there are several reasons why this hasn't ever been really investigated. First, sunrise DX is nowhere near as popular as sunset DX. Most people listen in the evening and nighttime. Second, is that the "DX Season" is often considered over by March or April. Yet, the ionosphere isn't as season-sensitive as commonly believed. Last reason is Spring and Summer are thunderstorm seasons. Noise in summer is much worse than Winter. However, noise is least at dawn and may be no worse than wintertime. For the northeastern US, the propagation path also goes across the Auroral Zone. It will be hit and miss to catch a good path through there. You never know until you try, and to my knowledge few have bothered, dismissing the idea without ever researching it first hand. Here's the plan: Starting in late Spring, the dawn greyline does a pivot over the city of Anchorage, AK and swings over the whole US. This happens in June and early July in the eastern US. The western US has this beginning earlier, in mid-May. This greyline is probably the best chance to hear this difficult state. Here are a series of GeoClock graphics showing the terminator as it swings across the US. Starting in late May, I will be recording 750 kHz from about 4:30 am to 5:30 am EDT in Providence. The equipment will be somewhat limited, with a Drake R7A and only a sloping longwire aimed Northwest. We shall see.... Here is a list of Anchorage stations: 550 KTZN 5kw U1 590 KHAR 5kw U1 650 KENI 50kw U1 700 KBYR 10kw U1 750 KFQD 50kw U1 1080 KUDO 10kw U1 Of these, KFQD would be a good choice in the Northeast. WSB could be nulled as it's at 90 degrees (roughly) to the bearing toward Anchorage. (see website for pix) At dawn in Providence, RI at 4:50 am EDT June 14th. Note the nice greyline from Anchorage to Providence. Same view from Pittsburgh, PA at 5:30 am EDT June 14th. And from Chicago, IL at 5:00 am CDT June 14th. From Denver, CO at 5:15 am MDT June 7th. Note the earlier date as you approach the west coast. And from Los Angeles, CA at 5:35 am PDT May 14th. Note that this is earlier in Spring as you go further west. The addition of a mostly saltwater path, and shorter distance makes it easier from the west coast. Alaska is heard fairly frequently in the Pacific Northwest (IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via WORLD OF RADIO 1181, DXLD) ** ANGOLA. Material on early broadcasting in Angola and old stations... look into the following site: http://www.terravista.pt/bilene/1647/Angola/AngolaRadio.htm Many photographs and data on the "rádio clubes", etc. (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 1700, 0938 17/4, R. Restauración, "BA, Argentina" Relaying BBC in Spanish (Stu Forsyth, Wellington, New Zealand, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 11710 from 0202 UT in English with web addresses, e-mail and postal addresses. SINPO 33333, just poor enough to not be able to totally copy. By 0222 with tangos, SINPO 23222 (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. A secret Chinese policeman working in China monitoring overseas shortwave radio broadcasts into China was in Brisbane. He came to visit the broadcast centre and during the visit admitted to staff who he was and that after listening so much to Voice that he wanted to give his life to Jesus. He accepted Jesus into his heart while in the studios on the Sunshine Coast. [caption:] Meet Mario Klauzer from the Cox Transmitter site. Mario is one of Voice's longest service staff members. He has been with us for 3 years now, however has been at the Cox Transmitter site for over 30 years; some say he was there when Captain Cook passed by. Well done, Mario, we appreciate your work (April On Air, Voice International newsletter via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Just found this on Aus. radio. broadcast. thought it was interesting ----------- From: Liron Lightwood Subject: Re: Pirate Radio Sydney Newsgroups: aus.radio.broadcast Date: 2003-04-13 23:53:58 PST [sic] I'm amazed that there hasn't been much pirate radio activity in Australia, given how much you hear about in other countries. I mean in the 80's there was so much empty-ish space on the FM band, no community stations, not as many commercial stations on FM! There were some pirate radio stations over the years here in Melbourne, but I only know about the ones I've heard myself. I'm really surprised that I haven't heard anything in the media about this. The main station I heard in the 80's was Radio Uranus. They started off on transmitting from a boat on Port Philip Bay in December 1986 (you could hear the boat engine in the background when they spoke between songs). I heard two test transmissions on December 14 in the evening and December 21 in the afternoon, they were preparing for their major test transmission on December 24, but unfortunately I went on holidays to the Gold Coast on that day so I didn't hear how their major broadcast went. One of the dialogs I remember from that transmission went something like: First guy: "This is radio, so you can't swear" Second guy: "Oh, you mean like ..." All was quiet for the next few years until November 18 1989 when I heard a test tone near 93.9 at 4PM for an hour. At first, I thought it was 93.9 BAY FM Geelong preparing for a launch. But on Sunday November 19, after another hour of test tones from 4 to 5 PM, they announced that they were Radio Uranus on 93.7! They were back! This time it seems they were going for the big time. During the test transmission, they said that they were using a 10 kW transmitter located in Kinglake. In the inner-southern suburbs of Melbourne they came in with a medium level signal similar to 3RPP. During the transmission, they played various songs of a mainstream variety (but not pop) and talked in between. They also crossed over to someone in their 'Stereo Cruiser' which was located on St. Kilda Rd. near the Arts Centre. They said that the first person to come there would get a free ice-cream. They used a 2-way radio for the link. The test transmission started at 4 PM. The transmission proper started at 5 pm. By 8:30 or 9:30 they were raided (by the sounds of it) by the authorities within seconds they were off the air. I'm really surprised I didn't hear anything about them on radio or TV. The next and last pirate radio transmission I heard was on December 30 1992 by a station calling themselves 3PPP. They must have been located around South Yarra or Richmond, but this is just a hunch. They were on the air late at night but I didn't hear the end of their transmission. Liron Lightwood ---------------------------------- I did it in Brisbane off and on for about 2-1/2 years --- with not to much problems from the authorities, running 40 watts and a couple of half wave dipoles --- and some bad automation methods. My ID was "Brisbane`s only pirate radio station, Kickass FM" God, I had some fun djs ------------------------------------------------- From: SOMEONE WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE!!!! Subject: Re: Pirate Radio Sydney Newsgroups: aus.radio.broadcast Date: 2003-04-14 04:14:06 PST [sic] Only FM pirate I ever noted was Radio Zeiras(sp?) from the southern suburbs of Sydney back in the early 80s. Greek programming, and quite well heard down near Waterfall. Otherwise CBN on shortwave, and occasionally a very low powered FM transmitter. There was also one in Tassie for a while a few years back on shortwave but don't know of any other operations. Sit in London on a weekend evening and the band is full of FM pirates. Richard --------------------------------------- From: Another famous name Subject: Re: Pirate Radio Sydney Newsgroups: aus.radio.broadcast Date: 2003-04-14 06:25:26 PST [sic] There was a pirate from Melbourne on 1611 kHz which operated around Xmas or New years eve back in the mid to late 1980's. Rock solid signal at night across Victoria. DM ---------------------------------------- From: Central FM Subject: Re: Pirate Radio Sydney Newsgroups: aus.radio.broadcast Date: 2003-04-15 05:00:35 PST [sic] Don`t forget the gold coast's central fm 106.5 busted after almost 18 months. Lost all interest in it now. ------------------------------- Message 12 in thread From: Matthew Cook Subject: Re: Pirate Radio Sydney Date: 2003-04-16 04:53:27 PST [sic] I read very recently on a radio email list about a "Tex FM" operating on 99.7 in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. I'd like to credit the author, but I can't remember who it was :-( (all via Jem Cullen, May 5, ARDXC via DXLD) There was also Pox FM in Melbourne a bit before my time (David Martin, ibid.) I recall both of those. Radio Uranus used to operate mobile from the top of Mt Dandenong. They got busted when they gave out phone numbers I believe. Geez, that was years ago. POX Fm... Mmmmh, I think this started way before on 27 MHz. Interesting (Dave Onley, ibid.) Recall hearing a pirate in 1972/73 in Sydney. Apparently it was run by an east European migrant for his own amusement and was just playing music from the Yugoslavian area, I think. As I remember the ID was R. Belgrano [Belgrade?] or similar and was located down around Marrickville area. I had no idea what it was till I read about the station's closure by the police in the paper. Must have had reasonable power as I heard it on the North side of the Harbour. Cheers, (John Schache, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. GROUP TO STUDY DIGITAL RADIO Selina Mitchell MAY 06, 2003 NEARLY two years after the Federal Government announced it would set up digital radio technology to Australia, it will establish a study group to report on options for its introduction. . . http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,6385757%5E15333%5E%5Enbv%5E15306-15321,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** BAHAMAS. FM DX (EDT) 5-6 Es! 1805, 104.5, ZNS-FM BAHAMAS, New Providence, Nassau, international news program in English with tropical/Caribbean accents, matches their online schedule for "World News" 1800-1830, nothing outside of ZNS-FM matches what I heard, 1151 miles, NEW! COUNTRY #3. Yamaha T-80 tuner (modified IF filters), non directional FM antenna I figure the area of ionization was near Georgetown, SC, which was not far from severe thunderstorm activity. If the ion cloud could have floated northwest I would have probably started getting Florida as well, but that was not the case. I almost missed this one because of the lack of stations in the Bahamas and I did not have many clues that anything was going on until I saw the storm activity on the Weather Channel. At that point I thought maybe I could get the Bahamas. Of course, the only station I knew of from memory was the one on 104.5 MHz. Later on I put this list together: 89.9 Spanish Wells - "Splash 89.9 FM" variety 94.9 ??? - "More 94.9 FM" adult R&B/talk 96.1 Freeport - "Cool FM" 97.5 New Providence, Nassau - "Love 97 FM" AC 100.3 Nassau - "Jamz FM" R&B/hip-hop/local 102.9 ??? - "Island FM" island music/AC 104.5 New Providence, Nassau - (ZNS-FM) "Power 104.5 FM" variety 107.1 Nassau - (ZNS-1) Religious? 107.9 Nassau - (ZNS-2) Religious? I probably could have heard that one on 100.3 if I had known about it; of course I did scan when ZNS-FM faded and did not catch anything else that was unusual, it might have been too late at that point. Good DX! (Michael Procop, Bedford, Ohio (Cleveland), AMFMTVDX mailing list via DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non]. 12125, Voice of Biafra International, full-data E- mail reply from V/S Chima Osondu for Oct 2001 postal report and a couple of postal and E-mail follow-ups. This came from biafrafoundation.com on the same day as my latest E-follow-up, which I sent separately to biafrafoundation@yahoo.com and oguchi@mbay.net (apparently it is the first address that worked). (Jerry Berg, MA, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. RADIO BOTSWANA VETERANS RETIRE 08 MAY, 2003 Two of Radio Botswana's long serving officers, Moreri Gabakgore and Mpolokeng Thebe, have retired after serving the station for a combined period of 66 years. . . http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20030508&i=Radio_Botswana_veterans_retire (via Jill Dybka, MSIS, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. PV2AA - PRESS RELEASE N. 03 EE ------------------------------------------------- Hello friends, New LABRE/SP DXpedition to: COMPRIDA ISLAND, IOTA SA 024 - DIB 021, STATE OF SAO PAULO - BRAZIL Callsign: PV2AA (Papa Victor 2 Alfa Alfa) Date: 17 and 18 may 2003 QRGs: From 2 to 160 meters. Modes: CW, SSB and FM Operators: Luiz Eduardo Tresso, PU2OCZ Martins de Oliveria Nunes, PY2HN Flávio Aurélio Braggion ARChangelo, PY2ZX QSL via PY2AA (for SWLs too) Bureaux or Direct to: P. O. Box 22, São Paulo - SP - Brazil - CEP 01059-970 LABRE/SP - DX AND EDUCATION LABRE (Liga Amadorística Brasileira de Radio Emissão) is the Brazilian league devoted to ham radio. LABRE/SP is the São Paulo`s league organization, one of the most active in the country. LABRE/SP made some expeditions in the past, as PS2V first operation at Vitória Island and support others as PS0S to Saint Peter and Saint Paul Rocks. In PY2AA headquarters station, LABRE/SP now going to receive its first DXCC Award. The station was heard in many contests with special callsigns PU2A, PQ2A, etc. The main objective of PV2AA Comprida Island Expedition is the educational approach, with University - Ham integration. Teachers and students of journalism from UNICID (Universidade Cidade de São Paulo) will be following the expeditionaries, making one institutional video, interviews, and stay more closed with basic ham radio DX activities. UNICID made recent statements with LABRE/SP for co-producing the QTC Magazine, the national wide LABRE magazine. The Radioamateurs of Japy, an active group of São Paulo, also support the PV2AA journey. The station will be active on Manchester Mineira CW Contest, promoted by CWJF. COMPRIDA ISLAND - THE WINDLAND The "Comprida Island" is the longer island on São Paulo´s shore, with 74 km of continuous beach. The island located in the middle of Iguape- Paranaguá Lagoon Complex (covering south São Paulo and north Paraná), one important refugee for undersea life and migratory birds (4th position in migratory species diversity on South America). Duo to its environmental influence, the Education, Science and Culture Nations Organization (UNESCO) includes it in the Planet's life Reserve. In Comprida Island live 8.000 residents that grows up to 400.000 as floating population in summer time, looking for tourism activities. The cultural and sports entertainment performed in Ilha Comprida are influenced by its environment. The folk set great store by the typical fisherman art. The Cinema and theater festivals, performed annually, show environmental themes. Adventure sports such as rallies, motorcross, marathon, windcar and traditional fishing are other attractions. Many actions by local government and partners promote the development with ecological perspective. Universities are making there some pioneer projects such as cloning bromeliads, the controlled production of Mytella mussel, and traditional reforestation. FOR MORE INFORMATIONS # CHECK LABRE/SP http://www.labre-sp.org # SEND E-MAIL TO labresp@labre-sp.org RELATED INFO: + UNICID http://www.unicid.br + LABRE Brazil http://www.labre.org + CWJF http://www.powerline.com.br/cwjf + Radioamateurs of Japy http://www.japy.kit.net + Comprida Island http://www.rgt.matrix.com.br/ilhacomp + State of São Paulo http://www.saopaulo.sp.gov.br/ + Federative Republic of Brazil http://www.brasil.gov.br FELL FREE TO SPREAD THIS E-MAIL WE HOPE FIND YOUR STATION ON THE PILE UP! PSE SPOT US WHEN HEAR OUR SIGNALS FROM THE WINDLAND! ====================================================== ||||| LABRE SAO PAULO - PY2AA ||||| R. Dr. Miguel Vieira Ferreira, 345 A, Tatuape, Sao Paulo - SP - Brasil CEP 03071-080. Tel (11) 293-4996, 293-2060, FAX (11) 294-1047. Letters also to P. O. Box 22, Sao Paulo - SP - Brasil - CEP 01059-970 Web site: http://www.labre-sp.org E-mail: labresp@labre-sp.org ====================================================== (Flávio ARChangelo, py2zx@50mhz.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CHWO TEST - One last time For those who are recording the song "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon for Fred, the April 30th test was off a bit in timing plus there were a few storms that night making the recording useless. So the station will play it one more time on May 14th between 9:15 and 10:00 pm EDT. I will narrow down the time sooner to the event but it will be in that time frame. Thanks. (Brian Smith - CHWO / AM 740, May 6, NRC- AM via DXLD) ** CANADA. A good source of how DAB is available here in Vancouver (15 stations, each broadcasting from 2 locations), as well as info on other cities in Canada, and a link to the industry http://www.digitalradio.ca/ Go to: http://members.shaw.ca/nwbroadcasters/digitalradio.htm Me? I can't be bothered, as MW radio meets my needs just fine without spending CDN$350* for DAB reception. The ONLY exception is in the downtown core, where reception of ONE of the locals (CKNW-980) suffers ef Vancouver *less $50 if the special promotion is still on (Eric Floden, BC, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CANADA. "SAVE THE MALES" CREDO, FOUND ON MOJO-640'S WEB SITE http://www.mojoradio.com/station/mojo_creed.cfm I'm not making this up, folks, or forwarding an old urban legend. 73 (Mike Brooker Toronto, ON, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CROATIA. CROATIAN RADIO TO START 24-HOUR BROADCASTS FOR DIASPORA | Text of report in English by Croatian news agency HINA Zagreb, 7 May: On Croatian Radio and Television Day, 15 May, Croatian Radio will begin broadcasting a 24-hour programme for Croatian emigrants. The programme will be called "The Voice of the Homeland". The programme is intended for Croats outside the homeland but also for the international public. It will be broadcast on short and medium wave and via satellite signals. The programme will be available on the Internet too. The programme will air in Croatian, English and Spanish. Source: HINA news agency, Zagreb, in English 1708 gmt 7 May 03 (via BBCM via WORLD OF RADIO 1181, DXLD) Details, especially on SW??? (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. U.S. ACTION AFTER CUBA CRACKDOWN DEBATED -- FLORIDA REACTION A CONCERN FOR '04 --- BY TIM JOHNSON Posted on Mon, May. 05, 2003 WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has compiled several options -- ranging from mild action to confrontation -- in reaction to Cuba's recent offensive to smash the pro-democracy forces on the island… [article touches briefly on broadcasting:] Some observers say they expect the White House to announce action to overcome jamming of U.S.- operated Radio and TV Martí, issue a resounding call for regime change of Cuba's ''cynical tyrant'' and impose a lengthy review for any application for trade and travel to the island. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/5787046.htm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** DENMARK. After only a week the Danish Minister of Culture personally answered the letter of protest from the DSWCI, mentioned in DX-Window no. 218. Mr. Brian Mikkelsen confirmed that R Denmark has a public service obligation to serve Danes abroad with programmes and information. He wrote this can be done by shortwave broadcasts, satellite relays of domestic radio- and TV programmes from Danmarks Radio, on-line broadcasts through the Internet and by a special newsservice on telephone. The shortwave service will as a minimum continue throughout 2003. It has not yet come to a decision as to how long thereafter it will continue. A planned meeting on May 06 between the Board of R Denmark and its Directory was cancelled due to political discrepancies (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) ** DENMARK. 6290, World Music R, Central Jutland, Apr 27, heard well in the evening for the first time (Erik Køie, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) Not on the air Apr 28-May 06 (Anker Petersen, ibid.) So the beginning of WMR`s own transmissions direct from Denmark, previously previewed here (gh, DXLD) ** DIEGO GARCIA. The station in Diego García still exists (Trish Huizinga, OIC, AFN Keflavik [see ICELAND] via Jarmo Patala, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) But on SW? ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Radio Amanecer International, 6025, 0009-0032, May 7, Spanish. Continuos choral style ballads, Male with nice, clear ID at 0020. Fair with propagation fades, QRM (Scott R Barbour Jr, NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. 5925, Voice of Democratic Eritrea, full-data paper QSL card, good veri statement, handstamp, personal note about listening at 1600 Local Time Saturday. V/S appears to be same as name in envelope return address, i.e. Neguse Tseggon. Reported to and received from P.O. Box 1946, 65409 Russelsheim, Germany. Also says 100 kw, 130 degrees, non-directional to Europe on Sat. In 2 weeks for CD report (Jerry Berg, MA, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Noticed some frequency changes on TDP's website. Voice of Ethiopian Medhin: 1800-1900 7520; 1830-1930 12120 Amharic (both only on Sunday) (Silvain Domen, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. 5980, Scandinavian Weekend R, Villat, 2310-2315, May 02, Finnish pop music disturbed by BBC 5975 and R Liberty 5985. 23322 6170, Scandinavian Weekend R, Villat, 0640-0820, May 03, Finnish talk and Finnish pop music, 24222 // 11690 slightly better under Voice of Turkey: 33333 11720, Scandinavian Weekend R, Villat, 1050-1255, May 03, Finnish pop music under a distorted Voice of Arabs, Cairo, 23222 (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) Does anyone hear them further away, as Anker seems to every month? (gh) ** FRANCE [non]. Subject: [vhf-dx] PHENOMENON ON 144300 Hello all. To those interested in the study of estrange propagation phenomenon, there is one that I have been following for 3 years. Radio France International has a transmitter in Montsinéry, French Guiana, and every day between 0100 and 0200 UT they Broadcast the first 30 minutes in Spanish and the last 30 minutes in French for Central/South America and the Caribbean on 9800 and 11665 kHz from that location; see the RFI schedule at the end of this message. Now to the point, as you all know the hours between 0000 and 0300 UT are specially good for TEP [trans-equatorial propagation] between stations located on the northern tip of South America and the Caribbean and stations located south of Magnetic Equator; also this is a good time for F2 backscatter. For the last 3 years I have been listening to RFI on 144300 from 0100 to 0200 UT following their schedule. The signal received is in AM and the signal strength may vary from any were between S1 to S9+20 dB; the received signal has a distinct path since it is received with the antenna to the south. This has been checked when the signal is weak (S1 To S4); under those conditions by turning the beam 30 degrees away from the south the signal is totally lost. This signal is not an harmonic of the HF frequencies. For 9800 the 15th harmonic will be 147000, and for 11665 12th harmonic is 139980, and none of this frequencies are close to 144300; at one point I thought that the signal could be received via the intermediate frequencies of the radio, but during the study I have been using 3 different transceivers and various antennas with the same result, as for the Intermediate frequencies below are the ones for each radio: Radio 1 Model: Icom IC-275H, 1st IF: 10.750 MHz, 2nd IF: 455 kHz Radio 2 Model: Kenwood TS-711A, 1st IF: 30.265 MHz, 2nd IF: 10.695 MHz Radio 3 Model: Yaesu FT-847, 1st IF: 45.125 MHz, 2nd IF: 455 kHz I don't know if this phenomenon can be observed elsewhere, but if anyone is interested to receive this signal (if present in your area) you will need a 144 MHz radio capable of receiving SSB, and a directional antenna that can be directed to the south; just tune your radio to 144300 on USB and then with the VFO move down on frequency until the AM carrier can be heard, the move up toward 144300 until you hear the voices/music been broadcasted. If we are in the presence of a propagating phenomenon such as backscatter, perhaps stations in northern Brasil, could also pick this signal. If so we can try to figure out together how and why is this happening on 144300. If anyone is interested on this phenomenon, please let me know. I also have audio files of this signal where a heavy 60 Hz noise can be heard. This 60 hertz noise disappears at 0200 when RFI ends its broadcast, so it is mixed with the RFI signal or part of it. Radio France International Schedule: Capter RFI [excerpt] 01.00 - 01.30 Guy 31 m 9800 Espagnol 01.00 - 01.30 Guy 25 m 11665 Espagnol 01.30 - 02.00 Guy 31 m 9800 Français 01.30 - 02.00 Guy 25 m 11665 Français Guy : diffusé à partir de Montsinéry (Guyane) 73/DX (Jose M. Valdés R. (Joe) YV5LIX, vhf-dx list May 4 via Flávio Archangelo, radioescutas via DXLD) Subject: [vhfskip] Radio France International. Hello all. Some of you wrote to me in private not to long ago to ask me if, as I reported back in 2001, I was still receiving Radio France International 144.300 MHz AM; well the answer is yes, this signal is back again this year, I have been receiving it for two weeks now just the same as in 2001, and as then, in April/May and beaming South from Venezuela (180 degrees). 10 31 15 N 66 52 30 W, Grid: FK60NM RX1: Icom IC-275H RX2: Icom IC- 706MKIIG RX3: Kenwood TS-711A. Antenna: 1 horizontally polarized 6 elements Quad. http://www.yv5lix.org.ve 73/DX (Jose M. Valdés R. (Joe) YV5LIX, vhfskip yahoogroup May 6 via Tim Bucknall, harmonics yahoogroup via WORLD OF RADIO 1181, DXLD) ** GERMANY. GERMANY: PAPER URGES DEUTSCHE WELLE REFORMS | Excerpt from report by German newspaper Die Welt web site on 5 May; subheadings added editorially The official birthday is actually in early May. But because of the move of Deutsche Welle from Cologne to the Schuermann building in Bonn, the broadcasting corporation will celebrate its 50th anniversary only in late June... Deutsche Welle has always been considered a trifle in the system of Germany's public broadcasting corporations (ARD). Since May 1953, it has been broadcasting abroad on shortwave, not just in German, but in dozens of foreign languages. But only those living abroad a good deal were really familiar with Deutsche Welle, since until the breakthrough of satellite television in the early 1990s, it offered the only possibility abroad to get direct information about Germany. Changes in broadcasting environment All this, however, has changed radically over the past few years, not only because of satellite programmes, but also because of the Internet. If you work for a German company in Beijing or Sao Paulo these days, you do not have to search laboriously for a shortwave programme on various wavelengths - you read ARD news on the Internet and listen to their programmes as "real audio" directly over your computer. The German radio programme of Deutsche Welle, its most expensive radio segment anyhow, has become obsolete. To relocate it to Bonn in an expensive operation - the whole affair will probably cost more than 1bn euros - and is a slap in taxpayers' faces. After all, it is the taxpayers and their payments of the hefty radio license fees that enable more than a dozen public television programmes and more than 50 public radio programmes to survive. The fact that Deutsche Welle is prevented from broadcasting any of these as its own programmes is due to a legal "original sin" committed by its founders. In the early 1960s, it was legally removed from the system of public broadcasting corporations and subordinated to the Interior Ministry, with a budget of its own... But Deutsche Welle is used to being run by people for whom journalism is not a speciality, since only a handful of its directors were journalists themselves... Dieter Weirich, until the mid-1980s the media policy spokesman of the Christian Democratic Union, succeeded in transforming the former breakfast television part of Berlin station RIAS in the early 1990s into Deutsche Welle's foreign television segment. This put Germany on the television map outside Europe: only viewers in Europe are able to watch the wide variety of ARD programmes, while all those living in North or South America, in Africa, or in Asia just have Deutsche Welle to fall back on. Importance of foreign language programmes This is what makes up Deutsche Welle's great importance, plus the fact that it broadcasts its radio programmes in nearly 30 foreign languages and its television programmes also in English and Spanish. For somewhat over a year now, it has provided a television segment for Afghanistan that is broadcast in the national languages of Pashto and Dari. This model has now been used when deciding to subtitle Deutsche Welle's television programmes in Arabic. This opens up undreamed of opportunities for foreign language programmes and their use of the Internet and digital shortwave options. The annual budget of 277m euros will only make this possible when priorities are more clearly defined in the future; that is, more television programmes and more foreign language services, plus the right to use public broadcasting programmes free of charge. When talks start now about license fee increases for the public broadcasting sector, the artificial removal of Deutsche Welle from the system should be openly addressed. License fees must also be used to finance foreign broadcasting programmes, at least their German segment. The old subdivision into home and foreign services has meanwhile become entirely wrong, ever since there has been satellite transmission and the Internet. BBC viewed as role model The BBC must be a model for the future - its World Service is part of the overall programme on offer. The BBC has become an export hit for the British; after all, their most important broadcasting language is the world language of English. Its foreign language programmes enjoy not only appreciation worldwide, but also the support of the political elites. Deutsche Welle has mostly had to painfully do without such support. Nevertheless, thousands of editors have presented good programmes over the past 50 years - something they may be proud of. Germany owes them a debt of gratitude. Source: Die Welt web site, Berlin, in German 5 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** GERMANY. NDR Mediumwave facilities at Hamburg-Moorfleet (972 kHz): http://www.wiechern.privat.t-online.de/hamburg.htm See pictures # 2, 3, 4 and 5, the first photo on this page shows the FM/TV mast. 702 is aired by a tiny wire antenna on the FM/TV mast at Flensburg-Engelsby. See penultimate picture at http://www.wiechern.privat.t-online.de/schlesholst.htm URL of homepage with navigation frame: http://www.wiechern.privat.t-online.de/ (Kai Ludwig, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREENLAND. 3815, Kalaalit Nunaata Radioa, Tasiilaq is going to have special broadcasts in SSB on May 15-18 (Massimo Cerveglieri, Italy, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) When? Why? ** HAWAII. 620, KIPA, Hilo et al. noted off by Chuck Boehnke of Kea'au per post to local bulletin board on 3/30. As of 4/16, all 3 transmitters on 620 appear to be off. Per call to station 4/15, station is on the process of replacing at least one of the transmitters. But, the receptionist didn't believe me with I said that relay station KKON-790 is still on, airing an open carrier (5P-HI) (Dale Park, Honolulu, May 10 IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) 3 transmitters? Boosters in different locations? The uninitiated personnel at radio stations tend to believe: if you can`t hear anything, it`s not on the air! (gh, DXLD) 620, Hilo, KIPA. Noted off by Chuck Boehnke per post to local bulletin board on 3/30. As of 4/16, all three transmitters on 620 (Hilo, Ke'ahole Int. Airport and Na'alehu) appear to be off. Per call to station 4/15 station is in the process of replacing at least one of their transmitters, but the receptionist didn't believe me when I said that relay station KKON-790 is still on, but airing an OC. At the time of shutdown KIPA mostly carried ABC's AC oldies service out of KMEO-FM Dallas (5P-HI) (Dale Park, elsewhere in same Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) ** ICELAND. AFRTS via Reykjavik, 13855U, 1916-1927, May 6, English. Phone in program, "Car Talk, brought to you by NPR and Pep Boys". ID as "This is NPR with Car Talk on the AFRTV Network". Poor with deep fades and unidentified French language QRM (Scott R Barbour Jr, NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re AFN: The following frequencies for "new services" have been coördinated in the HFCC for the A03 season: To the North Atlantic with 20 kW beamed 200 degrees on 7590 at 2100-0800, 13855 at 0500-1830 and 15620 at 0700-1800. The transmitter location is listed as "Reykjavík", but both the actual location and power are subject to confirmation. Earlier tests with AFRTS were reported to have originated from the Grindavík US Navy site in the SW of the country. Since a couple of years, Icelandic PTT authorities have been using the services of a foreign consultant [Bernd Friedewald] to coordinate the Icelandic SW frequencies at the HFCC, and in A03 this consult has requested the data to be excluded from the public version. Therefore, no Icelandic frequencies (neither RUV nor the "new services") are shown in the public version of the A03 HFCC schedule. The AFRTS shortwave transmitters are carrying AFN's so-called "Interruptible Voice Channel (IVC)". Frequency info (without the new Iceland frequencies so far) and program schedule can be found at: http://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/radio/shortwave (Bernd Trutenau in DXplorer via DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) On their illegal frequency of 3903 they verified me with a QSL-card 14 months ago. I used their address in the WRTH: U.S. Naval Base, 235 Keflavikurflugvollur, Iceland. Acc. to the WRTH 2003 their e-mail address is: keflavik@mediacen.navy.mil (Anker Petersen in DXplorer, via DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) Thanks to Anker for the information about the Keflavík mail and email addresses. I'd guess you have a reasonable chance of a reply from there: say 50%, on the evidence I know about. That is, Anker has got a reply/QSL from there, and (from exactly the same coördinates) I have not. Good luck, y'all. Cheers, (John Campbell in DXplorer, via DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) Congratulations on being able to pick up the AFRTS programs you described. It's true, we do broadcast the signal on shortwave from a location in Grindavík, Iceland. The signal comes to us from American Forces Radio and Television Service in California. We shortwave it now --- a new thing --- because we want ships nearby to hear it. I am the officer-in-charge of a radio and television station here. We have Navy and Air Force assigned, as well as Icelandic civilians. We broadcast only two radio stations from this location, but have around 11 cable radio stations that are received in homes and work centers on the base. The programming comes to us from California, but we insert local identifiers and command information (wear your seatbelt, follow the speed limit, go to college...). Today, it's 06 degrees Celsius or 43 degrees Fahrenheit. It's mostly cloudy, but the sun is bright and, as you know, the days are longer and longer this time of year. The tulips are about to bloom and the daffodils have been in bloom for about three weeks now. For your information, my husband and two daughters are stationed here with me and we love it here. It's clean, safe and beautiful. We do miss the trees of home, though. Sigh. It's nice to hear from you. I've received reports from Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Canada. I'm sure I'll hear from more countries as time passes. Thanks for writing. Trish Huizinga (via Jarmo Patala, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR Delhi is now identifying some of its Home Service channels as Rajadhani Channel and Indraprasta Channel. They are is not the National Channel and Vividh Bharathi [sic]. They are still there. It seems Rajadhani Channel is of English programs channel and Indraprasta of Hindi programs channel (on MW it is 666 and 819. Earlier they used to say Delhi A, Delhi B etc.) (Jose Jacob to DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) ** INDIA. 5010, AIR Thiruvanathapuram, Since Apr 29 has restarted its evening broadcast on 5010. (Earlier it was available only on MW 1161). The schedule is 1115 ( Su 1130)-1735. Reports on their SW transmissions may be sent to Mr. Radha Krishna Menon, Station Engineer at the following email: tvm_airtvpm@sancharnet.in (This station also operates on 7290). Mornings they are on this frequency at 0020-0215 (Jose Jacob, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. RRI Wamena? a touch under 4870 kHz with abrupt sign on 2020 to 2100 fadeout on May 6th with Indonesian pop songs and announcement by a YL. Typical greyline propagation, I think (Stuart Austin, Blackpool, England, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. EIGHTY YEARS OF RADIO IN INDONESIA That's a long time. In actual reality though, the beginnings of wireless communication in Indonesia go way back even further than that, to about 90 years. This is the story. In the era just before the beginning of World War 1, two spark wireless stations were established in the Dutch East Indies for navy communication. This was in the days before internationally recognized callsigns were in general usage and one of these stations, located at Sabang (sa-BUNG), was on the air in Morse Code under the irregular callsign SAB. Immediately after the end of the war, there were four such stations in the Dutch East Indies, and these were all designated with callsigns in the new PK series as: PKA Sabang PKB Weltevreden (VELT-e-FRAID-en) PKC Sitoebondo (SIT-a-BON-doe) PKD Koepang (KOE-PUNG) Soon afterwards, the Dutch government in Batavia, now known as Jakarta, announced that a monster-sized wireless station, using Telefunken arc equipment, was under installation at Malabar, near Bandoeng. The date for the official opening of this station was set at May 5, 1923, exactly 80 years ago last Monday. However, a tropical lightning strike destroyed some of the wireless equipment and the auspicious day was postponed until repairs were completed. This massive 3.5 megawatt wireless station was established for communication with the home office in Holland. However at this stage, spark wireless transmitters were becoming obsolete and valve, or tube, transmitters were soon afterwards installed at this same location on the island of Java. The first radio broadcasting station in the territories of Indonesia was installed in Batavia in mid 1925 under the callsign BRX. Other broadcasting stations began to sprout throughout the Dutch East Indies and many of these were amalgamated into the newly-formed government NIROM network in 1934. Shortwave broadcasting in the Dutch East Indies began in 1928 as a dual effort on the part of smaller local radio stations and the large communication stations. In Batavia, the first on shortwave was station JFC. The main communication station at Bandoeng began to relay broadcast programming on shortwave for the benefit of listeners throughout Indonesia, and as well as in Australia, other countries in Asia, and also back in Holland itself. Over the years, a large number of stations appeared on the shortwave dial, mostly in the tropical shortwave bands. These stations were on the air with callsigns in the P series and also the more recent YD series. Radio Batavia, under the Bandoeng callsign PLE, conducted weekly music broadcasts on 15.93 metres, and transmitter callsigns PLE PLW & PMB took part in the famous round-the-world relay in June 1930, and again two years later. These transmitters were frequently on the air also as intermediate stations for the relay of broadcasts from London & Holland to Australia & New Zealand. It was at this stage that a large transmitter was installed at Bandoeng for communication traffic and broadcast programming. It was listed at 80 kW at the time, though it is likely that we would rate it at 50 kW these days. In the decisive year 1942, on March 7 to be specific, at the end of its broadcast day, Radio Batavia Bandoeng was heard in Australia with this announcement: "This is Radio Bandoeng closing down. God save the Queen. Goodbye everyone until better times come." The frequency in use at the time was 15150 kHz. A month later, this same transmitter returned to the air with programming beamed towards Australia and New Zealand under new callsigns, such as JBC & ABC. The callsign JBC indicated Japanese Broadcasting Company, and ABC was a callsign for clandestine programming that mimicked Radio Australia. In this pre-war era, the big shortwave stations in the Dutch East Indies, and several of the smaller stations also, were recognised as good verifiers. The QSL cards from the communication stations were usually in the form of typed postcards in English, though the most famous card at this era was the NIROM certificate which listed complete details, including callsign. For those who can look back that far, Indonesia may be remembering this week its 80 years of international wireless and radio communication (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan May 11 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Just in case you want to know what time it is in Turkmenistan: http://www.timeticker.com/ (via Tom McNiff, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. THE LONG ARM OF LONGHORN By Michelle Delio 02:00 AM May. 08, 2003 PT The Long Arm of Longhorn Microsoft sends a mixed message as it introduces the successor to Windows XP. The new OS is designed to make sharing multimedia files easy -- but its digital rights management features restrict how those same files can be used. By Michelle Delio. No one, not even Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates, seems to know whether Microsoft's next operating system will be a blessing or a curse. Content producers probably will love it -- digital rights management will be built right in. Hardware developers remain unsure: The OS boasts tons of spiffy new entertainment features that could encourage consumers to upgrade, but will users be spooked by all that rights management stuff? The successor to Windows XP, currently known as Longhorn and on display this week at the 12th annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, is intended to run on compatible hardware. The operating system and hardware will, in theory, work together to secure a computer and its contents from any tampering -- either by outsiders or, perhaps, even the owner of the computer. . . Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58748,00.html (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. Voice of Southern Azerbaijan still active, noted May 8th 1543 tune in on 9375, talk with many mentions of Azerbaijan, local music, more talk and abrupt off mid sentence 1557. Fair strength on clear channel. (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. New in the IBB schedule at http://sds.his.com:4000/fmds_z/schedules/cur_freqsked.txt is 1170 kHz carrying Radio Farda 24h from Dhabayya, UAE. This will probably wipe out reception of the Iraqi transmitter at Umm Qasr on the same frequency (Andy Sennitt, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Oops? RADIO FARDA ON 1170 KHZ FROM UAE From today, the IBB's Radio Farda service to Iran is broadcasting 24 hours a day on a new mediumwave frequency, 1170 kHz, from Dhabayya in the UAE. I was monitoring Radio Farda on shortwave yesterday and noticed bubble jamming on 13680 kHz, but not on parallel 21530 kHz. That was probably due to propagation. It will be interesting to see if they try to jam 1170, especially as it's also the frequency used for the Iraq Media Network/Radio Iraq broadcasts from Umm Qasr. That transmitter is apparently only 20 kW and the signal is weak in most of Iraq, though they advertise it as a "nationwide" service. The fact that the Iraqis are complaining about the lack of a decent radio service, and the availability of high power mediumwave facilities that could get a decent signal to them, does make me wonder about the US government's priorities when it comes to the rebuilding of Iraq and other issues affecting the Middle East (Andy Sennitt, Holland, May 8, RN blog via DXLD) ** IRAQ. Information Radio: I heard it on 4500 at 1725-2200* on Apr 20, 22, 23, 23, 26 and 29. But it was Off Apr 30 and May 02! Instead it was heard on 9715 at 2014-2135 after normal s/off time (after DW signed off in Russian 2000* and BBC -2014*). ID: ``Idha`at Radio al- Ma`ulumat``, 34433. From *2100 QRM from IBB Holzkirchen in Russian. I wonder if it was the Commando Solo flight, normally used on 4500, that had succeeded the ordinary 9715 flight with a late broadcast? (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window May 7 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. THE BAGHDAD BLOGGER IS BACK! Ralph Brandi reports: "Salam Pax is back with a new post containing all the stuff he would have posted during the war if he had had electricity and a net connection." So much for all the rumours. http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/ Here's a media-related extract: 23 April The "Iraqi Media Network" started broadcasting yesterday. Nothing to go crazy about, they are apparently recording one single hour and broadcasting it for 24 hours. They are using it for announcements by the coalition forces mainly, beside the coalition radio station "information radio". They have brought Ahmad al-Rikabi from (Radio Free Iraq/Radio Free Europe). Yesterday also, the Iraqi media people (journalists, TV and radio people) were demonstrating in front of the Meridian Hotel asking for their jobs back, wait in line, we all are (via Nethjerlands Media Network May 7 via WORLD OF RADIO 1181, DXLD) ``Salam Pax`` must be a pseudonym play on words both meaning Peace, but also on Salman Pak, the Iraqi city/transmitter site? (gh, DXLD) ** IRAQ. NEW TV CHANNEL TO START "LATER THIS MONTH" An article published by the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) News Service quotes US officials as saying that a new nationwide Iraqi television channel will start up later this month. It will be run, as is Radio Iraq, by previously exiled Iraqi journalists along with reporters recruited from within the country. Radio Iraq is currently beamed "nationwide" on 1170 kHz from a transmitter in Umm Qasr, but its signal is weak. CSM reporter Danna Harman has tracked down Radio Iraq's Baghdad HQ, which turns out to be in what was Saddam's main palace (Media Network May 7 via DXLD) Viz.: ** IRAQ. ANALYSIS: THE BATTLE FOR IRAQI HEARTS AND MINDS - AND EARS Copyright © 2003 Christian Science Monitor Service This story was published Tuesday, May 6th, 2003 By DANNA HARMAN, Christian Science Monitor http://www.tri-cityherald.com/24hour/world/story/880231p-6135134c.html BAGHDAD, Iraq (CSM) - "Ask not what your country can do for you..." crackles the baritone voice from the transistor radio, in Arabic with a slight Midwestern twang, "...but what you can do for your country." It's "Colonel George" an Iraqi-born Marine, presumably a John F. Kennedy fan, and a special guest on the Voice of the New Iraq, a U.S.- run station in town. "That's a nice way to put it," notes an elderly Iraqi woman, Harbia Ismayel, as "George" goes on to admonish Iraqis to "...sweep the street in front of your homes ... bring your children back to school and ... remember, above all, that it is you yourselves that need to take responsibility for building the new Iraq." Ismayel shakes her head, and like those standing with her outside the annex of the former Iraqi TV and Radio building downtown, waits and wonders if and when she can go back to work. "Nice. Nice. But what about America's responsibilities?" they demand. "Electricity, security, work, and salaries. It is all fake promises. Just words." As the United States winds down its military campaign in the region and turns to winning the hearts and minds of millions of suspicious and angry people, both in Iraq as elsewhere in the Arab world, radio and television are among its favored tools. Radio Iraq, as it's known, made its debut two weeks ago, and like the U.S.-based pan-Arab station Radio Sawa before it - is intended to entertain, as well to explain the U.S. agenda in the region and, well, spread a little pro-American cheer. But so far, it seems that while the tunes are appreciated, the jury is still out on the U.S. message. For many, it is all "just words." The buildings which once housed Iraq's three state-run radio stations and two TV channels are no more. Bombed by the U.S. and then looted by the neighbors, the only thing that remains of the archives of Saddam Hussein speeches or the canned applause tapes are ripped cassette ribbons tangled in the debris. At the spared annex building Tuesday, as U.S. tanks rumbled by, employees loitered waiting for information or instructions while the former station directors met upstairs to hatch a comeback plan. All the radio and TV equipment - cameras, receivers, mics, monitors, vehicles - was destroyed during the war, as was the infrastructure of the station's former employer - the ministry of information. "How exactly we are to get back on our feet is totally unclear," says Bassam Sami Abdel Wahab, a director at one of the national radio stations for the past 23 years. His last day at work was the day the Americans attacked Baghdad. He left a song - "nationalistic and patriotic, but I can't remember which," he says - playing on the sound system even as he locked the door behind him. Now, he would like to get back to work - and is even ready to join Radio Iraq if asked - but he knows the adjustment will be hard. "I have 23 years of experience in filling orders on what news to broadcast," he admits. "I am a little weak on editorial decision making." In the absence of any authoritative voice speaking to the public in Iraq, Radio Iraq, beamed nationwide from a transmitter in Umm Qasr, has come to fill that gap. Its signal is weak and it repeats shows mercilessly, complain listeners, but tuning in is practically the only way to find out which schools are open or where various ministry workers should report to work. Radio Iraq warns children not to pick up unexploded ordnance, encourages policemen to put on their uniforms and get back to work, and begs for patience as the electricity lines fail to get repaired - and all this in between playing traditional Iraqi songs and running long interviews with "George." The station is being set up by Robert Reilly, a former Voice of America director, and is paid for by the Pentagon. "We are the voice of the new Iraq. We are the foundation of the new national station. We would like to create free Iraqi radio and TV stations and that's where we're heading," says Ahmad al Rikaby, Radio Iraq's director of news. Prior to this job, he was the London bureau chief at Radio Free Iraq, a U.S.-funded operation. U.S. officials say a new nationwide Iraqi television channel and an independent newspaper - both to be run, as is Radio Iraq, by previously exiled Iraqi journalists along with reporters recruited from within the country - will start up later this month. A regional forerunner of Radio Iraq (but separately run) is Radio Sawa - a $30 million effort to bring young Middle East listeners 24 hours of U.S. programming a day. Radio Sawa (Arabic for "together") began this year, is produced out of Washington, and reaches tens of millions of listeners throughout this region. It is the most popular station in Amman, Jordan, and a hit from the West Bank to Cairo to Kuwait City. Alternating between top Arabic and English hits, Sawa hooks listeners, especially young ones, and then sandwiches in such programs as "The Free Zone," a weekly discussion of democracy and human rights in the region and "Ask the World Now," a show in which listeners can pose questions to U.S. policymakers. Brief news flashes every half hour present an array of stories about the region - all carefully crafted from a U.S. viewpoint - and clarify the current U.S. polices in Iraq. Radio Sawa plans to custom-tailor its programs to specific Arab countries and regions. Baghdad residents interviewed say they've heard of Radio Sawa, but can only catch it late at night. There are many Arab leaders who do not like Radio Sawa, but the days of jamming short-wave broadcasts from the outside world are over and little can be done to stifle the flow of information though modern technology. Nonetheless, the establishments in many Middle Eastern countries believe the U.S. will see little gain for its efforts. "Chances are the Arab youth will ... take the U.S. sound and discard the U.S. agenda," argued an editorial in Egypt's Al Ahram newspaper last week. "We are no dummies and can see through these messages," says Abdel Wahab, the out-of-work radio director. "It would be better if real Iraqis - the ones who live here, suffer with the people and know what they want - like me - were in charge. But I don't think the Americans are interested in that." "Some of the things Radio Iraq and Radio Sawa have to say are interesting," he continues, "...but we would prefer a balance. We don't mind being in dialogue with the Americans. We just don't want to be treated like fools - told that we are being helped by the Americans when we can see with our own eyes the mess they are creating." It's the end of the day at the old TV and Radio building in Baghdad and people are drifting home with no news about their return to work. Someone has tacked up a sign on the brick wall beside the building calling on all former employees to gather this coming Saturday for a coordination meeting - to create a union, an exercise prohibited under the former regime. Meanwhile, "George" is winding up his hour-long interview - to be repeated twice again during the day - and reminding Iraqis how much they actually have in common with Americans. "I am keen to meet up with my Iraqi relatives in Baghdad. I have never seen them, but I am sure we will immediately hug and kiss, for today we have common goals and common dreams." he says, wistfully, forgetting the word for 'common' and using the English instead. "A saalam aleikum," he concludes - may peace be with you. "And with you," replies Ismayel to her transistor radio. She steps over some rubble and begins her long walk home (via Tri-City Herald, WA, via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQI MEDIA BACK TO LIFE | Text of report by Lebanese LBC Sat TV on 6 May Iraqi media are still trying to revive themselves and come to grips with the extent of the change in freedoms in the country. In spite of this, dozens of new newspapers have appeared on the shelves of the Iraqi news stands while private radio a television stations have begun broadcasting. [Muhammad al-Qabbani, reporter] In spite of going through successive crises and periods of suffering, the Iraqi media are trying to pick up the pieces and come to terms with their complex problems. After having been supervised and told to tow the line, politically, intellectually, and not allowed to cross even the yellow line, let alone the red line, during the Ba'th Party rule, today they is suffering from material and technical scarcity. [Dr Ali Al-Nashmi, editor of Baghdad newspaper] One cannot understand what is happening today without being aware of what happened in the past, because the present is the result of the past. Thirty-five years of repression and frustration and lack of freedom of _expression have taken their toll. That is why, now that the regime has fallen, numerous currents have emerged seeking to express themselves in the name of democracy. [End of Al-Nashim] [Al-Qabbani] The publishing houses, the rotary press workshops as well as the buildings of television and radio and the Information Ministry have all been completely destroyed, thus paralysed and rendered unable to continue their work. They are still subjected to looting and being set on fire. What is emerging today in terms of press, radio and TV, is still at the initial stage. Over a dozen of new newspapers have appeared. Some radio and TV stations also began broadcasting a few days ago. Baghdad Radio is, for instance, no more than a small room in a public park and its resting area consists of a table and some chairs in the open air. As for its staff which is just over 20 people, they lack resources, funding and means of transport. [Unidentified journalist] The major problem is the lack of protection of this equipment. The other problem is not knowing which side one could turn to. As you can see, our radio is an independent Iraqi radio. It broadcasts songs and appeals to Iraqi people to preserve peace and stability in the country. [End of unidentified journalist] [Al-Qabbani] The [new] Iraqi media have not taken shape yet. So many things are still unclear, a fact that makes their future uncertain. It seems that this initial stage of the [new] Iraqi media is going through many crises. They are facing problems to which there are no solutions in the near future. Source: LBC Sat TV, Beirut, in Arabic 1800 gmt 6 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ. RFE/RL VIEWS EMERGENCE OF DIVERSE, PLURALISTIC MEDIA | Text of report by Zamira Eshanova headlined "Iraq: After 30 years, news options begin to grow and diversify", published on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty web site on 6 May 2003 After three decades of one-party, one-man rule, which held the country's mass media under tight control, Iraq is now forging a new path towards a more diverse and pluralistic media. Nearly every day, new newspaper and radio broadcast options appear. RFE/RL correspondent Zamira Eshanova reports from Baghdad on how Iraqis get their news - and how much faith they put in it. Baghdad, 6 May 2003 (RFE/RL): When the US-led war in Iraq wiped out the country's telecommunications structures, Iraqis turned to a more traditional source of information: rumours. Now, however, news services are beginning to come back to fill the information vacuum. More and more Iraqis say they are tuning into Iran-based Al-Alam ("The World") TV, Qatar's Al-Jazeera or the US- based Radio Sawa, which is transmitted by coalition forces from the Baghdad airport. Baghdad has more than a half-dozen newspapers published by a range of political, ethnic and religious groups. Capital residents can choose between "Future," published by the Iraqi National Accord; "Conference," put out by the Iraqi National Congress; the Iraqi communists' "Road to the People"; and the London-based "Al-Zaman" ("Times"). Some of the papers are distributed for free; others sell for between 250-750 dinars (approximately 0.07-0.20 US dollars). The number of newspapers and other sources of news are increasing on a daily basis. But many Iraqis say they often leave a lot to be desired, in terms of content and quality. In particular, residents say they need better, more objective information about the unfolding developments in postwar Iraq. Some say they feel they are at the centre of an ideological battle between the polarized pro-American and anti-American worlds. Valid is a 42-year-old clerk in Baghdad's Al-Hamra hotel. He said he was able to watch some Western coverage of the war and its aftermath on international channels like CNN. He said he was surprised and disappointed by what he considered a biased approach towards Iraq and its people. He believes the frequent Western reports on incidents of looting in Iraq are being organized by Americans for propaganda purposes. "[Americans] opened these buildings and said 'Come and take everything.' And when [Iraqis] took everything, [the international media] showed to the world that Iraqi people are thieves. Iraqi people are not Ali Babas [thieves]. Why didn't [the media] go to the church to show to the world that Iraqi people go to the church to pray when they were bombing? Why they don't go to the mosques where [Muslims] pray to God to save them from this?" Valid asked. Valid said that before the war, Iraqis were considered by many in the world to be terrorists, because of the reputation of their leader, Saddam Husayn. Now, he added, the image of Iraqis has changed, but not necessarily for the better. "Due to this media coverage," he said, "[people] say we are all thieves and criminals." Hikmet is a 35-year-old oil engineer who used to work in Baghdad for a Russian company. Like Valid, he is critical of the media's coverage of the war - but his complaints are directed at Al-Alam. He believes the Iranian channel is spreading anti-American propaganda and taking advantage of Iraq's Shi'i majority to advance the agenda of its own religious regime. "They are not showing the reality [of] what's happening in Iraq, no. When they show you things [they want] to tell the world that Americans are bad and not giving freedom to Iraqi people, and [that] it's better to stick with Iran and Iran will provide Iraqi people with freedom," Hikmet said. Al-Alam broadcasts into Baghdad from a powerful transmitter from about 150 km away, just over the Iran-Iraq border. The station, which broadcasts in Arabic and is said to be operated by the Iranian government, is the only foreign channel that can be viewed by Iraqis without a satellite dish. That has sent its viewership soaring among ordinary Iraqis, who cannot afford the 200-dollar cost of a satellite dish and receiver. During the Saddam Husayn era, Iraqis were forbidden to buy satellite dishes and ownership of one was enough to earn a prison sentence. Today, there is a boom of satellite dish sales among Baghdad residents rich enough to acquire one. Muhammad, who can afford both a satellite dish and a generator, said he stays tuned all day to Arabic news channels like Al-Jazeera, Lebanese Television Channel (LTC) or the United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi. Even so, he - like the others - said he is not satisfied with the coverage of the situation in Iraq. "This is my country and I can see what is going on. Some of [the Arab channels] show some of it, but not as I can see what is going on. Things are getting worse every day and today is much better than tomorrow," Muhammad said. Still, ordinary Iraqis are riveted by the foreign broadcasts, whether or not they like what they see. After years of Husayn-era state television - which offered a mind-numbing diet of military parades and views of the president presiding over official meetings, interspersed with concerts and melodramas - the foreign stations mesmerize viewers with their fast-paced news coverage and technical expertise. That leaves the television battle for Iraqi hearts and minds, a key priority for the US civil administration, now almost entirely in the hands of foreign news organizations, most of which are unfriendly to US policy in Iraq. US civil administrator Jay Garner has not said publicly when state television will be back on the air, but the task is complicated by the need to hire new staff and repair transmission towers hit by US bombers. Washington's sole foray into Iraqi television so far was during the war, when the Pentagon used a modified cargo plane - dubbed Commando Solo - to circle high over the country and beam down some five hours of evening television programming as well as radio broadcasts. The US is now pushing ahead with plans to create a nationwide television channel, an AM radio channel and an independent newspaper for Iraq. All will be run by previously exiled Iraqis along with journalists recruited from within the country. The US-taxpayer-funded project is the handiwork of the Indigenous Media Project, an offshoot of the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, which is run by Garner. For the majority of ordinary Iraqis with no access to television, new radio stations such as Iraqi News Net[work] and Radio Sawa - both transmitted from the Baghdad airport by coalition forces - are for now the only sources of news and information. Fans of these new radio programmes say they like the Arabic and international pop broadcasts. But they are less enthusiastic about the news content. One listener, Salim, said the difficulty of day-to-day life in postwar Iraq is never reflected in the coalition broadcasts, which want to portray the country in a rosy hue. "There is nothing true [in their news]," he said. "We hear: 'Wait, Iraqis, you will get humanitarian aid.' Where is this aid? They say: 'Go to schools.' But to which schools, if some of them are destroyed?" Many Iraqis say their country's long-standing media censorship and isolation from international news have left them hungry for objective and unbiased news. With every new newspaper or radio station, they say they hope to find the coverage they were deprived of for so long. Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty web site, Prague, in English 6 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. FOCUS ON THE CORPORATION by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman http://eatthestate.org/07-18/FocusOnCorporation.htm Grace News The US government last week launched its Arabic language satellite TV news station for Muslim Iraq. It is being produced in a studio--Grace Digital Media--controlled by fundamentalist Christians who are rabidly pro-Israel. That's Grace as in "by the Grace of God." Grace Digital Media is controlled by a fundamentalist Christian millionaire, Cheryl Reagan, who last year wrested control of Federal News Service, a transcription news service, from its former owner, Cortes Randell. Randell says he met Reagan at a prayer meeting, brought her in as an investor in Federal News Service, and then she forced him out of his own company. Grace Digital Media and Federal News Service are housed in a downtown Washington, DC office building, along with Grace News Network. When you call the number for Grace News Network, you get a person answering "Grace Digital Media/Federal News Service." According to its web site, Grace News Network is "dedicated to transmitting the evidence of God's presence in the world today." "Grace News Network will be reporting the current secular news, along with aggressive proclamations that will 'change the news' to reflect the Kingdom of God and its purposes," GNN proclaims. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the US government agency producing the television news broadcasts for Iraq, likes to say it is the BBC of the USA. BBG runs Radio Free Europe, Voice of America, and Radio Sawa--Arabic language radio for the Middle East. "Our mission is clear," BBG's Joan Mower told us. "To broadcast accurate and objective news about the United States and the world. We don't do propaganda, leafleting --- we are like the BBC in that respect." Well, then why hook up with Grace? BBG's Joan Mower said that Grace Digital Media is a mainstream production house used by all kinds of mainstream news organizations. "Grace will have nothing to do with the editorial side of the news broadcast," she said. "They are renting us equipment, space, studio. The Grace personnel we use include technicians, production people but no editorial people." But Mower said she couldn't get us a copy of the contract between BBG and Grace Digital media. Nor could she say how Grace Digital was chosen as the production studio. Grace News Network proclaims that it will be a "unique tool in the Lord's ministry plan for the world." "Grace News Network provides networking links and portals to various ministries and news services that will be of benefit to every Christian believer and seeker of truth," according to the company's mission statement. The CEO of Grace News Network is Thorne Auchter. It's the same Thorne Auchter who began the dismantling of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under Presidents Reagan and George Bush I. Auchter did not return our calls seeking comment for this story. While it's unclear whether Grace News Network actually produces any news, it has produced a documentary movie titled "Israel: Divine Destiny" which it showed at the National Press Club in September 2002. The film is about "Israel's destiny and the United States' role in that destiny," according to Grace News Network. Grace News said that it could not make a copy of the film available to us at this time, since it is now undergoing post-production editing. Nor could it provide a transcript. The mainstream media has documented strong and growing ties between right-wing Republican Christian fundamentalists and right-wing Sharonist Israeli expansionists. This alliance is personified in Ralph Reed's Stand Up for Israel, a group formed to "mobilize Christians and other people of faith to support the State of Israel." President Bush has very strong ties to fundamentalist Christians, most notably Franklin Graham, the son of Rev. Billy Graham. Last week, Franklin Graham delivered a Good Friday message at the Pentagon, despite an uproar over his previous slander of Islam as "a very evil and wicked religion." Don Wagner, a professor of religion and director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at North Park University, an evangelical Christian college in Chicago, has written extensively about what he calls Christian Zionism, whose leaders he identifies as, among others, Ralph Reed, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Gary Bauer, and Franklin Graham. "Christian Zionists have historically pointed to Genesis 12:3 - I will bless those who bless you. And the one who curses you, I will curse," Dr. Wagner said. "They have interpreted this to mean that individuals and nations who support the state of Israel will be blessed by God. It has come to mean political, economic, and moral support, often uncritically rendered to the state of Israel." Grace News Network seems to fit the mold. Joan Mower says that BBG is currently producing and transmitting six hours of news into Iraq including a dubbed version of the daily evening news from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and PBS, plus three hours of original news programming from BBG. BBG says it sees no problem in having Grace produce the evening news broadcast for Iraq. Given the brewing anti-American revolt through all sectors of Iraqi society, maybe it should reconsider. We called Grace Digital Media to speak with Cheryl Reagan. Her secretary told us that she has been away in extended vacation for more than a month--in Israel. When will she back? we asked. No one knows, the secretary said. Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.- based Multinational Monitor. They are co-authors of Corporate Predators; Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press; see http://www.corporatepredators.org To subscribe to weekly corp-focus e- mail service, send an e-mail message to listproc@essential.org with the following all in one line: subscribe corp-focus 'your name' (no period). (c) Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non?]. Hi Mauno, about V. of Iraq Liberation. I checked them on 6/5/03 around 1730 UT and there was nothing on; you said you got them on 5/5/03, right? Strange. Were they with the usual output like you get them loud and clear?? Or weaker?? Furthermore yesterday 6/5/03 Information Radio was not on 4500 kHz! as well ??? So that makes me wonder?? Got a report from my friend Mika saying that he hasn't heard them for sometime though!? These are not Q to be answered of course. I'm thinking out loud :) Anyway will keep an ear on these 2 stations; hopefully I'd hear something new (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, May 7, to Mauno Ritola, Finland, cc to DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. UNIDENTIFIED RADIO URGES IRAQI PEOPLE NOT TO ATTACK US-LED FORCES An unidentified radio station was observed by BBC Monitoring fading in at 1650 gmt on 6 May on 909 kHz, a frequency (believed to be from a transmitter in Baghdad) that had been used by Republic of Iraq Radio before the fall of the Saddam Husayn regime. At 1655 gmt, the radio was heard to carry what appeared to be an appeal urging the Iraqi people not to clash with the US-led forces and threatening that violators "will be arrested and will face criminal charges". The appeal also urged "Iraqi citizens to go to work". Source: BBC Monitoring research 6 May 03 (via DXLD) ** ITALY. Radio Tre pirate transmitter? 6275.16 seems back after about 1 week off. At 1910 with music program mixed with many station IDs and at half/TOHs with ads. Signal 44433 with sporadic FDM Stream on 6280 and 2100? with Mossad spy station on 6260. Sharp audio (Zacharias Liangas, May 7th, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. Frequency changes for Radio Korea International: NF 6150, ex 6480 1800-1900 in French; 1900-2000 in Arabic NF 7150, ex 7550 1600-1700 in French; 1700-1900 in Korean 1900-2000 in Arabic; 2000-2100 in Russian (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 7 via DXLD) Hmm, an in-band trend; but are these still direct, or relays now? (gh, DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. KURDISH MUSIC ON NEWLY ESTABLISHED US RADIO 08/05/2003 KurdishMedia.com - By Bryar Mariwani http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=3851 London (KurdishMedia.com) 08 May 2003: Radio Sawa, the service of U.S. International Broadcasting, operated and funded by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an agency of the U.S. Government, has started broadcasting Kurdish music. Radio Sawa, the service of U.S. International Broadcasting, operated and funded by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an agency of the U.S. Government, has started broadcasting Kurdish music. The Radio broadcasts Arabic and Kurdish music around the clock with news bulletins every half an hour. The aim of the broadcasts is stated to be serving the "long-range interests of the United States by communicating directly in Arabic with the peoples of the Middle East by radio." Kurdish songs can be requested by emailing Radio Sawa on: comments@radiosawa.com Frequencies of the Radio can be found on its website: http://www.radiosawa.com (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** LEBANON [non]. Noticed some frequencychanges on TDP's website. Sawt Lubnan Al-Houriya 1600-1700 11645 Arabic (Silvain Domen, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RUSSIA: Frequency change for Voice of Liberty in Arabic via SAM 250 kW / 224 degrees : 1600-1700 NF 11645 (55555), ex 11520 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 7 via WORLD OF RADIO 1181, DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. 5964.97, Radio Malaysia, Kajang. This station has improved its modulation and signal, heard well here at 1930 past 2000 with "Radio Satu" ids and taking what sounded like quiz contestants by telephone in between segued light music tracks. "Radio Malaysia" jingle followed by time check and news at 2000 (Paul Ormandy, ZL4TFX, EchoLink Node 87378, Host of The South Pacific DX Report http://radiodx.com May 8 DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALDIVES. During my recent trip to my native place near Cochin in South India, I monitored extensively stations from Sri Lanka & Maldives and here are my latest observations. Voice of Maldives: 1449 kHz. 0030-1745. English is noted at 1300-1400 starting with news. At 1311 to 1321 Islamic prayers heard. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ, Hyderabad 500082, India, May 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 1320, at 0630, XEJP, Track 1320, Mexico City, Mexico, Regular IDs, including Radio A and Track 1320 (Stu Forsyth, Wellington, New Zealand, IRCA Soft DX Monitor May 10 via DXLD) Pronounced in English? ** MEXICO. Re previous report of X-band monitoring: All dates/times mentioned in my reports are Eastern Local Time for US/Canadian stations and GMT for all others (Tim Hall Chula Vista, CA, amfmtvdx May 7 via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. More on Dutch pirate radio clampdown: From http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=16201 06/05/2003 Agentschap Telecom, the Dutch government agency responsible for radio-frequency planning, management and enforcement, has closed down 68 illegal radio stations in the Netherlands to date. Launched in March and expected to last a year, 'Project Etherflits' is the agency's attempt at fighting radio pirates, mostly located in the north and east of the country. In the beginning, the agency only reacted to complaints of bad radio reception caused by interference from these stations. However, it has now started a concerted effort to track and close them down. The pirates, who see a connection (which the agency denies) between the agency's actions and the forthcoming (commercial) radio frequency allocation, are furious at the agency's strict enforcement of the law and its severe fines. First-time offenders are made to pay E1,100. Subsequent ones can expect a E2,250 fine and confiscation of their equipment. Pirates are organising protests in cyberspace and the physical world. They have set up a website [WTUK?] to give vent to their anger and plan counter actions. One such action, a demonstration, is planned for Saturday in The Hague, to which several prominent Dutch politicians have been invited (via Kim Elliott, Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Here`s another version of the RNZ/I funding story, which just missed last issue: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2454338a11,00.html (via David Ricquish, NZ, DXLD) and: ** NEW ZEALAND. RADIO NEW ZEALAND PERKS UP AFTER CASH INJECTION John Drinnan http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=5855&cid=1&cname=Media Radio New Zealand said it would improve core services after Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey announced $2.6 million of extra annual funding for the next four years. The topup will avert what many staff saw as an emerging financial crisis at the public broadcaster amid strained relations with the government. The money for core services is part of a $13.98 million package, which includes funding for Radio New Zealand to add to its FM coverage. Baseline funding will increase from $22.4 million to the new $25 million a year. RNZ spokesman John Barr said a top priority would be the restoration of a RNZ journalist post left vacant through most of this year because of cost-cutting. The vacancy has left the South Island covered by three full-time RNZ journalists in the South Island but none south of Christchurch. Among staff there will be close scrutiny of how much of the money for core services will be put into news an area that a Deloitte Touche Ross report at the start of the year reported understaffing and low morale and whether some will go into into features programming established by chief executive Sharon Crosbie. Journalist relations with senior management have become embittered. Last month the Dominion Post reported that managing editor of RNZ News Lynne Snowdon provided documents to the RNZ board, under the Protected Disclosures or "Whistleblowers" Act, that questioned budget practices at RNZ. The board found there was "no serious wrongdoing" as specified in the act. However it is understood Ms Snowdon has since referred her complaint to the Ombudsman. Ms Snowdon has been on sick leave from RNZ for four months. 08-May-2003 (National Business Review May 8 via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** NIGERIA, Voice of Nigeria, 15120, 1759-1818, May 06, English. End of program, "60 Minutes" at tune-in. ID, announcer with news headlines, Financial news program, "Broadstreet" followed by historical program, "Builders of Africa". Strong, clear signal (Scott R Barbour Jr, NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORWAY. Some deleted frequencies for Radio Norway and Radio Denmark effective April 7 with azimuths: 0400-0455 7490 KVI 250 kW / 110 1700-1755 15705 KVI 250 kW / 145(*) 0500-0555 13800 KVI 250 kW / 165 1800-1855 13800 KVI 250 kW / 035 0600-0655 9590 SVE 250 kW / 195 1900-1955 7490 SVE 250 kW / 180 0700-0755 7180 KVI 250 kW / 165 2000-2100 9510 KVI 250 kW / 065(*) * Sunday only NORWAY: Some stations via Norway transmitters: 0400-0800 11530 KVI 250 kW / 110 Daily Voice of Mezopotamiya in Kurdish 1400-1658 18940 KVI 250 kW / 090 Sun Radio Afghanistan in Pashto/Dari 1430-1728 18940 KVI 250 kW / 090 Mon-Sat Radio Afghanistan in Pashto/Dari 1630-1715 13800 KVI 250 kW / 095 Mon-Sat Radio Anternacional in Persian 1700-1758 7560 KVI 250 kW / 110 Sun Voice of Komala in Kurdish/Persian 1730-1758 9990 KVI 250 kW / 140 Sun Voice of Eritrean People in Tigrina 1800-1828 7530*SVE 250 kW / 160 Sun Voice of Eritrean People in Tigrina 1800-2000 7525 KVI 250 kW / 095 Mon-Sat Radio Sedoye Yaran in Persian 1800-2000 15705#KVI 250 kW / 125 Daily Voice of Reform in Arabic 2000-2100 7520 KVI 250 kW / 140 Sun Voice of Ethiopia English WS * no transmission on April 27 and May 4, 2003 # new frequency effective May 4 (ex 12025) (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, May 7 via WORLD OF RADIO 1181, DXLD) [Continued as 3-080!] DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-078, May 6, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1180: RFPI: Wed 0700v0815, 1400v1515 7445, 15039 WWCR: Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: M-F 0730 7490, 13595? WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1181: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB? Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html from early UT Thu: [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1181.html SOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Since I was getting zero response from members of the qth.net swl list, and since the system was bouncing my DXLD issue notifications, I proposed to quit posting them on that list, while referring people to other lists if they really wanted them. This led to a handful of responses from the hundreds on the list, and Duane Fischer persuaded me to resume (gh) Goodbye Glenn, I will continue as I have with your newsletter, reading ONLY the DX portions and ignoring everything else! (Eric Cooper) Glenn, I always read your DXLD. It shows up on several lists that I belong to too. As a person involved in doing columns, I know that there are those out there who dislike your column. All they have to do is hit the "DELETE" key and away you go!!! Keep up the good work and I will keep reading and pass on your news items to the two local groups in my area. Good Listening and DX!!! (Stewart H. MacKenzie, WDX6AA) Well, I for one hate to see you go and I guess I will have to read your info in other groups, as your info has been like a daily shortwave news to me. I have over the years enjoyed reading your daily news, and personally I want to Thank you for posting my info on the Guam radio stations. 73's from (Larry Fields, n6hpx/mm, now presently heading back to homeport away from the Gulf) I don't know how this all started, but this list will be just another list without Glenn's input as far as I am concerned (Chuck Bolland, KA4PRF, Clewiston Florida) Glenn, you must spend hours compiling DXLD every week and you have done for years, no other list (and there are some very good ones) is as comprehensive and up to date. Its a pleasure to read, and its free! Here's to many more years of DXLD. Thanks (Mike Terry, UK) Your posts are valuable, appreciated and extremely helpful, Glenn. But if you think subscribers are going to send you love letters, think again! Of the almost three hundred on this list, about ten percent post on a frequent basis, another ten percent on a once in a while basis. That leaves a silent majority of 80% who read, but never post. It does not mean they do not care or that they are not appreciative, they simply do not post to anyone. This is true of the vast majority of mail lists, regardless of the server, source or topic. I would like to keep your valuable posts appearing here, Glenn (Duane Fischer, W8DBF, swl List Admin) Thank you Glenn! I am glad to see you back. 73 (Gregory Mengell) Hi, Glenn. I've been following the thread on the swl list re: DX Listening Digest, and am glad the technical and other issues have been worked out and your posts are back. FWIW, I appreciate and mostly agree with your views on "religion" and other topical issues. I understand you add occasional comments to offer listeners/readers another perspective and cause us to at least contemplate our values and beliefs. Apparently, it works. Please continue. Best regards, as always (Jim Wishner, MN, May 6) Glenn, it's been a while so I felt obligated to contribute --- as everyone who reads your material should (Phil Marshall, Bradenton, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See COLOMBIA ** AFGHANISTAN. CANADIAN ORGANIZATION HELPS SET UP RADIO TRANSMITTER IN FAYZABAD | Text of report by Iranian radio from Mashhad on 3 May A radio transmitter will go into operation in a few days in the town of Fayzabad, capital of Badakhshan Province in northern Afghanistan. A source from the Afghan Culture and Information Ministry told IRNA [Islamic Republic News Agency] that broadcasts from this transmitter can easily be received within a 50-km radius in northern Badakhshan Province. The transmitter will be set up with the cooperation of a Canadian organization. The radio transmitter will be managed by five Afghan women. Its programmes will focus particulary on women's lives. Many organizations are active in the mass media in Afghanistan, and are endeavouring to expand the work and activities of the media in Afghanistan by setting up more radio transmitters in the country. Source: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, in Dari 1330 gmt 3 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? ** ALASKA. KNLS schedule effective 28 April to 27 July includes English: 0800-0900 11765, 1300-1400 11870 (KNLS via Tony Rogers, May BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. This morning (6 MAY 2003, 0500 UT) there were no signals on usual Radio Australia frequencies from Shepparton (15240, 15415, 17750, 21725 kHz). Only on 15515 kHz I could hear a weak signal. Contrary - there was a very good signal comming from New Zealand on 17675 kHz (until 0500) and on 11820 kHz (from 0500). (Karel Honzik the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030 30 m Long Wire, hard-core-dx via DXLD) BTW, the transmitter site in Victoria is spelt Shepparton, whilst the movie studio in England is spelt Shepperton (gh, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6105.48, Radio Panamericana, 1015-1023 May 6. Ordinary music presented with comments by a man and woman between tunes. ID at 1021 by man, "La hora, Panamericana ..." Signal was poor at 1015, but picked up by 1021 (Chuck Bolland, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. De Tefé (AM), Paulo Roberto e Souza informa que entrou em contato com a direção da Rádio Vale do Rio Madeira, de Humaitá (AM), questionando o porquê da emissora nunca ter emitido na freqüência de 3205 kHz. De acordo com a estação, para o futuro, há planos de emitir em ondas tropicais, desde que a ANATEL mude a freqüência, ato que já foi solicitado. No momento, a Rádio Vale do Rio Madeira emite em 660 kHz, entre 0800 e 0400. O telefone da emissora é o seguinte: 0xx 97 373.2073. BRASIL - As duas emissoras de Goiânia (GO), que emitem em ondas curtas, têm boa sintonia na Europa. Roberto Scaglione ouviu, em 5 de maio, na Itália, a Rádio Brasil Central, pela freqüência de 11815 kHz, às 2255. Já a CBN Anhangüera foi captada, às 2300, em 11830 kHz. Scaglione edita o sítio: http://www.bclnews.it (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX May 4 via DXLD) ** CANADA. UTILITÁRIA, 7335 - CHU, Ottawa - 30 dias. Recebi o QSL mostrando a reprodução de uma pintura de propriedade The Confederation Life Gallery of Canadian History, que apresenta uma cena de Sanford Fleming numa reunião em Toronto em 1879. Muito bonito o QSL. QTH: Rádio Station CHU, National Reserch Council, Ontário K1A OS1, Canada (Adalberto Azevedo, Barbacena, MG, @tividade DX May 4 via DXLD) ** CANADA. Mister Elving will be proud of me; I went on a polite E- mail rampage today to all the Toronto area TV stations individually to point out Broadcast Regulation 7.3.1 which states how stations "shall" ID on the hour with calls and city. None do anymore in Toronto. (CFMT Channel 47 was the last one to ID properly, but doesn't anymore. CITY- TV uses "Everywhere" as its city (literally)). I'll report on my results... The regs can be found at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/pics/sf/bpr1-e.pdf (Bill Hepburn, Apr 29, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CANADA. With Ryan Grabow's logo website being the inspiration, I now have a Canadian logo website up & running at http://members.rogers.com/tvdx1/can/logo-2.htm Channel 2 & 3 has full data. Channel 4, 5, 6 have maps only for now, but full data will be added soon. The Canadian scene is much different than the American scene, with very few local stations - instead mostly regional or national stations. Included is pertinent info that will help tell network relayers apart (Bill Hepburn, ON, May 3, WTFDA via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. Como ya había informado anteriormente, en mi captación del pasado 01/05, Radio Caracol se ha reactivado en onda corta al retransmitir su canal de onda media 1140 AM, a través de los 5960 kHz. He vuelto a sintonizarla --- un poco más abajo --- 5958kHz, a las 2120 UT, el 04/05. Emitía la sección "El Rey del Gol", dentro de la transmisión de un partido de la liga neogranadina, entre el Deportivo Cali y El Palmira. SINPO 34322. Ya a las 2300UTC es "neutralizada" por Radio Canada Internacional. Por otra parte, Radio Melodía sigue silenciada por los 6140 kHz. Buen DX y muchos 73 (Adán González, VENEZUELA, May 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Is CARACOL turned on only for sports specials? (gh, DXLD) 5958.10, LV de los Centauros, Villavicencio in Spanish with full ID by OM at 1059 then CARACOL ID as they joined the network and news by OM at 1100 on. This is a reactivation and last time I heard them was about 5 years ago on 5955v. Very good signal here in Florida (Phil Marshall, Bradenton, FL, Drake R-8 w/85 ft longwire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. RFPI - 2 days for e mail follow up to report from 2 January 2003. Naomi Fowler promises a card now in the mail. Very gracious and warm response. 7445 at 0730 (David Stevens, NSW, May ADXN QSL report via DXLD) RFPI`s 15039.0 resumed on May 5, and still on May 6 at 1345 check in Democracy Now, including local KPFA program promos and rebuffering pauses; sounds like up to full power. That ended at 1400, then 15 minutes of an unID program and after 1418 This Way Out, which is on the http://www.rfpi.org/SkedPDF.pdf grid at 0100 UT Tuesdays, so it would normally repeat 12 hours later at 1300. Ditto University Foruom at 0130, starting at 1448. Therefore the repeat cycle in this case was delayed about 78 minutes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA [non]. For the past week I`ve been hearing expanded English from Croatian Radio, ``Croatia Today`` at 0200 until 0220 or 0225 on 9925 via Germany. Not sure if it runs every two hours (Joe Hanlon, PA, UT May 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) After a music break, started Spanish at 0230 May 6 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. I have a station in English on 9505 kHz at 2115 with a lot of news about South Africa and the surrounding countries. Doesn't sound like a VOA transmission. Announcer has an African English Accent. ?????? anyone know who it is ???? [Later:] Judging by the interval signal they're using now, my tip was Havana Cuba. They are now in French and heard the ID in same (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So that`s where RHC went --- at least today; 2030-2130 English was on 11760 briefly. Using 9 MHz at this time to Europe in summer is absurd. Who is their propagation expert? (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. THE COMING CRISIS IN CUBA Ernesto Betancourt, Published May 2, 2003 The Washington Times [Moony] During the week the war in Iraq ended, Fidel Castro sentenced 75 dissidents to a total of 1,454 years in prison for owning faxes and computers, writing unapproved reports, meeting with American diplomats and surfing the Internet. . . http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20030502-90529854.htm (via David Crawford, FL, DXLD) ARTISTS, WRITERS DEFEND CASTRO The Washington Times [Moony] May 3, 2003 From combined dispatches HAVANA - Singer Harry Belafonte, who recently called Secretary of State Colin L. Powell a "house slave," has joined actor Danny Glover and more than 160 artists and intellectuals to defend Fidel Castro's government against criticism over its recent crackdown on dissent. . . http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030503-95018311.htm (via David Crawford, FL, DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. TV MARTI'S CHIEF EYES BETTER SIGNAL http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y03/may03/05e3.htm BY RUI FERREIRA. El Nuevo Herald Pedro Roig, new head of Radio and TV Martí, has two precise goals: finding a way to make sure that Cubans on the island can watch the U.S. government's TV Martí service and gauging who listens to Radio Marti and what they want to hear. ''We want the Cuban people to have the chance of having this formidable window that the government of the United States offers them to get accurate, credible and very objective information, and at the same time promote democracy, which is a mission of ours,'' Roig said in an interview last week in Miami-Dade County. A veteran collaborator at Radio Martí, where for years he hosted an interview and cultural affairs program, Roig said his priority is to make TV Martí easy to watch in Cuba. Cuban jamming makes the signal virtually impossible to pick up. ''This is something that is in its early stages,'' he said. "After all, I've only been here 11 days, but [TV Martí] has something that is worth watching.'' Running a finger over a chart of the Florida Straits, Roig seems to find a possible clue to how to boost the TV Martí signal on the island. ''Here it is,'' he said. "Look, Sand Key, south of Key West.'' It's a spot where the United States has jurisdiction. The idea is to have an aircraft flying within U.S. airspace, but closer to the Cuban coast than the existing balloon used by the U.S. government to beam the signal from Cudjoe Key, north of Key West. ''I don't know if this will work, but I believe it's worth trying,'' Roig said. "Cubans must have access to images from the world.'' Roig also wants to make Radio Martí more responsive to audience demands (via David Crawford, Titusville, DXLD) Hey, I`ve got an idea! Since this is an extraordinary situation, illegal international telecasting subject to jamming, why not just go whole hog and broadcast TV Martí to Cuba from a satellite? Enough with puny balloons or aircraft, already. Not on satellite frequencies, but on regular VHF channels accessible to any Cuban TV set! Maximum possible power should be used, of course, and highly directional spot beams to avoid interfering with US and other countries` terrestrial TV. Broadcasting on all 12 VHF channels would slightly disrupt Cuban domestic TV, but doesn`t it deserve to be? With such saturation, it would be impossible for Fidel to effectively jam Martí for a change. This`ll make him wish he`d gone with the Russian TV system when he had a chance (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECHOSLOVAKIA. CZECH RADIO HISTORY -- By Miroslav Krupicka The first attempts at radio broadcasting in Czechoslovakia began after the First World War. The first radio programme, made up of words and music, was broadcast on the first anniversary of the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia on October 28th, 1919, from the telegraph station at Prague's Petrin lookout tower. . . http://www.radio.cz/en/article/40370 (via Jill Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** DENMARK. In DXLD 3-077 I saw: "BFBS 13860 signed off around 1800 and then no splatters from them. Around 1803 an ute-station came on the frequency with "CQ DE OXT" and later with presumed facsimile broadcast." On the North coast of this island (Zeeland or Sjaelland in Danish) our coastal transmitting station, Skamlebaek Radio, is located. For years it has been transmitting ice charts covering the southern part of Greenland to ships up there using the callsign OXT. As far as I remember the schedule was never changed, thus you now find the frequencies in the new broadcast bands. They ID in CW before the facsimile transmission. Their schedule, taken from http://www.dmi.dk/vejr/gron/index.html (click: iskort - iskort) is: Information Frequency Time UTC Chart 2 (or 1) 9360 0003-0025 Chart 2 (or 1) 5850 0028-0050 Chart 1 5850 0943-1005 Chart 1 9360 1008-1030 Chart 1 9360 1153-1215 Chart 1 13855 1218-1240 Chart 2 (or 1) 9360 1243-1305 Chart 2 (or 1) 13855 1308-1330 Chart 2 (or 1) 17510 1333-1355 Chart 1 13855 1803-1825 Chart 1 9360 1828-1850 AFN on 13855 USB is also rather strong here in Copenhagen, but faded somewhat after 16 UT. Still heard when writing this at 18 UT on May 5. 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EL SALVADOR. 17835.215, 0054-, Radio Imperial, Apr 29. Nice reception with Spanish programming including an address in Florida (religious), then ID for Radio Imperial at about 00:50. Pretty much wiped out by NHK IS at 0056. Some deep fades, but then faded up to good/very good levels. Still occasionally overpowering NHK. 17835.20, 1354-, Radio Imperial, May 3. Fair reception at this early morning hour with Spanish religious vocals (Walter (Volodya) Salmaniw, MD, Victoria, BC, Canada, DXing the world using AOR 7030+/ERGO, Rockwell-Collins HF-2050, Racal 1792, JRC NRD 535D, Kenwood R5000, Collins R390A, Sony 2010, and Sony 1000T with the following antennae: T2FD, K9AY, 60 meter horizontal loop, Eavesdropper, 25 meter dipole, 25 MHz vertical, and random wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA/ETHIOPIA [nons]. R. UNMEE via Dhabbaya, presumed, 21550 at 1120-1130* Apr 24 in English talk, weak/clear, SIO 232 (Tony Rogers, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Recently I heard Radio Finland on 6120, signal very weak if I am using my JVC model UX-V3 receiver. I can't hear clear, so I use JVC receiver as an amplifier and cassette recorder and a Philips D-1875 portable radio receiver as a tuner. This method can improve the lack of sensitivity of JVC receiver in receiving many weak stations, and hearing clearly on 6120 Radio Finland during 2000-2130 UT. At 2130 UT Radio Nederland's Indonesian program signs on with good signal and covers Radio Finland's signal (Yin Yung-chien, Taipei, Taiwan, May 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. Dear Glenn: On April 8 2003 earlier morning local time 05:30 / 2130 UT, I heard RFI's Polish program on 7135 kHz with strong signal and at 14:18 local time I sending an e-mail reception report with an mp3 file to service.pologne@rfi.fr Then two hours later I received a reply e-mail from Mr. Casimir Piekarec, chief of the Polish section RFI as: Dear Sir, I'm very grateful indeed for your reception report, certainly the first one we ever got from a listener in China. I told this good news immediately to all our little Polish team. Everybody is impressed by such a far provenience message! Unfortunately we are not able to send you an appropriate formal QSL card, because RFI dosen't practice that old and respectable custom. May be my e-mail answer should play the role? Thanking you warmly for your report, so exact and exhaustive, I wish you the best condition for listening RFI programmes. With kind regards I am Yours faithfully, Casimir Piekarec, chief of the polish section RFI (Yin Yung-chien, Taipei, Taiwan, May 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. DW will broadcast from June frm their new home in Bonn. New address will be: Deutsche Welle, Kurt-Schumacher-Str. 3, D-53113 Bonn, Germany. Tel.: +49/228/429-0. Technical Advisory Service can not be conaced via +49/228/429-3208(T) or +49/228/429-3220(F); e-mail: tb@dw-world.de (Peter Kruse, May BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** ICELAND. Re your mention of ISBS being on 13855 before, under item USA [or non] AFRTS. On 4 May at 1745 I heard them on 13865 USB+carrier with music program. At 1800 ID "Utvarp Reykjavik", into news. At the same time AFN was on 13855U with similar strength (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) also see USA non Here is a reply I got from Keflavik, Iceland to my question about AFN 13855U transmissions (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) -----Original message----- From: Huizinga, Patricia OIC (NASKEF NMC) patricia.huizinga@naskef.navy.mil Sent: 6. May 2003 20:23 To: Jari Savolainen Subject: RE: AFN on shortwave Yes indeed. You are hearing a signal that you may continue to hear for some time. It is transmitted from Keflavik, Iceland, but the original program is sent to us from California. Here at Keflavik, we insert some local "spots" and IDs. We have started to send out the signal so that any US ships in the area could listen to US programs. Best Regards from a slightly overcast Iceland! (Trish Huizinga, Officer-in- Charge, Naval Media Center, via Savolainen, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. SATELLITE RADIO REACHES THE PC From http://www.forbes.com/2003/05/02/cx_ah_0502tentech.html?partner=altavista Ten O'Clock Tech --- Arik Hesseldahl, 05.02.03, 10:00 AM ET NEW YORK - As if there weren't already enough ways to listen to music on a personal computer, you can now add satellite radio to the list of options. If you've been curious about the satellite radio services but don't spend enough time in the car to warrant the expense of the equipment and the monthly subscription fee, the folks at XM Satellite Radio (nasdaq: XMSR) this week announced a new receiver designed to be connected to a PC. It's called the XM PC Receiver and it's selling for about $70 directly from PC Connection (nasdaq: PCCC). The receiver connects to a USB port on the PC, which gives it sufficient power to operate. It also requires an audio cord to the line-in port on the PC's audio card or to a pair of powered speakers. The company says it works best if the receiver is placed near a south- facing window. (You also need to live in the continental United States.) You don't need to be connected to the Internet, though -- the music comes directly from XM's satellites in orbit and its repeaters on the ground. And that, the company says, is a nice advantage over Internet-based streaming music services. Listen to a streaming service and you run the risk of having other things you do online slow down, especially while on dial-up connections. You control the receiver directly from the PC, changing channels and whatnot. The software that comes with the receiver also displays in real time what's playing on all of XM's 101 channels, so if you see something you like on another channel you can switch quickly. The XM service costs $10 a month plus a $15 onetime setup fee. And if you already have an XM unit in your car, you can add a second one for an extra $7 a month. Between the two satellite radio services, Washington D.C.-based XM and rival Sirius (nasdaq: SIRI) in New York, XM appears to be having the most success. It just recently said it had signed up a half- million subscribers. But both have struggled to stay afloat financially. In its most recent quarter, XM reported a $161 million loss on sales of $9 million. But it also landed a new funding package worth $475 million that included $225 million in cash and $250 million in deferred payments from investors and bondholders, including General Motors (nyse: GM) and Honda (nyse: HMC). The financing plan should keep XM operating into 2004 when it says it expects to break even. The picture is much darker at Sirius. In its most recent quarter Sirius lost $134 million on sales of $685,000 and finished 2002 with just 30,000 subscribers -- though it is forecasting 300,000 by the end of 2003. It also says it needs about 2 million subscribers to break even. But it recently announced a recapitalization plan worth $1.2 billion, the crux of which was a debt-for-equity swap with bondholders worth $636 million. It also sold $200 million in common stock to three private-equity firms, OppenheimerFunds, Apollo Management and The Blackstone Group. It was enough to avoid bankruptcy, but its stock price hasn't closed above the $1 mark since early February. It next reports earnings on May 14. People are generally listening to music at their PCs more often than ever before, if for no other reason than to drown out distracting noises while they're trying to work. But the appeal of this PC receiver may be stronger for existing subscribers who want to listen outside of their cars than it will be for new subscribers. Sirius already offers live streams of most of its programming through its Web site. The company used to provide unlimited Web streams for everyone, but now only subscribers can listen to unlimited streams on their PCs, though at no additional cost. Non-subscribers can listen too, but only for 20 minutes at a time. Generally those who like satellite radio make a point of getting it. But as the numbers show, the companies are having a tricky time convincing consumers to pay for radio. Obviously some are willing to pay for specialized programming, like channels that are all jazz or all classic rock that don't go fuzzy when you drive across the country. But if most people are unhappy with the music they can hear on local conventional radio stations, they can always fall back on their CD collections at no additional cost. And as that's true in the car, it's true on a PC. And there's the problem (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** IRAN. Having missed Chris Hambly`s expected phone interview on VOIRI May 4, I checked their audio archive, which is supposed to cover the previous week, both the sesquihour and monohour broadcasts in English. One of them had a continuous tone, the other was not in English -- I think. At 8 kbps it was pretty much unintelligible in any language. So much for that (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGTEST) ** IRAQ. VOICE OF NEW IRAQ PROMOTES SAFETY IN BAGHDAD Saturday, May 03, 2003, 5:12:24 PM (Baghdad, Iraq-AP) -- Coalition forces are using broadcasts on a radio station they call the Voice of New Iraq to promote safety in Baghdad. An announcer urges Iraqi parents to keep children away from leftover war objects that could explode. US-led forces are also warning of potential attacks on their vehicles by allies of "the big traitor Saddam Hussein." US officials say children should avoid approaching military vehicles. There have been scattered reports in recent weeks of children and some adults being wounded by bomb fragments and other live weapons. US forces are using several methods to secure peace in postwar Baghdad. Repeatedly asking for Iraqi cooperation is one cornerstone of their strategy. Tomorrow, authorized police officers armed with pistols are scheduled to start patrolling the streets. Copyright The Associated Press (via KCRG-TV via Jilly Dybka, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** IRAQ. ATTACK BY GUNMEN OBSTRUCTS TV, RADIO TRANSMISSION | Text of announcer-read report over video, from the "Al-Jazeera at midday" programme, broadcast by Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 5 May The temporary building from which the temporary Iraqi television transmits has come under an attack by unidentified gunmen. The studio was damaged, thus obstructing the launching of the experimental transmission, which was scheduled to last six hours daily. Differences persist between Abdallah al-Shaykh, who was appointed by the Americans and Mustafa al-Rubay'i, who was selected by the television workers to supervise the transmission. [Fa'izah al-Azzi, Al-Jazeera Television correspondent in Baghdad - recording] The engineering team supervising the restart of Iraqi television transmission was frustrated as soon as it arrived at the television offices. It found that the studio was destroyed and many pieces of equipment were stolen. The television was supposed to start an experimental transmission of six hours a day. [Imad Abd-al-Aziz, Radio and Television engineering affairs director] We met with Mr Mikes [name as transliterated], ORHA [Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance] official for media affairs. We gave him an integrated plan for television and radio transmission, not covering Baghdad alone but all of Iraq. We gave him a full inventory of the transmitters and studios and their locations, both the damaged and safe ones. We requested only protection. Anyone who saw the report should have been happy. However, the man was not happy, for he does not want us to start transmission. [Al-Azzi] Iraqis have been awaiting the return of the media facility since the end of the war. The party behind the targeting of the facility is still unknown. As for the radio and television employees, who are looking forward to returning to their jobs, the destruction inflicted on the main studio has doubled their concern about the possibility of returning to their jobs. [Muhammad al-Qadi, from the US-appointed committee for running Iraqi television] I personally believe that the transmission will be limited to guiding the citizens about what to do and how to temporarily run their lives until stability is restored. Transmission will be full and require all the technical staff. [Al-Azzi] Many believe that resuming transmission hinges on providing protection for the place, after many institutions were looted and burnt. [Unidentified man] A group of gunmen came yesterday. They wanted to attack the satellite channel and radio buildings and loot what remained. However, some employees and managers collected some equipment so that they could operate the radio. [Unidentified man] We want only an approval by the US forces to arm some young men who have expressed their readiness to volunteer for free to protect this institution, which is ours. This is a voluntary matter. We can now provide you with 100 men now. [Al-Azzi] Between providing protection and securing the electricity required for transmission, the Iraqis are suffering media vacuum and widespread rumours. People here are in a race with time. They are wondering in whose interest is this delay in providing protection, and whether it will actually be an Iraqi transmission. Source: Al-Jazeera TV, Doha, in Arabic 1350 gmt 5 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ. US GARNERS NO FAVOUR WITH IRAQI LISTENERS AND VIEWERS The US Civil Administrator in Iraq, Retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, has admitted to being disappointed at his inability to inaugurate an extensive television and radio broadcast system for Iraq. The TV service broadcasting so far has been available to only a few Iraqis. "We haven't done a good job," Garner admitted to journalists. "I want TV going to the people, with a soft demeanor - programs they want to see." Andy Sennitt comments: Somebody needs to get a grip and set up an interim regulatory authority; otherwise it will be anarchy on the Iraqi airwaves. The regulators need to include people with technical, administrative and programming backgrounds as well as those who understand the political and ethnic complexities involved. You won't create a democratic broadcasting system by allowing 20 or 30 groups of people with different agendas to have a station each. People will only listen to the ones that reflect their own views. Nor is it satisfactory to fill the airwaves with non-Iraqi voices, however well- intentioned these efforts are. It would make much more sense to me if the Iraqi journalists currently working for Radio Sawa, Radio Free Iraq and other such stations were to go to Iraq and teach fellow Iraqis how to make good quality radio programmes. Then they would be making a real and lasting contribution to Iraqi society. Otherwise, instead of discussion and debate you'll get a lot of people shouting into the ether, to very little positive effect (Media Network May 5 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. According to observations by the RMS systems in Kuwait, Iraq Media Network on 1170 is no longer broadcasting any IDs, just test music, something like IS! Attached is a file with that IS (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, May 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. CHINESE FIRM SENDS 100,000 DIGITAL SATELLITE RECEIVERS TO IRAQ | Text of report by Chen Wen entitled: "One hundred thousand Changhong digital satellite receivers are on charter flight to Iraq", carried by Chinese news agency Zhongguo Xinwen She Mianyang, 25 April: On the afternoon of 25 April, the first batch of 100,000 digital satellite colour TV receivers manufactured by Changhong was loaded into trucks, delivered to the Shuangliu International Airport of Chengdu, and taken on board a charter plane for a flight to Iraq where reconstruction is desperately needed in every field. Sichuan Changhong has become the first Chinese enterprise to enter the market of post-war Iraq. It is learned that Changhong has received intended orders for exporting more than one million digital products to Iraq and the Middle East this year. At present, large numbers of additional orders and down payments are pouring into Changhong. Products "made in China by Changhong" are acknowledged by clients and consumers alike in the Middle East. According to a responsible person at Changhong, the company has made an assessment of the market of post-war Iraq but, judging from the present ordering situation, the assessment is not adequate. Currently, all of Changhong's production lines are working longer hours and extra shifts and are operating at capacity in an effort to satisfy the tremendous demand of global customers. After five years of endeavours, Changhong possesses the capacity to produce three million digital satellite colour TV receivers a year. The company boasts the country's strongest production development capabilities and has gradually acquired a unique key competitive edge. Changhong has gained a stable market share in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia; and in the Middle East, in particular, the company has taken up 30 per cent of the market share. Source: Zhongguo Xinwen She news agency, Beijing, in Chinese 25 Apr 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQI TURKOMAN FRONT RADIO, TV STATIONS LAUNCHED IN KIRKUK | Excerpt from report by Iraqi Turkoman Front newspaper Turkomaneli on 4 May Following the liberation of beloved Kirkuk and other Turkoman areas from the fist of the ousted dictatorial regime, Turkomaneli TV and radio was launched in Kirkuk. A delegation of the Iraqi Turkoman Front information office, led by Isam Tarzi Bashi, opened the radio station on 12 April 2003 and the TV station on 30 April 03. In order to shed light on this important national achievement, which adds to the achievements made by the Iraqi Turkoman Front for our people, our correspondent interviewed Isam Tarzi Bashi, the head of the information office who visited Kirkuk personally on the first day of its liberation. He was the first speaker in our original Turkomani language and he called our people to integrate, unite and work together under the Iraqi Turkoman Front's banner. Tarzi Bashi's call had great moral impact on our Turkoman people's spirits. Tarzi Bashi congratulated our Turkoman people on the occasion of the opening of the Turkomaneli TV and radio. He offered his thanks and appreciation to all those who participated in this achievement, saying: "I would like to take this opportunity to offer my congratulations to all our Turkoman people in particular and the Iraqi people in general on their liberation from the dictator's claws. I address our Turkomani people in the Turkoman city of Kirkuk on the occasion of the inauguration of Turkomaneli TV and radio. This achievement was accomplished with the sincere efforts of everyone who participated in it. In the last few days, I visited Kirkuk with a delegation led by Safin Kurachi, the director of Turkomaneli radio, and Iyadoghlu, the director of Turkomaneli TV in Arbil, to prepare for the inauguration of Turkomaneli TV and radio in Kirkuk. With the efforts of those who participated in making this historical achievement, we started TV and radio broadcasting in Kirkuk City. I take this opportunity to say many thanks to those who supported us including: Ayyub Mayyas, Yalman Zaynal, Muhammad Hadi, Nadim Nur-al-Din, Hasan Husayn, Sa'di Tawfiq Kuperlu, Najm-al-Din Qassab, Qadir Uthman, Ra'uf Kurachi, Muwaffaq Sidiq, Adnan Uzjwan and Manulya Ma'sum... Regarding a question on the test TV broadcasting in Kirkuk (Kirkuk test), Tarzi Bashi said: Kirkuk test transmission is done under the local council formed in Kirkuk to run the city's affairs. This directorate includes Arabs, Turkomans, Kurds and Assyrians. To my knowledge, this channel will broadcast for eight hours daily (after the test period) in Turkoman, Arabic, Kurdish and Assyrian; two hours in each language... Source: Turkomaneli, Arbil, in Arabic 4 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? ** IRAQ. V. of Iraqi People: Tonight they were on the normal 4025.3 kHz. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, May 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. WORKER-COMMUNIST PARTY OF IRAQ'S "RADIO BOPESHAWA" REPORTEDLY BACK ON AIR | The internet site of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq http://www.wpiraq.org on 27 April carried the following announcement in Arabic: "As of Tuesday, 26 April 2003, Ila al-Amam (Forward) Radio [usually rendered as Radio Bopeshawa, meaning "Forward"], voice of the Worker- Communist Party of Iraq, started its experimental transmission on two shortwave bands: 49 metres, corresponding to 5000 kHz, and 41 metres, corresponding to 7000 kHz [frequencies as published]. The radio will transmit daily from 1500 Iraq time [1100 gmt] for one hour only. It will transmit for half an hour in Arabic and half an hour in Kurdish. The transmission will cover the areas of Arbil, Kirkuk and Mosul. The same programme will be repeated between 0900 and 1000 [0500-0600 gmt] the next day. The radio will be available on the Internet at a later time." The radio was not monitored on the abovementioned times and frequencies when checked on 4 and 5 May. The Worker-Communist Party of Iraq was observed to update its site on 2 May 2003 in Arabic and on 4 May in English, but no new information about the radio station was provided. In February 2002 the web site had carried an announcement saying: "For better radio transmissions and more appropriate broadcast times, Radio Bopeshawa has stopped transmitting its programmes for the time being." Radio Bopeshawa broadcasts in support of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq. Bopeshawa (meaning "Forward") is also the name of the party's newspaper. Radio Bopeshawa began broadcasting in Arabic and Kurdish on 1 February 2001. The station was first monitored on 14 February 2001 from 1500 to 1600 gmt on 9450 kHz. In the past, it announced a London address and was believed to have broadcast via a hired shortwave transmitter in eastern Europe. A station called the "Voice of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq" had been monitored on 4000 kHz from 3 May 1999 until Radio Bopeshawa came on the air in February 2001. The Worker-Communist Party of Iraq's web site, http://www.wpiraq.org, also gives information on its Iranian counterpart, the Worker- Communist Party of Iran, whose own web site is http://www.wpiran.org. Source: BBC Monitoring research 4-5 May 03 (via DXLD) ** IRELAND. TIPPERARY MID WEST RADIO - THE REAL VOICE OF TIPPERARY This is interesting. You can listen to Irish Country-Western music while drinking your long neck Guinness and eating your Tex-Mex blood pudding (Tom McNiff, Burke, Virginia, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://www.tipperarymidwestradio.com/ Tipperary Mid-West Radio broadcasts LIVE on the World Wide Web. If you have Windows Media Player installed on your computer click on the image above to tune in Live. http://www.tippnet.ie.screaming/tmw.asx But, but, there is no image on my computer, just ``ad-size``. How I enjoy missing all those ads!! Programme schedule (not including weekends, even tho 24/7! They are not alone; I have seen a number of US stations/networks ignore what they do on the weekends) http://www.tipperarymidwestradio.com/schedule.html Also has links to CNN --- nothing but tornadoes in the --- Midwest! Why won`t CNN handle more than one big story at a time??? All 9 CNN items were various versions of the tornado story, with one BBC item on Iraq to round out the top ten (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. According to an announcement on the 1030 GMT Israel Radio English news, English news on Independence Day, Wednesday, will be on Reshet Aleph at 1600-1610 GMT instead of 1630-1645. There will be no other changes in the schedule on Tuesday, Memorial Day or Wednesday, Independence Day (Joel Rubin, swprograms via DXLD) Why is it so hard for them to keep English broadcasts on at the same time, all the time? (gh, DXLD) ** ITALY. Thanks to tip from David Duckworth near Salisbury, who heard this Italian from Momigno on 1584 kHz in stereo on his AM-Stereo Walkman earlier this evening, I was surprised to hear Glenn Hauser's World of Radio (last week's edition 1179) via Studio X with fair peaks in the mix on 1584 this evening (Sun 4th May) from 1935 tune-in through to Glenn's "standard disclaimer" at 2003 UT when reverted to Italian with an Italian song. Fair peaks when Studio X dominant (around sunset here) but also faded out for 2 or 3 minute periods at times. Studio X is also scheduled to carry World of Radio Fridays at 2300 on 1584 (and 1566 which is blocked by UK stations here though). (Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK, Caversham UK, AOR 7030+ / K9AY, Sun May 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Should have had current 1180 on; wonder if such delays often happen there too (gh) ** JAPAN. I truly wish I could like R. Japan, because I`d love to know more about the world`s second-largest economy, its culture and its issues. Unfortunately, Radio Japan tends not to dig too deeply into the economic and cultural issues facing the nation. The programming is certainly more interesting than the infamous recitation of mundane (and inflated) economic statistics on Eastern European stations while the Warsaw Pact was in force, but I wish R. Japan challenged Japanese icons and issues a bit more thoroughly. The most significant schedule change for R. Japan for the A-03 time period is the shortened length of its newscast from 15 to 10 minutes; a new 5-minute music program, Songs for Everyone, follows the weekday newscasts in the 1100 broadcast, and the Tue-Sat news in the 0000 broadcast. Another new music program, Japan Musicscape, airs in the 1100 broadcast on Wednesdays (Richard Cuff, PA, Easy Listening, May NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** KASHMIR. Dear Hans Johnson, On 4830 it is Radio Kashmir, Jammu and on 4950 Radio Kashmir Srinagar. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, India, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MOLDOVA. As a matter of fact, the GFC is continuing to register the Moldovan SW frequencies (radio centre Maiac) with the HFCC as "KCH" (= "Kichinev"), not GRI=Grigoriopol. However, in contact with foreign clients, the GFC is usually referring to the transmitting site as "Grigoropol" (reflecting the fact that this site is not located near the Moldovan capital). As a result, e.g. DW or TWR is listing this site as GRI or Grigoriopol. On the other hand, the Moldovan and Russian press has generally been calling this site by its "real" name "Maiac" ("Mayak" in Russian), there have been various articles over the years in connection with antenna problems and other matters (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, May 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND: FUNDING BOOST FOR RADIO NEW ZEALAND | Text of news release from New Zealand government web site on 6 May Radio New Zealand is to receive new funding worth 14.58m dollars over four years to to set up a nationwide FM service and meet the rising costs of its core services, Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey said today. National Radio will receive an additional 3.396m dollars over four years to progressively establish FM services across the country and 2.646m dollars annually to maintain its programming. Around 93 per cent of the population will be able to receive the FM service by 2006, the same penetration currently achieved by Concert FM. The current AM service will be retained, providing service to those listeners unable to tune in to the FM band. Steve Maharey said the package, part of Budget 2003, will enable the nation's public radio network to make a larger contribution to the development and maintenance of national and cultural identity. "National Radio provides an essential service reflecting and analysing New Zealand news, information and experiences and broadcasting the best international programming 24 hours a day. No other broadcaster approaches its range and depth of coverage. "The funding package will enable National Radio to continue to meet its charter obligations and is the first boost in resources for core services since 1997. "The migration to the FM band will enable National Radio to continue to build its audience by attracting younger listeners who, in general, do not tune in to AM radio stations. All major radio networks in New Zealand operate on the FM band. "The FM service will be progressively rolled out over the next three years, starting with the four main centres by the end of 2004. National Radio will continue to be simulcast on the AM band for those unable to tune in to FM. "Radio New Zealand International will also receive 0.6m dollars to enable it to increase its daily broadcasts of original programming, and in particular Pacific current affairs. This also supports legislation currently before parliament which amends RNZ's charter to require it to provide an international radio service to the South Pacific," Steve Maharey said. Source: New Zealand government web site, Wellington, in English 6 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) BROADCASTING MINISTER'S SPEECH HON STEVE MAHAREY'S SPEECH TO PARLIAMENT ON RNZ FUNDING: 06 May 2003 Supporting public service radio Introduction Hello to you all. Thank you for the invitation Brian. I am very pleased to be here with you this evening and to have the opportunity to speak to you directly. You are the people whose work is critical to achieving the public service broadcasting goals of Radio New Zealand. Funding Announcement That is why I am especially pleased to be able to announce that as part of this year's Budget Radio New Zealand is to receive new funding worth $13.98 million over four years. The increase is to establish a nationwide FM service for National Radio and to meet the rising costs of core operations. The funding package will enable Radio New Zealand to continue to meet its Charter obligations, cover operating cost increases, maintain quality programming and editorial services and address recruitment issues. Radio New Zealand International receives $600,000 over four years to enable it to increase its daily broadcasts of original programming and in particular Pacific current affairs. This also supports legislation currently before Parliament which amends RNZ's Charter to require it to provide an international radio service to the South Pacific. Public Service Broadcasting The new funding reflects this government's appreciation of what Radio New Zealand is about. Our policies recognize that the role of the government includes providing for a range of broadcasting choice beyond what strictly commercial considerations will produce. The public broadcaster is free of the constraints and pressures advertiser-driven broadcasters find harder to resist. Broadcasters motivated entirely by profit are susceptible to the business interests of their owners and advertisers. The public broadcaster, as an independent entity with public funding, has a mandate to operate in the broad public interest. Public broadcasting is driven by the belief that broadcasting makes a difference to the health of a society or culture. The work that you as broadcasters do every day bears out this principle. Some critics have argued that Radio New Zealand is too focused on politics and too Wellington-centred. However Radio New Zealand provides an integrated service. News and current affairs hook listeners in and other shows induce them to stay. 40 percent of its music is home grown. Drama, features, talk, documentaries and Maori programmes speak to audiences far beyond Wellington's reach. Your value and power as public broadcasters is in your capacity to be heard in nearly every kitchen in New Zealand. National Radio currently reaches about 96 percent of the population. Some small communities like Twizel, Te Anau, Te Kuiti and the Chatham Islands which are outside the transmission range are so keen to get a signal they've raised money themselves to enter into a cost sharing scheme with Radio New Zealand for satellite reception. The news, stories and programmes you produce connect New Zealanders with each other, offering loyal audiences throughout New Zealand a stimulating life-line. Migration to FM band That life-line will be technically enhanced by National Radio's move to FM transmission. The network will receive an additional $3.396 million to progressively establish FM services throughout New Zealand. Listeners in central Auckland, Taupo and Greymouth can already pick up National Radio on FM. The service will be rolled out in stages, starting with the main centres by the end of next year. Around 93 percent of the population will be able to receive the service by 2006. The AM service will be retained, simulcasting for those listeners unable to tune into the FM band. The move to a superior transmission service signals a great leap forward for Radio New Zealand. It is a demonstration of this government's commitment to RNZ's future and our expectation that the broadcaster will remain relevant and attract new audiences. FM transmission is clearly the preferred medium for younger radio listeners and without the migration National Radio risks a declining audience. All radio competitors in New Zealand broadcast on FM and all major international public service broadcasters have FM transmission technology. Current AM broadcast is undoubtedly an inferior service and the move will ensure that RNZ can compete successfully in the national and international marketplace. The sound quality is much better, the signal allows enhanced penetration into high-rise and built up areas and many new cars have radios capable only of FM. The challenge for National Radio is to provide exciting, compulsive programming that attracts and holds listeners as they browse the FM band. New Zealand has the most deregulated radio industry in the world with the greatest number of stations per capita. However, Radio New Zealand is distinctive and that point of difference can be turned to competitive advantage. It is my hope that a new range of FM listeners will want to add National Radio to their regular diet of radio stations; that they will dip into National Radio for a particular feature, New Zealand music show, or in-depth examination of a complex issue. Increase in funding for core services New Zealanders' thirst for innovative, informative, companionable radio should not be underestimated. Increased funding of $2.646 million a year for core operations will allow Radio New Zealand to better deliver its services and programmes. This will take RNZ's ongoing baseline funding from the previous amount of $22.4 million to the new amount of $25.046 million. Radio New Zealand's operating costs have progressively increased for a number of years. Until recently these costs have been absorbed within the company. However more recent rises in operating costs have eroded the ability of the company to absorb them while maintaining service levels. Radio New Zealand services are characterised by a high level of local content in news, current affairs, features and music. National Radio has 90 percent local content and Concert FM has 15 percent. Local content is costly. But RNZ is a proven performer in contributing to the social and cultural wealth of the nation and has, since it was established in 1925, played a significant role in developing New Zealanders' sense of identity. New Zealanders are also global citizens and, as a particularly mobile population, are very much in touch with world events. Radio New Zealand consistently provides not only comprehensive, impartial news coverage of international stories but features, documentaries and interviews that take listeners to every corner of the planet. Through its Charter Radio New Zealand is geared towards serving special needs and yet, ultimately, providing something for almost everyone. Its value is in its ability to explore every aspect of human activity from analysis of the Iraqi war on Morning Report and Checkpoint to Monica Lewinsky's revelations on Kim Hill to the Karaka yearling sales on Country Life to Dale Husband chatting with a kaumatua on Mana Tangata. Listeners are informed and entertained. No other broadcaster approaches the same range and depth of programming mix, led by a flagship news and current affairs platform. The government is providing the increased funding to safeguard RNZ's critically important role. It recognises there have been substantial cost pressures in providing a service that reflects and explains New Zealand issues, and broadcasts the best international programming, 24 hours a day. Increase for Radio New Zealand International Radio New Zealand International is receiving an increase in its baseline funding of $150,000 a year, bringing its total annual funding to $1.716 million, to offer more programming for Pacific audiences. The new money will enable RNZI to increase targeted programming from four hours to ten hours each day. It will strengthen the service's ability to provide a comprehensive, reliable and independent source of Pacific regional and New Zealand information to a region which has been markedly more volatile in recent years. More Pacific language programming will enhance the respect and partnership that exists between RNZI and its listeners and boost New Zealand's standing in the Pacific. The goodwill that is generated by the broadcasts plays an important role in maintaining close relations between this country and its Pacific neighbours. Looking back I take personal pleasure in making these announcements to you this evening. My own political involvement in broadcasting began a decade ago, spurred on by my firm commitment to ensuring a future for public radio. In 1993, as opposition spokesperson for broadcasting, I introduced the New Zealand Public Radio Charter Bill to give expression to the principles of public broadcasting. The National government introduced the Radio New Zealand Bill in 1995. During select committee hearings the charter, developed from my private member's bill, was included. The Charter has given Radio New Zealand distinct goals and a legitimate place in the life of the nation. I recall, at that time, the way in which the company staunchly endured more than a decade of turmoil and change as the lone voice of public broadcasting. During the late 1980s and early 1990s New Zealand moved towards becoming one of the most deregulated broadcasting systems in the world. Government decisions were effectively relegated to deciding who should be allocated television and radio licences. RNZ was the last bastion of public service broadcasting to survive. The company sought to maintain a strong public service focus in a hostile environment in which commercial goals were paramount. Then, it had every reason to feel nervous, bullied and uncertain. Under the National government Radio New Zealand struggled against political reluctance to maintain its funding and, through public pressure and its own lobbying, managed to secure the continuing existence of two networks, National Radio and Concert FM. Many of you here will have been taken part in those battles because you know that public radio is worth fighting for. New challenges There is no that doubt Radio New Zealand, through its people, has the determination, creativity and flair to prosper in its public service role. It is a place where broadcasters pursue excellence in their craft. The latest list of Qantas Media Award finalists confirms, once again, that you are a highly talented group. But there are challenges ahead. The time is right to capitalize on the synergy of news, current affairs, features, drama and music – all generated by the one broadcaster with an ethos of public service and social and cultural commitment. It is time to stand up to challenge and overcome the predictable, tired accusations that Radio New Zealand is dull and boring. All of us in this room know better than that. We know that telling real stories with the depth and texture that your Charter allows, playing music that is the heart of this nation, and celebrating the drama that is its soul is the most exciting opportunity radio can offer anyone, anywhere. I know that Radio New Zealand can grasp this opportunity. Via http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.cfm?DocumentID=16660 7/May/2003 (via Paul Ormandy, NZ, April 7, DXLD) RADIO NEW ZEALAND GETS DOSH FOR FM Radio New Zealand is to receive new funding worth $14.58 million over four years to set up a nationwide FM service and meet the rising costs of its core services, Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey announced on Tuesday. National Radio will receive an additional $3.396 million over four years to progressively establish FM services across the country and $2.646 million annually to maintain its programming. Around 93 per cent of the population will be able to receive the FM service by 2006, the same penetration currently achieved by Concert FM. The current AM service will be retained providing service to those listeners unable to tune in to the FM band. At present National Radio is only heard on FM in central Auckland, Taupo and Greymouth. It is aimed to have the four main centres on FM by the end of next year. Mr Maharey said the package, part of Budget 2003, would enable the nation's public radio network to make a larger contribution to the development and maintenance of national and cultural identity. The FM service will be progressively rolled out over the next three years. The government has said it is examining the possibility of implementing a digital FM network, but this proposed funding round does not appear to contain any movement in that direction. An extra $150,000 a year over four years will go to Radio New Zealand International, which broadcasts in shortwave to the Pacific, to provide increased original programming and current affairs aimed at Island listeners. The hours it produces will rise from four hours a day to 10. Via NBR http://www.nbr.co.nz 7/5/03 (via Paul Ormandy, NZ, DXLD) ** NIGERIA. Yesterday, May 4th, Voice of Nigeria on 11770 was dominating over VOA NN from 1900-1958*. Signal was good, but very low audio making voices unreadable. music somewhat better. French, few announcements, mainly music. Off without ID. The Usual VON tune at 1958 interrupted after a few seconds (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, the sunshine state, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. 9385.68, 1415-, Radio Pakistan, May 3. Poor reception of Russian service. No IS heard before the commencement of broadcast. Can't make much out...just a OM and YL talking (Walter (Volodya) Salmaniw, MD, Victoria, BC, Canada, DXing the world using AOR 7030+/ERGO, Rockwell-Collins HF-2050, Racal 1792, JRC NRD 535D, Kenwood R5000, Collins R390A, Sony 2010, and Sony 1000T with the following antennae: T2FD, K9AY, 60 meter horizontal loop, Eavesdropper, 25 meter dipole, 25 MHz vertical, and random wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Short return of Radiostantsiya Tikhiy Okean to SW is expected on 7, 8, and 9 May. This air is sponsored by TGTRK "Vladivostok", main broadcasting company of Primorye. Frequencies are 810 kHz MW, as well as 11760 kHz SW. Broadcast will go out at 0615- 0700 UT. Putting those broadcasts on the air, TGTRK "Vladivostok" has a hope that some of fishing companies will allocate some funds for their continuation. But you know, Radiostantsiya Tikhiy Okean does not verify (open_dx - Alexey Koropskiy, Vladivostok, Russia, Signal via DXLD) By the way, 17 April was the 40th anniversary of the first air of Tikhiy Okean (open_dx, Igor Ashikhmin, Primorskiy kray, Russia, ibid.) ** SRI LANKA. From yesterday SLBC is noted on 7302.5 in parallel to 7115. The sked is 0030-0400 & 0800-1530. Some days earlier they were noted testing on 7300 for about 5 minutes with Sinhala HS programming. 7115 SLBC Hindi Service still blocked by VOA Sri Lanka from 0100 to 0300 (Jose Jacob, India, May 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA. SYRIAN GOVERNMENT GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO PRIVATE RADIO STATIONS | Text of report by Syrian News Agency SANA web site Damascus, 4 May: It was learned today that initial approval was given to license four private commercial radio stations to broadcast on the FM wave. The approval was given in cognizance of Decree 10 issued in 2002 and the pertinent executive instructions outlined in Decision 4126 issued on 17 August 2002. These private commercial radio stations will air entertainment programmes, songs and commercials, provided their broadcast range would cover all of Syria and far areas in neighbouring countries. This new step would open new horizons geared towards developing national economy by introducing Syrian services and products through commercials that will be aired via these radio stations, thus assist in increasing exports and delivering Syrian goods to new consumer markets. It was also learned that the Syrian Radio and Television Corporation has gone along way in making technical preparations to enable the best radio broadcast conditions. The four private companies are expected to start working for founding the radio stations, making technical and administrative preparations, and securing the necessary requirements within the coming few months. Source: SANA news agency web site, Damascus in Arabic 0000 gmt 4 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** THAILAND. This 6676 frequency is used by some aviation weather VOLMET stations in the area. Here I can hear Singapore R H+20/H+50, Bangkok R H+10/H+40 and one, possibly Sydney at H+00/H+30. After seeing your tip, I checked this frequency on 02 May at 1650 and there was Far-East music blocking badly the Singapore transmission. After couple of minutes it disappeared and left the frequency clear for Singapore. Also at 1715 just when Bangkok R ended their bulletin, there was some seconds of music. It is hard to believe that Bangkok, by purpose, would transmit "interval music" interfering the other stations using this frequency. It could be a malfunction in their equipment (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxing.info via DXLD) ** U K. BBC CIRCLES INDIA -- Shobita Dhar Mumbai, May 4: In a bid to bring you the latest developments before the others do, already a dozen news channels are slogging it out. And now, the international players have taken note of the growing competition. Recently, in a bid to attract more viewers in India to its channel, BBC World floated a new concept, that of an exclusive India correspondent. Previously, BBC World combined British and Indian correspondents for its South Asia Bureau based in New Delhi. . . http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=51034 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U K [non]. Laser is currently running an engineering test Posted to me at 04 May 2003 19:42 From andrew_yeates Laser is currently running an engineering test of continuous music on 9520 kHz. We started at about 1654 UT and should run for about 3 hours or so. Reception reports via email most welcome. Andrew [Later:] I think the transmitter might be switched of at around 20h00 UT as we are apparently only authorised to run till that time for this test. It's taken a LOT of discussion and effort to get this test on- Air. Please send any reception reports to - studio@laserradio.net We hope to be have a 'regular' Sunday broadcast again very soon ... (Andrew, Laser Radio via Mike Terry, DXLD) Too late, even when received on Sunday ** U K [non]. I must have been very tired after the night up listening, so I have to correct once again: Laser Hot Hits should be on 4025 kHz at 2313 (and not 4045 or 4050 as earlier mentioned). Sorry for that. 73 de (Lennart Weirell, Västerås, SWEDEN, EDXP via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. On May 6, 2003 I heard Voz Cristiana [via CHILE] on 17680 program in Spanish, noticias start at 2203, 34333 but has signal decay at 2207. Voz Cristiana on 15475 program in Portuguese has good signal heard in here during 2222-2234. I just heard 45444. And 11745 channel is not well heard in here because Radio Sawa uses same frequency 11745 kHz, program in Arabic with strong signal covers Voz Cristiana program in Portuguese during 2200-2300 UT but still can hear the weak signal from Voz Cristiana. Sincerely yours, Your faithful reader, (Yin Yung-chien, Taipei, Taiwan, May 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. UNKNOWN, 13855, 1544-, AFN, May 4. AFN programming exactly in parallel with equally weak 12689.5 from Key West. Poor to fair (Walter (Volodya) Salmaniw, MD, Victoria, BC, Canada, DXing the world using AOR 7030+/ERGO, Rockwell-Collins HF-2050, Racal 1792, JRC NRD 535D, Kenwood R5000, Collins R390A, Sony 2010, and Sony 1000T with the following antennae: T2FD, K9AY, 60 meter horizontal loop, Eavesdropper, 25 meter dipole, 25 MHz vertical, and random wire , DX LISTENING DIGEST) unID. 13855U, AFN, new frequency discovered by Don Nelson-OR, heard at 0200 May 3 ending Paul Harvey, going into AP Network News, then CBS News Weekend Roundup at 0205. Fair signal, same programming [on 6458.5?] (Puerto Rico) & 12689.5 (Florida), both about the same as 13855, and 10320 (Hawaii) which was weaker. By 0530, 13855 was much weaker, as it still was at 0930; however, by 1030 it was much better and fully listenable; weaker again at 1430 re-check. Thought to be Iceland by others who are hearing it (Jerry Berg, MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) See also ICELAND ** U S A. 15305 unID 2244 with program 'V of the Renovation' in English. 34323 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, April 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The only thing in HFCC at this time is: 15305 2200 2400 49,50 IRA 250 73 1234567 300303 251003 D CLN IBB IBB And IBB Sri Lanka would certainly not be carrying some gospel huxter And in IBB`s own online schedule: 15305 2200 2400 VOA P ENGL IRA 03 073 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Re: the Bangkok VOA 1000 kW transmitter was never a Collins. Initially it was a Continental Electronics .... My fault. My source correctly mentioned Continental. Somehow I often tend to confuse these two companies (Olle Alm, Sweden, May 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [This refers to DXLD 3-076, before the item in DXLD 3-077:] Re: Thailand VOA item and related Okinawa item Mr. Hauser: I never did get to Okinawa before it went out of service, but there are some comments on items in the sections on the three Far East IBB/VOA sites that I believe I can correct: 1. The megawatt medium wave transmitters at these sites were/are Continental Electronics ("CEMCO") model 105B. So was the LF one at Munich, modified, of course, for operation on 173 kHz. The one at Poro, La Unión, Philippines, is still in service for occasional use. 2. The transmitter at Ban Phachi (Rasom, near Ayutthaya) is now dismantled. It was serial #1, and the explanation which has been consistently given by all parties who I have encountered who are likely to have knowledge of the matter is that it was assembled by CEMCO from the original prototype a dozen or so years after the delivery of the other 3, since the prototype was part of the original VOA contract and therefore owned by VOA. Parts of the disassembled Ban Phachi transmitter were shipped to Poro as spares. 3. A useful source for this type of data is the series of user lists issued by CEMCO periodically up until at least 1990 showing the location, customer, and frequency of every transmitter they had manufactured to each publication date. 4. At Poro the HF transmitters in use were (2) Collins 35 kW and (2) GE 100 kW, with (3) Gates 50 kW in transportable buildings added later. Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers 9500 Greenwood Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103 USA 206 783 9151 206 789 9834 Facsimile ben-dawson@hatdaw.com (Benjamin F. Dawson III, P.E., May 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. MCCARTHY HEARINGS PUBLISHED The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has published all of the transcripts of executive sessions held while Senator Joseph R. McCarthy chaired the subcommittee from 1953 to 1954. Publication of the transcripts, which marks the 50th anniversary of the hearings, constitutes the opening of the largest collection of documents related to McCarthy's anti-Communist investigations. http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/mccarthy.htm Transcripts of the McCarthy hearings dealing with the Voice of America are available online: Text file 5.1 Mb http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_senate_committee_prints&docid=f:83869.wais PDF file 2.4 Mb http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_senate_committee_prints&docid=f:83869.pdf (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) MCCARTHY HEARINGS REVEAL DISQUIET ABOUT VOA The US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has released the previously closed executive session transcripts for the 83rd Congress (1953-1954), chaired by Republican Senator Joseph R McCarthy. The 161 hearings, with over 500 witnesses, deal largely with allegations of subversion and espionage within the government and defense industries. The volumes were edited by the staff of the Senate Historical Office with the cooperation of the staff of the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives and Records Administration. The transcripts are available on the official Web site of the US Senate. There are five downloadable PDF files, each approximately 2.5 Mb. Each contains hundreds of pages of testimony. International broadcasting historians will be especially interested in the substantial amount of detailed testimony on matters related to the Voice of America. McCarthy saw VOA as a powerful weapon against Communism, and the hearings produced accusations of financial mismanagement relating to the building of VOA transmitter sites. For example, former VOA project engineer Lewis J. McKesson told the hearings that in his estimation $31m had been wasted. Interestingly, there is an error in the transcript of what McKesson told the hearing about the floating radio station aboard the Courier, which operated off the coast of Greece. It quotes him as referring to "235 kilowatt shortwave transmitters" which ought to be rendered as "two 35 kilowatt shortwave transmitters." We will be examining these documents more closely in the coming days (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 6 May 2003 via DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn, Here is an update on the status of WRNO that I just received today. Stewart H. MacKenzie, WDX6AA, "World Friendship Through Shortwave Radio Where Culture and Language Meet" ASWLC - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASWLC/ SCADS - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SCADS/ Subject: Re: WRNO SHORTWAVE Hi Stewart: The bottom line is that WRNO is still around! A sad combination of Joseph Costello's untimely death, a disastrous fire at the transmitting plant, years of legal arguing between heirs, and finally about a year ago, sale and transfer of the station remains to a religious organization that is having difficulty, as are most religious organizations these days, in raising sufficient funds to purchase a 50 kW or 100 kW transmitter and repair and modernize the transmitter building, etc., has kept WRNO from returning full power to the air. The FCC has been very understanding and lenient, and has permitted WRNO to operate on 7355, 7395 and 15420 kHz under a "Special Temporary Authorization" (STA) with a low power 500 watt licensed auxiliary transmitter. All of this time, WRNO Management, old and new, have paid the required FCC Frequency and other fees. The new owners of WRNO, Good News World Outreach, have recently informed the FCC that they are in the final stages of purchasing a 50 kW transmitter which they plan to have installed and operating within a year. So, there is finally beginning to be some light at the end of a very long tunnel! You can pass this information along at the next scud meeting. 73, George Jacobs, P.E. Broadcast Engineers Since 1941 8701 Georgia Ave. Suite 711 Silver Spring, MD 20910 (P) 301-587-8800 (F) 301 587 8801 http://www.gjainc.com (George Jacobs, W3ASK, via Stewart MacKenzie, WDX6AA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Note a new high-power channel 3 on the air in Utah. Price 3 KUTF NW# 70 kw/658 m, 39-45-22/110-59-22; CC for new station I've not been able to dig up any programming information on KUTF. With those call letters, I would not be too surprised if it turned out to be a Telefutura outlet. Also, UPN affiliate K15DR in northwest Arkansas has moved to channel 4 with 3 kW. The only other UPN station I know of on channel 4 is a 750-watt LPTV in Florida. This one should stand out! (Doug Smith, TV News, May WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) ** U S A. To find details on the 13,240 translator applications go to: http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_sear.htm Choose the following options: service = FM translator; Application Type: Original Construction Permit; File Number (second - right hand window) 2003% The percent sign is a "wild card" to select all translator applications filed in 2003 (John Broomall, Christian Community Broadcasters, May 1, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Early History of TV in the US: Some days ago Scott Fybush wrote: "Incidentally, the reason channel 2 has always occupied its own transmitter site somewhat apart from the rest of the Wilson stations (I was told) was that Lee's family actually owned a chunk of the mountaintop long before the days of TV. That seems like an awfully convenient coincidence, doesn't it?" W6XAO-KTSL / Don Lee inaugurated mechanical scanning TV in 1931 using 2-3 MHz low resolution HF channels and licensed as W6XK. In December 1931 ex-Farnsworth engineer from San Francisco, Harry Lubcke, new Director of Television for Don Lee (a Pacific Coast radio network at the time), created an all-electronic system using motion picture films as a programming source shown onto a CRT (cathode ray tube) as a "flying spot scanner" using various frequencies between 40 and 60 megacycles. Don Lee's television development was from downtown Los Angeles ("The Don Lee Building" at 7th and Bixel Streets, which also housed Lee's automobile new car agency for Cadillac). The station had several 300 megacycle region special experimental FCC licenses and it developed remote pickup capabilities using Lubcke designed and built cameras (sourcing image dissector tubes from Farnsworth) and in fact in 1933 provided three days of continuous coverage of the devastating Long Breach Earthquake using both intermediate film and remote pickup. By 1936 licensed as W6XAO, the station pioneered ahead of RCA 300 line x 24 frame video. The first full length movie feature ("The Crooked Circle") was telecast in 1933. The first long term TV soap opera, 52 weeks of "Vine Street," a written for TV production, done from their studio in the Don Lee Building, was aired in 1937 (slightly ahead of the BBC's first "scheduled" programming, I might add!). By 1939 the station was averaging 7 hours daily, six days a week ("never on Sunday") at a time when CBS was not even on the air with its first test pattern and RCA was still futzing around with demonstrations from the World's Fair, in New York City. Also in 1939 - here is the answer to your question about "Mt Lee" - Don Lee purchased a sizeable plot of ground on top of a mountain located between Hollywood and Burbank. This property had been owned by the estate of movie pioneer Mack Sennett and the mountain was promptly renamed "Mt Lee." By mid 1939, the world's first built-for-TV production facility was nearing completion on the site and it included such innovations as totally copper screen/sheet shielded exterior and interior walls to reduce or eliminate any opportunity for stray RF (radio frequency) fields to sneak into the custom built TV studio and transmitter building to cause interference with their TV operations. The new facility was formally dedicated in October 1939 by Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron. Obviously Harry Lubcke was quite a bit ahead of his eastern compatriots (including RCA CBS, Philco and others). And "no - it was not a coincidence" that Don Lee "happened to own land on a mountaintop between Hollywood and Burbank." (Bob Cooper in New Zealand, Apr 24, WTFDA via DXLD) Ah...but I wasn't talking about Mount Lee, of which I'm well aware. The channel 2 facility on Mount *Wilson*, where KTSL moved in the summer of 1951, is itself set apart from the rest of the Mount Wilson towers, which are in two big clusters - one that's home to channels 4, 5, 7 and 13 and the other to channel 11 and later to some of the UHFs. And my understanding is that Lee's family owned that patch of land on *Wilson* as far back as the late 19th century. So...mystery not yet solved. Best regards, s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) This flying-spot scanner was an interesting concept. It was described in the ARRL Radio Amateur's Handbook well into the 1970s as a simple and inexpensive way of generating a video signal in a time when there was no such thing as a cheap camcorder... I've heard tell some commercial flying-spot scanners were also sold to TV stations as a way of generating test patterns. The idea was to display a solid white picture on a CRT, then hold a transparency (slide, or movie film) in front of the screen. A photocell would be placed on the opposite side of the transparency. As the electron beam scanned the CRT screen, the amount of light that passed through the transparency and reached the photocell would depend on the darkness of the particular spot in the transparency. Voila! - video. – (Doug Smith W9WI, ibid.) ** U S A. MUSLIM TV NETWORK PLANNED FOR US A group of investors plans to start a television network aimed at the estimated 8 million Muslims living in the United States. The network, which could begin broadcasting in summer 2004, is being named Bridges TV because it hopes to build bridges of understanding between Muslims and other Americans. The network says it has $1 million and is seeking 10,000 Muslim-Americans to pledge $10 a month for the service to convince cable and satellite operators of a demand. Bridges TV says it will be "a very patriotic channel." It envisages broadcasting four to six hours per day at the start, offering a mix of news, talk shows, sitcoms, children's programming and movies. The hope is to eventually become a full-time network (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 6 May 2003 via DXLD) ** U S A. WSM-AM HIRES NEW PROGRAM DIRECTOR By Chris Lewis, April 29, 2003 Brian Landrum, an 18-year radio veteran credited with improving ratings at country music stations in the Southeast, has been named new programming director of WSM-AM, Gaylord Entertainment Co. officials announced Monday. . . http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=10&screen=news&news_id=22414 (via Jilly Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** U S A. AMATEURS RESPOND IN DEADLY STORMS' AFTERMATH NEWINGTON, CT, May 5, 2003 -- Amateur Radio operators are assisting relief and recovery efforts in the aftermath of deadly tornadoes and severe weather that struck the US midsection May 4. . . http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/05/05/100/?nc=1 (via Jilly Dybka, John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. CONCERT CD'S SOLD ON THE SPOT BY A RADIO GIANT By MATTHEW MIRAPAUL Clear Channel Communications, the radio broadcasting and concert promotion giant, plans to introduce a venture today that will sell live recordings on compact disc within five minutes of a show's conclusion. The venture, Instant Live, will enable a band's still- sweating fans to leave with a musical souvenir instead of say, a pricey T-shirt or a glossy program. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/05/business/media/05DISK.html?ex=1053238627&ei=1&en=349da459c25ffe45 (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. R. Táchira, 4830: I heard it the same day from 0350 with a musical program, followed by ID/QRG, hymn and sign-off at 0359. SINPO 33333 (Valter Comuzzi, Pasian di Prato (Udine), Italy, DX One Pro - JRC 545, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. COHA: VENEZUELA`S MEDIA: MORE THAN WORDS AT STAKE Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) analyst Manuel Rueda writes: Venezuela`s Bolivarian government is once again performing a balancing act ... and this time free speech hangs perilously on the line. In an effort to make media coverage more representative of a wider section of Venezuelan society, if not explicitly fair to both the government and the country`s middle class opposition, government legislators and cabinet officers are pushing for a series of laws to regulate TV and radio programming. But critics of the proposed reforms argue that attempts to regulate media content will only discourage any prospect of quality reporting and ultimately will do little to enable Venezuela`s poor to better voice their views. . . http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=6678 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** ZAMBIA [non]. Re previous report of Christian Voice heard on 3200 and 3240 at 2115-2240 fadeout: I guessed they might be relays via Manzini, Swaziland, which uses 3200 and 3240 but at other times. Andrew Flynn, Head of Engineering, Christian Vision confirmed they were only scheduled on 4965 at this time, and schedule at http://www.christianvision.com was correct. CV has not been heard since on 3200 or 3240. Andrew Flynn concurred that the most likely explanation was ``it must be TWR playing around``. (Alan Pennington, May BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ FM ATLAS Our friend Bruce Elving writes to tell me he was recently in the hospital being treated for colon cancer. he says he must "take it easy" for a while, but indications are he will have a full recovery. also, his long-awaited next edition of the FM Atlas (19th edition) will soon be available, and he is taking orders. it will likely also be available through the usual sources (e.g. MT, book stores, ham fests). Best regards, as always (Jim Wishner, MN, May 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ ICOM R75 DISCONTINUED According to messages on the R75 mail group, Icom have discontinued production of the R75 with no indication, yet, if anything will take its place. It has disappeared from the Japanese web site, http://www.icom.co.jp/world/info/index.htm I wonder which way Icom will jump (Ian Johnson, May 6, ARDXC via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS As if disintegrating SW broadcasts to North America is not enough, a new threat to our hobby has arisen. Similar technology has already been proposed and rejected in Japan and Germany but FCC Chairman Powell is likely to push this through as a way to provide additional competition for cable, DSL and satellite broadband technology unless we can stop him. I saw Powell on network TV (World News Tonight with Peter Jennings) viewing the tests currently in progress and commenting on how wonderful he thinks this technology is. The FCC is hot to trot on a new broadband technology using the power lines for interface between your computer and a pole-mounted modem that will translate the signal into an optical fiber lightwave. The spectrum will cover 3-30 MHz. Tests run by the American radio Relay league and the developer of the standard (HomePlug) showed that there was significant interference potential both from the system to HF amateur radio receivers and from amateur radio HF transmitters into the system. The ARRL was able to negotiate gaps in the HomePlug standard spectrum which reduces this susceptibility. This will do nothing to help shortwave listeners whose frequencies fall outside the ham bands. Organizations like NASWA and ANARC can represent SWL interests but individual SWL's should also send their comments to the FCC. The following article appears on the ARRL web site at: http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/ along with additional information. The complete FCC Notice of Inquiry is at the FCC web site: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC- 03-100A1.doc [as in DXLD 3-077?] (Joe Buch, DE, NASWA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NPR SELLS GRUNDIG SW National Public Radio`s shopping page is selling five models of Grundig AM/FM/SW Radios: Grundig Yacht Boy 400PE AM/FM/SW Radio $149.95 Grundig G2000A AM/FM/SW Radio $79.95 Grundig FR200 Emergency AM/FM/SW Radio $39.95 Grundig Classic 960 AM/FM/SW Radio $149.95 Grundig S350 AM/FM/SW Radio $99.95 Details at http://shop.npr.org/catalog/Category.jhtml;jsessionid=Y0JDV0T0BDI1BLA5AIOSFEQ?CATID=6 (Prompted by a plug on NPR newscast, Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) STUDY: CELL PHONES PUT PLANES AT RISK By Will Sturgeon Special to CNET News.com May 2, 2003, 12:16 PM PT The U.K.'s air safety regulator has released research about cell phone use on planes, warning of the serious effects that it can have on a plane's navigational equipment. The Civil Aviation Authority http://www.caa.co.uk research found that standard cell phone use can cause a compass to freeze or to overshoot its actual magnetic bearing. Also, flight deck and navigation equipment indicators can be rendered unstable and inaccurate, and transmissions can interfere with critical audio outputs. Cell phone use has long been banned on airplanes, along with use of many other electrical devices. http://msn-cnet.com.com/2100-1033-954588.html?tag=nl But passengers have often accused airlines of being over-officious in their enforcement of the ban, even suggesting that it is unnecessary. Many airlines have had experience of passengers who are willing to break the ban in order to make a call. This latest research may frighten passengers into compliance with the rules. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bans the use of cell phones on airplanes because of worries that calls could interfere with a plane's navigation system. A number of anonymous posters on the Professional Pilots' Rumour Network--a popular online community for airline pilots and crew-- expressed mixed feeling over the findings. One poster said: "Occasionally during the taxi out, we overhear the characteristic rapid chirping of a mobile phone through our headsets. More often than not, it turns out to be a crew phone, we switch it off, then continue with no ill effects. "Sometimes, however, it becomes necessary to hold clear of the runway and make (an announcement) reminding (passengers) to switch their phones off. At the very least, something back in the cabin is emitting enough of a signal to be picked up by the cockpit intercom. I think that once in a while I have observed deviations in some of the aircraft (navigation) kit while the interference is going on." Another poster on the site expressed concerns over the issue, suggesting that it is almost impossible to ensure all cell phones are switched off. "If (the findings are) true, then we can never eliminate the possibility of an active phone on board by simply issuing instructions that all mobiles must be switched off. We either need a foolproof system of scanning for active phones (tricky because they can be 'quiet' for minutes at a time) or we need to 'harden' aircraft systems so this ceases to be a threat." Silicon.com's Will Sturgeon reported from London (via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ WTFDA CONVENTION 2003! JULY 11, 12, 13 IN BATAVIA, NY Our hotel will be the Days Inn of Batavia. Rates are $72/night. Batavia-Days Inn, 200 Oak St., Batavia, NY 14020 US Phone: 585-343-6000 Fax: 585-343-5322 EASY ACCESS TO I-90 http://www.the.daysinn.com/batavia04801 (May VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ QSLing BELLABARBA There is no conflict about Bellabarba between 'Norden' and 'Italy'. The conflict, if one must use this word, is between serious DXers and fake-QSL collectors and their supporters. Regardless of sex, race, nationality or religion. I don't understand Mr. Schoech's discrimination between Norden, Italy and 'we others' - or should we go deeper into the racist mud and say Italian Spaghetti, Norden Herings and German Kartoffeln? That's nonsense. Nordic DXers are highly respected and the DX tradition of Nordic countries is recognized everywhere. I usually write kHz, and so do my Italian friends, despite being among 'they all'. Some German DXers made and make mistakes sometimes - like everybody else. So what? Please stop this racist drift, or Bellabarba will have won at least one match. The divide must be between serious DXers and morons like Bellabarba and their friends. Regardless, I repeat, of sex, race, nationality or religion. Thanks and best greetings, (Enrico Oliva, Milan Italy, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, I think we have had enough of that (gh) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ THE ES SEASON Apparently in North America the amount of month-of-April Es has attracted some attention and those who live dangerously are offering prognostications about the season. Two facts: #1) Es has been measured in one way or another from 1933-1934, through seven solar cycles (averaging 11 years each). Profiles measuring the frequency of occurrence of Es and alternately the percentage of the observing time during which Es exceeds (pick a number: 50 MHz, 100 MHz, 150 MHz or any you like) a specific frequency have been recorded, plotted, and carefully studied. If you analyse plots based upon "total minutes of Es" exceeding 50 MHz, you come to the conclusion that the highest such annual numbers occur in the year, next year or next-next year following a solar maximum. That says 2002/2003/2004 either taken together or individually should have more Es than we have experienced going back to at least 1993/1994/1995 and more likely back to 1982/1983/1984 as there are indications that this particular measurement cycle runs to 22 years, not 11. #2) This is April. In the northern hemisphere my April is the same as your October which will help you identify with what follows. In the 12 years I have lived here in the southern hemisphere, the month of April - your October - has averaged under 4 days of Es observations (45 MHz and above). This April - the one we are now in - has had Es which I have noted in my log book on 11 days so far and the month is not finished (April 26th locally). The longest duration this month has been in excess of 7 hours of Es which all by itself exceeds by a factor of two the "normal April" cumulative total time. Does any of this suggest you northern guys are in for a bang-up summer? I think so! (Bob Cooper in New Zealand, Apr 25, WTFDA via DXLD) FROM: Spaceweather.com (May 5th) METEOR SHOWER: Right now Earth is gliding through a stream of dusty debris shed by Halley's Comet. This encounter is causing the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. The best time to watch is just before local dawn on Tuesday, May 6th, when the shower is expected to peak. Sky watchers in the southern hemisphere, where the shower will be most intense, could see more than 30 meteors per hour. [observing tips] [sky maps: south, north] Ian's note: Also check out from May 21st to 28th for Meteor FM DX opportunities, mid am times. AURORA OUTLOOK: Earth is heading for a solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole on the Sun. Gusts could spark auroras as early as May 6th, although May 7th is more likely. The best observing sites will be at high latitudes: e.g., the southern regions of New Zealand and Australia, northern Europe, Canada, and northern US states like Wisconsin and Michigan (via Ian ---, May 5, ARDXC via DXLD) SCIENTISTS TO CAPTURE SOLAR STORM Scientists from Birmingham have helped capture these images of violent solar storms, which can cause catastrophic effects on earth, for the first time. Launched in January this year in California, the Solar Coronal Mass Ejections Imager was the result of eight years' work by the university and is now operated from a US Air Force base in New Mexico. http://makeashorterlink.com/?A54832574 (Birmingham Post Apr 17 via Jily Dybka, DXLD) FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 07 MAY - 02 JUNE 2003 Solar activity is expected to range from low to moderate activity. Activity is expected to be at low levels early in the period until Region 338 returns to the visible disk on 11 May. Region 345/349 are due to return on 19 May. These regions are expected to present isolated M-class potential for the remainder of the period. No greater than 10 MeV proton events are expected during the forecast period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels early in the period, 07 – 09 May. High levels are also expected on 12 – 23 May and again on 27 May – 02 June. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to isolated major storm levels. Early in the period a large negative polarity coronal hole high speed flow is expected to produce unsettled to minor storm conditions. On 13 – 14 May, isolated major storm levels are possible with the return of a large coronal hole high speed flow. Late in the period a positive polarity is due to return and may produce unsettled to major storming on 27 – 30 May. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 May 06 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 May 06 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 May 07 110 25 5 2003 May 08 105 20 4 2003 May 09 105 15 3 2003 May 10 100 15 3 2003 May 11 100 20 4 2003 May 12 100 20 4 2003 May 13 100 25 5 2003 May 14 100 25 5 2003 May 15 110 20 4 2003 May 16 115 20 4 2003 May 17 120 15 3 2003 May 18 125 20 4 2003 May 19 130 20 4 2003 May 20 130 15 3 2003 May 21 130 20 4 2003 May 22 135 20 4 2003 May 23 145 15 3 2003 May 24 150 15 3 2003 May 25 150 15 3 2003 May 26 155 15 3 2003 May 27 155 15 3 2003 May 28 150 25 5 2003 May 29 145 20 4 2003 May 30 145 12 3 2003 May 31 140 8 3 2003 Jun 01 125 15 3 2003 Jun 02 115 15 3 (from http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1181, DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-077, May 4, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1180: RFPI: Mon 0030, 0630+, 1230+, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700+ 7445, 15039? WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WWCR: Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: M-F 0730 7490, 13595? WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1180.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1180.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1180h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1180h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1180.html ** AFGHANISTAN. As a comparison I will mention the station earlier on 8700 kHz. This station has never transmitted from an aeroplane even if some people still claim this (Stig Adolfsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 4, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) More under IRAQ ** ARGENTINA. 10490.00, Radio Continental, Buenos Aires. April 2003. Up to 0100 UT a 60 minute newscast called "Servicio Informativo Continental". (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 4, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) SSB?? ** AUSTRALIA. SHEPPARTON ANNIVERSARY Soon after the onset of the European Conflict in 1939, discussions took place between the imperial leaders in London and the government leaders in Canada and Australia. These discussions focused on the setting up of large international shortwave stations for use as a possible backup for the BBC Empire Service in England. Work moved ahead in both countries, and two large shortwave bases were established; Sackville in Canada for Radio Canada International and Shepparton in Australia for "Australia Calling". Site surveys for the Australian shortwave station were conducted in many areas of south eastern Australia, and finally the decision settled upon a grassland location of 600 acres in the fertile fruit- growing Goulburn valley of central Victoria. This site was reasonably accessible to the three major cities, Canberra, Sydney & Melbourne, and it was suitable propagationally for a large shortwave station. The main transmitter hall was completed in February 1943, and even though it was designed to contain three transmitters, yet none could be found. Finally, an agreement was reached with the United States, and a 50 kW RCA transmitter, originally allocated to the "Voice of America", was diverted for installation at Shepparton. The agreement between the American and Australian governments included a provision that this lendlease transmitter should also carry a relay of programming from the "Voice of America". Thus it was, that the 90 minute daily program, the "Philippine Hour", was heard on relay from "Australia Calling" in Australia for a year or two. This new lendlease transmitter from the United States was installed at Shepparton and it was inaugurated on May 1, 1944 with programming co- ordinated in the ABC studios in Melbourne and fed by landline to the shortwave transmitter at Shepparton, a distance of 120 miles. Two additional transmitters at 100 kW were manufactured in Sydney as a joint effort between AWA & STC and these were installed at Shepparton under the callsigns VLA & VLB. A total of 19 antennas were erected at Shepparton, mostly curtains with passive reflectors. Transmitter VLA was inaugurated on August 15, 1945, and just four days later, VLB was inaugurated. All three of these transmitters incorporated two channels of programming access. In preparation for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, two new transmitters were installed at Shepparton. Another American made RCA unit at 50 kW was designated as VLD, and an Australian made STC unit at 10 kW was designated as VLY. Soon afterwards, during a modernization program, one of the channels in each of the three transmitters at Shepparton was split off and incorporated into a new transmitter. The newly derived transmitters were activated with the callsigns VLC, VLE, and VLF. However, the callsigns in use at Shepparton became so complicated that they were abandoned at the end of October 1961. These days, there are seven transmitters at 100 kW carrying exclusively the international programming of Radio Australia. One of these units propagates a remarkably good signal across the Pacific into North America around the sunrise hour on 9580 kHz. Over the years, many very picturesque QSL cards have been issued to verify transmissions from the Shepparton site and many of the earlier editions are now collector's items. The current QSL card features the Australian kangaroo in a sunset scene. Just last Thursday, May 1, Radio Australia Shepparton was remembering its 59th anniversary (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan May 4 via DXLD) ** BAHRAIN. Re DXLD 3-070: The Radio Bahrain carried on 6010 kHz with suppressed lower sideband is in fact their 2nd Programme [barnamaj al- thani], though it may be in parallel with the General Programme on 9745 kHz for certain news bulletins. Identification announcements for both services can be heard on the Interval Signals Archive at http://www.intervalsignals.net Regards, (Dave Kernick, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Cf. DXLD 3-076. As mentioned in DXLD 3-025, Radio Illimani has streaming audio on the web. This service was in operation also during the February riots. Further info about their webcasts can be found at http://www.comunica.gov.bo/illimani/indice.html In their top of the hour announcements they often mention 6025, but this frequency has been silent now for quite some time. On the air, and on the web, they refer to themselves as "Red Illimani, La Voz de Bolivia". (Henrik Klemetz, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 6080.00, unID Bolivia. April 2003 - 1040 UT. Thanks Arnaldo Slaen in Argentina who in a report to HCDX solved this ``mystery`` for me. The morning transmissions from HCJB in Quichua are heard unbelievably lousy and therefore I could hear this Bolivian. I thought I heard a "Panamericana" ID but according to Slaen it is Radio San Gabriel, La Paz which has moved. Might have been a relay from Radio Panamericana, also situated in La Paz. The program changed between Spanish and Indian languages (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 4, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. RADIO ANNOUNCERS NEED INUTTITUT TRAINING, AVATAQ SAYS Group wants TNI, CBC announcers to attend language workshops ODILE NELSON May 2, 2003 In a bid to end what it is calling the "misuse of Inuttitut" on public radio, the Avataq Cultural Institute may move its next language workshop to Salluit – headquarters of Taqramiut Nipingat Inc., the regional public broadcaster. Avataq completed the first of two biannual interpreter-translator workshops in Kuujjuarapik on April 15 and had planned to host the second meeting in Quaqtaq next September. But Minnie Amidlak, Avataq's language programs coordinator, said this week the organization may switch the fall meeting's location to allow Salluit-based TNI announcers to attend the workshop. Amidlak said Avataq is considering the move because, since the organization took over the language initiative from the Kativik School Board in the late 1990s, workshop participants have questioned TNI and CBC about their announcers' use of Inuttitut. "They [public radio announcers] have a great influence and a lot of people are listening to them. The elders and everybody, mainly people who are able to understand perfectly in Inuttitut, there is a great concern that they are not using the right words," Amidlak said. Avataq's language workshops recover neglected Inuttitut words and develop Inuttitut equivalents for new English terms. These words are then entered into two databases. The workshops also train interpreters and raise concerns about Inuttitut. A few weeks before the latest workshop, Amidlak said, Claude Grenier, TNI's general director, asked Avataq to consider moving the next meeting so TNI could send all its broadcasters for training. Though TNI television reporters have attended the workshops in the past, no radio announcers from TNI, CBC or local FM stations have attended the meetings. Grenier confirmed he requested a change in venue for the fall workshop so TNI's announcers could attend. "For a number of years now we've been trying to get specific terminology training for our staff in Salluit. But it's always very difficult for our radio people to attend these workshops, because if they do that [go to another community] we can't do our radio programming," Grenier said. Grenier also said he does not share concerns that radio announcers are blatantly misusing Inuttitut. "I see it completely differently and so does our board of directors. There are different dialects from one community to the other and it's not because it's different from one community to another that the language is not proper," he said. But Amidlak said it is not simply a question of different dialects. She said previous workshop participants worry radio announcers are propagating the misuse of Inuttitut altogether. Still, she praised Grenier for taking the initiative. "We would like to see the CBC staff have the same attitude as TNI," she said. William Tagoona, a radio announcer with CBC's Kuujjuaq station, said he had not heard any criticism.He said he would consider attending a language meeting but, since the Kuujjuaq station has only two people on staff, he would not likely participate if it were held in Salluit or Quaqtaq. http://www.nunatsiaq.com/news/nunavik/30502_04.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) CBC spells it Inuktituk ** CHINA. Re silent transmitters, 3-076: Sorry I did not specify clearly: it's the old 50 kW site in the Beijing area. The exact location is not known. Insert Beijing after 50 kW in the first line of the note. 73 /Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. - Reactivada Radio Caracol en la onda corta. Pude captarla el 01/05, a las 2205 UT, en los 5960 kHz. SINPO 34222. Muchísimo ruido de las líneas de alta tensión y acentuado desvanecimiento. Con ID's como Radio Caracol y Cadena Caracol, transmitía un partido de fútbol y al mismo tiempo se daban pases a otro estudio, para comentarios sobre la liga colombiana. Narrador rapidísimo, que alternaba las maniobras de los jugadores con los anuncios publicitarios. Ya a una hora más tarde, había desaparecido de la frecuencia y se escuchaba un servicio en francés de Radio Canada (Adán González, VENEZUELA, May 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Caracol Villavicencio used to be on 5955v. Is this it? (gh, DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Russell Martin Stendal, manager of La Voz de tu Conciencia, operating on 6010, from Lomalinda, Meta, writes in an email: "We are currently proceeding with the paper work to license 5910 as our alternate short wave frequency. I expect to be conducting a test for 48 or 72 hours on 5910 in a month or so." This alternate frequency will be used for programming in English beamed to North America during local nighttime hours (Henrik Klemetz, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dare we hope for anything secular, like a comprehensive objective newscast about Latin America, in the absence of HCJB? I believe we already have enough evangelism (gh, DXLD) 6009.72, Alcaraván Radio, Puerto Lleras. April 2003 – 1045 UT. With a program called "Despertar campesino". "Alcaraván Radio" – IDs mentioning three frequencies: MW 1530, SW 6010 and FM 88.8 MHz. 1100 UT the Colombian National Anthem and ID: "Están en sintonia del sistema Alcaraván Radio". Gave telephone number as: 6 52 42 03, or from abroad 06(03?) 326 01 16 (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 4, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. Tho heard on Fri May 2, RFPI`s 15039.1 not heard on Sat or Sun, so guess they are still working on it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA. 13830, Tentative, Radio Croatia, 0459-0520 fade out, May 4/03, time pips to TOH, OM with talk, YL reading English news, OM talk with music bridges. Weak signal and no ID heard. // 6165 dominated by Radio Netherlands. Tip from this evening`s World of Radio (Joe Talbot, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. EXILE GROUP URGES BOOSTING CUBA BROADCASTS BY MARIKA LYNCH, Posted on Fri, May 02, 2003 The Cuban American National Foundation met with Bush administration officials Thursday to advocate boosting the signal power of TV and Radio Martí and giving more money to assist dissidents in the wake of the recent crackdown. But the prominent exile group lobbied against further restricting travel or remittances that families send to the island. The Bush administration has weighed limiting remittances and travel as a way to pull money away from Fidel Castro's government as a punishment for the jailing of 75 activists and journalists. At least one other group, the Cuba Liberty Council, has advocated suspending all remittances and travel to the island. But foundation members said the U.S. should strengthen its pro-democracy programs already in place. ''Our policy should be our policy, not a reaction to Castro's,'' foundation spokesman Joe García said. ``We have a defined policy. We're promoting democracy in Cuba. . . . We are boosting civil society in Cuba. That policy is working. The events that have occurred in the last months and a half would not have occurred, but for the backing of the dissident movement in Cuba.'' Cuban Americans should on their own limit the amount of money sent back to the island, and make remittances solely for necessary goods, he said. In March, the Bush administration announced new rules that increased the amount of money travelers can bring to families on the island -- raising the cap to $3,000 from $300. The increased amount is intended to benefit more households, per traveler. The rules also will allow more Cuban Americans to travel to the island, but restrict other groups that have been involved in ''educational'' exchange. Pepe Hernández and Dennis Hays, the foundation's president and executive vice president, advocated their positions Thursday at the White House with Otto Reich, the administration's special envoy to the Western Hemisphere, and later with State Department officials. García said U.S. officials are still considering options, but the foundation's recommendations were well received. ''We received clear assurances that they are not going to be reacting, that they are going to use this new opportunity to further promote human rights in Cuba and civil society,'' García said. ___________________________________________________________________ (c) 2003 The Miami Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** DEUTSCHES REICH [non]. CANADA MOVES CLOSER TO DEPORTING HOLOCAUST DENIER OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said on Friday it had declared a German man who denies the Holocaust to be a national security risk, a move which will make it easier to deport him to Germany. The move against Ernst Zundel must be confirmed by a federal court within the next few days. If Ottawa gets court approval it can immediately deport Zundel, who is wanted in Germany to face charges linked to possible incitement of hate. "We took action...when we feel there's a threat to Canada's security, that's what we (do)," Immigration Minister Denis Coderre told reporters. Zundel, a German citizen, lived in Canada until 2001 when he left for the United States after becoming involved in a legal fight over complaints he was distributing anti-Semitic literature. He also ran a Web site denying that the Nazis had killed around six million Jews in World War Two. After overstaying his U.S. visitor's visa he returned to Canada in February this year and was arrested. The Canadian counter-intelligence service says if Zundel stays in Canada, he could incite his followers to commit acts of violence. The Canadian Jewish Congress applauded Ottawa's move against Zundel, saying in a statement that "this man has been sullying our shores long enough." 05/02/03 16:50 ET (AOL Canada news via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 6025.05, Radio Amanecer Internacional, April 2003 - 1130 UT. A station seldom on air but has been heard quite well for a while but with distorted audio and mostly religious programming. Very frequency stable one year ago noted on exactly the same 100-part (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 4, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 5800.14 harmonic, Radio Calidad, Riobamba. May 2003 - 1115 UT. More common on its 2nd harmonic 2900.08 kHz. Harmonic from MW 1450 kHz (4 x 1450.04). (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 4, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. I have just got this reply from the station after emailing to them to say how sad it was they were ending all English broadcasts to Europe and North America from Quito. "Hello Mike, Thank you for writing. Yes the announcement is true. Broadcasts in English from Quito to Europe and North America will be ending 31 May. Recently HCJB has restructured and reevaluated its radio ministry here in Latin America. As a result, the decision was made for our Quito facility to focus on Latin America, and to allow our other offices around the world to reach their regions. It was a difficult decision, but after much consideration, prayer and study this is the direction the mission has decided to go. Thank you for your inquiry, Jeff Ingram" (via Mike Terry, DXLD) Let`s not be too sad about HCJB`s withdrawal. While it may well have been the best of the sorry lot, sugar-coating its real agenda of pushing creationism and other wacky ideas just made it that much more a deceitful enterprise. I do, however, have nothing but respect for Allen Graham who has remained most friendly and tolerant despite difference of opinion on such issues. I caught part of the May 3 DXPL, when there were vague mentions of some options being studied for continuing the program? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ICELAND. AFN Keflavik, 13855: see USA [non] ** INDIA. Here are some news on AIR: AIR Delhi is now identifying its different Home Service channels as Rajadhani Channel and Indraprasta Channel. On April 25, 2003 AIR Aligarh was noted on 9647.0 instead of 9470.0 at tune in around 0430 to sign off at 0530. On April 29, 2003 AIR Kuresong was noted on 4885 instead of 4895 for the evening transmission from tune in around 1330. From April 29, 2003 AIR Thiruvanathapuram has restarted its evening broadcast on SW 5010. (Earlier it was available only on MW 1161). The sked is 1115-1735 (a little early on Sundays, 1030?). Reports on their SW transmissions may be sent to Mr. Radha Krishna Menon, Station Engineer at the following email: tvm_airtvpm@sancharnet.in (This station also operates on 7290) Radio Kashmir Srinagar is now noted with their summer sign on schedule with sign on at 0025 (ex winter 0120 on 4950.) 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J National Institute of Amateur Radio Box 1555, Somajiguda Hyderabad 500082, India, dx-India via DXLD) Jose- Perhaps my memory fails me, but wasn't Srinagar on 4830 now? Has it gone back to 4950? (Hans Johnson, WY?, Cumbre DX via DXLD) {answer: 3-078 KASHMIR} ** INTERNATIONAL. There is an article in The New York Times of Sunday May 04, 2003, focusing on ham radio. It's at http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/04/arts/television/04SALA.html [registration required] With illustrations of QSL cards, the piece is centred on a new book to be published this month called "Hello World: A Life in Ham Radio". JSG (John Grimley, ODXA, via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. REFLECTIONS ON THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF SPAM In fact, the earliest documented junk e-mailing I've uncovered was sent May 3, 1978 -- 25 years ago this Saturday. (It was written May 1 but sent on May 3.) And in a surprising coincidence just a month ago marked the 10th anniversary of March 31, 1993, the first time a USENET posting got named a spam. . . http://www.templetons.com/brad/spam/spam25.html (via Jill Dybka, MSIS, DXLD) ** IRAQ. 4500, often at 1830, Radio al Maulumat, "Information radio" heard every day, sometimes disturbed by Russian SSB-traffic. As you all know by now the program is transmitted from an airplane, a modified Hercules; on board you will find a among others a 10 kW SW- transmitter from a very well known radio company in the USA. I can measure the Doppler effect when the aeroplane moves. The shift effect is about 4 Hz which indicates a speed of just above 500 km/h. A month ago she flew over a small limited area but today they fly almost 20 minutes on a steady course. The flight area is of course expanded in the same rate as the underlying terrain has been secured. As a comparison I will mention the station earlier on 8700 kHz [Afghanistan]. This station has never transmitted from an aeroplane enen if some people still claim this (Stig Adolfsson) 11291.9984, Always: This frequency is still covered by a carrier without information. Has drifted downwards about 0.7 Hz in 5 weeks. From a reliable Finnish source it is claimed that this is land mobile (vehicle) station with 1 kW output effect (Stig Adolfsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 4, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** IRAQ. After several days of following that matter, I reckon that V. of the Iraqi Liberation is NO LONGER on the air. I haven't heard them since 25th of April! Is anyone still catching that baby of Mika??? In the meantime, V. of Kurdistan People is still on the usual timeslot; they drifted from the usual 4025 kHz to 4023 kHz! All the best guys (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. MY WAR: THE FORCES DJ Jonathan Bennett has been the voice of British Forces radio throughout the war. He is the Station Manager for BFBS in the Middle East and has been broadcasting messages and music to troops and their families from Kuwait and now from Um Qasr inside Iraq. . . http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2983287.stm (via Jill Dybka, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. Re DXLD3-074/075: Regarding the supposed connection between Radio Sumer and WRN: The same satellite transponder that carries Iraqi clandestine Radio Sumer (Hotbird 13 deg east 12597 MHz V) also carries Voice of Tibet at 1215-1300 and Voice of Democratic Burma at 1430-1530 (Dave Kernick, UK, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Altho little publicised, WRN are involved in satellite distribution of various clandestines to SW transmitter sites (gh, DXLD) ** IRELAND. RTE DIRECTOR GENERAL STEPS DOWN Business & Finance 01 May 2003 Bob Collins is to step down as director general (DG) of RTE before his term of office is due to expire, according to the chairman of the RTE Authority, Patrick Wright. . . http://www.online.ie/business/latest/viewer.adp?article=2003752 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** JAPAN. TIME TO RECONNECT? HOME IS WHERE THE HEARTS ARE http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20030503a1.htm Profile of Valerie Koehn who spent eight years with the English service of NHK (I guess Ian knows her). (Andy Sennitt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. JAPANESE CULT SEEKS NEW SANCTUARY AFTER POLICE RAID by Gary Schaeffer in Tokyo 02 May 2003 A caravan of vehicles belonging to a New Age group that had been parked on a mountain road in western Japan for almost a week left yesterday after it was searched by hundreds of police who warned it was breaking traffic laws, an officer said. The group, Panawave, had been camped on the little-travelled two-lane road in western Gifu prefecture since last Friday, seeking sanctuary from electromagnetic waves that it claims are being generated by left- wing guerrillas in Japan as part of a conspiracy to destroy Panawave's leadership. It has also draped surrounding trees with white cloths which are meant to neutralise the effects of the waves. . . http://news.independent.co.uk/world/pacific_rim/story.jsp?story=402301 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** KASHMIR. See INDIA ** KOREA NORTH. A LOFTY PLAN TO GET NORTH KOREANS IN TUNE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PASTOR WANTS TO AIRDROP RADIOS BY BALLOON. [Caption:] REACHING IN: Douglas Shin, an Artesia pastor, is planning to send radios into North Korea via balloon to bring unfiltered information to the closed country. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER _________________________________________________________________ By JOHN GITTELSOHN, The Orange County Register, Saturday, April 26 Come summer, when the southwest winds blow across the Yellow Sea, helium balloons could soar high above the artillery and barbed wire that divide North and South Korea. The balloons would carry radios, delivering news, music and religion to North Korea, where the only permitted broadcasts are the propaganda of one of the world's most repressive regimes. "North Koreans are like people without an ear," said the Rev. Douglas Shin, 48, a pastor from Artesia whose fanciful vision is to liberate the land often called the "Hermit Kingdom" with fleets of balloon-borne radios. "I want to give them their ears back." U.S. and North Korean diplomats met in Beijing this week to discuss North Korea's nuclear program. The talks did not touch on human rights in North Korea, where people have been executed for attempting to defect or listen to foreign radio broadcasts, according to the State Department. Shin has spent years trying to help oppressed people in North Korea, a land his father fled during the Korean War. He was arrested twice in Mongolia in 2000 for smuggling North Korean refugees into that country. In 2001, he assisted refugees seeking asylum in foreign embassies in China. In January, he helped organize a flotilla of North Korean boat people who were intercepted by Chinese authorities at sea. Now, Shin wants to help North Koreans by breaking their information blockade. "We aren't talking about invading," he said. "We are talking about giving them freedom of choice." Shin said he needs a few thousand dollars to launch the first balloons. So far, his Korean Peninsula Peace Project has received a trickle of donations - under $100 apiece - and fielded inquiries from people as far away as Japan and France. Ultimately, Shin hopes to get U.S. government financing. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Fullerton, a key congressional sponsor of the government's Radio Free Asia broadcasts to North Korea, said Shin's plan sounds intriguing. "There's a demand for radios (in North Korea) and one idea is to flood the market there, so the government can't control what people are hearing," said Royce, who visited South Korea last week. "I think information is one of the keys to helping people there." Shin plans to launch helium balloons from South Korea or ships offshore. A small pinprick would let the gas seep out slowly so the balloons touch down softly. If he raises enough money, Shin would like to buy a remote-control aerial drone that could drop the radios by parachute over a designated spot rather than rely on the wind. For decades, both North and South Korea used balloons to float propaganda leaflets across the DMZ. This summer, the Voice of the Martyrs, a U.S.-based Christian missionary organization, plans to release 50,000 balloons packed with prayer tracts and Bibles to North Korea. "We have had numerous reports of the success of this program, including one underground church that hung a scripture balloon in the rafters of their building," said Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for the Oklahoma-based group. With his radios, Shin plans to include prayer tracts and a 500-won North Korean note, equal to about $1. "Even if they don't want the radio, people will take the money," Shin said. He is still searching for the ideal radio - light enough to ride a balloon, solar-powered so it won't need North Korea's scarce electricity, cheap enough to send by the thousands. One possibility is a matchbook-size model used by La Mirada-based Far Eastern Broadcasting Corp. But it needs batteries, a luxury in North Korea. Another possibility is a solar-powered radio made for Christian missionaries by a Canadian company called Galcom. The drawback is it only receives a single channel. "We don't want people who get these to listen to rock 'n' roll," said Allan McGuirl, Galcom's international director. But Shin wants radios that let people listen to all kinds of stations - religious or profane, South Korean, American, Chinese or Japanese. He said substituting Christian radio for North Korea's official broadcasts is like "replacing one dictator with another." North Koreans call their official radio sets "the speaker" because they are built to receive a single channel that airs pronouncements of the regime of Kim Jong Il. This week, North Korea's official news blasted foreign efforts to use radio, movies and the Internet to deliver outside news as the "imperialists' ideological and cultural poisoning ... a crafty and vicious method of aggression, interference and domination without gunfire." Foreign broadcasters, such as Radio Free Asia and Christian radio stations, have beamed alternative programming into North Korea for years. Ahn Jae-hoon, director of Korean-language Radio Free Asia, said his listenership has increased significantly among North Korea's elite, based on interviews with defectors, who said they used smuggled radios or modified the North Korean models to change the channel. "They know government propaganda isn't true," said Ahn, a former Washington Post reporter. "Anything that gets into a closed society is eye-opening." A native of Seoul, Shin moved to the United Stated 30 years ago. He was ordained at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa. He lives in a one-bedroom apartment, supporting his wife, Mi-Kyung, and two children, ages 3 and 2, on donations and work as a Korean-English translator. Shin devotes most of his time to helping North Korea, which he visited once, in May 1997 at the height of a famine that killed 2 million. He went from China with a church group to deliver food aid, but North Korean officials seized the cargo and, Shin suspected, kept it for themselves. Back in China, Shin met North Koreans who had risked their lives crossing the Tumen River to escape starvation and repression. "They were literally dripping from the river they crossed," Shin recalled. "They were so pure, like a time capsule of people I remembered in South Korea 30 years ago. I think I heard God's voice telling me to help them." Shin concedes that radios can't fill empty stomachs. But he believes they can provide hope, opening minds with news from outside the Hermit Kingdom. "It will change North Korea, something coming from the sky," Shin said. "They will keep their heads up." Watching and waiting for balloons. _________________________________________________________ Copyright 2003 The Orange County Register (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR [and non]. Hi Glenn, Springtime is very favorable for African stations in the tropical bands here in Finland. Yesterday evening I was listening to RTV Malagasy from Antanarivo on 5010 kHz. Nice reception and pretty exotic music, too. They closed down 1907 UT. Also noted RTV Gabonaise on 4777 kHz 1845 UT. Signal strength was even S9 +10dB! 73s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku FINLAND, May 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. Hi Glenn, Two stations from Malaysia noted yesterday Fri May 2: the first one was coming with quite strong signal around 1730 UT on 4845 kHz in the 60 meter tropical band. It´s the Tamil service of Radio Malaysia. "Suara Malaysia", the Voice of Malaysia heard in Malay with very nice reception at 1810 UT on 9750 kHz. Good and and strong signal on both frequencies. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku FINLAND, May 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Border X-bander checks: [timezones not clarified] TRH-AZ Tim Hall, on the road in Arizona TRH-AZ2 Ajo TRH-CA On the road in California ICF-2010, Kiwa Loop, Toyota car radio 1620 MEXICO (CP) San Luis Rio Colorado, SON APR 24 1640 - No trace of any station testing here yet (TRH-CA/AZ) 1630 MEXICO (XEUT) Tijuana, BCN APR 24 1400 - Station was off the air this morning. No OC noted (TRH-CA) 1650 MEXICO (CP) Puerto Peñasco, SON APR 28/29 - No trace of any station testing here yet (we were about 100 miles north in Ajo, AZ). (TRH-AZ2) 1660 MEXICO (CP) Agua Prieta, SON APR 25 1640 - No trace of any station testing here yet (TRH-AZ) 1690 MEXICO (CP) Mexicali, BCN APR 24 1615 - No trace of any station testing here yet (TRH-CA) 1700 MEXICO (CP) Tecate, BCN APR 24 1350 - No trace of any station testing here yet (TRH-CA) 73, (Tim Hall, Chula Vista, CA, May 3, amfmtvdx via DXLD) http://www.inetworld.net/halls/dx/index.html ** MEXICO. LA RADIO GAY: DEL LIGUE A LA DESMITIFICACIÓN 28-Abr-03 "Hasta ahora la tendencia en México ha sido la de ridiculizar al gay, presentándolo como una loca cómica, con peluca, tacones inmensos. Miguel Ángel Herlo, Renato Henkel y Eduardo Iniesta son los conductores del programa Triple G, que se transmite los martes por WFM en el Distrito Federal. Cuál es el tamaño ideal de un pene? ¿Es mejor penetrar o mantenerse pasivo durante las relaciones homosexuales? ¿Se debe "jotear o no jotear", es decir, volverse demasiado amanerado? Éstas son sólo algunas de las preguntas que se expresan en lo que día con día crece como una alternativa real: la radio gay. De un año y medio a la fecha, la radio se ha convertido en opciones para quien desee conocer el mundo homosexual: Triple G, que se transmite todos los martes a las 22 horas por WFM en el 96.9 de Frecuencia Modulada, o GDL Gay Radio, de Guadalajara, que es la primera radiodifusora gay por internet en América Latina que transmite las 24 horas , y próximamente El clóset, que saldrá al aire en el mes de mayo por Radio 13, 1290 de Amplitud Modulada, bajo la conducción de Rodrigo Fernández. Una cercanía lejana de la mofa, el ridículo y el exceso de los programas cómicos de la televisión, donde el homosexual es representado en sus formas más extremas para causar risa. "Hasta ahora la tendencia en México ha sido la de ridiculizar al gay, presentándolo como una loca cómica, con peluca, tacones inmensos, ropa de colores chillantes, bastante neurótica, muy amanerada, débil y cuya profesión, en el mejor de los casos, es costurera o estilista", como refiere Miguel Galán, director de GDL Gay Radio http://www.gdlgayradio.com Personalidades fabricadas y alejadas de la realidad, deformadas también por la proliferación de comentarios en torno a su descarada promiscuidad e infidelidad, pues como explica Renato Henkel, uno de los conductores de Triple G, el 77 por ciento de la causal de divorcio a nivel mundial es la infidelidad de algunos de los cónyuges, es decir, que en todas partes se cuecen habas. Por lo mismo, tanto los conductores de Triple G, como para Miguel Galán estas emisiones radiofónicas se proponen "despejar las telarañas mentales y culturales en torno a la comunidad gay, acusándola de promiscua, prostituta, infiel, portadora de enfermedades y males sociales". Tampoco les interesa, aseguran, tapar los temas por incómodos o difíciles que sean. "Nosotros lo planteamos como una realidad. Decimos las cosas como son. Si vamos a hablar de prostitutos, como ya lo hemos hecho, referimos todo: precios, medidas del pene y qué incluye el servicio", aclara Henkel. Ni jotos ni maricones, simplemente gays Es martes. Son las 10 de la noche y una de las cortinillas del programa Triple G (Generación de Gente Gay) da pie al inicio de la emisión: "Ni jotos ni maricones, simplemente gays". Los teléfonos enloquecen a partir de ese momento y del otro lado de la línea alguien grita: "soy gay", otro quiere cambiarse el sexo, alguien más tiene miedo de salir del clóset o desea saber de los sitios donde puede encontrar gente con su misma preferencia sexual. Hay quien desea informar a sus padres que es homosexual y no sabe cómo hacerlo. Renato Henkel, Eduardo Iniesta y Miguel Ángel Herlo, conductores de Triple G, atienden las llamadas. Algunas salen al aire, otras se debaten en el estudio y muchas más guían la temática del siguiente programa semanal. "También recibimos correos electrónicos con sugerencias, peticiones, felicitaciones y uno que otro mensaje agresivo, como el típico: ¡pinches putos!", recuerda con humor Iniesta. En el lapso de las dos horas que dura el programa se ventilan todo tipo problemáticas: casos de hombres y mujeres desesperados, algunos cercanos al suicidio porque la familia no los aceptan, o que enfrentan severos sentimientos de culpabilidad ante la religión profesada. Pero no todo es drama. Hay martes consagrados a la diversión, fiesta y reventón, a sugerir técnicas de ligue y coqueteo, a mantener encendida la pasión de la pareja, a ser infiel con protección y a colgarse lo último en la moda. Desde agosto del 2001 Triple G comenzó a transmitirse, y de acuerdo con los conductores han llegado a tener hasta 28 puntos rating, es decir, más de 2 millones de escuchas, ya que cada punto equivale a 140 mil personas, y esto, cuentan, sólo en el Distrito Federal, porque además este programa pasa por el canal 108 de televisión del sistema Sky. Por lo demás, en el DF existen alrededor de 4 millones de homosexuales, y curiosamente el programa no es únicamente escuchado por gays, sino por un amplio público heterosexual interesado en ayudar a su amigo, hermano, hermana o algún familiar gay. De Cocula es el mariachi, de Jalisco son los gays Miguel Galán, director de la radiodifusora GDL Gay Radio, menciona que Jalisco puede considerase la capital gay de México, debido a que ahí tiene lugar la mayor concentración gay. "No hay, por supuesto, un censo serio sobre la población, pero si partimos del hecho de que aquí hay 52 bares gays, tomando en cuenta que hay alrededor de 7 millones de habitantes, contra los 42 localizados en la ciudad de México, poblada con más 20 millones de personas, pues la diferencia es evidente". Por eso a nadie le extrañó la aparición de GDL Gay Radio, emisora que cumple una función social y da voz a la comunidad gay de manera abierta y respetuosa. Y en ese sentido, dice, la red les permite llegar al público de la ciudad de México, España y parte de América Latina, y decidir con entera libertad el rumbo de la estación. "No dependemos tanto de los patrocinadores, operamos con menos de 35 mil pesos mensuales, algo impensable para las radiodifusoras convencionales". Además, abunda, internet les facilita abordar cualquier circunstancia y decir lo que quieran, sin temor a recibir una sanción por parte de la Secretaría de Gobernación. "Nosotros vigilamos el contenido de los programas, tratamos de ser muy coherentes y respetuosos con todo el público por tratarse de una emisora incluyente". Cuentan con programas como "Cuerpo a cuerpo", orientado al sexo, placer y sexualidad; "El rincón oscuro de la gorda", dedicado a la comedia y sátira política; "Feed fish", espacio para la alta cocina; "Fusión G", pensado en los universitarios gays, "Generus verus", donde compiten géneros musicales, y pronto se integrará "Carmelo on line", en el que un heterosexual interpreta a 15 personajes cómicos distintos. Manifestaciones artísticas y culturales, avances tecnológicos y científicos, moda y salud, música tecno y electrónica, forman también parte sustancial de la barra radiofónica, y algunos de ellos llegan a retransmitirse por Radio Universidad de Guadalajara. De igual manera la radiodifusora desea contribuir a erradicar la paranoia que impera en el seno de la comunidad homosexual la cual, comenta, si bien ha sido humillada y atacada, también suele repetir vicios como el hacerse la víctima e incomprendida, de catalogar todo de homofobia. Una mina de oro sin descubrir La comunidad gay es una microsociedad diversa y con recursos económicos. Sin embargo algunos patrocinadores y empresarios han preferido mantenerse al margen, pese a que el 25 por ciento de la riqueza mundial está en manos de homosexuales, de acuerdo con una investigación de la revista Forbes. "Generalmente en una pareja gay trabajan los dos y no tienen una familia que mantener. Su poder adquisitivo es muy alto y por ello suelen invertir su dinero en restaurantes y bares. Hay países de Europa que sí entienden la capacidad económica de la comunidad y que anuncian sus productos a través de parejas homosexuales", menciona Miguel Galán. Pero dicha apertura no se ha dado en México. Según Renato Henkel, empresas como Corona y Cuervo invierten en campañas gays millonarias en Estados Unidos y Australia, pero aquí no se atreven a patrocinar porque "es demasiado riesgo". Y aunque los homosexuales no son ricos ni acaudalados en México, menciona Henkel, pueden gastar en una noche de reventón de 300 a 350 pesos por persona, mientras que un heterosexual por mucho desembolsa 100 a 200 pesos. "Box, que es la discoteca más grande de México gay, vende en una nocheel total de cervezas que venden en un fin de semana todas las discotecas instaladas en Cancún durante un fin de semana. Estos datos hablan del poder adquisitivo de los homosexuales, pero los empresarios lo ignoran", añade. Blanca Valadez - Milenio (via José Alba Z., Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** MOLDOVA. In the official Moldovan view, Russian spelling rules don't apply here, because the state language in Moldova is Moldovan (Romanian). Moldovan uses the Latin alphabet and in this alphabet the town is written simply "Grigoriopol". Naturally, ethnic groups use their own spelling, and the Russian population in Moldova is using "Grigoriopol`" in Cyrillic letters. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. RAIDS IN THE NETHERLANDS UPDATE As Earlier news brought to you, lots of pirate radio stations have been taken out by the Dutch Agency Telecom. Score by now in only one month of time is around 50 to 60 stations. The last few that were taken out were stations that transmitted with various powers between 0. and 5 kW and were broadcasting on the FM broadcasting bands between 88 and 100 MHz. The last 6 were not transmitting when the raids took place and at one place there was no one at home so they forced their way in. They took transmitters and various other equipment. Also at several places the police and AT (agency telecom) acted very rough and sprayed several people with pepper spray and used the stick to enter the houses of the stations to take possession of the equipment. Spokesmen of AT are determined to clean the Dutch airwaves and say that this action called Etherflits (etherflash) will go on for a year but if necessarily they will do so for much longer. Also the Dutch Pirates are organising an action called Tegenflits which means, freely translated into English, opposite-flash and have organised a strike against Etherflits and AT on the 10th of May at Den Haag in the city park Mallieveld. Due to the AT actions, Alfa Lima International has cleaned out their transmitter room and brought all broadcasting equipment to a secret hidding place as we believe several times there have been people standing on guard at the studios of Alfa Lima International and we can only think of the option that it was AT holding watch. So No Alfa Lima International in the very near future on those regular frequencies 15070 kc and between 6.2 and 6.3 MHz, but they will come back, that's for sure. Updates and other information on this topic will be placed at the webpage of Alfa Lima International http://www.alfalima.net Also for questions email to info@alfalima.net or just give us a call between 0700 and 2200 UT on the number + 31 619 508 938. Greetings from Alfred Zoer (Alfa Lima Int) Our email address info@alfalima.net Huge webpage related to short-wave http://www.alfalima.net _____________________________________ SW pirates group!!! Receive the latest SW-Pirates info Simply subscribe by sending a blanc email to: SWpirates-subscribe@egroups.com More info at: http://www.egroups.com/group/SWpirates _____________________________________ Contact info: Alfa Lima International P O Box 663 7900AR Hoogeveen, the Netherlands ("Alfa Lima Int, Dutch free radio." May 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. I heard the following last night, May 2nd: 11770, Voice of Nigeria 1728-1958*: 1728 in French, 1735 the usual VON tune used at sign-on/off and change of service, then headlines in (presumed) Swahili, VON tune again at 1740, continuing in west African language. Same procedure at 1745, 1750, 1755... Lost into QRM at 1800, heard again 1828 in French and 1955 in French, mentioning Olusegun Obasanjo, then the VON tune again and abrupt off. Not heard any // or other service last night (all usual frequencies blocked until 2100) or this morning. They should look for a completely new set of frequencies. On 11770 there was co-channel VOA Russian until 1900, later VOA news now. Also Beijing on 11765 (French) and 11775 (Balkan languages) causing problems. But 9690 at that time would be worse (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Narodna Respublika Niemecka, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. OVER-COMMERCIALISING RADIO NEWS TALK Vanguard (Lagos) OPINION Posted to the web April 30, 2003 Harry Nwana Sometime ago, I recall, I had cause to draw the attention of Radio Nigeria to what I thought were its shortcomings. Although its initial reaction tended towards a mild resentment, I note that over time, improvements have followed in its news out put. A number of the old familiar voices were recalled to enliven news broadcasts; but of course some of those voices had lost their allure, not being as transfixing as they used to be. But it was delightful to hear those voices again, being good reminders of the good old days of Radio Nigeria. . . http://allafrica.com/stories/200304300675.html (via Jill Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Re Goroka reactivated on 900 kHz: This should be possible DX target in northern North Island and around Canterbury with a loop at 1100-1200 UT. NBC 585 (10 kW) is sometimes heard on transistor with built in aerial here in Wellington around 1200 (David Ricquish, Wellington via Greylinedx via David Onley, Australian MW Group web site (4/5-2003) via Ydun`s MW News via DXLD) ** PERU. Is something ``going on`` in Chiclayo? 4757.32, Radio Imperio, Chiclayo, la provincia de Chiclayo, el departamento de Lambayeque. April 29 2003 - 0100 UT. After being off air for a week or so on the frequency of 4389.92, this one jumped up with good strength on 4757.32 kHz. It was there for three days but just now back on its permanent frequency. Until 0100 UT "usual" program. Then "La Voz de la Salvación". A temporary visit or is something ``going on`` in Chiclayo? Might be wise to check those two frequencies. Info from "Ventanaperú": Provincia de Chiclayo, cuya capital es Chiclayo. Sus distritos son: Chiclayo, Chongoyape, Eten, Puerto de Eten,José Leonardo Ortíz, Lagunas, La Victoria, Monsefú, Nueva Arica, Oyotún, Picsi, Pimentel, Reque, Santa Rosa, Saña; con una población total de 625,183 hab. 5005.72, UNID LA, probably Juliaca, Perú. April 22 2003 - 2340 UT. The religious program "La Voz de la Liberación" broadcast from Juliaca in southern Perú. No ID but presumably Radio L.T.C? (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin May 4, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. ONDAS DEL PACIFICO, 6783. Con grata sorpresa encontré en mi Apartado una carta del Colega TIN [Takayuki Inoue Nozaki, Japón] en la cual adjunta una carta de verificación de la emisora Ondas del Pacífico; TIN me comenta que durante su visita a esta estación durante finales del año pasado encontró mi reporte y la verificación fechada desde el 27 de septiembre del 2001, que el dueño no había podido enviar por falta de dinero. Quiero a través de este medio (ya que no tengo contacto directo con él) hacerle llegar mis gracias al colega por la molestia en hacerme llegar este "QSL absolutamente raro" como él lo llama. Cabe anotar que de tiempo atrás tengo grabado saludos musicales que el director me envió a través de la emisora, a solicitud mía ya que es una realidad que la mayoría de emisoras peruanas no contestan los reportes, ésta es una forma que utilizo para obtener un bonito recuerdo de las mismas (Rafael Rodríguez R., Bogotá, Colombia, May 4, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. Al menos tengo una emisión del espacio DX de Radio Rumanía Internacional, los lunes universales. Es un segmento dentro del programa de cartas y es emitido a las 0025 UT -aproximadamente- en los 11730 kHz. 73's y buen DX... (Adán González, VENEZUELA, May 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA, R. Slovakia Int. Thought I'd check the frequencies in use at 0100 UT on May 4, 2003. Not too good. 5930 SIO 422 with QRM from WWCR on 5935; 6190 SIO 433 with QRM from unidentified station on 6185; 9440 SIO 433 with QRM from Universal Life, Germany on 9435. 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. People's SABC? May 2, 2003 By the Editor The SABC remains the powerhouse of African broadcasting. Yet it finds itself in an increasingly invidious position as it straddles critical responsibilities to the public, the community and advertisers. . . http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=225&fArticleId=139847 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U K. WAR ACROSS THE AIRWAVES By Lesley Chamberlain; Published: May 1 2003 17:25 May 1945. In a former stately home in the English countryside a thick- set man in his thirties, with a high forehead and an intense gaze, listens through earphones to German radio. . . http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1051389661123 On the early history of BBC Monitoring (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U K. BROADCASTING'S 'BATTLE FOR BRITAIN' By Ollie Stone-Lee, BBC News Online political staff A diet of Disney alone is not good for children, say Lib Dems British identity is at stake when peers debate plans to shake-up broadcasting laws on Tuesday, says a leading Liberal Democrat peer. . . http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2982953.stm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U K [and non]. US MEDIA CHIEF URGES REGULATION A leading media figure in the US [Barry Diller] has attacked the media deregulation plans that could allow foreign firms to buy UK TV channels. . . http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2996909.stm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U K [non?]. 4050, 2.5 2313, Laser Hot Hits with address and commercial for Radio Review in // with 6219 (Lennart Weirell, Västerås, Sweden, EDXP via DXLD) {3-078 correxion: 4025!} ** U K. THE FUTURE OF BAND I Following the demise of 405-line TV in the UK in 1985, Band III was opened up to PMR (Private Mobile Radio) and later DAB (Digial Audio Broadcasting) at the upper end of the band. Over a decade ago there were plans to re-engineer the upper half of band I (55.75-68.00 MHz) to provide a dedicated band for mobile communications networks. There are no user assignments at present, but 380 pairs of 12.5 kHz channels are available for PMR and CBS (Common Base Stations). With the 27 MHz Citizen Band slot becoming vacant in 2003/4 in the UK, there are fears that this may prompt the take-up of new services to the upper part of Band I. The 70 and 80 MHz sub-bands are currently used by the Fire Service in England and Wales, but should be vacated in 2007 when European- approved channel re-alignment can take place to pave the way for new users. Regional allocations may become available from around 2004. Some DXers feel their hobby is under threat by the possibility of new users but we need to put things into perspective. Many veteran DXers will recall the nightmare days when Band I supported five BBC TV channels. The sound carrier of Channel B2 shared the same frequency as Channel E2 vision at 48.25 MHz, so imagine how difficult DXing was, particularly if you lived with in the reaches of the Holme Moss transmitter for instance! (Keith Hammer & Garry Smith, DX Television, March SW Magazine via DXLD) http://www.pwpublishing.ltd.uk/swm ** U K. CALL TO PRAYER Has anyone been monitoring the `Call to Prayer` stations in the UK? In case you were not aware, there are a large number of frequencies between 454 and 455 MHz that are allocated to mosques here in Britain. The mosque then transmits the CTP to the worshipers via radio instead of a generally audible summons being issued via a loud hailer from the roof of the mosque, thus avoiding annoying non-Muslim neighbours. There are a number of companies that supply these systems to mosques and they generally sell scanning receivers to the mosque members in order to receive the transmissions. It would be much more cost effective for the intended recipients to be able to purchase converted hand-held transceivers, set up on the local channel and programmed to operate only on receive but this does not seem to be happening at the moment. Most of the transmissions are either in Arabic or other languages common in Pakistan or other dialects of that region of the world. Some, however, have been heard in English together with other transmissions not necessarily concerned with calling the faithful to prayer. The controversial Finsbury Park mosque transmits on 454.275 MHz. The frequency is shared with other London mosques. If you live in any town there may well be a CTP channel in your area. Interestingly, one such mosque seems to scramble its transmissions in the London area. Try listening for them on 454.700 MHz. In all cases the mode is NBFM (Dave Roberts, Scanning Scene, March SW Magazine via DXLD) Hmmm, there are plenty of mosques in the US, and the number is increasing. I wonder how they handle the CTP. Are there *any* traditional muezzins and minarets on the `air` in such neighborhoods? If radial, what frequencies/bands? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [or non]. Glenn, Has anyone else noticed clear signals here in Europe on 13858 USB of AFRTS during UT afternoons (approx 1000- 1600)? Regards and 73's (Dan Goldfarb, Brentwood, England, May 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) News to me! Thanks; wonder whence (gh) A station heard on 13855 SSB-USB heard carrying American commercial show "The Car Show" at tune in 1515. ID at 1600 was "You're listening to AFN" then AP Network News, followed at 1606 Special Assignment. Signal is strong and 5 kHz spacing from BFBS 13860. 73s (Noel R. Green, Blackpool - UK, May 3, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Noel, nice tip, thanks. On 3 May at 1758 heard this 13855 USB with usual AFN stuff. BFBS 13860 signed off around 1800 and then no splatters from them. Around 1803 an ute-station came on the frequency with "CQ DE OXT" and later with presumed facsimile broadcast. Guess that's located in Denmark. But AFN continues. Here the signal is rather fading and weaker than BFBS was on 13860 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) HFCC schedule has the entry "NEW", so probably Keflavik? 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) What HFCC schedule?? HFCC A-03 I see only has Jülich on 13855, and only at 1800-2100. But didn`t ISBS use 13855 before? (gh) Hi Mauno, Yes, maybe you are right !!!! A German DXer Horst from Frankfurt told me that he contacted Wilhelm Herbst in Northern Denmark immediately, where he spent two weeks DXpedition in past winter. Wilhelm has 20 Beverage antennas at his disposal on his house near the NorthSea beach: he narrowed the azimuth towards 300 degrees from Denmark (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Moderator note: AFN Keflavik is still audible with good reception on 13855 usb as of 0945 UT Sunday (BDXC-UK May 4 via DXLD) AFRTS is audible here on 13855 USB, 0950 UT with a rather stupid talkshow on cars. At 1000 AFN ID and into AP Network News. Fair signals on a clear channel, might be a reactivation of the Keflavík station on Iceland. Greetings, (Martin Elbe, Germany, May 4, dxing.info via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. The items [3-076] for VOA Okinawa, Thailand and Philippines are interesting. But, the Bangkok VOA 1000 kW transmitter was never a Collins. Initially it was a Continental Electronics (CEMCO) CE-105B. The 105B was made of two 500 kW units, built together as one. It was replaced by a Harris fully solid-state transmitter. Okinawa used a similar Continental transmitter. Philippines also had a million watt Continental transmitter. It was replaced by a Harris solid-state, same as Bangkok. Philippines still has the old unit as a standby, while Bangkok's old one was junked. I don't know where the Bangkok transmitter was kept during the years in question, but I really doubt that anyone would install it somewhere and then later try to move it. I've seen it and it is huge. Bangkok is on 1575, Philippines on 1143. Both signals are heard over a very large range including the U.S. (anon., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The i.e. America Radio Network - produces programs for radio stations & audiences that want to hear show hosts with a different perspective. Remember, the vast majority of Americans did vote for Gore and Nader. The i.e. America Radio Network is here to serve a niche of Americans that have been longing to hear the other side of issues -- this is a virtually untapped market in radio industry today. Instead of the same right wing talk and ``massaged news``, our programs deliver a message from the other point of view. Your station will be on the leading edge in your market by reaching a vast untapped listening audience with different political perspective they have been waiting to hear on radio today. On weekends, i.e. America Radio Network delivers entertainment shows & informative ``How to`` shows to listeners like Home Improvement USA, Animal Talk, Antique Talk, Steven Sack – The Employees Lawyer -- and other one of kind shows only available through i.e. America Radio Network. Doug Stephan`s Good Day - Join Doug Stephan and Nancy Skinner for breaking news of the day, weather, entertainment and sports. Now in its 15th year, the Doug Stephan`s Good Day show breaks the mold of traditional morning shows. It`s the only caller driven syndicated morning show in the country! Doug and the team deliver a fun yet factual morning show – a great way to start a Good Day with Doug and Nancy. [M-F 0900-1400 UT] Nancy Skinner`s Radio Vox Pop - where people talk - don`t be left out! Nancy is a master at connecting with her listeners, as a popular talk- show host on WLS in Chicago, and a frequent guest commentator on CNN and other television shows. Apart from being co-host of the popular Doug Stephan show, now she brings her own show with a powerful yet accessible style that reaches out to the majority of Americans, men, women, young and old, across the political spectrum. Nancy`s integrity and deep honesty, coupled with her heartfelt passion from her perspective, and her straightforward no-nonsense style connects with everyday concerns of people. [M-F 1400-1600 UT] The Thom Hartmann Show - his show uncovers corporate lies, deception by mega-media, and rampant confusion in the offices of our politicians. Thom takes on pop (and not-so-pop) culture, democracy, and the news of the day. He brings listeners ``uncommon`` sense. Thom calls for a rapid and radical return to ``The Old Values That Made America Great`` - the values of democracy on which this country was founded. Thom Hartmann began his radio career in 1968, and is also an internationally known author, commentator, and media personality. Thom`s message: ``There is a great future for our nation and the world if we revitalize American Democracy.`` [M-F 1600-1800 UT] The Peter Werbe Show - join Peter daily with producer Juline Jordan for lively discussions, strong interviews, and special daily features including Jim Hightower. His show features news and analysis from the progressive point of view. Peter is an advocate of civil liberties, civil rights and work rights - his show creates a lively forum for public debate. Peter, along with producer Juline Jordan, encourages listeners to think about issues relating to social change. [M-F 1800- 2100 UT] Listen to Jim Hightower`s commentary [week]daily at 2:30pm ET [1830 UT] on the Peter Werbe Show Family Talk - hosted by Dr. Mike Riera, is a daily two-hour program dedicated to matters concerning parenting and the family. With a strong focus on parents dealing with teens, the program includes family adolescent issues, school, social life and parental interaction. Experts and teens add stimuli to the program and help make this ``must listen`` radio for parents! This program is produced by Icicle Networks and distributed by i.e. America Radio Network. [M-F 2100-2300 UT] All American Talk Radio - hosted by Peter B. Collins and Peter Laufer is an open national forum, bringing together the issues at hand from all sides. ``All American Talk Radio`` is the show that is inclusive for all listeners, reaching to the core values that America was built on. This program is produced by Icicle Networks and distributed by i.e. America Radio Network. [M-F 2300-0100 UT Tu-Sa] The Mike Malloy Show - stand back because Mike is a hard edged progressive talk radio show host with a straightforward style, independent facts, and intelligent conversation. Mike Malloy seeks the truth – fueled by logic and hard facts, and isn`t afraid to expose the hypocrisy in the current administration. He was named one of ``Talkers Magazine`s Heavy Hundred`` talk hosts in 1999, 2000 and 2002! Voted ``Best Evening Talk`` In Chicago, Mike`s TSL was higher than Limbaugh at WLS. Truthseekers listen to Mike at night! [Tu-Sa 0100-0400 UT] Encourage your local radio station to contact Ron Metzinger to air our programs in your market. Call Ron at 313.957.2715 or email us at info@ieamericaradio.com http://www.ieamericaradio.com i.e. America Radio Network delivers daily newscasts and Labor News – The Workers Independent News Service to stations at the top and bottom of each hour, everyday. Hear us daily at http://www.ieamericaradio.com or Sirius Satellite stream 145 Sirius Left, or call Renee Scarponi for a station near you - 800.397-8255. http://www.ieamericaradio.com/Media%20Kit%20Web%20Pages/Show%20Host%20Overview.htm#two Schedule grid in UT-4: http://www.ieamericaradio.com/schedule_c.asp shows a variety of specialty programs on weekends. Guess what: no affiliate listings are available. Why isn`t any of this on a SW station? I remember Malloy when he was on WLS and WSB, but have never run across any of them on any domestic station I can hear (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WITH SALE OF JAZZ STATION, WBEE OWNER CALLS IT QUITS May 2, 2003 BY ROBERT FEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST It's the end of an era for the station billed as "Real Jazz Radio in Chicago Since 1955" and for the longest-serving top broadcast executive in the market. After 30 years as general manager of WBEE-AM (1570) -- and the last 17 years as its owner -- Charles Sherrell agreed this week to sell the south suburban Harvey jazz station for $1.775 million, pending government approval. The new owner, Detroit-based Great Lakes Radio, is expected to turn WBEE into an all-gospel outlet. Sherrell, 66, cited stagnant revenues and invisible Arbitron ratings for deciding to sell his only radio property. "Truth be told, we haven't grown any," he said Thursday, just before announcing the sale to his staff. "It's all but impossible to get dollars from advertising agencies if you don't have ratings. The market is becoming more and more competitive to the point where if you don't have ratings, you can't even get local retailers [to advertise] anymore." To support WBEE's jazz programming during the day, Sherrell had been forced to accept paid gospel programming between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. daily as well as several time-brokered talk shows. "When you put that kind of stuff on, you know you're going to lose people who normally would be listening for jazz," he said. "But when you're not making any money on jazz, that's what you have to do." Although he has championed the format for 30 years, Sherrell acknowledged the inevitable: "If you're a small AM station like WBEE -- with only 1,000 watts of power that can only be heard on the South Side of Chicago and in the south suburbs -- and if you're programming an art form like jazz, which is only appreciated by a small percentage of the listening public, you cannot expect to get ratings. You're just not going to get the numbers." Nevertheless, Sherrell hopes to acquire another station in the market- -preferably on the FM band--within a year. "I know I can make it with jazz," he said (via Brock Whaley for DXLD May 2, 2003) ** U S A. Yesterday I heard an announcement on our local graveyarder, KRSN-1490, that they will soon be installing a "booster antenna" in town in order to improve signal levels. I have an email sent off to the station asking for more details of the scheme, which I'll share if I get a response. Currently, the KRSN transmitter site is on Lab property in White Rock, several miles away from the main Los Alamos townsite, and is quite unlistenable here in town after dark. [Later:] Here's the answer I got back from the radio station regarding the "booster antenna". It looks like it's going to be almost literally in my backyard, as the golf course is right behind my house! Nuts! Also, it's interesting they're waiting for approval from the county, but no mention of getting approval from the FCC..... "We don't need no Steenking CP!" (Mike Westfall, Los Alamos NM, NRC-AM via DXLD) [I assume this is Mike`s remark, not KRSN`s --- gh] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: Booster Antenna info request From: "KRSN" krsn@losalamos.com Date: Fri, 2 May 2003 14:05:18 -0600 Thanks for your inquiry, Mike. We are planning to put up a 50 foot tall pole at the golf course and use a low power (250 +- watt) transmitter. We will be on the same frequency and will adjust the power to regulate where the zone of destructive interference falls. I'm just waiting for tech drawings from my engineer and approval from the county. We're also in a fund raising mode to create enough cash to do the project. Thanks, again. (Mark M. Bentley, KRSN, via Mike Westfall, NRC-AM via DXLD) These are synchronous repeaters and can be used to supplement coverage as long as all interference rules are met. WAPA 680 in Puerto Rico has a 500 watt synch in Arecibo; WISO 1260 has a 500 watter in Mayagüez. KLSQ-Laughlin ran a 1 kw synch in E. Las Vegas, for a while WFTL in Ft. Lauderdale ran a 1 kw synch in Pompano Beach. KOB runs a night synch in Santa Fe for null fill. There are quite a few more. Under new rules, these are part of the originating station license, not separate stations. In the past, they were counted against ownership caps, and not common. WBZA 1030 in Springfield on 1030 was a synch with WBZ. Westinghouse closed it down when they wanted to buy a 7th real AM. WBTA in Shelby was the same for Jeff-Pilot; they killed the 1 kw null fill station to buy a 7th real AM. 1400 in Lowell/Lawrence, MA, was the original synch, I think (David Gleason, ibid.) Funny I see this... WLLH is a station very near and dear to my heart, having grown up in the shadow of it's Lowell, MA studios and tower. I also by coincidence was flipping through my radio station info files in my file cabinet and had the foresight to print out some of WLLH's website from back around 1998... its history section. Quoting from this defunct webpage... "On April 24, 1936, WLLH was granted special temporary authority (S.T.A.) to install a new synchronized booster station at Lawrence, MA, nine miles distant, with a power variable from 10 watts to 100 watts on 1370 kilocycles at a site to be determined. The authority was to expire July 1, 1936, but was later extended. On March 1937, WLLH's authorization for a booster station at Lawrence was reaffirmed; the new station was to be synchronized with WLLH on (then) 1370 kilocycles with a power of from 10 to 100 watts. On August 10, 1937, WLLH was granted special experimental authority for a satellite station at Lawrence, which was installed in the Cregg Building, utilizing a 100 foot Lingo vertical radiating tower. (It still stands today at the Cregg Building in Downtown Lawrence, MA. Antenna is top loaded i.e.: guys at the top appear to be bonded to the flagpole antenna.) WLLH's booster went on the air December 1, 1937 with a power of 100 watts, duplicating the WLLH program schedule. In 1938, the power of the station and its booster in Lawrence was increased to 150 watts full time in January 1940. Antenna tower in use at Lowell by 1940 was one 150 foot Lehigh vertical radiator. On March 4, 1941, WLLH was granted on a regular basis a license to cover operation of a synchronous station at Lawrence, MA (replacing its former S.T.A.). This license specified a power from 10 to 100 watts, although at this time WLLH at Lowell was using 250 watts. In the NARBA frequency reallocations on Saturday, March 29, 1941, WLLH and its repeater) was assigned to operate on 1400 kilocycles in lieu of the previously authorized 1370 kilocycles. By 1943, an auxiliary studio was maintained by WLLH in the Cregg Building, Lawrence. In Late 1963, the station was authorized to raise day power(s) from 500 watts to 1,000 watts, nights remaining 250 watts. Power was increased to this level in early 1964. Kind of lengthy of a quote, but the actual paper is about three pages. I would be pleased to type the whole paper for posting within the NRC site since this is what I'd say, a somewhat unique station. To me it was a great Top 40 station. This small market station definitely had a big market sound for about two decades. The Jingles, The Personalities, the community commitment/involvement, The Music... I miss the old station. It is now run in a simulcast with 1150 AM in Boston, LA Mega or somesuch with Spanish/Latin contemporary music. Sincerely, (Ron Gitschier, N.E. Florida... a long way from my hometown of Lowell, MA, ibid.) ** U S A. OHIO MOMENTS --- WLW BECOMES WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL STATION In 1921, Cincinnatian Powel Crosley Jr. began selling radios and received a license to broadcast at 20 watts. The next year, he was assigned the call letters WLW and began transmitting with 500 watts. In 1928, Crosley ordered a 50,000-watt transmitter built in Mason. He began building a 500,000-watt facility in Mason in 1933. On May 2, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a golden key in the White House that signaled the WLW radio transmitter in Mason to beam its signal with 500,000 watts of power. Suddenly the most powerful radio station in the world, WLW could be heard from coast to coast and as far away as London. At 9:02 p.m. on that May 2, listeners heard the president say, "I have just pressed the key to formally open Station WLW." The streetlights in Mason dimmed. Downtown at a gala at the Netherland Plaza Hotel, Crosley received congratulatory telegrams from Roosevelt and Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of wireless communication (Rebecca Goodman, Cincinnati Enquirer May 2 via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. BIRDS GET TOP PRIORITY AT FCC By Mark Rockwell May 1, 2003 news@2 direct WASHINGTON -- The FCC has birds on its mind these days. More specifically, rules to keep birds from running into wireless towers. FCC Chairman Michael Powell told reporters here today that determining the correlation between bird fatalities and towers is a priority, and he kicked off a new 'Environmental and Historic Preservation Action Plan,' which includes consideration of possible new rules regarding radio frequency exposure. The RF exposure rules aren't looking at the biological standards for RF exposure but are related to types of exposure found in workplaces, according to an FCC staff official. The official said the commission isn't looking to get involved in setting biological standards for RF exposure in humans-an issue that has received much attention in courts and various studies. Commanding most of today's attention were the FCC's efforts to address the migratory bird issue. 'I'm not saying there's a problem with the towers. I'm saying there's a problem' with the interaction between birds and the towers, Powell said. The issue of dead migratory birds at wireless communications towers has been brewing since the Friends of the Earth last year petitioned the FCC to do retroactive environmental reviews of thousands of towers in the Southeastern United States. The FOE has continued to push the FCC to investigate the issue as well as to stop granting construction permission for planned towers until the issue is resolved. Today, Powell said the commission would work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to find out why birds may be attracted to the towers and will issue a formal inquiry into the matter in the coming months. In addition, the FCC has hired a biologist to work with the Fish and Wildlife Service. The FCC also has hired an historic preservationist and is developing a memorandum of understanding with tribal governments concerning building towers on historic lands. All this, according to Powell, is being done to compensate for long overdue environmental rules that address the increasing number of wireless towers and to work collaboratively with the pertinent government agencies, including the National Telecommunications & Information Administration. Industry groups continue working on the migratory bird issue, which has the potential of costing wireless companies billions. CTIA, PCIA and the National Association of Broadcasters--groups that are typically at odds on a lot of wireless issues-- have filed comments at the District Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. supporting the FCC. In February, Friends of the Earth filed a challenge to how the commission is handling the issue, saying the FCC was in violation of National Environmental Protection Act, The Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act. PCIA, CTIA and NAB all said the FCC wasn't in violation because those laws don't impose 'mandatory' actions by the commission (Wireless Week via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. OCEAN SEEKING TO REBUILD TOWER STRUCTURE PLAYED ROLE IN EARLY LONG-DISTANCE RADIO COMMUNICATIONS By Carolyn O`Connell, Staff Writer, Greater Media Newspapers (NJ) http://atlanticville.gmnews.com/news/2003/0502/Front_Page/001.html Part of Ocean Township`s history has fallen down. A communications tower, one of five built in 1929 by AT&T that were used for ship-to-shore telephone and communications with Europe, collapsed and can be seen in the center of what is now Joe Palaia Park, near a driveway off Whalepond Road. The governing body is attempting to have a tower rebuilt that resembles the fallen tower, but doing so is complicated by the location of the tower. The park where the tower stood was purchased by the town with funding from the state`s Green Acres program. Therefore, there are restrictions on the type of structures that can be built on the property, formerly known as the Deal Test Site. The governing body must submit a request to the State House Commission if it is to restore the tower, according to Township Manager David R. Kochel. "This is a unique situation," said Kochel. "The towers are an integral part of the history which will be lost." A resolution adopted during a council meeting on April 23 states that the township is requesting the removal, replacement and commercial leasing of collapsed tower No. 1. The tower would be built to resemble the original lattice design, with a base platform, equipment housing and ancillary wireless telephone and radio support equipment. "If the township is able to lease the tower, the revenue generated would be used for maintenance of the four remaining towers, signs on walking trails [indicating the history of the site] and general maintenance for the park," Kochel said. The other towers, he noted, are not sound enough to be leased. If permission is granted and the tower is rebuilt, the tower could be leased to cell phone companies, for pager systems and amateur radio clubs, and the township could use it for its communications networks for the public works, fire and police departments. Township officials are quite aware of the type of revenue such a tower can generate. According to Kochel, a 250-foot communications tower erected in the industrial section of the town near the Seaview Square Mall by Bell Atlantic, now owned by Crown Castle Atlantic, generates $60,000 in revenue for the township. Kochel said that it is a good deal, since the township did not pay to have the tower erected and uses the tower for township communications. The latter company also owns the 400-foot tower, which is no longer operational, built to replace the existing tower. The 400-foot tower is expected to be imploded within the next 30 days, according to Kochel. According to the township, the park was originally called the Foxburst Farm, a 63-acre tract which is now the southern portion of the park. It was purchased by Western Electric, a manufacturing arm of AT&T, in 1919. The remaining 145 acres were purchased by AT&T in 1927. As the importance of global communication grew after World War I, AT&T chose the park to conduct ship-to-shore experiments in which communications were sent as far as 300 miles off the New Jersey coast. Three more towers were erected in a triangular pattern and used to broadcast speech and music for a range of 1,000 miles. In 1921 the same company built a two-story white building, which was used for a laboratory and dormitories for the engineers. Because of these early experiments, AT&T was able to operate a commercial short wave radio telephone service to England. Research continued through the 1930s in conjunction with Bell Labs, to create shorter wave lengths, which led to the development of the microwave radio systems used to carry long distance calls. In 1953 the test site was sold to developers in Jersey City, who leased the property to the U.S. Army Signal Corps for tracking satellites. A 28-inch dish antenna on a 40-foot tower near the Bicentennial Oak Tree was used to pick up signals from Russian satellites Sputnik I and II. In the 1960s the Army transmitted the first photograph via facsimile ("fax") to Puerto Rico from the site using the Courier satellite. (via Kim Elliott, Jill Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. COLUMBIA [MARYLAND] COMPANY HELPS LAUNCH DIGITAL RADIO IN CHICAGO Digital radio has debuted in Chicago, as two Windy City stations owned by media giant Clear Channel Communications Inc. have begun broadcasting using technology developed by Columbia-based iBiquity Digital Corp., the company said Friday. Smooth jazz WNUA (95.5 FM) and "V-103" WVAZ (102.7 FM), an urban adult contemporary station, are now broadcasting from a new transmitter atop the John Hancock Center, simultaneously sending analog and higher- quality digital signals. . . http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2003/04/28/daily45.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. National Public Radio will find some new "companions" in the Texarkana region soon as the Texarkana College-based Texarkana Public Radio, KTXK-FM, boosts its transmitter to 100,000 watts from its present 5,200 watt output. . . http://www.texarkanagazette.com/articles/2003/04/27/news/news01.txt (via Jilly Dybka) ** U S A. AMATEUR RADIO SPECTRUM PROTECTION ACT TO GET PUBLIC AIRING from The ARRL Letter, Vol 22, No 18 Website: http://www.arrl.org/ on May 3, 2003 The chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet has agreed to hear testimony on the House version of the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 2003, HR 713, at a public hearing later this spring. Rep Fred Upton (R-MI) this week assured the bill's sponsor, Rep Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), that the hearing--which will be convened to address public safety spectrum needs--will include an opportunity for a member of the Amateur Radio community to appear before the panel. Upton also told Bilirakis that he shares his interest in protecting Amateur Radio. "That indeed is good news!" said ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP. "A hearing is exactly what we'd like to have in order to state our case, and I think we can state a good case, too." The date of the hearing has not been set. Upton's willingness to hear testimony on the bill is considered critical to providing it with the credibility it needs as it moves through the legislative process. It also marks a major step toward getting HR 713 through this Congress. The agreement, during a meeting of the full House Energy and Commerce Committee, came after Bilirakis asked to speak prior to consideration of another piece of spectrum legislation, HR 1320, the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act, which Upton sponsored. During his comments, Bilirakis spent about five minutes discussing the importance of Amateur Radio to the committee, chaired by Rep Billy Tauzin (R-LA). The newest cosponsors of HR 713 include representatives Jerry Moran (D-KS), John Olver (D-MA), Mike Ross, WD5DVR (D-AR), and Walter Jones, Jr (R-NC). The Senate version of the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act, S 537, recently got a boost when the chairman of the Senate Communications Subcommittee, Montana Republican Conrad Burns, signed on as a cosponsor. His cosponsorship indicates that the measure now has his attention and could convince others to follow suit. Bilirakis filed HR 713 on February 12, while Idaho Sen Michael Crapo introduced S 537 on March 6. The legislation would amend the Communications Act to require the FCC to provide "equivalent replacement spectrum" to Amateur Radio and the Amateur-Satellite Service in the event of a reallocation of primary amateur allocations, any reduction in secondary amateur allocations, or "additional allocations within such bands" that would substantially reduce their utility to amateurs. Bilirakis and Crapo, both Republicans, have twice before sponsored similar legislation at the League's recommendation. The bills point out Amateur Radio's volunteer role in providing emergency communication during disasters and emergencies. Haynie continues to encourage ARRL members to urge their senators and representatives and to cosponsor the bills. "Letters and e-mails are the key to getting legislation passed," Haynie says. Sample letter is available on the ARRL site http://www.arrl.org/govrelations/arspa.html Those writing their lawmakers are asked to copy their correspondence to the League via e-mail specbill03@arrl.org (For additional information, see "Communicating with Congress," by Derek Riker, KB3JLF, QST May 2003, p 46.) The text of HR 713 and S 537 is available via the Thomas Web site http://thomas.loc.gov/ Source: The ARRL Letter Vol. 22, No. 18 May 2, 2003 (via Mike Terry, John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. JOURNALISTS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN 2002 .c The Associated Press The 31 names added Friday to the Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial in the Washington suburb of Arlington, Va. They are grouped by the countries where they died, with the location of their news organizations in parentheses, followed by dates of death or disappearance in 2002: (via Fred Waterer, DXLD) UNITED STATES: David Gerdrum, KRTV (Great Falls, Mont.), Jan. 12 Jennifer Hawkins Hinderliter, KRTV (Great Falls, Mont.), Jan. 12. Robert I. Friedman, freelance (New York), July 2. Along with hotspots around the world, three entries came under the USA; apparently you don`t have to run into terrorists to be KIA, but be involved in a 12-vehicle pileup in a dust storm, certainly tragic but seemingly in a different category than `Freedom Forum` would be dealing with. I hadn`t heard of the Great Falls matter, so I looked up the http://www.krtv.com website and found a link in the upper right labeled `in loving memory`. http://www.krtv.com/inmemoryofjenanddave.htm which further links to press reports about what happened. But does this mean they were the only journalists in the US killed in traffic accidents in 2002y? And if not, shouldn`t all the others be honored in the same way by Freedom Forum? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Subject: [AMFMTVDX] TIS news from Dallas area. Conditions were lousy on this quick 2-day trip, but I noted a few interesting TIS stations: TRH-TX Irving, TX (business trip), ICF-2010, internal antenna, Delco car radio. TIS and OTHER: [we`re not sure what timezone(s) TRH is using for his travel DX reports] 890 TIS TX De Soto - 4/21 1946 - City TIS with fair signals. I haven't found De Soto on any maps but it must be near Dallas (TRH-TX) 1250 WPHG284 TX Duncanville - 4/21 0142 - City TIS, mentioned city web site at http://www.duncanville.com (TRH-TX) 1620 WPMV714 TX Lewisville - 4/21 0111 - City TIS with news about city projects and local public access TV station "LVTV". Slogan "WPMV radio 16-20 on your radio dial." (TRH-TX) 1640 (WPLR660) TX DFW Airport - 4/20 2300 - Airport TIS not noted while I was in town. 1680 station is still on, no signs noted. (TRH- TX) 1670 WPIW244 TX Farmers Branch - 4/21 0742 - "Farmers Branch information radio" here now, ex 690, with weather and other info. (TRH-TX) 1680 TIS TX Dallas - 4/21 1030 - New TIS for Downtown Dallas Improvement District, mentioning events in downtown Dallas. Surprised they would put this station on the same channel as the big airport TIS (TRH-TX) ICF-2010, Kiwa Loop, Marantz tape recorder, Intermatic timer, lousy Toyota car radio TRH-AZ On the road TRH-AZ1 Tombstone, AZ TRH-AZ2 Ajo, AZ 1400.3 KCHS NM Truth or Consequences - 4/26 0951 - Local ads, still off frequency about 300 Hz. Remember when we used to have an FCC that woke up every few years and took care of stuff like this? (TRH-AZ1) 1570 KAMP AZ Tucson - 4/26 1925 - Pretty good signals as we drove near the ASU Campus. Mostly hip-hop music (TRH-AZ) 1610 KOJ793 AZ Why - 4/29 0850 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM TIS with information about the scenic loop drives and highway 85. Doesn't get out particularly well (TRH-AZ2) 1610 WPSE479 CA Needles - 4/28 2154 - CalTrans HAR with road conditions for I-40 in the Needles area. Note: Message format and woman's voice are identical to WPSG912 Mountain Pass, CA, that many of us have been hearing lately. The only real difference is the substitution of "I-40 in the Needles area" for "I-15" (TRH-AZ2) 1610 WPBE828 UT Panguitch-Red Canyon - 4/27 2327 - Station is running a full tape loop again, mostly mentioning Bryce Canyon and highway 12. Note: It is especially easy to mistake this station for the Bryce Canyon station (KOP798) because it now mentions the other Bryce station on 1590. Mixing with westernmost Zion NP station (Virgin-La Verkin, UT). (TRH-AZ2) 1660 AZ Tucson - 4/26 1926 - "Warrior Radio 16-60 AM, Blues School" is located at the Pueblo Magnet High School, where students are learning to use state-of-the-art radio automation equipment. Blues music and PSAs (stay in school, etc.). Good signal covering most of the city (TRH-AZ) (Tim Hall, amfmtvdx via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 3180, 1.5 0045, Spanish Latin American on this QRG harmonic which corresponds to 1590 kHz. Some Andean music, but couldn't hear much more. Also cx-buzz on 3100 and 3060, those will be audible when the cx improves [both cx = conditions?]. Nobody else noticed these harmonics from high end of MW? 1-3 RÅ (Roland Åkesson, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 4, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. With reference to the unID station reported by Mr. Noel Green on 13630 at 0600-0800, it is Voice International, Australia in Hindi. It can be easily mistaken for AIR with its Hindi songs and even Delhi weather etc. By the way recently AIR Bangalore also conducted some tests on this 13630. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J, Hyderabad 500082, India, dx_india via DXLD) Due to midday transmission (office hours in India) could not log this but today I could check 13630 and it's Christian Voice from Darwin (identified as THE VOICE ASIA) --- the same program broadcast at 0100- 0400 on 11850 via Tashkent. The program is in Hindi with a mix of Urdu and Punjabi language. Signal is rather weak here in CAL and it seems that the transmission is at 0500-0900 but announcing Indian Standard Time. The address mentioned on the air: The Voice, P. O. Box 1, KANGRA, HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA. Email : mail@thevoiceasia.com (Alok Dasgupta, Kolkata, ibid.) Yes, but both 11850 and 13630 are the Tashkent relay of VI (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ NEW SYSTEM WOULD ALERT MOTORISTS OF EMERGENCY VEHICLES 56K | High Speed [Video was/is? available] JACKSONVILLE, FL - Emergency vehicles sometimes are forced to weave their way through traffic and deal with cars that don't get out of the way. A delay or a motorist failing to yield could mean that someone somewhere could die. But now a breakthrough in technology should help emergency vehicles have a clear path and help save more lives. . . http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=1014 (WTLV via Jill Dybka, DXLD) Not explained is how the system works. Does it transmit on all local radio frequencies people are likely to be listening to? Or absolutely all AM & FM broadcast frequencies? Or come in by transmitting on the IFs? Does any enabling need to be done at the receiver end, or is it totally involuntary, raising thorny legal issues --- or it ought to. I don`t recall the Jax area being called First Coast before --- is this a channel 12 gimmick or broader? Guess it derives from St. Augustine as initially `discovered` by the Spanish (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ QSLing BELLABARBA Martin Schöch: Hello Thomas, yes, the statement from Dario is correct. In 97 (?) I started my special page about the Bellabarbas, one pages with copies of his reports (I run a pirate radio drop box, so I get some of these) and one page with his QSL logs from Play DX. In Dec 2002 I redesigned my QSL info pages, they are now based upon an excel-work-sheet. Now it was too much work to keep a separate list for the Bellabarbas. Thus all information is now in the same place/in the same lists. Advantage a - less work for me. Advantage b - much more interest/discussions about 'such techniques' from other DXers and among other DXers Advantage c - I don't like the image that QIP is the final judge what contributor is correct and which isn`t (there are several other DXers mentioned on the Bellabarba page). When seeing the results (logs and copies) everyone has to come to his own conclusions (at least this was what we were demanding from the US before the Iraq war) Point d - it`s equal to the Bellabarbas if I publish the logs or not, they don`t do it for the public I believe Further discussions are welcome ! Yours Martin -------------------------- Reply from Thomas Nilsson, SWB: Martin! Thanks for mail. I will with pleasure reply to your views. Fake QSL:s upset the whole DX-world. QSL cards are by no means like collecting postcards. A QSL card is a proof of listening and reporting the station. Thus it is extremely important as editor to at least try to sort out and not publish material from people that by most DX-ers are known or even regarded as unserious. In my opinion no listings at all containing this type of material shall be published. You make it very easy to say it gives you less work and that you are not the judge. But as editor you have that responsibility. With the help of Excel it is easy to use the sheets as a database and sort out the fake material. You also have to think twice about the intention with your QIP site. What is the effort worth if other people have a negative view of your site and never pay a visit? So please leave all the unserious people out in the cold by not publish this type of material. There is absolutely nothing positive in referring to such people. It will also create much less work for you and your site will recover respect again. Regards Thomas Nilsson, editor of SWB ------------------ Reply from Martin Schöch, May 01-2003: Hello Thomas, since it is a holiday today I have the time to write to you. Yesterday I updated The 'Giovanni Bellabarba' QSL Page at http://www.schoechi.de/bellabar.html I created a special page where all the latest discussions from the lists and DXLD have been added. (|Thus it is extremely important- ) It 'should be' a proof. Unfortunately it isn't any longer. See the new story 'Relative value' by H. Klemetz at the Bellabarba-page. (|Easy to say it gives you less work- ) I have of course ethical standards, but I think in the case of Bellabarba (and other suspects) my task is fulfilled by the webpage with the copies of their 'reports'. As far as I know I'm the only one who ever did something (establishing public attention by making a webpage is something I guess) 'against' him, all other knew him and said something about him but did not do something. (|With the help of Excel it is easy- ). Yes, that's true. (|What is the effort worth if other- ) I changed the layout of my pages in December 2002 and with the layout change I added the Bellabarba QSL-logs. Since January 2003 I had more than 7000 visitors (acc. to the agecounter), I guess including several visits of the same person etc. that are perhaps 500 different people. No-one complained about that the logs have been added. From all these discussions in last weeks I only got two letters, one from you and one from Italian who said 'fun to read about Bellabarba'. (| So please leave all the unserious people out in the cold…) So until now I did not note any other critical comments about my site in mails to me or in the mailing lists. As it seems the either the content of my pages is more important than Bellabarba or the readers do not care if these logs are there or not. (|You also have to think twice about the intention with your QIP site). The aim of QIP is not the question. The aim of the Bellabarba- page is the question. And the 'public attention' is still the best way to cope with such things, better than forbidding or hiding something. Especially the fact that no-one wrote to me (supporting either me or you) shows that the question if-or if not is not so important. The conflict about Bellabarba has been going on between 'Norden' and 'Italy'. We others simply watch. And I guess that some Nordic DXers take DXing too seriously (I never saw a list of QSLs about 'first one from Germany' but a lot of 'first from Sweden') and that some Italian DXers do not take it seriously enough (it makes me crazy when they all write KHZ or khz but not kHz). That`s all for today, all the best to you from Martin [Schöch] (all: SW Bulletin May 4 via DXLD) There was additional discussion from Rolf Wikström in Swedish, but I hesitate to ask Thomas Nilsson to translate it all (gh) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Kp Index still quiet, (but I suspect not for much longer), I see that the RSGB are forecasting an Optimum Working Frequency (90% Chance of Success) of only 16 MHz to North America, during the coming week; this shows that, although we have had some high sunspot readings in the last few days, the overall trend is a very definite drop (Ken Fletcher, UK, 4th May 2003, 1249UTC=1349UTC+1, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-076, May 2, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3d.html HTML version of late March issues: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3c.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1180: RFPI: Sat 0130, 0730+, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530... on 7445, 15039 WWCR: Sat 0600, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN: Rest of World Sat 0800, Europe Sun 0530, North America Sun 1400 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1180.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1180.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1180h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1180h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1180.html NETS TO YOU, new May edition: http://worldofradio.com/nets2you.html DX PROGRAMS, May 1 revision: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html ** BOLIVIA. 6025, RADIO ILLIMANI could close this frequency because of the mass protests in La Paz early this year (as far as I remember February or even January). Bolivian mass media informed then that ``studios of Canal 7 (TV) and a government radiostation was taken by protesters``. And as Bolivians say, the only government radio station in Bolivia is Radio Illimani. Maybe they restore their studios now? (Artyom Prokhorov, Moscow, Russia, May 1, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. R. Bandeirantes, 9645.81 at 0554 Mar 15 (Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin via Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) Have been hearing a het on 9645 when I tune around this hour, so guess this be it; TIFC used to be off-frequency too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. When BBCWS used 9515 kHz from Sackville (ah, those were days...), I would frequently phone them to advise of poor, non- existent or even the wrong signal. Their excuse was usually "it's Montreal", referring to RCI HQ. If it came to light that one reason why BBCWS dropped SW to North America was because of the dreadful handling of their signal out of Sackville, I would not be at all surprised; I am amazed they put up with it. On one occasion, I called them about a weak signal here in Toronto and the guy asked me to hold on for a minute or two. "Is that any better?", he asked. "Yes!", I said, "What did you do?". "Oh, the beam was pointed at Winnipeg and I just moved it to point at Toronto". CBC Sackville can be reached at (506) 536-2690. If you call, don't be surprised if no-one answers, or if they do, you are greeted with a yawn. Sincerely, JSG (John S. Grimley, ODXA via DXLD) They used to be quite responsive to my collect calls about transmission errors, but then stopped accepting them (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA. CNR-2 transmissions from the old 50 kW site have been drastically reduced. The old favourite 17700 has been silent for several weeks now. Other oldtimers missing are 15500 and 11610. The more recent addition 17625 also seems to be gone. 15540 was off for a few days, but is now back on. The NDXC website shows only three transmitters still active: 7230 (ex 7200), 11800/9515, 15540/11730. CNR-8 also uses two transmitters at this site. The Taiwan service transmitters remain off. This would mean that only five of the original 16 50 kW transmitters at this old site are now active. Maybe the transmitters are no longer repaired when they conk out and the whole site is deemed to permanent silence in a not too distant future. But you never know with the Chinese, perhaps Thales is refurbishing the site with 100/150 kW transmitters! (Olle Alm, Sweden, May 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So which site is it? [3-077: somewhere near Beijing} ** CHINA. Cf. Previous report of new 3985 and ``7149``: 3985 1230-1600 42E,43W GEM 100 0 0 925 CHN CRI RTC 3985 2100-2400 42E,43W GEM 100 0 0 925 CHN CRI RTC 7140 0000-0300 42E,43W GEM 100 0 0 925 CHN CRI RTC 7140 0800-1230 42E,43W GEM 100 0 0 925 CHN CRI RTC GEM = Geermu-CHN site at G.C. 36N24 [. . .] (Wolfgang Bueschel, BC-DX Apr 30 via DXLD) ** CONGO. Last evening 29.4 Radio Congo was logged here with excellent signals both on 4765 and 5985, this was around 1815, but when checked again at 1830 the 60 meter band one was silent. The 49 meters frequency is clear until 1855. Other strong ones were Burkina 5030 and Uganda 4976 and 5026. 73 (Jarmo Patala, Hyvinkaa - Finland, April 30, dxing.info via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. After almost two months` absence, RFPI`s 15039.1 is heard again, May 2 after 1300 with Democracy Now. If it stays on, this may mean an adjustment in the schedule for 7445, which has allegedly been running 24 hours in the interim. A reminder of our daytime airtimes on the new schedule: WOR: Fri 1930, Sat 1730, Sun 1830, Tue 1900; COM Sat 2130, Thu 2000. The second and third repeats, nominally 12 and 18 hours later, may be delayed up to a sesquihour for logistical reasons, because of the additional programming at 0400 noted below --- except on weekends; we need confirmation of times actually heard. Well, RFPI Mailbag (with a new theme instead of the haunting flute melody of yore) was at 2004 UT Friday May 2, as usually scheduled, with James and Naomi, altho lacking cards and letters with the computer printer not working. Just before it started James announced that `15040` was back on the air at reduced power, but would be up to full power in a day or two. Within the Mailbag, which must have been recorded about a week ago: to repair transmitter were waiting for some damaged coaxial cable to the antenna to be replaced; a temporary fix has been made. Maybe permanent in another month. Meanwhile, 15040 transmitter will be on the air; by the first week in May, transmitter ready to go with a new expensive football-sized tube, thanks to donations from listeners, but more needed; see website. Was a matter of getting the tower workers scheduled to come back, during the rainy season when not too much can be done in a day. What about live streaming on the internet? Some progress. A special program is being written for this; looking at two different possibilities, one of which is to put up on website daily programs in half-hour blocks, ondemand, more convenient for listeners. Now in testing stage, but a lot closer than before. A new edition of Democracy Now, Pacifica`s Peace Watch, and a half hour of Free Speech Radio News are being heard after 0400 UT tho not on the current schedule. M-F at 1830 Independent Headlines and various short features; also RFPI news and weather at 2115; readings of ``1984`` at 2100-2115 + 6 and 12 hours, and omnibus edition recapping previous week`s readings on Sat at 2030-2130. It`s nice to hear RFPI in the daytime again, but 15039.1 would go into a deep fade several a times a minute, losing the audio in the noise, so my notes above are incomplete, but I hope not misunderstood (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. Costa Rica permits commemorative prefix: Some Costa Rican amateur stations will set aside their normal call sign prefixes and use TE75 during the month of May. The TE75 prefix commemorates the 75th anniversary of the first Amateur Radio activity from Costa Rica, which took place March 4, 1928, by Amando Céspedes Marín, TI4NRH. Céspedes is considered the father of Amateur Radio in Costa Rica. QSL all TE75 stations via the Radio Club de Costa Rica, TI0RC, PO Box 2414-1000, San José, Costa Rica. More information and an official list of authorized TE75 stations are on the Radio Club de Costa Rica web site at http://www.ti0rc.org/ or e-mail te75@ti0rc.org (ARRL May 1 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Re: HCJB missionaries' funding tactics: Glenn, it's not unusual at all for missionaries to fund their endeavors through solicitation of their "home churches" or other contacts. This is a rather common practice in the evangelical community. What is unusual in HCJB's case is the lack of aggressive on-air fundraising tactics by the station itself (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, May 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FINAL SHORTWAVE JAPANESE PROGRAM TO AIR FROM QUITO ON MAY 1 --- 4/30/2003 2:26:05 PM After 39 years of faithful Japanese radio ministry, HCJB World Radio missionaries Kazuo and Hisako Ozaki are preparing to air their final program via shortwave from Quito, Ecuador. ``Knowing that this would be the last chance to produce a program for shortwave, I planned a special concert on April 11, inviting our Japanese friends in Quito and old friends of HCJB World Radio to thank them and to say goodbye,`` says Kazuo. Music recorded during the concert will air on the final Japanese program on Thursday, May 1 --- the anniversary of the station`s first Japanese broadcast in 1964. A special QSL (verification) card will be given to those sending in reception reports. The hour-long program can be heard at 1130 UT (7:30 a.m. EDT) on 15450 kHz. While regular Japanese programming by shortwave went off the air at the end of 2000, programs resumed four months later via the Internet and a local satellite digital station in Japan. ``However, those who used to listen to our voices on shortwave made the request to HCJB World Radio to have us back on the air at least once a year as long as we are in Quito,`` Kazuo explains. ``Due to the popular demand, we joined the staff of `Saludos Amigos` -- the international friendship program -- and produced our 38th anniversary special last May.`` Hiroyuki Hiramatsu, the Japanese ambassador to Ecuador, gave the opening remarks at the concert, attended by more than 100 persons -- most from the Japanese community. ``He said that while serving as the ambassador to El Salvador in the 1970s, he was searching for Radio Japan on his shortwave radio, wanting to get news from his homeland. Instead, he stumbled across our Japanese programs,`` Kazuo said. ``That was his first link with Radio Station HCJB.`` Before the event began, the ambassador said sadly that he would have to leave early because of a prior commitment. ``Two hours later he remained glued to his chair, enjoying every note that was played and every word that was spoken,`` Kazuo said. After the concert, he invited the Ozakis to his residence for dinner, eager to learn more about their lifetime of ministry and experiences. Among the musicians performing at the concert were the Ozakis` missionary son, Michio, and his wife, Anne-Marie, along with missionaries Ty Stakes, Eric Brown and Jorge Zambrano. The HCJB World Radio vocal ensemble (Bill and Sandy Emmett, Elaine Childs, Kathy Jo Estes, Charlie Jacobsen and Chuck Howard directed by Lois Vásconez) also took part. In addition, Sandro María Chicaiza played his melancholic pan flute and Eugenia Aizaga, a flutist from Ecuador`s National Symphony, delighted the crowd with some traditional Japanese melodies. A number of Japanese young people gave testimonies -- some still living in Quito and others living abroad -- who were part of the Ozakis` Japanese Sunday school class. They expressed their appreciation for lessons learned that have helped them through life`s storms. Newly appointed Station Manager Curt Cole thanked the Ozakis for their flexibility. ``They have taught me several things,`` he said. ``More recently they have taught me about change and being willing to change. After so many years of doing shortwave radio, they were willing to begin broadcasting via the Internet, learning a completely new role in their ministry.`` Following the concert, the Ozakis said their work is not yet done and asked for prayer as they prepare to leave Ecuador for Wheaton, Ill., this summer to begin a new ministry. They plan to maintain their relationship with Japanese listeners via webcasting and live chats (HCJB World Radio via Sergei Sosedkin, April 30, DXLD) Horst Rosiak (HCJB) in the program of May 1st told about the future of HCJB: - no changes for German to South America - German to NAm will be cancelled at the end of May (including Plattdeutsch) - to Europe: HCJB directors in Ecuador will drop German to Europe at Sept 28th. But the work may be continued under the roof and the financing of HCJB Europe. So transmissions in German from Equador may continue after Sept. - English to Europe will be ceased at End of May, as Russian and Kikongo 73, (Andreas Erbe via Kai Ludwig, Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. 9990, V. of Eritrean People, Apr 27 *1729-1740, 35222. Tigrigna, 1729 s/on with opening music. ID. Talk and music (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** GERMANY. LOCAL DRM PROJECTS IN GERMANY The following pieces of news I found about two projects to establish local low power DRM stations in the southeast of Germany. - in Nürnberg the frequency of 26,000 MHz has been tested on Feb 27th with ten watts by the university of applied sciences: http://www.informatik.fh-nuernberg.de/Professors/Lauterbach/CampusRadio/sender.htm and http://www.informatik.fh-nuernberg.de/Professors/Lauterbach/CampusRadio/betrieb.htm The 2nd project called bitexpress http://www.bitexpress.de/ plans to broadcast regionally on 15,822 MHz for Nürnberg and Erlangen. This is a project of the University of Erlangen and Nürnberg and the Fraunhofer Institute. As Deutschlandfunk reported today there are also plans to go further than that and to link the project with other campus radios (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, uieremani, May 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I assume he is talking about HF with commas not dot ** GERMANY. Re.``For the moment, especially since a Director has not yet been appointed for RBB, it's business as usual.`` [Media Network item in 3-075] Actually Dagmar Reim was elected as director of Rundfunk Berlin- Brandenburg already on March 24, as first female director of an ARD member institution ever. Officially her assumption of office rolls off RBB tonight at midnight. Ms. Reim can be seen with SFB director Horst Schättle after her appointment on this page (probably expiring this night): http://www.orb.de/_/fusion/aktuell_jsp.html Foreseeable prospects so far are that the two TV networks, RBB Fernsehen Brandenburg (ex ORB-Fernsehen) and RBB Fernsehen Berlin (ex SFB1) will be replaced by a single new one. The radio networks Radio 3 (ORB) and Radio Kultur (SFB) will be combined, too. But so far no detailed decisions exist simply because indeed no heads of department were appointed yet. The item written by Andy gives also interesting insights into the West European view on the German eastside. The story as seen from Hilversum is ``Sender Freies Berlin becomes history``. Apparently Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg does not matter, except for the circumstance that SFB will disappear by way of merging with ORB. Well, quite a lot of people here have a different angle. Some thoughts in short: ORB was founded very late in 1991 after the attempts to create a common broadcasting institution of Berlin, Brandenburg, Sachsen-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern finally failed. The station started broadcasting from tiny shacks on the DEFA (GDR successor of UFA) movie studio grounds at Potsdam-Babelsberg (until 1994 some radio programming was produced at Berlin Nalepastraße instead). Common guess was that ORB will soon disappear and SFB assume responsibility for broadcasting in Brandenburg, too. But not so, ORB grew up, the shacks disappeared and made way for new studio buildings. And more importantly the programming maintaining a high standard, and -- well, is different. And so it is a real merger that will come into force just a few hours ago (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Apr 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It seems I misunderstood the last sentence of the original DPA story: thanks to Kai's clarification, I see now that the "vacant director posts" refers not to the Intendant, Dagmar Reim, but to other staff still to be appointed. I will re-publish the corrected item today. But the bit about SFB becoming history is in the original DPA story: Berlin (dpa) - Man möchte von einem historischen Ereignis sprechen: Nach fast 50 Jahren wird der Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) Rundfunk- Geschichte. Er markiert eine Ära, die im Kalten Krieg begann und den Fall der Berliner Mauer überdauerte. Mit dem Läuten der Freiheitsglocke war der öffentlich-rechtliche Sender mit dem patriotischen Namen 1954 in Betrieb gegangen. Nach der Niederschlagung des DDR-Aufstands vom 17. Juni 1953 sollte er die Stimme des freien Westens über die Sektorengrenzen tragen. In der Nacht zum 1. Mai schlägt die letzte Stunde des SFB. Dann geht der neue Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) in Betrieb, eine Fusion des SFB mit dem Ostdeutschen Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB). Doch in Berlin ist von Trauer über das Ende der Ära kaum etwas zu spüren. Während das Gedenken an den 1993 eingestellten "Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor" (RIAS) im West- wie im Ostteil der Stadt und darüber hinaus nostalgische Gefühle auslöst, wird das Ende des SFB ebenso wie das des ORB eher geschäftsmäßig zur Kenntnis genommen. Dies umso mehr, als sich am Erscheinungsbild in absehbarer Zeit nichts Einschneidendes ändern wird. Lediglich das Logo der beiden Fernsehsender wird ersetzt, beide senden aber weiter ihr Programm. Doch mittelfristig soll aus den beiden Fernsehsendern auch im Programm einer werden: ein "Vollprogramm mit klarem regionalem Schwerpunkt". Das ist die Vorgabe der Gründungsintendantin Dagmar Reim. Die erste ARD-Intendantin verspricht, die neu geschaffene Anstalt werde "in keinem Bereich schlechter sein als das, was war." Zur Zeit wird in Berlin das Personal-Karussell gedreht, vor allem die noch unbesetzten Direktorenposten der neuen Anstalt bieten Anlass für Spekulationen. Dabei ist allen Beteiligten klar, dass die "Geburtswehen" des RBB erst noch kommen werden. Reim will erst die Zahlen prüfen und dann über Personalplanungen und Konzepte sprechen. 1700 Mitarbeiter soll die neue Anstalt zunächst haben - 1100 vom SFB, 600 vom ORB. Mancher vo ihnen steht dem Zusammenschluss misstrauisch gegenüber, denn noch ist unklar, wie viele Beschäftigte der RBB letztlich haben wird. Vor allem der SFB muss gegen seinen Ruf als unbeweglicher Tanker kämpfen; der ORB gilt eher als schlankes, bewegliches Kind der Nach-Wende-Zeit. dpa kh eee ru (via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) Here's an English version from Reuters: BERLIN COLD WAR TV SHUTS 13 YEARS AFTER WALL FALLS By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN, April 30 (Reuters) - A west Berlin broadcasting company that beamed news from the "free world" into Communist East Germany during the Cold War will disappear on Thursday -- swallowed up in a belated merger 13 years after German unity. Fifty years after being created as a beacon of democracy for the capitalist enclave of West Berlin and a thorn in the side of East Germany, Sender Freies Berlin (Free Berlin Broadcasting company) will switch off the air forever at midnight. To the dismay of die-hard west Berliners who sometimes wish the Berlin Wall were still standing, SFB and its 1,050 staff will be folded together with 600 workers from Brandenburg's ORB network into a new region-wide channel called RBB. "Without doubt western television broadcasts were a vital source of information and encouragement for East Germans during the Cold War and without them I doubt the Berlin Wall would have collapsed in 1989," said former SFB director Juergen Engert. "Even the name...was deliberately chosen as a proclamation of a free city and a provocation to the East German regime," he told Reuters. "The idea was simple: if people lose their fear of a dictator, the regime is on borrowed time. We gave East German dissidents a voice and they became popular." Even though SFB was always one of the smaller regional broadcasters that make up Germany's ARD public broadcasting network, it enjoyed a special status as the window of West Germany and the western world into Communist East Germany. Millions of East Germans had their rooftop television aerials pointed towards West Berlin during the Cold War to pick up SFB broadcasts. East Germany at first tried to jam the signals and zealous Communists sometimes tore down antennae they saw aimed at West Berlin. For their part, East Germans used to joke darkly that they were reunited with their western brethren every evening -- in front of their television sets watching the same programmes. "About 80 percent of the East German population probably watched our evening news," said Engert, who was head of SFB news from 1985 to 1997. "Everyone made jokes about hurrying home by 8 p.m. in time to catch the 'class enemy' on television." The fusion of the two public broadcast networks had been on the drawing boards since German unification in 1990, but deeply entrenched distrust that still divides eastern and western Germans along with intransigent bureaucrats kept the two apart. "The merger is an important step towards the internal unification of Germany and should help Berlin and Brandenburg grow closer together," said Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit, whose cash-strapped city-state hopes to win a vote due later this decade for a merger with the surrounding Brandenburg state. A referendum to merge the states was defeated in 1996. Horst Schaettle, the departing chief executive of SFB, dismissed criticism the delayed unification on the airwaves was a sign of lingering animosity still separating the two Germanys. "It's better to be late than too late," Schaettle said (REUTERS via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) Yes, and another dpa story speculates about "possible thorough changes in the next months": ----- NEUER RUNDFUNK BERLIN-BRANDENBURG AM START BERLIN - Mit dem neuen Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) beginnt an diesem Donnerstag (01.05.2003) ein neues Kapitel in der deutschen Mediengeschichte. Der RBB geht zum 1. Mai aus der Fusion des seit 50 Jahren bestehenden Senders Freies Berlin (SFB) und des nach der deutschen Vereinigung gegründeten Ostdeutschen Rundfunks Brandenburgs (ORB) hervor. Als erster ARD-Sender wird der RBB von einer Frau geleitet. Gründungsintendantin Dagmar Reim übernimmt das Amt vom letzten SFB-Intendanten Horst Schättle und von ORB-Intendant Hansjürgen Rosenbauer. Reim will "die besten Konzepte und Köpfe aus beiden Häusern" für die neue Zwei-Länder-Anstalt "in der spannendsten Region Deutschlands" zusammenführen, wie sie auf der letzten Sitzung des SFB-Rundfunkrates betont hatte. Sie kündigte jedoch auch einen "Personalum- und -abbau" an und will Doppelstrukturen beseitigen, um den neuen Sender auf eine "solide finanzielle Basis" zu stellen. Die neue Anstalt wird zunächst 1700 Mitarbeiter haben - rund 1100 vom SFB und 600 vom ORB. Im Fernsehbereich soll der RBB etwa sieben Prozent des Ersten ARD-Programms gestalten. Die acht Hörfunkprogramme und die beiden regionalen Fernsehsender werden weiterhin ausgestrahlt und erst im Laufe der nächsten Monate möglicherweise einer umfassenden Programmstrukturreform unterzogen. (dpa 13:58) (Stand vom 30.04.2003) ----- Here the story from last night until now: The Sender Freies Berlin neon signs were switched off at 23:59 (TV building) and 00:05 (radio house), respectively. Photo series of the TV building signs going off, one letter after another: http://www.radioeins.de/sendungen/medienmagazin/feedback/ The TV networks replaced at midnight sharp their old corner logos by provisional new ones, each one different looking, proving that they are a real makeshift solution. Radio: Radio Kultur broadcast an extensive "good-bye SFB" program last evening. After the conclusion of this program the first RBB ID was given already at 23:58. It is remarkable that Radio Kultur now sells itself as "the culture program of RBB", as if it would be the only one, although there is still also Radio 3 (ex ORB). This gives a strong indication how the Berlin and Potsdam branches still do not really care what each other does, showing how interesting the next months could become. Inforadio broadcast immediately after the news at midnight a special piece about the change. Antenne Brandenburg had it as first item in the news. Fritz broadcast live a techno event last night and did not bother to give RBB any mention at all. Internet: http://www.sfb.de was basically terminated although some archived pages are still available. The new http://www.rbb-online.de is more or less the redesigned http://www.orb.de and some pages still refer to ORB rather than RBB. And now over to shortwave without changing the topic: Probably RBB will also have a shortwave presence. At present Rohrdorf 7265 carries not SWR 3 (like Mühlacker 6030 still does) but SWR Cont.Ra instead, the new mediumwave network of SWR. It remains to be seen if this is a permanent change, but if so it would also result in a relay of RBB programming on shortwave because SWR Cont.Ra relays Inforadio from Berlin every night between 2000 and 0400 UT. Enclosed a bit of nostalgia with a look on the glass studio of Inforadio, the program that probably goes out on shortwave now, too. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Obviously Rohrdorf 7265 was permanently switched from SWR 3 to SWR Cont.Ra, effective from May 1st. SWR Cont.Ra is a new network rolled off by Südwestrundfunk (SWR) back in last year, distributed mainly via mediumwave and satellite. More details can be found at http://www.swr.de/contra/index.html An especially interesting detail is that SWR Cont.Ra carries overnight the infoRADIO program produced by the Berlin branch of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), i.e. what was until now known as Sender Freies Berlin (SFB). At present infoRADIO is relayed by SWR Cont.Ra between 2100 and 0400, on Saturdays and Sundays until 0556. The Rohrdorf shortwave transmitter still appears to stay on around the clock, hence infoRADIO goes out on 7265, too, resulting in a shortwave relay of RBB programming. On-air ID of infoRADIO is "Inforadio dreiundneunzig-eins", leaning on the 93.1 FM frequency at Berlin as if it would be their only one. Internet presence: http://www.inforadio.de So the Siemens shortwave transmitter at Rohrdorf now again carries programming produced at Masurenallee in Berlin. "Again" because this is the very same transmitter that was once operated by Radio Bremen on 6190, and Radio Bremen extensively relayed SFB programming on shortwave until 10 years ago. Sometimes really strange constellations occur! Enclosed two cuts from last night, the first one from 2100 when the infoRADIO relay starts and 7265 is occupied also by Radio Polonia as a result of the ARD institutions renouncing on any protection of their shortwave frequencies (or probably rather because Deutsche Welle does not bother to take care on the HFCC and just puts the frequencies into the file "for info"). 16 seconds into the record SWR Cont.Ra joins infoRADIO with an abrupt cut-in into an announcement welcoming also "the listeners of the SWR program Cont.Ra". The second cut is from 2200 when 7265 is clear (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes I noted them yesterday evening on 7265 with the ``Tagesschau``, the main TV newscast in Germany produced by public ARD. So you can hear German TV news now over shortwave. And http://www.swr.de/contra/index.html does not list 7265 yet. 73, (Andreas Erbe, May 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. DEUTSCHE WELLE PREPARES FOR ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY, MOVING TO BONN | Text of press release by Deutsche Welle on 30 April; subheadings as published: 50 years of Deutsche Welle: Programme of information and "intercultural dialogue" - Festivities on 27 June 2003 in Bonn with Federal President Johannes Rau - Opening of the new broadcasting house - The maxims of independence and credibility Deutsche Welle (DW) is turning 50. Half a century after the first broadcast, Germany's international broadcasting service presents itself as an innovative media enterprise: DW offers multimedia, globally accessible information in more than 30 languages. It uses the latest digital technology for production and broadcasting and, more importantly, draws on the expertise of a multinational team of some 1,500 employees from more than 60 countries. They create DW-TV and DW-Radio programmes as well as the web site dw- world.de. According to Director-General Erik Bettermann, "intercultural dialogue is part of our work - all day and every day. And it is not just about spreading linguistic and cultural diversity abroad. Our cosmopolitan approach and specialist knowledge also contribute to public debate here in Germany." On 27 June 2003, Deutsche Welle will mark its 50th birthday with festivities at the Plenarsaal in Bonn. Federal President Johannes Rau will be the guest of honour and keynote speaker. DW will also be celebrating the official opening of its new broadcasting house, for DW's anniversary year of 2003 is also the year that the headquarters of the German international broadcaster will move from Cologne to Bonn. The building, designed by Prof Joachim Schurmann and situated in Bonn's former government quarter, is one of Europe's most modern broadcasting centres. Three pillars... "Hier ist die Deutsche Welle Bonn" - this acoustic hallmark will soon go out around the world from the Federal City, Bonn. This is where the multilingual programmes of DW-Radio are made: for example in languages like Amharic and Urdu, in Bengali and Ukrainian and, of course, in German and English, Russian and Chinese. This is where multimedia dw-world.de goes online. Here, the Deutsche Welle Radio Training Centre (RTC) successfully trains skilled radio staff from developing countries and Eastern Europe. DW's television activities are concentrated in Berlin: DW-TV in German, English and Spanish, as well as regional slots in other languages. Furthermore, DW broadcasts German TV, the joint "best of" programme from the public broadcasters ARD and ZDF... one mission. Deutsche Welle was commissioned to "provide listeners and viewers abroad with a comprehensive picture of political, cultural and economic life in Germany and to present and describe German positions on important issues". This is how the 1997 Deutsche Welle Act defines our mission statement. The Federal Government intends to amend this act and reformulate the mission in close cooperation with DW. Bettermann: "DW stands for independence and credibility, which will remain the priority since people all over the world value our programmes for these qualities. Nevertheless, DW's mission needs to be extended and made more precise. We do not only report about Germany, but about events in our target regions. This is the only way international radio can have an impact as a form of preventive foreign and security policy. It ensures a free flow of information in regions of war and crisis." Anniversary year 2003 will be marked by rapid implementation of the reform process already under way. DW's current corporate profile defines clear focal points and aims. As Bettermann states, "we will continue to regionalize our programmes and intensify intercultural dialogue - in particular with the Islamic world. DW-TV's programme slots in the Afghan languages Dari and Pashto and in Arabic are examples of the success of this idea." Furthermore, DW is covering the process of European unification extensively and is making its mark with a focus on the areas of business and culture. To reach its most important target groups more effectively, DW is increasingly using FM frequencies for large cities and is playing a leading role in launching digital shortwave radio. A more relaxed approach in German foreign relations 50 years of Deutsche Welle - 50 years of information from the heart of Europe. On 3 May 1953, Deutsche Welle went on the air for the first time - on shortwave and in German. Federal President Theodor Heuss addressed "our cherished countrymen around the world" and expressed his wish for a more relaxed approach in German foreign relations. Only a year later radio programmes began in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, supplemented by Arabic in 1959. In the 1960s, the programme was expanded to include more than 20 broadcasting languages - including French, Croatian and Persian, Russian, Greek and Turkish, Kiswahili and Hausa, Indonesian, Chinese and Japanese. During these years, DW started up its initial television activities: like the radio programmes, taped television programmes are also dispatched to partner stations. In 1965, the Deutsche Welle Radio Training Centre (RTC) was founded. It has also operated television training courses in Berlin since 1996. In the meantime, this facility funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has trained more than 10,000 skilled radio staff from developing countries and Eastern Europe. Many alumni now hold top positions in their homelands - as ministers, director-generals and ambassadors. Satellite TV and the Internet The reorganization of public broadcasting following German unification was also a turning point for DW as the last broadcaster under federal law. DW took over the foreign language programmes of Deutschlandfunk (DLF) in Cologne and parts of Radio Berlin International (RBI), the disbanded East German international broadcaster. Somewhat ironically, DW was soon able to lease transmitters in Russia that were used during the Cold War to jam the reception of Western international radio stations. On 1 April 1992, DW-TV went on the air in Berlin - German international television via satellite. Two years later Deutsche Welle became the first public broadcaster in Germany to go on the Internet with a presence that was expanded and given the new address dw-world.de in 2001. Finally, German TV began broadcasting in March 2002, initially as pay-TV for North America for German-speaking viewers. Dialogue in many languages Erik Bettermann: "As an institution for international media and cultural work, DW has the deepest possible impact. Intercultural dialogue also includes promoting the German language. That is far more than conveying an authentic picture of German reality." Two-thirds of humankind lives under authoritarian or totalitarian regimes, which deny their citizens freedom of the press and freedom of speech. In these nations, and in particular in regions of crisis and conflict, DW is an acknowledged source of objective information - whether in the Balkans, today in Afghanistan or many other regions of the world. DW addresses people all over the world who are interested in Germany and in Europe, particularly opinion leaders and the so-called "information elites". DW is also the "bridge home" for Germans living overseas. Partners all over the world DW transmits it diverse programmes via a global satellite network. DW-Radio, in addition, broadcasts via shortwave - in future digital - radio, as well as via mediumwave and FM to specific regions. Many thousands of partner stations around the world broadcast DW programmes, including TransTel productions. DW-TV and DW-Radio are also available on the Internet as live-stream and on-demand programmes at dw-world.de. Modern, flexible, ready for tomorrow "At 50, Deutsche Welle is ready for the challenges of the future," says Director-General Bettermann. "Modern and flexible, with respected quality programming for its entire media, Germany's international broadcaster holds an outstanding position among international competitors." This is the merit of the expertise and creative potential of its international staff as well as the corporation's constant structural revamping over the past decade. May 2003 More information on the Internet: http://www.dw-world.de/english (Press and About Us) Source: Deutsche Welle press release, Cologne, in English 30 Apr 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** INDIA. Re unID 13630: Yes, NHK, and 13630 0045-0130 49 BGL 500 60 0 216 3003-261003 Burmese IND AIR {remaining three entries on 13630 are actually JORDAN} 13630 0300-0600 39,47,48 AKA 500 170 0 156 3003-261003 Arabic JOR JRT 13630 0600-0900 28-30 AKA 500 350 0 156 3003-261003 Arabic JOR JRT 13630 1200-1630 39,47,48 AKA 500 170 0 156 3003-261003 Arabic JOR JRT If AIR uses the same equipment like at 0045 UT, 60 degrees from Bangalore isn't the favorite antenna lobe into Europe (Wolfgang Bueschel, BC-DX Apr 30 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 4869.96, RRI Wamena 1206-1315+ 5/1. Jak program at 1206, // other RRI's. Checked later and found them with an old Patsy Cline tune at 1256, followed by another old C&W song. A 10-minute telephone chat at 1301 was followed by Celine Dion's "Titanic" theme. Good at tune-in, but sloowly fading. Carrier still there at 1350 (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Drake R-8, 100-foot LW, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. An excellent website is devoted to the numerous MF coastal radio stations around the world. There are dozens of links to further web pages of individual coastal stations or events relating to them such as close-downs or their individual broadcast schedules. It also contains a number of documents which can be downloaded and read on your own PC. There are listings of maritime stations on 500 kHz and a very long listing of stations between 1.6 and 3.7 MHz, in Adobe Acrobat: http://www.coastalradio.greater-peterborough.com (Graham Tanner, SSB Utilities, April Shortwave Magazine via DXLD) ** IRAQ. KURDISH PUK LAUNCHES RADIO STATION IN BAGHDAD | Text of report by Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) newspaper Al- Ittihad on 1 May Following the publication of Al-Ittihad in Baghdad, the Voice of Freedom, Voice of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, began FM test transmissions daily on 95 MHz. The radio broadcasts programmes in Arabic and Kurdish from 1300 until 2200 [local time: 1000-1900 gmt]. {sic -- previous report had them changing to UT +4 for summer} The programmes include news bulletins, political analyses, interviews, as well as variety and music. The Voice of Freedom is another initiative by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in its firm policy towards free Iraq, the Iraq of equality and coexistence, and the Arab-Kurdish dialogue. Despite technical difficulties, the PUK also works persistently to launch a television channel in Baghdad, out of its commitment to ensure the success of the democratic process and fill the gaps left behind by the regime. Source: Al-Ittihad, Baghdad, in Arabic 1 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ. US ops active in Iraq: The Daily DX http://www.dailydx.com/ reports that Willie Mohney, KV4EB, continues to be active on the bands on SSB, PSK31, RTTY and SSTV on 15 meters. His PSK31 activity has been between 0900 and 1300 UT, when he switches over to SSB at around 21.270 MHz. Craig McVey, YI/AB8DY, has been showing up on the same frequency at around the same time running 5 W. After 1600 UT, look for him on 20 meters near 14.250 MHz but occasionally near 14.165 or 14.195 MHz. According to The Daily DX, KV4EB has worked about 1000 QSOs so far while in Iraq. When the band is open to the US, he asks other stations to stand by. Also active from Baghdad is Tim Williams, YI/WB5WDM. He's been reported on 17-meter SSB from 1900 until 2030 UT. On April 29, Greg Thompson, YI/KC7GNM, was QRV on 20- meter SSB at around 0200 UT working US stations while aeronautical mobile (AM) above Iraq. Based in Saudi Arabia, Thompson flies into Iraq on missions that typically take about 10 hours. The ARRL DXCC Desk announced recently that it would approve operations by US military personnel in Iraq for DXCC credit if the operators provide written authorization from their commanding officers. This situation could change once a civilian government is in place in Iraq, however (ARRL May 1 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. ANALYSIS: BROADCASTERS - WHAT COST WAR? DID WE GET IT RIGHT? Al-Jazeera TV had tried to learn the lesson of Afghanistan, but still lost a staff member in Baghdad. CNN said it didn't arm its top reporter Brent Sadler, but did hire armed guards, who had no choice but to return fire. ITN paid a high price in human terms, but those who went thought the risks were worth taking. Choice of words, impartiality, attribution, the effect of embedded reporters and the demands of 24-hour rolling news channels made for the most televisual and challenging war ever, the BBC thought. News organizations and news professionals present have already drawn some conclusions from their war coverage and those of their competitors. In a session called "What Cost War" at the Global Media Business Conference in London this week, the people who have been managing the logistics and decision-making involved in war coverage had already made the initial self-examination and analysis. The following is a report by BBC Monitoring's Chris McWhinnie, who attended the conference on 30 April 2003: The Association for International Broadcasting, a trade body, has just held its Global Media Business Conference in London. It looked at audiences, technology and content, but the war in Iraq was an inevitable point of reference. Conference time was dedicated to a very candid and revealing session that was followed by a segment on public diplomacy and the media. The conference attracted speakers and delegates from a wide cross- section of programme makers, strategists and engineering support. They hailed from a wide range of international media - traditional media such as the Voice of America, ITN and BBC World Service, the not-so-new CNN and representatives of the new wave of regional but potentially global rivals, Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya and local replacements for international services. Logistics and planning "What Cost War?" was the subject of the main session to deal with the conflict in Iraq. International news is higher up the public agenda, and this has been driven by the 9/11 events and the aftermath of the Afghan war and the latest military action. However, the change to the givens - the world order, the tolerated regimes, the diminished role of the United Nations and new concerns about perception of USA foreign policy - have all meant a greater concentration on international news. The first and last reporters in a war zone are often the news agencies. Their words and pictures feed other media which could not or chose not to be present. 400-500 broadcasters took our pictures and it is what we are there to do - there is no war premium, said Ian Ritchie, chief executive of APTN, the TV news agency wing of Associated Press. There was direct rivalry between the two main news agency players, Reuters and APTN, to get the best and fastest live pictures. APTV produced English but also some 1,400 Arabic-language reports from Baghdad-based and other teams. With 40 operational cameras across the Middle East, five uplinks in Iraq, 20 mobile uplinks and up to 140 people involved, clearly a massive amount of planning had taken place. Now there has been a huge reduction in coverage. Broadcasters removed uplink dishes for financial reasons. So, the picture agencies were left to provide raw footage and to try to be as impartial as possible in their picture selection. The agencies are staying in longer, because they are more cost effective. Although there has been some viewer fatigue, the story was far from dropped and there was still room for updates and room in the TV schedules. Ritchie thought that the plethora of channels had added transparency and diversity to the media scene and had helped the audience to place stories in context. It was good to have Al-Jazeera and others along, and the wider range of media was a very positive thing. Fourteen journalists killed The financial costs were nothing compared with the loss of life of 14 journalists during this conflict. Yosri Fouda is Al-Jazeera TV's investigative correspondent and London bureau chief. He was quoted in the conference biography as saying "if you get the story but don't come back, it's not worth it, not for you, not for your organization." There were the fatal shots fired at the Palestine Hotel, and the missile that destroyed the Al-Jazeera Baghdad office on 8 April. Al-Jazeera correspondent Tareq Ayoub was killed, some local inhabitants died and other staff sustained injuries. Fouda thought the cost had therefore been enormous. "We had learnt the lessons from Afghanistan" he said, referring to the Al- Jazeera office in Baghdad, which was hit. "We provided the Pentagon with our location, only to get a letter telling us to leave Baghdad." Al-Jazeera was the only foreign TV station in Baghdad during 1998's Operation Desert Fox, and Al-Jazeera felt it had to be there this time. It had six correspondents in the Iraqi capital, two in Basra and one in Mosul, after hard negotiation with the Iraqi Information Minister. One problem had been the refusal of the Kuwait authorities to let their staff cross Kuwait into Iraq to become "embeds". As for non-human costs, this was seen as the political pressure brought to bear on potential Middle Eastern advertisers not to use Al-Jazeera. The demonization of Al-Jazeera TV in the USA and sometimes in parts of Europe had been another cost. Almost every US and UK government spokesman had strong words about the channel. From Al-Jazeera's perspective, they had tried to contribute to the whole picture of the war and thought they had remained independent and gained respect at street level - but by losing colleagues, they paid the ultimate price. Fouda thought that what had affected attitudes amongst the media was President's Bush's "you are either with us or against us" remark. Many reporters wanted to be viewed as independent and had to distance themselves from that concept, and that was difficult in human terms when one was "embedded" and being fired at. It was impossible to be objective when reporters' lives depended on the troops who were protecting them. He also considered that audiences were learning to filter information for themselves, based upon the source. Most had been keen to stay - despite pressure from the Iraqi government - but some of those who had tried to be truly independent had paid the ultimate price. He thought that once the media circus was over, a study of the situation was required: There had been an eagerness amongst reporters to challenge the Foreign Office and the military's advice to leave Baghdad. In 1991 most correspondents had left, but this time 250 out of 350 reporters stayed once war broke out. Better protection was required and in the aftermath, psychological rehabilitation of the staff was a prime consideration. Trauma and journalism Mark Brayne of the BBC's Trauma Unit took the point further. This was a project supporting those back at base as well as those returning from the field in terms of stress and trauma, he said. Staff had put in extraordinary performances when life and death were at stake. But some staff did develop post-traumatic stress disorder, and a move from macho war reporting was required to deal with the issue. Enormous human cost Michael Jermey, managing director of the UK's commercial public service TV news provider ITN, thought the cost had been enormous. In the war ITN lost veteran reporter Terry Lloyd, "as experienced as anyone can be", and two other staff are still missing, presumed dead. Staff who had decided to go to report the war and operate outside the embedded and the more protected confines and journalists' encampments had decided that the risks were worth taking to give a better picture. Enterprising journalism had meant that the public were better informed and the ratings showed that they were interested in TV news and in current affairs. Financially, costs were up massively for ITV - millions had been spent in additional coverage, but the big TV news contracts for ITV, Channel 4 and Five allow for adjustments in exceptional times and all paid for increased coverage, although this was not advertiser- supported. As a supplier of material beyond the UK, ITN thought they had enhanced their reputation internationally and that more work would come in as a result of those business relationships. Jermey urged all those who believed in free media to pressure governments to allow and protect the media. The BBC thought it had largely made the right decision to make World Service a rolling news service and 31 days of Iraqi war coverage was the result, said Liliane Landor, head of programmes at BBC World Service News and Current affairs. They had tried to adhere to the BBC values of independence and impartiality. They had tried to give the broadest perspective possible and had planned to do so in a war that they knew was coming. The challenge had been to make the output resonate for millions of listeners who differed in class, nationality, ethnicity and political interest. Trying to humanize the war and not lose sight of the hundreds of Iraqis who were killed was difficult. The BBC had decided to dedicate editors to listen to and feedback on the station's output. This helped with the tone and choice of words and language, which had been agonised over: "tribes", "regime", "weapons of mass destruction", "liberated", "coalition", "Saddam" and the excited language of military victory. Journalists had to put the difficult questions, and as such had added value, gained listeners and provoked a great audience response. What were the concerns over coverage? Landor did wonder whether the BBC was uncomfortable. How sanitised was the radio and the TV view? Did the broadcasters capture the grief and horror, or was it too clean? She thought the embedded reporters had been both a blessing and a curse. They had brought live drama to the living room, and it was the first time the war was seen happening in real time to any extent, but these were just keyhole views which had needed the editorial base in London to pull together into the bigger picture. The level of skill and judgment needed by embedded reporters was extremely difficult. But the BBC had given their staff feedback and distance, and had tried hard to remain accurate. Also, Landor said, the story was hardly over yet. The Arab world had lost Saddam, "its last hero", and to whom would it turn? To a mythical Usamah Bin-Ladin, or towards democracy? Political turmoil could be seen, and the Middle East could be redrawn. The raw TV had been exciting, the audience had grown and responded as never before but what had been a "good war" in media terms only had been a great loss in human terms. The truth - not the easiest thing to discern The BBC's head of news gathering, Adrian van Klaveren, in a later session on public diplomacy and the media, identified three areas of difficulty for broadcasters in their war coverage: The biggest names in journalism had opted not to be embedded. The impression given by the US Army that they wouldn't see anything had compounded that problem. The constant demands of 24-hour news channels had meant that journalists were continuously having to update reports, not just work to four deadlines a day. This also meant that staff were trying to discern the truth live on air. The reporting of an alleged uprising in Basra was an example where more work could be done on avoiding over-excitability or readiness to report. Broadcasters had lessons to learn in terms of coverage of the operations in the west of Iraq, which were not covered at all, the impact of aerial bombardment on the population had in some people's view been oversanitised in some countries, and there had been an impatience, lack of realism and understanding of military strategy in reports. At CNN and other news outlets, people were working under conditions of exceptional drive and stress. CNN, like others, had taken security very seriously indeed, and yet there were still significant casualties. CNN had questioned how war coverage was changing. The channel had seen maverick reporters operating outside the press pack in many wars. This had brought new perspectives and benefits, but war reporting remained an incredibly risky business. The losses of experienced journalists had made many in the news industry stop and think about what would be done outside the established routes. More debriefings would have to take place to learn the lessons from this war, Maddox said. He was asked whether other coverage had suffered. He agreed, saying he believed that SARS had at first been under-reported, which could have changed the whole progress of the story itself, and he noted that a fire which led to many deaths at a school in Russia had hardly been covered. An army of journalists Maddox also responded to a question asking if there were any circumstances under which correspondents should carry guns. This referred to reports from Brent Sadler during an exploratory visit to Tikrit, before it fell to US forces. The journalist had not been armed, but after a specific threat by the Iraqi government to CNN the crew hired armed PUK guards to protect the CNN headquarters in northern Iraq. The security and safety adviser to CNN was also armed. When an individual with an AK-47 weapon appeared excitable, it was decided to withdraw, but the team was pursued and came under direct automatic and handgun fire from a vehicle that drew alongside. Fire was returned, as the alternative would have been not to open fire and possibly die. CNN would never arm journalists but did take measures, as other news organizations have done, to protect their staff when showing a press pass cuts no ice. Pictures can speak for themselves The sight and sounds of war were captured well by the departing managing of EuroNews, David Lowen. He believed their most powerful output had been from the "Without Commentary" segment, which is video with natural sound without any commentary before or after. It consisted of one and a half minutes of footage showing some Iraqi soldiers taking lunch, chatting, weapons down but at their sides, but in his words, fear never leaving their eyes. Source: BBC Monitoring research 1 May 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. GERALDO LASHES OUT One of only a few embedded reporters during the Iraq war who were banished by the US military for revealing details of his unit's location, Geraldo Rivera is now safe at home and speaking out in his usual restrained manner: "NOW THAT I'M HOME AND HAVE SEEN A FRACTION OF WHAT WAS SAID AND WRITTEN ABOUT MY INADVERTENT TECHNICAL VIOLATION OF THE PENTAGON'S EMBEDMENT POLICIES, I'M FILLED WITH SMOLDERING ANGER AT THE GROTESQUE EXAGGERATION FOSTERED BY MY CABLE COMPETITORS. "THE COMMENTS OF SOME WERE SO RECKLESS AND BADLY REPORTED THE ONLY CONCLUSION CAN BE THAT MSNBC, FOR EXAMPLE, MALICIOUSLY CONDUCTED A 'GET-GERALDO' CAMPAIGN. USING A NEO-NAZI EX-CONGRESSMAN AND A PSYCHO EX-SPORTSCASTER AS THEIR HATCHET MEN THEY LOBBED ACCUSATIONS AND INNUENDO AIMED AT USING MY SAND DRAWING TO DESTROY A 33 YEAR CAREER FAR MORE DISTINGUISHED THAN ANYTHING TO WHICH EITHER OF THAT HAPLESS PAIR CAN ASPIRE." If you care to stomach the rest of his diatribe you can see his whole statement at: http://www.roughpoint.tv/v1/iraq2.php (Joe Buch, swprograms via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. AL-ARABIYA TV EMPLOYS FORMER IRAQI UN ENVOY TO PRESENT PROGRAMME - PAPER | Text of report in English by Dubai newspaper Gulf News web site on 1 May Former Iraqi ambassador to the UN Dr Muhammad al-Duri has been commissioned to present a political programme at Al-Arabiya, the Dubai-based TV channel. Al-Duri, who left his post in New York after the collapse of Saddam Husayn's regime last month, is here to present a seven-episode analytical programme entitled Political and legal perspective of the future of Iraq [as published] for the channel. Al-Duri is a veteran diplomat and a professor of international relations and former dean of the law faculty at Baghdad University. Channel sources said Al-Duri would be an asset to the station which went on air in March. "His performance at the UN was excellent, regardless of the case he was defending. Al-Duri was a star diplomat," the sources said. He dealt with the media efficiently, even when he told reporters at his residence in New York that "the game is over" after the collapse of the Iraqi regime. Al-Arabiya said on Monday [28 April] that it was also willing to take Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf, the former Iraqi information minister. Source: Gulf News web site, Dubai, in English 1 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. FUNDAMENTAL CONCERNS The Independent Media Institute http://www.alternet.org/imi.html a US nonprofit organization which describes itself as "dedicated to strengthening and supporting independent and alternative journalism", has raised concerns at the choice of production house for the US government's TV service to Iraq. An article on the Institute's AlterNet Web site claims that the company - Grace Digital Media - is controlled by fundamentalist Christians who are "rabidly pro-Israel." The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) says it sees no problem in having Grace produce the broadcasts. BBG spokesperson Joan Mower describes Grace Digital Media as a "mainstream production house used by all kinds of mainstream news organizations" and says that Grace personnel will have nothing to do with the editorial side of the news broadcast (RN Media Network May 2 via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Due to the general strike in Israel - now in its second day - Kol Israel Reshet Alef broadcasts/relays, including English, are not being broadcast. I haven't confirmed this - but an educated guess would be that the Reshet Hey broadcasts, including the 1900 UT English would be broadcast. The Kol Israel English text news, is being updated: http://bet.iba.org.il/bet.htm?item=betlanguage23 Regarding the proposed Kol Israel cuts - the situation is different this time around. Unlike the past, when they just threatened to cut shortwave, they are now threatening to cut the domestic networks also (3 out of the 4 English broadcasts are domestic relays... so there wouldn't be anything to send out via shortwave in the first place.) Cuts are usually subject to negotiation (I have no insider info - this is just a general comment about budget politics...)- don't feel like they're 'crying wolf' every year. I'm still waiting to get contact info (Doni Rosenzweig, NY, April 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MOST OF KOL ISRAEL DOWN AS PART OF GENERAL STRIKE http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/288710.html Most of the streams seem to be down with the notable exception of Reshet Bet, those parts of the live israelradio.org stream which come from Reqa and Reshet Dalet. (Arabic) (Joel Rubin, NY, April 30, swprograms via DXLD) As far as I can see the only part of the Reshet Heh webcast which is going out is the part which comes from REQA. See the schedule for this webcast at israelradio.org Just now, there is a tone on the Reshet Heh webcast (Joel Rubin, 09:51 PDT May 1, ibid.) ** ISRAEL. Kol Israel - strike schedule First - note that the strike has been postponed until after Israel Independence Day, which is Wednesday. Also, the times listed are in Israel Summer Time and not UT. I have no idea if this would be the schedule if the strike re-starts. [earlier:] The IBA website mentions the domestic English schedule, for the duration of the general strike. At this point, I don't know the impact on shortwave/Internet feeds. I'll see if I can get more information. From: http://bet.iba.org.il/bet.htm?item=betlanguage23 "Broadcast changes due to strike --- During the course of the current strike, Israel Radio's English News will broadcast two bulletins daily on the Reka network: For ten minutes, from 13:45 to 13:55, and For five minutes, from 19:35 to 19:40. If the strike continues, the English News will broadcast as usual on Reshet Aleph on Saturday, but only on Saturday. Reka can be heard at 954 AM and at the following locations on the FM dial: north, upper Galilee -- 94.4 fm Haifa and surroundings -- 93.7 fm Jerusalem and surroundings -- 88.2 fm Tel Aviv and surroundings -- 88.2, 101.2 fm Beersheva -- 107.3 fm" It would seem that you could listen to the 13:45 broadcast on the live webstream at: http://www.israelradio.org/livestream.htm (Doni Rosenzweig, May 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JORDAN. See INDIA ** KOREA NORTH. Voice of Korea was heard this morning between 1000- 1100 UT on 9335 kHz. Signal strength and intelligibility are much better at this time and frequency than on the long path beam to Europe reported yesterday. For the first time in years I again heard "The International", the international anthem of the communist movement at 1033. The piece was repeated during the subsequent hour in French at 1133. It was followed by more inspirational choral music. After the music they launched into a presentation on why a factory worker and his family are so happy. This was followed by a segment on Pyongyang and why it was a city of the people. One of the reasons given was that the people were provided with radio. What a novel idea! An hour of French language programming followed. Passport says this frequency is beamed to Central America at 1000-1200 UT. One wonders how many French-speaking listeners they have in Martinigue, St. Maarten, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Eastern Canada at this hour? Maybe if one could figure out why they devote such resources to such a small audience, one could understand their thinking on bigger issues. Could it be that France is a nuclear power? Could it be they have adopted the Arabic proverb, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend"? Something to ponder (Joe Buch, DE, May 1, swprograms via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH [non]. CLANDESTINE (N. Korea to S. Korea) - 6010.18, V. of Nat'l Salvation (presumed) 1232-1248+ 5/1. Alternating talks and typical Korean choral selections. Fair at best on USB, with 6010 QRM. Parallel to 4450 and 4120.54, both fair but fading (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Drake R-8, 100-foot LW, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN. Hello DXers, wonder why did V. of Kurdistan People drift to 4023 kHz?? I hear them today 1/5/03 1630 UT with the news commentary. Strange? (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOLDOVA. Re Transmitter site names: But the external and internal frequency lists of - for example - DW, BBC-Merlin and TWR Europe still use the term GRI=Grigoriopol of Mr. Titov's team at MCB bureau, now renamed to GFC = General Radio Frequency Centre (Wolfgang Bueschel, BC-DX Apr 30 via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. 5040.6, R. Myanmar 1209-1229+ 5/1. YL with talk in language 1209-1217; Burmese vocals followed up to 1229, when the YL appeared again. Couldn't make out much --- signal was deteriorating, although it was good earlier (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Drake R-8, 100-foot LW, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Recently there were some talks about the temporary RNW transmissions via the Tbilisskaya station (the large transmitter plant located 120 km east of Krasnodar and frequently listed as such or as Armavir). Perhaps it is still of interest that this was not the first usage of Tbilisskaya by RNW. Around the mid- nineties there was a slot for English to Africa earlier in the evening, and this was a quite interesting one, because a 60 metres frequency was used. From vague memory it was 4945, I would have to take the old books to make sure if necessary, also to find the details of another 60 metres outlet RNW run then, Indonesian from Tajikistan if memory serves right. Best regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In the mid '90s Tbilisskaya was also used for RNW as replacement to SAs when the Central Asian sites were down in periods for unknown reasons. RNW said that the problems did not affect their transmissions, but this was not true. Maybe they were never informed by Moscow. RNW was also using Orzu for a short period, but they got to use the ailing 800 kW transmitter, which was more often off than on the air during the programs. After a short while this relay was moved to the Karaturuk site east of Almaty. 73s (/Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKINAWA. I just found a couple of reports by US DXer Michael Hardester, who visited the VOA Thailand and Okinawa stations in 1977- 78. Construction of the VOA Okinawa station started in 1952 and operations started in mid 1953 [like at Munich Erching 173 kHz longwave beast, /wb]. The final sign off was on March 14, 1977 at 1500. The location was Okuma, a small village located near the northern tip of Okinawa. The station had six MW towers producing beams at 315 and 17 degrees. The area occupied at the end of operations was 134 acres. The final SW setup was 1x15 kW, 2x35 kW, 1x100 kW for broadcasting and 5 kW for RTTY. The original Poro station [Philippines] was constructed with almost identical plans as the Okinawa site (should be 1x1000 kW on MW and 2x35 kW on SW /oa). (Olle Alm, BC-DX via DXLD) Continued under THAILAND ** PAKISTAN. PROPOSED: The following changes are proposed and HPT Rewat Engineers have been asked to intimate us after necessary tuning aerial checking etc. 0500-0700 WS to Gulf & ME current 17835 21460, replaced with 17755 11570. 0800-1104 WS to WeEurope current 21465, replaced with 15095. 1630-1700 & 1715-1800 Turkish & Irani current 9385, replaced with 9340. 1815-1900 Arabic current 9385, replaced with 9335. 1700-1900 WS to WeEurope current 9400, replaced with 15095. (via Noel R. Green-UK, BC-DX Apr 28 via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Pidgin noted on 4870 around 2030 UT April 30, presumably Port Moresby, which has been missing from 4890. Error or change? (Chris Hambly, Victoria, DX Listening Digest) Watch out for Wamena ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. RADIO GOROKA BACK ON AIR | Text of report by Zachary Per carried by Papua New Guinea newspaper The National web site on 2 May The popular NBC Radio Goroka, the Karai Bilong Kumul (KBK), is back on air after being off air for two and half years. National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) station manager in Goroka, Tony Mill, told a press conference on Tuesday [29 April] in his office that financial constraints were the major factor that forced the radio station to go off air in 2000. Mr Mill said that the Eastern Highlands provincial government has come to their aid with a 40,000 kina allocation from the 2003 provincial budget. He thanked the EHP Governor Malcom Smith-Kela for recognizing the importance of provincial radio stations. Mr Mill said the money would be carefully spent on crucial needs of electricity, telephone, stationery items and fuel to ensure smooth operation of the radio station. "The grant, however, is insufficient and may not see us through to the end of the year. We will do all we could to spend it wisely to ensure maximum benefit of broadcasting for the people," Mr Mill said. He apologized to KBK listeners and fans for the long delay, urging them to tune their radio to FM frequency 90.7 or medium wave (MW) band on 900 to listen to their favourite programs. Some of the regular favoured programs on the come back trail on the Eastern Highlands airwaves are "Laik bilong wanwan", "Toksave", weekly education news, health news, "Tok Didiman" and children's programmes. Mr Mill said the KBK broadcast times are between 5.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. The time slots could not be extended further due to financial limitations. The radio station has invited business and corporate organizations to buy airtime to sponsor programs and promote their organization and products. The already famed Nokondi FM all hour broadcast will be allowed to come on air while the KBK programs are off air from 6.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily. [UT +10] Mr Mill called on organizations to utilize the local radio station to promote their products. Those interested can call NBC Goroka on phone numbers 732 1533 and 732 1733. He said any revenue generated from airtime sales would help NBC Goroka stay on air. Steamships Hardware's Goroka branch was the first to sponsor a programme this week. Source: The National web site, Port Moresby, in English 2 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) But, Goroka used to be on SW, not mentioned now! (gh, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. New 11775 kHz (announced 12015 instead), \\ 15120, 15270. Radio Filipinas, Tinang in English. Reception weak in the nearby dead zone. 0200-0330 UT (Roland Schulze, Mangaldan, Philippines, April 9/21, BC-DX Apr 30 via DXLD) But now scheduled on 11885 kHz, acc IBB frequency schedule. (wb, ibid.) FEBC: see SEYCHELLES ** RUSSIA. Primorskiy Kray. Vladivostok. ------------------------------------------------- TGTRK "Vladivostok". Program radiostation "Tikhiy Okean" ("Pacific ocean") (for fishermen). In Russian. Only in May - 7, 8 and 9 : - 0615-0700 UT on 810 and 11760 kHz http://vladnews.ru/magazin.php?id=9&idnews=10884¤t_magazin=1350 (Alexey Koropskiy, Russia / open_dx via Alexander Klepov, Rus-DX via Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) see also NETHERLANDS ** RUSSIA. Radio Rossii. SW. A03. 30/03/2003 - 25/10/2003 kHz UTC kW Transmitter 5935 0100-0500 100 Moscow 5940 1430-2100 100 Moscow 5965** 1530-2100 100 Krasnodar 7220 2100-1700 200 Ekaterinburg 7305** 0100-0500 100 Samara 7355 1730-2100 100 Samara 7360 1330-1700 100 Samara 7365* 0100-0500 100 Samara 7365** 0100-0400 100 Krasnodar 7370** 0100-0400 250 Moscow 9490* 1530-2100 100 Krasnodar 9655 1030-1500 100 Irkutsk 9720 0530-1400 100 Moscow 9805 1900-2200 100 Irkutsk 9845* 1830-2100 250 Moscow 9845** 1630-2100 250 Moscow 11655 0830-1500 100 Krasnodar 11735 1730-2100 250 Moscow 11980 0100-0400 250 Moscow 12005 0930-1300 100 Samara 12020* 0100-0500 250 Moscow 12025* 0100-0800 100 Krasnodar 12025** 0430-0800 100 Krasnodar 12065 0530-0900 100 Samara 12070** 0430-0700 250 Moscow 13705* 0530-1800 250 Moscow 13705** 0730-1600 250 Moscow 15225 0430-0700 250 Moscow 15475 2230-1000 100 Irkutsk 17660 0730-1700 250 Moscow * till 06/09/2003 ** Since [from] 07/09/2003 (Rudnev via Klepov. Japan Premium via DXLD) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. FEBC has updated its schedule query site and now has a *very* nice entry: 756 FRN FRENCH DRCongo 15130 19 1830 1900 ALL 3.5 St. Helena FEBA A glance on http://www.feba.org.uk/ reveals, however, that they have Ascension in mind, a St. Helena dependency. Wishful thinking... :-) Regarding the FEBC schedule site on http://www.febc.org/ FEBC's Jim Bowman yesterday wrote me in an email the following: "Our apologies a lack of updated information on our schedules. We are "in-between" systems. It will probably be another six months to a year before all the radio stations around FEB's world are participating in an automatic web-based data entry system. Until then, there will be some lag in correct data. We have in fact entered the new Feba data, and are trying bring the rest up to date." 73, -- (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, May 1, GRDXC via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. SIBC, 5020, 1057 4/22, commercial for hardware and building material store. "Radio Happy Isles" IDs. Commercials had singing jingles; I thought it was a song starting at first. Mention of first day of school after the long Easter weekend. Mention of Solomon Islands. Good-night...sign-off announcement, with mentions of Radio Happy Isles, and "SIBC", then anthem. Switched to BBC at 1103. Possibly the best I've ever heard them, and from home! Started to fade a few minutes later, and normal local QRM started around 1115 (Larry Russell, MI, MARE via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. I heard the Sri Lanka BC on 15745 from 1230 (34343), starting with a weather report. Then nonstop music, mostly USA evergreens. From 1330 also audible here on 11930 (34333). At last an ID at 1400. This timeslot is announced as their English program, but by this do they mean that there are only English language songs being aired? DXA375 (Silvain Domen, Antwerpen, Belgium, May 2, EDXP via DXLD) ** THAILAND. VOA Thailand (Bangkok), located at Ban Ra Som, 107 km north of Bangkok. The 1000 kW transmitter consisted of 2 x 500 kW Collins transmitters, and the age of the transmitters was given as 25 years (in 1978). There were three towers, each just under 100 m height, in the northern section of the site. Regular transmissions started on 22 February 1968. The article also says that parts from the closed Okinawa transmitter were on their way to Thailand. OA comments: Apparently the Collins used in Thailand was also built in 1953 at the same time as the other big ones. The question then is what this transmitter was used for between 1953 and 1968. Was it used for secret operations or was it just kept under dust covers? (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX Apr 18 via DXLD) See also OKINAWA {no, it`s a Continental; see 3-078} ** THAILAND. 6765U, Bangkok Meteological Radio, Apr. 23 1513-1545, 44444. Weather information in English and Thai (ISHIZAKI Kyoshiro, Mie, JAPAN, Japan Premium via DXLD) Just checked today 6676 [sic] USB at 1555- Bangkok Meteo / Aero HF Volmet seemed to relay local AM/FM station, with very lively program, local pop music, Thai talks and lots of commercials. Didn't identify though the station. The aero meteo announcements are .10 and .40 past the hours. 73 (Jarmo Patala, Finland, May 1, dxing.info via DXLD) Two different stations? ** TIBET [non]. Voice Of Tibet heard on 15660-KAZ and 21560-UZB today, May 2 at 1215-1300. On 21560 a CNR jammer (music) was active (Silvain Domen, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UZBEKISTAN/KAZAKHSTAN What was probably V of Tibet was heard Tuesday 29th on 17520 in Chinese. The biff-bang band was also playing until about 1515 then clear until the broadcaster went off about 1518. I believe this transmission is also supposed to be on 12100 so maybe that is the next frequency to try. The earlier 1215 transmission seems to be on 15660 and I heard the big band tuning up on 21560 same time (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Apr 30 via DXLD) Hi Noel, 12100 is only used in B-02, now V. of Tibet on 17 MHz in A- 03, I see V. of Tibet Monitoring at SGI short call, what ever that mean ??!! 1215-1300 15635-UZB/KAZ, 15660-KAZ, 21560-UZB, 21720-UZB - on the first three QRGs observed in past weeks by wb. 1430-1520 (x12100) now 17520-UZB or 17540-UZB. And Chinese music .... over and over again ... 5945 1430-1530 49 TAC 200 132 UZB WRN GFC. Democratic Voice of Burma, Burmese. Summer freq, But seems on 5910 now (Wolfgang Bueschel, Apr 16, BC-DX Apr 30 via DXLD) ** TINIAN. NEW ANTENNAS TO BE INSTALLED AT IBB TINIAN RELAY STATION Telesource International, Inc. http://www.telesource.org has been awarded a $5.7 million contract to install two additional shortwave antennas at the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) relay station at Tinian in the Northern Marianas. Telesource constructed the facility, which began operations three years ago. The contract is due for completion by March 12, 2004. The additional antennas will enable the station to serve more countries in the Far East and the Pacific. (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 2 May 2003 via DXLD) This echoes a story we had way back in DXLD 3-032 Feb 25. I fail to see how Telesource qualifies as a .org (gh, DXLD) ** TURKEY. Re 3-075: Good point. There are very few international English language webcasters that Kevin Kelly doesn't have in his database, of which I am a regular consumer! I looked upon VOT as a particular mental challenge given how arcane their website is. If list participants come across webcasts of international interest that Kevin does not have in his database, Kevin is very appreciative of the information. His e-mail address is kakelly@alum.mit.edu (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. Some BBCWS previews: || WATER WALKS 2 x 25 mins | from 29th April A journey to the sharp end of water provision around the world – the series follows people who bring water home to their families, making the life-preserving trip to the nearest water source. It could be a well, river, lake, standpipe or muddy hole. And it may be within minutes, hours or even days from their homes. Often the daily quest for water means there is time for little else. Water Walks brings to life the realities of water. Part of BBC World Service's Water Season || PROGRAMME TIMES (GMT) - Correct at time of publication ALL IN A DAY'S WORK; WATER WALKS (Documentary 2) West Africa | Wed 0906 rpt 1606, Thu 0006, Sun 0906; Europe | Wed 0806 rpt 1306, 1806, Thu 0006, Sun 0906; East and South Africa | Wed 0706 rpt 1606, Thu 0006, Sun 0706; Middle East | Wed 0706 rpt 1606, Thu 0006, Sun 0706; South Asia | Tue 2206 rpt Wed 0506, 0906, 1406, Sat 2206, Sun 0506; East Asia | Wed 0206 rpt 0706, 1206, 1806, Sun 0106; Americas | Wed 1406 rpt 1906, Thu 0006, 0506, Sun 2106 || SOLUTIONS 4 x 25 mins (parts 3 & 4) | until 11th After a delayed start, this four-part series continues to investigate a scandal which affects about a quarter of the world's population. According to the World Health Organisation, more than one billion people have no safe water and are exposed to water-borne diseases. Each year approximately four billion cases of diarrhoea cause 2.2 million deaths, mostly among children under the age of five. Unclean drinking water is the cause of 15% of all child deaths. Part of BBC World Service's Water Season. SOLUTIONS (Documentary 1) West Africa | Mon 0906 rpt 1606, Tue 0006, Sun 2206; Europe | Mon 0806 rpt 1306, 1806, Tue 0006, Sun 1906, 2306; East and South Africa | Mon 0706 rpt 1606, Tue 0006, Sun 1906, 2306; Middle East | Mon 0706 rpt 1606, Tue 0006, Sat 1806, Sun 1306, 2306; South Asia | Mon 0506 rpt 0906, 1406, Sun 0606, 2206; East Asia | Mon 0206 rpt 0706, 1206, 1806, Sun 0806; Americas | Mon 1406 rpt 1906, Tue 0006, 0506, Sun 2306 || ASSIGNMENT 30 mins BBC correspondents report from around the globe, investigating the stories behind the headlines and examining how decisions by governments and corporations affect peoples' everyday lives. Kenya In this week's programme (30th April-4th May), Ishbel Matheson reports from Kenya. The past few weeks have seen shocking revelations in Kenya about the extent of torture and terror employed by the previous regime of President Moi. The election of a new government in December has meant that victims and families of victims have been able to come forward to speak about their experiences. However, not one person has been arrested for torture. Human Rights campaigners are calling for action, though there are fears that the new government may still be too closely associated with the old regime. Ishbel has visited the torture chamber recently opened in the heart of Nairobi and has spoken to victims of torture. She comes face to face with one of the alleged perpetrators. And she asks if calls for a truth and reconciliation commission could help heal Kenya's wounds. ASSIGNMENT West Africa | Thu 0906 rpt 1606, Fri 0006, Sat 0306, 1006, 1806, Sun 1506; Europe | Thu 0806 rpt 1306, 1806, Fri 0006, Sat 1006, Sun 1506; East & South Africa | Thu 0706 rpt 1606, Fri 0006, Sat 0306, 1006, Sun 2106; Middle East | Thu 0706 rpt 1606, Fri 0006, Sat 0306, 1006, Sun 2106; South Asia | Wed 2306 rpt Thu 0506, 0906, 1406, Sat 0306, 1806; East Asia | Thu 0206 rpt 0706, 1206, 1806, Sat 0306, 1006, 1806, Sun 2106; Americas | Thu 1406 rpt 1906, Fri 0006, 0506, Sat 1006, Sun 1506 || THE INSTANT GUIDE 15 mins | continues Every day radio, newspapers and television constantly refer to people, places, phenomena or events that it's assumed we know all about. After all, they explained it once - weren't we listening? Help is at hand in the form of The Instant Guide, the new weekly topical feature which offers a concise explanation of any subject under the sun. Tune in or log on to the first programme this month [3rd], for The Instant Guide to the Iraqi Information Minister. During the recent war in Iraq, former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al- Sahhaf became familiar to radio listeners and television viewers around the world with his upbeat assessments of Iraqi military "successes". Mr al-Sahhaf's daily press briefings in Baghdad, at which his statements were increasingly at odds with reality, made him a cult figure in the West. He disappeared after American forces entered central Baghdad but, according to a London-based Arabic newspaper, he is still alive and in the city. Find out everything you need to know in The Instant Guide. THE INSTANT GUIDE West Africa | Sat 1945, rpt 2332; Europe | Sat 0645, rpt Sun 0445, 1132, 1732, Mon 0245; East & South Africa | Sat 0645, rpt Sun 0915, Mon 1445; Middle East | Sun 0445 rpt 0915, 1732; South Asia | Sun 0915 rpt 1132, 1732 Mon 0045; East Asia | Sat 2332 rpt Sun 0445, 0045; Americas | Sat 0645, rpt Sun 0445, 0915, 1132, 1732, Mon 0245 || IN PRAISE OF GOD Programmes which reflect the devotional and experiential aspects of the practice of faith around the world. Uganda 1 x 30 mins | 3rd Sam Ewou, head of the youth ministry for the Scripture Union in Africa leads a special service on the theme of hope. It is recorded at the Daughters Of Charity Orphanage near Kampala in Uganda where a choir of 25 children, accompanied by traditional musicians, performs a mix of Western and Ugandan music. Producer and Uganda resident Alison Hilliard reports on religious life in one of Africa's fastest growing Christian communities, where orthodox observance and traditional beliefs often go hand in hand: I was out driving the other day and was struck afresh by how Christian a country Uganda is. Shop after shop hung out their religious signs, from 'The Lord's Take-Away' to the 'In God We Trust' beauty salon. And yet this is a country where ancient tribal traditions and beliefs are never far from the surface. The core of the country lies in the ancient Kingdom of Buganda where spirits of the monarchs who ruled it live on, and reverence for the 'living dead' persists. Here visiting a witchdoctor is common practice. Official figures estimate that there are more than half a million witchdoctors in Uganda and that 85% of the population consult them. They offer advice on everything from Aids to unemployment, from love tangles to mental illness. More gruesomely, the capital city Kampala's modern office blocks are said to be 'built on dead children' – abducted and sacrificed to bring prosperity. Local newspapers often report stories of such witchdoctor-linked child abductions. || To read the full story, SEND a blank email to: wsama0@bbc.co.uk?subject-0grace Please check that the code 0grace is in the subject line before you send (0 = zero) IN PRAISE OF GOD West Africa | Sun 0932; Europe | Sun 0932; East & South Africa | Sun 0732; Middle East | Sun 0732; South Asia | Sat 2132 rpt Sun 0532; East Asia | Sun 0132; Americas | Sun 2132 (BBC ON AIR WORLD AFFAIRS NETWORK - May 2003 via Richard Cuff, DXLD) Go here -- http://www.bbconair.com/email/ -- to sign up for the monthly newsletters I mentioned, [another being ARTS ON AIR] (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K [non]. A look at two numbers stations believed to be operated by British Intelligence, and transmitted from almost opposite sides of the Earth. The first is called the Lincolnshire poacher. It gets that name from the old English folk tune, played at the beginning and end of each transmission. This station is fairly easily heard on the east cost of the US, and is believed to transmit from Malta. Transmissions run from 1200 to 2300 UT, and start on the hour. The folk tune is played several times, then a five digit ID is read by a YL. This is repeated several times, then the transmission begins, sending 5FG [figure groups], always sending exactly 200 groups. The folk tune is then sent again several times, and the station signs off at around H+45 minutes. These frequencies are used, only two or three at a time: 5422 5746 6485 6900 6959 7337 7755 8464 9251 10426 11545 12603 13375 14487 15682 16084 16314 16475 The higher frequencies are used at first, and then gradually hower frequencies are used. 6959 is often well heard in the US near the end of the broadcast day, not far from the US ``pirate band``. All transmissions are in USB. The sister station is called Cherry Ripe, as it uses another English folk tune by that name. The same YL voice is used, and transmissions are believed to come from Guam. These frequencies have been reported, between 100-1400 and 2200-0200 UT: 17499 19884 20474 21866 22108 23461 24644 Reception is always very difficult in the eastern US, but better on the west coast (Chris Smolinski, Covert Comms, May The A*C*E via DXLD) ** UNITED NATIONS. UN Radio has published the first issue of its quarterly newsletter, 5 pages in pdf (via Bill Westenhaver, RCI, DXLD) If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please send an email to audio-visual@un.org We also welcome your comments/feedback. UN Radio eNewsletter `Frequency` is produced quarterly by the United Nations Audio-Visual Promotion Team, Room S-805, Department of Public Information, United Nations, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (917) 367-5007 / (212) 963-6982; Fax: (212) 963-6869 UN Radio SW frequency schedule: http://www.un.org/av/radio/frequencyschedule.htm UN News and link to audio of latest broadcast: http://www.un.org/av/radio/news/latenews.htm (Frequency, Spring 2003 via DXLD) ** U S A. SUBJECT: WHRB ORGIES(R) AND SUMMER OPERA BROADCASTS Friends: I`m once again emerging from lurkdom to urge you to sample WHRB's offerings: this time, Spring 2003 Orgy(r) Period. People in the Boston area can set their radio dials to 95.3 FM; those of us outside Boston can punch up http://www.whrb.org/ (Full disclosure: I'm an alumna.) The major broadcasts of Spring 2003 Orgy(r) Period are: May 6, 19h00 (to May 9, 19h00): Sergei Prokofiev May 11, 22h00 (to May 14, 15h00): Paul Hindemith Other highlights include: [UT -4 presumably] May 5, 13h00: Henri Dutilleux May 11, 8h30: Ivo Pogorelich May 15, 10h00: Don Carlo Gesualdo May 24, 16h00: Johann Nepomuk Hummel May 25, 12h30: Erich Kleiber May 25, 23h00: Charles-Valentin Alkan May 26, 13h00: Yuri Bashmet Especially noteworthy: June 1, 12h30: approximately twelve hours of broadcasts commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II`s coronation, including British musicals and ballads, Goon Show highlights, and the coronation ceremony itself (recorded in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953) June 8, 19h00: preview of the Boston Early Music Festival, with live, in-studio performances and giveaways Complete listings are available at http://www.whrb.org/pg/MayJun2003.html Particularly enticing: throughout the summer, WHRB will be presenting live-by-tape opera performances from Europe. Details are available at http://whrb.org/pg/Summer2003.pdf An all-volunteer station broadcasting from the basement of a freshman dormitory at Harvard, WHRB is (sadly) something of a giant among classical broadcasters in the United States these days. WHRB is home to the Metropolitan Opera in Boston, and its ``Sunday Night at the Opera`` broadcast is one of the longest-running opera programs in the United States. WHRB is one of the last U.S. stations presenting substantial amounts of classical vocal music, historic recordings, and music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Outstanding WHRB staffers of the past include Martin Bookspan, Dale Harris, Igor Kipnis, John Rockwell, and Alex Ross. WHRB welcomes feedback: mail@whrb.org Again, since the staff is unpaid, listeners` messages of praise and constructive criticism are gratefully received, and also help WHRB in its advertising and promotional efforts. (WHRB pays its own way and receives no support whatsoever from the university.) Happy listening! mlr --- Marion Lignana Rosenberg http://www.bway.net/~mlr/ (via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. COPPS SLAMS TV NETS FOR NONCOVERAGE FCC Commissioner Michael Copps today slammed the major TV networks for allegedly refusing to cover Federal Communications Commission proceedings that are expected to serve the networks' financial interest by relaxing the agency's media ownership rules. FCC Chairman Michael Powell, a Republican, has tentatively announced a final vote on the rules for June 2. But at least according to Mr. Copps, a Democrat, the issue has yet to receive the sort of publicity on television that he believes it warrants. "Thus far, their [major TV network news'] refusal to cover this issue has just been dreadful," Mr. Copps said, in remarks at a seminar on the media ownership and the University of Southern California. "It is in their public interest obligation to do so." Also at the seminar, Mr. Copps, one of the agency's most vehement critics of deregulation, blasted Chairman Powell for refusing to provide the public-or even Mr. Copps' office- with advance notice of the precise changes being contemplated, even though the vote is now 35 days away. "We don't know what we will be voting on," the commissioner said. "We don't have the details, or even the broad configuration, of what the new system will be." Mr. Copps also urged the agency to consider a pending request by Hollywood's creative community to require the major TV networks to set aside 25 percent of their prime-time schedules for independently produced programming. In addition, he urged the agency to consider beefing up its license renewal process to ensure that broadcasters are meeting their public interest obligations. "Before the genie is out of the bottle, we'd better understand the consequences, because there' s no putting the genie back after we vote," he said. http://www.tvweek.com (via Fred Vobbe, April 30, NRC-FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. Re: Michelle Malkin, Donald Wildmon and "translator wars": It appears non-commercial non-religious stations (called "NPR stations" in the DXLD article) are increasingly shying away from translators and, instead, adopting these same tactics. In Eastern PA, WRTI in Philadelphia and WVIA in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton have recently added fully-licensed stations that are higher-powered than translators and would thus be exempt from being displaced by religious stations. They have previously used translators to accomplish this task. Regarding Mr. Martin's grumbling regarding the fundraising successes of Mr. Wildmon et al: There's an easy solution to this problem: Donate liberally to your local non-commercial non- religious stations -- especially during times when stations are NOT in fund-drive mode. Encourage others to do so too (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, May 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1530, WSAI Cincinnati OH. Heard digital noise in sidebands, perhaps night of 4/20. I was hoping this was just the noisy satellite feed of Brother Stair. But listening around sunset 4/22 led me to believe this is IBOC digital hash. World of Radio 4/23 confirmed that it is IBOC. Later listening with Sony SRF-A100 AM-stereo unit set to mono/narrow, tone set at minimum, and cheap headphones was disappointing. I found I had to center-tune 1530 to get rid of the hash. That lets in adjacent splatter from 1540, which I have off- tuned for years to avoid. Worse yet, during minor signal fades, the digital hash could be heard competing with the audio. This reduces overall audio quality, and will drive long-distance listeners away. A station that QRMs itself in this way severely reduces its effective night-time coverage area. First they added the echo-machine to QRM overnight talk, now this. 4/25 Used my old $20 Panasonic equivalent to GE Superadio, and better headphones. Digital effects mentioned above were more prominent on the Panasonic, which is very difficult to perfectly center tune. Nights of 4/26-4/27 did not hear digital; perhaps left off for weekend, or did they get complaints? Or did they drastically lower digital level? (Larry Russell, Flushing MI, MARE via DXLD) ** VENEZEULA. This morning (2 MAY, before 0400 UT) after long time I heard Radio Táchira on 4830 kHz signing off at 0400. This station seems to be very irregular on this frequency already for some time. Maybe this was the 1st of May extended transmission? GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030 30 m Long Wire via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. This 1700 kHz Spanish mystery is of interest to us in Kiwi-land too. Over Easter, we heard WJCC with religion and a second Spanish speaker with a current affairs type program with frequent mention of BBC, London and at one stage BBC Africa. First thoughts were that the Argie formerly on 1670 carrying BBC Spanish had moved, however a check with Arnaldo Slaen revealed that there aren't any Argentine stations on 1700. Be great to get to the bottom of this one!! Cheers, (Paul Ormany, NZ, IRCA via DXLD) Someone just reported [not] an Argentine on 1700 running the BBC in Spanish. Larry Godwin has says the announcer said something about 5 kW too. That does not match US X Band stations either. It is hard to believe a 5 kW Argentine would be that common in the US, but I have heard 3 so far and at times 1640 & 1670 were strong (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. Strange interference to WWV noted on 30 April at 1019 UT, just after the solar/terrestrial indices report: AM carrier with 1 kHz tone modulation on 2500 (strong), 5000 (very strong), and 10000 (weak). Someone playing with a transmitter? (John Cobb, Roswell, GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See Previous report, where this might have been coming out of WWV`s own transmitters (gh) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ LIST OF SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMMES IN ENGLISH AND GERMAN FOR THE A03 PERIOD (30/03/2003 - 25/10/2003) http://www.wwdxc.de/swl.pdf Hot off the press (David Ross, ODXA via DXLD) WJIE not updated SHORTWAVE IN MUSIC ++++++++++++++++++ More use of shortwave sounds by recording groups. From Toronto's http://www.eye.net -- not sure of the date, but accessed 1 May: PLEASURE AND PING I've written here many times about the variations on "live" found in contemporary electronic music. It's all a matter of interpretation really, with some people choosing live instruments, others laptops, still others a pair of turntables and a sampler. Hybrids abound as more studio-specific electronic producers pick up instruments and more musicians also compose on keyboards. Worlds are colliding, as well as consciously coming together. Long-running Tuesday weekly The Ambient Ping has consistently encouraged this cross-pollination, particularly among more experimental acts. The Ping's warm, open atmosphere plays host to a "live" of a different sort this week as a special Deep Wireless feature sees artists using radio as a sound source. Radio in Ambience Part One features Planet of the Loops messing with instruments, live weather radio, short-wave broadcasts, vintage recorded sources and the live transmissions of Greg Clow's CIUT Feedback Monitor show. The result? Live, loop-based improvisations and radio art for the club-going set. Check it out Tuesday (May 6) at C'est What, 19 Church. Free. 73 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ A few small M class flares over the past week have caused a couple of fadeouts in the Asian and western Pacific regions. Another coronal hole wind stream has been affecting the earth since April 29. This has caused propagation to be poor to fair only at higher latitudes. Earlier in the week solar wind speeds declined around April 28 which had been keeping the geomagnetic field at active to minor storm levels. Conditions are expected to return to normal May 3-4 before we again experience another coronal hole from May 5-7. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, May 2, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
